RIYADH: Air Arabia and Tantash Group, an Amman-based diversified investment company active in the travel sector, have signed a joint venture agreement to launch a new low-cost carrier (LCC) based in Jordan. Air Arabia ‘Jordan,’ will provide direct service to a range of destinations across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe from Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport. This follows the recent launch of operations of Air Arabia’s third hub in Alexandria. The LCC will provide service from four hubs spanning the MENA region, including its primary hub in Sharjah and its Moroccan hub at Mohamed V Airport in Casablanca. Air Arabia recently introduced its services to Najaf in Iraq from its hub in Sharjah.

DUBAI: From New York to Tokyo, football fans across the world are able to keep up to date with every 2010 FIFA World Cup match, courtesy of live broadcasts on a number of screens installed by Emirates across airports worldwide. Onboard, fans can see updates on their team’s progress with exclusive screenings of the most recent matches, as well as live text updates of current matches being played. Passengers waiting to board their flights at a number of airports are able to see all of the live action of the World Cup. A majority of First Class and Business Class Lounges are also broadcasting the matches live. Emirates’ onboard award-winning ice entertainment service features recordings of all the games from the 64-match tournament within a few hours of them taking place, as well as live goal-by-goal updates and text commentary, said Maurice Flanagan, executive vice chairman, Emirates Airline & Group.

RIYADH: Al Faisaliah Hotel and Hotel Al Khozama, Rosewood Hotels in Riyadh, supported by the management of Al Khozama Management Company (AKMC), celebrated the World Environment Day recently, by reinforcing environmental awareness among the youth. The management of the hotels invited students from the Early Learning Schools to visit Hotel Al Khozama and participate in the”Verdes” program. Verdes is an environment awareness initiative of Rosewood Hotels and Resorts. The students were given a presentation on the environment and told how to protect and preserve it through conscious savings on water and energy. Recycling and reusing certain products were also on the agenda. The students listened to an explanation on the usefulness of plants and trees from the gardening expert at Hotel Al Khozama and commemorated the event by planting a tree in the hotel’s garden.

RIYADH: Hilton Garden Inn Riyadh Olaya hosted a Greek Food Odyssey recently. The hotel showcased the best of Hellenic cuisine over the course of the weeklong culinary extravaganza featuring special Greek-themed brunches, buffets and cooking classes by visiting chef, Michalis Iroglidis, executive sous chef of Hilton Athens. The festival, supported by the Greek Embassy in Riyadh and Cyprus Airways, kick-started with a special Greek brunch, followed by an inauguration dinner in the presence of Greek Ambassador Dimitrios Letsios. The festival featured daily Greek dinner buffets at the hotel’s Oasis Grill and a cooking class with Chef Michalis.

DOHA: Qatar Airways celebrated its recent launch of flights to Copenhagen with a reception and a press conference in the Danish capital, where the airline reinforced its commitment to Scandinavia. The Danish city is the Doha-based carrier’s second destination in Northern Europe, to where the airline also operates daily flights to Stockholm in neighboring Sweden. Since the March 30 launch of four nonstop flights-a-week between the airline’s operational hub of Doha and Copenhagen, the airline reports the new service proving to be one of its most successful start-up routes of the year. Qatar Airways vice president commercial Europe, Paul Johannes, with Gunter Saurwein, the airline’s Country Manager for Scandinavia, Finland and Baltic States addressed media from Denmark and the Gulf in Copenhagen.

DUBAI: British Airways (BA) is flying 70,000 passengers to South Africa during the period of the ongoing FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The airline operates 19 flights a week to Johannesburg and seven to Cape Town, and offers excellent connections to domestic and regional locations provided by its branded franchise carrier, Comair. As official airline of the England 2018 World Cup Bid, BA is helping football fans get into the spirit of the World Cup. Special on-board announcements are being made on South Africa flights to invite travelers to back the England 2018 Bid. Dedicated aircraft painted with black and white football nose cones will operate on some of the flights. Football pundit and former England striker Gary Lineker, who helped BA launch its support for Backing the Bid, said: “To host the World Cup in 2018 would be a privilege and a great boost for English football. We have a 100 percent record in home World Cups, and it would be wonderful to keep up that performance.” Ashley Cowen, BA’s area regional manager, Asia Pacific and Africa, said: “South Africa is one of our most popular destinations, even more so this summer.”