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UAE: Emirates announces new popular destination, launches daily flights from July

head dubai April 24, 2023 No Comments

The airline’s network expands to 18 points across the Americas.

Emirates announced on Monday it will launch a new daily service from Dubai to Montréal, starting July 5. Montréal becomes Emirates’ second gateway in Canada, complementing its passenger services to Toronto, which have been operating to Ontario’s capital city since 2007.

The launch of services to Montréal comes as the UAE and Canada aim to deepen economic cooperation between the two nations and stimulate benefits to the aviation and tourism sectors, in addition to enhancing trade flows and commercial links.

The daily flights to the new destination will help cater to the huge demand for direct flights between Dubai and Canada, particularly to its two largest metropolitan hubs, and provide more choice for travellers when flying to Canada.

The UAE is Canada’s largest export market in the Middle East and North Africa. In 2022, bilateral trade between Canada and the UAE exceeded C$2.6 billion (Dh7.05 billion), growing 53 per cent over the last five years. According to Statistics Canada, it is estimated the UAE’s foreign direct investments stock in Canada was valued at C$1.3 billion in 2021.

Canada features in Dubai’s top 20 source markets for inbound tourism with 158,000 Canadian visitors in 2022, more than double the number in 2021, according to Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism).

The daily flights between Dubai and Montréal will operate as EK243/244 with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration, with eight first class suites, 42 lie-flat seats in business class and 304 seats in economy class.

“Emirates is excited to launch our second gateway into Canada as we expand our reach in the country with direct services from our hub in Dubai. As a major metropolitan centre and as Canada’s second largest city, we are pleased to add Montréal to our growing global network of over 130 destinations and strengthening our coverage in the Americas to reach 18 points served by our services from Dubai,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer.

“We have been serving customers with passenger and cargo services to Toronto for over 15 years and when we begin services to Montréal in July, customers will have more choice when planning their travel whether for business, leisure, education or for visiting family and friends. We would like to thank the UAE and Canadian authorities for the enhanced agreements which have made this new destination possible. With our expanded reach into the country, we look forward to facilitating new trade lanes, which will bring a host of benefits to Canadian businesses and exporters in addition to promoting tourism into more cities and generating more jobs across all sectors, including those directly serving the aviation industry,” continued Kazim.

Emirates network and Air Canada partnership

Customers of Emirates and Air Canada have access to an expansive network of destinations thanks to the codeshare partnership between the two airlines. In addition to over 130 destinations that Emirates flies to, its customers currently have access to 19 Canadian destinations beyond Toronto through the partnership, while Air Canada customers are able to fly on Emirates to Dubai and access 17 cities in Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Middle East and Far East. Additionally, Emirates passengers are able to choose from over 140 routes operated by Air Canada on an interline basis, including 27 points in Canada and 94 routes between Canada and the US and South America.

Emirates has been operating to Toronto since 2007 and its flagship A380 service on the Dubai-Toronto route since 2009. From April 20, Emirates has been serving Toronto with a daily A380 service. With the addition of Montréal, the airline will provide a choice of two points for travellers planning trips to and from Canada. This will also grow Emirates’ network across the Americas to two points in Canada, 12 US cities, and four destinations across Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Emirates provides also cargo services to Canada with a capacity to carry 20 tonnes in the bellyhold of its Boeing 777 passenger aircraft and up to 15 tonnes aboard its A380 aircraft.

Business

Dubai sets new record for most expensive plot in $34m deal

head dubai April 24, 2023 No Comments

The Jumeirah Bay plot is 24,500 sq ft and will be used to build a custom-designed mansion, Knight Frank says.

A 24,500 square feet sand plot in Jumeirah Bay has sold for Dh125 million ($34 million), making it the most expensive land plot sold in the UAE.

The transaction last week surpassed the previous record for a land plot sale of Dh91 million, according to global property consultancy Knight Frank, which represented the seller and buyer in the deal.

The plot was worth Dh5,100 per square foot, the broker said on Monday.

The plot was sold to an international buyer, although their identity was not disclosed. They will build a custom-built mansion on the plot.

The seller is Umar Kamani, the 35-year-old founder of UK-based fashion retailer PrettyLittleThing, Knight Frank said.

Demand has been very strong because of the exclusivity and scarcity of supply in Jumeirah Bay,” Andrew Cummings, partner and head of prime residential at Knight Frank, told The National.

“With only over 100 plots for people to buy, many owners see it as their forever home. So, when people approach owners to buy property with big numbers and big profits, they don’t want to sell.”

“A Dh125 million transaction would normally represent a spectacular penthouse or palatial mansion. However, Jumeirah Bay’s exclusivity means that this only buys you the sand on which to build your dream home.

“This is another sign that Dubai is the number one destination for international real estate investment due to the attractive lifestyle and business-friendly environment.”

Dubai’s luxury home sales hit Dh6 billion in the first quarter of 2023, with wealthy buyers snapping up 88 units valued at more than $10 million as prime property sales continued to pick up amid a wider economic recovery.

The emirate’s prime residential markets of Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills and Jumeirah Bay Island accounted for 64 per cent of luxury home sales during the three-month period, with average transaction prices in these high-demand locations reaching Dh8,800 per square foot, Knight Frank said in a report earlier this month.

Dubai has been ranked as the world’s fourth-most active market in the luxury residential segment as sales of prime properties continue to pick up, the company said in March.

Last year, the emirate recorded the sale of 219 homes priced above $10 million, with the total value of the transactions reaching $3.8 billion. That ranks Dubai behind New York (244 sales), Los Angeles (225 sales) and London (223 sales), according to Knight Frank.

The average price of ultra-luxury homes in Dubai rose by more than 27 per cent in the first quarter of the year compared with the previous quarter, according to a report by Luxhabitat Sotheby’s, based on data from the Dubai Land Department.

The average price of a prime property in the emirate increased to Dh25.2 million, the report said.

The plot was bought two years ago for Dh36.5 million, according to the Dubai Land Department, netting the seller a Dh88.5 million profit, Bloomberg said on Monday.

It is one of only 128 originally offered on Jumeirah Bay Island by developer Meraas Holding. All of the parcels were initially sold off years ago, it said.

The seller in the transaction owns an identical plot next to the one sold and plans to sell it for Dh135 million, the report added.

Jumeirah Bay Island has become a highly sought-after real estate commodity, with land prices soaring threefold in recent years, according to Knight Frank.

“This sale further solidifies the island’s status as a super-prime destination, joining the ranks of exclusive developments like the Bulgari Lighthouse, which recently set the record for the most expensive penthouse sale at Dh410 million,” the consultancy said.

A Dh125m transaction would normally represent a spectacular penthouse or palatial mansion. However, Jumeirah Bay’s exclusivity means that this only buys you the sand on which to build your dream home
Andrew Cummings, partner and head of prime residential, Knight Frank

The Bulgari Lighthouse tower deal, which set a record for the most expensive apartment sale in Dubai, was an off-plan purchase for a nine-bedroom home with five parking spaces, DLD data showed.

Set across 38,970 square feet, the price means it sold at Dh10,521 per square foot, with the deal registered on February 1.

Bulgari Lighthouse is a 27-storey residence overlooking the sea, and will have 31 penthouses.