SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) has joined a growing number of airlines in offering a premium economy experience as it opens bookings for this cabin class on Singapore-Sydney flights.

The product will be first introduced on select SIA flights from Singapore to Sydney beginning on Singapore’s National Day, August 9.

Seats in the new cabin class range from 18.5 to 19.5 inches, with an eight-inch recline, and come with a full-leather finishing, a calf-rest and foot-bar. Amenities such as the headrest cover, cushion and blanket will also be colour coordinated for each seat.

In-flight entertainment comes in the form of 13.3-inch full HD monitors and noise-cancelling headphones for a better experience. Each passenger will also have an individual in-seat power supply, two USB ports, personal in-seat reading light, cocktail table and additional stowage space.

Premium Economy passengers can choose from three meal choices and select from the Premium Economy Book the Cook service that offers popular dishes. Besides SIA’s selection of wines, passengers can opt for champagne throughout the flight.

The new cabin class also gives passengers up to 35kg in baggage allowance and KrisFlyer members are entitled to 10 per cent more miles.

Premium Economy seats will gradually be made available from end-2015 to early 2016 on flights to other destinations including Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, London, Mumbai, New York, Shanghai, Tokyo and Zurich, the airline said in a statement.

SIA has injected an estimated US$80 million into upgrading 19 Airbus A380s, 19 Boeing 777-300ERS and the first 20 A350s for a start.

For updated flight schedules and fare details of SIA’s Premium Economy cabin, visitwww.singaporeair.com or www.SIApremiumeconomy.com.

A MANAGEMENT agreement between Lanson Place Hospitality Management and Shanghai Yongye Group will see the former manage a Serviced Suites by Lanson Place Project, the Yongye Apartments in Shanghai.

The Yongye Apartments in Puxi marks Lanson’s fourth property in Shanghai and the 10^thaddition to its portfolio, and will feature 186 units in one- and two-bedroom configurations.

Targeted for opening in 4Q2015, the property will be situated in Huangpu district, adjacent to Madang Road Metro Station, for easy access to the finance and entertainment hubs of the city, Xujiahui and Xintiandi.

SOME Singaporeans are forgoing the traditional holiday indulgences of feasting and kicking back to relax by opting for fitness holidays this year, with more travellers displaying a keener interest in adventure sports during their vacations.

A survey by Hotels.com found that some 60 per cent of Singaporean travellers polled are planning a fitness holiday, and almost half of respondents or 46 per cent will be embarking on their first fitness holiday in 2015.

Furthermore, Asia-Pacific is the top destination for 78 per cent of Singaporeans intending to do a fitness holiday, out of which 53 per cent are inclined towards South-east Asia, and Europe is the choice of 13 per cent of voters.

More than one-third of survey participants, or 37 per cent, professed to having been on a fitness holiday before, and of this number 78 per cent felt that it had been a good cornerstone to build an active lifestyle upon.

Thirty per cent of respondents who have been on a fitness holiday before said they did so to relax and get away from the daily drudgery, and 27 per cent said it was to try a new workout.

However, one in five respondents have an ulterior motive – they view fitness holidays as a chance to meet hot potential love interests.

Katherine Cole, regional director at Hotels.com, said: “Singaporeans are a bunch of savvy and seasoned travellers with a thirst for all things new, including trending holiday concepts. This, coupled with the growing public awareness of the health risks that come with leading a sedentary lifestyle, has contributed to the rise of fitness holidays among locals.”

Singaporeans planning fitness holidays are most interested in land adventure sports such as bungee jumping, snowboarding and skydiving, followed by water adventure sports like windsurfing, cage-diving and whitewater rafting. Recreational activities like golfing and hiking came after, with spiritual and strength exercises such as pilates and yoga in fourth place. Competitive marathons, races and other sporting tournaments are in fifth place.

CORDIS Hotels and Resorts is Langham Hospitality Group’s new upscale hotel brand, which the group intends to develop in key Asian and North American cities through a combination of new-build and conversion projects.

Cordis will consist of new-build designs, resorts and residences that will reflect the property’s location and culture. In a media statement, the group said it has signed management agreements and letters intents to add eight hotels in seven cities to the Cordis pipeline.

Langham Hospitality Group CEO, Robert Warman, said: “Building on the successes of Langham Hotels and Resorts, we saw the need to create a collection of international upscale hotels and resorts that will deliver what our guests desire: personalised and efficient services, seamless technology, and authentic experiences in the best locations around the world.”

Cordis hotels, which will be rolled out in the next three years, include five in China, and one each in Hong Kong (to open in May 2015), Bali and Colombo, according to Warman.

The group also hopes to plant the Cordis flags in the future in other key citiessuch as London, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco, Dubai, Singapore and Bangkok.

“We are very optimistic about the growth of this particular brand,” said Warman.

“As there are financial, cost-efficient benefits to developing hotels in the upscale tier, the time is right for us to enter high density markets such as North America and especially in China where there is a rising middle class, increasing domestic and international travel, and higher consumption levels. We see Cordis as complimentary to our existing portfolio and a real opportunity to have multiple properties in new markets in the coming years.”

INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Groups (IHG) has announced its first two hotels in Greater China under Hualuxe, a luxury brand tailored specifically to Chinese travellers.

Hualuxe Nanchang High Tech Zone is due to come up in Jiangxi’s provincial capital of Nanchang in South-east China. It will occupy the 39^th to 56^th floors of one of the city’s tallest buildings, offering 281 guestroooms with 21 club rooms and deluxe suites, three restaurants and meeting facilities including a 800m² pillarless ballroom.

The property is owned by real estate developer, Greenland Group, in Shanghai.

The second, Hualuxe Yangjiang City Centre, is located in Guangdong’s Yangjiang city, overlooking Yuangyang Lake. The hotel will come with 282 deluxe rooms, including 76 club and deluxe suites, the largest pillarless ballroom in the city, and restaurants serving local and international fare.

Richard Solomons, CEO, IHG, commented: “The (Hualuxe) brand was built on over three decades of market insight, experience and leadership in China and epitomises the finest elements of China’s world-renowned hospitality.

“The brand has been well-received in the market since its launch in 2012 and we are on track with our vision of taking it to 100 cities in Greater China over the next 15 to 20 years. The first two hotels, in Nanchang and Yangjiang, are located in China’s heartland and working with our trusted owners, we are confident they will be welcomed by both Chinese and international consumers.”

Since the brand’s launch in 2012, IHG has signed 24 hotels into the pipeline in 20 cities across China, all of which will open in three to five years’ time.

The hotel company intends to bring the brand into key destinations such as London and New York.

CRUISE operator Carnival and Chinese state enterprise China Merchants Group (CMG) have signed an MoU to further the development of China’s cruise industry, including the creation of a new domestic cruise line.

The agreement, inked last week, outlines collaboration on two fronts: a ship-owning joint venture, and a port and destination development joint venture.

Under the first, Carnival and CMG are mulling the set-up of a domestic but world-class cruise line for the Chinese market that will own its own ships. Both companies will consider the possibility of acquiring existing ships as well as new ships designed and built in China.

The development of turnaround and transit ports in and around China forms the main agenda for the second potential joint venture, and will begin with Prince Bay Cruise Terminal in Shekou, Shenzhen, which CMG is currently developing.

Carnival and CMG will work together to have ships sail from this port and develop other cruise ship destinations across China and North Asia.

Alan Buckelew, COO of Carnival, said in a press release that the MoU was a chance to take Chinese cruising to the next level and address industry issues.

Costa Cruises line will bring Costa Serena to China in April, where Carnival already has three other ships homeported in China – Costa Atlantica, Costa Victoria and Sapphire Princess.

SINGAPORE Changi Airport has notched the highest number of passenger movements in a single year in its 33-year history, registering some 54.1 million in passenger traffic last year.

This is a 0.7 per cent increase over 2013, said an airport press statement. The airport’s busiest day in 2014 was the December 20, 2014 when 186,500 passengers passed through Changi.

Regionally, travel to South Asia and North-east Asia rose six per cent and four per cent respectively. However, such gains were buffered by poorer performances on routes to Europe and South-east Asia.

Nevertheless, travel to and from Thailand and China is on the mend, with both showing year-on-year growth of 6.6 per cent and one per cent respectively in December, which represents the third consecutive month of growth for both countries.

Flights to and from Thailand also returned to end-2013 levels in terms of capacity and frequencies.

Indonesia continues to lead in terms of passenger movements at Changi, with over 7.5 million passengers in 2014. It is followed by Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and China.

The top 10 busiest routes from Changi have not changed from last year with Jakarta leading the list, followed by Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo, Bali, Taipei, Ho Chi Minh City and Sydney.

Among the 10 destinations, Bali has shown the most growth at 15.7 per cent year-on-year.

Six new carriers made their debut at Changi in 2014, namely MIAT Mongolian Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways, Jetstar Pacific, Malindo Air, Tigerair Taiwan and VietJet.

The airport also now offers links to seven new destinations: Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Lanzhou and Xi’an in China, Okinawa, Seattle, and Phu Quoc in Vietnam.

While 2014 was a challenging year for aviation, Singapore Changi Airport introduced theGrowth and Assistance Incentive programme to aid airline partners with costs and also broke ground on its upcoming mixed-use complex Jewel.

Said Lee Seow Hiang, CEO, Changi Airport Group: “We are hopeful that 2015 will be a better year for aviation in the region. Travel demand is recovering steadily for markets like Thailand and China. Lower fuel costs will also help to alleviate cost pressures for airlines. The new year has started on a positive note for Changi Airport, with Air New Zealand commencing its services to Singapore on January 6.”

TRAVEL sellers at the recent ASEAN Tourism Forum in Nay Pyi Taw have introduced special tour fares for Malaysian buyers as the ringgit continues to depreciate against the US dollar.

Andy Carroll, global head of sales & marketing of Vietnam-based Exotic Voyages, said: “Malaysia is a new market that we started to develop in the middle of 2014. To encourage more Malaysians travel, we offer packages to Vietnam and Myanmar 15 per cent less than what we offer to other regional markets and it has resulted in good growth, partly because this market is so new.”

Hanoi-based VNHolidays CEO and director, Tony Tran, said his company is working with hotels to create special packages for the Malaysian market for the upcoming March school holidays.

He said: “Malaysia is a price-sensitive market. Customers may change suppliers for as little as a US$5 difference. However, we don’t want to compete on pricing and we’d rather concentrate on service quality.”

Meanwhile, inbound Malaysian travel consultants report that Malaysian companies have already started cutting travel budgets and are choosing domestic and regional destinations for business-related travel.

Adam Kamal, CEO of Rakyat Travel, said some business travellers are purchasing air tickets of a lower fare category, where no changes can be made after the ticket has been issued.

“Clients from the banking industry who used to book single rooms for business travel are now getting rooms on twin-share basis and are opting for local hotel brands instead of international hotel chains,” he added.

Nanda Kumar, managing director at Hidden Asia Travel & Tours, said: “Malaysian companies are trimming budgets by downgrading hotels, cutting down on the length of stay, and the destination for company outings, which will be done before the close of company accounts in May for submission of 2014 income tax, by opting for local destinations.”

Thailand and Indonesia are popular choices, while some are venturing to Siem Reap as a new destination, he said. “Inbound travel consultants (in Cambodia) may quote us in US dollars but it is still a value-for-money destination. I am selling 4D3N packages at US$150 per person based on twin-share in three-star accommodations.”

TWO homemade time bombs detonated outside of Siam Paragon Shopping Centre last evening prompted an emergency evacuation, and one man was slightly injured.

According to the Bangkok Post, the bombs were concealed behind a transformer at BMA Express Service and exploded on a walkway between Siam BTS station and Siam Paragon at 20.00.

Civilians were evacuated from Siam Paragon and the surrounding areas and police closed off roads in the vicinity, said the daily.

BTS train services were stopped at 20.10 after the explosion but resumed at 20.38, said The Nation.

The police were quoted by the Bangkok post as saying that the bombs “were not intended to kill”.

Siam Paragon is a popular mall for tourists and shoppers that garnered it the title of the world’s most Instagram-med place in 2013.