Industry snippets

Jet Airways, Travelport renew content agreement

Travelport recently announced the renewal of its multi-year renewal content agreement with Jet Airways and Jet Lite. Both airlines operate nearly 550 flights to 72 destinations within India and overseas. Damian Hickey, Travelport’s vice president of global distribution sales and services, APAC, said: “We are excited about regional opportunities in India as the airline industry continues to recover steadily. We look forward to supporting the airline in their evolving distribution needs.”

Gulf Air adds more religious channels

Gulf Air has added a suite of new religious channels to its in-flight entertainment. This initiative is in line with catering to its passengers travelling for Hajj. The airline has added a new video channel featuring full 30 chapters of the Holy Quran – including all 114 Surahs – in both Arabic and English, a step-by-step ‘how to’ guide for Hajj and Umrah in four different languages and  a special Dua’a channel.

Two Rotana Dubai properties attain HACCP certification

Al Ghurair Rayhaan and Al Ghurair Arjaan by Rotana were recently certified for the HACCP System. This was achieved within six months of the hotel’s opening. HACCP is an internationally recognized system which helps identifying and evaluating potential food safety hazards and associated risks. HACCP principles help to monitor food and beverage operations and focus on critical parts to ensure safety of foods. The certification was handed to Mark McCarthy, general manager, Maric Van Duijvenbode, executive assistant manager, Aamir Rasool, HACCP team leader and the rest of HACCP Committee members.

O Cacti opens in Dubai

A new addition to Dubai multi-cuisine arena was the opening of O Cacti. The new Latin-themed restaurant and cocktail bar recently opened at Pier 7, Marina Mall lake view. The fine dining restaurant offers a diversified menu of authentic Mexican cuisine. Signature dishes are served by Chef Marco Abed who is soon to receive his Michelin star. The restaurant has a total capacity of 220 people as well as performances from international DJ’s and Latino bands.

Etihad rolls out new schedule for Sao Paulo Etihad Airways unveiled new timings for its daily service between São Paulo and Abu Dhabi. Starting 27 October to 19 December, flights will depart from Sao Paulo at 7.15 pm (Brazil Local time), and from 20 December onwards, flights will depart at 11.15 pm. The airline offers 3,360 seats per week between Abu Dhabi and São Paulo. The airline will continue to operate ultra-long range Airbus A340-500 aircraft on the route, seating 240 passengers in a three-class cabin – 12 in First Class, 28 in Business Class, and 200 in Economy Class.