SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines Commences Flights To Seattle

Singapore Airlines is going ahead with non-stop services to the US with the departure of flight SQ28 to Seattle this morning.

The flight departed Changi International Airport earlier and is scheduled to arrive at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport today, at 09:05 local time.

Customers departing from Singapore received an exclusive goodie bag containing items such as a commemorative certificate, SIA batik pen and passport cover as well as a mini notepad featuring the Seattle skyline.

Upon arrival in Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the aircraft will be receiving a water cannon salute.

Seattle is the fourth US destination after Los Angeles, New York (Newark) and San Francisco to be served non-stop from Singapore.

The Seattle flights will initially be operated three times weekly before increasing to four times weekly in October, bringing the total number of weekly non-stop Singapore-US services to 31.

When combined with SIA’s existing one-stop services to Houston, Los Angeles, New York (JFK) and San Francisco, total US service frequency will increase to 57 per week.

The new Seattle services will further strengthen the Singapore hub by providing customers faster and more convenient connectivity from key markets such as south-east Asia, south Asia and Australasia to North America.


Tourism Observer

PHILIPPINES: Department of Tourism Expecting 12M Tourist Arrivals

Department of Tourism (DOT) has expanded its arrival goals for the next six years.

DOT plans to reach 12 million tourism arrivals annually by 2022, said Czarina Zara-Loyola, director of the DOT’s public affairs and advocacy office said.

Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo, Loyola said, expects to exceed annual targets.

“If we exceed annual targets, and we will, better iyon,” she said.

In a statement, Teo said the government is working to increase tourist arrivals in the country through partnerships with neighboring countries, as well as airlines and other industry stakeholders.

However, Loyola assured that despite raising its target arrivals, the DOT is pushing for sustainable and responsible tourism.

“May mga area na kapag congested na, hindi na natin doon dadalhin [ang mga turista]. The goal of this administration under Secretary Wanda Teo is to develop and introduce new tourist sites,” she said.

This can be seen in the Miss Universe pageant activities, which kicked off last month with visits of titlists from 12 countries to different spots in the Philippines.

She also emphasized that they will not raise tourism targets further until there is sufficient infrastructure to accommodate arrivals.

“Hindi naman natin sabihing basta magdadala kami ng mga turista dito. Siyempre, ang tanong pa rin diyan, mayroon bang mauupuan sa eroplano? Sa lugar, mayroon bang matutuluyang mga hotel? Kapag mapo-provide natin iyan, that’s the time na increase natin ang target natin,” she said.

The DOT expects more tourists to come to the country next year due to the Miss Universe pageant, which will be staged in the country.

Teo also expects up to 3 million Chinese tourists to visit the Philippines, after the two countries signed a memorandum of agreement on tourism cooperation, which aims to give the DOT a “better opportunity” to market the Philippines to travelers from its Asian neighbor.

Several direct flights, the DOT said, were also launched this year, such as flights to Laoag from Guangzhou, and from Changi International Airport to Cebu.

They are also preparing to welcome more visitors from Cambodia, Teo said, after the Philippines signed an agreement to start a series of programs that aim to revitalize tourism between the two countries.

Other events that may draw travelers to the country include Madrid Fusion Manila, an international culinary festival; the 50th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit; and high-level conferences of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Aside from tapping partners, DOT recently approached current Miss Universe titleholder Pia Wurtzbach to be a tourism ambassador.

Earlier this month, the House Committee on Tourism approved a proposal to designate boxer-senator Manny Pacquiao as spokesperson for the DOT’s upcoming campaign to promote Philippine attractions around the world.

MALAYSIA: Airport Traffic Slow In The Region

While most airports in Southeast Asia have seen healthy growth or recovery, passenger increases at Malaysian airports have been cramped by capacity cuts at Malaysia Airlines, aviation disasters, cost increases and haze from forest fires in Indonesia.

Malaysia's total traffic grew only 0.7% year on year to 75.6 million passengers by the end of November according to data from Malaysia Airports Holdings, which operates all but one of the country's 40 airports.

November saw a contraction of 2.7% which the company attributed to "double digit percentage [yearly] decline in Malaysia Airlines passenger carriage". In October, 5.3% fewer passengers used airports compared to the previous year because of severe haze from Indonesia spreading across almost all the country.

Bucking the trend, Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) enjoyed a 9.3% increase in traffic with 23.6 million travelers passing through for the year ending in November. Opened in May 2014, KLIA2 caters to regional low cost carriers like AirAsia and Cebu Pacific, which is operated by Cebu Air and Jetstar Asia.

Malaysia Airlines is undergoing comprehensive restructuring that will see it cut almost 30% of its long-haul routes to Europe and Australia. From February, a code-sharing agreement with Dubai-based Emirates, the world's largest carrier by seat capacity, will link it to 91 long-haul destinations from the Gulf. The airline will focus instead on developing a profitable regional route network. Other remedial measures include substantial layoffs and contract renegotiations with suppliers.

"Malaysia is still recovering from the aftermath of the triple [aviation] disasters last year," said Mohshin Aziz, an aviation analyst from Maybank Research, referring to the loss of two Boeing 777s by Malaysia Airlines and an Airbus 320 by AirAsia with a total loss of 699 lives.

Mohshin said the introduction of a goods and services tax in April and currency depreciations had also adversely affected ticket demand. The government is meanwhile mulling a hike on airport taxes next month that could further dent traffic. Malaysia levies 65 ringgit ($15) for international destinations and nine ringgit for domestic ones.

Though troubled at home, Malaysia Airports Holdings has done better with investment abroad. Traffic up to November grew 19.5% year on year to 26 million at Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Turkey, which it owns entirely. Located on the Asian side of Istanbul, the airport is the Turkish capital's second international gateway after Ataturk International Airport.

Passenger figures for mainland Southeast Asia's other two aviation centers, Thailand and Singapore were rosier.

Singapore handled 45.5 million travelers in the first ten months of the year, a 2.1% improvement on 2014. Over 100 airlines use Changi International Airport, connecting to some 320 cities in 80 countries.

In Thailand, overall passenger traffic grew 23% to 89.9 million people between January and October, partly due to relaxed visa requirements for international visitors, particularly from China. Airports of Thailand operates six international airports that account for over 80% of total passengers.