Saudi Arabia's state-owned budget carrier Flyadeal will choose in October between narrow-body models made by Airbus and Boeing for its 50-jet fleet plan. The airline is also planning to recruit Saudi female cabin crew for the first time.
Flyadeal, a unit of Saudi Arabian Airlines, will select either A320 Neos or 737 Maxs by October, said Con Korfiatis, chief executive of the carrier. A choice of either plane models would have a projected value of $5 billion at average listed prices before discount.
“There is solid competition between both manufacturers, the next few weeks will be very interesting,” Mr Korfiatis said.
The airline currently operates a fleet of eight leased A320s and expects to receive delivery of another three by the end of this year. Flyadeal launched domestic flights in September 2017 and plans to serve regional destinations within a three-hour radius of its Jeddah hub by the end of 2018. The airline competes with another Saudi budget carrier Flynas that has been operating since 2007 and has a fleet of 30 aircraft flying to 17 Saudi and 53 international destinations.
The order of 50 narrow-body aircraft would cover the airline's fleet requirements for the next five years, for both domestic and regional routes, Flyadeal said in April. If the airline faces a long delivery backlog with its chosen manufacturer, it may lease aircraft of the same type to bridge the gap between order and delivery time.
Flyadeal has also joined Flynas in accepting applications to recruit Saudi female flight attendants as the kingdom eases restrictions on women entering the workforce to reduce unemployment among citizens and boost economic growth.
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Saudi Arabia’s flyadeal to decide by mid-year on 50 plane order
Exclusive: Saudi Arabia’s flyadeal to seek bids on 50-aircraft order within month
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“We have been overwhelmed by the number of applications so far,” Mr Korfiatis said. “We don’t have a quota per say, we’ve got a few more aircraft coming in later this year and we’ll need more crew.”
Saudi women already comprise 30 per cent of Flyadeal's non-crew staff ranging from customer-care to human resources jobs, he said.
The kingdom, which is undertaking wide-ranging economic reform measures, is aiming to increase the participation of women in the labour force to 30 per cent, from 22 per cent currently, by 2030.
In June, Saudi Arabia overturned a driving ban on women, improving their mobility and easing access to the workforce as it vies to reduce unemployment that has reached 12.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2018 among Saudis, according to the General Authority for Statistics in Riyadh. It is training women to work as air-traffic controllers for the first time to certify them for jobs in Riyadh and Jeddah.
On its website, Flyadeal's job advert for Saudi female cabin crew required applicants aged 23 to 30 years old, diploma-holders, fluent in written and spoken English, in excellent health and fitness.
“With everything that’s going on in the kingdom, now the time is right,” Mr Korfiatis said.
Last week, rival Flynas said it plans to hire 300 Saudi female and male flight attendants within two years and will recruit 200 Saudi male and female co-pilots over the next five years. It began accepting applications for both roles on September 13.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is spearheading efforts to modernise the kingdom, transform the oil-reliant economy and create more jobs for Saudis.
As part of its economic diversification drive, Saudi Arabia is privatising its transport industry, eventually transferring ownership of all its airports to the Public Investment Fund.
The government wants state-owned assets to function efficiently and generate returns as private companies, effectively removing the operational and financial burden on the state.
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Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
WWE Evolution results
- Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
- Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
- Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
- Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
- Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
- Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
- Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
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Terminator: Dark Fate
Director: Tim Miller
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Mackenzie Davis
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
The Bio
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
