ETIHAD AIRWAYS LAUNCHES NEW CHILDREN’S ACTIVITY PACKS FOR YOUNG EXPLORERS

With millions of families planning and looking forward to their next holiday or trip abroad, Etihad Airways has introduced a new range of ‘Etihad Explorers’ children’s activity packs and a Flying Nanny Kit, to keep its younger guests occupied while onboard. Etihad Explorers is the airline’s new children’s brand and will feature on activity packs and meal items, and aims to instill a sense of excitement and anticipation during their journey.

The new kits were launched at a colourful children’s tea party hosted by the airline at its state-of-the-art Innovation Training Academy in Abu Dhabi.

On inbound flights to Abu Dhabi, a new collectable character bag for three to eight year-olds contains an activity booklet, crayons, card games and a colour-in mask. The pack on flights from Abu Dhabi includes a unique suitcase board game which allows parents and children to play together, a foam lion character, colour-in postcards, crayons, and a handy waterproof travel wallet. Having a different pack on each leg ensures that children are kept well entertained on both journeys.

For nine to 13 year olds there is a more mature activity pack which is guaranteed to puzzle and delight, containing Sudoku, mazes, lined notes and join-the-dot games. These packs also contain an Abu Dhabi themed pencil case, pencil, a dual-function bookmark and ruler, and a notepad.

Tech savvy tots can also enjoy a range of films, television programs, games, and child-friendly albums and CDs through the dedicated ‘Just 4 Kids’ section on the Etihad Airways E-BOX inflight entertainment system, all of which can be enjoyed on the touchscreen and/or handset.

For guests flying long-haul, every aircraft is staffed by a Flying Nanny. Trained by the UK’s world renowned Norland College, Flying Nannies were introduced by Etihad Airways in September 2013, and are onboard to provide an extra pair of hands and allow parents more personal time while they entertain the children. The new Flying Nanny Kit promotes greater interaction between nanny and child and contains an extensive range of fun items including Origami, games, pom-poms, flight certificates, tools for magic tricks and face-painting, and a ‘Flying Nanny stamp of approval’ which the nanny can use to reward children during their in-flight activities.

Calum Laming, Etihad Airways’ Vice President Guest Experience, said: “We understand that flying as a family can often prove daunting for parents and children alike, especially when travelling long-haul. That’s why we’re continually looking for new ways to develop family-friendly products, like the new children’s activity packs, so everyone can be fully entertained from the moment they board.

“This is just a part of our wider efforts to provide enhanced service and hospitality to our valued family fliers, an effort which is also brought to life by our amazing Flying Nannies. The new kits will help these talented crew members with the tools they need to provide our young guests, and ultimately their parents, with a truly memorable flight.”

The new kits were created by Milk Jnr’s & Kidworks, a UK headquartered agency which specialises in creating engaging kids activity packs for some of the world’s biggest family brands, in partnership with Etihad Airways’ Flying Nannies and product development team. The project also saw the agency re-illustrate and incorporate four existing Etihad Airways characters: Kundai the Lion, Zoe the Bee, Jamool the Camel and Boo the Panda. Milk Jnr’s incorporated elements of Etihad’s recent livery and staff uniform rebrand into the children’s brand and logo including geometric shapes to reflect the Abu Dhabi landscape.

As part of Etihad Airways’ ongoing commitment to ensuring all passengers enjoy a truly exceptional hospitality experience, a new Children’s menu will be launched in December focusing on healthy choices for younger fliers.

Zoe Telfer, Milk Jnr’s Client Services Director, said: “The aim of this project was to create an engagement solution for families travelling with children on Etihad Airways flights. We created kids packs for long and short haul flights that really stand out and reflect Etihad’s premium service and reputation, while paying careful attention to the airline’s distinctive brand.”

Pak-Qatar Family Takaful gets IFS Rating of “A” from PACRA

Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Limited (PQFTL) is the pioneering Takaful company in Pakistan, which has recently received rating of “A” (Single A) with Stable Outlook for its ‘Insurer Financial Strength’ (IFS), from the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA).

The profitability of the company has remained strong as compared to peers, reflecting a strong business profile. The growth pattern of this company has also remained high in recent years. Moreover, after having established a nationwide branch network, PQFTL is now gradually expanding its wings through Alternate Distribution Channels (ADC).

The rating denotes a strong capacity to meet policy-holders and contract obligations. The rating also reflects the sustained market position of the company, having decent foothold in Bancatakaful.

The Chief Financial Officer of PQFTL – Mr. Kamran Saleem stated that: It is a pleasure for us to see that the robust performance of PQFTL, in all aspects of its business, is being recognized by a credible rating agency like PACRA. It is a reflection of the consistent hard work of our highly competent team. I congratulate all team members on winning this accolade for strong financial stature and earning more respect as a robust financial institution”.

Singing Dream Comes Alive with Huawei Live!

Huawei Pakistan has once again prepared to come up with an exciting and entertaining campaign, known as Huawei Live; a star-studded platform where youngsters come in the limelight by showing their hidden talent.

Smartly integrating an activation with a competition, Huawei is setting up an activation which is both attractive and interactive. A creatively designed Float is all set to welcome participants and onlookers. On its journey, the float will make stops at all well-known educational institutes and  famous markets to provide an easy access for those who want to be a part of this activity.

In addition to the Float,  Huawei has devised an app, called as Huawei Live, which will be used to record songs of the participants as well as for providing coverage of the campaign to the audience.

The campaign gets even more exciting with leading singers of the Pakistani music industry, the hearthrobs; Amanat Ali, Ali Sethi and Nabeel Shaukat, who will act as jury members.

Putting light on the famous singers, it is a must mention that Amanat Ali is one of Pakistan’s leading vocalist, actor and a songwriter who got his fame from his outstanding performance in “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa” and also does background numbers the Pakistani film industry. Nabeel Shaukat has a marvelous reputation as a singer where he emerged as the winner of a musical contest “Sur kshetra”. Recently, “Bulleya” by Nabeel Shaukat has also fascinated the audience and accumulated much accolade. Ali Sethi is a famous name of the music industry. A musically talented artist has made his name with his fine singing skills. He has sung background scores for “The Reluctant Fundamentalist”, “Manto”.

The campaign participants will record their songs by using Huawei Live application. Shortlisted songs will be uploaded on Huawei Live application for voting and for the likes of the audience. Consequently, initially shortlisted contestants  will enter the final auditions out of which 3 finalists will be chosen for the next stage by the judges. Keeping it interactive in every way, the very best part is for those who are unble to appear at the float; they can also be a part of the campaign by recording their auditions using Huawei live application.

At the end of this campaign, there will be a concert where the final winner of the contest will be selected through the votes of the audience and the jury decision.

The talented winner of the musical contest will have great singing opportunities to avail in the future  besides being a superstar of the Huawei Live contest. The winner will also get a chance to sing along the judges in a concert.

Pakistani Australian ambassador ,Mr. Sadaqat siddiq is awarded with the certificate of honour By Australian parliamentarian Mr. Shaoquett moselmane

It is a privilege for our country that, Mr. Sadaqat Siddiq, Chairman Systronic IT Group has received an honorary award from Parliament of NSW Australia by the Hon. Mr. Shaoquett Moselmane, member of the legislative council NSW, Australia. Shaoquett has been a member of the Legislative Council since December 2009. In February 2010, he served as Temporary Chair of Committees, acting as deputy President. Shaoquett was re-elected as a Member of the Legislative Council in March 2015, and was elected as the Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council in April 2015. He is currently the Labor Duty MLC for the electorates of Albury, Oatley, Murray, Pittwater, and Wagga Wagga.

The honorary award received by Mr. Sadaqat is in the light of his services for the physically challenged children of Pakistan. He was awarded on 19^th May 2016.

Mr. Sadaqat Siddiq, Chairman SIG was presented with the certificate in the recognition of his support to “Wheelchairs for children of Pakistan”.  He has been involved in many CSR activities in both the countries; Australia and Pakistan. Mr. Sadaqat himself ensured the best CSR practices in SIG group and is a symbol of inspiration for his employees. Mr. Sadaqat Siddiq encouraged and is still working on bringing hope and betterment in many non-profitable organizations. He truly believes that his Homeland is Pakistan and he is working for his community’s prosperity as a whole. He believes that to bring change, we need to focus on solutions rather than beating around the problems aimlessly.  In order to achieve a goal we need to have a proper strategy but more than that we need to have hope.

Mr. Sadaqat siddiq is launching 2 more ventures in the field of Information technology and networking in the end of Year 2016 which will bring more opportunities not only for the fresh blood, but also for those people who have been un-employed. Furthermore these opportunities will also help to instill the spirit of Entrepreneurship. This will help Pakistan, to have financial and economic stability and the new ventures will encourage people to give back to the community. Mr. Sadaqat siddiq, Chairman SIG; believes that Pakistan has huge amount of talent in the IT industry and they just need to be provided by the right tools and right direction.

Mr. Sadaqat Siddiq is currently working of strengthening the business ties between both countries (Australia and Pakistan). Mr. Sadaqat Siddiq is currently serving as secretary general of PABC (Pakistan Australian business council).

Lamudi Launches New Innovative Real Estate App

Managing your property portfolio just got easier thanks to the latest cutting-edge app from Lamudi Pakistan. Their original app took the stress out of house hunting, but this ingenious release is exclusively for agents and sellers; promising to make day to day tasks a fluid, streamlined and hassle-free process.

In essence, the app will allow a real estate professional to do everything with the click of a button: upload new properties, manage inventory, receive direct messages from clients, and even perform advanced competitor analysis. Seems too good to be true but good things come to those who wait and the engineers at Lamudi have been working around the clock to come up with this groundbreaking property app; an app that has not been seen before in the real estate sector.

Moreover, transparency and trust are the key pillars that the real estate sector is built on. You don’t buy property from somebody you do not trust. And that is exactly what this new agent app seeks to achieve. Agents and sellers can create a unique profile with personal information, photos, and public contact details so new customers can rest assured that they are dealing with a reputable professional. Fraud is a growing concern in the real estate sector: could this sophisticated app be a step to solving that problem?

“One of the key reasons we designed the app was in response to the huge demand for increased trust and security,” said Saad Arshed, managing director of Lamudi Pakistan. “Not only does it make sense for property buyers but it simplifies routine tasks for agents,” Arshed added.

The real estate industry is bursting with new age technological advances. Virtual reality is on the way, and it won’t be long before a Pakistani investor based in Dubai can buy a house in Lahore without ever getting off his sofa.

Huawei Honor 8 ready to Invade the Market

Huawei is all set to unfold the next in Honor series this year. The upcoming smart phone has been incorporated with Dual camera features and unseen smooth silky design. Honor brand of Huawei was founded back in December, 2013 and till so far it has covered the mammoth milestones and records have been established victoriously. Last year, Huawei introduced Honor 7 that was endorsed by the customer market across the world and especially by the brand lovers in Pakistan. In the current year, Huawei Honor series recorded 40 million sales, double to the previous year; 20 million units. Moreover, Honor 4a, Honor 4C and Honor 4X are among the smart phones with exceeding sales records of 10 million units each. Hence, the technology giant has decided to incorporate the dual camera feature to the next Honor 8 flagship smart phone to make it more charming and even worthy product meeting the customers demand at its best.

Huawei Honor 8 has a smooth and silky design with shiny surfaced and well polished to attract the users deeply. Honor 8 has a glossy beauty on the both sides of the smart phone that on the rear side has been accomplished with the 2.5D Glass. This 2.5D glass contains layer after layer of 15 sheets, imparting durable glossy shine and it further creates a Fluxion. The Huawei brand lovers, who are inclined towards the beauty of smart phone, should turn to the new Honor 8 as this is a remarkably beautiful smart phone. Similarly, if one loves best experience of photography, then what could be better than Huawei Honor 8?

It is a uni-bodied design having the metal frame covering the sides of the smart phone with fine and smooth curves at the edges. Overall, the body is streamlined and compact enough to give an impression of bold and glamorous beauty to the smart phone. Huawei will offer the Honor 8 in four alluring color schemes that are; Midnight Black, Pearl White, Sapphire Blue and Sunrise Gold. All the three colors are stunningly charming that a user must wishes to buy each of these.

On the rear side of the Honor 8 there is a dual camera of 12PM, 1.25 μm Pixel and a dual ISP with a large aperture for clearer, brighter and open to the minute details of the object or the image captured. Similar to the dual camera of Huawei P9, Huawei Honor 8 Dual camera is a combination of a mono and an RGB camera The Black & white lens captures the minute details of the object to the unbelievable depth, whereas the color lens adds the vivid, brilliant and true colors to the image. Also the dual lens combines to capture more details to produce a highly professional photograph with the best quality ever witnessed by the smart phone users.

Other interesting features include the advanced fingerprint scanner that is meant for 2 in 1 features as smart key & fingerprint scanner. Moreover, the storage combination and the chipset are stronger as well. Huawei Honor 8 has a 3000 mAh battery for longer hours of user experience and a 4GB RAM + 64 GB ROM make Honor 8 the most wanted smart phone in the Honor series.

Huawei is yet to announce the launch dates for the new flagship smart device, but it is affirmatively expected to be launched in the current month. The Price and other offers are still in pursuit by the Huawei brand followers and the media as well.

 

ETIHAD AIRWAYS NAMED BEST INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE – OFFLINE AT NEW ZEALAND INDUSTRY AWARDS

Etihad Airways was named ‘Best International Airline – Offline’ at the 2016 Travel Agents’ Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) National Travel Industry Awards held in Auckland on 10 September.

Voted for by the New Zealand travel industry, the award recognises the airline’s world-class product and service.

Etihad Airways’ General Manager for Australia and New Zealand, Sarah Built, who accepted the award on the airline’s behalf said: “I’d like to thank our travel industry partners throughout New Zealand for their vote of confidence and ongoing support.

“I’d also like to thank the team at The Walshe Group, our General Sales Agent in New Zealand, for their tireless efforts in representing Etihad Airways in the market.

Ms Built acknowledged Etihad Airways’ equity partner Virgin Australia and codeshare partner Air New Zealand for their contribution to the airline’s success.

“As an offline carrier in New Zealand, we rely on the support of our partner airlines to provide seamless trans-Tasman connections to our Australian gateways. The partnerships we have with these airlines are critical to our success in the New Zealand market.”

Etihad Airways codeshares with Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand from Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington to its four Australian gateways, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

The annual TAANZ National Travel Industry Awards are in their third year in 2016. The ‘Best International Airline – Offline’ award is Etihad Airways’ first win in this category.

Photo caption: Award category sponsor Scott Cleaver, General Manager Sales at the Travel Corporation, presented the award to the Etihad team (left to right): Charles Morley, Chris Schoffer (back), Sarah Built, Zonja Beretta, Cherry Allbury, Nigel Bale, Roshnie Chhiba, Stephen Tanner, Rhiannon Williams and Jacqui Walshe.

                                                  

 

HUAWEI’S NEW “EMOTION UI – 5.0” WITH MAJOR REDESIGN – LAUNCH EXPECTED THIS FALL

Huawei has been the master inventor in the high technology products over the years. With its unique approach towards Android, Huawei has developed its own Emotion ROM, which has recently gained great popularity and is expected to be re-launched, as EMUI 5.0, after a major upgrade, sometime during fall 2016.

According to industry sources, Huawei has been working on a new major upgrade to the OS – version 5.0, which will bring an entirely new, smartly simplified UI, one closely resembling Stock Android. The current EMUI 4.1 used in the Huawei P9 smartphones is also very advanced, but the newly developed EMUI 5.0 will offer even simpler menu structure and navigation scheme.

Huawei’s Head of Mobiles Division – Li Changzhu stated that; the new EMUI has a new cleaner and minimalist look on the user-interface, while not affecting the original firmware module. This new-found push towards simplicity in the interface is done to resonate better with Western customers. However, this will surely not come at the expense of functionality or options to be customized, which play an important role in EMUI.

Emotion UI 5.0 launch will probably coincide with IFA 2016 in Berlin and in all likelihood, a new Huawei Mate 9 device will be unveiled as a superior smart device in technology and user experience. According to GSM Info; “The EMUI 5.0 will offer an interface that resembles vanilla Android, with a lot more customizable options. The changes are geared towards making EMUI more palatable to a Western audience.

With Huawei’s strong presence in Europe and increasing foothold in the U.S. market, dialing the interface back will go a long way toward making its devices more appealing. The redesign of EMUI 5.0 is being led by chief UX designer – Abigail Brody, who was formerly the creative director for iOS at Apple.

Huawei Outshines For Heavy Investments in R&D

Huawei Technologies has a strong reputation for its Research and Development departments/centers. Huawei’s innovations are seen throughout its high technology products, which are a direct result of strong R&D departments. Huawei has been introducing unique and attractive designs, remarkable features and superior quality operating systems for Huawei devices. In fact, Huawei has been consistently investing in R&D. Moreover, Huawei as result is a top technology manufacturer with the most patent applications and vitally important cross licensing within the industry.

According to estimates, Huawei has invested US $38 billion, which is twice the budget of NASA. Out of this huge investment Huawei, in the last year devoted US $9.2 billion in research and Development. In comparison this amount would be sufficient to explore the planet Pluto twelve times over. Huawei has a clear strategy to consolidate the foundation of research and development that in turn guarantees the safest and the most advance future of Huawei Technologies. Hence, Huawei has planned to boost the investment in the R&D up to US $10 to US $29 billion each year.

So far, Huawei has established almost 16 R&D centers across the world, whereas, there are 36 joint innovation centers in the countries like; China, Germany, Brussels, India etc. This also expresses the superior commitment of the company to offer higher participations from different countries ensuring the respect for the age of globalization. Cumulatively Huawei has more than 170,000 employees and out of this large workforce of highly skilled and professional human resource 45% of which are associated with the research and development.

Adding to this is the recently revealed fact that Huawei as a top technology manufacturer has the most number of patent applications over the past year. Worldwide Huawei has been granted almost 5,377 licensed patents and out of which 5052 are granted in the USA. However, in Europe has achieved 11,474 licensed patents. In China Huawei hs 30,924 patents licenses. By the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Huawei has been the top filer for the patents for the second year in a row. Huawei has been ranked as No.1, No.9 and No. 23^rd according to the patents granted in China, Europe and USA, respectively. Huawei also believes in industrial cooperation for a better-connected world in the future. Huawei, has signed ten more cross licensing agreements with the industry leaders and patentees.

ETIHAD AIRWAYS AND AIR SERBIA PROJECTS PROVIDE MUCH-NEEDED SUPPORT FOR REFUGEE CHILDREN AND SERBIAN ORPHANS IN BELGRADE

Etihad Airways and its strategic partner Air Serbia have donated items of winter clothing, stationary, school bags, and food parcels to more than 2,000 refugee children and Serbian orphans in Belgrade.

 

The aid package, which was officially handed over at the Krnjača asylum centre in the Serbian capital today, reflects the UAE national airline’s ongoing commitment to global education and social responsibility. The children at the centre were joined by orphans from the Home for Children and Youth for a fun-filled few hours.

 

Hosted by Mr Minja Subota, the famous Serbian television personality, the event also included songs from Serbian children’s choirs, clown and magician shows, as well as the Serbian folklore ensemble, Talija, and Željko Vasić, the Serbian celebrity singer.

 

In addition to the event at the asylum centre, the Etihad Airways’ delegation visited on Tuesday 6 September, the Home for Children and Youth in Sremčica, spending time with children and staff members and donating blankets, cardigans and wheelchairs.

 

The events in Serbia are part of an agreement between Etihad Airways and the UAE Embassy in Belgrade to provide humanitarian and social support in Serbia. During the last four years Etihad Airways has also supported education for children in Yemen, Morocco, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Jordan.

 

Maja Gojković, President of the National Assembly Committee thanked Etihad Airways and Air Serbia and all the partners for their efforts, especially in providing stationary and school items ahead of the start of the academic year.

 

Khaled Al Mehairbi, Senior Vice President Abu Dhabi Airport Operations, Chairman of the Etihad Sports and Social Committee, said: “Every child deserves to live in a safe and secure environment with access to education. Sadly in this world that is not always possible and so we hope that this initiative goes some way to helping these young children in the months ahead. Our special thanks goes for the UNHCR for supporting us to put a smile on the faces of the children.”

 

His Excellency Juma Rashed Aldhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Serbia, said: “I would like to thank Etihad Airways, Air Serbia, WAHA and all our partners for their efforts in this important initiative. It shows that many organisations, and nations, can work together to make an impact on those in need of help and support.”

 

Dane Kondić, Chief Executive Officer of Air Serbia, said: “We are delighted to support this initiative with our partners in the Government of Serbia and Etihad Airways, and to show these boys and girls that people care, not just today but in the weeks and months ahead.”

 

Dr. Khawla Salem Rashed Al Saaedi, Presidential Representative from WAHA International (the Women and Health Alliance International), said: “It is a great pleasure and honour for me to attend this wonderful event, which marks the beginning of a new alliance between all the partners. It is my wish that this project will be a beacon of hope to these children, as well as an example to others who wish to express their humanity to those in need.”

 

Special addresses were made at the event by Aleksandar Vulin, Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs of the Republic of Serbia; Mladen Šarcević, Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia; Maja Gojković, President of the Serbian Assembly; Khaled Almehairbi, Chairman of the Etihad Sports and Social Committee; HE Juma Rashed Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Serbia; Dr. Khawla Salem Rashed Al Saaedi, Presidential Representative from WAHA, from the office of HH Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan Bin Mohamed Al Nahyan; and Dane Kondić, Chief Executive Officer of Air Serbia.

 

It was also attended by Ali Al Shamsi, Vice President Emiratisation Strategy; Linda Celestino, Vice President Guest Services (all Etihad Airways); and Branislav Malović, Chief Government Affairs Officer; and Luka Tomić, Chairman of the Shareholders’ Assembly (all Air Serbia).

 

The donations in Belgrade were funded by money raised through a series of charitable initiatives that have taken place in Abu Dhabi, in cooperation with WAHA, including ‘Walk for a Cause’, the Etihad Garage Sale, and the Holy Month of Ramadan Football Tournament.