Month: February 2020

Theluli Banbukeyo is crispy fried breadfruit chips, a delicious local delicacy commonly produced in islands. 

It can be eaten on its own or with Rihaakuru. It is a finger licking delicious snack. Women get together to cut and fry the chips. It is made amongst lots of chatter, laughter and love and is often exchanged as gifts between friends and family. It is no wonder that every Maldivian looks forward to the breadfruit season

Source : visitmaldives.com

Pop TV's Schitt's Creek: A Screening and Conversation with Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Daniel Levy and Annie Murphy, Moderated by Vanity Fair's Richard Lawson at the 92Y.

 Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

United is teaming up with famed New York community and cultural center, the 92nd Street Y (92Y), to serve as the official airline of the nonprofit's renowned Recanati-Kaplan Talks Series for 2020. For decades, 92Y has been home to New York City's largest and most successful talks series, featuring prominent artists, entertainers, musicians, scientists, comedians, political figures, fashion designers, dancers, economists and many others.

"United's shared purpose drives us to unite the world by connecting people to what matters most, which is why we are thrilled to be aligned with an organization such as the 92nd Street Y which embodies our brand's commitment," said Jill Kaplan, President, New York / New Jersey for United Airlines. "We are extremely proud to join this iconic institution in treating New Yorkers to another season of compelling commentary and captivating stories that will lift hearts, illuminate minds and bring our community together."

"We are delighted to collaborate with United Airlines for our 2020 season of Recanati-Kaplan Talks," said Susan Engel, executive director of 92Y Talks. "Their generosity helps us to continue to present unforgettable events with some of the most interesting and culturally significant speakers of our times."

Talks for the 2020 season include Larry David, the cast of Schitt's Creek, John Mulaney, Jeffrey Toobin, Paul Krugman, Samantha Bee, Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski, Diane Keaton, Issa Rae, Edie Falco, Seth Rogen, the cast of Outlander, Kevin Kline, Pod Save America's Dan Pfeiffer, Roy Wood Jr., Ronny Chieng, Noah Centineo, Ezra Klein, Malcolm Gladwell, Fareed Zakaria, Ramit Sethi, Glennon Doyle, Nicholas Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn and many more.

Every customer. Every flight. Every day.

United continues to strengthen its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers' best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today's announcement, United recently:

• Announced that MileagePlus award miles will never expire
• Committed $40 million toward a new investment initiative focused on accelerating the development of sustainable aviation fuels and other decarbonization technologies
• Established Miles on a Mission, a first-of-its-kind crowdsourcing platform which gives customers a simple way to donate miles to non-profit organizations and charities in need of air travel
• Launched ConnectionSaver, a digital tool dedicated to improving the experience for customers with connecting flights
• Instituted PlusPoints, new upgrade benefits for MileagePlus Premier members
• Gave Economy customers a choice of complimentary snacks on domestic flights
• Made DIRECTV free for every customer on more than 200 aircraft

Source: hub.united.com

Aeroflot has won two categories at the IT Project of the Year awards organized by GlobalCIO, a professional community of digital transformation leaders.

Aeroflot's project "Optimising the system for creating, conducting and analysing marketing campaigns" was awarded the prize for Best Industry Solution in the transport category. Aeroflot has implemented a system allowing users to optimise automated targeting of marketing campaigns to customers based on a variety of communications, offers or communication channels. The system generates and verifies business hypotheses without involving IT specialists, and then launches campaigns based on available information and machine learning, generating detailed reports with KPI analysis for each campaign.  

In the Analytical Solutions and Big Data – Best Project in Cargo Logistics category, Aeroflot received the award for Cargo Air, and automated system for predicting cargo capacities that predicts available freight quota capacity aboard Aeroflot's passenger flights, over both the long and short terms, as well as increases aircraft load volumes.

The projects were evaluated by IT directors and IT service managers over a two-month period, using a custom-built voting system.

Kirill Bogdanov, Aeroflot's Deputy CEO for IT, said:

"Both projects are run using big data tools and machine learning models. Aeroflot is a global leader in the digitalization of the aviation industry, and developing such technologies is a priority for us. By introducing a marketing communications management system (for both existing and potential customers and across all channels) Aeroflot will be able to significantly optimise its marketing campaign launch process. We expect to see a 25% rise in the response rate to communications, as well as a 15% reduction in people unsubscribing from our marketing campaigns. Thanks to Cargo Air, the operational efficiency of Aeroflot's cargo business has increased – we are able to predict an aircraft's available cargo quota capacity with 90% accuracy, which has led to a genuine optimisation of the commercial load factor of our flights."   

The independent Project of the Year competition has been run by the Global CIO community of IT directors for eight years.

It is the first competition within the Russian IT industry to have IT directors themselves evaluate the efficacy of each company's project.

Winners are those who are found to have contributed most successfully to the support and development of information technologies within Russia. More than 220 projects were submitted for consideration in 2019. Of these, 193 were verified and entered into the competition.

www.aeroflot.ru

In recognition of World Cancer Day today, Holland America Line is proud to announce that it reached $6.5 million raised for cancer support through On Deck programming. Holland America Line began the program in 2006, and to-date nearly half a million guests have participated in the walks. Currently, On Deck for a Cause benefits five international cancer organizations in the United States, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and United Kingdom.

On Deck for a Cause invites guests to participate in a noncompetitive 5k fundraising walk on every sailing aboard each of the line’s 14 ships, with proceeds distributed among the American Cancer Society, Canadian Cancer Society, Cancer Council Australia, Cancer Research UK and KWF Kankerbestrijding (Dutch Cancer Society).

“On Deck has been at the heart of our giving program for nearly 15 years, and it’s incredible that we’re able to continue reaching new milestones each year, like $6.5 million thanks to the generosity of our guests and crew,” said Orlando Ashford, Holland America Line’s president. “We know that travel has the power to open minds, change perceptions and build deeper connections; and we also believe that coming together for a common cause helps inspire a sense of shared humanity. Cancer knows no borders and touches people’s lives around the world. We look forward to the day when World Cancer Day is held in celebration of a cure.”

Since its inception, nearly half a million participants have joined in more than 8,300 walks aboard Holland America Line cruises. Guests of all ages are invited to donate $20 to the Holland America Line Foundation, and on a day at sea participants join in a 5k non-competitive walk around the ship’s decks. Guests may walk less or not at all, as they prefer. Participants receive an On Deck for a Cause T-shirt, wristband and a reception following the walk. Depending on the ship, the distance to reach 5k ranges from nine to 12 laps.

In 2020 more than 500 On Deck for a Cause events will be held across the Holland America Line fleet, with walks taking place globally on cruises to the Mediterranean, Europe, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Alaska, Canada and New England, Mexico, Asia, the Baltic, the Panama Canal, Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and South America.

Soon it will be easier for guests to plan ahead and register online for the On Deck for a Cause walk prior to sailing as part of the online check-in process.

Holland America Line and its corporate foundation’s charitable giving programs include cash sponsorships, shipboard luncheons, free- and reduced-fare cruise donations for nonprofit fundraising events, donations of usable shipboard items around the world, employee volunteerism and other philanthropic activities.

Source: www.hollandamerica.com