Gulf companies

  The abolition of border restrictions in Australia from March is leading to an increase in the number of flights offered by Gulf airlines. These are generally the airlines that capitalise most on air traffic between Europe and the island-continent. The Airbus A380 is Emirates' war machine for...

There has been no let-up in the dispute between Qatar Airways and Airbus since last year. Qatar Airways had been complaining for several months about the deterioration of the paintwork on the fuselage of its Airbus A350 aircraft. The company explained that the deterioration of the surface was a threat to passenger safety. Qatar...

First there was the Airbus A330, which had to return to service last August with Qatar Airways. And now it's the turn of five Airbus A380s to come out of retirement and be reactivated on a number of Qatar Airways routes. An operation that is not being carried out light-heartedly...

The agreement has been signed, but it has taken five years. It was in 2016 that the European Commission received a mandate to negotiate a "comprehensive air transport agreement" with Qatar. Negotiations were due to be concluded in 2019. But the dispute between Spain and the United Kingdom over the management of the airport...

Bahrain-based Gulf Air now serves a network comparable to 80% of its pre-Covid destinations. The lifting of restrictions on duly vaccinated travellers has had a stimulating effect on the carrier, which has been steadily increasing its flights since the start of the summer season. To Europe,...

Qatar Airways is grounding thirteen of its Airbus A350 aircraft. The reason? Problems with peeling paint on the fuselage. In a press release, Qatar Airways said it had grounded 13 Airbus A350s out of a total of 53 aircraft. The Qatari carrier justifies this decision by "reinforced monitoring of the aircraft", for which "the...

According to the latest research from ForwardKeys, which analyses flight booking data, a mini-revolution has taken place in the Gulf. For the first time in the first half of 2021, Doha International Airport has become the region's most important hub. It has thus caught up with and even overtaken...

This is good news for the airline world. This summer sees the return of airline and alliance lounges dedicated to premium traffic. This is certainly a tangible sign of the recovery in air traffic worldwide, and more particularly in the United States, Europe and the Middle East. Better still, the reopening of the...

After the United Arab Emirates and its two carriers - Emirates and Etihad -, after Bahrain with Gulf Air, after Oman Air and Qatar Airways, now Saudi Arabia is tempted to have its own global airline. The idea is being developed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. For several years now, the prince has been encouraging...

On 25 June 2021, Qatar Airways introduced its latest aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner between Doha and Milan. This route offers the latest version of the carrier's business class, the Business Class Suite. Out of a total of 311 seats, Qatar Airways is offering 30 Business Class Suites on the B787-9s. The aircraft will connect Doha...

This is a historic event for the Emirates group, but one that sadly reflects the severity of the crisis in air transport. The group has recorded its first year of losses in more than 30 years. These losses are the result of a significant fall in sales in the 2020-21 financial year. In its...

Travellers in the south-east of France have been eagerly awaiting the return of the Emirates colours to the tarmacs of Nice and Lyon. Now they finally know: on Tuesday, the airline unveiled its schedule for the resumption of flights, which will be based on the relaxation of entry conditions, sparing vaccinated travellers from the United Arab Emirates the...

Etihad Airways has teamed up with DUBZ to transform passengers' place of residence into a subsidiary of the airport. Passengers will be able to complete their check-in formalities in advance. This includes not only baggage, but also seat selection and the issuing of boarding passes from home. A test...

Dubai's national carrier, Emirates Airlines, has just updated its reservation policy, offering its passengers even greater flexibility. The carrier is now offering a free change of reservation for a period of between 24 and 36 months from the date of issue. In detail, passengers with...

Qatar Airways is continuing to rebuild its network this season. The carrier has just announced that it will be offering more than 1,200 flights this summer, an increase of 20% compared with the winter season. Qatar Airways will in fact be serving 140 destinations during the summer peak, offering flights from 43 cities in Europe and the Mediterranean basin....

It is now possible to book up to three seats in Emirates Economy Class. This is available to all customers with a confirmed reservation. This move by the Dubai-based carrier is designed to offer passengers greater privacy and limit contact. However, customers will not be able to pre-book empty seats. These will remain in the...

Are touch screens on the way out? The fact remains that the health crisis has highlighted the limitations of this technology, which is practical but potentially guilty of spreading the virus... Qatar Airways has therefore just announced on 22 February that it will be using contactless in-flight entertainment technology for Oryx One. "The introduction...

Gulf Air, the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Etihad Airways, the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, have signed a strategic business cooperation agreement to deepen their partnership between Bahrain and Abu Dhabi and beyond their respective hubs. Subject to government and regulatory approvals, the new agreement...

Qatar Airways had already announced a few weeks ago that it was exempting its Q Suite Class passengers from wearing transparent protection over their masks. While this double protection has been compulsory for all passengers since July as a result of the application of very strict sanitary measures, it remained "at the discretion of the passenger in...