Shaheen Air International

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Shaheen Air International is a Pakistani private airline based in Karachi. It operates scheduled services in the main cities of Pakistan and to the Persian Gulf countries. Its main base is Jinnah International Airport (KHI), Karachi, with a hub at Benazir Bhutto International Airport (ISB), Islamabad.

The airline was established and started operations in December 1993. It was formed as a project of the Shaheen Foundation, Pakistan Air Force. In October 1994 it was designated as the second national carrier of Pakistan and in February 1995 began international operations, with a scheduled service between Peshawar and Dubai. When the airline started it operated a fleet of leased Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft on most of its domestic flights. Shaheen Air International (SAI) was given the status of being the "second national airline of Pakistan" during the first couple of years of operation, however this status is no longer recognised.

In July 2004, the airline management was changed when it was taken over by TAWA International Inc. of Canada. The new chairman of Shaheen Air, Khalid M Sehbai has made a foreign direct investment in Shaheen Air with the objective of taking the airline back to its successful past.

Shaheen Air International is a private airline that provides passenger, cargo, and charter services. Its wings are spread to the major cities of Pakistan and Gulf by providing unmatched services to its valued customers. It was established in December 1993 and soon after its inception, on account of its professional service, exceptional performance, customer support and expertise in aviation, on October 25, 1994, it was accorded the status of 'Second National Carrier of Pakistan', by the Government of Pakistan.

Since June 2004, under the new management of TAWA International Inc. of Canada, Shaheen Air has been in a perpetual pursuit of excellence in operations and services by expanding its fleet, acquiring new routes and increasing its passenger base, with the sole objective of making it a leading customer focused regional and international airline. To be the best for customers and in the market place, the airline hires professional staff and trains them according to its corporate values.

At present, the airline is equipped with a fleet of seven self-owned Boeing 737 aircraft. Besides serving major domestic routes i.e Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar, Shaheen Air has also been operating flights to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Kuwait, Doha and Muscat from almost all the major international gateways of Pakistan.

Etihad Airways

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Established in 2003, Etihad Airways (Arabic: الإتحاد‎, ʼal-ʻitiħād) is the flag carrier airline of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Etihad is based in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.

'‘Etihad’' (Arabic for "united", "federation" or "union") is the Arabic abbreviation for الإمارات العربية المتحدة - United Arab Emirates. It operates services to the Middle East, Europe, Indian subcontinent, North America, Far East, Africa, and Oceania. Its main base is Abu Dhabi International Airport.^[1]

In 2008, it carried more than 6 million passengers, compared with 340,000 in its first full year of operations in 2004.

History

Etihad Airways was established as the national airline of the United Arab Emirates in July 2003 by a royal decree, issued by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It started with an initial paid-up capital of AED500 million. Services were launched with a ceremonial flight to Al Ain on November 5, 2003, and on November 12, 2003, Etihad started commercial operations with the launch of services to Beirut. In the months that followed, almost one new route was added per month. In 2008 Etihad carried more than 6 million passengers, compared to 4.6 million in 2007.

In June 2004 the airline flew the first direct flight from the UAE to Geneva followed by Brussels and Toronto in October 2005.

Oman Air

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Oman Air SAOC (Arabic: الطيران العماني‎) is the national airline of Oman. Based in Muscat, Oman it operates scheduled domestic and international passenger services, as well as providing local air taxi and charter flights. Its main base is Muscat International Airport, Muscat.

Oman Air is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.

History

The airline was established in 1981 and started operations in 1993. It was formed as the result of a merger of the former Gulf Air Light Aircraft division and Oman International Services, as Oman Aviation Services. The Omani government holds an 82.4% majority stake in the airline, while the remaining 17.6% is in the hands of other investors.^[1]

In March 2007, the Omani government recapitalised the airline, which saw the government increasing its stake in the airline from approximately 33% to 80%,^[2] It was also announced that Oman Air would be re-evaluating its strategic plans, with a possibility of entering the long-hual market^[2]. This culminated in the announcement by the government in May 2007 that it would be pulling out of Gulf Air, and would instead concentrate on developing Oman Air.^[3]

In March 2008, Oman Air announced that in June 2008, it would begin services to six cities, namely, Bangalore, Frankfurt, Kozhikode, Kuala Lumpur, Damascus and Sana'a.^[4]

Thai Airways International

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Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (Thai: การบินไทย) (SET: THAI) is the national air carrier of Thailand, operating out of Suvarnabhumi Airport, and is a founding member of the Star Alliance network. It is headquartered in Bangkok.^[2] The airline operates some of the longest non-stop commercial flights, including routes from Bangkok to Los Angeles. Skytrax awarded Thai Airways International 'Worlds Best Cabin Staff and The Best Airline in the World' in 2006, while placing second in the 'Airline of the Year' category in 2007.^[3]

Thai started as Thai Airways International, a joint venture with Scandinavian Airlines System (which initially held a 30% share), along with a domestic carrier, Thai Airways Company (Thai: เดินอากาศไทย). The carrier's first flight was on May 1, 1960. On April 1, 1977, the Thai government bought out the remaining 15% of SAS-owned shares. On April 1, 1988, the two carriers merged to form the present Thai Airways International.^[4]

Turkish Airlines

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THY - Turkish Airlines, Inc. (Turkish language Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı) is the national airline of Turkey based in Istanbul. It operates a network of scheduled services to 140 international and 35 domestic cities, serving a total of 155 airports, in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. The airline's main base is at Atatürk International Airport (IST), with secondary hubs at Esenboğa International Airport (ESB), and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW). In 2006, 2007 and 2008, THY carried 17 million, 19.7 million and 22.5 million passengers with total revenues of US$2.23, US$3.0 and US$4.5billion, respectively.^[3] The airline has around 12,000 employees. As of 1 April 2008, THY is an official member of Star Alliance.
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Destinations

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Turkish Airlines operates scheduled services to 34 airports in Turkey although 25 of them handle domestic flights only. Ankara is served with 106 flights per week, Izmir with nearly 100, Antalya with 65 and Adana with 55. Ten other domestic cities are served with double daily flights from Istanbul. Turkish Airlines is the leader in the domestic market together with its low-cost spin-off company AnadoluJet. The flag carrier's main rivals are Atlasjet, Onur Air, Pegasus and SunExpress.

The majority of Turkish Airlines international services are operated from Istanbul Ataturk Airport, and around 50 destinations can be reached within three hours. Turkish Airlines’ 107 international destinations are spread across nearly 70 countries. Routes across the North Atlantic serve New York City and Chicago. Major cities served in Asia include Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Mumbai, New Delhi, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore City and Tokyo.^[4]

Turkish Airlines may launch the following routes from Istanbul Atatürk Airport in 2009:

Qatar Airways

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Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C. (Arabic: القطرية‎) is the flag carrier airline of Qatar, based in Doha. It operates a hub and spoke network, linking over 80 international destinations. It is among the only six airlines awarded 5-star rating by Skytrax along with Kingfisher Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines.
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Cargo

Qatar Airways Cargo, the airlines freight branch, has ordered seven Boeing 777-F. The first Boeing 777-F will be delivered to the airline in 2009 to coincide with the opening of the New Doha International Airport, which will have freight facilities able to handle 750,000 tonnes of cargo per annum during its first development phase. The Boeing 777-F will be used primarily on Qatar Airways' Far East and European routes and will be supplemented by Airbus A300-600F freighters that operate on regional routes feeding the airline's hub. Meanwhile, a new destination, Zaragoza has been added to the cargo destination, the route is operated every Saturday using a Airbus A300-600RF, and the returning flight goes through via Dubai, increasing the capacity to the city to three times a week.^[9]

Gulf Air

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Gulf Air
(Arabic: طيران الخليج‎ Ṭayarān al-Ḫalīǧ) is the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain. The airline operates scheduled services to over 40 destinations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East and Far East. Its main base is Bahrain International Airport.^[1] The company's logo features a golden falcon.

The airline is not part of an airline alliance but is part of the oneworld global explorer fare. It has extensive codeshare services with other airlines and special partnerships with Jet Airways and Oman Air's Frequent Flyer Programs.

The airline is currently re-furbishing its fleet to industry standards, this includes betters seats and VOD systems.

The airline is known to spend more on aircraft maintenance than any other airline of its size.