Dubai is already renowned around the world for its magnificent shopping facilities, malls and stores. The emirate of Dubai is attracting a growing host of international retailers and there are now in fact more global brands in Dubai than in Paris or New York.

Dubai’s popularity as a shopping destination is particularly increasing with British visitors who were the number one spenders at this year’s Dubai Shopping Festival.

There is a huge range of retail outlets to choose from.There is now more than 50 modern shopping malls in Dubai selling tax free goods including the world’s largest, The Dubai Mall.

For an authentic local experience shoppers in Dubai should visit the traditional souks where they can find some fantastic gold and clothing bargains or fragrant spices. Modern souks can also be explored such as those at Souk Madinat Jumeirah and Souk Al Bahar.

The perfect time for the discerning shopper and families alike to visit Dubai is between 17th June and 7th August, when the Dubai Summer Surprises festival takes place. During the event Dubai’s shopping malls are transformed into live entertainment, music and dance venues.

Best of all, the Dubai mall’s vendors collaborate to offer major discounts across a large range of products including high street clothing, couture fashion and traditional Arabian crafts and furniture. There are also special activities and competitions for kids that will keep the little ones entertained.

CEO Paul Griffiths has announced on the Dubai-based Business Breakfast radio programme that Dubai Airport’s Concourse 3 Terminal is targeting a January 2013 opening.

The world’s first dedicated facility for A380′s will be home to Emirates’ growing fleet of superjumbos and feature dedicated first and business class lounges.

The expansion will help grow Dubai airport’s passenger capacity from 60 million to 75 million. Complementing Concourse 3 will be a 4th concourse, due to open in 2015, and an expanded Terminal 2 at Dubai Airport.

The new projects are designed to bridge Dubai Airport’s capacity gap ahead of the second phase of Al Maktoum Airport at Dubai World Central.

Emirates and Alaska Airlines have announced the launch of a new frequent flier partnership that will offer travelers the opportunity to accrue Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan miles when they fly to any of Emirates’ 118 destinations worldwide, including points across Africa, India and the Middle East.

Emirates Skywards members can also accrue miles across the Alaska Airlines network in the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii), Canada and Mexico.

Emirates’ Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for the Americas Nigel Page said..

“As part of our commitment to Seattle, we are launching our service by partnering with Seattle’s hometown airline to offer customers the convenience of a frequent flier partnership as well as one-stop check-in and through checked baggage. Emirates looks forward to welcoming Alaska Airlines customers with our affordably luxurious service both on the ground and in the air.”

Emirates, the largest operator of Boeing 777 aircraft in the world, will operate a daily nonstop flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Dubai aboard an ultra-long range B777-300ER from 1st March 2012 . Seattle joins Emirate’s existing U.S. gateways in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston and most recently, Dallas/Fort Worth.

Under the new partnership, travelers connecting between any point on Alaska Airlines and Emirates’ networks will be able to check in for their flights at either carrier’s counter, receive their boarding passes and check their bags to their final destination.

Alaska Airline’s managing director, Caroline Boren said..

“Alaska Airlines is delighted to welcome Emirates as our newest Mileage Plan partner. Our customers will be able to earn and redeem miles on Emirates — a carrier admired for its service and quality and with a route network that gives our members even more access to global destinations.”

Miles flown on Emirates will count toward qualification for Alaska’s MVP elite level program. To celebrate the new partnership, both airlines are offering double miles on each others’ flights starting 1st March through 31st May 2012. To earn Double Miles, members must register their Skywards number at skywards.com or Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan number at alaskaair.com* prior to their first qualifying flight.

Emirates Airlines

Emirates currently serves 118 cities around the world with a young and technologically advanced fleet of 168 wide-bodied aircraft that are equipped with industry-leading comforts in the air. Additionally, Emirates has 237 wide-bodied aircraft on order, worth more than US$84 billion, and is the leading customer of the Airbus A380, with 20 in its fleet and 70 on order.

Renowned for its excellence in service and innovation, both on board and on the ground, Emirates holds an impressive array of prestigious awards, most recently including Air Transport World’s 2011 “Airline of the Year” award and Frommer’s selection of the Emirates Lounge at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport as one of the 2011 “Top Airport Lounges in North America.”

Emirates was also awarded the “World’s Best Airline In-flight Entertainment” for the 7th year at the 2011 Skytrax World Airline Awards. Additionally, Fast Company magazine ranked Emirates on “The Fast Company 50″ list in 2009 as one of the “World’s Most Innovative Companies.”

Operations on Emirates from New York, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco connect America to the world through the airline’s route network with extensive connections from Dubai to the Far East, Australia and Africa. Emirates will begin operating out of Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Seattle-Tacoma International (SEA) Airports on 2nd February, and 1st March 2012, respectively.

Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, serve 90 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawai’i, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines ranked “Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Network Carriers” in the J.D. Power and Associates 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 North America Airline Satisfaction StudiesSM.

*Registration is required prior to first qualifying flight in order to receive Double Miles. Double Miles valid only on qualifying paid flights marketed and operated by Emirates and Alaska Airlines. Travel is valid from 1st March 2012, through 31st May 2012. Flight miles must be credited to the member’s Emirates Skywards or Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan account only in order to earn Double Miles. All travel must be completed by 31st May 2012. Not valid on free or award travel. Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for travel and Bonus Miles to be credited. Offer subject to change without notice.

Double Miles do not count toward elite status in Mileage Plan or tier status in Skywards. All terms and conditions of the Emirates Skywards and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan(tm) program apply.

See here for more information on Flights to Dubai

Dubai Airport has introduced 4 bilingual virtual assistants at Dubai Airport to communicate important travel information to more than 50 million passengers that pass through Dubai airport each year.

The state-of-the-art digital signage solutions use the very latest in rear-projected audio visual technology to create the illusion of a real person, conveying helpful security and brand messages. It makes Dubai Airport the first in the region to use the technology.

The Dubai Airport virtual assistants, which have been created by leading queue management specialist Tensator, cheerfully greet and engage with the passengers in order to provide them with information on the preparations they need to make prior to entering the security screening and immigration areas at Dubai International. The use of this innovative technology is set to improve operational efficiencies and enhance the customer experience at Dubai International by reducing wait times in key areas near security screening points.

Commenting on the introduction of new technology at Dubai International Airport, Sujata Suri, Vice President, Service Development for Dubai Airports, said:

“As a customer-centric company, we realise that it is essential, amid all the ongoing growth and expansion, that we make the journey through our airport as quick and pleasant as possible. Just like Dubai International, the virtual assistants work 24/7 and will play an important role in helping us to achieve that goal.”

The use of the 4 virtual assistants, which have been installed for a 3-month trial period, will help to ease the passenger journey by delivering guidance before and as they pass through departures and transfers areas.

Abdel Aziz Rahal, General Manager at Tensator FZE explained:

“We worked very closely with Dubai Airports team to assess their particular requirements and develop a solution that matched them perfectly. We firmly believe that this solution will become a valuable asset to Dubai International, delivering consistent and clear messages and providing passengers with a wealth of information that will help to speed up their journey time.”

Virtual assistants are one of a number of initiatives underway at the world’s 4th busiest airport for international passenger traffic. In September Dubai Airports launched a comprehensive service measurement project (the world’s largest to be undertaken by an airport operato) that will deliver intelligent, real-time information to drive better service delivery for passengers.

Dubai Airports taxi fleet of the Dubai Taxi Corporation at the Roads & Transport Authority will be equipped with free child seats as part of the “Child Safety First” campaign in co-operation with ‘BabyShop’.

The campaign, which will runs for 3 months, aims at advancing the awareness of the importance of using child seats onboard taxis in Dubai for the safety of children as well as the peace of mind of their family members during their daily travels.

Reports released by the Dubai Health Authority indicate that 63% of crash victims in Dubai are children, which is 3 times the prevailing international rate of 22.3%, the RTA has opted to curb these exorbitant rates to bring them in line with its strategy and vision of providing Safe and Smooth Transport for All in Dubai.

Acting CEO of Dubai Taxi Corporation, Yousef Al Ali said..

Under this Campaign, the DTC has coordinated efforts of 3 affiliated departments such as the Resources and Support, Fleet Drivers Affairs and Fleet Operations as well as BabyShop where fifty child seats have been issued and fitted to fifty cabs in Dubai deployed to Dubai Airport with special emphasis on Ladies Taxi and Family Taxi services. Customers can order a cab in Dubai fitted with a child seat when calling the Booking and Despatch Centre at the RTA Public Transport Agency.

Booklets have been published in English and Arabic, enhanced by the logos of the Dubai Taxi Corporation as well as Graco, the supplier of child seats to 
BabyShop.

The information booklets contain information about the safety and security of children on board, types of seats for the front seats, safety instructions on roads and how to fit these seats to the vehicle.

Booklets also include instructions about child safety indoor and outdoor, on board the vehicle, and on the public road along with key accessories needed to enhance the safety of children, and appropriate means of ensuring the child safety at home or outside, among others. These booklets have also been distributed at all BabyShop outlets across 
the UAE. This initiative is also being promoted through running ads on various Dubai Airport taxis, besides that, last September the BabyShop provided training to cabdrivers in Dubai on how to fix and install the child seat together with the child’s posture in the seat in order to uphold the child’s safety.

Vinod Talreja, BabyShop Chief Executive, said:

“We are delighted to join hands with the Dubai Taxi Corporation and the Roads and Transport Authority as part of our quest for ensuring children’s safety in Dubai, and passengers’ peace of mind. Children are exposed to many accidents and injuries inside and outside their homes due to the technological advancements witnessed by the world today.

Therefore, we, at BabyShop, are keen on designing a bunch of effective products to protect children from harm and provide them with the highest degree of safety during their mobility.”

Emirates has now upgraded a third daily return flight between Dubai and London’s Heathrow Airport to the airline’s flagship Airbus A380.

For Australian travellers on the Kangaroo Route, that means another option for more comfortable seats on their connecting flight, especially in business class, and more seats available on the route.

The flights, EK029 from Dubai to Heathrow and EK030 from Heathrow to Dubai, were upgraded to the A380 on 24th January 2012.

The service previously used to be on Emirates Boeing 777-300ER planes, which have a less comfortable angled lie-flat business class seat than Emirates’ world-class A380 business class fully flat bed.

That extra comfort, the stand-up bar at the back, direct aisle access, more privacy, extra space and quieter A380 cabin all mean that savvy business travellers prefer Emirates’ A380 flights where the schedules match up.

Emirates now offers it’s passengers a luggage home delivery service from Dubai Airport Terminal 3 so that passengers no longer have to wait for their luggage on arrival at Dubai Airport.

Strategically positioned just after the immigration desks, Emirates baggage home delivery service provides passengers with a hassle free journey by having their luggage delivered to anywhere in the UAE on arrival at Terminal three for a nominal fee.

Dedicated agents will collect the baggage on the passenger’s behalf, clear customs and make sure it is delivered to any destination within the United Arab Emirates.

Passengers who decide to use this service will be charged Dh200 for up to 4 pieces of luggage for delivery anywhere within Dubai, Ajman and Sharjah and Dh250 for delivery within Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. Dh10 will be applied to any additional pieces of luggage.

All bags must conform to the standard baggage weight and dimension regulations, any bag to be found containing banned items will require a physical check of the bag in the presence of the passenger, the delivery fee will not be refunded if the passengers fail to declare these items at the time of booking the emirates home delivery baggage service.

Emirates are driving their operations in Europe by introducing a 3rd daily flight from Dubai to Milan from 1st June 2012. This will bring the number of weekly flights from Dubai to Italy to 49.

Flight EK101 will depart from Dubai Airport at 03.40 and arrive at Milan Malpensa Airport at 08.25. The return flight EK102 will depart Malpensa Airport at 11.10 and arrive at Dubai Airport at 19.20.

The service will be operated by a 237 seat Airbus A330-200 in a three class configuration. The extra flight will bring an additional 15 tonnes of daily cargo to an already active cargo route.

With a fleet of 169 aircraft, Emirates now flies to 121 destinations having just launched Dallas, Lusaka and Harare.

Emirates launches flights to Dublin

Emirates launched its new Dublin route, the third new route to be added to Emirates’ route network in the opening days of 2012 as the airline forges forward with its global expansion.

After the launch of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina on 3rd January 2012, the Irish capital took its position as Emirates’ 118th destination, opening up a new efficient channel via Dubai to key markets such as Australia, India, Thailand, China and the Philippines.

Emirates will serve Dublin daily with an A330-200, providing First Class, Business Class and Economy Class travel. EK 0161 leaves Dubai Airport at 07.00hrs daily and arrives at Dublin Airport’s Terminal 2 at 11.30hrs. EK 0162 departs Dublin at 12.55hrs and lands in Dubai at 00.25hrs the next day.

On board today’s inaugural flight from Dubai were Tim Clark, President, Emirates airline; Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation; Ram Menen, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President-Cargo; Ciaran Madden, Ireland’s Ambassador to the UAE; Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport; Colm McLoughlin, Vice Chairman, Dubai Duty Free and Niall Gibbons, CEO Tourism Ireland.

Navigating Dubai Airport just got easier with the introduction of a mobile application for Apple and Android devices.

Called myDXB, the Dubai Airport App provides information on flights and gate numbers as well as way-finding to locate customer-facing services across the 3 terminals of Dubai International.

The idea behind creating myDXB for Dubai Airport was to simply communicate the availability and location of commercial services to millions of passengers that pass through Dubai Airports terminalseach month. The application is also a great way to plan ahead, enabling passengers to maximise their time and direct them towards services from currency exchange to their favourite retail or food brands.

Dubai Airport is constantly looking at ways to make the passenger journey more convenient, and innovative technologies are a natural choice for achieving that objective. This Dubai Airport app is the first step in offering customers tools to plan their time at Dubai International, and to ultimately influence behaviour and spend.

Built with a simple interface, myDXB can be downloaded on iPhones and iPads as well as on the wide range of Android phones and tablets in seconds. While Dubai International offers free Wi-Fi Internet connectivity throughout the airport, the directory element of the application has been designed to operate offline so that more customers can access and benefit from it.