Airline passengers confused over Saudia’s allowed weight allowance

August 5, 2013

Saudia_allowed_weightJeddah, Aug 5: Saudi Arabian Airlines’s recent joining with SkyTeam, a group partnership of 19 airlines world-wide, has left passengers traveling on the Kingdom’s carrier confused over baggage allowances.

Saudia had previously allocated a baggage allowance of 32kg per bag for guest class passengers and two 32kg bags for first and business class passengers on international flights.

The baggage allowance was also restricted to 25kg per bag in the domestic sector.

Since then, travel agencies have advised their passengers to carry only one piece of luggage weighing 23 kg, leading to confusion among passengers.

“I am a frequent flyer of Saudia. When I last traveled with them about four months ago, I was allowed to take only one 23-kg bag according to new rules,” said Ahmed Malik.

He pointed out that when his friend traveled just a month ago, he was allowed to carry two pieces of luggage each weighing 25 kg with Zamzam water. “When I booked my seat for travel to the UK, the travel agent told me that I can’t carry more than one 23 kg bag. Confused by that, I visited their website, where I found that guest class passengers can take one bag of 32 kg on international flights to the EU, UK, Middle East, Africa, Asia and the Arabian Gulf.

“Still confused, I approached the Saudia office, where the receptionist told me I can carry 23 kg per bag, even though a poster in the office had 32 kg written on it. For my satisfaction, I went to another officer and he said I could carry 32 kg,” said Malik, who went to a third official and was told that he can carry only up to 27 kg and that he would have to pay extra for anything higher than that.

Another passenger, Tazeen Ishrat, told Arab News that it is unclear how much baggage weight passengers can carry and that many employees at Saudia offices were unaware of the new baggage allowance themselves.

Arab News checked the poster at the Saudia Airlines office, which listed baggage allowance of 32 kg. Arab News also checked the website of the Airline and found that it was 25 kg for domestic passengers and 32 kg on international flights. The website also states that if any piece of luggage weighs in excess of the stated amounts, an excess baggage charge of $100 will have to be paid.

Passenger traveling from Jeddah to London must pay $150 or equivalent for every extra bag they carry, with a maximum of 23 kg per piece that measures 205 centimere in dimension.

Yet an officer from Saudi Arabian Airline’s booking office insists that the airline changed the baggage weight from 32 kg to a maximum of 27 kg per bag per passenger for guest class, adding that first and business class are allowed two pieces and that silver and golden Alfursan members and SkyTeam (Elite Plus/Elite) members would be allowed to carry one extra piece on international flights.

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Agencies
July 19,2020

Occupied Jerusalem, Jul 19: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumed on Sunday.

Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals in which he is alleged to have received lavish gifts from billionaire friends and exchanged regulatory favors with media moguls for more agreeable coverage of himself and his family.

Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, painting the accusations as a media-orchestrated witchhunt pursued by a biased law enforcement system.

The trial opened in May. Just before appearing in front of the judges, Netanyahu took to a podium inside the courthouse and flanked by his party members bashed the country’s legal institutions in an angry tirade.

Netanyahu was not expected to appear at Sunday’s hearing, which is taking place at an occupied Jerusalem court and is mostly a procedural deliberation.

The trial resumes as Netanyahu faces widespread anger over his government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.

While the country appeared to have tamped down a first wave of infections, what’s emerged as a hasty and erratic reopening sent infections soaring. Yet even amid the rise in new cases Netanyahu and his emergency government — formed with the goal of dealing with the crisis — appeared to neglect the numbers and moved forward with other policy priorities and its reopening plans.

It has since paused them and even re-impose restrictions, including a weekend only lockdown set to begin later this week.

Netanyahu’s government has been criticized for a baffling, halting response to the new wave, which has seen daily cases rise to nearly 2,000. It has been slammed for its handling of the economic fallout of the crisis.

His trial thus comes at inopportune timing. Netanyahu had hoped to ride on the goodwill he gained from overcoming the first wave of infections going into his corruption trial, but the increasingly souring mood has affected his approval rating and may deny him the public backing he had hoped for. The anger has sparked protests over the past few weeks that have culminated in violent clashes with police.

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News Network
June 26,2020

Dubai, Jun 26: As summers in Dubai bloom in its full glory, the most savoured summer fruit - Mongo - is getting the most special treatment in the city as it gets delivered to customers via an emperor like ride of a Lamborghini.

As per a video report by Gulf News, the Pakistan Supermarket in Dubai is delivering the king of fruits to the doorsteps of its customers in a green coloured Lamborghini to match the level of its supremacy among fruits.

"The king should travel like a king," says the managing director of the store, Mohammad Jehanzeb who delivers the pulpy fruit by himself and also takes the customers on a short ride in the luxury car.

In order to avail the offer rolled out on the Facebook page of the famous supermarket, customers are required to make a minimum order of Dh100, reports the Gulf News.

"The idea is to put a smile on people's faces and make them feel special," says Jehanzeb who has put a smile on the face of dozens of Dubai residents amidst the throes of a pandemic with his 'Mangoes in Lamborghini' campaign.

The delicacy this year has gone viral with videos of delighted mango lovers taking a joy ride in the supercar doing rounds over the internet.

"The joy ride was essentially meant for kids who have been sequestered at homes because of the coronavirus but adults are equally thrilled at the prospect of getting behind the wheels of my Lamborghini Huracan. I am happy to oblige them too," says Jehanzeb.

"Each order takes about an hour. We do about 7-8 home deliveries a day but are hoping to ramp up the numbers to 12," he adds.

Arshad Khan who hails from the Indian city of nawabs - Lucknow- ordered the 'nawabi' varieties - Sindhri and Anwar Ratol - and said that his children were exhilarated after hearing the roar of the Lamborghini outside their Falcon City villa.

"For someone who hails from Lucknow -- the land of the famous dussheri and landga mangoes -- I was a bit skeptical about the taste of Pakistani mangoes. I ordered them for the sheer experience of seeing them come to my place in a luxury supercar," Gulf News quoted Khan as saying.

"It was quite exhilarating and I must confess that the mangoes were as delicious as the ones back home," he added.

Mango fruit has been a delicacy in the 16th-century Hindustan sub-continent. It holds a fascinating narrative in Babur Nama which is an autobiography of the Mughal emperor Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur.

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Agencies
August 8,2020

Beirut, Aug 7: A devastating explosion that destroyed much of Beirut might have been the result of a missile attack or bomb, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said, as the death toll from the blast rose to 154.

More than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had been sitting in a port warehouse for six years, but there have been conflicting accounts about why Lebanese authorities decided to empty the shipment of explosive material. The vessel carrying the flammable cargo was heading from Georgia to Mozambique when it stopped in the Lebanese port to load up on iron, according to the ship’s captain.

By Friday, 19 suspects had been arrested and Lebanon’s former director general of customs Chafic Merhy had been questioned by military police.

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