News
Emirates harmonizes fleet and Al Baker hints at B737 MAX for Meridiana
November 4th 2016
Dubai’s Emirates Airline last week phased out all of its remaining A330-200s and A340-300s. Following the cull, the fleet is 85 A380s and 145 B777s (10 –LRs; 10 -300s; a -200ER; 124 -300ERs). Read More »
Emirates will upgrade one of its nine daily Dubai-Doha flights to an A380 from December 1, making the Qatari capital its 45th superjumbo destination and the world’s shortest scheduled A380 flight - at 379 kilometres.
In Doha, Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar Al Baker, told Bloomberg the airline would place an unspecified number of B737 MAXs with a carrier it is investing in after it signed for up 60 MAX 8s last month. Orient Aviation understands that Sardinia-based Meridiana will be a part beneficiary as Qatar Airways is in the process of acquiring a 49% stake in the struggling carrier.
Al Baker has cancelled the first five of 46 on-order A320neo Family aircraft after Airbus and Pratt & Whitney failed to fix engine cooling issues to Al Baker’s satisfaction. “When you put a bandage on a big wound that doesn’t mean it is fixed,” the Qatar Airways boss now told Bloomberg. “I have to be convinced that it is. I want others to operate and convince me it is OK. That could take a year or two."
In other Middle Eastern updates, Kuwaiti LCC, Jazeera Airways, on Monday posted a third-quarter net profit of 6 million Kuwaiti dinars, down 27% year-on-year, as yields continued to fall amid intense competition and the low oil price environment. “Our earnings for the quarter came in less than expected even though we carried more passengers and we lifted our load factor,” said Jazeera Group chairman, Marwan Boodai.
Jazeera Airways said it is seriously looking at partnering an “international operator”, and when and if such a framework is established it will launch direct flights to Europe.
In Dammam, SaudiGulf Airlines completed its maiden revenue flight last Tuesday. The full-service start-up operates four A320ceos on flights between Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah, and it plans to launch service to Dubai early next year. SaudiGulf had planned to begin operations with the CS300, but switched to the A320 when the CSeries program became increasingly delayed. Nevertheless, the carrier has retained 16 CS300s on firm order, plus 10 options.
