Travel/Tourism
5 Ways Families Can Travel Smarter this Mid-term
As schools break for mid-term holidays and a peak travel period kicks off from October 14 onwards, Emirates announces a myriad of ways to ensure a smooth and swift travel experience for families, including new updates to the Emirates app and digital check-in options.
All passengers are advised to arrive at the airport up to 3 hours before their flight and take advantage of Emirates’ multiple smart technologies to ensure seamless travel during the busy period.
- Plan everything on the Emirates App
Passengers are encouraged to download the Emirates app on their mobile phones to get all the flight details at their fingertips. Users can now track their baggage, as well as book and change flights, download a digital boarding pass for most destinations, check what meals will be served onboard, book their chauffeur drive service and even pre-select and plan movies to watch via the ice inflight entertainment- so that no time is wasted in getting the kids comfortable and happy onboard.
- Check-in online, or remotely in Ajman
All passengers can check in online 48 hours before their flight using the online check-in option on the company’s website. In a few clicks, they can select a seat and preferred meal and take advantage of any last-minute upgrade options. At the airport, it’s easy to drop bags at the dedicated baggage drop desks and download a digital boarding pass.
Those starting their journeys from Ajman can also take advantage of a 24‑hour City Check‑in at Ajman Central Bus Terminal. Passengers can check in up to 4 hours before the flight departs, present health documents, check-in baggage and collect boarding passes, buy a bus ticket for AED 20 and head directly to Emirates Terminal 3, with regular bus departures throughout the day from 4 am to 11.30 pm. Upon arrival at the airport, travellers can simply continue through to their flight.
- Sort your luggage out in advance or check in from home
An excellent and complimentary option – especially for families travelling with children – is to drop luggage the night before travel. Passengers departing from Dubai can check-in early and drop off their bags at the airport 24 hours before departure or 12 hours before departure if flying to the US or Tel Aviv, and then arrive at the airport and proceed directly to immigration.
Making travel swift and smooth, Emirates also offers a home check-in service in Dubai and Sharjah, fulfilled by DUBZ. DUBZ agents complete the check-in process in the customer’s home, hotel or office and take the bags to the flight while customers are free to breeze through the airport later. Book and pay for the service at least 24 hours before the flight, and passengers can proceed to the Airport check-in up to six hours before the flight departs. When a person books First Class, the home check-in service is complimentary.
- Self Check-in kiosks at the airport
A quick and easy option once at the airport is the self-check-in kiosks. Travellers can follow the steps on the touchscreen kiosk and complete the check-in process or operate the kiosk without a touch using a mobile phone. It’s possible to view the travel itinerary, choose a preferred seat and add Emirates Skywards numbers, and if you’ve already checked in online, there is also an option to use the baggage drop area to check in bags.
- Get smart with Biometrics
For First and Business Class customers departing Dubai, the Smart Tunnel at Dubai International Airport is a world-first for passport control, whereby passengers simply walk through a tunnel and are cleared by immigration authorities without human intervention or the need for a physical passport stamp. All it takes to register is a quick photo at check-in to capture facial data. Travellers can check in, clear immigration, access the airport lounge in Concourse B, and board flights at selected gates purely by facial recognition or using their boarding pass.
Passengers can also register to use the Smart Gates at Emirates Terminal 3 and speed through Immigration every time they return to Dubai. If a UAE citizen or resident, passengers can use their passport, boarding pass or a valid UAE ID. Smart Gates can also be used by GCC nationals or a visa on arrival visitors with biometric passports.
Travel/Tourism
Air Peace Employees Undergo Training at Boeing Global Learning Institute
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Some employees of Air Peace have upgraded their aviation safety skills at a training course organised by Boeing through the Boeing Global Learning Institute (BGLI) in collaboration with Cranfield University, United Kingdom as part of a shared commitment to shaping the future of aviation leadership.
Over the years, Air Peace has recognized that a deep, unwavering commitment to safety is key to its continued success.
The programme is aimed at building upon that vision, enabling executives to lead with confidence, manage risks effectively, and create high-performing teams that prioritize safety at every level.
In the five-day in-person training, all the executives and others in the various departments of Air Peace were taught advanced safety leadership skills and gained practical tools to implement the new knowledge.
The Head of Aerospace at Cranfield University, Prof Graham Braithwaite, said, “This collaboration ensured that the training directly addresses the challenges Air Peace faces, culminating in real-world capstone projects that would have a lasting impact.”
Reinforcing this position, the Lecturer for Organisational Resilience and Change at Cranfield School of Management, Fabian Steinmann, who was excited at the great progress Air Peace made over the years, said that they are happy to learn and share knowledge and find ways to strengthen the system, making it robust and flexible to adapt to the ever-changing environment.
“Safety is at the heart of everything we do at Cranfield so the privilege we have is that we travelled around the world, picked up the good practices, learned more about the culture and the operation in various countries so we’re here to facilitate that exchange with Nigeria and Air Peace to see how we share some of the good practices and lessons learned from all around the world and translate them into their operation.”
Also, the Senior Organisational Consultant and Programme Manager at Boeing Global Learning Institute, Harry Magui, said, “The Boeing company has long recognised the importance of supporting continuous learning of our aviation partners.
“To that end, the Boeing Global Learning Institute designs and delivers numerous learning programmes to both emerging and established leaders of our partners.
“These efforts aim to develop leadership, business, and technical skills so that our partners can improve their business processes, increase operational efficiency and enable leaders to strengthen their teams to ultimately grow their business.’
Alluding to the great work Air Peace has done in making safety a pre-condition rather than just a priority, Magui said, “We’re here to partner with our great partner, Air Peace who have been phenomenal in advancing the Aviation Industry in Nigeria, so we are here to support them to harness more opportunities in the future with the Advanced Leadership in Safety Excellence Training for all its top leadership within the organization.”
The Safety Manager at Air Peace, Captain Godfrey Ogbogu, said, “This class is quite essential and we’re lucky to have our resource persons impact knowledge on us. It is a well-structured training, especially for Air Peace because of where we are now and where we hope to go in the future.
“The whole essence of this class is to reinforce what we know before and be exposed to other avenues of learning. The aviation industry is ever-changing and dynamic, and Air Peace has to be abreast of such developments.”
Travel/Tourism
Emirates Expects Strong Customer Demand as Half-Year Profit Hits $2.5bn
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In the first six months of the 2024-25 financial year of Emirates Group, a net profit of AED 9.3 billion ($2.5 billion) was recorded, with the pre-tax profit growing to AED 10.4 billion ($ 2.8 billion).
Also, the revenue went up by 5 per cent to AED 70.8 billion ($19.3 billion) from the AED 67.3 billion ($18.3 billion) recorded in the same period of last year, reflecting the consistently strong customer demand across business divisions, and across regions.
“We expect customer demand to remain strong for the rest of 2024-25, and we look forward to increasing our capacity to grow revenues as new aircraft join the Emirates fleet and new facilities come online at dnata. The outlook is positive, but we don’t intend to rest on our laurels.
“We will stay agile in deploying our capacity and resources in a dynamic marketplace,” the chief executive of the organisation, Mr Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, stated.
“The Group has surpassed its record performance of last year to deliver a fantastic result for the first half of 2024-25. This again illustrates the power of our proven business model working in combination with Dubai’s growth trajectory as a city of choice to live, work, visit, connect through, and do business in,” he added.
It was observed that apart from demonstrating strong operating profitability, Emirates maintained a robust EBITDA of AED 20.4 billion ($5.6 billion), slightly lower than AED 20.6 billion ($5.6 billion) last year.
The firm posted a solid cash position of AED 43.7 billion ($11.9 billion) as of September 30, 2024, compared with the AED 47.1 billion ($12.8 billion) achieved on March 31, 2024.
Emirates has been able to tap on its own strong cash reserves to support business needs, including payments for new freighter aircraft orders and other debt payments, also paying AED 2 billion in dividends to its owner, as declared at the end of its 2023-24 financial year.
“The group’s strong profitability enables us to make the investments necessary for our continued success. We’re investing billions of dollars to bring new products and services to the market for our customers; to implement advanced technologies and other innovation projects to drive growth; and to look after our employees who work hard every day to ensure our customers’ safety and satisfaction,” the chief executive stated.
Emirates continued to enhance its network and increase connectivity options through its Dubai hub. During the first half of 2024-25, Emirates increased scheduled flights to 8 cities: Amsterdam, Cebu, Clark, Luanda, Lyon, Madrid, Manila and Singapore.
In May, Emirates restarted daily services to Phnom Penh in Cambodia via Singapore. In June, it launched daily services to Bogotá via Miami, expanding the airline’s South American presence to Colombia. In September, Emirates opened a new route to Madagascar via the Seychelles – taking its passenger and cargo network to 148 airports in 80 countries by September 30.
Expanding connectivity options for customers, during the first six months of 2024-25, Emirates entered into new agreements with 7 codeshare, interline, and intermodal partners: AirPeace, Avianca, BLADE, ITA Airways, Iceland Air, SNCF Railway, and Viva Aerobus.
Travel/Tourism
Ethiopian Airlines Increases Fleet With Airbus A350-1000
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
One of the leading airline operators in Africa, Ethiopia Airlines, has added an Airbus A350-1000 to its fleet of aircraft to enhance its premium service on key destinations, including Washington D.C., London, Paris and Frankfurt.
The addition was received from Airbus in Toulouse, France, and it is the first of its kind to be operated by an African-based operator.
It is the first of the four ordered by the national flag carrier of Ethiopia. The A350-1000 will provide great operational commonality with the A350-900 fleet, ensuring seamless integration with shared pilots and mechanics simplifying training and maintenance processes.
With a total capacity of 395 seats, the A350-1000 will increase Ethiopian Airlines’ passenger capacity and provide an enhanced passenger experience in the largest business class cabin in the airline’s fleet.
Ethiopian Airlines will also introduce Airbus’ new HBCplus satcom connectivity solution, offering seamless, high-speed gate-to-gate connectivity.
The A350 is the world’s most modern and efficient widebody aircraft and the long-range leader in the 300-410 seater category. The A350’s clean sheet design includes state-of-the-art technologies and aerodynamics delivering unmatched standards of efficiency and comfort.
The A350’s unique Airspace cabin is the quietest of any twin-aisle in the sky featuring a 50% noise footprint reduction versus the previous generation aircraft. It offers passengers and crews the latest modern in-flight products for a comfortable flying experience. The aircraft’s new-generation engines and use of lightweight materials make it the most fuel-efficient large widebody aircraft.
As with all Airbus aircraft, the A350 aircraft is already able to operate with up to 50% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Airbus is targeting to have its aircraft up to 100% SAF capable by 2030.
By the end of September 2024, 1,340 A350s had been ordered by 60 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever. Click here for more information on the A350 Family.
To date, Ethiopian Airlines operates a fleet of 21 A350 Family aircraft. A total of 14 additional A350 aircraft are set to join the airline’s fleet in the coming years, including 11 A350-900 and three additional A350-1000.
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