Garuda Indonesia will launch the first direct connection between Indonesia and India when it begins Jakarta-Mumbai flights, via Bangkok, from December 12.

Utilising a Boeing 738 aircraft in a two-class configuration, the thrice-weekly service will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

With the Mumbai service, Garuda Indonesia now adds the Indian subcontinent to its network.

Apart from boosting trade between the two countries, the new route is expected to drive inbound tourism to Indonesia from India. Indonesia is currently one of the largest markets to India with 350,000 people currently travelling to the region on both business and leisure.

A new European leisure airline group is set to emerge from a joint venture between Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) and Europe’s largest tour operator TUI.

The new airline group, headquartered in Vienna, will have a fleet of around 60 aircraft offering 15 million seats capacity per year. It will start operations in April 2017, serving destinations in the Balearics, Canaries, mainland Spain and Greece from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

The planned transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, will be preceded by Air Berlin divesting its 49.8 per cent share in its subsidiary carrier Niki to EAG’s subsidiary Etihad Investment Holding Company (Etihad).

At closing of the transaction, Etihad will immediately contribute the Niki share to the new airline group, and will neither control nor become a majority owner of Niki.

TUI will contribute its subsidiary TUIfly to the joint venture, including the 14 aircraft currently operated by TUIfly for Air Berlin under a wet-lease agreement.

TUI will hold 24.8 per cent of shares in the new company and Etihad 25 per cent, while the remaining 50.2 per cent will be controlled by the existing private foundation Niki Privatstiftung.

Meanwhile, Etihad’s acquisition of Air Berlin’s shares in Niki represents yet another cash injection into the debt-ridden airline, reportedly to the tune of US$321 million. Etihad had in 2012 bought a 29 per cent stake in Air Berlin in hopes of boosting its European network, but this was followed by years of loss-making performance by the German budget carrier.

The Parisian Macao

Industry members are confident that Macau, flush with a new crop of hotels and attractions, will be strong drawcards for outbound travellers from Singapore in the coming year.

The 13, MGM Cotai, City of Dreams Fifth Hotel Tower and Lisboa Palace will soon join the recently-opened Wynn Palace and The Parisian Macao, injecting 4,580 rooms into the city’s inventory over the next two years, said Grace Tong, Macao Government Tourism Office’s (MGTO) representative in Singapore.

Singapore is Macau’s top per capita spend source market in Asia, growing 17.1 per cent year-on-year to 1,912 patacas (US$230) in 3Q2016. The average length of stay has also increased from 1.8 nights to two nights, Tong noted.

Although numbers for the first 10 months were down two per cent to 113,429 compared with the same period last year, MGTO’s B2B2C roadshow in May boosted 3Q2016 visitor arrivals and Singapore is expected to end the year in positive territory this year.

Tong added: “Apart from gaming, new attractions like Anim’Arte Nam Van which transformed Nam Van Lakeside Plaza into a waterfront leisure and culture hub offering creative activities, dining and performances, and the year-end Light Festival are giving Singaporeans more reasons to visit or revisit Macau.”

Nancy Tan, managing director, Ik Chin Travel Service, concurred: “We will definitely push Macau as a gourmet, shopping and spa destination with four-day/three-night programmes or a six-day/five-night programme that will include Zhuhai and Zhongshan in Guangzhou.”

Cynthia Kho, assistant general manager, tour, WTS Travel & Tours, said the agency is looking at “less extravagant” programmes to suit customers who are watchful of their travel spending amid a subdued economic outlook.

“There is increasing demand for twin-city programmes and our Macau packages will also include Hong Kong, Zhuhai or the Pearl River Delta on top of the one- to two-night stays in Macau,” she said.

As well, a Scoot sales representative told TTG Asia that the airline is looking into increasing its capacity. Currently, Scoot flies daily to Macau, with an additional flight on Saturdays.

(From left) Hainan Airlines’ Hou Wei; Clark County’s Lawrence Weekly, Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s Rossi Ralenkotter; and World Tourism Cities Federation and Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development’s Li Baochun at the inauguration ceremony

Hainan Airlines has commenced thrice-weekly flights between Beijing and Las Vegas on December 2, the only Chinese carrier to provide direct services between the two cities.

Utilising a Boeing 787, the service will depart Beijing at 14.20 and land in Las Vegas at 10.30. The return leg will depart from McCarran International Airport at 12.30 and land at Beijing Capital International Airport at 17.30 the following day.

The non-stop flight will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Hainan Airlines currently flies to 10 North American destinations from China.

Tourasia, a Swiss outbound tour operator specialising in Asia, has expanded into Poland with the opening of the Tourasia Polska subsidiary in Warsaw on December 1.

The company had already been handling Polish guests through its offices in Asia and is now strategically expanding its infrastructure.

According to Stephan Roemer, managing director of Tourasia, Poland is an emerging market for niche travel to Asia with many seasoned travellers seeking further-flung holiday destinations.

Through its new subsidiary, Tourasia plans to offer more premium products for Polish travellers while also catering to the tourist class segment.

The new office in Warsaw will be manned with a team of four managed by Piotr Chojnowski, who was formerly product director at TUI Poland and CEO of Onholidays.

Tourasia has presence in foreign markets through subsidiaries such as Tischler Reisen in Germany. In Asia, Tourasia operates its own DMCs in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

The signing ceremony

Spain’s Meliá Hotels International has signed an agreement with Asset World (a member of Thailand’s TCC Group) to open the Meliá Bangkok in 2022, marking the group’s first property in the city and the second in Thailand.

Located in the city’s Sukhumvit district as part of a mixed-use development, the brand-new, upscale property will feature 315 guest rooms, numerous F&B outlets, a spa, a fitness centre and meeting facilities.

Meliá Hotels International currently has 126 properties worldwide. In Asia, the group currently has 13 hotels, with another 21 in the pipeline. Meliá Bangkok will be the 35th property in the region.