Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/240181
43 Events maltatoday, Sunday, 12 January 2014 Corinthia Group celebrates 51 years of hospitality services On the 6 December 2013, the Corinthia Group celebrated its 51st anniversary with a grand gala dinner and awards presentation night held at the Corinthia Palace Hotel & Spa in San Anton, Malta. The event, hosted by Corinthia Group Founder & Chairman Alfred Pisani, was attended by members of the Pisani family, group directors, senior executives, long serving team members and employees of the year from all the hotels operated by the Corinthia Group internationally. Award presentations were held in the hotel's Chameleon hall and included continuous service certificates and awards to no less than 77 Corinthia Malta employees with five to 40 years of uninterrupted service and 15 'Employees of the Year' from the company's hotels and other subsidiaries in Malta, Hungary, Libya, Portugal, Russia, Sudan, The Czech Republic, Tunisia and the United Kingdom. Presentations were followed by a 'Hungarian themed' gala dinner, held in the Corinthia Room, the hotel's main restaurant and the company's birthplace in 1962. Entertainment was provided by the Hungarian 'Csicso Band', a traditional gypsy band brought over from Budapest for the event. Commenting on the occasion, Corinthia Chairman Alfred Pisani said, "Commitment and determination have been our driving force from day one, as indeed they still are to this day. This 'Spirit of Corinthia' is very much in evidence in all our operations worldwide, especially among our very dedicated employees, and therefore it is only fitting that they are present here to- night, to share with us the results of our enthusiasm and join us in celebrating our 51st anniversary." It was on the 6 December of 1962 that the Pisani family had inaugurated the upmarket 'Corinthia Restaurant' in the family's art nouveau villa in San Anton. The fine-dining restaurant was soon to become the focal point for the Island's 'gourmet' society. By 1964, plans were drawn up for the 155-room Corinthia Palace Hotel on Villa Corinthia's extensive grounds. The deluxe hotel was eventually inaugurated on 11 June 1968 in the presence of The Duke of Edinburgh. The Corinthia Group is today at the forefront in the hospitality industry with existing hotels and new developments in various destinations, latest of which the flagship Corinthia Hotel in London. Corinthia Group Founder & Chairman Alfred Pisani (front row, centre) with the 15 'Employees of the Year' from the Group's various subsidiaries Farsons Group presents donation to L-Istrina Vodafone Malta exhibits at ICE Totally Gaming The commitment of Farsons Group towards its corporate social responsibility has once again gained momentum with the annual ISTRINA fund raising campaign. In this year's campaign, as in 2012, Farsons Group once again presented a cheque for €25,000, to the President of Malta George Abela and Margaret Abela during this year's charity marathon at the Mediterranean Conference Centre. For this presentation aside from the Chairman, Louis Farrugia and the Chief Executive Officer, Norman Aquilina, the Company was also represented by other members of management and employee representatives. The run up to the marathon collection started early in October and proceeded throughout the months of November and December. All employees were encouraged to donate directly from their monthly salary in aid of the Malta Community Chest Fund, with an overall final additional contribution by the Company for an amount of €25,000. Every contribution is important when going towards such a noble and worthy cause. In fact during the last month, the annual Presidential Fun Run Activity also attracted nearly 100 participants from Farsons Group employees as well as their families, which amount was presented on a separate occasion to the President. The Farsons Group is proud to have supported the Malta Community Chest Fund and L-Istrina for these past years. "Our Group supports various fundraising initiatives throughout the year but L-Istrina remains the largest Group beneficiary. It is heartening to see the overwhelming response to this charity drive by the Maltese public," said Louis A Farrugia, Farsons Group Chairman. Vodafone Malta will once again be joining many of the world's best renowned platform providers, innovators and thought leaders in the remote gaming sector at ICE Totally Gaming 2014. This expo, to be held at the ExCel exhibition centre in London, is the biggest event in Gaming and participation in it allows Vodafone Malta to promote international connectivity and data centre services to those igaming operators seeking to op- Businesses save more with Melita The January sales are here and Melita is offering a free subscription for a month and free installation on the Business Duo Pack for new business customers who join its network by the end of January 2014. At just €29.66 excluding VAT per month Melita's Business Duo Pack includes superfast Fibre Powered broadband internet Emirates SkyCargo completes another remarkable year Emirates SkyCargo, one of the largest and most progressive air cargo operators globally, has achieved another successful year and major milestones over the past twelve months. In 2013, Emirates SkyCargo expanded its network and range of destination options for its customers by launching four new cargo-only destinations which began with Hanoi in Vietnam on 6 February, Chicago in the US on 3 March, Kano in Nigeria on 4 October, and Quito in Ecuador on 3 December. It also began services to Warsaw, Algiers, Haneda, Stockholm Clark, Conakry, Sialkot and Kabul – with the launch of passenger services offering belly-hold capacity to these eight destinations. To support its network growth, Emirates' SkyCargo expanded its fleet during 2013 by adding three new Boeing 777 Freighter aircraft. It now operates 12 freighters, 10 B777 Fs and two B747-400 ERFs which currently serve 43 destinations around the world. In March 2013, the freight division of Emirates strengthened its Cool Chain Premium Service with the appointment of an additional cool chain solutions provider, CSafe. In 2013, SkyCargo carried more than 4000 tonnes of temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical and healthcare products through its Cool Chain Premium Service. With the Emirates and Qantas partnership that began in March 2013, Emirates SkyCargo and Qantas Freight cooperated on cargo capacity on each other's passenger services offering cargo capacity to a combined total of over 200 ports across six continents. In April 2013, Emirates SkyCargo became the first carrier to implement Electronic-Air Waybill (e-AWB) shipments under the industry's recently ratified multilateral e-AWB standard, demonstrating its continued leadership in adopting the latest innovations and industry standards. During the year Emirates SkyCargo has entered into over 190 global and local bilateral and multi-lateral eAWB agreements with its customers to support the transition from paper Air Waybills (AWB) to electronic Air waybills. In May 2013, the Emirates Group which includes SkyCargo announced its annual results. For the first time Emirates SkyCargo reported a revenue over AED 10 billion reaching AED 10.3 billion (US$ 2.8 billion) mark, an 8 per cent increase over last year. Its tonnage increased 16 per cent reaching a remarkable 2.1 billion tonnes in a shrinking airfreight market, highlighting its ability to grow revenues against the industry norm. The airline carried 2.1 million tonnes of cargo across its network in Emirates SkyCargo has achieved another successful year and major milestones over the past twelve months the 2012-13 financial year and was ranked number one amongst the top airlines for scheduled Freight Tonne Kilometres flown internationally according to the latest World Airline Transport Statistics published by IATA. During 2013 SkyCargo won numerous of prestigious industry awards, including 'Cargo Airline of the Year 2013' (Air Cargo Week), 'Cargo Airline of the Year 2013', 'Best Middle East Cargo Airline' (both Air Cargo News), 'Best Air Cargo Carrier Middle East' (AFSCA), 'Cargo Operator of the Year' (SCATA) and 'Air Cargo Excellence Award' (Air Cargo World), to name but few. Looking forward into 2014, Emirates SkyCargo operations will move erate within the Maltese jurisdiction. Vodafone Malta will be at stand number N14-223 between the 4 and 6 February. All those wishing to schedule a meeting during the expo are to send an email to business.solutions.mt@vodafone.com. to Dubai World Central Al Maktoum International Airport which is set to become the home of its freighter operations from April 2014. Upon completion of the first phase, followed by the installation of the cargo handling system and the fitment of the interior by April 2014 and full completion by mid-September, the terminal will be equipped to handle 700,000 tonnes of cargo and can be further expanded by an additional 300,000 tonnes in the second phase. Emirates flies on a daily schedule from Malta to Dubai. Emirates SkyCargo is located on the First Floor at MIA Departures and can be contacted on tel. no 2166 0102, or at skycargomla@emirates.com with 30 Megabit download speed, unlimited calls to all Melita fixed telephony numbers and a huge bundle of 500 minutes of fixed calls to other local operators. "The Business Duo Pack was received very well by the smaller, selfemployed businesses and we are very encouraged by the very strong takeup of this product. The bundle offers great value with unbeatable products. Businesses need fast and reliable internet service, and Melita's fibre power broadband offers just that, with speeds starting from an incredible 30 Megabits per second. More importantly the telephony service included in the bundle offers great savings to our customers as it includes hundreds of free minutes of fixed calls to all networks and unlimited free calls to all Melita numbers," commented Gilbert Formosa, Business Sales manager at Melita. The 30 Megabit download speed is accompanied by an upgraded upload speed of 3 Megabits per second. Moreover clients can opt to get a free optional Static IP, which is ideal for business customers running an internet-based CCTV. Higher internet speeds of 60 Megabit download speeds are also available on request. For more information call Melita's dedicated Business line on 27273535 or visit http://business.melita.com Download the MaltaToday App now