Virgin Galactic Launches:

Sometime in the next 12 months passengers will be able to journey into the final frontier aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, heralding the true beginning of commercial space flight according to CEO Sir Richard Branson…Read more

Jetstar Expands Darwin International:

Jetstar has announced a new direct flight from Darwin to Manila and onwards to Tokyo, as part of a major strengthening of the NT capital’s role as a gateway to Asia. However the move will see Jetstar cease its existing direct flights between Darwin and Vietnam, with the cancellation effective from 25 Mar 2012. From the same date the new Darwin-Manila-Tokyo route will launch four times per week, while the carrier will boost its Darwin flights to Singapore to ten services per week.

Cathay Pacific’s Hong Kong-London Service to Feature Premium Economy:

Cathay Pacific’s newly configured Boeing B747-400 and B777-300ER, featuring the highly anticipated premium economy cabin, will be deployed on the Hong Kong-London route from May onwards. Between May and June, the B747-400 will service the route thrice weekly – Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. From July until October, it will go daily. The aircraft will feature a total of 359 seats: nine in first class, 46 business class seats and 26 premium economy seats. As a result of the premium economy cabin, there will be fewer economy class seats: 278 instead of 324…Read more

Guangzhou-Shenzhen High-Speed Rail Service Commences:

December 26 marked the opening of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. In the early phase of operation, the train will operate at 300km per hour, almost halving the commute time between China’s third largest city and the fast-developing Special Economic Zone across the border from Hong Kong.

Sofitel Launches Flagship Hotel in India:

Sofitel Luxury Hotels welcomed its first hotel in India on December 26 with the opening of the Sofitel Mumbai BKC. The 302-room hotel is strategically located at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), the new financial district in Mumbai with easy access to the Bandra-Worli sealink, which connects Bandra with Mumbai’s city centre. The immediate area around the hotel consists of offices of many multinational corporations including BNP Paribas as well as the National Stock Exchange and the world’s largest diamond trading centre, the Bharat Diamond Bourse.

Best Western’s India Expansion:

Best Western has announced plans to construct 66 new hotels in India over the next five years, as part of US$300m investment in the sub-continent. Most of the properties will be either four or five star hotels, built primarily in the metro areas of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.

Virgin Australia improves Mackay services:

Virgin Australia has announced enhancements to its Mackay service, including extra weekday flights between Mackay and Brisbane and the opening of its first-ever lounge at Mackay Airport…Read more

Air China Daily to Sydney:

Air China is lifting nonstop frequencies between Beijing and Sydney from 4-5 weekly to daily over the Northern Summer 2012 period. The Star Alliance carrier is also upping frequencies on the Beijing- Shanghai-Melbourne service from four times weekly to five.

Emirates Doubles Glasgow Services & Launches Dublin and Ho Chi Minh City:

Emirates launched services to Dublin on 9th January 2012, will launch services between Dubai and HCMC from June 4, and has underlined its commitment to Scotland with plans to introduce a second daily non-stop flight to Glasgow, commencing 1st June 2012.

Starwood Plan new Sheraton in North East Brazil:

Starwood will be opening the Sheraton Reserva do Paiva Hotel and Convention Center in March 2014.

Korean to Gatwick:

Korean Air will begin a new thrice weekly service between Seoul Incheon and London Gatwick beginning 29 Apr, boosting its flight options to the UK capital to 10 weekly in alignment with its daily London Heathrow service.

Tiger Boosts Aussie Seats:

Tiger Airways has revealed a range of additional frequencies on its Australian domestic routes during the upcoming Northern summer scheduling period.

Eurostar – Provence Direct:

Eurostar will operate weekly direct train services between the UK and France’s Provence region.

New FIFO Carrier:

A new domestic Fly In Fly Out air charter carrier is expecting to launch in Q1, called JetGo Australia. The airline says its owners and management team ‘possess extensive industry experience’. The jetgoaustralia.com website states the start up is ‘committed to the introduction of modern high technology aircraft that bring a new level of efficiency, reliability and cost effectiveness, yet to be deployed in the Australian market”. It’s understood JetGo will offer services from Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast & Sunshine Coast utilising Embraer 135 jets. Source: Travel Daily

Virgin Australia ends One-Off Lounge Access:

Virgin Australia is winding down the ‘single-entry pass’ program through which infrequent flyers can purchase a one-off entry into its airport lounges…Read more

Singapore Airlines Returns Airbus A380 to Melbourne Flights:

Singapore Airlines is returning the popular Airbus A380 superjumbo to its Melbourne flights from late March, bringing better seats, a quieter ride and a more comfortable cabin for business travellers…Read more

Singapore Airlines Adds More Flights to Sydney, Brisbane and Perth:

Singapore Airlines is adding flights to several of its Australian routes, with Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth all seeing extra flights as SQ bumps several of its flights up to daily…Click here to see how those schedules pan out – and when you’ll see the changes.

Thai Airways News Update:

Later this year, Thai Airways will lift the curtains on their new fleet of A380 aircraft.
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) recently received the award as the Best Airline in Southeast Asia at Global Traveler Magazine’s 2011 GT Tested Awards.

AirAsia X set for major network revamp; Sydney flights rumoured:

Malaysian low-cost long haul carrier AirAsia X has just announced a “re-alignment” of its routes which will see it withdraw services to Europe and India.
The move comes amid widespread speculation of the imminent announcement of a Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route for the carrier.

AirAsia X flights to Mumbai will be suspended effective 31 Jan, while the daily operation from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi will cease from 22 Mar.

The six weekly London flights will stop from 31 Mar, while AirAsia X will also withdraw from Paris Orly with the last flight on 30 Mar this year.

Source: The Travel Daily

Qantas-Woolworths Points Promo:

QANTAS Frequent Flyer is giving away 2.5 million points to Woolworths Everyday Rewards cardholders this month. Ten prizes of 250,000 points each will be given to shoppers who use their cards for over $30 in purchases at a participating supermarket between 11 Jan and 24 Jan.

Source: The Travel Daily

Qantas Wins Award:

QantasLink named Regional Airline of the Year by leading Aviation Magazine Air Transport World.

Holiday Inn Express Bangkok Siam opens Feb 2012

When you offset your flight emissions with Climate Friendly’s simple FlightPortal solution you can support a diverse range of projects which reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Surrounded by agricultural fields, the Koganti biomass power plant in India takes advantage of Karnataka’s plentiful farm waste (biomass) such as rice husks, groundnut husks, cotton stalks and chilli stalks to generate renewable electricity.

This clean energy is a substitute for electricity generated using conventional fossil fuels and is supplied to India’s Southern Grid. The primary sources of power in the region are coal-fired power plants, which create high volumes of greenhouse gas emissions and cause local air pollution.

Koganti contributes to minimizing India’s greenhouse gas emissions, helps reduce demand for finite natural resources like coal, gas and oil, and improves local air quality. Koganti’s power output prevents 28,600 tonnes of greenhouse gases being generated each year.

The additional revenue from the sale of carbon credits provided the necessary incentive to justify the investment in this project.

Benefits Beyond Carbon Reduction
Whilst Karnataka has been the fastest growing Indian state over the past decade in terms of GDP – largely due to the IT boom in its capital Bangalore – much of its rural population still lives in poverty. Many people living in rural villages have inadequate access to healthcare and other services, and many homes do not have electricity.

The project employs 76 people directly and indirectly created employment for a further 160 people including bankers, consultants, transporters, suppliers, manufacturers and contractors.

Prior to the construction of the Koganti project, there was a shortage of power in the area, and frequent power cuts. The project has significantly improved the local electricity supply in terms of both total capacity and reliability.

The plant was set up to turn rice husk and other crop residues into renewable energy, creating new markets for agricultural waste. The farmers who supply the biomass now have year-round employment, whereas beforehand their agricultural activity was restricted to six or seven months in a year. They also receive ash from the power plant to use as fertiliser, leading to improved soil conditions and higher crop yields.

The local taxes being paid by the project owner have helped the local authorities to improve public facilities such as street lighting and new water pipelines.

Community consultations were held as part of the project verification at which every representative confirmed that the project helps the socio-economic development of the village and nearby area without adversely affecting the local environment.

Singapore Airlines is adding flights to several of its Australian routes, with Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth all seeing extra flights as SQ bumps several of its flights up to daily.

Here’s how those schedules pan out — and when you’ll see the changes:

Adelaide

Between 31 January and 2 July, Adelaide services will fall to a single daily flight: SQ278 to Adelaide and return SQ279 to Singapore.

But the thrice-weekly SQ276-SQ277 pair will return from 2 July, running on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays:

• SQ277 leaves Singapore at 0730, arriving in Adelaide at 1550
• SQ276 leaves Adelaide at 1705, arriving in Singapore at 2300

Brisbane

Brisbane flights will increase from 19 to 21 weekly as of 25 March, which means three full daily return services.
It’s SQ255/256 that sees the extra flights: the return will move from five flights a week to a daily service.

Currently those flights don’t run on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

• SQ255 leaves Singapore at 0010, arriving in Brisbane at 0950.
• SQ256 leaves Brisbane at 0910, arriving in Singapore at 1520.

Melbourne

As Australian Business Traveller reported this week, business travellers on the Melbourne-Singapore route will be glad to see the return of the Airbus A380 on their flights from March.
Perth

There are more flights from Perth too: up to a 21 a week from 17.

SQ224/225 is the return that gets the WA frequency bump: from three times a week to daily as of 25 March. Currently, that return runs only on a Monday, Friday and Saturday.

• SQ225 leaves Singapore at 0100 and arrives in Perth at 0620.
• SQ224 leaves Perth at 0735 and arrives in Singapore at 1250.



Source: http://www.ausbt.com.au/singapore-airlines-extra-flights-to-adelaide-brisbane-perth

Singapore Airlines is returning the popular Airbus A380 superjumbo to its Melbourne flights from late March, bringing better seats, a quieter ride and a more comfortable cabin for business travellers.”The A380 aircraft will service the Singapore-Melbourne SQ227/SQ228 route from 25 March 2012″, a Singpaore Airlines spokesperson confirmed to Australian Business Traveller (26 March will be the first Melbourne-Singapore A380 leg).


When the A380 returns in March, it won’t be on exactly the same flights as previously. Here’s how the post-March schedule breaks down:

Melbourne-Singapore:
• SQ218 leaves Melbourne at 0005, arriving in Singapore at 0555, using a Boeing 777-300ER
• SQ238 leaves Melbourne at 1000, arriving in Singapore at 1550, using a Boeing 777-300
• SQ228 leaves Melbourne at 1545, arriving in Singapore at 2135, using an Airbus A380


For Singapore-Melbourne flights:
• SQ237 leaves Singapore at 0045, arriving in Melbourne at 1005, using a Boeing 777-300
• SQ217 leaves Singapore at 0955, arriving in Melbourne at 1915, using a Boeing 777-300ER
• SQ227 leaves Singapore at 2100, arriving in Singapore at 0620 the next day, using an Airbus A380.
Source: www.australianbusinesstraveller.com. Read more about their recommendation on picking the most comfortable flights: http://www.ausbt.com.au/singapore-airlines-returns-airbus-a380-to-melbourne-flights

Virgin Australia is winding down the ‘single-entry pass’ program through which infrequent flyers can purchase a one-off entry into its airport lounges.

Walk-up access to the lounge for a flat $65 was discontinued at the end of December, and a Virgin Australia spokeswoman confirmed that $55 online passes would also be phased out on January 31st.
However, “online pre-paid passes purchased prior to 31 January 2012 will be honoured within their standard expiry dates” the spokeswoman told Australian Business Traveller.

Virgin Australia Velocity members will still receive two free lounge passes when they reach Silver status, and the spokeswoman says the program to issue a free lounge pass for every 100 Velocity status credits earned “will be launched in the near future”. Source: http://www.ausbt.com.au/virgin-australia-ends-one-off-lounge-access

Cathay Pacific’s newly configured Boeing B747-400 and B777-300ER, featuring the highly anticipated premium economy cabin, will be deployed on the Hong Kong-London route from May onwards. Between May and June, the B747-400 will service the route thrice weekly – Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. From July until October, it will go daily. The aircraft will feature a total of 359 seats: nine in first class, 46 business class seats and 26 premium economy seats. As a result of the premium economy cabin, there will be fewer economy class seats: 278 instead of 324.


From September onwards, Cathay will deploy B777-300ER, also featuring four classes, operating the same route daily. The B777-300ER aircraft will consist of six first class seats, 53 business class seats, 34 premium economy seats and 182 economy seats. According to John Slosar, chief executive of Cathay Pacific, the premium economy cabin will not only be spacious and therefore more comfortable than economy, but also provide a complete experience as passengers will enjoy priority check in and boarding as well as enhanced inflight meal options.


Besides London, other services to Sydney, Toronto, Vancouver and New York will also enjoy the product innovation, although their roll out dates have not yet been confirmed.


Source: www.businesstraveller.com

Virgin Australia has announced enhancements to its Mackay service, including extra weekday flights between Mackay and Brisbane and the opening of its first-ever lounge at Mackay Airport. From 5 March, the new service will see Virgin Australia operating a total of 78 flights per week between Mackay and Brisbane, which is the greatest frequency offered by any airline on this route.With the addition of the extra Mackay-Brisbane service, Virgin Australia now offers two more return daily services than any other airline on this route.

“With our new lounge now opened, the availability of Business Class on all Brisbane-Mackay services from January 18 and the introduction of Priority Boarding, … guests of Virgin Australia can now enjoy an enhanced travel experience to and from Mackay”, says Virgin Australia group executive of product and guest services Martin Daley.


Source: btTB Bytes 11 January 2012

Sometime in the next 12 months passengers will be able to journey into the final frontier aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, heralding the true beginning of commercial space flight according to CEO Sir Richard Branson.


Virgin Galactic is one of the first in the world to offer seats to everyday people onboard the commercial spacecraft. A cool $200,000 books you a seat onboard the 60 foot spacecraft that will take you on a suborbital trip 110 kilometres above the Earth’s surface for six full minutes of weightlessness and view the curvature of the Earth.

So far over 430 people have booked their spot on SpaceShipTwo which has a crew of two and can carry six passengers. To do so is as easy as booking online direct with the website and forking over a $20,000 deposit, followed by a three day training regime once a series of medical tests are passed.
Virgin Galactic has been working on its space tourism program for the past seven years, with the first commercial spaceport ‘Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space’ at Spaceport America, New Mexico launched in October 2011.

Congratulations Voyager CEO Richard Savva and COO Stuart Hunter for their mo-grow success in support of Movember. Well done men!

Qantas has announced a new Australian domestic business class fare structure, with effect from 30 November 2011.

The new fares will provide enhanced flexibility and accessibility for you, and will apply to travel within Australia on all Qantas domestic services (excluding QantasLink).

The new fare structure will see the addition of a C class fare in the domestic business class cabin and additional price points across the domestic network.

 Key features of the new structure:

• C class introduced into all markets
• D class expanded into point to point markets excluding some thoroughfares
• I class will initially only be available for international through connections.                                                                                                                                        

The new fare structure will not involve changes to the existing business class product.