Turkish Airlines to Launch Longest Flight

According to news24, Turkish Airlines is planning the world's first non-stop commercial flight from Europe to Australia.
The Telegraph reports that the new route from Istanbul to Sydney will be the longest commercial flight in the world, spanning 14,956km.
 The service will initially include a stopover in Asia but the airline expects to run non-stop journeys within three years, probably using the Boeing 777-300ER.
The new service will put many European cities within one short hop of the Australian city. Currently the 19-hour Singapore Airlines flight running 15,544km from Singapore to Newark, New York, is the world's longest unbroken commercial flight, however the service is expected to cease at the end of the year.

Air Seychelles Extends Etihad Codeshare

Air Seychelles has extended its codeshare agreement with equity alliance partner Etihad Airways to include new connections to Australia.
 The new codeshare flights offer connections to Seychelles from Melbourne and Sydney, through Abu Dhabi. Flights from Melbourne offer daily connections, with 10 flights per week from Sydney and three weekly return connections from Seychelles to Melbourne and Sydney.
This comes after a Memorandum of Understanding for air services between the Republic of Seychelles and the Australian Government. Members of Air Seychelles’ joint loyalty programme, Etihad Guest, will earn miles for their entire journey when they fly on the Etihad Airways-operated codeshare flights to or from Australia.

Mantis Marks Presence on All Continents

According to breakingnewstravel, 5-star property group Mantis has become the only hotel group in the world to have a presence on all seven continents.
 The group has signed with a collection of unique bush camps in Australia, called Wild Bush Luxury, giving Mantis its seventh continental footprint. Mantis has also recently partnered with ICS Group in India, forming a joint venture focusing on providing hospitality services to high-end boutique hotels and lodges, primarily in nature destinations.
 Continuing to expand their brand under the vision of “unearthing the exceptional”, this year has also seen Mantis embark on the development of a 5-star hotel on the island of St. Helena, in the South Atlantic Ocean, 2,000km from the nearest major land mass.
The island is currently only accessed by the last commercially operating Royal Mail Ship, but will be opening its own airport in January 2016.

Etihad and Air France Strengthen Ties

 Strategic partners Etihad Airways and Air France have announced a number of new codeshare destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe for 2013.
The expansion of codeshare services follows last October’s agreement between the respective national carriers to foster closer commercial ties, build an expanded global network, and deliver unrivalled travel options for customers.
Now placing its EY flight code on Air France flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Oslo and Stockholm, Etihad Airways expects to build on the existing joint codeshare routes from Paris-CDG to Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Madrid, Nice and Toulouse.
Subject to further regulatory approvals, Etihad also expects to be able to place its EY code soon on Air France flights between Paris-CDG, Lisbon and Marseilles. The UAE flag carrier flies twice daily between Abu Dhabi and Paris. Air France is placing its AF code on Etihad Airways’ daily flights from Abu Dhabi to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and to two cities in Australia – Melbourne and Sydney.
 The French carrier expects to be able to place its AF code shortly on Etihad services between Singapore and Brisbane (Australia). Furthermore and subject to regulatory approvals, Air France foresees placing its AF code on routes between Abu Dhabi and Kathmandu (Nepal).
 The airline already places its AF code on Etihad’s operated flights between Paris-CDG and Abu Dhabi, and onwards to Colombo (Sri Lanka), Mahé (Seychelles) and Male (Maldives).

Qantas, Emirates In New Global Aviation Partnership

Qantas and Emirates have announced a new global aviation partnership, whereby Qantas will move its hub for European flights to Dubai and enter an extensive commercial relationship with Emirates. Whilst neither airline will take equity in the other, the 10-year partnership will go beyond codesharing by including integrated network collaboration with co-ordinated pricing, sales and scheduling, as well as a benefit-sharing model. 
Qantas will launch daily A380 services from both Sydney and Melbourne to London via Dubai, and together Emirates and Qantas will offer 98 weekly services between Australia and Dubai. Qantas will be the only other airline operating to Terminal 3 and the new purpose-built A380 concourse at Dubai International Airport. Qantas customers will get one-stop access to more than 70 Emirates destinations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and for Emirates customers it will open up Qantas’ Australian domestic network of more than 50 destinations and 5,000 flights per week.
 The Emirates and Qantas frequent flyer programs will also be aligned. The airlines will also provide reciprocal access to tier status benefits, including end-to-end customer recognition, lounge access, priority check-in, boarding and other exclusive services. The airlines will submit an application for interim authorisation to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, in order to begin commercial planning. 
Subject to regulatory approval, it is anticipated that the partnership will commence in April 2013. Qantas will restructure its Asian network to strengthen its focus on services to and within the region. Qantas’ Asian services will no longer be a subsidiary of the ‘Kangaroo Route’, but will be dedicated to connecting Australians with the region, and Asian visitors to Australia. It will also increase dedicated capacity to Singapore and re-time flights to Singapore and Hong Kong to enable more ‘same day’ connections across Asia. Qantas will also withdraw from the Singapore-Frankfurt route due to underperformance. However, the partnership with Emirates will enable it to take place with minimal impact on Qantas customers.