SQ suspends some BKK flights
BANGKOK, 11 November 2011 – Singapore Airlines will suspend some Bangkok flights, initially until 20 November, due to a drop in advance bookings on routes from Singapore or Europe.
Suspended flights are:
• SQ 974 (Singapore-Bangkok) and SQ977 (Bangkok-Singapore) from 9 to 20 November
Suvarnabhumi high and dry
BANGKOK 9 November 2011 – Airline managers are confident Suvarnabhumi Airport can withstand floods that are encroaching Bangkok eastern districts claiming the sprawling airport complex has the best flood protection in the country.
They made the comments during an airline panel discussion Monday organised by the Bangkok Skal Club.
BAR (Bangkok Airlines Representatives) president, Brian Sinclair-Thompson told about 100 travel executives the AoT had demonstrated it has a comprehensive flood management plan in action and has been “proactive presenting daily updates” for airlines serving the airport.
PATA and Ridgway part company
November 9, 2011 by Don Ross
Filed under News, People, Trade Talk
BANGKOK 9 November 2011 – Pacific Asia Travel Association and its recently appointed regional director Asia, Reid Ridgway, will part company effective 30 November.
Reports surfaced, last week, that Mr Ridgway had either quit, or had held discussions with the CEO regarding a mutually agreeable exit. PATA Communications told Phuket News yesterday that it does not comment on human resources or employment matters that remain confidential.
He was appointed 21 July by the interim CEO, Bill Calderwood, who returns to Australia this month after working for the associations for nine months.
Bangkok’s crisis not over by far
BANGKOK 3 November 2011 – Floods will continue to advance on inner Bangkok and water diverted to the eastern suburbs will reach areas in Lat Krabang just north of Suvarnabhumi Airport within seven to 10 days.
University professors, experts in water management, agree that the volume of flood water backed up on the edge of northern suburbs far exceeds the carrying capacity of the Chao Phraya River or the city’s extensive canals system.
Flood water is being diverted east through suburbs, but sluice gates at Min Buri and Nong Chok are damaged and this has caused seepage back to the Sam Sen Canal that runs southwest towards the city’s Prakanong district to eventually connect with the river.
PATA CEOs flash the cash
October 21, 2011 by Don Ross
Filed under Associations, News, Trade Talk
BANGKOK, 21 October 2011 – Pacific Asia Travel Association is spending a packet funding travel expenses to send two CEOs to the World Travel Market in November.
PATA communications states that both the incoming CEO, Martin Craigs and interim CEO, Bill Calderwood, will conduct media interviews at the World Travel Market, next month.
They will both be in London to stir the debate on Europe’s proposed emissions trading system and the United Kingdom’s existing air passenger duty tax, that they claim will damage tourism to the Asia Pacific region. Read more
Soaking up the stress
BANGKOK, 17 October – It is all about snapshots, or quick takes in the world of TV media. The camera lens is about the size of those silly postcards we sent to relatives that always ended with the fib; “wish you were here”.
Of course, we didn’t and I suspect that TV news editors, if they had their way, would have us all lolling aimlessly on sofas back home glued to the box twenty-four seven rather than travelling and posting our snapshots on Facebook.
They do warn us every 15 minutes or so; “don’t go away we will be straight back with….”
But occasionally we see the TV media up close on location. They are now loitering around Klong (canal) Rangsit bridge obviously waiting for the sand bag barrier to burst.
Someone hit the panic button
BANGKOK, 13 October 2011 – Thailand’s Foreign Ministry has instructed embassies, worldwide, to concentrate on delivering accurate updates on the flood situation after 21 nations posted travel advisories earlier in the week.
They have a battle on their hands. TV channels worldwide present an image of a nation under water. Maps of Thailand are painted red suggesting the entire country is a disaster area. Predictably it triggers the panic button and scribes who pen travel advisories scribble away like there is no tomorrow.
The bulk of advisories are relatively mild with just three (Japan, Spain and the US) suggesting travellers postpone trips. Mild or not they are pressing a panic button that raises doubts about Thailand’s ability to host travellers safely.
Safety should never be in doubt as all of Thailand’s major tourist destinations are flood- free with the exception of Lopburi and Ayutthaya that attract mainly day-trippers from Bangkok. Read more
Buy now low fares to Korea
BANGKOK 29 September 2011 – Buy Now has been appointed the general sales agency for Korea’s low cost airline T’Way Air, which will begin scheduled services to Bangkok 14 October.
The airline, which was established in Seoul Korea in 2004, will fly a daily service from the South Korean capital to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport using a Boeing 737-800 with 189 seats in a single class configuration.
Initially registered as Hansung Airlines, the airline flew services from Cheuongju to Jeju from 2005 until 2008 when the airline ceased operations due to financial constraints. Read more
Abacus JV in Laos up and running
September 15, 2011 by Don Ross
Filed under Aviation, News, Technology
VIENTIANE 15 September 2011 – Abacus International and Lao Airlines signed a joint venture contract, Wednesday, which will give the global distribution system exclusive access to the national airline’s fare inventory in landlocked Laos.
Abacus CEO Robert Bailey and Lao Airlines president, Somphone Douangdara, exchanged contracts at a ceremony in the Lao capital to establish an “exclusive” partnership just weeks ahead of the airline taking delivery of a new Airbus 320 that will be used to inaugurate a new service to Singapore.
Abacus and Lao Airlines are entering a business partnership that will run for an initial 10 years with an option to renew for another five years. Read more
Curtain falls on PATA essentials
BANGKOK, 13 September 2011 – Pacific Asia travel Association will take its annual PATA Travel Mart back to Manila, Philippines in September 2012, after an absence of 33 years.
The association’s chairman, Hiran Coorey confirmed the 2012 event would be held, 25 to 28 September, at the SMX Convention Centre, the largest private venue in the Philippines and one of the flagship establishments of the country’s MICE industry.
It will be the first PATA Travel Mart in the association’s history to be outsourced to a third party, a company that is currently being established by the association’s deputy CEO office of marketing services, Sheila Leong. Read more
