Air KBZ launches regional flights to Mae Sot and Chiang Mai from Yangon

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

The domestic flight subsidiary of Myanmar Airways International (MAI), Air KBZ (also known as Air Kanbawza), plans to launch two regional routes, from Yangon to Mae Sot on 27 October 2014 and from Yangon to Chiang Mai on 1 November 2014 using its 68-seater ATR-72 aircraft, according to Air KBZ General Manager Myat Thu.

The Yangon-Mae Sot route to be launched on 27 October 2014 will be operated five days a week in co-operation with Nok Air which recently dropped the route. No other Myanmese airline flies to Mae Sot, a border town where many Myanmese migrants live.

Air KBZ will operate on the Yangon-Chiang Mai route four times a week under a code-sharing arrangement with Mann Yadanarpon Airlines.

Mann Yadanarpon Airlines is a private airline founded by Lin Myat Tun, U Kyaw Myo and U Than Oo with its operations based in Mandalay International Airport. It was granted a permit by the Myanmar Investment Commission under the Myanmar Citizens Investment Law in July 2013 to operate air transportation services on domestic and international routes. The airline currently offers commercial flights from Mandalay to Yangon, Nyaung U, Heho, Kengtung, Tachileik among other domestic destinations using two ATR 72-600 aircraft and plans to launch flights to Chiang Mai in 2016 using a leased Airbus A320 aircraft. 

Chiang Mai has a large Myanmese population and receives many visitors from Myanmar. Currently two airlines of Myanmar, Air Bagan and Golden Myanmar Airlines, operate flights to Chiang Mai from Yangon. Air Mandalay and Asian Wings Airways have suspended flights to Chiang Mai.

Air KBZ plans to buy one new ATR-72 aircraft by this month and purchase another in January 2015 to boost frequencies on its domestic and regional routes. It currently operates 16 domestic routes with six aircraft.

The owner of Air KBZ is Kanbawza Bank, part of the business empire of tycoon Aung Ko Win. The bank also owns an 80 per cent stake in MAI, which began thrice-weekly scheduled charter flights to Osaka on 8 October 2014 and return flights from Osaka via Phnom Penh.

Air Berlin operates second daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Berlin from 26 October 2014

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

Air Berlin, Germany's second largest airline, is introducing its second daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Berlin, Germany's capital, from 26 October 2014, three days before the commencement of ITB Asia 2014 in Singapore. ITB Asia 2014 takes place from 29 to 31 October 2014 at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands where Air Berlin is one of the important airline exhibitors.

Air Berlin's winter flight schedules on its Abu Dhabi-Berlin-Abu Dhabi routes will be as follows:-

The first Air Berlin flight departs from Abu Dhabi for Berlin at 2.45 am on 26 October and arrives in Berlin Tegel International Airport at 6.35 am before leaving Berlin at 11.30 am for Abu Dhabi at 11.30 am and touching down in Abu Dhabi at 8.20 pm local time.

The second Air Berlin flight leaves Abu Dhabi at 9.10 am on the same day and arrives in Berlin at 1 pm before taking off from Berlin at 9.50 pm and arriving in Abu Dhabi at 1 pm local time.

Air Berlin Marketing Department mentions that twice-daily flights will provide convenience for Asian passengers entering Abu Dhabi to include Berlin in their itineraries as there are no direct flights to major cities in East Asia such as Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore from Berlin.

In line with the introduction of a second daily flight from Abu Dhabi to Berlin, Air Berlin is suspending its long-haul flight to Phuket on 25 October 2014 partly due to intense competition from rival European and Russian airlines.

Besides the planned second daily flight from Abu Dhabi to Berlin, Air Berlin is commencing long-haul flights to Montego Bay from Berlin in December 2014.
 

Fuzhou Airlines unveils livery and logo today

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

On 11 October 2014, Fuzhou Airlines receives its first Boeing B737-800 aircraft from HNA Group, which arrived in Fuzhou from Haikou unveiling the new airline's official logo and livery.

Fuzhou Airlines' logo is a figurative diagram that comprises of the fluid lines of a dragon and phoenix in the shape of the Chinese character for blessings (福) in a red background, which is encased in a disk on the aircraft's tail that looks overall like a Fuzhou duck egg, signifying luck, blessings and happiness to everyone from the airline. Its livery consists of the logo on the tail, a red rope of peace in the Chinese culture just above the base of the body and thin white threads along the body that look like Fuzhou mee sua, signifying peace, happiness and blessings to everyone from the airline management, operations and crew.

Fuzhou Airlines' logo is designed by Fuzhou-born professor of Qinghua University, Huang Wei, who is also behind the device marks of Project Hope, Fuzhou University and China Xing Ye Bank. The livery design is completed by expertise of Fuzhou Airlines.

Fuzhou Airlines' logo and aircraft livery therefore connotes the rich cultural heritage of Fuzhou residents.

Selection of Fuzhou Airlines' first route in the final round for the management's consideration will start next week and a decision will be made by 20 October 2014 to announce the new route. Hot destinations of Fuzhou travellers include Urumqi and Lijiang although Fuzhou Airlines hopes to begin flights to major cities such as Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai.

Fuzhou Airlines plans to launch its inaugural flight in China from Fuzhou before end of October 2014 before opening up more domestic destinations from November 2014 and 2015. It hopes to operate regional flights to Hong Kong, Macau, Taipei and international flights to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, among other Southeast Asian cities from 2016/2017.

It takes Hainan Airlines and private investors of Fuzhou and Ningbo merely five months to form Fuzhou Airlines, which has received its Air Operator Certificate from CAAC on 5 October 2014, thanks to the cooperation and support rendered to from CAAC and the Fuzhou city government and other relevant authorities.

NokScoot unveils its logo and slogan

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


NokScoot, the joint-venture Thai long-haul airline between Scoot and Nok Air, has unveiled its logo, the white bird flying past the yellow moon, the cutest logo of all budget airlines to date.

NokScoot says it will allow its future customers to dictate where they want to fly and it will customize their travel experience. Therefore it will operate both charter and scheduled flights from its base in Don Mueang based on overall preference.

However, NokScoot has postponed plans to launch B777-200 flights by December 2014 to the first quarter of 2015 as it is still recruiting staff and cabin crew before receiving its first B777-200 from Scoot.

NokScoot's slogan : Fly AWESOME.

Tigerair drops services to Perth on 8 February 2015 to avoid competition with Scoot

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

In another move to drop unsustainable routes, Tigerair's last return flights to Perth from Singapore will be on 7 February 2015. No one can fly with Tigerair to Perth from 8 February 2015 onwards. Therefore, passengers should contact Tigerair on refunds.

Currently, Tigerair flies once a day on a daily basis to Perth, departing at 3.50 pm for Perth, arriving in Perth at 9.05 pm under flight TR2716 before taking off for Singapore at 9.45 pm and arriving in Singapore at 3 am the next day under TR2717.

Tigerair first began flights to Perth from Singapore on 23 March 2007 under the name Tiger Airways before planning and establishing its Australian unit Tiger Airways Australia (now Tigerair Australia).

Tigerair's cancellation of Perth flights is seen as a direct response to its sister carrier Scoot which plans to operate double-daily B787 Dreamliner / Boeing B777-200 flights to Perth from Singapore from 1 January 2015 (subject to change).

Scoot plans to operate its first B787 Dreamliner test flight in December 2014.

Flight Suspension / Ceasation Notices : AirAsia, Tigerair's Bandung and Phnom Penh flights, Lucky Air, Lion Air and Etihad Airways

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

Following  comprehensive route reviews, the following airlines are suspending flights from Singapore Changi Airport.

AirAsia Berhad suspends return flights to Kota Bharu on 25 October 2014 and to Kuala Terengganu on 26 October 2014. Passengers who have bought online tickets for travel in the November-December holidays and beyond should contact AirAsia immediately for refunds.

Tigerair is suspending scheduled flights from Singapore to Bandung on 26 October 2014 and to Phnom Penh on 11 November 2014, besides suspending its Perth route in February 2015. Customers affected by the route cancellations should have contacted Tigerair for refunds.

The following low-cost airlines have suspended flights without prior notice to passengers : Lion Air's flights to Ho Chi Minh City from Singapore and Lucky Air's flights from Singapore to Guiyang and Kunming. Lucky Air suspended flights following China Eastern Airlines' resumption flights from Kunming.

Etihad Airways is ending flights between Singapore and Brisbane on 31 May 2015. Return flights to Abu Dhabi continue as per normal.

Unusual Myanmar fruit has a Singapore English name

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

Myanmar has many exotic fruits and agricultural products. One of these products is this unusual fruit that looks like kedondong of Indonesia but its taste is more sour than kedondong. It grows in cold regions of Myanmar.

The Burmese name of this fruit is chin zaw khia thi. The social medium that is currently reporting takes the initiative to tag a local English name to it, sukhafruit.

Why sukhafruit? Because there is no right way in consuming this exotic fruit. One can decide whether to eat it raw (the most sour fruit), as juice or beer or as pickle (as in Myanmar) as one sees it fit to consume. As juice one can store it for one week and let the sourness wade and turn into taste as acidic as a lemon. In Hokkien, sukha means "as you please", which is derived from the Sanskrit term sukha for bliss, happiness and ease.  Besides, the person introducing this fruit pronounces "zaw khia" as soo-kha.

My mum divided the fruit, removed the black seeds, cut the flesh into small parts and concocted a drink mixed with a pinch of salt and black sugar so that the fruit juice can be consumed. The fruit is great for the heart and so is great for anyone including patients with heart disease. It provides ease and relieves one off stress.

A sukhafruit tree takes eight years to fruit.

Sukhafruit is brought into Singapore by a tourist from Myanmar who has visited Kalaw near Inya Lake in Myanmar before she arrived in Singapore on 15 September 2014. It is not sold in local markets of Singapore.

Other exotic fruits of Myanmar include bael ("shi" in Burmese), Burmese mango and Mafai grape. For further information, conduct an Internet search under "exotic fruits of Myanmar" or visit www.myanmarburma.com .

Ethiopian Airlines launches Dreamliner flight to Singapore on 2 April 2015

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

Ethiopian Airlines which suspended its Boeing B767 flights to Singapore via Bangkok Suvarnabhumi on 5 October 2014 will resume one Boeing B767-300 flight to Singapore via Suvarnabhumi from Addis Ababa on 31 March 2015 before launching its first direct commercial flight to Singapore from Addis Ababa using a B787 Dreamliner jet on 2 April 2015.

On 31 March 2015, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET626 (B767-300) departs from Addis Ababa for Singapore via Suvarnabhumi at 12.35 am, transits in Suvarnabhumi at 1.15 pm for one hour before leaving Suvarnabhumi at 2.15 pm and arriving in Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 at 6.30 pm. 

At 10.45 pm on 31 March, flight ET627 leaves Singapore for Addis Ababa at 10.45 pm, transits in Suvarnabhumi at 12.05 am for one hour before touching down in Addis Ababa at 8.20 am on 1 April 2015.

The Addis Ababa-Singapore direct flight taking place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays goes effect from 2 April 2015, and not 31 March 2015 after Ethiopian Airlines' route operation review.

On 2 April 2015, flight ET626 (B787 Dreamliner) leaves Addis Ababa for Singapore at 12.05 am and arrives in Singapore at 2.35 pm.

The Singapore-Addis Ababa flight takes place on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays when flight ET627 takes off from Singapore at 2.10 am and arrives in Addis Ababa at 6.25 am local time on 3 April 2015.

Ethiopian Airlines has also announced schedules to begin flights to Tokyo on 2 April 2015, Dublin and Los Angeles on 19 June 2015.

Fuzhou Airlines plans official launch in late October 2014

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

Fuzhou Airlines, the Fuzhou-based airline subsidiary of Hainan Airlines, plans to launch scheduled flights within China by late October 2014. Its IATA airline code is FU and its abbreviation is FZA.

For its flights, Fuzhou Airlines will lease initially 3 Boeing B737-800 jets from Hainan Airlines. Its first B737-800 aircraft which has just completed livery repainting will arrive in Fuzhou from Haikou on 11 October 2014 to unveil the airline's official logo and engage in a test-flight later before the airline announced by 20 October 2014 the first date of ticket sales and specific cities that it will serve.

Meanwhile the airline is collating suggestions from Fuzhou residents their preferred city destination and reason on the chosen city destination for the first inaugural scheduled flight. A list of destinations includes Beijing, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Shantou and Shanghai. The lucky winner will receive a free aircraft model and other exclusive gifts from Fuzhou Airlines.

Hainan Airlines which will provide technical, aircraft maintenance, cabin crew and safety assistance to Fuzhou Airlines has a sixty per cent stake in the airline while the remaining stake balance is shared among private investors from Fujian Province and Ningbo.

Fuzhou Airlines has ambition to operate services international routes from Fuzhou to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Ho Chi Minh City, among other Asian destinations after three years of domestic operations using a Boeing B787 Dreamliner.

Malindo Air flies from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore on 3 November 2014

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

According to Malindo Air's web-site, Malindo Air is launching daily scheduled flights from KLIA2 to Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 on 3 November 2014.  It will operate three round-trip flights between KLIA2 and Singapore.

The first flight OD801 leaves KLIA2 for Singapore at 8 am, arrives in Singapore at 9 am before it leaves Singapore at 10 am and touches down in KLIA2 at 11 am under OD802.

The second and third round-trip flights are at the following timings: 11.45 am to 12.45 pm and 5.55 pm to 6.55 pm for the KLIA 2 to Singapore route, and 1.40 pm to 2.40 pm and 7.55 pm to 8.55 pm for the Singapore to KLIA2 route.