AirAsia X Sees Mutual Benefit in Links with UAE’s Budget Airlines

(I should have posted this article earlier. It's the talk of the month among malaysian in UAE. Heard its gonna start flying to Abu Dhabi this november. Finally, balik kampung wouldn't be so much cheaper starting next year. Yieehaa! )

Source : Khaleejtimes.com
by Bruce Stanley
06/08/09

DUBAI — Long-distance budget carrier AirAsia X considers low-cost airlines based in the Gulf to be its allies, not rivals, as it prepares to launch flights in October between Malaysia and the UAE, the company’s chief said on Wednesday.

Local low-cost carriers such as Air Arabia and flydubai can supply AirAsia X with passenger traffic from cities they serve in the region. In turn, AirAsia X can provide traffic to these UAE-based carriers from the long-haul flights it plans to operate to Abu Dhabi International Airport, AirAsia X Chief Executive Officer Azran Osman-Rani said in a telephone interview.

After starting service to Abu Dhabi from Kuala Lumpur this fall, AirAsia X plans next year to make Abu Dhabi a regional hub for onward flights to cities in Europe, Africa, and central Asia. Tony Fernandes, Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Bhd., which owns part of AirAsia X, confirmed these plans on Tuesday.

“We welcome them,” said Mohammed Al Bulooki, Vice President for airline marketing and aeronautical revenue at Abu Dhabi Airport Company. Al Balooki added that his company, which operates the Abu Dhabi International Airport, had yet to receive a formal letter of intent from AirAsia X.

Osman-Rani believes that Sharjah-based Air Arabia and Dubai’s flydubai can be de facto feeder airlines for AirAsia X in Abu Dhabi, just as Europe’s no-frills Ryanair and easyjet fill this role for AirAsia X’s flights to and from London. Without such complimentary traffic in the Middle East, AirAsia X would be unable to tap markets in Egypt, Jordan and other countries in the region, he said.

AirAsia X selected Abu Dhabi as a destination and a hub partly because of the emirate’s commitment to develop its airport as an international gateway. Abu Dhabi also offers a better customer catchment area than Sharjah, and airline competition in Abu Dhabi is less intensive than in Dubai, Osman-Rani said.

Both Emirates Airline and Malaysia Airlines fly between Dubai and KualaLumpur, whereas in Abu Dhabi, AirAsia X will have to compete only with Etihad Airways, he said.

AirAsia X, launched in January 2007, posted its first monthly profit in December 2008. For the first half of 2009, Osman-Rani said that the carrier has managed “to keep our heads above water, which is more than you can say about a lot of other airlines.”

AirAsia X is owned partly by Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd., one of the most successful no-frills carriers flying short, regional routes.

Da'wah through Comedy

I never thought that Islam can be spread through comedy.

This person, Azhar Usman really opened my mind to be creative in spreading Islam.

Bil hikmah means a lot to people, and i think this guys touches the hearts of non muslim with his islamic comedy..

By the way, if we think that his method was not according to islamic principle, i think we should asked ourself several questions,

"Do we have an effort to spread the islamic message to non muslim?

"Any initiative we made to our non muslim colleague to make them understand the true teachings of Islam?

" Any of non muslim guys have been conveted to Muslims through our da'wah efforts?

"Do we really take any action to spread Islam to people around us, regardless of his/her religion?

Wallahu a'lam

Ramadhan : Bersediakah kita ?

Minggu lepas saya sempat menghadiri jemputan daripada Kedutaan Malaysia di Abu Dhabi untuk mengadakan majlis memperingati nisfu syaaban.

Saya diminta untuk mengimami solat maghrib, memimpin bacaan yasin dan memberi sedikit tazkirah berkenaan nisfu syaaban.

Alhamdulillah, ini merupakan satu 'milestone dakwah' dalam kehidupan saya kerana inilah kali pertama tazkirah saya berkumandang di kedutaan embassy abu dhabi. Sesungguhnya kesyukuran dipanjatkan kepada Allah Taala atas peluang yang diberikan. Mudah-mudahan itu bukan kali pertama dan terakhir tazkirah berkumandang di kedutaan Malaysia di sini.

Nisfu syaaban signal kepada Ramadhan

Ramai umat islam menyambut nisfu syaaban dengan mengadakan ibadah-ibadah sunat yang tertentu seperti solat raghaib, bacaan yasin 3 kali (diselangi dengan doa-doa tertentu), berkumpul di malam nisfu syaaban dan sebagainya. Amalan ini sangat popular khususnya di kalangan penduduk nusantara, dan juga sebahagian di Yaman.

Antara hadis shahih yang boleh kita pegang dalam perihal nisfu syaaban,

“Allah melihat kepada hamba-hamba-Nya pada malam Nisfu Syaaban, maka Dia ampuni semua hamba-hambaNya kecuali musyrik (orang yang syirik) dan yang bermusuh (orang benci membenci)"
(Riwayat Ibn Hibban, al-Bazzar dan lain-lain).

Saya bukan hendak membicarakan tentang sunnah atau bidaah nya amalan amalan tersebut, kerana bukan bidang saya untuk membahaskan perkara ini. Cumanya, perkara yang boleh saya sebutkan di sini ialah berkenaan kesedaran umat islam akan 'signal' jelas yang boleh kita ambil daripada Nisfu Syaaban. Selain daripada keampunan yang Allah S.W.T kurniakan pada malam tersebut, 'signal' yang saya rasa paling jelas ialah isyarat tentang betapa dekatnya umat islam sekarang ini dengan kedatangan bulan yang sangat ditunggu-tunggu oleh kelompok orang beriman, iaitu Ramadhan Al-Mubarak.

Persoalannya, seperti mana seorang ayah dan ibu membuat persiapan untuk menyambut kegembiraan (baca : anak) dalam keluarga, adakah kita sudah membuat persiapan yang secukupnya untuk menyambut kegembiraan (baca : ramadhan) untuk kita yang hanya datang setahun sekali??

Madrasah Ramadhan mendidik jiwa

Acapkali kita mendengar Firman Allah ini setiap kali datang ramadhan,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

Hai orang orang yang beriman, diwajibkan atas kamu berpuasa sebagaimana diwajibkan ke atas orang orang sebelum kamu, agar kamu bertaqwa.

(al-baqarah, 183)

Juga, hadis daripada nabi s.a.w. ,

مَنْ قَامَ رَمَضَانَ إِيْمَاناً وَاحْتِسَابًا غُفِرَ لَهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ

Sesiapa yang menghidupkan bulan Ramadan dengan penuh keimanan dan mengharapkan ganjaran pahala daripada Allah, maka diampunkan bagi-nya dosa-dosa yang telah lalu."
(riwayat Bukhari & Muslim)

Bulan ramadhan inilah menjadi bulan muhasabah bagi kita menghitung perbuatan diri masing-masing. Jadikanlah madrasah tahunan ramadhan ini sebagai satu medan untuk memperbaiki segala amalan yang kita lakukan. Sebagaimana sebuah kilang memerlukan 'shutdown operation' untuk melakukan 'maintenance' kepada setiap peralatan yang terdapat di dalam kilang tersebut, begitu jua lah konsep yang kita boleh terapkan apabila tibanya ramadhan dalam kehidupan. Biarlah ramadhan menjadi bulan 'maintenance' untuk kita membersihkan daki- daki kekotoran penyakit rohani dan jasmani yang melekat pada kita.

Sabda rasulullah s.a.w.

رَمَضَانَ اَوَلُّهُ رَحْمَةٌ اَوْسَطَهُ مَغْفِرَةٌ وَآخِرُهُ عِتْقٌ مِنَ النَّارِ

Pada ramadhan itu, di awalnya rahmat, dipertengahannya keampunan dan di akhirnya dijauhkan dari api neraka.

Persiapan menyambut ramadhan
Jadikanlah syaaban kita ini bulan persediaan untuk menyambut ramadhan. Persiapan yang dimaksudkan itu termasuklah :

i. Persiapan Ruhiyyah - Bepuasa sunat, solat sunat, qiamullail, membaca Al-Quran, zikrullah dsb.
ii. Persiapan Fikriyyah - mengulangkaji perihal puasa, memahami feqah puasa, mengulangkaji surah-surah yang telah dihafal
iii.Persiapan Jasmaniyah - menjaga kesihatan badan, mengatur masa tidur dan rehat yang secukupnya.
iv.Persiapan mental - bertekad untuk menjauhkan diri dari dosa, berniat untuk beramal soleh di bulan ramadhan, memasak tekad untuk melakukan ketaatan di bulan ramadhan
v.Persiapan material- bersedia untukmemperbanyakkan infaqke jalan perjuangan islam, melangsaikan zakat.

Mudah-mudahan ramadhan tahun ini akan meningkatkan amal islami, menaiktaraf keazaman untuk perjuangan islam, membersihkan kekotoran jiwa dan menjana kekuatan taqwa dan iltizam untuk lebih dekat pada Allah Taala.

اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَنَا فِي رَجَبٍ وَشَعْبَانٍ وَبَلِّغْنَا رَمَضَانَ
“Ya Allah berkatilah hidup kami di bulan Rajab dan Sya'ban dan sampaikanlah usia kami hingga bulan ramadhan”.

Catatan Abu Umar
11 August 2009 / 20 syaaban 1430
Abu Dhabi

face off

Lama dah tak masukkan entri dalam blog ini.

Sibuk? buat buat sibuk ada lah..

bukan apa, cuma mood untuk masukkan entri dalam blog dah kurang.

untuk naikkan kembali semangat, saya buat 'web surgery' kepada penampilan blog.

harap matlamat asal berblogging tidak luntur daripada sanubari.

Average Emirati household income in Abu Dhabi is Dh47,066

Abu Dhabi: The average monthly income of UAE national households in Abu Dhabi was Dh47,066 in 2008 compared with Dh15,000 for expat households, a study released by the emirate's Department of Economic Development (DED) shows.

Abu Dhabi is home to more than 50 per cent of the country's 880,000 citizens. In 2008, they represented 18.5 per cent of the population, according to the Ministry of Economy's figures.

One reason behind the disparity between local and foreign incomes is the relatively large size of Emirati households, says DED Chief Economic Researcher Khalid Desouky. The average size of an Emirati household was 10 people in 2008, including the main members of the family and workers such as drivers and maids.

Consistent with higher incomes, UAE national households also recorded higher average spending at Dh25,458 per month compared with Dh8,900 for foreigners.

According to the study, 83 per cent of nationals rely completely on salaries and bonuses for their incomes with eight per cent dependent on property rentals and nine per cent on other sources such as capital gains.

Gulf Research Center (GRC) researcher Saif Al Haddashi says average spending for nationals will likely remain at the same level and even see an increase in the short-term, but drop long-term because of the government's economic diversification plans.

"Spending by locals will not go down by much because of the government's intervention to cushion the impact of the economic crisis," he says.

"In the long-term, though, you can see the UAE moving in the same direction as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman, where you have locals working in semi-skilled positions."

According to the study, Abu Dhabi Government employees represent 48 per cent of all employed nationals in the emirate. An additional 31 per cent of locals are employed by the Federal Government. Al Haddashi says this number will likely decline as the government moves toward economic diversification and is less able to maintain salary levels.

Still, he says care should be exercised when analysing the numbers presented by the study as they only represent averages. A high disparity exists even between incomes of nationals, he adds.

Besides income and spending data, the study shows 73 per cent of nationals living in Abu Dhabi are under the age of 30.

With the exception of Oman with 65 per cent, the other Gulf Cooperation Council countries have a ratio of less than 60 per cent for this age group, according to United Nations figures.

Source : Gulfnews.com