rascott.com                                                                                 news, views and an occasional blog...


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 Author

 

Robert Scott lives and works in Dubai; born in England I have since lived in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok.

I am very happily married to Tai.

 

If you want to know more you only need to ask! ask.

 

31 October 2013

Emirates A380 A6-EEO was delivered Finkenwerder – Dubai on 29 October as EK7380. This brings the A380 fleet up to 38 aircraft.

Not all are flying as some are undergoing the program of wing repairs.

********************************
EK will announce its half years results in the next couple of weeks - almost certainly before the Dubai Air Show.

Anyone want to guess the number - the trend is not exactly your friend. There is no trend.

The 2012 half year net profit was Dhs1.7 billion ($464 million) up 104 per cent from Dhs836 million ($228 million) for the 30 September 2011 half year.

For the six months to 30 September 2012 the airline’s revenue, including other operating income, of Dhs35.4 billion ($9.7 billion) was higher by 17 per cent compared with Dhs30.2 billion ($8.2 billion) in 2011.

We will not see profit back at 2010 levels of AED3.4 billion, though there will be an increase in revenues simply due to more aircraft flying more routes.

Assume a 15% increase in revenue to AED40.7billion. As for net profit - my guess - about the same as last year - say AED 1.6billion - a fall in the net profit margin from 4.8% to 3.9%.

Just guessing.

28 October 2013

Al Maktoum International opened to passengers yesterday with more of a Wizz than a bang - with WizzAir being the first passenger airline to operate from teh new airport.

The RTA has announced two new bus routes to the facility.

A day route between Ibn Battuta Metro Station and the Airport runs every hour. Once an hour is a problem is you miss the bus you will miss your flight!

At night, the service will start from the Satwa Bus terminal via Ibn Battuta.

The RTA said that studies are currently underway to see how feasible a route would be between Dubai International and Al Maktoum International. Something they have had years to consider already!

27 October 2013

EK big bird news:

EK374/375 to BKK changes from a 77W to a 388 on 1st May 2014.

That will be 3 x A380s daily to BKK as well as three 777s (one of each a transit stop on the way to HKG and Sydney).

The third daily Paris flight, is also being upgraded to A388 from August 1st 2014. That makes for an all A380 CDG operation.

Furthermore the second daily MUC rotation will permanently upgrade to A388 from 30 March 2014.

*************************
Condor Airways - a German charter subsidiary of Lufthansa will start charter operations to Dubai Al Maktoum airport from 21 November 2013, becoming the second European carrier to operate service to DWC. Planned schedule as follow.

Dusseldorf – Dubai Al Maktoum
DE4342 DUS2010 – 0555+1DWC 757 4
DE4343 DWC0755 – 1210DUS 757 5

Frankfurt – Dubai Al Maktoum
DE4338 FRA2050 – 0610+1DWC 757 4
DE4339 DWC0900 – 1310FRA 757 4

These flights can only be booked via tour operators.

25 October 2013

“People won’t listen to you or take you seriously unless you’re an old white man, and since I’m an old white man I’m going to use that to help the people who need it” — Patrick Stewart

24 October 2013

Russell Brand vs. Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight 2013 - fascinating

23 October 2013

Nobel Peace Prize laureates are calling on world leaders to negotiate the "universal, legal and verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons."

The statement, which came Wednesday at the end of an annual gathering of the peace prize winners, also called for negotiations to end armed conflicts in Syria and elsewhere.

They really needed a conference in order to say that?

The winners met in Warsaw this year to mark 30 years since Lech Walesa won the prize for leading the Solidarity movement, which helped topple communism in Poland.

A special guest was actress Sharon Stone, who was honored for her work to fight HIV and AIDS.

The meetings were initiated by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 2000.

Gorbachev did not attend this year due to medical treatment, but notable attendees included laureates Shirin Ebadi of Iran and the Dalai Lama.

20 October 2013

Twenty years since its was released in 1993 "Schindler's List" remains a powerful, important and deeply affecting film.

Credit to OSN Movies for showing the film unedited. MBC in Saudi Arabia still deletes the words "jew" or "jewish" from any broadcast....

19 October 2013

Couple of EK notes:

A fourth daily flight to HKG starts on 27 October - this is the third non-stop flight - EK376 is an A330 leaving Dubai at 6.30pm for a 5.25am arrival in HKG; the return leaves HKG at 07.05 for a 12.15pm arrival into Dubai.

Meanwhile Bangkok will get its sixth daily non stop from Dubai with a 772 flying as EK370 at 15.20 for a 00.20 arrival into Bangkok and returning as EK371 at 01.55 arriving Dubai at 05.45.

***************************
Qatar Airways will announce Doha-Miami service starting 1 June. 4x weekly with 777-200LR.

Source - the Miami Herald.

Wonder what Emirates is planning?

17 October 2013

Norwegian Airlines will start flying long haul from London Gatwick to three USA destinations in the summer of 2014.

Very interesting to see a non UK based LCC taking on low cost long haul out of the UK.....the flights will all be flown by 787 aircraft and will be popular.

The airline plans to fly twice weekly from Gatwick to Los Angeles starting on July 2, three times per week to New York JFK from July 3, and twice per week to Fort Lauderdale in Florida

16 October 2013

Happy 5th Anniversary hon.

*********************************
From PPRUNE today:

"Bit of a whoopsie from an EK A380 last night operating as EK435 BNE-DXB.

Was cleared to taxi to the A1 holding point for RWY19 via B, but somehow ended up missing the right turn onto B1 & continued straight onto taxiway D which is a different width & weight classification than taxiway B.

I hear she ended up taking out some taxiway edge lighting and tore up the pavement a bit. Took a bit of an effort to push it back onto B!

Funny how this one kept hush hush."

The Brisbane Refueller

EK's crew got unlucky here - due to the poor design of this particular taxiway in Brisbane an international width taxiway turns into a GA width taxiway.  Miss the turn and it gets untidy and EK is not the first airline to have done this - though probably the first to do it with an A380.

14 October 2013

In the least surprising news of the year Rory McIlroy has split up with Caroline Wozniacki, according to reports in the Irish press. The two had started dating after meeting at a boxing match in Germany in 2011.

Wozniacki, 23, is said to be "absolutely devastated" by the break-up although the relationship had appeared to be foundering for some time.

13 October 2013

Reuters quoted informed sources in the global aircraft industry as saying that the Emirates airline plans to order buy 150 Boeing 777 wide-body X.

If the order is placed at November's Dubai air show this will be big news....

*********************************
Sorry I have been quiet - was in Bangkok for six days and to be honest felt like having a few days off from updating my web site.

What happened in Bangkok I hear you ask:

I had a brain MRI at BNH hospital - apparently I have an unremarkable brain.

I have been depressed ever since hearing that.

Tai went shopping.

I went shopping for Tai.

We ate at Scarletts at the PullmanG. But the nice people who do not smoke have to sit inside while the fools who do smoke get to sit outside and get the best views. That cannot be right.

Mr Pork at Silom and Convent is on a week's holiday in Surin. Someone is looking after his late night grilled pork store but it is not the same - the replacement is "skinny-pork-man."

We went to Siam to meet Tai's mother, younger sister and two nieces. Good dim sum for lunch at Crystal Garden. But do they really need to charge for the pickles that we did not eat or order or the towels - that should just be part of good hygiene.

I got dumped while Tai did more shopping with Ann.

Met up with Dennis on soi dead artists - which is now more like dead everything.

Have an excellent dinner with Pat and Dennis to celebrate Pat's birthday which Pat had to cook for us which somehow should not be right but was a very nice evening.

Went to T21 where the Fab Four were playing Beatles covers on a Saturday morning.

We tried a new French restaurant on soi 11. Chez Pape. The food was decent. The ambience dreadful. It should be pleasant but the lights are bright and the music some strange combination of house and trance when Edith Piaf was needed.

The service. Dire. Five staff chatting behind the bar and almost no one in the restaurant. And we still had to ask when we needed something.

I cannot complain too much as I broke one of their glasses. Maybe in frustration as this should have been much better than it was.


 



 

 

5 October 2013

There goes the late night money making layover - Emirates Increases Dubai - Luanda service from 3 weekly to daily from 1 December 2013.

3 October 2013

The Al Ain Airshow people just messaged "We're back, celebrating the 10th aerobatic show anniversary. 2013 also ties in with the 42nd #UAENationalDay. Don't miss out Nov 30 - Dec 3"

After last year's farcical cancellation some scepticism is required.

**************************
"If it turns out that President Barack Obama can made a deal with the most intransigent, hardline, unreasonable, totalitarian Mullahs in the world, but not with Republicans, maybe he's not the problem" - Jon Stewart

2 October 2013

Note to EK crew trying to fly on TG: As of 13 October 2013, TG ZED standby tickets, listings and refunds will be unavailable via myIDTravel. Post 13th October, standby ZED tickets will be issued as Interline ET via TRIPS. Please refer to OAL agreements in Group world for details.

**************************
Hilarious - like this will make a difference: The Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) of the Dubai Land Department yesterday issued an official letter to all of the city’s registered real estate brokers, reminding them that direct telemarketing violates its rules.

Better ask the brokers how they all got our phone numbers in the first place - oh yes - from the developers; RERA's best friends.

1 October 2013

Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways will become the third commercial airline to operate passenger services at Dubai’s new Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central (DWC).

The airline will launch two new weekly flights between Kuwait City and Dubai from the facility, located near Jebel Ali, while all of its existing services will continue to operate at Dubai International Airport, it announced on Tuesday.

The change will take place from October 31. In a statement, Jazeera Airways said it chose to launch flights to DWC because of its close proximity to the resort area of Jumeirah Beach Residence.

The new services will operate on Thursdays and Saturdays.

****************************
The Daily Mail regularly reaches new lows - but in recent times it has not sunk lower than its Saturday attack on Labour leader Ed Miliband through accusing his deceased father, Ralph, of hating Britain....the headline was ‘The Man Who Hated Britain’.

The attack was unpleasant - and the Mail has followed up today surrounding a response from Miliband with more vitriolic hate.

Ralph Miliband came to Britain as a Jewish refugee from Nazi persecution. Within years of his arrival in Britain he was serving in the Royal Navy.

While Ralph Miliband fought the fascists the Daily Mail was writing editorials praising fascists written by the great-grandfather of the paper's current owner. Not to mention making friends with Hitler. The hypocrisy is beyond contempt.

But let's be realistic - As far as The Daily (Hate)Mail is concerned you cannot be left-wing and love Britain. It’s not possible. That’s just scientific fact.

Mr Miliband said that fierce debate about politics did not justify “character assassination” of his father. His spokesman said: “It will be for people to judge whether this newspaper’s treatment of a World War Two veteran, Jewish refugee from the Nazis and distinguished academic reflects the values and decency we should all expect in our political debate.”

Maybe this is in keeping with other positions taken by the Daily Mail:

The Daily Mail columnist Paul Johnson said of the regime of General Pinochet: “I regard the demonisation of General Pinochet as the most successful, mendacious propaganda exercise ever carried out in the 20th century.”

Or in 1939 the 1st Viscount Rothermere (owner of the Mail) wrote: “My Dear Führer, I have watched with understanding and interest the progress of your great and superhuman work in regenerating your country.”

30 September 2013

There has to be something more to this story - if not then the sentence is laughable....one month in jail for driving under the inflluence of alcohol and  killing someone :

Arabian Business: "A Dubai motorist who fatally injured former Arab triathlon champion Roy Nasr while driving under the influence of alcohol has been sentenced to one month in prison and ordered to pay AED200,000 ($54,451) in blood money to the victim's family.

The accident occurred on the morning of September 6 when the 24-year old Philippines national swerved into a group of three cyclists, including Nasr, near Dubai’s Safa Park. Fifty-year old Nasr died, while his fellow cyclists sustained serious injuries.

The motorist, who also had his driving licence seized for three months by the Dubai Traffic Misdemeanour Court, was charged with drinking alcohol and driving under the influence when the incident occurred."

You can get a three month sentence for kissing in public; a six month sentence for raising a finger - and in this case you get one month for manslaughter.

Cannot be right - there has to be more to this story. Did someone take the rap for someone else?

29 September 2013

Enjoyed the golf from St Andrews on TV today with David Howell winning the Dunhill in a play-off from the very impressive young American golfer Peter Uilein.

*******************************
The bad news is that I woke up yesterday morning with only partial sight in my right eye; no idea why. Anyway off to the eye doctor on Monday morning and hopefully it is not anything serious - but it is a concern.

25 September 2013

Gentle morning entertainment from Reuters on twitter:

ReutersAerospaceNews@ReutersAero 1 hr
Seat not eat! #embarrassingtypos
via Mobile Web (M2)
Retweeted by 8 users

ReutersAerospaceNews@ReutersAero 1 hr
Airbus confirms launch of A330 regional version, day, says it will eat 400 passengers and offer cost savings of 15 percent
via Mobile Web (M2)

24 September 2013

Coming soon from Jake Needham - The King of Macau - the fourth of the Jack Shepherd books.

21 September 2013

Sad news from Nairobi today - and news which will do huge damage to Kenya's tourism industry

"At least 22 people have been killed in a suspected terrorist attack in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, after gunmen opened fire and threw grenades in the Westgate shopping centre - popular with expatriates and tourists.

Witnesses said the men, brandishing AK-47s, told Muslims to leave and shot those they believed were non-Muslims."

15 September 2013

Just worth noting, in passing, that In Dubai the local population is about 150,000 compared to 2.4 million guests/foreigners.

Other than maybe Doha there can be no other city state where the ratio of citizens to foreigners is so low.

Which maybe what makes Dubai a compelling interesting story - it is a massive social experiment.

12 September 2013

Low cost carrier flydubai on Wednesday said it plans to start flights to Chisinau in Moldova from November 20.

The airline will offer the first direct air link between Dubai and the Moldovan capital, flydubai said in a statement.

Chisinau is Moldova's most developed and economically prosperous city and has become the country's key service and industrial centre.

The city will become the 66th destination on flydubai's network, the carrier added.

Flights between Chisinau and Dubai will operate on Wednesdays and Sundays.

It will be along turnaround for the crew.

10 September 2013

Ukraine 0 - England 0 - and it was painful to watch. England cannot hold the ball and passed like strangers - Joey Barton tweeted - "problem with British football is the coaching. Look at home nation coaches? Hodgson. Coleman. Strachan. O'Neil. Serouisly?" (sic).

***************************
Two games of golf at Al Hamra in the last week - and it has been fun to go back there. The course is in great condition (though the greens are too slow) and very quiet on weekdays.

Yes it is still hot but there is some breeze off the ocean and on Sunday I actually flet I was beginning to play decent golf again - which felt good. Yes, there are still plenty of mistakes but I did have the ball under reasonable control.

****************************
Well done Sir Patrick Stewart, actor and all round good guy - married a couple of days ago....

When asked if he took long time girlfriend Sunny Ozell as his wife he presumably said "make it so".....

PS: He is 73 and she is 35. That makes me feel better...

7 September 2013

Where it all began for Emirates - just 28 years ago - EK first flight to Karachi October 1985

**************************
A mummified body covered in chocolate and nuts has been discovered in Egypt.

Archaeologists believe it may be Pharaoh Rocher.

***************************
Maths magic: 13837 x Your age x 73 = ?

Just try, you will get an interesting result.

****************************
Sometimes it is the late night commentators hit the mark and hit it hard:

"One failed attempt at a shoe bomb and we all take off our shoes at the airport. Thirty-one school shootings since Columbine and no change in our regulation of guns." -John Oliver for the Late Show.

6 September 2013

Favourite David Frost anecdote, and I really hope this is true, is that he was checking in at an airport and was asked 'And did your pack this bag yourself, sir?', to which he replied: 'Do I look like a man who packs his own bags?'"

3 September 2013

In TV news True Blood will end its run after the series' seventh season next summer. HBO announced today that all the drama will end for Sookie Stackhouse, Bill Compton and the rest of the show's characters in 2014.

2 September 2013

As someone wisely said about Syria - outrage is not a strategy.

1 September 2013

Something to think about "there are few things more bizarre than watching people advocate that another country be bombed even while acknowledging that it will achieve no good outcomes other than safeguarding the "credibility" of those doing the bombing. Relatedly, it's hard to imagine a more potent sign of a weak, declining empire than having one's national "credibility" depend upon periodically bombing other countries." Glenn Greenwald in the Guardian.