Corporate Travel News For Asia

Jetstar, via its official WeChat account, reported (24-May-2018) Jetstar Asia handled an accumulated more than 100,000 passengers between Singapore and Haikou and Sanya since 2009. Jetstar Asia is the only foreign airline to operate to both Sanya and Haikou airports.

AirAsia Group CEO and AirAsia X Group co-CEO Tony Fernandes, via his official Twitter account, commented on AirAsia X's 1Q2018 financial performance, stating: "Great financial results for AirAsia X in 1Q18. Will continue with our strategy to focus on building frequency and leverage on our strong branding in core countries. Profits for Thai AirAsia X also strongest we've seen so far and they're set to go bigger".

Xiamen Airlines announced (23-May-2018) it took delivery of its first Boeing 787 MAX 8 (B-1288) aircraft, expanding the carrier's fleet to 200 aircraft. Xiamen Airlines passed the first milestone of 100 aircraft in 2013, and continued to grow by adding around 20 aircraft p/a and doubling the size of the fleet within five years. The carrier aims to expand its fleet to 560 aircraft by 2035. [more - original PR - English/Chinese]

CAAC reported (23-May-2018) the following traffic highlights for Mar-2018:

• Passengers: 51.4 million, +15.9% year-on-year;
  • Domestic: 46.1 million, +15.4%;
    • Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan: 895,000, +13.4%;
  • International: 5.3 million, +20.3%;
• Passenger load factor: 84.4%, +1.4ppts;
• Cargo: 615,000 tonnes, +4.0%;
• • Domestic: 414,000 tonnes, +2.4%;
    • Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan: 22,000 tonnes, +1.4%;
  • International: 201,000 tonnes, +7.5%. [more - original PR - Chinese]

Qantas and Air France renewed (23-May-2018) their codeshare partnership and will offer more options for travel between Australia and France via Asia. Details include:

• Air France will add its code to Qantas flights between Hong Kong and Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and between Singapore and Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. Air France passengers will also be able to access codeshare services from Sydney to Canberra, Hobart, Adelaide, Cairns and Darwin via the Qantas domestic network. Tickets are available for booking from 05-Jun-2018 for travel from 20-Jul-2018;
• Air France eligible passengers will also be able to access Qantas lounges in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia, while Qantas eligible passengers will be granted access to Air France lounges in Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore;
• Qantas will add its code to flights operated by Air France between Singapore and Hong Kong and Paris Charles de Gaulle International Airport, as a continuation of flights from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth;
• As of 20-Jul-2018, the carriers will codeshare on more than 200 weekly frequencies. [more - original PR - Qantas] [more - original PR - Air France]

Tourism New Zealand (Tourism NZ) reported (21-May-2018) international visitor spend for the year to Mar-2018 of NZD10.9 billion (USD7.6 billion), including record first quarter spending of NZD4.2 billion (USD2.9 billion). Largest source markets by spending were:

• Australia: NZD2.6 billion (USD1.8 billion);
• China: NZD1.7 billion (USD1.2 billion);
• US: NZD1.3 billion (USD900 million). [more - original PR]

Singapore Airlines' KrisFlyer frequent flyer programme and loyalty commerce company Points launched (22-May-2018) the 'KrisFlyer vRooms' platform, enabling KrisFlyer members to use miles to redeem for more than 300,000 hotels and 29,000 car rental locations worldwide. [more - original PR]

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo stated the government plans to expedite the redevelopment and expansion of Padang Minangkabau International Airport (The Jakarta Post/Industri, 21-May-2018). The project is targeted for completion by the end of 2019, increasing the airport's capacity to 5.7 million passengers p/a. The airport is currently capable of handling 2.7 million passengers p/a.

Air China VP and GM for North America Zhihang Chi, speaking on CAPA TV, commented (Apr-2018) on the desire to have a JV with United Airlines if there is a China-US open skies agreement. He stated: "It's only natural that we enter into a JV with our closest in the United States, United Airlines in this case". [more - CAPA TV]

Air China VP and GM for North America Zhihang Chi, speaking on CAPA TV, commented (Apr-2018) on the potential trade dispute between China and US, stating: "We don't know what's going to happen to the threatened trade war. Our hope is that somehow things will get worked out and it looks pretty promising. At the same time I think people still need to travel. People still need to visit people. So we still are rather optimistic that travel will continue to build between the two countries". He added: "If it does go through it probably will initially put a damper on travel between the US and China. Apparently trade will be impacted. Typically investment follows trade and travel follows investment so that cycle. No, we don't want a trade war". [more - CAPA TV]