CHALLENGED by congestion and limited slots at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) since it relocated its operations there late last year, Philippines AirAsia is developing Kalibo as its second hub.

Frequent delays in aircraft departures and arrivals burn fuel and add costs to operations at NAIA, said Maan Hontiveros, president and CEO of Philippines AirAsia. She cited the example of an AirAsia flight from Tacloban that was forced to delay landing by 15 minutes due to heavy traffic at Terminal 4.

As a result, the carrier is trying to get more flights to land at NAIA’s Terminal 3 instead of Terminal 4 where it is based.

Meanwhile, the LCC will base a number of aircraft in Kalibo, the gateway to Boracay, while increasing the number of Manila-Kalibo services from seven to 13 daily flights, and preparing it for international flights from China and South Korea.

Hontiveros said the next goal was to grow regional flights as AirAsia has consolidated and rationalised its domestic operations. “We have applied for rights to fly to Bangkok, Singapore and Japan (from Manila).”

Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia Group, said: “When you’re at the doorstep of three large economies – South Korea, Japan and China – the potential is very bright…although it is constrained by the airport…We have very exciting plans outside Manila where we think we can open up new markets.”

Fernandes added that the carrier will consider operating from Clark once construction on the road linking Makati and Clark is finished in 2016.

Separately, Philippines AirAsia is the first airline to enter the typhoon-ravaged Tacloban, where it flies to thrice daily. “AirAsia will be committing more flights to Tacloban as soon as the airport is rebuilt,” said Fernandes.

TRANSPORTATION card companies from Singapore and Taiwan have signed an MoU to integrate both sides’ electronic purses into a single card for seamless travel and retail transactions in each destination.

Singapore’s EZ-Link and Taiwan’s Easy Card Corporation inked an understanding to develop the Cross Border Combi Card and will also work together on an interoperable platform.

EZ-Link is to contribute its pioneer contactless e-ticketing technology with the aim of offering e-tickets to popular tourist attractions to visitors from Singapore and Taiwan.

HILTON Worldwide is putting together its own curated collection of independent four- to five-star properties that boasts unique histories or identities, tapping traveller demand for more authentic and localised experiences.

The hotel group unveiled its 11th hotel brand, Curio – A Collection by Hilton, yesterday and has announced the first hotels that will come under it.

Said Jim Holthouser, executive vice president, global brands, Hilton Worldwide: “Curio expands our portfolio to a total of 11 exceptional brands and creates additional opportunities to serve our existing customers even better, attract new customers and grow our pipeline. With Curio, we can help owners leverage our scale, scope and expertise while keeping intact each hotel’s individual character.”

“Our customers and owners have expressed strong interest in a brand from us that includes hotels that can retain their unique identity but also deliver the many benefits of our system, including our Hilton HHonors guest loyalty programme,” said Christopher J Nassetta, president and CEO of Hilton Worldwide.

Already slated to come under the Curio collection in the next few years are: the SLS Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, which will open after a high-style renovation with over 1,620 keys; The Sam Houston Hotel, listed on the US National Register of Historic Places; Hotel Alex Johnson, close to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial; The Franklin Hotel; and a hotel development by The Widewaters Group that will debut as part of the collection in late 2016.

Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group launched its own collection of luxury independent properties in February this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 20, 2014) and unveiled its first members last month (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 6, 2014).

AMADEUS has launched a new feature that will allow travel consultants to make modifications and reissue customer air tickets in minutes.

The technology solutions provider yesterday introduced the Amadeus Ticket Changer tool in Asia-Pacific, which promises to allow travel consultants to efficiently manage traveller’s change requests quickly, from re-pricing to reissuing or refunding.

It calculates itinerary modifications and processes all types of tickets and fares in four steps.

Leon Herce, vice president, distribution commercial, Amadeus Asia-Pacific, said: “Our goal is to create solutions that help address the challenges our travel agency customers face, and find ways to make their life easier. Amadeus Ticket Changer takes the pain out of the ticket reissue process and leaves travel consultants with more time to focus on providing great service.”

AIRPORTS in the area surrounding Sangeang Island have shut and airlines are being forced to suspend operations after Mt Seangeang’s eruption last Friday that sent smoke and ash shooting up to 13km in the air.

Sangeang Island is approximately 50km from Bima, Sumbawa Island. There have been no reports or casualties from the eruption, but a shower of ashes descended early Saturday morning and was blown over to cities including Bima and Labuan Bajo on Flores Island, as well as Komodo National Park.

Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo, Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport in Bima, and Tambolaka Airport are temporarily closed, and domestic flights in and out of the area covering Sangeang, Flores and Sumba have been cancelled.

Garuda Indonesia announced last night that all flights serving Bima, Tambolaka, Labuan Bajo, Kupang and Ende from Bali and Lombok have been suspended until further notice.

Destination Asia Indonesia reported most tours into Komodo Island are now on hold but are expected to resume soon.

International flights between Darwin and Indonesia have also been suspended, but the latest reports indicate that domestic flights in north-west Australia and international services to and from Darwin will be restored as the ash plume disperses.

All other major destinations in Indonesia such as Lombok and Bali, and any other islands further west, are not affected by the ash.

MASTERCARD is equipping online merchants with the tools to offer a more seamless digital payment process for customers with the Singapore launch of the MasterPass this morning.

MasterPass is a digital wallet that saves consumers the hassle of entering detailed card information when shopping online by storing MasterCard and other branded credit, debit and prepaid card information that is then available on all MasterPass merchant sites.

Travel websites that already allow this include Zuji, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Singapore Airlines KrisShop Online.

Chan Tze Yuan, head of commercial, Zuji, said: “We want to ensure our customers have a positive and seamless experience on our site.”

According to Chan, Zuji handles thousands of transactions in a day, and this new MasterPass will bring a “value-add” to the overall user experience.

“After all that browsing on our website, the last thing we want our customers to have is another roadblock when they have to enter their credit card details because it means physically retrieving the card,” he elaborated.

Foo Chai Woo, divisional vice president sales and marketing, SIA said: “In the ambit of e-commerce today, consumers want a faster and simpler payment process.

“MasterPass makes payment a breeze for regular online shoppers and our customers will enjoy an even better check-out experience.”

MasterPass was first launched in February 2013 and is currently available in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy and China.

Julienne Loh, general manager, MasterCard Singapore, said that MasterPass will evolve to support the use of emerging technologies – NFC, QR codes and tags – for in-store purchases, based on the shopping experiences a merchant wants to make available to its customers.

Consumers shopping at MasterPass merchants in future will also have access to additional value-added services including real-time alerts, account balances, purchase history and loyalty programmes.

Online sellers interested in offering such a feature on their websites can approach MasterCard. Users can sign up for a MasterPass account online for free at the MasterPass website.

FASHIONTV is making an entrance into the world of hospitality as it debuts the world’s first Love Fashion Hotel in Bali this year.

Love Fashion Hotel is located at Legian, only 6km away from the Bali international airport. Designed by Jordy & Marque to bring a dose of the fashion industry’s glamour to the hotel experience, guests enter the lobby through a catwalk-style runway.

The hotel also offers two themed restaurants including Black Diamond that serves international cuisines and White Diamond for Italian fare, the Love f Bar, glamour Jacuzzi Bar and a Sunset Deck for its eponymous view. The Love f Store also offers luxury threads for purchase.

Love Fashion Hotel is marking its opening with a soft-opening rate valid until December 24.

Priced from Rp1.1 million (US$94), the price includes return airport transfer, breakfast and free Love f Bar’s tickets for drinks for two, daily stocked mini bar and a 20 per cent discount on all F&B outlets.