Airline passengers want visible plastic barriers in the cabin to reinstill confidence in flying during the pandemic, saying they do not all trust industry assurances about high air quality onboard based on a recent survey. Other pandemic-related trends could include more private business class seating on narrowbody planes, adding touchless lavatory features and permanent conversions of passenger planes to freighters, according to a panel at the MRO Asia-Pacific conference held online. Embraer is studying reusable and disposable plastic barriers for its regional jets, but challenges include making sure they are lightweight, not flammable and do not affect aircraft cleaning and evacuation, said Lais Port Antunes, a business development manager in the planemaker's Asia-Pacific division. The Glasssafe design would put a barrier screen between passengers. Having a shield between the seats, the passengers may feel safer, especially during mealtimes when passengers take off masks and ther...

   Qatar Airways is offering 100 days of free on-board Super Wi-Fi connectivity to all passengers, in celebration of the airline equipping more than 100 of its state-of-the-art aircraft with high-speed broadband. Starting from 25th September until January 2, 2021, passengers can stay connected with family, friends, and colleagues free-of-charge using the Wi-Fi connectivity onboard. Qatar Airways now offers the largest number of aircraft equipped with high-speed broadband connectivity in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H E Akbar Al Baker, said: “During these challenging times Qatar Airways continues to lead and innovate, providing our passengers with the five-star experience they have come to expect from the World’s Best Airline. We are delighted to bring high-speed broadband connectivity to all our loyal passengers for the duration of their flights, from departure to arrival. More than 100 Qatar Airways aircraft have been fitted wit...

In a bid to boost travel confidence, Etihad Airways is introducing COVID-19 global wellness insurance cover as part of Etihad Wellness, the airlines new health and hygiene programme.  Guests who are diagnosed with COVID-19 during their trip won’t have to worry about medical expenses or quarantine costs when they fly with Etihad. Duncan Bureau, senior vice president Sales and Distribution, Etihad Airways, said in a statement “The safety, health, and wellbeing of our guests and employees is our top priority, during and beyond the flight. The introduction of global COVID-19 insurance, in partnership with AXA, builds on stringent measures already in place as part of our Etihad Wellness programme, championed by our Wellness Ambassadors.”  All Etihad tickets regardless of date of booking, traveling between now and 31 December 2020 will include COVID-19 insurance. Guests with existing bookings don’t need to do anything – they are automatically enrolled into the programme. The insuran...

Emirates announced it has made about US$1.89 billion in COVID-19-related travel refunds to date, making strong and steady progress on its commitment to customers to complete pending refunds.  More than 1.4 million refunds requests have been completed since March, representing 90 percent of the airline’s backlog. This includes all requests received from customers around the world up until the end of June, save for a few cases which require further manual review. Since the pandemic hit, Emirates has invested additional resources to ramp up its processing capability.  The airline also continues to work with industry partners to facilitate refunds for those who have booked their Emirates flights through travel agents, this includes enabling direct refunds processing via global booking systems (GDS).  In  statement, the President of Emirates, said: “We understand that from our customers’ standpoint, each pending refund request is one too many. We are committed to honourin...

Europe's flight safety agency announced it had scheduled the first flight tests for the Boeing 737 Max, which has been grounded worldwide after two deadly crashes revealed design issues with the jet.EASA is looking forward to return the plane to service as soon as possible, but only once the agency is convinced it is safe. The European Aviation Safety Agency said in a statement that it has been working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, which began its own recertification test flights in June, on scheduling its own tests.In a released statement by the Agency “While Boeing still has some final actions to close off, EASA judges the overall maturity of the re-design process is now sufficient to proceed to flight tests, these are a prerequisite for the European agency to approve the aircraft’s new design.” Airlines began using the Max in 2017. There were nearly 400 in service when the planes were grounded after a 2018 crash in Indonesia and quickly followed by another crash...

Cebu Pacific made improvements in its policies, aiming to give passengers more flexible booking options and peace of mind amid travel concerns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The budget carrier's travel fund service will be valid for two years. This can be used to book flights up to 12 months ahead, for as long as the transaction is made before expiration. Potentially, this means that customers can use their Travel Funds and fly in 2023. The Travel Fund, or a virtual wallet with equivalent to the full cost of the ticket, is an option that passengers can take if the flight was cancelled or if they wish to forego travel plans. Customers can now avail of unlimited rebooking of their flights, without paying any rebooking or change fees. Those who wish to forego travel plans or book new flights can rebook their flights as many times as possible. This will allow customers to better manage their plans, depending on changes in travel restrictions or frequency of flights. Available for travel...

Qatar Airways will seek compensation from four Arab neighbors who have refused to allow it to use their airspace under the terms of a boycott now in place for more than three years. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was competent to hear the dispute, after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt argued that the body’s aviation-only remit left it ineligible to decide on “security” matters. “In line with the ruling of the ICJ and the legal precedent allowing the State of Qatar to continue its case at ICAO against the blockading States, Qatar Airways will pursue its case for appropriate compensation of the financial injuries inflicte as a result of the illegal airspace blockade,” in a statement released by the airline. “The arbitrary and abusive measures that these four States have taken against us have devastated our carefully planned decades-long program for investment and growth in those countries; they have arbit...