ALL Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) have grounded their entire fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger jets, after an ANA Dreamliner flight made an emergency landing at Takamatsu Airport in Kagawa Prefecture yesterday morning.

Battery alarm and smoke were the reasons prompting the emergency landing, according to ANA, while investigations to determine the exact cause are ongoing. All 137 passengers and crew members were safely evacuated from the plane using the emergency slide.

The January 16 incident is the latest in a series of technical problems affecting Boeing’s new flagship airliner in the past month, including a cracked cockpit window, an electric fire and fuel leaks.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has also ordered the immediate temporary suspension of all Dreamliner flights in the US until aircraft battery systems are confirmed to be safe. United Airlines, currently the only Dreamliner operator in the US with six 787s, has announced it would comply with FAA’s order.

Other airlines flying the Dreamliner include Qatar Airways, Air India, Ethiopian Airlines, Chile’s LAN Airlines and Poland’s LOT.

THE Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has granted preliminary authorisation for the proposed Qantas and Emirates partnership, which will enable both carriers to work together on joint sales, marketing and pricing strategies.

“This decision means we can determine pricing, capacity and scheduling with Emirates, in addition to the more logistical aspects of the partnership that we have been working through already,” said Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce.

“For consumers, interim authorisation means we can provide details on fares and allow people to book one-stop destinations on most parts of the combined Emirates and Qantas network.”

The decision includes a condition that Qantas and Emirates do not coordinate on services between Australia and New Zealand, as New Zealand’s law does not allow interim approval.

Fares on the combined network, which will be for travel from April 2013, are expected to be available in coming weeks once discussions on pricing have taken place. These services remain subject to regulatory approval.

Joyce said part of selling the Emirates and Qantas network would include marketing of Australian regional destinations to a wider international audience.

“Through this partnership and with interim authorisation, Emirates will now be able to market Qantas destinations like Hobart and the Gold Coast to their customers, which is a real benefit for Australian tourism,” he added.

ACCC’s final decision is expected to be announced in March.

WORLD Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has called on the Indian government to adopt more liberal visa rules to attract more tourists to fill hotels, as the hospitality sector braces for stagnating occupancy with an expected influx of rooms in the next two years.

Speaking at the fifth Hotel Investment Forum India, which was held at Leela Kempinski Gurgaon from January 14-15, WTTC president and CEO, David Scowsill, said: “Even though India has tried to liberalise its visa procedure in terms of expanding the visa on arrival facility to more countries and doing away with a two-month gap restriction between re-entries to the country, India needs to continue the process of providing the facility to more countries and make the process faster and electronic.”

Kapil Chopra, executive vice president, The Oberoi Group, agreed: “We need a paradigm shift in the number of tourists coming to this country. A top-level CEO told me that it took him eight working days to get a visa to India – that’s why we lag behind countries like Thailand and Hong Kong which offer visa on arrival to so many countries.”

He added: “Our occupancies have become stagnant. I don’t see it rising in the near future, as a lot of new hotels are coming up and demand is not increasing.”

“With 30,000-35,000 rooms opening in the next two to three years, there is a likelihood that most hotels will feel the pain as average room rates will be pressurised. We expect a nominal increase of five per cent in average room rates in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore where a lot of new hotels are emerging. I think it is going to be tough especially for any hotel that opens in the next two years,” said Rajiv Kaul, president of Hotel Leelaventure.

“The problem is that new rooms are coming up but the customer base is not matching growth. I see consolidation happening in the Indian market and the unstructured market will shrink as a result,” added Anil Madhok, managing director, Sarovar Hotels.

According to a report by STR Global, occupancy in Indian hotels stood at 58.1 per cent in 2012 versus 59.3 per cent in 2011.

BANGKOK-based luxury private jet company Jaras Aviation has recently launched its inaugural flight to Hua Hin, paving the way for such charter services to other domestic and regional destinations.

Providing a private jet charter service on a Cessna 550 Citation Bravo business jet on domestic and international flight routes with a maximum range of four and a half hours, Jaras Aviation can fly to Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as emerging business and tourism destinations in Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Indonesia.

The seven-seat jet aircraft model has a top speed of 734km per hour, a range of 3,520km and a ceiling height of 13.7km. Chartering the Cessna 550 Citation Bravo costs US$3,500 per hour, excluding ground handling costs and other services such as special F&B requests.

Owner of Jaras Aviation, Jaraspim Liptapanlop, said: “We are focusing on executives of large corporations, high net-worth individuals and international business travellers who we believe can greatly benefit from our service as it offers a level of personalised exclusivity and efficiency in travel for business or social purposes that is not possible through regular air travel.”

“With the ASEAN Economic Cooperation grouping set to achieve full integration in 2015, we strongly believe that the frequency of travel and the need for timing flexibility for businessmen will increase tremendously in the ASEAN region. This will have a positive impact for not just the private jet industry but also for Thai business people and businesses located in Thailand.”

Jaras has partnered with MJETS, a private jet service operator in Thailand, and Thai Flying Services.

PUNJAB will embark on a host of major initiatives to promote its tourism sector, with plans for new tourism facilities and enhanced transportation infrastructure.

The state’s deputy chief minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, revealed that a 1,780-hectare entertainment city, which will house an amusement park, a night safari, a golf course, retail outlets and clubs, among other facilities, will be developed.

“We expect this entertainment city to be completely developed in the next four to five years. We want to position it as a hub for entertainment and a tourist destination,” said Badal.

Ranjit Sagar Dam will be developed as a new high-end tourism destination with water sports facilities and a 32m² lake as attractions, while island sites will be available for hotel and resort development.

There are also plans to build a 106-hectare Medicity in Mohali, develop Gobindgarh Fort as a heritage hotel and restore Nabha Fort, revealed Badal.

Meanwhile, Punjab is also targeting the MICE segment with new convention centres in Mohali and Amritsar. Both facilities will measure 40 hectares and can accommodate 5,000 pax each.

Assuring easy clearances for upcoming hotel projects in the northern Indian state, Badal said: “We will offer single window clearance for new hotel projects. Soon we are coming up with an attractive policy for hotels to encourage (investment).”

He added: “We are the most well-connected state by air in the country. Besides the existing Amritsar international airport, Mohali international airport will be operational soon. We are also developing an international airport in Machhiwara. We have domestic airports in Pathankot and Ludhiana. The domestic airport in Bathinda is now ready too.”

A network of four- or six-lane expressways across the state, funded by an investment of Rs76 billion (US$1.39 billion), is due to be ready in the next three years, while the Rs75 billion Ludhiana metro project is expected to be completed in five years’ time.

KOREAN Air will welcome nine new aircraft into its current 148-strong fleet as it introduces new flights in 2013, part of a long-term plan to own 200 planes by its 50^th anniversary in 2019.

This year, the carrier is scheduled to receive two Airbus A380s, one A330-200, two Boeing 777-300ERs, two B777-900ERs, one B747-8F and one B777F.

The delivery of its two new A380s in July and October will bump up its total A380 count to eight, mostly for deployment on longhaul routes.

This month, Korean Air doubled frequency on its Incheon-New York route from seven to 14 flights a week and increased Incheon-Los Angeles frequency from seven to 12 flights a week.

On February 1, the airline will also resume A380 service on the Incheon-Frankfurt route and begin Incheon-Atlanta flights in August.

A380s will also be used to meet demand during the high seasons such as August or December.

Korean Air is aiming to take delivery of 53 new aircraft by 2018, including five B747-8is, 10 B747-9s and 10 Bombardier CS300s.

GENTING Hong Kong, which owns a 50 per cent stake in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), will see its share shrink after the latter announced the launch of its initial public offering last week.

The proposed IPO of the ordinary shares of NCLH commenced on January 8 and NCL Corporation’s (NCLC) outstanding ordinary shares will be exchanged for the ordinary shares of NCLH, a newly formed holding company. As a result NCLH will become the owner of 100 per cent of the ordinary shares of NCLC.

After the deal, Genting Hong Kong is expected to hold 44.1 per cent of NCLH, assuming there is no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, or 43.4 per cent if there is.

NCLH is also co-owned by Apollo Group and TPG Viking.

Although the company declined to comment further, in a statement posted on the Hong Kong stock exchange website, it said: “The company does not currently intend to offer any of its equity interests for sale in the offering.

“The board wishes to highlight to the shareholders that there is no assurance that the offering will be completed. The listing timetable and particulars of the offering are yet to be confirmed and finalised.”