Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/282196
www.travelweeklyweb.com www.travelweeklyweb.com 16 | ■ TRAVELWeekly AsiA | March 2014 Airlines BreAking news AS at press time, rescuers are still searching for the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 239 passengers and crew on board which went missing while flying between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. There were 14 different nationalities on board flight MH370, including 150 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, 12 Indonesians and 6 Australians. According to the MAS website, it last heard from MH370 on Saturday morning at 1.30am. An international search and rescue mission from Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam has been mobilised since Saturday morning. However, it has so far failed to find evidence of any wreckage. On Saturday, foreign ministry officials in Rome and Vienna confirmed that names of two nationals listed on the manifest of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight match passports reported stolen in Thailand. Neither was on the Malaysian Airlines plane, flight MH370, which disappeared in the early hours of Saturday less than an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur. The Italian was traveling in Thailand and the Austrian was located in his native country. The father of the Italian man told the Associated Press that his son's passport had been stolen a year and a half ago while traveling in Thailand. The father said his son Luigi Maraldi, 37, called his parents from Thailand to tell them he was fine after hearing news reports that an Italian with his name was onboard the missing airplane. Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Weiss confirmed that a name listed on the manifest matches an Austrian passport reported stolen two years ago in Thailand. Also on Saturday, Vietnamese air force planes spotted two large Search continues for missing Malaysia Airlines plane Inconclusive reports about the status of the airline circulating in the mass media, as rescuers struggle in achieving any headway in the hunt for the missing plane. oil slicks close to where the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, flight MH370 went missing earlier in the day, a possible sign that the aircraft carrying 239 people had crashed. The air force planes were part of a multinational search operation launched after Flight MH370 fell off radar screens less than an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing early Saturday morning. The oil slicks were spotted late Saturday off the southern tip of Vietnam and were each between 10 kilometers (6 miles) and 15 kilometers (9 miles) long, the Vietnamese government said in a statement. There has been no confirmation so far if the slicks were related to the missing plane, but the statement said they were consistent with the kinds that would be produced by the two fuel tanks of a crashed jetliner. As of Sunday, theories as to what happened to the missing plane include terrorism and the aircraft disintegrating at around 35,000 feet. The Malaysia Airlines was also reported to have turned around just before it vanished from radar screens. The airline has also warned families to prepare for the worst as the search widened amid inconclusive reports that debris had been spotted floating in the sea between Vietnam and Malaysia. At the open of trading in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Malaysia Airlines' stock fell as much as 20%. In this extremely trying time, on behalf of the Travel Weekly team, our thoughts are with everyone on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 and their families. Stay strong. HONG KONG – HK Express has added another flight to their Japanese network - Fukuoka commencing 10, April 2014. Famed for its glorious cherry blossoms, abundant green spaces and tantalizing seafood delicacies, the city of Fukuoka is an emerging hotspot on the Asia explorer's "must-see" destination list. In particular, Fukuoka is renowned as a gourmet's paradise. As a harbour city, Fukuoka also has an abundance of fresh seafood for visitors to enjoy. Not only is Fukuoka a seafood lovers paradise, Fukuoka's speciality dish is a mouth watering pork bone broth ramen known as "Hakata Ramen". This bowl of goodnessdraws huge crowds to the famous yatai (outdoor market stalls). After fuelling up, locals and tourists alike can walk off their lunchtime excesses with a stroll through one of Fukuoka's many green spaces, including the pretty, flower-filled oasis of Ohori Park. Or, those with a head for heights might prefer a ride on the Sky Dream Fukuoka - at 120 metres tall, it is one of the world's highest Ferris wheels. HK Express announces flights to Fukuoka starting April 2014 HK Express has also added flights to and from Osaka and Seoul each week, starting April 2014. The new flight schedule to Seoul is perfect for guests who love to travel to Korea, as it allows for convenient access to the main city by night bus to and from the airport. The schedule also means that guests can benefit from savings, by not having to book an extra night's hotel accommodation in the city. Flights to Osaka Kansai and Seoul have been increased to meet current demand