Author: holidayweekly

CHICAGO: After years of seeing fewer US customers come in its doors, McDonald’s Corp is embracing a different philosophy: take the food to them. The fast-food chain will rely heavily on delivery to reignite sales, especially in the US, according to executives speaking at McDonald’s investor day in Chicago on Wednesday. The company also is turning more aggressively to digital technology, such as mobile ordering and payments, to meet its growth targets. The overhaul is part of a bid to achieve long-term system wide sales growth of 3 per cent to 5 per cent, starting in 2019. McDonald’s also aims…

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NEW DELHI:  India is considering selling a majority stake in Air India to a strategic partner after a $3.6 billion bailout failed to turn around the loss making national carrier, the sources said. The proposal includes reviving Air India within five years of selling a 51 per cent stake. Talks are at an initial stage and presentations have been made to the finance ministry and the prime minister’s office. The government isn’t planning to sell 51 per cent stake in the carrier, Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey said in New Delhi. D.S. Malik, a spokesman at the Ministry of Finance…

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WASHINGTON: In a Washington policy speech aimed primarily at the new US administration of President Trump, IATA’s top boss has urged governments to support the vital role aviation plays in connecting people and commerce around the globe. “Our world has grown much wealthier through trade and travel. Air travel liberates people to live better lives and makes our world a better place,” Alexandre de Juniac, the global airline group’s director general and chief executive, told the US Chamber of Commerce 2017 Aviation Summit this week. The aviation sector contributes $680.1bn dollars to GDP In the US and supports 6.2m jobs.…

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MANAMA: Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, has once again successfully participated in the recent 2017 Saudi Aramco Annual Travel Show, held between February 20 and 23, at Saudi Aramco’s worldwide headquarters in Dhahran. Alongside travel agents, various airlines and travel and hospitality exhibitors, Gulf Air showcased and promoted some of the airline’s key products and services, its attractive flight schedule to/from five destinations in Saudi Arabia, its flexible and convenient travel proposition in addition to the latest news, flight schedules and fares to/from the airline’s newest route, Tbilisi, Georgia. Gulf Air operates one of the largest networks in…

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ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways and Egyptair have announced a new codeshare partnership to be introduced in phases from March 1. Under the initial phase of the agreement, Etihad Airways will place its ‘EY’ code on Egyptair operated flights between Abu Dhabi and Cairo, while Egyptair will place its ‘MS’ code on Etihad Airways flights between the two capital cities. During the second phase, Etihad Airways will gain access to major cities across Africa on flights operated by Egyptair via its Cairo hub. In turn, Egyptair will be able to access key routes to Australia and the Far East served by…

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BRUSSELS: Emirates has rejected claims by Lufthansa and Air France-KLM in a letter to the EU that competition from Gulf airlines had forced them to terminate services to Asia. The letter from the CEOs of the French and German carriers this week asked the European Union executive to act over what they say are unfair practices by the Gulf airlines that have caused them to scrap flights to destinations in the Middle East, Asia and India. “It is baffling why two of the largest legacy airlines in Europe are alleging that Gulf carriers have caused them to contract their Asian…

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ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is planning to acquire over 2,800 acres of additional land to build a third runway at the Islamabad International Airport scheduled to be inaugurated on August 14 this year. The authority has to acquire 2,833 acres to build a third runway. However, some CAA officials believed that the third runway should run parallel to the other two runways which have already been built. They were of the view that the proposed site would not be feasible and that the CAA would have to bear the additional cost of a new air traffic control tower…

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LONDON: Predictions of a tourism surge in Brexit Britain, fuelled by a weaker pound making the destination more affordable to overseas visitors, proved accurate for 2016 as 37.3 million inbound tourists visited the UK. A 3 per cent rise on 2015’s figures, visitors also spent £22.2bn (US$27.3bn, €25.9bn) in the UK, matching record figures from the previous year. In North America, Britain’s strongest market, visitor numbers rose by 7 per cent, with 4.3 million people visiting from the US and Canada. In Europe, there were a record 25.3 million visitors, an increase of 4 per cent year-on-year. “The strong growth…

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QUETTA: Men, women and children dressed in their ethnic dress and celebrated Baloch Culture Day with great fervor & zeal across the province on Thursday, March 2. Many musical, cultural and literary functions and ceremonies to mark the culture day, were organized across Balochistan including Gwadar, Panjgur, Kharan, Chagai, Dalbandin, Nushki, Kalat, Khuzdar, Mastung, Bolan, Sibi, Nasirabad, Jaffarabad and other respective areas. An impressive event was held at Balochistan Press Club in which all aspects of life in Balochistan were highlighted. Cultural stalls displaying Baloch cuisine, embroidery among others were also set up. Moreover a shopping mall in Quetta was…

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Two private individuals have made a huge payment out of their pockets just to go on a special trip next year: a tour around the moon. Space Exploration Technologies, better known as Spacex, revealed on Monday that the duo will start to undergo health and fitness tests and initial training later this year. The company run by Elon Musk has not identified yet the space tourists or disclosed the amount of paid deposit. “These individuals will travel into space, carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration,” Spacex said in a statement.…

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