Middle East Archives - TravelSkills

Another Mideast carrier cuts U.S. service

June 14, 2017

Etihad will end its 777 flights from San Francisco to Abu Dhabi. (Photo: Peter Biaggi / SFO)

Could this be the latest impact of the U.S. “laptop ban” on non-stop flights from the Middle East? Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways said it will eliminate service to San Francisco effective October 29.

Etihad didn’t mention the laptop ban in its announcement, instead blaming the decision on lower-than-expected passenger levels and fares on the route. Earlier this year, Etihad had reduced frequencies on the SFO-Abu Dhabi route from daily to three flights a week.

Etihad’s presence at SFO got off to an inauspicious start. When it arrived in San Francisco in November of 2014, it used an older 777 borrowed from India’s Jet Airways, in which Etihad has partial ownership- this led to the nickname “Jetihad.” Back then we posted a TravelSkills Trip Report about a Jetihad flight which confirmed what many travelers feared- service that was not quite up to Etihad standards.

Eventually, it put one of its own 777s on the route.

Etihad said it will refund or rebook passengers booked on SFO flights after October 29, and that it will continue service on its other U.S. routes.

Emirates has cut back frequencies on several U.S. routes. (Image: Emirates)

Two months ago, Emirates said it planned to reduce its U.S. service this spring by 25 flights a week on routes from Dubai to Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Orlando and Ft. Lauderdale – although it did not eliminate any of those routes.

Emirates placed the blame on declining passenger demand, which it attributed to the laptop ban and on the Trump Administration’s efforts to ban travel from select Muslim-majority countries.

Every reduction in U.S. service by the Big Three Middle Eastern airlines (Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways) is expected to benefit Air India, since a considerable amount of U.S.-India traffic flows through the Gulf States on those carriers.

Air India’s first flight from New Delhi arrived at SFO in December 2015. (Image: Peter Biaggi)

Next month, Air India will launch new service between Delhi and Washington Dulles, and recent reports indicate it plans to start flying from Delhi to Los Angeles in September and possibly to Dallas/Ft. Worth later this year. The Indian carrier was reportedly encouraged to expand its U.S. presence by the success of its San Francisco-Delhi route.

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways – which has maintained an aggressive growth strategy for the U.S. – said in April that it is planning to add Doha-San Francisco service in 2018. It already flies to 14 U.S. cities. Qatar officials said the airline’s load factor on U.S. routes fell by only half a point since the laptop ban was imposed.

However, Qatar Airways announced those plans before encountering a crisis this month when several of its regional neighbors – including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates – broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar, banning its airline from flying into their airports or through their airspace.

Thoughts, please! Have you flown Etihad or Jetihad? What did you think?

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you.

Don’t miss out! Join the 185,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Global travelers shrug off political, terror concerns

June 7, 2017

No sign of a Trump Slump yet in international visitor arrivals to the U.S. (Image: Jim Glab)

The U.S. travel industry has been predicting a “Trump slump” – i.e., a drop-off in foreign visitors due to the Administration’s tougher entry policies – and terrorist events in Europe were also expected to inhibit international travel. But so far, none of that seems to be happening.

U.S. travel officials expected to see evidence of the so-called Trump slump starting in April, following the Administration’s attempts – subsequently thwarted by the courts – to ban arrivals from several Muslim-majority countries and to generally impose “extreme vetting” on foreign arrivals.

But the U.S. Travel Association (USTA) said this week that instead of dropping, the number of foreign visitors to the U.S. actually increased in April by 4 percent over the same month a year ago.

USTA president Roger Dow admitted that the organization is “surprised” by that increase, citing it as ”evidence of the U.S. travel sector’s remarkable resilience.” Still, he urged the Trump Administration to make it clear that foreign visitors are still welcome.

“Even though we’re encouraged by these strong figures, we’ll continue to urge the administration to more publicly send the message that while the U.S. is closed to terror, it remains open for business,” Dow said. “We should not take it for granted that this trend will sustain, and the 15.3 million American jobs that depend on travel are not worth putting at risk. A simple and clear welcome message will go a long way in that regard.”

That rise in international arrivals did not hold true in all markets. April arrivals from the U.K. were down 6 percent – and that was well before the latest flap between Trump and London’s mayor. The U.S. ban on in-cabin laptops on flights from the Middle East and North Africa is also likely hurting traveler numbers in those markets, as evidenced by Emirates’ recent decision to scale back flight frequencies to the U.S.

Terror events in Europe haven’t hurt tourism either. (Image: Jim Glab)

The travel industry news website Skift.com reported a similar finding from the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) – the leading global airline trade organization — this week in Cancun. Skift interviewed airline CEOs from Europe and Latin America and found no indications of a Trump slump in their traffic to the U.S.

Bloomberg News was also at the IATA conference, and its interviews with the chiefs of International Airlines Group (parent of British Airways and Iberia) and Lufthansa likewise found no evidence that that the latest terror attacks in Europe were having a negative impact on inbound traffic. Similar events in previous years were usually followed by a fall-off in visitors.

“It would be terrible if people start just considering that this is routine or normal, but we haven’t seen an impact on bookings,” IAG CEO Willie Walsh told Bloomberg News. “In the past, we would expect it to have some impact, but we haven’t seen anything.”

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you.

Don’t miss out! Join the 185,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

DHS: Prepare for laptop ban on Europe flights

May 9, 2017

Middle Eastern carriers are offering loaner laptops to premium passengers. (Image: Qatar Airways)

Reports are spreading on the Internet that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security could be on the verge of announcing a broad expansion of its so-called “laptop ban,” extending it to U.S.-Europe routes. Meanwhile, another airline affected by the ban has started loaning laptops to its business class flyers.

The ban was introduced in late March, prohibiting U.S.-bound travelers on flights out of 10 Middle Eastern and African airports from bringing laptops and tablets into the passenger cabin. The U.K. adopted a similar ban shortly thereafter.

UPDATE: Thursday> US Airlines meeting with DHS about expanding the ban. (Reuters)

UPDATE: Tuesday> U.S. officials have told airlines to “be prepared” for an expanded ban on carry-on electronic devices allowed on airplanes (Fox News, Bloomberg)

According to CBS News, the U.S. is said to be considering an expansion of the ban to include flights coming to the U.S. from continental Europe and possibly the U.K. Not good news as we enter the peak season for transatlantic flying.

“Government officials have been meeting with U.S. airlines on a nearly weekly basis and intend to do so again later this week. Officials say a decision could come in the next few weeks,” CBS said. CBS got a non-answer from the Transportation Security Administration saying that it has made no decisions on extending the ban, but adding that it is “continuously reassessing security directives based on intelligence” and will make changes if it considers them necessary.

If a ban is indeed coming, perhaps the DHS is giving airlines some time to prepare for such a hit to their operations.

A laptop ban on flights from Europe would obviously pose a major problem for the business travel community, since laptops and tablets – anything larger than a smartphone – would have to be stowed in the hold with the passenger’s luggage (if he or she checked any).

Introducing our complimentary laptop service to US and UK bound Business Class guests who hand over their devices at the boarding gate. pic.twitter.com/aN3vcloggT
— Turkish Airlines (@TurkishAirlines) May 5, 2017

Middle Eastern carriers affected by the initial ban have struggled to keep U.S.-bound business travelers by introducing new services like the option of gate-checking your laptop and picking it up at the destination. They have also started offering loaner devices to business and first class travelers for use during their flight; Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates all started doing so more than a month ago.

This week Turkish Airlines has started a similar loaner program for U.S.-bound business class flyers; it will extend the offer to U.K.-bound flights on May 12.

Maybe you don’t want to be traveling internationally with electronic devices these days anyway– read this post to find out why

Despite those programs, Middle Eastern airlines are taking a hit in bookings. Emirates announced a few weeks ago that it is cutting flight frequencies on five U.S. routes.

If many travelers are booking themselves from the Middle East to the U.S. via connections in Europe to avoid the laptop ban, what will they do if it is expanded? Canada does not currently impose a laptop ban… would it make sense for Americans to travel to/from Europe via Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal?

Readers: What would you do if the U.S. bans laptops and tablets from the passenger cabins of U.S.-bound flights from Europe?

Interesting: Here’s what started these rumors flying– a tweet from a brainy 20-year-old aviation enthusiast from the UK. In comments he states that the announcement could come from the White House by this Friday.

Breaking: The air travel #ElectronicsBan is preparing to be extended to ALL flights from Europe to USA, coming into effect in a few weeks.
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) May 8, 2017

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you.

Don’t miss out! Join the 185,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

DHS warning: Laptop ban could be expanded

April 5, 2017

DHS/TSA could expand its crackdown on in-flight electronic devices. (Image: TSA)

The Department of Homeland Security could soon expand its so-called “laptop ban” to flights from additional airports.

The controversial order imposed by the U.S. last month prohibits passengers on non-stop flights to the U.S. from 10 airports in eight Middle Eastern and African nations from carrying anything larger than a smartphone into the cabin; laptops and tablets must go into checked luggage.

According to CNN, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told a Senate panel this week: “We may take measures in the not-too-distant future to expand the number of airports” covered by the ban. Kelly did not say where those airports might be.

Qatar Airways is offering loaner laptops to premium passengers. (Image: Qatar Airways)

Kelly said the laptop ban currently in place is based on “a real threat.” Some recent reports indicated that terrorist groups are working on ways to hide explosives in electronic devices. Kelly told the Senate committee that there are “dozens of (terrorist) cells…talking about aviation,” and the laptop ban is an effort to keep one step ahead of them.

CNN said it also learned that some flights arriving from airports covered by the laptop ban are being targeted by the TSA for special inspections after they land in the U.S., using bomb-sniffing dogs and other techniques.

Some Middle Eastern carriers have devised new strategies to adapt to the ban, like offering premium passengers on their U.S. flights loaner laptops and tablets, free in-flight Internet, gate-checking of electronic devices and so on. Emirates joined that group this week, announcing that it would provide business and first class passengers on its U.S. flights from Dubai with Microsoft Surface tablets equipped with Microsoft Office 2016.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

Don’t miss out! Join the 200,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Working around the laptop ban

April 1, 2017

Qatar Airways is offering loaner laptops to premium passengers. (Image: Qatar Airways)

If you can’t bring your own laptop or tablet into the cabin for a very long flight, would you accept a loaner?

That’s the strategy some carriers are adopting in the wake of the so-called “laptop ban” imposed by the U.S. and U.K. governments on non-stop flights from several airports in the Middle East and Africa. The ban bars passengers from carrying any electronic device larger than a smartphone into the passenger cabin.

First, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad decided to offer loaner iPads and free Wi-Fi starting April 2 for first class and business class passengers on flights to its six U.S. gateways.

Qatar Airways then went a step further, buying up a supply of loaner laptops that will be made available on the aircraft to U.S.-bound business class passengers starting next week. “Customers will be able to download their work on to a USB before stepping on board to pick up where they left off,” the airline said. Qatar is also offering all passengers one hour of free in-flight Wi-Fi on U.S.-bound flights, or a special rate of $5 for a connection for the full duration of the flight.

Emirates’ president said that his carrier is also considering the use of loaner laptops for premium passengers.

Turkish Airlines and others will let customers check devices at the gate. (Photo: San Francisco International Airport)

Both Qatar and Emirates are letting U.S.-bound passengers keep using their tablets and laptops right up to boarding, so they don’t have to pack them in their checked luggage. Devices will be collected at the gate, flown in the hold, and returned at the destination. Turkish Airlines has also adopted procedures for checking electronic devices at the gate.

The affected airlines are not alone in worrying about the impact that the ban could have on their business. The International Air Transport Association – the leading trade organization for the world’s airlines – called on governments “to urgently find alternatives” to the device ban. The group said the ban seemed misguided and poorly conceived.

“The current measures are not an acceptable long-term solution to whatever threat they are trying to mitigate. Even in the short term it is difficult to understand their effectiveness. And the commercial distortions they create are severe,” said IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac.

“With the measures now in place, our passengers and member airlines are asking valid questions. Why don’t the US and the UK have a common list of airports? How can laptops be secure in the cabin on some flights and not others, including flights departing from the same airport? And surely there must be a way to screen electronic equipment effectively? The current situation is not acceptable and will not maintain the all-important confidence of the industry or of travelers. We must find a better way. And Governments must act quickly,” said de Juniac.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

Don’t miss out! Join the 200,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Emirates says Delta tantrum led to a six-hour flight delay

February 10, 2017

An Emirates 777 was delayed for six hours at Seattle during a search for a spare part. (Image: Emirates)

How much does Delta hate the Big Three Middle Eastern airlines? Apparently quite a bit, based on a new allegation from Emirates.

Last spring, Delta was so upset about Qatar Airways holding a special event in Atlanta’s historic Fox Theater that Delta canceled its sponsorship of the venue. And now Emirates is charging that an apparent snit by Delta officials caused a six-hour delay in an Emirates departure from Seattle to Dubai this week.

According to Bloomberg News, an Emirates 777 at Seattle had a mechanical problem that required the replacement of a minor part in its hydraulic system. Since Emirates has no significant maintenance presence at SEA, it looked to other airlines there for a replacement part and found one at Delta. This is said to be common practice among airlines regardless of their competitive relationships.

Bloomberg said Delta’s local engineering office provided the $300 part, and it was installed on the Emirates 777 – but Emirates said that a Delta official at Atlanta headquarters called and ordered Seattle employees to take back the part. A Delta spokesman told Bloomberg that the part in question was the only one of that type Delta had at Seattle, so it had to keep the part in case it needed it.

Emirates then had to scramble around to find the spare part somewhere else, and eventually located one Alaska Airlines, which is a code-sharing partner of the Dubai-based carrier. The result of the situation was a departure delay of almost six and a half hours for the Emirates flight.

Atlanta’s Fox Theater lost Delta’s sponsorship after Qatar Airways held a party there last year. (Image: Fox Theater)

Delta, American and United have been trying for many months to get the U.S. government to clamp down on Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways by restricting their access to U.S. markets. The U.S. carriers allege that their Middle Eastern rivals are unfairly subsidized by their governments.

The CEOs of United and Delta, along with other carrier chiefs, met with President Donald Trump this week (American’s CEO had a scheduling conflict) and raised the issue of unfair competition from the Gulf States airlines. But according to news coverage of the meeting, Trump reportedly declined to do anything to block the Middle Eastern airlines, citing their large purchases of U.S.-made aircraft and engines, as well as other investments in the U.S. by their governments.

ICYMI, see the 25 most recent TravelSkills posts right here

In the market for a new credit card? See our “Credit Card Deals” tab to shop around! It helps us help you.

Don’t miss out! Join the 200,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!

Alaska Air’s new partner + United trims Mideast + Lufthansa Denver + London

October 26, 2015

Alaska’s elites will get access to Emirates’ business class lounge at Dubai. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)

In international route news, Alaska Air takes on a new code-sharing partner; United will drop flights to Kuwait and Bahrain; Lufthansa adds a Denver route; British Airways will revive service to Gatwick and changes planes to Miami; and Austrian Airlines adds a U.S. route.

Alaska Airlines and Emirates have had a frequent flyer program partnership since 2012, with reciprocal mileage-earning and spending, but now they’re getting even closer. Subject to government approval, they plan to begin code-sharing that will enable travelers from 49 Alaska cities to connect seamlessly to Emirates’ twice-daily flights from Seattle to Dubai. The deal will put Emirates’ code onto as many as 300 Alaska flights a day (although the announcement says nothing about Alaska’s code going onto the Emirates flights). In addition, Alaska’s MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75 elites will be able to use Emirates business class lounges at Dubai, and will get priority boarding and check-in at Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dubai; and Emirates elites will be able to use Alaska’s Board Room lounges at four airports.

United Airlines is no longer taking reservations for travel on its very-long-haul flight from Washington Dulles to Kuwait and Bahrain after January 13, according to airlineroute.net. And it may not be a matter of insufficient traffic on the route. According to one popular blogger, United’s route termination may have been ordered by the Kuwaitis due to anger over U.S. anti-discrimination laws that will not allow airlines serving the U.S. to deny boarding to Israeli passport holders — something Kuwait Airlines reportedly did on a London-New York flight.

In addition to its existing daily service from Denver to Frankfurt, Lufthansa says it will begin flying from Denver to Munich five times a week effective May 11, 2016. The German carrier will use an A330-300 with first class, business class, premium economy and economy seating.

Gatwick Airport is about 30 mins south of Victoria Station (Image: Visit London)

British Airways and joint venture partner American have plenty of flights in the New York-London Heathrow market, but next spring BA plans to add a flight from New York JFK to London Gatwick as well, according to airlinerotue.net. Effective May 16, British Airways will use a 777-200ER to operate daily service on the JFK-LGW route, which it last served in 2009. In other news, British Airways has just started flying a big Airbus A380 super-jumbo on its London Heathrow-Miami route. The 469-passenger A380, with four classes of seating, will initially operate one of BA’s two daily Miami flights; the other will still use a 747.

Speaking of Miami, Austrian Airlines — a member of the Lufthansa Group — has added the Florida city as its newest U.S. gateway. The new Miami-Vienna flights, using a two-class 777, operate five days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

NOTE: Be sure to click here to see all recent TravelSkills posts about: Global Entry gets more global + New York’s lowest ranked hotels +Best/worst hotel programs for awards + More flat seats

Do you follow us on Twitter? It’s a great way to keep up with the latest news!

Please join the 100,000+ people who read TravelSkills every month! Sign up here for one email-per-day updates!