PHILIPPINES: Philippines AirAsia Opens More Routes

Philippines AirAsia launched services between Cebu (CEB) and Hangzhou (HGH) on 18 May.

The LCC will operate the 2,243-kilometre airport pair twice-weekly, with flights departing Cebu late in the evening on Mondays and Fridays before returning from Hangzhou in the early hours on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Flights will be operated by the carrier’s A320 fleet and there is no direct competition. OAG schedules show that the airline previously operated this route three times weekly for a short season between 24 January and 18 March 2017.

The Cebu link is the carrier’s only current connection to Hangzhou.

Philippines AirAsia launched twice-weekly flights (Mondays and Fridays) between Cebu and Hangzhou.

The 2,243-kilometre sector will be operated by A320s and faces no direct competition.

The LCC previously operated this route for a short period between January and March 2017.

On 10 May Cebu welcomed the inaugural Philippines AirAsia arrival from Shenzhen, with a musical accompaniment.

The first outbound flight to the Chinese city had departed late the previous night. The LCC will operate this 1,745-kilometre sector daily and faces no incumbent competition.

Two days later on 11 May, Cebu celebrated Philippines AirAsia’s first flight to Clark.

This domestic link will be operated daily with A320s and faces incumbent competition in the form of Cebu Pacific Air and Philippine Airlines, which both offer 10 flights per week.

Philippines AirAsia commenced two new links in the past week with the launch of flights from Cebu (CEB) to Shenzhen (SZX) on 9 May, and from Clark (CRK) to Cebu on 11 May.

The LCC will operate daily services with A320s on both the 1,745-kilometre Chinese sector, and on the 657-kilometre domestic link.

There is no direct competition on the Cebu-Shenzhen route, but Cebu Pacific Air and Philippine Airlines both already operate 10 weekly flights on the Clark-Cebu connection.

Philippines AirAsia will operate to three Chinese destinations from Cebu this summer, with Shanghai Pudong and Hangzhou also being served. It will provide seven domestic destinations from Clark in S18.

Philippines AirAsia launched flights between Manila (MNL) and Jakarta (CGK). The carrier will operate the 2,784-kilometre airport pair daily using its fleet of A320s.

The route is already well served, with Cebu Pacific Air and Philippine Airlines also offering daily services.

Philippines AirAsia CEO, Captain Dexter Comendador, said of the new service: AirAsia is a product of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and we are so proud to be part of this region we call home.

We are thrilled to add another ASEAN destination into our ever growing network. With this launch, Philippines AirAsia now serves 17 destinations from Manila, with an 18th to Denpasar launching on 19 January, a route that the carrier will operate four times weekly.

There were celebrations at Bangkok Don Mueang to mark Philippines AirAsia’s first service from Manila.

The assembled dignitaries included Dexter Comendador, CEO Philippines AirAsia and Kajorndet Apichartrakul, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand. The LCC will operate this 2,200-kilometre sector daily with its A320s.

Philippines AirAsia launched a new link between Manila (MNL) and Bangkok Don Mueang (DMK). The 2,200-kilometre connection will link the capital cities of the Philippines and Thailand with daily flights operated by A320s.

There is no direct competition, but schedules show that multiple carriers including Philippine Airlines and Thai Airways will operate a combined 46 weekly flights from Manila to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi during the week commencing 24 April.

AirAsia is a product of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and we are so proud to be part of this region we call home, said Dexter Comendador, CEO Philippines AirAsia.

We are the only airline that carries I love Asean painted on our aircraft including the ASEAN logo.

AirAsia loves Asean is a commitment to help bridge communities and economies as we move toward even greater integration and mutual understanding.

Kajorndet Apichartrakul, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, said: We want to bring people across the Asean region closer together and further expand our Asean footprint to serve more and more communities.

We have 100% load for this inaugural flight and we hope to do more inter-Asean routes to serve every Filipino traveller’s needs and enable them to connect, do business and build socio-economic ties with neighbouring economies.

Celebrations were had at Clark Airport to herald the start of Philippines AirAsia’s new routes to Ilo Ilo, Puerto Princesa, and Tacloban, with the festivities also including a cake cutting ceremony.

Seen conducting the cutting of the baked creation are: Carol Uy, Regional Director of DOT III; Alexander Cauguiran, President CEO of Clark International Airport Corporation; and Darren Acorda, Chief Pilot Training and Standards Captain, AirAsia.

There were also celebrations at Tacloban Airport to welcome the inaugural Philippines AirAsia service from Clark on 2 February.

The following day, the carrier launched two more domestic destinations from Clark to Ilo Ilo and Puerto Princesa.

The airline faces no direct competition on the Ilo Ilo and Tacloban routes, but the connection from Clark to Puerto Princesa is already operated three times weekly by Philippine Airlines.

Philippines AirAsia this week launched three domestic links from Clark (CRK), beginning services to Tacloban (TAC) on 2 February, followed by Ilo Ilo (ILO) and Puerto Princesa (PPS) the following day.

The 653-kilometre route to Tacloban will be served four times weekly, while the 542- and 636-kilometre links to Ilo Ilo and Puerto Princesa will be operated three times weekly.

All three routes will be operated using the airline’s fleet of A320s.

Only the Clark to Puerto Princesa airport pair will face direct competition, with Philippine Airlines already serving this route with three weekly services.

These new routes mean that Philippines AirAsia has doubled its domestic connections from Clark, with the LCC already serving Davao, Kalibo and Caticlan from the airport.


Tourism Observer

USA: American Travel Restrictions To Hurt Many Countries Including The USA

Seeking to capitalise on U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial new travel restrictions, companies and officials in Asia said they would target greater tourism and education ties with Muslims worried about the curbs.

Trump's Friday directive put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

In Muslim-majority Malaysia, the group CEO of Asia's largest budget airline, AirAsia, suggested countries in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) could cash in.

"With the world now getting more isolationist it's time for ASEAN to start making it easier for tourists to come," Tony Fernandes said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Malaysia is a popular destination for tourists from the Middle East, with nearly 200,000 arriving in 2016 from countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Qatar.

The country is also a key destination for medical tourism and halal tourism, with food and other products largely halal-certified.

In neighbouring Thailand, tourism officials said the U.S. ban could lift visitor numbers.

"The Middle East is a big market for us, especially in the medical tourism sector. They may choose to visit Thailand more and this may also boost our sector," Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Yuthasak Supasorn said.

Trump has presented his ban as a way to protect the United States from Islamist militants, but it has been condemned by a growing list of foreign leaders and drawn protests by tens of thousands in American cities.

With concerns about safety and security building, some Asians were reconsidering U.S. travel plans and seeking alternatives, even though their countries were not subject to the restrictions.

"When you want to travel, especially for leisure, then you want peace of mind," said Alicia Seah, director of public relations and communications at Singapore's Dynasty Travel.

"Right now people are planning for their March-April onwards travel. They will put their travel plans (to the United States) on hold at this juncture in time."

Singaporeans may either chose to travel to the United States later in the year or explore alternative locations such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada or within Asia, she said.

Trump has argued tougher vetting of immigrants is needed to protect America from attacks, but critics complain that his order unfairly singles out Muslims and defiles America's historic reputation as a welcoming place for immigrants.

Keysar Trad, president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, said Trump's travel restrictions were not only hurting innocent people but were "bringing great damage to his own economy and to the standings of Americans internationally".

"Everyone who has relatives in America, whether they are from the countries listed or not, they are petrified of what this man is going to do to America and to their relatives," Trad told Reuters.

Some education providers had seen early signs of an impact.

Rod Jones, CEO of Australian-listed education firm Navitas Ltd, said the company had seen a downturn in inquiries for their U.S.-based English language courses.

"We have started to see students back off from the U.S. because of their concerns about potential issues they may face," Jones told analysts on an earnings call.

"But they still want to go somewhere," Jones added, identifying Canada and Australia as important alternatives. "The Canadian Prime Minister has come out and said 'if the U.S. doesn't want you, we'd love to have you' and I think it is the approach of Australia too."

Aulia Adila, 24, a young professional in the media industry in Jakarta, had been considering the United States as an option for postgraduate study.

"When Trump had a chance of winning the election this made me reconsider going to the States to study. Now that he won, and with the Muslim ban and the new migrant policy, it's becoming even more impossible and unsafe to be in America," Adila said.

"I'm considering another country where I'll feel safe."

10-Year PlanTo Promote Tourism In Southeast Asia

Southeast Asian tourism ministers have launched a 10-year plan to ramp up marketing of their region as a single destination to raise tourism's share of the regional economy to 15 percent by 2025.

The ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations also announced Friday that they will begin a "Visit ASEAN@50" campaign to mark the 50th anniversary of the regional group next year. The campaign will showcase hundreds of ASEAN tourism products, events and experiences and target people within and outside the region.

Tourism accounted for 12.3 percent of ASEAN's GDP in 2013 with 102.2 million tourist arrivals. ASEAN says the number of tourists rose to 105 million in 2014.

INDIA: Jet Airways To Operate Flights To Vietnam Via Bangkok

Jet Airways Wednesday announced the addition of two daily flights to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region from its primary hubs in Delhi and Mumbai during its winter schedule with an all inclusive economy fare of Rs.37,506 to Rs.35,500.

“Both Vietnam and Thailand are emerging as increasingly popular destinations for tourism, trade and investment in Asia and it was only logical for Jet Airways’ to facilitate the same for the Indian traveller,” said Gaurang Shetty, senior vice president – commercial, Jet Airways.

According to the company, it will start a new daily flight between New Delhi and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, via Bangkok. The airline also plans to introduce a third daily direct service from its international gateway in Mumbai to Bangkok during its winter schedule. From Mumbai, passengers of Jet Airways will get a connecting flight to Ho Chi Minh City via Bangkok.

The airline said it will deploy a Boeing 737-800 Next Generation (NG) aircraft on the route, offering premier and economy guests the best in-flight product and services along with in-flight entertainment (IFE).

Jet Airways had in October 2011 signed a comprehensive strategic co-operation agreement with Vietnam Airlines.