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Jazeera Airways is offering sharply reduced air fare with 111,000 promotional seats available at only Dh139 from Abu Dhabi and Dh133 one way from Dubai. The fares include air fare and taxes. Jazeera Airways CEO Stefan Pichler said “At Jazeera we are committed to giving our guests greater freedom to fly with us across the region.” Customers can book tickets to any of the carriers 24 destinations on…
Pilots and crew of an Air India flight from the UAE to India brawled on Saturday morning, causing minor bruises to one pilot and air hostess as punches were thrown. The fighting began in the cockpit over sexual harassment claims, but then moved into the galley. One hundred six passengers and seven crew members were on board the Air India flight the UAE to Delhi. The cabin crew claim the pilots sexually…
Emirates Airlines divisional senior vice president, Richard Vaughan, dismissed criticism from the Australian press that the carrier puts profits before safety in managing pilot’s fatigue risk. He said in a statement “Emirates reiterates its absolute commitment to safety. Emirates is a world leader in the management of pilot fatigue and alertness.” The Dubai carrier strongly refuted allegations in the Australian…
A new report prepared by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) shows that 870,000 Saudi tourists spent SR4.7bn ($1.25bn) while travelling abroad this year. The report was released by the Data Center for Tourism Research of the SCTA. Saudi tourists travelling abroad this summer spent an average of SR5,400 or ($1,440) per person. The SCTA report said Bahrain was the most popular destinations…
Emirates Airlines inaugural flight to Durban, South Africa landed recently at the Durban International Airport. Minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saleed led a high level delegation on the airlines maiden flight to the South African port city. Al Mansouri said “This is an important development for Dubai, Emirates Airline, and for the UAE as a whole.” He said South Africa is an important trading partner and an…
Etihad Airways moved its three daily flight departures to Abu Dhabi at London Heathrow from Terminal Three to Terminal Four. The carrier opened a new lounge for premium customers across from the gates usually used for flight departures. To celebrate the move, a judge from the hit television show the X-Factor welcomed the first Etihad passengers and talked at length as they checked in. Etihad Chief…
Etihad Airways successfully negotiated the first export credit guaranteed transaction in $1 billion aircraft financing program for 2009-10. The airline said in a statement “The recently acquired Export Credit Agency (ECA) rating, which is also endorsed by all Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, effectively places Etihad alongside investment-grade airlines.” Chief Executive…
Local Air India offices have stopped making new bookings because the airlines closed flights until October 15 due to the pilots strike. A major travel agency executives said “Even if we want, we cannot make new bookings as the flights are closed on the system.” There were no incoming or outgoing flights from the Kingdom on Air India and passengers have been referred to other international…
Kuwait based Jazeera Airways is increasing its capacity again by increasing its Dubai to Bahrain flight service from three times a day to four times a day by the end of October. Jazeera previously boosted its Dubai to Abu Dhabi service to twice daily. The airline now operates six flights a day between Dubai to Kuwait. The airline continues to move forward with its growth plans and is better able to generate…
Dubai International Airport passenger traffic increased 10.7 per cent to 3,729,879 in August 2009, compared to 3,368,260 for the same month last year. This is third consecutive month of double digit growth in passenger traffic. July passenger traffic increased 12.6 per cent and June traffic increased 10.3 per cent. It is the second time this year that passenger traffic at the airport exceeded 3.7 million.…
The Air India pilot’s strike is entering its third day and impacting passengers from Saudi Arabia. There have been numerous cancellations of incoming and outgoing flights. Air India operates 46 flights from the Kingdom – 14 from Jeddah and 16 each from Damman and Riyadh. An airline official said a flight from Mumbai scheduled to arrive in Jeddah was cancelled and so the outgoing flight from Jeddah to Delhi…
Five star carrier Qatar Airways has shown again its consistent high levels of service after being named the Best Business Class Airline in China at the China Travel & Meeting Industry Awards. Travel Weekly China organized the awards. Qatar Airways won twice as many votes as any other airline. The awards began in 2002 and are widely recognized by industry peers. Over 62,000 attendees at the recent China…
BMI, the only British Airline with direct flight service from Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, to London, Heathrow, celebrated four years of service to the Kingdom at an Iftar event in Riyadh. BMI said customers flying in business class from London can now check in until 30 minutes before departure time at the new Premium Check-in area in bmi Number One Heathrow.
Air India Express is expanding its service with the addition of more flights between India and the UAE from 25 October 2009. The low cost carrier will take over routes currently operated by the company’s domestic carrier Air India, in order to save costs. Air India Express ticket prices are about 15 per cent less than the full service carrier tickets, although passengers do not get complete meals and must…
Wataniya Airways received a bomb threat hoax forty minutes into its flight to Damascus, and returned to Kuwait. Chief of Operations at Wataniya International Airports said a passenger made the threat during during an argument with a flight attendant. The male passenger refused to stow his hand luggage in the overhead compartment, claiming it contained a bomb. The captain immediately returned to Kuwait,…
India’s Taj Hotels joined Etihad Airways ‘Etihad Guest’ loyalty programme. Taj Hotels is a leading Indian hospitality group. ‘Eithad Guest’ was launched in August 2006 and now has over 650,000 members. The program lets members accumulate miles then redeem them against a wide selection of up to 1,600 flight and non flight rewards from over 200 partners. The rewards include car rental, hotel accommodation,…
The UAE will host the three day “Low Cost Airlines World MENA 2009 Conference” from October 12 to October 14 2009 in Al Ain. The event is being sponsored by the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC). Aviation industry specialists from the Middle East and around the world will meet and discuss new routes and ways of increasing revenues. Sharjah based Air Arabia was the first low cost carrier (LCC) to launch in…
International Air Charter (IAC) has bolstered its fleet to meet the expected surge in demand during Eid Al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan. IAC is one of the world’s biggest independent private jet charter brokers and consultants. The company hit their growth target this season and expects a 50 per cent increase in the number of clients. IAC Middle East Partner Elie Abdo said “While IAC has been hitting…
