Emirates On The Road And In The Air In Africa

Emirates is hitting the road in Africa to lift the profile of its expansion plans on the continent.

Events will be held in South Africa and Angola, countries where Emirates is launching new routes this year. Flights to Durban start on October 1st, while services to the Angolan capital of Luanda begin on October 25th.

The main thrust of the road show activities comes from Emirates Holidays, the tour operating arm of Emirates, whose road show will cover more than a dozen towns and cities across South Africa between July 22nd and August 23rd.

Emirates Holidays, equipped with its 2009/10 brochure, A World of Choice, will be promoting its 120 destinations in key shopping malls and briefing travel agents throughout the country.

The Emirates’ Holidays road show kicked off in Durban on July 22nd and takes in places such as Umhlanga, Pietermaritzburg, Port Elizabeth, Knysna, George, Cape Town, Polokwane and Bloemfontein, before wrapping up in Johannesburg a month later.

Despite the world’s economic difficulties, the tour operating arm of Emirates has experienced an increase in year on year sales and South Africa is one of the strongest performing markets, both inbound and outbound. The launch of daily flights to Durban will supplement a daily service into Cape Town and a triple daily into Johannesburg.

John Felix, Senior Vice President, Emirates Holidays, said: "South Africa is one of our top revenue markets and its important for us to get out there and reinforce our brand presence. It’s also an opportunity for us to relationship build, make new contacts and fine-tune our products based on market feedback so we can ensure that our customers are getting the very best service and value for money. A road show of this size is particularly significant in these tougher economic times and very much demonstrates our commitment to the industry, our partners and our clients."

On the airline side, the final touches are being put to plans to bring together more than 1,000 travel industry representatives for a major road show event in Durban on July 27th. The high-profile gathering will generate the usual Emirates’ buzz, introducing the airline to the coastal city alongside top entertainment, ahead of the first flight from Dubai on October 1st.

Meanwhile, to the northwest in Angola, Emirates is working on a launch event in Luanda, which will celebrate the arrival of the carrier in the Angolan capital on October 25th. Top travel industry figures, business partners and senior government officials are expected to attend to mark the three flights a week service.

Nigel Page, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Americas & Africa, said: "Africa has played an increasing role in the expansion of Emirates since we launched flights to Cairo back in 1986. With its burgeoning commercial activity and rapid development, we look forward to further exciting work on the continent, while at the same time playing our part in supporting Africa’s economic growth."

Emirates SkyCargo will provide assistance on both routes with the belly hold of passenger aircraft being used to transport a range of mostly consumer commodities in and out of the trade-rich continent.

The carrier has been gradually strengthening its services across Africa. In February this year, Emirates went double daily to Lagos, while the Nairobi route will be boosted with an extra weekly flight from August 1st. On the same day, daily flights to Tunis and Tripoli become de-linked.

In all, 16 passenger and cargo destinations are currently served in Africa. They are: Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cairo, Cape Town, Casablanca, Dar es Salaam, Eldoret, Entebbe, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Lagos, Lilongwe, Nairobi, Tripoli and Tunis.

Mr Page added: "It’s highly significant that Africa is the only continent where Emirates has announced new routes for this year, despite the challenging industry conditions. We also have around 4,000 Africans amongst the 140 or so nationalities employed across the Emirates Group."

Since establishing itself as an airline in 1985, Emirates has mushroomed into a major player on the international travel and tourism stage. More than 50 brands now make up the Emirates Group including Emirates Holidays, Emirates SkyCargo, Emirates Hotels & Resorts, Skywards and Dnata.

UAE initials Air Services Agreement with Bulgaria

The United Arab Emirates represented by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has initialled an Air Services Agreement (ASA) and has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Bulgaria in Sofia on 16th July 2009.The agreement was signed by Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Ludmil Manassiev, Director General of Directorate General Civil Aviation Administration, Ministry of transport in Bulgaria. Representatives from Abu Dhabi Department of Transport, Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Sharjah Department of Civil Aviation, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and RAK Airways, attended the negotiations.The UAE delegation confirmed designation of Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways, and additionally designated RAK Airways, Air Arabia and FlyDubai as UAE national airlines under the Agreement, while the Bulgarian delegation confirmed the designation of Bulgaria Air as the Designated Airline of the Republic of Bulgaria under the Agreement. The agreement allows unrestricted capacity and types of aircraft, whether owned or leased, to be operated by the Designated Airlines of each country in any type of service (passenger or cargo) on the routes between Bulgaria and the UAE.The agreement also includes, in addition to the third and fourth freedoms, the practice of full fifth freedom traffic rights on all points of their choice without any restriction while operating cargo services. In addition, both parties agreed to recommend to their authorities to conclude an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation on revenues arising from their airlines’ activities and income earned by their employees when stationed in the territory of the other party. 

Air Charter International Provide Global 2009 Hajj Air Charters

DUBAI, UAE, July 12/PRNewswire/ — Air Charter International (ACI), a leading aviation solutions provider in Arabia, Africa, Asia and Asia Pacific announces their commitment to sourcing world wide Hajj Charters for 2009.

Air Charter International has successfully operated Hajj movements since 2003 from Iraq, Afghanistan, Morocco and the Maldives. Hajj movements are commonly difficult to gain permissions for, but years of experience in
securing these permissions from remote or hard to reach regions prove that ACI can provide a charter from any destination in the world.

Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, is one of the greatest religious observances in Islam. Historically, people made their pilgrimage to Hajj by camel caravan or ship. It was a dangerous trip that took months, sometimes even years.

Today, the journey has changed dramatically with most pilgrims arriving via the Jeddah airport. There are two special Hajj terminals, the largest buildings (by roof area) in the world. These days, providing Hajj movements
from any where in the world is a crucial service. Air Charter International has built their reputation on being able to support this globally significant event and is able to source the correct aircraft for locations all over the world.

On the significance of Hajj charters Stuart Wheeler, CEO of Air Charter International said: "We realize the religious and personal importance of Hajj and pride ourselves on ensuring the best service for our customers for Hajj
2009. Efficiency and knowledge are our greatest assets and we endeavor, continually, to maintain our service standards."

Air Arabia and Dubai Islamic Bank launch online ticket payment service

Air Arabia, the first and largest low cost carrier in the Middle East, and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), the largest Islamic bank in UAE, announced today the launch of a new ticket payment method for Air Arabia customers via DIB’s electronic banking channel. Easy payments for Air Arabia tickets can now be made from the comfort of one’s home anywhere in the world through DIB’s Al Islami online banking services.Earlier this year, Air Arabia and DIB, signed an agreement to provide a fast and convenient ticket payment facility for Air Arabia customers. DIB is currently in the process of enabling Air Arabia payments through the bank’s e-channel network, including mobile banking, phone banking, Cash Deposit Machines (CDM), and Automated Teller Machines (ATM).Ali Al Hamdany, Director of IT and Corporate Projects, Air Arabia, said: “We are delighted to announce the new service. This step further enhances the ease and convenience we offer to our customers seeking to travel to the 46 destinations we serve worldwide. In a highly competitive market, excellence in service, innovation and outstanding customer service play a significant role for a fast-growing airline like Air Arabia. This new payment service in conjunction with DIB will enable our customers to choose from a range of destinations and holiday packages from the comfort of their homes.”Musabbah Al Qaizi Head of Electronic Banking, DIB, said: “DIB’s strengthened partnership with Air Arabia is a testament to our commitment to provide value-added services for our customers. Air Arabia and DIB customers can now make their Air Arabia tickets payment through Al Islami online banking,. DIB’s partnership network is growing steadily and now includes alliances with numerous reputed companies and service providers. DIB continues to assess opportunities and add more electronic services, demonstrating our commitment to provide our client with unmatched services.”