British Airways has today announced that they're launching daily flights to Dammam, Saudi Arabia, as of December 1, 2019. This will be British Airways' third destination in Saudi Arabia, after Jeddah and Riyadh. While British Airways' other services to Saudi Arabia are nonstop, the catch is that this flight won't be. Rather it will operate…
Continue reading: British Airways Launches 54 Mile Flight To Saudi Arabia
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The plane currently sits on the ground in Bahrain for 4 hours to optimise for US connections so it's using some of this time
> Lufthansa flies nonstop from Frankfurt
Lufthansa stops in KWI both ways for fuel and pax. No 5th freedom rights for local traffic.
About a decade ago, KLM used to fly the triangle routing AMS-BAH-DMM-AMS (or vice versa, depending on the day of week), so I've already gotten to fly this short leg as part of a BAH-DMM-AMS flight. Not counting an air return, this remains my shortest flight leg ever flown.
The only real question is - can we book it seperately, how much does it cost and how many TP will it bring? 😉
This route used to be served by LH (wet leased from Privat Air). FRA-DMM-BAH, I was on the flight once, and the actual flight time between the city pair was 19 minutes. On the return from BAH-FRA, we did not touch base in Saudi.
And here I thought my Phoenix to Tucson flight was short...but that's almost twice the distance of this flight!
debit - ever hear of google?
it's easy to use and means you don't ask stupid questions
The best ba route was nyc-toronto 757 service, when they utilized “raid the larder” in club world.
I just love how the Dammam airport is bigger than the entire country of Bahrain. (in terms of land area)
Nothing surprising. BA used to operate LHR-BAH-DOH and flew the route a couple of times. A bit longer than BAH-DMM, but basically it was a short 20-minute hop on BAH-DOH (and a 5th freedom route) and there was a packed orange juice service in Y.
That ground time in Bahrain from 8.55pm to 12.45am is hardly sitting on the ground. Lots of airlines at YYZ do the same though also to capitalise on connection times. Though I doubt they could go anywhere in the time they are at the ground in YYZ 🙂
@Occasional Reader: Dunno if that snippy response was really warranted. But if you ARE going to call people out for not doing their own web searches, may I suggest checking out lmgtfy dot com? It allows for much more effective, time-efficient, condescension.
Used to fly the Dhahran to Bahrain route back in the 70s when working in Saudi. Gulf Air....flight time approx 5 minutes.Also when leaving on Concorde the ticket included for a night in a local Hotel..Late night bar...but .early morning start....those were the days...
Will there be 5th freedom traffic rights between Bahrain and KSA? If so, I’d imagine it would be a good Tier Point run in Club/First.
I was also on the Dhahran to Bahrain Gulf Air flights 'back then'. That was before they opened the Causeway between Khobar and Bahrain and before they built the King Fahad International Airport in Dammam.
Served by 737s, they would not even pressurize the cabin and we flew at a very low altitude. That was also when smoking was allowed aboard aircrafts and at times, it looked like we were in a flying smoking room.
Dammam airport (King Fahad International Airport) is a bit of a white elephant. The only reason KLM flies to Dammam is because they won't allow them to fly to Riyadh. (As far as I know).
Before KKIA (King Khalid International Airport) opened (very late 1982) only Saudia was allowed in Riyadh. They shared the old terminal with the Saudi Air Force. Many people would fly to the coast to catch their international flights. Flight PA/SV 025 (Riyadh to JFK) comes to mind. First leg RUH to DHA was on Saudia and second leg was on Pan Am. PA 025 used a special 747 for what was one of the longest flights at that time. Because the aircraft was Pan Am, it was a wet flight. At times, very wet...
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Pan Am 025 DHA / JFK. I too remember that flight well. Leaving Dhahran at 2359 and landing JFK 0610 the following morning. 12 hours 10 min flight time. It was usually a party flight as oil workers and U.S expats headed home. Took it more times than I can remember. So sad of Pan Am's demise considering the pioneering routes they opened up across the Pacific, South America,and beyond.
I took the DHA/BAH weekly. I smoked back then, but I could never finish a cigarette before the 'No smoking' sign pinged on before landing. They got me every time.
Your right Rob - the booze did flow on PA 025 - for the entire flight..........and a few hangovers on arrival at JFK - Happy days...............!!
Until recently BA customers flew to Bahrain and then crossed the causeway into Saudi by car or bus. Recent visa changes have made this difficult on several visa categories which I suspect is a motivator for the new tag.
My sister-in-law and her family live in Dammam, I'm surprised at this flight since they do the causeway drive to Bahrain very frequently.
We used this flight living in Khobar. Customs and immigration are faster in the airports than on the causeway. We would go to Bahrain to stock up on pork products and carry them back in the ladies' toiletries bags, which were never opened by the male customs officers.