ABU DHABI // If you happen to be flying to London from Kuala Lumpur on AirAsia in the near future, beware the stewardess with the cheshire grin, goatee and hairy legs that offers to puff your pillow.
"She" is the product of a bizarre Formula One bet between Tony Fernandes, the group chief executive of the budget carrier AirAsia, and his more famous counterpart, Sir Richard Branson.
The two airline bosses placed a bet at the beginning of the 2010 Formula One championship, agreeing that the one whose racing team lost to the other would serve as a "stewardess" on the winner's airline.
The Virgin Atlantic boss is now set to serve passengers on an AirAsia flight, dressed in a stewardess uniform.
Yesterday, the AirAsia boss said his company would run an online charity auction for the seats on the Kuala Lumpur to London flight, where the UK billionaire is to appear wearing the red stewardess outfit.
"We have had this great bet running all season and now it's time for Richard to start preparing himself for some hard work, and the likely pain of a pair of high heels," Mr Fernandes said.
Mr Fernandes is the principal of the Malaysian-backed Lotus team, while Sir Richard is head of Virgin Racing. Both teams made their F1 debut this season.
Although the two teams completed the season with nil points on Sunday, Lotus placed ahead of Sir Richard's Virgin Racing in the rankings by virtue of better finishes throughout the season.
"The date of the flight will be announced soon and the aim is to raise as much money as we can for a good cause, so the discomfort Richard will go through is worth as much as it possibly can be," said Mr Fernandes.
vtodorova@thenational.ae
* With addiitional reporting by Agence France-Presse
Like a Fading Shadow
Antonio Muñoz Molina
Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez
Tuskar Rock Press (pp. 310)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The%20specs
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
HEADLINE HERE
- I would recommend writing out the text in the body
- And then copy into this box
- It can be as long as you link
- But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
- Or try to keep the word count down
- Be wary of other embeds lengthy fact boxes could crash into
- That's about it
The%20Killer
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)