AVIATION

Emirates to serve St Petersburg

Emirates is to launch flights deeper into Russia by starting services to St Petersburg, which will become the most northerly point on the airline’s network.

The port city, lying on the Baltic coast and sometimes referred to as Russia’s ‘Northern Capital,’ will be served from November 1 with a daily flight from Dubai.

A combination of Airbus A340-300 and A330-200 will be deployed on the route, offering First, Business and Economy Class travel. EK flight 137 will depart Dubai at 1035hrs, arriving in St Petersburg at 1615hrs. The return flight leaves St Petersburg at 1745 and lands in Dubai at 0035hrs the next day. The airline currently operates a double daily flight to Moscow and has been flying to the Russian capital since 2003.

“We see great potential in Russia and the success of our Moscow flights has demonstrated that there is still demand from this market,” said Emirates Airline and Group Chairman and Chief Executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

“We have been considering launching a non-stop service to St Petersburg for some time and we believe that the conditions are now right to do so.

This is a city which attracts many tourists and cruise visitors every year because of its grand architecture, arts and culture and fascinating history,” said Sheikh Ahmed. St Petersburg is estimated to be the third largest city in Europe with a population of around 4.6 million residents. Passenger demand is expected to be mostly tourist driven, but also boosted by the oil and manufacturing sectors and from the city’s significant expatriate community.

The UAE is a major destination for Russian tourists and investors and thousands have made it their home. The new St Petersburg service will further satisfy that demand, while providing better links with key markets across Asia.

As one of the few wide-body operators serving St Petersburg, Emirates SkyCargo will be able to offer increased options to the market.

A diverse range of commodities, such as pharmaceuticals, automotive parts, garments, electronics and flowers will be imported. They will arrive from markets such as Japan, India, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, South Africa, Ethiopia and New Zealand.

Spare parts for power stations, aircraft and ships, along with tobacco products, are expected to move in the other direction - heading to destinations including Japan, India, China, Vietnam and Angola.

Oman Air restarts Zanzibar Flight

Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, re-commenced its services between Muscat and Zanzibar last month. Flights will operate non-stop from Muscat to Zanzibar thrice a week. Zanzibar represents the third destination in Africa and the second in Tanzania.

Oman Air flights will build stronger business ties between the two nations and will increase opportunities for tourists from Europe, the Indian subcontinent and other Oman Air’s stations who wish to explore and enjoy this unique destination.

Once a major dhow building hub of the East African region, Zanzibar is now a bustling fishing centre and much of the area’s rustic charm remains to delight sports and cultural enthusiasts as well as nature and party lovers.

Tourism has long since replaced the ancient art of dhow-building as the town’s major industry, but the essence of olden days and its cultural heritage can still be found.

Singapore Airlines A380 to fly to Los Angeles

Singapore Airlines is the first to put the world’s largest passenger aircraft-the Airbus A380-into service. From July 1, Singapore Airlines will serve Los Angeles daily with the A380, via Tokyo Narita. Los Angeles will be the eighth destination to be served by the Singapore Airlines A380 from Singapore.

SQ12 will depart Singapore Changi Airport at 0925hrs, arriving in Los Angeles at 1330hrs the same day. On the return leg, SQ11 will depart Los Angeles at 1545hrs and will arrive in Singapore at 0305hrs two days later.

To Los Angeles, customers travelling on the A380 will experience unsurpassed standards of luxury and sophistication in air travel. Exclusively available on the Airline’s A380s are the Singapore Airlines Suites, where each Suite is a private cabin in the sky, providing the ultimate in luxury and privacy. Behind discreet sliding doors is a spacious and truly personal area, with lavish furnishings and finishes.

Business Class customers can enjoy a 34-inch wide seat, the widest in its class. Each seat has direct aisle access and can be converted into a comfortable wide bed, by folding down the seat back.

Economy Class customers can also enjoy all-new seats ergonomically designed to maximize knee and legroom, and boasting intelligent features such as non-intrusive reading lights and height-adjustable leather headrests with side panels.

Customers across all three classes can also enjoy the latest movies, TV programmes and a large library of CDs on the newest version of KrisWorld, Singapore Airlines’ award-winning inflight entertainment system. Suites are fitted with 23-inch screens; Business Class seats feature 15.4-inch screens and Economy Class 10.6-inch screens.

To commemorate the daily A380 services to Los Angeles, SQ Colombo Sales Office is pleased to offer the opportunity to enjoy the A380 services at promotional fares for Rs 148,000 on Economy Class and Rs 378,900 on Business Class. These fares include the price of the air ticket on the applicable cabin class, associated taxes and surcharges. The quoted fares are subject to change due to currency fluctuation.

Other terms and conditions apply.

The promotional fares are available for purchase till July 15, for travel out of Colombo from July 1 to August 15.