Category Archives: Aviation

The Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) and Emirates have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost inbound tourism into Saudi Arabia and attract new segments of travelers across the airline’s extensive global network. The new agreement aims to capitalize on the airline’s global network of over 120 cities to raise awareness and amplify the Saudi Arabian experience for leisure travelers to come and visit the Kingdom’s unique attractions. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in the presence of Mr. Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO and Board Member of the Saudi Tourism Authority and Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer. Adil Al Ghaith, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations, Gulf, Middle East and Central Asia, and Muhammad Bassrawi, VP of the Saudi Tourism Authority were the signatories of the MoU, at a ceremony in Riyadh. Also present at the signing were other senior executives from both organisations. The MoU underscores the importance of partnerships within the travel eco-system and the role different stakeholders play to support a more resilient recovery. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Emirates together with the Saudi Tourism Authority will explore opportunities to jointly collaborate on key initiatives to enhance the Kingdom’s global tourism competitiveness, including promotional activity and travel trade support across key global source markets to convert interest into bookings, sharing insights around market and customer trends, amongst other initiatives. Through the strategic partnership the airline will also explore opportunities to align its schedules from key source markets in the Emirates network to its gateways in Saudi Arabia, providing greater connectivity and convenience for its customers and further developing inbound tourism arrivals. Emirates and the Saudi Tourism Authority will also evaluate ways to enhance the travel experience that …

As part of its continuous endeavor to offer a variety of options to its valued customers, Kuwait Airways announced resuming operations of its scheduled commercial flights to the city of Najaf in the Republic of Iraq, from 5th February 2022 with two flights per week on Saturdays and Wednesdays. In this regard, KAC’s Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Maen Razouqi stated, “Kuwait Airways is pleased to announce the resumption of its direct flights to Najaf in the Republic of Iraq which is in accordance to meeting the requirements of passengers regarding expansion of Kuwait Airways’ network to various destinations and locations. This is particularly since the destination of Najaf is one among the significant destinations in demand for customers, which is popular due to its touristic sites and rich cultural history.” Razouqi added, “Kuwait Airways is keen on assisting its customers and providing them with every means of comfort while they travel onboard, in addition to offering its services in an integrated manner and to overcome all obstacles ahead of them, commencing with reservation of tickets, entry through Terminal 4, completing travel procedures, and until boarding the aircraft to enjoy a comfortable and safe travel.” Razouqi mentioned, “Kuwait Airways is dedicated to the comfort of its passengers and providing them with the best services, as it enables passengers of the Royal and First Class to carry three pieces of baggage weighing 32 kilograms per piece. Business Class passengers can carry two pieces of baggage weighing 32 kilograms per piece and passengers on Economy Class with two pieces of baggage of 23 kilograms each. Moreover, passengers travelling onboard Kuwait Airways, in all classes, can carry hand baggage that does not exceed 7 …

Gulf Air in coordination with Bahrain Authority of Culture & Antiquities (BACA) and Bahrain Tourism & Exhibition Authority (BTEA) today announced the airline’s presence in the Bahrain Pavilion at EXPO 2020 held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Beginning today and until the end of the major global event on March 31, the airline has created a space for visitors to Explore Bahrain and Explore Gulf Air with a series of videos and interactive elements to highlight the hub of the airline. Commenting at the airline’s participation at EXPO 2020, Gulf Air’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi commented: “We are delighted to collaborate with the Bahrain Authority of Culture and Antiquities and the Bahrain Tourism & Exhibition Authority to showcase our beautiful Kingdom and its national carrier at the Bahrain Pavilion. Visitors of EXPO 2020 in the United Arab Emirates are encouraged to connect with our brand, learn more about what we have to offer, and be guided on booking a trip to the Kingdom of Bahrain through gulfair.com.” Visitors are introduced to Gulf Air’s products and services along with a glimpse of the experience of flying on the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, as well as being able to interact with the brand by scanning codes within the space. Additionally, content of the Kingdom of Bahrain along with codes that can be scanned by visitors to introduce them to touristic and cultural activities of Bahrain are on display, alongside exclusive footage of the Kingdom provided by the Bahrain Authority of Culture & Antiquities (BACA), Bahrain Tourism & Exhibition Authority (BTEA), and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB). The Bahrain Stopover, relaunched in December 2021 in collaboration …

Kuwait Airways announced the launch of 17 new destinations, in addition to the 40 existing destinations, bringing the number of destinations to 57, which will commence as of May. Kuwait Airways’ operation of new destinations from Kuwait will include to Malaga, Moscow, Sarajevo, Nice, Salalah, Sharm El Sheikh, Sohag, Alexandria, Mykonos, Bodrum, Trabzon, Vienna, Madrid, Casablanca, Manchester, Kathmandu, and Kuala Lumpur. In this regard, KAC’s Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Maen Razouqi stated, “Kuwait Airways is pleased to announce the operation of 17 new destinations to link Kuwait to the world, which comes within the framework of the Company’s preparations for the summer season that will witness a remarkable recovery in the movement of travel around the world. This is in addition to the fact that Kuwait Airways has selected a variety of destinations that are among the most important that the Company focuses on, due to its high demand for it by our customers of all segments, whether with the intentions of tourism, business or education.” Razouqi added, “This is also part of Kuwait Airways’ tireless efforts to provide passengers on its aircraft with more direct options to meet their travel requirements and to provide them better services by launching new destinations and various services.” Razouqi stressed on the Company’s keenness to attain the best levels of excellence in the services provided by the Company to its passengers, in addition to improving and developing all services to keep pace with the latest developments offered by the aviation sector around the world, as well as to achieving its desired objectives and to provide the best solutions to customers. It is worth mentioning that launch of Kuwait Airways new destinations comes as …

Dubai’s flag-carrier airline Emirates tops YouGov Travel and Tourism Rankings 2022 in the UAE, receiving the highest Impression score of +63.3 among the residents in the country. Last year, during the summer months when many destinations eased their travel restrictions, Emirates responded to the strong travel demands by ramping up its route to 90% of pre-pandemic coverage. Additionally, the continued emphasis on health and safety measures as well as making the process as contactless as possible with minimal interaction with people, together with the extension of Tier status deadlines by one year were all very well received by the public, contributing to the brand’s strong overall impression among the UAE residents. YouGov’s BrandIndex measures the public’s perception of brands on a daily basis across a range of metrics. The Rankings were compiled using the Impression score, which is a measure of whether a consumer has a positive or negative impression of a brand calculated by taking the average net score for the year 2021 (1st January 2021 – 31st December 2021). Emirates’ rival Etihad Airways is in second place with an Impression score of +40.5, while another popular airline Qatar Airways takes tenth (22.1) place in the rankings. The rest of the list is dominated by Hotels & Resort brands. Dubai’s most iconic hotel Burj Al Arab is placed third (+32.6). Last year, for the first time, the hotel opened its doors to non-guests (residents and tourists) to discover its most prestigious and inaccessible spaces, which might have helped the brand create a stronger positive impression among the people in UAE. Ocean-themed luxury resort Atlantis, the Palm is fourth (+28.7), followed by other five-star properties Hilton (+25.9), Jumeirah (+25.6), and …

Etihad Airways launched a new experience for families flying with Etihad. The airline has partnered with the award-winning theme park, Warner Bros. World™ Abu Dhabi, to launch a one-of-a-kind family friendly experience on board its fleet. Etihad’s new ‘Little VIP’ campaign recognises that young travellers are all very important people and aims to make travelling with children as easy and enjoyable as possible. The Park’s iconic Animation characters like Scooby-Doo, and Looney Tunes including Sylvester and his beloved nemesis Tweety, are emblazoned across the children’s activity packs given to guests travelling on longer flights with Etihad. The airline’s new children’s gifts are designed in three age ranges. For infants up to 2 years old, parents will be given a soft fleece blanket decorated with the faces of Tweety, Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Sylvester for them to take home. Young flyers aged 3 to 8 years, will be given a drawstring bag featuring an activity book, crayons, memory card game and passport holder. Tweens and teens aged 9 to 13 will be delighted with a Scooby-Doo themed backpack featuring the Museum of Mysteries board game designed to promote Yas Island’s incredibly immersive indoor theme park, Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi. In addition to the Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi’s themed inflight gifts, Etihad is bringing a comprehensive family travel experience to life, through cabin crew and ground crew training to identify and support family travel needs. At Abu Dhabi International Airport, a dedicated family check-in space will be available for families with minimised queuing to make family journeys as smooth as possible. Thoughtful touches include a small set of stairs at check-in counters meaning young eyes can take a peek …

flydubai announced that it will resume flights to Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) from 02 March with five flights a week.  With flydubai’s daily flights to Istanbul Airport (IST), the airline will increase its flight frequency to Istanbul to 12 flights a week. flydubai’s network in Turkey also includes the capital, Ankara, where it operates two weekly flights. Commenting on the relaunch of flights, Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations and E-commerce at flydubai, said: “flydubai remains committed to making travel more accessible by providing more choice for our passengers. Istanbul remains a popular destination on our network and we welcome the resumption of our operations to Sabiha Gökçen Airport, an airport that provides another convenient option for those travelling to Istanbul. We look forward to welcoming our passengers as they travel with flydubai onboard our Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.” Istanbul offers a wonderful mix of Europe and Asia, with plenty of options for shopping, dining and sight-seeing. It remains one of the most visited cities in the world and continues to be an important economic hub. Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) is located on the Asian side of Istanbul, offering more options for passengers travelling to and from the city. Emirates will codeshare on this route offering travellers more options for connections through Dubai’s international aviation hub to more than 190 destinations between both the Emirates and flydubai networks. Passengers travelling on a Boeing 737 MAX aircraft can enjoy more comfort and an enhanced travel experience. The new cabin offering features a flatbed in Business Class and in addition to the extra space and privacy, passengers can sleep comfortably during their flight. Economy Class offers new RECARO seats, which …

Air Arabia Egypt announced the introduction of a new service to Gassim, city in Saudi Arabia with direct flights from Sohag International Airport to Prince Nayef Bin Abdulaziz International Airport, commencing on February 24, 2022. Gassim is considered the seventh route that Air Arabia Egypt flies to after Riyadh, Jeddah, Tabuk, Taif, Al Jouf, and Hail in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. All passengers traveling to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are required to download “Tawakkalna” mobile application before departure and upload their vaccination status. Passengers are also urged to check the travel update on Air Arabia’s website before departure. Customers can now book their direct flights between Sohag and Buraidah by visiting Air Arabia’s website, calling the call centre or through travel agencies. Since COVID-19 outbreak, Air Arabia’s customer journey has been upgraded to include all safety measures that are in line with the highest international measures. Air Arabia’s entire fleet is fitted with HEPA cabin air filters, which help to provide a safer and healthier environment for passengers. Customers are always requested to comply with the conditions and requirements of the countries of departure and destination.

The MEBAA Show, the Middle East’s leading business aviation platform, is set to return to Dubai, taking place on 6 – 8 December 2022 at DWC Airport. The event will showcase the latest trends, insights, innovation and commercial opportunities shaping the future of business aviation and private flying in the Middle East and across the globe. A number of international companies have already signed up and confirmed their attendance for the MEBAA Show 2022 including Gulfstream, Bombardier Aerospace, Embraer Executive Aircraft, Empire Aviation Group, Honeywell International, CAE and VistaJet International. Ali Ahmed Alnaqbi, Founding and Executive Chairman of The Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) commented: “Business aviation has shown tremendous resilience and growth in recent years and it is an exciting time for the sector. The MEBAA Show will demonstrate the latest advancement in business aircraft, technologies and predictions for the industry, which looks set for further growth in coming years. We look forward to welcoming local, regional and international companies for the event once again in Dubai, a leading hub for business and private aviation.” The business aviation industry had a significant representation in the recent Dubai Airshow, with 30% of the event’s business and private aviation exhibitors highlighting huge interest from buyers looking to take to the skies in executive jets for increased privacy and less exposure. Providing a platform for the entire business aviation community the MEBAA Show will convene again to build partnerships and take advantage of the enormous growth predicted for the sector. Business jet activity in the Middle East witnessed some of the strongest growth in demand in 2021, notably in the United Arab Emirates, which grew 73% compared to …

Young travellers flying Emirates as unaccompanied minors can now relax and wait for their flight in a newly upgraded lounge dedicated for them at Dubai International Airport, located next to Emirates’ First Class Lounge in Concourse B. Emirates’ lounge for unaccompanied minors is open 24/7, and the newly upgraded facility offers fun video games, drinks and snacks, comfortable seating areas, free wi-fi, and washrooms designed for kids. Parents or guardians who have pre-booked Emirates’ Unaccompanied Minor service, can drop off their young flyers at Dubai Airport Terminal 3, where Emirates’ airport team will check them in for their flights in a special lounge area for unaccompanied minors. This  facility is located in between the Economy and First/Business Class Check-in halls. After check-in formalities are completed, one of Emirates’ friendly airport services team members will escort the young flyers through immigration and security, onward to their dedicated departure lounge in the airside concourse, and later, from the lounge to the boarding gate. Young flyers enjoy priority boarding, and Emirates cabin crew will be waiting to welcome young flyers at the aircraft door, and help them to find their seats and settle in for their flight. Onboard, young flyers can look forward to delicious meals and snacks designed for their palates, toys and activity packs, and kid-sized headsets to enjoy the selection of over 50 Disney movies and 130+ TV channels for young travellers. Emirates is currently offering young flyers cool take-home toys and bags onboard, inspired by Expo 2020 Dubai and featuring little Emirates characters. All toys and bags use recycled material and bags are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. Young solo flyers with a connecting flight in Dubai are …