Emirates on Monday celebrated the start of its daily, non-stop service from Dubai to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) with the launch of its inaugural flight.

“We value our partnership with Tokyo International Airport; it is one that helps to connect two global hubs of development and growth - Japan and the UAE. We know that Haneda will play an integral role in our route network and the launch of services demonstrates Emirates’ commitment to Japan,” said Thierry Antinori, Emirates’ Executive Vice President, Passenger Sales Worldwide.

“Since the commencement of Emirates’ flights to Osaka in 2002, trade relations between Japan and UAE have flourished. According to JETRO (Japan External Trade Organisation), two-way trade between UAE and Japan rose to $53.1 billion in 2012, up by 5.4 per cent compared to previous year,” continued Mr Antinori.

“Haneda is our third gateway in Japan and we are confident that the demand in terms of both passengers and cargo is strong enough to warrant Emirates operating non-stop, daily flights to both of Tokyo’s airports, offering our passengers more flexibility on the route to Dubai and onwards to over 70 destinations in the Indian Ocean, Middle East, Africa and Europe,” concluded Mr Antinori.

On board Emirates’ first flight to Haneda was Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operation Far East & Australasia; His Excellency Daisuke Matsunaga, Consul General of Japan; Ravishankar Mirle, Emirates’ Vice President Cargo Commercial; media representatives from the United Arab Emirates and connecting passengers from 17 destinations on Emirates’ global network.

In the cockpit of the Boeing 777-200LR was Captain Ahmad Alshamsi from the UAE and First Officers Tsuyoshi Mikami from Japan and Hermes Guzman from the USA.

With the new daily flight to Haneda, Emirates SkyCargo is able to add about 23 tonnes per flight, which accounts for about 160 tonnes of additional cargo capacity per week, further supporting Japanese exports of mechanical components, electronic goods and automobile parts, and its imports of gas and oil products. Dubai is an important hub for the re-export of Japanese manufactured products to the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

Together with the new Haneda flight service, Emirates has launched a complimentary airport transfer services for its passengers from Haneda Airport directly to a location of their choice in the Greater Tokyo area. This service is available to First Class and Business Class passengers travelling on Emirates flight EK312 (Dubai to Haneda) or EK313 (Haneda to Dubai).

Emirates’ flight EK312 departs Dubai at 0935hrs, touching down at Haneda 0001hrs the following day. The return flight, EK313, departs Haneda at 0130hrs and arrives at Dubai at 0705hrs the same day.

The Boeing 777-200LR aircraft operating the route is equipped with eight luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 of its latest lie-flat seats in Business, and generous space for 216 passengers in Economy, along with gourmet cuisine in all cabins which has been tailored to Japanese passengers, served by Emirates’ multinational cabin crew.

The aircraft also features ice, Emirates’ award-winning inflight entertainment system which offers over 1,400 channels showing the latest Japanese blockbusters, subtitled Hollywood films and Japanese music and TV.

Emirates now operates services to 134 destinations in 77 countries from Dubai, earlier this year Emirates launched services to Warsaw and Algiers. In addition to Haneda, Emirates has announced plans to launch services to Stockholm starting 4 September, Clark International Airport (Philippines) beginning on 1 October; the same day as it begins its transatlantic route between Milan and New York.

Emirates’ longstanding partnership with Japan Airlines has been expanded to include a code share on the new Dubai-Haneda-Dubai services. The flights will be identified with the Emirates ‘EK’ code as well as with Japan Airlines ‘JL’ code

Emirates Holidays, the airline’s tour operating arm, offers holidays to Japan, with itineraries that highlight attractions in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Emirates Holidays provides holiday options that take travellers from Tokyo – the modern capital city; to the majestic Mount Fuji and the natural beauty of Hakone; to Nagoya and Kyoto, the cultural heart of Japan; and to Osaka, gateway to the Kansai region.

Virgin America is emerging as a clear favorite within the airline industry, adding another accolade to its belt this year after travelers put the carrier at the top of the heap.

After topping the 2012 Airline Quality Rating report released last month, more than 16,000 readers of US-based publication Consumer Reports likewise gave the carrier top marks for, among other things, its comfy leather seating and in-flight entertainment system.

Some of the more innovative features out of the airline’s entertainment system Red, for example, include a chat service that allows passengers to strike up a virtual conversation with other flyers using the touch screen on their chairback.

Last month, the airline debuted what Richard Branson described as an in-flight flirting service where passengers can now order drinks for their onboard crush using the same system.

Meanwhile, other airlines that got top nods from consumers of the publication include Southwest, which was lauded for its onboard service.

JetBlue also came out ahead for its in-flight entertainment, cabin cleanliness and comfort: seats come with a couple extra inches of legroom compared with other airlines.

At the other end of the spectrum, meanwhile, no-frills carrier Spirit Airlines won the dubious title of receiving one of the lowest overall scores for any company the magazine has ever rated, said Consumer Reports, mainly for tacking on a slew of extra fees such as a $10-$19 booking charge and up to $100 per carry-on bag.

In the Airline Quality Rating, based on figures from the US Department of Transportation, Virgin America posted the strongest performance in baggage handling, at a mishandling rate of 0.87 per 1,000 passengers.

By comparison, American Eagle posted a mishandling rate of 5.8 per 1,000 passengers.

The full report is available in the July issue of Consumer Reports magazine.

Communications agency MRM designed an app for Latvia-based loyalty program Baltic Miles called, 'Burn The Miles', which rewards redeemable points to frequent fliers, based on how far they have traveled. 

App users are challenged to "match every mile they fly with a calorie burned in the space of 24 hours after they land." For example, if you flew about 1074.52 miles from Latvia to London, your target would be to burn that same amount in calories. 

Calories burned are tracked using a built-in accelerometer that is found in a smartphone. 

Should a passenger successfully burn a calorie for each mile flown within the 24 hour period, they will be rewarded with more points and therefore stand a greater chance of winning more prizes. 

The aim of the project as a whole is to offer encouragement to frequent fliers to find the time to exercise and keep fit, despite their hectic schedules and long hours spent on planes. 

Istanbul, Turkey; Turkish Airlines has entered into an agreement with Booking.com, to provide online bookings with guaranteed best prices at nearly 300,000 hotels around the world. 

Turkish Airlines now provides access to a worldwide selection of hotels, apartments, villas and B&B’s at the best rates available, enabling all Turkish Airlines passengers to find and book their perfect accommodation solution directly from the Turkish Airlines website.

Passengers can arrange their entire itinerary through a single website and have the confidence that both Turkish Airlines and Booking.com are providing top quality service and convenience. 

This new service is another example of the way in which Turkish Airlines provides unique opportunities and benefits for its passengers.