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.

THAI Airways International (THAI) has reported a three per cent year-on-year increase in forward bookings for both the third and fourth quarters of this year.

The airline’s executive vice president for commercial, Pandit Chanapai, said most advanced bookings for the third quarter were from East Asia, with Japan showing recovery.

Frequency hikes are under consideration for THAI’s Bangkok-Osaka and Bangkok-Beijing routes to meet the higher demand.

Pandit said although forward business from Europe, the airline’s main market, was slow for the current quarter, it was expected to surge in the last three months of the year, when Thailand enters its high season.

THAI carried 17.5 million passengers in 2010, recording a load factor of 73.7 per cent, 0.8 per cent higher than the year before. This year, the carrier operated at an average load factor of 76.1 per cent in the first quarter, and 66.5 per cent in the second quarter.

The airline is expecting its total passenger numbers for the year to grow by three per cent, said Pandit.

By Sirima Eamtako

THE WORLD PCO Alliance has added four new partners to its ranks.

With the addition of ARTION Conferences & Events from Greece, Pioneer Events from Egypt, Meetagain from Sweden, and Talley Management Group from the US, the 19-member alliance now covers all six continents across the globe.

The other PCOs that form the alliance include Eventcorp from Australia, Exclusive South America from Brazil, The Conference Company from South Africa, and Congress Solutions International from the UAE.

Asian representatives include China Star from China, KW Conferences from India, Congress Corporation from Japan, AOS Conventions & Events from Malaysia, Ace:Daytons Direct (International) from Singapore, People-X from South Korea, K & A International from Taiwan, and Creative Destination Management from Thailand,

Its European members are International Conference Services from Denmark, Colloquium Paris from France, and Keynote PCO from Ireland.

ST. REGIS Hotels & Resorts will open in November South China’s first St. Regis Resort, on Hainan Island.

Situated on an 800-metre stretch of Yalong Bay, the St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort will offer 401 rooms and suites, including 28 beachside villas.

Besides facilities including an Iridium Spa, the property will be the first on the island to offer butler service to all guests.

F&B outlets at the resort include Social, offering international cuisine; The Beachfront Restaurant–Driftwood; contemporary Chinese dining restaurant, Yan Ting; Decanter by Haut-Brisson; and the Drawing Room–Lounge and Bar.

CENTARA Hotels & Resorts will be soft-opening in end-2011 its first property in Khon Kaen, in north-eastern Thailand.

The 196-room Centara Hotel & Convention Centre Khon Kaen, located near the Central Plaza Khon Kaen shopping and lifestyle centre, will be operated by Centara under a management contract.

Chris Bailey, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Centara Hotels & Resorts, said: “The hotel will become the hub for the MICE business in this part of Thailand, a market that is growing, and the hotel is only 15 minutes away from Khon Kaen airport.”

The hotel’s Khon Kaen Convention Hall can hold up to 2,000 attendees seated theatre-style and 2,500 for a reception, while the Prachasamosorn Ballroom has a capacity for 700 persons seated theatre-style and 350 for banquets.

The convention hall has access to an outdoor swimming pool, which is surrounded by a landscaped garden suitable for cocktail receptions and hosted events. There are also six intermediate meeting rooms for breakout sessions or separate functions.

Other facilities include a Spa Cenvaree, a fitness centre, an all-day restaurant offering international and pan-Asian cuisines, a restaurant serving Cantonese cuisine, a British-style pub, a club lounge, a bakery shop and deli, and a lobby lounge.

AIRASIA will be partnering with Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) to launch the first-ever low-cost carrier (LCC) operating out of Tokyo’s Narita Airport.

The new LCC, which will operate as AirAsia Japan, will serve both international and domestic routes. Operations are scheduled to commence in October 2012, subject to regulatory approval.

AirAsia Japan is expected to facilitate connections between Japan and AirAsia’s network in South-east Asia.

AirAsia and ANA’s partnership follows a similar agreement between Japan Airlines and Jetstar Airways earlier this month (TTG e-daily, July 1).

Earlier this year, ANA launched an LCC called Peach, targeted at the Chinese budget travel market and based at Osaka’s Kansai International Airport (TTG e-daily, February 10).

MALAYSIA-based hotel chain Swiss-Garden International will be launching six or seven new properties across Malaysia within the next two to three years. The group is also considering adding a fourth brand to its portfolio of Swiss-Garden, Swiss-Inn and Swiss-Garden Residences properties.

Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily in Singapore, the company’s newly-appointed group general manager sales & marketing, Francis Lee, said the new properties would be located in destinations such as Malacca, Sabah, Cameron Highlands, Butterworth, Kuantan and near Senai Airport in Johor Bahru.

He said: “For now, our expansion is focused on Malaysia, but if an opportunity to expand overseas presents itself, we will take it. We have a travel lodge in Sydney (Garden-Lodge Sydney), and are, in fact, looking at having properties in Melbourne, Vietnam and China.”

Lee said Swiss-Garden’s expansion was being driven by strong performance and burgeoning demand. “In the first quarter this year, all our hotels enjoyed an average occupancy rate of 80 per cent, and RevPAR grew between eight and 10 per cent. That was largely due to strong support from travel agent partners, corporate clients and online bookings,” he said.

He added: “The Swiss-Garden brand is also fast gaining recognition. Imagine, we opened Swiss-Garden Residences in April, and saw 80 per cent occupancy right away.”

According to Lee, Asian markets make up 50 to 60 per cent of Swiss-Garden’s business. Customers from Australia contribute 20 per cent, and the rest are from Europe.

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) chairman Mohd Munir Abdul Majid is leaving when his contract expires at the end of the month. Munir, who has been the national carrier’s chairman since 2004, informed the MAS board of his decision during a meeting yesterday.

“After seven years, I will be stepping down as your chairman when my term ends on 31st July 2011. Allow me to thank you for your support in those years, and to call on you to give that support to my successor,” Munir wrote in a email circulated to colleagues.

“Though I leave, I will continue to follow the developments in Malaysia Airlines with great interest.

“The airline has faced many challenges, some extremely serious, but is still standing.

“However, survival alone is not enough, as the airline can be knocked out by any number of factors,” he added.

MAS is reportedly experiencing a tepid financial year, with operating losses expected at year-end.

Despite leaving, Munir urged airline employees “to commit yourselves to a real transformation of the company and airline to achieve consistently strong performance in the future”.

The chairman’s resignation is the second among top MAS officials this month. Senior general manager (sales and marketing) Bernard Francis submitted his resignation earlier in the month.

No announcement has been made yet regarding Munir’s successor.