Dubai’s Emirates Airline To Take In 6,000+ Operational Staff, Including Pilots
Emirates Airline plans to boost its operational workforce by recruiting more than 6,000 staff over the next six months. Additional pilots, cabin crew, engineering specialists and ground staff will be needed to support the airline’s ramp up of operations across its global network in response to the soonerthan-expected surge in customer demand, the airline said in a statement. It has already restored 90 per cent of its network and is on track to reaching 70 per cent of its pre-pandemic capacity by the end of 2021. The airline is supplementing its flight schedules with increased frequencies to meet the pent-up demand. It is also deploying its high-capacity double-decker A380 aircraft on popular routes around its network. By November, Emirates will offer more than 165,000 additional seats on its flagship A380 aircraft. Source: Gulf News (https://bit.ly/3GgENeu)
Expo 2020 Dubai Welcomes 1.47 Million Visits in First 24 Days
The numbers were backed by Expo’s Space Week, music and cultural performances, a public holiday long weekend and the half-term school break. Shedding spotlight on the space sector, Dubai Chamber of Commerce, the UAE Space Agency and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre staged a series of debates on the challenges and opportunities offered by the commercialisation of the sector. The themed week also featured nebula music, star-gazing and a chance for visitors to hear from the UAE’s first astronauts – the first female Emirati astronaut, Nora Al Matrooshi, and the first Emirati in space, Hazza Al Mansouri. The Knights, the UAE’s aerobatic display team, and their Saudi counterparts the Saudi Falcons, also staged a show in the skies above the Expo site, a statement said. Source: Gulf Business (https://bit.ly/2ZsNIc4)
Carrefour Opens New AI-Powered Checkout-Free Store in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates
UAE shopping mall operator Majid Al Futtaim has launched the region’s first checkout-free store, Carrefour City+, at Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates. The store, which uses artificial intelligence technology, allows shoppers to access the store by using the app on their phones, pick up products and exit the store without having to pay at any counter. Store access and shopping payment is enabled via the current MAF Carrefour App. The store – the first such Carrefour worldwide, has 97 cameras in-store to identify products, improve inventory management and track the movements of customers. The cameras are powered by a combination of computer vision and machine learning to follow a shopper’s movement inside the store. They use tracking technology to identify shoppers through their body structure, and do not record any facial recognition or biometric data, according to the company. Source: Gulf Business (https://bit.ly/3zURF6G)
Saudi Arabia: Face Masks No Longer Required to be Worn in Most Public Spaces
Saudi Arabia has introduced sweeping new measures to ease Covid-19 restrictions in the country in light of a fall in the number of reported cases in the country. Starting Sunday, October 17, an official source at the Ministry of Interior said that wearing masks is no longer mandatory in open places, except for the excluded places, while continuing to be mandatory in closed areas. A separate set of easing of restrictions will apply to those who have received both doses of the vaccine. For these individuals, there will be no social distancing measures for them to observe at social gatherings, in public places, means of transportation, restaurants, and cinemas. These spaces will also be allowed to operate at full capacity. Furthermore, there will no longer be any restrictions on the number of attendees of at events in wedding halls. Source Gulf Business(Read More: https://bit.ly/3bc7drL)
Starbucks Plans New Shop Formats for India to Fast-Track Expansion
Starbucks aims to hasten its India expansion with smaller shops and drive-through outlets, the Chief Executive of its local partner said on Monday, signalling the American coffee chain’s bullish plans as the Covid-19 slowdown abates in the country. Launched in India in 2012, Tata Starbucks – a joint venture between Starbucks and India’s Tata Consumer Products – operates 233 outlets across 19 Indian cities. The company is now exploring smaller-sized outlets as they can be opened faster and it is experimenting with concepts like drive-throughs after opening one in northern India last year, Mr D’Souza said. Starbucks registered 128% revenue growth in the quarter ending in September, during which it opened 14 new outlets. “Am I happy with 14? Absolutely not. The target’s much more,” Mr D’Souza said. The aim was to open 40-50 outlets this year, he said. Source: The National (https://bit.ly/3jEkXjw)
Alabbar Reveals $2bn Investment Plans for e-commerce Platform Noon
Founder of e-commerce venture Noon, Mohamed Alabbar, has revealed ambitions to invest a further $2 billion in the digital marketplace over the next three years in order to reach a goal of delivery to customers within 15-20 minutes. Originally launched in Riyadh, the platform was brought to life by Alabbar four years ago in a joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and a group of prominent Gulf investors, with an initial capital outlay of $1bn. He said the new investment would be a 50-50 split between himself and his investors, and the PIF. “I’m happy where we are, but ahead of us is very challenging because now we have to do 15-20 minutes delivery, which is a big infrastructure change for us.” Noon currently operates in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, although Alabbar said further plans include taking the platform throughout the entire region. Source: Arabian Business (https://bit.ly/3uR4Rrz)
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