The airline desk.
Skywards, Etihad Guest and Gulf-carrier news that changes what a UAE resident should earn or burn, with the source basis linked and published denominations retained.
Qatar's November Privilege Deals: 25% off Avios to Colombo, Kathmandu, Manila and more — book by 14 November
Qatar Airways' November Privilege Deals cut 25% off Avios award prices on Business Class to Colombo, Kathmandu, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, among others. Book by 14 November 2026, travel by 31 December.
More recent reporting
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Cash or Miles? Compare three Emirates prices, not two
Cash+Miles and Classic Rewards are different ways to use Skywards Miles. A clearly hypothetical example shows how to compare both with a cash fare.
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Cash or Miles? Abu Dhabi to Muscat on Etihad
Same Economy flight and checked bag, two ways to pay. We priced both and checked where the fare rules differ.
More recent stories
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Cash or Miles? Two UAE flights, two break-even examples
Compare an all-in fare with miles plus fees. Two hypothetical Emirates and Etihad examples show how to calculate your break-even cash fare.
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flydubai brings back Dubai–Skopje from 1 April 2027, three flights a week
flydubai will fly Dubai to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 1 April 2027, from DXB Terminal 3. Return fares from Dubai start at AED 2,800 in Economy Lite and AED 12,500 in Business, per flydubai.
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Emirates puts the A350, and Premium Economy, on every Dubai–Vietnam flight by 1 December, and on Durban from March
A second daily A350 to Ho Chi Minh City from 1 November and both daily Hanoi flights from 1 December mean all four Dubai–Vietnam services carry Premium Economy. The daily Durban flight follows on 1 March 2027. Emirates describes the 2-4-2 Premium Economy seat, not its new privacy-screen design.
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Skywards pays double Miles on IHG, Booking.com and car hire, and 25% extra on ALL Accor transfers, to 30 November
Emirates Skywards members earn double Miles on hotel stays booked through Booking.com and IHG and on car rentals with five firms, 50% extra on Emirates Skywards Hotels and Emirates Holidays, and a 25% bonus on ALL Accor conversions. Book between 29 October and 30 November 2026 (26 November for holidays); stays and rentals must be completed by 31 January 2027.
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Emirates brings back Mile-a-Minute: up to 7,200 Skywards Miles for visitors to Dubai, but UAE residents are excluded
Skywards members who register and book a return Emirates or flydubai ticket by 5 November 2026 earn one bonus mile per minute in Dubai, capped at 7,200, for stays completed by 13 December. Residents of the UAE and tickets starting in the UAE do not qualify.
Earlier reporting
21 storiesThe reporting continues beyond this edition. These stories were published from to ; dates are original publication dates.
Qatar Airways' A321LR will carry doored business suites from January; Qsuite Next Gen moves to the A350 for mid-2027
Air Arabia adds Sharjah to Amman City Airport, four flights a week from 15 November
Etihad now flies Abu Dhabi to Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, twice weekly from 25 October
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flydubai's Dubai–Budapest goes daily from 25 October
flydubai brought back its Dubai–Budapest route on 31 July with three flights a week. From 25 October 2026 it flies every day from DXB Terminal 3, sold with Emirates as a codeshare and earning Skywards Miles.
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Air Arabia brings back daily Ras Al Khaimah–Kozhikode flights from 16 October
Air Arabia is resuming its daily nonstop service between Ras Al Khaimah and Kozhikode in Kerala from 16 October 2026, per its own press release of 6 October. It joins Cairo, Islamabad, Lahore and Peshawar on the airline's nonstop list from RAK.
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Etihad Guest pays up to 40% bonus Miles on transfers from UAE banks and Accor until 31 October
Etihad Guest's October points-exchange offer adds 10%, 20% or 40% bonus Miles to partner transfers made by 31 October 2026, tiered by the size of the transfer. Emirates NBD, FAB, DIB, Emirates Islamic, Mashreq, RAKBANK and Ajman Bank are on the list; ADCB and Marriott Bonvoy are not.
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My Emirates Pass is back for winter: an Emirates boarding pass into Dubai unlocks UAE discounts until 31 March 2027
Emirates' winter 2026 edition of My Emirates Pass runs from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. Any Emirates boarding pass to Dubai in that window, in your own name, gets discounts at UAE restaurants, attractions, spas and shops. UAE public holidays are excluded.
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Qatar's October Privilege Deals put Sharjah on the list — book by 14 October
Qatar Airways has opened a new round of discounted Avios award prices, with Sharjah shown in Economy from 5,250 Avios from Doha. Booking closes 14 October 2026; travel by 30 November.
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Emirates launches daily Dubai–Helsinki on the A350 — the UAE's only year-round direct link to Finland
EK167 left Dubai for Helsinki for the first time on 2 October 2026. The daily A350 service runs Business, Premium Economy and Economy, departing DXB at 08:15 and landing back at 00:20 the following day.
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Qatar Privilege Club pays up to 35% bonus Avios on transfers from Emirates NBD, DIB, HSBC and Mashreq until 31 October
Qatar Airways' Global Points Exchange offer gives 15%, 25% or 35% bonus Avios on partner conversions by 31 October 2026, tiered by the size of a single transaction. Four UAE banks and the Accor, IHG, Hyatt and Shangri-La hotel programmes are on the partner list.
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Booking Qatar Avios awards for someone else: the My List rules
Qatar Privilege Club now lets you name up to four other members you can redeem Avios for, with a six-month lock-in. Gold and Platinum can book for anyone. What Qatar's own terms say.
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flydubai now flies Dubai–Pokhara daily, from AED 1,950 return
A daily non-stop from DXB Terminal 3 to Pokhara, Nepal's gateway to the Annapurnas, since 23 September. Economy from AED 1,950 return, Business from AED 5,400.
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flydubai adds Air India and Uzbekistan Airways interline tickets
One ticket and checked-through bags from Dubai to more than 80 extra destinations, including Sydney, Tokyo and Tashkent onward to Europe. The release says nothing about Skywards.
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Emirates puts an electric privacy screen in A350 Premium Economy
Emirates' new Premium Economy seat adds a full-height powered privacy divider, wireless charging and a Safran U-Dream headrest. 28 seats, 2-3-2, A350 only.
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Qatar's Privilege Deals cut Avios prices — book by 14 September
Qatar Airways is discounting award pricing on selected routes, with Abu Dhabi Business from 21,000 Avios. Booking closes 14 September 2026; travel by 31 October.
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Emirates drops the birthday-month rule on Skywards Miles expiry
From 1 June 2027, newly earned Skywards Miles expire three years after earning, rounded to month end. The birthday-month bonus — worth up to a year — goes.
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Skywards' Season of Rewards ends 31 August — and you must fly by then, not just book
Nine days remain in Emirates Skywards' summer campaign. The deadline that bites is the travel window: tickets must be booked, issued and flown (outbound) by 31 August 2026. Partner bonuses stay capped at 10,000 Miles per partner, and new members must enrol by 11.59pm Dubai time on the 31st.
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Etihad's Miles-as-cash rate is a constant, not a promotion: 2.94 fils across two consecutive sales
Etihad's new 'Last chance for summer' sale prices six European and North African routes in cash and Miles side by side. Every one divides to 2.94 fils per Mile — the identical rate its July sale returned on a completely different route list. That makes it a standing setting, not a per-sale decision, and it stays a poor use of Miles.
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Etihad fare sale closes 31 July 2026 — and its Miles prices value an Etihad Guest Mile at a flat 2.94 fils
Etihad's UAE offers page carries round-trip Economy fares ex-Abu Dhabi with a book-by-31-July deadline for travel to November 2026. Each fare shows a cash price and an Etihad Guest Miles price; divide one by the other and every route returns 2.94 fils per Mile.
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Skywards' summer redemption push runs to 30 September — and its DSS raffle offers 5 million Miles to 30 August
Emirates Skywards has enhanced its non-flight redemption rates until 30 September, with Skywards Everyday converting 350 Miles into AED 10 back. A parallel Dubai Summer Surprises raffle gives 500 members 10,000 Miles each on AED 200+ spend through 30 August.
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Emirates Skywards opens 'Season of Rewards': Cash+Miles doubles, bonus tier miles through August
Emirates Skywards' summer campaign (21 May–31 August 2026) bundles four member offers. For UAE residents the doubled Cash+Miles rate is the broadly useful one; the rest are situational and come with a registration step and a hard travel-completion deadline.
