BANGKOK, 25 September 2023: Tourism Authority of Thailand’s governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool says she will work closely with Chinese tourism authorities, the Pacific Asia Travel Association and the UNWTO, hinting she intends to strengthen relations with regional tourism leaders.
Following her attendance at the Global Tourism Economic Forum in Macau last week, she commented on her Facebook page: “My visit to Macau is in line with my “Partnership 360” policy to strengthen the Thai tourism industry across both the demand and supply sides through efficient cooperation with all potential stakeholders worldwide.
“Today has been another productive and stimulating day at the Macau’s Global Tourism Economy Forum (GTEF). I heard some very visionary and informative speeches on the role of tourism in helping the post-COVID recovery. I came away with high confidence in a bright future.”
Thapanee is one of the most proactive social media users among the region’s tourism leaders. She uses social media platforms to reach out to tourism partners and update followers directly with her comments and reports on her activities almost as they happen.
“I also plan to work closely with the Chinese tourism authorities and the UN World Tourism Organisation and Pacific Asia Travel Association to facilitate the economic revival.
“The opening of the People’s Republic of China after 1,000-day travel restrictions sends hope to the global tourism economy by building bridges between China and the world. The GTEF event is a source of insights on China’s critical role in the global travel economy and its role in driving sustainability.”
BANGKOK, 25 September 2023: Centara Hotels & Resorts, a leading hotel operator headquartered in Thailand, has recently announced strategic leadership changes within the organisation to reinforce its commitment to delivering the highest service standards across all its brands across Thailand and overseas.
As part of Centara’s goal of becoming a top 100 global hotel operator by 2027, the company has made the following internal personnel movements.
• Robert Maurer-Loeffler, general manager of Centara Grand & Bangkok Convention Centre at Central World, has been promoted to vice president of operations for Centara Grand properties in Thailand.
• David Martens has been promoted to senior director of operations for Centara properties and also assumes the position of general manager of Centara Karon Resort Phuket.
• Wuthisak Pichayagan, general manager of Centara Grand at Central Plaza Ladprao Bangkok, takes on additional responsibilities as director of operations for all Central Pattana hotel properties in Thailand.
• Sebastien Scheeg, general manager of Centara Mirage Beach Resort Dubai, expands his scope with promotion to Director of Operations for all Middle East and Maldives properties.
• Chaiphun Thongsuthum has been appointed general manager of Centara Grand Mirage Beach Resort Pattaya.
• Bernd Rudigier has been appointed as general manager of Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket
“Congratulations to each of our team members for their remarkable accomplishments. At Centara, our success is driven by the dedication of our people, and we take immense pride in cultivating an environment where individuals evolve and grow within our organisation,” said Centara Hotels & Resorts executive vice president of human resources, Siriwan Wangthamrong. “As we continue on our journey to becoming a leading global hotel operator, we remain committed to creating the best possible workplace for our employees.”
DUBAI, UAE, 25 September 2023: Emirates is rolling out the red carpet to welcome experienced Airbus captains as the airline continues to expand its all-wide-body fleet while enjoying exceptional demand across the network.
The airline is now inviting applications from seasoned commanders to join its Direct Entry Captains programme for its fleet of Airbus A380s.
Emirates has launched a recruitment drive globally. Interested pilots and their families can join an online info session on 4 October at 1300 Dubai time, attend open days in select destinations, and keep an eye out for exciting opportunities here: https://www.emiratesgroupcareers.com/pilots/
The Direct Entry Captains programme is for technically skilled captains with at least 3,000 hours of recent command on Airbus fly-by-wire wide-body aircraft such as the A330, A340, A350, and A380. Candidates must have a minimum of 7,000 hours of total flying time on multi-crew, multi-engine aircraft and meet other eligibility criteria.
Life at 35,000ft
Emirates’ pilots find flying the airline’s fleet professionally fulfilling, rewarding, and exciting. New joiners will be embraced into a 4,200-strong flight crew community, including 1,515 A380 pilots, who take pride in flying the airline’s overall fleet of 260 aircraft. The airline’s all-wide-body fleet is one of the world’s youngest and most advanced, including Emirates’ iconic Airbus A380s and Boeing 777s. Emirates will start receiving its fleet of A350s in mid-2024 and 777-9s in 2025.
The airline’s pilots also relish the excitement and adventure of flying one of the most comprehensive global route networks that spans six continents. They operate everything from regional routes in the Middle East to ultra-long-haul destinations and cross-polar flights, making for varied and interesting rosters.
Lifelong training
The airline continues to invest soundly in innovative pilot training, with its current facility housing 10 full-flight simulators. Emirates’ robust, evidence-based in-house training programmes are delivered by highly experienced instructors and feature specially designed operating environments. The airline’s latest US$135 million, high-tech pilot training facility is set to open in March 2024. The 63,300sq ft facility will increase pilot training capacity by 54% and house six more full-flight simulators, including for the A350s and Boeing 777-9s.
Pilots also have access to various non-technical training programmes at the Emirates Aviation College and Emirates Aviation University.
Life at Emirates and in Dubai
Emirates’ expat pilot community enjoys living and working in the safe, secure, multicultural city of Dubai with flight deck colleagues from 111 countries and colleagues from over 160 nationalities. Pilots receive a competitive tax-free salary, spacious accommodation, education allowance, and excellent dental, medical and life cover. They also enjoy chauffeur-driven transport to and from work, laundry services, 42 days of annual leave, confirmed Business Class annual leave flight tickets, concessional cargo, exceptional discounted travel benefits for friends and family, and much more.
Pilots appreciate the well-defined career paths at Emirates – Captains can become management pilots, recruitment pilots, technical pilots, standards captains, training captains, audit captains, examiners and instructors. They also enjoy long, fruitful careers as around 40% have been with the airline for 10+ years – 1,380 pilots for 10-19 years, 173 for between 20-29 years, and 5 who have completed 30 years. Fun fact: the two longest-serving pilots, with over 34 years of service, joined the airline on the same day in 1989.
The airline has welcomed 172 new pilots in the last five months on its three recruitment programmes – Direct Entry Captains, Accelerated Command, and First Officers.
Accelerated Command Programme
Designed for Airbus Captains who currently command narrow-body aircraft and have a minimum of 1,500 hours of Airbus fly-by-wire experience. They join as A380 First Officers on an enhanced salary package. After a minimum of 700 flying hours and two successful recurrent checks, they’re eligible for an accelerated command upgrade, which they typically achieve in a little over a year.
First Officer
Candidates must have multi-engine, multi-crew aircraft experience, a valid International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL), and a minimum of 2,000 hours on 20-tonne maximum take-off weight aircraft.
Interested pilots who would like to learn more about the various flight deck roles and register for the info session can click here
SYDNEY, 25 September 2023: The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) pressed for urgent reform during a briefing session with the Senate Committee Inquiry into Australia’s Bilateral Air Service Agreements.
ATIA’s submission to the Senate Committee Inquiry highlighted the critical flaws in the existing system, where decisions often lack a comprehensive understanding of their impact on passengers. The need for reform is glaring, as it is crucial that all stakeholders, not just airlines, have a direct say in determining supply and demand.
It also raised some unintended effects of the New Distribution Capability (NDC) on Australian consumers. NDC’s adoption has allowed airlines to assume the role of sole price makers, enabling them to enhance profit margins on their most affordable products without market competition pressure.
“This transformation has resulted in notable consequences that have serious ramifications for Australian consumers and the agents who support them,” AITA claimed in its submission.
ATIA CEO Dean Long commented: “The Senate Committee Inquiry offers a pivotal opportunity to address the issues that have long plagued Australia’s aviation industry and air ticket distribution landscape, with ATIA taking the lead in this fight for our members and the broader travel industry.
“The current system determining which airlines can operate in and out of Australia was established in 1944. This system was designed to protect the interests of national carriers, which were largely government-owned at that stage. While times have changed, the system has not.”
“Despite ATIA’s members selling a staggering 10 million tickets, amounting to a total value of AUD14 billion over the past 12 months until August, the Department of Transport fails to consider their perspective when deciding which bilateral aviation agreements to approve.”
“There is a critical and compelling need to redefine national interest in decision-making. ATIA’s submission highlights the critical flaws in the existing system where decisions are made without a comprehensive understanding of their impact on passengers.”
“Our submission also highlights the detrimental effects of the New Distribution Capability on Australian consumers.”
“We are seeing the current application of NDC translate into limited choices for Australian consumers and businesses, increased airfares, and a further reduction in competition within the air ticket distribution market.”
“We have a good relationship with our airline partners and look forward to working further with them on NDC’s adoption to address these issues for Australian consumers and the agents who support them.”
About ATIA
The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) is the peak body representing Australia’s AUD69 billion travel industry. ATIA represents the majority of Australian travel agents, corporate agents, tour operators, wholesalers and ITOs. 92% of ATIA members are small businesses, with women making up 72% of the workforce.
SINGAPORE, 25 September 2023:Business travel in Asia Pacific is forecast for significant growth for 2023 and beyond after challenging years due to the pandemic, according to the latest GBTA outlook data and insights.
With travel spending gaining 41% to USD567 billion this year, rising to USD800 billion by 2027. China’s reopening and robust domestic demand will be a big catalyst for the growth. Solid rebound is also anticipated in Japan, South Korea, and Australia, along with the return of international business travel, which is anticipated to boost Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia.
Additionally, today’s business traveller in APAC may spend less per business trip but may index higher on food, beverage, and hotel expenses and the desire for more premium options and blended (or “bleisure”) travel than their fellow corporate travellers in other global regions.
These are some of the outcomes for APAC regional forecasts and trends from the 2023 GBTA Business Travel Outlook™ (BTI) unveiled onstage at last week’s GBTA APAC Conference in Singapore by GBTA CEO Suzanne Neufang.
The BTI annual report offers a comprehensive overview of business travel spending and growth across 72 countries and 44 industries and highlights the global business travel spending forecast and key trends for 2023-2027. Additionally, for 2023, the BTI also incorporates insights from a survey of 4,700 business travellers across five global regions, including APAC, who reported their preferences, behaviours, spending habits, and the average business trip cost now.
“The growth and opportunities ahead in the APAC business travel sector are reflected in our regional spending forecast but could also be seen by the tremendous response and engagement this week among the delegates and partners attending our sold-out GBTA conference, the second event we’ve held in APAC,” said Catherine Logan, GBTA Regional Senior Vice President for EMEA and APAC. “We are grateful for all who made it possible, including our newly formed GBTA APAC Advisory Board, conference presenters, sponsors, volunteers, and the APAC business travel community.”
The GBTA APAC Conference 2023 was held at the Shangri-La Singapore, September 19-20. It was co-located for the first time with the Worldwide ERC Global Mobility Summit, providing all delegates unparalleled opportunities to learn and network across both conferences.
More than 600 attendees came together, including 400+ GBTA event delegates and over 120 travel buyers from 17 countries, to network, gain insights from industry experts, and engage in peer-to-peer education.
“What a great turnout at the GBTA APAC Conference in Singapore with exceptional networking, inspiring content and energised engaged delegates. We are thrilled the conference has been so well received and look forward to continuing to grow GBTA’s presence in APAC,” said Peter Koh, Chairperson GBTA APAC Advisory Board.
The two-day conference featured insightful Main Stage speakers, buyer/supplier roundtables and “The Big Idea” innovation workshop session focused on artificial intelligence. Education sessions featured timely topics from across the business travel ecosystem, including business traveller engagement, measuring the environmental impact of travel programs, the resiliency of travel and meetings in Asia, managing risk, and negotiating rates in the current NDC environment.
GBTA also announced it will host its third APAC Conference in Singapore from 13 to 14 May 2024.
BANGKOK, 25 September 2023: China’s Qingdao Airlines has opened a new direct route from Yichang Sanxia Airport (YIH) to Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport (DMK).
Effective 20 September, the daily Airbus 320neo (flight QW6191) departs YIH at 1040 and arrives in Bangkok DMK at 1230. The return flight QW6192 departs Bangkok DMK at 1330 and arrives in YIH at 1800.
Photo credit: AOTGA
Qingdao Airlines has assigned Thai Airports Ground Services (AOTGA) the contract for ground handlight services at Don Mueang Airport.
HONG KONG, 25 September 2023: As air traffic at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) continued to expand in August 2023, the airport was voted “Asia’s Leading Airport 2023” and “China’s Leading Airport 2023” in the 30th World Travel Awards.
Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) chief operating 0fficer Vivian Cheung commented: “We are honoured that HKIA has been named ‘Asia’s Leading Airport’ and ‘China’s Leading Airport’ this year in the World Travel Awards. We have introduced various new facilities, services and technologies to give passengers a brand-new airport experience.
HKIA has been named ‘Asia’s Leading Airport’ and ‘China’s Leading Airport’ this year in the World Travel Awards.
It is most encouraging to learn that travellers and industry experts worldwide acknowledge and appreciate our efforts through their votes.”
The World Travel Awards celebrate excellence across all key sectors of the travel, tourism and hospitality industries and are recognised globally as the hallmark of industry achievement. Winners are selected by travel industry specialists and passengers from around the world. HKIA was named “China’s Leading Airport” for the second year. It was also voted “Asia’s Leading Airport” in 2020 and 2021.
In August 2023, HKIA handled about 4.0 million passengers, up 5% compared to July 2023. The daily average passenger number rose towards 130,000, representing a recovery to about 66% of the pre-pandemic level. Flight movements and cargo throughput experienced month-on-month increases of 4.3% and 1.7%, respectively, to 25,055 movements and 367,000 tonnes.
Passenger traffic in August was 7.3 times higher than the low base in the same month last year, while flight movements increased by 1.2 times. Mainland China and Japan recorded the most significant increases in traffic to and from Southeast Asia.
Cargo throughput increased by 8.5% year-on-year, with a 20.5% surge in export volume compared to the same month last year. Traffic to and from key trading regions in the Middle East, Europe and North America saw the most significant increases.
Over the first eight months of the year, HKIA handled 24.4 million passengers, more than 13 times higher than the low base recorded over the same period in 2022. The airport handled 167,895 flight movements, representing 97.4% year-on-year growth. Cargo volume decreased slightly by 2.6% year-on-year to over 2.7 million tonnes.
On a 12-month rolling basis, passenger volume at HKIA posted a remarkable 11-fold year-on-year increase to 28.3 million, while flight movements jumped by 55.7% to 221,585. Cargo throughput saw a decrease of 11.8% to 4.1 million tonnes.
SHANGHAI, 25 September 2023: Trip.com Group CEO Jane Sun welcomed Italy’s Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè, and her delegation at the group’s office in Shanghai.
The Santanchè delegation included Erika Guerri, Head of Cabinet, Tiziana D’Angelo, Consul General of the Republic of Italy in Shanghai and Ivana Jelenic, CEO of ENIT.
(Fifth from left) Trip.com Group CEO Jane Sun, welcomed the Italian delegation, led by Italy’s Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè (fifth from right), at the Trip.com Group headquarters in Shanghai.
Sun and her team hosted Santanchè and her delegation to a tour of the group’s HQ premises and engaged in a discussion which focused on travel and tourism and women’s empowerment, among other topics.
During the discussion, Sun also highlighted Trip.com Group’s strengths, including technology, content marketing and customer service, and ways to deepen cooperation between both sides.
Santanchè commented: “The meeting with Sun and her team offered many interesting ideas, both on present and future perspectives of collaboration between Italy and China, as well as an overview of the methods of promoting Italy to an audience of high-spending users.”
Ms Sun said: “It is our honour and privilege to welcome and host Minister Daniela Santanchè and her delegation. It was a great discussion during which we shared our group’s initiatives to promote destinations in Europe, including Italy, to high-spending tourists who are seeking quality tourism experiences. We also appreciate the opportunity to share insights and exchange views with the minister on potential growth opportunities and challenges. My colleagues and I are excited to strengthen our collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism to position Italy as a destination of choice.”
Trip.com Group’s recent data shows that search volumes and bookings of travel products related to Italy have been increasing. Flight search volume to Italy rose by 363% in August 2023, as compared to the previous year, while accommodation bookings during the same period increased by 283%.
SINGAPORE, 22 September 2023: The days of dubious conflicting emission estimates for flights are numbered as a more consistent accurate counter gains acceptance.
Earlier this week, Travelport, a global technology company that powers travel bookings for content suppliers worldwide, launched more transparent carbon dioxide (CO2) emission estimates for flights saying it would end ambiguity and confusion for travellers.
It uses the publicly accessible Travel Impact Model (TIM), which Google developed in partnership with the Travalyst coalition. This new feature is the first of Travelport’s roll-out of offerings to help agents, travel managers, and travellers make more eco-conscious choices when planning and booking trips.
“Agents, corporate and leisure travellers want to feel more confident in making better travel decisions that put environmental impact as a top priority,” said Travelport chief product and technology officer Tom Kershaw.
“Agents and travellers are seeing different carbon emissions scores and rankings for the exact same flight options when searching them in different channels. As an industry, adopting a free, publicly accessible data framework will allow us all to be more consistent in how travel options are displayed and scored based on factors like carbon emissions, environmental certifications, or waste initiatives.”
Travel retailers using Travelport can easily compare CO2 estimates generated by the TIM per flight, per passenger, across carriers, at the point of sale based on factors such as the type of aircraft, seat configuration, distance of the flight, load factors and more.
These enhanced TIM carbon emission estimates for air segments can be accessed via Smartpoint, Trip Quote and the Travelport API Suite in the Flight Service Information Display and In-Flight Search Response views. The TIM was developed by Google, in partnership with the Travalyst coalition, an independent not-for-profit organisation of which Travelport is a member.
“Travelport joined the Travalyst coalition in 2022 to help drive the standardisation and scale of environmentally conscious travel information across travel platforms,” Kershaw continued. “By adopting the Travel Impact Model and using this data methodology for flight emission estimates displayed on agents’ screens, we’re able to align with all of the major global travel platforms to provide more transparency and eliminate confusion with inconsistent rankings across platforms.”
SINGAPORE, 22 September 2023: Emirates and SriLankan Airlines have signed a reciprocal interline agreement to boost connectivity for passengers of both airlines.
The partnership will enable access to new points on each other’s networks via Colombo and Dubai, utilising a single ticket and enjoying the convenience of baggage transfers.
Tickets are now on sale for travel effective immediately as the interline partnership unlocks 15 regional destinations operated by SriLankan Airlines via Colombo for Emirates’ passengers to choose from.
The interline network includes two new Indian destinations, Madurai and Tiruchirapally, in addition to Gan Island in the Maldives, for customers to travel seamlessly on a single ticket while enjoying the convenience of a generous baggage policy and hassle-free baggage check-through to the final destination. Far East and South Asian destinations also include Cochin, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Malé, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta, Guangzhou, Seoul and Tokyo.
SriLankan Airlines’ passengers are also set to benefit from access to Emirates’ global network and connect to 15 cities operated by Emirates beyond Dubai. The interline network includes points across the Middle East, Africa, Russia and the US. SriLankan’s customers will enjoy a premium travel experience and partnership benefits while flying on Emirates to Bahrain, Amman, Dammam, Medina, Cairo, Muscat, Nairobi, Moscow, Tel Aviv, and a host of US cities including New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Franciso, Chicago, Boston and Houston.*
Travel itineraries can be booked immediately on emirates.com, srilankan.com and preferred online and offline travel agencies.
Emirates’ chief commercial officer Adnan Kazimm said: “We are pleased to activate an interline partnership with SriLankan and provide our customers with more choice and access to additional destinations to suit their travel plans. This partnership enables customers to seamlessly fly to unique destinations in India and the Maldives via Colombo. We look forward to further developing our cooperation in the near future and enhancing benefits that customers can enjoy when travelling with Emirates and SriLankan on one ticket.”
Sri Lanka continues to be an important part of the Emirates network, spanning almost 140 destinations. Emirates launched its services to Sri Lanka in 1986 and since then has carried more than 11 million passengers to and from Colombo.
The airline currently provides two direct daily flights to Colombo, utilising the Boeing 777-300ER, and an additional daily service via Malé, providing customers the flexibility to choose flights and enjoy the convenience of minimal connection times. It is the only international carrier to serve the country with first-class services – offering passengers world-class products and superior comfort in the air and on-ground.
* Travellers flying to destinations in the US on Emirates and SriLankan interline tickets must clear their baggage with US Customs at the first point of entry in the country.
