Corporate Travel News For Asia

Scoot Tigerair received (21-Feb-2018) authorisation from the US DoT under 14 CFR Part 212, permitting Scoot to display the (SQ) designator code of Singapore Airlines for an indefinite period on services operated by Scoot between any point or points in Singapore and any point or points in the US. [more - original PR]

Air New Zealand announced (22-Feb-2018) plans to launch Auckland-Taipei Taoyuan service from Nov-2018, subject to regulatory approvals. The carrier will operate up to five times weekly on the route with Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon stated: "Air New Zealand's new service is significantly quicker and more convenient than current indirect options. New Zealand already welcomes around 36,000 visitors a year from the Taiwan market and we're confident a direct link will grow numbers further". [more - original PR]

Finnair stated (18-Feb-2018) the direct market capacity between Finnair's Asian and European destinations grew by 4.7% in 2017. Competition in Asian traffic developed in two different directions, with capacity growth being primarily focused on routes between China and Europe. On routes between Japan and Europe, Finnair was the only airline to significantly increase its capacity, while many competitors scaled back their capacity compared to the previous year. Finnair's market share in traffic between Europe and Asia increased to 5.9%. [more - original PR]

Tourism Australia reported (19-Feb-2018) visitor arrivals to Australia. Details include:

• Dec-2017:
  • Visitor arrivals: 1.0 million, +3.5% year-on-year;
    • New Zealand: 125,500, -3.1%;
    • UK: 123,700, +5.9%;
    • China: 111,000, +11.7%;
    • US: 94,900, +4.7%;
    • Singapore: 52,400, -9.7%;
• 2017:
  
  • Visitor arrivals: 8.8 million, +6.5%.

According to the CAPA Tourism Database, Australia saw the highest visitor arrivals since 2009 in 2017. [more - original PR]

Emirates announced (19-Feb-2018) plans to launch year round Dubai-Bali-Auckland service, effective 14-Jun-2018. The service will operate daily with Boeing 777-300ER equipment configured with three classes, increasing Dubai-Bali frequency to three times daily during the summer season to 28-Oct-2018. According to OAG, Air New Zealand operates seasonal service Auckland-Bali, Emirates operates twice daily Dubai-Bali in the summer season and year round daily nonstop Dubai-Auckland. [more - original PR]

Angola's Government ruled to exempt five countries - Botswana, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe and Singapore - from tourism visa requirements, effective 30-Mar-2018 (Angola Press Agency, 17-Feb-2018).

Hainan Airlines plans to increase service between Chengdu and the US from May-2018 (Routes Online, 18-Feb-2018). The carrier will increase Chengdu-Los Angeles frequency from twice to three times weekly from 18-May-2018 and Chengdu-New York JFK frequency from twice to three times weekly from 24-May-2018. Both services will operate with Boeing 787-8 aircraft.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) decided (16-Feb-2018) to re-authorise the continued coordination of three Qantas Asian-based JVs: Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific and Jetstar Japan. These airlines are also seeking to coordinate with their shareholding airlines Qantas, Japan Airlines and Vietnam Airlines, on passenger and cargo services within Asia. The decision continues an ACCC authorisation made in 2013. The ACCC stated that by coordinating, the Jetstar-branded airlines are able to operate as a single fully integrated organisation on matters such as flight scheduling, sales and marketing, and pricing, and this "should lead to public benefits, such as better products and services, and more convenient flight times for consumers," said ACCC commissioner Roger Featherston. The ACCC believes their coordination is "likely to result in little, if any, lessening of competition" and the JV airlines would be unlikely to compete directly with each other or their owners in the absence of the proposed coordination. The re-authorisation does not extend to allowing coordination between the owners of any of the JV airlines. [more - original PR]

China Southern Airlines filed additional European routes for summer 2018, including new options to Rome and London (Routes Online, 14-Feb-2018). The carrier plans to operate three times weekly Guangzhou-Rome Fiumicino service from 12-Jul-2018, operating with Boeing 787-8 aircraft and three times weekly Wuhan-London Heathrow service from 30-May-2018, operating with A330-200 aircraft. The carrier's European network currently comprises Paris CDG, Tbilisi, Frankfurt, Rome Fiumicino, Amsterdam, Moscow Sheremetyevo and London Heathrow, according to OAG.

VLM Airlines communications officer Yves Panneels stated the company's route aspirations to China will be operated from either Oostende/Brugge Airport, Brussels Airport or Liege Airport (La Libre Belgique/Belga, 14-Feb-2018). As previously reported by CAPA, VLM Airlines plans to lease two A330-200s for a route to China, with Shenzhen noted as most likely due to less competition than Beijing or Shanghai.