The Week In Travel

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata) has hailed the removal of quarantine requirements in the region as a ‘cause for optimism.’ This announcement came after a week where restrictions were lifted across the region, including in the critical global travel hub of Singapore, which will end quarantine requirements for vaccinated adults from the 1st of April. Additionally, Malaysia is set to reopen to international travel from the 1st of April, and Hong Kong announced the end to its international flight ban, signalling a step down from its notoriously strict zero-covid strategy. In recent weeks IATA has signalled that the Asia-Pacific region has fallen behind Europe and North America in the recovery of travel after the pandemic, but these recent developments show that governments across Asia are indeed now taking action to bring travel back to pre-pandemic levels.

Staying in Asia, the Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways began a direct London to Hanoi service this week – the first such direct flight between the two countries. One-way fares on the twice-weekly service will start at £321, with the CEO of the airline, Dang Tat Thang, signalling his delight to be providing an affordable service between a global cultural and economic hub and a fast-growing market. He also signalled his ambitions to expand across Europe, the US, Australia and Asia.

Meanwhile, IATA has created a standardised industry measure for carbon emissions produced by passengers. The Recommended Practice Per-Passenger CO2 Calculation Methodology, will show corporations the measure of emissions from their travellers’ journeys, and allow them to compare the figures to their long-term targets, as well as compare themselves with other organisations. Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, hopes that the new measure will influence decisions on making informed choices to reduce carbon output, such as using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The measure takes into account fuel measurements, CO2 emissions calculations, the airline cabin flown in by the traveller, and the use of SAF and carbon offsets.

Alaska Airlines is to experiment with new technology designed to improve the in-terminal experience for travellers, at San Jose International Airport. The partnership between the two organisations establishes a technology incubator which will include new check-in and self-bag-drop systems which aim to streamline the airport experience and minimise congestion.

And finally, Katy Perry has been named the godmother to Norwegian Cruise Line’s latest cruise ship, Norwegian Prima. The vessel will make its cruise debut in August, when it will set off from Reykjavik. The tradition of appointing a godmother to a ship goes back centuries, with the godmother typically present to break a bottle of champagne at the moment of the ship’s launch. The people of Iceland may have been relieved to find out that Perry will not be performing at the ceremony, and will be making a swift return to California after the deed is done.