Another beautiful Thursday morning, unless you’re in Sydney getting rained on.

Regardless, flights are flying and planes are pushing on, so it’s only right we give you all the latest from the aviation world.

Whether it’s sexy amenity kits or fitted out flying machines, we’ve got it right here.

Turn shopping into overseas travel

Etihad Airways and flybuys, one of Australia’s most popular loyalty programs¹, today launched an innovative partnership which enables flybuys members to turn everyday shopping into international flights with the World’s Leading Airline².

flybuys members will be able to collect flybuys points when booking Etihad Airways flights and enjoy exclusive access to airfare deals to more than 100 destinations worldwide.

In a world first, flybuys members who link their Etihad Guest membership to their flybuys account will also earn Etihad Guest Tier Miles when they spend at any Coles Supermarkets, Coles Online, Coles Express, Liquorland and First Choice Liquor stores nationwide. Tier Miles count towards elite Etihad Guest status, which affords top tier members benefits such as priority check-in and airport lounge access when flying with Etihad Airways and its partner airlines.

To earn Etihad Guest Tier Miles, flybuys members must link their Etihad Guest membership to their flybuys account.  Members will earn one Etihad Guest Tier Mile (up to a maximum of 2,500 Tier Miles per month) for every AUD 1 spent at any Coles Supermarkets and selected partners and, at the same time, collect flybuys points.

flybuys members can also convert their flybuys points to Etihad Guest miles, giving them access to flight rewards and upgrades.

Qantas to welcome American Boeing

Qantas will welcome American Airlines’ state-of-the-art, flagship Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to Sydney on Friday November 13 2015, where American will show customers its award-winning on-board products.

As part of the carriers’ expanded partnership announced in June 2015 American will operate the B777-300ER on its new daily, nonstop flight from Sydney to Los Angeles starting on 19 December 2015.

Showcasing the flagship aircraft in Australia for the first time, American will host an exclusive day of activities for invited guests at Sydney Airport, jointly hosted with its business partner, Qantas Airways.

Invited aviation, corporate and sales agents will have the opportunity to tour the interior and experience the all-aisle access, fully lie-flat First and Business Class seats and view the walk-up bar in the premium cabins. Every seat, including Main Cabin and Main Cabin Extra, features personal, in-seat on-demand entertainment HD screens with up to 250 movies, 160 TV programs and more than 350 audio CDs, 20 games plus international Wi-Fi capability, universal AC power outlets and USB ports.

American and Qantas Airways are significantly expanding their joint business by adding two new services between the Australia and the U.S.  New routes between Sydney (SYD) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) operated by American Airlines, begin on 19 December 2015. Qantas’ new service between Sydney and San Francisco International Airport (SFO), starting 18 December 2015, will provide customers with more options when traveling between the two countries.

SWISS gets icy

SWISS is the new official airline of Swiss Ice Hockey, the umbrella organization for ice hockey in Switzerland. As partner to the national ice hockey teams, SWISS will provide flights abroad and related services for an initial two-year period.

“We are delighted to have this opportunity to reinforce our involvement in Swiss sport, and to be able to provide immediate travel assistance to Swiss Ice Hockey and the Swiss national teams,” says Bernhard Christen, Head of Marketing at SWISS.

“As The Airline of Switzerland, we aim to enjoy a close relationship with the Swiss people and be involved in the major emotional highlights on the Swiss sports scene.”

“We are proud and delighted to have such a top brand as SWISS on board as a partner,” adds Florian Kohler, CEO of Swiss Ice Hockey. “SWISS is a byword for Swiss quality in the air. And Swiss Ice Hockey is the same on ice. So SWISS is an ideal addition to our partner portfolio.”

The airline further supports major international sports events in Switzerland such as the Lauberhorn Ski Races in Wengen, golf’s Omega European Masters in Crans-Montana and the Weltklasse athletics meeting in Zurich. SWISS launched its involvement in Swiss sport at a national level last month, and is also proud to be the official airline to the Swiss handball team.

Etihad launches luxe new amenity kits

Etihad Airways has launched a colourful new range of collectable limited-edition Business Class amenity kits, the result of a unique collaboration between the airline and luxury travel brand LUXE City Guides, the straight-talking, highly curated go-to guide for savvy travellers.

The stylish new kits embody the contemporary and innovative flair synonymous with the Etihad Airways brand, and contain inflight amenities and natural facial products developed exclusively by London-based skincare and grooming brand Scaramouche + Fandango.

Six new stylised kit designs have been created by LUXE City Guides for Etihad Airways, inspired by some of the iconic cities on the airline’s extensive global network. The designs for Abu Dhabi, London and Madrid, have been specially produced for Etihad Airways, whilst the Sydney, Los Angeles and Hong Kong kits feature bespoke LUXE artwork. Each kit contains a customised Etihad Airways LUXE City Guide which corresponds to the showcased city,covering everything from hotels and restaurants, to spas, bars, boutiques and bespoke shopping, as well as services, specialists and personal guides.

Scaramouche + Fandango has developed an exclusive unisex comfort kit and skincare offering in collaboration with Etihad Airways. Specially formulated for skincare needs inflight, the range consists of paraben-free products, high in natural ingredients, to enhance onboard wellbeing.

Qantas to overcome schedule disruptions

Amadeus has announced the launch of a cutting-edge Travel Intelligence solution for airlines, Amadeus Schedule Recovery, which minimises disruptions to operations caused by external events such as bad weather or air traffic control congestion.  Amadeus Schedule Recovery serves as a recommendation engine, using data analytics to help quickly and efficiently identify the most critical issues, and act upon them.

This solution helps airlines make rapid choices such as whether to delay or cancel flights, swap aircraft, or reassign landing slots. Schedule Recovery reduces manual effort and improves the quality of decisions while closely controlling the strain on the airline operating costs and minimising the overall impact on passengers.

The launch customer of the solution, Qantas Airways has been using Schedule Recovery to improve operational efficiencies when dealing with disruptions.

“At Qantas, we take the impact of disruptions on our customers very seriously. The Amadeus solution helps reduce the number of and length of delays, whether due to excessive traffic, operational delays, or weather conditions, leading to an overall improved experience for travellers,” said Paul Fraser, Head of Operations at Qantas.

“Amadeus has developed a product that improves our efficiency and speed to ensure any delays to our services are minimised.”

SAA expands West Africa routes

South African Airways (SAA), Africa’s leading airline has added a second entry point into Nigeria with the addition of Abuja, the country’s capital city.

According to Tim Clyde-Smith, SAA’s Country Manager for Australasia, Nigeria has one of the fastest-growing and largest economies in Africa with the new destination adding considerably to business travel options to the country.

“We have seen significant growth in traffic to Nigeria recently, both as a destination in itself and as part of our growing West Africa network, so the addition of Abuja is good news,” he said.

“Adding a second gateway in Nigeria to our existing daily service to Lagos really strengthens SAA’s position in West Africa where we play a significant role in enabling commerce between Southern and West Africa and enhancing the growing trade and cultural exchanges between the two regions.”

Cathay shares September figures

Cathay Pacific Airways has released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for September 2015 that show an increase in both the number of passengers carried and the amount of cargo and mail uplifted compared to the same month last year.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,632,845 passengers last month – an increase of 5.8% compared to September 2014. The passenger load factor grew by 2.9 percentage points to 83.9% while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), grew by 3.4%. In the year to the end of September, passenger traffic rose by 8.2% while capacity increased by 6.0%.

The two airlines carried 151,358 tonnes of cargo and mail in September, an increase of 2.8% compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 0.2 percentage points to 62.4%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, rose by 3.0% while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) flown increased by 3.4%. In the year to the end of September, tonnage rose by 5.6% against a capacity increase of 7.2% and a 7.4% rise in RTKs.