xREAD our weekly roundup of the airline news stories, which this week includes the latest on Turkish Airlines new film in honour of legendary United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, Emirates extending its African network and Oman Air's support of the Travel Photographer of the Year Festival of Photography and World Travel.
GULF AIR has marked 61 years of service to Saudi Arabia by reaffirming its long-term commitment to its largest market outside Bahrain.
The airline has unveiled a series of commercial initiatives tailored to the Saudi market to commemorate the historic landmark, including 25 per cent discount promotional fares from Riyadh and Dammam.
Gulf Air CEO Samer Majali said: "Saudi Arabia has always been, and will be, an important market for us and I would like to thank our Saudi customers for their continuous support to Gulf Air and we look forward to developing this relationship further."
TURKISH AIRLINES, the official partner of Manchester United, has made a special tribute film for legendary United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
The Dutch stopper retired at the end of last season and the film was made in honour to his service to the club.
The short film, which also pays tribute to Manchester United goalkeepers of yesteryear, was directed by Dutch filmmaker Johan Kramer.
To watch the film click here.
JET AIRWAYS has announced the arrival of its first next generation Boeing 737-800 with Sky Interior.
The carrier took delivery of the first of 11 new next generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft to be inducted into the airline's fleet this month
Jet Airways chief commercial officer Sudheer Raghavan said: "The Boeing 737 has been an essential part of our product offering in the past and Jet Airways selected the next generation state-of-the art Boeing 737-800 aircraft because of its high degree of operational flexibility and economy.
"At Jet Airways we have continually and consciously innovated with our products and services to deliver a significantly enhanced guest experience with unmatched comfort.
"The induction of the Boeing 737-800 with Sky Interiors is another step at attempting to set an industry benchmark."
EMIRATES' extensive African network is to be boosted with the launch of two new destinations - Zambian capital Lusaka and Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.
The two countries, which share a border with the Victoria Falls, will now be linked with a five times weekly flight from Dubai, starting February 1, 2012.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates, said: "Emirates has long understood the enormous potential of Africa, which today is one of the fastest-expanding economic regions of the world, benefitting from a combined market of over one billion people, rising consumer demand and an abundance of natural resources."
UNITED CONTINENTAL HOLDINGS has announced the details of its MileagePlus loyalty programme for 2012.
The programme will include new benefits and services for United's and Continental's most-frequent flyers, more options for members to redeem their miles and additional recognition for customers who purchase tickets in premium cabins or at premium economy fare classes.
Jeff Foland, United executive vice president and president of Mileage Plus Holdings, said: "With MileagePlus, we are building the world's most-rewarding loyalty program and reaching another important milestone in the merger of United and Continental.
"We will provide a wide range of benefits to our most-loyal and most-valuable members, while offering new redemption opportunities for all of our members."
EASYJET is set to launch a new service from Bristol to Naples, Italy's third largest city.
The new route's inaugural flight will take off on May 12, 2012, with seats already on sale.
EasyJet UK commercial manager Ali Gayward said: "We're delighted to announce our 43rd route from Bristol. This new route to Naples will provide passengers from the South West with affordable access to one of Europe's most dynamic cities which offers visitors a rich culture and access to nearby attractions.
"The continued expansion of our Bristol operation reflects easyJet's commitment to providing all travellers in the region with the best choice of destinations at the lowest possible fares."
TAM MRO, TAM AIRLINES' maintenance unit, has renewed its certification to provide services for aircraft registered in Canada as well as their components.
The new authorisation from the Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) is valid until 2012.
Luiz Gustavo Pereira da Silva, executive director of TAM MRO, said: "This certification authorizes TAM to work with nearly 6,000 components on Canadian aircraft.
"Its renewal reflects the quality of our service and our efforts to expand the range of services and customers. We are currently certified by the world's main aeronautical authorities."
VUELING, Spain's new generation airline, won the accolade of most innovative low cost model airline at this year's Budgie Awards.
The awards were created to honour and generate public recognition of the efforts, accomplishments and positive contributions of companies and individuals in the low cost airline industry.
Vueling, which also won the Best Website award, was praised for its efforts to provide passengers with a wide range of services at competitive prices.
Airline CEO Alex Cruz said: "This recognises the ongoing work of all the young people at Vueling who develop new and innovative products and services as a daily challenge to pursue the growth of the company and our industry."
OMAN AIR is supporting the Travel Photographer of the Year Festival of Photography and World Travel.
The festival follows on from the hugely successful Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition and includes three days of photography and travel events featuring a fantastic line-up of speakers from the worlds of photography, film and TV, travel and exploration.
Rohan Alce, Oman Air's country manager, UK and Ireland, said: "The Travel Photographer of the Year recognises the outstanding skills of photographers from around the world and the Festival of Photography and World Travel is a superb opportunity to find out more about how to experience the world around us and capture powerful images of it."
The event is being held at the Royal Geographical Society, London, on Sunday October 2 and October 16.
For ticket and programme information visit www.tpoty.com.
BOEING has called for a revised approach to aviation training that utilises online and mobile devices.
Speaking at the Asia Pacific Airline Training Symposium in Bangkok, Roei Ganzarski, chief customer officer, Boeing Flight Services, said the industry must focus on adopting newer methods of instruction that have proven successful in other fields.
He said: "We must advance the training profession in order to attract and retain the passionate and competent talent needed to train the vast numbers of aviation personnel required.
"We need to train them in a way that is adaptable to a generation steeped in mobile and on-line technology."
"It should no longer be about an instructor's number of flying hours. The next wave of professional instructors should place greater emphasis on student aptitude to ensure students reach their fullest potential."
KENYA AIRWAYS plans to double its authorised share capital to 10bn shillings ($104.6m) to raise funds for its expansion plans.
The increase in authorised share capital will be voted on at the company's Annual General Meeting to be held on October 14.
Kenya Airways, which is 26 percent owned by AirFrance KLM, plans to double its fleet in the next five years as part of a 10-year plan aimed at extending its network to every African nation.
ETIHAD AIRWAYS is set to substantially boost flights to Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia, from a daily service to 13 flights a week from October 30.
The extra services will be operated by Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft and the new schedule will boost connectivity to a number of key destinations across the airline's global network, including the Indian Subcontinent, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Etihad CEO James Hogan said: "Saudi Arabia is a key market for Etihad, and Riyadh has always been an important strategic destination for the airline.
"These changes allow us to strengthen our position within the GCC network."
AIRBUS has forecasted a strong ongoing demand for commercial aircraft, with the industry requiring over 27,800 planes in the next 20 years.
The aircraft manufacturer believes demand will be driven by population growth with increasing wealth, dynamic growth in emerging economies, strong continued growth in North America and European markets, greater urbanisation and a more than doubling in the number of mega cities by 2030.
Drivers also include the ongoing expansion of low cost carriers and the need to replace older less efficient aircraft with new eco-efficient models in established markets.
John Leahy, Airbus chief operating officer customers, said: "The aviation sector is an essential element for today's global economy which is why more people than ever need and want to fly.
"Airbus is bringing to market the latest innovations and eco-efficient products to satisfy the needs of airlines and the expectations of passengers now and in the years to come."
FINNAIR has started negotiations with Swiss ground handling company Swissport regarding its baggage and apron services at Helsinki Airport.
If agreement is reached between Finnair and Swissport, the business would transfer from current handler Barona Handling to Swissport.
Employees currently working for Barona Handling would transfer to the service of Swissport under their present terms of employment.
Finnair's COO Ville Iho said: "Swissport is a global professional that has strong expertise in ground handling services. With cooperation we aim for even better quality and cost-efficiency."
Developing its partnership network is part of Finnair's strategy of structural change that aims to significantly lower its cost base and improve quality to support its growth.
AIRBERLIN has announced more details about its Shape and Size programme, which is aimed at increasing the company's efficiency and productivity.
The scheme, announced in August, aims to improve earnings by 200 million euros and involves improving the processes and optimising the entire organisation of the company.
In more than 30 work groups, senior executives, under guidance of the Board, have identified targets which have potential to bring about and secure profitability and competitiveness.
The main focus lies on process organisation, marketing and distribution, cost reduction, flight routing and maintenance.
A substantial contribution should result from an optimisation of the flight network and the fleet structure.
By the summer of 2012, airberlin aims to reduce its current fleet of 170 aircraft to 152 aircraft, a 10 per cent reduction.
In this context, flight performance would only be lowered by four per cent while the productivity per aircraft would be increased by approximately 200 hours per year.
IBERIA has taken part in the first International Ethics and Tourism Congress, held in Madrid in September.
At the event Iberia and other tourism and travel companies adopted the World Tourism Organisation Ethical Code, intended to protect the consumer, children and other vulnerable social groups.
The code also aims to foster corporate social responsibility, a dialogue between cultures, cultural and environmental sustainability and the view of tourism as an engine of development and a means of furthering basic human rights, in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.
Iberia has also adopted the ethical code of the ECPAT organisation, dedicated to combating child prostitution, pornography and trafficking of children for sexual purposes.
