Changi Airport Terminal 1 new carpark opens on 20 November 2018

Press Release by : Changi Airport Group
Pictures by : Gan Yung Chyan
                    / KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals

Changi Airport’s new T1 carpark, situated within Jewel Changi Airport (Jewel), will open on 20 November 2018. The carpark is part of the ongoing T1 expansion works, which commenced in March 2015 in conjunction with the Jewel development.

The T1 carpark will have five underground levels from B2M to B5, with a total of 2,500 parking spaces. About half the parking spaces will be open for use from 20 November 2018, with the remaining spaces made available progressively before Jewel opens in 2019. A map showing the new facility and directions to the car park can be found in the Annex.

Short-term parking zone at T1 car park

The 440 parking spaces on the top two levels (B2M and B2) will be reserved for short-term parking. The charge for parking at this zone will be 4 cents per minute for the first 90 minutes and $5 per 30-minute block thereafter. The parking charge at levels B3 to B5 will be the same as that for other car parks at Changi Airport, i.e. 4 cents per minute.

With the application of tiered charging at levels B2M and B2, drivers will be able to find available parking spaces easily given the quicker turnaround of spaces in this dedicated zone. Drivers and visitors who anticipate a longer stay should park at levels B3 to B5, where 700 spaces will also be available from 20 November and another 1,360 spaces by the time Jewel Changi Airport opens.

The opening of the new parking facility will see the current T1 and T2 car park being renamed as Car Park 2B and Car Park 2A respectively.

Inflight Review : Lion Air. Where the cheapest ticket is available

                           

Inflight Review by : Gan Yung Chyan

                              / KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to Everyone

On 10 November 2018, the reporter of this travel news medium embarked on his inaugural B737-900 ER flight to Jakarta, touching down in Cengkareng or Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) in Tangerang and returned to Singapore at night with the following review on Lion Air flights. 

Airline and Routes: Lion Air, as part of the Lion Group, the second largest airline group of Indonesia after Garuda Indonesia Group, operates a fleet of 1 B747-400. 3 Airbus A330-300, 67 B737-900 ER, 37 B737-800 NG and 10 B737 MAX 8 aircraft. It flies daily to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur from Cengkareng and now flies weekly from the airport to Haikou on Saturdays. International charter  flights from Denpasar link Macau, Nanning, Xi'an Xianyang, Chongqing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Pudong, Hefei, Changzhou, Jinan, Changsha, Nanchang, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan and Zhengzhou while flights from Manado reach Macau, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Changsha, Chongqing, Wuhan, Changshou and Zhengzhou. It also has flights to Madinah and Jeddah from Cengkareng, Kualanamu and seasonal Haji flights from Pekanbaru. 

News : In 2019, Lion Air plans Haji pilgrimage flights from Banda Aceh, Padang, Pekanbaru, Palembang, Mertajati, Solo, Surabaya, Balikpapan and Makassar besides the regular flights from Cengkareng and Kualanamu. According to its latest route map, Lion Air has plans to launch direct flights to Trivandrum, India, from Cengkareng, Kualanamu and other Indonesian international airports.

Livery : The official red and white lion logo of Lion Air is so popular that it is also the logo of its subsidiaries Malindo Air and Thai Lion Air . Kazakhstan's low-cost airline FlyArystan's red lion logo is similar and is inspired by Lion Air logo.****

Aircraft : The B737-900 ER seat legroom is not spacious. It is narrower than an Airbus A320 seat legroom as more seats are added to it so that there are more low fares to sell on this type of aircraft. Travel on this flight is safe. There are no media reports of this type of aircraft getting involved in any Lion Air crash. Lion Air's routes to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and China use this aircraft while domestic flights to Pekanbaru, Balikpapan, Pangkal Pinang and Banda Aceh utilize 737 MAX 8.***

Baggage Requirements : A carry-on baggage measuring 115 cm in total to be stowed in the overhead compartment and a small item to be stowed under the seat are accepted. Total carry-on baggage weight is maximum 7 kg only.***

Safety Demonstrations : Adequate. ***

Inflight Magazine : Lionmag is the only official inflight magazine of  Lion Air, in 99 per cent Bahasa Indonesia and balance in English. The words on its route map are very small to read. The material used for the magazine is easily damaged by rough machinery binding.**

Inflight Service / Entertainment / Onboard Meals and Refreshments : There is no inflight meal service on the 1 hour 20 to 25 minutes flight between Cengkareng and Singapore. Unlike flights in Lion Air's earlier history, free mineral water is not served with initiative. **

Postcard / Stationery : No aircraft postcards onboard all Lion Group flights. Unless the passenger requests for Indonesia Custom and Immigration forms, the air stewardesses do not distribute the forms. If one wants to write something, write on the air sickness bag.**

Sky Shop : None. This ensures that Lion Air tickets in Southeast Asia are priced lowest among the Lion Group flights and lower than AirAsia, Jetstar and Scoot Tigerair Pte Ltd flights.****

Surcharges :  None. ***

Bookings : One can book a  Lion Air ticket at www.lionair.con and www.lionairthai.com, and last minute return tickets at its Changi Airport Terminal 3 Row 1 counter can be as low as 50 to 130 Singapore Dollars, including taxes. Promotional fares are available at the counter at last minute. Payments can be made via credit card and debit card now.****

Check-In and Departures : Check-in at Changi Airport opens 3 hours before departure and closes 45 minutes before departure. The airport states passengers can start checking the departure gate four hours before departures. Passengers can still check-in for Lion Air flight at 11.15 pm for departure at 12 pm or 11.50 pm if the screen shows Thai Lion Air check-in announcement as Lion Group members share the same counter check-in rows. The aircraft thus has frequent departure delays for the benefit of late-arriving passengers, but delays are bad for passengers that have to return home by 10 pm.***

Ground service in response  to passengers' requests and enquiries : Good.***

Overall Impression :  Lion Air is a three-star airline. It needs to improve on inflight service and schedules more flight departures to international cities.***

** Poor / two-star
*** Good / three-star

**** Very good / four-star
****** Excellent / six-star (the highest category)

Sriwijaya Air celebrates its 15th Anniversary on 10 November 2018

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

Sriwijaya Air Group, the third largest airline group of Indonesia after Garuda Indonesia Group and Lion Group, celebrates Sriwijaya Air's 15th Anniversary on 10 November 2018, Indonesia's National Heroes Day, at Cengkareng Business City. Well-wishers from its destination network in Indonesia and friends from China, Malaysia and Singapore congratulated the airline for entering its 15th year of commercial flight operations.

To mark this day of beautiful memories, Sriwijaya Air has specially printed its 15th Anniversary logo on its Sriwijaya Air and NAM Air Inflight Magazine Sriwijaya. It also introduced its new simplified livery showing local brand www.tiket.com along with its two-alphabet flight prefix SJ on one of its B737 aircraft in Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Jakarta.

A spokesman of Sriwijaya Air said the simplified livery does not mean that it is changing its livery forever on its fleet. As the airline is accepting commercial brand advertising on its aircraft, aircraft that will spot commercial brands will spot the prefix "SJ".  The airline has no intention to revamp its entire fleet livery.

Sriwijaya Air is the brainchild of the Lie family brothers Chandra Lie and Henry Lie who originated from Pangkal Pinang, the capital of Bangka-Belitung neighbouring Sumatra. It was formed in April 2003 by these brothers with their partners Johannes Bundjamin and pilot Andy Halim. There are also experts who participated in the birth of Sriwijaya Air. They include Supardi Syahrial, Capt Kusnadi Yusuf, Capt Adil W, Capt Harick L, Gabriella Sonia, Suwarsono and Koko Widodo, according to Sriwijaya Air. It started initial flight operation between Jakarta and Pangkal Pinang on 10 November 2003 using a B737-200 aircraft which belonged to defunct Bouraq Airlines. 

Below is a timeline of Sriwijaya Air over the past 15 years

10 November 2003 - Sriwijaya Air launches domestic flights from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang, Palembang, Jambi and Pontianak using B737-200 aircraft.

2007 - Sriwijaya Air launched scheduled flight between Medan Polonia and Penang using B737-400 aircraft.

18 December 2008 - Sriwijaya Air launches daily flight from Jakarta to Singapore. The service is suspended after 1 November 2013 due to operation requirements and the airline's focus on Malaysia and Indonesia flights.

2009 to 2012 - Focus on expanding its domestic flight network.

10 May 2013 - Regular flight linking Denpasar with Dili is launched.

26 September 2013 - Sriwijaya Air launches NAM Air, its commuter feeder service subsidiary linking smaller cities of Indonesia with flights to Jakarta. Flights are operated with B737-500 aircraft transferred from its parent airline. Sriwijaya Air and NAM Air are collectively known as Sriwijaya Air Group.

10 November 2013 - NAM Air launches commercial flight from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang.

8 November 2013 - Sriwijaya Air launches flight from Kualanamu to Ipoh.

24 November 2014 - Regular flight to Kuala Terangganu is launched from Kualanamu until 2016.

15 December 2014 - Sriwijaya Air introduces second daily flight to Penang from Kualanamu. In the same month, it launched scheduled charter flight to Dhaka from Kualanamu, becoming the first Indonesian airline to link Indonesia with Bangladesh.

January 2015 onwards - Scheduled charter flights from Kualanamu and Denpasar to China were introduced.

16 June 2015 - Sriwijaya Air signs order for 2 B737-900 ER with Boeing.

20 August 2015 - The 2 B737-900 ER aircraft are received.

2016 - Focus on regional growth through NAM Air. Sriwijaya Air took delivery of B737-800 aircraft and transferred more B737-500 aircraft to NAM Air.

January 2017 onwards - Sriwijaya Air moved its Head Office from Soekaro-Hatta M1 Cengkareng to Cengkareng Business City at 21 Jalan Atang Sanjaya, Soekarno Hatta Airport district, Tangerang. It launched limited charter flights from Tanjung Pinang to China.

15 December 2017 - Sriwijaya Air launches charter flight from Tanjung Pandan to Singapore. Services continue until January 2018.

2018 onwards - Stock trading through Initial Public Offering (IPO) to raise funds to purchase 15 B737-800 NG and 2 new wide-body B777-300 ER. 

17 October 2018 to 19 October 2018 - Sriwijaya Air Group exhibit in ITB Asia 2018 for the first time.

Sriwijaya Air took its name from the Sumatra Kingdom of Srivijaya, representing the Pangkal Pinang founders' desire to unite all cities of Indonesia through air transportation. Its logo is the stylized version of the Chinese characters "Ru-Yi" (如意). It means "whatever we want and put our heart into, we can achieve it". Its corporate colours are white, blue and red. White signifies purity. Blue represents the airline's ambition to spread its wings and fly to the remote corners of Indonesia from the world while red signifies the airline's courage to solve problems and make decisions.

Sriwijaya Air Group has a fleet of more than 56 aircraft including B737-900 ER, B737-800 NG, B737-300 and B737-500 W aircraft with maintenance by ST Aerospace Singapore, Malaysia Airlines Systems (MAS) and Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF). It flies to 64 cities in Indonesia while 11 international cities including Penang, Dili, Changsha, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Nanning, Quanzhou and Wuhan are served by Sriwijaya Air aircraft. It plans to launch a new route to Australia. 

After successfully serving more than 60 destinations in the domestic and regional regions, Sriwijaya Air Group is working to realize that it is necessary to open a flight to Australia. The determination is getting closer when the Civil Aviation Authority of Australia, Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), conducted audits to the Sriwijaya Air Group office after 4 to 6 September 2018.

GX Airlines launches scheduled flight from Nanning to Singapore on 12 December 2018

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

GX Airlines, short for Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines, officially launches its Singapore flight operations on 12 December 2018, according to Sayacinta - Airpost's telephone interview with the airline's Call Centre on 6 November 2018. From 12 December 2018, its A320 operates flights between Nanning and Singapore three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. It avails tickets on its web-site at www.gxairlines.com and on-line air ticketing portals such as Ctrip and Trip.

According to flight schedules, on 12 December 2018 (Wednesday), GX Airlines flight GX8967 departs from Nanning for Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 4 at 4.10 pm, touches down in Changi at 8 pm before leaving Changi for Nanning at 9 pm and arriving in Nanning at 12.50 am on 13 December 2018 under flight GX8968. Flights to Singapore from Nanning  are effective on Wednesdays and Fridays while flights from Singapore to Nanning land on Thursdays and Saturdays under these timings.

On Sundays, flight GX8967 leaves Nanning for Singapore Changi Airport at 4.30 pm, arrives in Changi at 8.20 pm before taking off from Changi at 9.20 pm and landing in Nanning at 1.10 am on Mondays under flight GX8968.

To celebrate the launch of its Singapore flight, GX Airlines is selling one-way Nanning -Singapore ticket to its China customers from 180 Chinese Yuan (estimated 36 Singapore Dollars) and one-way Singapore - Nanning ticket from 210 Chinese Yuan (estimated 48 Singapore Dollars) on its web-site at www.gxairlines.com.

International customers who do not read Chinese can purchase GX Airlines one-way Nanning - Singapore ticket from 167 Singapore Dollars and one-way Singapore - Nanning ticket from 124 Singapore Dollars on Trip, the English-language version of Ctrip. 

GX Airlines informs Sayacinta - Airpost that passengers of its Singapore - Nanning flight can also consider flying onwards to Jinan from Nanning via Ganzhou as it avails one-way Singapore - Jinan (via Nanning and Ganzhou) tickets and vice versa on Ctrip and Trip. 

GX Airlines is the only low-cost airline subsidiary of Hainan Airlines headquartered in Nanning. Passengers intending to travel with the airline can only bring 1 carry-on baggage with a maximum weight of 5 kg and maximum dimensions of 115 cm to its aircraft cabin. Check-in free baggage weight allowance is 20 kg while onboard meals are not free.

With the launch of GX Airlines' flight to Singapore on 12 December 2018, Changi Airport Terminal 4 serves operations of 3 HNA Group of airlines including West Air (to Chongqing and via Chongqing to Urumqi) and Hainan Airlines, the latter resuming flight from Haikou to Singapore on 30 November 2018.

The Nanning - Singapore scheduled flight route will be the GX Airlines' first international scheduled flight route since suspending its Nanning - Siem Reap flights in August 2018 due to operation requirements. GX Airlines first started its South East Asia flight operations with a weekly scheduled flight to Siem Reap from Nanning on 29 May 2018.

Singapore is not only the international destination on GX Airlines' international flight network plan.

According to GX Airlines, it has joint-passenger flight operations with Hainan Airlines and China Airlines on the routes Nanning - Xi'an Xianyang (by GX  Airlines) - Taoyuan (by Hainan Airlines) - Kuala Lumpur (by China Airlines) with effect from 22 November 2018 and currently with Hainan Airlines on the routes Nanning - Tianjin (by GX Airlines) - Haikou - Suvarnabhumi (by Hainan Airlines). It sells tickets of GX Airlines, Hainan Airlines, other HNA Group member airlines and China Airlines in Nanning.


Further afield, GX Airlines plans to launch non-stop scheduled flights to Suvarnabhumi, Kuala Lumpur, Luang Prabang and Hanoi from Nanning. 

GX Airlines can be contacted in China at +86-771-95370 for more information on its flight plans, sales and ticketing matters.

Ref. GX Airlines launches its first scheduled international flight to Siem Reap on 29 May 2018
https://kucinta-setia.blogspot.com/2018/05/gx-airlines-launches-its-first.html

Ref. Hainan Airlines resumes flight to Singapore from Haikou on 30 November 2018
https://kucinta-setia.blogspot.com/2018/10/hainan-airlines-resumes-flight-to.html

GoAir launches flights from Bengaluru to Phuket and Male on 9 December 2018

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

ITB Asia 2018 exhibitor GoAir launches non-stop flights from Bengaluru to Phuket and Male on 9 December 2018 using A320neo aircraft.

On 9 December 2018, GoAir flight G841 departs from Bengaluru for Phuket at 4.30 am, touches down in Phuket at 9.30 am before leaving Phuket for Bengaluru at 11.15 am local time and arriving in Bengaluru at 1.25 pm under flight G842.

At 2.30 pm, flight G843 leaves Bengaluru for Male, arrives in Male at 4 pm before leaving Male for Bengaluru at 5 pm and landing in Bengaluru at 7.40 pm under flight G844.

GoAir flies to Phuket from Bengaluru on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays while it flies to Male from Bengaluru on Sundays and Wednesdays only.

GoAir is the first Indian airline to operate flights to Phuket while it faces direct competition from Air India and IndiGo on the Bengaluru - Male route.

Thai Lion Air launches daily flight to Narita on 7 December 2018

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

Thai Lion Air launches daily flight from Don Mueang to Narita on 7 December 2018 using its A330-300 aircraft.

On 7 December 2018, Thai Lion Air flight SL300 departs from Don Mueang for Narita at 1 am, arrives in Narita at 9.10 am before leaving Narita for Don Mueang at 11 am and touching down i n Don Mueang at 4.15 pm local time under flight SL301.

Thai Lion Air faces direct competition on the route from Scoot, NokScoot and Thai AirAsia X.

China Eastern Yunnan Airlines receives its first 787-9 on 3 November 2018

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

   

China Eastern Yunnan Airlines is receiving its first 787-9 aircraft in Kunming on 3 November 2018. It has a total order of 15 787-9 aircraft from Boeing. The first four aircraft will be delivered from 2018 and the rest will join its fleet by 2022. These aircraft will enable the airline to launch long-haul flights from Kunming.

Below are snapshots of the cabin of the Yunnan airline's 787-9, courtesy of China Eastern Yunnan Airlines.

9 Air adds Yangon to its international flight network on 28 October 2018

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

9 Air has added Yangon to its international flight network from Guangzhou since 28 October 2018. With the new destination, it has revised the flight schedules for its flight to Mandalay since 29 October 2018. The current flight schedules to Mandalay and Yangon from Guangzhou are as follows:-

9 Air flight AQ1001 departs from Guangzhou for Mandalay at 4.40 pm, touches down in Mandalay at 6.30 pm before leaving Mandalay for Guangzhou under flight AQ1002 at 8.30 pm and arriving in Guangzhou at 1.10 am the next day. Flight AQ1001 leaves for Mandalay on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and touches down in Guangzhou on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Flight AQ1003 leaves Guangzhou for Yangon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 4.40 pm, touches down in Yangon at 6.45 pm before leaving Yangon for Guangzhou at 8.15 pm and arriving in Guangzhou at 1.10 am on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays under flight AQ1004.

Sichuan Airlines has flights to St Petersburg from Taiyuan since 31 October 2018

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

Sichuan Airlines operates twice-weekly scheduled flight from Taiyuan to St Petersburg with a transit stop in Chengdu on Wednesdays and Fridays. The first flight is conducted on 31 October 2018.

Flight 3U8099 departs from Taiyuan for St Petersburg at 11.40 am and arrives in St Petersburg at 7.50 pm. At 9.50 pm, flight 3U8100 leaves St Petersburg for Taiyuan and touches down in Taiyuan at 3.15 pm.

Singapore Airlines launches non-stop flight to Seattle on 3 September 2019

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

Singapore Airlines launches non-stop scheduled flight from Singapore Changi Airport to Seattle using its A350-900 aircraft on 3 September 2019, according to the airline's press release dated 1 November 2018.

On 3 September 2019, Singapore Airlines flight SQ28 departs from Changi for Seattle at 9.28 am, touches down in Seattle at 9.05 am local time on the same day before leaving Seattle for Changi at 10.40 am and arriving in Changi at 5.30 pm on 4 September 2019 under flight SQ27. 

Initially operating three times a week to Seattle on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Singapore Airlines will operate four times a week between Changi and Seattle from October 2019, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays and land in Changi Airport on Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays and Mondays. These flights are subject to regulatory approval.

Singapore Airlines starts to sell the Seattle tickets through the various distribution channels from 7 November 2018.