ME Insights

Airbus 380, we were right to be scared

Posted by: Rafic KD on: November 14, 2010

When I read about the Qantas Airbus 380 engine that went on fire and the emergency landing, I knew that when EK grounded the Airbus 380 bound to Dubai that we were on for six hours for  ‘engine electrical issues’ , it was something we had to worry about. In the rush to go to market and save on losses, companies like Airbus and Rolls Royce are willing to put people’s life in jeopardy. When will companies stop thinking of themselves and start thinking of customers? In this case their safety and their lives.

The Airbus scare

Posted by: Rafic KD on: August 25, 2010

Boarding done. Passengers in seats. Ready to take off. Then, the Captain of the Emirates Airbus 380 bound to Dubai from Toronto gets on the loud speaker to tell us that there is a small technical problem in the plane which is being taken care of. Minutes later he’s on again and to announce that the problem was solved. Then minutes later… he’s on again to say that the truck that hauls the plane has broken down… and minutes later the technical problem arises again.. The Captain announces that there is a weird electrical signal from Engine 3 which they are investigating and he hopes it will be fixed soon…

When he is on the loud speaker again it seems that the problem is not in the manual and Airbus engineers are on the case plus the Dubai ones plus.. God knows who… The few minutes wait to fix a ‘small technical problem’ lasted SIX HOURS. More than 400 passengers sat there not knowing whether the flight is going to take off and the Captain kept apologizing and sounded desperate. Off loading such a big number of passengers was not possible and the airport services were already shut down for the night.

It wasn’t till 6 hours later that the Captain got word that he got clearance to take off… The 12 hours flight became 18 hours and the crying of kids and the restlessness of  passengers was obvious. The crew’s impatience was evident too. The whole issue was not in the manual it seems.

This is the same Airbus 380 that was delayed in production for more than a year and still is suffering from ‘unforeseen problems’. The ‘technical wonder’ is not safe to fly… A passenger confided that she’s afraid to fly… and said her brother faced the same issue a week earlier on another route…

So what’s next?

Airbus needs to get their act together because they are putting the airlines in bad situations and the passengers in awful situations.

Management consultants Scams

Posted by: Rafic KD on: August 20, 2010

Management consultants scams. Now you can read more about it. http://tinyurl.com/27v5ytr

Losing trust

Posted by: Rafic KD on: August 17, 2010

In the book “The Language of Trust”, the author points out to a fact that we all experience yet never articulate in a book or article like he does, that is we have lost trust in the system, the companies, and all those around us except a few select people. Now that is clear, where do we go from here? How can we live our lives knowing that our politicians are lying to us and the service providers are taking us for a ride and the next door supermarket is making fools out of us and all the brands that we buy day in and day out rip us off with exorbitant prices?

You might say how do they get away with it? Why don’t they care? Why do they take us for granted? The answer to some of these questions is  that the politicians that should be there to protect us are not protecting the corporations. You might ask where are the consumer protection groups? The answer to that is they seem to have turned ineffective if they exist, that is. Besides in this day and age of electronic and digital world where are the consumer protection groups that are lobbying for fair prices when it comes to mobile telephony, internet or any digital service? They do not exist !

A close look at the phone companies shows how shocking the way they take customers for a ride. The multi-tiered internet service that is not only expensive but unfair in the value it provides, the horrible plans and the way they tamed people to think the way they want them to rather than the way it should be when it comes to using mobile phones. on and on and on… you could say the same in virtually every industry. ..

Today 24 1/2 liter bottled water (probably filled from taps and claimed to be natural and from the source) sold for C$ 2 while in normal times each bottle would sell for a dollar. Why? Tap water sold as pure source and natural water? who is to blame? Who is keeping watch?

Have you experienced or felt that something is not right when it comes to prices?

Chruch for lease

Posted by: Rafic KD on: August 14, 2010

We went to Unionville today, an old and quiet town in Markham, north of Toronto. While walking around enjoying the old and well-kept houses on the main street, we saw that a church was put up for lease. Yes, you read correctly: a church up for lease. While religion is having a strong hold in many parts of the world, the opposite is a fact in Canada. Churches are leased because many people stopped going. Maintaining the place without the congregation donations and support is virtually impossible. Besides, why would you keep a church if no one goes there?

The fast pace of change

Posted by: Rafic KD on: August 13, 2010

Its only been a year since my last trip to Toronto. However, change in this city is moving at lightening speed. In a few days after you’d arrived,  you’d notice changes in the demographic structure of the city, in the entertainment scene where all cinemas are projecting using digital technology, where new changes have been introduced to virtually everything from street lights algorithms to search screens in bookstores.

These changes and what I saw in the city strike me as way ahead from what I was accustomed to seeing or experiencing in Dubai  and its only been a year… How can that be?

My guess is that when you have the basics in place like freedom of speech & movement, human rights and the freedom to create &  innovate & change, the pace of change becomes strikingly faster..and follows an arithmetic progression. In a few years, the gap will grow bigger and bigger. Toronto is a happening city from the cutlural scene to Imax theaters to cultural events like the Healthy Food Festival in the next two days…

Despite all that , the city does not have a frantic rhythm to it. It is composed and allows people to live and work and not only work… Work times are sensible and fun time with friends and/or family are sacred..

Is it enough to have access to the internet?

Posted by: Rafic KD on: August 5, 2010

A recent statistic from the International telecommunication Union revealed that there are  36 mobile phone lines for each 100 residents in Lebanon and the 18 internet users for each 100 residents, giving Lebanon a very low rank compared to neighboring and international countries (170/233 for mobile and 121/233 for internet penetration).

But is it enough to have a mobile phone line and internet line for those who do to be able to make full use of it. In a recent visit to Lebanon it was clear that while mobile phone lines have become cheaper and accessible, the quality of the connection is doubtful. Also, when you want to upgrade to a higher service like Edge or GPRS, the phone virtually becomes useless and utterly slow. The same can be said about the Internet. A Google page will take ages to load although it is the fastest usually. A youtube video will take forever and you’ll give up before you even started. All this does not give Lebanon and Lebanese a competitive advantage to conduct business or learn. It also shows that the country is not gearing itself toward an infra-structure that is bound to attract regional companies to relocate and have their bases there. Companies need a proper infra-structure to work and a fast internet connection is a must and not a luxury. So when is that going to happen?

Summer in Dubai

Posted by: Rafic KD on: July 16, 2010

A quick visit to the Mirdif City Centre (MCC) on the evening of this Friday revealed that a lot of people with children have chosen to spend the summer in Dubai tucked away from the heat in places like MCC. Few years ago, come July you won’t see families or kids here. They would all travel back home for the summer making use of the school break. Things have changed. The population of the UAE which according to the latest gov stats has reached more than 8 million people. Yes, you’ve heard right. 8 million. Just last year the offical/unoffical number was 5.5 million. What happened? I guess the last few years of economic growth have brought with them an influx of workers with their families. Despite the economic slowdown things haven’t changed much. A lot of real estate laborers might have left but still the population has reached critical levels. This has affected the infra structure. Frequent power cuts in Sharjah, articles about dwindling water supply. However, rental prices keep going down helped by more than 30,000 apts expected to hit the market soon. The population in Dubai for instance has shifted during the last 12 months and more people are coming from the Sharjah the neighboring Emirate to live in Dubai now that the prices are affordable.

Normalizing the price of petrol in the UAE

Posted by: Rafic KD on: July 16, 2010

Another hike of 20 fils/liter in a few weeks is a step toward normalizing the price and removing subsidies. What does that mean for the normal person and for the price of goods?

Posted by: Rafic KD on: March 25, 2010

what will social media strategies look like in the near future? What will consumer do: Rebel or own the brand? http://ping.fm/6h3TI

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