AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, aviation briefs

Source: AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesAug.迷你倉 28--DAE, BBA AVIATION IN TIE-UP TALKS: UK-based aircraft services firm, BBA Aviation has confirmed talks to merge with parts of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), Reuters has reported. The statement came after Sunday Times, citing no sources, said that BBA was in talks with DAE-owned StandardAero over a pounds sterling 2.7bn ($4.21bn) merger.ETIHAD TO KEEP B777 ON DUBLIN SERVICE: According to GDS timetable/inventory, Etihad will continue to operate Boeing 777-300ER service on the Abu Dhabi-Dublin route in the winter 2013/14 season, Routes Online has reported. Overall capacity, however, will be slightly reduced as the airline deploys new two-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on this route starting November 3, 2013.EMIRATES TO LAUNCH TAIPEI SERVICE NEXT FEBRUARY: Emirates Airline has launched new non-stop passenger services to the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, its 16th destination in the Far East, commencing on February 10, 2014, Wam has reported. Initially, the service will offer six non-stop flights per week to Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport. The route will be serviced by a three class Boeing 777-300ER equipped with eight luxurious private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class, and generous space for 304 passengers in Economy Class.CEBU PACIFIC CONSIDERING FLIGHTS TO QATAR: The Philippines Ambassador to Qatar, Crescente Relacion has said a delegation from low-cost airline Cebu Pacific Air (CEB) is set to visit the Gulf country to explore the prospects of launching flights to Doha, Gulf Times has reported. "The team will be meeting government and aviation officials in Doha," said Relacion. The airline had earlier announced that it would start operating direct Manila-Dubai-Manila flights on October 7 this year. It will be the only Philippine airline to start direct flights to the UAE. Dubai will also be its first long-haul destination.SAUDIA EXPANDS CODESHARE DEAL WITH AIR FRANCE: Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has expanded its codeshare agreement with Air France, which now covers domestic Saudi Arabia, as well as intra-Europe routes, Routes Online has reported. The new codeshare routes are in addition to existing partnership on Paris CDG - Riyadh and Paris CDG - Jeddah routes.IRAQI AIRWAYS TO LAUNCH SERVICE FROM ERBIL TO ANKARA: Iraqi Airways has announced it is to launch flights between the northern city of Erbil and the Turkish capital Ankara on August 31, Anadolu has reported. Flights are scheduled twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays, Iraqi Airways officials in Turkey said.IRAQ SEEKING BIDS FOR NEW AIRPORT: Iraq's civil aviation authority has invited UAE contractors to bid for the construction of a $2.5bn airport in the country, The National has reported. The airport will be "strategically located within a 40 kilometre vicinity of the provinces of Karbala, Najaf and Hilla. We chose this location because we are seeing a surge in tourists coming here ... and that's putting a lot of pressure on the airports of Baghdad and Najaf," said the director-general of authority, Nasser Hussein. The new airport is expected to manage 20 million passengers a year, making it the country's biggest and serving as a hub for the country's expanding national fleet.ETIHAD, ALITALIA IN TALKS ON COMMERCIAL DEAL: Italian daily il Sole 24 Ore has said Alitalia is in talks with Etihad Airways on a commercial deal that may even lead to the Abu Dhabi-based carrier taking a stake in the money-losing Italian company, Reuters has reported. Citing unnamed sources, the paper said there had been several meetings in recent weeks between managers at both companies, including recently appointed Alitalia chief executive Gabriele del Torchio. The two airlines were mentioned in the context of a possible tie-up earlier this year, but Etihad said at the time there were no talks between the two firms beyond those on code sharing.EGYPTAIR EXPRESS STARTS SOHAG - KUWAIT SERVICE: EgyptAir has said its regional subsidiary, EgyptAir Express, has started its new operation between Sohag and Kuwait starting from August 24, 2013. EgyptAir Express will offer three flights a week, on Saturday, Monday and Thursday.BOEING TO DELIVER FIRST 787-9 DREAMLINER IN MID-2014: Boeing Co has announced the completion of the first 787-9 Dreamliner. At 20 feet longer than the 787-8, the second member of the super-efficient 787 family will extend the 787 family in both capacity and range, carrying 40 more passengers an additional 300 nautical miles (555 km), said Boeing. First delivery to launch customer Air New Zealand is set for mid-2014, it added.EGYPT LOOKING TO EXPAND EGYPTAIR FLEET: Abdul Aziz Fadel, Egyptian civil aviation minister has said he's seeking expand the size of EgyptAir's to 150 aircraft by 2020, and 200 by 2050, despite the considerable losses the carrier in文件倉urred as a result of recent decline in tourism, Daily News Egypt has reported. Fadel also said he hoped to increase the capacity of Egypt's airports to accommodate 35 million passengers, in addition to developing the Cairo airport's second passenger reception building.BEIRUT RAFIK HARIRI SAW 10 percent FALL IN PASSENGER NUMBERS IN JULY: Lebanese aviation authorities have said the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport witnessed a 10 percent drop in the number of passengers in July, The Daily Star has reported. However, cumulative figures for the first seven months of the year show a 5 percent year-on-year increase in the total number of passengers. The number of flights in July declined more than 22 percent year-on-year, the report said.GULF AIR SECURES OPERATING RIGHTS TO FIVE PAKISTAN DESTINATIONS: Pakistan has granted Gulf Air flight operating rights to five major airports including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and Sialkot, Gulf Daily News has reported. This came after a meeting between Bahrain's Civil Aviation Affairs acting under-secretary Ahmed Nemat Ali and a visiting delegation from Pakistan's civil aviation authority, the daily said.GACA AWARDS AL QAHTANI GRUOP DOMESTIC SERVICES LICENCE: Bahraini carrier, Gulf Air has said it's only acting as consultant to the Al Qahtani Group, which was recently awarded two licences by Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to Al Qahtani to operate domestic services within the kingdom. "Gulf Air did not bid and has not been awarded domestic traffic rights to operate in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the Manama. "Gulf Air has been operating to Saudi Arabia for over 63 years, amassing extensive operational and logistical knowledge of the Kingdom. As such, the national carrier is in a position to support Al Qahtani obtain its Air Operator's Certificate and further facilitate its entrance into the market," the airline said.QATAR AIRWAYS SEEKING STAKE IN INDIAN LCC: Qatar Airways is eyeing a minority stake in Indian low-cost airline GoAir, CNBC-TV18 has reported, citing unnamed sources. The Doha-based carrier has valued GoAir at $550m, and if the deal goes through, promoters of the Mumbai-based no frills carrier will continue to hold majority stake, said the sources. However, Qatar Air will have right to hike stake if the deal concludes, they added.AIR ARABIA RE-LAUNCHES YEREVAN SERVICE: UAE-based low-cost carrier Air Arabia has restarted its service connecting Sharjah to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, on August 16. The airline previously operated the route between November 2006 and March 2009. The route is Air Arabia's only destination in Armenia and is its 63rd destination served from Sharjah.EMIRATES TO BOOST CAPACITY TO MANCHESTER IN LATE SEPTEMBER: Emirates Airline is set increase capacity on its route from Dubai to Manchester between September 21 and September 31, Routes Online has reported. The service is to be operated by a 489-seater Airbus A380 during this period, instead of 777-300ER. With this change, the airline operates two daily A380 and one daily 777-300ER.FIVE FIRMS BID FOR BAHRAIN AIRPORT'S BD20M FACELIFT: Bahrain Airport Co (BAC) has received tenders from at least five companies to design a multi-million dinar expansion of Bahrain International Airport, Gulf Daily News has reported. The first phase of the $1bn project will include a new terminal that could cost between BD10m and BD20m. Talks about the scheme have been underway since 2011, but were pushed back due to several issues, including Gulf Air's three-year restructuring programme. The airport currently serves a maximum of nine million passengers annually, which could increase to 13.5 million under the new plans.IRAN CONSIDERS IRAQ'S INSPECTION OF IRANIAN AIRCRAFT 'UNFRIENDLY': Iranian foreign ministry has criticised Iraqi officials for inspecting Iranian planes flying to Damascus, and called on Baghdad to "stand against foreign pressures and revise its policy and behaviour," Fars news has reported. "The forced landing of Iranian planes by Iraq is an unfriendly move and against the neighbourly relations and we have objected to our friends in Iraq in this regard," said ministry spokesman, Seyed Abbas Araqchi. Iran understands the foreign pressures on the Iraqi government, "but their forced landing of Iranian planes was unfriendly," he said.BOEING INCREASES AIRCRAFT PRICES: Boeing Co has decided from last week to increase the prices of most of its commercial aircraft, the Wichita Business Journal has reported. The cost of a 787-8 Dreamliner went up 2.3 percent to $211.8m, while aircraft from the 737 MAX family went up between 2.4 percent and 3.8 percent, the report said.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 AME Info (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) Visit AME Info (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) at .ameinfo.com Distributed by MCT Information Services存倉