MYALN.COM, an OTA based in Shanghai and specialising in luxury travel packages for the Chinese leisure market, has registered a five-fold increase in business compared to a year ago.

Frank Lin, CEO, myALN.com, said: “We handle tens of thousands of FITs each month, 60 per cent of whom travel within China, with the other 40 per cent headed to destinations such as Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia.”

Participating at ITB Asia last week as a buyer, Lin told TTG Asia e-Daily he was keen to expand his product portfolio by adding upscale leisure packages and luxury hotels in key destinations.

“The average budget of our outbound clients is US$700-800 per pax excluding airfare, while their length of stay ranges from three nights to a week,” he said.

According to Lin, high-end Chinese travellers are starting to favour destinations in the Middle East and Polynesia, with Dubai and Hawaii top of their lists.

Lin added that they were especially interested in Western culture, shopping, and any location that was “Chinese-friendly”.

AMADEUS has introduced a new user interface and mobile application for its online corporate travel booking tool, Amadeus e-Travel Management (AeTM).

Currently used by over 6,000 corporations in 59 markets, AeTM has undergone a workflow redesign, streamlining the booking process and enabling travellers and travel arrangers to saving time on tasks.

The new booking experience, which is closer to the flow that travellers are used to on leisure websites, also enables a higher acceptance of the company travel programme, while reducing the need for heavy management and mandating processes.

The mobile app, Amadeus e-Travel Management Mobile, allows travellers to make air and rail bookings via their iPhone and Android mobile devices. The app is currently in beta testing mode in Scandinavia and will be released to users in the next few months.

Albert Pozo, VP global customer group, Amadeus, said: “The feedback from clients who have been testing both tools to date is overwhelmingly positive.”

MYANMAR Airways International (MAI) is considering adopting technologies offered by air transport communications and IT firm SITA to bolster its future growth.

U Si Thu, managing director, MAI, said: “MAI is about to embark on a major route expansion across the region and it is critical that this is supported by efficient IT systems in order that we meet passenger and operational expectations.”

If implemented, the new IT platform will be introduced over the next three years, and is expected to improve efficiencies, while lowering costs in areas such as passenger and baggage management, airport operations and aircraft communications.

MAI carries 500,000 passengers per year between Yangon and Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Gaya and Guangzhou.

The airline recently ramped up frequencies to existing destinations and will begin a thrice-weekly service to Hong Kong in December. It is also planning to add medium-haul routes to South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

EMIRATES has upped the frequency of its Dubai-Hong Kong flights to thrice daily, providing over 1,100 seats per day between the two destinations.

Effective this winter (from October 28), EK385 and EK381 will depart Hong Kong at 21.15 and 00.35, arriving in Dubai at 04.50 and 05.35 respectively. Return flights EK 384 and EK380 will depart Dubai at 03.05 and 10.05, and will touch down in Hong Kong at 17.30 and 21.05 respectively.

The third flight takes off from Hong Kong daily at 17.55, arriving in Dubai at 23.10, while the return flight leaves Dubai at 03.20 to reach Hong Kong at 14.30.

Emirates operates the Hong Kong-Dubai route with a mix of Airbus A380, Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A340-300 aircraft.

“Hong Kong is one of the most important markets in the region for both business and leisure travellers. We have been witnessing a huge demand in the past few years, and have greatly increased passenger capacity and flight frequencies since we first launched the route in 1991,” said Edwin Lau, vice president, Emirates Hong Kong.

Emirates recently upgraded its airport lounge at Hong Kong International Airport. The facility is now equipped with a sitting area for 150 passengers, a business centre, shower facilities and a dedicated prayer room.

The carrier will be launching services to Adelaide on November 1, Lyon on December 5, Phuket on December 10, Warsaw on February 6, 2013 and Algiers on March 1, 2013.

TRAVEL consultants in Singapore were caught unawares last Thursday when the High Commission of Malaysia issued a notice on the appointment of Third Link as its one-stop visa application vendor in the country, effective today.

The notice informed the travel agencies that the High Commission of Malaysia would no longer be accepting visa applications “directly from agents” from October 19. In a subsequent email, Third Link indicated that it would impose a S$20 (US$16) service fee per visa application.

Travel consultants whom TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to lamented the fact that neither Tourism Malaysia nor the High Commission of Malaysia had given adequate warning or explanation for the change in visa application standards.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a sales and marketing manager of a Singapore-based inbound operator that often handles trip extensions to Johor and other parts of Malaysia, said: “I wish the relevant authorities had given us a heads up before this happened, and at least tell us why this change is necessary and how it is supposed to benefit our customers, especially since they will have to pay two layers of service fees for visa application from now on.”

The manager added: “When the visa application was handled by us, we would charge the customer S$20 plus the visa fee levied by the High Commission of Malaysia. Now, to help the customer collect, prepare and deliver visa application documents to Third Link, a task that takes time and manpower on our part, we would still have to charge a service fee on top of the amount demanded by Third Link and the High Commission of Malaysia.

“We have yet to determine how much our service fee will be, but it could be the same amount we used to charge. That means the traveller will have to pay more just to go over the border to look-see, and I expect such demand to fall once the new visa application process is implemented.”

According to Lotus Ooi, general manager of Konsortium Express & Tours, demand for day tours to Malaysia might take more of a hit than overnight programmes, but travellers who “really want to see Malaysia will have no choice but to pay the higher cost of getting a visa”.

“More importantly, if the establishment of Third Link can ensure a quicker and smoother visa application process, customers will accept the higher fees. The processing time has been very vague. It can sometimes take more than a week, making it hard for travellers to book their tours for Malaysia,” she said.

When contacted, Ivan Hoong, a representative of Third Link, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the company would strive to reduce the current seven-day processing norm to three days.

INDIA’S Directorate General of Civil Aviation suspended Kingfisher Airlines’ air operator’s certificate on Saturday after the debt-laden carrier failed to meet the regulator’s concerns about its operations.

Kingfisher’s fleet has been grounded since October 1, due to an ongoing strike by its employees over unpaid wages.

Afflicted by debts estimated at US$2.49 billion by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, analysts are doubtful that a buyer will emerge to bail out Kingfisher – which has yet to make a profit since launching in 2004.

With Kingfisher’s absence from Indian skies, airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and Jet Airways have started operating additional sectors to make up for the sudden reduction in capacity.

Rajendra Churiwala, director – eastern region, IATA Agents Association of India said: “The other carriers have to fill up the seat capacity on routes in demand, without exploiting the customers with inordinately high fares during the upcoming festive and peak seasons.”