Category Archives: Aviation

As a transit gateway for international flights, the Middle East continues to witness significant growth across its aviation industry. Driven by the increasing demand for new aircraft as part of fleet expansion plans and modernisation programmes, the Middle Eastern MRO market is projected to account for more than 11.5% of worldwide demand over the next ten years, resulting in $137 billion of MRO demand generated in the region . Meanwhile, the Middle East’s commercial aircraft cabin interior market is predicted to increase from an estimated USD $0.93 billion in 2024 to USD $1.26 billion by 2030 , driven by the need to enhance passenger experience and growing demand for premium economy. Taking place from 5-6 March 2024 at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), MRO Middle East and Aircraft Interiors Middle East (AIME) 2024 are set to make waves in the industry with a comprehensive agenda at the Go Live! Theater. More than 50 global and regional leaders will take to the stage to discuss the trends propelling this industry growth and provide critical learning opportunities. Confirmed speakers include Justin O’Donnell, Director Technical Operations at Riyadh Air; Jeffrey Wilkinson, CEO of DAE Engineering; Salman Iqbal, Senior Manager, Technical Sourcing & Contracts at Etihad Airways; and Andrii Kusyi, Technical Manager at Wizz Air. The two day agenda, which is free to attend and live on the show floor, will cover key themes across the MRO industry, including workforce and supply chain challenges, sustainability, fleet management optimisation and the benefits of new technology, as well as regional market insights for India and on the cargo market. During the panel ‘MRO: Sustainability – Where are we now?’, OEMs will discuss sustainability initiatives in the …

Air Arabia announced record financial results for the full year ending December 31, 2023. The airline has achieved double-digit growth in profitability and passenger numbers, showcasing its commitment to growth plans and exceptional financial and operational performance. Air Arabia has reported a record net profit of AED 1.5 billion for the full year ending December 31, 2023; representing a 27 per cent increase compared to the AED 1.2 billion recorded in 2022. Moreover, the airline’s turnover for the same period reached AED 6 billion, reflecting a 14 per cent increase compared to the AED 5.2 billion registered in 2022. Full Year 2023 Performance: AED FY 2023 FY 2022 % Revenue AED 6 billion AED 5.2 billion 14% Passenger Numbers*all hubs* 16.7 million 12.8 million 31% Seat Load Factor 80% 80% – Net Profit AED 1.54 billion AED 1.2 billion 27%   Air Arabia’s Board of Directors proposed a dividend distribution of 20 per cent of share capital, which is equivalent to 20 fils per share. This proposal was made following a meeting of the board of directors of Air Arabia and is subject to ratification by Air Arabia’s shareholders at the company’s upcoming Annual General Meeting.   Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohamed Al Thani, Chairman of Air Arabia, said: “2023 has been a remarkable year for the airline. Air Arabia has successfully maintained its growth momentum from the previous record-breaking year and achieved exceptional financial and operational results. The significant milestones attained in terms of growth, revenue, and profitability serve as a testament to Air Arabia’s robust business model, competent management team, and effective growth strategy.” He continued: “Despite the numerous geopolitical and economic challenges faced by the global aviation industry, the …

Riyadh Air announced a fundamental collaboration with Sabre Corporation to underscore Riyadh Air’s commitment to enhancing operational efficiency and driving incremental revenue gains through Sabre’s end-to-end Network Planning and Optimization solutions. Sabre Network Planning and Optimization solutions empower collaborative and intelligent decision-making, ensuring airlines can optimally design their networks, accurately forecast demand, and profitably schedule and allocate available capacity. Under this groundbreaking deal, Riyadh Air has chosen Sabre’s comprehensive suite of solutions, including Sabre Schedule Manager, Sabre Slot Manager, Sabre Profit Manager, and Sabre Market Intelligence – Global Demand Data (GDD) to achieve its strategic goals and drive its vision. “Sabre’s technology provides a new level of insight that will enable Riyadh Air to make informed network planning and commercial decisions, ensuring greater revenue returns, allowing us to invest more in enhancing the overall passenger experience,” said Vincent Coste, Chief Commercial Officer, Riyadh Air. “We have carefully selected a stable of world class technical suppliers to power Riyadh Air towards its maiden flight in 2025, and this collaboration is a key milestone in our journey to achieve operational excellence and scale our business efficiently.” Sabre Schedule Manager is an industry-leading scheduling solution that increases aircraft utilization by optimizing the schedule development process from planning to distribution, thereby increasing revenue potential. This solution seamlessly integrates with a wide range of third-party solutions and has globally assisted airlines in achieving incremental operating margins and increases in productivity, while maintaining robust and operationally feasible schedules. Sabre Slot Manager is another integral component of Sabre’s suite that automates the slot process and efficiently manages an airline’s critical slot portfolio with improved asset utilization. It stands out as the industry’s most comprehensive slot management solution …

Etihad Airways published its preliminary traffic statistics for January 2024 where the carrier welcomed more than 1.4 million guests onboard and saw its load factor average out at 86.04 per cent across the month. “In January 2024 we saw a 35 per cent year-on-year growth in customer numbers and were flying to five more destinations than the same period in 2023, making us one of the fastest growing airlines in the world,” said Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad Airways. “We are meeting customer demand by adding more flights to key destinations, and Etihad is now offering almost 27% per cent more weekly departures for Summer 24 compared to last summer. “We began the year by launching daily flights from Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Kozhikode (CCJ) and Thiruvananthapuram (TRV) in the Kerala region of India taking our total number of Indian gateways to 10. “We are proud to have welcomed 1.4 million guests to our new home, Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport, and we eagerly anticipate introducing more of the world to both the new airport and the onboard Etihad experience throughout 2024, as our network and frequencies continue to expand.”

Qatar Airways and gategroup announced a new catering partnership to elevate inflight dining, structured through a Business Management Agreement that will see collaboration on passenger dining experiences, sourcing and procurement, healthy eating, as well as sustainability. Qatar Airways’ commitment to global aviation excellence will be reinforced by gategroup’s expertise in menu design, culinary concepts and operational excellence. This partnership with gategroup will amplify the Qatar Airways brand by delivering refined culinary experiences for our guests, inflight and on the ground in our world class lounges at Hamad International Airport. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, said: “This partnership with gategroup will amplify the Qatar Airways brand by delivering refined culinary experiences for our guests, inflight and on the ground in our world class lounges at Hamad International Airport.” Chief Executive Officer of gategroup Mr. Christoph Schmitz said: “We are genuinely honoured to walk this path alongside Qatar Airways. It is a journey of discovery, growth, and immense potential, and we firmly believe in the transformative power of collaboration, where two companies come together with shared visions and values to craft something truly outstanding.” gategroup’s culinary team will be based in Doha and will contribute to the development of a dedicated culinary studio for Qatar Airways, which will facilitate innovation, co-creation and efficient menu design. The new culinary creations will focus on high quality ingredients, health and nutrition, incorporating local produce with a view to sustainable sourcing, authenticity and supporting local businesses. The elevation of culinary quality will be underpinned by robust processes around menu development, efficiency in production and systematic monitoring of food quality, taste and appearance. Through this collaboration, the airline will explore additional revenue …

Visit Qatar and Qatar Airways have announced the launch of Doha stopover packages as part of their efforts to promote Qatar as a leading tourist destination to be added to final passenger journeys, at a press conference held by His Excellency Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, President of Qatar Tourism, and Eng. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Group Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways, in the presence of a group of international media representatives on an extensive familiarization trip to Doha, at Msheireb, Downtown Doha. Visit Qatar plays a key role in strengthening partnerships with government entities and encouraging investments, as well as supporting private sector engagement to ensure the growth of the hospitality and tourism sectors. It works to strengthen Qatar’s position as a leading tourism destination while preserving its rich cultural heritage. Visit Qatar’s efforts are focused on strengthening the country’s tourism infrastructure, promoting sustainable development and promoting cultural exchange, in line with Qatar ‘s vision.National 2030 Commenting on the press conference, His Excellency Mr. Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, President of Qatar Tourism, said: “The launch of the Qatar Stopover packages is a testament to the continued fruitful cooperation between Qatar Tourism and Qatar Airways, which gives passengers a great opportunity to expand their travel experience by visiting Qatar. Recognising the richness and diversity of Qatar’s tourism experiences, we believe that Qatar’s ‘Stopover’ packages will resonate with visitors.” “It is essential that 2023 saw more than double the number of passengers and hotel nights associated with stopovers in Qatar compared to 2022, thanks to Qatar Airways’ growing network of more than 177 international destinations. January 2024 also saw another remarkable achievement, with the number of incoming visitors exceeding 700,000. …

Etihad Airways is celebrating the renaming of its home airport to Zayed International Airport today. The naming of the airport follows the opening of Terminal A in November 2023, which is the airline’s new state-of-the-art home terminal. Arik De, Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer, Etihad Airways, said: “We take immense pride in our home, Abu Dhabi, which is the perfect hub from which to explore the world. We’re forever grateful to the vision of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and proudly join in these celebrations as our home airport is renamed in his honour.” To celebrate the historic occasion, Etihad Airways has launched a special offer for guests departing from Abu Dhabi to select destinations. The limited time offer is available between 9 and 14 February 2024 for guests travelling between 19 February and 15 June 2024. Guests traveling to Bangkok can book special fares starting at AED 2,490 in Economy class and AED 7,990 in Etihad’s award-winning Business class. While guests can say ‘konnichiwa’ when they jet off to Osaka, from AED 4,490 and AED 14,990 in Economy and Business respectively. Etihad will launch flights to its new destination Boston, from 31 March, meaning guests can be amongst the first to fly to the popular US city and enjoy its rich cultural vibes at fantastic sale fares starting from AED 3,490. Those wishing to tour Europe can book to Copenhagen, Munich, and Lisbon with fares starting at AED 2,490 in Economy and AED 11,990 in Business. Over the celebratory weekend, guests will be warmly welcomed at Zayed International Airport, with gifts, special activities and live entertainment. The Terminal provides dedicated check-in desks for Etihad’s Economy guests …

Celebrating Lunar New Year on the 10 February and heralding the year of the Dragon, Emirates customers can embrace the luck of the season with curated menus in Emirates lounges in Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok, Shanghai and Beijing, enjoy traditional ‘red envelopes’ shared inflight, and blockbuster movies onboard in Mandarin and Cantonese. Emirates customers on select routes will be treated to a Lunar New Year dessert, a luscious red velvet lychee cake in First and Business Class, and a creamy red velvet lychee mousse in Economy Class. First and Business Class customers will also receive a traditional red envelope filled with chocolate coins, to share the good luck and wishes of the new year. To celebrate the Lunar New Year, Emirates Lounges in Dubai will offer an array of festive fare on the 10th of February. Breakfast in the First and Business Class lounges will feature a classic ‘Cheung Fun’ steamed rice noodle roll stuffed with dried prawn and scallops. At lunch and dinnertime, First Class lounge customers can indulge in a Cantonese roast duck bao with plum sauce, while First and Business Class lounge guests can feast on scrumptious poached shrimp and vegetable dumplings with soy and vinegar dip, or Chinese rainbow salad with smoked salmon, sesame and soya ginger dressing, or pan-seared Chilean seabass with XO sauce and pak choy. Desserts include a sweet and light mango coconut cake with spices, or black tea cake in the First Class lounge, with a tangy yuzu tartlet served with green tea powder available in the Business Class Lounges. Customers can also head to the unique old-fashioned Emirates ice-cream cart to enjoy limited edition gourmet Matcha green tea ice cream, made in-house by …

Etihad Airways announced its exciting new venture as the official sponsor for the Chennai Super Kings, strengthening their sports tourism strategies to attract more sports fans and elevate the fan experience by engaging in exciting activities, promotions, and unique initiatives throughout the upcoming season. Fans can expect a thrilling journey with Etihad as they support the Chennai Super Kings in their quest for victory. The partnership was revealed during a special ceremony held in CSK’s home city of Chennai. Welcomed by 2,000 enthusiastic fans, the ‘unveiling event’ was held at Kalaivanar Arangam, in the presence of team officials and Chennai Super Kings’ players, who joined Etihad cabin crew onstage wearing their new jerseys proudly displaying the airline’s logo. The Etihad partnership will come to life across Chennai Super Kings’ events and platforms, with Etihad showcased on the back of the Chennai super Kings’ jersey, through engaging activations and fan activities at events and matches, as well as offering exclusive deals to Chennai Super Kings’ fans. Arik De, Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer at Etihad Airways, expressed his enthusiasm about the partnership: “Today marks the start of an extraordinary journey as we welcome the Chennai Super Kings to our sports portfolio. Cricket’s global resonance unites diverse communities, reflecting the shared values of Etihad and Chennai Super Kings. Our collaboration goes beyond sponsorship; it’s a celebration of a shared ethos, a testament to the collective spirit of Etihad and the Chennai Super Kings. “Cricket in India is truly incredible and the Chennai Super Kings fans really showcase exactly what it means to love and have true passion for the game in this incredible country. For Etihad, we believe in connecting with our travellers …

Saudia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Oil Park Development Company (OPDC), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the entity behind the world-first adventure tourism destination, THE RIG to  delve into new transportation methods, including eVTOL, and carbon reduction initiatives, aligning with the sustainability goals of both organizations. The agreement, which was signed in Riyadh by Captain Ibrahim Koshy, CEO of Saudia, and Raed Bakhrji, CEO of Oil Park Development Company, sets the stage for Saudia and THE RIG. to jointly collaborate on initiatives designed to drive traffic to the Eastern province and elevate the overall guest experience. Captain Ibrahim Koshy said: “At Saudia, we are deeply committed to fulfilling our role as the ‘Wings of Vision 2030’ to accomplish our goals in line with the Kingdom’s tourism strategy, which is to bring around 150 million visitors to Saudi Arabia by 2030. This collaboration holds great promises for the travel and tourism industry. Along with our partners, we look forward to leveraging our combined expertise to drive innovation and sustainable growth in the sector.” Raed Bakhrji said: “THE RIG. draws inspiration from Vision 2030 and its initiatives to develop the tourism sector. It is expected to be one of the leading adventure tourism projects, offering visitors an unparalleled mix of adventure experiences. Our collaboration with Saudia is expected to enhance the quality and uniqueness of our offerings, providing visitors with a wide range of easy access options to this distinctive tourist destination.”