Jet Airways will begin codesharing on Jetstar Asia flights from Singapore to 11 destinations, extending its footprint to three new destinations: Darwin, Phuket and Penang. Sales lines open tomorrow for travel commencing from March 26.

The Indian airline will place its marketing code ‘9W’ on Jetstar Asia flights to Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, Perth and Darwin in Australia, Jakarta, Denpasar Bali and Surabaya in Indonesia, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur and Penang in Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

With this, Jet Airways will also offer guests twin/tri-city itineraries options through Singapore, either via Bangkok or Hong Kong. Passengers transiting through Singapore will enjoy baggage check-in transfer and receive onward boarding passes at the initial departure point.

As well, JetPrivilege members will be able to accrue JPMiles, which will count towards tier status, on the codeshare flights.

Jetstar Asia said the codeshare will allow it to participate in the high growth traffic trends between India and the codeshare markets which have demonstrated a CAGR of over 17 per cent over the last five years in Asia-Pacific.

Cruise operators are rewriting their operations to South Korean ports as the diplomatic row between Beijing and Seoul increasingly spills over into the travel sector.

South Korea’s travel industry has quickly felt the pinch after Beijing instructed Chinese travel agencies to halt all sales to South Korean destinations. An estimated 53,000 Chinese cancelled their bookings on China-Incheon ferries in March, while Korean Air reservations on Chinese routes are down 10 per cent and Asiana Airlines is reporting a fall of nine per cent.

Jeju island

But the cruise sector, which has enjoyed impressive growth on China-South Korea routes in recent years, is among those hardest hit with operators reworking itineraries in response.

Beverly Yang, a spokeswoman for Costa Cruises Asia Pacific and China, told TTG Asia: “Costa Cruises will remove calls to South Korean ports from our recent cruises homeported out of China, replacing them with cruising at sea or calls to destinations in Japan.”

Norwegian Cruise Line, which is about to launch the new Norwegian Joy on its Chinese routes, also hinted that it is taking South Korean ports off its itinerary.

A spokesperson for the company said: “We will be adjusting our schedules, but the beauty of cruise ships is that we are able to alter itineraries and ports of call as needed.”

Earlier this month, 3,459 Chinese passengers aboard the 11,000-ton Costa Serena refused to disembark during a port visit to Jeju Island. According to local media reports, around 80 charter buses and tour guides waiting on the dockside went away empty-handed.

Beijing insists that its order is not a retaliation for the South Korean government’s decision to deploy the US Army’s THAAD anti-missile system in the country.

The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) has on March 8 established a new office in Kuala Lumpur to intensify overseas promotion of Japan and work towards the country’s target of 40 million annual overseas visitors by 2020.

Japan welcomed a record 24-plus million foreign visitors in 2016. Last year, the country also saw its highest number of visitors from Malaysia with 394,200 arrivals, 29.1 per cent more than the previous year.

Kuala Lumpur

Headed by executive director Chiemi Maruyama, the new Kuala Lumpur office will participate in travel fairs such as Matta Fair Kuala Lumpur, MITM Penang and Matta Johor; organise promotional events, seminars and trade fairs; and provide PR support for travel agents and media, the JNTO said in a press release.

The address of the JNTO Kuala Lumpur office is: 1^st Floor, Chulan Tower, 3 Jalan Conlay.

Park Hyatt Bangkok is opening on May 12 and this time, the date is likely to stick after several missed deadlines over a construction delay of more than two years.

When it opens, the hotel will be a modern addition to Bangkok’s luxury hotel market and will up the ante on the city’s ever-expanding F&B options. A signature dining concept there is Penthouse Bar & Grill, which spans the uppermost 34^th, 35th and 36^th floors of the hotel. Conceived as the fictional penthouse of a well-travelled British-Thai collector of fine art and vintage car-racing relics, the complex will include an international grill restaurant, a cocktail bar with resident DJs, a VIP lounge, a speakeasy and a sky bar, all with spectacular panoramic views.

Park Hyatt guestroom

General manager Michael Golden said the delay was due to the complicated architecture of the iconic building, which has a curvilinear, twisted-coil structure, unsymmetrical in all dimensions. The 222-room Park Hyatt Bangkok is housed within the top 27 floors of this retail complex and has no fewer than 57 different room configurations because of the building’s design.

Rates will be comparable to the other posh brands in the city at around 8,500 baht (US$244.89), and F&B pricing will be reasonable. “We want people to come to the hotel everyday, not just on special occasions. We’d rather be turning seats in our restaurants several times than have them half full in a single seating then have marketing meetings on what to do about it. Unlike in the past, there are so many F&B options in Bangkok, you don’t need to go to a hotel. So we’ll combine five-star service with reasonable pricing,” said Golden.

The hotel expects an AOR of 45-50 per cent in the first six months of opening, with guests comprising both leisure and corporates. “Thailand is a leisure destination but given our location which is surrounded by embassies and business houses, we will have corporates, small meeting groups and lots of weddings, so we’ll have a fairly good mix,” he said.

The hotel has 12 event venues covering a total of 2,000m². They target high-level board meetings and glamorous cocktail receptions, from elegant gala dinners to spectacular society weddings.

Its geographical mix will comprise the US, the UK, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Japan will figure in as well, despite competition from the Okura Prestige Bangkok across the street. “The Japanese know the brand and love great architecture and interior design,” Golden said.

China is getting stronger, thanks to awareness of the brand which is present in both Beijing and Shanghai, he added.

On competition with sister property Grand Hyatt Erawan down the road, Golden said: “Every hotel is a competitor but being a sister property, there are synergies. We’re a small hotel and there will be lots of groups that are too big for us and we’ll look to split them (with Grand Hyatt). Commercially, we will also share resources wherever possible.”

For instance, a team member of the PR/communications department at Park Hyatt has a cluster role and looks after Grand Hyatt Erawan, Hyatt Regency in Hua Hin and the new Hyatt Regency Bangkok.