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Emirates is currently refitting the First and Business class cabins on its 29-strong fleet of Airbus A330-200s to provide more leg-room for greater passenger comfort
Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline, said, "We constantly look to enhance the products and services that we offer our customers. The extended leg-room in the First and Business class cabins of our A330s underlines our dedication to offering Emirates passengers a flying experience as comfortable and enjoyable as possible."
Reconfiguration work has started and been completed on two aircraft so far. It will continue through to mid-April. The reconfiguration work is being carried out as the aircraft undergo scheduled engineering checks.

DOHA: Qatar Airways has said it had agreed financing of $1 billion with three banks for 13 Airbus aircraft. "We have lined up one billion dollars financing with Barclays Bank, ABN-Amro and Qatar National Bank to finance the 13 aircraft,” Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said.  Qatar Airways said last month it would receive 13 new Airbus aircraft this year. The new deliveries are part of a 34-aircraft order, worth $5.1 billion, which the Qatari national carrier placed with Airbus at the Paris Air Show in July 2003

MUSCAT: Oman Air will be flying to Bahrain by this April. This will take the total number of their destinations to 19. Abdulrazaq Al Raisi, country manager of Oman Air, announced this at Oman Air’s annual agents award function held at InterContinental Hotel. It is at this platform that travel agents are recognised and appreciated for their support, co-operation and patronage provided to the national carrier of Oman. Oman Air is also planning to introduce two new destinations in India, New Delhi and Hyderabad, Al Raisi said.

Emirates Airline has opened a spanking new office in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, to smoothen and make more effective its service offerings to this holy city, visited by an ever-increasing number of its customers. It marks the venue of the fourth Emirates office in Saudi Arabia, after the Eastern, Central and Western provinces, and successfully underlines the strategic importance of the airline’s operations to the country.

Hamad Obaidalla, Emirates’ Vice President - GCC, Yemen, Iran & CIS said, "At the root of Emirates’ success lies the philosophy of quickly responding to customer demands. The new office primarily caters to customers who are intent on performing the Hajj and Umrah rituals at Makkah." "Passengers are assured of a seamless travel experience as the new office offers the full range of counter services combined with exceptional levels of customer service. Our sales and promotion strategies for Makkah and Saudi Arabia as a whole also will help boost the city’s attractiveness during the traditional off-season periods," added Obaidalla.

The airline currently operates flights to Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Offices in these three cities also cater to customers eagerness for products and services from Emirates SkyCargo and Emirates Holidays.

MUSCAT: Abdul Rahman Bin Harith Al Busaidi, executive president of Oman Air, has said that the company concluded an agreement with the Gulf Air to co-operate in operating flights to some destinations in order to avoid losses. He said the company has launched the first pilot training programme which will help save around RO40,000 annually, adding that Oman Air intends to establish a specialist training centre to train its pilots. He noted that Oman Air will operate flights to Bahrain from April 2004 and to New Delhi and Hyderabad in India from June.  

KAMPALA: The manager of Egypt Air in Uganda, Esmat Abd Elmotteleb, has said the airline will introduce a 300-series Airbus in July to cater for the high peak season which starts in July and ends in September every year. Esmat said the airbus takes between 15 to 17 tonnes of cargo and 253 passengers. He said during that time (July to September), many people visit Europe and Africa. Esmat also said Egypt Air would make two flights to Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam which will be on Monday and Friday. He said this was due to the high demand for fish in the European markets.

DOHA: Gulf Air has announced two senior appointments in its public relations department. The company has named Sadek Karam as the new head of corporate affairs. Karam, who has an MBA in marketing, has held several senior management positions with leading banks and financial institutions in Bahrain and other Gulf countries. Prior to taking up his appointment at Gulf Air he was head of marketing at the Commercial Bank in Qatar. Hisham Abu Al Fateh has taken on the role of public relations manager. After completing a Bachelor's Degree in accounting at Bahrain University, he worked with Al Ahli Bank, the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) and managed the Dynamics Advertising Agency.

MUSCAT: Gulf Air has called upon women nationals to take up pilot training with the airline. The carrier, which introduced a lady pilot recently — the first airline in the AGCC’s aviation history to introduce so — has sent out a strong message to the women nationals of Oman, the UAE and Bahrain to come forward and be pilots of Gulf Air. The carrier has asserted its readiness to take them in as trainee pilots, provided they excel in the physical and mental ability tests. The announcement is seen as the airline’s commitment to supporting the community in which it operates. According to the airline, fresh graduates will be encouraged and trained as pilots.  

Emirates, the UAE’s award-winning international airline, plans to open six new destinations in 2004 including gateways in the US, Scotland, central Europe, China and West Africa in a network expansion spread across four continents. On January 2, the airline’s operations in Africa leap forward with flights to Lagos and Accra. The other destinations are Shanghai in China; Vienna in Europe and New York, US.
The new route to West Africa by Emirates to the Nigerian capital, Lagos and capital of neighbouring Ghana, Accra, provide the first direct air link between West Africa and the Gulf, boosting trade between the two regions. This new service opens up West African markets and provides West Africans with their first direct link to Dubai and points eastwards. Emirates has steadily expanded its operations in North and East Africa since flights to Cairo began in 1986.
The flights will be operational four times weekly from January 2 non-stop to Lagos and continuing to Accra. Flights will be operated with an A330-200 in three-class configuration. Emirates has full traffic rights between the two capitals.

AMMAN: Jordan’s national carrier has said it had resumed passenger flights to Iraq, which were suspended in November after a missile hit a courier plane shortly after it took off from Baghdad airport. "Royal Jordanian has started operating chartered flights to Baghdad to facilitate the travel of humanitarian organisations and cater for certain business traffic," Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ) vice-president Ghassan Ali said. RJ ran the only regular UN-sanctioned service to Baghdad before the start of the US-led war on Iraq.

MUSCAT: Gulf Air received one of the best possible indicators that it was on the road to recovery with the revelation that more than six million revenue passengers had flown with the airline in 2003. This was the highest number ever carried in a single financial year. The figures revealed that over half a million more passengers flew with Gulf Air compared to 2002, an increase of more than 10 per cent, while the six million figure showed nearly two million increase on 10 years ago

AMMAN: The Jordanian Government has announced its intention to sell two aviation support services that were established as a result of the restructuring of Jordan's flag carrier, Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ). Jordan Aircraft Maintenance (JorAMCo) and Jordan Airmotive are to be divested through Jordan's Executive Privatisation Commission through an international competitive sale, stated a press release. JorAMCo, which provides aircraft maintenance services, and JALCo, which repairs and overhauls aircraft engines, originally both served as RJ's engineering component and became government-owned private entities when the airline was restructured.

DOHA: Qatar Airwas now has five A330-200s in the fleet while the airline has a firm order for 14 Airbus A330s to be delivered to it from September 2004 to 2008. This was announced during the airline’s Airbus-A330 viewing for the press and travel agents recently held at the Bahrain International Airport. The event was attended by local journalists and travel agents from Bahrain, accompanied by Qatar Airways marketing officer and events organiser Shehab Turk. The group also viewed Al Maha services, F/J class lounges and the Qatar Duty Free.  

MANAMA: A CODE-SHARING agreement between Gulf Air and Australia's national airline Qantas has commenced. It will see Qantas place its code on Gulf Air flights between Singapore and Bahrain and Beirut, according to Gulf Air president and chief executive James Hogan. The agreement also covers services to Athens, Cairo and Dubai, which will be commenced when the necessary government approvals are in place. "The expanded relationship between Gulf Air and Qantas will offer customers more choice for travel between Australia and the Middle East and the Levant, with convenient schedules and excellent connections," said Hogan.  

DOHA: GE Capital Aviation Services has announced it will lease three Airbus A330-200 aircraft to Qatar Airways. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The first two aircraft enter service at Qatar Airways in January and February 2004. The third is a new aircraft scheduled for delivery in June 2005. "We are very pleased to extend our relationship with one of the leading carriers in the Middle East, Qatar Airways," said Norman C.T. Liu, executive vice president, commercial operations for GECAS.  

MANAMA: Gulf Air has halved its losses and is on target to break even by the end of next year, it has been revealed. The losses have dropped dramatically from BD42 million and will meet the end-of-year target figure of BD20m, said board chairman and Finance and National Economy Minister Abdulla Saif at a press conference after a board meeting this week. In addition, Gulf Air expects to realise BD13m by selling its office in central London and an area of land at Heathrow.  

COLMBO: Cyprus Airways, which has entered the Indian subcontinent market with the official launch of twice-weekly service from Larnaca to Colombo via Dubai, sees strong market potential in other destinations of the sub-continent. The airline's vice-chairman Achilleas Kyprianou said the airline has been prompted by strong demand for the Colombo service from the Gulf labour market and outbound tourism sector.

KUWAIT CITY: The Kuwaiti government has approved the liberalisation of its airline sector, allowing private firms to set up passenger and freight carriers in the country. The move was endorsed by the Council of Ministers on November 16, 2003. According to set regulations, private companies wishing to set up an airline in Kuwait will not be able to hold more than a 30 per cent stake in the venture. The remaining shares would be open for public subscription. Kuwait Airways (KAC) is currently the Emirate’s only airline.