British Airways strike to go ahead  19-Mar-2010
Talks aimed at preventing a strike by British Airways (BA) cabin crew have collapsed, the Unite trade union said Friday, less than 12 hours before the action was due to start. “It’s with great disappointment that I have to tell you all that negotiations have broken down,” Unite’s joint leader Tony Woodley told reporters. “The strike goes ahead at midnight tonight (Friday).”

Air China flies nonstop to Manila  19-Mar-2010
Air China will launch its first nonstop Beijing-Manila service on March 29. Flights to Manila will depart from Beijing Capital Airport at 8:00 on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday and arrive at 00:55 the next day. Return flights to Beijing will leave at 06:30 on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday and arrive in Beijing at 11:10.

THAI fancies flying suites  19-Mar-2010
Thai Airways International has decided to install suites in its first class cabin on its A380 fleet, due for delivery in 2012, but they will be available in other aircraft as early as this June. Passengers should be able to book the first-class private suites this June when three Boeing B777-300ERs, dry-leased from Jet Airways, arrive and are reconfigured with the new cabin layout.

Tuol Sleng set for renovations  19-Mar-2010
The Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is working with UNESCO to renovate the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, officials said Thursday, amid questions over whether the project could overly sanitise the site. An official at the ministry, who asked not to be named, said Minister of Culture Him Chhem met with Teruo Jinnai, UNESCO’s representative in Cambodia, on Tuesday to discuss preliminary plans for the project, pledging to visit the site together to evaluate it in the near future.

After 2009 Plummet, Some See Upswing for S Reap Tourism  19-Mar-2010
In Siem Reap, tourism is life. “Here, everything is only for the tourists, always, so if the tourists are down everyone is worried,” said Bun Thorn, a manager at the budget hotel Angkor River Star. Everyone is indeed worried here, but much less so than in 2009, which Cambodian Tourism and Service Workers Federation President Luu Meng last May called “the worst year ever.”

Cambodia Town banners help shape identity of Long Beach area  18-Mar-2010
Long Beach - Little by little, Cambodia Town’s identity is taking shape. On Wednesday a collection of banners that identify the area was installed on light poles along Anaheim Street. The design for the banners emerged from an international online contest organized by the Arts Council for Long Beach and the winning entry came from an artist from Indonesia.

CX matches low-cost fares  18-Mar-2010
Cathay Pacific Airways currently quotes the best online fare to Singapore, Bt6,960 if you book early to catch the limited discounted seats and travel outside the main peak periods. The cheapest offers are on limited seats and not available during long holidays, either in Thailand and Singapore. During busy holiday periods Cathay Pacific like all commercial airlines hikes the fare to level that will take your breath and your money away fast.

CX promotes China bonus  18-Mar-2010
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragon Air offer members of Asia Miles, who reside in Thailand, additional miles when they fly from Bangkok to Chinese destinations on either of the carrier’s network between 15 March and 10 May. Using an eligible fare class, Asia Miles members will earn an extra 3,888 points for travel on economy class and 5,888 points, business class. Not all fares offer miles.

Malaysia Airlines steady  18-Mar-2010
Malaysia Airlines suffered a slight decline in its Cambodian business in 2009, though it beat the industry average, as a company official said he sees business picking up this year. Malaysia Airlines saw a 2.6 percent decline in Cambodian passengers, a decrease from 43,855 in 2008 to 42,715 in 2009, Abdul Karim Md Isa, the company’s manager in Cambodia, wrote in an email Tuesday. “2009 was a tough year for the airline industry, and our operation in Cambodia was not immune from the global crisis,” he

Malaysian Gov holding AirAsia X back from Sydney: CEO  17-Mar-2010
AirAsia has claimed that it is lack of support from the Malaysian government which is holding it back from launching long-haul services into Sydney with its AirAsia X brand. Azran Osman-Rani, AirAsia X CEO, has confirmed to e-Travel Blackboard that the only thing holding back from launching its direct services from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney was government approval from Malaysia.

Travel dip means no planes at Sihanoukville  17-Mar-2010
Sihanoukville airport is still struggling to attract airlines due to the enduring slump in the regional travel industry, according to an official at Societe Concessionaire des Aeroports (SCA), the French firm that manages the Kingdom’s airports. Still, not a single airline has agreed to flights to the airport despite the offer of zero percent airport tax.

Heroin Smuggler Challenges Automatic Singapore Death Sentence  17-Mar-2010
Automatic execution for drug smugglers is inhumane and disproportionate, a court in Singapore has heard, as a 21-year-old challenged his death sentence for bringing heroin into the country. Lawyers representing Yong Vui Kong, a 22-year-old Malaysian, argued that the mandatory death sentence violates international standards and human rights laws. Singapore executes anyone found guilty of importing more than 15 g of drugs. It is one of the few countries in the world to impose

Cambodian Roaster Seeks To Brew Global Buzz  17-Mar-2010
Southeast Asian coffee from Vietnam and Indonesia percolates around the world, but if a family roaster has its way, mugs may soon be filled with a blend from another, unlikely location: Cambodia. Every few days, the rich, earthy aroma of roasting coffee wafts over the dusty town of Mondolkiri in the country’s remote northeast as the employees of family-owned Mondolkiri Coffee maintain a tradition started in the 18th century by French colonialists.

Chinese groups retreat  16-Mar-2010
The Chinese government has issued an order telling citizens to cancel trips to Thailand until 23 March at the earliest, based on red shirt protests in Bangkok, according to Association of Thai Travel Agents honorary committee, Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn. He said: “The government also asked tourists that are in Thailand to return as quickly as possible.”

Two more travel advisories  16-Mar-2010
Malaysia and Slovakia both issued travel advisories, yesterday, warning citizens against travel to Thailand. There are now travel advisories from 37 nations, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand marketing communications deputy governor, Prakit Piriyakiat. This is probably the highest number of warnings since yellow shirt protesters closed the city’s airports in late 2008.

Interest in Ratanakkirii’s Yeak Loam lake worries conservation committee  16-Mar-2010
A committee charged with managing Ratanakkiri’s Yeak Loam lake is preparing to send a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen today expressing concerns about what it perceives to be increased interest in developing the Banlung district attraction for commercial purposes. Committee members have said in recent days that their fears for the lake area were heightened by a three-day provincial development trade fair, which concluded on Monday.

Thousands Swarm Bangkok To Demand Elections  16-Mar-2010
Tens of thousands of protesters converged in Bangkok yesterday and gave Thailand's military-backed government an ultimatum: call elections within 24 hours or face crippling mass demonstrations across the capital. About 80,000 red-shirted sup porters of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra flooded the historic heart of Bangkok, singing prodemocracy songs, dancing, waving placards and illustrating Thaksin’s enduring

Premier Warns Public About Wildfire Threat  16-Mar-2010
In the wake of two large forest fires in Pailin and Siem Reap provinces, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday warned all Cambodians to be vigilant in preventing fires as the dry season continues. Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the National Institute of Education in Phnom Penh, Mr Hun Sen said climate change was affecting the weather and that the public and government officials needed to take measures to prevent any more large fires as the land continues to dry out.

Nearly 1,000 Hectares Burn In Pailin Wildfire  16-Mar-2010
Nearly 1,000 hectares of mostly bamboo forest in four communes of Pailin province have been razed by a fire which detonated scores of landmines and burned for more than a fortnight, only coming under control late last week, provincial officials said yesterday. The cause of the fire, which spread through Pailin, Boyakha, Tuol Lvea and O’Tavao communes, was unknown yesterday. There have been no reported deaths and no houses destroyed in the blaze,

Shanghai opens new airport terminal tomorrow  15-Mar-2010
Shanghai will take the wraps off a new airport terminal tomorrow, the result of a US$2.2 billion makeover of Hongqiao Airport ahead of the World Expo opening in May. The new terminal is four times the size of the old airport, which was designed for 9.6 million but ended up handling 25 million last year.

Hong Kong carriers report strong February gains  15-Mar-2010
Cathay Pacific and sister carrier Dragonair reaped the Chinese New Year dividend with a 14 per cent rise in passenger volume, keeping the group in the black for the first two months of the year. A little more than two million passengers flew on the carriers, pushing passenger load for the month up by 7.5 per cent against a negligible increase in capacity.

Thai ticketing remains closed  15-Mar-2010
Thai Airways International has decided to keep its Larn Luang ticketing office closed today. The office was closed on Saturday and Sunday due to political demonstrations. Due to the protests continuing today with the rally moving through the city to Lak Si area, the airline decided to extend the closure. Protestors have now returned to their main rally site which is close to the Larn Luang ticketing office.

The Cambodian Space Project come to town  15-Mar-2010
Siem Reap is celebrating a monumental live music experience this weekend with free performances at three venues by the au courant hot band, The Cambodian Space Project. It’s also a monumental experience for the band because it’s their first Siem Reap performance. And it’s an even more monumental occasion for the band’s Australian founder and singer Julien Poulson because, as he confesses, in all his time in the Kingdom he’s never seen the Angkor