ARAB TIMES, THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015

52SPORTS

Feedback from over 200,000 passengers through onboard survey covers 36 customer touchpoints

New survey from flydubai offers unique insights into emerging travel trendsDUBAI, UAE, May 6: flydubai pub-lished today new research focusing onthe latest travel trends, behaviours andpreferences based on the analysis ofover 4,000 independent opinions thatare compiled every week from flydubaipassengers.

By having the latest technology onboard flydubai is able to capture cus-tomer feedback through its award win-ning inflight entertainment system. Thedata is downloaded each week andanalysed for management review within24 hours.

It provides feedback across 36 cus-tomer touchpoints and identifies trendsby route or a specific flight of the morethan 1,400 flights operated by the airlineeach week.

Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of flydubai, commenting on theairline’s approach said; “from the latesttechnology on board our aircraft we areable to have access, through the inflightentertainment system, to every passen-ger and hear their views.

The data we are capturing shows trav-el patterns as well as behaviors andimportantly helps us to drive innovationto meet our passengers’ expectations.The timeliness of this analysis and ouremphasis of putting the customer expe-rience at the core of our operations giveus a unique insight to our passengers.This keeps us focused on what is impor-tant to the passenger.”

flydubai’s strategy of opening uptrade routes and offering reliable trav-el services to new and emerging mar-kets as well as increasing frequency topreviously underserved markets con-tinues to be very well received by pas-sengers.

The survey data consistently showsthat flydubai’s passengers recognise thebenefits of direct air links as key factorsinfluencing their airline choice with pri-ority given to connectivity (37%) andvalue for money (24%).

Ghaith Al Ghaith added; “the Arabian

(Left to right): flydubai stand at ATM 2015.

Photos from the event

Photo from the event

People Edge UX

flydubai hosts 500 travel agents during Arabian Travel MarketFor the fourth consecutive year, fly-dubai participates at the ArabianTravel Market (ATM), held from04 to07 May at Dubai World Trade Centre.The airline is hosting 500 leading trav-

el agents from across its network ofmore than 90 destinations in 46 coun-tries. As one of the most importanttravel and tourism events in theregion, ATM provides travel agents

with an opportunity to connect andinteract with thousands of exhibitorsfrom various sectors within the travelindustry.

Since its launch in 2009, flydubai

opened up 57 routes which were pre-viously underserved with few or nodirect links to Dubai, offering passen-gers direct flights to the UAE andconvenient connections to more than

250 destinations via Dubai’s aviationhub.

flydubai’s stand is located StandUAE 2310, Hall 2 at the Dubai WorldTrade Centre.

Travel Market provides an opportunityto showcase our latest product develop-ment and share our research with othermembers of the travel industry. With an86% recommendation rate this is in linewith the standards set by Dubai, theleading destination for global travel,business and events.”

Listening to its passengers’ feedbackwas a key component in the launch offlydubai’s Business Class in October2013. Research shows that the flydubai

Business Class passenger tends to beyounger, travels frequently, gives prior-ity to convenience and good value.

The research shows that flydubai’sBusiness Class appeals to a youngertraveller with 43% of passengers underthe age of 34 and 27% aged between 35and 44 years old.

The frequency of travel across theflydubai network showed that 26% ofpassengers from Africa travelled month-ly, 29% from Kuwait, 21% from Saudi

Arabia, 13% from India, 17% fromRussia, 15% from the Caucasus andCentral Asia, and 21% from EasternEurope.

flydubai’s Business Team is availableto support business class passengersfrom the time they book their ticket untilthe end of their journey with 87%reporting that the Business Team couldresolve their enquiries.

Key findings of the researchinclude:

■ 86% of passengers who participatedin the survey would recommend fly-dubai■ 62% of Business Class passengers arerepeat travellers ■ 45% of our Business Class passen-gers book through travel agents■ 91% remarked positively on theappearance of the cabin■ 81% of Business Class passengerssay they enjoyed the comfort of the seat■ 86% of Business Class passengers

enjoy the legroom ■ 91% of customers found the crew tobe helpful, efficient and knowledgeable ■ 78% of Business Class passengersreport baggage check-in times of 5 min-utes or less■ 79% of passengers reportImmigration queues of less than 5 min-utes ■ Two-thirds of passengers reportqueues at Security of less than 5 min-utes.

Al Dawli platinum sponsor of‘Elite Real Estate Exhibition’KUWAIT CITY, May 6: KuwaitInternational Bank, the best Islamic Bankin Kuwait For the second consecutiveyear, was declared the platinum sponsorof the Elite Real Estate Conference andExhibition scheduled to be held duringthe period from 4th - 9th May at KuwaitInternational Fairgrounds in Mishref.

On this occasion, Waleed J Al-Qattan,AGM - Retail Banking E Banking &Alternative Channels, stated that the plat-inum sponsorship of this specialized realestate exhibition reflects strategic focus onkey events and exhibitions at both the localand international levels that comes in linewith the strategy focused on key exhibi-tions and conferences which combineunder one ceiling elites specialized in realestate and investment activities. Moreover,it is expected that such an opportunityallows for introducing the bank’s financingsolutions, facilities and innovative prod-ucts which serves the financing needs ofvarious categories and sectors. It is also an

opportunity to introduce our holistic finan-cial products and services carried in linewith the rules and regulations of the liberalIslamic law (Shari’a). Consequently, thehigh professional capabilities of ouremployees enable them to extend the bestspecialized consultations in this domain.

On this occasion, it pleases us to inviteall participating organizations andesteemed guests to visit KIB’s pavilion inthe exhibition to get in touch with ouremployees and take benefit of the specialoffers tailored to the needs of individualsfrom different social sectors, age cate-gories and financial profiles.

It is worth mentioning that with this exhi-bition of Elite Real Estate in which majorlocal and international real estate companieshandling various real estate projects insideand outside Kuwait, the conference of EliteReal Estate will be organized during theperiod from 4th - 5th May in the largeConference Hall No.8 at KuwaitInternational Fairgrounds.

‘Employees have made significant contribution to growth of company’

TSC recognizes long serving employeesKUWAIT CITY, May 6: The SultanCenter (TSC) held a gala dinner onWednesday, April 29that Jeans GrillRestaurant in Sharq to honor 150 staffacross countries and departments, forhaving worked more than 20 years ofcontinuous service at The SultanCenter.TSC long service awards cere-mony was attended by TSC executives,management and family members ofthe honorees.

On this special occasion, TSC com-memorated 20plus years of outstandingemployee service in conjunction withits 33 year anniversary milestone.

Antoinette Sullivan, Director ofHuman Resources, opened the event bystating, “Throughout the years TSCemployees have made a significantcontribution to the growth of TSC andits success stories.

TSC employees and their commit-ment and perseverance to teamworkhave been an integral part in providingexcellent service to our customers. Wewould not be where we are today orhere tonight without their support,dedication and commitment”, shesaid.

Vice Chairman and Group

Managing Director, Ayman Sultanaddressed the honorees stating “I amhere tonight with great appreciationand pride in honoring our valuedemployees who have served the com-pany for a so many years and havebeen a remarkable asset to our compa-ny. I would like to take this specialopportunity to thank your outstandingefforts and dedication that drive TSC’scontinued success.”

The honorary event was markedwith entertainment, including con-tests, special awards and gifts for allattendees. Mozaffar Miah, Store

Supervisor - Al Kout, who has beenwith the company for 25 yearsexpressed, “I greatly appreciate TheSultan Center’s support and recogni-tion of my service to the company. Ihave truly enjoyed being part TSC,and it is a pleasure to be here tonightwith the TSC family and all of my col-leagues.”

The attendees thoroughly enjoyedthe evening, and TSC was pleased tohave hosted this event for long servingemployees recognizing their exception-al longevity, loyalty and achievementsto the company.

Samsung Galaxy S6 edge world’s 1st smartphone with dual curved display

More attention to the user experience hits premium phonesKUWAIT CITY, May 6: As the globalsmartphone market matures, flagshipphones are beginning to resemble oneanother on the outside. Coupled with the

growth of smartphone penetration in theGulf region and abroad, this trend ismotivating mobile manufacturers to com-pete on usability and functionality,

instead of appearance alone. Even brandsthat are thinking outside the box withphones such as the Galaxy Note Edge areworking to transform the user experience.

Samsung, in particular, has beentackling criticism that its user inter-faces complicate the user experience,and facing those concerns head on withthe new Samsung Galaxy S6 andGalaxy S6 edge. Critics have said thatthe company’s efforts to incorporate abroad range of features, gestures and

functions have made the phones lessintuitive and more difficult to use, andfocused on simplifying the UX whendeveloping the new flagship phones.

Removed, Reduced, for Simplified UXUsing results from a survey of con-

sumers, Samsung based the UX of the

Galaxy S6 on how people actually use theirsmartphones. Take the “Contacts” softwareon the Galaxy S6, and compare it to that onthe Galaxy Note 4. The set of menu optionsis simpler, narrowing down this menu to justfour options, including “Edit”, “Share”,“Manage contacts”, and “Settings”, notably

fewer than the Galaxy Note 4, which pre-sented users with 6 options to choose from.

The Graphic User Interface (GUI) isalso simpler. Instead of using pictograms,Samsung uses text and purges jargon tomake life easier for the growing demo-graphic of users who are buying smart-phones for the first time or are transition-ing from another operating system. Forexample, the term “Network SSID” wasreplaced with “Network Name.”

New UX, Unique and PowerfulThe Galaxy S6 edge is the world’s first

smartphone with a dual curved display.This not only looks nice, but has signifi-cant impact on how people can use thedevice. The edges help users to operatethe phone in the dark (or when it’s turnedon its face) by displaying important infor-mation, including weather, stocks andnews on its curves with a simple touch.

Samsung calls this display the “PeopleEdge” and it’s obvious why: the edgeshelp users to connect easily to other peo-ple. The “People Edge,” different colors -blue, green, yellow, orange and purple -and can be assigned to up to 5 differentpeople. When one of them texts or callsthe device, the assigned color will glow,helping people keep up with family, col-leagues or even sports.

Instead of taking away from the phone’sfunctionality, Samsung’s developers haveactually made the UX much faster andmore intuitive when compared to previousdevices. The number of steps it takes tocomplete regular tasks is reduced andusers have more to enjoy than ever before.