Rockwell Collins recently expanded its local presence in the Middle East region and appointed new leadership.
Although the company has a 20-year presence in the Middle East, it is expanding operations as part of its commitment to help strengthen the industrial capabilities of the regional defense and aerospace industry in this strategic market. Through its solid foundation in the Middle East, Rockwell Collins plans to accelerate its growth through partnerships and collaboration with regional entities.
“During 2017, we plan to double the business development team working out of our regional headquarters in Dubai and our offices in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi,” said Claude Alber, vice president and managing director, Europe, Middle East and Africa for Rockwell Collins.
As the new Managing Director for the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa, TalelKamel will be responsible for leading and developing the company’s commercial and government systems business interests in the region.
Kamel joined Rockwell Collins in 2013 as a Government Systems Principal Sales Account Manager for the company’s International and Service Solutions (I&SS) business. Over the years, he has contributed to the company’s growing presence in North Africa. Before joining Rockwell Collins, Kamel held positions at Airbus and at Strata in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where he has resided since 2007.
Additionally, Bernard Bouillaud has been named Sales Director for the Middle East and Africa. He will lead a new team of people dedicated to the defense market and based in the Middle East. Bouillaud joined Rockwell Collins in 1998 where he has held several positions in program management and business development. Most recently, he served as strategy director for the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa, based in Dubai.
“We’re fulfilling our strategy to strengthen and build new relationships in this region by putting the right resources where our customers need them,” Alber added. “We remain committed to better serving our customers and our partners by increasing our investment and growing our local presence.”
The Government of Sharjah has approved the US$400 million (Dh1.46b) budget for the expansion of Sharjah International Airport, according to MEED (Middle East Economic Digest), quoting Adel Abdullah Ali, Air Arabia’s Chief Executive Officer. According to the airline CEO, the expansion project is expected to begin this summer and will increase airport capacity from 8 to 18 million passengers a year.
A master plan for the expansion of the airport was submitted by American engineering firm Bechtel in 2013, recommending a new terminal, construction of new roads around the airport, plus additional services such as a new hotel and a shopping mall.
In 2014, Sharjah International Airport opened a new Dh500 million (US$ 136m) airport runway, significantly expanding the airport’s aircraft capacity. The new runway allows large and new-generation ICAO Code F aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and Boeings B747-8 Intercontinental and B747-8 freighter. The old runway now serves as a taxiway.
The airport handled 11 million passengers from January to December 2016, registering a 10% year-on-year increase on 2015. In January 2017, the airport handled 969,633 passengers, showing a 4% increase on January last year.
Sharjah International Airport’s growth has been driven by its strategic location, the success of Sharjah’s in-bound tourism industry and the expansion of Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia. The airport’s ideal location, close to Sharjah city, Dubai city and the main highways connecting the country’s seven emirates, has made it a convenient hub for both business and leisure travelers.
Dubai Airports organised the event to promote the adoption of clean technology and highlighted the potential positive impact of electric and hybrid vehicles in achieving energy efficiency and reducing carbon footprint. Wiebe Wakker, the Dutch campaigner is driving his electric car from the Netherlands to Australia as part of his project Plug Me In to promote sustainable ideas and popularise electric vehicles.
The event also raised awareness on the environmental benefits of cleaner technology among the thousands of passengers that pass through DXB by displaying 3 electric vehicles at DXB.
“Dubai Airports is committed to supporting Dubai’s vision to reduce carbon footprint and adopt cleaner technologies for an environmentally sustainable future. The green mobility initiative launched as part of the Dubai Plan 2021 identifies the deployment of electric and hybrid vehicles as a potential approach to achieving sustainability targets and help Dubai emerge as a smart integrated city. The green mobility event was aimed at creating awareness about and adding to the increasing popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles,” said Michael Ibbitson, Executive Vice President – Technology & Infrastructure at Dubai Airports.
“We are already helping to promote hybrid vehicles with two fully operational charging stations at DXB Terminals 1, 2 and at Dubai World Central while more stations are under planning,” he added.
Organised in line with the Green Mobility Initiative introduced by the Dubai Supreme Council of Energy (DSCE) to adapt cleaner technologies and reduce the dependence on fossil fuels, the event was supported by Dubai Electricity & Water Authority and Toyota Prius.
The overall Dubai target for the share of hybrid and EVs is at least 2 per cent penetration rate by 2020 and 10 per cent by 2030 of total vehicles registered in Dubai. This target is in line with international benchmarks and would result in estimated fuel savings of about 3 billion litres or 5 per cent of total consumption by 2030.
Qatar Airways recently announced it has leased the first of four A350 aircraft from LATAM, the South American airline, for terms of 6- to 12-months, in order to meet its operational plan for the year, as well as increasing customer demand.
The first of four A350 aircraft in LATAM livery and with LATAM seating configuration will begin revenue service on 2 March 2017, operating the Doha-Munich route. The aircraft will be piloted by Qatar Airways pilots and on-board service delivered by Qatar Airways cabin crew.
LATAM A350s feature 30 Business Class seats and 309 Economy Class seats, giving Qatar Airways the necessary capacity to meet growing demand. Qatar Airways-configured A350s offer 36 seats in Business Class and 247 seats in Economy Class.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said, “In order to meet growing demand for our services, Qatar Airways has entered into an agreement with LATAM Airlines Group to secure up to four A350 aircraft for up to one year. The A350, for which Qatar Airways was the global launch customer, is the most technologically advanced aircraft in the skies today. Thanks to our strong partnership with LATAM, we are able to meet increasing customer demand in the short term, in an innovative way.”
In addition to the leased LATAM A350 aircraft, this week Qatar Airways took delivery of its 14th A350, bringing the total operating fleet of A350s to 15 currently.
Qatar Airways and LATAM, both members of the oneworld alliance, also completed a business agreement in December 2016 whereby Qatar Airways Group took a 10 per cent stake in LATAM. Qatar Airways will begin service to Santiago, Chile in 2018, further expanding the opportunities to partner in the oneworld alliance.
An electric car that is on a 34,000 kilometre zero-emission road trip – from the Netherlands to Australia – and has been driven through 22 countries, stopped by at Dubai International to refuel and support Dubai Airports’ green mobility event on March 2.
Emirates is giving centre stage to its women employees on the upcoming occasion of International Women’s Day. Women make up close to 44% of the airline’s workforce and have been an integral part of the success story of Emirates over the last 31 years.
Emirates currently employs more than 29,000 women from over 150 nationalities. Women employed at Emirates come from diverse backgrounds and work across the entire spectrum of airline operations. Over 18,000 work as cabin crew, while the rest are represented across technical as well as in professional and leadership roles. Close to 2.5% of the total female staff occupy managerial positions in the airline, and women are also increasingly working and advancing in functions that were more traditionally represented by men. Over the past decade, the number of women employees at Emirates has increased in line with the airline’s growth. The proportion of women as part of the airline’s total workforce has also grown by 6% during the same period.
Abdulaziz Al Ali, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Emirates said, “Emirates is committed to providing equal opportunities at the workplace for both women and men across all business functions. We are proud of our women colleagues and their immense contribution to the growth and success of the airline. We hope that they can continue to inspire and be role models for girls and women across the globe interested in pursuing careers in aviation.”
From pilots to aircraft engineers, cargo supervisors to flight dispatchers
Emirates’ female cockpit crew come from 24 nationalities and are aged between 20 and 59 years, including pilot cadets. Watch Captain NevinDarwish from Egypt and First Officer Alia Al Muhairi from the UAE fly the iconic Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft from Dubai to Vienna. Captain Darwish is the first woman of Arab origin to have captained the Airbus A380. First Officer Al Muhairi, a UAE national, is currently the youngest Emirati female pilot operating the Emirates A380 aircraft.
In Emirates Engineering, women work as licensed aircraft engineers, mechanics, and technicians for aircraft maintenance and repairs. Women also work at critical positions in flight operations both on the ramp as operations managers, turnaround coordinators, aircraft loading supervisors and load controllers as well as in the operations centre as flight dispatchers and duty managers.
Etihad Airways has successfully implemented a new booking standard driven by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that enhances the level of information flow between travel agents and airline reservation systems.
The New Distribution Capability (NDC) booking standard has been made possible following successful testing by Etihad Airways with Sabre Airline Solutions in partnership with Sabre Travel Network, one of the largest global distribution systems. As a result, the airline has secured a Level 1 certification from IATA.
The certification paves the way for travel agents to have greater functionality with an improved shopping experience in the future that will enable them to access images of products, services and seat maps directly from Etihad Airways’ host reservation system.
IATA, which represents the interests of over 265 airlines worldwide, has been advocating a New Distribution Capability to modernise business and communication between carriers and the travel trade.
Under its NDC programme, IATA has been actively working with airlines, IT providers and travel agents worldwide to develop and adopt a new XML-based data transmission standard.
Justin Warby, Etihad Airways Vice President Digital Transformation and Innovation, said, “In line with Etihad Airways’ strategy to offer consumers greater travel options, the NDC standard will enhance the airline’s ability to create further tailored offers and communicate our award-winning product benefits more effectively to customers to best meet their travel needs.
“Using a standard format, this is an important enhancement as we continue to invest in the latest technology and digital platforms to improve the overall booking experience.”
Technology has made the world smaller and faster.Real time communication with people from all over the world at different time zones through phones and gadgets
