www.gulfnews.com Jordan Aviation, a privately owned airline, will connect Dubai and Baghdad through its hub in Aqaba from June, company officials said.
"This [will be] our first scheduled flight to any destination and the beginning of our scheduled operations," said Captain Mohammad Khashman, president of Jordan Aviation.
The return economy class fare for the Dubai-Aqaba-Baghdad flight will be about Dh2,000, and the return fare on the Dubai-Aqaba leg will be Dh735.
Though the flying time between Aqaba and Baghdad is much less than between Dubai and Aqaba, the fare between Aqaba and Baghdad will be higher due to the insurance cost for flights to the Iraqi capital.
The new flight will give UAE businessmen an air link to the Iraqi capital from Dubai and help thousands of Iraqi expatriates to travel to their country.
"We have been operating charter operations all along and have handled about 70 per cent of United Nations charter flights moving people and aid," Khashman said.
"Following Dubai, we are planning to start operations to Baghdad out of Aqaba, which will be convenient to business travellers who fly from various destinations and reach Baghdad.
"This will create a new gateway to Baghdad for businessmen based in the UAE."
The airline has appointed Dubai-based Al Rais Travels as its sales agent in the UAE.
The airline will promote Aqaba, Petra and other tourist destinations with the help of Al Rais Travels.
It will also transport passengers overland to Amman.
Al Rais Travels, which is the sales agent for 13 international airlines, was the first private company to receive an Air Operations Certificate for cargo from the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority last year.
Subsequently, it launched cargo services from Dubai with a Boeing 727 aircraft.
A second aircraft will join its fleet this month, and a third will follow early next year.
"Ever since the launch of our cargo operations in November last year, they have been quite hectic moving cargo to Iraq, said Hussain Tehrani, general manager of Al Rais Travels, yesterday.
"Our only aircraft in the fleet operates two flights a day carrying essential cargo to Iraq."
Al Rais Travels has also announced the addition of China Southern Airlines to its growing portfolio.
China Southern, with a fleet of 240 aircraft, last year carried 40 million passengers to 330 destinations.
The airline plans to conduct daily flights to Dubai, up from its current frequency of three a week. |