JEDDAH: A Saudi national is in the running to be awarded a hospitality industry honor in the Hotelier Middle East Awards on Thursday (Oct. 14). Nasser Al-Reefy, restaurant manager at Rosewood Corniche, oversees the day-to-day running of the hotel’s celebrated Asian restaurants Ginza I Chome and Noodles. Holding a diploma and Bachelor of Science degree in hospitality management from the American College in Dublin, Ireland, Nasser is continuing his professional development by working through the Rosewood employee program in conjunction with a management course from Harvard Business School. “Under Nasser’s management, our Asian restaurants are now considered the premier dining destinations in Jeddah and he continues to act as a figurehead of our successful Saudization policy to develop and nurture local talent,” said Hans-Peter Leitzke, managing director, Rosewood Corniche. “We receive consistently positive feedback from our patrons and staff about Nasser’s performance in the hotel and we believe his hard work and commitment had a direct correlation to Rosewood Corniche being awarded Saudi Arabia’s Leading Hotel in consecutive years in 2009 and 2010.”
DOHA: Qatar Airways is expanding flights to Germany with the introduction of scheduled services to Stuttgart and greater capacity to Munich next year. It also has spelled out its commitment to the Spanish market helping strengthen commercial and economic ties with the recently introduced flights to Barcelona, its second route in Spain. Celebrating five years of flying to the capital Madrid, the addition of services to Barcelona in June “acknowledges the importance it places in the Spanish market.” Stuttgart, to be served three-times-a-week, will be the Doha-based carrier’s fourth destination in Germany. Known as the “cradle of the automobile industry,” flights to Germany’s sixth largest city will begin on March 9. At the same time, the carrier will increase frequency on the Doha-Munich route from daily flights to 11 services a week using Airbus A330 wide-body aircraft. The news comes as Qatar Airways prepares to embark on a huge European expansion drive with the launch of flights to Nice, Budapest, Bucharest and Brussels over a 10 week-period from November 2010 to January 2011. By March next year, it will operate 182 flights a week to Europe.
BAHRAIN: Gulf Air has re-commenced its services to Colombo. The inaugural flight took off recently from Bahrain International Airport (BIA) carrying Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Samer Majali and a team of officials, seen off by senior officials from Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority, Bahrain Airport Company and Gulf Air executives. “Our relationship with Sri Lanka started nearly 35 years ago when we started our services to the capital in 1976 and flew until 2002. Over the years, Gulf Air has been the favorite airline not only for thousands of Sri Lankans living and working in Bahrain but also for Bahrainis who have been flocking to this beautiful country for vacation for many years, said Majali.” With five flights a week departing at convenient timings, passengers — both businessmen and leisure travelers alike — will find a flight to a destination of their choice. While all passengers will be able to enjoy the luxurious facilities and service onboard Gulf Air’s brand new A320 aircraft, Falcon Gold premium passengers will have the added luxury of relaxing at the exclusive Gulf Air lounge at the BIA while waiting for their connecting flights.
JEDDAH: Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, has entered into a reciprocal frequent flyer partnership with bmi, the second largest airline at London Heathrow, one of the world’s busiest and best-connected international airports. JetPrivilege members may now earn and redeem their JPMiles on the entire network of bmi. Similarly, bmi’s Diamond Club members may earn and redeem frequent flyer miles on the entire network of Jet Airways and Jet Airways Konnect. “Jet Airways offers guests unmatched pan-India connectivity as well as a growing 23-destination strong international network, while bmi’s network spans the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, via the airline’s hub at London Heathrow. As such, the partnership is a mutually beneficial one, enabling guests to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles, while tapping into both carriers’ networks,” said Sudheer Raghavan, chief commercial officer, Jet Airways. The airline currently has frequent flyer partnership agreements with 22 major international airlines.
