AirAsia expands in China

Low-cost carrier AirAsia said Wednesday it plans to add a second daily flight between Malaysia and Shenzhen in southern China starting next month as part of its regional network expansion.

In a statement, AirAsia said its daily Kuala Lumpur-Shenzhen flight has received an overwhelming response since it was launched in mid-July, with passenger loads of over 90 percent.

To cope with increasing demand, it said it will add the second daily flight on the route from Oct. 2 in time for China's Golden Week holidays.

AirAsia said it will also launch a new daily service from Malaysia's Kota Kinabalu on Borneo island to Shenzhen.

"AirAsia is now fast expanding its network into China, and Shenzhen is an ideal choice as the airline's gateway to the mainland,'' the carrier said.

AirAsia's sister airline, Thai AirAsia, is already flying daily from Bangkok to Shenzhen.

With the added flights from Malaysia, AirAsia said it will be serving four daily flights into Shenzhen.

AirAsia, Asia's largest budget airline by fleet size, has said it expects to carry 11 million passengers for the year ending June 2008, up from 8.7 million in 2007 fiscal year.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

AirAsia X going to London

Long-haul low-cost carrier, AirAsia X, is expected to launch its maiden flight to Standsted, London, by end of next year, says its chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani.

Speaking to reporters after the welcoming reception for AirAsia’s Airbus A330-300 here yesterday, he said the company had already secured the landing rights for the London destination and would fly on a daily basis using the A340.

“If all goes well, we should be ready to launch the UK route by end-2008 and commence sales and bookings in February,” he said, adding that the two A340 aircraft would arrive in October and November next year.

Azran said the company planned to fly to Australia and China by end of next month with the arrival of its first leased long-haul A330-300 aircraft at the KL International Airport’s low-cost carrier terminal last Sunday.

Flying start: AirAsia’s first leased Airbus A330-300 will be used to service the Australia and China routes as early as next month.

The aircraft, named Semangat Sir Freddie, is a tribute to the pioneer of the low-cost model, the late Sir Freddie Laker. It is on six-year lease from Ansett Worldwide Services.

It complements AirAsia X’s purchase of 15 A330s announced earlier. The aircraft will be delivered over five years starting from September 2008.

Azran said the A330-300 delivered yesterday would alternate between Australia and China.

“We plan to have at least five flights to China a week and four a week to Australia,” he said, adding that the landing rights for China and Australia had been secured.

He said AirAsia X was also poised to extend services to India, South Korea, West Asia and Japan with fares on average 50% lower than full-service carriers.

He said the company was considering listing on Bursa Malaysia within three years.

Meanwhile, founder director of AirAsia and group chief executive officer of AirAsia Bhd, Datuk Tony Fernandes, said AirAsia X was also looking to buy Boeing 787s or Airbus 350s for its long-haul routes.

“B787 is real. I’m going to Seattle to talk with the Boeing chief executive officer next week.

“We will be foolish not to talk to Boeing. But the A350 is an obvious choice. The Airbus has an advantage but the question is, ‘when can we get the planes?’,” he said

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

GMG Airlines to raise Dhaka-KL frequency again

GMG Airlines will increase its flight frequencies between Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur (KL) from seven weekly flights to nine beginning September 17. The private Bangladeshi airline was targeting a load factor of at least 60 per cent, helped by strong demand from Malaysia and Bangladesh, its executive director Asia & Pacific Region, Mr Virendra Nautiyal, said.

The airline is enjoying a load factor of about 75 per cent on its 153-seater MD82.

It began flying between Dhaka and KL in January three times a week. This increased to five weekly flights in April and then to seven in July.

KL is its fifth international destination since it began flying on international routes in September 2004.

Source : TTG
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Canada's Campaign : Sell Malaysia and win a Trip to Beautiful Malaysia

TOURISM Malaysia's office in Canada has launched a campaign to encourage outbound agents to sell Malaysia.

Called the "Sell Malaysia and win a trip to beautiful Malaysia" campaign, travel agents from Canada need to sell holiday packages that are a minimum of three nights to be eligible for two return air tickets to Malaysia, inclusive of accommodation and city tours in Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi. The contest will run until December.

A local daily quoted Tourism Minister, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, saying: "Canada is a very important long-haul source market for Malaysia and it has proven to be a growing market as Malaysia becomes a top-of-mind holiday destination for more Canadians."

Last year, Malaysia received Canadian 34,730 arrivals.


Source : TTG
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Malacca’s story to go Global on TV

The country’s renowned historical state, Malacca, will have its presence felt all over the world soon.

The filming of the documentary, Malacca, which started on Sept 12, will showcase the state’s history through the Portuguese, Dutch and British occupations, its people, its tourism and food, and its fascinating culture.

The documentary, a collaboration between China’s television network CCTV and local production house VL Film Productions is the third co-production between the two countries.

According to VL Film Production chief executive officer Datuk Vincent Lye, the idea behind the filming of the documentary came about after CCTV’s president Zhao Huayong visited Malacca in May this year.

“The sole purpose for the visit was merely for leisure but the Zhao ended up meeting Malacca Governor Tun Mohd Khalil Yaakob and was impressed by him.

Closer ties: Zhao (left) and Tun Mohd Khalil exchanging souvenirs during Zhao's visit to Malacca in May this year. With them is Lye.

“Subsequently, he offered to film a documentary on Malacca as a gift to the state as well as a token of appreciation for their friendship,” said Lye yesterday.

The four 30-minutes episodes in Mandarin will showcase Malacca from the year 1511 to present.

The first episode talks about the strategic location of the state and its role as a hub for international traders, while the second episode features the history and establishment of the Malacca Sultanate and the state’s relationship with China.

The third episode highlights the colonisation of the city and today's modern Malacca.

The final episode talks about the people, the food and their cultures.

“It focuses on the unique cultural diversity and architecture of the state as well as a highlight on its Baba Nyonya people.

“There will also be a special segment on politician and MCA founder Tun Tan Cheng Lock,” said Lye, who is also the adviser of the project.

The documentary, sponsored by the Malacca state government, Tourism Ministry and VL Film Productions, is expected to go on air by early next year on CCTV4, CCTV9, and on Spanish, French and European channels.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Malay, Asian and Western specialties for breaking fast at Melting Pot

THE Melting Pot Café at Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur will be serving an array of Malay, Asian and Western specialties for breaking fast that promises to pamper diners’ culinary senses.

It features a buffet spread that is divided into various food stations, like Noodle On The Spot which offers dishes like prawn mee and lok lok, while Essence of Action tempts diners with helpings of stuffed whole lamb, chicken shawarma, daging panggang, Hainanese chicken rice and ikan percik madu.

Middle- Eastern cuisine: Sous chef Ikram Zulbahrin slicing the stuffed whole lamb for diners

Malay Chef Abbas Ali, who cooks the stuffed whole lamb dish, said it was prepared Middle-Eastern style and stuffed with basmati rice.

“We also roast it with a lot of spices like star anise, cardamom, raisins, cinnamon sticks, coriander powder, cloves, cashew nuts and curry leaves, and pour some kuzi sauce, to make the lamb more fragrant,” he said.

Warm your tummy with sup ekor berempah, bubur lambuk and bubur Ashurah seafood from the Soup Kettle, or sink your teeth into fresh flower crab, green shell mussels and fiery red prawns from the Ice Glow section.

From the deep fryer: Bite into some crispy samosa, popiah goreng, crispy vegetable fritters and prawn tempura at the Melting Pot Café.

Then catch some culinary action at the Teppan Theatre as chefs prepare teppanyaki favourites such as ebi (prawn), sake (salmon) and niku (beef), or indulge in prawn in egg white, chawanmushi and dim sum from the Hot Steamer.

For those who must have rice, serve it with a wide array of dishes from the Let’s Wok the Wok and Induction Hot Food sections that include stir-fried chilli prawn, black pepper crab, fish paste with salted egg yolk, chicken roll with HP sauce, wok-fried baby French beans with spicy conpoy sauce, meti lamb kofta, tulang rawan daun cekor, ikan patin tempoyak, ayam kasturi pedas and daging kurma hijau.

If you have room for more, bite into crispy samosa, popiah goreng, crispy vegetable fritters and prawn tempura at the From the Deep Fryer section, and help yourself to otak-otak daun nipah, assorted satay, grilled prawn with herb and ikan kembong baker at Flavour from the Charbroiler.

Sweet ending: The banana toffee and sago pearl cream desert.

Choose from more than 30 types of desserts that include cakes, pastries and puddings for sweet endings to your gastronomic journey.

There is also tiramisu with almond biscotti, mango bavarios “alfonso”, banana toffee and sago pearl cream, vanilla and cassis panna cotta, vanilla madeleines, green tea financier, nyonya kuih, cream caramel and bubur pulut hitam.

The Ramadan buffet is priced at RM75++ per person and is available from 6.30pm to 10.30pm.

The café is also offering sahur buffet priced at RM48++ per person.

MELTING POT CAFE, Concorde Hotel Kuala Lumpur, 2 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50250 Kuala Lumpur. (Tel: 03-2144 2200 ext 2337).

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

Focus on Stalled Hotel Project in Sabah

A stalled RM24.2mil budget hotel project in the city centre and state property mortgaged without approvals – these are among instances of lapses in accountability involving the state-owned Sabah Economic Development Corporation (Sedco).

The Auditor-General put Sedco under the microscope and raised numerous instances of lapses in accountability in transactions that wasted public funds.

Zeroing in on Sedco’s three wholly-owned Perkasa hotels and majority-owned Hyatt Regency Hotel, where the state has a 43% stake, the Auditor-General provided details of how millions of ringgit could have been saved if procedures had been followed.

According to the state’s 2005 public accounts, Sabah borrowed RM1bil from the Federal Government and, in turn, loaned some RM1.12bil to its various agencies, including the single largest amount of RM305.57mil to Sedco.

Sedco already owed the state government a total of RM278.62mil from its inception in 1981.

One of the purposes of the loans to Sedco was to fund its hotel ventures under Kinabalu International Hotel Sdn Bhd in the city and Perkasa Holdings Sdn Bhd in Keningau, Kundasang and Tenom.

The Auditor-General noted that Perkasa’s first hotel in Kota Kinabalu, costing RM24.2mil, was supposed to provide budget accommodation but stalled after RM5.04mil had been spent for part of its construction.

The Auditor-General also queried the RM25mil loan undertaken by Kinabalu International Hotel in 1997 to partly finance the RM45mil refurbishment of its Hyatt hotel here.

According to the report, the loan was secured by using the hotel and its land, valued at RM140mil, as collateral.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]

AirAsia to buy 20% of FAX for RM26.7mil

AirAsia Bhd has agreed to buy 20% stake in Fly Asian Xpress Sdn Bhd (FAX) for RM26.67mil cash, with an option to acquire an additional 10%.

However, the additional stake would be priced at market valuation and not RM1 par value, AirAsia said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

It said the parties signed a definitive agreement on the matter yesteday.

FAX is currently 80% owned by Aero Ventures Sdn Bhd, a company in which AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes and AirAsia deputy CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun are substantial shareholders.

AirAsia said it viewed investing in a long haul low-cost airline as beneficial given that the international air traffic to Malaysia was under-served.

It said the investment in FAX was not expected to have any material impact on its financial position in the current financial year.

It would, however, contribute positively to the company's future financial results.

“Budget long haul service is a new business concept in Malaysia that will require some time to nurture to reach its full potential,” it added.

Source : STAR
[tags : malaysiahotelnews hotels malaysia resorts news travel tourism travel vmy2007]