Aviation

Emirates adds more toys

Emirates' family of colourful 'Fly With Me' monster collectable toys for children just got bigger with the introduction of four new original characters named by Emirates' global community.

The new monster-themed toys aimed at pre-school children, truly embody the spirit of young globalistas with quirky names from across the globe.

The playful monsters - Worzel, Mundy, Grumpel and Furgus, each have their own personality traits and hobbies, join four existing characters in the collection are ideal travel companions to fuel a child's imagination. Connecting with an audience across diverse platforms from social media, Emirates' Skywards Skysurfers programme and other online channels, the distinct names resonate with a unique international flavour. Green monster Worzel has been named by Emirates' Facebook community of over one million fans, lovable Mundy and Grumpel are winning names selected from online communities in Brazil and Germany respectively and the distinctive one-eyed red monster Furgus has been named by Emirates' Skywards Skysurfer members.

"The positive feedback we received when we first launched the monster characters was extremely encouraging and we were challenged with raising the bar even higher the second time around," said Terry Daly, Divisional Senior Vice President, Service Delivery - Emirates. "Now, not only is the input of our customers vital to the design of the new characters, but our frequent young travellers can also look forward to building their own collection of toys. For families, a great on-board children's product helps deliver a great flight, and underpins our commitment to providing a stress-free travel experience."

The new monster toys would come in two categories; with an initial introduction of the Blanket Buddies - plush characters wrapped around soft polar fleece blankets, which will be followed by the same characters as Seat Belt Critters - little toys worn around a seat belt to encourage safety.

All Emirates flights will offer a selection of the monster toys for pre-schoolers and older children can enjoy the Quiksilver collection of travel-inspired products co-designed with iconic lifestyle brand Quiksilver, on long-haul flights over five hours.

Young travellers can also enjoy the existing range of children's products, including the E-kids magazine, colour pencils, branded Emirates rucksacks and cooler bags, children's eyeshades and the popular Dr. Seuss books.

The new toy collections combined with an updated in-flight entertainment system ice and a dedicated children's on-board menu with its own colourful livery, underpins Emirates' commitment to providing families with a hassle-free, relaxing journey.

Oman Air and Qatar agree Muscat-Doha Codeshare

Oman Air and Qatar Airways have announced a codeshare agreement, allowing Oman Air's customers to book flights from any of the 42 departure points within its network to Doha, the capital of Qatar.

Wayne Pearce, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Air

Akbar Al Baker, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer

The codeshare agreement is effective immediately and customers could now book flights through local outlets or by visiting www.omanair.com.

Announcing the codeshare, Wayne Pearce, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Air, said: "We are delighted to be joining with Qatar Airways to offer even greater choice, value and convenience for our customers. This codeshare would make travel within the Gulf region easier, effectively extending Oman Air's network.

"Both Oman Air and Qatar Airways offer customers extremely high standards of comfort and service, so I am pleased that we are now offering this great opportunity and am sure that it would prove to be an outstanding success."

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: "Qatar Airways is pleased to partner with Oman Air to provide passengers with extensive choice and flexibility when planning their travel schedules. "Qatar Airways is focused on delivering its signature five-star service to its passengers, as well as an extensive network of destinations to choose from, which is further enhanced with this new partnership," said Al Baker.

Throughout 2012, Oman Air, the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, has continued to expand its fleet and network and it now flies to 42 destinations across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa.

Announcements about new destinations and aircraft, in addition to the previously-announced order for six Boing B787 Dreamliners, would be made over the coming months.

The airline's rise as a luxury international carrier has seen the unveiling of spacious First Class, Business Class and Economy Class cabins, the introduction of the world's first complete inflight connectivity service - which enables passengers to use their mobile phones, check emails and surf the internet - and the opening of stunning new First Class, Business Class and Majan airport lounges at Muscat.

International acclaim has followed, with Oman Air winning an average of one award per month for the last three years, including World's Best Business Class Airline Seat for two years running at Skytrax's World Airline Awards, where, in 2012, Oman Air was also awarded top-ten positions within a further eight categories.

In addition, Oman Air has this year seen major increases in both revenue and the number of passengers carried in each of the markets it serves, including the GCC region.

Oman Air embodies the Sultanate's authentic Arabian hospitality, drawing visitors from around the world to experience Oman's rich culture, dramatically beautiful landscapes and pristine coastline. To find out more, please visit www.omanair.com.

Since the beginning of 2012, Qatar Airways has launched flights to 11 new destinations - Baku (Azerbaijan); Tbilisi (Georgia); Kigali (Rwanda); Zagreb (Croatia), Erbil (Iraq), Baghdad (Iraq), Perth (Australia), Kilimanjaro (Tanzania); Yangon (Myanmar), Maputo (Mozambique) and Belgrade (Serbia).

Over the next few weeks, Qatar Airways will launch services to a diverse portfolio of new routes, including Gassim, Saudi Arabia (7 January 2013); Najaf, Iraq (January 23); Phnom Penh, Cambodia (February 20); Chicago, USA (April 10) and Salalah, Oman (May 22).

Qatar Airways currently has orders worth over US$50 billion for more than 250 aircraft, including Boeing 787s, 777s, Airbus A350s, A380s and A320 Family of aircraft.

In addition to winning Skytrax's prestigious Airline of the Year 2011 and 2012, Qatar Airways was named Best Airline in the Middle East for the seventh year in a row, and its Premium Terminal at Doha International Airport was named Best Premium Service Airport for the second consecutive year in 2012.

Skytrax is the only global independent passenger survey monitoring airline standards and is considered the ultimate benchmark for excellence in the airline industry.

SilkAir increasing frequency for northern summer 2013 schedule

SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, will increase services across parts of its route network during the Northern Summer 2013 period (31 March 2013 - 26 October 2013) to meet the growing passenger demand.

Most notably, a fifth daily service would be introduced for both Phuket in Thailand and Penang in Malaysia respectively, up from the current four flights a day. Frequency would also be adjusted on selected services between Singapore and points in China, India, Indonesia, Indochina, Malaysia and Thailand. In China, flights to Wuhan will be increased to daily, from the current four times a week. Services between Singapore and Chengdu would also be increased from daily to 9 times weekly. In India, Coimbatore services would be increased to four times weekly, from the current three times. In Indonesia, flights between Singapore and Manado would operate five times a week, up from the current four times. Meanwhile, flights to Bandung would be reduced from daily to five times weekly. In Indochina, frequency would also be increased for flights to Danang (from five to six times weekly), Sie m Reap (from nine to 10 times weekly) and Yangon (from nine to 11 times weekly). Frequency increases would also be implemented for services to Langkawi, Malaysia and Chiang Mai, Thailand, both up from four to five times weekly.

A full-service airline, SilkAir currently flies to 42 destinations across 12 countries and is the regional wing of Singapore Airlines. Earlier this year, SilkAir was awarded the Changi Airline Awards 2012 by Changi Airport Group for being among the Top 10 Airlines by

Passenger Carriage (3rd ranking). In 2011, the airline was awarded Best Regional Airline 2011 by CAPA - the Centre for Aviation. SilkAir was also ranked 2nd in the Best Regional Airline (Asia) category in the 2011 Skytrax World Airline Awards. In 2010, the airline was inducted into TTG Asia's Travel Hall of Fame following its 10th win as Best Regional Airline in the TTG Travel Awards 2009. SilkAir was also ranked among the Top 10 Airlines for Best Cabin Service Worldwide 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009 by Hong.