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Mon 25 Aug: 10 things you need to know today

We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for our top ten travel industry news stories of the day we think you need to know.

We’ve done all the hard work, so you don’t have to! Read on for our top ten travel industry news stories of the day we think you need to know.

1. Cali 6.0 quake

Some 90 people have been injured overnight after a 6.0 earthquake – the strongest to hit California in 25 years – caused destruction in the State’s scenic Napa Valley wine region. A state of emergency was declared, prompting residents’ to fear an impending ‘big one’ to hit the US western coast.

Road damage and power outage has so far has been confined to the Napa and Sonoma areas, according to official reports. No news on travel alerts or bans have surfaced.

Meanwhile, another 6.0 earthquake was reported in Chile, while a 7.0 magnitude quake hit Peru today. The Pacific “Ring of Fire” has been showing signs of increased activity in recent years, geologists say.

 

2. Qantas gambles on US growth

KarryOn_QantasFF_post1Qantas will boost services between Australia and the US from January 2015 with 10 flights per week between Melbourne and Los Angeles, as well as introducing a new schedule to provide greater flexibility for travellers to depart in the morning, midday or evening.

The carrier also plans to up services between Sydney and Santiago from three to four times per week from 20 February.

“The US is one of our most important markets and we will now offer our customers 45 return services per week to North and South America,” Qantas International CEO Simon Hickey.

The new services are the result of some schedule adjustments across the Pacific allowing for increased B747 flying time, one of the key elements of the Qantas Transformation Program announced earlier this year.

These changes come in a year of the 60th anniversary of Qantas services to the US. In 1954, Qantas operated a Super Constellation from Sydney to San Francisco – its first trans-Pacific route to North America. Read more

 

3. Sydney Airport profits soar

SydneyAirportSydney Airport has more than doubled its profit for the first six months of the year to $53.9 million, attributed to a 5% growth in arrivals from international markets of Asia, Britain and US to Sydney.

Key calendar events such as Chinese New Year, The Ashes and Vivid were said to have helped lure travellers to Sydney. Visitors from Asia proved to be the city’s biggest growth market, with Hong Kong travellers up 17% and those from China up 15.8%. As a result, airlines are already anticipating a strong second quarter, ramping up services between Asia and Australia.

Chief executive Kerrie Mather said the growth reflected a long-term trend of customer transition.

“The majority of European airlines that served Sydney fifteen years ago have been more than replaced predominantly by Asian and Middle Eastern carriers,” she said.

Sluggish domestic growth is also expected to pick up alongside expansion by low cost airlines, she said.

Sydney Airport recently agreed to consult with the federal government on the development of an airport at Badgery’s Creek in the city’s west with the corporation having first right of refusal to develop the second airport. Growth across all its businesses, particularly its retail division, boosted first half revenue by 5.7 per cent to $568.4 million.

 

4. StayWell hopes for mass-expansion, hotel chains beware

TCP-Website-Park-RegisAustralia’s StayWell Hospitality Group (SWHG) is expecting to operate 100 properties worldwide by 2017, with a focus on expanding its footprint in Asia and the Middle East, the group’s CEO, Simon Wan said in an interview with Khaleej Times. The privately owned SWHG which operates two brands, Park Regis and Leisure Inn, currently manages 34 properties in Australia, Dubai, Indonesia, New Zealand, India and Singapore, and has an additional 12 under development around the world including the UK. With an annual turnover of A$58 million, the group has increased its portfolio by 30% in the past 12 months alone, and now has a focus on increasing its domestic presence while maintaining focus on international markets such as South Africa after signing an agreement to bring its brands to the country, Wan told the paper.

“Our hope is to have about a dozen hotels in the UK and Europe, so in a geographic sense, we are very evenly spread out with our plans to open a hundred hotels.” Read more

 

5. Virgin applies for gate-to-gate

karryon_mobileusePostVirgin Australia has submitted an application to allow passengers to use personal electronic devices from gate to gate, meaning guests will be allowed to continue using personal devices throughout all stages of flight.

The airline said the electronic device rules “have been a key area of customer feedback, with guests unable to watch a full movie between Sydney and Melbourne, and those whose services were delayed in flight due to weather or turbulence required to turn off their devices prematurely”.

If approved by CASA, guests can also use electronic devices to access content through Virgin Australia’s Wireless In-flight Entertainment system or stored content on their own device, from departure gate to arrival gate.

 

6. AirNZ to announce profits

AirNZ KarryOnAir New Zealand are expected to announce a profit increase this week, tipped to be as much as a NZ$330 million rise for the year ending 30 June. Analysts predict the 29% increase ahead of the airline releasing its full year profits on Wednesday. If correct, the figures represent the strongest result in more than a decade for the airline, and are also expected to continue with double-digit growth also predicted for 2015. Air New Zealand recently received delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner, with another 2 expected to be added to the fleet by the end of the year.

 

7. Fighter-jet maker to develop theme parks

A Chinese state-owned fighter-jet maker is considering spending as much as US$20 billion to build aerospace-themed amusement parks in the country to attract domestic visitors. Bloomberg reports claim the Beijing-based company, AVIC, plans to build “five or six theme parks, with the first one scheduled to open by 2017” at locations including Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shaanxi and Sichuan.

A new US$5.5 billion Disneyland is set to open at the end of 2015 in Shanghai.

“There will be a big market for leisure activities and AVIC can’t be left out as new leisure products emerge and aviation becomes a way of life for many,” Lin Zuoming, who heads AVIC, said in a statement to Bloomberg.

The report states each park will be spread across 33.3 hectares, and include an aviation museum, aviation technology exhibitions, aircraft design incubators, flight simulators and aviation-themed hotels offering meals served on flights as well as those consumed by fighter pilots.

 

8. APT Early Birds

APT KWA Preview 2015 Cover HRAPT has launched its first ever Kimberley and Cape York Wilderness Adventures 2015 Pre-Release Brochure, as a result of increased demand for the region.

Featuring two itineraries, the 15-day Kimberley Complete and the 11-day Cape York and Cooktown Adventure, as well as offering 2015 at 2014 prices, travel agents can offer clients the opportunity to save up to $1,600 per couple for the Kimberley and up to $1,200 for the Cape York trips. These offers are available on the first 100 bookings.

“Our industry partners have been reporting high levels of pre registrations for our 2015 program and we’ve taken the decision to support them by bringing out the most competitive market savings possible to help them to covert interest into bookings. With 2014 bookings already 20% up on the previous year, we are excited about what the 2015 season holds for our domestic adventure touring business,” Rob Tandy, General Manager of APT’s Kimberley and Outback Wilderness Adventures said.

 

9. AirAsia’s Megasale

AirAsiaAs the fourth largest international airline into Australia, AirAsia are taking the global airfare war by the horns launching sale fares to Asia from as little as $99 one way.

AirAsia Commercial Head of Australia & New Zealand Stuart Myerscough said with increased capacity between Asia and Australia and strong airline competition, there had never been a better time to fly internationally.

“With increasing number of seats available for sale to Aussie travellers, airlines are becoming increasingly competitive. We are now seeing some of the most affordable overseas fares on the market for some time,” he said.

“Our ability to offer discounted fares is underpinned by AirAsia X’s strength in the market – recently adding extra capacity into Australia to take a market leadership position, and recording year on year revenue growth for the second quarter 2014 of 36.7%.”

Australians are seemingly jumping on board, with the airline reporting a tripling in passenger numbers between the country and North Asian destinations of South Korea and Japan.

 

10. Airbnb’s new country manager AU/NZ

Airbnb has appointed Sam McDonagh as Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand, in a move to increase awareness of the brand in the region. To be based in Sydney, Sam brings previous senior management experience from roles at eBay and iiNet, and was one of the founders of Quickflix.

Airbnb said as Country Manager for ANZ, his first initiatives will be to “increase awareness of Airbnb in the region and support the local team to ensure Airbnb is providing Australian customers with unique travel experiences within Australia and around the world”.

“Australia and New Zealand are incredibly important markets for Airbnb both in terms of domestic and international travel,” Varsha Rao, Head of Global Operations at Airbnb said.

“Sam has a deep passion for travel and a great track record growing companies that are focused on strong customer communities, which will make him a great asset to Airbnb.”

The company states the number of Australian listings has doubled in the last year alone, and inbound travellers to ANZ using Airbnb services tripling year on year.

 

What’s your reaction to today’s news? Share your comments and feedback below or send us your news stories for the next edition of Need to Know.

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