AIRASIA will scrap its daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to Solo in Central Java, Indonesia, effective September 2, 2012.

The low-cost carrier explained in a statement that the route suspension was in line with business strategy to realign and strengthen its operations in Indonesia.

Affected customers with confirmed bookings will be given the option of either bringing forward their travel dates without additonal charge, a complimentary change of flight from Kuala Lumpur-Solo to Yogyakarta or Semarang, a credit shell for the value paid with a validity of three months, or a full refund.

Meanwhile, AirAsia said that “more connectivity” was on the cards for routes between Kuala Lumpur and other destinations in Indonesia.

SINGAPORE’s second cruise terminal, Marina Bay Cruise Centre Singapore (MBCCS), is expected to reinforce the country’s position as an international cruise hub once it becomes fully operational by the second half of the year.

The 28,000m² facility, which will be operated by SATS-Creuers Cruise Services, has effectively doubled Singapore’s berth capacity. Featuring 80 check-in counters and up to 40 immigration counters, the terminal will be able to handle up to 6,800 passengers at a time.

Though not yet opened to the public, the terminal is scheduled to welcome its first ship, Royal Caribbean International’s 3,840-pax Voyager of the Seas, on May 26.

Singapore’s Second Minister for Trade and Industry, S Iswaran, told reporters during a media preview yesterday that the country was well-positioned to capitalise on the booming cruise industry in Asia, due to its ideal geographic location and excellent air connectivity.

“The MBCCS is a key infrastructure piece of Singapore’s tourism landscape. With MBCCS, more cruise ships will be able to homeport and call on Singapore and Asia. Moreover, people come to Singapore in order to board their cruise ship, or disembark in Singapore before going home, which means the fly cruise component is quite important,” he said.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), cruise visitor numbers to Singapore declined over the past two years, but are expected to rise to 1.5 million over the next three to five years, up from one million in 2011.

Aw Kah Peng, STB’s departing chief executive, said: “Numbers have fallen and it’s partly because the (cruise) industry is restructuring. After the two integrated resorts opened, gaming ships no longer made any sense. But I think the structural adjustment is at an end, and now, we’re seeing more interest from cruise ships that are not gaming ships.”

THOMAS Cook Group will sell its 77.1 per cent stake in Thomas Cook India (TCI) to Fairbridge Capital, a subsidiary of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings, which is owned by India-born billionaire Prem Watsa.

With a bid price of US$150 million, Fairbridge Capital trumped other suitors such as KKR, Tata Capital, Bravia Capital, Japan Travel Bureau, Travelex and The Carlysle Group.

TCI shares are currently trading at Rs 61.20 each (US$1.09), meaning Fairbridge Capital will effectively seal the deal with a 20 per cent discount on TCI’s US$190 million valuation.

The takeover will give Fairbridge Capital the right to use the Thomas Cook brand name for 12 years, with the licensing rights applicable across India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Madhavan Menon, currently managing director of TCI, will remain in charge.

Subhash Goyal, president, Indian Association of Tour Operators and chairman, Stic Travels New Delhi, said: “TCI is a strong company and it appears they will not separate their travel and forex business, as had been (suggested) earlier. The sale is a welcome move as it will add fresh impetus to an already solid business.”

Thomas Cook Group put its India subsidiary up for sale in January to extricate itself from a financial meltdown. The company is also in the midst of offloading its 51 per cent stake in Hoteles Y Clubs De Vacaciones to Palma de Mallorca-based Grupo Iberostar for US$96.3 million.

ACCOR has released a Bahasa Indonesia version of its online reservations platform, Accorhotels.com, and is targeting 40 per cent of global bookings from Indonesia by 2015.

The launch of the portal in the official Indonesian language was part of an agreement between Accor Indonesia and Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy to jointly promote inbound tourism to the country.

Accor’s executive vice president, sales distribution & loyalty, Jean-Luc Chretien, said: “The launch of Accorhotels.com in Bahasa Indonesia is part of Accor’s strategy to develop its Internet, mobile and digital media presence in Asia-Pacific. With more than 100 million users and with Internet penetration reaching 37 per cent by 2015, Indonesia is a promising digital market in the region.”

Besides providing a platform for hotel bookings, the new site also offers information on various destinations in Indonesia where Accor hotels are situated.

Accor’s senior vice president for Malaysia, Indonesia & Singapore, Gerard Guillouet, said: “Accor is the biggest international hotel operator in Indonesia with 50 properties in 20 cities, and the number will double by 2015. This has given us the strategic position to collaborate with the Indonesian government to promote not only our hotels, but also Indonesia as a destination.”

Indonesia Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Mari Elka Pangestu, said: “The information about Indonesia is accessible to Accor’s (30 other) websites in 13 languages. This will help promote our country to Accor’s (online) visitors, which (number) around 200 million a year.”

According to Accor’s regional director of sales, marketing & distribution for Malaysia, Indonesia & Singapore, Adi Satria, Indonesia currently constitutes around 20 per cent of the hotel chain’s global bookings.

Moving forward, Accor has plans to roll out Korean, Turkish, Arabic and Thai versions of its online reservations platform.

AUSTRALIAN flag carrier Qantas is planning to divide its international and domestic arms into separate entities as part of efforts to turn around its loss-making business.

As part of the revamp, Qantas International and Qantas Domestic – currently operating together as ‘Qantas Airlines’ – will be managed as two distinct businesses, effective July 1, 2012. Each will have its own CEO, while financial results will also be reported separately.

Qantas said in a statement that the changes would facilitate a greater focus on turning around the Qantas International business, while simultaneously enhancing the strong Qantas Domestic business.

Qatas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, said: “Qantas Domestic and Qantas International face very different situations. Formally separating the management of Qantas International and Qantas Domestic will ensure that we can independently run each business according to its specific priorities and market conditions.”

“Operationally, it will continue to be business as usual for Qantas customers and employees. We will be carefully working through the details of the separation of Qantas International and Qantas Domestic over the next few months.”

As a consequence of the revised structure, a number of changes will be made to Qantas Group’s executive management team.

Simon Hickey, currently CEO, Qantas Frequent Flyer, will be promoted to CEO, Qantas International. Lyell Strambi, currently group executive, Qantas Airlines Operations, will be promoted to CEO, Qantas Domestic. Lesley Grant, formerly group executive responsible for international strategy, will be promoted to CEO, Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Rob Gurney, group executive Commercial and Freight, Qantas Airlines, will be leaving the organisation.

Bruce Buchanan

JETSTAR Group CEO, Bruce Buchanan, has decided to call time on his nine-year career with the Qantas Group to explore new opportunities in helping other Australian firms looking to expand in Asia.

Buchanan is stepping down as part of a broader management restructuring at Qantas, which will see the Australian flag carrier split its international and domestic arms into separate businesses (TTG Asia e-Daily, May 22, 2012).

Buchanan will remain with Jetstar for the next six months to assist with the transition, after which he will provide consultancy services for an additional 18 months.

Jayne Hrdlicka, currently group executive, Strategy and Technology at Qantas, will assume Buchanan’s position as CEO, Jetstar Group.

COSTA Cruises has decided to deploy a second cruise ship, Costa Atlantica, to Asia from May 2013.

The 2,680-guest Costa Atlantica features 1,057 cabins, including 54 suites with private balconies, 620 cabins with private balconies, 40 Wellness cabins, and four Wellness suites.

Having previously operated the 1,680-guest Costa Classica in Asia, the double positioning of the 2,394-pax Costa Victoria and Costa Atlantica in Asia will offer a combined daily passenger capacity of 5,074.

From May to June 2013, Costa Atlantica will depart from Singapore on seven-night cruises to Malaysia and Thailand, and on three- or four-night cruises to Malaysia. The three itineraries can also be combined to form a 14-night itinerary, covering Kuantan, Laem Chabang/Bangkok, Koh Samui, Langkawi, Penang, Port Klang and Malacca.

From June through October 2013, the ship will depart from Shanghai on short cruises to South Korea and Japan, calling at Jeju, Busan, Fukuoka, Hososhima and Kagoshima.

HOTEL Vio Indonesia, a hotel chain managed by Dafam Hotels, is planning to add 600 rooms to its Bandung inventory over the next few years.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily during the soft launch of Hotel Vio Pasteur Bandung last weekend, Hotel Vio Indonesia owner and Multi Sarana Propertindo president director, Karadi, said: “Bandung is by no means saturated. You keep seeing kilometres of traffic during weekends – which gets worse during long weekends – between Jakarta and Bandung, showing that there is a market and it is growing year after year.”

The 62-room Hotel Vio Pasteur Bandung is Dafam Hotels’ second property in the city, in addition to the 30-room Hotel Vio Cimanuk. The 40-room Hotel Vio Express Pasopati is expected to open later this year, and two more hotels are in the pipeline.

Karadi added: “We will have some 600 rooms in Bandung, but not (all) in one location. Instead, we will spread them across eight to 10 strategic locations, creating a chain of properties that cater to different guests’ needs.”

Dafam Hotels managing director, Andhy Irawan, emphasised that the varied locations would appeal to different travellers, while each hotel would also offer unique facilities. For example, Vio Cimanuk is close to factory outlets and the city’s old garden, while Vio Pasteur is just off the Jakarta-Bandung toll road and five minutes away from the airport.

SRI Lanka’s Laugfs Holdings, a new entrant in the hospitality sector, is keen to add the Maldives to its overseas portfolio.

W K H Wegapitiya, chairman of Laugfs Holdings, told TTG Asia e-Daily that the company was now scouting for a prime location in the Maldives to set up a resort under its new brand, Ananthaya.

The group joins other established Sri Lankan brands in the Maldives, including Chaaya Resorts by the John Keells Hotels Group, Adaaran Resorts by Aitken Spence, and Malwatte Hotels & Resorts, which is joining hands with Hilton International to manage a four-star resort currently under construction.

Wegapitiya said: “We have six leisure projects (in Sri Lanka), three of which are nearing completion. One includes a marina – a first for any resort here.” He added that a 150-room property at Passikudah would be ready by September, an 88-room hotel at Chilaw was due to open in December, and a 200-room resort with 50 villas and a marina was coming up at Waskaduwa.

Laugfs Holdings is also in talks with a Thai company to set up a resort in Thailand. At press time, no details were available.

Started 15 years ago in the LPG industry, Laugfs Holdings has since diversified into other businesses such as supermarkets and restaurants. The group began investing in the leisure sector when Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflicts ended in 2009.