JEDDAH, 16 November 2007 — bmi is introducing Dammam as it new route to Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East.
The announcement followed the airline’s launch of its non-stop daily flights to London earlier this week, bmi’s Commercial Development Manager for Saudi Arabia and Russia Michel Turini told a press conference on the sidelines of the airline’s agency awards at the Westin Jeddah on Wednesday night. The new Dammam service, set to begin in early 2008, will operate three times a week on a wide-bodied Airbus A330 aircraft and is expected to build on the success of flights to bmi’s existing Saudi destinations — Riyadh, which was launched in September 2005, and Jeddah in April 2006. The airline, the sole UK carrier to the Kingdom and London Heathrow’s second largest airline, this week also unveiled the start of daily direct services from Cairo to Heathrow.
“We have just introduced 17 new destinations from Heathrow at the start of the winter time table including a daily non-stop service to London. We are also delighted to be announcing further developments, which are marking our transition into a truly global airline. Next year, bmi will be serving 41 destinations from London Heathrow,” said Turini who was accompanied by Milad G. El Khoury, sales manager of bmi for Saudi Arabia. He said that over the past two years bmi had established a “highly successful” presence in the Saudi market. “By extending services to include Dammam, we strengthen our position in the region,” he added.
The airline hosted its second agency awards ceremony to recognize the travel industry’s 15 best performers. The three award categories included gold, silver and bronze depending on the level of performance. Gold was awarded to top five performers — Attar Travel, Kanoo Travel, Zahid Travel, Portfolio Travel and Al-Tayyar Travel. Silver was awarded to Elaf Travel, Al-Zouman Travel, STTB, Mirage Travel, and ACE Travel. Bronze awards went to TTS, Trans World Travel, Mosaid Travel, Al Esayi Aviation and Al Rajhi Aviation Group. “Winners were chosen based on best performance in terms of sales,” Turini said.
