KOREAN Air and Etihad Airways have inked a pact that will see the two carriers codeshare on the latter’s Seoul (Incheon)-Abu Dhabi route, the first of more codeshare flights to come.

Should regulatory authorities from both countries approve, codesharing will begin on July 22 for the Etihad-operated flights on the route.

Under the agreement, Korean Air passengers will benefit from lounge access, priority check-in and excess allowances for top-tier programme members, valid on all Etihad flights. They will also be able to earn and redeem frequent flyer points.

Korean Air currently operates five-times-weekly flights between Seoul (Incheon) and Dubai, as well as thrice-weekly flights linking Seoul and Riyadh/Jeddah.

US CHAIN SLS Hotels has revealed that it will be making inroads into the massive Chinese market, beginning with the opening of a property in Shanghai next year.

According to a statement on parent company sbe’s website, the first SLS Hotel will debut in Palm Beach, Shanghai, to offer guests “an all-encompassing oceanfront resort experience”. Besides a full-service spa and fitness centre, there will also be a residential component.

More hotels are also under development in Beijing, Kunming and Wuxi, in collaboration with partner Palace Hospitality. The hotels are slated for 2015 openings.

“China is home to one of the fastest-growing tourism markets worldwide, and Shanghai, Beijing, Wuxi and Kunming attract a global community of business and leisure travellers whose sensibilities align very well with the SLS Hotels experience,” said Sam Nazarian , founder, chairman and CEO, sbe.

“After growing the brand successfully across the US, we’re honoured to share the SLS Hotels approach to hospitality with China, which is rooted in a humble commitment to uncompromising service, innovative design and captivating food and beverage offerings.”

INTI Universal Holdings and the Malaysian Association of Hotels Training and Education Centre (MAHTEC) signed an MoU yesterday, which will see MAHTEC give INTI’s hospitality graduates industry certification.

Effective immediately, the MAHTEC certificate is an additional award INTI students will receive upon graduation.

As an award given by the industry, the certificate is set to strengthen graduate employability, said Rohit Sharma, INTI’s chief operating officer.

He added: “This agreement with MAHTEC is the first step of many that we will take to elevate the standards of INTI’s hospitality programmes and raise the bar for hospitality education, training and development. It will lead to a greatly enhanced learning experience for students and (equip them with) work skills that will prepare them for a career with the best hospitality establishments in Malaysia and abroad.”

Students of hotel management or culinary arts will receive the MAHTEC certificate in addition to their diplomas upon graduation. INTI’s Diploma in Hotel Management programme is affiliated with Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, while its Diploma in Culinary Arts course is affiliated with Kendall College.

Reginald T Pereira, director, MAHTEC, added that MAHTEC would also use INTI campuses in Sabah and Penang to offer short hospitality-related programmes for professionals in the industry.

IATA has come out to make its position known regarding the dispute over length of credit cycles in Sri Lanka (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 9, 2013), pointing out that IATA “does not determine the remittance frequency”.

The payment scheme in question, IATA’s Billing and Settlement Plan, provides a standardised interface between travel consultants and airlines and removes the need for travel consultants to provide individual bank guarantees for each airline they sell for.

According to an email to TTG Asia e-Daily from Albert Tjoeng, assistant director of corporate communications, Asia-Pacific, IATA, changes to the BSP agency programme operated around the world has to be proposed by the local Agency Program Joint Council (APJC) and approved by the Passenger Agency Conference (PAConf).

APJC comprises an equal number of representatives from both airlines and consultants, and is authorised to consider all aspects of the agency programme and make recommendations to PAConf.

IATA, as secretary to PAConf, “does not determine the remittance frequency”.

However, Tjoeng observed that moving to a seven-day credit cycle would reduce the financial burden of travel consultants as a result of lower financial guarantee requirement from more frequent remittances.

Sri Lankan consultants benefit from a bank guarantee that is 23 per cent lower, while the figure is 28 per cent for small consultants.

Furthermore, the seven-day cycle would bring Sri Lanka in line with best practices in neighboring BSPs, such as Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, countries already on a weekly or more frequent remittance cycle.

Tjoeng also highlighted that the enforcement of the seven-day cycle had already been postponed thrice: to January 1, 2010, January 1, 2012 and July 1, 2013.

The secretary of Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Civil Aviation met with industry representatives on July 10, and agreed to proceed with the implementation of the weekly settlement for BSP Sri Lanka from July 1.

Sri Lanka’s APJC is also to submit a new proposal to PAConf in October 2013 for consideration.

TRAVEL consultants who sell adventure travel products may now join an association with their like-minded global counterparts, via a new membership programme unveiled by the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA).

The programme is meant to attract such travel consultants and strengthen the global adventure tourism network.

ATTA president, Shannon Stowell, said: “For years, we’ve looked to support and reach out to travel (consultants) specialising in adventure travel.

“Now, with our dedicated membership programme, we plan to more readily integrate these travel (consultants) into the adventure tourism supply chain, to offer specialised training and to connect them with partners that will bring more adventure travel offerings to consumers.

“Travel (consultants) have the power to influence buying behaviour with their traveller relationships and this is precisely what we wish to cultivate within our network.”

Annual, fee-based membership to ATTA costs US$150 per consultant and requires an accreditation number from organisations such as IATA, CLIA, among others.

Member benefits include invitations to events and fam trips, including ATTA’s upcoming Adventure Travel Mexico event; webinars on destinations, marketing, PR and adventure travel offerings; travel consultant page listing and traveller inquiry form on adventure.travel, a consumer-facing adventure portal; and opportunities to become destinations specialists and partner with destinations on co-marketing projects, etc.

Consultants will have to fill up an application form found on the association’s website, www.adventuretravel.biz, to apply.

INTERCONTINENTAL Hotels Group (IHG) has opened Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road, the first of two Holiday Inn Express hotels planned for the city-state.

The 221-room hotel marks the entry of the brand into the Singapore hospitality sector.

Located within walking distance of shopping malls, the hotel also boasts easy access to Somerset and Orchard MRT stations.

Guests can enjoy free Wi-Fi access within hotel premises, an express breakfast bar or grab-and-go breakfasts, and make use of the hotel’s self-service business centre and laundry room.

Holiday Inn Express Singapore Orchard Road is the third Holiday Inn Express hotel in South-east Asia, after Holiday Inn Express Phuket Patong Beach Central and Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Siam.

Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay is slated to come on stream in 1Q2014.

Clarence Tan, COO South-east Asia and Resorts, IHG, said: “Globally, Holiday Inn Express is one of the largest and fastest-growing brands in the industry and, in South-east Asia, the brand has a particularly bright future ahead.

“We are confident that Holiday Inn Express will do well in Singapore, whether guests are here for a quick stopover or longer trip, for business or for leisure.”

To celebrate its opening, the hotel has rolled out a special rate of S$198 (US$157) for stays until November 30.

JET Airways will launch a second daily flight on its Chennai-Singapore route beginning August 1, with the daytime flight allowing seamless onward travel to destinations in Australia and New Zealand.

The new flight, operated with a Boeing 737-800 aircraft, will depart Chennai at noon and arrive in Singapore at 18.50.

The existing Chennai-Singapore service is a night flight.

Jet Airways currently runs two daily flights from New Delhi to the city-state, and one each from Mumbai and Chennai.

Sudher Raghavan, chief commercial officer, Jet Airways, said the new flight came in response to “increased demand due to tourist and business traffic”.

“With the introduction of this additional service, we aim to popularise (our service) among guests wanting seamless connectivity to Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Vietnam via Singapore, with our codeshare partners. The new flight would also help in connecting our guests flying into Chennai from other cities in South India.”

C Nagendra Prasad, chairman, Chennai-based Travelexpress, commented: “The additional flight will benefit inbound business travellers and tourists as they will be offered more flexibility in connections from Singapore, to and from destinations in their country.

“This flight will also increase tourism traffic in south India, and the flight’s morning arrival timing to Chennai will allow easy transfers to many tourist destinations.”

Other carriers plying the route are Air India, Tigerair, IndiGo, Singapore Airlines and SilkAir.

AIRASIA will begin running its Medan operations out of Kualanamu International Airport on July 25, having completed its system migration.

The LCC is currently based in Polonia International Airport.

With system migration completed, guests travelling from and to Medan from July 25 will receive an updated flight itinerary with the new airport code for Kualanamu International Airport (KNO), replacing Polonia’s MES code.

Passengers already checked in for flights to and from Medan for the flight period July 25 onwards will need to check in again up to one hour before departure time.

For more information, passengers may refer to AirAsia’s website www.airasia.com.