International Carrier operations from Pakistan.

[ghazi52]

virginatlantic

@VirginAtlantic

We’re thrilled to announce that from December, we’ll be flying direct to Pakistan. We’ll have flights from @HeathrowAirport to both Lahore and Islamabad, plus direct services from @manairport to Islamabad. Flights go on sale in September, and we can’t wait to welcome you.




4:59 AM · Aug 27, 2020

 

[ghazi52]

BA announces daily flights for Islamabad. Reportedly expanding to Lahore.

Virgin Atlantic announces flights to Islamabad and Lahore this December.

 

[ghazi52]

Virgin Atlantic has announced plans to launch flights from London and Manchester to Pakistan.


This December the carrier will commence routes from Heathrow and Manchester to Islamabad, and from Manchester to Lahore.

Schedules have yet to be announced, and flights will go on sale in September, subject to applicable regulatory approvals.

Virgin’s chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen said that with travel restrictions still in place for many destinations around the world, “we’re continually evaluating our network, looking at customer demand and where there are opportunities to launch new services”.

The carrier said that the services would offer “seamless, speedy connections and a consistent long-haul onboard experience for customers travelling from destinations throughout North America, including New York JFK, Los Angeles, Washington, Boston and San Francisco via London Heathrow onwards to Pakistan”.

“Pakistan is an extremely exciting opportunity for us – it boasts one of the largest foreign-born populations in both the UK and the US and, as people start to travel to visit loved ones, we’re anticipating the demand  to visit friends and relatives will increase post COVID-19,” said Jarvinen.

“Both Lahore and Islamabad are popular year-round destinations and we look forward to welcoming travellers onboard as demand for leisure and business travel gradually increases to the region.

 

[ghazi52]

Virgin Atlantic Cargo set to launch new services to Pakistan from London and Manchester

POSTED ON 27TH AUGUST 2020
BY EDDIE SAUNDERS

Virgin Atlantic Cargo will be launching flights between the UK and Pakistan in December 2020, supporting growing trade volumes between exporters and importers in both countries.
Trade in goods and services between the UK and Pakistan is worth some £3.3 billion a year, rising 4.7% year-on-year in 2019, with high volumes of goods such as textiles, apparel and machinery. The UK is the third biggest global market for Pakistani exporters after the US and China and their main trade lane in Europe.
Virgin Atlantic will operate three new routes; London Heathrow to Lahore; London Heathrow to Islamabad as well as Manchester to Islamabad.
Pakistan has the seventh largest diaspora in the world and the new services aim to respond to the large, fast-growing demand to visit friends and relatives (VFR) from customers in the UK and the US, as well as capturing demand for business travel and trade to the region as global economies gradually recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cargo customers in Pakistan will also benefit from fast connections to prime markets in the US as well as in Europe and Africa via London Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic Cargo also expects healthy demand for capacity into Pakistan from customers across its international network.

Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic, commented: “With travel restrictions remaining in place for many destinations around the world, we’re continually evaluating our network, looking at customer demand and where there are opportunities to launch new services. Pakistan is an extremely exciting opportunity for us – it boasts one of the largest foreign-born populations in both the UK and the US and as people start to travel to visit loved ones, we’re anticipating the demand to visit friends and relatives will increase post COVID-19. Both Lahore and Islamabad are popular year-round destinations and we look forward to welcoming travellers onboard as demand for leisure and business travel gradually increases to the region. The growth in trade between both countries also offers great potential for our cargo customers too.”


Dominic Kennedy, Managing Director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo, said: “The import and export market for goods between the UK and Pakistan is extremely healthy, so we’re delighted to be offering our cargo customers another prime route with such positive growth opportunities. This is supported by our fast connections over London to Europe, the US and Africa, and this potential will become even greater as Virgin Atlantic continues to reintroduce more routes and frequencies as part of our COVID recovery plan.”

Virgin Atlantic Cargo set to launch new services to Pakistan from London and Manchester

Virgin Atlantic Cargo will be launching flights between the UK and Pakistan in December 2020, supporting growing trade volumes

www.caasint.com

 

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Pakistan's Serene Air to go global in October with Dubai services
Muzaffar Rizvi /Dubai
Filed on August 28, 2020

Serene Air will be the third largest airline in Pakistan after Pakistan International Airline and airblue.

Dubai will be the first international destination of Pakistan's Serene Air when it starts regular commercial operations in October this year, Khaleej Times has learnt.

The Islamabad-based airline, which inducted a A330-200 widebody aircraft to its existing fleet of four Boeing 737-800 planes, will foray into the UAE market with regular services to Dubai and Sharjah. It will be the nation's third-largest carrier after Pakistan International Airline and airblue.
"Serene Air is ready to commence international operations to Dubai and Sharjah in the UAE and followed by Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia," Muhammad Safdar Khan, CEO of Serene Air, said in a statement to Khaleej Times.


He said all spade work for expanding its wings over China and the UK has already been completed and Serene Air's signature would soon appear on the international radar.

Serene Air is a privately-owned airline that began operating domestic flights in the country in January 2017. Since July 3, it operated 53 chartered special flights from the UAE to repatriate approximately 6,000 stranded Pakistanis to major cities of the country.

Sohail Sheikh, country manager of Serene Air in the UAE, said the airline is ready to launch regular services to Dubai and Sharjah in the first phase of entering the international market.
"We will foray into the Saudi market later this year and we also have firm plans to explore key destinations in China and the UK," he told Khaleej Times.

Historic milestone
The induction of the A330-200 marks a historic milestone for the airline as it is the only private carrier to operate a widebody two-class configuration aircraft equipped with the latest facilities to carry up to 299 passengers, including 275 in economy class and 24 in club class, to be classified as Serene Plus.
"With this addition, we are poised to become stronger and thrive in the intensively competitive airline industry. This is the start of fleet enhancement as Serene Air would be adding two more A330 to its fleet in the next three to four months," Khan said.

Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research, said Serene Air has enjoyed three years of successful operations within Pakistan and the airline considers that now is the right time to capitalise on cheap lease rates for widebody aeroplanes to step into the international arena.

"There's no question that this poses a risk given the Covid-19 pandemic that has decimated air travel, but with Dubai poised to be its first non-Pakistani gateway and that city re-opening for travel, trade and tourism, perhaps there's no better time to take advantage of PIA's fumbling's and enter this market and try to build on the slow uptick in demand fortravel to Pakistan," Ahmad told Khaleej Times on Friday.

He added that the real challenge for the airline will be filling their A330-200's profitably - and taking three widebodies in quick succession will definitely make things harder if demand still remains suppressed.
"Critically, the induction of three A330-200s would make Serene Air the third largest Pakistani airline behind PIA and airblue with a fleet of 7 airplanes, including four Boeing 737-800s, which have proved to be highly popular with travellers."


- muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com