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Fernandes adopts advisory role

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TTR WEEKLY
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KUALA LUMPUR, 25 April 2024: AirAsia Aviation Group confirms co-founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes will assume the role of Advisor and Steward to its group chief executive officer as the airline group embarks on a new era of transformation and growth. 

The Board of Directors at AirAsia Aviation Group unanimously approved Fernandes’s appointment, noting his exceptional entrepreneurial track record and unparalleled expertise in the aviation industry. 

Photo Caption: (From left to right) Dato’ Fam Lee Ee, Chairman of AirAsia X; Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, Advisor and Steward at AirAsia Aviation Group; Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim, Chairman of AirAsia Aviation Group.

Having built a market-leading airline, starting with just two planes to become one of the world’s largest low-cost carriers, Fernandes successfully built the group to what it is today, especially in scaling its airline recovery and growth strategy amid global headwinds such as rising fuel costs, hyper-competition, and a volatile economic climate. 

His insights and guidance are acknowledged to be crucial as AirAsia looks to grow its business profitably worldwide while maintaining its core value of affordability. This will propel the group towards its vision of becoming a leading, well-governed global airline.

AirAsia Aviation Group chairman Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim said: “As we embark on a new era for our airline Group, Tony’s visionary leadership, exceptional entrepreneurial ability, global industry knowledge and relationships will not only ensure continuity but also will assist in the next significant transformation phase. This is integral as we prepare AirAsia Aviation Group to become the leading regional aviation provider for the best value for short, medium and longer-haul routes spanning Asia and beyond. 

“In his new role, Fernandes will not only provide strategic oversight to AirAsia Aviation Group, including expansion and succession planning, but he will also be the key conduit between Capital A and the aviation business ecosystem to ensure all mutual opportunities are leveraged for maximum benefit. In addition, he will continue ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders including tourism and government, lessors, bankers and suppliers including Airbus and GE.”

AirAsia Aviation Group CEO Bo Lingam added: “Without a doubt, there is no one more fitting to assume the role of our strategic Advisor for the airline group, as we set our sights on growing to new heights with significant plans for the future. Tony’s extraordinary vision and drive will ensure we can deliver on our strategy to become the most popular and profitable value-driven airline Group in the region and beyond.

“In the short term, we remain focused on our airline recovery and growth strategy – to build the most incredible network that can’t be surpassed. This will be achieved by putting the right foundations in place to provide greater connectivity at the best price, alongside an enhanced guest experience which will ultimately drive stronger shareholder value.” 

Fernandes concluded: “I am excited about what the future holds for AirAsia Aviation Group. With our robust airline expansion strategy, we will be able to soar to greater heights as a formidable combined force in our category, with enhanced connectivity and greater flexibility with the added ability to look to fly to places we have never flown before in the future.”

“Value, inclusivity, innovation and serving the underserved are key cornerstones of the AirAsia brand. As an airline group with over 300 new specification aircraft on order, we will be able to cover the majority of continents, including Europe, Africa, and the US, ensuring we are always flying profitably with great value fares.” 

Pickpockets: A traveller’s nightmare

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 24 April 2024: Recent data has revealed that 87% of tourists heading for Europe feel like they have to take steps to protect themselves and their valuables from pickpockets.

Travel insurance experts at Quotezone.co.uk have provided some pointers on staying safe from pickpockets in top holiday destinations. 

Quotezone’s European pickpocketing index revealed which tourist hotspots have the highest pickpocketing rates, with Italy, France and Spain coming out top.

The research showed thousands of people have complained about their valuables being stolen when visiting iconic tourist attractions in Europe.

These hotspots bring in large crowds, making them convenient places for criminals to target unsuspecting holidaymakers.

Pickpockets can move more inconspicuously at these popular spots and snatch purses, wallets, phones, jewellery and other valuables, often without victims even noticing.

Pickpockets can work alone or use an accomplice to distract tourists, so tourists need to be on their guard. Individuals can take precautions to protect themselves and deter thieves.

Non-essentials such as jewellery and extra cash should be left in a safe at the hotel, and tourists should keep their credit cards, phones, cameras, and wallets zipped up and close by if they need to carry them.

Use a cross-body bag and wear it on the front of your body when in crowded places; sealed inner pockets are also a good option.

Important documents, such as passports, visas or vaccination documents, should also be left locked in a safe if possible – travellers should also make copies and hide them elsewhere.

Tourists should be vigilant not only when moving in crowds but also keep belongings close when sitting down in a restaurant or bar or using public transport.

When withdrawing money from an ATM, it’s crucial not to converse with strangers to protect the PIN.

Additionally, ensuring comprehensive travel insurance coverage can provide peace of mind in case of any unfortunate incidents.

Travel insurance expert at Quotezone.co.uk, Tiffany Mealiff said: “European cities are famously popular tourist destinations for sightseeing, with the recent surge in holidaymakers expected to continue throughout 2024, unfortunately this also makes them some of the danger zones for pickpocketing.

“With many people starting to plan out the details for their summer holidays, we are warning holidaymakers to be aware of the potential hazards of travelling to these tourist hotspots.

“While our research showed that 87% of tourists take steps to protect themselves from pickpockets, it’s easy to get carried away while being in a busy and exciting environment, taking in the sights.

“It’s crucial for tourists always to be aware of their surroundings, keep their belongings secure, and consider investing in anti-theft accessories such as money belts or cross-body bags.

“To minimise losses, it’s best to carry as little of value as possible and leave extra cash, key documentation, expensive jewellery and electronics behind at the hotel.

“Holidaymakers should also familiarise themselves with their travel insurance to check what is and isn’t covered and consider getting add-on gadget travel insurance if travelling with expensive electronics.

“Remember also to get a police report for the loss or theft of an item as this will help support the insurance claim.”

For savings on travel insurance check Quotezone.co.uk

Getaway deals for Dusit Gold members

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TTR WEEKLY
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Dusit Thani Maldives Aerial

BANGKOK, 24 April 2024: Dusit Hotels & Resorts is offering Dusit Gold card members stay discounts with savings of 10 to 20% on bookings and up to 30% off in credits during their stay, according to the latest group promotion presented through Facebook and social media campaigns.

The offer targets Dusit Gold members, the group’s frequent guest loyalty programme covering hotels and resorts worldwide. Depending on the participating hotels, discounts on hotel stays vary from 10% to 20%.

Reserve your escape now at https://bit.ly/DelightInYourGetawayEN.

Booking period: From now until 10 June 2024
Stay period: Until 14 July 2024
Open to new members: Sign up for Dusit Gold at https://bit.ly/3Hyg5IE

Dive into vibrant flavours — tropical cocktails, oceanfront seafood, or authentic Thai cuisine — with up to 30% off in hotel credits for an irresistible dining experience. Or Indulge in soothing spa treatments and elevate your well-being using your resort credits. Plus, enjoy member privileges, including 10 to 20% off stays and up to 30% off dining, room upgrades, late check-out, Dusit “Instant Delight” rewards, and other benefits.

Not yet a member? Join the complimentary loyalty programme and reserve your stay at https://bit.ly/DelightInYourGetawayEN.

Hong Kong passenger traffic soars 48%

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TTR WEEKLY
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HONG KONG, 24 April 2024: Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) handled 4.36 million passengers in March 2024, up 56.7% from March 2023, according to data released by the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) yesterday.

HKIA also confirmed it handled 29,840 flight movements, up 48.2% over the March 2023 performance

The positive outcome was partly driven by the long Easter holidays starting at the end of March. All passenger segments saw growth. Traffic to and from Southeast Asia, Mainland China and Japan recorded the most significant increases during the month.

Cargo throughput registered a year-on-year increase of 15.1% to 428,000 tonnes in March. HKIA has now posted double-digit year-on-year growth in cargo each month in 2024, on the back of another successful year in 2023, for which HKIA was once again named the busiest cargo airport in the world by Airports Council International. Export traffic was again the main driver in March, recording a 23.7% increase compared to last year. Among key trading regions, cargo traffic to and from North America, Europe and the Middle East rose most significantly during the month.

For the first quarter of the year, the airport handled 12.7 million passengers, marking an increase of 81.7% compared to the low base during the same period in 2023. Flight movements registered a year-on-year increase of 63.7% to 86,210. Cargo volume rose by 18.9% year-on-year to more than 1.1 million tonnes.

On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume was 45.2 million, or 264.5% higher than the previous comparable period. Flight movements and cargo throughput saw year-on-year increases of 92.1% and 9.1% to 309,650 and 4.5 million tonnes, respectively.

As traffic maintained its growth trajectory, AAHK continued to receive international and local recognition for its ongoing efforts to leverage innovative technologies and knowledge management systems for greater operational efficiency. AAHK recently received the “Most Innovative Knowledge Enterprise (MIKE) Award 2023” in both the Global and Hong Kong categories as well as ‘‘The Best in Technology Deployment Award” and “Top Winners” distinction in the Hong Kong MIKE Awards 2023.

AAHK COO Vivian Cheung said: “We are honoured to receive these awards, which recognise our innovative approach to knowledge management and providing quality service to passengers. We will continue to identify and incorporate the latest airport management innovations to enhance our operations’ efficiency further and provide passengers with a pleasant airport journey.”

(SOURCE: AAHK)

Mind the gap when boarding the hotel

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 24 April 2024: Singapore-based Tiny Pod Pte Ltd is launching Singapore’s first co-living train hotel with the support of JTC Corporation, the latest HVS Asia Pacific newsletter reported on Tuesday. 

Situated in a car park next to Block 69 Ayer Rajah Crescent, One-North, the decommissioned SMRT train carriage will feature eight 7.5 sqm en-suite rooms, communal areas, food and beverage vending machines, and bicycle racks. 

Tiny Pod’s co-living train hotel at LaunchPad @ one-north (Image credit: Tiny Pod)

Renovation works started last March, and the opening is scheduled for September 2024.

No hotel staff will be stationed on-site, but housekeeping teams will provide cleaning services for room turnovers. Tiny Pod’s co-living train hotel project is an extension to their pop-up shipping container hotel at LaunchPad @ one-north, which was opened in 2020. Since then, Tiny Pod’s shipping containers have expanded to urban and public spaces at Gardens by the Bay and Haw Par Villa.

SOURCE: HVS Asia Pacific https://www.hvs.com/?campaign=email&campaign-id=ARNewsletter-20200520-1087 )
Additional information from JTC and Tiny Pod to introduce Singapore’s first co-living train hotel in LaunchPad @ one-north – Press Release 

China Eastern partners with Amadeus

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TTR WEEKLY
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HONG KONG, 24 April 2024: China Eastern Airlines has signed a milestone agreement with Amadeus for international NDC distribution. 

The deal saw the carrier become the first mainland China airline to sign for NDC distribution worldwide with Amadeus. 

Amadeus Executive Vice President Travel Unit & Managing Director, Asia Pacific Javier Laforgue says: “China Eastern Airlines is an important and valued partner. The agreement signed today is a milestone for Amadeus, expanding our presence in the key Chinese airline market. 

The deal deepens our collaboration with China Eastern Airlines and allows global travel sellers to quickly search, shop, and service the airline’s product offerings. 

With the implementation of NDC technology, China Eastern Airlines will be able to offer personalized content to travel sellers, a feature that will greatly enhance the promotion of its branded and ancillary products. 

China Eastern Airlines is one of China’s three state-owned backbone airlines, headquartered in Shanghai. As a member of SkyTeam Alliance, China Eastern Airlines operates an extensive network of international and domestic services from two core cities — Shanghai and Beijing, and a few regional air hubs in China.

Norwegian 2024 sailings in Europe

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 24 April 2024: Norwegian Cruise Line launched its 2024 Europe cruise season last week with the arrival of Norwegian Epic at its Civitavecchia seasonal homeport in Rome, Italy, before embarking on a 10-day Greek Isles and Italy voyage.

During this Northern Hemisphere summer travel season, guests embarking on NCL cruises in Europe will have the opportunity to choose from 101 distinctive itineraries, 38 roundtrips, and 63 open-jaw sailings, calling at 140 captivating ports across Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Greek Isles, and the Atlantic Coast.  

Norwegian Epic’s Civitavecchia seasonal homeport in Rome, Italy. Image credit Civitavecchia Port.

Nine ships* will be in the region, including its newest innovative vessels, Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva, and Norwegian Escape, which returns to Europe following its first successful season in 2022.

*Norwegian Dawn, Norwegian Epic, Norwegian Escape, Norwegian Getaway, Norwegian Pearl, Norwegian Prima, Norwegian Sky, Norwegian Star, and Norwegian Viva.

A PATA whistleblower with no wind

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TTR WEEKLY
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BANGKOK, 24 April 2024: A whistleblower’s efforts to shake the Pacific Asia Travel Association tree this week met with stony silence from its leaders.

The anonymous complaint levelled at PATA chair Peter Semone, who succeeded in gaining another two-year term* earlier this month, came from a PATA board member. There are almost 40 of them on the board, which has an advisory role, but this particular one said they were ready to pull the plug on company membership in protest to what they called a lack of transparency.

Photo: eturbonews.com

The lengthy missive from the longstanding board member concluded: “I am deeply disheartened by the recent election outcome and fear for the future of our organisation. Evidently, PATA no longer upholds the values of transparency, integrity, and accountability that were once its cornerstone. I will advocate terminating our membership in light of these developments.”

TTRW received a copy of the rambling statement on Monday and asked PATA for a response without success. However, the association requested that TTRW send a copy of the whistleblower’s complaint, even though eTurboNews had already published it, citing the damaging and conjectural allegations. PATA officials said they had not seen the email complaint.

The whistleblower begins by saying that while it is “commendable to acknowledge the achievements claimed during (the chair’s tenure), it is equally important to shine a light on the challenges and shortcomings faced by our organisation under his leadership.”

However, the whistleblower failed to shed light on any of the accusations, having launched into an extraordinary rant without providing any substantive supporting evidence. It remains an anonymous tirade without merit until the whistleblower dares to put their name to the accusations and makes an official complaint, backing it up with evidence. PATA is registered in the US as a non-profit association where alleged workplace abuse is vigorously investigated and settled in court.

By the way, determining the source and the possible motivation behind the accusations is not rocket science. There are plenty of leads in PATA’a recent history. So far, PATA has not responded to the whistleblower’s venting and is not likely to do so considering this is one whistleblower who huffs and puffs but can’t blow the house down.

*Serving PATA as its chair is a voluntary post for a maximum of two terms (each term two years). 

KAL codeshare on new WestJet service

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TTR WEEKLY
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SINGAPORE, 23 April 2024: Korean Air and WestJet expanded their codeshare partnership on 22 April to provide more transpacific destinations to its customers.

Korean Air will begin selling flights on WestJet’s new route between Seoul Incheon and Calgary, which is due to launch on 17 May.

Flights on the newly launched Seoul Incheon – Calgary route will operate three times a week using Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Korean Air passengers will gain access to Calgary, Canada’s gateway to Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains, renowned for Lake Louise and its mountain trails.

“We are excited to announce an expanded codeshare with our longstanding partner WestJet, offering our valued customers access to a wide range of transpacific destinations,” said Korean Air Senior Vice President and Head of International Affairs & Alliance Tae Joon Kim.

“The launch of WestJet’s Calgary – Seoul Incheon route will bolster connectivity between Korea and Canada, while our strengthened partnership will seamlessly connect customers to an expanded array of Asian and Canadian cities through our hubs in Incheon and Calgary, respectively.”

WestJet customers will gain access to flights operated by Korean Air to six new destinations — Bangkok, Danang, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong and Singapore — via Korean Air’s hub at Incheon Airport.

Since June 2012, Korean Air and WestJet have continued to expand their codeshare partnership, covering Korean Air’s flights from Seoul Incheon to Vancouver and Toronto, WestJet’s domestic routes within Canada, and flights to/from the United States via Vancouver and Toronto. With the new codeshare expansion, the airlines’ codeshare network will increase to 36 routes.

About Korean Air
Korean Air is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance and has grown into one of the largest transpacific airlines through its joint venture with Delta Air Lines.

Cosi up to Vientiane lifestyle

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TTR WEEKLY
-

BANGKOK, 22 April 2024: Centara Hotels & Resorts, a leading hotel operator headquartered in Thailand, opens COSI Vientiane Nam Phu, the affordable lifestyle brand’s first overseas venture. 

This modern property welcomes guests to experience Total Travel Freedom through unparalleled comfort, convenience and connectivity in the heart of downtown Vientiane, the capital of Lao PDR.

COSI Vientiane boasts a fresh lifestyle, eco-friendly rooms, a serene rooftop pool, and a buzzing social hub for round-the-clock action. Complemented by turbocharged Wi-Fi and daily food and beverage credit at this 95-key property provides mega-comfy beds across three room types — COSI Room, Plus, and Family  — ranging from 18 to 39 sqm.

Founded during the late 13th century along the Mekong River, the city effortlessly weaves its rich culture, cuisine and history with contemporary charm. COSI Vientiane provides an ideal base for exploring, conveniently located within walking distance to shopping, cafés, street vendors, entertainment and nearby landmarks, including Patuxay – Victory Monument, Pha That Luang Vientiane, and the Vientiane night market.

“We are thrilled to introduce COSI Vientiane Nam Phu to travellers seeking a dynamic and immersive experience in Vientiane,” said Pasin Nopsuwan, General Manager of COSI Vientiane. “Our hotel embodies the spirit of modern hospitality, offering the perfect blend of comfort, convenience, and connectivity. We look forward to welcoming guests and creating unforgettable memories as they discover all Vientiane offers.”

To celebrate its recent opening, COSI Vientiane offers an exclusive 30% discount plus USD3 in daily food and drink credit for up to two guests when booking and staying until 31 July 2024. CentaraThe1 members enjoy an extra 15% discount and the opportunity to earn X3 points for future stays at Centara Hotels & Resorts worldwide. There’s never been a better time to discover Vientiane.

Be among the first to experience the newly opened COSI Vientiane. Book now and take advantage of the exclusive opening offer at www.centarahotelsresorts.com/cosihotels/czvl/laos-awakening

(SOURCE: Centara Hotels & Resorts).

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