EK to Baghdad
13 May 2010
Perhaps it is an
indication of how much is really changing in Iraq and its capital Baghdad,
as Emirates Airline said last Monday that it will launch flights to the
Iraqi capital from 1 July 2010.
Emirates five
year plan for Americas
5 May 2010
Emirates Airline
says that it is planning to add up to seven destinations in the Americas
over the next five years as it looks to the developed and developing
economics there for growth.
Nigel Page, the
Emirates senior vice president of commercial operations for the Americas and
Africa said that the only thing that is really holding the airline back is
aircraft availability. The Dubai-based airline already flies to four cities
in the US – New York, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco – along with
Toronto in Canada and to Sao Paulo in Brazil.
The airline could add four US cities over the next five years, plus three
destinations in South America, Mr Page said.
Emirates almost
flew the New York bomber
5 May 2010
Faisal Shahzad was
permitted to board a flight for Dubai some 24 hours after investigators of
the Times Square terrorism case learned he might be connected to the
attempted bombing and Emirates Airline may face sanctions over its failure
to identify Shahzad who was on the no-fly list that is circulated to all
airlines operating out of the USA.
Emirates summer
flights to Medinah
27 April 2010
Emirates will
launch a new service to Al Medinah al Munawarrah throughout summer, catering
for increased demand during this peak travel period.
EK's A380 to Manchester
30 March 2010
Middle Eastern carrier Emirates is to deploy
it's Airbus A380 aircraft on services to Manchester in the northern UK.
It will replace the Boeing 777 aircraft which currently perform the EK017
and EK018 flights between Manchester and Dubai.
Dubai's pointless new airport
24 March 2010
Just how badly has
the financial recession hit Dubai's growth plans? Badly enough for Emirates
to say that it will not move to the new Al Maktoum International Airport
near Jebel Ali until as late as 2030.
Emirates to order more airplanes
17 March 2010
Emirates, the biggest Arab airline,
plans to order more than 12 planes to meet rising demand, Chairman Sheikh
Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum said.
Passenger traffic at Dubai Airport surged 17 percent in January after
growing by 9.2 percent in 2009, which “will push us to buy more aircraft,”
Sheikh Ahmed said adding that “I know that we announced something like 10 to
12 aircraft, but we are maybe looking at more than that number.”
AC catches a cold over Emirates
16 March 2010
The war of words between Emirates Airline and Air Canada continues to
escalate.
This issue to Emirates in simple. Canada has the world’s 10th-largest
economy, but Emirates is allowed only three flights to the country per week
– something one official at the airline described as the equivalent of
running a corner store but being allowed to open only on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Saturdays.
AC blowing cold over Emirates
10 March 2010
That is one of my better headlines.
And it is apt as the
fight to limit Emirates Airline’s access to the Canadian market escalated on
Tuesday with Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada’s chief executive, accused the UAE
airline of telling “fairy tales” about the economic benefits greater access
would create here.
“Simply put, the market between Canada and the UAE has not developed to the
point where more capacity is warranted. Period. Full stop,” Mr. Rovinescu
told the Vancouver Board of Trade in a speech.
EK to Dakar from
1 September
8 March 2010
Emirates Airline
on Monday unveiled plans to launch direct services to Senegal – its 106th
international destination.
How to manage a
pilot shortage
27 February
2010
Emirates has found
itself into something of a mess. There are new airplanes and new routes. But
recruitment has only just started after being frozen for a year; crew are
suddenly working some 20% additional hours; and there is a shortage of both
cabin and cockpit crews.
Who is backing
Emirates now?
25 February
2010
Emirates Airline,
Dubai's flagship carrier, was never used as a bargaining chip when the
emirate was in talks with Abu Dhabi over funding, the airline's chairman
told Zawya Dow Jones on Wednesda
EK's Canadian Air Wars
25 February 2010
The Canadians may
be welcoming the world to Vancouver but you had better be traveling on Air
Canada. Because Air Canada and the Canadian government are determined to
keep foreigners out.
Dubai's 2nd
airport to open - but no one is flying there
24 February 2010
Dubai’s second airport, Al Maktoum International, is on track
for its June 27 opening, according to the Dubai Airports CEO.
Cathay CEO rubbishes Gulf airlines
10 February 2010
In an interesting and rather defensive interview with Arabian Business the
CEO of Cathay Pacific has claimed it will take Gulf carriers at least a
“generation” to catch up with the levels of in-flight service offered by the
Hong Kong-based carrier.
Beware the vengeance of an angry flight attendant
24 January 2010
This appears to be a case that should never have made it to court. But note
below the harsh penalties that were being claimed by the prosecution. And
was the airline management in dealing with this issue and keeping it out of
the courts.
EK passengers charged
10 January 2009
Robert Fowles, 58,
from Dover, Kent, has been charged with making a bomb hoax and being drunk
on the Dubai-bound Emirates flight 004 last Friday night, the Metropolitan
Police has said.
Three lousy
drunks arrested on Emirates plane at Heathrow
9 January 2010
Armed officers
stormed Emirates Airline flight 004 at London's Heathrow airport as it was
about to depart for Dubai and arrested three men on suspicion of making a
bomb threat.
EK announces Madrid
5 January 2010
This is turning
into a big year for new routes for Emirates - Prague, Tokyo and Amsterdam
are already announced.
EK to take A380 to Jeddah
24 December
2009
Emirates Airline
is to open Airbus A380 services to Saudi Arabia, with operations to Jeddah
early next year.
Turbulence hits
EK flight to Durban
21 December
2009
Twenty passengers
suffered minor injuries when an Emirates Airbus A330 encountered severe
turbulence on a flight between Dubai and the South African port city of
Durban on Saturday, a spokesman at Durban airport confirmed Monday.
Emirates
plus Etihad equals neo-federal UAE
13 December 2009 - Gulf News
(This is an
opinion piece in today's Gulf News. Notable that the article is in a Dubai
based newspaper. I do wonder whether these opinion articles are sometime
used to test the waters - to see what the reaction will be)
"In May 2008, I wrote an article titled ‘One day there will be just a single
city: Abu Dubai', in which I argued that the two cities would eventually
become one integrated metropolis as they are too geographically close for
anything else to happen.
Emirates goes
Dutch at last
3 December 2009
At long last
Emirates is to launch passenger flights to Amsterdam from 1st May 2010.
Does Emirates have the solution for Heathrow?
29 November
2009
Emirates has
joined the debate over the third runway at London's Heathrow airport.
And their contribution needs a serious debate.
Emirate to
Tokyo from 28th March 2010
23 November
2009
Emirates has unveiled plans to launch direct services between Dubai and
Tokyo which will be the 102nd destination for the Dubai based carrier.
Does
Emirates need more A380s?
18 November
2009
Emirates is
looking at placing an order for more Airbus A380s and other aircraft as
the airline is reevaluating its fleet plans in the wake of the economic
downturn and a changed schedule for the new Dubai International Airport.
Emirates
mulls more Airbus A380s despite delays
11 November 2009
Emirates airline, the biggest buyer of the "superjumbo" Airbus A380,
said today that it is considering increasing its order for the
double-decker plane despite delays on existing orders.
Desert kingdoms – how the Gulf’s network carriers are
riding out the storm
By Max Kingsley-Jones - Flight Global
10 November
2009
"Amid the worst global downturn in modern times, one region has stood
out as a pillar of strength where the flag-carrier airlines have stuck
with growth plans and added new aircraft galore.
Emirates
half year profit boost
6 November
2009
Emirates
Airline produced a very interesting set og half year numbers yesterday
which show how the airline has responded to the financial crisis.
Emirates vents anger at Aussie media claims
4 October 2009
Emirates responded to the Herald-Sun editorial with the
following strongly worded press release.
This was almost certainly a mistake - it is the sort of
statement that says too much - and where the reality appears to be very
different from the high minded words of the airline's representatives.
Listen to the Emirates pilots
4 October 2009
The Melbourne Herald-Sun continues its strange campaign
against Emirates Airline.
EK now
world's largest 777 operator
30 July
2009
Emirates
announced yesterday that it is now the world’s largest airline operator of
Boeing 777 aircraft after taking delivery of its 78th plane on Thursday.
Emirates
close call
10 July
2009
A Dubai
bound Emirates 777 was involved in a near miss with a Canadian forces
business jet over Canada on 24 April according to emerging reports.
Canadian
federal aviation officials are investigating the near miss incident.
According to the Transportation Safety Board, a Canadian Forces CC-144
Challenger jet was flying eastbound on April 24 to Ottawa from Vancouver
with an unknown number of passengers on board. An Emirates Boeing 777, which
can carry up to 266 people, was flying from Los Angeles to Dubai.
Emirates adding 3rd Sydney flight
20 June
2009
Effective 2nd
December 2009 Emirate will be flying a third daily, and a second non stop,
flight to Sydney.
Emirates
pilots and the ATSB
20 June
2009 - The Melbourne Herald-Sun
"Emirates
pilots have complained to Australia's air safety regulator that airline work
practices were to blame for the near disastrous tail-strike incident at
Melbourne airport three months ago.
The Middle East airline is accused of unfair rostering, clamping down on
subsidised housing allowances and bending the rules on flight hours.
Emirates US$70 million repair bill
19 June
2009
Emirates will
pay an expected uS$70 million to repair the A340-500 jet that was severely
damaged in a near disastrous take-off incident at Melbourne Airport.
Middle East
airlines have few friends
10 June
2009
There were
feathers flying at the IATA meeting in Kuala Lumpur at the the start of this
week as struggling airlines from North America and Asia complained about
losing market share to Gulf carriers Monday, amid accusations of predatory
pricing and capacity dumping as the industry experiences its worst slump on
record.
But the region’s carriers rejected their rivals’ complaints saying they were
generating new demand by opening up previously untapped markets.
Executives
from Air Canada and Air New Zealand attacked the “Big Three” carriers from
the Gulf – Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways – which have
built their airlines on a go-it-alone strategy, rather than joining
alliances with established players.
Emirates to
add more India flights
29 May 2009
Emirates
Airline's existing service of 163 flights per week to 10 Indian gateways
will be strengthened to 185 over the summer and winter periods
Emirates
crew jailed for bomb hoax
22 May 2009
An Australian
flight attendant working for Emirates Airline has been jailed after creating
a bomb hoax on his flight.
Matthew
Carney, 23, hid a message in the plane's lavatory which read: "Explosive
material can be found in the FWD (forward cargo department). We have the
Taliban to thank for this."
A passenger found the apparent threat on board Emirates Flight EK011 from
Dubai and immediately warned the plane's cabin crew.
Emirates
defends safety procedures
3 May 2009
Quoted in an
article in today's Herald Sun Emirates Airline says that it added extra
safety checks to its take-off procedures in a bid to prevent a repeat of the
near-fatal tail strike of a passenger jet at Melbourne Airport.
The company said it had installed a second laptop into each of its aircraft
to avoid a repeat of the Melbourne incident on March 20, when incorrect data
was loaded into the plane's computers, causing it to set an inadequate
take-off speed.
What is going on at EK?
28 April
2009
The old adage
that the beatings will continue until morale improves seems to have never
been truer than at Emirates. There are rumours of 11 pilots fired in the
last month, including the two pilots operating EK412 which had the
tail-strike at Melboure.
More recent
casualties involve two pilots who flew a take off at Accra that started at
an intersection (taxiway and runway); the plane was light, but the take off
encroached on secure space (a palace it is rumoured) and there were
complaints from the local ATC. At no point were passenger lives in any way
endangered.
Is there
another delay at JXB?
21 April
2009
Dubai's
airport chief said yesterday that a new airport envisioned as the world's
biggest passenger and freight hub could see its first flight pushed back
further than planned.
In addition, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said the number of runways at
the colossal Al Maktoum International Airport has been scaled back to five
from the six slated originally.
The new $33 billion facility and surrounding multi-use development, being
built in the desert outskirts of Dubai, now isn't expected to see action
until at least June 2010, a year later than a previously planned
inauguration, Griffiths said in an interview. But that date is now under
review.
EK 407
pilots resigned?
5 April
2009
Emirates
Airline has confirmed that the two Emirates Airline pilots involved in an
emergency landing at Melbourne Airport last month have resigned.
The National
newspaper reports that "in announcing the resignations, Boutros Boutros, the
airline’s senior vice president for media relations, said he did not know
why the pilots had quit. He declined to give further details. “We do not
like to talk about it because now the investigation is ongoing,” Mr Boutros
said. “We have to wait for the investigation. I know that they resigned;
that is all I can confirm.”
Hilarious
stuff from Boutros Boutros; the rumour is that they resigned because they
had no option but to sign the letters that were drafted for their signature
and presented to them within hours of their return to Dubai some ten days
ago.
Ek
announces service to Angola
1 April
2009
This is not an
April Fool although there are many people who will be asking where is
Luanda!?
But this
announcement caught me by surprise! Emirates is launching 3 weekly service
on the Dubai - Luanda service from 04AUG09. Service to the Angolan capital
is operated by A330-200.
EK offers
unpaid leave to crew
1 April
2009 - this is not an April Fool story!
Emirates
Airline has offered its cabin crew staff voluntary unpaid leave amidst
rumours of a huge drop in profits.
The leave is being offered to all Emirates’ cabin crew staff for a minimum
of one month, up to a maximum of six months, starting from May 2009.
Emirates steward is alleged bomb
hoaxer
23 March 2009
It is not the best of publicity week's for everyone's
favourite Dubai airline and the PR department will have been earning their
salaries this week.
The bomb hoax on the early morning flight to London's Gatwick
Airport last Sunday was allegedly the work of a junior flight steward. The
Emirates Boeing 777 from Dubai landed at Gatwick Airport and was greeted by
Sussex Police and a Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit who evacuated the
passengers and crew before searching the aircraft and luggage for explosive
devices.
EK in Melbourne incident
21 March 2009
An Emirates flight (EK407) made an emergency landing in
Melbourne after the Airbus A340-500's tail struck the tarmac on take-off.
Flight EK407, headed for Dubai with 225 passengers on board, had to dump
fuel and there were reports of smoke filling the cabin before the plane made
an emergency landing about 30 minutes after the 10.30pm.
Emirates to take A380 to Toronto from June
16 March 2009
In a significant change of plans the Airbus A380
double-decker jumbo jet will be making its commercial debut in Canada this
June at Toronto's Pearson International Airport when Emirates Airline will
be adding the world's largest plane to its Toronto-Dubai route on June 1.
Qantas and Etihad to take on Emirates
12 March 2009
Qantas and Etihad yesterday announced a strategic alliance
and codeshare agreement that will allow the two carriers to compete with
Emirates dominant position in the Middle East to Australia market.
Emirates boldly continues expansion
19 February 2009 - Emirates Press Release
Emirates Announces 2009 Expansion Plan - Airline to increase
capacity by 14 per cent
Emirates Airline today unveiled plans to grow the number of
flights across its network by 14 per cent in 2009.
Emirates to drop Nagoya; start Durban.
13 January 2009
It is rare indeed for fast expanding Emirates to actually
drop a route from its network but with effect from the end of the winter
schedule Emirates will be dropping the crew popular, but passenger light,
flights to Nagoya.
Emirates will operate its last flight to NGO will from DXB on
28 March 2009.
Questioning EK's so called green flight
17 December 2008
On 15th December, Emirates Airline flew its first flight non
stop to San Francisco. The airline rather optimistically announced a new
environmental programme and called this the world's longest green journey.
Emirates said that it has worked closely with government agencies in Dubai,
Russia, Iceland, Canada and the United States and other countries to plot
this the most environmentally-sophisticated route and trip possible to help
save an estimated 2,000 gallons of fuel and 30,000 pounds of carbon
emissions on the 16-hour non-stop service.
EK pilots
find A380 too quiet
4 December
2008
Weary Emirates
Airbus A380 pilots are complaining that they cannot sleep in their crew-rest
area in the aft main cabin because the aircraft is too quiet.
The pilots say that the lack of engine noise in the A380's cabin compared
with other long-haul airliners means they are constantly disturbed by sounds
created by passengers, such as crying babies, flushing vacuum toilets and
call bells. Passengers also mistake the rest area for a lavatory, and pull
the door handle.
Abu Dhabi
wants stake in Emirates?
1 December
2008
The UK's Sunday Times newspaper is reporting that Abu Dhabi has demanded
control of Emirates, Dubai’s flagship airline, as the price of a
multi-billion pound cash injection for the Gulf kingdom.
The fast-growing airline, long the envy of neighbouring Arab states, has
emerged in recent days as the centrepiece of negotiations over a financial
bail-out for cash-strapped Dubai.
Dubai has been hit hard by the credit crunch. Its property market, in which
the big players are state-owned or backed, has enjoyed explosive growth over
the last decade but prices are now tumbling, leaving heavily indebted
developers badly exposed.
EK-EY
merger rumours continue
29 November
2008
The Times
newspaper - 29 November 2008
"You can be
sure that the rumours have reached the boardrooms of airlines from London to
Dallas to Chicago and beyond ... and you can be pretty sure what the
reaction has been. Horror. Dismay. Alarm.
In an era when Western airlines are struggling, downsizing and preparing to
battle for fewer customers in a shrinking economy, the chattering classes in
the Gulf are talking up the prospect of a merger between Emirates Airlines
and Etihad Airways.
Emirates
profits fall on oil prices
10 November
2008
To no one's
surprise Emirates Airline produced a greatly reduced net profit of Dh284
million (US$77 million) for the first six months of its current financial
year ending September 30, 2008. This is down 88 per cent compared to Dh2.36
billion (US$643 million) net profits for the same period in 2007, showing
the impact of the record fuel prices earlier this year.
The profit
fall is despite an increase in operating revenues of 31% to $6bn.
Emirates'
lavish LA launch
29 October
2008
Emirates began
nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Dubai this week, and in keeping with
a reputation for lavish parties the airline held one of the more lavish
Hollywood parties of the season.
Forget global
economic meltdown Emirates is spending more than $3 million for the party at
the Kodak Theatre, hosted by Hilary Swank and featuring an hour long concert
by Ricky Martin. A four-course dinner is being prepared by Wolfgang Puck.
