Egyptian claim of explosive traces on MS804 met with deep skepticism

Full article on alarabiya.net

Under normal circumstances, news that traces of explosives have been found after a major air disaster would send the safety-obsessed aviation industry into a headspin. That was what happened in October 2015, when security was tightened across the globe after it became apparent that Metrojet Flight 9268 had been downed by a bomb in Egypt.

Yet, just one year on, purported evidence of TNT traces on the victims of EgyptAir flight MS804 – which crashed en route from Paris to Cairo in May – has been met with deafening silence by the industry and angry dismissals by relatives of the victims.

Top of their concerns is the knowledge that Egypt has manipulated air crash investigations in the past. In 2002, the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority (ECAA) rejected the findings of the more experienced US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) after parallel investigations into EgyptAir Flight 990, which had crashed into the Atlantic Ocean three years previously...

Iraqi Airways taps German expertise in bid to overturn EU blacklisting

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The Iraqi Transport Ministry has signed a long-term agreement with Lufthansa Consulting, the consultancy division of Germany’s flag-carrier, in an effort to restructure Iraqi Airways after its ignominious blacklisting from European airspace.

Lufthansa Consulting announced the “long-term strategic advisory and implementation project” last week, pledging to make Iraqi Airways a “leading carrier in the Middle East” while also improving oversight capabilities at the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA), the country’s aviation regulator.

The European Commission banned Iraqi Airways from entering its airspace in December 2015, after Brussels identified “unaddressed safety concerns” about both the airline and its regulator...

Trump presidency spells bad news for fast-expanding Gulf carriers

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Having pledged to build a wall on the Mexican border, repeal Obamacare, tear up the Iran nuclear deal, and “bomb the hell out of ISIS”, Donald Trump is unlikely to treat civil aviation as an urgent priority when he becomes the 45th US President next year.

However, presuming the Republican’s protectionist rhetoric was not mere bluster, there is little doubt that a Trump administration will soon take aim at the Middle East’s three super-connector airlines.

Dubai’s Emirates Airline, Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have been in the crosshairs of US aviation groups since January 2015, when lobbyists presented Barack Obama’s administration with evidence of state subsidies totalling $42 billion...

Royal Brunei downplays Sharia label in bid to attract westerners

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Royal Brunei Airlines is not marketing itself as a “halal airline,” its chief executive tells Al Arabiya, as the flag-carrier wants to appeal to a mixture of both Muslim and non-Muslim customers.

“We would not describe ourselves as a Sharia-compliant airline or otherwise,” Karam Chand insists. “We don’t see it that way. Royal Brunei just reflects the Muslim ethos of Brunei. The food is in the halal tradition, and in the whole country that’s the way it is done. In our ASEAN network a lot of our customers are Muslim, so it’s a natural fit...

Interview: Suleiman Obeidat, Royal Jordanian Airlines CEO

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European airlines are bracing themselves for a disappointing summer as the threat of terrorism looms large across the continent.

The industry’s jitters are well-founded. Even if airlines manage to keep their planes safe from bombs – something that cannot be taken for granted following recent attacks on Metrojet, Daallo Airlines and perhaps EgyptAir – Europe’s safe-haven status has been dented by a string of atrocities in France and Belgium.

Tourists and business travellers are responding by deferring or cancelling trips to the continent.

With British Airways, Air France, Ryanair and EasyJet all warning of a terror-related downturn, lessons can be learned from one of the Middle East’s most resilient carriers, Royal Jordanian Airlines, which returned to profit last year despite being on the doorstep of several geopolitical crises...

Guesswork masquerading as analysis blights EgyptAir crash coverage

Full article on alarabiya.net

Media organizations and aviation analysts have been quick to point the finger of blame at terrorists for the crash of EgyptAir Flight 804, which disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday with 66 souls aboard.

Egypt’s transport minister, Russia’s spy chief and both presumptive candidates for this year’s US presidential election have also concluded that an act of terror is the most likely explanation for the disaster.

The rush to judgment by so many prominent voices – though uncharacteristic in the aftermath of a plane crash – is perhaps understandable in the prevailing security climate. It may also be that Egyptian, Russian and American officials have access to classified intelligence that bolsters the otherwise circumstantial evidence.

Nonetheless, to the extent that media outlets are regurgitating and developing the terrorism narrative, it is clear that conjecture now dominates the global coverage...

Flyadeal marks one step forward, two steps back for Saudi aviation

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Saudia made good on plans to establish a low-cost carrier last month when it unveiled the branding and tentative launch date for new subsidiary Flyadeal.

The flag-carrier believes that entering the low-cost market will help it pare back losses on its all-important domestic network. Low-cost carriers put cost-discipline at the heart of their business models, removing complimentary perks from ticket prices and maximizing operational efficiency.

That contrasts with the business model of traditional full-service carriers like Saudia, which focus on high-yielding customers by offering premium products and building slack into their schedules.

But while a dual-brand strategy could lift the state-owned carrier’s fortunes, some analysts are beginning to doubt the kingdom’s longstanding commitment to private-sector reforms...

Grounded Rayani Air put halal credentials ahead of business basics

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Less than four months after launching operations, Rayani Air, the Malaysian airline that pitches itself as fully Shariah-compliant, has been grounded.

Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation confirmed on Monday that the company’s Air Operator’s Certificate has temporarily been revoked while it is subjected to “a full administration and safety audit.”

Although founder Ravi Alagendrran is vowing to restore operations as soon as possible, few start-up carriers are given a second chance once their brand has been tainted by suspensions. Jitters about further flight cancellations will typically derail any prospect of a re-launch...

Emirates makes Hungary latest front in Gulf-US battleground

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Although no formal announcement has been made, it looks increasingly likely that Dubai's flag-carrier, Emirates Airline, will soon launch nonstop flights from the Hungarian capital Budapest to America.

Senior transport officials from Hungary and the UAE have voiced support for the so-called fifth-freedom route – an industry term for connecting flights between two foreign countries.

Saif al-Suwaidi, the director general of the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority, confirmed this month that the Gulf country has requested access to two fifth-freedom services over Budapest. Without naming the destinations being discussed, Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's foreign minister, added: “We are prepared to provide this freedom and will conduct the required procedures rapidly with both the Emirates and the European Union.”

New York, home to a large number of Hungarian expatriates, is considered the most obvious choice for fifth-freedom connectivity...

Jazeera Airways on collision course with Kuwait’s flag-carrier

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Jazeera Airways marked Kuwait’s 55th National Day last week by unveiling a special aircraft livery emblazoned with the emirate’s flag.

Commemorative color schemes are popular in the airline industry – recall British Airways’ dove livery during the 2012 Olympic Games – but Jazeera’s paintjob is more than a marketing exercise. The nationalist makeover comes amid a souring of relations with prospective partner Kuwait Airways, which has all but abandoned its privatisation drive in a bid to protect public-sector jobs.

By draping one of its seven A320s with the Kuwaiti flag, Jazeera is reaffirming its status as a self-proclaimed “national carrier” – a role it is adopting with or without the real flag-carrier’s consent...

Freed from sanctions, Iran’s airlines go on a spending spree

Full article on alarabiya.net

In the 1970s, just before the Iranian Revolution, Iran Air was considered one of the fastest growing and safest airlines in the world.

The company operated daily flights to New York with Boeing 747s; it had two supersonic Concordes on order; and its marketing department billed Tehran as an ideal stopover for flights between Europe and Southeast Asia.

No one could have predicted what was to come. The founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979 triggered a wave of international sanctions that decimated Iran’s domestic industries – including civil aviation...

Out of the ashes, a new Libyan airline takes flight

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Risk-averse entrepreneurs look away now.

In the notoriously volatile airline industry, even well-established operators are never more than a few months from bankruptcy. The threat is compounded tenfold for start-ups – and is incalculably higher in a warzone.

Small wonder that Libyan Wings, the full-service airline unveiled after the overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi, missed several planned launch dates.

Last year's near-total destruction of Tripoli International Airport, its planned home base, certainly didn't help matters. Nor did the wider unravelling of Libya's fractured political climate, with two rival governments claiming sovereignty in the country and an ugly franchise of Islamic State rampaging over contested territory.

But the airline's private investors have persevered, and under the stewardship of chief executive Edgardo Badiali Libyan Wings finally took to the skies in September...

Emboldened Flynas returns to growth

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Saudi Arabia’s Flynas is drafting a five-year expansion plan as the airline nears its first ever annual profit, gaining momentum from a strong Hajj season and the simplification of its business model.

Chief executive Paul Byrne – who was appointed last year after the failure of an ambitious long-haul expansion program – says he expects September to be the ninth consecutive month of profitability.

That marks a dramatic turnaround for a company that has been consistently loss-making since launching nearly a decade ago.

“We took care of what was losing money, and we just kept doing what was making money,” Byrne tells Al Arabiya. “The difficulty in our business is not being tempted to do something strange and wonderful. It does take a lot of discipline internally – to keep people focused on saving costs, getting the flight out on-time, getting the pricing right...

Iran plays catch-up in Gulf aviation boom

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The opening of a new air corridor between two neighboring countries rarely captures the attention of the world’s media. But when Emirates Airline launched flights from Dubai to Mashhad on 1 September, everyone knew the UAE flag-carrier was thinking about much more than its own bilateral links with Iran.

Air traffic between the two countries has been rising since long before July’s landmark nuclear agreement – a deal that promises to roll back decades of sanctions isolating the Iranian economy – and it’s not just UAE businesspeople and freight riding the wave...