SYDNEY, 27 January 2023: Qantas is offering customers even more travel options across India as part of an expansion of its codeshare partnership with IndiGo.
It follows the initial codeshare agreement with India’s largest domestic carrier signed last August that offered seamless connections from Qantas flights in Bengaluru and Delhi to IndiGo services to other major Indian cities, including Mumbai and Chennai, as well as smaller destinations such as Pune and Goa.
Under phase two of the agreement, Qantas customers can now travel to an additional eight cities, bringing the total number of Indian destinations available for connection from Delhi and Bengaluru to 21. Qantas customers will also have more choices across IndiGo’s domestic network, with more than 250 new flights available for booking.
Qantas Frequent Flyers can earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights (with the QF code), and IndiGo recognises Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One), including priority check-in and priority baggage.
New codeshare destinations:
Guwahati
Indore
Chandigarh
Mangalore
Jaipur
Nagpur
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
Existing codeshare destinations:
Ahmedabad
Amritsar
Bengaluru
Chennai
Delhi
Goa
Mumbai
Kochi
Kolkata
Hyderabad
Lucknow
Patna
Pune
Qantas flights to India
Qantas operates four return flights from Melbourne to Delhi per week and four from Sydney to Bengaluru per week.
BANGKOK, 26 January 2023: Centara Hotels & Resorts has appointed Tom Pieter Van Tuijl as the new general manager of Centara Mirage Resort Mui Ne in Vietnam.
He will be responsible for strategically managing and operating the resort’s 984 Mediterranean-designed rooms and villas.
Before joining Centara Hotels & Resorts, he was general manager of FLC Hotels & Resorts, responsible for FLC Sam Son Beach & Golf Resort and FLC Halong Bay Golf Club & Luxury Resort. Before that, he worked for the flagship Lotte Hotel in Hanoi.
Commenting on his appointment, he said: “With its favourable geographical location, just four-hour driving from Ho Chi Minh City, mild climate all year round, and rich and unique local cuisine, Mui Ne is becoming one of the best ideal cities for luxury tourism investment, as well as an attractive beach destination for both Vietnamese and foreign tourists.”
SINGAPORE, 26 January 2023: Emirates will relaunch its daily direct flight between Singapore and Melbourne from 26 March 2023 as part of its frequency ramp-up to Sydney and Melbourne in response to strong travel demand.
From 26 March to 01 April 2023, Emirates’ flight EK404, operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, will depart Dubai at 2115 and arrive in Singapore at 0850. The flight will continue to Melbourne, taking off at 1025 from Singapore and touching down in Melbourne at 2035. The return service EK405 will take off from Melbourne at 0325 and arrive in Singapore at 0815 before departing for Dubai at 0940. It will arrive in Dubai at 1300.
Starting from 02 April 2023, Emirates’ flight EK404 will land in Melbourne at 1935 and take off to Singapore as EK405 at 0225.
Flight
Number
Departure
Local Time (hrs)
Arrival
Local Time (hrs)
EK404
Dubai
2115
Singapore
0850
Singapore
1025
Melbourne
2035
EK405
Melbourne
0325
Singapore
0815
Singapore
0940
Dubai
1300
The resumption of Emirates’ Singapore-Melbourne route will help serve the pent-up demand for air travel between the two cities and beyond across the airline’s global network, providing even more choice and flexibility for travellers with the capacity to transport up to 5,000 passengers a week between the two points.
Emirates country manager for Singapore & Brunei, Rashid Al Ardha said: “The return of our direct service between Singapore and Melbourne further establishes our commitment to supporting the local travel and tourism recovery in both markets. With travel restrictions easing globally, we are progressively restoring our operations to pre-pandemic levels, as we expect customer demand to remain strong in 2023.”
Emirates has been serving Singapore since 1990. Aside from the newly-restored Melbourne service, the airline continues to connect travellers to 130 cities across the globe through Dubai three times a day. Tickets can be issued on emirates.com, the Emirates App, or via both online and offline travel agents.
Emirates’ Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration offers travellers eight private suites in first class, 42 lie-flat seats in business class and 304 spacious seats in economy class.
Danang, Vietnam, 26 January 2023: The People’s Committee of Danang has submitted a proposal to build a duty-free zone on a site located 30 km southwest of the city centre, Vietnam News Agency
The area will cover 151 ha at the end of Ba Na – Suoi Mo Road – 30km southwest of the centre and near the Ba Na Hills resort.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment is reviewing the project that would include a trade complex with entertainment sites, duty-free shops, a logistics hub, warehouses, healthcare services, an R&D centre, an international education centre, a medical school and an exhibition centre.
If it gains the green light from authorities, developers say it will open in 2027. Construction would take around three years.
VNA reported that the first downtown duty-free shop was launched at the beachfront Crowne Plaza Danang resort at the end of last year.
BANGKOK, 26 January 2023: The Pacific Asia Travel Association will host its annual Destination Experience Forum and Mart, in Kuching, Sarawak, from 21 to 23 June.
More than 200 travel professionals from around the Asia Pacific region will attend to gain first-hand destination management and marketing experience responsibly and sustainably.
Photo credit: PATA. Bird’s eye view of Kuching, Sarawak.
Sarawak is also home to the popular Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF), and PDFM delegates will gain complimentary access to the world-renowned festival.
The PATA Destination Experience Forum and Mart 2023 (PDFM 2023) will adopt the theme ‘Responsible Tourism, Gastronomy Tourism and Ecotourism’ for the three-day event.
The three-day programme consists of a one-day destination experience hosted by the Sarawak Tourism Board, a one-day conference rounding off with tabletop sales and networking sessions on the final day.
SINGAPORE, 26 January 2023: Hyatt Hotels Corporation declares a record pipeline of approximately 117,000 rooms worldwide in its 2022 year-end report released earlier this week.
Notably, nearly one in four pipeline properties are classified as lifestyle hotels, representing 10% of the existing portfolio, further strengthening Hyatt’s position in the luxury, lifestyle and leisure segments.
A notable driver of this growth is the announced asset-light acquisition of Dream Hotel Group’s lifestyle hotel brand and management platform, which is expected to bring established lifestyle hotel brands – including Dream Hotels, Unscripted Hotels and The Chatwal – into the Hyatt portfolio. The acquisition will welcome more than 600 new properties into the Hyatt family.
Hyatt anticipates additional organic growth across its luxury, lifestyle and leisure offerings in the Asia-Pacific.
Park Hyatt
The Park Hyatt brand will expand in the Asia Pacific region with Park Hyatt Taipei (Taiwan), Park Hyatt Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Park Hyatt Phu Quoc (Vietnam) in 2024.
Andaz
In 2023 the group will add Andaz Doha in Qatar plus the Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach in Thailand.
Andaz Macau is set to become one of Asia’s iconic event destinations with the Galaxy International Convention Centre (GICC) opening within the largest Andaz hotel, worldwide, which will have more than 700 rooms and suites.
Andaz Nanjing Hexi in Greater China will open in Nanjing.
Centric
Expansion of the Hyatt Centric brand will see the opening of the Hyatt Centric Zhongshan Park Shanghai and Hyatt Centric Xi’an Gaoxin.
Destination by Hyatt
The anticipated debut of the Destination by Hyatt brand in Asia Pacific starts with the Grand Resort in Qingchengshan, China, later this year.
DELHI, 26 January 2023: Air India will launch 12 weekly flights to London Gatwick Airport and five additional services to London Heathrow Airport, effective 23 March 2023.
To Gatwick, Air India will operate a thrice-weekly service from cities such as Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Goa, and Kochi. It is the only scheduled airline to offer direct services to UK’s second-largest airport.
On the route to Heathrow, Air India will add five weekly frequencies, with Delhi increasing from 14 to 17 times a week and Mumbai from 12 to 14 times a week.
SINGAPORE, 26 January 2023: Middle East & Africa was the only world region to show an increase in overall hotel pipeline activity at the end of the fourth quarter, according to December 2022 data from STR released last week.
STR data compares the hotel pipeline in December 2022 with percentage changes compared to December 2021.
Middle East & Africa
In Construction: 122,686 rooms (-5.8%) Final Planning: 41,086 rooms (+6.0%) Planning: 74,863 rooms (+11.5%) Total Under Contract: 238,635 (+1.1%) Saudi Arabia (40,742) and the United Arab Emirates (27,456) lead in construction activity.
Asia Pacific
In Construction: 476,942 rooms (+0.6%) Final Planning: 108,955 rooms (-36.0%) Planning: 305,339 rooms (+2.6%) Total Under Contract: 891,236 rooms (-5.4%) Among countries in the region, China has the most rooms in construction (300,163), followed by Vietnam (31,570).
Europe
In Construction: 189,698 rooms (-14.5%) Final Planning: 140,663 rooms (-14.1%) Planning: 153,587 rooms (-3.6%) Total Under Contract: 483,948 (-11.2%) Germany (36,162) and the UK (28,426) lead Europe in total rooms in construction.
Americas
In Construction: 207,112 (-2.1%) Final Planning: 244,982 (+11.3%) Planning: 284,829 (-13.6%) Total Under Contract: 736,823 (-3.2) The US held the majority of rooms in construction (159,344) in the region and showed its first year-over-year increase in the phase since late 2020. After the US, Mexico (11,398) and Canada (6,752) have the highest number of rooms in construction in the region.
SINGAPORE, 25 January 2023: Come to Spain and enjoy the carnival, an exhilarating festival celebrated in many places all over the country. Carnival is celebrated between February and March; the dates differ each year. The festival is noted for humour, parodies and costumes in the streets of Spanish towns and cities, which all have their traditions. Below, we recommend several different carnivals which stand out for being original, beautiful and spectacular. Start thinking about your costume and book a flight to Spain.
Cadiz, in Andalusia, is the carnival of “comparsas”, “coros” and “chirigotas”: songs full of irony and criticism that are written by the different groups who participate in the fiesta. They parade through the city centre, spreading freedom and fun in a carnival officially declared of International Tourist Interest.
One of the world’s biggest carnivals awaits you in the capital of the island of Tenerife and has also been declared of International Tourist Interest. Join in the parades and be amazed by the imaginative, fancy and eye-catching costumes of the Carnival Queen hopefuls. Lose yourself in the music, rhythm and joy of this celebration with people from all over the world.
Another of the most famous carnivals, also of International Tourist Interest, is in Águilas (Murcia). This colourful event features numerous parades and competitions for the most spectacular costumes. Two of its traditions are particularly famous. One is the tossing of eggshells (eggs filled mostly with confetti), and the other is drinking “cuerva”, a drink described by many as the “magic potion” that awakens the spirit of carnival.
This Galician festival of International Tourist Interest has the longest carnival programme in Spain. It begins on Fareleiro Sunday (three weeks before Carnival Sunday) and ends on Piñata Sunday. The parade of floats and troupes is led by a group of traditional masked characters called “pantallas” who wear belts with bells on them. They are responsible for making sure people dress up and they are the top stars of this celebration. Carnival Tuesday is the most important day.
All over Spain
Also in the Canary Islands, you can enjoy the carnival in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with its “Gala de la Reina” (Queen’s Gala) to crown the Carnival Queen and the main “Gran Cabalgata” parade, which attracts thousands of people every year. At Verín Carnival (Galicia) highlights include the “fariñadas” (flour fights) and the strange masked figure of Cigarrón. We can also recommend several carnivals of National Tourist Interest such as Badajoz, Villarrobledo, La Bañeza, Toro, Miguelturra, Herencia and La Vijanera in Cantabria… Which one will you choose?
DUBAI, UAE: 25 January 2023: Emirates Skywards has hit a new record with more than 30 million members enrolled worldwide. The award-winning loyalty programme of Emirates and flydubai is celebrating big with incredible offers, including a chance to win one million Skywards Miles.
Over the past two decades, the loyalty programme has evolved and grown to become one of the world’s most recognised and valued loyalty programmes. With industry-leading initiatives, innovative product offerings, and more than 150 brand partners – Emirates Skywards continues to redefine the loyalty experience for customers, in the air and on-ground.
Emirates Skywards divisional senior vice president Nejib Ben Khedher said: “This is a major milestone for us, and we are very happy to be giving back to our loyal members who have played an invaluable role in our success. Stay tuned for some of the most amazing offers this month – from a chance to win 1 million Miles, upgrades to Business Class, and complimentary Tier upgrades – we have something in store for everyone.”
A gift that keeps giving
From 30 January to 1 February 2023, Emirates will offer passengers travelling on select flights specially branded cupcakes on board. To celebrate the loyalty programme’s milestone, it will also be rolling out fantastic surprises until 4 February 2023.
More surprises
One million Miles: Win the Skywards Miles jackpot! Join the competition until 4 February 2023 for a chance to a grand one million Miles – enough to redeem more than 10 one-way Emirates Business Class tickets from Dubai to London. Emirates Skywards co-branded credit card holders who join the competition can also double their chances of winning.*
Emirates Skywards members travelling to and through Dubai between 30 January and 1 February 2023 will also have a chance to win even more rewards. Look for a red “30 million” sticker on your luggage upon arrival at Dubai Airports to see if you’re among the many lucky winners.*
30,000 bonus Miles: The loyalty programme is giving away even more Miles, with 300,000 Miles up for grabs. Over the next three days, 10 members will have a chance to win 30,000 Miles each.
10 Skywards+ packages: Enjoy complimentary access to some of the best offers available on Skywards+, including bonus Miles, flight rewards, lounge access and more.
30 Silver Tier upgrades: Become an Emirates Skywards Silver Tier member this month with a complimentary Tier upgrade and unlock fantastic benefits and rewards.
30 flight upgrades: Fly better on your next flight and enjoy a surprise upgrade to Business Class.
30 complimentary Chauffer Drive Service vouchers: Discover the vibrant city of Dubai this month and enjoy a free premium ride to and from Dubai Airports.
Customers travelling with flydubai on 7 February 2023 can also look forward to some surprising giveaways, including:
Four Silver Tier upgrades.
75,000 Bonus Skywards Miles.
One Skywards+ package.
Two complimentary upgrades to Business Class.
Seven access passes to the flydubai Business Lounge at Terminal 2.
More than 180 countries across six continents
Emirates Skywards members come from more than 180 countries, including 3.7 million members in the United Kingdom, 3 million in the United States, 2.2 million in the United Arab Emirates, 2.1 million in Australia and 2.1 million in India.
On average, the loyalty programme attracts more than 120,000 members per month. In the last year alone, Emirates Skywards welcomed more than 1.4 million members between April 2021 and March 2022.
From flight rewards to global sporting events
Since its inception in 2000, Emirates Skywards has expanded and diversified its brand partnerships to offer its members more innovative ways to earn and redeem Miles. The loyalty programme currently has more than 150 partners, including 16 airline partners; more than 100 hotel partners; 33 financial partners, 22 retail and lifestyle partners and seven car rental partners.
From 2018 to 2022, members redeemed more than 140 billion Miles on flight rewards; more than 1.8 billion Miles on hotel stays; more than 10 billion on retail outlets; and more than 150 million Miles on money-can’t-buy experiences at world-renowned sporting events, including US Open, Roland Garros, Grand Prix Miami, and more.
Five years of partnership with flydubai
Dubai-based airlines Emirates and flydubai recently celebrated five years of strategic partnership. Since 2017, more than 11 million passengers have enjoyed seamless connectivity across the joint network to more than 211 destinations across 100 countries. Over the past five years, more than 8.5 million Emirates Skywards members have earned 150 billion Skywards Miles through the Emirates and flydubai partnership.
The world’s largest international airline has also recently activated a codeshare agreement with Air Canada and expanded the partnership to offer frequent flyer members joint loyalty programme benefits. Skywards members can now earn and redeem Miles across Air Canada’s network. Emirates Skywards Platinum and Gold members travelling in Economy Class with Air Canada or Emirates can also enjoy airport lounge access in Toronto.
Emirates Skywards membership is complimentary. Customers can join via emirates.com, flydubai.com, the Emirates app, or the flydubai app. Join today using the invite code “FLYBETTER“ and enjoy 2,500 bonus Miles after your first flight on Emirates or flydubai.
