Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2016 i Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition

QANTAS WILL NO LONGER ALLOW passengers to use lounge facilities on arrival after their flights. While this was previously an unwritten rule, it is now being enforced due to overcrowding in the lounges. The restrictions will apply to most passengers, including members of Qantas Club, who pay A$895 (US$652) annually to enjoy lounge access (among other perks). However, Qantas has stated that top-tier members of its loyalty programme, as well as passengers arriving on red-eye flights from Perth, will be exempt from this rule. qantas.com.au…

• Regal Airport Hotel Meeting & Conference Centre is the only hotel connected directly to the passenger terminal of Hong Kong International Airport by an enclosed link bridge. The 1,171-room hotel is just 24 minutes from the business, finance and shopping district of Central, close to major tourist attractions, and a one-minute ride by train to the nearby AsiaWorld-Expo Convention Centre. Three prizes are being offered this month. These include: Prize 1: Four nights in a Duplex suite and a two-hour spa/massage treatment for two people daily Prize 2: Three nights in a Spa suite with one hour of spa/massage daily Prize 3: Two nights’ accommodation in a Royal suite All prizes come with full Executive Club floor privileges and breakfast. Valid until January 31, 2017 (blackout dates apply). APRIL’S…

GARUDA INDONESIA HOPES to launch flights to the US next year. According to the airline’s chief executive Arif Wibowo, the recent launch of direct flights between Jakarta and London Heathrow could pave the way for it to begin flying to the US next year, with Los Angeles earmarked as the first destination. After it was placed on the EU blacklist in 2007, Garuda embarked on an ambitious recovery plan that saw it resume flights to Amsterdam in 2010. Wibowo hopes that recent improvements will encourage the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to upgrade Garuda’s safety rating from Category 2 to 1. garuda-indonesia.com…

A waterfront development whose architecture combines both the historical and contemporary, The Fullerton Heritage comprises a myriad of dining, hospitality and lifestyle establishments across The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Waterboat House, One Fullerton, The Fullerton Pavilion, Clifford Pier and Customs House. Together with the two hotels’ nine dining destinations, an array of 29 restaurants, bars and cafés in the precinct make it a vibrant focal point of lifestyle offerings for both hotel and city guests to enjoy. The precinct is strategically positioned in the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District, minutes from the city’s iconic cultural landmarks and close to the main shopping belts of Suntec City and Orchard Road. It is also well linked to various transportation hubs, with Changi International Airport less…

If you are looking for a luxurious hotel for your next business trip to Hong Kong – or simply want to enjoy some leisure time in the city or relax between flights – then Regal Airport Hotel should be at the top of your list. A city resort hotel that just happens to be located at the airport, it is the only property connected to Hong Kong International by an enclosed link bridge. A convenient 24-minute journey from Central via the Airport Express Line, it is well located for popular tourist attractions such as Hong Kong Disneyland, Ngong Ping 360 and the Big Buddha, all of which can be easily reached by hotel shuttle or public transport. In addition, if you want to enjoy the city’s excellent shopping, there is…

CX opens new Vancouver lounge Cathay Pacific (CX) has opened a new first and business class lounge in Vancouver International Airport. Measuring 510 sqm, it has seating for 108 people and features The Bureau, with three individual workstations with iMacs and printers; the Noodle Bar, which serves a selection of Chinese favourites; and The Pantry, which offers cold cuts, a selection of cheeses, salads, Western hot food, tapas, fruits and desserts. The new lounge is open to first and business class passengers travelling with Cathay Pacific; Silver tier or higher Marco Polo Club members; and Oneworld members with Sapphire status or above. cathaypacific.com MHG partners with Emirates Skywards Minor Hotel Group (MHG) has partnered with Emirates Skywards, the frequent flyer programme of Emirates airline on a special offer that runs…

Emerging into the arrivals hall of Tan Son Nhat International Airport for the first time in more than a decade, I see my name on a board and look up to the beaming smile of a be-suited driver, who escorts me to a gleaming Mercedes-Benz. I pass in luxurious, air-conditioned comfort through Ho Chi Minh City. The modern world has swept Vietnam into its eager embrace; Japanese cars and mopeds now outnumber bicycles ten to one, computer shops and high-rises sprout throughout the city… but the familiar chaos of interweaving vehicles and pedestrians remains. We head south towards my destination, deep in the heart of the Mekong Delta. Outside the city an age-old rhythm is once again apparent; the roads are newer and better maintained, but the flanking fruit stalls,…

Food is central to Spanish life, and has evolved over the centuries to become the foundation of the country’s culture and identity.Yet there is no part of Spain more fiercely proud of its cultural heritage and traditional cuisine than Catalonia and it’s heartland: Barcelona. Dining is a way of life here, and this is recognised almost every day. The city grinds to a halt between the hours of 2pm and 4pm as locals gather to eat and drink in the city’s famed restaurants, eateries and tapas bars. Perhaps it is this laid-back perspective on life that has allowed such an exciting cultural history to develop. From the architectural genius of Antoni Gaudi and Ricardo Bofill to the world-renowned artistry of Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, Barcelona has a reputation for…

CHINA AIRLINES HAS OFFICIALLY unveiled the cabin designs of its A350, ahead of the delivery in July. Similarly to the B777-300ER, the A350’s Premium Business seat will feature the Super Diamond product by B/E Aerospace, complete with 1-2-1 layout, 18-inch IFE screen and personal table lamp. Premium economy on the A350 will be the same Zodiac AIRgo FX premium seats found on the B777-300ER, but will feature only seven seats (2-3-2) instead of eight (2-4-2) in each row. Economy class will feature a 3-3-3 seating layout. Seat width will be a comfortable 18 inches, while each seat will also offer 116 degrees of recline and a 32-inch pitch. china-airlines.com…

MILLENNIUM HOTELS AND RESORTS HAS LAUNCHED a new lifestyle brand with the opening of M Social Singapore, a 293-room design hotel situated on the Singapore River overlooking Robertson Quay. It is the first hotel in Singapore to offer a self-check-in kiosk in the lobby, and offers Handy smartphones – pre-loaded with city guides – in all rooms. Guestrooms vary a lot in size and configuration, and sport names such as “The Big Room”and“The Bigger Room”– some with ceilings as high as 4.1 metres. The hotel’s restaurant-bar is called Beasts & Butterflies and offers a wide-ranging mix of food from East and West, as well as artisanal cocktails created by its mixologists. millenniumhotels.com…

CHINA IS HOME TO some of the worst performing airports when it comes to punctuality, according to a 2015 report by Flight Stats. The airport statistics website analysed the on-time performance (OTP) of some 188 airports around the world, and concluded that 14 of the bottom 20 were located in China, Hong Kong or Taiwan (though it’s fair to say that the latter two score low because of their volume of traffic to/from the mainland). Chinese airports with some of the worst punctuality records include Hangzhou Xiaoshan (41 per cent), Shanghai Pudong (52 per cent), Hong Kong (59 per cent) and Beijing (62 per cent). flightstats.com…

CROWN GROUP HAS UNVEILED its new“Skye Hotels Suites”brand, which will debut as a new hotel in Parramatta, Sydney in early 2017. Skye Hotels Suites will form part of the 29-storey V by Crown Group development, which is located near the Parramatta Square precinct and train station. It will feature 72 studios, as well as one-bedroom and two-bedroom suites. More Skye Hotels Suites properties are being planned in Sydney’s CBD and Green Square in the future. crowngroup.com.au…

It’s very Starck, with imported European furniture covered in bright, artificial fabrics BACKGROUND Yoo Hotels describes itself as“a global design group created by leading property developer John Hitchcox and Philippe Starck”. The hotel group is expanding, with a raft of new openings planned in the coming years everywhere from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Boracay in the Philippines in 2016 to Bali and the Cotswolds (UK) by 2018. It has two brands: Yoo Collection and Yoo2. This property is in the Yoo Collection. WHERE IS IT? On the corner of Pennington and Irving Street, a two-minute walk from entrance F to Causeway Bay MTR Station. WHAT’S IT LIKE? Quite a mouthful, especially if you’re trying to tell the taxi driver where it is. Better to say the Regal Hotel in…

Within Macau’s glittering array of hotels and resorts, Grand Hyatt Macau stands as a front-runner for its exceptional events offering. From elaborately themed banquets to pool parties, any event can be catered for with tailored menus, dynamic entertainment options and the latest, customisable events technology. Boasting more than 8,000 sqm of event space, the hotel has two pillarless ballrooms and eight conference and meeting “salons”, which can be set up in a living-room format with plush armchairs and sofas for casual meetings. Meanwhile, the Salão do Teatro’s open kitchen concept can offer culinary performances from as many as 20 chefs, featuring interactive video technology and theatre lighting. Informal events can take place at the hotel’s Pool Deck – a popular option for canapés and cocktails at one of Macau’s largest…

The aviation industry appears to be reassessing the value of first class. Some still think of it as integral to their service offering, but many are struggling to fill seats and a few have decided to eliminate the cabin class from their aircraft altogether. United is one such airline. In a 2015 interview with Buying Business Travel, the carrier's then president, Jeff Smisek, called international first class a losing business, which has prompted the airline to reconfigure its existing B767-300ERs from a three-class to a two-class cabin set-up without first. United’s current order book of 14 B777-300ERs, seven B787-9s and 14 B787-10s will not feature a first class cabin at all, further illustrating the airline’s move to distance itself from the product.“[First class is] a money loser, and we will…

1. A350 spreads its wings A direct competitor to Boeing’s B787 Dreamliner, the A350 XWB (extra wide body) is a new family of aircraft from Airbus that comes in three versions, the A350-800, -900 and -1000. Quieter and more fuel-efficient, there are currently 777 of them on order. Airbus delivered 15 last year and aims to double that in 2016. Launch customer Qatar Airways now flies the aircraft to Singapore, Frankfurt, Munich, Philadelphia, Adelaide, Boston and New York. Vietnam Airlines operates the A350 from Hanoi to Paris and Seoul, while Finnair plies it from Helsinki to Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok and Hong Kong, with Singapore scheduled for later this year. Singapore Airlines has 67 on order itself; seven are of the ultra long-haul variety (see trend 3), and the airline launched…

STAY Height of luxury in Halong WYNDHAM Legend Halong Bay is set to be the first international five-star property to open in the Unesco World Heritage site of Halong Bay in Vietnam. Scheduled to open in June, the 217-room hotel looks onto the bay's renowned karst formations, and boasts locally designed furnishings as well as a Penthouse suite ideal for long-stay guests. The hotel will have five restaurants including all-day dining at Blue Bay Restaurant, Japanese fare at Sakura and French cuisine at Le Papillon. A swimming pool, spa and sauna facilities are also on offer alongside 1,055 sqm of meeting space. wyndham.com Cultural comforts FOR those wanting to explore the Unesco World Heritage town of Malacca (Melaka) on Peninsular Malaysia's west coast, an evocative place to base yourself is…

ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS HAS SECURED three daytime slots at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, and will use two of these to launch non-stop flights to New York JFK and Chicago. The new services begin on October 30 and will complement the airline’s existing US-bound flights from Tokyo to Los Angeles, Honolulu and Vancouver. In addition, ANA has announced that it will launch non-stop B787-8 flights from Tokyo to Mexico City in February 2017. This will make it the only airline providing direct links between Japan and Mexico. ana.co.jp…

TURKISH AIRLINES WILL TAKE delivery of a record 26 Boeing aircraft this year – six B777-300ERs and 20 next-generation B737-800s. “Turkish Airlines is one of the world’s ascendant airlines and an established global network carrier. It has achieved this through various significant investments in its fleet, which now stands at more than 311 and growing,”said Ahmet Bolat, chief investment and technology officer. The Star Alliance member also has a total of 50 Boeing B737 Max 8 and Max 9 aircraft on order, as well as around 90 Airbus A320 and A321 Neos. turkishairlines.com…

QATAR AIRWAYS WILL UPGAUGE its Doha–Guangzhou service by replacing the incumbent B777-300ER with the A380 from July 1. Service times will however remain unchanged. The aircraft change will result in a significant capacity increase, with the superjumbo offering a total of 517 seats – 159 more than the B777-300ER. The A380 will also feature a three-class configuration, with eight seats in first, 48 in business and 461 in economy. In comparison, the B777-300ER (358 seats) only has a two-class layout. The superjumbo offers greater comfort in business class than the Boeing aircraft. Unlike the 2-2-2 business class layout on the B777, the A380’s business seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 configuration, ensuring direct aisle access to all customers. qatarairways.com…

Hong Kong’s central city core straddles its“fragrant harbour”, the crowded waterfront skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island facing the densely peopled mass of the Kowloon Peninsula. But the territory of Hong Kong covers a much greater area than this alone, and the New Territories’satellite towns have grown into cities unto themselves – in the case of Sha Tin with a population of more than one million. For those with work to do in these burgeoning business centres, it makes sense to stay in a hotel within easy access. With that in mind, a circuit of Hong Kong’s outer districts reveals a surprising wealth of accommodation options. LANTAU & CHEK LAP KOK Room demand at airport locations has grown from an average of 55 million room nights in 2010 to 65 million…

Seoul’s recent history has been marked by rapid modernisation, an eager acceptance of technological advances and urban growth on an impressive scale. Now a huge, sprawling conurbation, many of its most high-profile developments can be found south of Hangang (Han River): the 123-storey Lotte World Tower is close to completion – at 556 metres it is the highest building in Korea – and there are expansion plans for the COEX district too, where Hyundai has purchased a huge plot of land opposite the enormous convention and shopping centre, and plans to build hotels, more events and retail space, etc. However, in the city’s CBD, located within the historic city walls of Seoul north of the Han, plenty of growth is happening too – albeit in a less grandiose fashion. By…

When you lace up your trainers and join the locals pounding the pavements and parks at dawn, you experience a place in a way that just isn’t possible from a taxi or boardroom. A morning run can also prepare you mentally for a challenging day. Researchers at the National Taiwan Sport University found that 30 minutes of moderate exercise optimised mental performance immediately afterwards, while a recent study from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland suggested that the brain linked physical forward motion, such as running, with the future.“As you move forward, your thoughts about the future may also become more fluid and clear,”says lead researcher Dr Lynden Miles. Professor Andy Lane, a sport psychologist at the UK’s University of Wolverhampton, believes running can also be a good way to…

1 PLACE WILSON Begin your exploration at this popular hotspot, named after US president Thomas Woodrow Wilson and generally considered to be the entrance to downtown Toulouse. A circular park surrounded by sweeping arcs of attractive old buildings, it is one of the liveliest places in the city, with plenty of shops, restaurants and a cinema – university students frequent the fountains, sit in the shade of the trees or drink coffee at alfresco cafés. Near one entrance to the square is an eye-catching carousel. 2 PLACE SAINTGEORGES Exit Place Wilson and walk south down Rue Saint-Antoine du T, and soon you’ll find yourself in Place Saint-Georges. This charming square has a dark history, as it was the site of public executions in the 1500s. An extensive refurbishment effort during…