Tag: Asia Travel

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2012 is Totally Japan's Year...for Aviation

Where: Japan
January 3, 2012 at 11:26 AM | by | Comments (0)

2011 wasn't a banner year for Japan, not to mention for any industry in the country. We saw the ripple effects of natural disasters throughout the aviation world with the Japanese earthquake and resulting tsunami topping the list. What can be more indicative of Japanese pride, but to quickly rebuild stronger and better? Fortunately for us, airlines are towards the top of the progress.

· Peachy Keen
Last year we talked about the introduction of ANA's budget carrier based out of Osaka, Peach. With only 3 destinations, the airline will draw business passengers, eventually moving into the leisure market. Flights are taking off in March and tickets are already to purchase.

Happy Peach Fares have no baggage allowance or advanced seat selection but are quite affordable at around $175 return to Sapporo. If you need the sweet little perks, cough up about $75 more. Happy Peach Plus fares allow you to pick where you park yourself on the plane and some space in the belly for your luggage. With a bright purple livery and cabin, Peach is on our short list!

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Hong Kong Airlines Will Also Birth a Baby Budget Carrier in 2012

December 1, 2011 at 8:40 AM | by | Comments (0)

Asia seems to be the breeding ground for LCCs with announcements about Peach, Scoot, and Jetstar Japan. Last week the chief at Hong Kong Airlines announced that they'd be doing a regional subsidiary as well. Hong Kong Express will be re-branded and operate as a low-cost carrier to compete with the slew of budget airlines popping up all over the region.

The full transition will take place middle of 2012 and flights will serve mainland China, South Korea, Japan and southeast Asia. Airbus A320s will hit the skies, but what the livery will look like (or even the airline's name), we can't yet be sure.

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There's Something Fishy About This Pedicure

September 15, 2011 at 11:12 AM | by | Comments (0)

Happening upon a hungry Coati wasn't our only interesting animal sighting on our recent trip to Mexico's Riviera Maya. We also spotted a school of fish, only they weren't in the ocean—they were in aquariums inside the Spa at the Grand Velas Riviera Maya. These fishies aren't there for decoration, either; they're there to nibble the dead skin off your feet in what's become something of a spa trend borrowed from Asia.

Ahhh! That was our reaction, too, but you see the "fish pedicure" is quite common in other parts of the world.

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Singaporesquare? Asia's Very First Foursquare Badges Launch Today

March 17, 2011 at 8:26 AM | by | Comments (0)

It's hard to believe that Foursquare, the location-based social network we once pegged as the thing which could positively impact the way we travel, hasn't been more proficient in developing international badges. Sure, there are a couple; Louis Vuitton sponsored a London one and the most recent World Cup saw a few South Africa-specific badges, but poor Asia has been completely ignored in this respect. Until now.

Starting today, Singapore has the distinction of being the first Asian country (and indeed part of the first group of international countries) to get its own Foursquare badges. There are two—SuperConnected and SuperStyle—and they're associated with a Project Runway-like TV Show called SupermodelMe, that begins airing tonight.

Now, how to get the badges:

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The Plastic Pieces are on Their Way to Malaysia for Asia's First Legoland

Where: Malaysia
March 1, 2011 at 10:16 AM | by | Comment (1)

We’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of all things Lego to Florida, but now it seems like we might want to turn our attention elsewhere around the globe. The plastic pieces are on the move, and it looks like Malaysia might be welcoming the first Legoland in Asia sometime in 2012.

Apparently bulldozers have already been hard at work clearing around 75 acres or so for the new park, and its 40 plus rides and attractions that will make up the new Legoland Malaysia. This will be the sixth land devoted to Legos worldwide, so if you’ve already been to the other five, you better start planning your trip to hit up the latest and the greatest. There’s over 30 million plastic pieces to assemble, so you’ve still got a little bit of time to find a decent flight.

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140 Travelers Stranded for a Week in World's Sketchiest, Most Out of Reach Airport

January 26, 2011 at 3:49 PM | by | Comments (2)

Tenzing-Hillary Airport, a small, beautiful airport better known as Lukla and nestled into the mountains of eastern Nepal, is notable for a few things. First, it really is kind of pretty. Check out the full panoramic shot here. Second, it's where most people start their hikes up Mount Everest. Neat! Third—and as we've warned you over and over again—it's arguably the world's sketchiest airport, and is actually kind of a death trap. Last October saw another crash that killed everyone aboard, and then in December a plane ran into a wall after losing its brakes.

Now that you have a mental picture of what the facilities are probably like, imagine being trapped there with no way out, like the 140 international tourists who have been there since last week. Hollywood makes horror movies that start like this.

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Asia's Newest LCC, Thai Tiger Airways, is About to Wreak Some Havoc

August 11, 2010 at 4:13 PM | by | Comments (0)

Major airlines like Mexicana might still be in a death spiral, bouncing between bankruptcy and outright failure, but low-cost carriers seem to be doing at least relatively well.

A few weeks ago we saw the first ever entrance of an LCC into a major airline alliance with Air Berlin joined Oneworld, and now Asia is getting an entirely new carrier. Launching a new airline might seem kind of reckless given the punishing business environment, but we long ago learned that LCCs can thrive in bad economic times even while everyone else is taking a beating.

The new Thai Tiger Airways, a cooperative venture between Thai Airways and Tiger Airways, will begin flying next year.

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Viva Macau Runs Out Of Gas, Becomes Latest Airline To Fail

Where: Macau
March 29, 2010 at 3:42 PM | by | Comments (0)

What was a distressing albeit kind of funny clusterfark last week: Viva Macau, stranding passengers because their planes ran out of gas, turned into the world's latest airline failure this morning. Late last week the now-defunct LCC announced to waiting passengers that they wouldn't be going to Australia and Japan as planned because, well, the airline couldn't pay for fuel.

The Macau government, which has maintained a large degree of autonomy from Beijing ever since Portugal ceded the municipality to China in 1999, stepped in with a cash infusion. The short-term bailout, which followed a previous one from January, let Viva Macau get many of their passengers to their destinations. But over the weekend the government apparently decided enough was enough, and they pulled the airline's operating license.

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Air Asia Is Very Good At Being Young, Hip, Relevant

December 11, 2009 at 4:49 PM | by | Comments (0)

From putting up a million free tickets to giving lifetime travel to babies born on their planes, Air Asia has developed a reputation for quirky and consistent customer service. Their 8th anniversary sale, which continues through Sunday, has also been getting some pretty good attention. Now the Malaysian LCC's reputation has been confirmed in the form of a Brand Of The Year award from Media Agency awards in Singapore. It turns out that branding matters!

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Boeing Thinks That In 20 Years, 41% Of Travel Will Be All About Asia

December 2, 2009 at 5:04 PM | by | Comments (0)

Boeing's forecasters have squinted into the future of airlines and come to basically the same conclusion that Disney came to when they made recent theme park decisions: the world's economic future lies in East and Southeast Asia, where the recession has been relatively mild and the population continues to skyrocket.

Not only does the airplane company expect Southeast Asia to account for tons of new demand, but they insist the region will account for a greater proportion of global demand. If you woke up today wondering what the future of aviation looks like, here it is:

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Air Asia Just Put A Million Free Tickets Up For Grabs

November 11, 2009 at 3:34 PM | by | Comments (0)

Remember when Ryanair threw a hissy fit about bad coverage and "retaliated" by giving away over a million free seats? This new deal from low-cost carrier AsiaAir has going is just like that, rounded down a few thousand seats. Except this the deal opens up a huge vacation window next summer. And it covers over 70 destinations in China, India, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand. And you don't have to fly on Ryanair. All things that we are very, very in favor of, but let's hear what they have to say:

AirAsia’s regional commercial head Kathleen Tan said when the economy was tough, people looked for traveling options that offered them better value for money. 'With no fuel surcharge and administration fee, this deal offers fantastic value to our guests'...she said to complement the free flights, AirAsia’s one-stop travel portal was also offering deals and packages including “free rooms” in more than 180 Asia-Pacific hotels online.

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The World's Five Most Shocking Malls

November 11, 2009 at 9:47 AM | by | Comments (3)

Amusement parks, ice-skating rinks, wave pools, and IMAX theatres—believe it or not, these are all found inside of select malls around the world. And although many know of Minnesota's Mall of America, which continues to be a popular road trip destination, the shopping centers that beat it in both size and attractions require an international voyage.

So we spilled the beans; the most shocking malls are not within the United States, but can you guess where they are? Here's a hint: although mall culture is typically associated with North America's suburban malls, a continent on the other side of the world is taking their malls a thousand times more seriously, not to mention larger.

Join us in awe, won't you, as we run down the The World's Top Five Most Shocking Malls, after the jump.

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