All Nippon Airways takes up 49% stake in Asian Wings Airways

News Contributed by : PK Chai

Report Edited by : Gan Yung Chyan

                            / KUCINTA SETIA

Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals

All Nippon Airways has taken up a 49 per cent stake in Asian Wings Airways – the first time a foreign international carrier has invested in an airline in Myanmar. It has also revealed plans to increase its frequency from Tokyo Narita to Yangon from three flights a week to seven flights per week at the end of September.

All Nippon Airways' investment of 25 million Dollars in the Myanmar carrier was in line with its plans to expand into international markets and to capture “an increasing share of the fast-growing Asian airline market”. All Nippon Airways and Asian Wings Airways would also work to improve connectivity within Myanmar, which would complement the Japanese airline's route network.

Myanmar has recently opened to international tourism and it is tipped to be a major Asian leisure and cultural destination in the coming years.

As part of the investment, ANA will also work with Asian Wings Airways to improve its operational and on-time performance and support its expansion into markets outside Myanmar.

Asian Wings Airways currently operates domestic services and a regional flight to Chiang Mai. It plans to inaugurate international routes from October this year and intends to expand its aircraft fleet with a goal of operating ten A320 aircraft by 2018. For the fiscal year ending March 2013, it reported revenue of US$17.8 million US Dollars.

Tigerair stops flying to Colombo after 21 August

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
                 / KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals

Despite a boom in domestic and regional tourism in Sri Lanka, Tigerair is suspending flights to Colombo from Singapore after 21 August 2013 instead of 1 September as it is incurring heavy losses on this route, although there is a great demand from Sri Lankan customers for the only budget flight to Southeast Asia.

The Colombo office of Tigerair mentions that the airline cannot sell fares higher than 133 Singapore Dollars, prompting the revamped carrier to cancel flights instead.

There will be no budget flights to Colombo anymore from Singapore. Tigerair did not mention whether it will fly to the new Mattala International Airport near Colombo.

Refunds are in progress.

Sri Lanka has seen more passenger traffic on SriLankan Airlines and Mihin Lanka flights from Medan, Jakarta, India, the Middle East and other parts of Asia and Europe instead with new domestic airlines emerging such as SriLankan Air Taxi, Cinnamon Air and Millenium Airlines operated by Simplifly (formerly Deccan Aviation Lanka). Maldivian launched flights from Gan to Colombo on 7 August 2013 after taking over Mega Maldives Airlines' flights to Chongqing.

AirAsia Japan is now Vanilla Air

Contributed by : PK Chai

Source : AFP, 20 August 2013

Budget carrier AirAsia Japan is being rebranded as Vanilla Air, the airline announced today, with its president saying that vanilla is "loved by everyone in the world".

Executives chose Vanilla Air from over 200 other names, taking a month and a half to decide.

"We chose vanilla as our brand name because it is popular and loved by everyone in the world," the airline's president Tomonori Ishii (pic) told a news conference in Tokyo. "I think it is a very cute name."

The name was chosen – despite its connotations of "boring" or "bland" in the West – following the break-up of a joint venture between the airline's parent companies, Malaysia-based AirAsia and Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA), which now wholly owns the carrier.

The airlines announced in June that the joint venture would be terminated by the end of October, just over a year after the carrier began flying out of Tokyo's Narita airport, due to a slump.

Vanilla Air, which will begin flights in late December with two passenger planes to be leased from ANA, is to target travellers heading for resort destinations.

All of AirAsia Japan's 420 staff will now become employees of Vanilla Air.

Ishii said the carrier would remain based at Narita airport, and aims to serve travellers to resort destinations both at home and overseas, mainly in Asia.

"We will begin with short-distance services but want to expand the range to mid- and long-distances in line with ANA's branding strategy," Ishii said, adding that it would also increase the number of airplanes to 10 in 2015.

He said further details about the new operation, including destinations and ticket fees, would be announced in late September.

AirAsia Japan, which was equally controlled by AirAsia and ANA, booked an operating loss of about 3.5 billion yen ($36 million) for the year to March.

Ishii said the slump was partially due to the company's extra focus on online sales – a key strategy for AirAsia, but many Japanese travellers still book flights through travel agents.

A company spokeswoman said the new company would cooperate with travel agents, while introducing a new online ticketing system that "can be fit to local customers".

AirAsia Japan was one of three budget airlines to come online in Japan over the past couple of years, promising to shake up a sector long controlled by ANA and rival Japan Airlines.

The Japanese aviation industry has been notorious for sky-high landing fees and fuel taxes. 

Myanmar calendar, horoscope and musical instrument

Heritage Report By : Gan Yung Chyan

       / KUCINTA SETIA

Distributed to Everyone

The Burmese calendar follows the Jewish calendar, which means the first day of the week is Sunday and the last day of the week or Sabbath is Saturday. This calendar is also shared by the Cambodians, Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, among other races of the world.

The Burmese horoscope differs from the Chinese and Western horoscopes. The Burmese horoscope is defined by animal type and based on days of the week. Below are the representations:-

Sunday : first day: A Burmese born on Sunday is a Rooster in the horoscope.

Monday : second day.  A Burmese born on Monday is a Tiger in the horoscope.

Tuesday : third day. A Burmese born on Tuesday is a Lion.

Wednesday : fourth day. This is complicated to decipher. A Burmese believes if one is born in the morning of Wednesday is the royal white Elephant with a pair of yellow tusks. If he is born in the afternoon of a Wednesday (or "Rahu"), he is an ordinary white Elephant with a pair of white tusks in the horoscope.

Thursday : fifth day. A Burmese born on Thursday is a Brown Mouse in the horoscope.

Friday : sixth day. A Burmese born on Friday is a White Mouse in the horoscope.

Saturday : seventh day or Sabbath. A Burmese born on Sabbath is a snake/naga/dragon in the horoscope.

Tourists will notice these queer animal sculptures on display or chinthe for well-wishers at Shwedagon Pagoda.

Myanmar musical instrument saung or Burmese harp is priced worldwide. For instance, it is prized by the Japanese not just for its aesthetic value, but also for its status as the most prestigious instrument in a Myanmar orchestra. 

Saungs decorate Burmese restaurants everywhere and are on sale at Yangon International Airport and other major airports of Myanmar. A saung looks like a swan arching its back but its neck can be curved like a monkey's back or the legendary pyinsa rupa as seen above.

Burmese cultures are predominant everywhere in Yangon. You may stick to Yangon without going as far as Mandalay or Bagan to experience Burmese cultures.

The Excitement at NATAS Holidays 2013

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
                 / KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals

NATAS Holidays 2013 is held in Singapore from 16 to 18 August 2013. Sayacinta - Airpost captured the excitement of this travel fair at some booths.

Sole airline exhibitor is Air Astana which for the first time issues Air Astana collectibles such as flight schedule fliers, key chains, neck pillows and self-published scenery postcards. Air Astana has no plan to launch commercial flights to Singapore yet.

Airline exhibitors appearing under National Tourism Organization booths include Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines (under Tourism Council of Bhutan), Bangkok Airways (under Tourism Authority of Thailand), Korean Air (under Korea Tourism) and Fuji Dream Airlines (under Shizuoka c/o JNTO).

With the exception of TransAsia Airways, Eva Air and China Airlines appear under the Taiwan Tourism booth.

Drukair Royal Bhutan Airlines distributed limited Timetables and today distributes tour itineraries and Voyager, the tourism magazine of Bhutan at Tourism Council of Bhutan. Bangkok Airways gave away Summer 2013 Timetables, window stickers and postcards. The chef of Korean Air distributes free Korean Air inflight food such as ginseng chicken and the award winning dish bimbibap on all three days. Shizuoka distributed all limited fresh postcard sets for Fuji Dream Airlines.

Prize sponsor Etihad Airways distributes promotion fare fliers and inflight magazines. Another prize sponsor Garuda Indonesia gives away promotion fare fliers only.

Past-ITB Asia exhibitor Ecuador participates in NATAS Holidays for the first time marketing Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands to the public. The tourism body may not appear in ITB Asia 2013 after NATAS Holidays which ends on 18 August according to the booth spokeswoman.

Two airlines suspend flights to Singapore from September 2013

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
                 / KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals

General Sales Agent, Maple Aviation (S) Pte Ltd, has informed Sayacinta - Airpost today that two airlines are suspending flights to Singapore from September 2013.

Firstly, TransAsia Airways is suspending all commercial flights from Taipei Taoyuan to Singapore from 26 September 2013. The last TransAsia flight to and from Singapore will be on 25 September.

It is unclear what leads TransAsia Airways to cancel flights to Singapore from 26 September onwards in the midst of an increasing demand for Taipei travel. All marketing brochures of the airline including past and August 2013 Timetables are no longer available at the GSA office of TransAsia.

The airport office of TransAsia Airways in Changi Airport is closed. Latest Timetable copies cannot be collected.

Maple Aviation is arranging transfers of passengers affected by the TransAsia flight suspensions  to other full-service airlines like Eva Air and China Airlines.

Secondly, Ethiopian Airlines which previously announced its plan to inaugurate scheduled flight to Singapore via Bangkok on 3 September 2013 has postponed its Singapore inaugural flight to an undisclosed date in the future.

Sayacinta - Airpost understood from Maple Aviation that the Ethiopian flight suspension decision came suddenly when the marketing staff in Singapore were beginning to market the inaugural flight of Ethiopian Airlines to other travel agents.

Changi Airport Group could not be reached for comments on both flight suspensions.

Adventist heritage in Yangon

Heritage Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
                                 / KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to Public

Yangon Adventist Seminary is Yangon's only church-sponsored primary school and secondary school with a pupil population of 600. Under Myanmar law, churches cannot name their schools as schools, only seminaries. Here, teachers have to multi-task in their work and work longer hours than teachers in Singapore as they are seriously understaffed. For example, Brother McKay works as a van chauffeur of the pupils, computer laboratory technician and desktop publishing teacher. The local Adventist Church Conference (see pictures below) is raising funds to upgrade facilities of the seminary, which opens in the early morning till 10 pm local time on weekdays.

Yangon Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church (pictures above and below) is the landmark building of Dagon Township, located nearest to Shwedagon Pagoda and Bahan Township. It is one of the 3 beautiful church buildings of Yangon besides St. Mary Cathedral and Immanuel Baptist Church that attracts more Burmese worshippers than other churches. Services are conducted in Burmese and English. Worship service on Sabbath (Saturdays) starts at 10 am (11.30 am Singapore time) and ends around 1 pm (2.30 pm Singapore time). There is only one Chinese family of this church. The church is under conservation status.

"For mine house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." - Isaiah 56:7

Yangon Central Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Address : 68 U Wisara Road, Corner of Mawkundik Street, Dagon Township, Yangon 11191.

Ministries include Jail Ministry, Dorcas Ministry, Family Life Ministry, Health & Temperance Society, Religious Liberty Association and Music Ministry.

Church Pastor : Zaw Min Lwin. The church can also  be contacted via its Facebook page.

HAPPY SABBATH TO EVERYONE!

The serene Kandawgyi Lake of Yangon

Heritage Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
                              / KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to Public

Another tourist destination not to be missed in Yangon is the serene Kandawgyi Lake. The lake is like a large reservoir with the Royal Barge in the middle. It currently has florists and recreation facilities.

On the eastern edge of Kandawgyi Lake is the famous Karaweik, a concrete replica of a royal barge which floats like a golden goose on the lake. Built between 1972 and 1974, Karaweik serves as a restaurant and conference room that occasionally hosts upmarket functions and exhibitions on Myanmar cultural heritage and dance performances. It comes into its own in the evening when spotlights illuminate the golden structure and catch the eyes of everyone driving around the lake.

Showing below are pictures of the lake shot in Yangon on 6 to 7 August 2013.

It is best to visit Kandawgyi Lake during the rainy season when the water is not brownish. Entrance fee : 1000 Kyats.

Shwedagon : The stunning symbol of Myanmar unity

Heritage Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
                 / KUCINTA SETIA
Updated 20 September 2020

Coming to Yangon, it is necessary to visit Shwedagon Pagoda, the important symbol of Yangon and the stunning symbol of Myanmar unity. It is the most noticable ancient architecture noticed from four sides of the city besides the tallest commercial building, the twenty-storied Sakura Tower that overlooks Shwedagon Pagoda and the environs.

Shwedagon Pagoda, where the relics of four Buddhas were enshrined, was built over 2,500 years. Visitors that did not step into this place would think that it is only one pagoda structure. In fact, Shwedagon Pagoda is the largest pagoda complex or temple museum of Southeast Asia. Besides the main Shwedagon Pagoda that stands out stunning at nights, it has an Indian temple, a Myanmar-style Chinese pagoda built by the local Chinese community and other pagodas of other Myanmar races.

National races living in Myanmar comprise Bamar (the majority), Kachin, Karen, Kayar, Chin, Mon, Rakhine and Shan who speak in their own languages and English and have their own traditional attires and ways of dressing. Majority of people are Buddhists while there are also Christians.

For instance, the Chin tribe who live in Chin State bordering India, Myuangmya and Yangon are Christians belonging to the Seventh-Day Adventist denomination. We believe that the first day of the week is Sunday and the week ends on Saturday. We rest from labour on Saturday (Sabbath) and look forward to Jesus Christ's Second Coming.

It is best to visit Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, a city with a population of five million, in November and December when it is winter. It is also less hot but it is rainy from May to October. Yangon records very high temperatures and sometimes dry spells from January to April.

Visitors coming to Shwedagon Pagoda during the dry season of 2014 are likely to see the reknown Dhammazedi Bell restored to glory here in early 2014 if it were salvaged successfully from the confluence of Yangon and Bago Rivers in a joint-effort led by Singaporean company SD Mark International LLP and the Historical Research Department of the Ministry of Culture.

Dhammazedi Bell and its relation with Shwedagon Pagoda

Dhammazedi Bell, made by highly skilled Mon craftsmen, is covered in letters from top to bottom that relate Myanmar's ancient history. It was cast in 1476 by King Dhammazedi, the nineth king of the Mon Dynasty based in Hanthawaddy (present-day Bago), and installed in Shwedagon Pagoda as he felt guilty about taking land from the Shwedagon Pagoda precinct. It remained there until the early 1600s, when Portuguese mercenary Filipe de Brito y Nicote located it in order to melt it down and cast cannons for his settlement at Syriam, now Than Lyin. En-route to Syriam, it plunged into the waters at the confluence of the Yangon and Bago Rivers, never to be salvaged successfully.

XiamenAir delays inaugural flights to Jakarta to September 2013

News Release by XiamenAir

Edited by : Gan Yung Chyan

                   / KUCINTA SETIA

XiamenAir has re-scheduled its inaugural flights from Zhengzhou, Xiamen and Fuzhou to Jakarta to September 2013.

The Zhengzhou-Fuzhou-Jakarta routes will be open officially on 12 September under flight codes MF869/70 and there are four flights every week. The Zhengzhou-Xiamen-Jakarta routes will be launched on 14 September under flight codes MF867/8 and there are three flights each week. The routes will be operated in turn between Zhengzhou, Fuzhou and Jakarta.

Besides the Jakarta routes, Xiamen Airlines also plans to resume flights from Xiamen and Fuzhou to Bangkok during winter this year and will run the Xiamen-Manila route to further improve its service network in Southeast Asia.

Inflight Review : Golden Myanmar Airlines on 6 - 8 August 2013

Inflight Review by : Gan Yung Chyan
                            / KUCINTA SETIA
Updated 20 September 2020

Routes : Singapore - Yangon - Mandalay and Mandalay - Yangon - Singapore.

Airline : Golden Myanmar Airlines.

Inflight Service : Service is excellent. The air hostesses and air stewards are passionate about their work. They are always on smiles, unlike Jetstar, AirAsia and Tigerair cabin crew.

Inflight Magazine : Eazyfly is provided onboard for reading and may be kept as a souvenir of a Golden Myanmar Airlines flight. Information about Myanmar customs and immigration are helpful. For instance it is the only travel media to announce MasterCard and VISA debit cards are accepted for cash withdrawals at CB Bank outlets in Myanmar.

Safety Demonstrations : Adequate. Safety Card is always in rough, used condition.

Postcard / Stationery : Aircraft postcards and stationery items are not available onboard or its offices, including the Head Office. However like other airlines flying to Yangon, Golden Myanmar Airlines issues arrival cards or copies of arrival cards showing the airline logo and departure cards showing the same logo upon checking-in at Yangon International Airport.

Sky Shop : Although Golden Myanmar Airlines mentions duty-free items are available onboard, the crew never brings out the shopping cart for passengers' selections. This is very good news for budget travellers.

Onboard Meals and Refreshments : Onboard meals cannot be ordered on-line. They can be ordered during booking at travel agents and airline sales offices . Hot meals are served much faster than Tigerair and other major LCCs of Asia-Pacific. Prices of refreshments, drinks and hot meals are the lowest in the region. Be sure you have the correct amount of cash to pay for meals and refreshments although a cabin crew may decline to accept 1 US Dollar more if there is not enough change.

Surcharge :  Passengers are required to pay a sudden surcharge of 6 US Dollars to 10 US Dollars for changing a seat onboard. For example, if you want to change from Seat 5A to Seat 1A at the Exit Row, a surcharge of 10 US Dollars must be paid.

Booking : Electronic tickets are issued via email or at sales offices upon payment confirmation via cash, debit cards or credit cards. Terms and conditions are not forwarded by email, however.

Overall Impression : A LCC that can be the best in Southeast Asia.

Status of Airport Office address : Golden Myanmar Airlines' Changi Airport office has changed unit number to 04-18 although its Head Office refuses to change the error 04-8 on its brochures to this unit number.