Middle East & North Africa

By Richard Maslen
With an increasing number of airlines now operating the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, every month The HUB provides an update on the current Dreamliner flight
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
flydubai will offer a twice weekly service between Dubai and Kandahar from July 25, 2014 and a three times weekly offering between Dubai and Aden from August 1, 2014.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Etihad Airways' MoU with Philippine Airlines is an important milestone in the long-standing relationship between the two flag carriers as well as ties between Abu Dhabi and the Philippines. More than 700,000 Filipinos live in the UAE and account for much of the traffic on the Abu Dhabi - Manila route each year, one of the busiest routes in the entire Etihad network.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The first of 13 aircraft it has on order, Qatar Airways is set to receive three A380 aircraft in quick succession this summer and the new aircraft will commence operations on the ‘QR003’ and ‘QR004’ rotations to and from London Heathrow.
Airports & Networks

Alenia Aermacchi, and ATK announced today that the demonstrator of a fully configured MC-27J multi-mission tactical transport aircraft completed its first flight from the company's Turin test flight centre.
Defense

AgustaWestland, has signed a distributor agreement with Morocco's Heliconia Aero Solutions.
Aerospace

By Richard Maslen
Emirates initially introduced flights between Dubai International Airport and Kuwait International Airport on July 16, 1989 but now serves the route five times daily with a combination of Boeing and Airbus aircraft.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Qatar Airways is to introduce a non-stop link to the popular Indonesian leisure destination of Bali this summer. The direct link to Denpasar will reduce journey times to a destination that has seen growing demand from across the Qatar Airways network over the past couple of years.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
The airline will launch flights on eight routes across six countries from Ras Al Khaimah International Airport from May 16, 2014 despite its own Sharjah International Airport hub being just 80km away.
Airports & Networks

BBA Aviation Flight Support announces the appointment of Mark Johnstone as Managing Director EMEA.
Maintenance & Training

By Richard Maslen
The resumed Gulf Air service between Athens and Bahrain will offer passengers improved connections between Greece and Bahrain. When the route was previously flown by the carrier up to 11,000 annual bi-directional O&D passengers flew between the two countries.
Airports & Networks

Following the success of the UK CAA's first open-access training courses in Dubai, CAA International (CAAi) is returning to the United Arab Emirates in January 2015 with a series of Safety Management Systems (SMS) courses.
Maintenance & Training

Qatar Airways will receive the first Airbus A350 XWB in Toulouse on December 13th. This will be the first of 80 of the mid-sized wide-body airliners ordered by the Doha-based airline.
Air Transport

This year's MEBA – held at the new purpose-built Dubai Airshow site at Dubai World Central between December 8-10, 2014 – will see both Emirates and Etihad making a debut at the region's biggest business and private aviation event, along with Qatar Executive and Saudia Private Aviation.
Business Aviation

Etihad Airways has won the coveted Best First Class and Best Long Haul Airline Middle-East and Africa categories in the AirlineRatings.com 2015 Airline Excellence Awards. The airline was also ranked in second position in the world's top 10.
Aerospace

Qatar Airways has brought forward the arrival date of the A380 to Bangkok to 5 December 2014.
Airports & Networks

The surge in freight volumes at Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (DWC) continued in the third quarter of 2014 with triple-digit growth, according to traffic report issued today by operator Dubai Airports.
Airports & Networks

By Richard Maslen
Since commencing operations at Glasgow Airport on April 10, 2004, Emirates has carried over 2.4 million passengers across its global network, which now covers 141 destinations. Emirates currently offers over 43,000 passenger seats per month to and from Glasgow, following the upgrade of its second daily service to a Boeing 777 in 2012.
Airports & Networks

Flynas has announced the launch of new domestic destinations from King Khaled International Airport starting on September 23rd, 2014 with one flight daily to Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Airport in Tabuk and an average of four flights per week to Ha'il international Airport.
Airports & Networks

Etihad Airways has opened a unique aviation-themed nursery in Abu Dhabi, as part of the airline's commitment to provide world-class support services for its employees.
Safety, Ops & Regulation

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global passenger traffic results for July showing demand growth of 5.3% (measured in revenue passenger kilometers or RPKs) over the previous July. Capacity expanded exactly in tandem with demand (5.3%), resulting in a global load factor of 82.3%, unchanged from last year.
Air Transport

The Saudi Airshow has been postponed from 16-20 November 2014 until 22-26 March 2015.
Aerospace

Air BP continues to grow its business in the Middle East with the successful inauguration of its first off–airport site in the region.
Aerospace

Qatar Airways will be increasing the capacity on its Perth route with an aircraft upgrade to a Boeing 777-300. The increase in capacity will go into effect on 1st October of this year.
Interiors & Connectivity

Gulf Air has rolled out its new generation iPad Electronic Flight Bags which will facilitate the airline's flight-critical communications while increasing operational efficiency and eliminating paper-based flight materials.
Emerging Technologies