Civil Aviation

Farnborough,22 July 2024: On the first morning of the Farnborough International Airshow 2024, Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, unveiled the new, ultra-modern ‘Qsuite Next Gen’. This latest iteration of the award-winning Qatar Airways Qsuite brings the World’s Best Business Class in commercial aviation to new heights. The reveal was held in the presence of His Excellency Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed Al Sulaiti, the Qatari Minister of Transport; and Mr. Mohamed Faleh Alhajri, Acting President of Qatar Civil Aviation Authority. In the Qatar Airways Discover Lounge at the Farnborough International Airshow, Engr. Al-Meer introduced the Qsuite Next Gen with Sama – the World’s First AI Digital Human cabin crew. Sama built up the audience’s excitement through an interactive conversation on how the World’s Best Airline has once again redefined luxury and innovation, elevating the industry’s benchmark in business class experiences. During the reveal, Engr. Al-Meer highlighted the Qsuite Next Gen’s new and enhanced features, including fully customisable Quad Suites; Companion Suites in window aisles; 4K OLED manoeuvrable in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens; along with increased space and privacy in each suite. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said: “We are excited to have finally revealed the long-awaited Qsuite Next Gen at the Farnborough International Airshow. Qatar Airways has once again raised the bar for its award-winning product, the Qsuite. We look forward to welcoming media and partners to our stand throughout the week to experience the future of business class travel with the World’s Best Business Class onboard the World’s Best Airline.” Qsuite Next Gen The game-changing Qsuite Next Gen aims to facilitate a mindful work-life balance with its revolutionary attributes for all professionals, friends, and families. The redesigned Quad Suite is now equipped with movable 4K OLED Panasonic Astrova IFE screens – a first for any airline in the world. The screens can be repositioned to the side to create the largest social and productivity space in the sky for up to four passengers in the Quad Suite, and up to two passengers in the Companion Suite. Rest and relaxation on-board the Quad Suite has also been enhanced with increased space for dining together – a hallmark of Qatari heritage, as well added privacy with taller, digitally controlled dividers. With larger lie-flat and double beds, the new Quad Suite will also offer the 5-star Qatar Airways turn-down service with a dedicated ‘Make My Bed’ feature. The new Companion Suite has similar characteristics to the Quad Suite, now with the noteworthy revamp of offering the same shared space in window aisles. Adopting new technologies for increased passenger convenience and connectivity, the Qsuite Next Gen delivers a vast array of customisation options, ranging from ambient lighting to privacy controls, through its upgraded touchscreen Passenger Control Units. The Qsuite Next Gen will be featured on-board the Qatar Airways Boeing B777-9 aircraft by 2025.

National, 11 July 2024: Akasa Air commenced operations in Abu Dhabi connecting it to Mumbai with daily direct flights. The inaugural flight on 11th July 2024 departed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai at 1705hrs IST and is scheduled to arrive at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi at 1850hrs AST. Commenting on the destination launch, Neelu Khatri, Co-Founder and SVP International, Akasa Air, said: “We are pleased to commence operations from Abu Dhabi, the fourth international destination on our rapidly growing global network. The launch of daily direct flights connecting two prominent cities- Mumbai and Abu Dhabi, will provide affordable and convenient options for air travel on the route, and strengthen the air travel links between India and the UAE.” Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air further shared, “We are delighted to solidify our presence in the Middle East region with the launch of direct flights connecting Mumbai with Abu Dhabi. Home to a strong Indian diaspora and known for its unique tourist experiences, the city has become a popular destination amongst tourists. Moreover, its burgeoning trade prospects have consistently attracted business travellers from across the globe. This strategic expansion will enable us to cater to the ever-growing demand for air travel between India and UAE with reliable operations and affordable fares.” Belson Coutinho, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing and Experience Officer, Akasa Air added: “We are excited to bring the Akasa experience to Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE. At Akasa Air, service excellence is at the heart of everything we do, and we strive to make every flight a memorable experience for our passengers. Travellers on the route can look forward to a warm flying experience with unique culinary offerings through our onboard meal service Café Akasa, backed by the signature service delivered by our crew members on board and on ground. Travellers also have the option to choose from a variety of customizable and all-inclusive holiday packages at affordable prices with Akasa Holidays.” “We take pride in having redefined air travel in India within a short time, and as we spread our wings, we are confident that Akasa Air will become synonymous with service excellence across the globe”- he added.

Atlanta, United States, July 9, 2024: Delta Air Lines and Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia’s new full-service carrier, have signed a Strategic Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding with the goal of introducing a broad range of benefits for customers traveling between North America, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and destinations beyond. The agreement, signed at a ceremony at Delta’s World Headquarters in Atlanta, serves as the foundation for a strategic partnership that will enable both airlines to strengthen connectivity, expand their networks and drive future growth. “This partnership with Riyadh Air will further Delta’s mission of connecting the world and open an array of new choices, benefits and destinations for our customers traveling to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “Most importantly, Riyadh Air shares Delta’s commitment to providing an elevated customer experience, which is why we’re looking forward to building and expanding this partnership in the months and years ahead. We appreciate the opportunity to work with the Riyadh Air team and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia as they transform the transportation economy in the Kingdom.” “We look forward to enjoying a very warm and productive relationship with Delta Air Lines, one of the largest and most successful airlines in the world. Riyadh Air and Delta Air Lines share common goals and pursue the highest standards in many areas including guest experience, loyalty, and sustainability, built upon great networks and strong connectivity,” said Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas. The agreement envisions a long-term relationship, subject to regulatory approvals, that includes interline and codeshare connectivity, as well as a deeper partnership encompassing loyalty, customer experience, digital transformation and broader aviation services such as maintenance, repair and overhaul services, ground handling and training. In the future, the airlines intend to explore an immunized joint venture to further expand the partnership and allow collaboration on network planning and growth in the region. Both airlines are committed to driving the best sustainability practices throughout their operations as they transform the future of travel. The partnership will open new destinations in Saudi Arabia and beyond for Delta customers, including future nonstop service on Delta between the U.S. and King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. It will provide leisure travelers with a new region of the world to explore while creating new opportunities for business travelers to Riyadh, a G20 capital city, plus destinations beyond. And it will offer Delta’s leading North American network for Riyadh Air customers, offering convenient access to hundreds of destinations in the U.S. and beyond with Delta’s famous reliability and elevated service. The new partnership comes as large-scale, ongoing investments in the Kingdom are transforming it into a popular and attractive destination for both leisure and business travelers. Travel is central to the nation’s long-term economic growth plan, with an $800 billion investment in the tourism sector that includes development of luxury resorts on the Red Sea, the opening of the Diriyah and al-Ula historical site to visitors, and the hosting of the 2030 Riyadh Expo. Riyadh Air, which will begin operations in 2025, is committed to building a premier carrier for customers traveling to and from the Middle East, with its base of operations in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Delta, which will mark its 100th anniversary next year, is the most-awarded U.S. airline with an industry-leading global network and an unrivaled reputation for outstanding customer service and operational excellence. “It’s fitting that Riyadh Air will begin its journey the same year that Delta launches our second century of flight,” Bastian said. “We’ll have many opportunities to learn from each other and become better airlines for our mutual customers, our employees, our investors and our communities as we fly forward together.”

Delhi,8th July 2024: Tata Group airlines have concluded the harmonisation of the operating procedures across its key functions, including harmonisation of the supporting manuals across all four carriers, reaching an important milestone in the merger of four airlines into two. Over the last 18 months, a team of more than 100 members have worked to align on the bestpractices and adopting common operating procedures. The result of this will be two separate manuals for the full-service carrier and the low-cost carrier. “This is an important milestone in the merger of the Tata Group airlines and we are grateful for the support received from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in terms of timely clearances for the merger process.We are also grateful to DGCA for their continuous guidance, systematic review and approval of the harmonized operating manuals. DGCA has guided our teams with a safety-first change management approach which is congruent with the safety-first priorities of the TATA Group. The live tracker created by the Flight Standards Directorate of DGCA with a dedicated team for continuous monitoring of the progress of the harmonisation process has been instrumental in achieving the challenging task in a time bound manner,” said Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Air India. Air India and group companies are initiating the necessary crew training to action the harmonized processes, which will be another step in the direction towards building the new Air India and Air India Express.

Singapore,5th July 2024: Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines (SIA) has received the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore’s (CCCS) approval of their commercial joint venture agreement.With this approval, the airlines will be able to deepen their strategic partnership on a wider range of commercial activities that will bring greater benefits to both airlines, as well as Indonesia and Singapore. These potentially include operating joint revenue sharing flights between the two countries, coordinating flight schedules to offer travellers more options and seamless connectivity between Singapore and Indonesia and beyond, and exploring joint sales and marketing initiatives that provide greater value to both airlines’ customers. Since Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines signed an agreement to deepen their partnership in May 2023, the carriers have been working on initiatives including giving GarudaMiles and KrisFlyer members the option to earn and redeem miles on codeshare routes. They have also embarked on joint marketing initiatives to promote tourism activities. The airlines today codeshare on a wide range of flights, including between Singapore and Indonesian cities of Bali, Jakarta, Medan, and Surabaya, as well as on long-haul routes between Singapore and Johannesburg, London (Heathrow), and Mumbai. Irfan Setiaputra, President and Chief Executive Officer, Garuda Indonesia, said: “We are very pleased to receive this approval, as it marks significant progress towards our commitment to enhance service quality as well as broaden both Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines’ networks through a deepening partnership. The joint venture initiative that we are preparing today has been one of the strategies to ensure extensive value creation for our loyal customers. Having regulatory approval as the first step in a commercial agreement will provide more opportunity for developing well-executed strategic ideas. “Moreover, we hope that this joint venture agreement can provide seamless services for passengers with more flight schedule options and ease in earning and redeeming mileage. Also, this collaboration may deliver concrete action to contribute to boosting Indonesian tourism activities, which will support the post-pandemic economic recovery progress,” Mr Irfanexplained. Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, said: “The robust strategic partnership between Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines has enabled us to broaden our codeshare services over the last few years, offering our customers more choices on flights. With the CCCS’s approval, we are poised to deepen our collaboration across a wider scope of commercial activities.Along with the ongoing work to strengthen the links between our frequent flyer membership programmes, this will provide our customers with even more options and enhanced value. This partnership underscores both airlines’ commitment to improving connectivity between Indonesia and Singapore and beyond, boosting both business and leisure travel, and contributing to economic growth.”

New Delhi, 3rd July 2024: Oman’s low-cost carrier, SalamAir has announced the launch of its newest route, connecting Muscat to the vibrant capital city of India, New Delhi. Starting from 2nd July, SalamAir will operate twice-weekly flights to Delhi, with services on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This milestone signifies a new chapter in SalamAir’s commitment to providing exceptional service, unparalleled comfort, and seamless connectivity to passengers traveling between Oman and India and beyond. The introduction of flights to Delhi represents a significant step forward for SalamAir as they continue to expand their network to meet the growing demand for affordable and convenient travel options. This new route will strengthen connections between Oman and India, benefiting the expat community, leisure travelers, and business professionals alike.

CHICAGO, July 4th, 2024: United now texts customers links to local, live radar maps during weather delays, as part of its industry-leading effort to give travellers as much real-time information as possible about their trip, especially if things don’t go as planned. For the past few years, the airline has used dedicated teams to write and send text messages to customers that give near-instantaneous details about a given flight – everything from gate changes and boarding times to more specifics regarding aircraft swaps, crew rescheduling and weather events – and the teams now use generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) tools to assist in giving more travellers real-time updates during flight delays. United’s latest innovation – real-time radar maps – can help customers understand how inclement weather in one part of the country can impact a flight elsewhere. United is the first and only U.S. airline currently providing its customers these kinds of specific messages, and the airline is sending them with assistance from gen AI tools. “With more people travelling this summer than ever, we wanted to give our customers an easier way to stay connected to real-time information about their flight and texting was the simplest solution,” said Jason Birnbaum, United’s Chief Information Officer. “We know customers appreciate transparency and by combining innovative technology-enabled tools with people power, we can give more people, even more in-the-moment details about their flight.” The release of these new innovations comes as United expects its busiest Fourth of July weekend on record with more than five million passengers flying between June 28 and July 8, up more than 7% compared to last year. Here’s how it works: • Specialised customer service teams sit in the network operations centre alongside the flight operations teams and tap gen AI to review flight data and write customer messages that tells the complete story of a flight change. These messages are sent to customers through text or email in an effort to provide more helpful and relevant information about why flight plans are changing. • During weather events, messages will include links to local, live radar maps showing weather details across flight paths. This helps customers stay informed on weather-related delays, including showing how weather in one part of the country can impact a flight elsewhere. Plus, customers on all flights can access links to weather maps in the United app under flight status updates, and United displays radar maps in the gate area when a flight has been delayed due to weather. Leading with Customer Transparency For years, United has led the airline industry on implementing new technologies and policies across its operation to increase customer transparency, including: • Automatic rebooking assistance: Instead of waiting in line to talk to an agent or search for new options, United’s self-service tools automatically present travellers personalised re-booking options, bag tracking information and meal and hotel vouchers when eligible if their flight is delayed or cancelled. • Real-time flight updates: United is the first and only U.S. airline to give customers real-time access to their boarding pass, gate and seat number, and countdown clock to departure time directly on their phone screens, all without opening the United app. • Free family seating: United is the first and only airline to offer a dynamic seat map feature that makes it easier to seat children under 12-years-old next to an adult in their party for free – even travellers in Basic Economy. • No change fees: In August 2020, United got rid of change fees, offering more flexibility for travel plans, and started complimentary standby travel, becoming the only U.S. airline that lets all customers in all classes of service fly same-day standby for free.

National, 27 June 2024: Akasa Air has expanded its global presence by adding Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, as the fourth international destination to its growing network. Starting 11th July 2024, Akasa Air will operate daily direct flights connecting Abu Dhabi with Mumbai, catering to the growing travel demand between India and the UAE, and further strengthening the air travel link between India and the Middle East. Commenting on the announcement, Neelu Khatri, Co-Founder and SVP International, Akasa Air, said “We are pleased to add Abu Dhabi as the fourth international destination to our network. With its distinct tourist attractions and promising trade prospects, Abu Dhabi has emerged as a destination of choice for Indian leisure and business travellers, and the demand for air travel between the two countries continues to flourish. The Abu Dhabi Government’s visionary roadmap under Tourism Strategy 2030 will further encourage tourism between India and UAE in the coming years.” Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer further shared, “We are delighted to expand our global footprint with the addition of Abu Dhabi to our network. Abu Dhabi is known for its one-of-a-kind travel experiences while being one of the fastest-growing markets for business. Our strategically designed network connecting Abu Dhabi with Mumbai with daily direct flights will cater to a wide range of Indian travellers, and enhanced connectivity between India and Abu Dhabi will also drive inbound leisure and business travel to the country. As we rapidly expand our footprint, we remain committed to our purpose of connecting people, places and cultures with reliable operations and affordable fares.” Belson Coutinho, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing and Experience Officer, Akasa Air added “We are excited to extend the signature Akasa Experience to Abu Dhabi, our fourth international destination, known for its larger-than-life hospitality and immersive travel experiences. At Akasa Air, we have progressively introduced multiple customer-friendly offerings to ensure an inclusive, warm, and efficient flying experience. Travellers on the route can look forward to a unique culinary experience with our onboard meal service Café Akasa and a fresh in-cabin experience that offers enhanced comfort and ample legroom, backed by the signature service delivered by our crew on board and on the ground”. “Additionally, offerings like USB ports on most of our aircraft, Skyscore by Akasa and QuietFlights will further elevate the inflight experience of our passengers. Moreover, travelers can choose to plan their travel with Akasa Holidays which offers customisable and all-inclusive holiday packages at affordable prices. Our customers are at the heart of everything we do at Akasa Air, and all our service offerings are aligned to our philosophy of service excellence. We hope that passengers will appreciate the Akasa experience and we will emerge as the preferred carrier on the route.” Coutinho added.

SINGAPORE, 27 June 2024: Philippine Airlines (PAL), has appointed Singapore telco and MSSP ViewQwest, to upgrade its network and security infrastructure as it forges ahead with its digital innovation and transformation roadmap The landmark project will implement next-generation network and security technologies across Philippine-based sites and branches. It will also leverage a managed service framework to ensure optimum service levels vital to the seamless operation of the country’s largest international airline. The strategic enhancements will improve network performance and business resilience, forming a robust foundation for the airline’s digital transformation and continued innovation. The partnership was sealed at an executive briefing and project team assembly hosted at The Sheraton Manila. Senior technical and business leaders from PAL and ViewQwest, together with key stakeholders and project heads, gathered for the occasion. The partnership was formalized by Philippine Airlines’ Chief Information Officer, Aurea Patria Vidal, and Vice President of IT Operations, Angelique Tinsay, together with ViewQwest’s Chief Executive Officer, Vignesa Moorthy, and Chief Operating Officer, Jurist Francisco. PAL is poised to reap extensive advantages from the upgraded network and security infrastructure. The consolidated network and security operations will offer enhanced visibility, control, and security of the network. This will enable PAL’s IT teams to focus on core business operations and high-value strategic initiatives, while being assured of consistent threat protection. PAL projects that the integrated and simplified architecture, managed in partnership with ViewQwest, will deliver tangible cost advantages across its IT and network operations. By leveraging industry-leading managed services, it foresees benefits from aggregated cost savings, minimal downtime with carrier redundancy, and expedited issue resolution. Commenting on the partnership, ViewQwest CEO Vignesa Moorthy said, “We take great pride in supporting Philippine Airlines in their network and security transformation journey. We applaud their strategic foresight to construct a network that prioritizes security from the ground up as well as embracing managed services, freeing their teams to concentrate on driving business growth rather than managing infrastructure. This strategic multi-year partnership cements ViewQwest’s presence in the Philippines, and demonstrates our commitment to empower leading Philippine companies.” PAL’s Chief Information Officer Aurea Vidal adds, “Whenever possible, we will seek a tailored approach for PAL’s IT needs, so we are pleased to partner with ViewQwest whose proven track record of custom solutions perfectly align with our strategic principles. By embracing a cloud-based infrastructure that is secure by design, we can amplify collaboration, enable business agility, and ensure business continuity.” In the project assembly, the combined ViewQwest and Philippine Airlines teams affirmed their shared commitment to excellence and the success of this landmark project, marking PAL’s continued innovation leadership in the industry.