Dragonair Honours Top Agents in Nepal

Dragonair hosted its annual Agency Awards Function on 10th April 2014 at Soaltee Crowne Plaza. The function was held to honour its top performing Passenger and Cargo Agents in Nepal in 2013. General Manager of Cathay Pacific and Dragonair for South Asia, Middle East and Africa Charlie Cox Stewart and Siddhartha SJB Rana, Chairman of Tara Management and Amravati Travels Pvt Ltd presented the awards to the agents. 

 

The winners of the 2013 Passenger Awards were Sumegh Tours and Travel P Ltd, Osho World Travel Nepal P Ltd, Serene Travels P Ltd, Acetravels.com and Megabyte Travels and Tours P Ltd. Similarly, the winner of Outstanding Performance in Front End Business was Jaya Travels and Tours P Ltd. Nepal Travel De Society P Ltd was the winner of the Highest Growth in Revenue. Five other companies won the 2013 Cargo Awards.  

 

Qatar Adds New Destination in Saudi Arabia

Qatar Airways is adding Al Hofuf in Saudi Arabia to its list of destinations. The airline has also recently increased the frequencies of two of its other destinations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According to the airline, strong passenger demand has prompted it to double its weekly flight frequency to Gassim, while flights to Madinah recently increased from five to seven per week.  

 

The increased frequency together with the new destination of Al Hofuf means that Qatar Airways will now fly to seven destinations in Saudi Arabia and will operate 79 flights per week to the country. “As we continue to expand our network and receive more aircraft, we will keep looking at opportunities to add capacity to our existing network and further strengthen our links within the Gulf itself,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker. 

 

The new Al Hofuf route will be operated with an Airbus A320 in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 seats in Economy Class. The aircraft features seatback TV screens providing all passengers in both cabins with the next generation interactive onboard entertainment systems.

 

Turkish Airlines Introduces Travel Blog

Turkish Airlines has introduced a travel blog created by its staffs where Turkish Airlines’ employees can share their travel experiences with passengers. According to a press statement, the blog is introduced in conjunction with the airline’s new brand slogan ‘Widen Your World’.

 

The blog will contain articles and photos directly shared by employees, and it aims to share Turkish Airlines' travel culture with its passengers. All the experiences of the staff including food, activities and useful tips will be shared on the blog which will be published in both English and Turkish. “At present, there are four cities included in the blog and, as content increases, readers will have access to reliable travel information on numerous cities, events and activities across the vast and still expanding Turkish Airlines' network,” says the statement. The blog can be accessed from  www.turkishairlines.com/widenyourworld/blog/tr.  

 

Etihad Announces Q1 Results

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has announced its first quarter results. According to a press statement, the results show strongest ever passenger and cargo volumes for a first quarter, together with USD1.4 billion in total revenues marking a year-on-year increase of 27 per cent.

 

A total of 3.2 million passengers travelled with Etihad Airways during the first quarter of 2014, which is over 14 per cent higher as compared to the same period last year. “The growth rate is more than double a recent estimate from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that passenger demand will increase 5.8 per cent this year on a global basis,” says the statement. Etihad Cargo carried 127,821 tonnes of freight and mail in the first quarter, marking a year-on-year increase of 26 per cent. The airline’s cargo revenue also increased by 26 per cent to USD 243 million. 

 

“Although the global airline industry has faced challenges such as higher-than-expected fuel prices and fierce competition in key international markets during the first quarter of 2014, we have continued to outperform the passenger and cargo markets, and raise the bar even further for Etihad Airways,” said James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways.