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.

New Qantas Offering

Qantas has taken the next steps towards establishing its new gateway to Europe and the UK, enabling customers to book flights through the global hub of Dubai for travel from 31 March, 2013. The revised Qantas routes, Sydney-Dubai-London and Melbourne-Dubai-London, come as the ACCC considers the proposed Qantas-Emirates partnership, which remains subject to regulatory approval.
The schedule changes do not involve co-ordination between the airlines and do not require ACCC approval. Qantas will start initial work with Emirates on its proposed partnership, following discussions with the ACCC and withdrawal of the airline’s request for interim authorisation.
The ACCC is considering the airlines’ substantive application for authorisation. Qantas has also made a series of other adjustments to its international flight schedule, focused on giving customers more choice and flexibility. Qantas services to Frankfurt will continue until October 2013 and flights to Singapore will be timed so that they connect better with onward flights within Asia.
 The new schedule will be available shortly on qantas.com and via travel agents. Qantas will contact passengers with existing bookings to Europe or the UK after 31 March 2013 affected by these changes, to offer them alternative flights. Customers with bookings prior to this date are not impacted by the change.

Air France-KLM, Etihad and Airberlin Join Forces

Air France-KLM, Etihad Airways and airberlin have agreed on a new commercial partnership. As of 28 October, the airlines will offer their customers more destinations, thanks to mutual code-share agreements. On the routes between Europe and Abu Dhabi, Etihad customers will be able to fly on the Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi daily flight operated by KLM. Air France customers will be able to travel every day between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Abu Dhabi, on Etihad-operated flights.
 Beyond their gateways, this code-share agreement offers five destinations each to Air France and KLM passengers on the Asian and Australian market, and 10 European destinations to Etihad passengers on Air France and KLM. Air France passengers will be able to connect through Abu Dhabi for flights to Colombo, Dhaka, Katmandu (subject to government approval), Mahe, and Male. KLM passengers will be able to connect through Abu Dhabi for flights to Colombo, Islamabad, Lahore, Melbourne and Sydney.
Etihad passengers will be able to connect through Paris-CDG for flights to Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Madrid, Nice and Toulouse, on an Air France-operated flight, and through Amsterdam-Schiphol to Billund, Cardiff, Newcastle, Oslo, and Stavanger, on a KLM-operated flight. Further to that, Air France and airberlin customers will be able to fly on all the routes operated by the other between France and Germany. Passengers will also be able to connect to some selected destinations via Paris for airberlin, and via Berlin or Düsseldorf for Air France.
 Air France passengers will be able to connect through Berlin-Tegel airport to Krakow, Gdansk, Graz, and from Düsseldorf to Dresden, on services operated by airberlin. Airberlin passengers will be able to transfer through Paris-CDG and Paris-Orly to Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, and Toulouse, on services operated by Air France. Additionally, KLM and airberlin will co-operate on routes between the Netherlands and Germany. KLM will code-share with airberlin on three destinations beyond Berlin, namely Krakow, Gdansk and Kaliningrad. Airberlin will code-share on Berlin-Amsterdam routes as well as on Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester, beyond Amsterdam.