My five pennies worth:
I am not so sure that the RAK Ceramic CEO is the OWNER of RAK Airways and Dana. I think the financial and ownership situation is more complex than that. But as far as I know he is the Accountable Manager/CEO of RAK Airways.
The Dana Director of Operation is the former Hamra Air (RAK Airways is based on the former Hamra Air set up) Director of Operation. A pilot who the management (read: management as of summer 2006) found not suitable for the position as Director of Operations, and consequently side-lined him. What they did not know, or understand, was that Mr. ex-Hamra Director of Operation was, and obviously still is, well protected by the people on top of the pyramid in RAK. So well protected that he is now probably laughing his a
off in his new Dana office thinking about the ex-managers who wanted him out of Hamra/RAK Airways.
The problem is that RAK Airways, and what have you, is run by politics and not professionalism. Good people have been kicked out for no obvious reason since they started with the RAK Airways project. Others have resigned. They have tried to launch RAK Airways as a scheduled airline for close to 2 years now. First they wanted a B737 operation. They bought an old B737-300 that never arrived in the UAE. Today they are flying wet lease charter with a B757. Talks are that B737-800s will enter service.
The BIG question is: who made all that wasted money available for this project
