Etihad airway, the national airlines of United Arab Emirates (UAE), has announced its plans to have direct, daily nonstop flights from Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, to São Paulo, Brazil starting in June 2013.

São Paulo would be the first South American Destination in Etihad’s list; the new route would be to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, the main international airport in the city.

According to Business Traveler websites, Mr. James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and CEO, said “Brazil is a logical next step for us and will mark the sixth continent we serve and our coming of age as a truly global airline.”

Etihad airlines would be the second UAE airline to have direct flights from the country to a Brazilian city; Emirates airlines was the first.

In 2014, Brazil will be the hosting country of the FIFA World Cup. UAE in general, and especially Abu Dhabi, will be the main hub for the football fans and sports journalists from Asia and the Middle East looking for direct flights to Brazil.

Also, São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport would be a great transit point for the connecting traveler to other destinations in Brazil and other Latin American Countries. The airport is connected to all South American airports directly by different airlines.

Abu Dhabi will be a major connecting point to their original homeland for the large Arab community in Brazil and other Latin American countries. Most Arabs in Brazil are originally from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

Additionally, it will ease the travel for students from Middle Eastern and Asian countries between Brazil and their countries for holidays and after graduation. Brazil is considered an attractive education spot for the scholar who is looking for high quality education with low tuition fees and living costs.

The new flights between the two cities will give a push to the growing business between the two countries. Brazil is considered to be the 4th largest trading partner to the UAE, with trade business valued about 2.85 billion US dollars. Officials in the two countries are hoping to expand the trade relation to 10 billion US dollars in the next 5 years.

According to the National, the official UAE English newspaper, Mr. João de Mendonça Lima Neto, the Brazilian ambassador to UAE, stated “We are witnessing significant growth in the bilateral relations between Brazil and the UAE and we are certain that Etihad Airways flights will create new opportunities for government, trade, tourism and cultural exchanges.”

Image Courtesy of   TBSteve

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Reykjavik, Iceland – Row 44, the leading provider of inflight WiFi and device-based entertainment content for airlines around the world, announced today that it has partnered with Icelandair, the leading carrier of Iceland serving Europe, the United States and Canada, to enhance their passengers’ travel experience. Row 44 will equip Icelandair’s fleet with high-speed WiFi, starting this year. Upon rollout, Icelandair will be the first North Atlantic airline to operate WiFi fleet wide.

According to Iceland’s tourism board, there was a 16 percent increase in foreign visitors last year from the year prior. A breathtaking island, Iceland is known for its hot springs, geysers, waterfalls and volcanoes, and with a growing economy and continued increase in tourism, Icelandair desired to provide its passengers with a travel experience as inspiring as their destination. In partnering with Row 44, Icelandair enhances the exceptional atmosphere and flight experience that it strives to deliver to customers.

“Icelandair has built a system of outstanding flight services between Iceland and other countries, and Row 44 now allows us to continue to build on that system, and our present inflight entertainment system, by equipping our flights with an outstanding passenger experience inside the cabin,” said Birkir Holm Guonason, Icelandair CEO. “Row 44 was the only provider to offer the breadth and depth of services we favored that will allow our customers to get connected and be entertained, and to do so in a way that we believe they desire – straight to their own devices.”

With Row 44′s inflight WiFi, passengers get connected quickly and reliably. An additional benefit is that it is the only device-based service that operates over land and water, making it a particularly desirable provider for airlines like Icelandair with numerous Transatlantic routes. Among the list of growing services Icelandair customers will enjoy on their own WiFi-enabled devices:

• High-speed Internet connectivity
• Shop in-flight specials
• Research and book local services at their destination

“Icelandair has earned a stellar reputation as an innovative, passenger-focused airline that is committed to providing safe and efficient air travel, and unique services,” said John LaValle, Row 44′s CEO. “We look forward to enriching these services and continuing to delight their customers, a top priority for both Icelandair and Row 44.”

Icelandair and Row 44 expect to begin fleet installation in the fourth quarter of 2012.

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Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched a new nonstop flying route from Abu Dhabi to Shanghai. The airline takes its name from an Arabic word that literally means Union, which refers to the seven emirates that makes UAE.

Etihad’s new flight route is to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, which is the primary international airport serving Shanghai city. The airline has planned to operate five weekly flights by Airbus A330-300 starting April 15, 2012. Shanghai is the third destination of Etihad airways in China after Beijing and Chengdu.

The outbound flight to Shanghai number EY862, while the inbound flight to Abu Dhabi number is EY867. The EY refers to The International Air Transport Association (IATA) code of Etihad airways.

The EY 862 is scheduled to depart from Abu Dhabi international airport at 10:10 local time and arrive in Shanghai at 21:45 local time on all days except Mondays and Fridays. The flying time of the EY 862 is 7 hours and 35 minutes.

The EY867 is scheduled to depart from Shanghai Pudong international Airport at 00:20 local time and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 06:30 local time on all days except Tuesdays and Saturdays. The flying time of the EY867 is 10 hours and 10 minutes.

The difference between the duration of inbound and outbound flights is due to factors such as wind direction and the earth’s eastbound rotation. When a plane travels from east to west it takes longer than if it was flying in the other direction.

By adding Shanghai to Etihad’s list of destinations, new options have been created for travelers from Europe and the USA. Also, it bolsters tourism in the UAE and especially to Abu Dhabi city. Near Abu Dhabi international airport there are a lot of tourist attractions such as Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, Yas Island and Saadyat Island.

Also it is expected to add value to the booming trade between Middle East and China which hit 190 billion USD in 2010 according to the Chinese commerce ministry.

Lastly, the newly opened route is expected to ease the traveling of Chinese employees in the UAE to their homeland. Many Chinese citizens work in one of the 2000 Chinese firms in the UAE. Most of these firms work in the booming construction field.

Earlier in 2004, the Dubai-based airline Emirates was the first UAE originated airline to operate direct flights to Shanghai. Right now, the Emirates airline has three weekly flights by Airbus A380, the biggest passenger plane in the world.

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