Tag: lounge (Page 1 of 3)

TUI River Cruises launches Nile River cruise with fourth ship the TUI Al Horeya

July 23, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

TUI (London: TUI) River Cruises has announced a brand-new River Nile cruise set to commence in Winter 2024 with exclusive TUI charter flights to Luxor from London Gatwick and Manchester Airports. The exciting expansion means that the river cruise line will add a fully refurbished five-star ship, to be named TUI Al Horeya, which means ‘freedom’, to operate seven-night, all-inclusive round-trip sailings from Luxor. TUI Al Horeya can accommodate 145 passengers and offers 74 cabins including singles, standard cabins and suites.

Two flights per week will operate from London Gatwick and Manchester to Luxor; a city which encompasses a mesmerizing blend of history, architecture, and culture. The new routes is exclusive to TUI, which will be the only tour operator to offer direct, non-stop flights from the UK to Luxor which will operate weekly on a Thursday from 7^th November 2024 until 24^th April 2025.

Dedicated licenced Egyptologists will be on hand throughout the trip to enhance the customer experience to be on hand to answer any questions. The modern and contemporary ship will boasts a top deck swimming pool, two whirlpools, an entertainment area, restaurant, Al Fresco dining, lounge bar, wellness studio and a boutique shop.

Like the rest of the fleet, TUI Al Horeya will include a day and night entertainment programme, as well as offering customers a wide range of excursions which have been curated by industry experts, guaranteed to transport visitors back in time to the era of pharaohs and dynasties.

QANTAS to Open Pop-up Transit Lounge at Darwin International Airport

October 27, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Qantas will open a temporary lounge to cater for eligible customers travelling between Sydney and London via Darwin from next month.

It follows the recent announcement that Qantas’ flagship Australia to United Kingdom route would operate via Darwin once Australia’s international borders open on 1 November until at least April 2022 due to WA border closures.

Qantas will lease Darwin International Airport’s Catalina lounge, which will have space for approximately 100 guests utilising existing furniture and fittings. The offering will feature:

Service delivered by local Qantas lounge team members, including a signature welcome mocktail (Top End Lemonade) and refreshing cold towels.
Generous lounge and dining areas with a serviced buffet
Tailored menus for time of day, drawing on local culinary influences such as a Darwin markets inspired Asian style soup.
Premium Australian wines, beers and non-alcoholic drinks offered by a dedicated bar attendant
Power points through the space to recharge on the fly
Bathroom facilities

Qantas Group Chief Customer Officer, Stephanie Tully, said the national carrier is delighted to work with Darwin International Airport to ensure a comfortable transit experience for its top tier frequent flyers and customers travelling in Business Class.

Customers eligible to visit the Qantas Darwin International Transit Lounge include:

Platinum One, Platinum, Gold Qantas Frequent Flyers and Qantas Club members
Customers travelling in Business Class
Eligible oneworld partner members

Qantas will also reopen its Sydney International First Lounge from 1 November and its London and Los Angeles lounges in December. In the interim few weeks of operation, eligible Qantas customers will be able to visit the British Airways T3 Lounge at London Heathrow and the Star Alliance Lounge at Tom Bradley International Terminal in LA. Other international lounges will reopen to align with the return of further international routes.

Emirates Boosts Operations in Jordan, Adds Second Daily A380 Service to Amman

June 20, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Emirates will be ramping up operations to Jordan during the summer with the introduction of second daily A380 flight during the months of July and August. The airline will operate the second daily flight from 15-20 July 2021, ahead of the Eid Al Adha period. Emirates will also operate double daily A380 services from 10-31 August. The move to boost capacity between Dubai and Amman during these periods was driven by high forecasted passenger demand. The double daily A380 services to Amman also demonstrate the airline’s commitment to adapting its operations to better serve customers.

Emirates will also increase flights between Dubai and Amman from 12 to 14 weekly, from 1 July.

From 15-20 July 2021, and from 10-31 August 2021, Emirates flights EK 905 and 906 will be operated with an Airbus A380 in a three class configuration, featuring 14 luxurious First Class suites, 76 lie flat Business Class seats and 420 generously pitched Economy Class seats. Passengers in all classes will enjoy over 4,500 channels of films, TV shows, music and games, with an impressive selection of Arabic content, through ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system. What’s more, First and Business Class passengers can enjoy the Emirates Onboard Lounge, where they can safely network and enjoy the signature Emirates experience.

Since it safely resumed tourism activity in July 2020, Dubai remains one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations. The city is open for international business and leisure visitors. From sun-soaked beaches and heritage activities to world class hospitality and leisure facilities, Dubai offers a variety of world-class experiences. It was one of the world’s first cities to obtain Safe Travels stamp from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) – which endorses Dubai’s comprehensive and effective measures to ensure guest health and safety.

Emirates remains focused on taking various steps to ease travel and has been a leader in introducing initiatives in cooperation with health authorities and organisations to protect the health of customers and to ensure their safety. Emirates introduced measures on the ground throughout all touchpoints and onboard to provide its passengers with the highest safety and hygiene standards at every step of the journey. The airline has also recently introduced contactless technology to ease the customer journey through Dubai airport.

Lufthansa Finally Re-opens First Class Lounge at Frankfurt Airport

June 4, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Starting on 1 June, Lufthansa will be welcoming guests to the First Class Lounge again

Further lounges to open gradually over the next few weeks

As summer approaches, the desire to travel continues to grow: Declining infection rates and the easing of travel restrictions are making more people want to fly again. In response to the rising booking figures, Lufthansa is using this as an opportunity to reopen the Lufthansa First Class Lounge in Terminal 1 of Frankfurt Airport starting on 1 June.

Relaxing while waiting for departure

The lounge offers an exclusive and comfortable place to relax, while travelers are waiting for their departure. The range of products offered in the lounges have been adjusted to meet current regulations. At present, food and beverage consumption is only permitted outside of the lounge. A take-away offer is available in the First Class Lounge, with a good selection of food and beverages. The popular “á la carte” service will also be resumed as soon as official regulations allow us to do so.

First Class guests can now also enjoy the usual personal service. The First Class Lounge is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Lufthansa lounges open their doors to guests

Lufthansa guests can already access some of the lounges in Germany as well as abroad, such as New York. In the upcoming weeks, additional Lufthansa lounges will gradually be re-opening for customers. Soon, the First Class Terminal and the associated limousine service will also be made available again. A variety of measures, such as maintaining distance and wearing a mouth and nose covering, ensure that the lounge stay meets high safety and hygiene standards.

For more information on lounges and on-site conditions, visit https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/lounges

Emirates and TAP Air Portugal Sign MOU to Expand Strategic Partnership

March 17, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Dubai, UAE, March 2021 – Emirates and TAP Air Portugal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand the codeshare partnership currently in place between both airlines. The new agreement will see customers of both airlines benefit from seamless connectivity on many new routes across the Americas, North Africa and East Asia. Emirates and TAP Air Portugal will also explore ways to enhance the co-operation on their respective frequent flyer programmes including reciprocal earning and redemption opportunities and popular benefits such as lounge access.

In addition, both airlines plan on supporting each other’s stopover programmes in Dubai and Lisbon, with Emirates also supporting TAP Air Portugal as it looks at potential expansion opportunities in the UAE.

Subject to required regulatory approvals, the expanded agreement is expected to come into effect from 01 May 2021, will provide customers with seamless booking, ticketing and travel benefits across 70 destinations on both airlines’ networks.

Under the expanded partnership, TAP Air Portugal will place its code on Emirates’ flights to popular East Asia destinations such as Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, Mumbai, Delhi, Dhaka, Male, Jakarta, Denpasar, Manila, Hanoi, as well as Barcelona, and Mexico City.

Emirates customers will be able to seamlessly access additional domestic destinations in Portugal, as well as TAP Air Portugal’s flights to cities in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Morocco, Tunisia, Gambia, and Cape Verde.

Virgin Australia Opens Lounge of the Future

February 26, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Virgin Australia has today revealed its Lounge of the future, with the opening of its highly anticipated Adelaide Airport Lounge. Designed by Brisbane’s WMK Architecture, the 283-seat Adelaide Lounge completes Virgin Australia’s network of seven domestic lounges across major airports around Australia. All future Lounge refurbishments around the domestic network will be done in line with this new and fresh design thinking.

The Lounge is true to the Virgin Australia brand, creating a warm, authentic and inviting environment for frequent flyers.

The contemporary design includes a breeze block feature wall upon entry, with canopy ceilings, before ceramic tiling leads guests into a large light-filled space, with the centre walkway leading guests to numerous dining and seating areas. Ambient lighting, bright greenery and Australian sustainable furniture completes the Lounge, making it a relaxed, inviting and uncomplicated place, to refresh and recharge in a delightfully Virgin way.

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the new lounge was the first of many new and exciting products for customers following the airline’s re-launch.

Adelaide Lounge features

The Coffee Bar: An eye-catching central café seating area, transforming from a place to unwind over a coffee during the day, turning into a wine bar at night.

The Cellar Door Hub: With some of Australia’s most awarded wineries on the doorstep of Adelaide Airport, Virgin Australia has created a feature space for South Australian wineries to bring their cellar door to the Lounge for seasonal wine tasting.

Distinct dining areas: Separate dining areas with diverse functionality have been built adjacent to servery areas to cater to all guest’s eating preferences, including large social tables, and banquette seating for more private dining.

Emirates Operates Flight Serviced by Fully Vaccinated Teams Across All Touch Points

February 21, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

DUBAI, UAE 21 February 2021: Honouring its commitment to the health and safety of its employees and customers, Emirates today has become among the first airlines in the world to operate a flight with fully vaccinated frontline teams servicing customers at every touchpoint of the travel journey.

This morning, the full airport and onboard customer experience for flight EK215, which departed Dubai at 0830hrs for Los Angeles, was safely supported by check-in, security, Business and First Class lounge and boarding gate employees, as well as engineers, pilots and cabin crew who made the choice to be fully vaccinated.

Also supporting the flight’s operations were fully vaccinated aircraft appearance, loading and special handling teams from dnata, as well as SkyCargo teams working on the cargo and logistics requirements for EK215.

The Emirates Group rolled out its vaccination drive at pace just over a month ago, and since then, close to 26,000, or 44%, of the Group’s UAE frontline aviation workforce have received both doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Sinopharm vaccines.

Nearly 5,000 Cabin and Flight Deck Crew have opted to receive both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine. In addition, thousands more Emirates Group employees in other roles have taken their COVID-19 vaccine through the company’s clinics and vaccination centres, while others have opted to take their vaccine at one of the many vaccination centres across the UAE.

The Emirates Group vaccination programme is the latest in its series of safeguards and protections to deliver on its health and safety promises to its customers, employees and the communities it serves around the world. The Group’s vaccination centres have been running 12 hours a day, every day of the week to prioritise and provide aviation frontliners with the vaccine.

The UAE currently has one of the world’s highest rate of vaccinations for its citizens and residents as it fights to curb the spread of Covid-19. So far, the UAE has administered over 5.4 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, and Our World In Data, a research website based at Oxford University, recently reported that the country’s distribution rate stands at 55.27 doses per 100 people, ranking it the second highest in the world.

Delta Named Best Airline for American Travelers by USA Today

February 19, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

USA TODAY 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards announced their list of best airlines, airline amenities and airports of 2021 – naming Delta (NYSE: DAL) the best airline for American travelers, the Delta Sky Club at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as the best airport lounge and Delta flight attendants as the best cabin crew.

Nominees in all categories are chosen editorially by a panel of experts. Once the nominees were selected, readers could vote once per category, per day for four weeks. The winners indicate which airlines, airline amenities and airports make getting to your destination a pleasure rather than a pain.

The Delta Sky Club at New York-JFK features a Sky Deck overlooking Terminal 4, free WiFi, fresh food, premium drinks and more. During the ongoing pandemic, guests can expect to see a new standard of Club cleanliness that includes the same Delta CareStandard practices found throughout the airport and onboard aircraft. This includes but is not limited to: individually packaged fresh food options; plexiglass partitions at check-in, at the bar and between seating areas; limited capacity and blocked seats to promote more space; and enhanced cleaning measures. Learn more on delta.com

In September 2020, the airline opened its newest and largest Delta Sky Club as a part of Salt Lake City International Airport’s newly opened terminal. Delta’s support of the new Salt Lake City Airport build is part of the airline’s ongoing strategy to modernize our hub infrastructure and customer experience by investing more than $12B in airport projects.

Air New Zealand’s Wellington Regional Lounge Re-Opens Today

February 4, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

To accommodate strong domestic demand the regional lounge will be open on weekdays, in addition to the Wellington domestic lounge which is open as per usual, and remains open for customers travelling on weekends and public holidays.

Air New Zealand Senior Manager Global Lounges and Valet Alison Swarbrick says the airline is looking forward to welcoming customers back to the popular regional lounge.

“It’s great to see Kiwis travel their own country and we’re pleased to be open again to provide our customers with a comfortable place to enjoy refreshments and relax ahead of their departure.

“Our refreshed summer menu has been very popular in our other ports and now Wellington regional customers will get the chance to try some of our new menu items like house-made immunity boost juices, vegetarian pita pockets and raw cacao and coconut bars.”

Wellington Airport Chief Executive Steve Sanderson says now domestic passenger numbers are picking up again, it’s great to see things getting closer to normal in the terminal.

“Our regular travellers will arrive and depart from the gates they were used to pre-COVID. They will also be able to enjoy more regular terminal entertainment and faster security screening following the roll out of new Smart Lanes by Aviation Security at the end of last year.”

Emirates Takes Newest A380 with Premium Economy to London

January 3, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

Emirates has announced that it will deploy its latest flagship A380 aircraft featuring new premium economy seats and luxurious enhancements across all cabins to London Heathrow.

Starting from 4 January, passengers flying between Dubai and London Heathrow can experience Emirates’ latest A380. Operating as EK003/004, the aircraft is scheduled to depart Dubai daily at 14:30hrs, arriving at 18:20hrs in London Heathrow. The return flight departs London at 20:20hrs and arrives in Dubai the next day at 07:20hrs. All timings local.

Emirates last week unveiled its latest A380 with brand new premium economy seats that offer a generous seat pitch of up to 40 inches, in addition to new economy class seats similar to those installed on its latest Boeing 777-300ER gamechanger aircraft, enhancements to its popular A380 First and Business Class including its signature Shower Spa and Onboard Lounge, and refreshed colours and fittings across all cabins.

Until more Premium Economy seats enter its inventory, the airline intends to offer these as spot upgrades for its valued customers on a discretionary basis. All other signature Emirates A380 First, Business and Economy cabins are available for reservation on emirates.com or via travel agents.

The airline has safely and gradually restored its network over the past months, bringing back signature experiences onboard and on the ground with comprehensive measures in place for the health and safety of its customers and employees.

Emirates currently serves London Heathrow with 5 daily flights of which 4 are operated with an A380. The airline also operates 10 flights a week to Manchester, and daily flights to both Birmingham and Glasgow.

Emirates serves 99 cities across the world, offering travellers convenient access to Dubai and onwards to popular destinations in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

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