Emirates plans additional daily service between Dubai and Colombo, Sri Lanka

Source: Emirates.

Emirates has introduced an additional daily service between Dubai and Colombo, Sri Lanka. Effective 1 August 2016, the airline will operate five daily flights between Dubai and Colombo every day except Wednesdays, when it will operate four flights. The new flight will add another 2,520 seats and up to 161 tonnes in cargo capacity per week in each direction, and brings the weekly services on the route to 34.

“The increased frequency provides our customers with greater flexibility in their travel plans, allowing them to explore this exciting destination and connect seamlessly to other flights on Emirates’ extensive global network,” said Ahmed Khoory, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations- West Asia and Indian Ocean.

From 1st August, Flight EK648, operated by a modern Boeing 777-300 ER, will depart Dubai at 1355 hours daily and arrive in Colombo at 1955 hours, all times local. The return flight EK649 leaves Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) at 2210 hours and arrives in Dubai at 0100 hours the following day.

As with all Emirates flights, passengers on the new flight will benefit from a baggage allowance of 30kg in Economy Class, 40kg in Business Class and 50kg in First Class. Passengers travelling in premium cabins will also enjoy lounge access in Colombo as well as Emirates’ Chauffeur-drive service in Dubai.

Travel with Emirates also earns passengers Skywards Miles on the airline’s award-winning frequent flyer programme. Accrued Skywards Miles can be redeemed for free tickets, travel upgrades or other benefits.

The airline currently operates four flights a day between Dubai and Colombo all days of the week except Wednesdays, when it operates three flights. One of these daily services to Dubai is via Malé, the capital of the Maldives. Emirates also operates a daily service between Colombo and Singapore, offering convenient connections to Australia.

SilkAir adds a daily Singapore-Bali flight

From 12 December 2014, SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, will begin a daily service to Denpasar, Indonesia, subject to regulatory approval.

Singapore Airlines’ Senior Vice President, Marketing Planning Lee Wen Fen said: “The increase in the number of flights reflects Singapore Airlines Group commitment in expanding our service offerings and providing our customers with more choices and convenience. Through synergising the networks of both airlines, we are able to enhance the connectivity options available to our customers through our combined network of 99 cities in 35 countries.”

Details of flight numbers and flight schedules for services between Singapore and Denpasar are as follows, with all timings listed being local:

Flight no., frequency	Departing Singapore	Arriving Denpasar
MI176, daily	0650	0935
SQ938, daily	0820	1105
SQ942, daily	0920	1205
SQ946, daily	1625	1910
SQ948, daily	1805	2050

Flight no., frequency	Departing Denpasar	Arriving Singapore
MI175, daily	1030	1305
SQ939, daily	1155	1430
SQ943, daily	1300	1535
SQ947, daily	2005	2240
SQ949, daily	2145	0020  (next day)

New research hints that sodium guidelines need to be revised

A new research study from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden on how much salt, or rather sodium, people can safely consume has been making the rounds. According to the university, the study is one of the largest of its kind and indicates that today’s recommended maximum daily intake may be wrong. 

A sprinkling of salt on nuts.

The Prospective Urban Rural study Epidemiology (PURE) study followed over 100,000 persons from 17 countries* for four years and made a number of measurements, including their intake levels of sodium and potassium and how they are related to blood pressure, mortality, heart disease and stroke. Two reports from the global study mentioned by the university were published 14 August in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"This is one of the most ambitious studies ever conducted on the effects of people’s salt intake over time," says Annika Rosengren, Professor of medicine at the University of Gothenburg and one of the researchers behind the study.

Too much dietary sodium has been known as a serious health risk because it is clearly linked to increases in blood pressure and incidence of stroke. The results of the new study show that more sodium in the diet does indeed increase a person’s blood pressure, in particular among those with a daily sodium intake exceeding 5 grams (which corresponds to 12.5g of table or cooking salt), those who already suffer from high blood pressure, and those who are 55 years of age or older.

However, one of the two reports from the University of Gothenburg study shows that the recommended level may be too low for good health, said the university. Although a low intake of sodium was in fact associated with a somewhat lower blood pressure, low levels of sodium in the diet can also be harmful. A 2012 review of existing research in the European Journal of Heart Failure concurs, showing that too little sodium in the body, called hyponatraemia, is a good predictor of subsequent death due to heart failure. 

The findings are controversial as other studies, such as this one in 2013, have found that lower sodium intake is linked to a reduced risk of stroke and fatal coronary heart disease in adults. The PURE study found the lowest risk of cardiovascular events and death among those who consumed moderate amounts of salt, rather than cutting salt to a minimum, and that the health risks increased both above and below this interval. The statement from the University of Gothenburg did not specify how much salt was considered 'moderate', and while it may make sense to say that low-sodium diets are likely to lead to hyponatraemia, hyponatraemia can also be caused by some medicines and diseases too.

"The scientific support for today’s recommendations is very weak. At the same time, however, a high sodium intake remains associated with increased risk for both high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease," says Rosengren.

Another study in the August 14 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine, from Tufts University, noted that more than 1.6 million cardiovascular-related deaths per year can be attributed to sodium consumption above the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 2g per day. An analysis evaluating populations across 187 countries found the average level of global sodium consumption in 2010 to be 3.95g per day, with all regions of the world above recommended levels.

In their meta-analysis of controlled intervention studies, the researchers found that reduced sodium intake lowered blood pressure in all adults, with the largest effects identified among older individuals, blacks, and those with pre-existing high blood pressure.

“These 1.65 million deaths represent nearly one in 10 of all deaths from cardiovascular causes worldwide. No world region and few countries were spared,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, Dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, who led the research while at the Harvard School of Public Health. 

Mozaffarian also chairs the Global Burden of Diseases, Nutrition, and Chronic Disease Expert Group, an international team of more than 100 scientists studying the effects of nutrition on health and who contributed to this effort. “These new findings inform the need for strong policies to reduce dietary sodium in the US and across the world.”

“We found that four out of five global deaths attributable to higher than recommended sodium intakes occurred in middle- and low-income countries,” added John Powles, last author and Honorary Senior Visiting Fellow in the department of public health and primary care at the University of Cambridge. “Programmes to reduce sodium intake could provide a practical and cost effective means for reducing premature deaths in adults around the world.”

A December 2013 study authored by a number of scholars including both Powles and Mozaffarian found that sodium intakes were highest in East Asia, Central Asia and Eastern Europe (mean >4.2g/day) and in Central Europe and Middle East/North Africa (3.9–4.2g/day). Regional mean intakes in North America, Western Europe and Australia/New Zealand ranged from 3.4 to 3.8g/day.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), sodium is found naturally in foods such as milk and cream (approximately 0.05g of sodium per 100g) and eggs (approximately 0.08g/100g). Bread contains about 0.25g/100g), snacks such as pretzels, cheese puffs and popcorn have approximately 1.5g/100g, while soy sauce would have 7g/100g), and bouillon or stock cubes, approximately 20g/100g.

A July 2014 study in the UK found that halloumi cheese (2.71±0.34g/100g) and imported blue cheese (2.71±0.83g/100g) contained the highest amounts of salt, while cottage cheese (0.55±0.14g/100g) contained the lowest amount of salt.

Health Xchange, a portal set up by Singhealth, has listed nutritional content of common Chinese street (hawker) foods in Singapore. Fishball soup tipped the scales at 2.9g of sodium for a serving of 798g. Soup dishes dominated the sodium stakes. Other dishes with over 2g of sodium per serving included lor mee (540g), which contains over 2.5g of sodium; kway chap with 2.3g of sodium; prawn mee soup, 2.4g of sodium; 569g of Penang laksa, with 2.2g of sodium, and 528g of ban mian with almost 2.2g of sodium.

*This appendix on another aspect of the PURE study lists participating countries. High-income countries include Canada, Sweden, and the UAE; upper-middle income countries were represented by Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Malaysia, Poland, South Africa, and Turkey, while China, Colombia, and Iran were the lower-middle income countries. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe contributed data for low income countries.

Qatar Airways debuts service to Tokyo Haneda

Qatar Airways touched down at Tokyo Haneda International Airport for the first time on June 18, marking the airline’s third destination in Japan and 143rd globally. The inaugural flight also marked the first time that a Qatar Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner has operated to a destination in Japan. 

“This new route will provide our passengers, both in Japan and throughout the rest of our network, with even more options and flexibility when travelling, whether it be for business or leisure,” said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker (centre), is joined by Senior Vice President, South East Asia and South West Pacific, Woo Yew Seong (right) and Country Manager - Japan, Tomohiko Matsumoto (left) at a press conference held on June 19, 2014 to announce the airline's new daily direct flight to Tokyo Haneda International Airport.

The daily service to Tokyo Haneda International Airport joins the daily flights already in operation to Tokyo Narita International Airport, giving Qatar Airways passengers two dedicated flights into Japan’s largest city on a daily basis. Qatar Airways has been operating to the Land of the Rising Sun with routes to Osaka and Tokyo Narita since 2005 and 2010 respectively.

The new route, which is operated by an Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with 22 seats in Business Class and 232 in Economy, will bring the number of Qatar Airways’ flights to Japan up from 14 to 21 each week. With the new route, Qatar Airways will be serving travellers from the central area of Tokyo in addition to Tokyo Narita which currently services the population in the greater city area.

The Tokyo Haneda operation provides a non-stop link to Doha with excellent onward connections to more than 100 destinations, including popular spots in the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

Daily Schedule

QR810 Departs Doha (DOH) 0735; Arrives Tokyo Haneda (HND) 2325

QR811 Departs Tokyo Haneda (HND) 0100; Arrives Doha (DOH) 0600

Qatar Airways, the State of Qatar’s national airline, has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of operation, to the point where today it is flying 134 aircraft to 143 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.