THE liberal bilateral air service agreement hammered out between the Philippines and Japan in September is already bearing fruit, while travel consultants are hoping that the increased frequencies and competitive airfares will stimulate the market.

Under the terms of the pact, flight allowances have soared from 119 to 400 a week. These services will be mounted by route newcomers PAL Express, AirAsia Zest and Tigerair Philippines, in addition to Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), which already fly to Japan.

The agreement also clears flights from points outside Manila such as Clark, Cebu and Kalibo, to new destinations like Tokyo-Haneda, Hiroshima, Sapporo and Okinawa.

PAL commenced seven additional weekly Manila-Tokyo (Narita) flights on October 27, while CEB will add three weekly Manila-Osaka flights on December 20. The rest of the approved flights will begin in 1H2014.

Noting that it is “expensive to go to Japan”, Mita Custodio, operations manager of King of Travel, hopes the agreement will pave the way for more competitive fares, cheaper hotels and tour packages. A hotel in a less popular location can still cost US$180 a night.

While PAL currently dominates Manila-Japan routes, more airlines and more non-stop flights mean more travellers, he concluded.

Josie Santos, counter manager for Asia International Travel, added that the Manila-Tokyo/Osaka route is underserved.

An incentive group had to fly to Japan via Hong Kong as non-stop flights from Manila were not available, Santos shared.

Japan is the Philippines’ third largest source market for tourists.

PLANNED strikes by the Finnish Flight Attendants’ Association and the Finnish Aviation Union from tomorrow will “paralyse” Finnair’s flights.

The Finnish carrier today released a media statement warning that strikes on alternate days between November 15 and November 23 would “paralyse Finnair’s traffic almost completely”.

“Negotiations are still ongoing and Finnair is hoping to reach an agreement and avoid the strike. However, Finnair already now has to cancel many flights to avoid congestion at Helsinki Airport in the event of a strike,” it said.

The two unions have also announced intentions to continue industrial action from November 27 to 30, and the airline is still analysing the present situation.

Passengers are advised to keep track of flight information on Finnair’s website and follow instructions given in the event of a cancelled flight.

JULIA Noordraven, a veteran in Indonesia’s tourism industry, passed away in Kuala Lumpur last night at the age of 81. The funeral takes place today in Bandung.

Julia had spent two days in Kuala Lumpur being treated for a heart problem in the city’s State Heart Institute.

Julia was president director of Vista Express Tour & Travel, one of Indonesia’s pioneering travel companies. Vista Express, which has been in business since 1973, helped to open up Indonesia as a port of call in the early 1990s.

Indah Wisata Melawai Chapter’s travel consultant, Theo Setlight, who had been with Vista Express then, remembers Julia as a “hands-on” leader.

He said: “(The port openings) started when the company won business from Hapag-Lloyd. MS Europa was the first cruise ship visiting Ambon (Maluku). After that, new destinations followed such as Agats (West Papua) and Bitung (North Sulawesi), which were remote places with no proper facilities for cruises.

“This happened because of Julia’s eagerness to show off Indonesia’s exoticism, her leadership and determination in putting out the best service. She had always been hands-on with the preparations.”

SLOVENIA-BASED Adria Airways yesterday inked a codeshare pact with Air India, weeks before the planned launch of a jointly operated New Delhi-Ljubljana service.

The agreement was signed by Rohit Nandan, chairman and managing director, Air India, and Mark Anzur, CEO, Adria Airways, in New Delhi.

Said Anzur: “We will have daily flights from New Delhi to Ljubljana with a stopover in Frankfurt. Air India is the operating carrier for New Delhi to Frankfurt, and Adria from Frankfurt to Ljubljana. We are hopeful that air traffic between both countries will witness an increase with the codeshare agreement, thus strengthening our tourism ties.”

The service is expected to commence by the second week of December. Indian arrivals to Slovenia numbered 5,000 in 2012.

Adria is a member of Star Alliance, a point of significance for Air India, which is keen to join the alliance.

Air India, Aerodrom Ljubljana and Adria had previously signed an MoU in June 2012 to forge greater cooperation and improve traffic between the two countries, clearing the way for yesterday’s codeshare agreement. Earlier this year Adria also appointed Dex Aviation as its general sales agent for India (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 26, 2013).