The protests in Bahrain are now entering into the 7th day.

The people have taken back the square, with flowers, balloons and national flags. There are more articles and opinion pieces mentioning Saudi Arabia.. how the country is somewhat now surrounded by unrest on all sides; what these rallies may mean for the Kingdom.

The east coast population, here in Khobar and the area surrounding Saudi Aramco, is actually predominately Shia; the rest (and vast majority) of the country Sunni. Translation: if anything was going to happen it would be right here. But it’s quite impossible to imagine a movement. Any flame of change would be ruthlessly and efficiently snuffed out, I’m sure. It’s different here.. ”..far less vulnerable to democracy movements than other countries in the region, thanks to its vast oil wealth, its powerful religious establishment and the popularity of its king.”

The physical and psychological proximity of it is really powerful. It’s much harder to follow developments the places I have no connection to (Algeria, Yemen, Libya..). I still feel so integrated into the story, I can only imagine how the people there feel, in their own countries.

I’m learning a lot as I go along, and I have a lot of questions. What does it mean of the countries who have supplied weapons that are killing and injuring people in Manama? How much responsibility lies with them (if any)? Why is the US so quiet?  Do they really feel as though they have no power or leverage at all?

A Threat to Saudi Arabia (FT)

Saudi Arabia Feels Insecure Amid Mideast Unrest (NYT)

Saudi Arabia Risks Shiite Unrest in Wake of Bahrain (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Before going to bed at 7am (I’m keeping odd hours) I was reading about Bahrain’s ‘Day of Rage’ – protests planned today, and from what I can see now, are still in progress. It’s so very, very strange! It’s one thing to have this domino effect in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Iran (poorer Arab countries with larger populations).

However. I would never have expected ”tear gar, rubber bullets and concussion grenades” to be used in a GCC country.. a youth-led revolt. Bahrain is just over the causeway, a 40-odd minute drive away in sparse traffic. There’s a minority Shia population there that often feel discriminated against. I had no idea.

Can’t help but wonder.. is this the beginning of some huge Pan-Arabism movement? Is the region changing forever right in front of my eyes?

Bahrain 14

Bahrain Centre for Human Rights

The New Kids

I’ve been following news on a new low-cost airline launching in a few months – flydubai. It definitely piqued my interest to hear about a budget airline operating from the UAE – I’ll be even more interested to see how they fare (pun intended). I think they were meant to originally operate out of Al Ain but are now set to commence flights in and out of Terminal 2 at the Dubai Airport later this year.

The first five flydubai destinations will probably all be within the subcontinent – one source lists off Pune, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Jaipur and Goa. This – coupled with the fact that they plan on destinations only up to 4 1/2 hours from Dubai – means I don’t have to worry about any greener pastures (of the low-cost airline world). I expect the cabin crew, once they get up and running, will be operating turnaround flights probably exclusively… Far from my cup of tea, then.

For those interested, applications seem to be closed now anyway (a month or two back this wasn’t the case). I do remember that the requirements were very similar to those of Etihad or Emirates, although they also outlined the need for 1. experienced crew (as opposed to those with no flying experience) and 2. people already residing in Dubai. Kinda niche, don’t ya think? Emirates Group are reportedly giving them a initial leg-up. Hmmm. Wonder if that leg-up includes donated crew too?

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It got me thinking about other new airlines, or more specifically, if there are any other new airlines to speak of? In this dark tormented economic cloud I had assumed that other start-up airlines would be few and far between, but there’s actually more than a few about! And the majority hail from the Middle East and Africa. Whoop-yah!

Let’s discuss OneJETOne from Kenya. The main page of the airline’s website is decked out in a splashy purple-pink (My eyes, my eyes!), and features the very earnest and enviable motto “Fun to Fly!”. Oh, and… there’s a little itty bitty Facebook link in the corner. On the main page. Ohhhhhhohohoho. Teeeehehe!! I briefly considered it was all a ruse, some fake site set-up to make a parody out of.. well, something.

From the OneJetOne ‘About Us’ page:

Everybody always jokes about airline food, so why provide it if people don’t want it? Eliminating free catering on-board reduces cost and unnecessary bureaucracy and management. It also portrays a significant difference between OneJetOne and other airlines and is a potent indication of our low-cost approach. However for those hungry birds, the option to purchase food on-board at an affordable price will be available.

It’s too much!!

Other new and upcoming airlines/ones that have launched within the past year or so: Bahrainair, Athens Airways, Air Sylhet, and Amsterdam Airways. Some of the best start-up speculation (and other aviation gossip) can always be found at the Airliners.net forums too. If you’re ever a hankerin’.