[Kerwin at Passrider.com] Back from Dubai | Day Trip To Oman | Dubai Airshow Recap

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Hi Fellow Traveler,

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy day to read my words. It is appreciated! Here’s hoping you had an amazing week.

The flight schedule engine on Passrider.com is up and running again; thank you for your patience. Technology is constantly changing. BTW, are there any additional features you’d like to see?

U.S. Thanksgiving holiday is next Thursday. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it. Flight Loads will be very heavy, so please bear that in mind when you head out. Good luck out there.

I’m back from Dubai, and what a trip. It was grueling and once again proving I’m getting older :-). The flight over was with Gulf Air via Bahrain, and the return was with Saudia via Jeddah’s new airport.

Last time I flew out of Jeddah, the new airport was not ready. It is now.

It’s a nice airport in Jeddah, but not as nice as the new airport in Muscat. Oh wow! Again, the last time I was through Muscat, the new airport was under construction. I think the Middle East cities are just trying to one-up each other :-). There’s even a Tim Horton’s in this airport.

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I also did a day trip to Muscat from Dubai. First time flying Oman Air, first time flying SalamAir, and also logging Sharjah Airport. Sharjah is one of the 7 Emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, a 30-45-minute bus ride from Dubai in the north. Total airline count is now 214.

Dubai Airshow Recap

The Dubai Airshow was totally worth it as it’s great to see where the industry is heading and how technology is being used. I never have time to sit in on the sessions, and I don’t think they are recorded, which is a pity. Over the next weeks or so, I’ll unpack the content, so watch out for that.

My favorite moment, though, is seeing Joby Aviation’s eVTOL Air Taxi fly. I’ve been keeping an eye on that for a while now, so it was good to see it fly. It was the first electric flight at the Dubai Airshow; I’m sure Archer, their competitor, wasn't happy about it. Perhaps the weirdest thing is that you can barely hear it as it flies. So people seemed disinterested. I think they should consider adding some sound to it.

I talked with one of the engineers about how ironic it was that the industry started with propeller planes, and here, almost 122 years later, we are still using propellers as we move into the electric age, having passed through the jet age. He didn’t seem to see the irony of that :-). Generation gap, I guess ;-).

You can view highlights of the show at https://www.passrider.com/dubai-airshow-2025-highlights/.

Saudia Flight Jeddah to Los Angeles

On my 15:30 Saudia flight was so cold! Everyone in the rear of the Boeing 777-300ER were under blankets and wearing hoodies for who had them. It was 18C the flight attendant said. Efforts to get it warmer, did not work :-(.

Overall, it was a good flight. It was very empty though. Most everyone had a whole row to themselves in the rear Economy cabin.

Food was good including snacks, but I think they need more snacks for a flight that long.

Full review is forthcoming.

Hurricane Melissa Relief Continues

Please continue to think of the people in Jamaica as they try to get back on their feet. This includes my own family members, who also had damage to their homes. They all survived, thankfully, but as you can imagine, it’s pretty hard on them and their neighbors.

I’m amazed at the number of organization that does the work of getting people back on their feet. Hats off to them.

This young man in Jamaica, Colaz Smith, has a YouTube channel and he’s taking donations, and then buying supplies for the affected people. These are the people in areas hard hit, but difficult to get to. Head over to https://colazsmithtvtours.com/helpjamaica to donate. You can see his YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@Colazsmithtv.

These organizations need your financial support. TIME magazine has a great article with some helpful links; please check it out: https://time.com/7329186/hurricane-melissa-caribbean-impact-victims-how-to-help-relief-organizations/.

Jamaica is coordinating its efforts at https://supportjamaica.gov.jm/donate.

This is a good starting point. Monetary donations are preferable, allowing recipients to use the funds as needed.

UNICEF and the International Red Cross also have resources set up.

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That’s all I got.