JEDDAH: Singapore Airlines is introducing two daily flights to Tokyo Haneda Airport from Oct. 31, with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. These new flights are now available for booking, through singaporeair.com or travel agents. The flights will complement the current twice-daily Tokyo Narita services, bringing total frequency to Tokyo to four times daily. SQ634, departing Singapore Changi Airport at 1540hrs, will arrive at Haneda at 2305hrs, while SQ633, the return flight, will depart Haneda at 0015hrs and arrive in Singapore at 0640hrs. The second flight, SQ636, will depart Singapore at 2220hrs and arrive at Haneda at 0545hrs the next day. The return flight, SQ635, will depart at 0655hrs from Haneda and arrive at Changi Airport at 1320hrs. The timings for both flights are subject to regulatory approval. Haneda Airport offers an extensive range of domestic flight connections, and business travelers will appreciate its proximity to Tokyo’s commercial districts. Customers interested in viewing fares and booking flights to Tokyo Haneda can visit singaporeair.com for more details.


JEDDAH: Sheraton Hotels & Resorts has unveiled a new online experience for guests designed by Microsoft’s new decision engine, Bing, featuring intuitive tools that promotes a sense of discovery and captures the “pulse” of the local destination, helping guests seamlessly navigate their stay. Designed as a social, interactive online global destination, the new facility will be featured worldwide addition to in-room Web access. As part of the brand’s $6 billion revitalization effort, Sheraton Hotels has redesigned nearly 400 lobbies worldwide with the addition of its innovative Link@Sheraton experience with Microsoft, a lobby lounge that enables today’s travelers access to information and technology for work, leisure and social networking. With one click of the mouse guests can find the nearest entertainment and must see sites, get the local weather forecast, read the top news stories of the day or discover more about their hotel, such as the restaurant hours and spa offerings, said Hoyt Harper, senior vice president, global brand management for Sheraton Hotel & Resorts. We’re thrilled to work with Starwood to bring the powerful decision making tools of Bing,” said Yusuf Mehdi, senior vice president, online services division, Microsoft.


DOHA: Qatar Airways’ well-documented move into the research of alternative jet fuel as part of an overall mission to secure a cleaner and environmentally friendly future has helped it win the environment accolade at the annual Airline Strategy Awards held in London recently. Now in their ninth year, the awards, which are run by the monthly aviation magazine Airline Business, have established themselves as the sector’s benchmark recognizing boardroom leadership and strategic vision. Success criteria for the award included demonstrating the creation and implementation of a company-wide environmental strategy; the creation, development and implementation of measures that produce environmental benefits; and the support of industry-wide initiatives through research. The airline was acknowledged for its leadership in pioneering the use of alternative jet fuel having operated the world’s first commercial passenger flight powered by a fuel made from natural gas. The flight from London Gatwick to Doha in October 2009 made headlines around the world. Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “It’s a great honor for the airline to be recognized with this prestigious award.”


MANAMA: Following the recent announcement of its commencement of services to Aden and Colombo, Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, has announced launching of services to three more destinations — Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Basra in Iraq and Isfahan in Iran. Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Samer Majali said the services to these five destinations were being rolled out from September 2010, coinciding with the airline’s winter schedule, which was also released today. Accordingly, Gulf Air will begin services to Isfahan from Oct. 30 with three weekly services while services to Aden via Sana’a and Colombo will be from Oct. 31 with five weekly services. Basra service will also be launched on Oct. 31 with three weekly services. Addis Ababa will be served from Dec. 6 with five weekly services. “The launching of these five new destinations further demonstrates our new strategy to identify and serve niche and under-served markets and, create potentially high yield city-pairs by providing direct service to Bahrain and beyond,” said Majali. “We believe there is a strong commercial potential in all these cities.”