GROUNDED domestic carrier Yangon Airways has applied for permission to resume flights, and is expecting to return to the skies ahead of the peak tourist season.

The airline’s spokesperson said that while the application for an Aircraft Operation Certificate (AOC) with the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) was ongoing, the airline was actively recruiting air crew.

“We hope to start in time for the coming peak season and will issue a public announcement when we receive our AOC,” the spokesperson said.

The airline was forced to stop operations from December last year after its AOC was suspended by the DCA. Although neither the airline nor DCA gave a reason for the suspension, it was thought to have been linked to a failed takeover by a rival carrier.

A Yangon-based ticketing agent said Yangon Airways was one of the more reliable domestic airlines in Myanmar, and that the airline seldom changed its flights schedule or cancelled flights.

“I have heard they are planning to relaunch from coming peak season, and this will give both customers and travel agents more options when purchasing tickets for domestic flights,” the ticketing agent said.

Prior to its grounding, Yangon Airways operated scheduled and charter services from Yangon to 13 domestic destinations.

THAI Airways International (THAI) last week placed an order to purchase four Airbus A350-900 and five A320 aircraft, to be delivered between 2014 and 2017, as part of plans to upgrade its aging fleet (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 15).

The Thai flag carrier will also lease an additional eight A350s, to be delivered between 2016 and 2017; and six A320s, to be delivered between 2012 and 2013.

THAI plans to use the A350s on longhaul services to Europe, and the A320s on domestic and regional routes.

THAI president Piyasavasti Amranand said the fleet upgrade would play a significant role in ensuring that the airline keeps abreast of regional competition.

In the second half of 2012, THAI will take delivery of the first of six A380s it has ordered.

The carrier will also decommission 50 aircraft between this year and 2017.

THAI operated at a cabin factor of 77.3 per cent last month, the highest level recorded in the month of July over the past four years. The airline recorded a load factor of 66.4 per cent in the second quarter, and 76.1 per cent in the first quarter.

STARWOOD Hotels & Resorts Worldwide will operate a Le Méridien resort on Koh Samui from October 1, 2011.

Located on Lamai Beach on the east coast of Koh Samui, the resort is a short drive to the island’s recreational and cultural facilities, including Lamai Temple and the Yacht Club.

The property will offer 77 guest rooms and villas, three F&B venues, a full-service spa with six treatment rooms, a fitness centre, four swimming pools and 100m2 of meeting and event space.

SOFITEL Luxury Hotels has opened its first hotel in Guangzhou, the Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich, bringing its China portfolio to 20 properties.

Located in the heart of Tianhe, Guangzhou’s financial and business district, the property offers 493 rooms and suites, a gym, an indoor pool, five F&B outlets, 17 meeting rooms, as well as a 900m2 conference room.

The hotel is also the first Sofitel in Asia to offer the group’s So SPA-branded day spa.

FEWER than expected Chinese FITs travelled to Taiwan in July, the first month that individual travellers from mainland China were allowed to visit the country on FIT visas (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 27).

Even though the number of FIT visas issued is limited to 500 per day and restricted to residents of Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, only 1,440 Chinese FITs had travelled across the Taiwan Strait as of August 7.

This was much better, though, than the figure recorded for the whole of July, when only 587 made the trip.

“That first month was bad, bad, bad” said Roget Hsu, secretary-general of the Travel Agent Association of the Republic of China, Taiwan.

Hsu said Taiwanese inbound operators were not inclined to take on too many Chinese customers because of relatively lower margins. “Travel agents here don’t like working with Chinese tours. The tour fees are too low, so there is little or no profit,” he said.

Kitty Wong, president of Taipei-based K&A International, cited a few other hurdles facing mainland Chinese who might want to visit Taiwan.

“These people might live and work in Beijing or Shanghai, but to get a travel permit, they must return to and apply in their hometown,” she explained.

“They also lack the basic information. The Chinese government blocks websites that end in .tw.”

By Glenn Smith

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) and Virgin Australia launched earlier this month the first phase of their alliance (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 7), commencing an initial interline agreement and offering reciprocal lounge access to their respective customers.

SIA’s executive vice president commercial, Mak Swee Wah, said: “Customers can now experience the first benefits of this landmark agreement with Virgin Australia.”

Through the initial interline agreement, SIA customers are able to connect to a range of Australian destinations served by Virgin Australia on one ticket, with terminal transfers included.

SIA’s KrisFlyer Elite Gold and PPS Club members will have access to Virgin Australia’s six domestic lounges, while Virgin Australia’s Velocity Gold members will have access to SIA-operated lounges in 14 cities.

Virgin Australia ditched similar arrangements with Malaysia Airlines in June (TTG Asia e-Daily, June 30).

MARRIOTT International is marking its return to Sri Lanka through the management of a 150-room beach resort in the country’s south.

Luxury Hotels International Management, a Marriott-linked special purpose vehicle for Sri Lankan operations, has signed an agreement with Weligama Hotel Properties, a subsidiary of local hotel developer East West Properties, to operate the resort.

Construction on the US$18 million property located in the Weligama Bay area is scheduled to start later this year and be completed within two years.

Nahil Wijesuriya, chairman of East West Properties, said: “Marriott is also in talks with us to manage two or three more properties in Sri Lanka.”

He added that the prospective plans involve five more resorts in Dambulla, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya.

AIRLINES and outbound operators in Indonesia are anticipating the upcoming Hari Raya holiday season to be a busy one, despite it falling barely a month after the end of the summer school holiday period.

Lebaran, the end of the Muslim fasting month, is traditionally the country’s biggest holiday season, with Indonesians travelling en masse to both domestic and overseas destinations.

The peak travel period is one week prior to and after Hari Raya Idul Fitri, which falls on August 30-31 this year.

Bayu Buana Travel Services outbound manager, Nurdin Supena, is expecting a 50 per cent increase in business over last year’s Hari Raya.

“Demand for neighbouring countries and mediumhaul destinations like Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and China is big. Even Europe is in big demand,” he said.

According to Supena, the relatively robust Indonesian currency and increasing European connections offered by Asian and Middle Eastern carriers have contributed to the increased demand.

Carriers such as Cathay Pacific, Garuda Indonesia, China Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Batavia Air have added extra flights to cater to increased demand over the holiday period.

THE MALAYSIAN Association of Tour & Travel Agents (MATTA) will add a travel trade show and conference to its consumer-oriented MATTA Fair from next edition onwards.

According to MATTA president, Mohd Khalid Harun, the success of the biannual event was the driver for the expansion. “We have had 65 NTOs participate in our fairs. Many of them bring their agents and suppliers to the fair and organise meetings with our travel trade,” he said.

“By organising a travel mart, we can facilitate such business-to-business dealings and transactions.”

To facilitate the expanded programme, the next edition in March 2012 will be extended to five days from the current three, with the first two days reserved for the travel mart and conference.

“MATTA will be looking out for larger premises as the Putra Trade World Centre (the current venue for the fair) is already at full capacity,” Khalid said.

Khalid added that the theme for the inaugural conference would be Islamic travel. Linked to this was a recently-signed memorandum of cooperation between MATTA and the Chinese Muslim Travel Association (CMTA).

“Both MATTA and CMTA will promote bilateral tourism. There are 35 million Muslims in China,” he said.

Meanwhile, the MATTA Fair August 2011 launched today featured 945 booths. Organising chairman, John Tan, said: “We expect a sales turnover of 100 million ringgit (US$33 million) and an attendance of 80,000 consumers.”

By N. Nithiyananthan

PATA Singapore Chapter has launched the second installment of the travel and tourism industry’s productivity competition: Our Productivity Story 2011, with a total of six cash prizes worth S$36,000 (US$29,700) to be won.

To participate, send in a write-up by September 15, 2011, describing in less than 1,500 words a productivity initiative which has contributed positively to your company’s operational performance.

The best two essays from each of the following travel and tourism categories: (a) Hotels, (b) Travel Agents and (c) Others, will qualify for the next round.

The six finalists will then work with a dedicated video production company to turn their stories into short videos (finalists are not required to pay for production costs), which will be published online for public voting.

Winners will be scored based on how many votes they receive (50 per cent of score) and judges’ evaluation.

The first and second prizewinners in each category will walk away with S$8,000 and S$4,000 in cash, respectively.

Visit www.patasingapore.org.sg/pata_new/comp_story.php for more details.