Middle East & North Africa

By Poppy Marello
Qatar Airways has announced Frankfurt as its first ever commercial flight using its Airbus A350 Xtra Wide Body (XWB).
Airports & Networks

Reflecting the growing importance of North Africa as a business aviation base, the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association is hosting its first dedicated event for North Africa, the MEBAA Morocco show, in September 2015.
Aerospace

Boeing has said that commercial financial institutions in the Middle East are increasingly funding the region's record number of airplane deliveries.
Aerospace

By Poppy Marello
The national carrier of Bahrain has announced that it will be resuming flights to Shiraz in Iran from December 2014.
Airports & Networks

The Rolls-Royce composite carbon/titanium (CTi) fan blade for the Advance and UltraFan engine designs has taken to the skies for the first time, marking another milestone for the programme.
Emerging Technologies

Rockwell Collins' Venue HD cabin management and entertainment system, Airshow Moving Map and audio/video on-demand (AVOD) streaming solution, have been selected by an undisclosed customer for a wide-body Airbus A340 business jet, which will be installed in mid-2015.
Business Aviation

Royal Jordanian announces the launch of a new feature, called “Go Crown”, that allows passengers holding economy class tickets to place a bid to upgrade to Crown Class.
Interiors & Connectivity

Gulf Air and Challenge Bahrain has announced a partnership deal under which the carrier will become the official airline partner of the Kingdom's annual triathlon event, scheduled to take place this December 06, 2014.
Airports & Networks

Etihad Airways is holding nine recruitment days in November 2014, seeking individuals with outstanding hospitality experience to join its World's Leading Airline Cabin Crew.
Maintenance & Training

Hamad International Airport (HIA) has officially unveiled two of its latest state-of-the-art facilities, The Airport Hotel and Vitality Spa. Located in the south node of the airport, the 100-room The Airport Hotel and Vitality Spa offer passengers passing through HIA superb services and great flexibility depending upon their travel needs and schedules.
Airports & Networks

Emirates has announced it is to launch a fourth daily service from its home and hub, Dubai International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York commencing 8th March 2015.
Airports & Networks

TIBAH Airports Operation Company, a consortium led by TAV Airports and its local partners Al Rajhi and Saudi Oger which manages Prince Mohammad International Airport (PMIA) in Madinah, has selected IFS Applications to support and manage all service and maintenance operations at PMIA.
Airports & Networks

Flying Colours, the North American MRO, completion and refurbishment specialist has added another approval to its growing list of authorisations. GE Aviation has named it as an authorised line maintenance center for GE's CF34-3 and CF34-8C engines.
MRO

For the second year in a row, Qatar Airways has been named "Best Business Class Airline" at the Business Traveller Awards 2014, which were held in London, on October 6.
Aerospace

By Richard Maslen
Today, Emirates fleet investment in Africa tops $7 billion with operating costs of over $2 billion and it currently operates to 22 passenger and six dedicated freighter destinations in Africa perating over 160 flights across the continent each week, connecting African economies and markets with Dubai and beyond to a global network of over 140 major cities.
Airports & Networks

An Iranian regional passenger plane crashed this morning in a residential area near Tehran's Mehrabad airport the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The reports say that all 48 people on board the Iran-140 (a locally assembled variant of the Antonov An-140 turboprop) died in the crash
Air Transport

Emirates has taken delivery of its 50th A380. This latest delivery takes Emirates' all wide-body fleet to 224 aircraft, representing the world's largest fleet of A380s, and also the world's largest fleet of Boeing 777s.
Air Transport

Etihad Airways will next year launch its first service from Scotland with the start of a non-stop daily flight from Edinburgh to its home base of Abu Dhabi, the UAE's capital city.
Airports & Networks

Etihad Airways has appointed Mrs Wuraola Oduntan as its new general manager for Nigeria. The appointment took effect from 1 July 2014.
Maintenance & Training

Abdulrahaman Al-Busaidy, the former CEO of Oman Air has returned to the Muscat-based airline in the role of chief operations officer.
Maintenance & Training

The Algerian Space Agency (ASAL) and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) have signed a contract to build the Alsat-1B Earth Observation satellite in combination with a comprehensive training and development programme.
Space

Qatar Airways is preparing to have a strong presence at the 2014 Farnborough Air Show, taking place next week in Southern England, when it will fly the A350 aircraft with Qatar Airways livery for the first time at a flying display in a European Air Show.
Aerospace

Royal Jordanian invited 200 orphans from different charity organizations for an iftar banquet at the Children's Museum of Jordan, one of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah's non-profit educational organisations.
Aerospace

An undisclosed Middle Eastern customer has ordered a BBJ 777-300ER (Extended Range) airplane – the VVIP version of the widebody airliner.
Business Aviation

Emirates will be able to connect even more people and cargo with Boston from 1st August when it switches from its Boeing 777-200LR currently operating the route to a larger Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, adding passenger and cargo capacity.
Airports & Networks