SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) will run twice-weekly services between Singapore and Athens from June to October 2014 with Boeing 777-200ERs to meet expected demand during the peak summer travel season.

On Mondays and Thursdays, flights depart Singapore at 02.05 to arrive in Athens at 08.30, while return flights leave Athens at 13.00 to touch down in Singapore at 04.55 the next day.

SIA suspended regular services to Athens in October 2012, citing “a prolonged period of challenging operating conditions”.

TRAVEL search site Skyscanner is now seeking to expand its footprint in Asia-Pacific, having established itself as a leading player in the region’s online travel landscape over the last few years.

Speaking during a press conference in Bangkok to mark the official launch of Skyscanner in Thailand – the Thai-language website first went live in 2011 – Skyscanner’s general manager for Asia-Pacific, Andy Sleigh, said Skyscanner now holds a 20 per cent share of global traffic, up from seven per cent last year, and aims for 30 per cent by 2014.

“Australia and New Zealand are the strongest among the Asia-Pacific markets, but South-east Asia is quickly coming up,” said Sleigh. “We’re growing 400 per cent year-on-year in Asia. And with online penetration at only 30 per cent, more people will travel.”

Skyscanner has outlined plans to double the head count at its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore in the coming months, while Thailand is set to play a significant role in its regional development.

Sleigh remarked: “Thailand is a very attractive market, with a relatively young population, large number of FITs and smartphone penetration…There are opportunities to tap outbound demand from Thailand. We have built partnerships in Thailand to tap inbound tourists too, especially from China.”

Skyscanner will consolidate its position in Thailand by ramping up its marketing efforts and establishing alliances with companies such as CheapTickets.sg and Bangkok Airways, said market development manager for Thailand, Grace Pobpabha Areerat.

The Edinburgh-based company launched its regional headquarters in Singapore in 2011, an office in Beijing last year, a new Miami operation earlier this month and has a Barcelona office in the pipeline (TTG Asia e-Daily, September 9, 2013).

When asked if Skyscanner is looking at breaking into new markets in the region, Sleigh replied: “There are no markets in South-east Asia we’re not looking at, especially Cambodia and Myanmar. However, there needs to be sufficient online penetration (in a market) in order to be competitive.”

AIMING to boost off-season traffic and promote the Himalayas mountain range, India’s Ministry of Tourism launched the 777 Days of Incredible Indian Himalayas campaign on World Tourism Day last week.

Focusing on the six Himalayan states – Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh – the campaign aims to position India as a 365-day destination by attracting foreigners during the lean summer season.

The ministry collaborated with the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) to design 777 days’ worth of special adventure programmes that began on September 27, including a Himalayan run, river rafting, trekking and cycling events.

“The campaign has been designed to spread awareness around the globe that 73 per cent of the Himalayan range lies in India. The Indian Himalayas are a complete destination that offers adventure, bio-diversity hot spots, beautiful lakes, wellness, and much more for travellers,” said K Chiranjeevi, minister of tourism.

Ashwani Kakkar, chairman of Mercury Travels, said the campaign would shine light on the fact that the Himalayas contains one of the biggest bio-diversity hotspots in the world.

Besides the campaign, two promotional films, a book on travelling safe within the Himalayas, a calendar of events and a website for the campaign were unveiled by the ministry.

Ministry of Tourism’s secretary, Parvez Dewan, explained: “We held discussions with the travel trade, especially adventure tour operators, and we believe that if during summers we promote (travel to the) Himalayas, the off season can be solved to a great extent.”

He added that the campaign would also benefit states with airports serving Himalayan routes.

“Normally, inbound tourism (peaks) between October and March. We are looking for initiatives to ensure tourist arrivals in the summer season too. This campaign will go a long way in solving off-season woes and promoting the Himalayas as a tourism destination,” said Subhash Goyal, president, Indian Association of Tour Operators.

SOUTH Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation broke ground for Incheon International Airport’s second passenger terminal last week, which is expected to be finished ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

The additional terminal will increase airport capacity from 44 million passengers annually to 62 million. It is one of the main facilities comprising the airport’s third phase of construction, which also includes the building of a second transportation centre.

The third phase will create some 93,000 new jobs and generate 17 trillion won (US$15.8 billion) for the country’s economy after it is completed by end-2017, according to South Korean prime minister Hong-won Chung.

Passenger traffic has been on the rise at over six per cent since Incheon’s opening in 2001, with the airport predicted to be running at full capacity by 2017. It also added a third runway and a concourse in June 2008.

FAIRMONT Hotels & Resorts will open the Fairmont Hangzhou in 2017, after parent company FRHI Hotels & Resorts signed a deal with Hengli Management, a subsidiary of Zhong An Real Estate.

The new hotel will occupy the top floors of the city’s tallest building in the heart of Qianjiang Century central business district, and include 180 Fairmont Serviced Residences.

Fairmont Hangzhou will boast 300 rooms, five diverse dining outlets, a health club and swimming pool, Willow Stream Spa, and more than 3,000m² of meeting and banquet space.

Jennifer Fox, president, FRHI International and Fairmont brand, said: “We continue to expand our footprint in China and are excited to be adding a hotel in a major domestic market like Hangzhou…With rail and airport expansion projects underway, and visitor numbers expected to rise, it’s an opportune time to be entering the market.”

PLAZA Premium Lounge Management will celebrate 15 years of running airport lounges, transit hotels and other services by undertaking an aggressive expansion plan that includes entry into the Australian and European markets.

Song Hoi-See, founder and CEO of Plaza Premium Lounge Management, said: “By 2015, we will add 50 new locations in existing and new airports around the world. We will look to expand in mainland China, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.”

The company will launch a new flagship lounge in Hong Kong International Airport, to be the biggest and largest pay-in lounge in the region. It will open lounges in Sydney’s airport and London’s Heathrow airport, heralding Plaza Premium’s entry into the Australian and European markets respectively.

New lounges have also been planned for Macau and Kuala Lumpur at KLIA2.

In India, Mumbai will get one pay-in lounge, Bengaluru International Airport will see two new pay-in lounges and the lounge at New Delhi’s airport’s Terminal 3 will be upgraded. The city’s first-ever transit hotel will come up in Bengaluru, while a major expansion is on the cards for the transit hotel at Hyderabad.

This year, Plaza Premium has already added lounges at the airports of Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Penang in Malaysia, as well as Edmonton in Canada. The lounge at Toronto Pearson International Airport has undergone major expansion and the world’s first airport organic spa, Wellness Spa, was opened in Singapore Changi Airport.

To further mark the company’s 15^th anniversary, Plaza Premium Lounge Management has also unveiled a new logo.

BOOMING intra-Asia travel has propped up the development of Thai airline Jet Asia Airways, which plans to roll out fully scheduled flights by next year.

The Bangkok-based carrier is increasingly moving away from a traditional model reliant on charter flights towards scheduled services, according to Pablo Saba, development manager of Jet Asia Airways, adding that Jet aims to launch fully scheduled flights by next year.

With a fleet of five wide-body Boeing 767 aircraft and a sixth one on the way, the airline currently operates scheduled charters from Bangkok and Phuket to China, South Korea and Japan, including Beijing, Tianjin, Chongqing, Nanjing, Shenyang, Changsha, Tokyo and Seoul – cities that lie within a flight distance of between five and eight hours from the Thai capital.

Meanwhile, Japan’s recent visa liberalisation policy for Thai nationals has made Japan “more feasible for route development”, said Saba.

“We’ve been focusing on inbound passengers to Thailand, but we’re now keen to explore the outbound market as Thai market demand to Japan is strong,” he added.

Also in the delivery pipeline is a narrow-body B757 aircraft – likely within the next eight months – that will pave the way for Jet Asia Airways to introduce destinations within a three-hour radius in South China, South-east Asia and India, Saba shared.

At the same time, the airline has plans to enter Russia and the Middle East within the next year.

Established in 2009, Jet Asia Airways operates out of Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

AIRCRAFT maker Airbus has secured more than US$15 billion in orders from Asia-based airlines in a single day, adding to the 942 firm orders the company has already received within the first eight months of the year.

According to Bloomberg, Vietnamese carrier VietJetAir on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus for up to 92 Airbus A320 aircraft. This includes 42 re-engined A320neos, 14 current-model A320s, six A321s and another 30 purchase rights.

Two fledging airlines from China has also placed orders for new planes. Newly established private carrier Qingdao Airlines has stated its intention to buy 23 A320s, a mix of five current models and 18 re-engined A320neos, worth US$2.3 billion in total based on Airbus list prices.

Meanwhile, Zhejiang Loong Airlines hopes to acquire 11 A320s and nine A320neos at US$1.9 billion.

Bank of China-owned BOC Aviation ordered 13 A320s and 12 re-engined A320neo narrow bodies, including a number of larger A321s, with total purchase valued at US$2.6 billion, said the same Bloomberg report.