GARUDA Indonesia has launched new domestic and international routes to expand its network and meet growing market needs.

The new daily domestic services which commenced on May 1 were Medan-Surabaya, Palembang-Denpasar, Makassar-Jogjakarta, Surabaya-Ambon and Denpasar-Banyuwangi-Surabaya.

These routes are operated with CRJ-1000 NextGen aircraft with 96 seats in two classes, except for the Denpasar-Banyuwangi-Surabaya service which uses ATR72-600 with 70 seats, single class.

Erik Meijer, executive vice president marketing and sales, said: “With the expansion of the Indonesia domestic network, Garuda continues to support the connectivity between regions in the country to grow the economy, businesses and tourism in these destinations connected.”

An international route linking Makassar-Medan-Jeddah three times a week also commenced on May 1. Garuda has deployed a Boeing 747-400 with a capacity of 457 passengers in two classes for the service, which is meant to cater for umrah pilgrimage travellers from Makassar and Medan areas.

With this new service, travellers from Makassar and Medan do not need to transit in Jakarta, making their trip to Jeddah more convenient, said Meijer.

In the mean time, the airline will upgrade the current Jakarta-Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam to a direct service as of May 30, making the Dutch capital its hub for Europe and beyond (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 19, 2014).

Garuda will therefore be able to connect Indonesia and Europe within a total flying time of 15 hours.

The carrier will continue to serve the Jakarta-Abu Dhabi leg, a codeshare with Etihad Airways.

BRUNEI flag carrier Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) has placed a firm order with Airbus for seven aircraft plus three options as it embarks on the latest phase of its fleet modernisation programme.

The carrier has signed for seven Airbus A320neo aircraft and three options, to be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines and to feature a two-class premium layout.

When delivered, the aircraft will be deployed from capital Bandar Seri Begawan on the carrier’s Asian network.

Dermot Mannion, deputy chairman of RBA, said: “RBA has successfully operated the A320 family of aircraft since 2003. We are confident this latest Neo version will bring even greater levels of efficiency, with 15 per cent less fuel and a significantly reduced impact on the environment. At the same time, the new aircraft will offer unmatched levels of in-flight comfort, longer flying range and significant underfloor cargo capability.”

RBA last month announced that it will resume flights to Bali from July 26 with four weekly departures (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 25, 2014).

LUXURY resort developer FPD Asia has unveiled plans to develop its next resort property One Eleven Lombok on 50ha of beachfront land on Ekas Bay, Lombok.

FPD Asia partner, Michal Tyles, commented: “FPD Asia believes that now is the time to enter Lombok and support the government of Indonesia in promoting new destinations throughout the archipelago of Indonesia. ”

The property will be developed in two phases. The first consists of the construction of 21 villas, main resort facilities, a retreat offering yoga and spa treatments, and several restaurants introducing farm-to-table produce from the resort’s own farm.

One Eleven Lombok will be officially launched at the end of the first phase, which is expected to take 18 months to complete. The second phase will see the remaining 40 villas built.

Occupying 30ha, the resort’s private villas range in size and configuration from one to five bedrooms each, and will come with a private swimming pool.

FPD Asia has appointed renowned Indonesia-based architect and designers Andra Martin and d-associates led by Geogorious Supie, for the project.

David Beevers, head of hotels & hospitality of FPD Asia, said: “Since the opening of our One Eleven Resort in Bali, we have been delighted with the response we have received from our guests, the growing number of new guests and most importantly, repeat guests. This has confirmed to us that we have our philosophy right and the expansion of the One Eleven brand is justified.”

“One Eleven Lombok is much larger than our property in Bali but we will ensure the same design and service philosophy is carried to Lombok where the promise of privacy and personalised service is assured,” he commented.

ROOMNIGHT sales in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions are registering strong growth of 51 per cent, with Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai capturing the title of best-selling destinations.

As a destination market, roomnight sales in the two regions combined notched triple-digit growth in destinations such as the Philippines and Japan last year. As a source market, outbound growth posted 44 per cent in 2013.

To further this growth, Hotelbeds has increased the number of B2B companies it partners in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific by 80 per cent, and has launched new local websites in Thai, Japanese, Chinese and Bahasa Indonesia.

It expects to open a new call centre in the Philippines later in 2014.

Pablo Aycart, regional managing director Middle East and Asia-Pacific, Hotelbeds, commented: “The Middle East and Asia-Pacific is our largest geographical region and was one of our fastest growing markets in 2013, with Thailand as the best-selling destination and Malaysia as one of the fastest growing countries delivering 74 per cent growth last year.

“We are pleased to announce that we are rapidly expanding with growth rates of over 40 per cent predicted for the next two years, replicating the success we have had to date in the region. Without doubt, the tourism infrastructure improvements made in the region during the last years have been key accelerators for this growth.”

SINGAPORE’S Sentosa Island has shed light on the upcoming feature to replace its popularSongs of the Sea night show that ended its seven-year run yesterday (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 11, 2014).

The curtains will be raised on Sentosa’s new multimedia night show, Wings of Time, on June 17 at the same outdoor theatre against a new 10m tall backdrop.

Produced by events company ECA2, the show promises an array of multimedia effects including new robotic fountains, 3D video mapping and enhanced pyrotechnic effects, coupled with a live cast and audience engagement.

Extensive renovations are slated for the current stage area and equipment in order to meet the technical demands of staging Wings of Time. New equipment to be installed include robotic moving water jets with LED lights and coloured lasers, while existing infrastructure will be upgraded.

Wings of Time will be performed daily with shows at 19.40 and 20.40 everyday, each with a running time of 25 minutes at Siloso Beach.

Premium seats are available at S$23 (US$18) per person, while standard seats are at S$18 and S$15 for local residents. Advance tickets are available from May 12 onwards at store.sentosa.com.sg.

AIRASIA will launch Kuala Lumpur-Cebu services from July 24 this year, its third Philippine destination after Manila and Kalibo.

The thrice-weekly flights will run on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Flights depart Kuala Lumpur at 10.40 to arrive in Cebu at 14.40, while return flights leave Cebu at 15.05 and touch down at 18.55.

Previously operated by sister airline AirAsia Zest, the route will now be operated by AirAsia.

In conjunction with the relaunch of the service, the airline is offering promotional seats with one-way base fares of RM0 starting today.

Book by May 11 to travel between July 24, 2014 and April 30, 2015.

Spencer Lee, head of commercial of AirAsia, said: “We have created new markets for various destinations that we serve, and Cebu will be no different as it is the gateway to many adventure activities and enables visitors to delve into the history and culture of Philippines.”