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Tag: travel

  • Go Travel to showcase new Memory Dreamer pillow

    Go Travel to showcase new Memory Dreamer pillow

    Go Travel is to showcase its new Memory Dreamer travel pillow at the upcoming TFWA Singapore show. The new pillow combines deluxe memory foam with an elasticated front closure for an individual fit.

    Its design is gradually tapered at the rear allowing the head to slope gently backwards.

    In addition to the three standard colours (blue, navy and grey) in the international range, the new design will be launched in eight additional colours in Singapore. These range from neon coral to citrus hues of orange, lemon and lime, jewel tones of ruby red, turquoise and purple.

    DELUXE MEMORY FOAM

    Designed with a deluxe memory foam which has increased sensitivity to respond instantly to the head’s weight and warmth, the Memory Dreamer moulds to the contours of the neck and chin for fully-structured, 360-degree support.

    According to Go Travel, which exhibited in Singapore for the first time last year, the pillow is perfect for long-haul travel and always returns to its original shape after use.

    The company said: “Following feedback from Go Travel’s debut at the show, the team identified the desire for more vibrant colour-ways and has responded with the introduction of eight additional colour options on this model.”

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  • Lion Air signs GDS agreement with Sabre to fuel its growth

    Lion Air signs GDS agreement with Sabre to fuel its growth

    Sabre Corporation, the leading technology provider to the global travel industry, today announced a new content distribution agreement with Lion Air, the largest privately-owned airline in Indonesia, and its subsidiary, Wings Air, as the preferred global distribution system (GDS) to offer Lion Air content in the carrier’s home market.

    Sabre has served as a strategic partner to Lion Air and supported both the airline’s reservations and planning and scheduling capabilities through its innovative SabreSonic passenger services system and AirVision portfolio of solutions since the carrier first began operations 18 years ago. Now the airline strives to achieve even more ambitious growth, including a plan to quintuple the size of its fleet with the world’s largest number of aircraft on order. As Indonesia remains a rapidly growing travel market, Lion Air is expanding operations and its relationship with Sabre, selecting them as their primary GDS to distribute content across its innovative global travel marketplace.

    “With our content now available to 425,000 travel agents across the globe, the extension of our agreement with Sabre will be instrumental to our continued success and will provide us with the visibility needed to support our growth objectives throughout Asia Pacific and beyond,” said Rudy Lumingkewas, CEO, Lion Air.

    “As the leading GDS in Indonesia, we are in a unique position to best support Lion Air’s growth through the distribution of new bookable content on the Sabre platform,” said Rakesh Narayanan, vice president, air line of business, Sabre Travel Network Asia Pacific. “This new agreement is a testament to the solid, longstanding partnership that has developed between Lion Air and Sabre over the years. Our industry-leading solutions will serve as a solid technological foundation for Lion Air as it continues to expand operations while our global marketplace will help fuel the aggressive growth the airline is looking to achieve,” he added.

    Lion Air and Wings Air operate an extensive domestic and international network of routes with 166 aircraft based in the main hub of Jakarta.

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  • Tigerair has the most delayed flights of any airline

    Tigerair has the most delayed flights of any airline

    Delayed and cancelled flights are on the rise, leading to calls for Australian passengers to be ‘better compensated’. Tigerair has the most delayed flights, followed by Jetstar, Virgin and Qantas, data from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics shows.

    Only 71.4 per cent of Tigerair flights arrived on time, compared to 77.2 per cent for Jetstar, 83.4 for Virgin Australia and 84.7 for Qantas, the report revealed. Delayed and cancelled flights are on the rise, leading to calls for Australian passengers to be ‘better compensated’ Only 71.4 per cent of Tigerair flights arrived on time, compared to 77.2 per cent for Jetstar, 83.4 for Virgin Australia and 84.7 for Qantas, the report revealed.

    The average on-time arrivals across all airlines was 82 per cent and 1.9 per cent of all flights were cancelled.

    This represented an increase of delayed flights and cancellations compared to previous years.  QantasLink had the highest rate of cancellations in 2017, following by Tigerair and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines.

    The highest rate of cancellations was 6.2 per cent on the Sydney-Hamilton Island route, followed by Hamilton-Island to Sydney at 6.1 per cent and Melbourne to Hamilton Island at 5.2 per cent.

    The average on-time arrivals across all airlines was 82 per cent and 1.9 per cent of all flights was cancelled

    Choice spokeswoman Stefanie Menzies told Australian airlines are ‘flying below the radar’ on consumer protection.

    ‘Compensation should be fair and standardised, no matter what airline you’re on or what the customer service agent decides you deserve on the day,’ she told the publication.

    ‘Airlines should take responsibility for their own mistakes instead of making passengers pay for a delay.’

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  • Cebu Pacific targets 12% passenger growth with A321 deliveries

    Cebu Pacific targets 12% passenger growth with A321 deliveries

    Cebu Pacific is targeting for passenger numbers to hit 22 million in 2018, a 12% increase from the year before.

    Last year, the Philippine low-cost carrier handled 19.7 million passengers, a 3% year-on-year increase, largely driven by an 8% growth in the number of international passengers. Performance was strong in its key markets of Sydney, Dubai, Hong Kong, Tokyo Narita, Taipei, and Seoul.

    “To reach our goal of flying 22 million passengers this year, we remain committed to offering a compelling route network where we can meet rising demand and sustain our year-round low fare proposition,” says JR Mantaring, the airline’s vice-president for corporate affairs.

    He adds that despite the higher fuel price, the weakening of the Philippine peso against the US dollar, security concerns and travel advisories, the carrier has “remained relatively resilient”.

    This year, the carrier is scheduled to add seven A321s from March through September, before its first Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-powered A321neo is delivered in November. These large narrowbodies will add capacity and also free up some A330s that are used on short-haul services to go further afield.

    Two of these A321s have already been delivered, while another three are scheduled to arrive “in the coming days”.

    Last year, operating profit slipped 17.3% to Ps10.1 billion ($194 million), as the growth in expenses outpaced that of revenue. Net profit fell 18.9% to Ps7.91 billion.

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  • China Airlines adds new route to U.S.

    China Airlines adds new route to U.S.

    A new route to the United States has been added by China Airlines. The TPE-ONT (Taoyuan to Ontario in California) route that the market has long been waiting for was officially commissioned. China Airlines will operate Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the route with seven flights a week. The new regular service will be the first direct flight from Asia to Ontario CA. It has already achieved average bookings of 70% at launch despite March through to April being the off-peak season. The launch means China Airlines now offers six direct flight destinations in the U.S. with 32 flights a week to choose from.

    To celebrate the launch of the all-new route, China Airlines Chairman Nuan-hsuan Ho hosted a ceremony at Taoyuan Airport on 25 March 2018. The milestone moment was witnessed by Mayor of Taoyuan City Wen-tsan Cheng, VISIT CALIFORNIA – Taiwan Travel Trade Director Milane Tsai, Taoyuan International Airport Corporation President Deng-Ke Shiau, Taoyuan Metro Chairman Kun-Yi Liu and other guests, all of whom gathered to bestow their blessing on the inaugural flight.

    China Airlines Chairman Nuan-Hsuan Ho said that the extensive studies and assessments carried out by China Airlines have now finally paid off. The launch of the Taoyuan – Ontario route will tap into the market for travel between Taiwan, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau among eastern Los Angeles’ Chinese community. The new route, along with the existing Taoyuan – Los Angeles service, will expand options for travel to and from Asia for metropolitan Los Angeles as a whole, fostering closer Taiwan-U.S. ties as well as strengthening links with the Asia market.

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  • AirAsia X’s 1Q passenger traffic up 13%

    AirAsia X’s 1Q passenger traffic up 13%

    AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) carried 13% more passengers to 1.59 million in the first quarter of 2018 (1Q18) from 1.4 million a year ago on the back of increased capacity as the airline catered to increased travel demand arising from the festive seasons and school holidays during the period.

    In a statement today, AAX said its capacity for 1Q18 increased 14% year-on-year (y-o-y), while passenger load factor remained static at 84%. Its available seat per kilometer and revenue passenger kilometres grew 10% and 9% respectively.

    “In the month of February, AAX Malaysia rotated some capacity from Australia to the Asian market, while we continue to build our brand in Australia.

    “The airline also increased its flight frequencies to Hangzhou and Taipei, further strengthening the North Asia market. AAX Malaysia began flying to Maldives and Jaipur in February,” it added.

    The fleet size of AAX Malaysia stood at 22 Airbus A330s as at end-March 2018.

    On the associates, AAX said its Thai unit carried 19% more passengers to 503,259 in 1Q18 from 423,404 passengers in 1Q17. Passenger load factor was unchanged at 94%.

    “No additional aircraft was added into AAX Thailand during the quarter under review. Hence, its fleet size at the end of March 2018 remained at six aircraft,” it added.

    AAX Indonesia, meanwhile, carried 124,874 passengers in 1Q18, up more than 100% y-o-y, and posted a load factor of 72%.

    AAX Indonesia’s fleet size stood at two aircraft, bringing AAX Group’s total fleet to 30 A330s.

    AAX shares closed 0.5 sen or 1.33% higher at 38 sen today, with 7.62 million shares done, bringing it a market capitalisation of RM1.57 billion.

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  • AirAsia looks at Tinder to find travel lovers

    AirAsia looks at Tinder to find travel lovers

    Low-cost airline AirAsia is hoping New Zealanders will swipe right and fall in love with Malaysia.

    The Kuala Lumpur-based airline is launching the “Meet Malaysia” campaign on Tuesday.

    Anyone who chooses to match with the destination will go into the draw to win a trip to Malaysia for two people and tickets to the Borneo Jazz Festival or Rainforest World Music Festival.

    The campaign, which the airline has described as “cheeky”, is aimed at attracting those who may want to try something new. Something that may be common on Tinder, but perhaps not for an airline.

    AirAsia hopes the campaign will attract potential travellers on the app who were thinking about spending time in places like Indonesia, Thailand or Vietnam that could be swept off their feet by the Malaysian experience.

    AirAsia operates seven flights per week from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur with connections to 15 cities in Malaysia.

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  • Cebu Pacific to cancel flights during 6-month Boracay closure

    Cebu Pacific to cancel flights during 6-month Boracay closure

    Cebu Pacific will cancel its flights to and from Caticlan and Kalibo over the 6-month period that Boracay Island, the world-famous tourist destination, will be closed.

    The airline made the announcement close to midnight of Thursday, April 5, a few hours after President Rodrigo Duterte announced in a Cabinet meeting that he had accepted the recommendation of 3 agencies to shut down the island amid environmental concerns.

    In a statement on April 5, Cebu Pacific listed 19 flights – mostly catering to tourists – that would be stopped from April 26 to October 27.

    However, there are 6 flights it would retain “to serve local residents and ensure continuity of commerce in Northern Panay island” during the period.

    Flights canceled from April 26 to October 27:

    Manila-Caticlan-Manila (daily)

    • 5J 891/892
    • 5J 895/896
    • 5J 899/900
    • 5J 901/902
    • 5J 905/906
    • DG 6241/6242
    • DG 6243/6244
    • DG 6247/6248

    Cebu-Caticlan-Cebu (daily)

    • 5J 132/133

    Caticlan-Clark-Caticlan (daily)

    • DG 6298/6299

    Manila-Kalibo-Manila (daily)

    • 5J 331/332
    • DG 6317/6318

    Manila-Kalibo (Sunday-Thursday)

    • 5J 339

    Kalibo-Cebu

    • 5J 413 (daily)
    • 5J 415 (Sunday/Friday)

    Cebu-Kalibo-Cebu

    • 5J 416/417 (Sunday)

    Clark-Kalibo

    • 5J 351 (Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday)

    Kalibo-Clark

    • 5J 352 (Monday/Wednesday/Friday)

    Kalibo-Incheon-Kalibo (starting June 1)

    • 5J 180/181 (daily)
    • 5J 182/183 (daily)

    Cebu Pacific will operate the following flights from April 26 to October 27:

    • Manila-Kalibo 5J 337 – daily (except May 1-4)
    • Kalibo-Manila 5J 338 – daily (except May 1-4)
    • Manila-Caticlan DG 6245 – daily
    • Caticlan-Manila DG 6246 – daily
    • Cebu-Caticlan DG 6272 – daily
    • Caticlan-Cebu DG 6273 – daily

    The airline advised affected passengers to take any of the following options:

    • Get a full refund
    • Place the full value of the ticket in a travel fund for future use
    • Rebook the flight, subject to seat availability (via the ”Manage Booking” section in the Cebu Pacific website)
    • Reroute to any domestic destination, subject to seat availability

    “Guests who booked through a travel agent or any other third party are encouraged to provide us with their own contact details so they are directly advised about any flight changes,” Cebu Pacific said.

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  • AirAsia X won’t buy “too expensive” Airbus A350

    AirAsia X won’t buy “too expensive” Airbus A350

    AirAsia X group co-chief executive Tony Fernandes has thrown the carrier’s order for 10 Airbus A350-900s into doubt.

    Speaking in a Facebook video he says, “The A350 is not an aircraft we will buy. Too expensive. Fares would go up.”

    AirAsia X is understood to have been eyeing an order for additional A350s or Boeing 787s to complement its fleet of A330-300s, and 66 on-order A330-900s.

    Its 10 A350-900s on order are scheduled to start delivering in 2019, Flight Fleets Analyzer shows.

    In the same video, however, Fernandes also appeared to throw cold water on a return to flying to London, saying that there were “no plans” to resume services to the UK capital.

    His comments appear to contradict comments from carrier’s head of network and regulatory Venggatarao Niadu, who recently indicated that the carrier would look to expand its network to Europe and the United States “in about 2019”.

    AirAsia X previously flew from Kuala Lumpur to London and Paris using A340s, but those routes were dropped in 2012.

    Airbus indicates that an A350-900 costs around $317 million at list prices.

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  • Nok Air to cut and reschedule flights to solve flight delay

    Nok Air to cut and reschedule flights to solve flight delay

    Nok Air airliner has decided to reduce the number of its flights to avoid the problem of flight delay and, at the same time, has put on standby two planes to be brought in from U-tapao airport in case there is a problem of plane malfunctioning, said Nok Air CEO Piya Yodmanee.

    Noting that turbulent weather is another reason for several flight delays, he made clear that Nok Air would not allow its planes to leave the airport in case of turbulent weather for safety sake.

    Due to smoke problem from forest fires which usually takes place in the morning for flights in northern provinces, he said the airline would reschedule the morning flights for the routes to Tak, Lampang, Mae Hong Son and Loei to the afternoon.

    However, during the Songkran festival, two more flights for the four routes will be added each day to cater to the increasing demand of travelers, said Mr Piya.

    Starting May until September, Nok Air will reschedule the timetable of some flights during the dry season and to cut down five flights a day during the period.

    Nok Air management on Friday (March 30) met with senior officials of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand led by Mr Chula Sukmanop at the CAAT head office to discuss Nok Air’s frequent flight delays which have attracted a lot of criticisms from domestic travelers.

    Mr Chula said flight delays were caused by a number of factors, including turbulent weather and congested air traffic.  He said Nok Air agreed to train a group of its staff who will deal with passengers in case of flight delays and to put on standby two planes which will be put into service in case of emergency.

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  • Centara Hotels & Resorts Celebrate Thai New Year in Traditional Style

    Centara Hotels & Resorts Celebrate Thai New Year in Traditional Style

    Centara Hotels & Resorts, Thailand’s leading hotel operator, will observe the upcoming Songkran Thai New Year period by wearing colorful traditional dress. Visitors and guests to the company’s properties are treated daily to graceful Thai service and cultural traditions that have become Centara’s hallmark; this Songkran, 13th – 15th April, they can enjoy the added delight of seeing staff dressed in the beautiful costumes of historic Siam.

    “Thailand’s world-famous, genteel hospitality is at the heart of our company culture,” said Centara’s Chairman of the Board Suthikiati Chirathivat about the idea. “What better way to emphasise our unique Thai-ness than trading our uniforms for charming, traditional costumes over the Thai New Year. It is our way of wishing our guests, partners, and friends a happy and healthy festive season.”

    All 33 of Centara’s hotels and resorts within Thailand are taking part in this celebration and guests are invited to enjoy festive dining options or a relaxing stay over the Songkran period, where they will receive the inimitable Centara Thai welcome.

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  • AirAsia to mentor start-ups as they develop products for travel sector

    AirAsia to mentor start-ups as they develop products for travel sector

    AirAsia is partnering with Plug and Play Tech Center, a global startup innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley. AirAsia will work as an anchor partner of Plug and Play’s Travel and Hospitality programme to mentor new businesses and collaborate with emerging technologies.

    This will allow AirAsia to identify, observe and support relevant startups as they develop new products and technologies for the travel sector. AirAsia deputy group CEO (Digital, Transformation and Corporate Services) Aireen Omar said, “This partnership – the first of many to keep a finger on the pulse of innovation – will allow us to identify leading edge technologies that will help maintain our leadership in cost and customer experience and transform AirAsia from an airline into a global digital company.”

    Plug and Play Founder and CEO Saeed Amidi said, “We are here to help AirAsia engage with the most promising startups in the industry and bring new ideas into their business. Their expertise will be a great addition to our ecosystem and we welcome them to Silicon Valley.”

    AirAsia has also invested heavily in digital services as it embarks on a transformation process to become a truly digital airline, including BigPay financial services app, ROKKI inflight entertainment and connectivity, AirAsia BIG Loyalty programme and RedBox logistics.

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  • Pocket Greens introduces a brand new travelling farm

    Pocket Greens introduces a brand new travelling farm

    Pocket Greens has introduced Singapore’s first-ever travelling farm, stopping at three locations for three months each – Bougainvillea Park, Raffles Place Park and Dhoby Ghaut Green.

    The urban farming consultancy says people do not need to own a plot of land to have a garden. Its “express gardening” concept enables people to grow microgreens and other green vegetables, even in HDB homes.

    The Travelling Farm (TTF) is housed in a yellow 20-foot container fitted out as a shop for plants and gardening equipment. It also provides craft activities and mini gardening lessons that can also be accessed online.

    Visitors can also sample drinks and snacks made from the farm’s produce, such as a salad of microgreens like sunflower and cranberry hibiscus shoots.

    Founder Eng Ting Ting says the aim is to reach out to different groups of people. The farm adapts to its locale. While it stocks more flora-like air-purifying plants for CBD office workers, it has more herbs and plants like chilli while in the residential area of Bougainvillea Park.

    The TTF’s roving set-up is made possible by a Ministry of Trade and Industry scheme, which has granted it use of park space for 36 months.

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  • Flight Centre recently slapped with $12.5 million fine

    Flight Centre recently slapped with $12.5 million fine

    Flight Centre has been slapped with a $12.5 million dollar fine for attempting to fix pricing with international airlines between 2005 and 2009.

    The Full Federal Court of Australia handed down the penalty on Wednesday morning, following a successful high court appeal by the ACCC against an earlier court decision in 2016.

    The decision is the latest turning point in a six-year between the competition watchdog and Flight Centre, which has the travel agent lose an initial court case before winning an appeal and then subsequently losing another ACCC appeal to the High Court.

    The ACCC alleged that Flight Centre sought to enter into price fixing arrangements with three airlines where they would agree not to offer airfares on their own website that were cheaper than those offered by Flight Centre.

    Flight Centre is now considering whether there are legal grounds to seek leave for another appeal against today’s judgement.

    “This was a complex test case as evidenced by the contrasting judgements during the past six years,” Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner said in an ASX release on Wednesday.

    “Flight Centre at all relevant times believed that it was acting lawfully and that its conduct did not contravene the Trade Practices Act, given that its interactions took place within the context of commercial negotiations as to agency arrangements with its principals.”

    Flight Centre said the fine would not impact its FY18 market guidance of an underlying profit before tax of between $360 million and $385 million.

    Flight Centre was initially fined $11 million but after it won its initial appeal a refund was issued.

    Today’s $12.5 million fine was higher than the original penalty, which ACCC chairman Rod Sims said reflected the size of Flight Centre.

    “The ACCC appealed from the initial $11m penalty orders because it considered that this level of penalty was inadequate to achieve a strong deterrence message for Flight Centre and other businesses,” Rod Sims said in a statement on Wednesday.

    “We will continue to argue for stronger penalties which we consider better reflect the size of the company, as well as the economic impact and seriousness of the conduct. Significant, large penalties act also as a general deterrent to other businesses that may be considering such conduct themselves.”

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  • AirAsia celebrates Clark-Caticlan-Boracay inaugural flight

    AirAsia celebrates Clark-Caticlan-Boracay inaugural flight

    AirAsia is now flying direct to Boracay via Caticlan airport from Clark, Pampanga. The airline, voted the World’s Best Low Cost Carrier for nine years running, flew its maiden flight today with summer inspired theme held at pre-departure area in Clark International Airport. AirAsia flight Z2 922, with pilot in command Captain Samuel Yu-Asensi arrived at 10:55 a.m. AirAsia’s iconic red plane was greeted with a traditional water cannon salute upon landing. Philippines AirAsia’s chief pilot for training and standards Captain Darren Acorda said, “Today marks another milestone for AirAsia operations in Clark airport with the addition of our third domestic route. We are closing the year with Clark-Caticlan route but this early we have already started offering our signature low fares to three more new destinations out of Clark. Clark-Iloilo, Clark-Puerto Princesa and Clark-Tacloban commencing in January, and we are here to give only the best quality service that every traveller from Central and Northern Luzon deserves.”

    To celebrate, AirAsia is offering promo fares for Clark-Caticlan from as low as P1,566 now available for booking at airasia.com today until 31 December 2017 valid for travel between December 18 2017 until January 8, 2018. Clark International Airport officials led by CIA Corporation President Alexander Cauguiran, DOT Regional Director Carol Uy, and Mabalacat Mayor Crisostomo Garbo graced the send-off ceremony with Philippines AirAsia chief pilot for training and standards Captain Darren Acorda representing the airline CEO Captain Dexter Comendador. “AirAsia believes in Clark. We established our base operations here and launched commercial flights in 2012 with only two planes – and now we have a fleet of 17 jets and we are aiming to expand and grow operations here in the coming years,” Acorda said. AirAsia’s Clark-Caticlan operates daily with flights departing Clark at 1:50 p.m. and arriving in Caticlan at 3:05 p.m. Meanwhile, AirAsia is also set to launch three domestic flights starting January 26, 2018.

    Clark-Puerto Princesa and Clark–Iloilo routes will operate three times a week or every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday while Clark–Tacloban route is every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. AirAsia has marked its return to Clark with the launching of flights to Davao and Kalibo from Clark International Airport last March. AirAsia launched commercial flights from Clark in 2012 before transferring its hub to Metro Manila following a strategic partnership with a local carrier in 2013. AirAsia has since been operating on a much larger scale from Metro Manila and has expanded its domestic and international network with flights from secondary hubs in Cebu and Kalibo operating a fleet of 17 aircraft from only two planes when it opened in Clark five years ago.

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