Skill up on all you need to know with bite sized travel news designed specifically to help you, the Travel Agent, be your best today and tomorrow.
1. The Tiger-mare is almost over – airline confirms its ‘return to Bali’ date
The Tiger-mare is almost over for travellers holding a future Tigerair ticket to Bali, with the airline confirming this morning that it will return to Indonesia in 14 days.
In an online statement the carrier confirmed it has received “key approval” from the Indonesian government to resume its A320 services between Australia and Bali from 3 February.
In the meantime, Virgin Australia will continue to transport travellers holding Tigerair tickets to and from Bali between now and the return date.
2. The most stressful job in travel is…
They’re responsible for hundreds of lives everyday, they don’t get to see their families properly for months and they work the oddest and longest hours.
With that kind of job description it’s not too surprising to hear that pilots rank high among this year’s most stressful jobs.
The latest CareerCasts’s annual Most Stressful Jobs report found pilots to have the third most high pressure roles after those who put their lives on the line in the military and those that save lives as firefighters.
3. Jetstar expands network with new routes to Vietnam
Good morning Vietnam! It’s going to be a beautiful day with thousands of Aussie holidaymakers booking flights to your bustling cities, cultural towns and busy beaches.
Jetstar has announced an extension to its network today with two new routes from Melbourne and Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City.
Commencing in May, the carrier will operate its 787 Dreamliner on the two services, which will fly four times weekly from Sydney and three times weekly from Melbourne, News.com.au reported.
4. Save money on the flight & spend it on a Ferrari ride around Rome instead
If you could go to Europe tomorrow and were able to save roughly $600-$700 on the $1,500-or-so flight, what would you do with the money?
Book a day at a luxury spa in Sweden? Spend it on a designer outfit in France? OR what about booking a Ferrari ride through Rome?
The world is your oyster as Trafalgar are offering $899 flights to Europe!
5. SilkAir to increase Cairns services over winter
SilkAir will add extra weekly services to Cairns over the Australian winter peak period to meet the growing demand for travel to and from the top end of Australia in the winter months.
The number of weekly flights from Cairns to Singapore will increase from three to four in June, before stepping up to five weekly flights from 4 July to 29 August 2017.
Commencing on 7 June 2017, MI813/814 will be operated by a 162-seat Boeing 737-800, departing Singapore at 08:15 and arriving in Cairns at 17:10 local time. The return flight, MI814, will depart Cairns at 18:00 and arrive in Singapore at 23:05 local time.
From July to August, supplementary flight MI811/812 will operate on Tuesdays taking the total number of weekly flights between Cairns and Singapore to five. On Tuesdays, MI811 will depart Singapore at the new time of 02:00 and arrive in Cairns at 10:45 local time before departing as MI812 at 11:35 and arriving in Singapore at 16:20 local time.
Tickets will be made available for sale progressively through the various distribution channels.
6. USA & Canada look mighty good with Venture Holidays
Venture Holidays is trying to convince travellers that there’s no better time to explore North America through its newly released 2017/18 brochure.
The America, Hawaii & Canada program features new locations such as New England where holidaymakers can explore scenic villages, maritime landscapes and luxury resorts of the White Mountains.
Also new is the 13-day self-drive itinerary that showcases the natural beauty and urban charm of Oregon, plus new tours departing from Las Vegas that take in Arizona and Utah.
Click here to check out the brochure.
7. AirAsia’s inflight entertainment gets Xcite-ing
Guests travelling on board AirAsia X (flight code D7) flights will have access to an enhanced inflight experience with the introduction of the latest Xcite Inflight Entertainment tab, which offers hours of entertainment with a wide range of content, high resolution touch screen device and an advanced audio technology right at the comfort of their seats.
The Xcite Inflight Entertainment tab supports five languages (English, Bahasa Malaysia, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese) and is complimentary for all Premium Flatbed seats, while guests travelling on Economy seats will be able to pre-book the tab via the airline’s website for only RM49, or request for it while onboard at RM60.
Entertainment options include popular Hollywood blockbusters, international and local movies, TV shows, music, games and magazines.
8. Viking cruises into Newcastle
Viking Cruises Australia and New Zealand gave Newcastle locals a taste of their product during the Helloworld’s Newcastle Holiday and Cruise Expo earlier this month.
The decision to appear at the annual expo was to expose the brand to local trade and travellers while also showcasing its 13 new itineraries to be rolled out in 2017, 2018 and 2019, including two itineraries sailing out of Australia for the first time.
Newcastle will directly benefit from Viking’s new presence in the Australian market, with the cruise line calling at The Port of Newcastle as part of its Komodo & Australian Coast itinerary, launching in 2018.
9. A Collette coincidence
Looking at the picture above, it appears to capture a group of friends hanging out at a sports game right? Well it kind of is and it kind of isn’t – it’s actually quite a serendipitous story from the guys over at Collette.
See the woman with the number ’83’ printed on her jersey? That’s Paula McReynolds a Flight Centre Agent. She was wearing her Patriots jumper at a Flight Centre Expo after-party in Perth when she was spotted by Collette’s Australian General Manager Alison Mead.
Collette are huge supporter of the Patriots and Alison thought it was nice opportunity to meet someone new and chat about the team.
10. Air France appoints new Country Sales Manager for AU & NZ
Air France KLM announced the appointment of Mr. Quentin Voss as Country Sales Manager for Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Voss joined the team on 16 January, 2017 and will be responsible for all Air France KLM sales activities in Australia and New Zealand.
Mr. Voss has more than eighteen years of experience in the travel and airline industry, among them with Qantas Holidays, Air New Zealand and Qantas Airways. His previous position was Leisure Revenue Development Manager with Qantas Airways.
He will directly report to Mr. Gijs van Popta, General Manager of Air France KLM South East Asia and Oceania based in Singapore. Mr. van Popta stated, “We are proud to welcome Quentin to the team. Quentin’s wealth of experience and industry knowledge make him a key addition to the team and I am confident that Quentin will play a vital role in building the Air France KLM proposition for our customers.”
Competition of the Week
WIN 1 of 3 copies of ‘New York: Through a Fashion Eye’
Fashionista’s of the world rejoice! Fashion illustrator Megan Hess is bringing New York fashion to you and we’re giving you a chance to WIN her latest book.
Click here to enter.