Johannesburg Joins Emirates A380's travel list

Johannesburg welcomed its first scheduled Emirates A380 service yesterday, as flight EK761 from Dubai arrived at O R Tambo International Airport.

Johannesburg, the economic powerhouse of South Africa, is the first destination for the double-decker in Africa and the sixteenth destination on the Emirates A380 network.

“The demand for Emirates’ services in and out of Johannesburg has always been high, with passenger growth of more than 27 percent over the last year. It is fitting that our A380 is now serving South Africa and we would like to thank the Department of Transport and OR Tambo International Airport for their efforts in enabling us to bring this exceptional aircraft to Johannesburg,” said Jean Luc Grillet, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Africa.

“The UAE and South Africa’s strong and successful relationship has been built on the twin pillars of trade and tourism. In introducing our flagship aircraft and the extra capacity it offers, Emirates will help to further boost this important partnership,” added Mr Grillet.

Over the last year, Emirates has carried more than 900,000 passengers across its three South African gateways – Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. In the first eight months of 2011, the airline also carried more than 37,500 tonnes of high value cargo on its South African routes, with exports up 26 percent from the same period in 2010.

So far in 2011, Emirates has launched passenger flights to Basra, Geneva and Copenhagen. St Petersburg will be launched on 1st November, followed by Baghdad on 13th November; and Dublin, Rio and Buenos Aires in January 2012. Emirates' 20th and 21st destinations within Africa - Lusaka and Harare - will launch on 1st February 2012.

The Johannesburg A380 service will operate daily as EK 761, departing Dubai at 0440hrs (local time) and arriving at O R Tambo International Airport at 1050hrs (local). The return flight, EK762, departs Johannesburg at 1410hrs (local) and arrives in Dubai at 0010hrs (local) the following day.

BLOW YOUR OWN HORN: The Nokia Dado- Dado C2-00; The experience.

BLOW YOUR OWN HORN: The Nokia Dado- Dado C2-00; The experience.: The Nokia C2-OO dabo-dabo dual SIM, Easy Swap, one sim goes under the battery and the other on the side. When I heard this advert, my first...

The Nokia Dado- Dado C2-00; The experience.

The Nokia C2-OO dabo-dabo dual SIM, Easy Swap, one sim goes under the battery and the other on the side. When I heard this advert, my first expression was oh now that’s new innovation; I can place another sim without affecting the functionality of the other but that was it another Chinese phone on the market!

Then I was told this was an original Nokia phone, I picked interest in it but still had my reservations. The appearance of the phone did not catch my attention and being the African I am (African eyes are in their hands) I asked for a one week trial of the phone and before I knew it, I was owning the phone.

I am not the gadget freak, but I do know nice gadgets. This Nokia Dabo Dabo can does it for me. Not only does this Nokia have a long battery life, but also good sound I mean really good sound. Over the weekend, we had a house party when UMEME decides to do justice; I just put on my Nokia Dabo Dabo and the party was back on. That is good sound!

Then comes the strong pixels of the camera, MP3 unlike the other double phonesI I was accustomed to this one has a provision for blue tooth as well as access to the internet. What else would one want in a phone? A one- stop communication shop.
24 months warranty; am I seeing that right? Which phone in Uganda would offer you this?

With the Nokia Dabo Dabo surely good things come in small packages.

BLOW YOUR OWN HORN: BLOW YOUR OWN HORN: And Another Candle Lit

BLOW YOUR OWN HORN: BLOW YOUR OWN HORN: And Another Candle Lit: BLOW YOUR OWN HORN: And Another Candle Lit : "Today, I look in the mirror, Older than I was yesterday, And it is, The return of my birthday,...

Emirates' A380 Double-Decker to Serve Rome

27th July 2011 –

Emirates, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, announced today that the historic capital city of Rome will be the next destination slated for its flagship A380 aircraft. The daily A380 service will start 1st December 2011.

The announcement of Emirates’ first permanent scheduled A380 service to Italy comes on the back of its momentous June 6th landing at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport to mark the celebrations for its 50th anniversary, while commemorating 150 years of Italian unification.

“The permanent service of the Emirates' A380 to Rome underscores our commitment to Italy, having served this ever-growing market since 1992. The new A380 service will enable travellers to enjoy the unparalleled on-board amenities in all classes and the great connectivity of our network via the Dubai hub,” said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation. “We would like to express our gratitude to the airport authorities who have strategically upgraded their infrastructure to accommodate the A380. This purposeful investment will help to strengthen the economic ties and tourism links between the UAE and Italy.”

"This is a further confirmation of the successful relationship between Emirates and Aeroporti di Roma," said Elia Pistola, Aviation Director of ADR. "This represents a further development of the Emirates' presence at Leonardo da Vinci Airport. Rome airport is the first Italian airport that can accomodate an A380 with the complete operating infrastructure. The new dedicated double bridge is a strategic investment for our airport, since the A380 is the best aircraft to serve the growing key markets where Emirates operates via Dubai."

Rome is currently served twice daily by Emirates. Coupled with a double daily service to Milan and a daily flight to Venice, the 35 weekly frequencies contribute to a US$ 4.6 billion trade relationship between Italy and the UAE.

The A380 service will operate daily as EK 97, departing Dubai at 0910hrs (local time) and arriving at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport at 1235hrs (local). The return flight, EK 98, departs Rome at 1435hrs (local) and arrives in Dubai at 2305hrs (local). The arrival time of the A380 in Dubai will allow passengers from Italy to connect to its extensive network of destinations in the Far East.

With 15 A380s currently in its fleet, Emirates is the largest operator of the environmentally friendly double-decker aircraft, operating services from Dubai to London Heathrow (double-daily), Manchester, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Toronto, Seoul, Bangkok, Beijing, Shanghai, Jeddah, New York, Hong Kong, Sydney and Auckland.

From 1st October 2011, the A380 will begin serving Johannesburg, followed by Kuala Lumpur as of 1st December and then from 1st January 2012, the A380 will be deployed on the Munich route.

So far in 2011, Emirates has launched passenger flights to Basra and Geneva. Services to Copenhagen will commence on 1st August and St Petersburg will be launched on 1st November, followed by Baghdad on 13th November, and Rio and Buenos Aires in January 2012.

The land the war-men chose to till

The land the war men chose to till.
This land I call home.
Tearing through the scrubs in search for blood,
Taking with them anything they come across,
And yet all this they say in the name of justice,
What is justice, if you kill your own mother?
Brothers turn against brothers,
Gunshots rocks the skys,
The days are dark,
In this lands the war-men chose to till.

The harvest of their work,
Is sorrow, pain and loss,
The justice we get is the chopped lips, ears and limbs,
Hatred is sown and death is harvested,
In these lands the war-men chose to till.
The dances that once filled the air are gone,
Laughter gone,
And yet 22 years, these war-men chose to till,
Their own homeland,
In the name of Justice.


22 years past,
The war-men are gone,
What is left to harvest; pain, sorrow, and agony
In the land they chose to call home.

In this fields, the laughter that was long gone,
Now returns,
The sound of children playing fills the airs,
And yet behind all this lies a dark memory,
One that nothing can erase,
Not even the strong detergent can wash away,
A memory that perhaps we will live and die with,
A toil that reaped nothing but pain,
In this lands I call home.

Three blind mice

See how they run,
A round the V offices,
The chinese rat, the nkoko muzungu and the main,
Now that the cat is away,
Its time to play.