Global air passengers hit 4.4 billion in 2018: IATA

August 5, 2019

Global air connectivity continues to become more accessible and more efficient, having flown 4.4 billion passengers last year, according to 2018 performance figures released by IATA in its latest edition of the World Air Transport Statistics.

Record efficiency was achieved with 81.9 per cent of available seats being filled, while fuel efficiency improved by more than 12 per cent compared to 2010. The report also revealed that 22,000 city pairs are now connected by direct flights, up 1,300 over 2017 and double the 10,250 city pairs connected in 1998. The real cost of air transport has more than halved over the last 20 years (to around 78 US cents per revenue tonne-kilometre, or RTK).

A whopping 4.4 billion people travelled by air in 2018

“Airlines are connecting more people and places than ever before. The freedom to fly is more accessible than ever. And our world is a more prosperous place as a result. As with any human activity, this comes with an environmental cost that airlines are committed to reducing,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.

He added: “We understand that sustainability is essential to our license to spread aviation’s benefits. From 2020, we will cap net carbon emissions growth. And, by 2050, we will cut our net carbon footprint to half 2005 levels. This ambitious climate action goal needs government support. It is critical for sustainable aviation fuels, new technology and more efficient routes to deliver the greener future we are aiming for.”

Other highlights of the 2018 airline industry performance from the report include:

System-wide, airlines carried 4.4 billion passengers on scheduled services, an increase of 6.9 per cent over 2017, representing an additional 284 million trips by air. Meanwhile, the development of the LCC segment continues to outpace that of network carriers. Measured in ASKs (available seat kilometres), LCC capacity grew by 13.4 per cent, almost doubling the overall industry growth rate of 6.9 per cent. LCCs accounted for 21 per cent of global capacity in 2018, up from 11 per cent in 2004. When looking at available seats, the global share of LCCs in 2018 was 29 per cent, reflecting the short-haul nature of their business model. This is up from 16 per cent in 2004. Some 52 of IATA’s 290 current member airlines classify themselves as LCCs, and other new model airlines.

Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region once again carried the largest number of passengers systemwide. The regional rankings (based on total passengers carried on scheduled services by airlines registered in that region) are: Asia-Pacific with 37.1 per cent market share (1.6 billion passengers, up 9.2 per cent from 2017), Europe with 26.2 per cent market share (1.1 billion passengers, up 6.6 per cent from 2017), North America with 22.6 per cent market share (989.4 million passengers, up 4.8 per cent from 2017), Latin America with 6.9 per cent market share (302.2 million passengers, up 5.7 per cent from 2017), Middle East with 5.1 per cent market share (224.2 million passengers, up 4.0 per cent from 2017) and Africa with 2.1 per cent market share (92 million passengers, up 5.5 per cent from 2017).

The top five airlines ranked by total scheduled passenger kilometres flown, were: American Airlines (330.6 billion), Delta Air Lines (330 billion), United Airlines (329.6 billion), Emirates (302.3 billion) and Southwest Airlines (214.6 billion).

The top five international/regional passenger airport-pairs were all within the Asia-Pacific region again this year: Hong Kong – Taipei Taoyuan (5.4 million, down 0.4 per cent from 2017), Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Hong Kong (3.4 million, up 8.8 per cent from 2017), Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta – Singapore Changi (3.2 million, down 3.3 per cent from 2017), Seoul-Incheon – Osaka-Kansai (2.9 million, up 16.5 per cent from 2017) and Kuala Lumpur–International – Singapore Changi (2.8 million, up 2.1 per cent from 2017).

The top five domestic passenger airport-pairs were also all in the Asia-Pacific region: Jeju – Seoul Gimpo (14.5 million, up 7.6 per cent from 2017), Fukuoka – Tokyo Haneda (7.6 million, up 0.9 per cent from 2017), Melbourne-Tullamarine – Sydney (7.6 million, down 2.1 per cent from 2017), Sapporo – Tokyo-Haneda (7.3 million, down 1.5 per cent from 2017) and Beijing Capital – Shanghai Hongqiao (6.4 million, up 0.4 per cent from 2017).

The top five nationalities travelling (international routes) are: the UK (126.2 million, or 8.6 per cent of all passengers), the US (111.5 million, or 7.6 per cent of all passengers), China (97 million, or 6.6 per cent of all passengers), Germany (94.3 million, or 6.4 per cent of all passengers) and France (59.8 million, or 4.1 per cent of all passengers).

Meanwhile, Star Alliance maintained its position as the largest airline alliance in 2018 with 21.9 per cent of total scheduled traffic (in RPKs), followed by SkyTeam (18.8 per cent) and oneworld (15.4 per cent).

Swiss-Belhotel eyes Australasia expansion with five NZ hotels in pipeline

By TTG Asia

August 5, 2019

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Swiss-Belhotel International is expanding its operations in New Zealand with the signing of two hotel developments in Queenstown.

Come late 2020, the company will simultaneously launch the two Kiwi-based operations: Swiss-Belhotel & Residences Queenstown, and the younger, more value-conscious brand Zest Queenstown by Swiss-Belhotel.

A rendering of the Swiss-Belhotel & Residences Queenstown

Swiss-Belhotel International already operates 10 Zest properties in Indonesia and this will be the first Zest to open in New Zealand.

The new properties will increase the company’s Australasian offering to eight hotels.

Expansion in Australasia will see the company take investment positions through property ownership, management rights and leases, as well as management contracts.

The group is currently working with several international investment funds to grow the capital structure of Swiss-Belhotel International so as to take advantage of further investment opportunities in growing markets, such as New Zealand and Australia.

These developments are part of the ongoing strategic expansion of Swiss-Belhotel International in New Zealand, supporting the growing tourism numbers in this market.

Swiss-Belhotel International, which currently has 150 hotels and projects in 22 countries around the globe, expects to launch five properties in New Zealand by end 2020.

“We have real confidence in the tourism industry in New Zealand – particularly in Queenstown, which requires new infrastructure to keep up with visitor demand,” said Gavin Faull, chairman and president of Swiss-Belhotel International.

The hotel management company is also in discussion with developers in Australia and will be making announcements regarding hotel developments within the next six months.

Hong Kong’s Ovolo Central offers helicopter ride package

By TTG Asia

August 5, 2019

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Ovolo Central is providing guests the opportunity to take in views of Hong Kong from a chartered helicopter.

The Sky’s the Limit promotion offers guests complimentary transfers to and from their 18-minute chopper harbour tour. They will also be treated to pre-flight cocktails and a high-tea taster from vegetarian restaurant Veda, as well as a bottle of premium champagne to pop in their suite.

Ovolo Central’s founder and CEO, Girish Jhunjhnuwala, said that the brand’s latest offering is proof that Ovolo is determined to break the mould so as to provide guests with a truly unbeatable hotel experience.

Humpback whale season kicks off in WA’s Ningaloo

By TTG Asia

August 5, 2019

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Western Australia (WA) can now lay claim to being one of the premier destinations for humpback whale in-water interactions after three years of trials in the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Marine Park.

With two more trial years approved by the WA government for 2019 and 2020, this year’s season kicked off in Coral Bay on July 1 and will launch in Exmouth from August 1, both locations running till October 30.

Over the past three years, tour operators licensed to provide in-water interactions with whales have utilised their expertise to improve the experience so as to deliver a safe, enjoyable and well-managed product that complies with government regulations for swimmers and observers.

The licenses are issued to existing and highly experienced whale shark tour operators who have been taking consumers to swim with or observe whale shark interactions for many years in the Ningaloo Marine Park.

Improvements in tour delivery include locating whales through spotter planes communicating directly to the boat’s head guide, direct radio contact between the Skipper and the in-water guide via radio, and on-board drones – all of which increase the success rate of interactions.

Regulations for licensed operators participating in the trials also allow vessels, when attempting an in-water interaction, to approach up to 75m from the side of resting whales or 150m in front of travelling whales. This also provides a better experience and close-up view for observers.

A total of 272 tours were conducted in 2018 – an almost 40 per cent surge since the trial began in 2016 – with the number of people attempting to swim with a whale more than doubling over the trial period, according to data from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. The same study also showed that the interaction success rate has rose from 68 per cent in 2016 to 76 per cent in 2018.

Australia is one of three countries in the world where swimming with humpback whales is allowed, and the Ningaloo Marine Park is one of three locations in Australia where visitors can do so.

Dream Cruises takes the experiential highway to luxury cruisers’ heart

By Karen Yue

August 2, 2019

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A year-end DC Superheroes Justice League themed sailings onboard the Genting Dream is Dream Cruises’ latest offering to satisfy cruisers’ growing thirst for unique experiences.

The themed series offers 16 regional sailings from November 20, coinciding with Asia’s school holidays and peak family vacation season.

During this period, Genting Dream will feature themed balcony staterooms with superheroes interior design and furnishings, high tea in a superheroes cafe where related merchandise are used and can be brought home as souvenirs, and specific zones for young cruisers to enjoy themed games and character interaction.

Michael Goh, the new president of Dream Cruises, said the Justice League-themed series is just one of many experiential cruises – wellness, gourmet and concert sailings – the company had done in the past three years of operations.

Emphasising the importance of providing cruises “with a storyline”, Goh explained that the definition of luxury travel today is different for everyone but what remains constant is the desire for experiences.

“For some, luxury is dining in a Michelin-starred restaurant. For others, it is eating a hot bowl of wanton noodles. In short, luxury is experiential. So, it is Dream Cruises’ job and brand promise to provide the cruiser with his desired experience,” he said.

And with Dream Cruises’ customer demographics ranging widely, Goh says his team has to create a variety of experiences to satisfy all onboard.

“If you look back on the cruise product 20 years ago, most of the cruisers were retirees. Today, cruises get couples, young millennials, multigenerational families, and even special interest groups coming for corporate events and religious retreats. This demographic mix has completely changed our business. We must have a product that can satisfy a diverse segment today, unlike in the past when we only had to serve a senior market,” he said.

To deliver on varied experiences, Goh thinks Dream Cruises has the perfect products.

“Our ships are getting bigger, allowing us to to offer many, very different experiences while ensuring that everyone has their own space. If a Dream passenger wants complete silence, sipping coffee and reading his book, he has the beautiful Palm Court with a wonderful ocean vista to retreat into. If a Dream passenger wants his children to have a good time, he has the Justice League activities to indulge them in,” he remarked.

Meanwhile, Goh expects demand for luxury cruising to hold up in the face of a possible economic downturn next year, largely due to Asia’s large population of existing and emerging high net-worth individuals.

“I believe that no matter what happens, there will still be a market. We must have the discipline to understand our business and keep focus on where to find the customers we want. You may do 10 things to get a result during good times, so do 20 during challenging times. One must be committed to get results,” he concluded.

China suspends individual tourism permits for Taiwan

By TTG Asia

August 2, 2019

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China will no longer issue individual Taiwan travel permits to 47 mainland cities from August 1, its culture and tourism ministry said, citing “current cross-strait relations” with the self-ruled island, according to a Reuters report.

Visitors from the mainland need permission to travel to what Beijing regards as a renegade province. Only travellers from 47 cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, were allowed to visit Taiwan independently.

Mainland travellers with permits issued before Thursday can follow the original itinerary, but after that date tourists can only go in groups, said China International Travel Service (CITS), the Reuters report added.

The ban, which comes months ahead of Taiwan’s presidential elections in January amid growing tension between the communist-ruled China and Taiwan, has received the condemnation from Taiwanese authorities.

On Thursday, Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen called China’s tourism ban a “a big mistake” and said using its people as a “political tool” would only create resentment and affect the tourism sector, the report by Reuters added.

The latest ban comes amid a rebound in numbers of mainland tourists to Taiwan, which grew 28 per cent to 1.7 million in the first half from a year earlier, official data shows.

In 2018, nearly 2.7 million mainland tourists visited the island, a decline of one per cent from a year earlier and a 35 per cent drop from the peak in 2015, Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau data revealed.

Sri Lanka aggressively courts return of visitors, dangles incentives for airlines

By Feizal Samath

August 2, 2019

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Following the crippling effects of the Easter Sunday bombings on the tourism industry, Sri Lanka is rolling out aggressive efforts in tourism recovery by cutting ground handling charges, reducing fuel rates and lowering embarkation taxes at its main airport to attract more airlines and airline frequencies.

From August 1, there will be a 10 per cent reduction in ground handling charges at the Bandaranaike International Airport, while aircraft fuel will be sold at cost and on par with the lower Chennai prices. The airport embarkation tax will also be cut from US$60 to US$50.

Tourists visiting the Minneriya National Park in central Sri Lanka

“With these measures, the government expects airlines to pass the benefit of these concessions to customers by way of reduced airfares, restore suspended flights and increase existing frequencies and capacities,” a spokesperson from the Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Dubai-based Emirates Airlines said that the airline backs the efforts by the Sri Lankan government to boost the country’s tourism industry.

“As an airline that has served Colombo for more than 33 years, we are actively studying the different initiatives and concessions, effective from August 1, on how to stimulate greater demand for travel to the country,” the official said.

He added that after the Easter Sunday incidents, “Emirates made its commitment to the country clear when it waived fees for travellers wishing to change their travel dates, worked with tour operators to accommodate customers, and maintained our flight schedules, even though flight loads had reduced significantly”.

Local airline executives are also buoyed by the move. A senior official at Jetwing Travels, as well as GSA for Flydubai and a few foreign airlines, said this should stimulate more flights and arrivals.

The Jetwing Travels official, who declined to be named, said that an even more important decision on the government’s part was to offer free visa on arrival to 48 nationalities from August 1.

“This is an important step forward and (Sri Lanka) should see a sharp increase in arrivals,” he said. The fee-exempted visa offer, valid for six months, also applies to those applying for online visas.

Sanath Ukwatta, president of the Tourist Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, said: “These benefits and incentives will no doubt boost the industry and hopefully increase arrivals and make a positive change.”

He added: “As far as free visas are concerned, Thailand and Indonesia are already doing it without having a crisis at hand… I hope the government would continue this without offering it for six months only as this is becoming a regional trend and we need to stay competitive.”

Three ways agencies can win in the NDC era

By Industry Expert

August 2, 2019

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Ian_Heywood,_Global_Head_of_New_Distribution,_Travelport — Heywood: make NDC work for your business

Heywood: make NDC work for your business

As an agency, NDC will help you deliver more compelling, more relevant offers for your customers. But to do that, you need to understand the new ‘rules’ of NDC working, and you need to deepen your relationships with airlines to secure access to the best, most profitable content.

Until now, just sitting back and waiting to see what will happen with NDC has been a fairly sensible policy for most agencies – but not any longer. The IATA NDC airline Leaderboard – 21 airlines in total – have committed to transact 20 per cent of their volume through NDC-capable APIs by 2020 and many airlines have set out their intentions to heavily prioritise API bookings in the future.

All of this NDC momentum means that the time for procrastination is most definitely over. With NDC on the near-horizon, there are about to be some major changes to the way you work. It’s time, in other words, to make sure you can benefit from what NDC offers, or you could risk losing out to better prepared competitors.

The question is, how can you maximise the opportunities of NDC, both to strengthen your supplier relationships and deliver more relevant, compelling offers to your customers?

In my view, the following three tips are a very good starting point for any agency:

1) Fully understand NDC’s new rules of engagement
If you change a football match into a rugby match half way through, there will obviously be some confusion. The only way it can possibly work is if everyone knows the rules of the new game, and it’s the same story with NDC.

As bookings will now be made in airline systems, and airlines themselves will be responsible for creating customer offers, the agent’s role is changing profoundly. Not only do you need access to the new content coming down the NDC API, you also need to know more about your customers, so you can return relevant, compelling offers to them.

There are also new rules about how your relationship with travel suppliers will evolve and change. There are new rules about how you access content and how your customers make bookings. And there are new rules about the range and type of offers that will be available. You need to fully understand all of these changes, and be able to adapt to them, to ensure that NDC positively impacts your supplier and customer relationships and business as a whole.

2) Evolve and strengthen your supplier partnerships
To some extent agencies have been competing on a level playing field for decades, with everyone having access to the same public fares on all routes. With NDC, this could change, with airlines favouring agencies who prioritise sales of hard-to-sell fares and ancillaries.

Agencies who do best out of NDC will be those who understand this fundamental change, and those who partner proactively to support airlines in their own commercial objectives.

This means that if you can help an airline sell fares on a challenging route when planes are flying half empty, for example, you will undoubtedly be rewarded with access to fares that are highly desirable and profitable at other times of year. Likewise, if you take airlines’ desires to sell more high-profit ancillaries seriously, that will also potentially give you major advantages in terms of the high-value content you can access from them.

You can also grow and strengthen your relationships with airlines in the NDC era by sharing the right customer data with them. After all, to create profitable offers, airlines need full understanding of end customers’ needs and preferences – and that’s information that only you have access to.

3) Get specific with your searches
One of the major changes with NDC is that just a few fare options will be replaced with a much larger number of offers that include a wide range of fares and ancillaries. This is great in terms of giving customers more choice, value and relevance, but it can also increase complexity in the search process and make bookings more time consuming.

The trick here is to be highly prescriptive and specific in your searches for NDC content. That’s because simply searching for a fare between two cities on a certain day will potentially return hundreds of results that your agents will need to sift through and explain to customers at length. You can avoid this by searching for an offer that includes the desired route and stopovers, and all the right ancillaries – from VIP lounge access to priority boarding.

The benefits of being specific will be time saving for booking agents, but also deliver a faster, more relevant experience for customers. And that means more sales and more success for your business.

Avis rides into Mongolia

By TTG Asia

August 2, 2019

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Avis is expanding its Asian network with the opening of Avis Mongolia, through a licensee agreement with Baobab LLC.

This move builds on the global network and regional footprint of Avis, which is now present in over 20 Asian markets. The main office will be based in the new international airport in Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolians will soon be able to rent luxury cars from Avis

“(Mongolia) has ambitious plans to attract one million tourists by 2020 and we are committed to assist in achieving this goal,” said Hans Mueller, vice- president, global licensees, Avis Budget Group.

The new Avis office in Mongolia offers short-term rentals, cars on long-term lease, as well as bespoke car rental packages and itineraries for both business and leisure travellers. Avis Mongolia will also provide experienced and professional tour guides to help travellers plan their self-drive routes for their Mongolian adventures.

Ingenico rolls out TravelHub payments solution for travel companies

By TTG Asia

August 2, 2019

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Ingenico will be launching TravelHub, a solution built to connect travel companies with the brand’s global end-to-end payment processing capabilities and regional gateways across Asia, Latin America and Europe to increase their online revenue.

In South-east Asia alone, online travel businesses reached US$30 billion in gross booking value in 2018 and is headed towards US$78 billion by 2025. These businesses in Asia are looking to navigate the complex technology ecosystem while growing quickly in a very competitive space. Therefore, access to new markets and payment methods is an essential part to growth and international expansion.

TravelHub offers access to more than 150 payment methods

TravelHub allows travel companies to easily access more than 150 payment methods – including credit cards and alternative payment solutions – and currency options relevant for their customers. It also offers smart transaction routing capabilities across all payment platforms, improving conversion rates and, hence, increasing revenue from online travel sales.

TravelHub offers a simple direct connection to global payment capabilities, as well as integration with the leading airline GDS, such as Amadeus, Sabre and Navitaire, and hotels’ property management systems. This helps travel businesses tackle the complexity of managing multiple systems, payment service providers and acquirers.

Eric Liebman, global head of travel at Ingenico ePayments, said: “Online travel businesses are looking to navigate the complex technology ecosystem while growing quickly in a very competitive space. TravelHub helps travel companies provide the best digital customer experience, offering payment methods and currencies travellers want to pay with.”

Looking forward, Ingenico says it will make ongoing developments to add new travel technology connections and improve direct connections, making it easier for travel businesses to access new markets.

Global air passengers hit 4.4 billion in 2018: IATA

Swiss-Belhotel eyes Australasia expansion with five NZ hotels in pipeline

Hong Kong’s Ovolo Central offers helicopter ride package

Humpback whale season kicks off in WA’s Ningaloo

Dream Cruises takes the experiential highway to luxury cruisers’ heart

China suspends individual tourism permits for Taiwan

Sri Lanka aggressively courts return of visitors, dangles incentives for airlines

Three ways agencies can win in the NDC era

Avis rides into Mongolia

Ingenico rolls out TravelHub payments solution for travel companies

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