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Emirates has the most Boeing 777
Emirates has declared that it is now the world's largest airline operator of Boeing 777 aircraft, with the recent arrival of its 78th Boeing 777. The airline has another 28 Boeing 777s pending delivery, while its current 777 fleet comprises: three -200s, six -200ERs, 10 -200LRs, 12 -300s, 45 -300ERs, and two 777 freighters.
Middle East sees 13% rise in air traffic
A new report by the International Air Transportation reveals that Middle Eastern carriers recorded 13% growth in June compared to the same months a year ago as business on routes to Europe and Asia improved. The report also said the slump in global airline travel may have hit bottom in June, as worldwide traffic fell 7.2% from a year earlier, which was less severe than the 9.3% drop in May.
RJ first half net profit rises
Royal Jordanian has recorded around JD7.7m in net profit during the first half of this year, compared to JD4m during the same period last year, Jordan Times has reported. The carrier's gross profit had reached around JD19m, against an operational loss of around JD3m for the comparison period. However, revenues had declined by 12.7% to JD274m, from JD314m the airline had earned in the first half of last year.
Emirates to use SmartLanding system
Emirates Airline has announced that it will be the first airline a new landing aid designed to prevent runway overruns by warning pilots that an approach is unsafe while the aircraft still has time to go around. The SmartLanding system, developed by Honewell, is a software upgrade to the enhanced ground-proximity warning system that can provide warnings of an unstable approach, predicted long landing, inappropriate aircraft configuration, or incorrect altimeter setting. Airlines can select the functionalities they want implemented.
Qatar forecasts 787 delivery by end of 2011
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said the airline expects to receive its first four Boeing 787 Dreamliners by the end of 2011, Reuters has reported. He also said he was told Qatar would get all 30 of its firm orders delivered by 2015.
Emirates and Virgin Blue join hands
Emirates and Virgin Blue airlines have teamed up to launch the Emirates Visit Australia Pass, allowing passengers further access to Australia. The pass offers domestic connections to 22 additional Australian destinations on Virgin Blue from all four Australian cities currently served by Emirates: Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.
Jet Airways to start Riyadh-Mumbai flights on Aug. 6
Jet Airways, the first private airline from India to fly to Saudi Arabia, has announced it will start its Riyadh-Mumbai flight on August 6, the Saudi Gazette has reported. The carrier will operate the new route's flights on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Jet Airways has been operating daily Jeddah-Mumbai flights since July 15, and a Dammam-Mumbai flight is in the pipeline, the airline has said.
Emirates to add more flights to Beirut
Emirates Airline has said it will introduce nine additional services between Dubai and Beirut during the month of August to keep up with increased demand. Currently, Emirates operates a total of 17 weekly flights between Dubai and Beirut.
Abu Dhabi buys stake in Virgin's space venture
Aabar Investments, an Abu Dhabi government-controlled investor, has announced plans to spend about $280m to buy a 32% stake in the holding company of Virgin Galactic, which plans to start commercial space flights, Bloomberg has reported. Aabar has also committed $100m and transaction costs to fund a small satellite launch capability, the company revealed today in a statement. The 'stake in Virgin Galactic will open a new avenue of opportunity for Abu Dhabi' in the space tourism business, Khadem Al Qubaisi, Aabar's chairman said in the statement.
Royal Jet reports 15% rise in charter business
Abu Dhabi-based Royal Jet says it has recorded a 15% increase in charter bookings over the summer period compared to the same period last year. The company says there is strong demand within the GCC, with a steady stream of bookings from Qatar and, especially, Saudi Arabia, where it recently set up an alliance with Arabasco. Its charter business is also getting a boost from a new pricing policy that it introduced in the Gulf a few months ago, under which Royal Jet prices the charter from where the guests commence their flight, whereby previously it calculated its prices based on where the aircraft originated from.
Qatar launches major European expansion
Qatar Airways has announced plans to increase the number of weekly flights between Doha and Paris from 11 to 14, making it a twice daily service, from October 25. Furthermore, services to Madrid, the only one between the Gulf and Spain, will be increased from four a week to daily from December 2, while the carrier's service to Athens will be increased from a current daily flight to two a day by March 2010. Stockholm will also see its frequency increased from three to four a week from October 25.
Emirates 'disappointed' with access to Canada
Emirates Airline has expressed its disappointment with the Canadian government's decision of not allowing it greater access to that country's various destinations and that its services to Canada are 'restricted to only three flights per week', Emirates Business has reported. Transport Canada, the country's transportation regulator, insists the current cap of six flights a week from the UAE to Canada, split between Emirates and Etihad, is enough to serve the market. 'The language Transport Canada has used over the past decade is aggressive, often biased and deeply objectionable to this carrier,' Emirates Senior VP Andrew Parker said. 'We do hope that Transport Canada will adopt a more balanced and accurate view on Emirates.'
Mumtalakat seeks advisers to rebuild Gulf Air
Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat has said it is seeking advisers to help it rebuild the business of state-owned carrier Gulf Air, Reuters has reported. The fund said the consultants would report to the airline's incoming Chief Executive Samer Majali, who is taking up his post on August 1 and who has been appointed to lead Gulf Air as it moves into the next phase of its strategy to rebuild the business.
British Airways to launch two new routes
British Airways has said it will launch new thrice-weekly direct services from Gatwick to both Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt and Male in the Maldives from October 25. This will mark a return for the airline's trademark flag in the Red Sea resort. The routes will be operated by Boeing 777 aircraft with a three-class configuration, World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World.
United launches Dhakar, Dubai route
United Airways, a private sector airline founded by non-resident Bangladeshis, launched its inaugural direct flight to Dubai last Thursday, according to New Nation. The airline will initially operate flights from Dhaka to Dubai every Thursday and Sunday. The Dhaka-Dubai-Dhaka route will be served by 155-seat MD-83 aircraft. The carrier has introduced a special one way fare of $250, excluding taxes and surcharges.
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