Budget Airline Guide

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India’s SpiceJet to begin Dubai flights

By Budget Airline News

Indian low-cost airline SpiceJet has announced it will begin direct flights to Dubai, UAE. Flights will be available from June 25, 2012, with departures from Delhi or Mumbai.

SpiceJet will operate a daily round-trip flight for each of these two new routes. Dubai is SpiceJet’s third international destination after Kathmandu and Colombo. SpiceJet  has grown to be India”s second-largest budget carrier in terms of market share.

One-way fares start from 4,447 rupees ($81 USD) plus taxes and surcharges.

Flydubai expands to Romania & Macedonia

By Budget Airline News

Flydubai has announced new routes to Bucharest, Romania and Skopje, Macedonia. With these additions, the Middle Eastern budget airline now flies to 15 destinations in Central and Eastern Europe.

Flights from Dubai to Bucharest will commence on October 1, 2012, with three flights per week. Round-trip fares start from AED 2,140 / 440 Euro.

Flights from Dubai to Skopje will commence on October 18, 2012, with two flights per week. Round-trip fares start from AED 2,380 / 490 Euro.

In a statement, Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al Ghaith said: “Our two latest routes illustrate Flydubai’s commitment to expanding connectivity from the Middle East to new destinations that have historically been under-served. This offers more choice to our customers, increasing international travel options and avenues for trade. Furthermore, our base in Dubai provides the sizable Romanian and Macedonian expatriate populations around the globe with affordable links to their home nations.

As economies within Central and Eastern Europe gather momentum and destinations gain more prominence, the breadth of Flydubai’s reach within the region will be instrumental in promoting trade ties and encouraging travel.”

Flydubai already offers direct flights to Central and Eastern European cities including Baku (Azerbaijan), Belgrade (Serbia), Tblisi (Georgia), Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), and Kiev (Ukraine).

Air Arabia will begin flights to Taif, Saudi Arabia

By Budget Airline News

Air Arabia has announced it will soon offer direct flights from Sharjah, UAE to Taif, Saudi Arabia. The low-cost airline will launch the new route on June 2, 2012, and offer three round-trip flights per week.

Adel Ali, the CEO of the Air Arabia group, said: “Our new service to Taif validates our commitment to further support growth opportunities that the Saudi Arabian aviation sector offers. Given the strong economies and the commercial demand for air travel between the two countries, we are confident that the new service will offer our customers a new option for affordable air travel and a great connectivity to the wider MENA region.”

Flights between Sharjah and Taif will be available on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Out-bound flights will depart Sharjah International Airport at 12:15pm, arriving at Taif Airport at 2:05pm. Return flights will depart Taif Airport at 2:45pm, arriving in Sharjah at 6:30pm.

New MMA Airlines to launch in May 2012

By Budget Airline News

A new low-cost carrier called MMA Airlines is planning to commence operations in May 2012. It will be based in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, and the inaugural flight will be to Karachi, Pakistan.

This new airline expected to launch in the first half of May and offer up to 10 flights every week from the UAE to Pakistan. After a few months, the airline plans to expand to India and other Asian countries.

MMA Airlines is backed by the MMA Group, one of the world’s leading on-line forex trading brokers, and has already obtained aviation licenses for Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai and two aircraft.

Visit http://www.mmaairline.com/ for more information.

Jazeera Airways introduces online check-in

By Budget Airline News

Low-cost airline Jazeera Airways has become the first airline in Kuwait to introduce online check-in. Passengers can now check-in using a computer or mobile device between 24 and 1 hour before their flight.

If they check-in online and print their boarding pass, Jazeera Airways passengers can skip the check-in desk and proceed directly to immigration. A quick baggage drop counter is available for passengers with checked luggage.

Visit http://www.jazeeraairways.com/WebCheckin/ for full details.

Bahrain Air to fly to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum)

By Budget Airline News

Bahrain Air has announced it will offer daily direct flights from Bahrain to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum), India. Service will commence on March 15, 2012.

Flights will depart from Bahrain at 9:25 PM and arrive at Thiruvananthapuram International airport at 4:15 AM. The return flight will depart Thiruvananthapuram at 5:00 AM and arrive at Bahrain International Airport at 7:30 AM.

Bahrain Air CEO, Richard Nuttall, was upbeat and stated “We look forward in boosting our route network to the Indian Sub Continent. Our customers have been telling us that they want Thiruvananthapuram in our network for many months now. This is another step in our route expansion process this year. We have several other destinations in mind, and these will be announced as and when market conditions and approvals allow.”

AirAsia eyes Middle East

By Budget Airline News

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes has revealed that the budget airline group is eying the Middle East as its next potential market.

Speaking at a press conference in Doha, Fernandes said “As a low cost carrier, we are into creating new markets. The key is to create really low fares which I think the Gulf hasn’t seen”. Fernandes was in Doha, Qatar, to mark the opening of the first Tune Hotel, an AirAsia franchise, in the Middle East.

AirAsia is also rumored to be considering flights between Doha and Kuala Lumpur.

“The beauty of our relationship (between Tune Hotels and Qatari partner Mohammad Al Saad) is anything is possible,” Fernandes stated.

Bahrain Air restarts service to Kuwait

By Budget Airline News

Starting January 26, 2012, Bahrain Air will resume scheduled flights to Kuwait. This route was temporarily suspended in February 2011.

Bahrain Air will operate 4 flights per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Flights will depart from Bahrain at 8:35 am and depart from Kuwait at 6:55 pm.

“We are delighted to be returning to Kuwait,” said Bahrain Air CEO Richard Nuttall, “Kuwait is an important destination in its own right and at the same time will also support our network beyond Bahrain with convenient connections especially to the Indian subcontinent and Khartoum. Further we will be adding non-stop flights between Kuwait and Beirut strengthening our presence and product in both markets.”

RAK Airways to fly to Nepal and Thailand

By Budget Airline News

RAK Airways, a low-cost carrier based in the United Arab Emirates, has announced new routes to Kathmandu, Nepal and Bangkok, Thailand.

Service to Kathmandu will begin February 15, 2012, with three weekly flights. Promotional round-trip fares start from AED899 (USD245).

Service to Bangkok will begin June 1, 2012, with four weekly flights. Promotional round-trip fares start from AED1800 (USD490).

These new routes bring RAK Airways’ total number of destinations to 12.

Flydubai commences flights to Baghdad

By Budget Airline News

Flydubai, Dubai’s pioneering low cost airline, added to its expanding network with the start of flights to Baghdad, Iraq.

The inaugural flight FZ215 took off from Dubai Terminal 2 at 1355hrs on Tuesday, January 17, 2012, landing at Baghdad International Airport at 1545hrs. In addition to Arbil and Sulaimaniyah, the four-times weekly flight to Baghdad increases flydubai’s presence in Iraq to three cities. Flights to Najaf, flydubai’s fourth Iraqi point, will start on Sunday, January 29, 2012.

Flydubai CEO Ghaith Al-Ghaith said: “I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to the Iraqi authorities. Thanks to their strong support, flydubai now serves three major cities in Iraq, with another, Najaf, to follow later this month. Our new route will provide travelers between Baghdad and Dubai a quality, affordable option that will help to boost business and trade, and reinforce existing ties between the two countries.”