Corporate Travel News For Asia

Malaysia's Minister of Transport Anthony Loke, via his personal Facebook account, stated (16-Sep-2023) Malaysia Airlines is resuming hot meal service on selected routes, striving to restore full service as soon as possible. As previously reported by CAPA, Malaysia Airlines commenced the transition to a new catering service for select domestic and international routes from 01-Sep-2023.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued (15-Sep-2023) a draft determination proposing to deny authorisation for Qantas Airways and China Eastern Airlines, and their related entities, to continue coordinating operations between Australia and mainland China. ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey stated: "At this stage we are not satisfied that the likely harm to competition from Qantas and China Eastern's proposed coordination would be outweighed by any potential benefits", adding: "We are concerned that the authorisation would provide Qantas and China Eastern with the opportunity and incentive to increase prices, compared to what they would charge absent the alliance, by limiting or delaying the introduction of additional capacity on the Sydney-Shanghai route as passenger demand continues to grow". Ms Brakey also noted: "A key difference between now and the previous authorisations is we have not been provided with sufficient evidence that the coordination would lead to additional services on other routes between Australia and China". The interim authorisation the ACCC granted to the two parties on 30-Mar-2023 to continue to coordinate their operations will remain in place until the ACCC reaches a final decision, and Qantas and China Eastern are invited to make submissions in response to the draft determination by 06-Oct-2023. [more - original PR]

Brisbane Airport announced (14-Sep-2023) China Eastern Airlines plans to resume three times weekly Shanghai Pudong-Brisbane service from 29-Oct-2023, following a suspension since Feb-2020. The airline will operate the service with A330-200 equipment configured with 232 seats and plans to increase frequency to daily from 08-Dec-2023. The resumption was secured under the Queensland Government's AUD200 million (USD128.4 million) Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, which was created to boost Queensland's visitor economy. Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO Gert-Jan de Graaff stated: "With two carriers now set to resume services from mainland China, we're forecasting China will likely regain its spot as Queensland's number one source for inbound tourists in 2024". China Eastern will codeshare with Qantas Airways on the route. [more - original PR]

IATA reported (05-Sep-2023) recovery in international traffic steadied in Jul-2023 as RPKs stood 11.3% under pre-pandemic levels, a "modest" 0.5pp improvement from Jun-2023. Domestic traffic expanded further and continued to rise over 2019 levels, achieving 8.3% growth over Jul-2019 levels and reaching an all time record high. This was attributable to the strong performance of major markets and China in particular. ASKs also saw strong growth of 23.7% year-on-year, totalling 96.1% of the pre-pandemic capacity. Passenger load factors approached the levels achieved in 2019, reaching an industry wide average of 85.2%, only 0.4pp away from full recovery. IATA said the latest forward looking ticket sales indicate the recovery momentum is expected to continue "in the near term". IATA director general Willie Walsh stated: "Planes were full during Jul-2023 as people continue to travel in ever greater numbers". Mr Walsh added: "Importantly, forward ticket sales indicate that traveler confidence remains high. And there is every reason to be optimistic about the continuing recovery". [more - original PR]

Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Bangkok Airways entered (04-Sep-2023) a codeshare partnership covering travel between Singapore and Thailand, as well as other cities in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Bangkok Airways will codeshare on SIA services from Singapore to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Phuket, Adelaide, Sydney and Auckland. SIA will codeshare on Bangkok Airways services from Singapore to Koh Samui, Phuket to Koh Samui and from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Phuket, Luang Prabang, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. [more - original PR]

Trip.com reported (04-Sep-2023) its domestic and international business continued to show "robust" recovery during 2Q2023. Outbound hotel and air reservations recovered to over 60% of 2Q2019 levels, surpassing the industry wide recovery rate of 37% in terms of international air passenger volume. Air ticket bookings on the company's global online travel agency platform grew by over 120% year-on-year and nearly doubled compared to 2Q2019. Corporate travel revenue increased 178%, primarily due to a "substantial" recovery in travel. Executive chairman James Liang stated demand for both domestic and international travel remained "resilient", adding: "We remain optimistic about the enduring demand for travel and the long-term market outlook". CEO Jane Sun added: "With the thriving market demand and our outstanding performance, we are poised to take the lead in driving the industry's recovery and actively creating an abundance of job opportunities alongside our esteemed business partners". [more - original PR]

Collinson reported (29-Aug-2023) a 44% increase in airport lounge visits across the Asia Pacific region in the first seven months of 2023. Collinson stated the strongest performing markets were located in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The company noted a 32% increase in lounge visits in Jul-2023 compared to Jul-2019. Priority Pass members can now access 88 new airport lounges in Asia Pacific and a recently renewed partnership with Plaza Premium Group added 27 lounges across Asia Pacific destinations. Collinson also expanded its network of airport lounges in Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia and added seven premium airport lounges in mainland China. [more - original PR]

United Airlines is scheduled to resume the following daily services from 09-Jan-2024, according to OAG:

• Chicago-Beijing Capital;
• Chicago-Shanghai Pudong;
• Los Angeles-Shanghai Pudong;
• New York Newark-Beijing Capital;
• New York Newark-Shanghai Pudong;
• Washington Dulles-Beijing Capital.

The carrier last operated the services in Feb-2020. China Eastern Airlines is also scheduled to operate the Los Angeles-Shanghai Pudong route.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, via its official website, announced (28-Aug-2023) international arrivals to China "will no longer be required to take a pre-entry nucleic acid or antigen test for COVID-19", effective from 30-Aug-2023 (China Daily/Reuters, 28-Aug-2023).

US TSA announced (28-Aug-2023) the addition of Cayman Airways, French Bee, Titan Airways and ZIPAIR to the TSA PreCheck programme. The expedited screening initiative enables low risk travellers to access a more efficient screening experience at over 200 US airports. The additions bring the number of PreCheck participating domestic and international carriers to 90. [more - original PR - US TSA] [more - original PR - Cayman Airways]