Air Serbia inks lounge deal with Qatar Airways, Flydubai

GLOBAL AVIATION NEWS

Doha becomes Middle East’s busiest

In the battle to be the pre-eminent travel hub in the Middle East, the latest research from ForwardKeys has revealed that Doha seized and consolidated a lead over Dubai in the first half of 2021. In the period January 1 -June 30, the volume of air tickets issued for travel via Doha was 18% higher than it was through Dubai; and that relationship looks set to continue. Current bookings for the second half of the year through Doha are 17% higher than through Dubai. At the start of the year, air traffic through Doha was at 77% of Dubai; but it quickly reached 100% for the first time during the week commencing January 27. The major factor driving the trend was the lifting, of the blockade of flights to and from Qatar this January, which was imposed in June 2017 by Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who accused Qatar of sponsoring terrorism - an accusation it strongly denies. Since January, five routes were restored by Qatar Airways in the region and new routes launched further afield. Olivier Ponti, Vice President of insights at ForwardKeys, said, “Without the blockade, which encouraged the establishment of new routes as a strategy to replace lost traffic, perhaps we would not have seen Doha charging past Dubai. So, it seems that the seeds of Doha’s relative success were, ironically, sown by the adverse actions of its neighbours. However, one needs to bear in mind that flights through the Middle East during first half of 2021 were still 81 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. So, as the recovery gathers pace, the picture could change significantly”. The last major factor, which has given Qatar an edge over Dubai, has been its reaction to the pandemic. During the height of the Covid-19 crisis, many routes in and out of Doha remained operational, with the result that Doha became a major hub for repatriation flights - most notably to Johannesburg and Montreal.
Source: Breaking Travel News

Air Serbia inks lounge deal with Qatar Airways, Flydubai

NEWS FLASH

Air Serbia has inked an agreement with Qatar Airways and Flydubai which enables the latter’s business class passengers to use the Serbian carrier’s Premium Lounge at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. The two have so far used Belgrade Airport’s Business Club lounge, which is currently closed. In addition, the Air Serbia Premium lounge can also be used by the national carrier’s corporate card members, business class passengers and those who purchased an Economy Comfort ticket. Air Serbia has also entered into a partnership with Collinson, the company behind Priority Pass, LoungeKey and Lounge Pass, which will enable those using these programs to access the Air Serbia Premium Lounge as of April 12. “We believe that a greater number of passengers and an expanded offer will contribute to Air Serbia’s improved positioning on the global map of premium lounges”, the airline’s General Manager for Commercial and Strategy, Jiri Marek, said.

Air Serbia’s Premium Lounge represents the first airline-specific lounge in Serbia. Since its opening in September 2015, it has been visited by 125.500 passengers. As of November 2016, the lounge has been open for travellers flying out on select airlines from Belgrade, and as of May 2017, entry to the Premium Lounge is offered as a part of Air Serbia’s ancillary services. The lounge has a capacity to seat eighty people, and offers a-la-carte and buffet dining, bar, showers, bathrooms, prayer room, USB ports and a meeting area.

Comments

Anonymous13:55
Furter flyaway from Etihad.
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Vlad19:16
Very, very good news for Priority Pass customers.
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