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Emirates to start services to Christchurch
Emirates, the Dubai-based international airline,
announced that it will fly to Christchurch from 1 July, marking its second
footprint in New Zealand after Auckland, which joined the Emirates route
network in August last year.
The new connection to Christchurch will be an extension
of the upcoming Dubai-Melbourne non-stop service, which Emirates will
operate with the ultra long-haul A340-500 aircraft. Initially flying three
times a week, the service will double to six times weekly on 1 August.
This means that Emirates will offer a total of 27 flights
a week to New Zealand by August. The airline presently flies to Auckland
daily via Sydney, daily via Singapore and Brisbane, and daily via Singapore
and Melbourne.
His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman
of Emirates Group said: “Emirates is happy to offer yet another exciting
destination to our passengers. Our Christchurch service will provide
excellent connections for New Zealand passengers traveling to Australia, and
onward to Europe, Africa or Middle Eastern cities via our Dubai hub.
Similarly, it will bring our customers from other parts of the world another
speedy and convenient route to New Zealand.”
Emirates’ new service to Christchurch will also offer
cargo belly capacity to exporters in New Zealand’s South Island, and
provide a convenient air link to connect their businesses to Australia, the
Middle East and points beyond.
From 1 July, flight EK406 will depart Dubai on Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays at 1010 hours, arriving in Melbourne at 0530 hours
the next day. It will then fly onward to Christchurch at 0715 hours,
touching down at 1230 hours. Return flight EK407 will take off from
Christchurch on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 1805 hours, landing in
Melbourne at 1945 hours. From Melbourne, the flight will depart for Dubai at
2130 hours, arriving in 0540 hours the next day. All flight times indicated
above are local.
From 1 August, the Dubai-Melbourne-Christchurch service
will operate six times weekly, departing Dubai from Mondays through
Saturdays. The A340-500 aircraft which Emirates will use on this new route
carries 12 First Class, 42 Business and 204 Economy passengers, and 14 tons
of cargo. Emirates has taken delivery of four A340-500s, with four more on
order.
Thailand-South Korea to increase flights
Thailand and South Korea have agreed to increase the
number of flights for passengers and cargoes from 39 to 46 flights a week,
and remove tonnage capacity and flights frequency limits for cargo
aircrafts, the Deputy Transport Minister said. Vichet Kasemthongsri
indicated that the aviation accord between Thailand and South Korea should
strengthen trade, investment and tourism between the two countries
The number of South Koreans tourists visiting Thailand
has been growing. In the first month of 2003, South Koreans, the fourth
largest foreign tourist group, accounted for 6.80 percent of foreign tourist
arrivals. Thailand is a popular recreation destination for Koreans who spend
most on shopping, followed by hotel accommodations, food and beverages.
On the other hand, the number of outbound Thai tourists
to South Korea in the first nine months of 2003 grew at a lower rate of
17.12 percent. South Korea is ranked eighth on the popular tourist
destination list of Thai travelers, an equivalent of 2.24 percent of the
outbound travel market share.
According to Vichet, total trade value between
Thailand-South Korea in 1999-2002 averaged at US$3.34 billion per year, up
17.46%. In 2003, total trade reached US$4.47 billion, an increase over 2002
of 14.51%, or 2.88% of Thailand’s total trade value. South Korea ranks
eighth among Thailand’s major trading partners.
South Korea is ranked 14th on Thailand’s export list.
Some of the major exports are integrated circuits boards, rubber, computers
(including accessories / components), sugar, threads, artificial fibers and
yarns, frozen chicken, frozen shrimps, crude oil.
South Korea is 7th on Thailand’s import list; some of the major imports
are electrical appliances, chemical products, industrial equipment,
television tubes, iron and steel, integrated circuits boards, consumer
electronics and computers. (TNA)
Thailand to be Asia launch pad for ‘base’ brand
Accor is likely to introduce base, its chain of
backpacker hostels, to Asia next year with Thailand seeing the first of the
properties in the region.
Accor’s Asia-Pacific chairman, David Baffsky, who was
named Asia-Pacific Hotelier of 2003 by Jones Lang LaSalle at its 7th
Asia-Pacific Hotel Investment Conference, said the group might also bring
the brand to Phuket, Chiang Mai and Bali. Asked how many hostels Accor was
thinking of setting up in Asia-Pacific, Baffsky said, “30 to 40 hostels
with 250 to 300 beds each…these will be leased or managed rather than
bought.”
The base brand is targeted at young professionals who want to interact
more with other travelers during their holidays, even if they could afford
to stay in better hotels. It is already established in New Zealand with four
hostels in Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Rotorua. In Australia,
hostels will soon be added in Melbourne next month followed by Sydney and
Far North Queensland. (TTG Asia)
Malaysia Airlines to serve
KL-Siem Reap route
Malaysia Airlines will be inaugurating scheduled air services
linking Kuala Lumpur with Siem Reap, Cambodia’s gateway to Angkor Wat – a
UNESCO World Heritage Site – starting June 3. The airline will operate three
weekly flights on Monday, Thursday and Saturday between Kuala Lumpur and Siem
Reap. The outbound flight departs Kuala Lumpur at 11.00 to reach Siem Reap at
12.10. The return flight departs Siem Reap at 13.00, transits Phnom Penh at
13.45 before proceeding to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 17.20 on the same day.
A two-class configured Boeing 737-400 aircraft with 16 Business and 128
Economy Class seats will be used for this new service, injecting a total
capacity of 432 seats per week per direction. With the introduction of this new
service, Siem Reap will become Malaysia Airlines’ second Cambodian
destination. Phnom Penh has been linked to the airline’s network since July
15, 1992. (TTG Asia)
Star Alliance enhances Conventions Plus
Star Alliance has expanded its Conventions Plus program with
a larger global reach and lower fares. New alliance member, US Airways, has
added 88 destinations to the network bringing the alliance’s total reach to
755 cities in 132 countries. Network expansion in Europe has also continued with
10 new European Union (EU) member countries providing more options for
delegates.
Star Alliance vice president – commercial, Horst Findeisen,
said, “We know for a fact that many cities in the new EU member countries are
interested in attracting more convention business. Star Alliance members operate
more than 1,750 weekly flights to 21 destinations in the new EU member countries
– more than any other airline alliance.”
Delegate fare discounts have also increased with alliance members offering
discounts ranging from 10-20 per cent. (TTG Asia)
Old police station in Phuket to become museum
An old police station in the old city area of this famous
southern resort island of Phuket would be renovated and used as a police museum,
according to Phuket’s police chief said. Pol. Maj. Gen. Veerayut Sitthimalik,
Phuket Provincial Police Commander said that the unattended old police station
was considered a valuable building, as the establishment has long historical
background, and thus it should be preserved.
He also said that the old police station is located in the
old city area, which is also a major tourist attraction in the province;
therefore, the Phuket Provincial Police Office had planned to renovate and
develop the station to be the museum. Under the plan, he said, the look of the
building would not be changed.
After the face-lifting process was finished, it was expected
that the newly-developed museum would become a tourist attraction in the city.
“It is expected that the renovation works will not cost a huge budget because
the building is still in a good condition,” he said.
The objects that would be displayed in the museum would related to the police
in the old days, he said, adding that the police who would be stationed at the
museum would dress the old-style uniform to suit the building. (TNA)
Fuel price concerns
fire up more airlines
More international carriers operating at Hong Kong
International Airport have asked for permission to pass on to passengers the
fast rising cost of fuel, bringing to 13 the number of airlines that have done
so.
Cathay Pacific chairman, James Hughes-Hallett, said on May 19 that if his
airline could not get back some of the extra money it was spending on fuel, it
would add US$125 million this year to operating costs. Dragonair wants to add a
US$9 surcharge to passenger tickets. The amount Cathay seeks to add has not been
announced. (TTG Asia).
Krabi to offer sky walk tours
Two famous national parks in Thailand’s southern province
of Krabi will provide sky walk tours to woo adventurous lovers, and to boost
eco-tourism. Krabi Governor Amnuay Sa-nguan-nam said that suspended bridges
would be built at the Nopparat Thara and Khao Phanom Benja National Parks to
facilitate the sky walk tours, which will allow tourists to enjoy bird’s eye
views of local natural landscapes.
Sky walk is the combination of eco-tourism and adventurous tours. Panoramic
views of the town can be seen on two-kilometer-high bridges. The governor said
that he was confident that the sky walk would be another activity attracting
local and foreign tourists. Khao Phanom Benja, which is abundant in natural
resources, is a new tourist attraction in the province. Bio-diversity and lush
green forest are the origin of many rivers. The highest peak of Khao Phanom
Benja is also the symbol of Krabi Province. (TNA)
Phuket makes progress on duty free status
The island resort of Phuket is pushing ahead with plans to
effect its transformation into a duty free zone, with the local authorities
inviting businesspeople to a meeting to determine the best location for the
project. Describing the project to create a duty-free zone on the island as
‘highly feasible’, Deputy Provincial Governor Nirat Kalayanamitr noted that
in the past plans had run up against numerous obstacles, despite gaining
widespread support. Although the island now had duty free shops, this was
obviously a limited development, he said.
The next step forward would be to create a duty free zone within the island,
as this would be easy to bring about, and could be expanded in the future to
encompass more of the province. In the near future the provincial authorities
will invite interested businesspeople to a meeting to determine the location for
the zone. It is expected that the project will be a purely private sector
initiative, with the public sector merely providing the policy framework.
Possible locations include the area around the Phuket Airport, the Chat Chai, or
the Phuket Deep Sea Port. (TNA)
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