JEDDAH, 24 April 2004 - Sher M. Khan has assumed charge in Jeddah as general manager of Singapore Airlines (SIA) for the Middle East covering Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Yemen and Iraq. He succeeds Manjit Grewal who at the end of his two-year term has moved to New Delhi to manage the airline's north Indian office. SIA, which is introducing its thrice-weekly services to Ahmedabad, from July 28, has an ongoing campaign for its "Singapore swapnam" promotion for India-bound passengers at SR3,160 plus taxes. The package includes a return economy class Jeddah-Singapore-India sector. Passengers heading for Cochin, Trivandrum, Bangalore, Hyderabad or Madras can make use of the package, which also offers three nights hotel accommodation in Singapore, airport transfers, free SIA hop-on tourist bus service, free admission to key tourist attractions including Sentosa island and Singapore night safari, as well as discounts on hotel food, shopping, sightseeing tours and spa treatment. The offer is valid up to March 31, 2005. SIA is already operating weekly 34 flights to Indian destinations from Singapore - 12 to Bombay, seven each to Delhi and Madras, five to Bangalore and three to Calcutta. Its subsidiary Silk Air operates weekly 10 other services to India, said Khan who has served the airline in Maldives, New Zealand, Turkey and Los Angeles in the past 10 years. SIA launched its new thrice-weekly direct service to Nanjing, capital of China's Jiangsu province, recently. SIA currently operates one of the world's youngest passenger fleets with an average age of five- and-a-half years. It is planning for growth and fleet renewal. The US-based Air Transport World magazine has awarded SIA its passenger service award for 2004. Its recent code share agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways enables passengers to travel between Singapore and Orlando. "It's sad to leave this place with so many friends in the industry," said Grewal. "I consider this a challenging market for me," said Khan.
Hertz to Boost Services in Middle East
DUBAI, 24 April 2004 - Hertz, a car rental company, is using this week's Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai to announce its development plans for the Middle East region, which include more Hertz car rental branches, bigger and more diverse fleets and new customer service initiatives. Hertz has been a participant at ATM since 2000 and the event has always provided an opportunity for its corporate representatives to reinforce and establish links with travel industry partners for inbound and outbound business. The Middle East is a market of vital importance and while the conflict in Iraq and SARS obviously had a negative effect in business, stability is now returning and so are tourists. On a global scale, the company's lead in the North American airport rental segment is being supplemented by solid growth in the US off-airport segment. "We're also well positioned in key markets in South America, Europe, Australia/New Zealand and Asia," said John Andrews on behalf of the company. Hertz is represented in the region by franchisees general sales agents.
Landmark Tourism Summit Set in Qatar
DOHA, 24 April 2004 - More than 30 countries have confirmed their attendance at this year's "most influential" tourism industry event of the year, the World Travel and tourism Council's 4th Global Summit being held in Doha from May 1-3. Countries from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas are sending ministerial delegations to the summit, which will attract major leaders of the tourism industry, as they set a road map for the industry's recovery. Qatar Airways, the country's national carrier and one of the fastest growing airlines, is hosting the event. "The summit is not just attracting the most influential leaders in the private sector of the tourism industry but is stimulating a great deal of interest from governments around the world," said the airline's Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker.
Gulf Air Launches Big Promotion
ABU DHABI, 24 April 2004 - Gulf Air has launched one of its biggest promotions that can win unlimited travel on Gulf Air for a year. The campaign, introduced on Wednesday, continues up to the end of June. Anyone who books, buys and flies during this period from any destination in the GCC and Middle East will have the chance of winning unlimited, network-wide travel on the airline, in the same class in which they booked, for a whole year. "We'll be awarding one prize per week for the next 10 weeks," says John Butler, vice president, sales and marketing at Gulf Air. "It all adds up to one of the most exciting and extensive promotions Gulf Air has ever run." With a network extending across Europe, the Middle East, India, Asia and Australia, covering 45 cities in 33 countries, the variety of travel options for the 10 winners is enormous. A long weekend in Hong Kong, some shopping in London, a bit of history in Athens or a romantic weekend in Paris, are possible as a result of this competition.
Emirates to Launch New York Service
DUBAI, 24 April 2004 - Emirates, a world leader in airline luxury since its founding in 1985, has confirmed it will launch its first passenger service from the Middle East to North America on June 1. The airline also provided the American news media recently with an exclusive peek at a first in commercial air travel: its fully enclosed $175,000 first class Suite. The new daily non-stop A340-500 service is from Dubai to New York (JFK). The service will introduce unprecedented in-flight comforts in all cabin classes and provide greatly improved connections for travelers from North America to the Gulf region, Africa, the Indian sub-continent and Asia Pacific. EK201 will depart Dubai at 8 a.m. every morning and land at JFK at 2 p.m. the same day. The airline's Dubai-New York route marks only the beginning of its passenger service in the Americas. Emirates plans to expand in the near future to other gateways in the United States, Canada and South America. Nigel Page, Emirates' senior vice president commercial operations, said: "The demand numbers already exist for a rapid succession of other gateway openings throughout North America."
