MAKKAH, 13 March 2004 — Emirates opened its first office in Makkah on Tuesday, expanding its Kingdomwide network to four offices. It has offices in Jeddah, Riyadh and Alkhobar. The new office will cater for the Haj and Umrah pilgrims in addition to the residents of the holy city. “We waited for the right location, close to the Holy Haram,” Mohamed S. Alfalasi, the airline’s regional manager, Saudi Arabia, said. The Kingdom’s travel market has been witnessing a growth since the beginning of last year. Visitors to Dubai especially have been on the rise due to summer festivals, events, exhibitions, and leisure and business travel. The airline is also trying to increase its frequencies to existing and new destinations. Its new daily flights to destinations include Shanghai, Vienna and Glasgow from next month, New York form June and San Francisco from Jan.1, 2005. It plans to increase its frequencies to London Heathrow from three to four daily, Melbourne from 7 to 13 weekly, and Casablanca from three to six weekly in the coming two months. (Habib Shaikh)

New Swiss Airline GM Takes Charge

RIYADH, 13 March 2004 — Rolf Koller assumed charge as new general manager of Swiss International Airlines (SWISS) for Saudi Arabia and Yemen recently. “The Saudi market has a lot of potential and the tourism sector, both inbound and outbound, are increasing for us,” said Koller who equipped with knowledge of aviation, travel and tourism. Business travel to the Kingdom has been increasing since the reintroduction of the airline’s service to Jeddah, he said. Traffic from the Kingdom to Switzerland has increased by 10 percent due to the availability of special facilities and packages for family holidays, said Koller who began his career with Swissair in Zurich. His earlier postings were in Austria, Poland and China. The airline operates three flights weekly from Jeddah via Riyadh on Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday. (Mohammed Rasooldeen)

Le Gulf Meridien’s Dutch Festival

ALKHOBAR, 13 March 2004 — Le Gulf Meridien Alkhobar is hosting a Holland food festival in association with the Netherlands Embassy from March 20-25. Guests will have an opportunity to taste and enjoy various dishes prepared by authentic chefs at the hotel’s Le Café de Paris restaurant, its Revenue Manager Prashant Sharma said. Cheese varieties will also be on offer alongside Dutch dishes. A live demonstration of clog making will be among the highlights of the festival, whose sponsors include KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Saudi Hollandi Bank, ITA Towers, Dutch Meat Board and Shell.

Etihad Airways Flies to Colombo

ABU DHABI, 13 March 2004 — Etihad Airways, national airline of the UAE, has launched its first route outside the Middle East, with the commencement of services to Colombo earlier this month. The Abu Dhabi-based airline operates weekly three flights to the Sri Lankan capital, its fourth destination. It plans to increase its destinations to 16 by the end of this year. These include London from March 28 and Bangkok from April 5. “Colombo was chosen because analysts expect a double-digit traffic growth to Asia this year,” Etihad Chairman Dr. Sheikh Ahmed ibn Saif Al Nahyan said. The airline operates two wide-bodied Airbus A330-200 passenger jets, which carry 225 passengers each, and form the backbone of its fleet. In addition, the airline has added one A340A-200 and plans to have up to 10-wide-bodied aircraft in the fleet by the end of next year. Most flights will be operated point to point, with daily services to major destinations.

Gulf Air Greets First Female Pilots

BAHRAIN, 13 March 2004 — French national Caroline Le Cann, one of the two female pilots who have started active service with Gulf Air, has joined Gulf Traveller, the airline’s all-economy full service division based in Abu Dhabi. She flies the airline’s Boeing 767 aircraft. She has been flying since the age of 15 and obtained her private pilot’s license on her 17th birthday. With 300 hours flying time, she graduated with a commercial pilot’s license and an instrument rating. Cann first worked with Britannia Airways, the biggest charter airline in the UK, starting with a Boeing 757 and later a Boeing 767-200 and 767-300 aircraft on routes to European holiday destinations. “As a new initiative, this is a significant first for us and hopefully Caroline’s appointment will encourage young women around the region to consider the airline industry as an interesting and fulfilling career opportunity,” Gulf Air president and chief executive James Hogan said.