In the news: Groupon’s first store in Hong Kong, Kota Kinabalu airport to be aviation hub, Tune Hotels is five, Air France lands in Malaysia

Groupon concept store arrives in Hong Kong

Groupon has opened its first concept store in Hong Kong, which offers customers a platform to pick up lifestyle products purchased from its website and test the products in a physical environment.

Located in Soundwill Plaza in the heart of Causeway Bay’s shopping area the store is distinguished by its large  “G” logo. It offers customers a platform to pick up lifestyle products purchased from its website and test the products in a physical environment. There are also iPads for them to browse, purchase, print and redeem their Groupon vouchers on the spot, creating an ecosystem in itself.

Danny Yeung, chief cxecutive officer and founder of Groupon Hong Kong, said the store was launch to meet its customers’ preference to pick up their Groupon products rather be delivered to their homes or offices.

“The store reinforces our commitment to bringing more value and a better experience to customers in Hong Kong.” he added

Kota Kinabalu airport set to be regional air travel hub

The Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) in Sabah will soon be a hub for air travel in the region offering 38 routes connecting ASEAN and China.

This development follows Malaysia’s agreement to sign and ratify Protocol 2 Implementation of Limited Fifth Freedom under the ASEAN-China Air Transport Agreement (AC-ATA).

The ratification will enable KKIA to be connected with 10 secondary points within ASEAN and 28 secondary points in China for cargo and passengers services.

Malaysia’s Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the protocol would give Malaysian carriers the flexibility to strategise and plan for route expansion into ASEAN and China via KKIA.

The protocol, comprising intra package and extra package deals, will be inked at the ASEAN Transport Ministers’ Meeting in Bali at the end of this month.

The intra package deals authorised ASEAN and China airlines to exercise fifth traffic rights for passenger and cargo services with unlimited flight frequencies, carrier capacity and types of aircraft for routes connecting 10 secondary points in ASEAN and 28 secondary points in China.

The 10 secondary points in ASEAN are Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei Darussalam), Preah Sihanouk (Cambodia), Mataram (Indonesia), Luang Prabang (Laos), Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia), a destination except Yangon in Myanmar, a destination in the Philippines except Manila, Singapore, Chiang Mai (Thailand) and a destination in Vietnam except Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

China’s 28 secondary points are Changchun, Chongqing, Xi’an, Xiamen, Urumqi, Chengdu, Shenyang, Fuzhou, Kashgar, Kunming, Dalian, Guiyang, Hohhot, Xishuangbanna, Haikou, Lanzhou, Harbin, Nanning, Sanya, Xining, Wuhan, Changsha, Yinchuan, Ningbo, Guilin, Zhengzhou, Lhasa and Yanji.

“Under the ASEAN-China Open Skies approach we can expect more airlines to operate within ASEAN and China,” added Kong.

• Photo courtesy of Malaysia Airports

Tune Hotels turns five with new design

Malaysia based global value hotel chain, Tune Hotels, turned five this month hosting over four million guests at hotels worldwide since the opening of its first hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur in 2007.

The chain now boasts a total of 26 hotels operating across five countries in Asia and the UK.

In conjunction with its fifth anniversary the company is embarking on a new design and brand, starting with its first Tune Hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

Mark Lankester, Tune Hotels group CEO, said, “We started our journey with the establishment of the first Tune branded hotel with our downtown Kuala Lumpur hotel back in May 2007 .It’s fitting that with the new design and brand, which we’ve been working on for a number of months now, Tune Hotel Downtown Kuala Lumpur, is the first of the current portfolio to have itself refreshed and made-over.“

The new designs take on an urban contemporary flair with a clean décor emphasising the colour elements of red, white and black, which represent the corporate identity colours of both Tune Hotels and the Tune Group.

“Moving forward over time all the current Tune Hotels will slip on the new look, and all new hotels in development will likewise have the new design and brand,” added Lankester.

Air France lands in Kuala Lumpur April 2013

The KL International Airport will see the arrival of Air France, which will fly to Kuala Lumpur from the Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport  on April 22 next year, making the Malaysian capital city the airline’s 15th Asian destination

The airline expects passenger load factor of up to 85% for the new roundtrip flights, said Air France-KLM regional general manager for South China Sea, Jurriaan Stelder

The decision to fly to Kuala Lumpur was based on the Malaysian economy, which is doing well and growing business ties between Malaysia and France, he added.

The three weekly flights on the new route will use the 247-seater Boeing B777-200 aircraft.