JEDDAH, 17 July 2004 — SriLankan Airlines has been chosen by Airbus Industrie as the most efficient operator of Airbus A330 aircraft in the "small fleet" category for the years 2002 and 2003, according to the airline's Jeddah office. The category is for those with a fleet of less than 10 A330s. The Operational Excellence Award recognizes the airline's A330 fleet for its consistent performance throughout 2002 and 2003, among all airlines that have A330s. The awards are presented biennially in four categories. Korean Airlines was the winner in the category of A330 "large fleet." The winners in other categories were Lufthansa (A340 "large fleet"), and Lan Chile (A340 "small fleet"). Captain Dick Hutton, chief technical officer of SriLankan, received the award on behalf of the airline, at a glittering ceremony at Airbus Industrie's Technical Symposium in Athens, Greece on June 16. SriLankan Airlines has four Airbus A330 aircraft in its fleet, which ply Europe, the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. The awards are based on airline fleet performance data, which are computed according to a program run by Airbus Industrie. Taken into are account annual average use per aircraft in hours and cycles, and average delay duration.
Le Gulf Meridien Announces Promotion
ALKHOBAR - Prashant Sharma has been promoted as assistant director of sales and marketing at Le Gulf Meridien Alkhobar, hotel general manager Michael Nugent has said. Prior to this new position, he was revenue manager at the hotel. Sharma started his career in the hospitality industry with Le Meridien New Delhi. After working for eight years in various positions, he moved to the Regent Hotel in Kazakhstan and Grand Europe Hotel in Azerbaijan as front office manager. "The experience and knowledge I gained at Meridien and other hotels will put me in good stead to lead the team and reorient the staff in my new capacity," said Sharm,a who had been in the Kingdom for six the past years.
Air Charter Signs Tie-Up With Albadie
ABU DHABI, 17 July 2004 - International Air Charter plc, one of the world's largest independent aircraft charter brokers, has announced a tie-up with Albadie Travel Agency, a premier travel agency in the Middle East and part of the Albadie Group of Companies. Under the agreement, International Air Charter has been appointed "preferred supplier" for the charter air travel needs of Albadie Travel Agency's customers as well as Albadie Group's senior management. Based in Abu Dhabi, Albadie Travel Agency has been active in the travel market for more than 25 years handling business and leisure travel to all major destinations across the world. The company is known for its unique medical holiday packages to popular spa and recuperation destinations across the globe, apart from well-trained and dedicated ticketing divisions. Elie Abdo, Air Charter director for business development, said the company's Travel Holidays division also enjoys significant market share in the inbound and outbound leisure tourism market. Albadie organizes trips to over 50 tourist and historical destinations across the world, offering travelers an opportunity to stay in luxurious hotels or furnished apartments. The travel agency also offers passengers sea and river tours with full travel insurance during their stay.
Gulf Air Sets Record in 2003
BAHRAIN - Gulf Air carried a record six million passengers in 2003. This is highlighted in the airline's 's 2003 annual report just published. In his review of the year, president and chief executive James Hogan reveals the airline recorded a reduction in losses amounting to 51 percent, introduced a new corporate identity and a range of products and services that have made world news. "The first year in our journey of change in the Recovery Program has also been acknowledged within the industry as one of the most difficult years in the 100-year history of aviation," he said. "Bankruptcy, downsizing, cutbacks and layoffs have been the order of the day. Apart from the depressed global economy and a jittery travel market, terrorism, rising fuel prices, regional conflicts and SARS have taken their cumulative toll within the industry creating a challenging backdrop against which to begin our restructuring program," he added. "The fact is that despite all this Gulf Air took a quantum leap from the point of near closure to a new position of strength in the market. One year down the line, Gulf Air is a different airline." In 2003, 590,000 more passengers flew with Gulf Air than in the previous year, a vote of confidence by anyone's standards. This is reflected in significantly improved key indicators with passenger revenue up 15 percent, premium traffic on European routes up 23 percent, frequent flyer recruitment quadrupled, cargo revenue up 20 percent and unit costs down by nine percent. Ahmed Al Hammadi, vice president finance for Gulf Air, said everyone in the airline is committed to the creation of a sustainable commercial platform.