IRAQ | Aviation Sector

[dude01]

sheytan are you from Montreal btw?

[sheytanElKebir]

Originally Posted by dude01

sheytan are you from Montreal btw?

montreal? I'm from Baghdad! but work all over iraq and spend holidays in europe... never been to US/canada sorry.

[dude01]

Originally Posted by sheytanElKebir

montreal? I'm from Baghdad! but work all over iraq and spend holidays in europe... never been to US/canada sorry.

lol thats ok ..its because the link you posted is from a local newspaper (the gazette montreal) so i taught u were from here

[sheytanElKebir]

google has no boundaries

[BigDreamer]

Etihad launches flights to northern Iraq

Etihad operates two return services per week and the Erbil service follows the launch of the airline's flights to Baghdad in April, which quickly grew from three services per week to a daily service.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways' CEO, said: “Etihad is delighted to be the first UAE carrier to operate both Baghdad and Erbil. The response to our services to Iraq has been overwhelmingly positive and we are expecting a high volume of traffic on this new route.”

[Infestus]

very good, i hope more airlines will follow, from vienna you pay 1000€+ for a flight to baghdad(via istanbul)/erbil(direct) while every other destination in the middle east costs a maximum of 600€.

[BigDreamer]

Air Arabia expands flight network to Najaf, Iraq

Flights between the two cities will operate twice a week, starting from June 8, 2010. The addition of the new route means that Air Arabia serves 64 destinations from its hubs in the UAE, Morocco and its latest hub in Egypt, which began operations on June 1, 2010.

Sherif Attia, chief operating officer, Air Arabia, Sharjah, said: “Iraq has great potential as a destination for business and personal travellers, as well as long term growth potential for religious and cultural tourism. Air Arabia’s entry into the country will only boost such prospects.”

[BigDreamer]

I have few questions that I hope someone here is able to answer ...

Iraqi Airways was responsible for most of the air traffic over the country (probably close to 75% of traffic).
Now that Iraqi airways has suspended all of it's operations.. what will happen to the ticket prices? Which airlines will benefit the most from Iraqi Airways' demise?

Who will serve domestic flights? because all international airways serve direct flights to international cities..

am I the only one here who thinks that this will have a huge negative effect on the GDP growth for this year ?!

[sheytanElKebir]

iraqi airways is still flying.

[Partiya_Rast]

KRG and Germany inaugurate first Lufthansa flights to Erbil

Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq (KRG.org) – Iraqi and Kurdistan Region Ministers, diplomatic officials and the business community gathered on Tuesday to inaugurate Lufthansa’s first flights to Erbil International Airport, in the capital of the Kurdistan Region.

http://www.krg.org/articles/detail.a...=223&anr=34810

[Infestus]

The Austrian Airlines(owned by Lufthansa) is planing to add a Baghdad flight starting in the winter season. It doesn't say from where but i guess it
s from their hub in Vienna, since they are also flying to Erbil from there. It says they want to fly 4 or 5 days a week.

source: http://***************/1276413388054/...n-Ticketpreise (german)

[baghdad_sara]

Saudi civil aircraft in first flight to Iraq in 20 years

English


Arabic


The restoration of Iraq's civil aviation links took an important step forward this month, with the resumption of flights by Saudi company Alwafeer Air to the main southern city of Basra. It was the first such flight between the neighbouring countries since Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Two Alwafeer flights have since touched down in Baghdad.

[elusive]

Govt. gives thumbs up to Baghdad-London line
September 5, 2010 - 01:18:55

BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: The Iraqi transport ministry said it approved a proposal by a private sector firm to re-operate the Baghdad-London airway line after a 20-year hiatus, according to a ministry press release on Sunday.

“The ministry has given the green light to al-Nasser, a private sector company, to re-operate the airline linking Baghdad to London,” read the release as received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

“Members of the large Iraqi community in London received the news with joy as the line had stopped for more than 20 years,” the statement noted, adding Iraqis in London had to take more than one flight in order to reach Baghdad.

AmR (P)

[BigDreamer]

Lufthansa postpones Munich-to-Baghdad flights
Bloomberg Business Week - [9/10/2010]
German airliner Deutsche Lufthansa AG says it has postponed a scheduled Sept. 30 startup of a Munich-to-Baghdad route, citing a lack of customer interest.

Company spokesman Christoph Meier said Thursday that bookings "were far below the expectations." He said no new date had been set for the launch of the service.

The news is a blow for Iraq's hopes to reconnect Baghdad with international capitals since most Western airlines discontinued flights to Baghdad following the 1991 Gulf War.

Lufthansa resumed flights to the northern city of Erbil in April after a 20-year halt, and had said it was gearing up for flights to Baghdad four times a week.

Regional carriers fly in and out of Baghdad, but there are no direct flights to most of Europe.

--------------

not good...

[sheytanElKebir]

Iraqi airways is still flying.... I wonder when it finally stops operating?

[BigDreamer]

but Iraqi Airways doesn't fly to Europe anymore (with the exception of Istanbul)

[elusive]

Alitalia to resume flights to Baghdad

September 23, 2010 - 03:03:22
BAGHDAD / Aswat al-Iraq: Italy’s Alitalia Airlines presented a request to the Iraqi authorities to resume its flights to Iraq as a preliminary stage, according to a statement released on Thursday by the Transport Ministry.
“Alitalia presented their request to the Iraqi authorities to resume flights between Rome and Baghdad as a preliminary stage,” said the statement quoting the general director of the Iraqi Airline, Kafah Hassan, as saying.
“A delegation from Italy will pay an official visit to Baghdad in this regard,” he added.
SH (P)/SR

[makaay31]

France's Aigle Azur to Start Flights from Paris to Baghdad Next Month

French private carrier Aigle Azur is due to start flights to Baghdad next month, France’s ambassador to Iraq Boris Boillion said.

“Aigle Azur will start flights between Paris and Baghdad in October,” he said in a telephone interview from Baghdad.

Aigle Azur, the oldest private airline in France, flies about 1.6 million passengers to about 30 destinations mostly around the Mediterranean and in Africa, its website said.

The airline, the third in France, has a fleet of 11 Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft.

Iraq, which decided in May to dissolve the national carrier Iraqi Airways because of a legal battle with Kuwait Airways, is trying to attract international carriers in a bid to restore links with the outside world.

The country, holder of the world’s fourth largest oil reserves, is also eager to spur business activity as violence declines to the lowest levels since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that ousted the regime of Saddam Hussein.

[makaay31]

European Air Companies to start flights from and to Baghdad International Airport

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 11:30 GMT


Iraqi airways and Iraq Civil Aviation Authority said that a number of European and International airways submitted requests in order to start flights from their countries towards Iraq and Vice-Versa. Meanwhile, Iraq Civil Aviation Authority said that it controls all the facilities of Baghdad International Airport that were used by the US Forces. The Director of the Company Kifah Hassan Jabbar said that next month Lufthansa German Airlines will start flights from and to Baghdad and so will do the Italian Air Company Alitalia and Air France.

[baghdad_sara]

Finally some good news !