Africa's leading airline, Ethiopian Airlines will resume thrice weekly service to the city of Athens in Greece after 18 years. Athens will be the Ethiopian’s 17th destination in Europe. Starting  13 December 2019, Ethiopian’s flight ET760 will depart from Addis Ababa at 11.45pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to arrive in Athens at 3.45am the next day. The return flight ET761 will depart from Athens on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 10.20pm to arrive in Addis Ababa at 6.35am the next day. This year 2019 marked a huge milestone for the African carrier which saw huge growth expansion, new routes been added despite the set back of the Max 8 crash and it's consequential grounding and also plans for more routes in the coming year. A Skytrax global airline, Ethiopian operates the youngest and most modern fleet to more than 120 international passenger and cargo destinations across five continents. With this development, Ethiopian airlines is offering seemless conn

Air New Zealand and Boeing have inked a $2.7 billion (at list prices) worth contract for eight 787-10s. The Dreamliners are to replace the airline’s aging 777-200ERs. Air New Zealand confirmed the order for eight GEnx engine-powered 787-10s with option to increase the order by 12 more aircraft. The airline, Boeing and GE Aviation have initially made the deal in May 2019 by signing a letter of intent. New Dreamliners, seating up to 330 passengers in a standard two-class configuration, are replacing the aging 777-200ERs in Air New Zealand’s fleet. Air New Zealand Chief Pilot, Captain David Morgan was quoted as saying that "the company has looked at Boeing 777X and Airbus A350 as potential replacement aircraft for its Boeing 777-200s, but decided to settle on Boeing 787-10 as it is the right airplane for us”. The deliveries are due to begin in September 2022. Air New Zealand currently operates 13 Boeing 787-9 version.

Emirates has become the first non-American airline approved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for biometric boarding on flights to the United States from its hub in Dubai. The technology has been tested on flights to New York and Los Angeles since July and will now be rolled out on all services to the 12 destinations across the United States served by Emirates. A number of foreign airlines have been using biometric boarding for international flights departing several U.S. airports since 2017 but this is the first time the technology has been approved for use on flights entering the United States. Los Angeles International Airport has one of the biggest uptakes of the system with Air France, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, KLM, Korean Air, Lufthansa, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines all making use of biometric boarding. Instead of manually scanning a boarding pass and then visually checking a passport, biometric boarding works by taking a photo of a passenger

Qatar Airways announcd the commencement of services to Osaka, Japan starting from 6 April 2020. Osaka will be the airline’s third gateway into the country. This is after Tokyo Narita and Tokyo Haneda respectfully from it's hub in Doha. The flight will be operated by an Airbus A350-900 aircraft, featuring 36 seats in Business Class and 247 seats in Economy Class. The operation will initially begin with a five times weekly service, increasing to a daily service from 23 June 2020. In a statement to mark the occasion, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are truly delighted to be bringing our award-winning service to Osaka, adding this highly sought after Japanese destination to our global network. Osaka is a very important destination, and our service to the cosmopolitan city will enable us to provide a seamless journey for our passengers connecting from our extensive network of more than 160 destinations worldwide.” Osaka has been the economic p

Dana Air a Nigerian based airline have received it's first of two boeing 737-300 aircraft. The second aircraft is expected to be delivered in the coming weeks. With the latest acquisition and the due arrival of more aircrafts, it is evident to State Dana air is on the path to fleet renewal in an effort to increase capacity, efficiency and boost passengers confidence. The airline took delivery of its 737-300 with registration number 5N-DNA and a configuration of 143 passengers arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) from Italy. Dana air had in the past had a leased Boeing 737 in their fleet for a short period, this will be the first 737 fully owned by the airline. Dana air will use the new aircraft to open new routes as well as solidify existing ones. With plans well in place to increase their fleet to 9 aircraft before the end of the year. Aviation roundtable blog congratulates dana air on this latest acquisition. As we look forward to seeing the airlin

Kuwait Airways announced the signing of two strategic partnership agreements by the Kuwait Airways delegation that recently visited Istanbul. This was accomplished due to the significant results of systematic research and the agreement allows the passenger to make reservations via Kuwait Airways and travel on Turkish Airlines flights and vice-versa. In a statement to mark the occasion, Mr. Yousef Al- Jassem, Kuwait Airways Chairman, signed an agreement with Turkish Airlines that includes the operation of codeshare flights between Istanbul and Kuwait International Airport. Kuwait Airways has also signed an agreement with IGA, the company responsible for the operation and supervision of Istanbul Airport. The terms of the agreement include cooperation between both companies in several areas including developing airport services such as counter facilities, First Class lounges, gates and exchange of expertise. ​ Passengers can now book flights on Turkish Airlines to Kuwait Interna

Air Canada announced the introduction of new, year-round services between Toronto and Brussels starting May 1, 2020. The new route will commence with five weekly non-stop flights and will be operated with Air Canada’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, featuring Signature Class, Premium Economy and Economy services. In a statement to mark the occasion, Mr Mark Galardo, Vice President of Network Planning at Air Canada. “We are pleased to launch new non-stop, year-round flights from Toronto to Brussels, complementing our successful Montreal-Brussels service now celebrating its tenth anniversary. This is a further expansion of Air Canada’s reach to Europe and beyond. This new service will conveniently connect our extensive North American network through our Toronto Pearson global hub directly to Brussels, where our Star Alliance partner Brussels Airlines offers far-reaching connections throughout Europe and Africa,” Air Canada, a founding member of the Star Alliance currently flies to over 2

Qatar Airways announced the launch of its new service to Luanda, Angola, starting March 2020. The service, which operates up to five-times weekly to the capital and largest city of Angola will be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring 22 seats in Business Class and 232 seats in Economy Class, and is the award-winning airline’s first gateway to the African nation. In a statement to Mark the occasion, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are excited to be announcing our new service to Luanda – the latest destination in our rapidly expanding African network connecting Luanda to key markets in the Far East, South East Asia and Europe. The new route to the coastal city of Luanda not only further solidifies the links between the State of Qatar and Angola, but will enable us to provide a seamless journey to and from this fascinating country and one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Qatar Airways is committed to growing our presence i

Egypt Air is set to receive the delivery of its first A220-300 aircraft.This is the first of 12 aircrafts from the A220 family to be delivered to EgyptAir. Egypt Air signed a contract with Canadian company Bombardier Inc. to buy 12 Bombardier CSeries (renamed A220) aircrafts to be delivered starting this month and ending May 2020. Airbus acquired the A220 single-aisle jet last year from Bombardier Inc. The larger member of the A220 Family – the A220-300 – was specifically designed and built for the 120-160 seat market. It fuses performance and technology, allowing airlines to connect distant points on continents or sectors between which travel was previously unprofitable or impossible. The A220-300’s advanced aerodynamics combined with specifically-designed Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1500G geared turbofan engines make for an aircraft that delivers 20 percent lower fuel burn per seat than the previous generation aircraft. The aircraft also leaves half the noise footprint an

Kuwait Airways, the national carrier of Kuwait, has taken delivery of its first A320neo aircraft.The delivery of the brand new aircraft marks an important step in the airline’s ambitious fleet renewal and growth plans , which will see an additional 15 A320neo aircraft to its fleet in the coming years. The A320neo will at gloss to Kuwait Airways’ single aisle fleet, bringing continuity to the success delivered by its current 7 A320ceos, and ensuring a smooth transition for pilots, crews, and technical teams.                      Furthermore, the A320neo will boost the airline’s profitability with the world’s most advanced and fuel-efficient single-aisle aircraft. Kuwait Airways’ new A320neo is powered by CFM International LEAP-1A engines and is configured in a spacious two-class layout, including 12 business class and 122 economy class seats. The aircraft offers the widest single-aisle cabin in the market with unmatched comfort in all classes. It also provides the latest inflight

Lufthansa recently announced the launch of flights from Munich to Bengaluru India starting Summer 2020. The five weekly flights will be operated by the A350-900 XWB aircraft which is configured in three classes comprising 48 Business Class seats, 21 Premium economy and 224 economy class seats. The Star Alliance member has been building its Munich hub efficiently with most flight launches happening from Frankfurt and when the market builds up, a flight is added from Munich – unless for short haul European destinations. The airline started moving its A380 to Munich last summer with the plans to move more flexible flights. Munich Airport is the second busiest airport in Germany and a second hub for Lufthansa. While the airline started expanding at Munich due to the capacity constraints at Frankfurt, the airport has grown in its own might thanks to the flourishing businesses in Bavaria region – of which Munich is the main city. Bengaluru has shown rapid growth in the last couple of