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April 15- Emirates Airlines cancelled many flights from Dubai to the UK after volcano eruptions in Iceland. Airspace in northern Europe, including Scotland were closed by aviation authorities ‘until further notice’ because an ashcloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland was moving across Europe. The airline released a statement that said “Emirates continues to liaise with UK and European authorities to monitor…
April 15- Etihad Airways issued a press release Wednesday announcing it achieved a 25.4 percent growth in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK) in the first quarter of 2010, far higher than the industry average. RPK is an important indicator assessing an airlines’ revenue levels. Etihad said it may achieve a 22 percent growth in another key indicator, available seat kilometers in the first quarter of 2010. The…
April 14- Oman Air Holidays is offering various summer packages to Salalah, Oman, this year. These five-star packages include: Pay-for-2-and-Stay-for-3-nights for RO109 per person at Hilton Salalah Resort, for RO124 per person at Crown Plaza Salalah and RO111 per person with three free dinners at the Salalah Marriott Resort. Other Pay-for-2-and-Stay-for-3-nights options are at the 3-star Samharam Tourist…
April 14-Kuwaiti-based Jazeera Airways will start its flights to Lahore from May 12, it was learnt on Tuesday. There will be three flights a week to Lahore and online bookings for this route have already been launched and the cost of a round trip will be KD75 (Dh954.8). When contacted, however, Jazeera officials refused to comment saying that a statement in this regard would be released soon.
April 11- The Royal Jordanian (RJ) has announced the signing of a new marketing alliance agreement with Jordan Kuwait Bank (JKB), thus launching the "Fly and Plus", a co-branded MasterCard credit card. According to the details, Fly and Plus card holders will be able to add points to their RJ frequent flyer programme whether they are traveling via RJ or any of the 10 members of the global aviation…
Kuwaiti based Jazeera Airways hopes to increase its capital by 91 per cent thanks to a rights issue, said a statement issued by the airline on Sunday. The budget carrier’s board of directors will recommend to shareholders $69.28 million worth of capital increasing by selling 200 million shares. The increase will bring the airline’s capital to 42 million dinars. Meanwhile, Jazeera Airways acquired Sahab Aircraft…
US aircraft manufacturer Boeing will open its service centre in Doha, Qatar, that will provide facilities to both civilian and military clients. “We want to team up with Qatar and our new office would add value to our partnership,” Boeing Military Aircraft President Chris Chadwick said. However, Chadwick did not reveal further details about the project citing security concerns as a reason. Qatar is the first…
Dubai’s budget carrier, FlyDubai will launch flights to Assiut in Egypt and Istanbul, Turkey, thus increasing its network to 15 destinations. With a flexible price range starting from AED350, flights to Assiut, the largest town in upper Egypt, will be thrice a week and will start on Monday May 24. Meanwhile, flights to Istanbul will start from June 17 and will be priced at AED450. The airline will fly to…
The Middle East is catching up with India and China in the business jet market, said industry analysts. The Middle East currently accounts for about 6 percent of the global business jet market and will need 200 more jets by 2015, and another 200 by 2018, according to Frost & Sullivan, the global business research and consultancy firm. “Between 2010 and 2018 415 new business jets are expected to be delivered. 223…
April 11- IBQ Bank has partnered with Qatar Airways that will allow the former’s customers to travel to the destination of their choice via the airline. As per the offer, customers who transfer their salary to IBQ or use one of its three products -- a credit card, vehicle or personal loan -- will be rewarded with a Qatar Airways return ticket to any destination in the world. The promotion will start on 11th April…
April 8- Qatar Airways has launched its flights to Ankara, it was learnt in a statement released yesterday. Flight QR462 landed at Esenboga International Airport on Monday night, it added. The flights to Ankara will be four times a week from Doha making it the second destination to Turkey after Istanbul. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Akbar Al Baker said that “Qatar Airways is the only…
April 8 - Kuwait-based Wataniya Airways, has announced that it will start flights to Rome from May 31. The thrice a week flights will take off from Sheikh Saad Terminal to Rome's Leonardo da Vinci Fiumiciano Airport on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. This is the airline’s 11th destination and second European city after launching a flight to Istanbul earlier. Speaking on the occasion, Abdulsalam Al Bahar,…
April 9- Emirates Airline has produced a reality TV show for North America’s Indian communities, tapping into the singing and dancing craze of Bollywood. Viewers will pick winners of both song and dance sections every week. Winners receive a cash prize of US$2,010 (Dh7,376), and perhaps a ticket to stardom. The Bollywood reality show features soloists and dance troupes performing all the head bobbing and…
April 7 - Shell Oman has clinched two contracts to supply fuel to Fly Dubai and Aviation Services Management (ASM) at Muscat International Airport from April 1 to March 31, 2011. We are very pleased to win these prestigious contracts and thank the management of Fly Dubai and ASM for having placed their trust in Shell Oman," said Redha Juma al Lawati, Aviation Manager, Shell Oman. Fly Dubai has recently…
April 7 - While plans for its budget airline have been finalized, Qatar Airways, in a statement released on Wednesday, said that the low-cost carrier will not be launched as long as it feels that it will lose out on revenue to other budget airlines in the region. "We already have our plan for the low-cost carrier ready, but we are holding it back. The plan is complete," said Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive…
April 7- The European Union (EU) has banned 34 out of 67 aircraft belonging to IranAir, Iran’s national carrier, from flying into member states owing to safety concerns. This is part of EU’s efforts to increase safety standards in the airline industry across the world. EU members will also visit Iran in the next few months to determine the safety situation and whether or not the Iranian Civil Aviation…
April 7- Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways is hoping to serve around 33,000 passengers on its new Abu Dhabi-Tokyo route in 2010, which, in all likelihood, will double next year, said CEO, Etihad Airways, James Hogan. The new route, launched a week ago, was already growing. "Already we are seeing load factors in the key Pearl business class cabin of 73 per cent - this is a phenomenal achievement for a service that…
April 6- Dubai-based aircraft charter service company, Western Aviation, has recorded a 21 per cent increase in air charter sales in the first quarter of 2010 as compared to the same period in 2009, thus showing a slow but steady recovery in the aviation sector this year. "As a result of recession there have been a lot of mergers, consolidations and takeovers in the global market, which is forcing major…
