PAL gears up for nonstop flights to New York
On October 29, 2018, Philippine Airlines will launch the world’s first nonstop flights between the Philippines and New York. A brand-new PAL Airbus A350-900 will commence flight PR126 departing Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for a 16-hour journey across the North Polar regions, to land at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on the evening of the same day.
From October 29 to November 3, PAL will operate flights from Manila to New York on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. PR126 will depart from Manila at 20.10 and arrive in New York JFK at 23.15 on the same day.
By November 5, the Manila departure will shift to 21.00 with no change to the scheduled arrival in New York JFK. Starting December 6, PAL will introduce a fifth frequency, which departs on Wednesdays.
From October 30 to November 5, PAL will serve the New York to Manila route on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
PR127 will leave New York JFK at 01.45 and touch down in Manila at 06.25 the following day. By November 7, arrival in Manila will be at 07.25, with no change to the scheduled departure from New York.
PAL will operate the fifth frequency out of New York every Thursday, starting December 13.
All PAL flights to New York will depart from NAIA Terminal 2. PAL flights from New York will arrive at NAIA Terminal 1.
Garuda to link Singapore and Belitung
Garuda Indonesia will launch its four-times-weekly Singapore-Tanjung Pandan service starting October 29. Operated with Garuda Indonesia’s all-economy class configuration aircraft, Bombardier CRJ – 1000, flights depart Singapore Changi Airport at 17.20 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and at 17.30 on Sundays, for arrival at Hanandjoeddin International Airport at 17.50 and 18.00 respectively. The return flight will be depart from Hanandjoeddin International Airport in Tanjung Pandan at 14.50 and arrive at Singapore Changi Airport at 16.20.
Hainan Airlines takes off for Vienna
Hainan Airlines has launched its Shenzhen-Vienna service on October 20. The airline is deploying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on the new route with two round-trip flights per week. On Thursdays and Saturdays, flight HU789 departs Shenzhen at 01.30, arriving in Vienna at 06.50. Flight HU790 leaves Vienna at 10.45 on the same day, for arrival back in Shenzhen at 00.50 the following day.
AirAsia launches Bangkok-Gaya; connects Krabi to Hong Kong and Macau
AirAsia’s four-times-weekly flights between Bangkok and India’s Gaya will take off on December 3. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, flight FD122 departs Don Mueang Airport at 8.20 to arrive in Gaya at 10.10. Flight FD123 departs Gaya at 10.40 to arrive at Don Mueang at 14.50.
AirAsia has announced new flights from Krabi to Hong Kong and Macau. Starting December 2, flight FD520 will depart Krabi at 09.30 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays for arrival in Hong Kong at 13.40. Flight FD521 departs Hong Kong at 14.40 on the same days, arriving back in Krabi at 17.35.
Krabi-Macau flights will commence on December 1, with flight FD770 departing Krabi at 09.00 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for arrival in Macau at 13.25. FD771 leaves Macau on the same days at 13.50, to arrive in Krabi at 16.30.
Ctrip, which says it sees 40 per cent of traffic opening its app in non-homebase destinations, is on a drive to make the “super app” the only one that users will use when they travel overseas.
In a video interview on the sidelines of ITB Asia last week, Victor Tseng, Ctrip’s vice president corporate affairs, told TTG Asia: “We’ve been seeing a tremendous diversification in how users are using Ctrip. Now they’re using Ctrip throughout their whole itinerary. That’s been an important initiative for us to continue to push, particularly when users are travelling overseas.”
Ctrip is expanding its capabilities for users overseas, so they don’t have to open another app to seek the right information, user reviews or booking tools.
Issues such as a slowdown in China’s economy, foreign currency fluctuations and Sino-US trade tiff are creating “a macro overhang”, Tseng admitted, but pointed to the recent Golden Week which delivered around nine per cent growth as a reason to be optimistic.
“When you look at nine per cent relative to other parts of the world in terms of travel spend, that’s still very, very good growth,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ctrip’s ambitions to expand and tap global market sources through Trip.com are “making very good inroads”, Tseng said. Currently, the key markets Trip.com is focusing on include South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia and Russia.
Localisation is one of the ways Trip.com is taking to attract users to the site. In Singapore, for instance, the team works with local hotels to target staycations, which Singaporeans love.
Watch the full video to hear the full initiatives Ctrip is taking to stay ahead in the global industry here.