General Update - Middle East - Qr / Bmi / Others
A few points to update here on Pprune relative to Middle East biz:-
1) bmi British Midland will commence flying to Dubai from Heathrow in October 2003. Utilising A330 Airbus equipment;
2) QR are naturally a bit peeved at this, given that the new route will directly impact QR's services from MAN and LHR to DXB via Doha. (QR and BD were traditionally good interlining buddies up until recently)
3) Emirates will be the main sponsor of the 2006 Football World Cup in Germany and have reportedly paid some £24million for the privilege!! Nice to see that someone has money to burn!
4) easyJet (of all people) are also currently carrying out feasibility studies into operating long haul services from UK and Europe (Geneva and Paris) to the Middle East. The carrier is reportedly looking at launching "easyBizJet" which may focus on high yield, low load and premium quality services to destinations such as Dubai, Riyadh and Muscat utilising A319CJ's!! (I seem to recall another MiddleEastern airline trying to do the same thing, without much success - QR)
5) Qatar Airways to join Star Alliance in June 2004???????? This news is hot and apparently accurate!
A300Man