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Inside The Middle East Airlines Training and Conference Center

On the way to airport, and just before you reach its entrance, you can’t but notice “The Dome”. This intriguing structure is part of the Middle East Airlines Training and Conference Center, where their staff get most of their training at. And since I have always felt curious to know how would it be like inside such training facility, I simply contacted someone I know there a couple of weeks ago to check if I can visit the center.

A few days later, the the cool people at MEA quickly arranged an appointment for me to tour the facility and I was lucky to be accompanied by one of their engineers, a training manager, and of course a communications officer.

I think people know very little about the things that happen behind the scenes at an airline, so here’s everything I saw at the 43,500 m2 MEA training center.

Flight Training

First things first. When I initially asked MEA to visit their training center I was mostly interested in checking the equipment that help their pilots achieve their flight training, so the tour started by first visiting the available simulators.

MEA currently has a full motion Airbus A320 flight simulator, and two other fixed-base simulators. As you can see below, the full motion simulator gives the same feeling as being inside a real cockpit with the surrounding screens displaying very realistic scenes. It can simulate turbulences and any required weather condition, and once you’re inside you simply feel like you’re in a real flight due to all the movement feedback that the device provides. Training on this simulator counts like flying a real airplane for the pilot and it is the only one of its kind in the middle east, that’s why pilots from other airlines in the region come to Lebanon to train on it.

There’s currently only 1 full motion simulator but the space where it is installed can actually accommodate 3 others. I heard they might soon be getting additional ones but I couldn’t figure out of what model series.

The other two fixed-base simulator are for the Airbus A320 and A330 but they of course don’t feel as real as the one above.

In addition to the simulators, the center has 20 stations for CBT (Computer Based Training) as well as a facility for pilot’s license renewal. As I was informed, pilots should undergo certain tests every 6 months to renew they licence and the MEA has a dedicated accredited facility for that.

Cabin Crew Training

My second stop was at the division where the cabin crew are trained. Again, real airplane models are used with simulators to train the crew on several evacuation scenarios including jumping into an adjacent swimming pool.

The material inside the airplane mockup (photo below) are the same that are used in a regular Airbus, while the windows are in fact screens that can simulate different scenarios like a  fire, cracked window, emergency landing, etc… and according to each situation the crew is trained on a course of action. Note that the pilots get similar training  in order to be able to cope with incidents inside the cockpit.

The Conference Center

Apart from the available training facilities, the building has many conference areas. People are probably familiar with the Riad Salaeh auditorium (also known as The Dome) since it shows in the news every now and then, but there’s also a much larger hall, The Mohammad Al Hout hall, which extends over an area of 680 m2 and has a very large attached kitchen to it in order to serve the events.

The conference zones of the center can host various events and are therefore not for the exclusive use of MEA as they can be rented to any company willing to host an occasion or event.

The same also applies to the training areas since other airlines in the region pay the MEA sometimes to use the center in order to train their staff. Some of the airlines that recently used the facilities are Cyprus Airways, Air India, and Turkish Airlines. So basically the whole center contributes in generating additional income to the MEA.

All in all, I really enjoyed the tour and it felt cool getting exposed to the aviation world with all the info that experts were telling me. More importantly, it was also nice to know that a center of such caliber does exist in Lebanon and serves regional airlines from neighboring countries.

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Adana – Shopping In Turkey Now Made Easier

Wings of Lebanon airline has always been known for operating seasonal flights to neighboring countries and European destinations, and one of destinations they have been heavily promoting lately is Adana is Turkey. I was invited to take part in one of their media tours in the city last week and I believe the trip is totally worth it for one reason: SHOPPING.

Although Adana is a nice city with a good feel, it actually has little to offer as a touristic place since it doesn’t have much attractions like Istanbul does for example. However, its proximity to Beirut and the cheaper prices you find there for clothing products simply qualifies it as a shopping heaven.

Adana Vs. Istanbul

I’m comparing the two cities because most people who visited Turkey landed in Istanbul and are used to the shopping experience there.

First of all the fight to Adana takes around 45 minutes, and it has a quite similar climate to Beirut as opposed to the freezing temperatures you experience during this time of year in Istanbul. Moreover the airport is only ~10Km away from the city center so you can basically start your journey there almost the minute you touch down. On the other hand, the airports in Istanbul are 1 hour away from the center.

With regards to product prices, all those who visited Istanbul know about the good deals they there get when shopping, but Adana is even cheaper simply because it isn’t much touristic. I felt like clothing items are cheaper by at least 25% than Istanbul, and the price difference from Beirut absolutely makes up for what you pay for the ticket price and even much more.

The main two malls for shopping in Adana are Optimum and M1, aside from the street shops that you can of course find everywhere.

Pharmaceuticals

In case you don’t know it yet, pharmaceuticals cost 50% less than what you pay here in Lebanon, and some people I know have totally given up on buying their chronic medications from the local pharmacies and are instead relying on people going to Turkey to get them their supplies.

This is of course one more reason that makes your trip very cost effective.

Food

Just like almost everywhere else in Turkey, Kebab is quite popular in Adana and the city is famous for its Adana Kebab which is a wider version of the regular Kebab with unique flavors. Bottom line, meat lovers will definitely not going to be disappointed.

Accommodation

Hotels are also quite cheap compared to other cities, and you can get a booking at a five star hotel with excellent facilities for no more $80-90 / night.

Do more than shopping!

Even though I mentioned that Adana has little to offer in terms of touristic attractions. You can still definitely do more than shopping there by taking a train to a nearby coastal city called Mersin.The trips costs $2-3 and takes 1 hour.

So you can basically book 3 nights for example, spend 1 in Adana to do all your shopping, and then head to Mersin to chill by its waterfront and enjoy the nightlife there.

Budget

Nakhal is currently offering 3 night packages for New Year starting $285 and of course less after that period. The flight schedule on specific days makes it also possible to simply go in the morning do all the shopping and then come back in the afternoon during the same day.

For more information about the packages and flights schedule you can check www.nakhal.com or call their experts on 01 389 389.

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Middle East Airlines Seals The Deal for 4 Airbus A330-900neo Aircrafts

As part of its wide body fleet renewal, Middle East Airlines has decided to purchase four new and two option Airbus A330-900neo powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines due to deliver in 2021. And just today, a contract was signed with Rolls-Royce to provide support for the Trent 7000 engines powering the new fleet.

The contract was signed during the Lebanon-UK Business and Investment Forum in London by MEA Chairman Mohamad El-Hout and Rolls-Royce Chairman Ian Davis in the presence of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the UK Minister of State for International Development and Minister of State for the Middle East, Alistair Burt.

One of the things I love about Middle East Airlines is that they are always committed to keep their fleet up to date by retiring their old aircrafts once they accomplish 12-13 years of service, and today’s step goes inline with this strategy.

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First Lebanese Pilot Saadeddine Dabbous Passes Away at 92

Two days ago, Captain Saadeddine Dabbous who was the first Lebanese pilot and eventually the first Lebanese ever to fly a Middle East Airlines plane in 1952 passed away at 92 years old leaving behind two proud generations of airline pilots.

Captain Dabbous served Lebanon’s national carrier for around 40 years and his story of becoming a captain is rather interesting since he originally started as an accountant with MEA in 1947. However, two years after that the company aimed to hire Lebanese pilots which motivated Dabbous to sign up for one of the training programs.

Four years later, following the training he attended abroad and after logging 5,000 flight hours as a co-pilot, he made his first flight as a captain from Cairo to Beirut in 1952 and the event got a lot of media attention back then, and he eventually kept serving in his position until his retirement in 1985 and was also honored by the Lebanese presidency for his career. Later on his two sons grew up to become pilots at the Middle East Airlines, and then two of his grandchildren also followed the same path and currently serve as co-pilots with the same airlines.

May his soul rest in peace.

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MEA is Offering Mile Rewards for Online Check-in

I was just checking the MEA website for ticket prices now when I noticed they are currently offering 1,000 bonus miles every time you check-in online using their website or the mobile app!

The offer is valid till September 16th and miles will be credited to your account at the end of the promotion period. I personally always make sure to check-in online because some airlines assign a dedicated bag drop line to those who do and it is usually less crowded that the normal line, moreover you get your papers processed much faster.

So if you are already a member of their Cedar Miles program or that of any of their partners then make sure to not miss the opportunity.

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Hello From Izmir!

If you follow me on Instagram then you probably know I’m currently in Izmir for a digital networking event hosted by Middle East Airlines along with several bloggers and media figures.

The city is quite nice with many attractions and touristic sites around it, and history buffs will certainly enjoy it for the ancient city of Ephesus and the house of virgin Mary which we both have visited. For that I really hope MEA will soon consider establishing a direct line to it at least during the summer to make it more accessible especially for those who are interested in religious tourism.

Aside from bringing media people together, MEA had a few cool announcements to make. First, they are working to expand their fleet and as of 2019 they will receive 15 new aircraft, among which 11 are Airbus 321 and 4 wide body airplanes (either the 330 or 787-9) and they will all be equipped with WIFI onboard. They are also working to complete the expansion of their headquarters which will include a green building, a massive hangar to accommodate their big planes, in addition to a gym, a sport court and most importantly a kindergarten dedicated for their employees.

Chairman Mohamad El Hout also mentioned some hints about the expansion of Beirut Airport and I recommend you check all about it on Gino’s blog who made superb effort gathering a lot of information about it.

I will soon write an article summarizing all the interesting stuff you can see here in Izmir in addition to how you can probably include it in your next trip to Turkey even if you didn’t directly land in its airport.

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Emirates Airlines to Operate A380 Test Flight to Beirut

Emirates Airlines announced last month it will be operating an A380 test flight to Beirut Airport on March 29th in order to test the operations and necessary infrastructure to later accommodate a regular A380 service to Lebanon.

This is a (somehow) big deal now for our airport because when the A380 was unable to land in Beirut when it was first introduced 10 years ago since it needs special infrastructure unlike and other plane. So I assume the ministry of transport and the Lebanese civil aviation authority did the necessary upgrades in order to finally make it possible.

The double deck A380 is by the way the world’s largest passenger plane, and I’ve heard a lot about the luxurious experience that Emirates offers on its first and business class from friends who tried the service (check what is it like here on Youtube). I’m not sure though how cost effective will this luxury be aboard the 4 hours Beirut-Dubai, but I imagine people who take long-haul flights will definitely appreciate it. I personally wouldn’t mind a refreshing shower on a 14 hours trip!

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Direct MEA Flights From Beirut to Madrid Soon to Be Launched

Middle East Airlines recently announced they will be operating direct flights from Beirut to Madrid three times a week starting June 16th 2018, and it is a good news to everyone planning a vacation to Spain this summer.

The only way to reach Spain non-stop previously was to fly to Barcelona aboard one of the charter flights operated by local travel agencies, but ticket prices can reach ~$900 during summer season which is a total rip off just like the overpriced tickets to Paphos in Cyprus and Dalaman in Turkey. On the other hand, the advertised price by MEA (starting $358) seems very reasonable even if your final destination is Barcelona since you can simply take a train from Madrid.

Still, the budget airline Vueling is also reportedly in talks to launch affordable Beirut-Barcelona flights so there’s still hope for this route to get cheaper as well.

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Beirut-Montreal Direct Flights Are Not Happening Anytime Soon!

Remember all the talks about possible re-establishment of non-stop flights between Beirut and Montreal? Well, Duncan Bureau, VP Global Sales at Air Canada unfortunately tweeted on Monday that the Canadian Government rejected their application to make it happen, which is definitely a huge disappointment for the Lebanese community there.

For more details I recommend you read this article “What Is It About Direct Flights To Beirut That Scares Trudeau?” by the Huffington Post discussing how illogical the rejection is given that airlines from much less secure countries such as Egypt are allowed in Montreal.

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Qatar Announces Visa Free Travel for Lebanese Citizens

Qatar just announced today waiving the visa requirements for Lebanese nationals as we have been added to the list of countries whose citizens can obtain a visa upon arrival to Qatar. (Source)

Given the large number of Lebanese expats in Qatar, this is definitely a good news at least for their relatives here. However, I can’t but find it odd that we were not granted this privilege by a gulf state until its neighbors started imposing a blockade on it…

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