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Emirates Airlines announced it will start thrice weekly flight service between Dubai and Luanda, Angola, from October 25, 2009. Emirates’ senior vice president, commercial operations, said “Africa is such an exciting continent for us and such an important part of the world in terms of world trade.” This is the airlines second new destination in Africa this year, and its 18th destination in Africa in total.…
Low cost carrier flydubai announced Tuesday they will begin daily flights to Khartoum, Sudan, on November 8th. CEO of flydubai. Ghaith Al Ghaith, said he believes this new service will meet the demand of another under serviced route. Khartoum is 1,600 miles from Dubai and will be the longest route on flydubai’s network. Ghaith said Sudan is a country with great potential for economic development and…
Etihad Airways announced Sunday they will resume flights to Colombo, Sri Lanka in January 2010. The move follows the recent end to the civil conflict in Sri Lanka and is expected to give the tourism sector and wider economy a boost. The carrier will use an Airbus A320 aircraft to fly four times a week from Abu Dhabi, to Colombo, Sri Lanka’s biggest city and commercial capital. Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive…
The Arab Air Carriers Organization Conference concluded in Jeddah on Sunday, and the main buzzwords for the event were formation of alliances and mergers. The impact of the global economic crisis, and how to deal with it, were discussed at the conference. Abdul Wahab Tofaha, Secretary General of the conference explained that after a difficult six year period the air transport industry began a prosperous period…
Malaysian Airlines is marking 30 years of operations with low fares to five destinations and special travel packages and value deals from the UAE and the Middle East. Malaysian Airlines 5 star deals offer low fare packages from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur for Dh1,945, Manila/Cebu for Dh1,805, Indonesia for Dh2,083, and Australia and New Zealand for Dh4,025. The travel packages are for trips between October and…
An Air India pilot and co-pilot were arrested over a scuffle that ensued during a flight from Sharjah to Delhi, in which pilots were accused of assaulting an air hostess. They were later released on bail it was reported on Wednesday. Police questioned pilot Ranbir and co-pilot Aditya Chopra on Tuesday night regarding the mid-air scuffle that occurred on October 3. A senior police official said “As the offence…
Malaysia’s low cost carrier (LCC) AirAsia X is taking an unusual step for a budget airline of installing seats that recline fully flat. The carrier is betting that some passengers on its long haul flight will want a bed and be willing to pay for it. Chief Executive Officer Azran Osman-Rani told an industry conference in Al Ain, “Nothing’s engrained when it comes to LCC’s.” The airline also plans to offer pay…
Emirates Airlines won three awards at the at the Business Traveler Middle East Awards in May 2009 including the much coveted ‘Best Airline’, ‘Best Regional Airline’, and ‘Best First Class’ titles. Shortly after it won these accolades, the airline received trophies for ‘Best First Class’ and ‘Best Middle Eastern Airline’. The trophies were awarded by readers of the monthly magazine Business Traveler UK…
Air Arabia’s chief executives said the carrier will open its new operating hub in Alexandria, Egypt, during the first quarter of 2010. The biggest low cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East had previously announced plans for a hub in Egypt. Chief Executive Officer Adel Ali told an aviation conference in Al Ain that the hub in Egypt will make the carrier a truly Pan-Arab airline, because it will fill a gap in…
Industry officials, speaking in advance of the Low Cost Airlines World MENA 2009, said the financial crisis has made low cost carriers (LCC) more accepted and bought new carriers into the UAE. The conference starts today at Al Ain, and will host over 30 Chief Executive Officers airlines and airports who will review the development of budget airlines in the region. Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Airports…
A Qatar Airways flight from London, Gatwick to Doha made history by being the first to use fuel derived from natural gas. The A340-600 aircraft used a mixture of synthetic Gas to Liquids (GTL) kerosene and conventional oil based kerosene. The GTL blend produces less emissions and sulphur dioxide. A consortium of companies developed the fuel over the past few years – Qatar Airways, Airbus, Qatar Petroleum,…
Gulf Air, the national carrier for Bahrain, began its five year plan to replace its fleet by putting the first of 15 new ‘fuel efficient’ Airbus A320 aircraft into service. Gulf Air chairman Talal Al Zain officially welcomed the aircraft at the Bahrain National Airport. He said “By investing in our fleet now, we are securing the future of Gulf Air.”, and called it a proud moment for the airline because it is…
CEO of British Airways announced they will operate bigger aircraft to handle the increasing number of pilgrims for this years Haj. Willie Walsh said “We will be operating aircraft with larger capacity to accommodate the pilgrims.” Walsh made the announcement during a three day visit in Riyadh. Walsh participated in celebratory events marking the return of direct flights from the Kingdom to London’s…
Emirates Airlines, is expanding its Indian operations with particular focus on Kerala routes. The Dubai based carriers weekly flights from Kozhikode will nearly double to 11 while weekly flights out of Thiruvananthapuram will increase from eight to twelve. Emirates Airlines sales manager for South Kerala, Asha Subramanian, said the number of weekly flights out of Kerala will increase 32 per cent to 37 by…
Oman Air is moving forward rapidly with its expansion plans while other players are struggling to cope with the impact of the economic recession. The airline is continuing with its ambitious expansion plan, expanding routes as well as its fleet of aircraft. Oman Air CEO Peter Hill took media representatives on a two hour flight over Muscat on their new acquisition, an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, and briefed them…
Oman Air received delivery of its brand new A330-300 aircraft last week and it features what is probably one of the poshest lavatories in the business. Hoteliermiddleeast.com reports the First Class cabin toilet includes a bidet. The WC is located behind the cockpit and only the pilot and First Class passengers are permitted to access it. It has luxury floors that look similar to a sandy beach and the…
Emirates Airlines launched its innovative Emirates Advantage payment system providing customers booking their flight online with more choices and flexibility. Selected credit card holders of Emirates Bank, Citybank, HSBC, ADCB, and NBD cards may purchase their ticket at 0 percent interest and pay for it in three monthly installments. Emirates vice president of commercial operations said “In the current…
State owned low cost carrier flydubai will begin twice daily flight to Doha, Qatar on October 18. This will be its first GCC route. CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said the new service “is intended to benefit the economies of both the UAE and Qatar and help to increase passenger numbers overall by making air travel more accessible and affordable to a wider group of people.” This is flydubai’s seventh route since it…
