In the news: Etihad Airways’ new online global campaign, AirAsia’s starts ops in klia2, India’s best hotel beds
Plan your next holiday break with #EtihadSuggests
Etihad Airways, United Arab Emirates’ flag carrier, promises to take the stress out of planning for your next vacation with a brand new online initiative, #EtihadSuggests, which offers personalised travel tips to social media users.
Members of the public can take part in this global campaign by asing holiday-related questions on Facebook or Twitter using the #EtihadSuggests hashtag. The airline’s online community team then offers insider information on must-visit destinations, suggestions on the best hotels, restaurants and tourist attractions in English and Arabic.
The campaign operates on 24/7, and the community team strives to answer every query within 10 minutes.
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer, said followers of the airline’s social media channels have responded favourably to the travel-related hints and tips the airline has posted in the past.
“Our #EtihadSuggests campaign presents an exciting opportunity to build on this popularity and tap into the wealth of information within Etihad Airways and Etihad Holidays about interesting destinations to visit, plus the fun activities and tourist attractions that should not be missed during a stay. Unlike our other posts, which were aimed at a wider audience, #EtihadSuggests is focused on personalised and tailored information that relate to the travel needs of individual users. And once travel plans come together, Etihad Holidays can help fulfil them.”
AirAsia, AirAsia X start operations at klia2 on May 9
The AirAsia Group will move all of its operations in the current Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang to the new international air terminal, klia2, on May 9.
The airline said in a press releases that all scheduled departures from the LCCT on May 8 will operate as normal, and guests with bookings departing Kuala Lumpur on that day are advised to still go to the LCCT to board their flights.
All AirAsia X (D7) flights will still depart from and arrive at LCCT on May 8, including these flights leaving in the early morning of May 9:
• D7 236 to Perth - Departure time: 0005 (12:05 AM)
• D7 532 to Osaka – Departure time: 0100 (1:00 AM)
• D7 512 to Busan – Departure time 0115 (1:15AM)
• D7 170 to Jeddah – Departure time 0235 (2:35AM)
However, a number of AirAsia (AK) flights will arrive at tklia2 directly on May 8 instead of the LCCT.
“We would like to advise all our guests to take note of this change of arrival terminal.” the airline said.
AirAsia will inform all affected guests via email and SMS about this change of airport. It also advises guests to contact the airline through these channels -- AskAirAsia, Online form, and Live Chat (available via AskAirAsia after login using the AirAsia member ID).
With a larger build-up area (257,000sqkm - four times the size of the LCCT), AirAsia baggage-drop counters will open three hours before scheduled departure time, and will close one hour before scheduled departure time for both international and domestic flights. This is to ensure all guests have ample time to familiarise themselves with the new environment and get to their departure gates on time, said the airline.
AirAsia added that as all immigration and security counters will still be operational in the current LCCT from May 2-8, travellers need not worry about any inconvenience while going through the termial during the transition period.
The best hotel beds in India according to Wego and TrustYou
Travel search engine, Wego India, and big data and travel review partners, TrustYou, have revealed the top 10 hotels with the best beds, rooms and service in the country, based on reviews from thousands of travellers. (see chart below)
“India’s top 10 rooms, which are all 5 star and above, scored 89% to 94%in satisfaction reviews by travellers, which I think shows that this country is extremely accomplished at creating a high standard of opulence and luxury,” said Jackson Fernandez, managing director of Wego India.
All the rooms are situated in popular destinations of historical significance such as Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaipur, which also attract many international visitors. Indian travellers are also treating themselves to some luxury as the popular destinations of Shimla, Coorg, Kabini and Cochin, which are popular domestic travel destinations, were also included in the top ten rooms list.
“It appears that corporate travellers also enjoy a touch of luxury, with properties in Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi featuring on the top rooms list, all typically popular for business trips,” added Fernandez. “What’s also interesting is that the hotels listed for the best service in the country are often selected by domestic travellers for weekend or short getaways.”
Ben Jost, CEO of TrustYou, said when travelling he wanted to make his hotel booking decisions based on the advice from the people who know best – travellers who have stayed in the hotel.
“TrustYou analyses all online verified reviews and boils down these opinions into easy to read scores and review summaries, allowing travellers to make smarter, faster booking decisions. Using this information, we are able to see the top hotels in India, based on overall score and key guest satisfaction drivers, such as best beds and service,” he added.