Downton Abbey’s Mr Carson would raise a quizzical eyebrow.
The world’s first flying butlers have completed their specialist training at London’s Savoy Hotel.
Now 13 of them are ready to be unleashed at altitude as Etihad Airways takes on its Arabian Gulf rivals in the battle to out-pamper premium passengers.
The team of eleven men and two women, bedecked in tails and white gloves, have been drilled in etiquette, protocol and valet skills.
But unlike Mr Carson, Etihad’s butlers will rarely venture below stairs – or rather below deck, on the airline’s brand new double-decker Airbus A380.
They will look after VIP guests using the carrier’s new $20,000-a-ticket three-room cabin on its first A380 aircraft.
The so-called Residence will take to the air in December on the Abu Dhabi-London route.
“The flying butlers will provide a level of service that no traveller has ever experienced in commercial aviation,” said Aubrey Tiedt, Etihad Airways’ vice president for guest services.
The extra space offered by the A380 is helping the region’s big three airlines offer unique premium cabin configurations – complete with bars, showers and double beds.
Sean Davoren, the Savoy’s head butler, praised Eitihad’s first crop of graduates, saying they combined “the discretion of a traditional English butler with the efficiency of a 21st-century personal assistant”.
But not everyone is convinced.
“There’s not a lot for a butler to do on an airplane,” said Robert Wennekes, who runs the Netherlands-based International Butler Academy and who has worked in the industry for 35 years.
“A butler is an executive manager of a household. I’m sure these stewards do a wonderful job, but it misses the point.”
As Mr Carson might say. “It will never do.”
scronin@thenational.ae
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Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
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In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
The Limehouse Golem
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Cast: Olivia Cooke, Bill Nighy, Douglas Booth
Three stars
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Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,200 metres
Winner: Jabalini, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Younis Kalbani (trainer)
5.30pm: UAE Arabian Derby (PA) | Prestige | Dh150,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Octave, Gerald Avranche, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round 3 (PA) | Group 3 Dh300,000 | 2,200m
Winner: Harrab, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Ali
6.30pm: Emirates Championship (PA) | Group 1 | Dh1million | 2,200m
Winner: BF Mughader, Szczepan Mazur, Younis Al Kalbani
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (TB) | Group 3 | Dh380,000 | 2,200m
Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) | Conditions | Dh70,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF La’Asae, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
