Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
JC International Airlines, the Cambodian subsidiary of Ruili Airlines, launches daily flight from Phnom Penh to Suvarnabhumi on 19 July 2017 using its Airbus A320 aircraft. It becomes the only Cambodian airline to operate on the route and the only airline in the world to operate scheduled flights to the Bangkok airports of Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi from Phnom Penh.
On 19 July 2017, JC Airlines flight QD695 departs from Phnom Penh for Suvarnabhumi at 10.05 pm, arrives in Suvarnabhumi at 11.05 pm before departing from Suvarnabhumi for Phnom Penh at 12.40 am on 20 July 2017 at 12.40 am and touching down in Phnom Penh at 1.40 am under flight QD696.
Inflight Review
JC International Airlines started flying to Don Mueang from Phnom Penh on 6 June 2017 on a daily basis. The steward and stewardess serve wet wipes, mineral water and muffin onboard the one hour flight. In each seat pocket is an inflight menu quoting the costs to buy inflight products, snacks and beverages onboard the flights to Taipei and Kaohsiung and the airline's Cambodia Customs, Immigration and Health Declaration user-guides. There are no inflight magazines and postcards but safety cards and barf bags showing the airline logo are available. Safety demonstrations are sufficient.
JC International Airlines is a reliable airline to fly with. Its tickets can be purchased on Ctrip.com. However, due to its inadequate inflight service and ground service (no ticketing branches outside Cambodia), it is presently a two-star airline.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to Everyone
Scoot and Tigerair announced on 15 June 2017 that the latter will rebrand as Scoot in order to complete the merger with Scoot on 25 July 2017 but Tigerair's flights will retain the TR flight code. The TZ flight code of Scoot, however, will be retired. All existing flights of Scoot's route network will be designated the TR flight code by 25 July 2017.
Passengers of Scoot must make sure that they receive their on-line itineraries reflecting the TR flight code via email by 25 July if they are flying with Scoot on and after 25 July 2017. The merger will see Scoot operating a fleet of B787 Dreamliners and Airbus A320 aircraft.
All Tigerair-branded itineraries are accepted as proof of booking at www.flyscoot.com. All Tigerair booking amendments can be done at www.flyscoot.com.
The Tigerair web-site www.tigerair.com will be disabled at 12.01 am on 25 July 2017.
Pictures by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to Everyone
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
Among the ITE news, MIAT Mongolian Airlines announced to the media on 15 June 2017 at ITE that it plans to launch scheduled flight from Ulaanbaatar to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi at the end of 2017 using B767-300ER besides flying 5 times a week this summer between Hong Kong and Ulaanbaatar and commencing direct flights to Busan from Ulaanbaatar on 22 June 2017. It is adding the Boeing 737 MAX 8 from 2018 to its fleet.
Review by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to Everyone
My travel experiences with Ethiopian Airlines start at ITE HK since three years ago. The Hong Kong marketing team of Ethiopian Airlines have been very active and cordial all these years in promoting the desirable benefits in travelling with Ethiopian Airlines B787 Dreamliner from Hong Kong to Incheon and Narita at ITE.
This year, the airline markets the Addis Ababa-Singapore-Kuala Lumpur flights to the public in Hong Kong through distribution of hardcopies of Selamta, Ethiopian Airlines inflight magazine and Ethiopia travel packages. Ethiopian Airlines launches direct non-stop flight from Addis Ababa to Singapore on 1 June 2017 and onward to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore on 2 June 2017. Visit www.ethiopianairlines.com for up-to-date flight schedules.
At ITE, Ethiopian Airlines held the Ethiopia travel seminar on 17 June 2017. Many visitors attended the seminar.
One advantage of attending ITE is to be able to attend as many travel seminars as possible and gather tips on travel preparations to many countries, unlike NATAS Travel Fairs where there are only travel agents selling group travel packages with no professional travel tips for solo travellers and no travel seminars. ITE with its travel themes has become Asia's most popular travel exposition.
Inflight Review
Ethiopian Airlines is the first African airline that I flew with on 9 June 2017. Inflight hospitality of Ethiopian Airlines begins on the ground, whether one flew with the airline or not, at the airport or at ITE. If you are a passenger, you can request for a photo taken on the spot at the check-in counter if there is no queue. The station manager of Ethiopian Airlines at Singapore Changi Airport was happy to oblige with my request for a snapshot.
An Ethiopian Airlines B787 Dreamliner is the sight to behold. It has the most attractive seats among the Dreamliners of airlines.
However, snacks and cups of orange juice are served before take off instead of after take off. This is dangerous as the aircraft taking off causes the orange juice to pour a little onto my blue pants. The African crew should remember to serve snacks and drinks only after take off during the hour trip to Kuala Lumpur.
There are no aircraft postcards of Ethiopian Airlines on the Addis Ababa-Singapore-Kuala Lumpur routes. One of the stewardesses informed me that the postcards are only available at the Addis Ababa headquarters and she said passengers can see the fleet in Selamta.
Travel with Ethiopian Airlines can be the cheapest if one has a PayPal account. One actually pays 32 Singapore Dollars for a one-way flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and 143 Singapore Dollars for a return flight with Ethiopian Airlines if there is a 200 Singapore Dollars balance in the passenger's PayPal account. Other airlines that have PayPal accounts for on-line ticketing transactions include China Airlines and Thai Airways International. Credit card payments are acceptable.
On-line check-in can be done on Ethiopian Airlines' web-site. Ethiopian Airlines forwards travel reminders one day before departure date as flight re-confirmation proof.
Three stars for the inflight service of Ethiopian Airlines and four stars for the ground service in Hong Kong and Singapore. There is room for flight service improvement.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
Palau Pacific Airways, the only Palauan national charter airline using the B737-800 aircraft leased from Air Explore, operated and marketed by Sea Passion Group, exhibits in ITE Hong Kong for the first time in partnership with its GSA in Hong Kong, Fun Palau Holidays (HK), from 15 to 18 June 2017. The airline says it will operate charter flights to Koror from Hong Kong from 2 to 9 July 2017, 12 July to 20 August 2017 and 23 to 30 August 2017.
For flights departing on Wednesdays, Palau Pacific Airways flight ED1167 departs from Koror for Hong Kong for Koror at 1.20 pm, arrives in Hong Kong at 4.35 pm before leaving Hong Kong for Koror at 7.25 pm and touching down in Koror at 12.45 am under flight ED1168.
For flights departing on Fridays, Palau Pacific Airways flight ED1167 departs from Koror for Hong Kong for Koror at 3.10 pm, arrives in Hong Kong at 6.25 pm before leaving Hong Kong for Koror at 7.25 pm and touching down in Koror at 12.45 am under flight ED1168.
On Sundays, flight ED1168 leaves Hong Kong for Koror at 5.45 pm and arrives in Koror at 11.05 pm.
Palau Pacific Airways' inaugural flight to Hong Kong took place on 7 November 2014. It was formed in July 2014.
To mark its debut participation at ITE HK, Fun Palau Holidays gave away beach towels, dolphin plush toys, tourist brochures and Alii! the inflight magazine of Palau Pacific Airways in Chinese only.
Fun Palau Holidays' lucky draw prices include round trip Palau Pacific Airways tickets to Koror from Hong Kong and Macau and 2 days Palau rock island boat trip.
Palau Pacific Airways and Fun Palau Holidays are members of Sea Passion Group headquartered in Koror.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to Everyone
The fast-growing Vietnamese low-cost airline, Vietjet Air, makes its debut at ITE Hong Kong in full force with attractive and informative displays, special offers including 5000 free tickets and promotion programs.
The Vietjet Booth at G102 with the theme "Free Summer, FLy for Free" spots the very attractive Vietjet Red and Yellow to welcome visitors. They were treated to interesting and interactive activities, from photo-taking opportunities with the popular Vietjet crew to mobile phone games with special prizes for the winners. Freebies for the media include Vietjet merchandise such as umbrella, cap, plush toy, neck pillow and eye shade.
Vietjet's presence at ITE features a spectacular Flashmob Dance by a leading dance group Helki.Fam on the Grand Stage at 2 pm on 17 June 2017. There was a drama and game session on stage for public visitors.
To celebrate Vietjet's participation at ITE, the airline offered 5000 promotional tickets priced only from 0 HK Dollars (excluding airport fees and taxes) between 1 pm and 3 pm from 15 to 18 June 2017 only at www.vietjetair.com. The promotion applies for Ho Chi Minh City-Hong Kong route with departures from 1 August to 31 December 2017 excluding national holidays.
The recent Vietjet Summer Promotion, "Free Summer, Fly for free", held between 25 April and 15 June 2017 has proven to be very popular among travelers with the 1 million HKD0 tickets available for booking on Vietjet Air's web-site.
Vietjet Air owns a fleet of 45 aircraft including A320s and A321s, and operates 350 flights a day on 63 domestic routes and across the region to international destinations in Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, China, Myanmar and Cambodia carrying nearly 35 million passengers to date.
Looking ahead, Vietjet plans to expand its network across the Asia Pacific region. To prepare for this plan, it has signed agreements with the world's leading aircraft manufacturers to purchase more brand-new and modern aircraft.
Sources : Media Services Hong Kong, Vietjet Air.
