Emirates has launched its first non-stop service between Dubai and Auckland, one of the world’s longest scheduled flights, bringing 39 European destinations and another 38 in Africa and the Middle East within just one stop of New Zealand.
“This is an important development for our customers, for Emirates, and for New Zealand. We anticipate high demand for the route, providing a further boost to inbound tourist traffic into New Zealand that now exceeds three million a year. We also expect the service to be popular with New Zealanders seeking faster connections to Europe and the Middle East,” said Gary Chapman, president group services & Dnata, Emirates Group.
Emirates’ new service will have an estimated flight time of just under 16 hours from Dubai to New Zealand and 17 hours, 15 minutes in the other direction.
Frankfurt-Panama City service
Lufthansa commenced its new non-stop service between Frankfurt and Panama City. Lufthansa will be operating a five-times-weekly service on the new route all year round.
Panama has experienced strong and accelerating economic growth in the last few years.
With its unspoilt beaches and large number of national parks, Panama is a great tourist destination, apart from being an ideal starting point for exploring various Central American countries and the islands of the Caribbean.
Lufthansa also has a new bilateral codeshare agreement with Copa Airlines, enabling passengers to fly from Panama City to any of 73 further destinations in Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Costa Rica, many of them bookable under Lufthansa flight numbers. In return, Copa Airlines customers gain access to the global network of the Lufthansa Group, which currently extends to 261 destinations in 101 countries. Members can also earn and redeem miles on both carriers and can check their baggage right through to their final Copa Airlines destination, obtain all their boarding passes for the trip at their first airport of departure and enjoy lounge access at Panama City Airport.
GO doubles subscriber base
GO has doubled the number of customers subscribed to a 35 Mbps internet service or faster over the past 12 months. This increase in subscribers was reflected in the Digital Economy and Society Index 2016 (DESI), published this week by the EU Commission.
DESI 2016, which placed Malta in 11th out of 28 EU member states – up from 12th a year before – noted that Malta was particularly strong in broadband deployment and take-up. It also noted that all Maltese households are covered by fixed broadband and that 58 per cent of broadband subscriptions provide speeds of at least 30 Mbps.
The index also noted the significant increase in the use of mobile broadband internet which rose from 53 to 63 per cent, although this is still below the EU average.
The Digital Economy and Society Index was developed by the European Commission to assess the progress of EU countries towards a digital economy and society.
Fimbank announces Easisave special offer
Fimbank will be celebrating Easisave’s fifth anniversary with a special offer of a two per cent per annum interest rate on its one-year fixed term deposits for a limited period. This offer is valid until April 30.
Easisave is an online savings platform that offers a range of deposit products in euro and dollars, with a choice between savings or fixed term deposits. Easisave customers who choose to open or renew any new fixed term deposit during the next 60 days will also automatically participate in a competition with a chance to win one of five Samsung Galaxy tablets.
www.easisave.com
BI conference on data
Four speakers will give their experiences on business intelligence and its application in various sectors at a half-day conference organised by Lead Training Services and Sagalytics.
The theme of the conference, part of the Malta Business Intelligence series, is Data To Information – Information To Profit.
The conference will focus on how to improve the use of new technologies, giving participants a fresh view on how to use Business Intelligence theory, methodologies and processes.
The conference is being held at the Microsoft Innovation Centre, Skyparks, on March 18, from 8.30.m to 1.15pm.
www.leadtraining.com.mt