INDIA’S Ministry of Civil Aviation has given the green light for Indian carriers to unbundle certain services and charge separate fees for each of them, including check-in baggage, seat preference, selection of meals and beverages, and carriage of sports equipment.

The government rolled out the new guidelines on the assumption that the basic fares will be kept low for price-conscious clientele, while enabling airlines to develop more sustainable operations in an increasingly competitive aviation environment.

To ensure transparency of charges, the ministry’s acquiescence also comes with a corollary that carriers will have to fix and announce their charges in advance.

Sanjay Maniar, director of Kolkata-based Travelaid, said: “With the abnormally high cost of aviation turbine fuel in India and state taxes ranging from five to 30 per cent, the ability to find alternate sources of revenue is paramount for the survival of the Indian carriers.”

Welcoming the move, IndiGo president, Aditya Ghosh, said in a media release that “this step will align India with global practices in the airline industry.”

However, Ravi Luthra, director, New Delhi-based Landmark Tours & Travels, was not optimistic about lower fares. “Eighty per cent of an airline’s costs are fixed so they have very little room to reduce fares. We hope that paying for the additional usage that has been unbundled will not raise the total payout for a flight for the traveller,” he said.

NATIONAL carrier Garuda Indonesia recorded a net loss of US$33.7 million in the first quarter of 2013, which was over 200 per cent greater than the same period last year.

Attributing this to lesser domestic and international passenger demand in the first quarter, Garuda president and CEO, Emirsyah Satar, said: “All airlines (in Indonesia) have experienced a similar downturn in traffic demand. It is actually part of an airline cycle to have a slow first quarter.

“However, the flooding in Jakarta in the beginning of the year and the (regional) extreme weather in the first three months of the year made it worse.”

Despite the loss, the airline’s revenue in the first three months rose 12.5 per cent from US$717.4 million to US$807.2 million.

As a group – including Citilink – Garuda’s passenger market share increased from 30.3 per cent to 35.2 per cent while total passenger numbers grew 20.7 per cent to about 5.6 million during the period.

Having received four Airbus A320 aircraft for Citilink and two Bombardier CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft for Garuda in the first three months, the group now boasts a 112-aircraft strong fleet.

EMIRATES is set to boost its capacity to South-east Asia with the introduction of a fourth daily Hong Kong flight and a second daily A380 service to Bangkok come October.

From October 27, Emirates will add a fourth daily service from Dubai to Hong Kong on an Airbus A330-200 aircraft in a three-class configuration before upgrading the route to a Boeing 777-300ER later in the year.

Operating as EK386, the flight will depart Dubai at 21.00 and arrive in Hong Kong the following morning at 08.05. The return flight EK387 will depart Hong Kong at 09.40, arriving in Dubai at 14.55.

The Dubai-Hong Kong route is presently operated with A380 and B777-300ER aircraft, and the fourth daily flight will enable Emirates to serve more than 10,000 passengers between the two cities each week.

“Since the launch of the third daily service in October 2012 (TTG Asia e-Daily, October 23, 2012), we have witnessed a huge demand in passenger capacity and flight frequencies,” said Edwin Lau, vice president, Emirates Hong Kong.

Also starting October 27, Emirates will also launch a second daily A380 service to Bangkok. EK372 will depart Dubai at 09.40 and arrive in Bangkok at 19.15, while the return flight EK373 will depart Bangkok at 21.20 and arrive in Dubai the following day at 00.30.

Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ senior vice president, Commercial Operations Far East & Australasia, said: “Earlier this year we launched our fifth daily flight to Bangkok, and the passenger demand has led to the decision to upgrade one of the services to the second A380 on the route. Thailand has been part of the Emirates network for over 20 years, and in last December we added Phuket as our second Thai destination (TTG Asia e-Daily, December 14, 2012).”

HILTON Worldwide opened the DoubleTree by Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok on April 30, marking the brand’s inaugural debut in the Thai capital and the company’s 100^th property in Asia-Pacific.

Situated 400m from Phrom Phong Skytrain station on Sukhumvit Soi 26, the 23-storey hotel features 177 rooms and suites ranging between 28m² and 58m².

The hotel boasts such leisure facilities as an outdoor swimming pool and a 24-hour fitness centre, while meeting and event facilities include a 351m² conference room, a 56m² multi-purpose room and a business centre.

F&B outlets include Dee-Lite, an all-day dining restaurant serving Thai, Vietnamese and Western fare, and Mosaic, a poolside lounge and cocktail bar.

The company’s other upcoming properties in the Thai capital include Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok, launching in July 2013, and Waldorf Astoria Bangkok, due to open in 2015.

Hilton Worldwide has more than 170 hotels and over 50,000 rooms in its pipeline in Asia-Pacific, and expects to triple its current portfolio in the next five years.

THE Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) will conduct a six-month training programme targeted at school leavers and hospitality workers to ease the manpower shortage and reskill service staff.

Known as the National Dual Training System, the training programme will be conducted from June in the four cities of Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Sabah.

This will be the second year that MAH is conducting these courses for the Ministry of Human Resources. The programme’s inaugural launch last year saw an intake of 200 apprentices.

Said MAH CEO, Reginald T Pereira: “We expect to train about 500 apprentices. The programme comprises 20 to 30 per cent theory while the rest is practical, with courses on housekeeping, food and beverage, kitchen and front office (operations). Upon completion, participants will be awarded the Malaysia Skills Certificate issued by the Ministry of Human Resources under the Skills Development Department.”

Apple Vacations & Conventions group managing director, Desmond Lee, said: “This is a good move that will not only address the manpower shortage but also create interest among trainees as they learn more about the hospitality industry. The staying power to be part of the industry will be stronger for those who have interest.”