Jordan lifts tourist visa restrictions for Indian nationals

Jordan has said that visa restrictions on individual Indian nationals visiting the kingdom as tourists have been lifted. The decision came as moves to promote tourism to the country and to support economic growth, the Jordan Tourism Board said. The decision is in line with a series of efforts to stimulate and boost the tourism sector in light of the current global economic crisis. Such efforts include the reduction of the sales tax on hotel rooms and plans to reduce electricity tariffs on hotels.

Qatar Airways starts flying to Goa

Qatar Airways has launched new non-stop service to Goa, which is now the carrier's 10th Indian destination. The new route will be serviced by a two-class Airbus A320 with 12 seats in business and 132 seats in economy. The Goa flights will leave Doha at 9.25pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Emirates starts flying to Luanda, Angola

Emirates Airline has launched new non-stop service to the capital of oil-rich Angola. The new service to Luanda will leave on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday using an Airbus A330-200. This new route marks the 18th destination in Africa for Emirates.

Etihad Airways to start flights to Tokyo & Nagoya

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways is set to open its first Japanese services early next year, with connections to Tokyo and Nagoya. The carrier will operate a four flights a week service to Nagoya, via Beijing, from Monday February 1, increasing to five flights a week from March 27. A five flights a week direct service to Tokyo's Narita airport is also scheduled for launch on March 27.

Oman Air starts flying to Maldives

Oman Air has started a non-stop service between the Sultanate and the Republic of Maldives. The flights to the Maldives capital, Malé are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, returning the same day. The route will be operated by Oman Air's newly introduced Airbus A330 aircraft, which has first, business and economy class seating, the airline said.

SriLankan Airways adds another flight to Dammam

SriLankan Airlines has launched another flight to Dammam, Saudi Arabia, offering now a total of four flights per week to its Dammam-Colombo route. SriLankan has two flights from Riyadh and two from Jeddah.

Cathay Pacific to start flights to Jeddah

Cathay Pacific Airways, the flag carrier of Hong Kong, has announced the launch of a new route to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The four-times-weekly service, which is to operate through Dubai on the way to and from Hong Kong, will be operated by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft in a two-class configuration. The carrier launched its service to Riyadh in 2001 and the number of flights per week was recently increased from five times a week to daily.

Etihad Airways to launch flights to Hyderabad

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has announced the launch of a new route to its latest destination in India, the city of Hyderabad. Etihad is the first airline to operate flights between Abu Dhabi and the state capital of Andhra Pradesh. Initially operating four flights a week, Etihad will increase to daily from the start of 2010. Etihad now flies to seven Indian destinations including the cities of New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. In total the airline now operates 42 flights to India each week.

Oman Air warns Boeing on 787 Dreamliner delays

Peter Hill, CEO of Oman Air has said that Boeing risks losing a $1bn order for its 787 Dreamliner aircraft to a rival model from Airbus, if the US plane's production schedule is delayed any further. 'Further delays might mean that we'd have to look elsewhere,' he said. The Sultanate's national carrier already has seven A330s from Airbus on order, with the first four scheduled for handover this year.

Kuwait Airways starts flights to Chittagong

Kuwait Airways has announced the launch of a new route to the city of Chittagong, Bangladesh. Chittagong is the airline's second destination in Bangladesh.

World's largest cruise ship sets sail from Finland

The world's largest cruise liner 'Oasis of the Seas' began its maiden voyage to Florida, gliding out from a shipyard in Finland with an amphitheater, basketball courts and an ice rink on board. The 16-deck Oasis of the Seas spans 360 meters from bow to stern. Its 2,700 cabins can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew. Commissioned by Royal Caribbean International, the ship cost euro1 billion ($1.5 billion) and took two and a half years to build at the STX Finland Oy shipyard in Turku, southwestern Finland. The liner has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children. There is also an ice rink that seats 780 spectators and a small-scale golf course. The Oasis of the Seas is due to make its US debut on November 20, when it will be unveiled on ABC's "Good Morning America" show at its home port, Port Everglades in Florida. The official naming ceremony will be 10 days later. The ship will embark on its first cruise, a four-day trip to the port of Labadee in Haiti, on December 1.

Oman Air launches new three-class service from Heathrow

Oman Air has launched a new three-class service aboard its new A330-300 aircraft on its flagship Muscat - London Heathrow route. The new service features new first class, business class and economy class cabins. The first class cabin has just six seats and offers the longest lie-flat bed available on any commercial airliner, the carrier said.

Flydubai to start flights to Kathmandu, Nepal

Low-cost carrier Flydubai has announced that it will launch flights to Nepal from December 15. The route will be the carrier's eleventh overall. Last week the carrier announced that it will begin double daily service to Bahrain from December 13.

Emirates to fly to Tokyo from March

Emirates Airlines has announced plans to launch services to its second destination in Japan with flights to Tokyo beginning March 28, 2010. The carrier, which currently flies daily to Osaka, will fly non-stop to Tokyo five times a week on every Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tokyo will be Emirates' 102nd international destination.

Qatar Airways to fly daily to Stockholm

Qatar Airways has said it has will expand its Doha-Stockholm route to a daily service and will deploy a wide body Airbus A330 from March 28, 2010. The carrier has been operating a 110-seat Airbus A319 on the Stockholm route since the Swedish service was launched in November 2007. The twin-aisle A330s will offer more than twice the current A319 seating capacity-up to 260 seats with 24 in business and 236 in economy.

Emirates to fly A380 to Paris from December

Emirates Airlines has announced that it will serve Paris with the A380 superjumbo from 29th December, one month earlier than planned. The airline had previously announced that the aircraft would head to Paris Charles de Gaulle from 1st February next year, but an operational review, coupled with demand on the route, has led to an earlier introduction, the carrier said. The 489-seat aircraft will be incorporated into Emirates' double daily flights to Paris. It will initially service three of the morning departures from Dubai, becoming daily from 17th January 2010.

Emirates to operate more flights to Amman & Doha

Emirates Airlines has announced plans to launch three more flights per week to Amman, Jordan beginning December 1. The Dubai-based carrier is also adding an extra flight to Doha, Qatar from the same date, bringing the airline's total number of flights per week to Middle Eastern destinations from 197 to 201.

Been a while

Its been a while since I blogged. Just been very, very busy. Will definitely make time soon. Ciao.