World Travel News

Thai ticketing remains closed  15-Mar-2010
Thai Airways International has decided to keep its Larn Luang ticketing office closed today. The office was closed on Saturday and Sunday due to political demonstrations. Due to the protests continuing today with the rally moving through the city to Lak Si area, the airline decided to extend the closure. Protestors have now returned to their main rally site which is close to the Larn Luang ticketing office.

China’s Exports Rise 46 Percent As Consumer Demand Renews  14-Mar-2010
China announced yesterday that its exports climbed 46 percent in February from a year earlier. Economists said the data signals a rebound in consumer demand from the US and other Western markets after last year’s financial crisis. It was the third straight month of increases in China’s exports, and the fastest growth in three years. Orders from the US, European Union and Japan accounted for almost half the growth, following a

Travel to Thailand cancelled for a week  12-Mar-2010
Hong Kong package tours to Bangkok have been cancelled for one week, while the Singapore government has announced that all citizens travelling to Thailand must register their travel plans online before they leave the country. The Hong Kong travel red alert follows the Thai government’s announcement that it has placed the city and nearby provinces under the Internal Security Act in an attempt to curtail violence during red shirt

CX waives fees on BKK route  12-Mar-2010
As a result of political turmoil in Thailand, Cathay Pacific Airways says it will waive all rebooking and rerouting charges for all tickets issued worldwide, irrespective of fare type on/before 10 March for travel involving Bangkok until 16 March. The announcement does not apply to cancellation and refund charges for both Cathay Pacific and Dragon Air services, just the waiver on rebooking and rerouting fees. Passengers have to make

Malaysia Airlines helps promote Australians to its travellers  11-Mar-2010
Malaysia Airlines this week has signed a new agreement with Tourism Australia to help promote travel to the destination by its travellers under a brand new “Only in Oz” campaign. Exclusive airfares and land-packages will be sold through the airline, and will be targeting those wishing to travel who have never before been to Australia.

Rallies threaten tourism recovery  11-Mar-2010
Four more countries have issued travel advisories that warn travellers to avoid Bangkok between 12 to 14 March. Warnings have been issued by 31 nations so far. Tourism Authority of Thailand deputy governor of marketing communications, Prakit Piriyakiet, confirmed the latest additions stating it was due to the “intense and sensitive political situation in the country”.

Tiger Airways Increases Flights to Thailand  11-Mar-2010
Tiger Airways Singapore announced that it will fly to Thailand more frequently to serve growing demand. Starting from 20 April 2010, Tiger Airways will fly daily from Singapore to Krabi and Hat Yai. This is double the current frequency – four per week to Krabi and three per week to Hat Yai.

China eyes high-speed rail links with Europe, India, Russia  10-Mar-2010
China is reportedly in negotiations which could see the economic behemoth build a high-speed railway connecting its capital with the United Kingdom, Russia and Southeast Asia. The new connections could potentially see passengers reach London from Beijing within two days, reports The Telegraph in London, who cites a source who is a senior consultant on China’s domestic high-speed rail project.

Garuda adds capacity to BKK  10-Mar-2010
From the beginning of summer schedule, 28 March, Garuda Indonesia will deploy a new B737-800NG on its Bangkok-Jakarta route. The change boosts seat capacity by 70%. Garuda phases out a 96-seat B737-500 for the new 162-seat B737-800 that has 12 seats in business class and 150 in economy.

Indonesia offers grace period on visa-on-arrival switch  10-Mar-2010
Indonesian resort destinations Batam, Bintan and Karimun have been given a transition period of three months to apply the single Visa on Arrival (VoA) facility. The government had announced regulations in January to remove the US$10 one-week VoA and leaving only the 30-day VoA costing US$25, a move that raised concerns in the three destinations as regional travellers tend to stay less than a week.

Only in Oz’ launch targets MATTA Fair visitors  10-Mar-2010
Tourism Australia has teamed up with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to sharpen the destination’s appeal, particularly to attract first-time visitors. The ‘Only in Oz Holidays’ campaign launched yesterday to boost Australia’s appeal over rival destinations will feature the launch of air and ground packages at this weekend’s MATTA Fair for consumers in Kuala Lumpur. Australian deals at the fair will kick off with MAS’ all-inclusive fares from as low as RM649 (US$195) to Australia, while Aussie Specialist

Cathay back to profit after 2008’s record loss  10-Mar-2010
Fuel hedging, cost-cutting and the sale of shares in an aircraft maintenance company helped Cathay Pacific Group return from its biggest-ever loss the previous year to profit in 2009. The group, which comprises Asia’s third-largest airline and Dragonair, booked a full-year profit HK$4.7 billion (US$605 million) compared with 2008’s record HK$8.6 billion loss, largely the result of fuel hedging bets going the wrong way. While the group had earlier reported a steady pick-up in passenger numbers, both

Malaysia Airlines adds flights  9-Mar-2010
Malaysia Airlines adds frequencies on its Paris route from five times weekly to daily, effective 28 March. From Kuala Lumpur, the flight departs at 2335 and arrives in Paris at 0640. Thai passengers who are connecting with this service fly MH783 from Suvarnabhumi Airport departing at 1705 and arriving in Kuala Lumpur at 2015. The flight from Paris returns to Kuala Lumpur at 0635 allowing Thai travellers

Singapore guns for double-digit growth in 2010  8-Mar-2010
Backed a new brand and its two integrated resorts, Singapore has set high arrivals and revenue targets for this year. Singapore Tourism Board (STB) chief executive Aw Kah Peng is aiming for a 19 to 29 per cent hike in visitor arrivals, translating to 11.5 million to 12.5 million, and a staggering 41 to 49 per cent boost in tourism receipts to S$17.5 to S$18.5 billion (US$13.2 billion).

Chinese Exchange Rate Unlikely To Change  8-Mar-2010
China’s central bank governor indicated Saturday that the government was unlikely to detach the value of China’s currency from that of the US dollar anytime soon, echoing Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s statement on Friday that exchange rates would remain “basically stable” for now. Many Western economists and leaders, including US President Barack Obama, have called for China to let its currency, the renminbi, appreciate against the dollar, arguing that an artificially cheap renminbi

Bank of Japan Faces Choice on Deflation in Coming Months  8-Mar-2010
Japan’s central bank looks more likely to ease monetary policy further in coming months, analysts say, though the finance minister has offered few hints on the possibility of additional monetary easing steps at the Bank of Japan's next policy board meeting. “I haven’t heard such a message directly from the BOJ. But both the government and the bank share the view that each has to make its own effort to beat deflation,” Naoto Kan said at a regular news

PG and VISA giveaway tickets  8-Mar-2010
Bangkok Airways partners with VISA to give Thai cardholders discounts on fares when buying two economy class tickets. VISA Premium Privilege is valid for VISA Platinum, VISA Signature and VISA Infinite cardholders and for bookings made via www.bangkokair.com only.

THAI upgrades channel business  8-Mar-2010
Thai Airways International says it will use its 50th anniversary celebrations to extend its reach through website and mobile phone communications.

Malaysia Airlines boosted after sweeping reforms  8-Mar-2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Not long ago, Malaysia Airlines was on life support, forced to sell off its headquarters and firing thousands of staff to avoid bankruptcy, but analysts are now bullish about its prospects.

Chinese airline says president under police probe  8-Mar-2010
SHANGHAI : The president of Shenzhen Airlines, China's fifth-biggest carrier, has been removed from his position and is under police investigation for alleged "economic crimes", the carrier said Monday.

Singapore Hopes Casinos Will Boost Tourism Revenue  8-Mar-2010
Visitor arrivals to Singapore may rise by as much as 30 percent this year, helped by an economic recovery in Asia and the lure of two new multi-billion dollar casinos, the government said on Friday. Genting Group’s $4.7 billion Resorts World opened in February, and Las Vegas Sands will partially open its $5.5 billion casino in April as part of Singapore’s attempt to expand its tourism industry to diversify its economy. Singapore Tourism Board Chief Executive Aw Kah Peng told a conference the

Asia airfares rise, bucking economic slump  4-Mar-2010
Published airfares rose one per cent across Asia-Pacific year-on-year, according to fourth quarter 2009 results of American Express Business Travel Monitor. The survey also revealed price increases across business and economy classes between the third and fourth quarters of 2009, which belied expectations for significant savings as a result of the global financial slump.

AirAsia says it will upgrade call centres  4-Mar-2010
AirAsia has just announced that it has launched call centre upgrades throughout Malaysia, and will be offering a new 24-hour self-service option, as well as a new “premium” service line. A brand new “Premium Customer Service Line” will be introduced by AirAsia, which will be targeting to engage customers within 29 seconds of connection. The catch is that it will come with a price tag of MYR1.95 per minute.