Singapore Visitor Arrivals in July 2010

Singapore visitor arrivals registered 24.1 percent growth to reach 1,095,000 in July 2010, the highest ever recorded visitor arrivals in the month of July. This is also the first time that visitor arrivals have  exceeded 1 million in a single month.

The positive growth in visitor arrivals this month can be largely attributed to improved travel sentiment, the draw of our Integrated Resorts and the Great Singapore Sale, and tactical promotions by airlines and hotels.

Etihad Airways launches Australia Skypass

Etihad Airways launched a major fare sale to mark the announcement of its new  partnership between with the Virgin Blue Group.

Return fare deals from around Australia to Europe and the Middle East, inclusive of taxes and charges, start from AUD 1834, with comparable deals on inbound fares from Europe to Australia and New Zealand.

AirAsia launches Merdeka Sales Promotion

AirAsia launched a Merdeka Sales promotion with fares from as low as RM9 to domestic destinations and from RM29 to international destinations.

Special Merdeka Sales fares are available up to 12 days from 24 August – 5 September 2010 on a first come first served basis. The travel period for this Merdeka Sale promotion is from 3 January 2011 to 31 March 2011.

American Airlines launches Express Seats

American Airlines has launched an Express Seats service allowing travellers to purchase seats in the first few rows of Coach, including bulkhead seats in that cabin.

Additionally, customers who purchase an Express Seat are able to board with Group 1 of General Boarding for their flight, providing them the convenience of being among the first Coach customers on and off the plane.

Express Seats are available to all American Airlines customers and can be purchased exclusively via airport Self-Service Check-In machines anytime from 24 hours to 50 minutes prior to scheduled flight departure for travel wholly within the United States, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Garuda Indonesia Appoints Risnandi as Senior General Manager

Garuda Indonesia appointed Risnandi as Senior General Manager, Area Asia replacing Iswandi Said, who moved on to head up the airline’s operations in Europe.

Risnandi who will be based at the airline’s office in Singapore, assumes this leadership role after having held various management positions with the national carrier since 1989. Over the years, he worked in various departments namely, maintenance, finance and procurement before moving on to network planning in 1998. Prior to taking up his latest role, he spent five years heading the network management division as Vice President, taking charge of the airline’s network operations at the company headquarters in Jakarta.

Travel Industry Goes Social

It is not surprising that companies would get around to exploiting the house from facebook. That goes triple for travel-related industries, whose clientele tend to be extremely active on social networks.

Portland-based Second Porch — an online vacation rental site that lists 4000 properties in more than 100 countries — existed wholly as a Facebook app until it launched its own base of operations, secondporch.com, in June. Browse its listings, and you’re able to navigate between Facebook profiles of owners and past renters, or see which properties your current Facebook friends recommend. And likewise, if you make an inquiry, owners are able to sniff around your profile.

"We view transparency as critical to overcoming one of the vacation rental industry’s issues: the fear of renting from an unknown person. So requiring a Facebook account largely overcomes that," said president Brent Hieggelke.

Finnair launches Stuttgart and Stockholm Bromma Flights

Finnair launched flights between Stockholm and Helsinki as well as flights to Stuttgart.

Finnair customers now have the option of choosing Bromma, situated very close to the centre of the Swedish capital and close to the Kista district, in addition to Stockholm's main Arlanda airport.

Finnair has also just launched flights to Stuttgart, the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

The airline flies to Bromma twice a day on weekdays and once on Sundays. The airport benefits from its proximity to many international companies.

Emirates to Increase Flights to Houston and Los Angeles

Emirates will launch second daily flights to Los Angeles and Houston. Start at 31 October 2010 for Los Angeles and 1 November 2010 for Houston, Emirates will fly non-stop to both cities twice a day on Boeing 777 aircraft.

The airline, that recorded a significant increase in revenue for the Americas in 2009-10, will soon offer over 15,000 seats on 98 return flights per week to the United States.

Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said, “The additional services will provide customers in the Middle East and Asia with even easier access to the largest cities in Texas and California, supporting the burgeoning business and leisure traffic between these markets and the United States.”

Garuda Indonesia to Launch Jakarta - Tokyo Flights

Garuda Indonesia Airlines will launch direct flights between Jakarta and Tokyo at the end of August. From 31 August 2010, GA 884 flying Jakarta - Tokyo will depart at 23.50 to arrive in Tokyo at 09.00.

The return flight, GA 885, will leave Tokyo at 12.00 to arrive in Jakarta at 17.45. The new service uses Airbus 330-200 that has a capacity of 222 passengers with a seating configuration of 36 passengers in Executive Class and 186 passengers in Economy Class.

Garuda Indonesia President and CEO, Emirsyah Satar said, “In light of with the growing trade relations between the two countries, we dedicate this direct service from Jakarta-Tokyo to passengers who are traveling on business to and from both countries. This service will ultimately add to the comfort and facility of traveling between Jakarta and Tokyo, particularly for Garuda Indonesia passengers.”

Cathay Pacific Reports July 2010 Traffic

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair’s combined traffic figures for July 2010 make a significant increase in the number of passengers and amount of cargo and mail carried compared to the same month previous year.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,485,244 passengers in July – up 19.5 percent on the same month previous year. The passenger load factor was 87.5 percent, a rise of 4 percentage points, while capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was up by 8.8 percent. For the first seven months of 2010, the number of passengers carried was up by 10.1 percent compared to an ASK rise of 1.1 percent.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Tom Owen said, “Passenger demand remained firm as we moved into the normal summer peak month. In particular, demand to and from Hong Kong grew on both long-haul and regional routes compared to previous year. The China market was also quite solid. Responding to the seasonal demand, we operated a number of extra sectors to cater for our Hong Kong based passengers. We are also adding capacity in the previous quarter to enhance the network available from the Hong Kong hub as well as providing more scheduling convenience for our customers.”

Glow Trinity Silom launches Promotion

Glow Trinity Silom launched a 20 percent discount promotion for guests that stay 2 nights or more.

Travellers who book a Superior Room at the hotel for 2 nights or more will get a 20 percent discount off the internet rate of THB 2,300 nett per night. The rate is inclusive of breakfast for two persons and free Wi-Fi internet access everywhere in the hotel. The offer is valid until 31 October 2010. Terms and conditions apply.

The 104-room Glow Trinity Silom is the first managed hotel using the Glow Hotels brand in Thailand. The hotel is located in the heart of Bangkok on Silom Road, Soi 3 and within walking distance to the BTS Sky-Train (Chong Nonsi Station).

Fewer doctor trips

Imagine your cell phone ringing, and when you answer, it is not your spouse, the boss or a friend. It is an automated message from the office of your primary care physician reminding you to take antibiotic dose number three for that sinus infection you've been battling.

While large health groups teams are moving quickly on the journey to put their medical records on computer systems, others teams - often within the same organizations - are working just as hard on developing alternative technological avenues to improving health care and lowering costs.

Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente is engaged in developing cell phone applications to remind patients when it's time to take a medication, test blood/sugar levels or start to fast for the next day's blood work.

"The focus would be nonroutine things," said Dr. John Mattison, chief medical information officer for Kaiser Permanente's Southern California region.

Once people get established taking maintenance medications, like those frequently prescribed for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the reminders would no longer be necessary, he said.

Asian Traffic

Finnairs traffic, in passenger kilometres, grew by 3% in July 2010 compared with July the last year.

Growth came from Asian traffic, which was up by more than 11%. The load factor for Asian traffic improved by nearly one percentage point to 85%, with capacity increasing 10% compared with previous year. There were nearly 12% more passengers on Asian flights than in the last July.

"Growth is good in our main strategy area, namely Asia - Europe traffic. We have increased capacity and we will increase it further. Flights will be added to existing destinations and a new destination, Singapore, will be opened next spring," said Finnair's SVP Communications Christer Haglund.

Hawaii, the wonderful place

Are you looking for a travel destination which features white sand beaches with a difference, plenty of activities for the adventurous and natural landscapes? Hawaii would be your best bet. Unlike the typical beach resorts with jet skiing activities on the side, I found Hawaii to be ideal for a truly well-rounded experience - whether one is a daredevil itching to try surfing or skydiving, or a nature-lover waiting to walk the heart of the volcanic lands that make up this group of islands in the Central Pacific.

Most first-timers to Hawaii would make the capital of Honolulu on the island of Oahu their first stop, with the option of venturing to the other five main islands like Big Island or Maui during the trip. My friends and I allocated about a week for Oahu, and a few days to check out the volcanic landscapes on Big Island. We kept our schedule lax, visiting just one or two places a day. This turned out to be a wise move because Hawaii is not your typical sight "seeing" place - it isa "doing" place.

Hawaii is world-renowned as a surfing paradise, particularly on Oahu's North Shore, where waves can get up to 5m to 8m during winter from November to March. We checked out two of the most popular surf beaches - Sunset Beach and Haleiwa Beach.

Tiger Airways launches 15-Cent Fares Promotion

To celebrate the carriage of 15 million passengers today, Tiger Airways is offering fares from 15 cents (Sin$) excluding taxes.

The celebratory 15 cent fares (one way, excluding taxes and charges) are for limited seats to Hat Yai, Phuket, Krabi, Kuching and Kuala Lumpur. Other routes on promotion are Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila (Clark), Haikou and Macau, with fares from only Sin$15 plus taxes. Travel periods vary for each route, and terms and conditions apply.

The fares are available for booking before sunrise on 5 August and until 11 August 2010, while stocks last.

Rosalynn Tay, Managing Director of Tiger Airways Singapore said, “Tiger Airways is recognized as the fastest growing carrier in Singapore, and the biggest low cost carrier in Singapore. Our growth will accelerate as we expand our fleet, fly to more destinations such as Taipei, and increase flights to hotspots like Hong Kong and Jakarta. We look forward to serving many more million passengers with our low fares and innovative services such as boardmefirst.”

Turkish Airlines Signs Codeshare with US Airways

Turkish Airlines and US Airways, two Star Alliance members, have signed a codeshare agreement with the first flights to commence on 1 September 2010.

The codeshare agreement will enable both airlines to use each other’s flight codes.

US Airways customers will have access to Istanbul via Turkish Airlines service from Frankfurt, Munich and Zurich, as well as four new destinations in Turkey via Istanbul: Adana, Izmir, Antalya and Ankara. They will be able to travel nonstop to Istanbul via Turkish Airlines service at New York and Chicago.

Conversely, Turkish Airlines customers gain access to Charlotte, Philadelphia and Phoenix via US Airways, flying from Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Chicago and New York.

Charleston, Capital City of West Virginia

Charleston is the Capital City of West Virginia. Its name is derived from Charles Town, which was founded in 1670, and later relocated to Oyster Point on the banks of the Ashley River in 1680, where it was officially renamed Charleston in 1783.

One of the ten largest cities in the United States prior to the 1840 census, Charleston is also known as The Holy City because of the large number of church steeples that lift above the low-rise cityscape. It was also one of the earliest centers in the original thirteen colonies to allow a degree of religious freedom – although this was originally restricted to non-Catholics.

There is a great deal to see and do in this historic seat of government on the crossroads of the Mountain State.

The Capital Legislative and Administrative Buildings are located along the banks of the scenic Kanawha River, which provides opportunities for leisurely walks along the riverbanks in warm summer months. Many tourists enjoy taking a guided tour through the historic, golden domed Capitol Building.

Love letters to ideal future employees

I think of employment ads and descriptions as personalized letters to ideal candidates. Trying to screen out inferior candidates is useless at this stage: they are desperate and will apply no matter what I write, whether they have the credentials or not. I concentrate all my attention on the person who will love the particular job and whom we will love as a co-worker.

The goal of a good employment ad is exactly the same as the goal of any advertising--it's sales. An employment ad should sell an employer and a position. I want the ideal candidate to feel that I am describing a position that is perfect for her. In The Little Blue Book of Advertising Steve Lance and Jeff Woll write: "successful advertising appeals on a one-to-one basis. Personalize it." The same principle yields improved results when applied to employment advertising, whether it is in print, on websites, or on free college career center sites. Since we began publishing attractive, individualized ads, our responses have increased both in quality and quantity.

Know the candidate
In order to make someone feel that I am speaking directly to him, I need to learn who he is. I have conversations with the person's future supervisor, with a successful person in the same or a similar position, and other colleagues. I ask them to describe the individual who will thrive in the job. Is she a student? A recent graduate? An experienced individual looking to take the next step in her career? A parent who needs flexible hours? What are his personality characteristics? The more I can learn about the ideal candidate, the more I can tailor the ad for him.

What's in it for me?
Once we know who the ideal person is, we can begin to discuss what will he enjoy about the job and what we offer in return for his service. This is different for each position and each business, so I individualize according to the position. I need to know specifics. Will she work with an especially supportive and knowledgeable supervisor? Do we offer training to less experienced individuals, a newly renovated building, an especially fun team, or promotion opportunities? For instance, some of our best personal care assistants are nursing students. We therefore wrote an ad (and placed it for free on the site of a local nursing school) with the headline "A Head Start on Your Health Care Career." We described our hands-on approach to geriatric health care, training programs, and our willingness to accommodate academic schedules. This targeted description continues to produce a steady stream of quality applications.

I also ask closely related co-workers what they like about the company or their jobs. These conversations take time, but they rarely fail to produce new and useful insight. The Little Blue Book of Advertising tells readers to find their difference: "You would never go to a singles club to sell yourself as ‘just like everyone else.' Why sell your brand that way?" Each of our businesses has several distinguishing characteristics. For example, we were searching for a new hotel general manager. The hotel was newly renovated and the general manager of its sister property was an extremely outgoing, supportive, and experienced individual. I therefore highlighted both the renovation and the mentorship capabilities of the other general manager in the description.

Sandwich Duties between Advantages
Mary Kay Ash of Mary Kay Cosmetics told managers to "sandwich every bit of criticism between two heavy layers of praise." I sandwich requirements and duties between two heavy layers of advantages. I am very careful, however, to make sure that I emphasize the benefits and enjoyments that would appeal to our dream candidate; sometimes I even omit advantages that would appeal to the wrong person. For example, in some assisted living ads we have chosen not to mention competitive pay, even though we were offering a good salary. We did this in order to attract candidates who were primarily interested in the satisfaction caring for seniors and serving their families; a person motivated by a high salary would have been a wrong fit.

The proper place of qualifications and responsibilities
Necessary qualifications and duties are an important part of any employment description: the ideal candidate wants details about her future job and its challenges. But the ad should never become an insipid list of requirements (which is, unfortunately, what most employment ads are). Responsibilities and requirements need positive and specific presentation: the same duties can look like drudgery or career opportunities depending upon the way in which they are described. A mediocre ad for a hotel front office manager might say: "duties include: handling all aspects of group accommodation; resolving guest complaints; working with other department heads to ensure guest satisfaction; and supervising front office staff." A more appealing restatement of the same duties (targeted specifically toward a high-achiever without management experience) would be: "You will gain experience in group accommodation by handling all aspects of group arrivals, stays, and departures. You will have the opportunity to further your knowledge of other aspects of hotel operations by working in partnership with department heads. As our Front Office Manager, you will continue to provide superior guest care by supervising Front Office operations, interacting with customers, overseeing guest services, resolving guest service issues, and providing a shining example to your staff."

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet (not!)
Names and titles are very important. "What do you do?" is one of the most common questions after a social introduction. I want to give people a title that instills pride, both during the application process and after they are hired. There is value in each job. We need to find a title that reflects that value. One of our assisted living residences recently had a culinary department opening. They wanted a "cook" with a culinary degree and various other qualifications superior to the credentials of an average cook; I was afraid that the ideal candidate would feel undervalued by the title. "Chef" did not work because this individual would work under the supervision of our regular chef. So we searched for a new title and found "Sous Chef"-common in the restaurant business, but not so frequent in assisted living. "Sous Chef" was the perfect title: one that reflected the value, pride, and duties of the particular job.

The Black List
Many phrases commonly used in employment ads are a waste of space and money: "professional appearance," "high-quality individual," "excellent communication skills," and "salary commensurate with ability" are among my pet-peeves. Do we really think that someone is going to say, "ah, they want a high-quality individual and I'm a low life, so I won't apply"? Or, "they want someone with a professional appearance and I don't have any dress sense, so I won't waste their time"? Harry Chambers, author of Finding, Hiring, and Keeping Peek Performers disdains the phrases "strong people skills," "self-starter," "strong technical skills," and "goal-oriented." According to Chambers, the problem with these global statements is that no one knows what they really mean. Not only are such phrases empty, but they are also a distraction from the more meaty parts of the position description.

Re-thinking employment ads as love letters to ideal candidates is not about getting romantic: it's about knowing whom you are going to love as a co-worker and showing them what they are going to love about their new job. High-achievers have their choice of employers. Love letters help increase the chances that they will choose you.

Airfares from USA to Europe Rise with Fuel Costs

Americans flying to Europe in spring will be paying more — in some cases, a lot more — largely because of skyrocketing fuel costs.

An analysis for USA TODAY of ticket sales through Sabre, the world's largest distribution system, shows that the average price paid through Jan. 31 for U.S.-Europe air travel in April or May was 6.9% higher than during the comparable periods in 2007.

The analysis looked at round-trip sales regardless of fare categories.

Travelers are paying those higher prices despite a 10.3% expansion of trans-Atlantic flying capacity by the airlines. Typically, when the supply of a product rises, prices rise little, if at all.

Delta Air Lines, which has more service across the Atlantic than any other U.S. carrier, increased trans-Atlantic capacity 15.5% over the past year. The airline, for example, added several routes linking its Atlanta base to Vienna, Prague and other European cities.

Chris Spidle, director of research at Sabre Airline Solutions, says the ability to raise prices while expanding capacity bodes well for airlines, if not for their customers.

"We should continue to see a fairly strong pricing environment this year," Spidle says.

Discount travel guru Tom Parsons at BestFares.com says the most budget-conscious travelers heading for Europe this spring will feel the sting the most. The lowest fares have seen the biggest percentage increases over the last year, the effect mainly of fuel surcharges.

"You better have two piggy banks set aside this year if Europe is your dream vacation for 2008," he says.

Example: Chicago-Rome. A year ago, the lowest published fare for travel last April or May was $579, according to Parsons. After a big increase in both the base fare and in the fuel surcharge that's rolled into the quoted price, that same ticket costs $998, a 72% jump.

Like all other international fares, that quoted price does not include security processing fees, local airport taxes and international departure taxes that can add $200 to $400 to the cost of a round-trip flight to Europe.

Continental Airlines to launch Flights to Heathrow from New York and Houston

Continental Airlines is to launch nonstop flights to London Heathrow from both its New York and Houston hubs on March 29, 2008, subject to government approval and slot approval.

Continental will offer twice-daily nonstop service to Heathrow from both Newark Liberty International Airport and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The airline will continue to offer nonstop flights to London Gatwick from both New York (twice daily) and Houston (daily), as well as Cleveland (daily, seasonal).

“At last we will be able to give our customers something they have long requested - the opportunity to fly to both London’s main airports with their preferred airline,” said Larry Kellner, Continental’s chairman and CEO. “At the same time, we will be able to show transAtlantic travelers already using Heathrow what they have been missing. We look forward to the chance to compete at Europe's most important business airport.”

The new Heathrow flights have been made possible by the Open Skies agreement between the U.S. and the European Union signed earlier this year, and by Continental’s acquisition of the necessary slots at Heathrow Airport. Until now, the airline has been prevented from operating to Heathrow by the restrictive U.S.-U.K. bilateral air services agreement. Continental has served Gatwick Airport since 1985.

Continental’s Heathrow flights will be operated using two aircraft types: the 283-seat Boeing 777-200, carrying 48 passengers in the BusinessFirst cabin and 235 in coach, and the 174-seat Boeing 767-200ER, with 25 BusinessFirst seats and 149 coach seats. The airline’s Gatwick flights will be operated using the 235-seat Boeing 767-400ER, with 35 BusinessFirst seats and 200 coach seats, and the 175-seat Boeing 757-200, carrying 16 passengers in the BusinessFirst cabin and 159 in coach.

Continental’s Heathrow flights will operate at Terminal 4, which will be the future base for all SkyTeam carriers operating at the airport.