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The Australian government announced they cut the amount of processing time for Australian visas to ensure Saudi travelers can obtain a visa in two days. Previously a Saudi national or resident could wait several weeks for the visa application to process. A spokesman for Tourism Australia said “We are thrilled that the Australian government has implemented steps to shorten visa processing times. People to…
The Ministry of Health reported yesterday that one of six newly identified swine flu cases is a 25 year old Saudi passenger who arrived from New Delhi yesterday. This brings the total number reported swine flu cases in the kingdom to 45. A spokesman for the Ministry of Health said the Saudi man arrived at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport on Saudi Arabian Flight SV763. He was identified with…
An official report released by the Syrian Tourism Ministry showed the number of tourists visiting Syria jumped 14% to 370,000 in May compared to 326,00 for the same period last year. European visitors rose 20.8% to 29,000 in May compared to 26,000 for the same period last year. The report focused on the 1.1 million Arab tourists, 425,000 foreign tourists, and 341,000 Syrian expats over the last five…
The European Commission (EC) withdrew accusations it made against Emirates Airline last month, saying the airline is in full compliance with EC consumer legislation. The EC consumer watchdog said the Dubai carrier properly discloses fare information to customers. The director general for health and consumers at the EC said “I commend Emirates Airline as a non-EU carrier for the observance of community law and…
Etihad Airway’s new fleet of 35 Boeing 787-9 aircraft will be powered by the GEnx-1B engine. The GE90-115B engine will power its ten new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Delivery of the 787-9 aircraft will start in 2015 but delivery of the 777 aircraft will begin next year. Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan said “The GEnx and GE90 engines not only have strong environmental credentials, but also are among two of the…
Air ticket sales have increased due to falling fares this summer. Emirates Vice President for Operations said there has been a big increase in ticket sales since April as they offered various promotions and increased flight services across their network. Khalid Bel Jafflah said “We have seen little impact from swine flu. As with previous years, demand has also picked up for the summer months.” A recent…
Chief Executive for Gulf Air said they are considering further expansion plans despite the global financial downturn. Bjorn Naf spoke at the expansion plans at launch of the carriers new summer season services to Alexandria, Salalah, and Aleppo. He said the global economic slowdown will not deter them from bringing in new products. Naf said their recent $8 million agreement with Honeywell Aerospace…
Work on new hotel projects previously postponed will probably resume as liquidity improves during the third and fourth quarter of this year. The global financial crisis reduced developers funding supply causing the delay of numerous projects in Dubai and elsewhere. Executive Vice President at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels said there will probably be an infusion of lending in the second half of 2009. Jelal…
Luxury hotel operator Jumeirah Group announced yesterday it has appointed four new general managers for its hotels in Kuwait, Dubai, Frankfurt, and New York. Expansion continues to be an important for this hospitality company. Dagmar Woodward was appointed general manager for Germany and will lead the Jumeirah Frankfurt pre-opening team. The new hotel is scheduled to open in mid 2010. Woodward previously…
Waha Capital, the holding company backed by the Abu Dhabi government, has agreed to buy a 50% stake in Aerventure from the parent company Aercap. Aerventure is a Dutch aircraft finance company with assets worth US 2.4 billion (Dh8.8bn). Aercap is based in Amsterdam and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Under the agreement, Waha and Aercap will both invest $1 billion into the venture. Currently Waha has…
Civil Aviation General Authority chairman said Qatar Airways increased their Turkish flight services by 18 flights per week. Abdulaziz al Nuaimi said the increase was agreed to at a meeting with the Turkish Director General of Civil Aviation, Dr. Ali Arinduru in Ankara. Qatar news agency reported the aviation chief also agreed to add four air cargo flights and the air transport agreement between Qatar and…
Saudi Arabia tourism officials say they are investing $333 million in new hotel projects in order to build on the momentum from booming religious tourism. The Elaf Group announced an expansion of its hotels with five new hotel projects in three holy cities. The Elaf Group is a subsidiary of the Saudi Economic and Development Company and serves the Saudi Arabian travel, tourism, and hotel industries. The…
Qatar Airways announced on Sunday at the Paris Air Show they will increase their flight service to Paris, France to twice daily beginning on 25 October. Qatar Airways area manager for France said currently they fly 11 times a week to France, and the additional services will provide more connectivity to destinations in South Asia, Far East, and the Middle East. Eric Didier said they are adding more flight…
The United Arab Emirate’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and “open” Air Services Agreement with Turkmenistan on Sunday. Under the agreement the airlines of the designated countries are allowed unrestricted frequency of operations on the routes between Turkmenistan and UAE. The agreement specifies capacity and types of aircraft.
The busy autumn tourist season began in Omar’s Dhofar Governate in the far south. This marks the start of the holiday season which usually attracts tens of thousands of GCC tourists. Last year about 450,000 tourists visited Saleh, the main city in Dhofar, during the Khareef season. This is 24% higher than the previous year. Most of the visitors come from the UAE or other GCC states. The three month long…
Swiss International Airlines (SIA), the national carrier for Switzerland, began services to Dubai on their new A330-300 aircraft from Zurich. Passengers from Dubai made the inaugural flight to Zurich soon after midnight. An SIA sales executive said Dubai is the second market to receive the A330-300 plan and “this reiterates the importance of servicing passengers from the region.” SIA is investing more than…
The Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) has signed an agreement with the Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) to create new ventures in the DSO. The pact provides a boost to the hospitality sector because it will facilitate services and support so that companies can start new hospitality ventures. DTCM will be responsible for licensing and categorizing hotels in accordance with DTCM…
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) said four airlines have expressed interest in flights to the capital. ADAC said the recession has not diminished the emirates appeal as an aviation stop. ADAC has been marketing aggressively in order to add more carriers to Abu Dhabi National Airport. Last year seven new carriers began services to the airport and this year, five new airlines have started services. The…
