Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1201983
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 19 JANUARY 2020 21 COMMERCIAL EMIRATES, the world's largest interna- tional airline, concluded 2019 with a suc- cessful string of product, network, and customer experience highlights. The airline ushers 2020 with a contin- ued focus on strengthening its business across operational, commercial and cus- tomer experience metrics, and excite- ment for Expo2020 – the world's greatest show – which will open its doors to global visitors from October. Remarking on 2019's milestones and highlights, Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline said: "2019 was a year of recalibration in terms of our fleet and network plans, when it became clear that the A380 programme will cease. Emir- ates' dynamic approach to capacity de- ployment – during the southern runway renovation at Dubai International, as well as in response to the capricious forces of politics and socio-economics throughout the year – demonstrated our agility and yielded results. We've also stayed focused on delivering our "fly better" promise to customers through enhancing our product and service proposition at every touchpoint." Commenting on Emirates' outlook for 2020, Sir Tim said: "In 2020, we'll contin- ue to leverage our partnerships to provide even more connectivity and value for our customers. And we look forward to wel- coming the world to Dubai for Expo2020, where we will showcase the future of avi- ation at the Emirates Pavilion." Connecting the world to and through Dubai In the 12 months since January 2019, the airline has carried close to 58 million pas- sengers on its modern and efficient fleet of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft. Emirates operated over 3,500 flights on average per week, or over 186,000 flights in 2019, travelling more than 885 mil- lion kilometres around the globe, which is the distance equivalent of more than 2,300 trips to the moon and back. The airline served nearly 63 million meals on its flights departing Dubai, and handled over 35 million pieces of baggage in Du- bai alone. The airline reinforced its global network of 159 destinations in 2019, with the addi- tion of three new passenger routes: Dubai to Phnom Penh via Bangkok, facilitating a new connection between Cambodia and Thailand; a non-stop service to Porto, the airline's second destination in Portugal; and most recently, a new service to Mexi- co City via Barcelona. In addition, Emirates uplifted frequen- cies and upgraded capacity to 12 points within its network. Emirates also expanded customer choice, connectivity and convenience by growing its partnerships. The airline ended 2019 with 26 codeshare partners and 156 interline partners in 200 countries, extending its network by over 1,800 unique destina- tions. New partnerships forged in 2019 included with China Southern Airlines, Africa World Airlines, LATAM Airlines, SpiceJet and Interjet. Emirates and flydubai marked two years of successful partnership, carrying more than six million passengers on their joint networks to and through Dubai since 2017. Emirates' passengers benefit from seamless connectivity, accessing 94 des- tinations on the flydubai network, while flydubai passengers can also access 143 Emirates destinations. Emirates expanded its A380 network with the introduction of scheduled ser- vices to Riyadh, Cairo and Muscat. The Emirates A380 also operated seasonal services during the summer to Boston and Amman, offering more customers the opportunity to experience its flagship aircraft. Strategic fleet investments for the future At the Dubai Airshow 2019, Emirates placed an order for 50 A350-900 XWB air- craft and confirmed a full purchase agree- ment for 30 Boeing 787-9 aircraft. In line with its long-standing strategy to operate modern and efficiency wide-body aircraft, the airline's latest US$ 24.8 billion invest- ment in its future fleet will expand its op- erational flexibility in terms of capacity and range, and allow it to further develop its network proposition beyond 2020. Emirates ushers in 2020 with positive outlook HAVING recently com- peted in the high-stakes international World Fit- ness Federation compe- tition in Mexico, Leanne Bartolo – the current European Fitness Feder- ation Bikini Champion – is certainly not resting on her laurels when it comes to sharing her secrets for fitness success. Bartolo has come up with dynamic pro- gramme for fitness hopefuls that will share her unparalleled exper- tise. The Beach Body Challenge is a 12-week workout programme in which participants are encouraged to at- tend three gym sessions and classes a week, and come together every Saturday morning to discuss their progress. "The idea is to meas- ure and weigh ourselves on a weekly basis so that we can monitor our im- provement," she said. "We will also discuss our eating patterns and share healthy recipes with one another." It is a set-up that will help participants to get fit and healthy in a fun and social group envi- ronment and share their experiences with one another under Bartolo's guidance. The first Saturday meeting was held yster- day at the Warehouse Fitness Studio. The to- tal package price is €395 and includes an unlim- ited membership to the studio for the duration of the programme. For more information about Leanne and the Beach Body Challenge, follow her on Insta– gram. Leanne Bartolo launches Beach Body Challenge