AIRASIA has refuted news reports that it was planning to shift its regional headquarters from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said the group’s regional base would continue to be Malaysia, and that the company would remain listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange.

The office to be opened in Jakarta, called AirAsia ASEAN, was explained as a means to broaden the airline’s branding as a Truly Asean carrier, and to extend its outreach to various regional groups interested in tourism and aviation.

The office’s location in the Indonesian capital is expected to enhance AirAsia’s relationship with the Jakarta-based ASEAN Secretariat, and help the carrier get across its ideas on developing regional aviation and tourism.

“We believe that having our Asean representative office in Jakarta will also help our Group coordinate more effectively with the Indonesian authorities and interact more closely with the Indonesian people,” an airline spokesperson said.

Paradise Group of Companies executive chairman, Pardip Kukreja, said AirAsia’s plan to open a representative office in Jakarta was a very logical thing to do.

“Indonesia is a big market with a big population, and the office will tap the country’s potential,” he said.

By N. Nithiyananthan

MORE beach resorts in Myanmar, which traditionally close shop during the monsoon season from May to October, are electing to remain open due to an increase in bookings.

Flight services have also been operational, as opposed to being cancelled or having frequencies reduced.

Oliver E Soe Thet, owner of Laguna Lodge Eco Hotel on Ngapali Beach, said the property had received twice as many bookings as last year. He added that most of the hotels that were operational were offering discounts of up to 50 per cent during the monsoon.

Four hotels have chosen to stay open at Ngapali Beach, up from two last year.

At Ngwe Saung Beach, nine out of 22 hotels are open for business, according to Silver View Hotel director, Aung Htay Linn.

Ocean Paradise is offering a 10 per cent discount on bookings during the monsoon. Its operations manager, Tun Zaw Oo, said the hotel was targeting budget-conscious local travellers.

At Chaungtha Beach, where bookings are up about 10 per cent, some 15 hotels are offering discounts of about 15 to 20 per cent.

AN INCENTIVE trip in Lancelin, Western Australia turned into a nightmare for employees and business partners of tyre company Bridgestone Singapore, when their four-wheel drive vehicle rolled backwards off a sand dune and flipped onto its side.

The 33 passengers on board the vehicle, all Singaporean except for Bridgestone’s managing director, who is Japanese, were on the last leg of a four-day trip organised by Bridgestone to reward its distributors.

Bridgestone had planned the trip through Singapore-based travel agency Spinergy Travel Guide, which engaged Desert Storm 4WD Adventure Tours to provide the sand dune tour.

While some members of the group sill remain hospitalised, 20 have since returned to Singapore on their scheduled flight.

The Straits Times reported that at least two Singaporeans suffered serious neck injuries and may be paralysed as a result of the accident.

THE THAILAND Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has set aside about two million baht (US$67,000) to sponsor the green certification of MICE venues between this year and next.

TCEB president Akapol Surasuchart said they were working with the Thai Industrial Standards Institute to launch an Energy Management Certification (ISO 50001), which would help lift local MICE venues’ green standards amid rising concerns over climate change, especially due to longhual travel.

Akapol said TCEB would shoulder 70 per cent of the consultancy fee – about 400,000 baht – for venues that intend to adopt the green certification. He added that the green standards would function as “a reference” for MICE venues when bidding and pitching for future business.

IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center in Bangkok will be the first venue to be accredited with the green standards. Other venues in the process of being accredited are the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center and the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre.

According to Akapol, professional convention organisers and destination management companies will be roped into the green certification programme at a later stage.

TRAVEL & Information Technology Mart (ITITM) has been postponed due to political disturbance in Hyderabad.

Originally scheduled to be held at Hyderabad International Convention Centre from August 11-13 (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 21), ITITM will now take place in the second quarter of 2012.

Event organiser Catpro Events & Entertainment managing director, Sagar Pingali, told TTG Asia e-Daily: “We had to postpone the event as the ongoing political agitation in Hyderabad has created unease among some of our buyers and sellers.”

Some political factions have been demanding the creation of a separate Telangana state within Andhra Pradesh, with demonstrations and rallies being held in the state capital, Hyderabad.

The unrest has forced the state government to cancel the Global Investors Meet, previously due to be held in Hyderabad from September 19-20.

On the other hand, CIM Global has decided to proceed with its Indian Association Congress event, which will be held at Hyderabad International Convention Centre from August 31-September 1.

CIM Global managing director, Prashant Saha, said:”There’s only a passive effect, and our show will go on as scheduled.”

By Anand & Madhura Katti

INDONESIA State Minister for State Enterprises, Mustafa Abubakar, has urged Garuda Indonesia to resolve the ongoing conflict between its pilots and management (TTG Asia e-Daily, July 14).

Abubakar said: “We hope the management can handle the situation to avoid the strike occurring and disrupting the company’s operation.”

Garuda’s local pilots are threatening to go on strike if the national carrier refuses to meet their demands for pay equity with their foreign counterparts.

At a press conference in Jakarta last Friday, Garuda Indonesia Pilots Association (APG) president, Stephanus Rahadi, said: “The significant salary difference between the foreign and Indonesian pilots is a fatal mistake the management has made. While they are paid much higher, their competence is not better than the locals’.”

Rahadi said the association was planning to launch their strike on July 28.

In response to the threat, Garuda issued a media statement indicating that the airline was ready to sit down and hold talks with APG.

ANGSANA Hotels and Resorts will open its second property in China in the fourth quarter.

Owned and developed by Hangzhou Westbrook Investment, Angsana Hangzhou, to be operated by Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, is located at Xixi National Wetland Park in the west of Hangzhou.

The property will offer 59 rooms, a rooftop swimming pool with hot tub and poolside lounge, three meeting rooms, and a library.

F&B options at the resort include The Pavilion, serving international cuisine, Rice Bar, a restaurant serving rice-based regional favourites, and Lunar Bar.

SINGAPORE Airlines’ (SIA) new low-cost subsidiary has chosen existing Boeing 777-200 aircraft as its fleet mainstay ahead of commercial operations next year.

The aircraft will be acquired from SIA and reconfigured in a new seating layout.

Details of the carrier’s branding and route network will be unveiled in the coming months.

LAO Airlines will launch a thrice-weekly Vientiane–Singapore service, using a leased Airbus A319, starting November 1.

The carrier has appointed Maple Aviation as its GSA in Singapore.

Laos is the last remaining ASEAN member not to have direct links to Singapore. More than 6,000 Singaporeans visit Laos each year, relying mostly on connections via Bangkok.

THE BALI Hotels Association (BHA) has started a green task force and picked the reduction in usage of disposable plastic bags as one of its environmental initiatives.

The Green Team consists of representatives from BHA member hotels in Bali, who are responsible for environmental and sustainability initiatives collectively as a group, and also at their individual properties.

The objective of their plastic bag initiative is to reduce and replace disposable plastics usage with environmentally friendly alternatives wherever possible.

Green Team members will monitor plastics usage at their hotels and submit metrics every month to the BHA. The hotels are hoping to achieve a 20 per cent reduction in disposable plastics within the next 12 months.

BHA director of environment, Bipan Kapur, said: “The enthusiasm, drive and energy in the Green Team gives me the confidence that we are doing the right thing, and that this new generation will go all out to protect what is most precious to mankind.”

It is estimated that Bali generates approximately 750,000 kg of plastic garbage per day, almost 50 per cent more than Jakarta.