Kuwait's General Directorate of Civil Aviation has received bids from six companies for a contract to build administrative buildings and a fire station at Kuwait International airport, MEED has reported. The low bidder is the local Alamiah Building Company, with a price of KD42m ($146m). The list of bidders included the local Combined Group Contracting Company and the local Mohammed Abdulmohsin al-Kharafi & Sons General Trading & Contracting.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Middle Eastern airlines recorded $20m (Dhs73.4m) profits in the second quarter of 2009, compared to $7m profit recorded in the first quarter of the year, despite the $2bn losses posted by airlines across the globe in the second quarter. The aviation trade body had forecast the industry losses for the full year to reach about $9bn.
Middle East:
Thursday, September 03 - 2009 at 11:16
Loss-making Bahrain's Gulf Air has commissioned Monaco-headquartered Avinco, an aircraft trading, remarketing and sourcing firm, to sell or lease five of its A340-300s aircraft, according to web site Flight Global. The airline also has a further four A340-300s on lease. The decision marks the first major fleet decision since former Royal Jordanian CEO Samer Majali took over at the airline.
Egyptian travel group Travco is in talks with a UAE firm to launch a new budget airline, Gulf News has reported. 'It's going to be a joint venture with another UAE-based budget airline and we will soon announce its launch,' Travco Chief Operating Officer Osama Bushra was quoted as saying. The airline venture is part of the company's continuing expansion in the hospitality business. Last month travco bought Germany's Steigenberger Hotels.
Iraq's Ministry of Transportation has said that state-owned Iraqi Airways is preparing to launch flights between Baghdad and both the Bahraini capital Manama and the Qatari capital Doha, Aswat al-Iraq news agency has reported. 'A company delegation has left the country to conclude agreements and to develop mechanisms with flight agents,' the ministry was quoted as saying.
Sharjah-based low-cost carrier, Air Arabia has announced it has successfully completed the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), an internationally recognized evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. The 5-day audit covered Air Arabia's corporate organisation and management structure, flight operations, flight dispatch, aircraft engineering and maintenance, ground handling, cargo operations and airline security.
United Arab Emirates:
Wednesday, September 02 - 2009 at 09:07
Saudi Arabia's budget airline, Nas Air, has added the Yemeni capital, Sana'a to its network of international destinations. The first of 4 weekly flights will take-off from Jeddah to Sana'a on September 2, 2009. The Jeddah-Sana'a-Jeddah route will start with three weekly flights until September 19, 2009, after which it will increase to four flights per week taking off to Sana'a each Saturday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Saudi Arabia:
Wednesday, September 02 - 2009 at 09:04
Dubai-based low-cost airline flyDubai has added a second African destination to its network with the launch of service to Djibouti Ambouli International Airport. The new service will operate three times per week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, departing Dubai at 0800hrs arriving at 1015hrs local time. The return flight will leave 45 minutes later at 1100hrs and arrive back in Dubai at 1515hrs local time.
United Arab Emirates:
Wednesday, September 02 - 2009 at 08:59
Dubai-based Empire Aviation Group has announced it has taken delivery of the latest Hawker Beechcraft Corporation business jet, the Hawker 4000. The eight-seater, twin-engine H4000 super-midsize aircraft, was acquired from the manufacturer following the sale by EAG to an owner in the region and will be managed by EAG as well as offered for charter. A further two H4000 aircraft sales have already been completed by EAG for delivery to the region in 2009-2010.
United Arab Emirates:
Tuesday, September 01 - 2009 at 09:00
Qatar Airways has announced it will increase its weekly flights to Nepal from 11 to 28 trips, in addition to seven cargo trips, The Peninsula has reported. The increase comes as a result of an agreement that was signed yesterday between aviation authorities of the two countries. The two sides have also agreed to update provisions of the air transport agreement, signed earlier between the two countries, especially the air safety provision.
Emirates Airline expects its Airbus 380 flights will return to New York in the first six months of 2010, as passenger demand is anticipated to recover by then. The Dubai-based carrier is also eyeing expansion to other US cities including Washington, Seattle, Boston and Chicago, Emirates CEO, Tim Clark told the Associated Press. The airline had started New York service with the double-deck aircraft in April of last year, but had pulled it two months later and replaced it with the smaller Boeing 777.
United Arab Emirates:
Tuesday, September 01 - 2009 at 08:55
Qatar Airways said it will add an extra flight on the Doha-Zurich route commencing October 25. The new Saturday departure out of Zurich will be operated with an Airbus A330, in a two-class cabin configuration. The Qatari airline also operates five-flights-a-week to Geneva.
EgyptAir has signed an agreement with US-based Rockwell Collins to install an advanced detection system in five A330 aircraft with an option for three additional aircraft. The agreement includes Rockwell Collins' Multiscan Hazard Detection System, which analyzes and determines actual weather hazards, TTR-2100 Traffic Collision Avoidance System, as well as a full communications, navigation and surveillance suite including the GLU-925 Multi-Mode Receiver.
Kuwait company Aviation Lease and Finance (Alafco) will lease two Airbus A320s to Greece-based Olympic Airline, Reuters has reported. Olympic will take delivery of the planes this month, for a period of 72 months.
Qatar Airways has appointed Lufthansa Technik to perform C4-Checks on its Airbus A320 Family and A330 aircraft, the Gulf Times has reported. A total of 24 C4-Checks programme will be carried out by Lufthansa Technik over two and a half years. The maintenance checks will be performed on nine Airbus A320-family narrow-bodied and 15 Airbus A330 wide-bodied planes.