MANDALA Airlines will restart flight operations next week, more than a year after suspending services due to financial difficulties.

Fresh from a fund injection by new shareholders – Saratoga Group and Tiger Airways, Mandala will fly to domestic and international destinations within a five-hour radius from Jakarta, using a fleet of brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft.

The carrier will kick-start its revival with the launch of 12-weekly Jakarta-Medan services on April 5, followed by twice-daily Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur flights on May 4. Tickets for both routes began selling yesterday.

To mark its relaunch, Mandala is offering airfares from Jakarta to Medan from 519,900 rupiah (US$56.50), and Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur from 329,900 rupiah – one-way, all-inclusive with no fuel surcharge.

LUFTHANSA has withdrawn its thrice-weekly Frankfurt-Kolkata services, effective March 25, citing an unprofitable route that operated five times weekly at its peak.

Only 30 per cent of Lufthansa’s Kolkata-Frankfurt business-class seats were sold on average, compared to 70 per cent on its New Delhi-Frankfurt and Mumbai-Frankfurt routes.

Increasing competition from Emirates and Qatar Airways on Kolkata-Europe connections via the Middle East may have also contributed to the decision.

Sanjay Kothari, managing director, Just Holidays Kolkata said: “I am disappointed with the withdrawal of Lufthansa flights, as a direct flight to Europe is always better for our outbound group movements. We hope other European carriers will fill the gap soon.”

Debjit Dutta, chairman, Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India West Bengal and North East Chapter said: “We expect inbound numbers to grow as the destinations and products in Kolkata and its neighbourhood are drawing the attention of international tourists. Airlines are bound to come when there is demand from passengers.”

Meanwhile, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata has postponed the opening of its new third terminal from February to September. The 195,000m² facility will boost handling capacity to 20 million passengers a year, up from four million currently.

SCOOT has selected Tianjin as its first destination in China, with four-weekly services from Singapore scheduled to begin in August.

Flights to two other secondary Chinese cities will be introduced before end-2012, but Beijing is not on the cards, according to a report by Channel NewsAsia.

Ticket sales to Tianjin are expected to start in the following weeks.

The medium- and longhaul low-cost carrier unveiled Australia’s Gold Coast as its second destination in February, having chosen Sydney as its first port of call.

BEST Western International has officially opened Best Western Premier F1 Hotel at Fort Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City, Metro Manila.

The hotel is the group’s pioneer property in the Philippines under its five-star Best Western Premier brand.

Best Western Premier F1 Hotel offers 243 rooms including 99 suites and three loft suites, and an all-day dining restaurant.

Leisure facilities include an outdoor lounge with three swimming pools, a fitness center, and a day spa. MICE venues include a 300-seat grand ballroom and six function rooms of varying sizes.

Best Western Premier’s portfolio in Asia includes eight hotels in China, six in South Korea, three in Thailand, two in India, and one each in Japan and Indonesia.

HONG KONG’s travel trade will see a change in industry regulator when the newly established Tourism Industry Authority (TIA) replaces the Travel Industry Council (TIC) within the next three years.

Under the proposed framework, TIA will act as an independent statutory body overseeing all regulatory and licensing functions of the TIC and Travel Agents Registry, including handling of complaints, managing the Travel Industry Compensation Fund, and censuring members who violate directives. Non-trade members will constitute the majority of its board.

TIC, meanwhile, has been earmarked for a non-regulatory role related to travel trade training and coordination for emergency incidents.

Since the start of the year, the Tourism Commission has been holding various meetings with the eight trade association members under TIC to discuss the revamped framework.

“During the meetings, there were no strong views among the trade against the overall approach of setting up an independent statutory authority to regulate the tourism industry,” a spokesperson told TTG Asia e-Daily.

“Some concerns were raised about the detailed arrangements under the new regulatory framework, such as the approach for raising the entry threshold for travel (experts) and the funding arrangement (including the level of fees) for TIA,” the spokesperson added.

Larry Lo, Westminster Travel managing director and TIC board member, said: “I welcome the new structure and hope TIA will benefit Hong Kong tourism and enhance both inbound and outbound business. It’s not TIC’s job to supervise inbound travel and tour guides. It functions more like a trade association and platform for the industry to voice and defend our rights while providing benefits.”

Kitty Law, director, First Marketing Hong Kong, said: “I believe TIC has no value to exist at all as there are alternative choices of trade associations. Unlike TIC, TIA is a proper statutory body supported by government funding, so it is a better option for the trade.”

EVA Air, which operates out of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, will be confirmed as a new candidate for Star Alliance membership in the coming days, according to a reliable industry source.

The carrier indicated last November that it was looking to join an airline alliance – either oneworld or Star Alliance – within the next two years.

EVA Air’s services to 25 Chinese destinations are of particular value to the 26-member Star Alliance. The airline is expected to increase frequencies on these routes before long.

Star Alliance’s other members from North Asia include Air China, All Nippon Airways and Asiana Airlines. Eva Air’s main rival, China Airlines, joined Skyteam in 2011.

The process to join Star Alliance is expected to take between six months to a year.