Qatar Airways, the national airline of the State of Qatar, is set to make its debut in Canada with the launch of scheduled flights to Montreal, effective June 29. Canada’s second largest city will be served with three-flights-a-week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays using the airline’s flagship Boeing 777-200 Long Range aircraft. The non-stop journey from the airline’s hub in Doha to Montreal’s Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport will be a total flying time of 13.20 hrs. The destination marks the carrier’s first foray into Canada following a series of bilateral negotiations in Doha last year, when the airline secured rights to fly passenger and cargo flights to the country. The province of Quebec’s capital city becomes the airline’s fourth destination in North America. The award-winning airline, ranked Five Star for service, excellence and high standards, currently operates daily flights to New York, Washington and Houston. The Doha-Montreal route will facilitate trade and leisure business, providing seamless connectivity for travelers from east to west. With its extensive network of destination across the Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Far East, the airline will offer excellent connections over Doha to and from Montreal. It is the first Gulf carrier to operate flights to Montreal, a city renowned for its festivals and arts scene, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker said.
Emirates has completed a world first with one of its superjumbo A380’s touching down at Kuwait International Airport. The one off commercial flight from Dubai, EK857, arrived to a water cannon salute as the aircraft taxied toward the airport’s new A380 equipped terminal. Onboard the flight were a number of high profile officials including Ahmed Khoory, Emirates SVP commercial operations, Gulf, Middle East and Iran. “This is a significant moment in Kuwait’s aviation history and it is an honor to be a part of it. As our flagship aircraft, the A380 represents Emirates’ ambition to break new ground and transform the way people view air travel,” said Khoory. “Kuwait marked Emirates’ 15th international destination way back in 1989. Some 22 years later, with the valuable support of the Kuwait government, we now operate 28 flights per week from Dubai to Kuwait, with four flights per day,” added Khoory. Discussing the possibility of taking the A380 into Kuwait on a more permanent schedule, Khoory said with another 75 A380 aircraft on order it was certainly a “possibility in the future” especially given the strong demand for this route. Once docked at the terminal, Emirates gave a guided static tour of the double-decker aircraft to around 100 waiting guests, including Emirates’ Country Manager Kuwait, Bader Hassan, senior airport officials and members of the Kuwaiti media. Emirates’ A380 is renowned for its First Class private suites, shower spas and onboard lounge.
Qatar Masters’ champion golfer Thomas Bjorn has lent his winning hand to Qatar Duty Free, helping to give away a Rolls Royce Ghost in the latest edition of the airport retailer’s popular car draw. Indian national Biji Varghese, a resident of Doha, was announced as the lucky winner of the new car following the draw held at Doha International Airport’s Premium Terminal, where Bjorn was in transit. Last month, Denmark’s Bjorn won Qatar’s premium golf tournament and took away 300,000 euros in prize money. Qatar Airways flights to Denmark’s capital city Copenhagen will move to daily from March 27. Qatar Duty Free was “Official Retail Partner” of the Qatar Masters and once again hosted one of the most popular exhibition areas at the Doha Golf Club. Samsung and Canon provided Qatar Duty Free with exclusive offers for spectators at the tournament. Qatar Duty Free’s SVP Keith Hunter said in addition to its ongoing car draws, the retailer was set to continue its association with the country’s premier golf tournament. “We were delighted with the response from the gallery at this year’s Qatar Masters. Qatar Duty Free presented exclusive offers on Samsung and Canon products, which were very attractive packages for visitors across all four days of the tournament,” said Hunter.
Australia-based Virgin Blue Group of Airlines recently launched its inaugural V Australia flight to Abu Dhabi, becoming the first Australian carrier to operate to the Middle East in 20 years. The Sydney-Abu Dhabi service included Virgin Blue Group CEO and MD John Borghetti and Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan, along with the Australian ambassador to the UAE, Doug Trappett, and Virgin Blue Group’s new ambassador and one of the world’s most successful swimmers, Ian Thorpe, who came to Abu Dhabi to continue training for the 2012 Olympic trials. The V Australia and Etihad delegations were welcomed by Abu Dhabi Airports Company CEO James E. Bennett and SVP of airports operations at ADAC Ahmad Al-Haddabi, along with senior representatives from the airport and the home carrier. The new service is a key part of the partnership between Virgin Blue Group of Airlines and Etihad Airways, which will see the airlines offer a total of 27 weekly services between Abu Dhabi and Australia - including double-daily services to Sydney, daily Melbourne flights and six frequencies per week to Brisbane. Virgin Blue CEO and MD John Borghetti said Australians were very excited about the new V-Australia service and that the UAE would also benefit significantly. “Since its launch in 2009, the award-winning V Australia service has provided a high-quality, competitive travel option for travelers on trans-pacific routes and we’re very pleased to bring our service to Abu Dhabi,” Borghetti said.
Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain and described as the region’s largest network carrier, has begun its service to Basra in Iraq with four weekly flights. The inaugural flight to Basra from Bahrain International Airport was seen of by Gulf Air CEO Samer Majali, and senior officials from Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority, Bahrain Airport Company and Gulf Air executives. Majali, who traveled on the inaugural flight, was received at Basra International Airport by acting Basra Gov. Nizar Al-Jabri, and senior Civil Aviation authorities and airport officials. Addressing the media and the VIP gathering at Basra Airport, Majali said: “We are pleased to fly into Basra, our fourth destination in Iraq. Gulf Air’s relationship with Iraq goes back to nearly 35 years with our first flight to Baghdad in 1976. When we recommenced our services to Baghdad in September 2009, I promised to connect more destinations in Iraq and I am pleased to say that we have added Najaf, Erbil and now Basra.” Majali added: “As the largest network carrier in the Middle East, Gulf Air’s strategy is to connect Bahrain and important underserved markets in the region. Basra, as the third largest city of Iraq, has great potential with substantial petroleum exploration related businesses and other trades, but is not adequately served by air currently. By launching our service to Basra, we are opening doors to the entire Middle East, Asian, European and North African markets.”
Saudi Electronics and Home Appliances Institute (SEHAI)-Japan Working Group (JWG), headed by Kenichi Sawaguchi, project leader of SEHAI project team, Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East visited Riyadh and had a meeting with Saudi Working Group on Tuesday. The purpose of the visit was mainly to evaluate each group’s achievements during Japanese fiscal year of 2010. SEHAI classes are being held in Diraiya since Sept. 26, 2009. With the cooperation of JWG, SEHAI has elaborately succeeded to organize a technical training program by Japanese engineers at its workshops. Satoh, Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc. (Tokyo) and Asano and Kawata, Daikin Industries, Ltd. (Osaka), implemented the intensive 3-day training for SEHAI instructors as well as the 2nd year grade students. This training was aimed to enhance the technical capacities of SEHAI instructors and impress SEHAI students on Japanese engineers’ professional skills. In order to organize this practical training, SEHAI has fully equipped the necessary facilities with their workshops, including newly purchased units of Konica Minolta’s multifunction printer and donated AC units by Ahmed Zainy Co. At the SWG-JWG meeting, Salim Asmarei, head of SWG, appreciated the realization of training and positive activities by JWG and confirmed the further communications to expand SEHAI’s quality of education. Other SWG members including Muhammad Al-Sheikh, assistant VP, Olayan Financing Group (Toshiba), and Asem Al-Humaid, GM service, Modern Electronics (SONY), also lauded JWG’s activities.
Nokia has launched MSupport, a customer support service dedicated to operators and corporate customers. The service will focus on support around Nokia’s full range of Series 60 smartphones and business focused solutions and applications such as Mail for Exchange, Microsoft Lync and IBM Lotus Notes Traveler. “More operators and corporate customers are choosing Nokia as their business mobility partner,” says Scott Smith, head of operator channel for Nokia MEA. “With our extensive range of business smartphones and software offerings through collaboration with leading brands, we believe this is the next step in providing unparalleled, all-round customer service to our valued operators and corporate customers.” The aim of M-support is to provide industry expert knowledge on business mobility and Nokia offerings, both pre- and post-purchase. The service will be available through a dedicated help line and e-mail support. In the UAE, there will also be the option of on-site support, and via live chat on the MSupport website. Initially, the service will be available in Arabic and English and will operate 5 days a week Sunday to Thursday. Support requests received outside these times will be addressed on the next business day. The type of assistance provided will include hardware support as well as support queries related to Internet connectivity, software updates, viewing documents, browser settings for optimal download speeds and accessing business and productivity apps through Ovi Store.
Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management, was honored with the Best Electricity Project of the Year Award at the recent Buildinfra Awards 2011, an integral part of the Saudi Arabian Building and Infrastructure Summit in Riyadh. The award was presented at a ceremony during the two-day summit. Christophe Campagne, country president of Schneider Electric-Saudi Arabia, received the award in the presence of Abdulrahman Ali Al-Jeraisy, chairman of the board, Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), Saad I. Al-Mojel, vice-chairman of the board, RCCI, and Khalid A. Al-Dughaither, chairman, Aldughaither for Zones Development. Schneider Electric was recognized for its work on the Girls’ College at King Saud University. The building is set to become the second biggest campus for girls in the Kingdom and part of the university’s ambitious expansion project. The scope of work required Schneider Electric’s involvement from the design stage to the implementation of a large network of medium voltage and low voltage components as well as a central system to control and command the operations. The company adopted a challenging and innovative approach and acted as a single supplier to cover the entire scope of the project, providing a solution that reduces operating costs while offering greater comfort and safety. A total of 34 companies were honored at the ceremony for their remarkable contribution to the building and infrastructure sector in the Kingdom.
