Middle East & North Africa

Qatar Airways and Airbus have signed an amendment to convert the airline's existing firm order for 20 A350-800's, 40 A350-900's and 20 A350-1000's, to 43) A350-900's and 37 A350-1000's, with the Qatar Airways' total order for A350 XWB aircraft remaining at 80.

American aviation news site AvWeb, has reported that a U.S. airframe and powerplant mechanic has been accused of trying to broker a deal that would deliver seven jetliners out of China to Iran.

Rizon Jet has signed a Founding Member Agreement with The Luxury Network Qatar.

Royal Jet will be displaying its services fly at the Middle East Business Aviation (MEBA) exhibition 2012.

Etihad Airways today launched its new 'Etihad Wi-Fly' inflight Internet and mobile connectivity service, powered by the Panasonic Avionics Global Communications Suite.

Qatar Airways has announced it will launch direct scheduled flights from Athens to New York from the middle of 2013.

Mubadala subsidiary Strata - the Al Ain based aerostructures facility – has unveiled its first package of ATR vertical fins this weekend, making Strata a direct supplier to Alenia Aermacchi, the Italian aerospace company part of the Finmeccanica group.

Rizon Jet has become a founding member of the Luxury Network Qatar.

The iconic Airbus A330-300 is to get a greater fuel capacity boost along with an increase in its maximum take off weight (MOTW) by two tonnes.

Saudi Arabia has signed a 'direct commercial sale' contract with Raytheon for a Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C4I) . The system will be delivered by Raytheon's Network Centric Systems business.

Etihad Airways president and chief executive officer, James Hogan, was named CAPA Aviation Executive of the Year 2012 at the Centre for Aviation's global awards for excellence and leadership, presented in Hong Kong last night.

Bombardier's INNOVIA APM 300 technology has been selected for the new airport link at Dubai International Airport, with the new transit system able to carry more than 200,000 passengers daily.

Etihad Airways has won the 2012 Mercury Award for 'On Board Service' for its innovative inflight culinary programmes, First Class Chefs and the Mezoon Grille.

Samer Majali, who was tasked with restructuring the Bahraini airline Gulf Air to save it from financial collapse has resigned as chief executive..

Air Arabia today officially inaugurated its service to Prishtina, Republic of Kosovo, and became the first UAE airline to operate scheduled flights to the country.

Dubai International registered its second busiest month on record with 4.92 million passengers passing through the world's fourth busiest international aviation hub in October, an increase of 14.3 per cent. That is according to the monthly traffic report issued today by airport operator Dubai Airports.

Gulf Air has signed an agreement that will allow it to use SITA's network services to optimize operations across its 48 destinations.

Embraer flew its all-new midsize Legacy 500 jet for the first time yesterday (Brazilian time).

Responsible for assisting the Flight Operations Support team & Chief Pilots Office with the safe, timely and accurate delivery of technical manuals

Novus Aviation Capital has opened a new office in the Dubai International Financial Centre and at the same time introduced a new corporate image. The new branding includes a revamped website and a secured platform offering Novus' various stakeholders real-time data access.

Global aircraft spares support specialist A J Walter Aviation has announced the introduction of a new exchange service for complete fan blade sets.

Bombardier announced today the largest business aircraft sale in its history. Luxury aviation company VistaJet, has signed a deal for up to 142 Global business jets which includes firm orders for 56 Global jets and options for a further 86 Global jets at a 2012 U.S. list price value of more than $7.8 billion if all options are exercised.

NATS - a global provider of air traffic services and solutions - has launched its Middle East website to demonstrate its strong commitment to the region, which represents a growth market for its operations.

Qatar Airways today announced 13 December as the launch date of its first long-haul Boeing 787 commercial service from Doha to London Heathrow.

Passengers at Abu Dhabi International Airport tomorrow who see fire fighters, security staff and airport officials tearing around need not panic – it is just an exercise