AIRPORTS in the area surrounding Sangeang Island have shut and airlines are being forced to suspend operations after Mt Seangeang’s eruption last Friday that sent smoke and ash shooting up to 13km in the air.

Sangeang Island is approximately 50km from Bima, Sumbawa Island. There have been no reports or casualties from the eruption, but a shower of ashes descended early Saturday morning and was blown over to cities including Bima and Labuan Bajo on Flores Island, as well as Komodo National Park.

Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo, Sultan Muhammad Salahuddin Airport in Bima, and Tambolaka Airport are temporarily closed, and domestic flights in and out of the area covering Sangeang, Flores and Sumba have been cancelled.

Garuda Indonesia announced last night that all flights serving Bima, Tambolaka, Labuan Bajo, Kupang and Ende from Bali and Lombok have been suspended until further notice.

Destination Asia Indonesia reported most tours into Komodo Island are now on hold but are expected to resume soon.

International flights between Darwin and Indonesia have also been suspended, but the latest reports indicate that domestic flights in north-west Australia and international services to and from Darwin will be restored as the ash plume disperses.

All other major destinations in Indonesia such as Lombok and Bali, and any other islands further west, are not affected by the ash.

MASTERCARD is equipping online merchants with the tools to offer a more seamless digital payment process for customers with the Singapore launch of the MasterPass this morning.

MasterPass is a digital wallet that saves consumers the hassle of entering detailed card information when shopping online by storing MasterCard and other branded credit, debit and prepaid card information that is then available on all MasterPass merchant sites.

Travel websites that already allow this include Zuji, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Singapore Airlines KrisShop Online.

Chan Tze Yuan, head of commercial, Zuji, said: “We want to ensure our customers have a positive and seamless experience on our site.”

According to Chan, Zuji handles thousands of transactions in a day, and this new MasterPass will bring a “value-add” to the overall user experience.

“After all that browsing on our website, the last thing we want our customers to have is another roadblock when they have to enter their credit card details because it means physically retrieving the card,” he elaborated.

Foo Chai Woo, divisional vice president sales and marketing, SIA said: “In the ambit of e-commerce today, consumers want a faster and simpler payment process.

“MasterPass makes payment a breeze for regular online shoppers and our customers will enjoy an even better check-out experience.”

MasterPass was first launched in February 2013 and is currently available in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy and China.

Julienne Loh, general manager, MasterCard Singapore, said that MasterPass will evolve to support the use of emerging technologies – NFC, QR codes and tags – for in-store purchases, based on the shopping experiences a merchant wants to make available to its customers.

Consumers shopping at MasterPass merchants in future will also have access to additional value-added services including real-time alerts, account balances, purchase history and loyalty programmes.

Online sellers interested in offering such a feature on their websites can approach MasterCard. Users can sign up for a MasterPass account online for free at the MasterPass website.

FASHIONTV is making an entrance into the world of hospitality as it debuts the world’s first Love Fashion Hotel in Bali this year.

Love Fashion Hotel is located at Legian, only 6km away from the Bali international airport. Designed by Jordy & Marque to bring a dose of the fashion industry’s glamour to the hotel experience, guests enter the lobby through a catwalk-style runway.

The hotel also offers two themed restaurants including Black Diamond that serves international cuisines and White Diamond for Italian fare, the Love f Bar, glamour Jacuzzi Bar and a Sunset Deck for its eponymous view. The Love f Store also offers luxury threads for purchase.

Love Fashion Hotel is marking its opening with a soft-opening rate valid until December 24.

Priced from Rp1.1 million (US$94), the price includes return airport transfer, breakfast and free Love f Bar’s tickets for drinks for two, daily stocked mini bar and a 20 per cent discount on all F&B outlets.

SILVERNEEDLE Hospitality’s new upscale hotel brand Sage Hotel, which targets the small business owner or entrepreneur looking for value rather than low prices, will open its first hotel in 2015.

The company has announced that it will open its first Sage Hotel in Brisbane in a heritage building known as TCB that is currently being refurbished.

Iqbal Jumabhoy, managing director and group CEO, SilverNeedle Hospitality, said in a press release: “At SilverNeedle Hospitality, we recognise there is an important group of business travellers who desire a stable and uncomplicated life as they conduct their business in unfamiliar cities.

“Not only is the Sage Hotel designed to fulfill the needs of this group, it also complements our suite of offerings that includes six other brands. Our intention is to develop the Sage Hotel brand throughout Asia-Pacific in the upscale segment.”

Sage Hotels will be located in or on the fringes of central business districts near primary transportation hubs in Asia’s primary and secondary urban cities, while its resort hotels will open in traditional resort locations.

Likewise, the 111-room Sage Hotel Fortitude Valley Brisbane will open north-east of Brisbane’s central business district within the TCB heritage building that dates back to 1902.

The three-storey building houses 22 tenants, including eateries, boutiques and offices.

Guests at Sage Hotel will have access to free Wi-Fi and local calls, while mini bar items will be priced 30 per cent above local convenience store rates and laundry services, 20 per cent higher.

Currently being refurbished, Sage Hotel Fortitude Valley is expected to open in late 2015.

NATIONAL flag carrier Air New Zealand is set to buy 14 medium-range Airbus planes and take delivery of most of them between 2017 and 2019.

According to news agency AFP, the carrier announced yesterday that it has confirmed an order with Airbus for three Airbus A321neos, 10 A320neos and one A320.

The A320 will be delivered early next year.

The airline’s chief Christopher Luxon was said to have confirmed this at a conference in Doha, saying that Air New Zealand aims to have a medium-range fleet made up only of Airbus planes.

WITH its outbound group travel business from China rising 14 per cent last year, Kuoni Group Travel Experts (GTE) has strengthened its China network by opening an office in Chengdu.

Kuoni GTE’s China network is centralised in Hong Kong, with local representatives in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shanghai and, since last Friday, Chengdu.

Chengdu is the fourth most populous city in the mainland, home to some 14 million people and the production facilities and offices of multinational corporations.

Passenger traffic through Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport exceeded 31.6 million in 2012 with plans in place to increase that number to 40 million by 2015.

Said David Painter, CEO of Kuoni GTE based in London, in an email interview with TTG Asia e-Daily: “Although many travellers come from Beijing and Shanghai, second-tier cities – 160 of them with populations of one million or more – are increasingly the focus for international investment which is helping to increase disposable income and drive the growth of a wealthier middle class.”

He added: “Having people throughout mainland China helps us to build local relationships, serving potential clients more efficiently by directing them to our Hong Kong and worldwide offices which can provide quality group travel options. Chengdu follows a similar investment in southern China with consultants based out of Guangzhou since 2012.”

Heading the Chengdu office is Joanna Ma, who reports to Tom Shi in Beijing. Ma oversees Kuoni GTE representatives of mid-west market in Chengdu and ensures their close collaboration with the Hong Kong office.

JACTRAVEL has doubled the manpower for its Hong Kong team to tap the strong growth across Asian markets, where sales have increased more than 200 per cent in the past year.

It has appointed Shelley Ki as regional head of sales, Asia. Ki brings to JacTravel experience in some of the most respected companies in travel technology and online travel.

Ryan Kwok, the team’s new sales account development manager, Asia, has five years’ experience in the travel industry.

Sally Yiu, JacTravel Hong Kong’s contracts manager, comes from the hotel industry where she was responsible for selling accommodation.

OAKWOOD Worldwide has appointed Dean Schreiber as managing director for Asia-Pacific. He will be based in Singapore.

In his new role, Schreiber will establish and execute the strategic direction for the business unit and oversee the growth of the brand throughout the region.

He has close to 30 years of international experience in the hospitality industry, including assignments in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions as well as experience in property development, new property openings, general management and hotel operations for five-star and luxury brands.

Schreiber was previously senior vice president of operations for Pan Pacific Hotels Group.

ENDING months of speculations, AirAsia Goup CEO Tony Fernandes has confirmed that AirAsia India will take off this June.

Fernandes announced in a Tweet yesterday: “Very very proud to announce AirAsia India open for sale tomorrow. Wow. First flight June 12th. See you all In India on the 12th.”

The Times of India reported that the airline would begin operations with two daily flights on the Chennai-Bengaluru-Chennai route and a daily flight on Bengaluru-Goa- Bengaluru sector.

“Considering that 50 per cent of the domestic air travel market in India is between Delhi and Mumbai, through our South India operations we will strive for equal distribution of air traffic,” Fernandes had said once.

The LCC, a joint venture between Malaysia’s AirAsia Group, Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace, received its air operating licence early this month and is expected to offer fares between 30 and 35 per cent lower than its rivals’.

“AirAsia is entering a market where most of the airlines are facing heavy losses. It will be interesting to see how they manage profitability,” said Ankush Nijhawan, managing director, Nijhawan Group of Companies.