TRAVEL agents in Singapore can use data from travel search engine Kayak.sg to advise their clients the charges they will encounter for cabin luggage that exceed weight allowances that vary from airline to airline.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) for instance, provides an allowance of 7kg consisting of one bag and one accessory on all flights, with excesses charged at S$12 (US$8.50) per kg on short haul flights and S$77 per kg on long haul flights.

Unlike SIA, Malaysia Airlines charges fees that varies between S$27 and S$108 depending on the flight duration for every 3kg of excess luggage.

The data also reveals that most airlines give 7kg allowances for cabin baggage, with KLM and Korean Air providing a modest 12kg, while British Airways is the only airline that allows a staggering 23kg.

British Airways also allows the biggest luggage size measuring 56 by 45 by 25 cm, alongside Thai Airways and Garuda Indonesia. United Airlines allows the smallest luggage size of only 56 by 22 by 25 cm.

Refer to the infographic here.

THE Malaysian government will soon introduce visa-free facilities for Chinese travellers traveling in groups of at least two people but travel agents, having been let down before, are cynical.

Temporary social passes for Chinese groups were originally planned to be implemented on October 1, but glitches in execution have halted the programme with no solution in sight.

Mint Leong, secretary-general of the Malaysian Inbound Tourism Association (MITA), said the latest announcement raised questions on implementation again.

“This good news should be greeted with excitement but MITA members involved in the Chinese inbound market are cynical as they had been let down earlier. It is also not clear if travellers from Hong Kong and Macau will be included,” she said.

Arrivals for 1H2015 showed Chinese arrivals had contracted by 11.7 per cent compared with the corresponding period in 2014, which saw 850,877 Chinese tourists coming to Malaysia.

E-visa capabilities will also be introduced from January 2016.

BORNEO Trails Tours and Travel, based in Kota Kinabalu, is now offering an itinerary which includes an appointment with Charles Lee, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at KPJ Sabah Specialist Hospital.

KL Tan, general manager at Borneo Trails Tours and Travel, said: “There are a number of requests on these services from tourists, especially from the Philippines, Australia and Indonesia. We will start by marketing to these key markets first. I see the main challenge being the lack of awareness about Sabah as a medical tourism destination.”

Tan added that the company has created a new division to accommodate to this niche market.

“For a start, we will promote non-surgical procedures such as facial regeneration, hydration and revitalisation, which are far more reasonable in price as compared to having these same procedures done in other countries,” he explained.

“As no surgery is involved, tourists can continue their normal itinerary without any constraints.”

NET flight bookings to Paris are down 101 per cent compared to the same period last year since the November 13 series of terror attacks in the French capital.

According to travel data analyst ForwardKeys, cancellations spiked 21 per cent immediately (14-21 November) after the attacks with the greatest drops in bookings coming from the US, China, Spain and Italy. New bookings remain 27 per cent lower compared to the same dates in 2014.

Meanwhile, new reservations have flatlined since the disaster with bookings for the year-end holiday season now down 13 per cent year-on-year.

Olivier Jager, CEO of ForwardKeys, said: “The clear picture to emerge from our data is that there were dramatic last-minute cancellations of immediate travel plans, predominantly among business travellers, following the attacks. New bookings have also dropped dramatically below the figures for the same period last year.”

“The tragic events in Paris are having a strong impact on travel to the city and our data shows that this is continuing in the run-up to the normally busy Christmas period. The cancellation period has ended, meaning that the storm is behind us, but booking trends are not yet showing signs of recovery.”

ASEAN’s open skies dream, anticipated to come true by this year-end, looks likely to remain unfulfilled as the 2015 deadline draws near.

Addressing this issue during yesterday’s panel discussion, Alan Tan, professor of aviation law at the National University of Singapore, said: “It remains a myth that any ASEAN airline is able to fly between any two points in ASEAN.”

Speaking exclusively to TTG Asia e-Daily, Tan added: “What we still do not have is the all-important seventh freedom rights which means that a Singapore carrier cannot station itself in Bangkok then fly from there to Hanoi. They must return home first.

“There are still various issues that need to be ironed out and it will only be settled at a subsequent stage definitely post-2015.”

Dermot Mannion, deputy chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines, was however, sanguine with the progress made over the years. “(At least) we do have more liberal access across the region.”

For instance, under the third and fourth freedom rights which has been fulfilled since the open skies policy was first mooted a decade ago, Singapore carriers can now carry passengers from Singapore to points in Thailand and back – without any restrictions on frequency, capacity or aircraft type.

Still, Brian Hogan, COO of Global Aviation Consultancy said further liberalisation will be meaningless if the infrastructure cannot cope.

“All of these do not matter without proper infrastructure. For example in Philippines, there are massive restraints. Manila is a nightmare as (a lot of) the slots are not available. Infrastructure is the biggest issue,” he said.