SCANDINAVIAN Airlines (SAS), the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, has agreed to further develop and enhance its partnership with Singapore Airlines (SIA). The two entered into a codeshare agreement last December.

In a joint statement, SAS chief commercial officer, Robin Kamark, and SIA senior vice president marketing, Tan Chik Quee, said: “We see opportunities for deeper cooperation, which will strengthen our customer offering and provide more options for seamless travel between Northern Europe and South-east Asia. We look forward to announcing these plans once they are finalised.”

The deal may cover additional codeshare flights, as well as network cooperation on potential new sectors between Scandinavia and Singapore.

SAS had previously added its SK code to SIA-operated flights between Copenhagen and Singapore, and selected flights between Singapore and Bangkok. The SQ prefix was reciprocally added to SAS-operated flights from Copenhagen to Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm.

THAILAND-based Six Senses Spas & Resorts will open a Six Senses Spa at Hotel Missoni Kuwait in early summer 2011.

The 1,500m2 spa, located on the second floor of the five-star designer hotel launched in March this year, will have 13 treatment rooms including two Hammams (Turkish baths), separate areas for men and women and a bridal room with salon, pedicure and manicure areas.

The spa will also house a fitness centre with mixed and ladies-only gyms, a yoga studio, experience showers, saunas, steam rooms and luxurious relaxation areas.

“As well as Six Senses signature treatments and traditional Asian therapies, the spa menu will offer locally-inspired treatments using organic ingredients such as dates, olives and Arabic spices,” the company said in a statement.

Hotel Missoni Kuwait is located in Salmiya, close to the main shopping district of Kuwait City.

SRILANKAN Airlines yesterday took delivery of its first brand-new aircraft in a decade, an Airbus A320-200. The airline plans to add at least six aircraft to its fleet this year, as part of its expansion programme to cater to a growing number of passengers and routes.

This was the first of three A320 aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2011, with the second and third due to arrive in the last quarter of the year. An Airbus A340 widebody aircraft is scheduled for delivery in late May.

The airline expanded its global network to 51 destinations in 32 countries, launching services to Guangzhou and reactivating daily flights to Kochi (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 21). It will also commence flights to Moscow in September.

SriLankan Airlines’ last brand-new aircraft arrived as far back as in 2000, while aircraft arrivals over the years have been on lease.

SLIGHTLY more than a year after launching flights from Dalian and Hefei to Singapore, Hainan Airlines is planning to add an additional route to the destination.

The carrier will launch a four-weekly Haikou-Singapore service starting September 25.

The flight will be operated with a Boeing 737-800, with eight first-class and 156 economy-class seats.

LUFTHANSA German Airlines will deploy the Airbus A380 on its Frankfurt-Singapore route (LH778/LH779) starting October 30, replacing the Boeing 747-400 that is currently in use.

As a result, the Singapore-Jakarta tag-on sector will no longer be operated on this route, but will instead be added onto the daily Munich-Singapore flight (LH790/LH791) using an Airbus A340-300.

Passengers travelling from Jakarta to Frankfurt have the option of a 70-minute connection in Singapore, where LH779 and LH791 will be assigned adjacent gates, or in Lufthansa’s hub in Munich.

CEBU PACIFIC is aiming to launch two new routes to Japan and increase flights to China with the addition of new aircraft.

The airline is planning new flights to Tokyo and Nagoya from Manila, although specific dates for the routes have not yet been announced, pending approval from Japanese authorities. Plans to increase flight frequencies to Guangzhou and Beijing were also disclosed, but no dates have been given.

Cebu Pacific vice president for marketing and distribution, Candice Iyog, said she was “optimistic that our entitlements to Japan will increase, so we can proceed with our expansion plans in the country.”

Supporting the expansion is the expected delivery of five Airbus A320 aircraft within the year, which will bring Cebu Pacific’s fleet to a total of 37 aircraft. The first of these Airbus A320s was delivered in January this year. “This will help us add routes, flights, and destinations in the Asia-Pacific region,” the airline said in a statement to TTG Asia.

Cebu Pacific’s flights from Manila to Hong Kong and Shanghai will also be upgraded from Airbus A319 to Airbus A320 aircraft starting October 7, increasing seat capacity.

The carrier’s 2011 first quarter passenger report revealed overall growth of 28 per cent across its North Asia destinations – Greater China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea.

THE MALDIVES government has pulled its support for the New7Wonders of Nature competition, accusing organisers of demanding expensive license fees and sponsorship for continued participation in the contest.

Thoyyib Mohamed, Minister of State for Tourism, Arts and Culture, and chairperson of the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), said in a statement issued yesterday by the government: “With regret, we are withdrawing from this competition because of the unexpected demands for large sums of money from the New7Wonders organisers. We no longer feel that continued participation in this competition is in the economic interests of the Maldives.”

MMPRC managing director, Simon Hawkins, said he believed the competition was more of a scam to get money than a fair contest.

New7Wonders said in a statement that the withdrawal by the Maldives would not affect the country’s participation in the contest. It said while the Maldives Ministry of Tourism would no longer function as the official supporting committee for the Maldives, proposals had already been made for a replacement.

This is the second controversy involving New7Wonders after it accused Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism of misleading the public earlier this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 11).

INDIA-based OTA MakeMyTrip purchased on May 9 a 79 per cent stake in Singapore-based Luxury Tours & Travel as part of its South-east Asia expansion plans.

As per the Share Purchase Agreement with Luxury Tours & Travel and its existing shareholders signed on February 9 this year, the initial purchase consideration was approximately US$3 million in cash.

MakeMyTrip will acquire the existing shareholders’ remaining shares over a three-year period ending June 2014.

Luxury Tours & Travel, a Singapore-registered and licensed travel agency started in 1985, provides hotel reservations, excursion tours and coach services to inbound and outbound travellers in Singapore and the region.

Amit Saberwal, MakeMyTrip’s senior vice president of retail and business development, moved to Singapore about a month ago to grow the company’s footprint in the region.

– Read more in TTG Asia, May 27 issue

THE GOLD Coast City Council has voted in favour of funding Gold Coast Tourism to the tune of AUD$11.4 million (US$12.1 million) per annum over the next five years, with an additional AUD$2.5 million for new growth initiatives.

Gold Coast Tourism chairman, Paul Donovan, said the confidence and support of the city council in funding tourism efforts is commendable. “This council is one of the few in Australia that truly recognises the significance of tourism, and is willing to fully support the industry,” he said.

The rejuvenated tourism plan focuses on high return destination marketing, with seven stimulus initiatives to increase visitor expenditure and average length of stay over the next 12 months.

The seven stimulus initiatives cover sport/event tourism, education tourism, China expansion and industry readiness, Gold Coast promotion on interstate and NZ television, aviation acquisition and protection, business events and conference growth, and Surfers Paradise Visitor Information Centre refurbishment.