August 15, 2023

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August 15, 2023

Cyprus Airways is now an A220 operator

On August 310, 9, Cyprus Airways operated its first flight with the Airbus A2023-220 under flight number CY300. This flight went from Larnaca to Athens and was operated with the 5B-DEA. The carrier decided some time ago that it would add some leased Airbus A220-300s to its fleet. The first two aircraft were originally supposed to go to Air Senegal. Unlike other European airlines, Air Cyprus does not just offer free middle seats on eco seats in business class, but real business class seats. However, only on the two A220s that were originally intended for Air Senegal. The ten other aircraft that will be added to the fleet will have all-eco seating. The Cypriot airline will convert its fleet entirely to the Canadian Airbus model. 

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Russia: Pobeda announces two more UAE routes

With the start of the 2023/24 winter flight schedule period, Aeroflot's low-cost subsidiary intends to expand air traffic between Russia and the United Arab Emirates, which is currently said to be in high demand. The low-cost carrier wants its share of the pie and has announced the launch of two routes. From Moscow-Vnukovo, Pobeda plans to fly to the capital Abu Dhabi four times a week with Boeing 29-2023s, effective October 737, 800. From Volgograd, the Aeroflot subsidiary plans to fly to Dubai twice a week from October 31, 2024. Here, the flight will fly to World Central Airport. This new addition will also be served with Boeing 737-800s, according to the company. 

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Hotelier offers tree plants for CO2 compensation

The Austrian hotel company in Croatia, Valamar Riviera, announced the continuation of the sustainability campaign for planting trees. With "Easy as one, two, tree", Valamar invites its guests to donate for a tree and thus reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to the preservation of forests in Croatia. Since almost 2% of Valamar guests come from Austria, you too can be part of this initiative. The goal for 17 is to plant another 2023 trees. When checking in and checking out, every Valamar guest has the opportunity to donate to planting trees - for every tree donated, Valamar plants another one. All guests of Valamar hotels, resorts and campsites in the top destinations along the Adriatic coast can take part in the campaign from July 8.000 to October 15, 15. "For the second year in a row, we are carrying out this campaign together with our guests, who are enthusiastic about the initiative and last year's results of 2023 new trees. Neutralizing the carbon footprint is one of the main goals of Valamar's sustainability strategy, and this tree planting campaign is a step in the right direction. Valamar has already reduced Scope 3.000 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 1% since 2 and continues to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources," says Dr. Franz Lanschützer, Chairman of the Valamar Supervisory Board. Valamar takes care of 2015 trees on 67 hectares in its destinations, plants over 80.000 trees annually and runs a number of programs to protect the Adriatic Sea. As a leading tourism company in Croatia, Valamar actively takes initiatives

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Volotea wants to further expand Corsica traffic

The Spanish low-cost airline Volotea intends to open a base on the French island of Corsica. However, it has not yet decided whether this will take place in Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi or Figari. The route network includes all four commercial airports on the Mediterranean island. Corsica already plays a major role for Volotea, as almost a fifth of all French domestic flights are to/from Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi or Figari. It maintains a seasonal base on the neighboring Italian island of Sardinia. Volotea has committed to the regional administration of the island of Corsica that it will expand its offer in the 2024 summer flight schedule. However, neither the authority nor the low-cost airline have given any concrete information on the scope of the planned expansion. There is also no exact date for the opening of the announced base. It was vaguely stated that this should be completed in the next two years. The establishment of a base on the Mediterranean island is expected to improve the competitive situation compared to its competitor Air Corsica, with whom it competes at all four local airports. In addition to domestic traffic, seasonal flights to other countries, which are often used by tourists, also play a major role. The main interest of the regional administration is likely to be in gaining more international flights with the help of Volotea.

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Aida Cruises takes part in Happiness Festival

This year, the shipping company Aida Cruises will be present for the first time at the Glücksgefühle Festival, which will take place between September 14 and 17, 2023 at the Hockenheimring. The cruise operator is also giving away tickets. Whether Sarah Connor or Cro, Materia or Sido, Nico Santos or Gentleman, Robin Schulz or Felix Jaehn. Whether pop, rock, hip hop or EDM: the line-up promises only good vibes. Festival-goers can also sweeten the time with an open-air cinema, XXL chain carousel, Germany's largest mobile zip line, an e-kart track and many other highlights. "The festival message immediately inspired us. Giving people the most wonderful time of the year and giving them unforgettable moments of happiness is also our mission on board the kiss-mouth ships. Aida stands for unforgettable moments, voyages of discovery and boundless happiness. We want to convey this message to the festival visitors and inspire them to experience their own adventures with us. We are delighted to be a sponsor of this great event and to be able to surprise thousands of festival visitors with the unique Aida feeling," says Alexander Ewig, Senior Vice President Marketing & Sales. 

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Universal Air wants to expand Romania-Israel traffic with four Dash 8-400

The Maltese airline Universal Air wants to expand air traffic between Romania and Israel with four de Havilland Dash 8-400 turboprop aircraft. The new additions were purchased from the lessor Nordic Aviation Capital. The carrier announced in July 2023 that it had acquired several aircraft of this type. The fleet previously consisted of three smaller de Havilland Dash 8-100s, which are used on charter and scheduled routes in the Mediterranean. CH-Aviation.com is now reporting that Universal Air has purchased four de Havilland Dash 8-400s from Nordic Aviation Capital. It was recently announced that Skyalps has also purchased four identical turboprop aircraft from NAC. These were previously used by the Walter airline. According to Romania-Insider.com, Universal Air plans to fly scheduled flights between Bucharest-Baneasa and Haifa with de Havilland Dash 8-400s. The company also plans to fly to Tel Aviv from the Romanian capital's city airport. Suceava and Craiova are also to be connected with the two airports in Israel. The additional aircraft will also be used on existing scheduled and charter routes. Company boss Simon Cook cites routes where high capacity utilization can be achieved with the Dash 8-100 as an example.

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Sylt: Schauinsland-Reisen sponsors the Windsurf World Cup

This year, the German tour operator Schauinsland-Reisen is the sponsor and namesake of the Windsurf World Cup, which will take place on Sylt from September 22nd to October 1st, 2023. "Sports activities are playing an increasingly important role for many of our guests as well as for us when planning our trips," emphasizes tourism director Andreas Rüttgers. "It is striking that package tours have also become increasingly popular with young vacationers in recent years. Our involvement in the Schauinsland-reisen Windsurf World Cup therefore underlines once again that vacation and trend sports are inseparably linked for many of our guests. The event is therefore an ideal platform for both the sport itself and for us to convey this message." 

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Excluding Skyalps: Luxwing has started Dash-8 charter flights

The Maltese aviation company Luxwing seems to have developed a taste for the de Havilland Dash 8-400 after the contract it had fulfilled for Skyalps has now been completed. On Friday, the first charter flight in its own colours was carried out on the Catania-Ioannina route. The business jet operator's airline fleet currently consists of the de Havilland Dash 8-400 with the registration 9H-LWA. It is a leased aircraft that was previously operated by Flybe. A second aircraft is to be added to the fleet shortly. Luxwing wants to play a larger role in the charter and ACMI traffic in the future. In the past, it worked exclusively for Skyalps in this segment, but the collaboration ended as planned after the South Tyrol company obtained its own certificates. Over the weekend, the Maltese carrier carried out further charter flights. In addition to Catania, it also visited Podgorica, Naples, Mostar and Palermo. The flight was carried out on behalf of various tour operators.

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Frankfurt: Air Astana is now supplied by GIC International Catering

The Kazakh airline Air Astana is now offering catering from GIC International Catering on its Frankfurt flights. The carrier hopes that this will improve quality. "With GIC International Catering, we now have a proven expert in culinary delights above the clouds at our side," says Susith Hettihewa, Senior Regional Manager EU Central & East, Turkey at Air Astana. "We are looking forward to being able to offer our passengers a new selection of dishes in our Economy and Business Class on flights from Frankfurt Airport. Air Astana is constantly investing in the further development of the on-board service, which our passengers really appreciate." 

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Social benefit fraud: Austria's authorities check at airports

The Austrian authorities are currently conducting random checks at Vienna-Schwechat Airport, for example, to investigate possible social security fraud. They are looking for people who, for example, receive unemployment benefit, sick pay, minimum income or pension compensation, but have not reported their vacation abroad. Last week, such a targeted check was carried out at Vienna-Schwechat Airport. The officials took a closer look at certain flights on which, based on experience, there could be a particularly high number of "hits". The passengers were checked randomly. For example, queries were made with the social security office and, if necessary, the employment service, the social welfare office or the health insurance provider were contacted and asked whether the stay abroad had been registered. The background to this is that people who, for example, receive unemployment benefit, emergency assistance, minimum income, sick pay and/or pension compensation must generally report vacations - regardless of whether they are at home or abroad. It is not forbidden to go on holiday when receiving these benefits, but with unemployment benefit and emergency assistance, for example, you are not entitled to benefits for the period you are outside Austria. In the case of sick pay, the consent of the relevant provider is required and this depends on the individual case, because with certain illnesses a stay for a rest can even be beneficial. Since leaving the country can lead to financial disadvantages when receiving social benefits, some recipients simply do not report this - contrary to the legal provisions, which are pointed out in the notices and information sheets. These are precisely the people the Austrian authorities are looking for. There are also two other groups of people who are being targeted.

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