Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic’s major share holder, has written to pilots expressing his sadness at the possibility of strikes at the airline.
In an open letter published in The Times, Sir Richard wrote to his airline’s pilots saying he was “extremely sad” about the threat of strike action and urged Balpa to arrange talks with Virgin Atlantic management.
Sir Richard also said he would be prepared to have a private meeting with Virgin Atlantic pilots to answer questions about the future. In the letter Sir Richard has said: “I have looked at the details of your offer and believe it is fair. From the company’s point of view possibly a little too fair.”

“It is one of the best in the industry, along with many other commitments that offer real value to you.”

The pilots’ union, Balpa, has voted overwhelmingly for strike action at Virgin Atlantic in protest at a 4% pay rise, followed by three per cent for 2012 and 2013, this follows a number of a number of pay freezes. Balpa’s general secretary Jim McAuslan last week urged Sir Richard to become personally involved.

Mr Branson went on to say, “Unless Balpa withdraws its threat very soon, it will leave an indelible scar on the company, impact customers’ trust in us and damage the unique and friendly culture at Virgin Atlantic…It will affect jobs and it will make it very difficult for the company to afford the current offer on the table.”

Sir Richard also said “I was obviously extremely sad to see threats of strike action in the press as these negative comments will have already damaged the reputation of our airline and the trust our customers place in us – which we rely on so heavily. They have also played into the hands of our larger rivals.”

He continued in his letter to Virgin Atlantic pilots, “Your union asked me to get involved and I’ve looked at all the facts and believe that our management have made the best offer it can.

“Our chief operating officer, Steve Griffiths, is ready to meet with Balpa and your committee again and I appeal to you to insist that they do so as soon as possible.

“Your union representative also publicly asked to meet with me personally. I believe that would only cause more publicity which would further damage the airline and I am not best placed to deal with the details of the negotiation.

“However, I would be happy to have a private meeting with as many pilots that are available to answer your questions about the future of the airline. I will have a member of my team get in touch regarding potential times.”

Union leaders at Balpa would have to give Virgin Atlantic at least 7 days notice of any industrial action.

Dubai’s first low-cost airline awarded operator’s certificate from GCAA

Dubai, U.A.E.: A new era for budget air travel within the region took a big step closer to realisation today when flydubai, Dubai’s first low-cost airline, received its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) from the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

The award comes just days after the company unveiled the first of its Boeing 737-800s and less than two weeks before its June 1st maiden passenger flight to Beirut.
“The award of the operator’s certificate is the green light for flydubai to start its commercial operations,” said Ghaith Al Ghaith, CEO of flydubai. “A little more than twelve months ago, the flydubai venture was just a dream, with even the company’s name yet to be coined. With the licence now granted, the airline has become a reality and it is thanks to the incredible effort from everyone involved that has resulted in the concept getting off the ground.”

flydubai’s Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) was issued only after it had achieved completion of a strict set of requirements laid down by The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the Regulatory body responsible for ensuring safety and standards within the airline industry. Complying with the GCAA’s requirements involved an exacting and rigorous process designed to ensure that only the highest levels of safety are maintained.
“flydubai’s operator’s certificate was obtained after a complete set of manuals, instructions and procedures was approved by the GCAA,” revealed Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the GCAA. “The GCAA is staffed with industry professionals who have an extensive history of assessment and evaluation and the manuals that flydubai submitted contain instructions, training programs and guidance to cover safety issues, as well as the function of flight attendants, maintenance personnel, pilots and management.

“As you would expect, there is a very rigid requirement of checks and balances to ensure strict compliance with regulations.

“Everything that flydubai has submitted has been of the very highest quality and we are delighted to award them their operator’s licence.”

flydubai will ultimately operate 50 Boeing 737-800s, with each one carrying 189 passengers. This Next Generation aircraft is in service across the world and has proved to be one of the safest in use today. flydubai’s version of the airliner has had state-of-the-art avionics, radar and navigation instruments installed, requiring a comprehensive training syllabus, for crew members.

In order to gain the licence flydubai’s pilots were required to demonstrate proficiency in a B737-800 simulator, with many hours having to be spent in training. The program culminates in a ‘Check Ride,’ where pilots must conduct all normal and emergency procedures at an expert level.
flydubai’s flight attendants also use simulators as an important aid in their education and they utilise this platform to demonstrate both routine and hazard combating operations. In addition to cabin crew having to be well versed in all these procedures, non-flying personnel, such as managers, also have to be able to show a high degree of safety and security acumen.

“flydubai has been assessed as meeting all the necessary requirements for exemplary operations and we are now looking forward to our inaugural passenger flight, which takes off for Beirut on June 1st,” said Ghaith. “This is an incredibly exciting time for everyone involved in Dubai’s first ever low-cost airline and we look forward to adding to our routes as we expand our service.

“I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate everyone at flydubai for bringing these plans to fruition and to thank them for all their hard work and dedication, which has led us to this defining moment – clearance for our commercial schedule to begin,” he added.

flydubai is aiming to capitalise on a continued desire for travel during straitened economic times with a simple model. The airline’s travellers pay for the services they want, with ticket prices inclusive of all taxes and a generous hand baggage allowance of 10kg. Customers are able to select other optional services at an additional charge. flydubai will operate from an enhanced and modernised Terminal 2 on the north side of Dubai International Airport.

Winners announced for World Travel Awards Middle East’s Gala Ceremony; Dubai wins prestigious award for Middle East’s Leading Destination.

Dubai, UAE – The travel, tourism and hospitality industry’s most coveted international recognition, the World Travel Awards, held its Middle East gala ceremony in Dubai tonight. The event was graced by a number of senior professionals from the travel, tourism and hospitality trade at a ceremony that was packed with award winners, nominees and press.

Abu Dhabi made a strong show of force by winning 10 awards, the highest number of awards ever won by a new travel and tourism destination. The capital of the UAE, which has embarked on an ambitious long-term tourism development plan, also saw a record number of nominations this year. Some of the key awards that went to Abu Dhabi companies were:
– Middle East’s Leading Airline – Etihad
– Middle East’s Leading International Marketing Campaign – Etihad
– Middle East’s Leading Destination Marketing Campaign – ADTA
– Middle East’s Leading Exhibition Center – ADNEC
– Middle East’s Leading Tourism Development Project – TDIC’s Saadiyat Island
– Middle East’s Leading Private Jet Charter – Royal Jet
(To see a full list of award winners please see accompanying attachment).
However, Dubai remained the Middle East’s favourite destination by winning the highly contested ‘Middle East’s Leading Destination’ and ‘Middle East’s Leading MICE destination’ award. Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) was voted for Middle East’s Leading Tourism Board, while Jumeirah, Emirates Airlines and Al Futtaim Group Real Estate won awards for Middle East’s Leading Hotel, Middle East’s Leading Economy Airline and the Middle East’s Leading Tourism Development Company (for Dubai Festival City) respectively. Emaar’s The Address hotel was voted unanimously as Middle East’s Leading New Hotel. Another unanimous vote was for Middle East’s Leading Tourist Attraction, which is Petra in Jordan.
Commenting on the award winners, Graham Cooke, Founder of the World Travel Awards said “I am excited to see that the Middle East’s tourism offering is quickly diversifying and new players are taking great interest in being destinations, airlines or hotels of choice. It is particularly impressive to note that some of the major award winners tonight are very new companies that have quickly set themselves to be leading players in the travel, tourism and hospitality business – not only in the Middle East but world wide.”

The awards are determined by a polling process that invites votes from over 170,000 travel, tourism and hospitality professionals around the world. This year around 42,000 voters participated in selecting winners for the Middle East’s best airlines, hotels, tourist attractions, destinations, tourist board amongst many others. Voters are also asked to vote on micro favourites such as Middle East’s Leading Suite, Middle East’s Leading Travel Website, and Middle East’s Leading Water Park – which was awarded to Aquaventure on Atlantis’s Palm Jumeirah.

The World Travel Awards also launched a new award called the ‘Prix D’ Or’ which was voted live at the ceremony. Guests at the World Travel Awards Middle East ceremony were asked to vote for the brand that has contributed most to Middle East’s travel industry in the last 12 months. And the winer of the eveing was Etihad.

Oman has received a record number of nominations at this year’s Annual World Travel Awards taking place in Dubai next month.

The Sultanate has been nominated as the Middle East’s leading destination while the country’s national tourist office has been named as a contender for the Middle East’s Leading Tourist Board award.

In addition to these Oman’s capital city and main tourist gateway Muscat and the southern city of Salalah have both been nominated for the Middle East’s Leading Cruise Port award.

Several of the destination’s resorts and hotels have also been named as nominees at the event which will be held in Dubai’s Monarch Hotel on 05 May.

These include the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort and the InterContinental Al Bustan Palace Muscat, both of which have been nominated for the Middle East’s Leading Beach Resort award.

The Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort has also been nominated for the Middle East’s Leading Conference Resort award and the Middle East’s Leading Resort award.

The Al Bandar, Al Husn, the Al Waha, the InterContinental Al Bustan Palace Muscat and The Chedi Muscat has been nominated for the Middle East’s Leading Hotel award.

The Chedi Muscat is also hoping to lift the Middle East’s Leading Resort award.

The Wave, Muscat project which combines more than 4,000 properties, a 300-yacht berth marina, a Greg Norman signature golf course and three premier hotels hass been nominated as Middle East’s Leading Tourism Development Project.

Sultanate of Oman Tourism Director Australia/New Zealand Mona Tannous said the record number of nominations was indicative of Oman’s growing appeal and ability to deliver on the international travel scene

For more information on the Annual World Travel Awards visit www.worldtravelawards.com.

• Air Arabia’s 45th destination globally, 13th in India
• Only UAE-based airline to offer direct flights from UAE to Goa
• Flights to operate three times per week

Sharjah, April 2009: Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, launched non-stop service to Goa, India, from the carrier’s main hub in Sharjah, UAE. The launch of this new destination reflects Air Arabia’s growing expansion into the Indian market.

Roundtrip flights will operate three times per week between Dabolim International Airport in Goa and Air Arabia’s hub in Sharjah. Air Arabia is now the only UAE-based international carrier to offer direct flights to Goa from the UAE.

The LCC will fly to Goa on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing Sharjah at 00:25 AM and arriving at Goa at 5:05 AM. Return flights will depart Goa at 5:50 AM and arrive in Sharjah at 7:35 AM.

Air Arabia’s first destination in the Indian state of Goa is also the carrier’s 13th destination in India. In total, Air Arabia will serve 46 destinations across the Middle East, North Africa, Indian Subcontinent, Central Asia and the Southern Europe, including Athens. Greece, when service to that European city commences on April 21, 2009.

AK Nizar, Head of Commercial Department, Air Arabia, said: “We are delighted to now offer non-stop service between Sharjah, the cultural capital of the UAE, and Goa, one of the great heritage cities of India. Today, even more members of the large Indian expatriate population living in the UAE and GCC can take advantage of our extensive Middle Eastern and international network. We now serve 13 destinations in India, and are keen on continuously providing the best value-for-money service to this rapidly emerging nation. We are confident that Goa will serve as a great holiday, personal travel and business destination for our passengers.”

In addition to Goa, Air Arabia also serves the following Indian cities: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Jaipur, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai, Nagpur, Thiruvanathapuram and Hyderabad. The Sharjah-based carrier offers the most destinations of any airline in the Middle East, South Asia and North Africa.

Air Arabia offers visitors from Goa to the UAE, a convenient tourist visa service to visit their family and friends.

The Oman Ministry of Tourism has set its sights on attracting 12 million visitors by the year 2020.

The ministry’s vision follows on from a strong 2008 visitor arrival performance which saw three million-plus international travellers enter the Sultanate.

Based on this and forward visitor arrival projections the ministry is confident the tourism sector will become one of the biggest contributors to Oman’s GDP within the next 11 years.

The ministry’s aspirations have been heavily supported by both the Oman government and private sector which have invested heavily in several major tourism projects across the destination valued at more than USD10 billion.

Sultanate of Oman Tourism Director Australia/New Zealand Mona Tannous said one of the principle projects now underway was a major upgrade and expansion of the Sultanate’s principal air gateway, Muscat International Airport.

The airport last year handled more than 3.2 million international visitor arrivals.

Plans for the airport development, she said, include a new terminal building, 32 air bridges and an additional runway while the existing runway will be upgraded to handle the super-sized Airbus A380.
In addition to the airport development, several massive tourism projects are now well underway most of which will be completed within the next five years.

These include 10 integrated resort style developments under construction in various parts of the country plus a major 6000-seat Convention Centre being built on a 1.6 million hectare site close to Muscat International Airport.

Work is also nearing completion on the venue for 2010 Asian Beach Games which will take place at Wudum Al Sahil near Muscat in December next year.

Following the event the games complex is intended to be used as a major resort complex.

Ms Tannous said the overall blueprint for all of these projects also extended to the development and upgrading of key transportation hubs and links other parts of the country.

These include new regional airports and facilities in Nizwa, Duqm and Salalah, all of which are viewed as critical in facilitating access to these regions for international visitors arriving via Muscat.

Ms Tannous said a major component of the ministry’s in achieving success for its ‘Vision 2020’ charter centres on the roll out of ongoing international marketing strategies designed to further broaden the destination’s appeal to an ever-widening international audience.

These, she said, were intended to create awareness of the many fascinating, historical and culturally rich regions which make up the destination while attracting further investment and even more opportunity for the country’s tourism sector.

Entering Oman she said had also become much easier following a recent move by the government to change visa regulations to allow nationals of up to 60 countries to receive entry visas on arrival at the airport.

Minister of Tourism, Dr. Rajiha Bint Abdulamir Bin Ali, said that under the Oman government’s ‘Vision 2020’ charter the tourism sector has been set the following objectives:

• To increase the level of employment of Omani nationals in the sector from the current 37 per cent to 80 per cent by the year 2010.

• To achieve an average annual growth rate for the tourist income by seven per cent for the period 2005-2010.

• Conserve and protect the natural environments as well as assuring respect of customs, traditions and cultural heritage.

DUBAI, U.A.E, – Reinforcing and strengthening the airline’s commitment to the Middle East, Emirates has announced increased services to three of its key regional gateways including; Dammam, Beirut and Tehran.

Starting from the 1st May, Emirates will introduce two additional weekly flights to Dammam, three additional weekly flights to Beirut and an extra two weekly flights to Tehran, further reinforcing the airline’s extensive operations across the Middle East.
Airbus A330-200 – Emirates is increasing services to three of its key regional gateways including; Dammam, Beirut and Tehran.

“The Middle East is one of the most active aviation markets in the world and an integral part of Emirates operations,” said Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Commercial Operations – Gulf Middle East & Iran. “The addition of these flights has been implemented in recognition of the increased demand for services across the Middle East and will provide much needed capacity on these perpetually busy routes.”

“The enhanced capacity will also offer excellent connections to Emirates extensive global network as well as provide extra flights for the thousands of expatriate residents who live and work in Dubai but whose family is still based in their home country.”

Recent statistics released by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show that demand for services across the Middle East grew 3.1 per cent in January 2009 despite the global economic downturn, with Emirates well placed to capitalize on this growth.

The additional flights to Beirut, Dammam and Tehran marks the second significant increase in flights across the Middle East for Emirates – in February Emirates added capacity to Amman, Riyadh and Jeddah – bringing its weekly operation to: seven flights to Dammam, 17 flights to Beirut and 21 flights to Tehran.

The airline has an extensive Middle East network covering 14 cities with 180 flights per week. With the additional flights to Dammam, Beirut and Tehran starting May 2009, Emirates will serve the region with 187 flights per week.

• Carrier recognised by Airbus for achieving highest aircraft utilisation in 2008, with 99.8 per cent operational reliability
• Named best performer among all global airlines operating Airbus A320 aircraft
• Reaffirms reliability of LCC’s services

Sharjah,  Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, announced today that it has been recognised by Airbus, one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, for achieving the highest level of operational utilisation in the world.

This is for the fourth consecutive year that Air Arabia has maintained the lead among all global airlines operating Airbus A320 aircraft. According to the latest reports from Airbus, Air Arabia achieved the highest aircraft utilisation in 2008, with 99.8 per cent operational reliability.

“Operational excellence and service reliability are integral to our success. We are honoured that these attributes have been recognised by a prestigious aircraft manufacturer such as Airbus,” said Adel Ali, Board Member and Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia. “Being a leading LCC means that we continuously strive to optimise our resources and infrastructure to best serve our passengers. Our employees are the driving force behind our seamless service, and we wish to thank them for their contribution. As we undertake a more ambitious growth path in a challenging business environment, we continue to focus on maximising our efficiency levels.”

In selecting Air Arabia in its operational excellence rankings, Airbus conducted a detailed technical analysis of all carriers in the segment. Air Arabia recorded the highest indicators for operational reliability and aircraft utilisation, reflecting the carrier’s extremely high maintenance and technical standards.

Currently, Air Arabia has a fleet of 16 Airbus A320 aircraft, and has already placed an order for 44 additional Airbus A320. By the end of 2009, Air Arabia expects to add two more aircraft and increase its fleet size to 18.

In January 2007, Air Arabia received a special certificate from Airbus for achieving the highest average level of A320 fleet utilization during 2005-2006. In June 2007, Airbus named Air Arabia winner of the award for Operational Excellence (2005-2007) for recording the world’s highest indicators for operational reliability.