Qualcomm Demonstrates Accelerating Wi-Fi 6 Momentum and Highlights Key Inflection Point in Wireless Connectivity Evolution

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Qualcomm Demonstrates Accelerating Wi-Fi 6 Momentum and Highlights Key Inflection Point in Wireless Connectivity Evolution

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, hosted a Qualcomm® Wi-Fi 6 Day, and detailed comprehensive Wi-Fi 6 momentum across crucial multiple product segments, including mobile, compute, and auto. At the event, the company announced and demonstrated support for important new Wi-Fi 6 features, described its traction of Wi-Fi 6 designs and global updates on key feature adoption, and hosted key customers to offer insights on the consumer value of Wi-Fi 6. Paired with its announcement of four new Wi-Fi 6 networking platforms,  the company has formalized an end-to-end vision and differentiated technology approach that is designed to help expand the global impact of Wi-Fi 6, and help usher in an era of connectivity innovation where Wi-Fi 6 and 5G work together to meet the challenge of delivering superior high-speed connectivity to dozens, hundreds, and thousands of connected devices simultaneously.

“Qualcomm Technologies has been at the leading edge of wireless innovation for decades, by virtue of our focused investment in research and development across various industries,” said Rahul Patel, senior vice president and general manager, connectivity, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Today’s event and announcements represent a critical milestone in unlocking the massive potential of Wi-Fi 6 across every product segment we touch, and blazes a path toward the fullest implementation of Wi-Fi 6 technology.”

“The transformative nature of Wi-Fi 6 will have a deep impact across all categories of connected devices and environments,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and chief executive officer, Wi-Fi Alliance®. “We’re going to witness dynamic changes in Wi-Fi with the inclusion of advanced features in Wi-Fi 6 which will drive improved network capacity, better performance and increased speeds.”

Wi-Fi 6 Mobile and Computing Leadership

Qualcomm Technologies has seen strong Wi-Fi 6 momentum across its flagship Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 855 and 855+ Mobile Platform designs. Qualcomm® FastConnect™ 6200 Subsystem, with its complement of critical Wi-Fi 6 features, is attached to almost all of 225+ Snapdragon 855 and 855+ designs, including nearly all 5G designs.

FastConnect is the name of Qualcomm Technologies’ integrated advanced connectivity subsystem spanning Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other non-cellular connectivity technologies within the Snapdragon Mobile and Compute Platforms. In addition to core connectivity capability, the FastConnect subsystem delivers a host of highly differentiated features that aims to set new industry benchmarks for faster connections at longer range, smoother video streaming, powerful gaming experiences, premium audio performance, and the highest level of Wi-Fi security commercially available.

Also at Qualcomm Wi-Fi 6 Day, the company announced support for Uplink MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multi-In Multi-Out), a significant innovation in the Wi-Fi 6 standard, for its upcoming next-generation Wi-Fi 6 Qualcomm FastConnect 6800 Subsystem With emerging applications like live video sharing, online gaming, and AR/VR set to transform the data landscape, the delivery and management of uplink data traffic is surging in importance for mobile users. Qualcomm Technologies pioneered advanced and practical MU-MIMO designs and the company’s technology pedigree, trading on over a decade of research and development in algorithmic optimization, is supported by its recent landmark achievement of shipping its 750 millionth MU-MIMO-enabled connectivity solution for client devices.

“We deliver the fastest and most immersive online PC gaming experiences, and using the absolute latest wireless technology is very important,” said Michael Cubbage, chief executive officer and founder, Rivet Networks. “Qualcomm Technologies has been a key partner on this front, delivering Wi-Fi 6 technology that features the high throughput and the low latency that is critical to providing the ultimate online gaming experience.”

 “With billions of devices needing connectivity from the edge to the cloud in the coming years, new technology like Wi-Fi 6 has never been more critical to deliver performance for dense network environments, power savings, and improve data security,” said Ian LeGrow, partner and director, Microsoft Corp. “Qualcomm Technologies’ new Wi-Fi 6 solutions provide a key part of the underlying foundation for the comprehensive connectivity needed to connect our homes and workplaces to the cloud.”

 “At AMD, we expand the boundaries of what is possible with high-performance innovative technologies,” said David McAfee, senior director, product management, AMD. “We’re excited to offer new smooth and fast connectivity capabilities to our mobile processors with the Qualcomm FastConnect platform, enabling blazingly fast performance and optimal efficiency.”

Driving Wi-Fi 6 Innovation in Auto

The Qualcomm® Automotive Wi-Fi 6 chip, the QCA6696, brings the next generation of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity to the automotive industry. Complementing the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Automotive 4G and 5G Platforms, the QCA6696 is Qualcomm Technologies’ most advanced Wi-Fi solution offering fast, secure and efficient Wi-Fi connectivity to meet challenging consumer demands for greater robustness and reduced latency when operating in congested and dense environments in a moving automobile. The QCA6696 features dual Wi-Fi 6 multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) access points designed to support Gigabit in-car hotspot and to deliver efficient Wi-Fi connectivity throughout the vehicle, supporting ultra-high definition (ultra-HD) video streaming on multiple displays, screen mirroring from compatible devices and wireless back-up cameras, as well as Bluetooth 5.1 support and Qualcomm® aptX™ Adaptive audio to deliver high fidelity voice and streaming audio support. The QCA6696 chip is now sampling and is expected to appear in commercial vehicles in 2021.

For more information, please visit www.qualcomm.com. 

About Qualcomm

Qualcomm invents breakthrough technologies that transform how the world connects, computes and communicates. When we connected the phone to the Internet, the mobile revolution was born. Today, our inventions are the foundation for life-changing products, experiences, and industries. As we lead the world to 5G, we envision this next big change in cellular technology spurring a new era of intelligent, connected devices and enabling new opportunities in connected cars, remote delivery of health care services, and the IoT — including smart cities, smart homes, and wearables. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, substantially all of our engineering, research and development functions, and substantially all of our products and services businesses, including the QCT semiconductor business. For more information, visit Qualcomm’s website, OnQ blog, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Emirates NBD Announces an intention to increase Foreign Ownership Limit (‘FOL’) to 40%

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Emirates NBD Announces an intention to increase Foreign Ownership Limit (‘FOL’) to 40%

Emirates NBD Bank PJSC (“Emirates NBD”) today announced its intention to increase Foreign Ownership Limit (‘FOL’) to 40% in the future, and will seek necessary approvals from its shareholders and the relevant regulatory authorities, in due course.

Emirates NBD also announced the implementation of an immediate increase in its FOL from 5% to 20% after having obtained the necessary regulatory approvals and the agreement of the Emirates NBD Shareholders and Board of Directors.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Emirates NBD said: “Emirates NBD is pleased to announce an immediate increase in its Foreign Ownership Limit from 5% to 20%. The Bank is also pleased to announce its intention to increase Foreign Ownership Limit to 40% in the future and will seek the necessary regulatory approvals and the agreement of the Emirates NBD Shareholders and Board of Directors. In line with our position as a strategic partner to the UAE government, we are confident that today’s announcement will contribute to support the vision and goals of the country’s leadership and developing the UAE as a pivotal hub in the global economy.”

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum added: “The announcement will strengthen the UAE’s proposition as one of the the most attractive economies for foreign direct investment and contribute to increased liquidity and depth in the UAE’s capital markets. Further, the announcement is aimed at diversifying the Bank’s investor base as Emirates NBD continues to deliver value to its shareholders.”

Emirates announces new executive leadership appointments

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Emirates announces new executive leadership appointments

Emirates has announced new executive leadership appointments for its operational, commercial and international affairs functions. Adel Al Redha is appointed Chief Operating Officer, Adnan Kazim is Chief Commercial Officer and Sheikh Majid Al Mualla is Divisional Senior Vice President, International Affairs.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman & Chief Executive Emirates Airline and Group commented on the new appointments: “Adel, Adnan and Sheikh Majid are all experienced members of the Emirates leadership team with strong expertise in their respective areas and proven leadership abilities. Each brings deep and diverse experiences from different areas of the airline business, and I am confident that they will continue to drive the airline’s future growth and strengthen Emirates’ presence, agility, and focus across the globe. These roles are strategically important to growing our customer base and developing our commercial strategies, delivering the best experiences across customer touchpoints, and progressing our business objectives through engaging with governments, regulators and key industry bodies around the world.” 

As Chief Operating Officer (COO), Adel Al Redha is at the helm of all operational departments: Flight Operations, Service Delivery, Airport Services, Emirates Engineering, Crew manpower, aircraft procurement and the Emirates Flight Training Academy; as well as worldwide network operations including crisis response. Al Redha will overseeoperational efficiency and effectiveness across the airline, and work closely with other members of the executive leadership team to drive improved performance across the business. During his 31-year career with Emirates, Al Redha has been instrumental in leading and implementing Emirates’ global strategy to consistently deliver superior services and customer experiences, on the ground and in the air. He has enhanced operational processes, capabilities and efficiencies within the airline; including the introduction of smart initiatives using advanced technology and artificial intelligence. Al Redha has also led the introduction of various National Development programmes that provide career development for UAE national youth, and continues to drive improvements in the working environment for all staff while keeping safety and standards at the core of all operations.

In his role as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Adnan Kazimis responsible for worldwideCommercial Operations, e-Commerce, the Emirates Skywards loyalty programme and Emirates SkyCargo. Kazim will continue to lead the airline’s Strategic Planning and Revenue Optimisation teams, which are critical functions that support the airline’s commercial success. Kazim joined Emirates in 1992 as a Management Trainee and has successfully led the airline’s commercial operations in major markets such as the UAE, Switzerland, Pakistan and East Africa. He then transitioned into leadership roles in route and fleet planning, and governmental relations. He most recently held the role of Divisional Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, Revenue Optimisation & Aeropolitical Affairs.

Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, who previously held the position of Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations-Centre, is appointed Divisional Senior Vice President, International Affairs. In his new role, Sheikh Majid will drive the airline’s government, industry, public policy, regulatory, environment and international affairs agenda. He will also lead teams that represent Emirates in government negotiations and air services talks, as well as various aviation industry bodies of which Emirates is a member.

Sichuan Mobile and Huawei Team Up to Transform Chengdu into 5G City

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Sichuan Mobile and Huawei Team Up to Transform Chengdu into 5G City

Sichuan Mobile and Huawei today launched a multi-dimensional 5G network in Chengdu, aimed at transforming the city into one of the world’s foremost hi-tech cities. The announcement was made during Huawei’s fifth annual Asia Pacific Innovation Day held in Chengdu.

The multi-dimensional 5G network solution will leverage Sichuan Mobile’s strengths in site resources, and use Huawei’s leading 5G all-scenario products and solutions, such as macro sites, pole sites, and digital indoor systems.

The solution will build a three-layer multi-dimensional network architecture to deliver continuous 5G network coverage throughout the city. The architecture consists of the basic coverage capacity layer, capacity experience layer, and indoor coverage layer for high-value scenarios:

  1. The basic coverage capacity layer provides continuous coverage and capacity and is used to support general outdoor services.
  2. The capacity experience layer (middle-layer network) is a network built on poles and other simple sites to unleash capacity for specific situations to deliver a consistent network experience. This network is mainly deployed on the edge of macro sites or in heavy-traffic areas, such as roads, high rises, residential communities, tourist attractions, or for large events.
  3. The indoor coverage layer is a network that targets high-value indoor situations including traffic hubs, shopping malls, hospitals, hotels, office buildings, and campuses. This layer absorbs data traffic generated indoors and delivers better user experiences.

Since the beginning of this year, the two companies have launched 5G capacity in a numbers of areas in Chengdu, including the Southern Zone of the Chengdu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Taikoo Li, Tianfu Software Park, Chengdu Panda Base, Metro Line 10, Waldorf Astoria, Kuanzhai Alley, and Dujiangyan. These networks allow users to enjoy world-class 5G experiences and benefit from leading network performance. In doing so, they will ultimately shape Chengdu into an advanced and connected city.

Things You Might Not Know You Can Do with Your Galaxy Note10 and Not

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Things You Might Not Know You Can Do with Your Galaxy Note10 and Not

The latest additions to Samsung’s Galaxy Note family, the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+, are packed with features and technologies to help you do more, experience more, and pursue your passions.

While users are already aware of the device’s popular showcase features—from the pro-grade camera with Live Focus video to the edge-to-edge, fully immersive Cinematic Infinity Display—the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ come with plenty more innovative capabilities than may first meet the eye.

Take a look at this round-up of hidden tips and tricks to help you make the most out of your Galaxy Note10 or Note10+, the Galaxy series’ most powerful smartphones yet.

1. Effortlessly View Photo Collections with Tag

The Galaxy Note10 and Note10+’s pro-grade camera means that you’ll be taking lots of pictures. If you want to show off your photography skills—with, say, a few of your amazing sunset shots—it can be a bit tiresome to scroll through your Gallery to pick them all out. So, try out the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+’s upgraded Tag experience for viewing collections of similar pictures. A new icon, accessible directly from the toolbar when viewing a photo in the Gallery, takes you straight to the Tag feature. Tag also harnesses Samsung-developed optical character recognition technology, which intelligently recommends specific keywords for specific images.

2. Take Screenshots Three Different Ways

The Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ introduced a Screen Recorder to take videos of what’s on your screen—but what about screenshots? With the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+, you have three ways to take a picture of what’s on your screen. First, you can quickly and simultaneously press the power and volume down buttons. Second, you can swipe the side of your hand from left to right on the display. Third, you can use the S Pen. Take out the S Pen and tap on Smart Select. Then, choose from a square, rectangle, circle, free-drawing tool, or even a GIF tool, to select your screenshot. Or, tap the Square/Pin icon to take a screenshot and have that image automatically pinned to your display.

3. Make the Most out of the Always On Display

A great phone doesn’t just help you get things done; it helps you express your personality. We use the camera to tell our stories and we use the phone’s color to match our style choice—shouldn’t our lock screen also help us express ourselves? Galaxy Note10 and Note10+’s Always On Display not only provides you with time, notification and battery information at a glance, but can also be tailored to your preferred clockface style. Visit Settings > Lock screen > Clock style to check out the options, and select FaceWidgets for even more display customization options.

4. Scan Documents with Ease Using Your Phone Camera

Sometimes, we need to scan a document in high-quality, but there’s just no scanner to be found. With your Galaxy Note10 and Note10+, this common problem is a thing of the past. Enable the ‘Document scan’ option in the Camera settings > Scene optimizer menu once the Camera app is open to use your Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ to efficiently send documents.

5. Make the Edge Panel Your Own

Everyone has different contacts they get in touch with the most and different apps they use the most. So that you can easily access your favorites, faster, the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ come with a customizable edge panel. By dragging the tab on the right-hand side of your Galaxy Note10 and Note10+’s screen, you can access this shortcut tray of useful apps and services. By heading to Settings > Display > Edge screen > Edge panels, you can fully customize the contacts and apps that appear, and set app pairs—apps that you commonly use together, like email and calendar—to launch at the same time.

6. Stay Productive On the Go With One-Handed Mode

The Note series pioneered the large-screen smartphone, and now today, the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ are known for their immersive, edge-to-edge displays. In fact, at 6.8”, the Galaxy Note10+ offers the Note’s biggest screen ever. But sometimes, situations arise when you only have one hand available to use your phone, and it can be hard to reach something at the top of the screen. To make things more convenient, the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ offer One-handed mode. Just go to Settings > Advanced features > Motions and gestures > One-handed mode. This feature moves all of your content and information to one area of the screen that you can easily reach with just your thumb, so you can tap and type easily when holding your phone in one hand.

7. Get Intelligent in Order to Save Power

There is nothing more annoying than needing to use your phone at the end of a busy day and seeing that your battery is running low. Even though the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ come with an all-day, intelligent battery, power users who push their phone to the max might need a little extra help making it back home before they hit 0%. To help keep you powered up, the Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ feature Adaptive Power Saving Mode. Found in the Settings > Device care section, Adaptive Power Saving Mode uses machine learning to monitor and learn about how you use your device and automatically puts your device to Medium power-saving mode if it detects that you are using your phone more than usual.

Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory Improves Search, Reduces Costs in Baidu’s Feed Stream Services

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Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory Improves Search, Reduces Costs in Baidu’s Feed Stream Services

What’s New: Intel today announced Baidu is architecting the in-memory database of its Feed Stream services to harness the high-capacity and high-performance capabilities of Intel® Optane™ DC persistent memory. Paired with 2nd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, building a new memory platform based on Intel Optane DC persistent memory allows Baidu to lower its total cost of ownership (TCO) while delivering more personalized search results to users. Intel and Baidu disclosed details of this deployment and other joint collaborations on Thursday at the 2019 Baidu ABC Summit in Beijing.

“For over 10 years, Intel and Baidu have worked closely together to accelerate Baidu’s core businesses, from search to AI to autonomous driving to cloud services. Our deep collaboration enables us to rapidly deploy the latest Intel technologies and improve the way customers experience Baidu’s services.”
–Jason Grebe, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of the Cloud Platforms and Technology Group

Why It’s Important: As companies like Baidu manage the explosive growth of data, the need to quickly and efficiently access and store data is imperative. With today’s news, Baidu is advancing its Feed Stream services to deliver more personalized content to its customers.

Why It’s Different: Baidu uses an advanced in-memory database called Feed-Cube to support data storage and information retrieval in its cloud-based Feed Stream services. Deploying Intel Optane DC persistent memory and 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors enable Baidu to ensure high concurrency, large capacity and high performance for Feed-Cube, while reducing TCO1.

Through close collaboration, Intel and Baidu architected a hybrid memory configuration that includes both Intel Optane DC persistent memory and DRAM within the Baidu Feed Stream services. With this approach, Feed-Cube saw a boost in search result response times under the pressure of large concurrent access1. At the same time, single-server DRAM usage dropped by more than half, which reduces costs in terms of the petabyte-level storage capacity of Feed-Cube1. Intel and Baidu have published a detailed case study of this work, including examples of other applications using Intel Optane DC persistent memory technology, such as Redis, Spark and function-as-a-services.

“Using Intel Optane DC persistent memory within the Feed-Cube database enables Baidu to cost-effectively scale memory capacity to stay on top of the continuously expanding demands placed on our Feed Stream services,” said Tao Wang, chief architect, Recommendation Technology Architecture at Baidu.

What’s Next: Today’s news comes on the heels of Intel and Baidu recently signing a new memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at increasing the collaboration between the two companies in Baidu’s core business areas. Baidu and Intel will continue to work together to enable new products and technologies that play an increasingly important role in growing core Internet business scenarios as well as critical applications and services. The deeper collaboration between Baidu and Intel will help Baidu provide a more diverse and engaging user experience to its customers.

What Else Was Disclosed at the 2019 Baidu ABC Summit:

  • New HPC Solution for Baidu ABC Storage: Intel and Baidu unveiled a new storage solution to accelerate machine learning performance in high-performance computing workloads. The new HPC solution is offered in Baidu’s cloud environment and provides users with end-to-end HPC support covering a range of capabilities, from data pre-processing, model training and evaluation to inferencing and result publishing. The Baidu Cloud ABC Storage service uses Intel® Optane™ DC SSDs and Intel® QLC 3D NAND SSDs.
  • Confidential Computing Consortium: Intel and Baidu recently joined the Confidential Computing Consortium under the Linux Foundation. As part of the consortium, Intel and Baidu will work with industry partners to deploy and save private trusted computing services in the Baidu cloud based on Intel® Software Guard Extension (Intel® SGX®) technology.

Marriott International’s Updated Statement on Hurricane Dorian

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Marriott International’s Updated Statement on Hurricane Dorian

September 2, 2019 — We continue to monitor the path of Hurricane Dorian, and our hotels in the predicted path have implemented storm preparation protocols. We are in close contact with local authorities, and will take guidance and direction from them as the situation warrants. If it is necessary to evacuate and close hotels due to local authorities’ mandates or conditions, our teams are prepared to do so, and have been doing so at some locations. We encourage those planning to travel to the storm area to check news updates for the most current information, and amend plans accordingly. Hotels in the impacted area are reviewing their cancellation fees; details may vary by hotel. To modify or cancel an existing reservation, please go to Marriott.com or the Marriott app.

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du Concludes 2019 Summer Training Programme

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du Concludes 2019 Summer Training Programme

du, from Emirates Integrated Company (EITC), has recently concluded the 2019 Summer Training Programme, as part of its commitment towards developing and nurturing current and future generations of the UAE, and supporting the vision of the country’s wise leadership in equipping and empowering the future leaders of the private sector. 2019 is the first year which has witnessed successful participation by people of determination in the training programme. The one-month yearly programme aimed at equipping UAE nationals with real job experiences to help them shape their future and understand their career path. It included people of determination from Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, high-school students from grade 10 – 12, as well as university students and fresh graduates who are on the lookout for a job, or a part time experience. Trainings were held at du retail stores across the UAE. Participants had the chance to train on customer service tactics, such as welcoming and interacting with different type of customers, understanding the core products and services of du, understanding the system the telco uses to do transactions, as well as stock count and daily huddles. du Summer Training program underwent a major transformation in 2016 when trainees were integrated in the telco’s retail stores. In 2017, the programme was extended to du’s Fujairah Call Center and children of Emirati women and residents of Comoros Islands. In 2019, the training programme has further expanded to include people of determination.

Etihad Airways celebrates 15 years in India

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Etihad Airways celebrates 15 years in India

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is preparing to celebrate 15 years of service to its largest and busiest market, India. The airline’s milestone coincides with the third visit to the UAE of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, highlighting the importance of the partnership between the two countries.

Etihad launched daily flights between the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, and the Indian city of Mumbai in September 2004, within the airline’s first year of operation. Three months later, flights were also launched between Abu Dhabi and New Delhi.

Today, Etihad operates 159 return flights per week between Abu Dhabi and 10 key Indian gateways – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram – and through its Abu Dhabi hub, the airline connects each of these gateways to international destinations throughout the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and Africa. Since launching operations to the sub-continent, Etihad has carried more than 16.5 million passengers on its Indian routes.

Etihad Airways Group CEO Tony Douglas said: “India and the United Arab Emirates share a long and strong economic, cultural and diplomatic relationship, and Etihad Airways connects these nations to each other, and beyond.  We serve more destinations in India than any other country in our network, and connect India to the world via Abu Dhabi. Globally, we employ more than 4,800 Indian nationals, almost 25 per cent of our workforce. We contribute strongly to both economies, and last year spent US $151 million with 480 companies in India. Our commitment is significant, and will continue to grow.”

Etihad’s offering in the India market continues to evolve. The airline is continually increasing flights and adding newer, larger aircraft, including its latest addition, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which serves cities including Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad.

Etihad Guest, the airline’s loyalty programme, recently partnered with SBI Card, one of India’s largest credit card providers, to offer a unique travel-specific Visa credit card to Indian travellers. And for guests flying Etihad from India to the United States, the Customs and Border Protection facility at Abu Dhabi Airport, enables US immigration, customs and agriculture formalities to be completed in Abu Dhabi before departure.

India is an important strategic source market for Etihad Cargo. In addition to belly space cargo capacity on the 159 weekly passenger aircraft between Abu Dhabi and India, Etihad Cargo operate dedicated freighter flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai. In the past decade, Etihad has carried more than 560,000 tonnes of cargo to and from India, from general cargo to key Indian exports including garments, perishable products, pharmaceuticals and electronics.

Etihad also continues to support India through a range of corporate social responsibility initiatives, including its Global Education Project to provide or raise funds for new education facilities and supplies. The airline also runs workshops to develop skills and support the empowerment of women, and provides aid to assist after natural disasters such as floods in Kerala, where it provided fresh water, clothes, blankets, kitchen utensils and hygiene kits to more than 1,000 people located at a relief camp in the state.

As a minority shareholder in and key partner of Jet Airways, Etihad was able to improve international connectivity with India, via Abu Dhabi.  Even after Jet’s flights were suspended earlier this year, Etihad worked consistently and constructively to help revive the Indian carrier, and continues to explore opportunities to collaborate with other local partners to help serve this rapidly-expanding market.

Fly Emirates, Feast on Onam Treats

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Fly Emirates, Feast on Onam Treats

Emirates is celebrating the beginning of the Malayalam calendar with a burst of flavours, making it even more special for Keralites. From 1 to 13 September, the airline will serve authentic Onam dishes across all cabin classes on all its flights to and from Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. Emirates’ chefs and catering teams have curated delicious festive menus with the distinctive flavours of the season that remain true to the taste buds even at 40,000ft.

Enjoy traditional appetisers such as kaya varuthathu or crisp banana chips, sharkara upperi, banana roasted in jaggery, and kondatta mulaku —fried sundried chillies steeped in yoghurt. Dips include kaalan made ofcoconut, fresh yoghurt and yam, cucumber pachadi,agarnished salad, and puli inji, a sweet and tangy ginger-based chutney. First and Business Class passengers will also be served Kerala-style pappadam and piquant mango pickle.

Those travelling from Dubai to Kerala in Economy Class can relish one of two main courses: Alleppey chicken curry or sambar and kootu, both paired with thoran and rice. Tickle your taste buds with the palada payasam – a much-loved milky sweet pudding with roasted nuts. First Class customers have one more main course option: mutton pepper fry.

If you’re flying from Kerala to Dubai in Economy, you can choose from two main courses: spiced chicken sukha with roasted coconut or the vegetarian option sambar made of lentils and vegetables, both partnered with thoran and rice. Indulge your sweet tooth with parippu payasam, the popular sweet lentil pudding topped with roasted coconut flakes. First Class customers can also opt for mutton sukha as the main course.

Staying true to the festive season, all meals will be served on banana leaves placed in trays and dish liners across all cabins to make Keralites feel more at home and the sadhya more authentic.

That’s not all. Relax and be entertained with a selection of popular Malayalam movies and music on ice – the airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system with 4,000 channels – and enjoy up to 20MB of complimentary Wi-Fi to stay connected with friends and family during the flight.

Much like its home, the UAE which recognised 2019 as the Year of Tolerance, Emirates connects and embraces diverse cultures, and recognises the significant role air transport plays in bridging communities and fostering tolerance. The airline celebrates global cultures inflight and is passionate about delighting customer palates with regionally inspired cuisine and special seasonal menus. Diwali, Holi, Eid, Chinese New Year, Christmas, Oktoberfest and other festivals are celebrated with equal fervour, creating memorable experiences for travellers far from home.

Emirates flies twice daily to Kochi and 11 times weekly to Thiruvananthapuram.

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