Emirates draw picks a winner

HARARE - Emirates, which flies daily from Harare to Lusaka and Dubai, has given a lucky shopper the chance to experience the fun and excitement of Dubai.

Agnes Taibl's weekend trip to a Harare mall is turning into a shopping trip to remember after she won the airline's promotional raffle draw last week, winning two Economy Class tickets to Dubai that were presented to her at the Emirates' office in Wakefield Road, Avondale, by Country Manager Paulos Legesse.

Some 535 people entered the raffle, held over two consecutive weekends last month at Westgate Mall and Sam's Levy Village, where Emirates set up a stand to enable shoppers to discover more about the airline's products and services.

Ms Taibl plans to take her friend Avigail Shai on the trip, and explained how the two came to enter the draw: "A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine received an email from Emirates with details of the competition to win two tickets to Dubai. She told me she had a feeling we would win, and as we were at Sam Levy's village that weekend anyway, we decided to enter the competition, and whoever won would share the tickets. Over the next couple of weeks, we joked about how surely Emirates would be calling us any day with the announcement. And then they did! We couldn't believe it! My friend came with me to pick up the prize, and we are now planning a great trip to Dubai in 2014. Thanks Emirates!"

Emirates Holidays information was the most inquired-about topic by passers-by, who showed an enthusiastic response, despite the searing heat on the first weekend, and the seasonal downpour on the following weekend.

Raffle entrants were asked to answer three simple questions about Emirates, and their answers were entered into the draw for the tickets.

Shoppers also had the opportunity to learn more about Emirates' Skywards frequent flyer programme, which offers lounge, ticket and shopping benefits, and they will be able to sign up for Skywards on the spot, as well as book tickets for any travel they are planning.

The Emirates team also talked about what Dubai has to offer as a leading leisure and business destination that has something to offer everyone.

Joining Emirates Skywards is free and members receive benefits every time they fly. There are four membership tiers √¢‚Ǩ‚Äú Blue, Silver, Gold and Platinum.  Benefits for Skywards members include travel and lifestyle rewards, priority check-in, lounge access, extra baggage allowance and bonus Miles, depending on the membership tier.

Members earn Skywards Miles when they fly on Emirates and partner airlines and through a wide range of leisure and lifestyle partners. Skywards Miles can then be redeemed for a range of rewards such as flights on Emirates and other partner airlines including Qantas, easyJet, TAP, JetBlue and Alaska Airlines, and for flight upgrades, hotel accommodation, excursions with Arabian Adventures, and car rentals.

Miles can be used for tickets to major sporting event and concerts. Members can also choose to donate their Miles to a range of charity partners including The Emirates Airline Foundation and Sightsavers. Redemption opportunities are consistently being expanded.

The airline flies to more than 130 destinations in 77 countries through its Dubai gateway.

More than a third of the world's population lives within a four-hour flight from Dubai, and two-thirds are within an eight-hour flight. Today, Emirates operates nearly 3,200 flights globally per week to 137 destinations in 77 countries. Since January 2012, it has launched new services to over 20 destinations, adding air transport connections that will benefit trade and tourism to Dubai and beyond.  Most recently it started services to Conakry on October 27, Sialkot on November 5, and Kabul on December 4.