This wrap is for all our aviation lovers out there! Although we suppose we can’t stop non-aviation lovers from reading it.

Happy Anniversary Cathay Pacific

Last week marked the 24th anniversary of scheduled flights by Cathay Pacific Airlines into Cairns.

Cairns Airport Chief Commercial Officer Aviation Paul McLean, congratulated the Cathay Pacific team on this milestone.

Since Cathay began operating into Cairns in 1993 they have carried well over a million passengers and tens of thousands of tonnes of freight between Hong Kong and Cairns, contributing billions to the regional economy.

The service provides direct international access for visitors to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef. In addition, Cairns locals have been able to benefit from international travel options through Hong Kong to over 80 destinations in 30 countries.

Africa’s first Ethiopian B-787-9 made its debut flight to the roof of Africa 

Ethiopian Airlines Group is pleased to announce that its new B-787-9 aircraft has made its maiden commercial flight to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

Ethiopian operation with B-787-9 is part of its commitment to deliver exceptional level of service to the African market by operating the latest technologically advanced aircraft in the market.

Passengers have enjoyed the unique onboard features of this latest technology aircraft such as on-board comfort thanks to their unique features such as the biggest windows in the sky, high ceiling, less noise, distinctive lighting, and higher air humidity.

The flight is part of its tour of stations in the Ethiopian global network. Kilimanjaro is a major tourist destination with huge economic significance for Tanzania and part of Ethiopian’s extensive network in Africa. Ethiopian currently operates 28 weekly flights to Tanzania; daily to Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar and twice daily to Dar es Salaam, further connecting the cities to stations in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US via its main hub in Addis Ababa.

Virgin Australia takes spring racing carnival guests from the runway to the races in style

To celebrate the Spring Racing Carnival, Virgin Australia has today launched #runwaytoraces, an exclusive and personalised service that has interstate guests arriving race ready from the moment they arrive in Melbourne.

Virgin Australia crew will hand deliver guests’ most important accessory for Spring Carnival, the headpiece, and guests in the Virgin Australia Sydney Lounge will be made race ready with makeup and hair services. The Sydney Lounge will also be transformed into a classy, stylish, Spring Racing suite of indulgence for our guests.

For the first time, global beauty authority SEHORA, will provide make up services in the Sydney Lounge as well as provide take home make up kits, and guests will also be pampered with professional blow dries and hair styling.

Racegoers travelling through the Sydney Lounge will also enjoy specially curated canapés by Bennelong’s senior sous chef and 2017’s Electrolux Appetite for Excellence Young Chef of the Year winner, Shui Ishizaka, and a glass of Arras bubbles.

Air Tahiti Nui enhances guest experience with new lounge and services

Air Tahiti Nui has unveiled a new lounge at Tahiti’s Faa’a airport which offers Premium guests the chance to enhance their airport experience and enjoy the comfort and style of a modern airport lounge before boarding their flight home.

This lounge is operated by the Aéroport de Tahiti and includes a TV area, computer stations, restrooms equipped with showers, locker rooms, a smoking area and a stunning view of the airport runway which borders Tahiti’s beautiful blue lagoon.

Located on the first floor of the airport, the lounge has been designed to match the airline’s distinct blue and white colour scheme, reflecting the beauty and flair of the islands.

Etihad Airways to suspend Abu Dhabi – Dallas/Fort Worth route in 2018

Etihad Airways has announced the suspension of its Abu Dhabi – Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) route effective 25 March 2018, as it will become commercially unsustainable following American Airlines’ unilateral decision to terminate its codeshare agreement with the airline.

Etihad Airways has invested heavily in the DFW route since its launch in December 2014. The route commenced with three flights a week and was upgraded to a daily service in February 2017, providing travellers in the US and across the airline’s network with access to more US cities through American Airlines’ primary hub.

More than 235,000 travellers have flown on the route since its launch. Almost half of Etihad Airways’ DFW customers connect on US codeshare flights operated by American Airlines.

AirAsia celebrates 10th Anniversary in Australia

Award-winning long-haul low-cost carrier AirAsia celebrates its 10th anniversary milestone in Australia today, 2 November 2017. 

To commemorate this exciting milestone, and to thank Australia for their continued support, some lucky passengers departing and arriving into the Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney today will receive 10th anniversary surprises, including complimentary inflight ‘Santan’ meals and beverages, discount vouchers for AirAsia bigdutyfree.com, discount vouchers as well as complimentary access for the AirAsia Premium Red Lounge at Kuala International Airport Terminal 2 (KLIA2), and the chance to win return flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

To celebrate a decade of Xcellence, an AirAsia X aircraft painted with a special commemoration livery will also operate selected flights to and from Australia.

AirAsia X has also launched a special anniversary promotion with up to 50 per cent off airfares from the Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney to Malaysia, and up to 20 per cent off fly-thru destinations such as Thailand, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Cambodia and more. Fares are available on airasia.com for booking now until 5 November 2017 for travel from 1 May 2018 until 21 November 2018.

Calm in the fast lane: Cathay Pacific’s new customer experience in Singapore

An innovative and seamless travel experience, in addition to a spectacular and spacious lounge, is what Cathay Pacific customers can look forward to when the brand-new Terminal 4 at Singapore’s Changi Airport opened on 31 October 2017.

Cathay Pacific, which currently uses Terminal 1, will be the first airline to make the move to Terminal 4, which is among the most technologically advanced in the world.

Cathay Pacific customers on flight CX659 on 31 October from Hong Kong will be the first to disembark at Terminal 4, arriving in Singapore in the early morning of opening day, while customers on flight CX650 to Hong Kong will be the first to depart, a little over an hour later.

UFC announces integrated partnership with AirAsia

UFC®, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization, today announced a new multi-territory partnership with AirAsia, Asia’s leading low-cost carrier, to serve as the global brand’s first-ever “Official Airline” sponsor. The partnership, which encompasses Asia and Australia, began on Saturday, November 4, during the highly-anticipated UFC® 217: BISPING vs. ST-PIERRE, live from Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.

AirAsia will begin its international activations during UFC’s historic inaugural event in mainland China at UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: SILVA vs. GASTELUM on Saturday, November 25 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. As part of this collaboration, AirAsia will obtain rights to signage and branding inside UFC’s world-famous Octagon® during the event in Shanghai and select international UFC events in 2018.

With this partnership, AirAsia will also serve as presenting sponsor of select UFC Fan Experiences throughout the region and promote a national sweepstakes campaign where two fans will win a UFC VIP Experience during an event in 2018.

Scoot wins best low cost Airline for fourth consecutive year

Scoot is proud to once again be awarded the prestigious title of “Best Low Cost Airline Asia/Pacific for 2018” for the fourth year running.

Scoot is heartened by this accolade. This has been an eventful year for Scoot; they finally launched their first long – haul route from Singapore to Athens in June and completed a merger with Tigerair Singapore in July, in the process growing their network to 60 destinations across 16 countries and our fleet to 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 23 A320s.

They are now gearing up to launch our services to Palembang in November, as well as Harbin and Honolulu in December. Scoot is excited to make the prospect of low-cost travel more accessible for more people around the world to Escape the Ordinary!

Emirates and Seeing Machines pave the way for enhanced safety and training optimisation across global aviation industry

Emirates has been working with Seeing Machines, an industry leader in computer vision-based technologies, to use advanced gaze tracking technology to better understand how pilots interact and monitor instruments during certain identified real-time procedures that could potentially pose safety risks. The findings will enable Emirates to enhance training for flight deck crew to prepare for a wide range of scenarios in the air.

Based in Australia, Seeing Machines develops advanced, high precision technology that enables machines to see, understand and assist people. The company’s head and eye tracking technology has already been used to improve safety across a number of industries including mining, road and rail transport.

Emirates is cooperating with Seeing Machines to use non-intrusive eye and head-tracking technology to collect gaze data from a sample of Emirates line pilots, whilst flying standard training scenarios in Emirates flight simulators. The decision to use actual training environments and scenarios was made to enhance the quality of the data collected. This factual data could then be analysed and fed back into the process, leading to better training and safer operations.

Latest news from Qatar Airways:

Qatar Airways is pleased to celebrate its five-year anniversary of operating direct flights from Doha to Maputo, Mozambique

Qatar Airways is pleased to celebrate its five-year anniversary of operating direct flights from Doha to Maputo, Mozambique. On 31 October, the airline celebrated this milestone by giving away gifts to arriving and departing passengers at Maputo International Airport.

Mozambique, known for its white sand beaches, turquoise waters and world-class snorkelling, is renowned as Africa’s best-kept secret. Qatar Airways’ service to the capital city of Maputo, launched in 2012, offered passengers a new gateway to this coastal paradise.

Qatar Airways opens fourth new gateway into Eastern Europe in less than four months

In celebration of its fourth gateway into Eastern Europe and its inaugural service to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, hosted a press conference today at the Hotel Bristol in Sarajevo.

Following the arrival of QR293 on 31 October, the airline’s first flight to Sarajevo, H.E. Mr. Al Baker discussed Qatar Airways’ rapid expansion of its global route network. He also highlighted the airline’s commitment to boosting tourism levels in the Bosnian and Herzegovinian capital.

Qatar Airways launches spectacular promotion to celebrate its 20th anniversary

Qatar Airways is celebrating its 20th anniversary by providingincredible fares across both its Economy and Business Class cabins, in addition to offering 20 lucky winners a Privilege Club Gold membership and discounts of up to 50 per cent on redemption tickets to select destinations to Privilege Club members across its growing global network.

Valid from 1 to 10 November 2017, the 20 Year Anniversary Promotion offers special companion offers in Business Class, as well as amazing savings on Economy Class fares for bookings made for two to nine passengers. These exclusive offers are valid for travel between 1 November 2017 and 31 October 2018.

Qatar Airways acquires 9.61 per cent of Cathay Pacific

Qatar Airways Q.C.S.C. (“Qatar Airways”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement to purchase an amount of 378,188,000 shares of Cathay Pacific Airways Limited (“Cathay Pacific”), being approximately 9.61 per cent of the total issued share capital. Completion of the transaction is expected to take place later today in Hong Kong.

This investment further supports Qatar Airways investment strategy which already includes 20 per cent investment in International Airlines Group, 10 per cent investment in LATAM Airlines Group and 49 per cent investment in Meridiana.”