QANTAS Airways is on the verge of an alliance with Emirates that will see the majority of its London-bound services routed through Dubai instead of Singapore, according to a report by the Australian Financial Review.

The proposed partnership between Qantas and Emirates is part of the Australian flag carrier’s efforts to turn around its loss-making international business, which was separated from its domestic arm on July 1 (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 22, 2012).

The two airlines are reportedly in advanced negotiations over a codeshare deal that will see Qantas launch inaugural flights to Dubai, and rely on Emirates to faciliate onward connections to destinations across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The alliance with Emirates would signal the end of Qantas’s long-standing arrangement with British Airways on the Kangaroo Route  to  London and into Europe, the report added.

SILKAIR will be implementing several network adjustments during the upcoming Northern Winter operating season from October 28, 2012 to March 30, 2013.

An additional service will be introduced to Wuhan and Chiang Mai, with frequency to each destination increasing from three to four flights per week.

For the Indochina region, an additional Singapore–Danang–Siem Reap round flight will be introduced on Tuesdays from the start of the winter season.

In India, an additional frequency will be introduced to Hyderabad, boosting the number of weekly flights to nine. For Chennai, operations on Sundays will be moved to Wednesdays, with frequencies unchanged.

Meanwhile, some frequency reductions and service restructurings will be implemented in selected markets during the Northern Winter schedule.

Services between Singapore and Changsha will be reduced from the current four times to three times weekly. Flights between Singapore and Pekanbaru will also decrease from the current five times to four times weekly.

Singapore-Darwin flights on Wednesdays and Sundays will be retimed from the current night departure to a morning departure, with frequencies unchanged.

The current Singapore–Cebu–Davao round flights on Thursdays will be delinked, with two new direct services from Singapore to Cebu and Davao introduced instead.

TRAVELPORT has released Travelport Mobile Agent, a mobile app that enables Travelport-connected travel consultants to access the Galileo interface directly on their mobile devices (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 14, 2012).

Currently downloadable via Apple’s App Store, Travelport Mobile Agent is one of the first products to be released globally as a result of the Travelport Developer Network launched last November. The app has already been piloted across Portugal, Spain and Brazil, where it was downloaded more than 3,000 times.

Jason Nash, vice president Product Innovation at Travelport, said: “By enabling talented third parties to build products using Travelport technology, we are delivering on our strategy to launch new, innovative solutions for our customers worldwide.”

Marcio Ferreira, CEO of Aviateam, a GSA based in Portugal, said: “Being able to manage our travel bookings on the move is hugely advantageous in today’s mobile world. Travelport’s innovative mobile solutions enable us to enhance the services we offer to our customers and improve our processes.”

The launch of Travelport Mobile Agent comes shortly after the global release of Travelport ViewTrip Mobile, Travelport’s mobile traveller itinerary application (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 27, 2012).

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) posted a net profit of S$78 million (US$62 million) in the first quarter of its 2012-2013 financial year, a 73-per cent jump over the S$44.7 million earned during the same period last year.

The figure was also in stark contrast to the US$30 million loss the Singapore flag carrier registered in the last quarter (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 10, 2012).

In the first quarter of financial year 2012-13, SIA’s passenger carriage grew 9.6 per cent year-on-year. With traffic growth outpacing the 4.3 per cent capacity growth, the average passenger load factor of 79.5 per cent was 3.9 percentage points higher.

SIA took delivery of one A380-800 during the quarter. As at June 30, the airline’s operating fleet comprised 100 passenger aircraft – 59 B777s, 19 A330-300s, 17 A380-800s and five A340-500s – with an average age of six years and four months.

AIRASIA and its Indonesian partner, Fersindo Nusaperkasa, have entered into a conditional share sale agreement to acquire Metro Batavia Group, which operates the Indonesian carrier, Batavia Air.

In accordance with Indonesian civil aviation ownership regulations, AirAsia will hold a 49 per cent stake in Metro Batavia, while the remaining 51 per cent will be held by Fersindo – also the majority shareholder of Indonesia AirAsia.

The total purchasing consideration for Metro Batavia is US$80 million. Scheduled to close by 2Q2013, the acquisition will be carried out in two stages, through purchase of a majority 76.95 per cent stake, and subsequently, the remaining 23.05 per cent held by shareholders.

The Batavia Air deal is expected to provide greater domestic connectivity and an extensive feeder network into Indonesia AirAsia’s existing hubs in Jakarta, Bandung, Denpasar, Medan and Surabaya.

Once the deal is completed, Batavia Air and Indonesia AirAsia will jointly serve 42 Indonesian and 12 international destinations, while the carriers’ distribution channels in Indonesia will increase ten-fold to over 5,000 authorised agencies and more than 70 sales outlets.

“The Batavia Air acquisition is a fantastic opportunity for AirAsia to accelerate our growth plans in one of the most exciting aviation markets in Asia,” said Tony Fernandes, AirAsia group CEO.

“Recent developments in the airline industry have made me recognise that Batavia Air requires greater scale in order to compete and grow further,” said Bapak Yudiawan Tansari, Batavia Air’s founder.

Launched in 2002, Batavia Air operates a fleet of 33 aircraft, serving 41 domestic routes. The carrier recently expanded its network to international destinations such as Singapore, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuching, Dili and Guangzhou.

THE SINGAPORE National Trades Union Congress’ (NTUC) Hospitality & Consumer Business Cluster has introduced a new progressive wage framework that aims to boost job prospects in the local hotel industry.

The Integrated Progressive Wage model is expected to help 3,000 rank and file workers in the Singapore hotel sector earn higher wages through increased productivity, and offer them a choice of multiple career paths.

Under the model, the most junior-level workers such as room attendants, who earn around S$1,000 (US$793) a month, can rise up the ranks to become room associates through skills training and job re-design. This will help raise their wages to more than S$1,300 a month.

Subsequently, through further training, the workers will be equipped with skills to command S$1,600 as a supervisor, more than S$2,000 as an assistant manager, and more than S$3,000 as a manager.

Alternatively, workers may choose to join the Hotel Operations Specialist Team (HOST), a structured job re-design programme that equips them with two or three cross-skills in housekeeping, F&B services and front office.

Also available for those who wish to sharpen their skills to an even higher level is a new Executive Development Programme (EDP), a structured management trainee scheme that aims to attract mid-level Singaporean professionals, managers and executives, and build a core of local managers and supervisors in the hotel sector.

Yeo Guat Kwang, NTUC Hospitality & Consumer Business Cluster lead, said: “The new progressive wage system for the hotel sector is a highly versatile one. It enables low-wage workers in rank and file positions to flow up vertically as they deepen their skills and raise their productivity; it also gives them the flexibility to flow laterally to other job functions upon completion of HOST, and to flow up if they upskill through the EDP. In addition, Singaporeans looking for a mid-career switch can tap on the programme to get inducted into the sector.”

Margaret Heng, executive director, Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) said: “The SHA supports progressive wages for hotel employees who have acquired new skills to expand their jobscope, and when there is an increase in output as a result of a change in work processes leading to higher productivity.”

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) has made several network adjustments for the upcoming northern winter schedule between October 28, 2012 and March 30, 2013.

Starting August 16, 2012 and lasting throughout the winter, SIA will operate a fourth daily service to Perth, while capacity to Melbourne will be boosted with the Airbus A380 aircraft deployed on two of the carrier’s three daily flights, up from one.

Services to Mumbai will increase from 19 to 21 weekly from the start of winter, while frequency to London (Heathrow) will be raised from three to four flights per day (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 7, 2012).

A daily Hong Kong flight continuing to San Francisco will be operated on the A380 instead of the Boeing 777-300ER between December 28, 2012 and March 24, 2013. This will double the number of Hong Kong flights operated daily with the A380, and marks SIA’s inaugural A380 service to San Francisco.

From December 28, 2012 till March 24, 2013, Tokyo (Narita) will be served by two A380 flights per day instead of one, replacing a B777- 300ER service. The existing A380 flight will continue to operate to Tokyo (Narita) and beyond to Los Angeles.

New Singapore-Riyadh-Jeddah flights will be operated thrice weekly, replacing existing services to Riyadh via Dubai and to Jeddah via Abu Dhabi. SIA will eventually suspend services to Abu Dhabi and Athens from late October (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 17, 2012).

Meanwhile, frequency to both Milan and Barcelona will be scaled back from seven to five times per week, while Singapore-Istanbul services will drop from five to four flights per week.

Singapore-Frankfurt-New York services operated using the A380 will also be switched to B777-300ER from December 27, 2012 to March 24, 2013.

DESTINATION Resorts & Hotels (DRH), a subsidiary of the Malaysian government’s investment arm Khazanah Nasional, is busy putting together several key tourism projects in Johor and Langkawi.

In Nusajaya, a township situated in west Johor, a waterfront development called Puteri Harbour is scheduled to open in January 2013. The project will boast the 283-room Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour – Nusajaya’s first international branded hotel, as well as a family entertainment centre, and a family-themed restaurant by renowned Malaysian cartoonist, Lat.

In east Johor, the Desaru Coast integrated luxury destination resort is due to make its debut in mid-2015. The 1,580-hectare development will comprise a marine life park, a water theme park, a golf club with 18-hole and 27-hole courses designed by Vijay Singh and Ernie Els, a Riverwalk Dining & Retail Village, and hotels including Aman Country Club & Villas, Sheraton Desaru Resort and The Datai Desaru Resort (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 9, 2012).

In Langkawi, DRH is giving The Golf Club, Datai Bay a facelift. Built in 1992, the revamped golf club will feature an international tournament standard 18-hole golf course designed by Ernie Els when its makeover is completed next year. DRH is also planning to construct several luxury hotels and villas at Datai Bay.

GARUDA Indonesia has appointed ADATC Sales as its GSA in Brunei, effective August 1, 2012.

Nicodemus Lampe, Garuda’s vice president for Asia, said: “Brunei is an important market for Garuda as it shares many cultural similarities to Indonesia, and we’re already seeing a steady flow of both leisure and business travellers from the country.

“With over three decades of experience, ADATC Sales is considered a veteran in air travel, and we’re confident this partnership will further strengthen our presence in the local market.”

Anthony Lim, president of ADATC Sales, said: “We very much look forward to this long-term partnership with Garuda Indonesia. The airline has made much progress over the last five years, and we are confident that the combination of our strong local knowledge and expertise, together with Garuda’s extensive network and service culture, will enable us to penetrate the market even further.”

JAYAKARTA Hotels & Resorts has rolled out a new budget hotel brand, J Hotel by Jayakarta, with the first two properties set to open in Bali next year.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily on the sidelines of The Jayakarta Group’s 60th anniversary celebration in Jakarta, the company’s president commissary, Lukman Pudjiadi, said: “Looking at the trend of Indonesian and international tourists today, we see more travellers willing to pay between 400,000 rupiah (US$42.50) and 500,000 rupiah per night, including tax and service, plus breakfast for two.

“Therefore, we are not shy to follow other hotel chains, such as Santika Indonesia Hotels & Resorts, which started (in the budget segment) earlier with its Amaris brand.”

The first two J Hotels will be situated in Bali’s Legian district; one will have 151 rooms, while the other will offer 138 rooms. Construction on both properties is scheduled to commence in October, and is expected to be completed by June 2013.

Other J Hotels are in the pipeline in Semarang, Jakarta, Tanjung Enim (South Sumatra), Banjarmasin and Bandung.

Meanwhile, Lukman noted that not all investors were interested in budget properties. Two of the group’s upcoming hotel projects in Ubud (launching this year) and Karawang (scheduled to open next year) will bear the Jayakarta brand.

“We offered to build J Hotels (instead), but the owner of Jayakarta Karawang said his Japanese and South Korean guests would not want to stay in a budget hotel. Similarly, the Jayakarta Ubud owner wanted a combination of hotel and villa,” he explained.