Many people travelling to Britain with BA could see their plans disrupted by strike action.
Many people travelling to Britain with BA could see their plans disrupted by strike action.

BA travellers await court ruling



Holiday-makers with plans to travel to the UK for Christmas were awaiting the outcome of negotiations and court action last night to see if a threatened strike by British Airways' cabin crew would go ahead. Union and airline officials began talks yesterday in an attempt to stave off industrial action, which could see as many as 13,500 people go on strike from December 22 to January 2.

At the same time, BA launched a High Court challenge to the legality of the action, which would take place during its busiest period and could cost the flag-carrier in excess of £20 million (Dh120m) a day in lost revenue. Bruce Carr, the airline's lawyer, said in court yesterday that the union had shown "withering contempt" for the interests of passengers over the most important two weeks of the year.

The hearing is continuing and Judge Laura Cox said she would give a ruling today, according to wire reports. The Unite union called the strike on Monday after members voted in support of action over concerns about proposed staff reductions on some flights and a pay freeze. BA operates 26 flights a week between the UAE and London, meaning a strike could disrupt Christmas and New Year travel plans for tens of thousands of expatriates and holiday-makers in the Emirates and around the world.

British nationals in the UAE say they have yet to be contacted by BA or their travel agents to confirm that their plans may be threatened. "After reading about it in the news, we looked on the British Airways website and came across the banner they have there saying that this action had been taken," said a 35-year-old British engineer working in Dubai. "The banner said that they would be contacting their passengers very soon, but they haven't done that at all yet. We are a week away from it all happening and we don't know anything." The engineer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, had booked tickets for himself, his wife and his nine-year-old daughter to fly to Manchester, via London's Heathrow Airport, on December 24, with a return to Dubai on January 1.

"Because we had looked at the site of our own accord, my wife and daughter have now been able to change their flights free of charge to depart on Sunday before the strike is scheduled to start, and they will return on January 4, which is just after the strike ends," he said. "I don't have that option because I have work-related responsibilities. I can't just suddenly add extra leave. So effectively, I can't really do anything about my ticket."

The engineer, who works in the aviation industry, said he had no choice but to hope the airline would protect its international flights and scrap domestic flights instead. According to wire reports, the airline said it was still drawing up contingency plans for a stoppage, based on the number of flight attendants prepared to carry on working. Carriers faced with disruption typically focus on long-haul routes and suspend shorter ones.

Omar al Saltoni, 31, also found out by chance that his family's Christmas travel plans may be cancelled. "My wife's friend works for a travel agency and called us to see if we'd heard, because she knew we were planning to spend Christmas and the New Year in London with my wife, Jessica's, parents," said Mr al Saltoni. The couple were scheduled to travel on December 23 and have not yet changed their plans.

"We are waiting to hear about the results of the hearing before deciding what to do," said Mr al Saltoni. Tamara al Sahyouni has tickets from BA to Montreal, via London and New York, for herself, her husband and her seven-month old daughter, Sophia, since August. The family was due to fly out on December 29 and has already paid for its non-refundable, two-week hotel stay. "We made our reservations so early because it is such a long flight, and with a baby, you really need to plan," said Mrs al Sahyouni.

"We really don't know what to do. It's a big mess and we can't accept it; we'll lose so much money." The family cannot change the flight dates because of the hotel booking and work commitments, so it is hoping that BA will rebook them on to another airline at no added cost. "We found out by mistake. My husband called me from work to tell me and I checked online to confirm it," said Mrs al Sahyouni.

"We are waiting to hear about the result of the negotiations between the union and BA. I hope they'll find a solution soon. I've been trying to get a hold of someone in the BA office here but no luck and my husband sent them an e-mail but we haven't heard anything." To Mrs al Sahyouni and her family, the situation is "outrageous." "I don't know how a major airline can justify this at such a high season time. Everyone flies home for Christmas and New Year. People make plans and spend a lot of money. What are they thinking?"

hkhalaf@thenational.ae

A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
  • 2018: Formal work begins
  • November 2021: First 17 volumes launched 
  • November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
  • October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
  • November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

FIGHT INFO

Men’s 60kg Round 1:

Ahmad Shuja Jamal (AFG) beat Krisada Takhiankliang (THA) - points 
Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) beat Akram Alyminee (YEM) - retired Round 1
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Bhanu Pratap Pandit (IND) - TKO Round 1

Men’s 71kg Round 1:
Seyed Kaveh Soleyman (IRI) beat Abedel Rahman (JOR) - RSC round 3.
Amine Al Moatassime (UAE) walk over Ritiz Puri (NEP)

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

MATCH INFO

What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany

Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)

The specs

Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6

Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

Price: From Dh215,900

On sale: Now

The five stages of early child’s play

From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:

1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.

2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.

3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.

4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.

5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.

Europe’s rearming plan
  • Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
  • Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
  • Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
  • Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
  • Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
'Laal Kaptaan'

Director: Navdeep Singh

Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain

Rating: 2/5

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

What to watch out for:

Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways

The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof

The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history

Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure

Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used

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FIGHT%20CARD
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ACL Elite (West) - fixtures

Monday, Sept 30

Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)

Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)

The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
UAE v Gibraltar

What: International friendly

When: 7pm kick off

Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City

Admission: Free

Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page

UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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