Emirates Airlines news - Weekend shift could also mean changes to ticket fares in line with peak demand
The UAE decision to shift the weekend to Sat and Sunday will put the airline industry to be completely in sync with the world aviation sector.
Emirates Airlines news
Residents flying in or out of UAE may have to shell out more for tickets as, globally, airfares generally peak on Saturdays and Sundays. “That may be likely, but it is too early to tell – lots of moving parts with respect to airline pricing, especially with international fares,”.
“As the UAE works to attract new global tourism dollars, and jobs and corporate investment, this new shift will greatly facilitate those timely and important initiatives,”.
It remains to be seen if other Gulf countries will follow UAE in the near future. “It will help standardize trade within the region - Indonesia and Morocco have already made this shift,” said Boyd.
“Airlines are by nature seven-day-a-week business and have to work across many different regimes concerning hours, leave, social regulation and so on,”
Dubai-based budget carrier flydubai said it welcomed the government decision. “flydubai welcomes this announcement and we will follow the guidelines as set out by the authorities,”
The working week will start on Monday and end by Friday afternoon. The working hours for federal employees are set to be from 7.30am to 3.30pm, with 8.5 working hours per day. On Friday, employees will work for 4.5 hours.
