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Cathay Pacific flying high with daily Bahrain service [Gulf Daily News (Bahrain)](Gulf Daily News (Bahrain) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) CATHAY Pacific is flying high after resuming its daily service between Bahrain and Hong Kong earlier this year. Previously, it used to operate four flights a week. The frequency of Bahrain flights was increased to daily from March 14 which is almost a 40 per cent increase, said assistant manager online sales and marketing for Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Offline Middle East Syed Sohail Ali. The passenger uplift and revenue has followed the same growth. For the GCC as a whole, the airline notched an impressive 18.5pc increase in passenger traffic for the first two months of the year, ferrying 6,487 visitors to the former British colony. Hong Kongs flag carrier was one of the first airlines to fly into Bahrain nearly four decades ago when the kingdom was the hub of Middle East aviation. Cathay Pacific is committed to the Middle East and has a legacy of being one of the oldest south-east Asian airlines operating in this region, said online sales and marketing executive for Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Offline Middle East Hassan Qannati. With increasing air connectivity and visas on arrival for GCC nationals, Hong Kong is expecting a huge influx of tourists from the Middle East. And with Eid coming up, the airline is all geared up to handle the rise in passenger volume. Cathay Pacific offers one of the most convenient and comfortable flights from Bahrain to Hong Kong. It leaves Bahrain at 1.15pm and after a stopover in Dubai arrives in Hong Kong at 5.05am local time. Comfortable seats on the A330-300, good food, premium inflight entertainment options and excellent service make the long-haul endurable. The return flight leaves Hong Kong at 1.35am and arrives in Bahrain at 7.35am after a stopover in Dubai. On a recent media trip to Hong Kong, the airlines corporate communication manager international Thomas Lau and assistant corporate communication manager international Tracey Kwong showed journalists from Bahrain and Saudi Arabia around Cathay Pacific City, the carriers headquarters at Hong Kong International Airport on Lantau Island. The complex houses the airlines staff and includes a hotel, health club, museum, flight training centre and three office towers, as well as retail shops and a food court. Starting this month, Cathay Pacific began an operational evaluation of a revolutionary system that will see the use of innovative, full-time, global air-to-ground multi-channel data communications on its aircraft. It uses an eEnabled Aircraft programme, which involves integrating aircraft IT networks with ground systems and IT-infrastructure to enable new airline business processes or to improve existing ones. The programme, started on some generation of aircraft at the beginning of this month, will be evaluated over the next six months. If successful, the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department will grant operational approval for the technology to be used in place of paper documents on Cathay Pacific aircraft. (c) 2014 Al Hilal Publishing & Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |