UAE Aviation News and Discussion Thread (Part 2)

[sesh101]

DPW seems to pretty much run the whole of Djibouti:

http://archive.gulfnews.com/indepth/.../10030329.html

DP World to build Dh1.1b Djibouti container facility

By Shakir Husain, Staff Reporter


Djibouti: DP World will build a new container terminal in Doraleh in Djibouti at a cost of Dh1.1 billion ($300 million).

Work will start on the container port, located 11 kilometres from the present one, in June, DP World officials told Gulf News.

With a capacity to handle 1.5 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) annually, the terminal will be DP World's second major investment in Djibouti, which sits at the mouth of the Red Sea.

The Dubai port operator has invested $35 million in a 1.5-kilometre jetty at Doraleh Oil Terminal that was inaugurated in February.

"The new container terminal will become operational in the second half of 2008. It will have a capacity to handle 1.5 million TEUs but there is enough land available for expansion," said David Hawker, general manager of the Port of Djibouti.

Djibouti hopes the new terminal will make it a transshipment hub for countries of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa).

"We are now talking with three shipping lines to come to Djibouti," he said.

The terminal will have eight Super Post-Panamax gantry cranes and will be able to handle giant container ships. It will have a quay length of 900 metres that can be extended to 1,200 metres.

DP World manages the Port of Djibouti, which is landlocked Ethiopia's main channel for trade. Ethiopian cargo accounts for about 80 per cent of the volume handled by the port. "We handle all of Ethiopia's sea cargo," said Abu Bakr Omar Hadi, the port's commercial director.

After the new terminal opens, the Djibouti port will convert two container berths and three oil berths into general cargo facilities, he said.

DP World is also involved in expanding facilities at Djibouti International Airport, which it manages, to increase sea-air cargo volumes.

A new free zone is also being developed around the container terminal, besides the ongoing expansion of the oil terminal.

The $150-million Horizon Djibouti Terminals Limited is built for storage and handling of petroleum products, chemicals, vegetable oils and liquefied petroleum gas. The first phase comprises 23 tanks with a total capacity of 240,000 cubic metres. Some of the storage facilities are exclusively used by tghe US and French navies.

Phase two is under way and the facility's capacity will reach 340,000 cubic metres by July. The third phase will see more capacity addition by the end of this year, Horizon general manager Alain Siozac said.


Dubai firm sails past US woes
By Leah Bower, Business Editor

Dubai: A harsh reception in the US has done little to slow down the newly-minted ports and shipping giant, said Mohammad Sharaf, CEO of DP World.

Despite being forced to sell its US assets after a public outcry politicians there claimed an Arab company running US ports was a security risk Sharaf said DP World was concentrating on booming emerging markets.

"[The controversy] has not interrupted us looking towards to US," he said. "But our focus areas are China and India. That doesn't mean the US is off our radar."

Although firm that the company won't sell the US ports it acquired though the purchase of British P&O at a loss, Sharaf said the controversy stemmed mainly from a lack of understanding about the Middle East.

"We may have been slow in communicating with the US people about us as a terminal operator," he said.

http://archive.gulfnews.com/indepth/.../10033417.html

Tender to be floated for India port work

By Shakir Husain, Staff Reporter


Dubai: DP World will soon float a tender for the design of its planned $450-million container terminal in Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

This will be followed soon by another tender for the project's main construction, DP World chief executive officer Mohammad Sharaf told Gulf News yesterday.

"We've completed borehole surveys. In a couple of months we'll issue a tender for design," he said.

DP World's investment in India is part of its $3-billion-plus spending plan that covers new container terminals at Yarimca in Turkey and Qingdao in China. It confirmed yesterday that it would invest $300 million in a container terminal in Djibouti as reported by Gulf News earlier.

The company signed an agreement with the Cochin Port Trust in February last year to build, develop and operate a container transshipment terminal at Vallarpadam in Kerala.

With India's foreign trade rising, the country is strategic to DP World's global port operations.

DP World handles about half of India's container throughput since acquiring Britain's Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O) last month. It has smoothly taken over P&O's business at Indian ports, Sharaf said.

He said there were no monopoly concerns or procedural issues related to the acquisition in India.

"I am not aware of any monopoly issues. I cannot respond to (mere) speculation," he said.

Reports from India last month spoke of DP World facing objections in the state of Gujarat over the concession terms that governed P&O's operations at Mundra International Container Terminal.

A labour organisation had also asked the federal government to prevent DP World's take-over of P&O terminals in the country on grounds the move would lead to a "monopoly" in the sector.

The seaport operator is also running Djibouti's international airport, but Sharaf ruled out the company seeking airport management business elsewhere.

"It is because of Dubai's relationship with Djibouti," he said of the rationale behind DP World managing the airport.

[metroreporter]

Air Arabia will fly to Karachi and Peshawar

Sharjah, 17 January, 2007 Air Arabia LLC announced the upcoming start of operations between Sharjah and Pakistan today. After talks were recently held in Abu Dhabi with both UAE and Pakistan authorities, Air Arabias project to fly to Pakistan was given a go ahead and will not fail to please the Pakistani community of the UAE.

Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohamad Al Thani Chairman of Air Arabia said We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the talks, we had a desire to operate to Pakistan for a very long time and it is a happy occasion to be able to announce that both the people in UAE and Pakistan will be able to benefit from using low fare travel between the two countries.

Air Arabia will fly daily to Pakistan, splitting operations between Karachi four days a week, and Peshawar three days a week. Flights schedule will soon be announced and will allow eager passengers to book and pay online by simply visiting www.airarabia.com.

Pakistan is the 21st country Air Arabia flies to raising its destinations portfolio to 34 destinations in three years of operations.

Current Air Arabia destinations include Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia (Syria); Alexandria, Assiut and Luxor (Egypt); Amman (Jordan); Astana and Almaty (Kazakhstan); Bahrain; Beirut (Lebanon); Colombo (Sri Lanka); Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh (KSA), Doha (Qatar); Istanbul (Turkey); Kabul (Afghanistan); Kathmandu (Nepal); Khartoum (Sudan); Kuwait; Karachi, Peshawar (Pakistan); Chennai, Jaipur, Kochi, Mumbai, Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram (India); Muscat (Oman); Sanaa (Yemen); Sharjah (UAE); Tehran (Iran) and Yerevan (Armenia).

[metroreporter]

this thread would do these pics justice

Emirates A380 flyover with Burj Al Arab in foreground:

Airbus A380 in full Emirates livery:



Air Arabia:



Etihad:




Emirates Boeing 777 cabin interior (economy class):



Etihad first class cabin interior:






photos courtesy of Airliners.net

[mahdial_x5]

HOLY SHIT GODAMNIT! I LOVE THE A345!! ESPECIALLY IN ETIHAD LIVERY
WOW look at that First class CABIN!

hey, do any of you UAE forumers FLIHGT SIM?
if so, i want to open up a thread?\

[guy_in_dubai]

etihad first class is too crowded. fly virgin upper class or emirates first class to nyc. now that is good.

[dubaiflo]

i agree that A340 first class is awesome.

[metroreporter]

Originally Posted by guy_in_dubai

etihad first class is too crowded. fly virgin upper class or emirates first class to nyc. now that is good.

Virgin? eww, yuck. they make you fly through LHR, which is the most annoying world-class city to fly via. C'mon, one hour upwards of security in busy summer months? pitiful.

[guy_in_dubai]

but when going to the us, that happens in every airport. dubai international ariport has its own special checkin for the dxb-jfk flights since everyone needs an extra check because of us security rules

[DUBAI]

You could always have no security.

and i think you are refering to a time with a specific security threat.

[metroreporter]

better than having your zam-zam holy water (stolen) by you for "security" reasons. heck, even US airports allow zam zam.

[mahdial_x5]

true say, i agreee fully on that statement
i HATE LHR i DETEST IT

DUBAI!

[DUBAI]

is zam zam a liquid>?

if so taking it as hand luggage is obviously not allowed

[metroreporter]

zam zam holy water, that i purposely drank in front of Heathrow's ridiculous security just to prove it was water

[metroreporter]

just thought i'd repost this news clip in this thread also (originally in DWC thread)

Dubai plans Mideast's tallest air traffic tower
Staff Report



Dubai: The Middle East's tallest air traffic control tower is being developed at the Dubai World Central airport in Jebel Ali.

"Construction of the Middle East's tallest air traffic control tower worth an estimated Dh143 million has begun at Dubai World Central, the urban aviation community taking shape at Jebel Ali in Dubai," a statement said.

Awarded to Arabtec/Max Bogl, a Dubai-German joint venture company, the project consists of a 91 metre high air traffic control tower and a technical block of 6,000 square metres which will house offices, operations, technical rooms, flight simulator and a meteor observation cabin.




"This will be a unique structure, the highest in the Middle East and an iconic landmark for the region's aviation industry," said Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates.

"Construction of the tower has started on site and once completed will be a magnificent sight. This will be one of the most technologically advanced units in the world, placing the Middle East in the forefront of global avionics development."

http://gulfnews.com/business/Aviation/10109058.html

[mahdial_x5]

here they go again...
always building the biggest, tallest, ect ect ect...


nevertheless, its good

[mahdial_x5]

but maan, ATC towers shoulndt be tall!! imagine a plane hitting one of them! they should be JUST the right size, in order to see on comming traffic and on the ground
somethings are better left unchnaged in universal height

[mahdial_x5]

TWO NEW PICTURES OF OMDB/DXB taken 2 days ago:
the new terminal under construction:

[Krazy]

Etihad aims for 2010 break-even

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, which started operations in 2003, said it expects to be profitable in four years amid a surge in air traffic demand in the region. “The next three years is consolidation and we are targeting 2010 to break-even,” Etihad Chief Executive James Hogan said.

[DUBAI]

what the hell is OMDB?

[sesh101]

Is the new terminal, terminal 3? How big is it in square feet? It looks a lot bigger than the 2 current terminals.