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United Arab Emirates aviation news

Emirates needs as many as 500 new pilots this year

Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, will need to hire as many as 500 new pilots this fiscal year in order to keep up with its expansion plans, a senior company executive said on Tuesday. The recruitment plan comes as Emirates takes delivery of 36 new wide-body aircraft in the 12 months to March 31, 2017. It also plans to launch new routes to Asia and the world’s lon...

Antonov An-225, the world’s biggest plane, makes a stop in Dubai

The world’s largest plane touched down in Dubai on Tuesday. At roughly 2pm, the Antonov An-225 Mriya landed at Al Maktoum International Airport, after having recently landed in Perth, Australia where it was delivering a 117-tonne generator — which is as large as a small bedroom. The plane was holding no cargo and is only making a stopover before heading to Italy, according to an...

DACC drafting heli-taxi platform masterplan

Dubai Aviation City Corporation (DACC) is drafting a masterplan for a proposed heli-taxi platform to be centred at the Dubai South aerotropolis which includes Al Maktoum International Airport. Khalifa Al Zaffin, DACC’s Executive Chairman said the masterplan will be ready by the end of the year. “It will address the transit and tourism needs of passengers using Al Maktoum Intern...

Flying Dubai to London with Gulf Air: Low-cost business fare marred by six-hour delay

Flying to London from Dubai with a stopover is not a journey a business traveller is likely to make in place of a direct flight. But Gulf Air provides two solid reasons to fly via Bahrain: a highly competitive business class fare of Dh7,920, less than half the price of its main rivals; and personal service on smaller planes that harks back to the carrier’s golden age in the 1970s and &lsq...

Flydubai will move to DWC in 2017, Dubai Airports says

Flydubai will move its entire operations to Dubai’s second airport, Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC), by the end of 2017, freeing up space for Emirates to expand at Dubai International. Operator Dubai Airports confirmed the move on Thursday in its quarterly DWC traffic report. Traffic will continue to grow in part because of the “planned move of flydubai’s...

Emirates and Etihad cause turbulence for Singapore Air profits

Singapore Airlines, South East Asia’s biggest carrier, reported profit that lagged behind analyst estimates as competiton for premium travellers was eroded by the UAE’s biggest carriers and losses from fuel-hedging countered gains from carrying more passengers during the Lunar New Year holiday season. Net income was S$224.7 million (Dh602.3m) in the fiscal fourth-quarter ended March...

Dubai's Airport Show concludes with record attendees

The 16th edition of the Airport Show proved to be the most successful by far with exhibitors reporting a record number of potential business deals and more than 7,500 attendees from the aviation industry worldwide. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, chairman of Dubai Airports and chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group, said the su...

Emirates to buy more Airbus A380s even if Neo version is shelved

Dubai’s flagship carrier Emirates will buy more of the existing A380 model if Airbus decides not to press ahead with a version with new engines, Emirates president Tim Clark said on Tuesday. Emirates is the A380’s biggest buyer and most vocal supporter within the airline industry of the world’s largest passenger jet. The airline has ordered 142 A380s, of which 77 are now in op...

ACS arranges first private jet charter out of Dubai Al Maktoum's new VVIP terminal

Leading aircraft charter specialist, Air Charter Service, arranged the inaugural private jet flight from Dubai Al Maktoum’s new VIP terminal on an Embraer Legacy. The terminal is the world’s first 7-star airport facility and this flight marked the beginning of operations at the private aviation-dedicated terminal. It is an impressive structure - a 5,600m² stand-alone terminal o...

Air Arabia profit jumps 42 per cent in first quarter

Budget carrier Air Arabia, the only publicly-listed airline in the UAE, reported a 42.2 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit today, beating analysts’ forecasts. The Sharjah-based firm made a net profit of Dh111.1 million in the three months to March 31, the company said in a statement. This compares with a profit of Dh78.1m in the corresponding period of 2015. Three analysts p...

Business jet sales in biggest decline in five years after oil price fall

Sales of new private aircraft fell 16 per cent in the first quarter from a year ago as demand weakened for the largest planes. Jet airplane billings were about $3.53 billion in the first quarter, down from $4.2 billion a year earlier, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. That was the biggest decline in almost five years. Demand for large-cabin business jets has deteri...

Etihad Airways CEO Hogan to Head Wider Group in Management Revamp

The parent company of Etihad Airways promoted the airline’s chief executive officer to lead the broader group, while giving his position to the chief commercial officer as part of a revamped management structure. James Hogan becomes president and CEO of Etihad Aviation Group, having led the airline since September 2006, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier said Sunday in a statement...