THE SHARE swap deal between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia is off, confirming earlier rumours that a combination of union pressure, concerns over conflict of interest and the upcoming general election would force the national carrier’s hand over the issue.

Trading of MAS and AirAsia shares has been suspended to make way for an official announcement later today.

The dissolution of the comprehensive collaboration framework signed last August is likely to see AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun exit the MAS board.

On the flip side, the cooperative spirit of the agreement is set to continue, with MAS and AirAsia expected to persist in collaborations on procurement, pilot training, and maintenance support and repair services, in an attempt to secure cost savings.

The carriers are expected to establish several joint venture companies to facilitate this collaboration.

Reporting by N. Nithiyananthan

AIRPHIL Express, the budget arm of Philippine Airlines, is adding Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to its regional network, which is currently limited to Hong Kong.

Starting May 17, the LCC will begin thrice-weekly services from Clark International Airport to Singapore. This will be followed by thrice-weekly flights from Manila to Kuala Lumpur from June 21. Both routes will be operated using Airbus A320 aircraft.

Airphil Express is also set to grow its Hong Kong connections. The airline will launch four-weekly flights from Clark to Hong Kong starting May 17. This comes after its recent doubling of Cebu-Hong Kong services from two to four times a week.

AIR India has signed a codeshare agreement with South Korea’s Asiana Airlines, and is in the process of finalising similar deals with Egypt Air and Air China.

Air India’s partnership with Asiana, which will see the two airlines integrating their frequent flier programmes on the codeshare routes, is part of the Indian flag carrier’s ongoing recovery efforts, and follows recent government approval of its financial restructuring plan.

Jatinder Gupta, partner, Dove Travels Amritsar said: “Air India’s codeshare flights with foreign carriers to important destinations will increase traffic for both Indian inbound and outbound markets. Increased connectivity to Seoul is good for the trade, but now Air India needs to grow capacity on important routes.”

Air India currently has codeshare arrangements with 12 other airlines including Swiss Air, Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, South African Airways, Kuwait Airways, Air Mauritius, Austrian Airlines, Aeroflot, Sri Lankan Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, British Midland and Turkish Airlines.

MOVENPICK Hotels & Resorts has become the latest international hotel chain to adopt a Mandarin name and logo in an attempt to woo the burgeoning Chinese market.

Conceptualised following customer research conducted across Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, Mövenpick will now be known within China as Rui Xiang, which translates into: “brings you enjoyment and luck with Swiss quality”.

The new branding is part of the Swiss hospitality chain’s efforts to grow its Chinese customer base, and follows similar moves by Accor, which rebranded its Grand Mercure brand in China as Mei Jue, and InterContinental Hotels Group’s launching of Hualuxe.

In addition, Mövenpick has unveiled a Mandarin website catering to Chinese-speaking guests, while its Shanghai office has appointed a vice president development, Sunny Li, to steer further expansion in China.

Mövenpick has three projects in the pipeline in China, including the 300-room Mövenpick Hotel Jiading, Shanghai and 380-room Mövenpick Resort & Spa, Phoenix Island, Sanya, both scheduled to open next year; and Mövenpick Hotel & State Guest House Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, due to open in 2015.

WEST Java Tourism Promotion Board (WJTPB) is planning to install a dedicated marketing representative in Malaysia to boost arrivals and promote other Javanese attractions beyond Bandung.

WJTPB chairman, Cecep Rukmana, said: “Malaysia is a very important market for us. In term of numbers, they are the biggest regional market for us. However, (Malaysians) are still concentrating on visiting Bandung for bulk shopping and culinary tours.”

Rukmana added that destinations such as Garut, Tasikmalaya, Cirebon and Kuningan offered an abundance of natural and cultural attractions, in addition to new hotel developments, and were thus ripe for promotions.

According to Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association West Java chairman, Herman Muchtar, WJTPB is cooperating with the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and Visit Indonesia Tourism Office (VITO) Malaysia to grow Malaysian footfalls to the region.

“Although the number of arrivals from Malaysia is the largest – 145,000 arrivals in 2010 with an estimated growth of 10 to 13 per cent last year – it is still very small compared to the potential. Our target is to achieve between 300,000 and 350,000 arrivals within the next four years,” he said.

Welcoming the initiatives, VITO Malaysia manager, Mohd Shafie Obet, said: “Having a dedicated representative will certainly help me to promote Indonesia in general, particularly West Java, better.”

BRAND USA, a public private partnership tasked with promoting international travel to the US, unveiled its first-ever global marketing campaign during last month’s International Pow Wow in Los Angeles.

The campaign, which was originally scheduled for launch at ITB Berlin 2012, showcases the diversity of experiences available in the US, inviting travellers to Discover this land, like never before.

Brand USA has adopted an integrated marketing strategy for the campaign, employing a mix of television, digital, billboard and print advertising, in addition to utilising online and social media.

Dedicated Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages highlight country-specific promotions, while the recently revamped DiscoverAmerica.com portal functions as an information hub for planning trips.

A budget of US$12.3 million has been set aside for the first three months of the marketing blitz, which will target Japan, the UK and Canada. A second wave will target Brazil and South Korea.

According to Chris Perkins, CMO, Brand USA, there are plans to extend the marketing efforts to China and other parts of Asia over the next 12-15 months. “We will also have in-market sales representation, and will hire these partners through an RFP process,” he said.

MACAU has taken a beating from regional competition for leisure travellers from Singapore, registering a 7.1 per cent dip in arrivals in January and February over the same period last year.

According to Grace Tong, marketing manager of Macau Government Tourist Office-Singapore Representative, Macau welcomed 30,000 Singapore visitors in the first two months of 2012.

Sam How, Asia-Euro Holidays general manager, said attractive airfare promotions for other mid-haul destinations have drawn Singaporean holiday-makers away from Macau.

He said: “Take Japan for instance – airfares have been slashed to recover tourist numbers after the disasters. One could fly to Tokyo for just S$300 (US$241), excluding taxes, which is in the same price range as a flight to Macau.

“Airfares to Hong Kong were also on promotion – S$180 on Hong Kong Airlines and S$195 on Cathay Pacific, making it a worthy competitor of Macau. Although there are campaigns to twin Hong Kong and Macau, and some leisure visitors do take up such arrangements, it is still uncommon. Perhaps travellers find it inconvenient to take the ferry from Hong Kong to Macau. Airfare promotions that allow Singaporeans to fly into Macau and leave from Hong Kong are not seeing strong take-ups.”

How was referring to an arrangement among carriers such as Air Macau, Hong Kong Airlines and Cathay Pacific to offer special fares that allow passengers to enter and exit either Hong Kong and Macau airports on different airlines.

High room rates and limited room supply over the weekends, a result of Macau’s strong Chinese arrivals, were also factors contributing to the declining demand from Singapore, noted a director of a Singapore travel company that handles leisure and incentive business.

Tong added that the softening demand out of Singapore was also due to Jetstar’s pull-out. The low-cost carrier had suspended its direct services between Singapore and Macau since February 6, leaving Tiger Airways and Air Macau to fly the route.

However, she expects the recent opening of Macau’s fourth integrated resort, Sands Cotai Central, to generate leisure and incentive interest from Singapore and lift arrival numbers.