Innholdsfortegnelse for January - February 2024 i Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition

Business Traveller COMPETITION BUSINESS TRAVELLER ASIA-PACIFIC has teamed up with Pan Pacific Orchard, Singapore to offer one lucky reader and guest a two-night stay in a Deluxe Balcony King room, including breakfast. The hotel’s 347 rooms and suites are meticulously designed for comfort and luxury, including cosy 400-thread count cotton bedding and luxurious bath amenities by French house Diptyque. Club guests can enjoy an extra special stay with dedicated check-in, late checkout and exclusive access to the plush 130-seater Pacific Club Lounge. For more information, visit panpacific.com To enter, and see terms and conditions, visit businesstraveller.com/competitions…

Are you sitting comfortably? Once upon a time, this summed up airline expectations around premium air travel; a more generously proportioned seat and, if you were lucky, a spot of lunch and a glass of fizz. Fast forward a few decades and, thanks to a combination of innovation and competition, today’s carriers are reimagining the concept of flying business class. Several sky-high perks - once the exclusive preserve of first class passengers - are filtering into the business class cabin. This blurring of boundaries has led many operators to scrap first class altogether, while others have scaled back their top-tier offering to select routes and certain aircraft types. This trend shows no sign of slowing down. Over the following 12 months, there are due to be more than a dozen…

DESTINATION Change is afoot in Bangkok. Yes, traffic still occasionally grinds to a standstill during rush hour, but huge investment in its public transport system means more people are leaving their cars at home. In late 2023, the MRT’s Pink Line, which connects the riverside district of Nonthaburi to Bangkok’s Min Buri district, started trials (passengers could ride for free until January 2,2024, after which point standard fares applied). The MRT’s Yellow Line, which connects Lat Phrao (a neighbourhood popular with backpackers) to Samrong in eastern Bangkok, opened in June 2023. Then again, getting around Bangkok using public transport has been relatively easy in recent years, thanks not only to the MRT but also the BTS Skytrain. It’s also likely that Bangkok’s ancient canals (known as klongs) could soon become…

BACKGROUND Vietnam Airlines took delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in 2015, and now has 11 in the fleet, along with four B787-10s. The three-class configuration offers 28 seats in business class, 35 in premium economy and 211 in economy. Vietnam Airlines is part of SkyTeam alliance. Members can book, earn and redeem miles earned with any carrier across the network. CHECK-IN I arrived at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport at 2238 for flight VN51, at 0005, to London. I checked in online. Arrivals is on ground level, and departures is not well signposted - you need to go up two escalators. Vietnam Airlines check-in counters are in C/D, with dedicated Sky Priority and business class lanes. It was all very quiet when I got…

SPIES, LIES AND DECEPTION, LONDON, UNTIL APRIL 14 The Imperial War Museum is hosting a free exhibition dedicated to espionage, with stories from the First World War right up to the recent Salisbury poisonings and present-day mysteries, The exhibition showcases more than 150 objects, including gadgets, official documents, and newly digitised film and photography - the image above shows women making papiermâché dummy heads in France, which were used in the trenches to draw enemy fire and locate enemy snipers during the First World War. iwm.org.uk HONG KONG ARTS FESTIVAL The 52nd Hong Kong Arts Festival will take place from February 20 to March 22, at venues across the city. There’s a wide range of performances from the worlds of Western and Chinese opera, theatre, classical music and dance, as…

SWISS Switzerland’s flag carrier is eyeing a 2025 launch for its new business class cabin. The revamp coincides with the expected delivery of its first A350-900s, with five due to join the fleet before the end of 2026. As a Lufthansa Group airline, the multifaceted Allegris platform is the basis for the upgrade, but look out for distinctly Swiss twists when it comes to furnishings and the soft product. swiss.com QANTAS Australian aviators should also count 2025 as a year to watch. Qantas is due to unveil its new business class suites to mark the launch of nonstop flights linking Sydney with London and New York. A dozen of the carrier’s specially modified Project Sunrise A350-1000s will ply the ultra long-haul routes, which can carry up to 52 business class…

TRENDS Meaningful journeys “Psychographics” - the study of traits such as values, goals and lifestyle choices - will increasingly inform the curation of meaningful journeys and is set to take the lead in luxury travel, according to a recent forecast from Globetrender, commissioned by luxury tour operator cazenove+loyd. There’s expected to be a rise in socially and environmentally responsible travel. Example itineraries include indigenous experiences where travellers can immerse themselves in remote cultures with local tribes, in places such as Papua New Guinea. Those looking to understand their own heritage may embark on “DNA pilgrimages” to learn more about their origins. One itinerary on offer features a visit to Nepal to retrace the steps of a family member who served in the Royal Gurkha Rifles. “Pioneering safaris”, meanwhile, cater to…

1 WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL This magnificent structure is the centrepiece of Downtown LA (DTLA), its sleek curves and sloping steel façade juxtaposed with the San Gabriel mountains behind. Designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry, the building is home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023. If you’re more fascinated by architecture than music, opt for the free self-guided tour to explore the features of this architectural marvel - from the acoustic design to the oasis-like Blue Ribbon Garden perched ten metres above street level. A QR code at the check-in table on the ground floor provides access to an audio guide with 26 chapters narrated by actor John Lithgow alongside contributors such as Gehry and Gustavo Dudamel, music and artistic director of the LA…

BACKGROUND The Londoner Hotel, which opened in early 2021, is an all-suite 600-room hotel within the Londoner Macao integrated resort. The latter had its grand opening in May last year, with brand ambassador David Beckham in attendance. The resort comprises five hotels; in addition to The Londoner Hotel, it houses the Conrad Macao, the Sheraton Grand Macao, the St Regis Macao and Londoner Court. This enormous complex, with a life-size Elizabeth Tower (that’s Big Ben to most of us) and a façade based on the United Kingdom’s Palace of Westminster, is the result of a total reworking of the former Sands Cotai Central complex. The resort is owned by Sands China, which also owns the nearby Venetian Macao, Sands Macao, The Plaza Macao (which includes the Four Seasons Hotel Macao)…

Delta adds Taiwan back to network SKYTEAM MEMBER DELTA AIR LINES will further expand its Asia network next summer with the launch of a daily nonstop service from Seatde (SEA) to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), starting June 6, subject to government approval. This marks Delta’s inaugural nonstop flight to Taipei from the US and the first Delta aircraft operation to TPE since 2017 via Narita International Airport in Japan. The carrier will deploy one of its latest-technology Airbus A330-900 neo aircraft on the 13-hour westbound, 12-hour eastbound service from Seatde to Taipei. The A330-900 neo seats 29 passengers across a 1-2-1 configuration in Delta One business class, 28 in Premium Select and 224 in regular economy class. Seattle continues to serve as a key gateway for Delta’s operations across…

CYCLE WHILE YOU WAIT SINGAPORE CHANGI Airport is offering free bike hire for two hours to passengers with a layover in Singapore. Travellers can explore attractions in the vicinity, including the Jurassic Mile and nearby beaches along the city’s East Coast area, and can pay to extend the bike hire should they wish to venture further afield. Changi airport has provided four different routes, lasting from two to six hours, and the bicycle return point at the airport features pay-per-use shower facilities and an outdoor café and bar, so cyclists can feel refreshed before your onward journey. Advance booking is available at changi.me/free-bicycle and on the Changi app. Bike hire takes place at the GoCycling bicycle rental facility at Hub & Spoke (located next to Terminal 2). Note that passengers…

DESTINATION Macau was among the first European settlements in Asia. Established by the Portuguese in 1557, it predated the founding of its bigger neighbour Hong Kong by nearly 300 years. For most of its life it was a sleepy poor relation of Hong Kong, often described as a backwater, yet ideally placed as a staging post for goods coming in and out of Canton (Guangzhou). More recently, it was chiefly known for its Macanese and Portuguese food, Vinho Verde wine, cheap hotels, seedy casinos and slightly grubby nighdife. Macau came under Chinese control in 1999, two years after Hong Kong’s handover. For a while, much remained the same, but all that changed when the casino monopoly was broken in 2002 with the granting of licences to Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment…

PARKROYAL Serviced Suites Jakarta Opening date: January 2024 Easy access to public transport (including Dukuh Atas MKT station and the Soekarno-Hatta Airport Rail Link) make this city-centre property a great option for business travellers. There will be fantastic views of Indonesia’s capital city, too - the property will open inside the Luminary Tower, which is the country’s tallest building and part of the recendy opened Thamrin Nine Complex, a mixed-use complex with office space, leisure facilities and restaurants. There will be five categories of suites, although all will have kitchenettes and open-plan bathrooms with movable screens for privacy. The PARKROYAL Serviced Suites Jakarta scores highly in the sustainability stakes too - there will be a wastewater recycling plant and 1,272 sqm of lush outdoor space. Rates: Studio suites starting from…

Route networks have been bouncing back fiercely over the past year, with flight statistics across the board approaching pre-Covid levels. We look at some of the new routes launching in 2024. AIR CANADA: STOCKHOLM Air Canada will launch two seasonal routes to Stockholm in June 2024, with three weekly flights from Montreal and a twice-weekly service from Toronto, Both routes will be served by three-class Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. There are currently no other airlines flying between Montreal and Stockholm, while the Toronto-Stockholm route is also served by SAS. QANTAS: PARIS Oneworld member Qantas is adding another direct service between Australia and Europe with the launch of a new route between Perth and Paris ahead of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. From July 12, 2024, the 17-hour Perth-Paris flights…