Boom Supersonic lands in UAE
BOOM introduced its supersonic passenger airliner as well as the XB-1 Supersonic Demonstrator, at Dubai Future Foundation premises. The commercial aircraft will connect the GCC to the rest of the world with flights up to 2.6X faster than conventional airliners. For example, a flight from Dubai to Sydney which takes 14 hours 51 minutes at present, will take just 8 hours 17 minutes flying supersonic. In the same fashion, Dubai to New York will be 7 hours and 35 minutes versus 14 hours currently.
Based in Denver, Colorado, Boom Supersonic is using state-of-the-art aerospace technologies to deliver a revolutionary speedup in travel. Compared to Concorde, designed in the 1960s, Boom will be 80 per cent less expensive to operate–leading to affordable tickets for passengers and profit opportunities for airlines.
The Boom airliner seats up to 55 passengers in comfort and privacy. Cruising at 60,000 ft., passengers experience less turbulence. Looking through the largest windows in commercial aviation, the sky is a deeper blue and one can see Earth’s curvature.
British Airways’ commitment strengthened
THE UK’s flagship carrier, has reaffirmed its commitment to the region by announcing Robert Williams’ appointment as Head of Sales – Asia Pacific and the Middle East. British Airways’ most senior regional executive, Williams’ appointment comes on the back of the airline’s recent global announcement to boost its customer experience by investing in increased excellence in premium cabins and more choice and quality across all cabins and on-the-ground services.
Based in Singapore and reporting directly into the airline’s Head of Global Sales in London, Robert’s new role makes him responsible for managing the airline’s growth and development across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar – some of British Airways’ most important overseas markets. It is an exciting year, as British Airways is set to launch 22 New Routes in 2017 expanding its network of onward connections for Kuwaiti and wider Middle East customers.
Turkish Airlines records growth in GCC
TURKISH Airlines has reported a significant growth in the number of inbound and outbound tourists for Turkey and the GCC. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Turkey, the number of visitors among GCC nationals who travelled to Turkey in 2016 increased by 10.5 per cent year-on-year, reaching 822,849 visitors, the biggest increase coming from Saudi Arabia which saw a growth of 18 per cent to reach 530,410 visitors. UAE visitors to Turkey increased by 14 per cent during the same period.
Travel onward to Europe from the Middle East has seen a significant boost this year. Majority of Middle Eastern travellers who chose Turkish Airlines to travel to Turkey and Europe preferred Istanbul, London, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Bosnia and Herzegovina as their key destinations. Transatlantic destinations of United States of America and Canada continue to be the top choices for travel westward.
The airline also reported that the top three outbound destinations from Turkey to travel in the GCC region are Jeddah, Dubai and Kuwait reflecting that the GCC market continues to be a popular attraction for many. The number of international and domestic destinations today has reached 299 cities, up from 283 for the same period last year, while the fleet has grown from 306 to 339 in the same period.
flydubai’s summer destinations announced
FLYDUBAI has announced its newest destinations for the upcoming summer season. Flights to Batumi in Georgia, Qabala in Azerbaijan and Tivat in Montenegro will operate from June to September 2017, creating a network of 93 destinations in 44 countries for the Dubai-based airline.
“At flydubai we remain committed to providing our passengers with a variety of destinations to travel to, especially during the summer season,” commented Ghaith Al Ghaith, chief executive officer at flydubai. “The decision to launch our seasonal routes to complement our existing network is a direct response to customer feedback and we hope our passengers enjoy what these hidden gems have to offer,” he added.