Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
Shenzhen Airlines launches new domestic route on 1 December 2017.
On 1 December 2017, one of Shenzhen Airlines' Airbus A320 aircraft departs from Zhuhai for Zunyi Maotai Airport under flight ZH9287 at 3 pm, arrives in Maotai at 5.05 pm before leaving Maotai for Zhuhai at 6 pm and touching down in Zhuhai at 7.45 pm under flight ZH9288.
Maotai, short for Zunyi Maotai Airport and named after the famous rice liquor town of Maotai in Renhuai the perfecture-level city of Zunyi, is the second domestic airport of the Guizhou city of Zunyi after Zunyi Xinzhou Airport. Located in Renhuai, Maotai starts airport operations on 31 October 2017.
Shenzhen Airlines' non-stop flights to Maotai from Zhuhai operate on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
According to Myanmar National Airlines' web-site www.flymna.com, Myanmar's national flag carrier is launching its first charter flight from Yangon to Kunming on 30 November 2017 and from 5 December 2017 onwards its Yangon-Singapore route will extend to include Mandalay on Tuesdays and Thursdays under the flight pairs UB003 and UB002. Its twice-daily Singapore flight schedules remain unchanged.
On 30 November 2017, Myanmar National Airlines flight UB991 departs from Yangon for Kunming at 5.45 am, arrives in Kunming at 11.20 am local time before taking off from Kunming for Yangon at 12.20 pm and touching down in Yangon at 1.10 pm local time under flight UB992.
On 2 December 2017, the Kunming-Yangon flight departs under UB994 at 3 pm and arrives in Yangon at 5.10 pm according to schedule.
On 5 December 2017 (Tuesday), flight UB003 first departs from Mandalay for Yangon at 1.55 pm and arrives in Yangon at 2.40 pm to pick up more Singapore-bound passengers before leaving Yangon for Singapore at 4 pm and touching down in Singapore at 8.30 pm.
On 5 December 2017, flight UB002 departs from Singapore for Yangon as usual at 1 pm, arrives in Yangon at 2.30 pm local time to pick up Mandalay-bound passengers before leaving for Mandalay at 3.30 pm from Yangon and landing in Mandalay at 4.25 pm.
Below are the twice-daily flight schedules of Myanmar National Airlines on the Yangon - Singapore - Yangon route sectors:
Yangon - Singapore/Singapore - Yangon : UB001/UB002 : 7.15 am-11.45 am/1 pm-2.30 pm
Yangon - Singapore/Singapore - Yangon : UB003/UB004 : 4 pm-8.30 pm/9.15 pm-10.45 pm
Flights of Myanmar National Airlines to Mandalay from Singapore transit in Yangon with change of aircraft on days except Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5 December 2017 onwards.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
Air Macau launches direct scheduled flight from Macau to Changzhou on 18 December 2017 using its Airbus A321 aircraft. It flies to Changzhou on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
On 18 December 2017, Air Macau flight NX108 departs from Macau for Changzhou at 3.15 pm, arrives in Changzhou at 5.35 pm before leaving from Changzhou for Macau at 6.35 pm and touching down in Macau at 9.10 pm under flight NX107.
The new route will provide Hong Kong and Southeast Asian tourists convenience in travel to and from Changzhou via Macau.
There are no flights from Hong Kong to Changzhou. Passengers from Hong Kong have to travel to Changzhou via Shenzhen or Zhuhai.
Southeast Asian tourists have to transit in Vientiane for Lao Airlines' regular flights to Changzhou or in Suvarnabhumi for Spring Airlines' red-light flights to Changzhou.
Changzhou is near Wuxi.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
Air Seoul has announced developments on its Hong Kong, Kalibo and Japan flights.
Air Seoul lifts fuel surcharges on its Hong Kong-Incheon route on 1 December 2017. It said while passengers do not have to pay fuel surcharges for departing with Air Seoul from Hong Kong for Incheon from 1 December 2017 onwards, they have to pay Air Seoul fuel surcharges of 8400 Korean Won for departures from Incheon for Hong Kong in December. Air Seoul's lists of updated fuel surcharges for its international destinations, excluding Cebu and Kalibo, are available for references on its web-site www.flyairseoul.com.
Air Seoul launches direct flight from Incheon to Kalibo the gateway to Boracay on 22 December 2017. It flies four times a week to Kalibo on Fridays, Saturdays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with Tuesday and Friday schedules different from Wednesday and Saturday flight timings.
On 22 December 2017 (Friday), Air Seoul flight RS541 departs from Incheon for Kalibo at 7.15 pm, arrives in Kalibo at 11.05 pm before leaving Kalibo for Incheon at 12.05 am on 23 December 2017 and touching down in Incheon at 5.35 am under flight RS542. Tuesday flights (starting 26 December 2017) follow Friday schedules.
On Wednesdays (first Wednesday flight on 27 December 2017) and Saturdays (first Saturday flight on 24 December 2017), flight RS541 departs from Incheon for Kalibo at 9.40 pm, arrives in Kalibo at 1.30 am before leaving Kalibo for Incheon at 2.30 am the following days and arriving in Incheon at 7.50 am under flight RS542.
In separate move, Air Seoul is increasing flight frequencies to Yonago and Narita in Japan. For instance, it is adding Thursday and Saturday flights from 26 December 2017 onwards with flight RS744 departing from Incheon for Yonago at 8.30 am, arriving in Yonago at 10 am before leaving Yonago for Incheon at 11 am and touching down in Incheon at 12.40 pm under flight RS743. These flight schedules are besides the existing flights to Yonago on Tuesdays and Sundays.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
Flights from Singapore to Kuantan increase by three flights a week from 2 February 2018 when Scoot, operated by Scoot Tigerair Pte Ltd, launches scheduled flight on that day from Singapore to Kuantan. Scoot flies three times a week to Kuantan on Fridays, Mondays and Wednesdays using its Airbus A320 aircraft.
On 2 February 2018, Scoot flight TR470 departs from Singapore to Kuantan at 1.30 pm, arrives in Kuantan at 2.40 pm before leaving Kuantan for Singapore at 3.20 pm and touching down in Singapore at 4.25 pm under flight TR471.
Passengers who only intend to do aircraft spotting at Kuantan for a few hours ought to choose Firefly's daily flight to Kuantan from Singapore with flight FY3572 leaving for Kuantan at 11.30 am and arriving in Kuantan at 12.35 pm.
Kuantan's international airport is very small serving Malaysian flights of Firefly and Malaysia Airlines currently and the 15 Squadron (BAE Hawk) and 19 Squadron (MiG-29) of the Royal Malaysian Air Force. It is easier to spot aircraft there than at the public area of Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2.
About Kuantan
Tourist attractions of Kuantan include waterfalls such as Sungai Pandan Waterfall, Jerangkang Waterfall, shopping malls, Esplanade Park, Bukit Gambang Resort City and the largest safari park in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the Bukit Gambang Safari Park. Kuantan is the administrative centre of the State of Pahang. It is an alternative starting point for onward travel to the Genting Highlands, and 26 km northwest of Kuantan, Sungai Lembing, where the largest tin museum in the world is located, in Pahang.
Kuantan has rich ancient city heritage but little of such heritage is known to tourists. It is an important settlement of the ancient Mon-Khmer kingdom of Chi Tu, which was built by settlers from the Funan empire of ancient Cambodia before 607 until the 11th century AD according to ancient Chinese historical records. In Malay, Chi Tu is known as Tanah Merah (meaning red earth land) and Raktamrttika in Sanskrit. A smaller ancient kingdom of Pheng Kheng took over Chi Tu before it was colonized by the Siamese in the 12th century. From the 15th century onwards, Kuantan was a part of the Malacca Empire until Malaysia gains independence.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
China's first private airline OKAir, short for Okay Airways, and Boeing jointly announce the airline's confirmation order of five B787-900 Dreamliner aircraft at the value of 1.4 billion US dollars on 22 November 2017. The purchase deal indicates that OKAir will enter the wide-body jet market.
Jet Li, President of OKAir, said: "We are committed to continually investing in fleet development to stay ahead of market growth and enhance our customers' flight experience." The five 787 Dreamliner orders will support our excellent aircraft fleet in order to launch strategic long-distance international routes. "
Ihssane Mounir, Senior Vice President of Sales for Boeing Commercial Aircraft Group, said, "We are honored that Okay Airways (management name of OKAir) is the new customer of the 787 Dreamliner. Our 787-9 Dreamliner will support Okay Airways in opening up new and profitable long-range international routes, while providing a comfortable flight experience for its passengers. Boeing cherishes the long-term partnership with Okay Airways and awaits to see the great benefits the 787 Dreamliner can bring to Okay Airways. "
The 787 family offers three highly efficient models optimized for the midsize market, with more than 1,280 orders from 70 customers around the world so far, making it the fastest-selling two-passenger airliner in aviation history. The B787-900 that flies to a range of 14,140 km and can carry 290 passengers is the second model of the Dreamliner family.
At present, more than 600 of the B787 Dreamliners in service in the world are already carrying more than 200 million passengers, helping airlines open up over 170 new non-stop flights and save 19 billion pounds of fuel.
OKAir currently has 26 Boeing aircraft with cumulative flight to more than 100 domestic and foreign routes, serving more than 70 cities and transporting more than 25 million passengers.
Under the new situation in the development of China's civil aviation industry, OKAir continuously explores its development path. With its core values of Open, Kindness, Agility, Integrity and Refinement, it aims to build a world-class shared services platform at a height of 30,000 feet, provide comparative costs and advantages of service quality, highlight the customer values and ideals and strive to innovate.
In July 2017, OKAir and Capital Airport Group signed a cooperation agreement. Under the agreement, OKAir will start operating at the new airport in Beijing in 2019. The announcement of the five B787-900 Dreamliners approved by the relevant government departments of China will be mainly introduced into the operation of the new airport in Beijing to fly Beijing-based intercontinental routes. This is a landmark development in the history of Okay Airways.
With the rapid development of the company, OKAir will further expand the international aviation market, bring comfortable travel opportunities to passengers and build Okay Airways' beautiful brand.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
India's newest airline Yuvajet, headquartered in Ranchi, has delayed its inaugural flight launch from November 2017 to June 2018. It now plans to launch its first revenue flight from Ranchi to Chennai via Tirupati or Shidiri in the first week of June 2018.
Yuvajet's founder Kumar Kinshuk who showed the ATR 72-600 aircraft model to Sayacinta - Airpost explained that the airline will cancel its ATR 72-600 aircraft order, in favour of 5 cheaper Embraer ERJ 145 regional airliners after the ATR aircraft import permit is approved.
Yuvajet will sign the purchase deal for 5 ERJ 145 aircraft with a London-based asset management company by the first week of December 2017 and put the delivered aircraft later under C checks, i.e. aircraft component maintenance checks.
ERJ 145 test flights from Ranchi are expected to follow during spring in 2018 before Yuvajet receives its AOC from DGCA to commence scheduled flights by June 2018 as the airline wants to avoid fog and winter season huddles.
Kumar said the smaller 50-seater ERJ aircraft will help Yuvajet extend its domestic reach in India and connect remote tier 2 and tier 3 Indian cities to major metropolitan Indian cities such as Chennai and Delhi. It is the airline's objective to foster more confidence in community feeder air travel among the residents, city governments and its customers by owning affordable aircraft.
Thirty to forty per cent of Yuvajet routes will be pioneer routes, according to Kumar. Planned destinations on Yuvajet's route map not only include Ranchi, Tirupati, Shidiri and Chennai, but also encompass Salem, Bhubneshwar, Pune, Raipur, Allahabad, Delhi, Surat, Mangalore and Coimbatore.
Ranchi, the capital and "City of Waterfalls" of the Indian State of Jharkhand, and Surat the capital of the Gujarat State, will be its air hubs.
Yuva means Youth in Hindi while the airline livery by APG Design features the airline name in navy blue and violet, violet and magenta bands signify vibrance and ingenuity, the navy blue Ashoka Chakra 24-spoke wheel symbolic of India national heritage, and the stylized capital Y linking the small letter j and device of an aircraft appears to form the shape of a beak and an orb in the band suggesting foresight and confidence in flight service.
Formed in 2016, Yuvajet is the commercial brand of Yuva JetLines Airways. It is a proposed feeder carrier and Kumar's family-owned venture with a few investors from Dubai.
Yuvajet web-site www.yuvajet.com starts functioning from 27 November 2017 onwards. Monitor the web-site and Yuvajet Facebook for further updates to and after Yuvajet's month of flight launch.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
On 22 November 2017, Loong Air launches ceremonial flight to Nha Trang from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. According to Loong Air web-site, it will fly daily between Xi'an Xianyang and Nha Trang from 23 November 2017.
On 23 November 2017, Loong Air flight GJ8009 departs from Xi'an for Nha Trang at 9.25 am, arrives in Nha Trang at 1.05 pm before leaving Nha Trang for Xi'an at 1.55 pm and touching down in Xi'an at 7.05 pm under flight GJ8010.
Tickets are only available for sale at Loong Air web-site www.loongair.cn.
The Xi'an - Nha Trang route is Loong Air's first international scheduled route from Xianyang Airport. Flights from Hangzhou to Danang (launched on 28 June 2016) and Nha Trang (first service on 29 June 2016) are now only operated on charter basis.
Loong Air, the Hangzhou-based domestic private airline, is authorized to expand its route network to include international passenger flights on 13 April 2016. It plans to introduce scheduled flights to Hong Kong, Jeju, Singapore and other Asian cities within the next five years.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
SilkAir is launching Singapore's first direct charter flight to Dalat, the "Little Paris" and "Eternal Spring City" of Vietnam, on 10 December 2017.
According to ASA Holidays that charters SilkAir's Airbus A320 aircraft, SilkAir departs from Singapore Changi Airport T2 for Dalat at 10.20 am and arrives in Dalat at 11.30 am before it leaves Dalat for Singapore at around 12.30 pm and touching down in Singapore at 2.40 pm.
ASA Holidays' SilkAir Charter Flight to Vietnam packages include 5D Dalat "Little Paris" and Nha Trang and 6D Scenic Dalat and Nha Trang + Ho Chi Minh City.
For further information on SilkAir's charter flights organised by ASA Holidays, visit ASA offices at People's Park Complex and Temasek Boulevard.
About Dalat
Dalat is known as "Little Paris" due to its French architecture villas and its replica of Eiffel Tower. It is known as "Eternal Spring City" as it is surrounded by hills, pine forest, lakes and waterfalls. Tourist destinations in Dalat include Flower Central Park, Xuan Huong Lake, Dalat Crazy House, Datanla Falls and Dalat Old Station.
Report by : Gan Yung Chyan
/ KUCINTA SETIA
Distributed to All Press & Travel Professionals
In the November/December 2017 edition of Selamta, Ethiopian Airlines Inflight Magazine, which celebrates the arrival of Ethiopian Airlines' first B787-900 Dreamliner aircraft, Ethiopian Airlines advertised that it was launching direct flight to Buenos Aires from Addis Ababa from December 2017. After the inflight magazine was published, the airline clarified that its first flight to Buenos Aires will take place on 8 March 2018 instead, via Sao Paulo, Brazil.
On 8 March 2018, Ethiopian flight ET0506 departs from Addis Ababa for Buenos Aires via Sao Paulo at 9.30 am. It transit in Sao Paulo at 5.10 pm before leaving Sao Paulo for Buenos Aires at 6.10 pm and touching down in Buenos Aires at 7.40 pm.
In the evening of 8 March 2018 Argentina time, Ethiopian flight ET0507 embarks on the journey to Addis Ababa from Buenos Aires via Sao Paulo at 11 pm, arrives in Sao Paulo at 2.30 am on 9 March 2018 before departing from Sao Paulo at 3.30 am and arriving in Addis Ababa at 8.30 pm.
Flights leaving Addis Ababa and Buenos Aires are on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays using one of Ethiopian B787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Ethiopian Airlines received its first B787-900 Dreamliner aircraft on 26 October 2017 and deployed it initially on its route to Abuja, Nigeria, on 7 November 2017.
The Ethiopian B787-900 Dreamliner aircraft has a total of 313 seats including 30 Cloud Nine Business and 283 Economy Class seats. It features an audio and video on-demand entertainment system, greatly reduced noise, higher cabin air humidity, adaptable lighting, the biggest windows in the sky and enables the airline to reduce its carbon footprint with up to 20 per cent less fuel consumption than its older B787-800 fleet.
