Business Traveller Middle East articles from January 2005

Business Traveller Middle East archives from January 2005

This issue.
January 1, 2005... Abu Dhabi is poised for a buoyant year with new properties coming on stream and Etihad Airways expanding at full throttle. The oil-rich city is taking a leaf out of Dubai's diversification book and all eyes will be watching to see how far and...

Asian routes bounce back.(Airlines)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... AIRLINES HAVE MAINTAINED THEIR schedules to tsunami-hit countries as damage to the Asian travel industry appears short term. Analysts believe business travel to Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand will surge as the scramble for...

Superjumbo wheeled out.(Singapore Airlines Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... THE NEXT ERA OF AVIATION IS imminent, following the unveiling of the first A380 in Toulouse. Singapore Airlines is set to be the double-decker trailblazer with the first aircraft entering service on Asia-London routes from Summer 2006....

Agents in website's sights.(LastMinuteDirect.Net)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... AGGRESSIVE WEBSITE COMPANY LastMinuteDirect.Net (LMD) is further shaking up the traditional travel market arena. Companies which pay a $100 fee receive a link on LMD to their websites--enabling unfilled seats or empty beds to be sold...

Airports break new ground.(Jebel Ali International Airport)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... WORK ON JEBEL ALI INTERNATIONAL Airport gets under way in February. The ambitious six-runway airport, approximately 40 kilometres south of Dubai, will primarily focus on cargo --but on completion will have a passenger capacity of 120...

BA suspends Saudi services.(British Airways PLC)(Saudi Arabia)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... BRITISH AIRWAYS (BA) IS suspending flights between London Heathrow and Jeddah and Riyadh from March 27, citing reduced passenger demand. BA operates four flights a week to Jeddah and three flights a week to Riyadh. Robert Boyle,...

E-ticketing breakthrough.(Star Alliance Services GmbH)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... THE STAR ALLIANCE HAS announced that all member airlines will be able to interline electronic tickets by August, making Star the first global alliance to offer such a product. The agreement marks a major step forward, as customers will be...

US geared for upturn.(business travel)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... MORE THAN A THIRD OF US business travellers expect to spend more on corporate travel in 2005 than they did last year. A survey of 1,200 executives and 300 managers by Carlson Wagonlit Travel found 34% expect to spend more on business travel...

Your vote counts.(Airports)
January 1, 2005... Don't forget to fill in the voting forms for the Business Traveller Middle East Awards 2005. Category winners will be announced during the awards ceremony at The Jumeirah Beach Hotel on May 2, the night before the start of the Arabian Travel...

Lufthansa raises the bar.(Deutsche Lufthansa AG)
January 1, 2005... IN AN ASTONISHING departure from most European airlines, Lufthansa has opened a new, purpose-built 15 [euro] million first-class terminal at its Frankfurt hub. The terminal opens against a background of many European airlines, removing...

The 56-room Ritz Sharq Hotel has opened for business in Kuwait.(Hotel Briefs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The 56-room Ritz Sharq Hotel has opened for business in Kuwait. Each Senior Suite costs KD 40 (single) a night for corporates, rising to KD 50 for a Ritz Suite.

Starwood's second hotel in Algeria, the Sheraton Oran Hotel & Towers, is expected to open mid 2005.(Hotel Briefs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Starwood's second hotel in Algeria, the Sheraton Oran Hotel & Towers, is expected to open mid 2005. The 321-room property, is perched on a six-acre cliff-top, overlooking the Mediterranean.

A 300-room Crowne Plaza is to be built at Dubai Festival City.(Hotel Briefs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... A 300-room Crowne Plaza is to be built at Dubai Festival City.

Male executives can now be pampered like their female counterparts at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi in Dubai.(Hotel Briefs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Male executives can now be pampered like their female counterparts at Le Meridien Mina Seyahi in Dubai--its recently redesigned spa is the first in the Gulf offering Clarins' solesenses treatments for men. The hotel has installed high-speed...

Book a room online at any Starwood property in the Middle East or Africa and you might win up to three nights free.(Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Book a room online at any Starwood property in the Middle East or Africa and you might win up to three nights free. Two customers are chosen randomly for complimentary stays each month. Click on spg-promotions. com/randomrooms

Beachfront property Coral Suites Ajman has opened its doors.(Hotel Briefs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Beachfront property Coral Suites Ajman has opened its doors, targeting business travellers who have appointments at the nearby Hamriyah Free Zone and Ajman Port Trust Authority. Rates at the 91-room hotel, which includes 81 suites, range from...

Dubai plans business city.(Business)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Business Bay is the latest large-scale project to be announced in Dubai. The 64 million square feet development will see Dubai's Creek expanded inland, linking up the Ras Al Khor district--where Dubai Festival City is being built--with...

Check in a day early.(British Airways PLC upgrades website, www.ba.com/checkin)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The upgraded British Airways website (www.ba.com/checkin) now allows Executive Club members to check in 24 hours before departure. The 'manage my booking' section enables passengers to select their preferred seat, request special meal...

Channel hop on SIA.(Singapore Airlines Ltd. installs international news channels )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Keeping abreast of the news will become a whole lot easier on Singapore Airlines from the middle of this year. The airline is installing four international news channels on its long-haul fleet, following a tie-up with Connexion by Boeing,...

Jazeera Airways.(to start new flights)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Kuwait's first private budget airline, Jazeera Airways, is expected to start flights to Dubai and GCC states this winter. It will begin operations with two leased A320-200s.

Swiss.(daily flights and traffic forecasts)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Swiss now operates daily Zurich-Dubai-Muscat flights and is targeting more business class traffic from Oman to Europe and North America.

Vietnam Airlines.(contracts)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Vietnam Airlines has signed a contract for an additional 10 A321s, bringing total orders for Airbus aircraft to 15. The first of the additional A321s will be delivered in spring 2006.

Spain's Air Europa.(memorandum of understanding )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Spain's Air Europa has become the first airline to commit to the A350-800, Airbus' new 245-seater aircraft, after signing an MoU for 10 aircraft and two options.

Japan Airlines.(Airline Briefs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Japan Airlines has placed orders for 30 B7E7 Dreamliners and 20 options (mix of 7E7-3s and 7E7-8s) with deliveries slated for 2008.

MidEast Jet.(usage of Boeing Class 3 Electronic Flight Bag)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Saudi-based VIP carrier MidEast Jet has taken safety standards to a new level, becoming the first B777 operator to retrofit (install after production) the Boeing Class 3 Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) on board. The EFB digital system enables the...

Air France.(Airline Briefs)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Air France's flights to Jeddah and Cairo are now handled via a new boarding lounge at Paris CDG's Teriminal 2E, which was forced to close last May after a structural collapse.

All figured out.(back up the entire phone book content )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Losing your mobile and all those vital numbers can be stressful but one company now aims to act as your communications safety net in the UAE. MobileSync enables users to back up the entire phone book content on its 'safe and secure'...

The Ritz-Carlton Berlin.(Hotel check: Berlin)
January 1, 2005... What's it like? After stepping out into the Berlin chill from the warmth of my Audi A8 limo pick-up, I was greeted like an old friend by the fur-hatted, heavily coated giant of a doorman. The Ritz-Carlton's architecture is a year-old modern...

Royal Brunei business class.(Royal Brunei Airlines Bhd.)
January 1, 2005... First impressions: A convenient 25-minute train journey from downtown Brisbane connects straight to the international terminal, a laid-back oasis where check-in took minutes, security a few more and access to the Qantas Club lounge offered...

Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort Fujairah.
January 1, 2005... What's it like? Overtly a leisure outpost but fostering a reputation for city escape meetings, reward/team building breaks and conferences in its 350-guest ballroom. Few hotels can boast such a naturally striking setting, with the property...

History in the making: the Solidere re-generation project will cement Beirut's reputation as one of the region's most happening cities.(Beirut)(postwar reconstruction)
January 1, 2005... Few of us can forget the images of Beirut that were splashed daily across the world's TV screens and papers during the 1980s. Bombed-out tenements; schoolchildren crawling across roads to avoid sniper fire; burning ships off the city's...

Shifting sands: the UAE capital has a buzz about it with hotels opening inside and out and a rapidly expanding airline up above.(Abu Dhabi)
January 1, 2005... With Abu Dhabi's place in the energy history books assured, a new chapter is starting in the UAE capital. The oil rich city is still the regional powerhouse--the UAE contains 10% of the world's oil reserves and 94% of that figure lies...

Add a little flavour to your meetings! There are meetings. And then there are meetings at Hilton.(Advertisement Feature)(Hilton Group PLC)(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... Introducing Hilton Let's Meet. Anyone can offer a venue. Anyone can offer catering. Anyone can offer a range of business meeting services. The difference lies in how flexible and versatile these services are. From the moment you choose...

Superflights: reshapinq business travel? What do the new ultra long haul flights mean for business travellers and airlines?
January 1, 2005... Settle into Business Class on Singapore Airlines' (SIA) new non-stop flight from New York City's Newark Liberty Airport to Singapore's Changi Airport and you can watch any of 60 movies on demand from your flat-reclining SpaceBed, plug in your...

Unique boutique: lavishly designed and brimming with gadgets, a new generation of boutique hotels has arrived in Paris. Nick Redman explores the hi-tech and high glamour of the stylish new "urban resorts".
January 1, 2005... In Paris, it's time to say au revoir to beige, greige and generally grim business accommodation. This autumn, a clutch of imaginatively designed boutique and design hotels--otherwise known as "urban resorts" and "new-generation palaces"--have...

The bliss list: small but luxurious getaways with all the five-star perks are increasing in Bali. Margie T Logarta checks out a few of them.(Bali's villa hotels)(Hotel Review)
January 1, 2005... While the Nusa Dua tourism complex will always be unique and continues to thrive in Bali, the concept behind it--manicured hotel estates standing side by side in a sprawling masterplan--has been overtaken by changing tastes. Today's...

Rush for prime seats: more of us are scrambling for the legroom-friendly exit seats but most airlines won't assign them in advance--and some are now charging extra for the privilege.
January 1, 2005... Dear Alex, My husband and I travelled with KLM last October between Chicago and Dubai via Amsterdam. Considering the many hours of travelling involved (we also faced a six hour drive to reach Chicago), we wanted to book an [emergency]...

Spice of life: London's Indian restaurants are among the most imaginative and stylish in the world. Business Traveller samples five of the finest.(Restaurant Review)
January 1, 2005... Tamarind 20 Queen St, tel 020 7629 3561, www.tamarindrestaurant.com Tamarind's Mayfair location attracts moneyed Londoners in droves, suitable for business crowds and small gatherings of friends out for a treat. Its popularity is...

4 hours in Manila: participate in what Filipinos love to do best--see and be seen--in the city's trendiest area, then hang out at General MacArthur and Imelda Marcos' favourite hotel, while catching a fiery sunset. Patrick Lucero did it all.
January 1, 2005... [1] GREENBELT More than just the usual commercial centre, Greenbelt (1a) combines elegant shopping, refreshing open spaces and charming parkland with the Filipinos' obsession to see and be seen, particularly if that means sipping copious...

Golfing around ... Southern China.
January 1, 2005... It was 21 years ago that Chung Shan Hot Spring Golf Club opened its doors for business, marking the reintroduction of the royal and ancient game to mainland China. Ten years later in 1994, the first course at Mission Hills Golf Club, now the...

Win an overnight stay for two at Hilton Dubai Creek.
January 1, 2005... The Hilton Dubai Creek is arguably the most stylish destination in the Gulf for the business traveller. Designed by renowned architect Carlos Ott, the iconic sculptured steel and glass building stands on the banks of the Dubai Creek in the...

Making a meal of it: offering palatable food at 37,000 feet is a real challenge. Lauren Custance goes behind the scenes to find out the latest offerings on long haul flights, wherever you are sitting in the cabin.(Airline food)
January 1, 2005... We know from the letters we receive that the quality of the food served on board flights is important to business travellers. In many cities around the world, and particularly those in the UK, restaurant food has improved immeasurably in the...

The taste test.(Airline food)
January 1, 2005... Although a wide spectrum of food is offered by different airlines, the irony is that the same caterinq companies will have prepared many of the meals you eat on board. For obvious health and safety (and now security) reasons, as well as for...

Strong bond: embrace the spirit of Ian Fleming's most famous creation at the sublime Goldeneye resort.(Great escape Jamaica)
January 1, 2005... Relax man," said Ramsey Dacosta, giving me the first ingredient of the commander's secret recipe for a happy life. "Eat a little red meat but more fish, swim, fish and keep sin in moderation--and at a long distance from your wife." Now...