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Grand Raya Package at Peugoet and promotion ends 15th September. Click image to enter website.

 

One of the popular places for breaking fast – Tasek Brasserie!!

 

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Ramadhan brings out the best in muslims, and inspires people to do more good deeds, especially helping those with lesser means. With that very goal in mind, staff from Total E&P Borneo B.V. (TEPB) & Total E&P Deep Offshore Borneo B.V. (TEPDOB) volunteered to hand out donations as part of TOTAL’s Ramadhan Charity 2013 on 27th July 2013.

This is the 4th Total Ramadhan Charity organized by TOTAL which aimed to provide assistance to the underprivileged community living in Kg Lumut 1, where Total Onshore Processing Plant (OPP) operates. The In-Kind Donation (basic food supplies) comes from TEPB & TEPDOB, and as well as personal contributions from TEPB & TEPDOB staff members.

The 9 cheerful volunteers, led by Muhd Rasimoon Adinin, Head of HR and Corp Communications, were assisted by members of Majlis Perundingan Kampung (MPK) Lumut 1, who were led by Yang Berhormat Hj Md Shafiee bin Ahmad, Ketua Kg Lumut 1. The group visited a five (5) households, which were selected from the list from JAPEM and advised further by YB Hj Md Shafiee bin Ahmad. Among the donations were staples such as rice, cooking oil, drinking water, eggs and food hampers which were happily unloaded from the coach which ferried the group around to the different locations that morning.

The group first visited the house of Awg Ibrahim bin Matnor, whose house was partly burnt. He and his family had been living without electricity for some time as the generators that had been providing electricity had broken down. Awg Ibrahim had been relying on his old age pension to support his wife and his two children.

They also visited the home Dyg Aliana bte Mohamad, who is currently living with her mother after her husband passed away. She and her two children were overwhelmed as the volunteers carried in the various donations and were thankful for the assistance for the upcoming Hari Raya season. 

Mr Yves Grosjean, General Manager of TEPB & TEPDOB , handing over the cheque on behalf of Total to Dato Paduka Haji Ali Hashim bin Haji Daud, Acting Managing Director, Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah

Group photo with Total and Yayasan

Jean De-Zilva, Acting Corporate Services Manager of TEPB & TEPDOB, handing over to the residence of Dyg Norhaidah bte Yusof

The volunteers last Saturday

As well as the donations in Kg Lumut, the 4th Total Ramadhan Charity was organized to continue provide a helping hand to the community where Total operates. This year, the project also included the following events :

 (1) Assistance to national orphans fund : where 7K BND was donated to Pengiran Muda Mahkota Al-Muhtadee Billah Fund for Orphans (Dana) on Wed, 24 July 2013. Mr Yves Grosjean, General Manager of TEPB & TEPDOB , handed over the cheque on behalf of Total to Dato Paduka Haji Ali Hashim bin Haji Daud, Acting Managing Director, Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah. 

(2) Assistance to orphans of Total former staff : On Wed, 24 July 2013 at the residence of Dyg Norhaidah bte Yusof, staff from TEPB & TEPDOB, led by Jean De-Zilva, Acting Corporate Services Manager, held a tahlil recital, and the two orphans (aged 14 & 15 respectively) received some cash and hamper donation from the Total representatives.

 

From my posts on RA and Instagram, you are probably aware that I’m in Seattle, Washington, right now and the purpose of my trip was to experience the operations, the marketing and behind the scenes of the Boeing company that makes, well…. Boeing planes and in this case, I will be focusing on Boeing’s latest product which is the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Of course, we also have the privilege to sneak preview Royal Brunei Airline’s Dreamliner at the Everett Factory. All of this experience won’t have been possible if it wasn’t for Royal Brunei who brought along with them the print media as well as the bloggers from Brunei Darussalam.

Also during the trip, RB will be having their own press conference for the media to gather more information on how the Dreamliner ties in with their re-branding strategy and what impact it will have on the RB’s vision and also their customer. I shall touch on that on the next post. But for now, let me focus on the 1st Day itinerary of our RB trip which is located at the Dreamliner Gallery.

We were introduced to Casey Goelzer, Regional Director of Product Marketing, Boeing Commercial Planes, who spent 10-15 minutes on the presentation of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. I actually read some of the features and technology of the 787 online but the explanation by Casey gave me more cool insights about the 787s and I was already amazed by 787 planes.

Ok, since the information I have learnt is overloaded, I will quickly brief what is so freaking amazing about the Boeing 787s. Even listening and engaging on Casey’s presentation, it just made me become more eager to experience the 787 which is just 6-8 weeks away from being delivered to Brunei Darussalam. So here it just a quick recap and I will point out one or two points that is the drawing factor for me as a consumer.

• Full market coverage from 100-500 seats. It’s most likely RB will be taking 220-240 seats which is economically viable for RB’s long term planes.
• Environmentally progressive. It reduces CO2 emissions because of the fuel efficiency improvement and even building the planes have reduced the usage of hazardous chemicals and overall wastage.
• Quieter. In a sense that there’s less noise pollution as this is very common in other Boeing models and yes, we do get accustomed to the noise but imagine that being reduced by a significant amount which will make your flying experience a better one.
• Long-range, fast and reliable. This due to the fact of the new composites used on the planes and plus Brunei capacity load of 200ish passenger loads makes the journey slightly faster and smoother. Did you know they are 7% better in aerodynamics than today’s airplanes?
• Smoother flight experience. This is because of the improvement of the wings and with a more advanced sensor, 787s are able to counter the air level of fluctuations which cause the bumpy rides.
• Low operating cost because of the cost effective maintenance as well as lower fuel consumption by 20% than other airplanes. This can prove vital for RB’s economic growth as a national carrier.
• Better passenger experience. This is one thing that I would like to highlight more as I learnt during the presentation by Casey’s on the 787s and their strengths. Perhaps one of the awesome feature is the electronic dimmable windows which I will explain further. There’s also more humidity inside the plane and of course, more leg room for the comfort of the economy passengers. I shall do a full depth review of the experience once the RB’s Dreamliner is making its way to Brunei in late September tentatively.

Casey was more than happy that Royal Brunei haven taken that extra edge and chose to invest in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner which have been creating many positive waves in Brunei and hopefully outside Brunei Darussalam too.

“My First Day on the Job” experience at the Dreamliner Gallery in Seattle

Casey Goezler, Regional Director, Product Marketing of Boeing, gave us a comprehensive view of 787 Dreamliner features and how Royal Brunei is heading on the right track

The presentation of RB’s 787-8 Overview

The improvements of the 787 Dreamliner

Marul, Haadi and Danial listening to the presentation of the 787 Dreamliner

Royal Brunei’s 787 Dreamliner model standing out from the pack

Next up was Mark Larson, Technical Manager of Boeing Company and he is stationed at Boeing’s Dreamliner Gallery. This is where he deals with Boeing’s clients in terms of choosing specifications for Boeing planes such as the galley, the lavatories, the passengers seats, fabrics and many more. He toured us to different parts of the Boeing Dreamliner Gallery and I was simply amazed how thorough the process was that every component has its own dedicated showroom. He is a private pilot too which gives him an advantage on what’s best for their clients (airlines).

So basically the 787 Dreamliner Gallery streamlines and centralizes the 787 configuration experience. If you want to design your 787 or configure it to your specifications, this is the place. It’s like a one-stop centre as you will be able to experience the quality of the different types of components they have. It is so detailed that you as a client will be able to see a mocked up scenario on how the interior of the plane feels or looks like on different modes of lighting settings.

Even the discussion rooms are quite inviting and comforting. Boeing are serious about giving their clients the best service so even though it’s a private environment for meetings, it still can be done in a more composed, relaxed surrounding.

Thank you Casey and Mark for the briefing of the 787 Dreamliner and the tour of the Dreamliner Gallery respectively. A big thanks to Wilson Chow, Communications and Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, for handling the logistics of the Brunei delegate. You have taken good care of us since Day 1 and I really appreciate your help on that. My next post will be focusing more on the Everett Factory where the Boeings are being assembled (another mind blowing experience).

Wilson introducing Mark Larson to the Brunei delegates

The new windows of the Dreamliner was so awesome that they have a mocked up version of it at the Dreamliner Gallery. The windows are now slightly positioned at head level and it is longer than before. This is to give a better experience of the passengers sitting in the middle of the planes to have a good view outside as well.

Another impressive feature of the window is that you can control the tint level of the window from clear to fully tinted with a press of a button and you can also choose the level of tint you desire. Isn’t that awesome??

Mark showing us the different types of galleys to choose from

Did you know that lighting inside the plane does make a huge difference to customer experience? You might not be aware of it but you will be surprised on how lights do make a much better experience on any flights.

One major difference of the 787 Dreamliner is the size of the cabins.. There are hugeeeee and have more space than other airlines. They also have a good indicator to alert the cabin crew from a distance if the cabin is not properly close.

This room reminds me of Fabrica back in Brunei and it’s a place where the client chooses what kind of fabric or color they want for the interior of the 787. Awesome, aye?

The choices of the interior they can choose from

So what’s your favourite color?

Samples of the lavatories and the food equipments for the planes

One of the innovative part of the 787 is the braking system which moves from hydraulics to electric. This reduces the mechanical complexity which can be easily monitored. This image is the actual brake component used in the 787s.

Haadi in “sakai” mode trying out the Busines Class seats for 787s. They have different types for the clients to configure and choose.

Marul and Azhani trying out the Business Class experience for the 787 Dreamliner and this is the one that Royal Brunei will be using for their Business Class passengers. Thumbs up!!

We were being jobless and trying out the different types of economy seats

I also had the experience on how the cockpit deck feels like in the Dreamliner. I have new found respect for pilots now 😀

Azhani getting some taste of being a pilot