SHARJAH: Just in time for the upcoming Eid Al-Adha holiday, Air Arabia, described as the first and largest low-cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced a range of “unbeatable” package promotions to many of the most popular tourist destinations across the Middle East and South Asia. Starting at AED2,240, these short breaks include return flights on Air Arabia, hotel accommodation and transportation, guided tours and all hotel taxes. Packages range from three to five nights stay, to Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Nepal, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka. “We are extremely pleased to offer this wide range of value-for-money Eid Al-Adha package holidays,” says A.K. Nizar, head of commercial department, Air Arabia. “We encourage all our passengers to book as early as possible to take advantage of these great offers.” Seats are limited for this special offer. Founded on Feb. 3, 2003, Air Arabia is a low-cost airline operating from Sharjah in the UAE. Its flights connect several destinations in Middle East, India, Central Asia and North Africa. Quick flight booking available on Air Arabia website offers easy ticket booking for its flights. 
 

JEDDAH: Malaysia Airlines will commence flights to Riyadh effective Dec. 17. In conjunction with the launch of this new destination, the airline is offering promotional airfares to Riyadh with prices starting from SR1,473. There will be 3 weekly flights departing Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. “We are delighted to announce Riyadh as our third new destination for 2010, after Dammam, and Bandung in Indonesia,” says its Managing Director and CEO Azmil Zahruddin. “As a focal point for trade and burgeoning region for tourism, the Middle East is a key market for us. Likewise, the Arabs are very attracted to Malaysia as a vacation and honeymoon destination, and a potential trade partner.” Riyadh is experiencing a development boom with new conglomerates and companies’ building headquarters in the capital. It is also developing its tourism sector, offering visitors a myriad of options from safaris featuring camel markets, traditional souqs, to home stay, horse riding and golf. The carrier also connects to Dubai (7 times weekly), Beirut and Istanbul (3 times weekly), and Dammam (2 times weekly) and Jeddah (4 times weekly).
 

JEDDAH: BlackBerry users can now take a step into the future and board British Airways (BA) flights using the airline’s new mobile boarding passes (MBP). Users of Android-operated mobile smart phones will also benefit from the new functionality next month, following its successful launch to iPhone users in July. Over 30,000 travelers have used the MBP on their iPhones to fly on BA flights since it was introduced. “iPhone users have told us how incredibly convenient the mobile boarding pass is, so we’re sure our passengers who use BlackBerry phones will love it too,” says Chris Davies, BA’s head of digital marketing. “Extending our successful mobile boarding passes to Blackberry and Android users underlines our commitment to strengthen our mobile offering and enhance the overall traveling experience.” The MBP can be used when passengers travel on any BA operated domestic flight and to many European destinations. BA claims to be the first airline to develop an App for travelers in the UK. Since then, over quarter of a million customers have downloaded the new App from iTunes, BlackBerry App World and Android App Store.
 

ABU DHABI: Abu Dhabi has recorded a 26 percent rise in the number of Saudi guests staying in the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period in 2009. Figures from the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) show that from January to September this year 29,044 Saudis stayed in Abu Dhabi’s hotels with the Kingdom now ranking as the emirate’s seventh most productive source market. “Such is the importance of Saudi Arabia that ADTA is now in the throes of establishing an office in Jeddah to nurture the outbound market from the Kingdom,” says ADTA’s Strategy and Policy Director Lawrence Franklin. ADTA’s figures show that overall Abu Dhabi recorded a 16 percent rise in hotel guests in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year with a 14 percent increase in the number of guest nights. Some 1,326,463 guests stayed in the emirate’s hotels and hotel apartments from January to September this year with guest nights climbing to 3,596,388. “Growth in September, 26 percent on the same month last year with a 25 percent increase in guest nights to 396,726, was the strongest since March 2009.”