From November 1, 2024, UAE’s national carrier, Etihad Airways, will begin flying an Airbus A380 to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Flight EY31 will leave Abu Dhabi at 02:40 and land in the French capital at 07:30. The return leg – EY32 – will depart from Paris and arrive at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport at 09:45 and 19:25, respectively. All times mentioned are local.

This daily service between Abu Dhabi and Paris means the French city will become the third metropolis to receive the mammoth double-decker, after London (UK) and New York (USA).

Flights featuring Etihad’s A380 to John F. Kennedy Airport began a few days ago. The one set to ferry passengers to and fro from Paris will have the same configuration as the one on the Abu Dhabi-New York route. That means 68 Economy seats with extra legroom, 337 Economy Smart seats, 70 Business Studios, nine First Apartments, and a three-room suite called The Residence. The aircraft will also boast a lounge and a lobby area, bifurcating the Business Studios section and the First Apartments.

To boost its capacity for the US market, Etihad Airways has added its flagship Airbus A380 to the New York route. The flight – EY1 – flew from Abu Dhabi and landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on April 22, 2024. The aircraft features a four-class layout: Economy, Business, First and The Residence.

The A380 boasts 68 seats with extra legroom in Economy and 337 in Economy Smart, featuring fixed-wing headrests and large pillows. On the upper floor of the double-decker, there are 70 Business-class private spaces, a service lounge, a bar, and nine First Apartments with 80-inch lie-flat beds and access to the shower room. The pièce de résistance is, of course, The Residence. It features a private living room, a bedroom, an ensuite bathroom with a shower, and a dedicated crew.

Etihad will operate the A380 on the Abu Dhabi-New York route every day, making it the second daily nonstop service between the two cities. The other is operated by a Boeing 787-9 with a three-class configuration: First, Business and Economy.

Also Read: Etihad Announces Flights To Al Qassim

For the first time, Air India and All Nippon Airways (ANA) have decided to enter a codeshare partnership. To be effective May 23, 2024, it will allow passengers aboard both airlines to travel between India and Japan on a single ticket. The tickets, however, are already on sale. The Indian carrier will add the designator code ‘AI’ on ANA flights between Tokyo Haneda and Delhi and Tokyo Narita and Mumbai. Similarly, ANA will add its ‘NH’ code on Air India flights between Tokyo Narita and Delhi.

Besides the added convenience of utilising the network of both airlines on a single ticket, passengers will also benefit from other services, such as lounge access and priority boarding. The carriers have also confirmed that they will continue to explore expansion opportunities for codeshare.

South Korea’s flag carrier, Korean Air, and Canada’s second-largest airline, WestJet, have announced an expansion of their codeshare agreement. On May 17, 2024, the latter will launch a new route between its hub in Calgary, Canada, and Seoul Incheon. Korean Air will begin selling tickets for this service, which will operate three times weekly using Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

WestJet will also benefit from this new agreement. It will get access to flights operated by Korean Air to six new destinations – Bangkok (Thailand), Da Nang (Vietnam), Hanoi (Vietnam), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), Hong Kong and Singapore. These connections will be available for WestJet customers via Seoul Incheon, Korean Air’s hub.

The duo first inked a codeshare agreement in 2012. Since then, the carriers have expanded partnerships, covering Korean Air’s flights from Seoul Incheon to Vancouver and Toronto, WestJet’s services within Canada and flights to/from the USA via Vancouver and Toronto. With the Calgary-Seoul connection, the codeshare partnership will increase to 36 routes.

Also Read: Korean Air Announces Charter Services To Taichung

NOTE: Image sourced from Boeing Mediaroom.

For the summer season 2024, Latvian carrier airBaltic has confirmed additional pop-up flights. For the record, pop-up flights operate during a particular period to cater to an increased demand. The new pop-up services include a domestic flight between Riga and Liepaja and a link between Tallinn, Estonia and Palma de Mallorca, Spain, towards the end of summer.

The Riga-Liepaja flight will operate twice a week between July 11 and July 22 and August 1 and August 5. One-way ticket prices are EUR 39 for Economy Classic and EUR 99 for Business Class. The service between Tallinn and Palma de Mallorca will operate once a week, on Mondays. On this route, the one-way ticket prices start at EUR 99.

Before these two pop-up services, airBaltic had announced similar operations from Riga to Ostrava, Czechia. Flights on this route will operate on May 11, 13, 17, 20 and 22. Latvia’s men’s hockey team will be in action on these dates at the IIHF 2024 Ice Hockey World Championship.

Like all other airBaltic flights, the pop-up services will also be provided on an Airbus A220-300.

Also Read: airBaltic Announces Three New Routes For Winter Season

After a four-year hiatus, the UK’s flag carrier, British Airways, has returned to the capital of the UAE. On April 21, 2024, the flight BA073 touched down at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi. This service, provided on a Boeing 787-9, will now be a year-round operation. The resumption of this route for the airline means it can cater to more passengers in the Middle East.

The outbound flight – BA073 – will leave London Heathrow at 22:25 and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 08:30 the next day. After a short stop, the return will depart Zayed International Airport at 10:10 and land in London at 15:30. All times mentioned are local and for the summer season. The arrival and departure times from Abu Dhabi will move 1 hour forward during the winter season.

In January 2024, Air India’s newest family member, the brand-new Airbus A350-900 sporting the carrier’s new livery, entered commercial service. Due to some boring and tedious reasons, the widebody jet was deployed for domestic duties. It served passengers travelling to or fro from Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Come May 1, 2024, the long-haulier twin-engined aircraft will finally add an international destination to its portfolio. Air India has confirmed that in about two weeks from now, the A350-900 will serve travellers on the busy Delhi-Dubai route. The outbound flight – AI995 – will depart the Indian capital at 20:45hrs and arrive in Dubai at 22:45hrs. The return leg – AI996 – will leave Dubai at 00:15hrs the next day and land in Delhi at 04:55hrs. All times mentioned are local. Presently, Air India operates 72 flights a week to Dubai from five Indian cities. Of them, 32 originate from Delhi.

The Air India A350-900 aircraft boasts a three-class seating layout comprising 28 private suites with full-flat beds, 24 seats in Premium Economy, and 264 seats in Economy. Every seat comes with its own Panasonic eX3 in-flight HD entertainment system, which has over 2,200 hours of content from across the globe.

Serbia’s flag carrier, Air Serbia, has strengthened its fleet with another ATR aircraft. The eighth ATR to wear the airline’s livery is a 9-year-old 72-600 turboprop bearing the registration number YU-ASF. The plane landed at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport after completing the necessary procedures, which have been undergoing since March 10, 2024.

Air Serbia started adding ATR aircraft to its fleet in 2022. In that year alone, the airline took delivery of four 72-600s. Another three of the same type were added in 2023. All ATRs in the carrier’s fleet presently boast 70 to 72 “Geven Prestige” and “Acro” seats. These aeroplanes are powered by two PW127M turboprop engines, delivering a maximum cruising speed of 500kmph. The travel range at full capacity is about 1,500km.