In the news: Asia’s falling hotel prices, Etihad Airways’ Flying Nanny. Tigerair’s four new destination, SITA’s and Thales’ partnership in new technology

Asia’s only region to record fall in room rates

Rapid expansion in the hotel sector in Asia, coupled with unstable currencies have led to a 2% drop in hotel prices in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2012, Hotels.com revealed in its latest Hotel Price Index (HPI).

The bi-annual global report by the online accommodation booking website showed that eight of the 10 destinations with the biggest price drops were in Asia. At a country level, room prices in Indonesia have declined 17% to S$169, and South Korea lost 12% to S$176. In Singapore the average price of five star hotels saw a substantial drop of 8% during the first six months of the year, down from S$514 a night to S$475.

The significant price drop at top-of-the-range hotel accommodation has resulted in Singaporeans enjoying luxury for less at home and in several regional holiday hotspots including Langkawi, down 21% to S$200; Boracay and Bali falling 16% to S$208 and S$198 respectively.

On top of that, the falling yen also meant travellers were able to get more for their dollar in Japan. The highest rate drop was in Fukuoka, which was down 23% to S$119, and Sapporo tumbled 14% to S$128.

“The price falls in five and four star accommodation in Asia allows Singaporeans to enjoy luxury for less at close proximity. The continued expansion of low cost carriers in the region has also provided Singaporean travellers with more cheap flight options. Singaporeans are thus extremely well-placed to find great high end bargains just in time for their year-end getaway,” said Zoe Chan, senior PR manager, Hotels.com, Asia Pacific.

Besides select Asian destinations, Singaporean travellers also enjoyed lower prices in European destinations. Cultural havens, such as Austria and the Netherlands, have recorded significant drops of 12% and 9% respectively.

Flying Nanny  – a new, unique service from Etihad Airways

Malaysia’s AirAsia X has a “quiet” zone, Singapore’s Scoot a “silent” zone – both designed for passengers who want some peace and which are out of bounds to children under 12.

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of United Arab Emirates, has no plans to introduce such a zone, but instead will have a “Flying Nanny” on long-haul flights to look after children and unaccompanied young passengers.

In the past two months 300 crew members have been trained for this role at Norland College, a childcare specialist institution in Britain. Another 60 will be trained this month. There will be 500 flying nannies by the end of this year.

“Flying with a young family can be a daunting task, even for the most experienced travellers, and the Flying Nanny role demonstrates our understanding of our guests’ needs and our commitment to making the journey as relaxing and comfortable as possible,” said Aubrey Tiedt, Etihad Airways’ vice president of guest services, in a statement.

During the flight the Flying Nanny, identified by a bright red apron, will serve children’s meals and offer activities/challenges to help entertain and occupy the younger guests.

The Flying Nanny will also engage the young charges in arts and crafts, like using paper cups to make hats, and teach them simple magic tricks that help retain their focus and interest while seated.

For older children the Fying Nanny will give simple quizzes and challenges to keep them occupied, as well as taking them on tours of the galley during quieter moments of the flight.

Towards the end of the flight the Flying Nanny will help parents by replenishing milk bottles, and offering items such as water, fruit and other snacks especially if the family is transiting to another flight.

The Flying Nanny will also advise families, who are transiting at Abu Dhabi, about the various facilities at the airport.

Tigerair roars into four new destinations

Singapore based Tigerair is spreading its wings to four new destinations – Lijiang (China), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Langkawi (Malaysia) and Lombok (Indonesia) – beginning October 29 in conjunction with its ninth birthday celebrations this month.

The thrice-weekly flights to Lijiang will start on October 29, the four times weekly flights to Chiang Mai and Langkawi will launch on November 2 and 8 respectively, and the three times weekly Lombok services will commence on November 22.

The low cost carrier said together, these four destinations comprise a rich palette of heritage sites and natural attractions that promise to charm even the most seasoned travellers.

“History and nature together play a big role in re-enchanting the seasoned cosmopolitan traveller,” said Alexander Knigge, Tigerair’s chief commercial officer. “Our latest offering of four new destinations combines both of these elements particularly well, and stirs the traveller’s imagination.

Tigerair will also increase the frequency of its Surabaya-bound flights from seven to 13 times weekly from November 15.

Inflight entertainment streamed on demand to passengers’ own devices.

Thales and SITA have successfully paired Thales’ GateSync with SITA’s e-Aircraft Services to enable inflight entertainment (IFE) streamed on demand to passengers’ smartphones, tablets and other devices.

Currently on trial with LAN Airlines at Santiago Airport, it provides passengers with on-demand rich content straight to their own devices. This includes music, movies, news, TV series, PC games, interactive shopping, and destination and flight information – all streamed within the cabin.

SITA provides connectivity for aircraft on the ground via Wimax, Wifi, or cellular service and, through its subsidiary OnAir, in-flight connectivity through satellite-based broadband services.

By using SITA’s network to deliver its inflight entertainment Thales avoids shipping hard drives and the need for manpower to upload content, while allowing frequent updates.

Sebastien Fabre, vice president, integrated networks, SITA, said the two companies are unlocking the maximum benefits achievable from e-connected aircraft.

“This technology is not just for IFE, but can be for all data. In effect, we are making the aircraft an active node in the airline’s enterprise network, allowing data control by all stakeholders within the airline. Passengers get on-demand IFE, while time-sensitive data such as passenger manifests, daily news, meal inventories, surveys, crew logs and system performance data can also be securely transmitted to the airline’s operational systems.

“SITA is currently experiencing data volume growth on new generation aircraft (A380 and B787) approaching 100% compared to older generation aircraft. This demonstrates that the development of aircraft-centric IP service management is essential to meet the needs of airlines.”