Oct. 30--FUEL COSTS CURB EMIRATES'S PROFITS: A senior official at Emirates Airlines said the carrier is likely to post little or no profit for the past six months due to high fuel costs, reported The National. Keith Longstaff, the divisional senior vice president of commercial operations worldwide at Emirates, said the carrier is not going to post a loss, but is not going to see too much of a profit, either. Last year the airline earned $1.37bn in net profits. The carrier's prospects are looking brighter because fuel prices have fallen dramatically, he added, but there is now concern that the global financial crisis could replace oil as the major challenge to airlines.

BA MOVES MOST ME FLIGHTS TO ITS TERMINAL 5: British Airways has moved most of its Middle East flights to Terminal 5, its new home in London Heathrow. Britain's flagship carrier operates 56 services weekly to the GCC. The airline's three daily Dubai flights were part of the remaining bundle of long-haul services to make the switch to Terminal 5, Britain's largest free-standing building. BA's daily services from Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait transferred to Terminal 5 on September 17.

EMIRATES EXPECTS STRONG DEMAND FOR DUBAI-LA LINK: Emirates said it expects an average of more than 80 percent passenger load factor for its new Dubai-Los Angeles route, reported Gulf News. The carrier launched the Middle East's first direct air link to the US west coast earlier this week. Keith Longstaff, Emirates Senior Vice-President, commercial operations, Europe, said currently the carrier has nearly 100 percent demand for first and business class on the route, while in the economy segment the average passenger load factor will be in excess of 80 percent.

SILVER AIR GETS OPERATOR'S CERTIFICATE IN UAE: Silver Air, a three-year-old charter operator, has received an Air Operator's Certificate from the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority, reported Gulf News. The AOC was attained in less than one year by the UAE carrier, which is owned by a group of prominent local businessmen. Silver Air has three aircraft in the fleet and plans to grow to a fleet of ten aircraft by 2010.

-----

To see more of AME Info, go to http://www.ameinfo.com.

Copyright (c) 2008, AME Info, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

BAY,

A service of YellowBrix, Inc.