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Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) announced that its customer complaints handling system, which was first introduced in 2000, is now ISO certified (1002:1004). DTCM is the second governmental organization in Dubai to receive this recognition for managing complaints. A representative Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance gave the certification to DTCM Director General, Mr. Khalid A bin…
Amadeus appointed Antoine Medawar the new Vice President for the Middle East region. Amadeus is a leading technology and distributions provider throughout the world. The appointment is aimed at boosting its regional growth and further expanding market share in the Middle East. Amadeus is the sole GDS provider for 13 carriers in the Arab Air Carriers Association. Mr. Medaware will be responsible for…
Dubai based hotels investment company Nakheel Hotels opened the Turnberry – a luxury collection resort in the west of Scotland, and the W Washington DC in the US Capital city. Nakheel Hotels said the Turnberry golf resort reopened on Thursday joining the Luxury Collection brand. Between Thursday and 19 July the Turnberry will host the Open Championship for the fourth time on its Alisa golf course. The W…
Abu Dhabi Municipality inspectors fined the head chef at Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi for storing an out of date tub of yogurt in the kitchen fridge. The British chef, identified only as PH, was fined AED 92,000 ($27,000). His lawyers maintain the yogurt was only one day past its expiration date and have appealed the verdict at the Criminal Court of Appeal. In his appeal to the court, PH said “I am an…
Armani Hotels & Resorts is recruiting 600 hospitality professionals for the Armani Hotel Dubai, which will be located within Burj Dubai. The new luxury hotel is a partnership between Armani Hotels & Resort, Dubai based Emmar Properties, and luxury goods group Giorgio Armani. A recruitment drive is being carried out across 16 countries to ensure a cosmopolitan staff serves the hotel. The Armani Hotel Dubai…
Jet Airways launched daily direct Jeddah to Mumbai service on Tuesday. The carrier also offers flights from Doha, Muscat, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain to major cities in India. The Jeddah to Mumbai route will operate on a Boeing 737-800 aircraft which offers world class service, state of the art personalized entertainment, and gourmet cuisine. Jet Airways Vice President for the Gulf and Middle East said…
Travel industry sources say demand for air travel tickets and holiday tour packages in Qatar is increasing as fears of swine flu decline among the public. An official from a leading travel agency said few people are talking about the swine flu now, and “We have seen an increase in demand for air tickets and our summer package over the past two weeks.” With the initial outbreak of swine flu many potential…
Flydubai began flights to its fifth destination - Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city. The first flydubai flight to Aleppo, FZ223, departed Dubai International Airport at 0800 hours and landed at Aleppo International Airport at 10:30 local time. The flight took three hours. The return flight departed 45 minutes later. With the addition of Aleppo to its operational routes, flydubai now flies to the four…
Etihad Airways and Turkish Airlines have signed a codeshare agreement following Etihad Airway's launch of four weekly fights to Istanbul, Turkey on 1 June 2009. Under the agreement Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways will put its two letter ‘EY’ code on Turkish Airlines flights from Istanbul to Abu Dhabi. Etihad Airways chief executive said the Abu Dhabi-Istanbul flight has been very popular since the new service…
Kuwaiti based Jazeera Airways announced that it has stopped direct flights from Bahrain to Iran due to factors beyond its control. The airline said the Iranian government issued new regulations forcing it to cancel its direct services. Instead, the carrier will offer an indirect flight which first stops in Kuwait before landing in Masshaad, Iran. Jazeera Airways did not provide further details but said in…
British Airways will increase capacity on its service to Jeddah during its winter schedule by 50%. The move follows the UK carrier’s reentry into the Saudi Arabia market on 1 June 2009. The airline discontinued Saudi services in 2005 when high oil prices made the route commercially unprofitable. British Airways area commercial manager for the Middle East said during their first two months of operations…
Visitors arriving at Dubai International Airport (DIA) can now get information directly from the Visitor Information Bureau (VIB). The VIB is now open at DIA’s terminal 3 and can provide business and leisure visitors with information about hotels and events in Dubai. Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) is operating the new VIB as part of their ongoing efforts to establish a one stop…
Dubai World is planning to dock the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) ship at the Cape Town V&A waterfront and convert into a luxury hotel. According to a Johannesburg newspaper, the company is applying for berthing rights and in talks with a South African company to manage the hotel. A South African tourism department spokesperson said they are aware of the company’s plans, but several approvals must be made before…
Flydubai, Dubai’s new budget carrier, announced they are postponing launch of new Indian services, which were scheduled to begin in July. CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said they had planned to begin services in July to Lucknow, Coimbatore, and Chandigarh, but “due to operational issues, we have had to delay these flights.” He did not state a specific reason for the delay. Ghaith Al Ghaith apologized to passengers…
Indian carrier Kingfisher will launch two new Dubai routes to Mumbai and Delhi by the end of the year. Company chiefs said the new services are part of an expansion plan that will add six new destinations to the winter schedule, which starts at the end of October. Subject to civil aviation ministry approval, Kingfisher will begin service on the following routes: Delhi-(Bangkok), Delhi-London (Heathrow),…
Indian carrier Kingfisher will launch two new Dubai routes to Mumbai and Delhi by the end of the year. Company chiefs said the new services are part of an expansion plan that will add six new destinations to the winter schedule, which starts at the end of October. Subject to civil aviation ministry approval, Kingfisher will begin service on the following routes: Delhi-(Bangkok), Delhi-London (Heathrow),…
Hong Kong lawmakers voted to spend HK3.63 billion (Dh1.72bn) to expand the Disneyland theme park. Attendance has not met targets, and a rival theme park is planned for Shanghai, so the government is looking for ways to increase the number of visitors over the long term. Walt Disney will invest HK$3.5bn to help finance construction costs and will also convert its outstanding loan to the park of HK$2.76bn into…
Authorities at the King Abdulaziz International Airport have launched a survey to measure traveler satisfaction with services. The survey comes following renovations to the airport’s northern and southern terminals. Public and private school students have been employed and trained to carry out the survey. Results will be used to further develop airport services in a future project. The survey includes…
