Sriwijaya Air launches non-stop flight to Wuhan on 2 October 2020

 Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

According to Sriwijaya Air, it launches non-stop scheduled flight from Jakarta to Wuhan on 2 October 2020. The new route is Sriwijaya Air's first international new route during the pandemic.

On 2 October 2020, Sriwijaya Air flight SJ3124 departs from Jakarta for Wuhan at 9 am, arrives in Wuhan at 4 pm local time before leaving Wuhan for Jakarta at 5.50 pm and touches down in Jakarta at 10.50 pm under flight SJ3125.

Sriwijaya Air flies to Wuhan on Fridays with its B737-800 aircraft.

Aircraft-spotting in Haneda - Air Do B737-700

 Pictures by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Aircraft-spotting in Haneda - Air Do B767-300ER

Pictures by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Scoot launches flight to Semarang on 21 October 2020

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

On 29 September 2020, Scoot announced its first commercial flight to Semarang takes place on 21 October 2020 with its A320 jet. No other flights to Semarang in October and November are available.

According to schedules, Scoot flight TR240 departs from Singapore for Semarang at 2.20 pm, arrives in Semarang at 3.20 pm local time before leaving Semarang for Singapore at 4.05 pm and touching down in Singapore at 7 pm under flight TR241.

Scoot states for passengers departing for Semarang, Yogyakarta and other Indonesian cities except Jakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar and Batam, need to obtain PCR testing results within 7 days before departure to prove they are not suffering from covid before boarding Scoot flights.

Scoot also announced that its Scootsurance round-trip insurance policy now covers 

• Trip cancellation / curtailment*
• Overseas hospitalization/quarantine allowance*
• Overseas medical expenses*
• Medical evacuation/ repatriation
• 24/7 emergency medical assistance hotline
• 24/7 travel assistance hotline

*The covid treatment benefits, subject to policy limits, terms and conditions, are only applicable for flights departing from Singapore currently, and will be progressively rolled out in more markets.

See also: https://kemlu.go.id/singapore/en/read/faq-selama-wabah-covid-19-bagi-wni-yang-akan-pulang-ke-indonesia/1047/important-information

 

China Southern launches flight to Ankang on 25 September 2020

 Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

China Southern has launched its first scheduled flight to Ankang, a city in Shaanxi Province, on 25 September 2020. The first flight landed in Ankang at 3.50 pm.

According to schedules, China Southern flight CZ5269 departs from Guangzhou for Ankang at 1.30 pm, arrives in Ankang at 3.40 pm before leaving Ankang for Guangzhou at 4.40 pm and touching down in Guangzhou at 6.40 pm under flight CZ5270.

China Southern flies to Ankang on Fridays, Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays.

Kenya Airways resumes flight to Guangzhou on 5 October 2020

 Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Kenya Airways resumes commercial flight to Guangzhou from Nairobi on 5 October 2020.

On 5 October 2020, Kenya Airways Dreamliner flight KQ882 departs from Nairobi for Guangzhou at 4.30 pm, arrives in Guangzhou at 9 am on 6 October 2020 before leaving Guangzhou for Nairobi at 10.15 pm and touching down in Nairobi at 4.45 am on 7 October 2020 under flight KQ883.

Kenya Airways flies to Guangzhou on Mondays and Fridays. It touches down in Nairobi on Wednesdays and Sundays.

The Kenya national flag carrier advises passengers to adhere to the anti-epidemic requirements such as getting negative nucleic acid certificates and wearing masks.

Since 1 August 2020, Kenya allows passengers from China, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Uganda. Rwanda, Namibia and Morocco to enter Nairobi, provided they are able to obtain negative nucleic acid certificates within 96 hours of arrival. At the time of arrival, their body temperatures must be below 37.5 degrees Celsius. They must display no obvious signs of continuous cough, no difficulty in breathing and have no other influenza-like symptoms.

Thai AirAsia started domestic flights from Suvarnabhumi

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

According to Thai AirAsia, it has been allowed to establish a base at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport while its Don Mueang headquarters base continues existing flight operations. Currently, it has opened domestic flights from Suvarnabhumi to four other Thai airports.

The domestic flights are from Suvarnabhumi to Chiang Mai (5 flights daily), Phuket (3 flights per day), Krabi (2 flights daily) and Surat Thani (2 flights per day).  These flights are commercial flights to fill the slots caused by other Thai airlines' flight cancellations during the pandemic.

Thai AirAsia hopes to launch international flights from Suvarnabhumi and provide international connecting flights in the future. 

Air Travel to be renamed Hunan Airlines

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

On 25 September 2020, according to Hunan Hongtu Airlines (commercially known as Air Travel), it will be renamed "Hunan Airlines". 

The relevant person in charge of Hunan Hongtu Airlines / Air Travel said that the airline's name change is a very rigorous process. At present, the change in the administrative agency for industry and commerce has been completed, and then there are procedures to apply to the CAAC for name change, and accept CAAC's operation certification review of the renamed airline. Finally, a new business license and "Air Carrier Operation Qualification Certificate" have to be obtained. The airline will make an official announcement as soon as it is completed.

As the first local airline in Hunan Province, everyone wants to give Air Travel a name with more local characteristics. The newspaper also launched a call for name changes and voting on the Internet. "Hunan Airlines" ranked first with more than 3,000 votes. Everyone felt that "Since Haikou has HNA, Xiamen has Xiamen Airlines, Jinan has Shandong Airlines, Sichuan has Sichuan Airlines, etc. "then the Changsha-based airline should be called "Hunan Airlines."

Hunan Airlines has successively opened several routes in Hunan, including Changsha to Kunming, Cangyuan, Yantai and Hailar. 

 

Singapore Airlines expands "Singapore Airlines Connect" project to mainland China on 2 February 2021

Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Singapore Airlines announced the expansion of the "Singapore Airlines Connect" project. From 2 February  2021, it will provide customers with a rich experience by providing a wider range of fares and personalized content to partners in the Chinese travel industry. The "Singapore Airlines Connect" project uses new distribution technology to provide improved content and functions for partner platforms. Singapore Airlines launched "Singapore Airlines Connect" in 2018 and was one of the first airlines in the Asia-Pacific region to utilize this new technology.

Travel agencies participating in "Singapore Airlines Connect" will benefit from the improvement and update of the project, access to the widest range of fare products including personalized content, and the ability to provide their customers with customized products, such as travel packages and negotiated fares Products, thereby enhancing the customer’s booking experience by improving the level of personalization and the identification of KrisFlyer membership.

The "Singapore Airlines Connect" project utilizes application programming interface (API) technology, including industry-leading New Distribution Capability (NDC) standards. Many important partners in the travel industry in China have expressed their support for the "Singapore Airlines Connect" project, believing this is an opportunity to further enhance the customer experience.

Through the "Singapore Airlines Connect" project, travel agencies and other external partners can use a variety of ways to obtain new content and functions. Singapore Airlines will provide content through traditional global distribution system partners such as TravelSky, and new technology partners such as Travelfusion, PKFARE and TravelNDC. At the same time, travel agencies can also directly integrate with Singapore Airlines.

In addition, at the beginning of next year, Singapore Airlines' travel agency system AGENT 360 will be launched in mainland China. By then, travel agencies will be able to directly access content through the system's "Singapore Airlines Connect" project.

Azurair launches weekly flight to Xiamen from Moscow Vnukovo on 18 September 2020

 Report by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Russian charter airline Azurair has launched scheduled passenger flight from Moscow Vnukovo to Xiamen on 18 September 2020 (Friday) with a B767-300ER jet.

Departing on Fridays, Azurair flight ZF1678 leaves Moscow Vnukovo for Xiamen at 5.30 pm and touches down in Xiamen on 8.05 am on Saturdays.

The outbound flight to Moscow from Xiamen, ZF1679, departs at 11.05 pm on Saturdays and arrives in Moscow Vnukovo at 4.25 am local time on Sundays.

The journey between Moscow and Xiamen takes more than 9 hours to complete by air.

According to anti-epidemic requirements, ZF1679 does not accept passenger bookings initially.

At the same time, in order to strengthen the level of epidemic prevention, all passengers boarding in Moscow need to entrust a testing agency recognized by foreign affairs agencies to provide nucleic acid test results within 5 days. 

Passengers with unqualified nucleic acid testing and fever are not allowed to board the aircraft. Passengers who have undergone nucleic acid testing are required before boarding to show certificates to prove they were diagnosed negative. Those who need to stay in the hotel arranged by the airline company are not allowed to go out. After arriving in Xiamen, passengers will be isolated and observed according to regulations. 

"These measures were decided after mutual discussions between the two parties, which fully reflect a pragmatic attitude and strict control over epidemic prevention work," said the Azurair Xiamen station manager.  

Inflight Pictures - Scoot flight TZ202 to Narita

Pictures by : Gan Yung Chyan, KUCINTA SETIA

Travel Dates : 20 - 21 September 2016. First trip to Narita and Tokyo.