Singapore (August 29, 2008) /China Newswire/ — Asia Pacific telecom industry members gathered yesterday at the Frost & Sullivan Next Generation Telecom Summit 2008, which was held at the Raffles City Convention Centre. The annual summit hosted close to 300 delegates from Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Philippines.

This exclusive Frost & Sullivan Executive MindXchange summit mapped the broadband landscape in the region and evaluated the best practices in the region and highlighted the critical challenges and issues that operators face in light of this transformation.

Mr. Manoj Menon, Asia Pacific Managing Director and Partner at Frost & Sullivan opened the summit by giving a 360-degree view of the telecom sector.  While, Mr. Lee Soohyeok, Senior Vice President of SK Telecom elaborated on how converged services can drive the next generation telecom sector in his keynote address.

The summit evaluated the current state next generation telecom in the Asia Pacific market and the role that this region - a home to the highest internet user base - can play in shaping the future of network infrastructure. Specific sessions to highlight issues faced by individual markets paced at different stages of maturity were a part of the two day summit alongside the complete market overview.

Jayesh Easwaramony, Director, ICT Consulting, Frost & Sullivan says, "Convergence is placing increasing stress on operators to enrich customer experience and incorporate a wide diversity of services to attract new consumers while retaining existing customers. Complex services like network connectivity with other content-based components are now a norm rather than an exception.

"Through Next Generation Telecom Summit we hope to bring forth the various challenges faced and solutions adopted from which key insights can be drawn. With a good mix of vendor and operator side speakers, we aim to make the summit very interactive," Jayesh adds

Customer experience is gaining popularity in the light of increasing competition. Leveraging on the new-age tools such as social networking sites and mobile internet for enhanced customer experience was discussed at the summit.  Concurrent sessions were held on interesting topics like Mobile TV, converged services and distributing content over digital platforms. Futuristic topics like real-time charging for next generation services, 4G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) were discussed in context to the service providers.

The line-up of speakers included senior executives from SK Telecom, Nokia Siemens Networks, BT, Cable & Wireless, Pacnet, TIME Broadband, BT Teleconsult, NTT, Soundbuzz and CNBC Asia.  Delegates for the summit comprised of telco heads, CIOs and other IT representatives from the government and private sectors.

The summit is sponsored by Nokia Siemens Networks and BT. Telecom Asia, Wireless Asia, Business Today, China Tech News, Global Telecom Directory and ZDNet Asia are the official media partners.

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, partners with clients to accelerate their growth. The company's TEAM Research, Growth Consulting and Growth Team Membership empower clients to create a growth-focused culture that generates, evaluates and implements effective growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan employs over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from more than 30 offices on six continents. For more information about Frost & Sullivan’s Growth Partnerships, visit http://www.frost.com.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• MEDIA CONTACTS:
  Surbhi Dedhia
  Corporate Communications – Asia Pacific
  P: +65.6890.0926
  E: sdedhia@frost.com

  Neethiya Sadagopal
  Corporate Communications – Asia Pacific
  P: +65.6890.0966
  E: neethiya.sadagopal@frost.com

Historic Chinese garden-style hotel collects top accolade in 'Venice of the East'

Suzhou, China (August 29, 2008) /China Newswire/ — The historic Garden Hotel Suzhou, a former state guest house and private residence of Kuomingtang leader Chiang Kai-shek, has earned 5-star status.

The premier business hotel in China's 'Venice of the East' received the top rating from China's National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

It follows last year's 260 million CNY makeover and re-opening of the former manor which hosted visits by over a hundred Chinese and international political leaders as a state guest house.

CNTA's National Star Rating Committee approved the rating following rigorous, unannounced checks of both service and facilities.

"It was our biggest dream to transform this state guest house with 56 years of history into a 5-star hotel," said General Manager, Catherine Chen Tie Ying.

Since taking over the luxury hotel, her ambition was to "catapult the Garden Hotel Suzhou into the rankings of the most unique and scenic hotels in China".

In pursuit of this vision, Garden Hotel was the first hotel in Suzhou to install 'Opera' hotel management software, while introducing international management standards and hospitality experience.

The luxury property features 238-rooms with 93 Deluxe Rooms, an Executive Floor of 60 Executive Rooms with its own Executive Club Lounge serving coffee, tea and assorted snacks, a Presidential Suite and two Ambassador Suites.

The elegant revamp by Guotai International Group transformed the hotel with a minimalist 'home and garden' theme.

Comprehensive conference facilities, a modern business centre, luxurious spa, gym and a boutique were also incorporated in the renovation.

The most expansive woodland grounds of any hotel in Suzhou are strewn with rock formations, waterways, lily ponds and ancient trees – some up to 500 years old.

Among new signature restaurants, Lotus Pavilion, overlooking landscaped gardens, specializes in authentic Suzhou and Cantonese cuisine, fresh fish and local and seasonal specialties from the Yangtze River.

Breezy, surrounded by a lush garden, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets complemented by an international a la carte menu. Rhythm Lounge is a casually elegant bar showcasing renowned wines and spirits from across the globe with a live band performing nightly.

The hotel's traditional Chinese gardens and historic remnants include Shanqing Buddha Hall, built by Qing Dynasty Emperor Tongzhi in 1869, which was restored during the makeover.

The grandly decorated Palace of Wu District is a former underground command facility which has hosted Chinese leaders including Jiang Zemin, Li Peng and Zhu Rongji.

Also in the grounds is a memorial to the 1971 insurgency and the 'Famous Gardens of Suzhou', a tribute to the 1,000-year-old Wu culture.

The hotel has been voted one of the 100 Best China Hotels by Travel + Leisure and a Top 10 LOHAS Hotel by National Geographic Traveler.

In the heart of Suzhou, famed for its canals, bridges, pagodas and meticulously designed gardens, the hotel is conveniently close to both Suzhou Industrial Park and Suzhou's newest and most hi-tech Industrial Development Zone.

The Garden Hotel Suzhou is just 45 minutes from Hongqiao Airport and a 15-minute drive from the train and bus stations.

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Beijing - Etihad Airways has officially opened a Beijing office in China today

Beijing, China (August 28, 2008) /China Newswire/ — The new office is conveniently located on the 30th floor of the Twin Towers of Yong'anli in Beijing's CBD and a stone's throw away from such city landmarks as the China International Trade Centre and Ritan diplomatic area. This will offer convenience and easy access to Etihad customers, notably corporate and diplomatic business travellers who work in the area.

The Abu-Dhabi based airline started operations in China in February this year and successfully launched its four-flights-per-week Abu Dhabi - Beijing service in late March.

Mr. Adrian Parkes, Etihad Airways' Vice President, Sales, said: "Beijing is a very important part of our network. We are pleased to be able to offer our Chinese customers easy access to major international trading ports in the Middle East and Europe via Abu Dhabi."

"We have quickly established a reputation for outstanding service and innovative in-flight products and I believe that we can build on these strengths to position Etihad Airways as a leader in the Chinese market."

Tang Hoe Kun, Etihad Airways country manager in China said: "We look forward to welcoming customers to our office to book their journeys here. We have moved away from the classic 'ticketing desk' concept, and our travel consultants are available in a private environment to provide a more personalised service."

The opening ceremony was attended by the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to China Mr. Mohammed Rashed A. AL Boot, Etihad Airways Vice President Sales Mr. Adrian Parkes, and Regional General Manager Asia North, Central and Indian subcontinent Mr. Joost den Hartog, as well as major travel agencies from Beijing. The occasion also attracted the attention of Middle East media and was attended by Dr. Ezzat Shahroor from Aljazeera TV, Ms.Azza Al-Hadidi from Middle East News Agency and Mr.Tom Spender from Citizen Newspaper.

Currently Etihad Airways operates four flights per week between Abu Dhabi and Beijing, EY888 departs Abu Dhabi airport every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 10:05pm and arrives in Beijing at 9:50am the next day. Return flight EY889 departs from Beijing every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7.10pm and arrives in Abu Dhabi at 00.20am the next day.

About Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates based in the UAE's capital, Abu Dhabi.

Currently Etihad offers flights to 48 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.

Etihad currently has 6,300 members of staff which includes more than 3,000 cabin crew and 600 pilots.

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Etihad Airways Beijing office
  Address: 30/Floor, East Tower, Twin Towers, No B12, Jianguomenwai Avenue, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
  Office hours: Monday - Friday 0900-17:30
  Toll-free: 800 810 8883
  China website: http://www.etihadairways.com/etihadairways/cn/zh/home

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Etihad Airways

Airline Introduces Service With Brand New Boeing 777s From October 26, Lie-Flat Seats In Business Class Key Feature Of New Route Doha – Geneva Capacity Increased With Rescheduling Of New York Operations.

Doha, Qatar (August 28, 2008) /China Newswire/ — 25 August 2008, Qatar Airways announced its Doha – New York route will operate non-stop with a daily flight, effective from the beginning of the winter 2008 schedules on October 26.

The airline plans to deploy its brand new Boeing 777-300 Extended Range aircraft on the route shaving close to three hours off the current 17-hour flying time between Doha and New York. Qatar Airways currently operates to the New York gateway city of Newark via Geneva.

As part of the revised operational schedules, Qatar Airways will switch its existing six-flights-a-week between Doha and Newark Liberty International Airport to New York's JFK Airport and step up frequency to daily non-stop services giving passengers greater choice.

Under the new schedules, Qatar Airways will no longer operate flights between Geneva and New York, but will significantly increase seat capacity between Doha and Geneva, which will become a dedicated service.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said the airline had seen significant growth in traffic on the New York route since launching it in June 2007.

"As we have introduced more aircraft into our fleet, we have been able to increase frequency on the New York route from four-flights-a-week to six services in just 12 months," he said.

"We are now preparing to go daily with our brand new Boeing 777s featuring lie-flat Business Class seats from October and offer unprecedented levels of space and comfort, which will truly give us an edge over our competitors in the Middle East and around the world.

"The move to New York's JFK Airport is in response to passenger demand flying to one of America's premier airports on the US east coast."

The Boeing 777-300ER will offer a 78-inch Business Class pitch in a 2-2-2 configuration across the 42 premium seats and up to 34-inch pitch on the 293 seats in the economy cabin. The aircraft also features the next generation in-flight entertainment system – the Panasonic eX2 – with more than 700 individual audio and video entertainment options.

Added Al Baker: "Qatar Airways is committed to the Swiss market and is delighted with the huge response and popularity of our Geneva service which has enabled us to add capacity as the four-times-a-week non-stop service from Doha using an Airbus A330 aircraft becomes a dedicated route.

"Passengers from Geneva and neighbouring cities will be able to take advantage of our excellent array of onward connections over Doha to key business and leisure cities to the Far East and south Asia.

"For the immediate future, our existing flights to Zurich will continue to operate four-times-a-week, but we will shortly be announcing additional frequencies to both Zurich and Geneva with effect from 2009 offering yet more choice for both business and leisure travellers."

Qatar Airways operates a modern fleet of 62 aircraft to 83 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, south Asia, Indian subcontinent, Far East and North America.

Earlier this year, the airline began scheduled services between Doha and the southern Chinese industrial city of Guangzhou. During the summer, the airline introduced daily flights linking the Qatari capital with Kozhikode in southern India.

Starting December 8, Qatar Airways is to launch scheduled flights to Houston, which at 17 hours, will be one of the longest flights in the world non-stop from Doha.

The Doha – New York schedule effective October 26 is:

Depart Doha International Airport

Daily        QR083 at 0820, arrive in New York at 1500

Depart John F Kennedy International Airport

Daily        QR084 at 2235, arrive in Doha at 1910 +1 day

The Doha – Geneva schedule effective October 26 is:

Depart Doha International Airport

Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun         QR065 at 0720, arrive in Geneva at 1215

Depart Geneva International Airport

Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun        QR064 at 1345, arrive in Doha at 2135

Qatar Airways is one of an elite group of airlines with a Five Star ranking for service and excellence awarded by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry research company. Skytrax also named Qatar Airways' cabin crew as Best in the Middle East for the sixth year running in 2008 following a survey of more than 15 million passengers. During the 2007/08 financial year, Qatar Airways carried around 10 million passengers worldwide.

Qatar Airways will operate a fleet of 110 aircraft by 2013 – almost double the existing size. During 2007, Qatar Airways ordered 80 Airbus A350s, together with 60 Boeing 787s and 32 Boeing 777s. The airline has ordered five of the twin-deck Airbus A380 ‘super jumbos' for delivery from 2010. Qatar Airways moves to the New Doha International Airport in 2010, when the first phase of the new facility is due to open. For more information, visit www.ndiaproject.com

CONTACT INFORMATION

• Qatar Airways Corporate Communications Department
  Tel: +974 4496956, Fax: +974 4620132
  E-mail: qrmedia@qatarairways.com.qa
  Website: www.qatarairways.com

Technorati Tags:
Qatar Airways | New Route Opening

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