Corporate Travel News For Asia

Etihad Airways issued (28-Sep-2023) a commercial waiver as it plans to suspend daily Abu Dhabi-Dhaka service from 29-Oct-2023. Passengers with fully unutilised tickets may receive a full refund with no penalty or administrative fee, while partially used ticket holders may refund the unused portion of their ticket. According to OAG, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi and Biman Bangladesh Airlines will continue operating the route. [more - original PR]

Emirates Airline announced (28-Sep-2023) plans to introduce premium economy seating on the following frequencies, increasing the carrier's premium economy network to 14 destinations:

• Dubai-Sao Paulo: Three times weekly from 19-Nov-2023;
  • Increase to daily offering from Dec-2023
• Dubai-Tokyo Narita: Daily from 20-Dec-2023.

The services will be operated using newly retrofitted 484 seat A380 aircraft featuring the new cabin offering and refreshed interiors. Sao Paulo is set to become the carrier's first Latin American destination to receive the premium economy offering, while Tokyo Narita will be Emirates' first destination in Japan and second in the Far East to receive the product. [more - original PR]

Singapore Changi Airport commenced (28-Sep-2023) operations in the northern wing of Terminal 2 on 28-Sep-2023, following 3.5 years of engineering and expansion works to bring the airport's capacity to 90 million passengers p/a. Details include:

• The expansion added 15,500sqm to the terminal building and increased T2's capacity from 23 million to 28 million passengers p/a;
• The terminal now features a central common use Fast and Seamless Travel zone in the departure hall, additional automated check in kiosks and bag drop machines and additional automated immigration lanes. T2 is also the first terminal at Changi to have automated special assistance lanes at both arrival and departure immigration;
• Systems and building equipment that had reached end of life were upgraded to more efficient models. Two baggage belts were lengthened to handle a higher volume of bags and cater to widebody aircraft. The baggage handling system now has enhanced security features and the early baggage storage system was upgraded from semi-automated to fully automated, allowing 2400 bags to be stored simultaneously;
• 80% of shops are open at T2 with more to join in the coming weeks;
• Lufthansa, SWISS and Singapore Airlines (services to Southeast Asia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) commenced operating at the T2 northern wing on 28-Sep-2023. Singapore Airlines' first class check in reception and the SATS premier check in lounge also opened at the terminal;
• Air Japan, All Nippon Airways, Etihad Airways, IndiGo and Singapore Airlines (services to the Maldives and Nepal) will move to T2 in Oct-2023, bringing the number of airlines operating at the terminal to 16.

The T2 southern wing reopened for arrivals in May-2022 and departures in Oct-2022. T2 will fully reopen by the end of Oct-2023. [more - original PR]

Etihad Airways partnered (20-Sep-2023) with Wamos Air to support the carrier's Jakarta operations as Etihad awaits the delivery of new aircraft. Wamos Air is set to operate the carrier's Abu Dhabi-Jakarta service from 01-Oct-2023 through 30-Nov-2023. As previously reported by CAPA, Etihad issued a commercial waiver for passengers affected by the operational change, who may request a full or partial refund with no penalty or administrative fees. [more - original PR]

All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced (19-Sep-2023) plans to extend the opening hours of the ANA Suite Lounge and ANA Lounge in Terminal 2 at Tokyo Haneda Airport to accommodate the migration of 11 international services from Terminal 3 to Terminal 2 effective 29-Oct-2023. The lounges will be open daily from 05:00 until the last international flight departure. ANA also announced plans to reopen its bar counter and LIVE kitchen at the ANA Lounge. [more - original PR]

OAG reported (19-Sep-2023) the following highlights from its 2023 'Megahubs' report, ranking the most internationally connected airports:

• London Heathrow Airport reclaimed the position of the most internationally connected airport. British Airways remains the airport's dominant airline with a 50% share of flights;
• New York John F Kennedy International Airport ranked second, up 16 places from 2019;
• Amsterdam Schiphol Airport ranked third, with KLM accounting for 53% of flights;
• Kuala Lumpur International Airport ranked fourth and is the most connected airport in Asia Pacific. AirAsia operates 34% of flights at the airport;
• Tokyo Haneda Airport ranked fifth, up from 22nd in 2019;
• Frankfurt Airport ranked sixth;
• Istanbul Airport joined the top 10 at seventh. Turkish Airlines is the airport's dominant airline with a 79% share of flights;
• Seoul Incheon International Airport ranked eighth;
• Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport ranked ninth;
• Chicago O'Hare International Airport ranked 10th. The airport is ranked first in the US for domestic connectivity. United Airlines accounts for 48% of flights at the airport;
• Dubai International Airport is the top ranked airport in the Middle East and Africa at 16th;
• Seven of the top 20 airports are in Asia Pacific, six are in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and six are in North America. [more - original PR] [more - original PR - II] [more - original PR - III]

Emirates Airline and SriLankan Airlines signed (19-Sep-2023) a reciprocal interline agreement encompassing 30 routes, increasing connectivity via Dubai and Colombo using a single ticket with baggage transfers. Effective immediately, Emirates will codeshare on the following Asian services operating by SriLankan Airlines:

• Colombo-Bangalore;
• Colombo-Bangkok Suvarnabhumi;
• Colombo-Chennai;
• Colombo-Cochin;
• Colombo-Gan Island;
• Colombo-Guangzhou;
• Colombo-Hyderabad (India);
• Colombo-Jakarta;
• Colombo-Kuala Lumpur;
• Colombo-Madurai;
• Colombo-Male;
• Colombo-Seoul Incheon;
• Colombo-Singapore;
• Colombo-Tiruchirappalli;
• Colombo-Tokyo Narita.

SriLankan Airlines will codeshare on Emirates services to 15 destinations including Amman, Bahrain, Cairo, and other Middle Eastern destinations, as well as Moscow, New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Franciso, Chicago, Boston and Houston. [more - original PR]

Malaysia Airlines (MAB) announced (15-Sep-2023) plans to receive 10 hi-lift trucks in the coming months and restore full meal service by mid Nov-2023. The hi-lift trucks ensure meal carts are uplifted at the correct temperatures, while also maintaining stringent practices throughout the process. In the absence of the hi-lifts, MAB temporarily suspended hot meal offerings to ensure food safety is not compromised. [more - original PR]

Philippine Airlines, via its official website, stated (Sep-2023) the carrier is temporarily unable to accept non immigrant visitors to the US under the US Visa Waiver Programme. Philippine Airlines' application for renewal of the required carrier agreement with the US Customs Border Protection is currently in process.

Singapore Changi Airport, via its official website, stated (Sep-2023) Vietnam Airlines will be moving to Terminal 3 from 26-Sep-2023.