Middle East round-up 6 June
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Headlines from our sister e-magazine Travel Daily Middle East.
Etihad Airways to connect Brazil
Etihad Airways recently unveiled plans to fly to Brazil. Plans are afoot to launch a daily Sao Paulo flight which will begin in June 2013. The service will be the first direct air link between Abu Dhabi and any South American country.
The flights will begin on June 1st, 2013 operated by a three class A340-600 aircraft, offering 12 Diamond First class, 32 Pearl Business class and 248 Coral Economy seats – a total 2,044 seats per week. “Brazil is a logical next step for us and will mark the sixth continent we serve,” said James Hogan, Etihad Airways president and chief executive officer.
Abu Dhabi airport witnesses 22% passenger growth for April
Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) recorded a 22% increase in passenger traffic for the month of April 2012 over the same period in 2011. These figures were released as part of the traffic report for Abu Dhabi International Airport. The airport in total saw passage of over 1.2 million travellers.
The growth recorded during April is mainly attributed to the healthy growth of all airlines operating from the airport. Aircraft movement has also registered 6% increase with 9,893 aircraft movements in the same month.
Eng Ahmed Al Haddabi, chief operating officer at ADAC, said: “It is encouraging to see sustained growth as we enter the second quarter of the year. Abu Dhabi International Airport is focusing its resources on delivering quality to compete with the world’s leading airports, and enabling it to cater to the expected travel peaks.”
Travelport inaugurates new regional office in Dubai
Travelport has amalgamated its operations in the UAE and established a new regional hub office in Dubai that will function as the company’s corporate headquarters for the Middle East and Africa.
The new location underscores the company’s continued expansion drive since it established direct Galileo global distribution system (GDS) operations in the Middle East in 2009. The move also brings the company’s training facilities – previously housed in Al Barsha – and its full-service helpdesk – formerly located at Silicon Oasis – all under one roof. As well as providing continued support to Galileo travel agents, the GDS provider is also now fully equipped to serve local Worldspan-connected travel agents.
Additionally, Travelport’s corporate hub office in Dubai acts as an extension of its operations in Africa, where the GDS provider recently set-up a direct distribution network for travel agents in South Africa.
Sabre, Egyptair sign distribution deal
Sabre Travel Network has signed a new multi-year agreement with Egyptair. The deal will see the airline’s fares displayed on the GDS as the airline prepares to start its growth plans.
