Is there any strategy?

It was amazing, when I read the news in November last year that Emirates have placed an order for an additional 50 Boeing 777-300 ER" planes, in addition to 20 Boeing 777-300ER as an option. This order was the single largest dollar-value order in Boeing's history.

According to emirates Group chairman ‘Emirates is financially strong enough to fund the purchase of new aircraft as part of ongoing expansion plans by one of the world’s fastest growing airlines. Emirates made net profits of Dh827 million in the first half of 2011, confirming its status as ‘one of the fastest growing carriers’.

In the current recession scenario when many airline companies are in either loss or debt what’s made Emirates so different from other airlines?

People in Beijing - richer or poorer?

I chose to fly back home during the Christmas period mainly because of my mother's severe back pain. It is an old problem that has bothered her for a few years, yet it gets worsen recently. My mother is a tenacious woman. She does not believe in surgery. A friend of our family recommended traditional Chinese massage as an alternative and thus we found her a reputable hospital in Beijing, well-known for its massage techniques and recovery treatments.

For this reason, I need to go to the hospital every Monday and Friday to make an appointment for her. Guess when I woke up? 4.30 am! The hospital sells "numbers" to patients on a first come first serve basis. Its official opening time is 8am. Since there are so many patients and limited medical resources, most "ordinary people" - if you are not as ‘important’ as those government officials or as rich as those celebrities - would have to join a long queue, about 200 people, in the cold winter mornings enduring the temperature hitting below -10 degree Celsius. Believe or not, online booking and telephone booking are totally out of question.