Billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud plans to customise his private Airbus 380 at a cost of US$176 million, more than half the price that he paid for the aircraft, reported the UK¡¯s Daily Mail. The prince, who became the first private customer for the US$320 million superjumbo in November, is planning a ¡®Lawrence of Arabia meets Star Wars¡¯ interior. The plane will feature a movie theatre, gym, whirlpool bath, and several bedrooms. … [Read more...] about Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud

Etihad Airways plans to boost its flights to India by adding four new major cities - Chennai, Jaipur, Kolkata and Kozhikode, reported Gulf News. The airline is now finalising launch dates for these services. Etihad currently operates daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, New Delhi, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. … [Read more...] about Etihad Airways

Bangalore, India-based Quikjet will launch its premium overnight cargo operation in April, using Boeing B737-300 cargo planes and with Bangalore¡¯s new airport as a hub. The airline is expected to commence international operations to the Middle East and Southeast Asia after it settles into the domestic market, perhaps as early as end 2008. … [Read more...] about Quikjet

Lufthansa, Europe's biggest scheduled air-cargo carrier, lost ground to its closest rival, Air France-KLM, in January as volume fell from a year ago while the Franco-Dutch airline reported strong growth. Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa's stand-alone cargo unit, transported 130,000 tonnes of freight in January, down 1.3 per cent from the same month a year ago, but volume for the whole group, including carrier Swiss, surged 12.6 per cent to 148,000 tonnes. … [Read more...] about Air France-KLM

OpenSkies, British Airways' new transatlantic subsidiary, will operate its first flight between either Paris Charles de Gaulle or Orly and New York JFK, BA said in a fi ling and application for traffic rights with the US Dept. of Transportation. Following its launch in June, it said it intends to extend its European network to cities such as Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Milan and other US points. … [Read more...] about OpenSkies

Etihad Crystal Cargo introduced SMS tracking, which allows customers to send a text message to a specified phone number to get a "real-time" status update on shipments. "It is vital for our customers to know at any time exactly where in the world their shipment is located," Etihad Airways Executive VPCargo Des Vertannes said. … [Read more...] about Etihad Crystal Cargo