Hyatt Regency Kathmandu organised the annual Christmas cake-mixing ceremony on 24th November with the participation of all departments of the hotel. The ceremony is part of an age-old Christmas tradition of cake mixing while making wishes for the New Year. "It is a ritual religiously followed the world over, and is said to be a harbinger of good tidings and happiness," said Executive Chef at Hyatt Regency Gopi Nandakumar.

 

The first step towards making the Christmas cake is the cake mixing Ceremony. In the ceremony, the ingredients of the festive fruit cake are mixed with wine and liquor in advance, so that the ingredients can develop a distinctive aroma and taste. The ingredients of the cake include dry fruits like raisins, blackcurrants, prunes, glazed dates, cherries, candid orange, lemon rinds and nuts like cashews, pistachios and almonds. Finally, large quantities of liquor, fresh juices and honey are generously added to soak up the mixture. The mixture is later emptied into large containers and stored for a couple of days before Christmas. 

 

Qatar Airways has signed an agreement with Interpol to enhance international travel security. With this agreement, Qatar Airways will use Interpol’s its I-Checkit system to screen the passports of its passengers against Interpol's Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database.

 

Also with the agreement, Qatar Airways has become the first full-service airline to use I-Checkit, joining regional low-cost carrier AirAsia in piloting the Interpol initiative which allows select partners in the travel, hotel and banking industries to send their clients’ travel document information to be screened against the SLTD database.

 

“Qatar Airways is proud to become the first international full-service airline to join the Interpol I-Checkit programme. We have always placed great importance on the safety and security of our passengers, in addition to offering them an unrivalled service experience,” said Akbar Al Baker, Group Chief Executive of Qatar Airways.

 

Through I-Checkit, partners such as Qatar Airways send the passport numbers of passengers via secure channels to be compared against Interpol’s SLTD database, which contains more than 43 million records of lost or stolen travel documents from 168 countries.

 

Turkish Airlines has teamed up with international football stars Didier Drogba and Lionel Messi for its new ‘Widen your World’ global advertising campaign. The new campaign will use TV, cinema, press, digital, outdoor media and social media.  

 

The commercial is centred on being ‘culturally curious’ and explores the concept that food is the only true way to experience different cultures. It aims to highlight the worldwide destinations that Turkish Airlines offers and the importance of catering service to the Turkish Airlines flying experience. The TV commercial shows how culturally curious both football stars are, with Didier seeing photos of Lionel in restaurants around the world and flying Turkish Airlines to find new places to experience epic food that Lionel has not been too before.  

 

Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba who plays for Chelsea Football Club in the English Premier League is the newest brand ambassador for Turkish Airlines. Lionel Messi has been a global brand ambassador for 3 years.  “We pride ourselves on our strategic partnerships and couldn’t be more delighted that Didier is now part of the Turkish Airlines family,” said CEO of Turkish Airlines Dr TemelKotil commenting on the announcement. 

 

Etihad Airways made donations to three different social organizations on 7th and 8th November. The initiative was organised under Etihad Airways’ Corporate Social Responsibility programme ‘iVolunteer’. Donations were made to Jeevan Utthan Kendra, residential home for people with intellectual disabilities, Pashupati Briddhashram and Prayas Nepal, a non-profit organisation working for child rights and the underprivileged. 

 

Volunteers visited the organizations with blankets and food items for the residents. Launched by Etihad Airways’ CSR department in June 2014; the ‘iVolunteer’ program is a volunteering initiative that engages its staffs in community related activities supporting the work of local charities across the world. Since its launch, the program has registered over 400 employees from around the airline’s global network in less than two months.  “The iVolunteer program is an opportunity for us to be able to give back to the community. We look forward to iVolunteer members being even more directly engaged in the CSR activities of Etihad in the future,” said General Manager for Nepal of Etihad Airways Pawana Shrestha.