RAIL tours in Europe are becoming popular with Singaporean travellers, according to Singapore-based Deks Air Travel & Tours, GSA for DB Bahn, Germany’s national railway company.

Speaking at a networking session co-organised on October 28 with key German trade partners – German National Tourist Board, airBerlin, visitBerlin and DB Bahn – for the local media and trade, Deks Air travel & Tours director, Vivien Ou Yong, told TTG e-Daily: “We are seeing an expanding outbound Singapore market for rail tours in Germany and other parts of Europe.

“FITs, including business travellers, constitute about 60 per cent of our business, while small family and school groups constitute about 20 per cent.”

Ou Yong said Munich, Berlin, Dresden and other destinations near Berlin have been popular with Singaporeans.

“Tech-savvy and well-informed Singapore travellers mostly purchase the rail passes from us; unlike their Taiwanese counterparts who consult us for packages and itinerary suggestions, they prefer to plan their own itineraries and make their own bookings for accommodation and such,” added Ou Yong. The company is also the GSA for DB Bahn in Taiwan and most recently, Hong Kong, promoting three- to 10-day passes.

Irina Ens, head of area management non- and Eastern European markets international sales for DB Bahn, told TTG e-Daily: “We are encouraged by the huge growth of our Singapore business – as much as 50 per cent – in the last two years, so we are here to meet with the local press and potential new DB agents to heighten awareness of our offerings.”

Ens’ team, together with its German trade partners, had also held a networking session in Kuala Lumpur last week. Their next stop is Manila.

Ens revealed that recently launched was also a print-at-home ticket service for its German Rail Pass, accessible via parent company’s Deutsche Bahn international website, allowing non-European travellers to save on time and shipping cost.

Additionally, she said Deutsche Bahn is about to ink an agreement with the Eurail Group, appointing the company as the GSA of the Eurail Pass, which is expected to be bookable by DB agents from early 2015.

HOLLYWOOD celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow lent star power earlier this week to the launch of British Airways’ thrice-weekly Airbus A380 service from Heathrow to Singapore, which is now the fifth destination to be served by the world’s largest passenger aircraft after Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Los Angeles and Washington.

The London-Singapore turnaround service is also being served four times weekly with B747-400.

But Jamie Cassidy, British Airways’ area general manager Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, said: “We hear calls from travel agencies to offer a homogenous product throughout the week for their higher-yield corporate clients and will eventually operate the A380 on a daily basis.”

The four-class A380 is configured with 14 First Class seats on the main deck, 97 Club World business class seats, 55 seats in the World Traveller Plus cabin on the upper deck and 303 World Traveller seats.

In the Club World cabin, 45 of the 97 seats are backward-facing, an arrangement made for easy conversation. Seats in the First and Club World cabins double as fully flat beds too.

British Airways continues to offer First Class service on all flights to the Asia-Pacific region except for Bangkok, Chengdu, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Appraising the airline’s network, Cassidy noted that the imbalance between services across the North Atlantic and the Asia-Pacific has been recognised. In four years, four new destinations will be added (Tokyo Haneda, Chengdu, Seoul and Kuala Lumpur) compared to only one to North America (Austin).

In 2015, the B787-8 Dreamliner will be deployed on a daily basis to Seoul by March 29, while daily services using the B777-200ER will be launched to Kuala Lumpur starting May 27.

India is currently British Airways’ second-largest longhaul market after North America, with five Indian cities (New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad) being served. In China, British Airways operates to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Hong Kong.

In serving Asia-Pacific and the Kangaroo Route to Australia, British Airways faces growing competition from at least 26 airlines.

However, Cassidy said the airline would resist the trend to establish hybrid or low-cost carriers for longhaul operation. “No one seems to be able to make the longhaul low-cost or lighter service work,” he noted, explaining that the inability to increase aircraft utilisation and the same high costs of airplane, crew and fuel were key factors.

STARWOOD Hotels has added Sheraton Phuket Kalim Beach Resort to its list of properties in Thailand, scheduled for opening in early 2018.

The 230-key resort comprising private villas and guestrooms sits upon a gentle hill and is a 45-minute drive from Phuket International Airport and a 20-minute walk from entertainment outlets.

Upon completion, the resort will have 317m2 of meeting and function space, with amenities including the brand’s signature Sheraton Sweet Sleeper Bed and the Shine Spa for Sheraton.

Three dining options are available, along with two salt water swimming pools and a gym.