Who owns middle east airlines

MEA has maintained a reputation for technical excellence, a relatively good safety record, and high customer service standards. Flight attendants are required to know three languages Arabic, English, and French.

An extensive restructuring program launched in the late s trimmed the workforce while restoring the fleet with new, fuel-efficient planes.

At the same time, deregulation opened Lebanon's skies to a slew of foreign carriers. MEA has appealed to customer loyalty through high standards rather than cut rates. Like many other carriers popping up after World War II, though controlled by local Moslems, it was initially dependent on technical expertise from the West, in this case advice and equipment from the British airline BOAC.

Salaam resigned in Sheikh Najib Alamuddin joined the airline as general manager in February , was elected chairman in , and remained on board until his retirement in He later published a book on his experiences called The Flying Sheikh.

MEA had employees at the end of , he wrote. Initial equipment included three s-vintage de Havilland DH. Within a few months the Rapides were replaced with a couple of Douglas DC-3s sourced from an air base in Cairo.

The planes were adorned with a logo of one of Lebanon's famous cedar trees. Pan Am was interested in MEA as a feeder airline. British-made turboprop-driven Viscounts upgraded the fleet beginning in late Important early destinations included Baghdad and Cairo.

Beirut was developing into a regional and global hub. In addition to becoming a tourist and trade center, Lebanon was exporting meat and produce by plane to countries in the Persian Gulf. MEA inaugurated service to London in June There were two other passenger airlines operating out of Beirut. Both, like MEA, had services to Europe. In addition, Saudia operates a frequent flyer program called Al Fursan Loyalty.

Airline Ranking Doha-based Qatar Airways represents another fleet size level compared to the previous ranks. Accordingly, Qatar Airways ranks as the second-biggest airline in the Middle East and the 17th biggest airline worldwide.

Airline Background Qatar Airways is the flag carrier of Qatar. Founded in , the airline today operates a fleet of aircraft. The airline has more than 50, employees and operates flights to destinations. Find out everything about Qatar Airways on our dedicated Qatar Airways information page. The Dubai-based airline operates a fleet of more than aircraft. Therefore, Emirates is only a few aircraft bigger than Qatar Airways. However, from a global point of view, Emirates ranks four positions higher than Qatar Airways.

Airline Background Emirates Airlines was founded in and operated out of its base in Dubai. The airline operates a fleet of aircraft, mainly Airbus A and Boeing B Accept Change cookie settings. Cookie name cookieRequestSettings. Accept Off Name Google Analytics Provider Google Purpose Google cookie for website analytics that generates statistical data on how the visitor uses the website. Functionality These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make or information your enter such as your username, language or the region you are in and provide enhanced, more personal features.

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Refuse all Save. China has become an increasingly important trade partner for the Middle East. Effective immediately, MEA customers will be able to earn and redeem miles on services operated by all SkyTeam member airlines.