Aviation Saudia signs Airbus deal for up to 20 wide-body aircraft Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s national airline, has finalised a new agreement with European manufacturer Airbus to buy up to 20 new wide-body A330neo aircraft. Of these, 10 are firm orders for Flyadeal, the group’s budget airline, the carrier said in a statement. The delivery of these aircraft is set to start in 2027, with the last […] April 24, 2025
Aviation Dubai jet leaser wins $282m settlement in Russian case Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE), the Middle East’s largest aviation leasing company, has received a $282 million cash settlement from unnamed insurers for aircraft leased to Russian Federation carriers. This latest payment brings DAE’s total insurance recovery to $601 million. With this settlement DAE and its partners have resolved all claims against the involved insurance and […] April 24, 2025
Opinion Industry Everyone’s losing sleep over tariffs – except Gulf car buyers The majority of our new (and used) vehicles arrive on ships from Asia, Europe and China April 22, 2025
Aviation Syrian Air restarts flights to Dubai and Sharjah Syria’s flag carrier, Syrian Air, will resume direct flights to Dubai and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, the airline said in a Facebook post. All flights between Syria and the UAE had been suspended in January after Islamist-led rebels toppled the country’s former leader, Bashar al-Assad, in December last year. The announcement […] April 18, 2025
Exclusive Aviation China ‘unlikely to overthrow Boeing-Airbus duopoly’ China’s state-owned planemaker, Comac (Commercial Aircraft Corp of China), is decades away from breaking up the global dominance of Boeing and Airbus, according to the head of the world’s largest airline trade association. The result will be that Gulf Arab carriers such as Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways have little choice but to stomach […] April 18, 2025
Analysis Transport Mena business travel surged before tariff storm hit The number of business travel trips booked in the Mena region increased by more than 50 percent in the first quarter of 2025. However, the onset of a trade war and a projected slowdown in economic growth may temper performance for the foreseeable future, according to travel experts. Business travel company Tamodo said it expected […] April 17, 2025
Exclusive Aviation IATA chief: Boeing and Airbus woes are a win for jet leasing Aircraft leasing companies in the Arabian Gulf are profiting from prolonged delivery delays at aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus, with order backlogs at the manufacturers unlikely to clear before the end of the decade. “These [aircraft leasing] guys are in a fantastic position because they have a fantastic fleet of aircraft,” Willie Walsh, director general […] April 16, 2025
Transport 2026 launch on track for Lucid’s midsize electric SUVs EV maker Lucid is on track to launch its midsize electric SUV in 2026, as it looks to tap an increasingly competitive segment dominated by rival Tesla’s bestselling Model Y crossover. “There are a lot of crazy things going on in the world that can affect that [timeline]. But currently we are on track,” said Lucid […] April 16, 2025
Aviation Kuwait’s Agility buys major US aviation support firm for $305m Agility Public Warehousing Company of Kuwait is buying the American company G2 Secure Staff, one of the world’s largest aviation service providers, for $305 million. G2 provides aviation support services to almost all major airlines in the US in more than 70 US airports, including ground handling, cabin cleaning and passenger assistance The company was […] April 15, 2025
Aviation Emirates SkyCargo bullish on US despite tariff turbulence Emirates SkyCargo has said it remains fully committed to the North American market despite escalating trade tensions and uncertainty sparked by Donald Trump’s tariffs. The cargo division of Dubai’s state-owned airline Emirates operates freighter services to cities such as Chicago and Houston. It also uses the belly-hold capacity of passenger aircraft to transport goods in […] April 15, 2025
Food & Drink UK company enters Dubai’s crowded rapid-delivery market Despite the congestion – in the market and on the streets of the UAE’s most populous city – yet another competitor, UK company Zapp, is entering Dubai’s rapid-delivery market. This is evidence there is still room for growth, analysts say. Zapp focuses on rapid grocery deliveries from its own so-called dark stores. A dark store is […] April 15, 2025
Analysis Logistics Fujairah’s grand plan could fall victim to tariff shock The emirate of Fujairah’s plans to expand its storage facilities and develop cleaner fuels and petrochemical production may be delayed as a result of the impact of tariff-led global trade tensions, according to a local authority. After Singapore and Rotterdam, Fujairah is the largest so-called “bunkering”, or ship-fuelling, port. It lies almost immediately outside the […] April 15, 2025
Analysis Transport Tesla trumpets Saudi launch but China is waiting Tesla’s well-publicised launch event in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, last week attracted a large and boisterous crowd. But the competition is stiff, especially from the Chinese, now the world’s largest maker of EVs, and the charging infrastructure for electric-powered vehicles in the world’s second-largest oil producer is still lacking. Saudi Arabia wants 30 percent of […] April 14, 2025
Aviation Saudi Arabia invites bids for charter airline Saudi Arabia’s aviation regulator is inviting bids to set up a national charter airline. The General Authority of Civil Aviation opened the bid process on April 13 and has set a submission deadline of May 21, it said in a statement. All the bids will be opened on May 22. In February the regulator announced […] April 14, 2025
Logistics Outbound containers drive bumper March for Saudi ports A significant increase in the number of exported containers from Saudi Arabia helped drive a spike in volumes for ports across the country, according to the Saudi Ports Authority (Mawani). Exported containers rose 32 percent in March compared with the previous year. 280,341 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a common industry measurement, were exported compared to […] April 14, 2025
Logistics Morocco seeks operator for Africa’s largest shipyard Morocco is seeking global companies or consortiums to run what it says will be Africa’s largest shipyard in Casablanca, according to a news report. State-owned National Ports Agency issued a tender last week, inviting bids from shipyard operators to develop, equip and operate the 52-acre facility for 30 years, Bloomberg reported citing communications director Abdellatif […] April 14, 2025
Aviation Etihad passenger volume up as fleet and destinations rise A growing fleet size and increased destinations have allowed Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways to expand passenger volume in the first quarter of 2025. Passenger numbers rose 16 percent to 5 million in the January to March period, compared to 4.3 million a year ago, according to data released by the state-backed airline. Antonoaldo Neves, CEO […] April 14, 2025
Infrastructure Egypt hires US company to modernise locomotives Egyptian National Railways has awarded three contracts worth more than $235 million to US company Progress Rail to modernise its rail locomotive fleet. The contracts include the modernisation of 1,000 diesel-electric locomotives valued at $185 million and a 15-year agreement to supply parts for 141 locomotives worth $42 million, the US Embassy in Egypt said […] April 14, 2025
Logistics Oman targets $5bn investment with port expansion Oman’s Sohar Port and Freezone is seeking to draw in billions of dollars in additional investment, as the first phase of the project nears full occupancy, according to a media report. The expansion will increase annual throughput to more than 2.5 million tonnes of cargo, over $5 billion in investment and an addition of 500 […] April 14, 2025
Logistics Emirates to squeeze more from fleet with parcel deliveries Emirates has launched a premium package delivery service to open up new streams of revenue from its existing fleet and compete with the likes of DHL and Fedex for a share of a market worth nearly $500 billion. “Just like passengers, packages will travel from origin to destination directly,” the airline said in a press […] April 11, 2025
Logistics DP World starts work on expanding Canada port terminal Dubai ports operator DP World has started construction on the Duke Point Terminal expansion in western Canada, enhancing Vancouver Island’s connectivity and trade with international markets. Once completed, the terminal’s berth length will nearly double from 182m to 325m, while cargo handling capacity will expand to 280,000 twenty-foot equivalent units annually, the state-owned company said in […] April 8, 2025
Aviation Fuel price down but airlines fear fewer passengers While the lowest oil prices in four years may translate into lower jet fuel costs for airlines, slower economic growth in Europe and Asia could dampen international travel demand for Gulf carriers, analysts say. At Dubai’s Emirates, for example, jet fuel represented the company’s largest single cost in its fiscal year to March 31, 2024 […] April 8, 2025
