| Cathay Pacific enters Spanish market for first time Posted: 09 Nov 2011 12:33 AM PST |
| Hilton Hotels & Resorts ranked number one international hotel brand in India Posted: 09 Nov 2011 12:08 AM PST + Click Image to Enlarge  INDIA-Hilton Hotels & Resorts has been ranked the number one international hotel brand in India in the Indian Hotel Business Guest Survey. The annual survey is conducted by BDRC Continental, a United Kingdom based market research agency. In the survey that tracks the brand performance of 102 hotel brands in India, Hilton Hotels & Resorts has been rated ahead of all international hotel brands. Additionally, Hilton Hotels & Resorts retained its position as the number one business hotel brand in Asia Pacific in the BDRC Continental Asia Pacific Hotel Guest Survey 2011 that provides an overall regional perspective.
Dave Horton, global head, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, said, "Our first place ranking in India as we continue our rapid expansion in the country is a testament to our team members' passion and commitment to delivering on our brand promise - to ensure every guest feels cared for, valued and respected. We appreciate the high regard and trust that travellers continue to place in Hilton both throughout India and around the world."
Lenny Menezes, chairman, India, Hilton Worldwide, said, "We are delighted with Hilton Hotels & Resorts being ranked the leading international hotel brand in India. We are grateful to our guests for this recognition. This ranking will give further impetus to our development efforts. We have more than doubled our trading estate in 2011 by opening five hotels in India this year, and we plan to launch five more hotels within the next eight months. At the current pace, we hope to triple our presence in the country in the next two years."
The BDRC Continental Survey is a syndicated study that reviews the responses of travellers who have stayed on business in hotels of at least three-star rating or equivalent in the past 12 months. In order to review the performance of brands BDRC Continental prepared a hotel Brand Ranking Index. This composite measure takes account of the following indicators - unprompted and prompted awareness, usage in the past year in India or abroad, leading choice, loyalty and intent to recommend.
Other BDRC studies this year rank Hilton Hotels & Resorts as the number one hotel brand in Australia (seven consecutive years), Japan (five consecutive years), Belgium (two consecutive years), the Netherlands (two consecutive years), Britain (two consecutive years), Pan Europe (two consecutive years), Italy (two consecutive years), Germany (two consecutive years) the Middle East (three consecutive years) and Asia Pacific. Hilton was also named leading choice hotel brand in Australia (seven consecutive years), Japan (five consecutive years), Belgium (two consecutive years), the Netherlands (two consecutive years), Britain (two consecutive years), Pan Europe (two consecutive years), Italy (two consecutive years), Germany, the Middle East (three consecutive years), South East Asia and Asia Pacific.
Today Hilton Hotels & Resorts has four properties in India: Hilton New Delhi /Janakpuri, Hilton Chennai, Hilton Mumbai International Airport and Hilton New Delhi-Noida-Mayur Vihar.
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| Montgomerie Links named Vietnam's best golf course Posted: 08 Nov 2011 08:18 PM PST |
| Mövenpick opens Accra hotel Posted: 08 Nov 2011 01:13 AM PST + Click Image to Enlarge  GHANA-The Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel has opened in downtown Accra, styled as an urban retreat set in 16 acres of landscaped gardens. Close to government ministries and Accra International Conference Centre, busines travel is likely to be the hotel's main revenue driver.
Originally presented as a gift by the UK to Ghana after gaining independence in 1957, the 260-room hotel contains 61 Executive Club rooms and 15 Junior Suites, and features a 24-hour Club Lounge.
Lounge benefits include express check-in and check-out at the Lounge reception desk; free private use of the boardroom for three hours per stay and free pressing of two items on arrival; DVD players with access to the DVD library and an extended range of luxury designer bathroom accessories.
The hotel has been completely rebuilt and its interiors are awash with more than 1,500 art works, many of which are visible in the lobby and reception area.
The rooms - which contain large desks, free high-speed internet and 40-inch LCD TVs - have at least two original paintings by local artists and the corridors on each floor feature works from more of Ghana’s prominent artists.
The collection includes an impressive portrait of Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, while two large murals displayed at either end of the 750sqm ballroom also maintain the link with the hotel’s heritage.
F&B options include Sankofa, an all-day dining restaurant showcasing multi-ethnic cuisine and live cooking stations; the hotel bar 'one2one'; and a casual pool bar and BBQ.
Leisure facilities include what is believed to be the largest pool in Ghana – so large that the staff serve poolside guests on roller blades to ensure the drinks stay chilled – alongside two tennis courts, jogging track and health and fitness centre.
Jean Gabriel Pérès, President and CEO of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, said: "We have overwhelming confidence in the region both for business and for its fledgling tourist industry and are committed to developing more hotels in strategic locations in the African Continent."
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| Marriott unveils Residence Inn Edinburgh Posted: 08 Nov 2011 01:01 AM PST + Click Image to Enlarge  UNITED KINGDOM-Marriott has opened its first extended stay property in the UK, located in Edinburgh’s Quartermile development. The Residence Inn Edinburgh features 107 studios and one-bedroom suites, all with kitchens and living, dining and working areas.
The brand is designed for stays of five days or more, with guests benefiting from free wifi and hot breakfast, and facilities including a grocery delivery service, 24-hour shop, and a fitness centre.
The Quartermile development is situated on the site of the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary just north of Meadow Park, and when complete will feature apartments, retail space and offices designed by Fosters and Partners.
Marriott opened its first European Residence Inn in Munich last month, and has more than 620 extended stay properties across the US, Canada, Latin America and Europe.
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| Vietnam: ‘Yan Can Cook’ comes to town Posted: 08 Nov 2011 12:45 AM PST + Click Image to Enlarge  VIETNAM-The event was held at the weekend and attracted a huge number of Yan’s fans at An Dong Plaza and Mela supermarket-affiliated outlets Sherwood Residence in District 3 and Ngan Dinh Restaurant at the Windsor Plaza Hotel in District 5. Yan’s cooking exhibition will continue on Monday at 3:30 p.m. at Mela supermarket. Chef Yan has presented some cooking demonstrations in the country before but this was the first time he has conducted a cooking demo series at a supermarket. Through this event, participants can experience the supermarket’s kitchen facility where customers can consult in-house chefs and ask about items to be cooked on the spot.
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| Ha Long Bay in early list of top 10 wonders Posted: 08 Nov 2011 12:24 AM PST + Click Image to Enlarge  VIETNAM-Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay has been named in a temporary list of the world’s 10 new wonders of nature by the New Open World Corporation, an associate of the non-profit New 7 Wonders Foundation. The others in the list are the Dead Sea in Israel, Palestine, and Jordan; the Grand Canyon in the US; the Great Barrier Reef off Australia and Papua New Guinea); Jeita Grotto cave in Lebanon; Jeju Island in South Korea; Komodo Island in Indonesia; Puerto Princesa Underground River in the Philippines; the Sunderbans in Bangladesh and India; and Vesuvius Mountain in Italy.
They have received the most votes so far, according to the New7Wonders, whose president, Bernard Weber, said the list could change in the remaining days of the campaign before the final list was released November 11.
Earlier on September 27 New7Wonders Foundation chairman Bernard Weber announced that Ha Long was among the 28 finalist candidates for the new seven wonders of nature.
To vote for Ha Long Bay, one has to go to the website http://www.new7wonders.com, dial + 1.869 760.5990 and press 7712, or send a text message (“Halong”) to 147.
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| Free flights from Qantas Posted: 07 Nov 2011 11:51 PM PST + Click Image to Enlarge  AUSTRALIA-As Qantas looks to recover passenger loyalty, the flag carrier is offering passengers affected by the recent grounding one free flight. The offer is the first phase of a package of measures to apologise to disrupted customers. Under the terms of the offer, customers who purchased their tickets in Australia for travel between 5pm on Saturday 29 October and midnight on Monday 31 October, and whose flight was disrupted, are eligible for a free return economy flight on any domestic or trans-Tasman route. Bookings can be made from 30 November 2011 for travel between 14 December 2011 and 14 December 2013, subject to seat availability.
Alan Joyce, Chief Executive Officer at Qantas, said that customers are the airlines top priority now that union activity has stopped. “This ticket offer is one of a range of initiatives we will be launching as a way of saying sorry as we move forward into this period of stability,” he added.
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| Singapore Airlines H1 profits down 62% Posted: 07 Nov 2011 01:53 AM PST + Click Image to Enlarge  SINGAPORE-The Singapore Airlines Group has reported a net profit of $239 million in the first half of the 2011-12 financial year, $394 million (-62%) lower than the same period a year ago. Operating profit declined to $134 million, $462 million (-78%) lower than the first half of the previous financial year.
Group revenue grew $180 million (+3%) to $7,277 million, supported by higher passenger carriage and flat yields, despite increased competition and weak business sentiment.
Group expenditure at $7,143 million was higher by $642 million (+10%), while expenditure on fuel increased $747 million (+35%) as jet fuel prices spiked 45% over the same period last year. This was partially offset by a $118 million year-on-year improvement in fuel hedging.
All the main companies in the group recorded weaker operating results for the first half of the financial year. The operating profit of the parent airline company fell $327 million (-86%), owing to higher fuel expenditure which increased $643 million (+37%) to $2,384 million. With stringent cost discipline, passenger unit cost excluding fuel declined 7%.
The operating results of the main companies in the group for the first half of the financial year are as follows:
- Parent Airline Company Operating profit of $53 million ($380 million profit in 2010)
- SIA Engineering Operating profit of $69 million ($71 million profit in 2010)
- SilkAir Operating profit of $34 million ($36 million profit in 2010)
- SIA Cargo Operating loss of $31 million ($102 million profit in 2010)
Second Quarter 2011-12
The group net profit attributable to equity holders for the July-September quarter was $194 million, a decline of $186 million (-49%) over the same period in the previous year.
Group revenue grew 2% (+$68 million) to $3,699 million, while group expenditure at $3,576 million rose at a faster pace of 9% (+$290 million) on higher jet fuel prices.
Consequently, group operating profit for the second quarter fell $222 million (-64%) to $123 million.
H1 2011-12 Operating Performance
The parent airline company uplifted a total of 8.5 million passengers in the first half of the financial year, an increase of 3.3% over the same period in the previous year. Growth in passenger carriage (+3.8% in revenue passenger-kilometres) was slower than the expansion in capacity (+6.3% in available seat-kilometres), resulting in a 1.9 percentage point decline in passenger load factor to 77.5%.
SilkAir’s capacity growth of 9.4% for the first half was fully matched by the increase in system-wide passenger carriage. As a result, passenger load factor was flat at 74.2%. Overall breakeven load factor was 1.8 percentage points higher as unit cost increased at a faster pace (+8.4%) than yields (+5.2%).
On the cargo side, SIA Cargo’s freight carriage (in load tonne-kilometres) improved 2% year-on-year, slightly higher than the 1.9% increase in capacity (in capacity tonne-kilometres). Consequently, cargo load factor improved marginally by 0.1 percentage point. Cargo breakeven load factor at 66.7% was up 6.6 percentage points, from higher unit cost (+3.6%) and weaker yields (-6.7%).
Interim Dividend
The company is declaring an interim dividend of 10 cents per share (tax exempt, one-tier), amounting to $118.7 million, for the half- ear ended 30 September 2011 (versus 20 cents interim dividend in the previous year). The interim dividend will be paid on 2 December 2011 to shareholders as at 21 November 2011.
Fleet and Route Development
The parent airline company took delivery of three Airbus A380-800s, decommissioned four Boeing 747-400 aircraft (three sold and one in preparation for sale) and returned one B777-300 aircraft on expiry of the lease in the first half of the financial year. As at 30 September 2011, the operating fleet of the parent airline company comprised 106 passenger aircraft – three B747-400s, 65 B777s, 19 A330-300s, 14 A380-800s and five A340-500s – with an average age of 6 years 4 months.
As at 30 September 2011, SIA Cargo operated a fleet of 13 B747-400 freighter aircraft, while SilkAir’s operating fleet comprised 19 aircraft – 13 A320-200s and six A319-100s.
Capacity continues to be adjusted to match demand across the group. In the first six months of the financial year, the parent airline company added capacity to growth areas, such as Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Taipei, Mumbai and Jakarta, while the non-stop service to Los Angeles was scaled back. SilkAir launched services to Kolkata, complementing the Singapore Airline’s flights to the city, and commenced flights to Koh Samui.
Subsequent Event
Pursuant to the renounceable Rights Issue of Tiger Airways Holdings Limited, Singapore Airlines had been allocated 89,504,625 Rights Shares, increasing the total number of shares held by the company to 268,513,875. Based on an issue price of $0.58 per Rights Share, the total consideration paid by the company in relation to the subscription of the Rights Shares was approximately $51.9 million. The company’s shareholding in Tiger Airways remains unchanged at approximately 32.8% of the enlarged share capital immediately following the Rights Issue.
Outlook
Singapore Airlines says advance passenger bookings are showing signs of weakness, particularly in Europe and the United States. Global Purchasing Manager Indices have also fallen, pointing to weaker demand for air freight. Both passenger and cargo yields are therefore expected to remain under pressure.
Exacerbating the impact of the weak outlook is the high cost of fuel, which is compounded by the recent strength in the US dollar. Forward prices for jet fuel remain high and volatile.
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| Resorts World Sentosa in Singapore to sparkle this Christmas Posted: 07 Nov 2011 01:28 AM PST + Click Image to Enlarge  SINGAPORE-Resorts World Sentosa will be transformed into a magical fairytale land this Christmas as it dons an ambitious light-up in a bid to be one of Asia’s largest Yuletide holiday destinations. Costing over S$2 million to stage, the 49-hectare resort will sparkle from its waterfront to its 500-metre shopping-dining strip, FestiveWalk with lights, iconic arches, fairytale tableaus, roving characters and Southeast Asia’s tallest Christmas tree at 38 metres, with 20 carollers performing at the foot of the tree.
All facades of the resort, including its four hotels and its latest attraction, the Maritime Experiential Museum & Aquarium, will be decked in fairy embellishments and dazzling lights.
“Singapore is already a Christmas destination for many regional markets. RWS will reinforce that standing with an annual light-up that will make Sentosa the other destination besides Orchard Road that tourists must see when they come to Singapore. This year, the entire resort will be lit with 240,000 LED-lights, transforming it into a magical fairytale land. We want every visitor to feel like they have literally walked into the fairytales and stories from their childhood,” said Andrea Teo, Vice President of Entertainment at Resorts World Sentosa.
In the spirit of Christmas giving, Resorts World Sentosa is also working with all the five Community Development Councils through 'Project We Care' and the People's Association for a charity campaign coined ‘aRWSome Wishes’ that will grant up to 500 wishes made by underprivileged kids across the five districts. RWS team members will bring festive cheer to these kids by granting these wishes and all the presents gathered will be delivered to the children in time for Christmas by Santa Claus.
On 12 November 2011 at 20:08, the mega-resort will be officially lighted-up by Guest-of-Honour, Dr Amy Khor Lean Suan, Mayor of South West District, together with the beneficiaries to mark the launch of ‘aRWSome Wishes’.
The light-up ceremony will be complete with live performances put together by acts from Universal Studios Singapore and appearances by roving fairytale characters.
Visitors to the mega-resort will find themselves transported into a fairytale land aglow with glittering lights in hues of blue, yellow and white, beautifully-illuminated 7.4 metre tall arches, eight decorative fairy figures, 18 character-lookalikes including Red Riding Hood, Snow White and Prince Charming that have come to life from the Grimms’ Fairy Tale world of folklore and make-believe.
The festivities will continue at Universal Studios Singapore, where elaborate wreaths, baubles and fairies will line the Hollywood Boulevard and New York Street, while a 10 metre Christmas tree stands tall in front of the lagoon of the theme park. Singapore’s top college choirs, The NUS Choir and The Vocal Consort, as well as NJChorale and Victoria Chorale will take to the stages at Hollywood and New York from 3 December onwards.
On top of the visual feast, visitors will be able to savour fairytale-themed Christmas menus at the resort‘s many restaurants, such as ‘The Wizard of Oz’ lunch buffet menu at Fiesta and the ‘Exotic Fairytale’ international buffets at Starz Restaurant on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. A mini Christmas bazaar with six fairytale carriages set out at the Bull Ring area will offer a wide range of cakes and pastries that will be created by the resort‘s own chefs, seasonal RWS and USS hampers and more.
From 25 November 2011, cardholders who spend with MasterCard cards will be rewarded with RWS vouchers and MEMA tickets. On top of that, 31 lucky top spenders will walk away with a 3-day 2-night holiday package at RWS (terms and conditions apply).
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