Asia

Month after month, Ethiopian Airlines confirms its domination of air transport in Africa. The airline, which is a member of the Star Alliance, is the only one in sub-Saharan Africa to offer a global network with some 160 domestic and international destinations. Among the new destinations served by the African giant, Ethiopian inaugurated a new route on 1 January....

It was 2011, and the flamboyant CEO of the AirAsia group, Tony Fernandes, was inaugurating a new Airbus A330 route to Paris Orly from Kuala Lumpur. At the time, the French capital was the second European city after London to benefit from a flight by the group's long-haul subsidiary, AirAsia X. Less than a year...

Cathay Pacific reopened its most iconic lounge in Hong Kong on 7 May. The Bridge, located at the heart of the airline's hub, has been redesigned with many new features and familiar iconic elements to offer customers an enhanced pre-flight experience. Located in the immediate vicinity of the...

BeOnd began operations in November 2023. The airline is marginal in its operations. The carrier has its administrative headquarters in Dubai, but its aircraft take off and land in Malé, in the Maldives. The company is increasingly emerging as the 'national' top-of-the-range airline of the small archipelago between the Arabian Sea...

Qatar Airways is strengthening its position in South-East Asia through a new codeshare agreement with Philippine Airlines. This strategic partnership will build a virtual air bridge between Doha and Manila, improving connectivity for French passengers travelling to the Philippines via Qatar. From 16...

On 1 February 2026, Etihad will offer four additional weekly flights by Airbus A321neoLR on the Paris CDG-Abu Dhabi route. The total number of flights operated by the UAE national airline will then increase from 14 to 18 weekly flights from the French capital. Currently, Etihad offers a morning flight on this route with an Airbus A380 and another...

Eurocontrol has just published the figures for aircraft movements departing from Europe (including the European Union, Iceland, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom). Traffic flows to all regions of the world are up, with the exception of two: the Middle East at -3% and the 'Other Europe' segment...

National carrier Vietnam Airlines is strengthening its connectivity with China. The airline has just announced the launch on 30 March of five weekly frequencies between Ho Chi Minh City and the latest airport to serve Beijing, Daxing International Airport (code PKX). The airline will operate a two-class Airbus A321 on this route...

What would you like travellers, particularly business travellers, to remember about this new Aria Suite? Paul Johannes - I'd like them to remember a seat, an environment and an ambience over which they have total control. A very top-of-the-range seat, with unrivalled comfort and soothing, relaxing colours. What features...

No false notes marred the recital by the Cathay Pacific teams and their new star on 4 February, at the London launch of the Aria Suite business class. It even made its European debut in the most tasteful of settings, the majestic - and completely refurbished - decor of the...

In order to maximise the use of its terminals in Jakarta, the airport authorities have followed the injunction of Public Enterprises Minister Erik Thohir to rebalance traffic flows. This will be the third time in a decade that a large number of airlines have changed terminals. The last one was in 2023 when AirAsia, Batik Air...

2025 should see an increase in the number of flights between Europe and Asia, if recent announcements by several airlines are anything to go by. Since the winter timetable, Paris-CDG has benefited from three weekly flights to Manila, launched on 7 December by Air France. Aircalin has also been offering two weekly frequencies to Bangkok since 11 December...

The inauguration of the first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City on 22 December marks the end of a veritable saga. Introduced as part of an initial urban transport plan for this metropolis of more than 5 million inhabitants, the construction of the metro took a long time. The revision of the plan in 2007 and the...

Asia has regained all its vigour, if the list of the world's busiest airlines by number of seats is anything to go by. The continent appears 7 times in the top 10 international routes and even 9 times in the top 10 domestic routes. The recovery has been strong across the board...

The deal is done. The EU and the United States have finally approved Korean Air's takeover of Korea's second-largest carrier, Asiana. And its definitive merger into Korea's national carrier. The 1.3 billion dollar takeover - equivalent to 63.88% of Asiana's capital - took three years to complete. This approval effectively gives...

Updated on 16 January at 10am. It's been four years in the making. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be able to resume its flights to Europe following the lifting of its ban on services by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The agency has also lifted its ban on Air Blue, another local carrier...

In a press release issued on Saturday 30 November, the Vietnamese parliament announced the construction of the country's first high-speed railway line on the north-south route between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Construction work will start in 2027, with entry into service scheduled for 2035. The estimated cost is 67 billion...

Star Alliance is sending a strong message to its business customers. On 21 November, the airline alliance inaugurated its very first lounge in the Asian market. Guangzhou airport in China can now boast Asia's first lounge in the Star Alliance colours. Luxury and voluptuousness...

Which airline had the best punctuality on arrival in South-East Asia in October? Analysis by Cirium, an airline consultant that regularly analyses aircraft movements. The consultant's latest report on South-East Asia for October includes a number of surprises. The big winner is Malaysia Airlines. According to Cirium,...

The arrival of Mama Shelter in Amsterdam was recently announced for 2027, in a creative district in the image of the brand, in the north of the Dutch capital, near the NDSM shipyards converted into a mecca for street art. But before that, business travellers who are fans of the lifestyle brand will be able to...