Lebanese Aviation Thread ✈ (MEA ~ Air Liban | Hariri Beirut International Airport)

[Jayme]

MEA offers its customers very luxurious services both on ground and on board, reflecting the Lebanese culture and hospitality.

about MEA
founded May 1945
Middle East Airlines is the national flag-carrier airline of Lebanon, based in Beirut. It operates scheduled international services in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. It is based at Rafic Hariri International Airport.Middle East Airlines (MEA) is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization and the International Air Transport Association.

History in brief
In 1945, Middle East Airlines was established and launched its first service from Beirut to the neighboring cities of Syria, Cyprus, Egypt then Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other destinations in the Gulf. In 1963, after the merger with Air Liban, MEA added new European, Middle Eastern and West African destinations to its worldwide network.

Despite closure of Beirut International Airport during Lebanon’s civil war between 1975 and 1990, MEA managed to survive by leasing aircrafts and seconding staff to international airline companies. With the return to normality in 1990, MEA succeeded in reinstating service to all its previous destinations, strengthened and improved its network to Europe, Middle East and the Gulf.

MEA took delivery of its first owned Airbus A330 in June 2008, with its new livery bearing the colors of Lebanese flag, with its elegant style and comfort. A step of major significance was also made when the cornerstone of the Regional MEA Training Center was set at Rafik Hariri International Airport Beirut in December 2008.

MEA's profit improved to US $ 92 Million in 2008, despite the global financial meltdown. The airline carried 1,375,000 passengers. Along with the expansion of the fleet, plans were made for improved frequencies to existing destinations and for the resumption of flights to Berlin and Baghdad, a historically important destination .

MEA welcomed 2009 with the delivery of its first new A320 in January followed by the new A330 in February 2009. Which is the first MEA aircraft to carry a Lebanese registration, OD-MEA, since 30 years. The airline also took delivery of 2 additional Airbus A320s and 2 more A330s, the last A330 was delivered in May 2009.

On the 5th of December, 2009 Middle East Airlines (MEA) general assembly unanimously re-elected Mr. Mohamad El-Hout as Chairman of the national carrier for another three years.

Travel Class: Cedar Class|Economy class

Destinations: 28 ( 24 Full time Desinations and 4 Seasonal Desinations)

Europe: Larnaca, Paris, London, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan, Athens, Geneva, Istanbul, Berlin, Nice, Copenhagen

The Gulf: Jeddah, Riyadh, Dhahran, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Kuwait, Doha

Middle East: Amman, Baghdad, Cairo, Sharm el Sheikh

Africa: Abidjan, Lagos, Kano, Accra

Seasonal Desinations

MEA has considerd Khartoum and Moscow as possable new desinations.

Fleet

MEA has one of the most modern fleets in the world. Our all-new fleet gives you the world´s most sophisticated cabin and represents the ultimate operational efficiency, extended cabin space and increased flying range.
Large, modern and environmentally compatible - MEA fleet comprises aircraft of almost every size. Throughout, state-of-the-art technology is used.
A330-200
MEA has chosen a spacious layout for its A330, consisting of 44 seats in Cedar Class and 200 in Economy Class.

The A330-200 is powered by Rolls Royce Trent 772 engines each delivering 72,000 lb of thrust and offering one of the lowest operating costs. The aircraft tremendous operating efficiency is enhanced by voluminous under-floor holds.

A321-200
MEA has chosen a spacious layout for its A321, consisting of 31 seats in Cedar Class and 118 in Economy Class.

The A321 is powered by I.A.E. V2533 engines each delivering 33,000 lb of thrust and meeting the stringent noise requirements.

A320-200
MEA has chosen a spacious layout for its A320, consisting of 24 seats in Cedar Class and 102 in Economy Class.

The A320 is powered by I.A.E. V2533 engines each delivering 27,000 lb of thrust and meeting the stringent noise requirements.




Subsidiaries
Middle East Airlines (MEA) fully owns the following subsidiaries, although they are operated independently.

Middle East Airports Services (MEAS)
Operates and maintains Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport from cleaning the rest rooms in the terminal to de-rubberizing the runways.

Middle East Airlines Ground Handling (MEAG)
The dominant ground handling company in Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport handling nearly 80% of all customers. Recently launched fixed base operator services from the new General Aviation Terminal under the name Cedar Jet Center.

Mideast Aircraft Services Company (MASCO) The only fully-fledged aircraft maintenance provider in Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport specialized in maintaining Airbus aircraft. The company is PART 145 certified which allows it to carry maintenance on European registered aircraft. Main clients include Cyprus Airways.

CEO Mohammad El-Hout

IATA:ME

Code share agreements
Air France
Etihad Airways
Qatar Airways
Saudi Arabian Airlines
Tunisair
Yemenia
SNCF - French National Railways

MEA Internet Check-In

MEA has introduced a new and convenient option for its customers to check-in for their flights via the Internet.
24 to 2 hours prior to the check-in deadline of a flight, MEA passengers departing from Beirut, Paris or Larnaca can now select and secure their preferred seats online, and check-in for their flights from the comfort of their homes, hotels or offices, by logging on to www.mea.com.lb. MEA plans to gradually introduce this facility to other destinations across its network in the next few months.

Frequent flyer program: Cedar Miles

MEA website : www.mea.com.lb

Lebanese avaition History: http://wassch71.tripod.com/cedarjet1.html

MEA lounge: Cedar Lounge





Middle East Airlines training centre is currently under construction the training centre will conist of the following..

Available space for 4 full flight simulators (starting with an A320 full flight simulator, MFDT,

Cabin Crew Training (Cabin Simulator, Services Mock-up, Ditching and Ground Evacuation facilities)

Aircraft Maintenance Training (CBT, CPT, MFDT and others.)

Commercial Training (Planning, Marketing, Sales, Reservations, Customer Services. Ground Handling).

Information Technology Training

Auditorium (400 persons)

Library

Fully equipped Classrooms

Medical Clinic

Support facilities (Underground Parking for more than 1500 cars, Cafeteria)

[Jayme]

Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport is a vital facility that plays a major role in linking Lebanon with the outside world and enriches the business and touristic sectors of the economy. Therefore, its development will bring about a substantial increase in the number of tourists, particularly businessmen as well as attracting major airline companies and increasing transit traffic.

IATA: BEY
ICAO: OLBA

Passenger Terminal

The Airport consists on 23 gates.
The terminal consists of two wings joined together by the main terminal. The east wing, which opened in 1998, has gates 1-12 and the west wing, which opened in 2002, has gates 13-23. Gates 2 and 3 are dual jetway gates for large aircraft. Gates 4 and 22 are bus boarding gates. The terminal is capable of handling 6 million passengers.




Passenger services

Duty Free
The airport has a very extensive Duty Free section with a wide array of shops ranging from Lebanese souvenirs to perfumes. Most of the shops are located in the departure zone right after clearing passport control; however, there are a number of shops in the arrival zone as well.

The Beirut Duty Free today is basically introducing European travel retail strategies and solutions to the Middle East. The operation now has a revamped main duty free area, with a total retail space at the airport amounting now over 4,500 square meters, including two arrivals shops measuring a total of 460 square meters. All passengers purchases are exempt of V.A.T.



Cafes and restaurants
The airport recently opened a full service restaurant in the arrival zone called Akle as well as a cafe called Cafe Matik. In the departure zone on the 3rd level, a Japanese seafood bar called SALT was opened. In each of the wings, a cafe is located shortly after clearing customs. There are still plans to open more restaurants and cafes.

Airline ticket offices
Banks and ATMs
Postal service
Airline lounges
Internet access
Public telephones
Parking
Car Rental

Airport Services
Ground handling providers
The airport has two ground handling operators, Middle East Airlines Ground Handling (MEAG) and Lebanese Air Transport (LAT).

Aircraft maintenance providers
The airport is the homebase of MidEast Aircraft Services Company (MASCO), an aircraft maintenance provider that specializes in all kinds of maintenance for Airbus aircraft, particularly the A320 and A330 series of aircraft. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the national carrier, MEA.

Airline Lounge
The airport has two airline lounges located on the second level above the Duty Free area in the departure area. The largest lounge is MEA's Cedar Lounge which occupies half of the available lounge space. Most airlines serving Beirut simply choose to use the Cedar Lounge for their premium passenger which is the reason for the few airline lounges in the airport. The other lounge is the LAT Lounge operated by the ground

Airlines serving Beirut International Airport
-Aeroflot
-Air Algerie
-Air France
-Air Moroco
-Air Arabia
-Alitalia
-Armavia
-Bahrain Air
-Belavia
-BMI
-Bulgaria Air
-Cyprus Airways
-Czech Airlines
-Egypt air
-Emirates

-Ethiopian Airlines
-Etihad Airways
-Flying Carpet
-Fly Dubai
-Gulf Air
-Iran Air
-Iraqi Airways
-Jazeera Airways
-Kuwait Airways
-Lufthansa
-Malaysian
-Middle East Airlines
-Malev
-NAS

-Olympic Airways
-Oman Air
-Qatar Airways
-Royal Jordanian
-Saudi Arabian
-Tarom
-Tunis Air
-Turkish Airways
-UM Air
-Wataniya Airways
-Yemen Airways

Beirut Airport: www.beirutairport.gov.lb
Beirut Duty Free: www.beirutdutyfree.com

[asb63]

MEA: Old & New

[Jayme]

i like livery much better then the old one

[asb63]

It was kind of difficult to paint such liveries in old times

[Jayme]

have u ever traveld on MEA ?

[Beiruti]

Here's some more pics of MEA/Air Liban:

[asb63]

Originally Posted by Jayme001

have u ever traveld on MEA ?

No... I hope so one day soon

[Beiruti]

I have traveled on their flights many times, and believe me they are some of the most modern and comfortable I have ever been on.

[dhamoudi]

MEA has a new fleet of 6 owned Airbus A321s, and 3 leased A330 . In near future they plan for e fourth A330-200.
CEDAR JET- The best airline in the ME. The Lebanese ambassador to the world
Regards

[Kuwait4Ever]

No offense but that airline sucks ass

[Kuwait4Ever]

It's like one of the worst airlines in the middle east...

[nareg]

Originally Posted by Kuwait4Ever

No offense but that airline sucks ass
It's like one of the worst airlines in the middle east...

Could you please explain why didn't you like the airline? What criterion are you taking into consideration?

[Kuwait4Ever]

Originally Posted by naregkar

Could you please explain why didn't you like the airline? What criterion are you taking into consideration?

The last time I flew with it and that will be the LAST time I will ever fly with it,the aircraft sounded like it was about to fall apart plus many other things but I dont want to say all....

[Beiruti]

Kuwait4Ever, you cant make a ridiculous statement like and then not provide a good reason as to why... I truly think it is one of the best in the region, and there have been many professional reviews saying this as well. Either you are joking or you know nothing about airlines.

[Kuwait4Ever]

I dont know about it now but I flew with it like 5 or 6 years ago and it sucked,and there are better airlines than MEA in the middle east surely...Gulf Air,Emirates,Qatariya...

[Beiruti]

Heres some more pics:

[Kuwait4Ever]

I can't see any pictures.

[Nadini]

well i'll be on it in less then 15 hours lol so i'll tell you guys if it's good or bad

[Beiruti]

Originally Posted by Kuwait4Ever

I dont know about it now but I flew with it like 5 or 6 years ago and it sucked,and there are better airlines than MEA in the middle east surely...Gulf Air,Emirates,Qatariya...

Maybe back then it may not have been so great, but recently it has been great, pleasant relaxed flight, plenty of leg-room, and great service (not to mention hot flight attendants).