Corporate Travel News For Asia

China Eastern Airlines reportedly visited Perth Airport to review the possibility of launching daily Shanghai Pudong-Perth service (Perth Now, 20-May-2017). China Eastern Australia manager Kathy Zhang stated the carrier was "exploring the possibility of the direct services, however it has not been decided yet".

Tourism Australia released the second phase of its Great Australian Airfare Sale 2.0 initiative (Financial Express, 22-May-2017). The campaign is in partnership with eight leading carriers including Air India, Air Asia, Cathay Pacific, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Scoot, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, and is designed to boost tourism from India to Australia. Tourism Australia country manager India & Gulf Nishant Kashikar said Tourism Australia will continue to partner and work closely with airline partners to accelerate market demand and create more enticing opportunities encouraging Indians to visit Australia.

Air Tahiti Nui plans to increase Papeete-Tokyo Narita frequency from twice weekly to three times weekly in 1Q2018 (Routes Online, 19-May-2017). The seasonal additional frequency will operate from 20-Feb-2018 to 28-Mar-2018, departing Papeete on Tuesdays and Tokyo on Wednesdays.

Australia's Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) reported (18-May-2017) the overall domestic on-time performance for participating airlines averaged 85.1% for on-time departures and 85.4% for on-time arrivals for Apr-2017. Details include:

• On-time departures: 85.1%;
  • Jetstar: 73.5%;
  • Qantas: 89.6%;
  • QantasLink: 87.0%;
  • Regional Express: 87.3%;
  • Tigerair: 77.4%;
  • Virgin Australia: 88.0%;
  • Virgin Australia Regional Airlines: 91.6%;
• On-time arrivals: 85.4%;
  • Jetstar: 77.6%;
  • Qantas: 88.9%;
  • QantasLink: 87.8%;
  • Regional Express: 84.7%;
  • Tigerair: 78.1%;
  • Virgin Australia: 87.6%;
  • Virgin Australia Regional Airlines: 91.5%;
• Cancellations: 2.1%;
  • Jetstar: 1.6%;
  • Qantas: 1.2%;
  • QantasLink: 3.9%;
  • Regional Express: 0.8%;
  • Tigerair: 1.4%;
  • Virgin Australia: 2.5%;
  • Virgin Australia Regional Airlines: 0.6%. [more - original PR]

Tourism Australia reported (15-May-2017) visitor arrivals to Australia rose 2% in Mar-2017. Details include:

• Visitor arrivals: 768,500, +1.8% year-on-year;
  • China: 110,400, +8.7%;
  • New Zealand: 108,700, +3.6%;
  • UK: 79,000, -9.9%;
  • US: 76,700, +6.5%;
  • Singapore: 36,600, -1.6%. [more - original PR]

New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) reduced the expected forecast of Chinese tourist spending by 30% year on year, due to "geopolitical risk" (Bloomberg, 15-May-2017). As previously reported by CAPA, the forecast released by the MBIE identified spending from Chinese visitors will reach NZD4.3 billion (USD3 billion) annually by 2023, with visitor numbers expected to reach just under one million per year by the end of the forecast period. China is expected to contribute to 37% of total international visitor growth from 2016 to 2023, and 51% of total visitor spending. [more - original PR]

Jetstar introduced additional fees for customers travelling with babies under the age of two years old on their laps during domestic and international services (News.com.au, 16-May-2017). From 15-May-2017, customers are required to pay AUD30 (USD22.3) one-way for infants on domestic Australian services and AUD50 (USD37.1) on international services. Jetstar stated introducing the charges brought Jetstar into line with its low-cost competitor Tigerair. Jetstar's infant fee includes an allowance for up to four oversized infant items, such as prams or strollers.

Tourism Australia announced (12-May-2017) a partnership with the Toyota AFL Premiership to host the first ever match in China. The game between the Gold Coast Suns and Port Adelaide at the Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai will be played in front of a sell-out crowd and a broadcast audience in China of millions. As the Official Tourism Partner for the game, Tourism Australia will work alongside South Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism and Events Queensland to leverage tourism opportunities in China before, during and after the game. Tourism Australia regional GM Greater China Andrew Hogg stated media exposure from the AFL game and tourism-related events alongside it would significantly boost Australia's profile in China and showcase Adelaide and the Gold Coast as tourism destinations to a new Chinese audience. [more - original PR]

Tourism & Transport Forum (TTF) commented (12-May-2017) on new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics highlighting for the first time China is on the cusp of overtaking New Zealand as Australia's biggest source of international visitors. TTF CEO Margy Osmond stated: "In the period to Mar-2017, Australia welcomed 1.3 million Chinese visitors, an increase of 12.3% year on year, and just 100,000 fewer than New Zealand. Chinese visitors are the highest spending of all nationalities visiting Australia with an average spend of AUD8328 (USD6158) per trip, and with the number of Chinese tourists traveling overseas each year expected to double to 200 million by 2020, the Chinese tourism boom is well and truly set to become the backbone of Australia's visitor economy". [more - original PR]

Regional Express (Rex) announced (11-May-2017) the graduation of the first group of Vietnamese cadets trained at its pilot academy, the Australian Airline Pilot Academy (AAPA). The training at AAPA is the result of a partnership with Viet Flight Training, a company of Vietnam Airlines. As AAPA is accredited with the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam as well as Vietnam Airlines, the graduates will now be eligible for admission into Vietnam Airlines as airline pilots after their aircraft type endorsements. [more - original PR]