Airlines & airports From Nozha to Borg Al-Arab STARTING 1 June, Lufthansa moved its operations in Alexandria from Nozha Airport to Borg Al-Arab, a more modern facility providing greater comfort and faster check-in processes to passengers. Peter Emmerich, regional director of Lufthanza's Passenger Sales in Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen said that, "Lufthansa is now operating a total of 17 weekly flights between Germany and Egypt, including three early morning services connecting Alexandria to Frankfurt. These flights are timed to offer the Alexandria passengers a more effective access to connecting flights out of Germany to all over the world. These are part of an extensive flight network between Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners." Emmerich praised the Egyptian government's efforts to promote the country's travel and business sectors, which are key hard currency earners, by providing the infrastructures needed for growth. He described the Borg Al Arab Airport as a "good case in point since it is ideally located close to the booming industrial zone, as well as the northern coast with its lovely Mediterranean ambiance". He said that the newly-opened road to Borg Al-Arab has notably shortened the distance to downtown Alexandria. From there, passengers can be easily transferred to the airport. Strengthening the Cairo-Dubai connection ON 4 JULY, Emirates airlines strengthened its Cairo-Dubai connection by introducing an additional flight on Tuesdays. The extra flight will add to Emirates' already existing eight flights per week service between Cairo and Dubai. This will enhance its passenger and cargo capacity on the route. Emirates currently operates daily flights on all days, and on a double daily basis on Fridays. The additional service is operated by a Boeing 777-200 aircraft, one of the world's most technologically advanced aircraft designed to offer a high level of comfort and spaciousness. The aircraft's capacity will include 49 Business and 385 Economy class seats, in addition to 17 tonnes (maximum) of cargo capacity. "Travel between Cairo and Dubai is on the rise, and we have strongly felt the need to increase our capacity to cater to the increasing travel volumes," said Emirates' area manager, Egypt, Adil Al-Ghaith. In addition to Cairo, Emirates' passengers can also travel between Dubai and Egypt on any of its daily flights to and from Alexandria. Emirates. Services to the historical city started operating in May 2005. For more information log on to www.emirates.com BA new baggage policy STARTING this month of June, British Airways will introduce changes to its baggage policies in order to facilitate procedures for travellers, and reduce airport queues in line with the UK Department for Transport's recommendations and requirements. The new guidelines will mean changes to hand, checked and excess baggage allowances. BA is undertaking the changes as it prepares for the opening of Heathrow airport's Terminal 5 in March 2008. "We have created new policies which are easier to understand, and will reduce queuing time at airports. As a package, our new baggage allowances remain comparable to, or more generous than, our current policies and main competitors," said Martin George, British Airways' commercial director. On 5 July, changes to the amount of hand baggage that air travellers can carry on board BA aircraft will be introduced. Passengers will be able to carry one standard-sized bag, and one briefcase, laptop computer bag or the equivalent on all of the flights. The changes to the airline's free checked-in baggage allowances will consolidate two existing policies. These are based on the number of bags or total weight, and depend upon the route and class of travel. A single allowance system for checked-in baggage will be introduced starting 11 October. This will be based upon a set number of bags. The number of bags that can be checked-in will vary, depending on the class of travel and the route. The maximum weight for any checked bag will be reduced to 23kg, in compliance with health and safety recommendations. Customers who are travelling with infants will also benefit from a substantial increase in their checked-in baggage allowance. The free entitlement for infants will be one bag, weighing up to 23kg, in addition to a collapsible pushchair or buggy. BA is also standardising its excess baggage charges, also starting 11 October. Bags exceeding a customer's free checked-in baggage allowance will be charged at a fixed fee. The charges will apply to all customers, and will depend on the journey's length. In the majority of cases, the new charges will be less than those which are currently levied by the airline. The airline is also offering its customers the opportunity to pre-pay for their excess baggage online. Passengers who take advantage of the new scheme will benefit from a 20 per cent discount. Changes to the carriage of some sporting goods and pets will also be introduced starting 11 October. For more details, check with www.ba.com/baggagepolicy. Hotels & resorts Hot summer deals IT IS SUMMER time and most hotels and resorts are offering lucrative deals for holiday makers. Through Thomas Cook you can book four nights in Mirable resort in Sharm El-Sheikh for LE 1050 per person in a double room on an all inclusive basis. The offer is valid until the end of July. Until 13 July, you can have a double room for three nights in La Residence Soma Bay on the Red Sea for LE855 per person in a double room on half board basis. You can also spend three nights in Hurghada InterContinental on the Red Sea for LE645 per person in a double room on bed and breakfast basis. The offer is valid until mid July. In Dahab Coralia Beach in south Sinai you can book three nights for LE390 per person in a double room on half board basis. The offer is valid until the end of the month. For more information call Thomas Cook +202 696 5000. Centro: Rotana's new brand ROTANA Hotels has recently announced details of the launch of their exciting new brand of hotels, Centro. Conceived by Rotana Hotels and designed by LWD, the brand signals the start of a bold new genre of hospitality. Centro is developed to meet the demands of the new generation of travellers, who seeks both finesse and functionality at reasonable rates. "Business travel and accommodation for the budget conscious executive is an increasingly important market in the Middle East but remains grossly under-serviced. The Centro concept is specifically designed to cater to this rapidly expanding market. Appealing to large corporate entities, small and medium business owners, and even individual travellers, Centro is an " Essential Service" hotel brand. We are redefining the conventional concept of economical comfort and offering affordable superior class accommodation and hospitality," said Selim El Zyr, president of Rotana Hotels. "Our first Centro property will open within two years and we have a five year plan to open 25 properties across the Middle East. And as the name suggests, the location of choice for a Centro property is at the heart of a business or commercial district, primarily in the major cities across the region," said Nasser Al-Nowais, chairman of Rotana Hotels. Egypt's super brand THE WORLD- RENOWNED Super Brand Organisation recently recognised the Red Sea resort of El-Gouna as Egypt's super brand for 2006. The Super Brand Organisation is an independent authority and arbiter of branding excellence. It councils currently operates in a large number of countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. These include the UK, the USA, Australia, and the Netherlands. Other countries hosting superbrand councils are Ireland, France, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland and Germany. In Asia, the, the councils operate in Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Malaysia. In the Middle East superbrand councils are located in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iberotel new appointments EDGAR Solenthaler, regional general manager of the Iberotel and Sol Y Mar Hotels and Resorts appointed Lamia Assem as regional communications manager for Iberotel and Sol Y Mar Hotels & Resorts. Assem who has over 12 years' hotelerie experience has held positions with InterContinental, Sheraton, Hyatt and Le Meridien. Reviving tourism in Alexandria The ALEXANDRIA Hotel Chamber headed by its president Wassim Mohieddin, recently held a meeting at the Sheraton Montazah Hotel. Tourist officials and members of the chamber attended including hotel managers. Increasing the flow of tourists to the Mediterranean City was discussed, in addition to upgrading transportation mans. The chamber also addressed the Lighthouse revival project, as well as increasing locals residents' awareness of tourism and the more effective participation in international tourist fairs. One topic viewed as particularly important by the chamber members was the training of hotel employees, so as to become more educated and knowledgeable. Official tour in Mena Ville A DELEGATION of Shura Council members, headed by Nabil Louqa Bebawy, conducted a tour in the Red Sea city of Safaga. This comes in the context with the council's attempts to solve local problems which obstruct the development of health tourism. Mena Ville was their main station. The resort is world- renowned for its unprecedented efforts in developing health tourism in Egypt, particularly in the healing of psoriasis and rheumatoid diseases. CEO of the village Tarek Adham received the delegation, and gave them a comprehensive briefing of the resort's achievements in the health tourism. Sheraton brand IN LINE with Starwood Hotels & Resorts' emphasis on branding and the specific services rendered by employees of each and every brand, Ibrahim Fahmy, the managing director of Starwood Hotels Egypt and general manager of Sheraton Cairo gave a training presentation to all Sheraton Cairo associates. The theme was the Sheraton Brand main perception. Fahmy said that Sheraton guests must enjoy a "warm, comforting and connecting experience. Sheraton associates in Egypt and worldwide should focus on delivering such experiences to their guests." Environment first IN AN INITIATIVE aimed at participating in a vital national community service, InterContinental Citystars Cairo recently formed an Environmental Committee. Its main task will be to devise and implement ideas that the hotel can embrace, to help protect the environment. First amongst its activities was the participation in International Environmental Day. Hotel staff gathered for a clean-up campaign of the hotel's premises. The committee intends to propagate energy and water conservation, the use of environment-friendly products, and noise and pollution control. Carvin Paris in Sharm El-Sheikh HILTON Sharm Dreams Resort recently hosted the world-renowned Carvin Paris Haute Couture defile. The show took place at the resort's beautifully landscaped gardens. Guests enjoyed the show, to the rhythm of Cuban music. Four Seasons food conference THE ANNUAL regional Four Seasons Food and Beverage Europe and Middle East conference was recently held at Four Seasons Nile Plaza. More than 45 Food and Beverage directors, executives and chefs from 20 Four Seasons properties attended. The conference which was held over a four-day period brought together senior decision-makers within the Food and Beverage departments. They shared and brainstormed new ideas and trends within the culinary field. Discussed as well were new food items and concepts, and how to enhance the overall dining experience for their guests. Events Cyprus rally countdown SEEKING the ultimate high-speed thrill of 2006? Look no further than this year's Cyprus Rally... Because the hottest motorsports event in the eastern Mediterranean has just kicked into overdrive! Set for 24 September, this innovative event will see the world's top drivers competing in the winding streets of Limassol. Taking in the picturesque seafront along with the town's mediaeval castle, old market, and many narrow and winding streets, the 3.5-kilometre Downtown Special (or DTS) promises to be both fast and unforgettable. A spectacular finale to this year's Cyprus Rally, the DTS will be broadcast live on Eurosport to over 100 million viewers worldwide, along with additional media coverage. Scheduled for 22-24 September of 2006, this year's Cyprus Rally promises to be yet another exciting test of man and machine, under the warm Mediterranean sun. With the Cyprus round of the WRC already one of the most popular events in the international rallying calendar, DTS promises to make the "holiday rally of the WRC" all the more attractive to visitors seeking to combine viewing a world-class motorsports event, with a holiday in the sun. For more information visit www.cyprusrally.org. News Egypt.travel EMECO Travel has organised recently the first electronic travel forum in the Arab region, the Mediterranean and North Africa in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism. In this forum, the new electronic domain .travel was launched for all travel and tourist sites on the Internet. And as big organizations use the domain .org and companies use .com or .net, TVs use .tv, today travel sites will use .travel. "About 170,000 travel companies and hotels all over the world are joining the new domain. The Egyptian Tourism Authority(ETA) is one of the first organisations in Egypt to join the new electronic domain under the address www.egypt.travel," said Elhamy El-Zayyat, CEO of Emeco Travel and ex-head of the Egyptian Federation of Tourist Chambers. He added that specialising a special domain for the travel sites all over the world has become of essential for e tourism that is expanding rapidly and is representing 23 per cent of the international travel trade. Egyptian-Greek cooperation THE GREEK Embassy in Egypt has recently organised a Greek night at the Hellenic Centre where a film on the attractions of Greece was displayed and delicious Greek food was served. The night was attended by Egyptian travel agencies and businessmen who are dealing with the Greek market. Greek Ambassador to Egypt Panyiotis Vlassopoulos said that the meeting is an opportunity to reactivate ties between Egypt and Greece and to encourage the tourist movement between the two countries.
