Northstar

TRAVEL WEEKLY ASIA O F F I C I A L D A I L I E S www.travelweekly-asia.com 19 26 October 2017 SIA RISES TO THE CHALLENGE By Ian Jarrett S ingapore Airlines (SIA) expects to become a slimmer, smarter and more agile airline by the end of an extensive review and revamp of its operations. More than 50 initiatives are being undertaken to boost SIA's ability to counter the challenges of an evolving aviation environment in which game- changing new- generation aircraft are opening up long-range routes and allowing new competitors to enter markets once the exclusive property of the legacy airlines. Latest example is the launch into the UK-Asia market of low-cost, long-haul carrier Norwegian. Its four-a-week, 12hr 24min Dreamliner service between London Gatwick and Singapore is the world's longest low-cost flight. On March 24 next year, Qantas will launch its Perth to London direct service, a 14,498 kilometre, 17-hour Dreamliner 787-9 flight that will save about three hours on current flight times operating on Kangaroo routes via Asia or the Middle East. The new Qantas flight will originate in Melbourne, with passengers connecting to the non-stop London flight in Perth. Soon, Qantas hopes that aircraft manufactures will come up with a plane that can fly Sydney-London non-stop, cutting out intermediate stops in Asia. SIA is a popular option for Kangaroo route travellers from Australia but if the new-generation aircraft were able to overfly Asia, some of this business would disappear. SIA hopes to maintain its competitiveness by containing costs and growing revenue without compromising customer service. Among the initiatives will be a restructure of group airline operations. SIA has handed two of regional arm SilkAir's routes to budget carrier Scoot and merged part of SilkAir's finance team with its parent. CAPA Centre for Aviation chief Steady as she goes... SIA on a journey to transform its operations analyst Brendan Sobie believes SIA should consider the more radical move of merging SilkAir with its parent. "It would generate efficiencies and ensure a consistent product at the full-service end of the market," he said. The carrier has already merged budget arms Scoot and Tigerair Singapore and folded its cargo arm back into Singapore Airlines. SilkAir plans to upgrade Australia flights to the new 737 MAX 8 aircraft by the end of 2017, resulting in an improved premium product for the Cairns and Darwin markets. SilkAir is operating the 737 MAX 8 on four short-haul routes – Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Penang. Phnom Penh and Phuket – until October 30, 2017, when it starts operating its first two aircraft on medium-haul routes to Bangalore, Hiroshima, Hyderabad and Kathmandu. SilkAir's new 737 MAX 8s have six fewer seats than its 737-800s with the extra space being used to improve the business class product. According to CAPA, the improved range of the 737 MAX also gives SilkAir the flexibility to launch new routes in Australia as it has the range to reach Adelaide and Townsville from Singapore. Q atar Tourism Authority (QTA) and Qatar Airways will continue to offer their stopover package until the end of the year. The offer - part of a broader +Qatar campaign - provides transit passengers with an opportunity to discover the country. The offer includes free luxury hotel stays and complimentary transit visas. During the initial stopover package period, Qatar welcomed 34% more transit passengers compared to the same period in 2016. QTA and Qatar Airways further announced the offer will be extended to passengers booking their travel through tour operators, allowing more visitors to benefit from the offer of a free overnight stay in a luxury hotel, or a two- night stay for the discounted price of US$100. QATAR EXTENDS ITS STOPOVER DEALS Doha Corniche NEWS BY IAN JARRETT, PHOT0 CREDIT: AHMED_ADLY/ISTOCK Dubai dishes up the fishes for security checks Big changes are on the way for passengers departing Dubai International Airport. Travellers will soon walk through a virtual aquarium tunnel that will scan their faces using 80 hidden cameras. "The fish is a sort of entertainment and something new for the traveller but, at the end of PHOT0 CREDIT: GRACETHANG/ISTOCK the day, it attracts the vision of the travellers to different corners in the tunnel for the cameras to capture his/her face print," said Major Gen Obaid Al Hameeri, deputy director general of Dubai residency and foreign affairs. When the passenger reaches the end of the tunnel, they will either receive a green message that says "have a nice trip", or if more information is required, a red sign will appear, alerting airport security staff.

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