Competition is intensifying among UAE budget airlines to open up markets in former Soviet states.
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The carriers want to entice residents of those countries into the UAE's winter sunshine.
Air Arabia plans to start offering services to the Ukrainian cities of Kharkov and Donetsk early next month.
However, the Sharjah airline has been beaten to it by flydubai, which will start operations to both cities this week.
The Dubai airline said on Monday it would also begin offering services to Tbilisi, becoming the first UAE airline to offer direct flights to the Georgian capital.
"As Georgia's largest city as well as its industrial, social and cultural centre, Tbilisi is gaining prominence in the Middle East both as a business and leisure destination," said flydubai's chief executive, Ghaith Al Ghaith.
"Also, improving air links between Dubai to Central and Eastern Europe is of great strategic importance to us."
Both routes are being launched as the winter travel season approaches.
The UAE is an attractive location for visitors from Russia and other former Soviet countries seeking respite from plunging temperatures at home.
In addition, the UAE has more than 55,000 expatriates from Eastern and Central Europe.
Air Arabia's new routes will mean it provides eight flights a week between its base in Sharjah and Ukraine.
It already operates flights to Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. Ukraine had "strong economic and cultural ties" with the UAE and wider Gulf region, said Adel Ali, the chief executive of the airline.
Not be outdone, flydubai will start services to Kiev and Kharkov, Ukraine's second largest city, from tomorrow. On Saturday, the airline will begin service to Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine.
Despite a steady flow of tourists visiting the emirates every year from Eastern Europe, the region has been relatively underserved by UAE carriers.
Emirates Airline will start flights to St Petersburg on November 1, adding to its service to Moscow.
Etihad Airways flies to Moscow and Minsk in Belarus and uses a code-share agreement to fly to Kiev.
It also flies to Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan.
In addition to its new routes, flydubai operates five connections to cities in former Soviet states including Yerevan in Armenia, the Azeri capital of Baku, the Russian cities of Samara and Yekaterinburg, and the Turkmen capital Ashgabat.
Kiev was Air Arabia's first destination in the region. Ukraine is a particularly attractive destination for airlines as the country will next summer co-host the Uefa Euro football championship. As many as 1.1 million spectators attended the last tournament when it was held in 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
The increase in services to the region also reflects growing commercial links. From oil services to burgeoning financial industries, the UAE and the former Soviet bloc share similarities in business. The UAE has also been keen to assess opportunities in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan to meet its food security requirements.
"For the first time, the UAE was rated among the top 10 investors in the Russian economy last year," said Yury Molchanov, the vice governor of St Petersburg ahead of the launch of Emirates Airline's flights to the city.
"St Petersburg is an important gateway into Russia and a very active region for business, industry and culture. Its attractions and world heritage sites draw millions of tourists each year," said Richard Vaughan, Emirates Airline's divisional senior vice president for commercial operations worldwide.
[ tarnold@thenational.ae ]
Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
Turning waste into fuel
Average amount of biofuel produced at DIC factory every month: Approximately 106,000 litres
Amount of biofuel produced from 1 litre of used cooking oil: 920ml (92%)
Time required for one full cycle of production from used cooking oil to biofuel: One day
Energy requirements for one cycle of production from 1,000 litres of used cooking oil:
▪ Electricity - 1.1904 units
▪ Water- 31 litres
▪ Diesel – 26.275 litres
The biog
Name: Timothy Husband
Nationality: New Zealand
Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney
Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier
Favourite music: Billy Joel
Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia
