Category Archives: Aviation

In line with Kuwait Airways’ expansion plans in the Far East, the company announced the inauguration of its new sales office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The company celebrated the opening of the office in the presence of Kuwait Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Eng. Maen Razouqi with numerous officials attending the event consisting of dignitaries and representatives, headed by the Ambassador of the State of Kuwait to the Kingdom of Malaysia, H.E. Rashid Al-Saleh, and his accompanying delegation, as well as various officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia, Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture, travel and tourism companies, and various media representatives and also included honouring outstanding partners from travel and tourism offices. Speaking on the occasion, Kuwait Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Eng. Maen Razouqi welcomed the attendees, and extended his sincere thanks to the guests for accepting KAC’s invitation. Razouqi in his speech stated, “Kuwait Airways is pleased and honoured to be present to participate in the inaugural ceremony of its new sales office in Kuala Lumpur and to honour our successful partners. The opening of the office comes within the framework of the Blue Bird’s preparations for the summer season of 2023 and is part of the company’s objectives to expand and launch new destinations to provide the best services to our valued customers, in addition to meeting their requirements. The new office is situated in a distinguished location in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, which is easily accessible to KAC’s customers.” Razouqi added, “Kuala Lumpur is one of Kuwait Airway’s most important destinations. Since its launch in October 2022 with two flights per week, there has been a growing demand from our valued passengers to travel …

Creating a new milestone in its network expansion strategy, SalamAir has announced direct flights to two new destinations Mashhad in Iran and Almaty in Kazakhstan. Mashhad is the third destination in Iran for the airline, with flights to Shiraz and Tehran already in its network, and Almaty is the airline’s first entry into Kazakhstan. Weekly flights from Muscat to Mashhad and Almaty are scheduled for starting from February 21 and 1st July 2023 respectively. These two routes serve a high demand for medical, business, and leisure tourism. The new flights will also offer convenient connections to the SalamAir network. Speaking of the two new routes, Captain Mohamed Ahmed, CEO of SalamAir, said, “Iran has been one of the key focus markets for us, and we are pleased to launch the third destination to the country. The steady bilateral connection and strong cultural and economic ties between Oman and Iran have given significant momentum to our growth plans and enabled the route’s success. Speaking of the 2nd destinations, he added; This is our first introduction into Kazakhstan; the city of Almaty has promising passenger travel into Muscat, and we expect to carry both business travelers and holidaymakers between the two important cities. Oman and Kazakhstan recently agreed to have close bilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, renewable energy, tourism, and food security too thus this route being mutually beneficial.” Mashhad The holly city is the capital of Khorasan province in northeast Iran and the second largest city in the country, Mashhad is best known for the shrine of Imam Reza. Every year, millions of people visit the holy shrine considered the largest and most magnificent of its kind.. Mashhad is …

Kuwait Airways announced the signing of a bilateral interline agreement with Malaysia Airlines to enhance the framework of cooperation between the two carriers in the commercial air transport sector, commencing from 1st April 2023. The agreement was signed by Kuwait Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Eng. Maen Razouqi and the Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Airlines, Captain Izham Ismail on the side-lines of a ceremony held in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, which was attended by numerous officials, representing both airlines. Speaking on the occasion, KAC’s Chief Executive Officer, Eng. Maen Razouqi stated, “Kuwait Airways is pleased to sign the bilateral interline agreement with Malaysia Airlines. This agreement is the first partnership which will further facilitate a strategic cooperation with Malaysia Airlines, across multiple areas and in all fields of the aviation sector. This is also an important part of the historical and strong relations between the State of Kuwait and the Kingdom of Malaysia, which are characterized by an understanding at all political, economic, and cultural levels between both the countries.” Razouqi added, “This strategic cooperation will benefit all parties, as Malaysia Airlines is one of the leading airlines in the regional and global market with a great history in the aviation sector. We are hopeful that this agreement will bring about the best prospects through the expansion of both airlines’ global network and contribute effectively to achieving the desired objectives.” Razouqi continued by saying, “The enhanced partnership will enable Kuwait Airways to expand its network and serve its passengers through Malaysia Airlines operations, connectivity to several cities in Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand including to Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Auckland, Tokyo, Taipei, Seoul, and Singapore, in addition to …

Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAUDIA) and flyadeal sets course to add 25 new destinations in 2023 on SAUDIA Group Network. The new destinations to be added are Beijing, China; Birmingham, United Kingdom; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Djibouti; Chittagong, Bangladesh; Johannesburg, South Africa; Kano, Nigeria; Baghdad, Iraq; London Gatwick, United Kingdom; Nice, France; Lisbon, Portugal; Malaga, Spain; Mykonos, Greece; Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt; Tbilisi, Georgia; Baku, Azerbaijan; Trabzon, Turkey; Izmir, Turkey; Antalya, Turkey; Bodrum, Turkey; Sarajevo, Bosnia; Heraklion, Greece; Rhodes, Greece; Larnaca, Cyprus; Tivat, Montenegro. All new routes are set to begin throughout 2023. The airline will publish more schedule details on announced destinations soon. SAUDIA Group Director General, H.E. Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar commented on the international network expansion: “SAUDIA Group has been carrying the kingdom’s ambitions, values and traditions across every corner of its network, as it flies the nation’s flag around the world. These new destinations will offer greater access and choices to our guests. Given the increase of demand in international travel, this is the right time to expand our global network in new, exciting ways, SAUDIA has recently launched “Your Ticket Your Visa” in January. The first-of-its-kind service provides guests with even easier access to the Kingdom through a digital integration system that links transit visas with flight tickets. The new service is aimed to encourage passengers to perform Umrah, visit key destinations and attend events during their transit in the Kingdom. The new service, which covers all international airports in the Kingdom, will allow guests to stay in the Kingdom for up to 96 hours, during which they can travel around the Kingdom and perform Umrah. The digital integration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs facilitates the …

Etihad Airways has launched reciprocal interline partnerships with three new airline partners – Philippine Airlines (PAL), Austrian Airlines (OS) and Airlink South Africa (4Z), while re-launching interline links with Biman Bangladesh and codeshares with Air Seychelles (HM) and ITA Airways (AZ).  The deal means customers of all airlines involved will enjoy enhanced connectivity to destinations across each other’s networks, can book on a single ticket and only have to check in once at the start of their flight, with their baggage checked through to their end destination. Arik De, Etihad’s Chief Revenue Officer, said: “Broadening our network reach, and allowing more guests to come visit Abu Dhabi has always guided our purpose. These six interline/code agreements make life easier for guests of all the airlines involved. With Austrian Airlines, this tie-in gives our guests access up to 58 European destinations via Vienna, operated by Etihad daily during the summer, and joins the other four members of the Lufthansa Group with whom we already have interline or codeshare agreements. “Our deal with Airlink South Africa gives connecting guests via our Johannesburg flight seamless access to 16 domestic destinations in South Africa, and 25 regional African destinations, and it complements our existing options with South African Airways. “And teaming up with Philippine Airlines provides easy access to 19 domestic Filipino destinations including Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Kalibo, to and from Etihad’s double daily Manila service, for the large Filipino diaspora living in the UAE. “Our links with Biman and Air Seychelles were affected by those airlines’ own system migrations over the last 12 months, so we’re pleased to re-connect with them to complement our own Dhaka and Mahe services and …

flydubai announced  the launch of four destinations in Saudi Arabia. This includes the start of flights to Neom from 16 March, Najran from 18 March, Al Qaisumah from 21 March and Jizan from 26 April. Earlier this year, the airline also resumed its operations to AlUla with a twice-weekly service from 12 January. Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai, said: “flydubai remains committed to opening up underserved markets and so we are pleased to offer our customers more options for travel with the launch of these four destinations. As Saudi Arabia continues on its path of economic growth and investment in developing its tourism sector, we look forward to offering passengers from the UAE and around our network the opportunity to explore more of the country.” flydubai operates flights to more than 114 destinations, 75 of which were underserved markets that did not previously have direct air links to Dubai. The growing network is served by a fleet of 76 Boeing 737 aircraft. Flight details for the four destinations Flights will operate from Terminal 2, Dubai International (DXB). Start Date Flight Number Departure Airport Arrival Airport Frequency 16 March FZ 851/852 Terminal 2, DXB Neom Airport (NUM) 02 weekly flights 18 March FZ 803/804 Terminal 2, DXB Najran Airport (EAM) 03 weekly flights 21 March FZ 837/838 Terminal 2, DXB Al Qaisumah Hafar Al Batin Airport (AQI) 02 weekly flights 26 April FZ 801/802 Terminal 2, DXB Jizan Airport (GIZ) 04 weekly flights             Flights are available to book on flydubai.com, the official flydubai App, the Contact Centre in Dubai on (+971) 600 54 44 45, the flydubai travel shops or through our travel partners.

flynas announced adding 10 new destinations and routes in Asia and Europe during the 2023 summer season as of next June, boosting its ever-growing flight network. Four new destinations will be served out of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, including the Maldives, the Armenian capital of Yerevan, Antalya in Turkey, and Tivat in Montenegro, the Saudi carrier said. Six new routes will be launched, including four routes from Dammam to Salalah in the Sultanate of Oman, the Turkish cities sof Istanbul and Trabzon, and the Albanian capital of Tirana. In addition, two more routes will be operated from Jeddah to Salalah and the Turkish city of Bodrum, flynas added. Summer destinations and routes already launched as seasonal will be re-operated, including the Czech capital of Prague, Vienna, and Salzburg in Austria, the Azeri capital of Baku, Tbilisi, and Batumi in Georgia, the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt, Trabzon and Bodrum in Turkey, Salalah in Oman, flynas stated. The total summer destinations in 2023 became 20 destinations. Bander Almohanna, CEO of flynas, said that the new destinations and routes of the Saudi carrier reflect the company’s commitment to its growth and expansion strategy under the slogan “We Connect the World to the Kingdom” to cement its leading position as the best low-cost airline in the Middle East and one of the top 10 airlines of its category worldwide. “This approach is in line with the objectives of the Saudi Vision 2030 and the civil aviation strategy to reach 330 million passengers, 250 international destinations, and 100 million tourists annually,” he stressed Almohanna pointed out that flynas posted a record growth in performance and operations during …

Qatar Airways and Qatar Tourism joined forces to partner with the highly acclaimed Destination Wedding Planners (DWP) Congress 2023, an exclusive event that brought the largest Business-to-Business platform for weddings to Doha. This collaboration underscores the city’s growing stature as a key figure in the MICE industry, which continues to attract business travellers from around the world. The 9th edition of DWP congress was held from 14-16 March, to bring together leading wedding planner professionals who provided fresh perspectives on the industry through a series of keynote speeches and DWP masterclasses. Chairman of Qatar Tourism and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker opened the congress with a speech to spotlight Qatar’s offerings as a versatile and captivating wedding destination. Chairman of Qatar Tourism and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Our continuous effort to promote Qatar as a leading destination that caters to the needs of all travellers has been further strengthened by the recent hosting of the Destination Wedding Planners Congress 2023. This event is regarded as the most prestigious B2B gathering in the multi-billion-dollar wedding industry, and we are honoured to have had the best wedding planners and designers in Doha. We eagerly anticipate welcoming them back following an inspiring visit this year, and look forward to seeing their vision for luxurious and elaborate weddings.” The DWP congress has grown rapidly since its inception in 2014, which took place in Greece, and has successfully made its mark in desirable destinations across the globe from Florence, Phuket, Los Cabos, Dubai and Bali. This year the congress highlighted Doha, a city that has undergone remarkable developments in hospitality, aviation, …

flyadeal signed a strategic partnership with Saudi Tourism Authority to support tourism growth across the country. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Con Korfiatis,  flyadeal Chief Executive Officer, and Mohammed Basrawi, President of Domestic Tourism at Saudi Tourism Authority. The agreement will see both organisations develop closer cooperation to drive more visitors to the Kingdom and capitalise on a rapidly growing domestic and inbound tourist market. This will include greater presence at travel events and tourism roadshows with joint promotional and marketing activities, and visibility of the inbound Visit Saudi campaign on flyadeal’s website and social media channels — all aimed at generating more visibility of the Kingdom’s tourism industry and to achieve the strategic goal of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. With a network of 17 domestic cities and an ever-expanding international footprint, where the airline currently serves five regional countries from either Riyadh or Jeddah, flyadeal has developed a strong presence since its formation in just over five years. flyadeal’s current international presence includes Egypt, Jordan, UAE, Kuwait and Sudan.

SAUDIA hosted the 94th Executive Committee meeting of the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization (AACO) in Jeddah. The meeting was chaired by His Excellency Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of SAUDIA Group and Chairman of AACO’s Executive Committee, in the presence of Mr. Abdul Wahab Teffaha, AACO Secretary General, along with Chairpersons and CEOs from the Committee member Arab airlines. The Executive Committee oversees AACO’s overall work, with a focus on collaborative projects among its members. The Committee’s meeting sets the path for the 56th Annual General Meeting, which will be hosted in Riyadh between October 30 and November 1, 2023. The meeting discussed the current state of the industry, including the recovery of the aviation sector and the increasing travel demand following the COVID-19 crisis. It also highlighted the world’s latest geopolitical challenges and their impacts, while delving into significant issues related to the environment and aviation. The meeting focused on the importance of digital transformation and developing innovative solutions that enable the airlines to improve their services and offer better experiences to their customers. Additionally, the Committee reviewed the latest developments of the current joint projects between AACO members, and some administrative and financial affairs for the organization. His Excellency Engr. Ibrahim Al-Omar, Director General of SAUDIA Group and Chairman of AACO’s Executive Committee said: “AACO is diligently working to empower Arab airline companies, advocate for their common interests, and facilitate their collaboration to improve their operational efficiency and service quality. AACO also ensures ongoing coordination with related regulatory authorities to support its member airlines and preserve their interests, along with launching joint projects to improve efficiencies and reduce costs for its members, in line with applicable laws. “I …