AIRLINE NEWS

BRITISH AIRWAYS has extended its premium cabin pre-order service to long-haul flights from Gatwick. It allows First, Club World and World Traveller Plus passengers to select their meal prior to travel, guaranteeing them their first choice. The service is already offered on all long-haul Heathrow routes and on LHR services to Beirut, Cairo, Baku, Tel Aviv and Amman. FLYBE’S latest codeshare agreement allows travellers to connect via Birmingham and on to Delhi with Air India. Customers can book single tickets, combining Flybe routes from Belfast City, Edinburgh and Glasgow to Birmingham, then on to Air India’s daily Delhi service. Members of Air India’s Flying Returns loyalty scheme will earn miles for the Flybe sector. EMIRATES has launched a two-stop flight from Dubai to Yinchuan and Zhengzhou in Midwest China. The B777-200 service departs Dubai on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 0250, arriving at Yinchuan at 1335 before departing for Zhengzhou at 1535 (arriving 1715). The return leg departs Zhengzhou at 2115, arriving at Yinchuan at 2300, then departing for Dubai at 0040 (arriving 0430 the next day). BEIJING CAPITAL AIRLINES is to launch services from Birmingham to Beijing and Shanghai Hangzhou airport from July 19. The Hainan Airlines subsidiary will offer weekly flights to Beijing on Saturdays and Hangzhou on Tuesdays, using A330-200 aircraft. TURKISH AIRLINES will take delivery of a record 26 Boeing aircraft this year. The flag carrier will add six B777-300ERs and 20 next-generation B737-800s to its fleet. MALAYSIA AIRLINES has announced an “extensive redesign” of its Golden Lounges at Kuala Lumpur International (KLIA) and Heathrow. Revamped regional and domestic lounges at KLIA will be unveiled later this year, with business and first class lounges in its Satellite terminal and at London expected to be completed by mid-next year. AEROMEXICO has introduced Gogo’s 2Ku in-flight wifi technology on five of its B737800s. The aircraft serve destinations in the Americas, and the service is being offered free of charge to passengers “for a limited time”. Aeromexico is the launch customer for the new 2Ku technology. CITYJET is to drop its route between London City and Cork on June 26.