Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2019 i Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition

QANTAS has launched a new initiative dedicating entire flights to frequent flyer redemptions. The first Points Plane service will be an A380 flight between Melbourne and Tokyo Narita on October 21, with redemption bookings opening on May 16. Members of the carrier’s Frequent Flyer scheme will be able to redeem points across the superjumbo’s cabins, with economy tickets valued at 35,000 points, premium economy at 54,000, business class at 72,000 and first class at 108,000. Taxes, fees and carrier charges apply to all redemptions. There will be a total of 371 economy seats up for grabs, as well as 35 premium economy, 64 business class and 14 first class seats. The airline said that all members will have an equal opportunity of securing a booking, regardless of tier status. The…

LOCATED near Gate 1 in Terminal 1 at Hong Kong International Airport, Plaza Premium First Hong Kong is a refined airport lounge concept with all-inclusive personalised services, exquisite dining experiences and a relaxing ambience. Lounge Ambassadors welcome guests and give a post-registration orientation. Made-to-order à la carte entrées are provided during breakfast and all-day dining periods with table service alongside all-you-can-enjoy hors d’oeuvres available at Primo. Aerobar serves a selection of both soft and alcoholic drinks. Three winners will each receive five three-hour visits to Plaza Premium First Hong Kong, to be redeemed within one year (non-transferable). APRIL ISSUE COMPETITION WINNERS: Kishimoto Hiromichi (Japan), Rachel Dayan (UK) and Johannes Widodo (Singapore) each won a one-year Plaza Premium Lounge Gift Card, as well as a 12-hour stay at any Aerotel transit…

Shanghai is adept at trading on its swashbuckling past, in particular the 1920s and 30s when Europeans and Americans operated their own concessions, building houses, offices, hotels and clubs in the architectural style of Britain, France and the United States. In fact the Chinese port city’s most famous attraction by far – The Bund promenade – was built by the Brits. This series of stone edifices has remained largely intact, at least on the outside. Inside, things have taken a modern turn: some of the buzziest restaurants, bars and clubs are located within the buildings, many with terraces that offer stunning views over the Huangpu River towards the soaring financial district skyline of Pudong. There’s certainly no lack of places to go in the evening if you’re entertaining clients or…

Sir Richard Branson relishes telling the story of the birth of Virgin Atlantic. On virgin.com he recalls what happened in the early 1980s when his flight from Puerto Rico to the British Virgin Islands was cancelled: “I had a beautiful lady waiting for me in BVI and I hired a plane and borrowed a blackboard and as a joke I wrote ‘Virgin Airlines’ on the top of the blackboard, ‘US$39 one way to BVI’. I went around all the passengers who had been bumped and I filled up my first plane.” After that he bought a second-hand B747 and “made it that much more special than all the other airlines we were competing with”. Unfortunately, many new airlines end in failure within months – be they wholesale start-ups, rebrands or…

You may not have heard of the New Zealand town of Dunedin, but it packs a lot of flavour. Located at one of the southernmost points of the South Island, Dunedin is the sort of place that seems designed for hearty drinks in front of a fire, a gourmet picnic in its green woods and experimental degustation. With a population of just under 130,000 but sprawling across 3,314 square kilometres, Dunedin is small enough to feel like a genuine getaway from big city life, but not so small that your options are restricted. Dotted with 19th-century buildings, an NRL stadium and university, it’s a big city bundled into this southern pocket of New Zealand. Along with food, Dunedin’s natural environment is its calling card for visitors. Be prepared for bracing…

BACKGROUND Cathay Pacific offers three transpacific flights per day from Hong Kong to Los Angeles. I was flying on CX882, departing at 1635, the latest departure offered (unless you count CX880, which departs at 0005, as being the latest). CHECK-IN Because I was on standby for an upgrade to business class, I had to check in at the economy class counter, where there was a short queue. As is usually the case in Hong Kong, I proceeded swiftly through security and, being a Hong Kong resident, cleared immigration in seconds. LOUNGE Once I’d cleared immigration, I headed for The Wing Business Class lounge, to which I had access with my ticket. While the Pier Business Class Lounge is newer and has an overall more extensive offering, this is still a…

KOREAN AIR has decided to remove first class seating from some of its international routes. From the beginning of June, the airline will start removing the seats, leaving only economy and Prestige (Korean Air’s business class product) on 76 of its 111 international routes. As of June 1, only 35 routes – some 30 per cent of Korean Air’s international flights – will offer first class seats. For short-distance flights, Korean Air said it will offer first class seats only on major routes such as those to Beijing, Osaka, Hong Kong, Taipei, Bangkok, Singapore, Manila, Jakarta and Hanoi. A Korean Air spokesperson told Business Traveller Asia-Pacific that through the removal of first class seating from some aircraft, the airline expects to “achieve better operational efficiency, while improving in-flight service for…

PASSENGERS on select China Southern flights from Guangzhou can now buy adjoining empty economy seats at a discount, guaranteeing they won’t have a seatmate. The new “One Passenger More Seats” service allows travellers to buy up to three extra seats for between RMB250 (US$37) and RMB1,700 (US$253) based on flight length. These rates are notably discounted from full-fare economy prices. The airline cites its Guangzhou-New York (CZ399) flight as an example, where a full-fare economy class ticket typically costs RMB4,480 (US$667). After check-in, passengers can pay RMB650 (US$97) for one extra empty seat, RMB1,200 (US$179) for two extra seats or RMB1,700 (US$253) for three seats. csair.com…

LESS THAN a week after Korean Air announced it would be scaling back its first class offerings on a multitude of international routes, rival Korean carrier Asiana Airlines has stopped selling first class seating altogether. Instead, the airline will be rebranding its first class offering as “Business Suites” with passengers being given a business class offering. Asiana has been struggling financially, having recently announced it would be axing its Chicago service as well as two routes to Russia later this year. It will also be dropping its flights to Delhi starting July 8. The decision to drop these routes, as well as to rebrand its first class offering, has been made in order to enhance the company’s profit capability and flight safety”, an airline spokesperson said. Asiana only offers first…

In Indian elections, it is almost a political truism that whichever party wins Uttar Pradesh wins the country. Arcing across the north’s vast Gangetic Plain, this is India’s most populous state. Its teeming capital, Lucknow, is one of India’s fastest-growing cities, but it has also long been among the region’s most overlooked tourist destinations. Lucknow has been important for centuries and, for the British, it was the epicentre of 1857’s Indian Mutiny (or as Indian historians refer to it, the First War of Independence). It proved a pivotal event that shaped the Raj, and you can gain an insight into the period by visiting the city’s old British Residency complex. Nowadays simply signposted the “Residency”, it has become as much a neat public park as a national monument. “I used…

China’s Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, which was also recently dubbed the “Greater Bay Area” by the Chinese government, is a megalopolis including nine major cities in China’s southern Guangdong province plus two special administrative regions (Hong Kong and Macau). One of the most open and economically developed regions in China, the PRD is playing a crucial role in the country’s development as – via the Greater Bay Area initiative – the Chinese government seeks to develop the region into an integrated economic, business and transportation hub. These rapid developments mean there is huge potential for the hospitality industry. Recent years have seen a raft of new hotels springing up in the region, with key properties opening and international brands making their debuts. It seems like good news for business…

BACKGROUND Orchard Hotel Singapore is a Singapore landmark with more than 60 years of history. It began life in the late 1950s as a four-storey, 34-room hotel before being demolished and reconstructed in the 70s. The property we see today has undergone several refurbishments over the years, and remains one of the city-state’s most renowned hotels. The first phase of its most recent renovation finished in late 2018. WHERE IS IT? Roughly ten minutes’ walk from Orchard MRT station, and around 30 minutes from Changi airport by taxi. WHAT’S IT LIKE? When I entered the lobby, the first thing that caught my eye was the iconic clock tower that stands at its centre. Behind this there’s also a piano placed between two escalators linking the lobby and the mezzanine level.…

MARK GRAHAM Mark Graham, who on page 26 of this issue explores three cities in Eastern China, first visited Shanghai more than 30 years ago, when the Pudong waterfront was lined with crumbling warehouses rather than today’s glittering high-rises. Graham writes for many international magazines and newspapers including the South China Morning Post, Discovery, Silkroad, Prestige and Vogue. He is an avid distance runner, competing regularly in 10K and half marathon races in China and internationally. AMAR GROVER Lawyer turned journalist Amar Grover grew up in Hong Kong and has contributed features to most of the UK broadsheet newspapers and quality travel magazines. He has been a freelance travel writer and photographer for over two decades and has been visiting India regularly since the late 1980s, but this was his…

NEW ride-hailing service S.Ride has launched in Tokyo as electronics giant Sony delivers on a promise to deliver an Uber-like experience in the Japanese capital, TechCrunch reports. Ride-sharing with private cars is illegal in Japan, so Sony is working with five licensed taxi companies. The service will draw on 10,000 cabs, compared to rival JapanTaxi, which can deliver rides from a fleet of 50,000 affiliated cabs. Uber is also active in Japan, partnering with other taxi companies, along with several other app-based ride-hailing services. Unfortunately for those outside Japan, Sony has no current plans to expand S.Ride outside the country. sony.com…

HONG KONG has been named the most expensive city in Asia for business travel for the second year running, according to a new report, with an average day costing US$515 including US$286 in hotel costs. The findings have seen the city pull away from second-place Tokyo and third-place Seoul in the top-ten ranking by global mobility firm ECA International. Mainland China is notably absent from the top-ten list – its most expensive city is Shanghai with an average daily cost of US$378. This is due to the country’s hotel costs being comparatively cheaper compared to other destinations around Asia. eca-international.com…

THIS prize comes courtesy of Shangri-La at the Fort Manila. Two winners will each enjoy a three-night stay in a Horizon Deluxe room with breakfast for two. Located in the heart of Manila’s thriving Bonifacio Global City, this hotel has 576 luxurious guestrooms and suites, 97 fully furnished Shangri-La Residences, Kerry Sports Manila and a retail arcade. Guests can also look forward to nine dining destinations managed by Shangri-La at the Fort, each with its own unique personality, including Ministry of Crab, Manila; Samba, serving Peruvian cuisine; a steakhouse called Raging Bull Chophouse and Bar; Canton Road; and an all-day dining buffet restaurant called High Street Café, to name a few. For more details and to enter, visit businesstraveller.com/competitions…

THE Airbus A350 is still a relatively new aircraft to the Chinese aviation market, having only been delivered to its first Chinese airline customer (Air China) in August last year. Since then, both China Southern and Hainan Airlines have decided to use the wide-body to debut new business class seat products. China Southern (pictured right) has opted for Recaro’s CL6710 business class product – a flatbed seat configured in a staggered, forward-facing 1-2-1 setup. The airline has also notably ditched its fabric coverings for leather – a definite upgrade. Hainan Airlines, meanwhile, looks to have gone for Stelia Aerospace’s Solstys seat, which also offers a staggered 1-2-1 configuration that gives direct aisle access to all passengers. As of May 12, the Hainanbased carrier has begun flying the new wide-body on…

1 Singapore Philatelic Museum Opened on August 19, 1995, the Singapore Philatelic Museum is the custodian and curator of Singapore’s philatelic materials – in other words, the country’s stamp collection. The museum’s collections range from stamps and archival philatelic material of Singapore from the 1830s to 2019, and stamps from member countries of the Universal Postal Union. The museum is housed in a century-old, double-storey colonial building that was designed by Tomlinson and Lermit Architects. Don’t miss the Straits Settlement Collection, which documents Singapore’s early philatelic history and heritage. spm.org.sg 2 MINT Museum of Toys Located within walking distance of the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach and established in 2007 by avid toy collector Chang Yang Fa, the MINT Museum of Toys houses a world-class collection of…

CENTRO NACIONAL DE GOLF WHERE IS IT? 10km north of Madrid. WHAT’S IT LIKE? This state-owned facility is built on a landfill site, the same concept as Paris National, the venue for Europe’s Ryder Cup victory last year. The home of the Royal Spanish Golf Federation, it opened in 2006 as an all-comer’s pay and play. It’s tight for an 18-hole layout but architect Dave Thomas used judicious landscaping to create a course worthy of the 2018 Spanish Open. To everyone’s delight, the Open was won by Jon Rahm, Spain’s world number eight. The 24-year-old Basque was among the first pupils to establish his credentials at the Centro Nacional Academy, which provides young talent from all over the country with the ingredients for success. The course is designed to encourage…

BACKGROUND I was in Macau in late March to attend the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, held at Wynn Palace. Since the Grand Hyatt Macau is right across the street, I decided to stay over in Macau for an extra night to review this property. WHERE IS IT? On the eastern side of the City of Dreams resort and casino complex in Cotai, about five to 10 minutes’ drive from the Macau Taipa Ferry Terminal and 10 to 15 minutes’ drive from the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal. As mentioned, Grand Hyatt Macau is directly opposite the Wynn Palace. It’s a prime position for accessing any of the casinos, resorts and hotels in Cotai. If you need to go to downtown Macau though, you’ll have to take a taxi across one…