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Emirates Airlines is forging ahead with increased Middle East services with its introduction of 12 new weekly flights to key travel hubs in the region. This brings to 197 the airlines total number of weekly fights throughout the region. From 1 July, Emirates will fly weekly to 12 new destinations in five key Middle Eastern cities: Kuwait, Amman, Damascus, Sanaa, and Doha. The new flight services will operate…
Government owned budget carrier flydubai will begin services to Damascus and Alexandria on 8 June, and 9 June respectively. The new flight services increases the total number of flydubai destinations to 4. Also, inaugural flights to Amman and Beirut begin from 1 June, just in time for the summer holiday season. The government established flydubai one year ago and is starting its operations with a fleet of…
Etihad Airways launched its first flight to Astana, Kazakhstan on Thursday from Abu Dhabi. Flight EY294 departed at 10:05 am and landed at 4:35 pm on the same day at Astana airport. The Kazakhstan flights will operate weekly on an Airbus A319 aircraft. Atana is Etihad Airway’s second destination in Kazakhstan. In December 2008, flights to Almaty, Kazakhstan were launched. Almaty is the biggest city in…
Airlines in the Middle East flying to the United States can be fined from Wednesday for not complying with accessibility rules set by authorities for those with special needs. The fines can be as high as $27,000 (Dh101,000) per violation. The law requiring compliance with new accessibly rules was passed in May 2008 and gave airlines one year to comply. The Dubai Airport management company is working with…
Kuwait carrier Jazeera Airlines has stopped several direct flights out of Dubai because of restrictive regulatory conditions. Jazeera has stopped flights to Mumbai, Delhi, Sana’a and Selah non-stop from Dubai. Passengers flying to these locations from the UAE must fly out of Kuwait instead. Flight services to Kochi and Karhtoum will also stop from 1 June. Jazeera Airways Chief Executive explained that Kochi…
Jet Airways introduces its new no frills economy service, Jet Airways Konnect, which begins on 8 May 2009 for select India routes. The new service focuses on that portion of the market which wants an economically priced, low fare product. Jet Airways Konnect will complement Jet Airways full service product. The same Jet Airways ground and flight staff will deliver service but passengers must buy their meals…
Leading Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines begins flights from Bangalore to Dubai beginning 25 June 2009. The airline had planned to start the new service in March but delayed the launch because of the global economic slowdown. Kingfisher’s area manager for UAE, Qatar, and Oman said conditions have improved now and it is a good time to connect Dubai and the UAE for the coming travel season. Vinay Nambiar said…
Almulla Hospitality has completed an agreement to open its first property in the holy city of Makkah. UAE based Ulmalla Hospitality is a new Sharia-compliant hotel operator. The new five star hotel will have 875 rooms and is scheduled to open in 2012. The company sees several new business opportunities although the economic slowdown has stalled investment in the regions hotel sector. Chairman Abdulla…
Nigeria, Cambodia, and Romania were among the countries displaying their stand at the Arabian Travel Market for the first time this year. With the weaker economy slowing tourism demand there is more interest in the Middle East because it is one of the travel industry’s few bright spots. Romanian mineral water spas, ancient Cambodian ruins, and Nigerian warthogs were some of the least familiar attractions…
Sharjah based budget carrier Air Arabia net profits for the first quarter increased 32% to Dh 103 million. Lower fuel prices and passengers switching to lower cost air travel contributed to the increase. On Saturday the airline said the net profit growth figures exceed the growth in new revenue and passengers during the first quarter of 2009. Compared to the first quarter of last year, revenues increased 21%…
Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) President said more flights are needed to Saudi resorts in order to promote tourism and give a boost to the local economy. Prince Sultan bin Salman has urged domestic airlines to increase the number of flights because there is a shortage, especially during the holidays. The Prince spoke about the domestic flight shortage during a meeting with the President…
The UAE based luxury airline for executives, Royal Jet, will participate in the 2009 Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai this week. They will be the only private aviation company at the exhibition. The airline is a long standing supporter of ATM and has participated every year since its inception six years ago. Royal Jet is supporting Abu Dhabi as a world class tourism destination at its corporate corner within…
A top Marriot International official said yesterday they plan 33 new projects in the Middle East, in addition to the 33 projects already signed and contracted. President of Marriot International said “We are 33 now and I would envision two or three years we could double that.” However, because Marriot is currently more focused on Africa this figure may fall short. President Fuller explained that in the hotel…
Jazeera Airways announced yesterday it will launch four new flight services from Kuwait and Bahrain from 1 June 2009 and Dubai flights will be increased to six. Jazeera Airways CEO Andrew Cohen said they will operate direct flights to Mumbai, Delhi, Sanaa, and Salah. They will also begin their first direct flights from Bahrain to the Yemeni capital. Jazeera Airways began operations in October 2005 and…
Etihad Airways defended their new 48 hour special offers available on their website, following complaints by customers that the promotional prices were misleading and inaccurate. Dozens of customers have complained about large discrepancies between the actual price after extra charges compared to the promotional price. For example, a return flight to Heathrow Airport on May 4-5 and May 18 could be purchased…
Emirates Airlines chief said they have increased the free baggage allowance up to 30% from 4 May 2009. Emirates divisional vice president for Revenue Optimisation said they made the change to demonstrate their commitment to putting the passenger first. The new allowance rules are being implemented throughout the airline’s global network of more than 100 destinations. Economy class passengers may check in…
Emirates Airlines chairman and chief executive said they will not postpone scheduled delivery of new planes through 2011 despite the global downturn in air travel. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum spoke about the carriers operations at the start of the four day Arabian Travel Market which opened in Dubai yesterday. He said Emirates expects to take delivery of 17 new planes for the fiscal year beginning last…
Airlines continue to offer discounts even as summer season approaches, demonstrating the affects of the global downturn on the tourism industry. Etihad Airways is offering dual income couples with no children special last minute fare deals to destinations in the Middle East, India, and UK. This latest offer by Etihad is part of a special weekly online deal offered on Mondays and Tuesdays for travel within the…
