SATS has become the first inflight food caterer to take onboard celebrity chefs as culinary consultants, a move it says could help its customer airlines acquire and retain passengers amid mounting competition from LCCs.

An inaugural culinary panel of five celebrity chefs worked with Sats to create more than 100 dishes, which were yesterday showcased to over 100 airlines in Singapore. The master chefs on the panel are New Zealand’s Dean Brettschneider, Singapore’s Eric Teo, South Korea’s Gwak Man Keun and Indonesia’s Idham Mirwan.

Alex Hungate, president and CEO, Sats, said: “Air travel traditionally has been the most glamorous form of travel and that’s what it should remain if the industry is going to continue to be ‘healthy’ – particularly for full-service carriers competing against LCCs.

“You have to justify the ticket price. (Passengers) want more glamour, more sense of occasion (in their inflight experience) and food is a good (and cost-effective) way of doing that. That makes them want to use the same airline next time.”

The new offering can prove a strong differentiator particularly in the online marketplace, where consumers find it “easier than ever to browse options and compare offerings”, he added.

Sats is positive that its new dishes will speak well to today’s travellers. Hungate remarked: “A lot of people travel because they want to learn about and experience other cultures… they want (their inflight meal) to be authentic and special. Special famous dishes are a big reason why people fly.”

Since it was introduced in January this year, Sats’ new line of inflight meals has seen takeup from six airlines – including SilkAir and XiamenAir.

The gourmet meals have been offered as part of festive menus and as chef’s special items.

In particular, SilkAir had worked with Sats’ culinary team to finetune dishes in their All Time Favourites menu, which Rick Stephen, director of kitchens at Sats, said was “quite successful”.

“We expect to see a lot more takeup for upcoming festivities (and special occasions),” he said.

What could be in the way of airlines incorporating Sats’ premium meals are concerns with margins. However, the economies of scale that Sats enjoys would allow it to provide “better quality and more authentic meals at more reasonable prices for the airline”, Hungate assured.

Sats has capacity to produce about 100,000 meals a day, and this number is expected to increase with the completion of a new production line at one of its two inflight catering facilities.

Melbourne

ASIA-PACIFIC cities, especially those in Australia and Japan, continue to attain foremost positions on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) annual global ranking of the most liveable cities in the world.

The Global Liveability Ranking provides scores and ranks 140 cities worldwide according to lifestyle challenges faced by residents.

The 2016 report shows that the Australian cities of Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Sydney have taken the number 1, 5, 7 and 11 spots respectively with Melbourne retaining its crown. The top five cities remain unchanged from last year.

Meanwhile, Japanese cities such as Tokyo and Osaka have claimed the 13th and 14th positions. Also of note are the New Zealand cities of Auckland and Wellington, which took the 8th and 19th spots respectively.

Hong Kong and Singapore have moved up in ranking to occupy 43rd and 46th place, compared to 46th and 49th last year, respectively.

All the above cities have earned scores above 80, meaning “there are few, if any, challenges to living standards”, according to the EIU study.

In China, all eight Chinese cities surveyed registered a slight decline compared to last year. Tianjin saw the sharpest fall, down seven places, as a result of a decline in its environment score following an explosion in a chemical factory last August.

Suzhou has overtaken Beijing as the top ranked Chinese city at 72nd in the overall ranking. Beijing (73rd) is followed by Tianjin (77th), Shanghai (82nd), Shenzhen (84th), Dalian (88th), Guangzhou (93rd) and Qingdao (98th).

However, less than ten percentage points separate the liveability scores of all eight Chinese cities, highlighting that liveability standards within China do not vary substantially.

The EIU added that liveability has declined in 29 of the 140 cities surveyed over the last 12 months. This has largely come about as a result of heightened fears over terrorism with incidents in France, Turkey and Belgium being the most high-profile of over 1,000 reported attacks globally in 2016 alone.

These are compounded by other factors such as unrest in the US, political disruption in Turkey and Thailand and geopolitical disputes in Eastern Europe and Asia.

Long line of passengers at Narita Airport

IN an effort to dramatically speed up immigration procedures, Japan is planning to introduce a pre-clearance system at airports in South Korea and Taiwan.

Travellers will complete screening before even boarding their flights, enabling them to pass through Japanese airports – which are becoming increasingly congested as tourist numbers soar – much more rapidly.

Travel companies overseas have welcomed the plan and say it will be a “big bonus” to their clients.

Under the proposed scheme, which is scheduled to be put into operation in fiscal 2017, Japanese customs and immigration officers would be stationed at the airport of departure to verify passport information and the contents of their luggage.

After arriving in Japan, these pre-screened travellers would be directed to a special lane for a brief screening before leaving the airport.

If the programme proves to be effective, Japanese authorities plan to roll it out to arrivals from more nations.

Delays at Japan’s largest airports are becoming a major problem as arrivals consistently hit new record highs.

International arrivals in July alone leapt 19.7 per cent from the same month last year, with 2.297 million visitors setting a new monthly record. The previous record of 2.082 million was only set in April this year.

“This is a very good idea and will obviously be a big bonus to our clients,” said Sarah Lee, spokesperson for Seoul-based Va Kangs Travel. “Anything that the authorities can do to smoothen the arrival procedures will be of help.”

O&J Travel’s agent Amy One agreed that “improved efficiency and speed for people who are arriving will make the destination more appealing.”

Long lines at immigration at Japan’s busiest airports, such as those serving Tokyo and Osaka, mean that new arrivals often have to wait for more than one hour to be processed. The government is aiming to reduce that to a maximum of 20 minutes by 2020, when Tokyo will host the Olympic Games.

Bertrand Saillet, general manager, Southeast Asia
of the corporate division at Flight Centre

HAVING a business travel policy is not the prerogative of multinationals and conglomerates.

Even though small and medium enterprises tend not to have a robust business travel policy in place – if at all – and even though they may not as regularly send staff overseas for work, having a policy in place can be beneficial for them, according to TMC Flight Centre.

Bertrand Saillet, general manager, Southeast Asia of the corporate division at Flight Centre says that the easy accessibility and competitive prices offered by OTAs may be an attractive proposition for resource-lean organisations, but factors of time, long-term cost and productivity should also be taken into account.

This only becomes more pertinent as terror attacks become increasingly regular and ensuring the safety of employees and mitigating risks on business trips thus becomes more crucial.

Said Saillet: “If you ever booked a flight on one of the numerous websites, you have probably experienced at least one, if not all, of these frustrations – finding a suitable flight time at a reasonable price, volatile prices that changes from minute to minute, hidden costs that are revealed just before you key in your credit card details.

“More often than not, travellers settle for the cheapest price at the expense of their own comfort or spend way more than intended due to time constraints in seeking out a more budget-friendly price.

“While leisure travellers may have the leeway to afford some level of inconvenience, for businesses, it means the loss of precious productivity hours that could potentially impact business outcomes,” he advices.

He adds that there is a loss in productivity as well if an employee is spending time going through a multitude of websites in order to book a trip. Other considerations such as expense billing processes also eat away at resources otherwise better spent.

“SMEs with just a handful of business travellers often find it challenging to efficiently integrate travel management with their existing business functions, as many are working with a lean team of employees that already juggling multiple roles,” said Saillet.

“This is where a travel partner can significantly ease this additional burden without any added cost. Furthermore, there is the added value of round-the-clock service and helplines should any unforeseen circumstances occur during a trip.”

In terms of duty-of-care, offering travel insurance for employees is only the beginning, especially when travelling to high-risk destinations, he adds.

Assessing risks, providing full discretion and educating staff are some of the key challenges in offering a firmer safety net for employees.

“The initial process of developing a travel risk management policy could be a tedious one, but once it has been established, SMEs, or any organisation in fact, will definitely reap the long term benefit of protection for both the company and its employees,” opined Saillet.

STARTING today, all Malaysia Airlines passengers on economy class will have to print their own baggage tags at check-in kiosks located around the departure level of Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

This applies to all domestic and international flights operated by the airline, except services to Dhaka and Kathmandu, where guests still need to check-in at dedicated counters on row A17 and A18.

Passengers also have to self-tag their bags before proceeding to the baggage drop counter.

According to a Malaysia Airlines statement, the aim is to simplify and reduce the time needed for checking-in, and to give customers more control over their travel experience. The airline is also set to introduce self-baggage drop in 4Q2016.

With the new system, the check-in process from kiosks to baggage drop counters is expected to be significantly shorter. Passengers who check-in via web and mobile will also need to print their baggage tags at any of the 50 kiosks available before proceeding to the baggage drop counter.

There will be instructions on the tag and standees nearby to educate passengers on the process. A maximum of two printed luggage tags per passenger is allowed at the kiosk.

Malaysia Airlines’ economy class passengers are allowed to check-in a maximum of two pieces of baggage weighing 30kg in total.