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Etihad Airways started weekly flight service to Chicago from its home base in Abu Dhabi on flight EY151 on 2 September 2009. The flight landed 14 hours later at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Etihad Airways is the national airline for the United Arab Emirates. Chicago is Etihad’s third destination in North America following Toronto and New York, bringing to 55 the total number of international…
Royal Caribbean International’s Brilliance of the Seas will arrive at her new home in Dubai in 138 days. This will be Royal Caribbean’s first ship based in the Middle East. Royal Caribbean is the biggest and most innovative cruise company in the world. Brilliance of the Seas will dock at its home port in Dubai on 18 January 2010 then will sail to Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain. Business Tourism…
A new survey by Deloitte and STR Global shows that Middle East hoteliers have been ranked as the top performer for July, despite challenging times in the region. Revenue per available room (RevPar) increased .44 percent from June to July compared to a drop of 12.23 percent last year. The Middle East beat the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific with the highest RevPar of $126.90 for the year ending July 2009.…
Amadeus Syria said they achieved positive growth rate and have successfully increased their business with Syria travel agents over the past seven months. Amadeus is a technology provider to the travel and tourism industry. Amadeus Syria is a joint partnership between Amadeus and Syrian Arab Airlines. They began operations in Syria in January 2009 and achieved a 70% market share in June. General Manager for…
Watani volunteers and Sharjah scouts distributed Harees plates to residents of Bin Tunaij and Bin Ketb communities in Al Dhaid. Harees distribution is aims at reinforcing and highlighting UAE heritage and tradition of caring for the community during Ramadan. Harees is a traditional Khaleeji food. Federal National Council member Khalifa bin Hwaiden said “I thank Watani for its relentless efforts in…
A water leak at Dubai International Airport concourse 2 delayed some aircraft departures. The water leak occurred at 6:50 am and affected six remote gates. Airport officials apologized to affected passengers and a Dubai Airport official said the problem has been fixed. Senior Vice President for Airport Operations said “The situation is under control and we hope to restore operations as soon as possible.…
According to a new report by the hotel research firm Lodging Econometrics Dubai hotels are, on average the biggest in the world, overtaking Los Vegas. The average project size for hotels in Dubai is 417 rooms compared to 402 rooms in Las Vegas. Many of the Dubai projects were planned when the hotel industry was booming and there was a shortage of rooms. A Lodging Econometrics report spokesman said “They…
Gulf Air will begin flights to Najif, Iraq four times a week beginning on 26 September 2009. This will become a daily service from 26 October 2009. Gulf Air is Bahrain’s national carrier. They will begin flight service to Erbil, Iraq three times a week on 26 October and this also will become a daily service. Gulf Air will operate the Najif service on an A320 aircraft Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and…
Haj authorities in Egypt have decided to cut the number of Haj pilgrims by 40 per cent this year to prevent the spread of the H1N1 virus. About 80,000 Egyptian pilgrims come for Haj each year. Chairman of the National Haj Committee in Saudi Arabia said the Egyptian Higher committee for Haj “decided to cut the number of Haj pilgrims to be sent from that country by 40 per cent in view of the increasing reports of…
Abu Dhabi will tourism staff customer service in the capital after a Government study showed the need for specialist training. The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority commissioned the four month study, which involved sending undercover people into hotels and tourist attractions to assess how staff managed customers. They also conducted interviews for their staff. The study showed that many staff need to improve…
Jet Airways began daily flights between Sharjah and Kochi on Tuesday. Flight 9W-562 landed at Sharjah International Airport from Kochi carrying 134 passengers. Director general of the Sharjah Airport Authority said “A carrier of such prestige and repute as Jet provides a new dimension and alternative to the subcontinent bound traveler.” Dr. Ganem Al Hajiri said Sharjah is an important industrial and tourism…
Travel companies expect the Eid Al Fitr break to increase travel business 5 per cent compared to last year. Al Rais Travel senior manager said “We are getting a lot of enquiries for the weekend before Eid as people are looking to take short breaks.” Waseem Rahmeny said they expect outbound business to pick up between 2 per cent and 5 per cent compared to last year although conservative forecasts say business…
Qatar Airways announced it will add to its Switzerland operations with an extra flight on the Doha-Zurich route beginning on 25 October 2009. CEO of Qatar Airways said the new service is part of their expansion plan for their global network. Akbar Al Baker said Swiss holiday makers will like the addition of a new Saturday departure from Zurich, as their leisure destinations include Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi…
Budget carrier Nasair will begin flight service from Jeddah to Sanaa’s Yemen from 2 September 2009, out of King AbdulAziz International Airport. National Air Services (NAS) CEO said “Sana’s is one of the main potential destinations that was included within Nasair’s strategic network plan for 2009.” NAS is the parent company of Nasair. Three flights per week will operate on the Jeddah-Sana’s-Jeddah route and a…
Wataniya Airways has postponed launch of daily Jeddah flights in Saudi Arabia at the end of October end. The new service is intended to meet the expected high demand for seats to Jeddah as the Haj season begins at the end of November. The airline will add more flights to Bahrain, Dubai, and Damascus, and improve timing for Sharm El Sheikh flights. Wataniya’s fourth aircraft is arriving at the end of…
Intercontinental Dubai Festival City sale and marketing director Christian Pertl said after many months of uncertainty, conference tourism and executive travel is increasing again. The hotel complex consists of the five star Intercontinental Hotel, Crown Plaza and Intercontinental Residence Suites, and has 1,026 rooms occupying 4,000 square meters of space. They had only modest sales the last few months that…
Emirates Airline will resume its A380 Dubai-New York service in the first half of 2010 if demand continues to increase. Due to declining demand the carrier discontinued this daily route in early June and moved the A380 service to Dubai-Toronto, Dubai –Bangkok instead.
Dubai Metro will be closed at midnight for maintenance, but a Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) official said timings may change based on passenger feedback, which has been mixed. Some complain that the malls close late and mall officials say there will be sufficient free parking available. During Ramadan the metro will be closed from 12 am midnight to 6 am and 11 pm to 6 am between Saturday and Thursday,…
