MALAYSIANS have been advised to defer non-essential travel to Egypt in view of escalating anti-government protests there, while those already within the country have been told to shun high-risk areas.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, A Kohilan Pillay, asked Malaysians to wait for the situation to stabilise before considering a trip to Egypt.

There are more than 10,000 Malaysians in Egypt, but there have been no reports of any being caught in the violence so far.

Meanwhile, outbound travel agents who had sold tour packages to Egypt for the upcoming Chinese New Year period are waiting to see whether airlines will offer a refund on airfares or a postponement on travel.

Apple Vacations & Conventions’ group managing director Desmond Lee said: “From past experience, airlines are very cooperative in such situations.”

Mayflower Acme Tours deputy general manager Abdul Rahman Mohamed said while the company was waiting to resolve the situation with its airline partners, it would offer its customers a choice of either a refund on their packages, a deferment of travel dates or a change of destination.

LAST week’s flight disruptions to Bali due to Mount Bromo volcanic activity have not affected forward bookings to the island, with industry players still expecting a hectic Chinese New Year holiday period.

Bali Tourism Board chairman I Gusti Ngurah Wijaya said: “Arrivals to Bali this February will be higher than the same period last year. Chinese New Year is approaching and it looks like we will be pretty busy.”

Discovery Kartika Plaza Bali’s bookings over the long weekend remain at a “high 80 to 85 per cent”, according to director of sales and marketing Alice Matulessy, while Hotel Santika Premier Beach Resort Bali’s sales manager Komang Emmy Aryanti said their occupancy would be around 90 per cent.

Increased volcanic activity from Mount Bromo forced 45 regional and international airlines to cancel, divert or delay their flights last Thursday and Friday (TTG Asia e-Daily, January 28). Thousands of foreign tourists, mostly from Australia, were stranded.

All international flights have resumed since Saturday, according to Denpasar International Airport’s air traffic operations manager Ketut Subamia.

“When the airlines are flying, that means the condition is safe and tourists are confident of travelling,” explained Tour East Indonesia director Eddy Putra.

NEW domestic airline Asian Wings Airways finally took to the skies last week, after obtaining its air operation certificate in mid-January.

Originally scheduled to start operations last November (TTG Asia e-Daily, November 1, 2010), the airline’s first circuit Yangon-Nyaung Oo-Mandalay-Heho-Yangon route, starting January 27, was fully booked until end of the month, with bookings already building up for February, said general manager Maung Maung Shwe Moe.

With its fleet comprising two 70-seat ATR72-500 aircraft, Asian Wings also offers flights to Tachileik, Lashio, Myitkyina, Kalay, Dawei, Myeik and Kawthoung, and plans to launch services between Yangon and Thandwe, Khamti, Bhamo, Kyaukpyu, Sittwe, Mawlamyine, Monywa, Homalin and Loikaw.

To entice customers travelling to Mandalay, the airline is offering a free shuttle service between the airport and downtown. It has also opened branch offices in Heho, Mandalay, Nyaung Oo and Kengtung to provide convenient ticketing services for passengers.

Another new carrier, Air Kanbawza, is expected to follow Asian Wings into domestic skies in the near future, joining private airlines Air Mandalay and Air Bagan, and state-run Myanmar Airways.

TOYKO’s Ibaraki Airport, which opened last March, is positioning itself as a specialised budget hub for low-cost carriers (LCCs) by offering cheaper landing fees and facility charges, keeping terminal facilities to a minimum and providing independent groundhandlers.

Mitsuya Yuasa, airport promotion division chief of Ibaraki Prefectural Government, said the airport can handle 10 flights a day and aircraft as large as a B767-300ER.

Located 80km from the heart of Tokyo, Ibaraki currently offers flights by Asiana Airlines (Seoul-Ibaraki), Spring Airlines (Shanghai-Ibaraki) and SKYMARK (Sapporo, Nagoya and Kobe-Ibaraki).

Tokyo’s other airports are Haneda Airport and Narita International Airport, both of which do not have budget terminal facilities.

At last week’s Low Cost Airlines World Asia Pacific 2011 conference in Singapore, Mike Gamo, CEO of Narita International Airport Corporation, voiced the urgent need for Narita to “assess the possibility of having its own low cost terminal” to court LCCs.

“We can use terminal two in the interim to accommodate LCCs, but we have to decide soon whether to (allocate) part of the airport (as the budget terminal) or build a separate wing,” he said. “We are also studying how to lower landing fees and facility charges.”

THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) Cha-Am office plans to reach out to alternative source markets this year, to boost 2010’s one million arrivals by 10 per cent this year.

TAT Cha-Am director Nongnit Tengmaneewan said the office would seek to attract Russian leisure travellers and Indian weddings, while maintaining a mix of 70 per cent Thais and 30 per cent foreigners.

The office will meet Russian agents in a tabletop sale in Hua Hin next month, and will jointly organise a roadshow to India with TAT Hua Hin in July.

Two domestic roadshows are also being planned with TAT Hua Hin and Samut Songkram in March, to Chiang Rai and Lampang in the north and Udon Thani and Khon Kaen in the north-east.

By Sirima Eamtako

ALILA Cha Am is intensifying its efforts to lure more foreign guests.

Besides targeting high-end segments from Scandinavia, Germany and the Benelux region, emphasis will be placed on attracting more Indian weddings, Asian meetings and high-spending Thais, said general manager Thiva Kesavan.

Kesavan said he expected the resort to have a 40:60 mix of foreigners and Thais this year, compared to the 30:70 ratio recorded in 2010. “I am hoping to see a year-round occupancy of 60 per cent, or about 30 per cent growth, with average room rate of 5,000 baht (US$161).”

Last year, the 79-key resort invested 20 million baht to upgrade its facilities. This year, with 30 per cent of its guests being repeat visitors, the resort has decided to focus on improving value-added services.

By Sirima Eamtako

SINGAPORE Airlines’ (SIA) flights to and from Bali are back to normal, after a number of its services to the island were cancelled or delayed yesterday due to increased volcanic activity from Mount Bromo in East Java.

“We have not heard of any cancellation or delay reports today,” said SIA spokesperson Glory Henriette.

According to a statement on SIA’s website, two flights (SQ946 and SQ947) were cancelled yesterday, while SQ948 from Singapore to Denpasar was rescheduled to depart this morning. SQ941 from Denpasar to Singapore, originally due to fly this morning, had been rescheduled to depart this afternoon.

Other carriers have not yet resumed normal services to Bali.

Cathay Pacific’s CX785 service to Denpasar yesterday was en route from Hong Kong to Bali, but was forced to return and land at Hong Kong International Airport, according to a statement on its website. The flight, originally rescheduled to depart this morning, has been further delayed and will fly tomorrow morning.

Jetstar flights today – VF541 and JQ117 from Singapore to Denpasar, and JQ116 and VF542 from Denpasar to Singapore – have been cancelled.

Meanwhile, SilkAir manager Indonesia Joseph confirmed that the carrier’s flight between Singapore and Lombok was also cancelled yesterday.

TWO Asian low-cost carriers (LCC) have placed IPOs on their to-do lists to finance future expansion plans, with increasing demand for cheaper intra-regional flights fuelling the growth.

Shanghai-based Spring Airlines is on the verge of issuing IPO, according to strategic planning department deputy manager Jonathan Hutt. “We are looking at it happening sometime this year.”

Spring Airlines, which commenced flights to Ibaraki in Japan and Hong Kong mid-last year, is looking to expand its network to include more Japanese cities, South Korea, Macau and Taiwan within the next few years.

Good demand for its twice-daily Shanghai-Hong Kong route has prompted the carrier to consider raising frequency to four flights a day.

Philippine-based LCC AirPhil Express, with Singapore its only international destination so far, is planning to issue IPO in 2013 or 2014 to fund fleet expansion and new international routes.

AirPhil Express chief executive advisor Brian Hogan said: “We will have 15 aircraft delivered by 2012 and may consider another five after that. With these new aircraft, we are planning to fly to Hong Kong, South Korea and China.”

A Kalibo-Singapore service may also be introduced by end-2011, adding to the carrier’s current flights from Cebu and Manila to Singapore.