The first Etihad Airways flight to Boston touched down on Sunday as the national carrier began a new route serving its fourth US city.
Known for its history, culture, and home to some of the world’s best universities, Boston is the gateway to New England and the Massachusetts state capital.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner departed from Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi just after 3am on Sunday morning.
“It’s a great honour to be the first Etihad pilot to fly into Boston,” Emirati Captain Majed Al Marzouqi told The National from the flight deck during the 13-and-a-half-hour journey. “I am proud to play a pivotal role in this historic flight.”
Alongside him was First Officer Khalid Al Naqbi. Having never visited Boston before, he is one of the few people who can say that the first time they visited, they flew themselves there.
Etihad also flies to New York, Chicago and Washington. “We would always fly from JFK in New York over Boston and I always looked down and thought: 'I have to be there', and now here we are,” he said.
'Some people go fishing, I go flying'
Soaring under a blue sky and above marshmallow-like clouds, the view from the cockpit was something special, making it easy to see why the pilots enjoy their job. “Some people go fishing for fun, I go flying,” said Al Marzouqi.
The route from Abu Dhabi to Boston covers more than 10,000km of airspace over places including Iraq, Turkey, Poland, Germany, Greenland, Canada and the north-eastern coast of the US.
A knock at the cockpit door signalled that it was time for a shift change and the two Emirati captains headed out of the flight deck to rest, leaving the Dreamliner in the capable hands of relief pilots Captain Michael Hoong and First Officer Nikhil Singhania.
Meticulous planning has gone into the new route, and Captain Al Marzouqi – who returned to the cockpit just before landing – wasn't fazed by touching down in a new destination.
The UAE investment is about $25 billion into the US economy, and a lot of that is to companies in Boston
Arik De,
chief revenue and commercial officer, Etihad Airways
“Boston is at sea level with no significant risk from terrain. We just need to be a bit more conservative since it's our first time, but we will enjoy the approach and the landing,” Al Marzouqi said.
Passengers received celebratory redbrick-themed finjans - Arabian coffee cups without a handle - represent the ties between Abu Dhabi and its newest destination, which is known for its claret brick architecture.
All 28 business class suites on the jet were occupied. Premium passengers also enjoyed Armani / Casa bedding from Etihad’s partnership with the Italian fashion house, and Espa toiletries.
A Boston-themed menu was also on offer with dishes such as lobster rolls, Boston lettuce salad and vegetable chowder.
Daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Boston coming soon
For now, Etihad's flights to Logan International Airport will operate from the UAE capital on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. That schedule will soon increase according to Arik De, chief revenue and commercial officer for Etihad Airways.
“It’s currently four times a week, but it will go to daily very soon,” he told The National on board the inaugural flight.
Etihad’s preclearance for US flights is not currently available on Boston services, but that’s also something that is going to change in the near future. “The preclearance facilities go live in July, so from July all US flights are going to be pre-cleared and it will be a fantastic facility,” said De.
With a full load on the inaugural flight, Beantown, as Boston is often called, looks set to be one of Etihad’s most popular destinations, something that De doesn’t seem surprised by.
“There are significant ties between the UAE and Boston. The UAE has more than 1,000 alumni in the last three years, some 200 students are studying there now. And there is a lot of investment – the UAE investment is about $25 billion into the US economy, and a lot of that is to tech companies and healthcare companies in Boston,” said De.
The city is also a good connecting point for travellers looking to fly elsewhere in the US, as it’s the home hub of JetBlue, one of Etihad’s partners, which offers flights to nearly 100 destinations in the US.
Boston celebrates 'the best of America'
Incredibly rich in history and culture, Boston has plenty to offer visitors. “Catching a baseball game at Fenway is one of the things I definitely recommend doing – there’s something really cool about that,” said De, who lived in the city for five years.
“I think in many ways Boston celebrates the best of America. It’s warm and welcoming, and has a lot of immigrant stories, whether it's Irish immigration, Scottish or Italian.
“That continues today with the universities, where people from different parts of the world come in and get this amazing education. And that story ties in very much with the UAE's story; all of us here are from different parts of the world, coming here for a common journey.”
He added: “It’s also one of the few cities in the US that has an American feel, but then it has a very old-world charm, and you don’t get a lot of that in North America.”
And for travellers hoping to make the most of a visit by beating jet-lag, Captain Al Marzouqi said the scheduled flights on the new route work very well.
“The timing is perfect, you’ll be leaving Abu Dhabi after midnight, so you can enjoy the Etihad experience and get some sleep, and we’ll touch down in Boston in the morning, so you can start your day right away.”
Etihad to fly to Bali, Jaipur and Nairobi
In addition to the Boston launch, Etihad has announced new routes to Nairobi, Jaipur, Antalya and Bali. The airline is also launching seasonal services to Mykonos, Nice, Malaga and Santorini, all of which will start just in time for the peak summer travel period.
“By the end of the year, our network is going to be bigger than it was before 2019. By January 2030, we will fly to 150 destinations, adding about 10 destinations per year,” revealed De.
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
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MATCH INFO
Championship play-offs, second legs:
Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0
(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)
Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')
Derby County 0
(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)
Final
Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
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Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse
Rating: 3/5
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RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
The specs: 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor
Price, base / as tested Dh220,000 / Dh320,000
Engine 3.5L V6
Transmission 10-speed automatic
Power 421hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 678Nm @ 3,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.1L / 100km
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1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner: Dirilis Ertugrul, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer)
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
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2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
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3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
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3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
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4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
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The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
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Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
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On sale: Deliveries start in October
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
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Age: 40
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Mission: Promote world peace
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Role models: His parents
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By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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Avedis Hadjian, (IB Tauris)
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'The Batman'
Stars:Robert Pattinson
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Rating: 5/5
The biog
DOB: 25/12/92
Marital status: Single
Education: Post-graduate diploma in UAE Diplomacy and External Affairs at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: I love fencing, I used to fence at the MK Fencing Academy but I want to start again. I also love reading and writing
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What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was first created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
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Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
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1. Fasting
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3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
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BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
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Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
