Thumbs Up for Malaysia Airline mobile portal

I first read about this new service from MAS I do not really bother to search further. I thought it is just another service that is just "melepaskan batuk di tangga". Well, I was 100% wrong.

First, I found the URL is damn easy to remember, http://flymas.mobi I landed at the home page. Very simple and straight forward menu to select.

I straight to Booking flight menu. What actually impressive me is the search function for the destination. You can just type the destination, and it will automatically remember to you the close match destination to your keyword.

Another impressive function to me, is the system actually remember your last visit destination choose. I clicked to the flight status, the system straight away stated the last destination selected. So, intelligent I must say.

What can I say, MAS again and again manage to impress me. Congratulation to the management of MAS for that.

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Disruption internet services in Malaysia

There is a disruption in Malaysia's Internet services due to circuit faults on the submarine cable network linking Malaysia and Europe, and said the services would be completely restored by Dec 31. Customers using its Internet services may experience slow browsing.

Access to websites hosted in Europe and that those using other IP (Internet Protocol) services such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and other critical business applications linked to Europe may also experience some service degradation.

The affected cables, on the Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 4 (SMW4) submarine network between Palermo in southern Italy and Alexandria in northern Egypt, were being repaired and that some of the links had meanwhile been rerouted to ease congestion.

During the restoration process, traffic to northern America may experience minor degradation while traffic to other countries is unaffected.

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Ritz-Carlton won the Best Hotel in South East Asia

THE Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur won the South East Asia’s Hotel of the Year 2011-2011 under the Hospitality Asia Platinum Awards (HAPA) - Regional Series. The hotel was recognised for its commitment to excellence, flawless facilities and personalised care.

It was a finalist in five categories — Hotel of the Year, Signature Luxury Hotel, Signature Hotel Spa (Spa Village, Kuala Lumpur), Most Exquisite Palate Experience and Most Dynamic General Manager.

The evaluation process spanned eight months and included leading hotels in South East Asia. Each hotel was reviewed anonymously by a panel of judges, who sampled and rated hotel services, facilities, dining, spa, and overall hotel image.

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Vietnam Airline resumed service to Bangkok

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) Saturday resumed its service to international Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok as the Thai airport recommenced full operations after a long shutdown due to antigovernment protesters.

Twenty stranded Vietnamese passengers were brought home on the first flight that landed in Vietnam around 2 p.m. Two other flights, one from Hanoi and the other from Ho Chi Minh City, are scheduled to land at Suvarnabhumi Airport later in the day.

Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, one of Asia's largest, resumed full operations on Friday after a 10-day closure due to the political crisis.

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MAS airline new ticketing office in KL Sentral

Malaysia Airlines will integrate ticketing operations for the Klang Valley at KL Sentral in Brickfields from Saturday. Operations at its former head office in Jalan Sultan Ismail will cease.

The move was part of ongoing efforts to consolidate direct distribution channel operations for ticketing and related services at one centralised location.

The premier ticket office at KL Sentral operates daily from 4.30am to midnight and offers a wide range of air travel related services for walk-in passengers.

These include reservations and ticketing, reissuance of tickets for travel on Malaysia Airlines and MASwings, Internet booking kiosks, Golden Holidays facilities and refunds processing.

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SIA Promotion in India

Singapore Airlines, the world’s most awarded airline introduces its latest fare promotion to Singapore.

In collaboration with Singapore Tourism Board’s “Uniquely Singapore Weekend” campaign, travellers in group of 2 or more can now avail all-inclusive return economy class airfare to Singapore at only Rs. 42,000 per person, a discount of almost 25% off normal standard price!

Tickets on this promotional fare must be purchased between September 1 and October 15, for travel out of Colombo by November 30.

So spend an enjoyable weekend or any day of the week in Singapore, and experience an inflight service en-route that even other airlines talk about. For more information, call Singapore Airlines Reservations on 2300762/3/4 or visit our website www.singaporeair.lk or contact your travel agent today.

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New Long Term Pass card

The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is introducing the new Long Term Pass (LTP) card - for all foreigners residing in Singapore on a long term Visit Pass, Student's Pass, Employment Pass and Dependant's Pass.

The card seeks to replace the Visit Pass endorsement in the passports of all long-term stayers.
All card holders will be required to produce their LTP card during immigration clearance when leaving or entering Singapore. If they decide to ever leave the country for good, they will have to surrender their LTP cards.

The cards are similar in look and feel to the NRIC cards held by citizens and permanent residents of Singapore, but are green in colour (see sample below). They are also equipped with similar security features.

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Direct flight from Hanoi to Nagoya

The national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines (VNA) launched its direct service from Hanoi to Nagoya, the third biggest economic hub of Japan, on August 12, announced the carrier.
This is the parnering route between the Vietnam Airlines and the Japan Airlines.

The direct flights linking Hanoi and Nagoya will be offered on every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday on A321 Airbus with 183 seats.

After an inaugural ceremony held in Nagoya at 10h30 (local time) in co-operation with the Japanese side, VNA’s plane with nearly 160 passengers on board for Flight No VN967 began its travel from Nagoya to Hanoi .

Vietnam Airlines is now the sole carrier to operate the Hanoi-Nagoya direct service, and Nagoya is its fourth destination in Japan, after Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka.

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AirAsia to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Manado, Indonesia

AirAsia is to launch flights between Kuala Lumpur and Manado, a province in Indonesia, with three direct weekly flights from 12th September 2011.

Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi is the main gateway to the Indonesian archipelago comprising of Minahasa, Bolaang, Mongondow and the island of Dangihe Talaud.

Scuba diving and snorkeling on the nearby island of Bunaken are the most popular attractions. Other places of interest are nearby Lake Tondano, Lokon Volcano, Klabat Volcano and Mahawu Volcano.

To celebrate this new route, AirAsia is offering a promotional fare of RM49 (IDR150,000) for booking between 22-27 July 2011 for travel between 12 September 2011 and 30 April 2011.

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Free wifi in Bangkok, Thailand

As of Thursday, half a million Bangkok-ians will have access to 15,000 access points throughout the Bangkok metropolitan area. The municipal administration are attempting to alleviate some of the strains caused by rising fuel prices by allowing people to conduct business and transactions over the internet. This pilot program will run 1 year and each access point will allow people to connect to a blazing 64kbps pipe.

Though slightly better than dial up, one has to wonder how much bandwidth anyone will actually get. Nonetheless, this is a step in the right direction and should give WiMax a run for its money since this service is being offer for free. Next time Bernice is in Bangkok, I'm sure she'll have a pleasant surprise :).

Anyone living in range of one of these hotspots? Please do let me know how it works out for you. The Bangkok administration has been handing out access cards at most shopping malls and public places.

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Dialing Guide in Indonesia

Indonesia Country Code : 62
Jakarta Area Code : 21

Dialing Guides to Call to Jakarta, Indonesia:

1. From your Cell
To Land line
Dial: + 62 + 21 + Number you wish to call.
To Cell phone (e.g you are about to call 0811234567 or 08189101112)
Dial: +62 + 81 + the rest of numbers or +62 + 85 + the rest of number

2. From Land Line to Land Line
E.g If you and the person you want to call is live in the same area (code) just dial the phone number, but if you are in Jakarta and need to establish a call to Bandung
Dial : 022 + Number you wish to call

3. From Land Line to Cell Phone
Dial precisely to the numbers that you are given without area code, don't forget to start dial with zero

Below are other cities in Indonesia area Codes :
Balikpapan 54
Garut 26
Palembang 71
Bandar Lampung 72
Jakarta 21
Pekanbaru 76
Bandung 22
Jambi 74
Pontianak 56
Banjarmasin 51
Malang 34
Samarinda 54
Bogor 25
Manado 43
Semarang 24
Cilacap 28
Mataram 37
Surabaya 31
Cirebon 23
Medan 61
Surakarta 27
Denpasar 36
Padang 75
Ujung Pandang 41

If the city you are looking for is not stated above, please call 24/7 Indonesia information service at 108.

From land line : 108; Cell phone : 021-108. Indonesia information service will help you if you find any difficulties on dialing guides or you can ask for company's address or phone number to the operator.

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MAS to offer web check-in

Long queues at airline check-in counters will soon be a thing of the past as Malaysia Airlines offers a convenient, hassle-free option - web check-in.

Part of simplifying the air travel process through the Passenger Services System where Malaysia Airlines is investing RM400 million over the next 10 years, the new web check-in option is currently available for travel on its Malaysian domestic sectors and can be done worldwide.

Customers will enjoy the flexibility and ease of booking and checking in at their own convenience, together with the option of selecting their preferred seats online 24 hours before flight departure. For domestic flights, Malaysia Airlines passengers will be able to do everything from flight bookings to printing their boarding passes without even having to leave home.

This service will be progressively rolled out by August this year for travel to Malaysia Airlines' ASEAN destinations and is expected to cover all its international destinations by end of 2011. Plans are also underway to commence roll out of the web check-in service for travel commencing from the airline's international stations targeted for complete cut-over by the 3rd quarter of 2011.

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Free MAS ticket to Vietnam

Malaysia Airlines is launching low cost flights in Vietnam and the ASEAN region to boost its business within the Southeast Asian grouping. Some one-way flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Kuala Lumpur will be offered with no price attached to the ticket’s taxes and fees.

The cheapest flights from Hanoi will cost $39. One-way flights from HCMC to Kuala Lumpur currently cost $205 while $95 tickets are available from Hanoi. The bookings are open until June 19 but passengers must travel between July 1 and December 14, 2011.

Passengers must make their bookings 30 days before their flights. Malaysia Airlines operates 14 weekly flights from HCMC and nine weekly flights from Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur.

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Jetstar Pacific, was officially launched

Jetstar Pacific, Vietnam's first low-cost airline, was officially launched here Friday, becoming a part of the world-renowned Qantas Group.

Jetstar Pacific, formerly known as Pacific Airlines Joint Stock Aviation Company, is set to revolutionize the local aviation industry by offering the promise of "all day every day, low fares" across its expanding domestic network under the Jetstar brand.

As Vietnam's first low-cost, value-based airline, Jetstar Pacific will change air travel in Vietnam by making it more affordable for more people to fly. This includes a fresh approach to airfare ticket sales and product, including online and through newly re-branded ticketing offices and airports across Vietnam.

Jetstar Pacific is Vietnam's first airline to offer online booking. Jetstar Pacific was committed to offering the lowest fares in Vietnam and will follow the very successful model of Jetstar, where the brand is already established across Australia and the Asia Pacific.

Jetsta Pacific is proud of being Vietnam's leading airline applying advanced technology, and looking forward to introducing new tools that further enhance customers' experience, and smart and efficient ways that will help it develop and keep low fares inthe future, he said.

Jetstar Pacific has an existing fleet of four Boeing 737s and a future order of up to 30 Airbus A320s by 2014 to support the Vietnamese carrier's plan for future growth in Vietnam and Asia under the Jetstar brand.

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AirAsiaX flight from Kuala Lumpur to Perth

Starting from November 2011, AirAsiaX will be flying to Perth, Australia. Since its first flight to Gold Coast, AirAsiaX has received a lot of passengers for this route.

The price is starting from RM399 or AUD319. They are even giving 5,000 free seats for promotion now. For more info, please visit their website

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Free WiMAX for the whole of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The entire capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur will be covered by a wireless broadband access network in the next 2 years. Everyone in the city will be able to use the service, which runs at 512kb per second, for free

This means that if you are in KL, you will not need to patronise certain cafes or pay for Internet services to go wireless.

The service is based on WiMAX 2.3 Giga Hertz. Kuala Lumpur is among one of the first cities in the world to use this technology.

Probably, you can use a free virtual navigation map to help you while you are visiting Kuala Lumpur.

More info, check out their website http://www.wirelesskl.com

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Jet Airways has launched daily direct flights between Mumbai and Bangkok

MUMBAI: Private air-carrier Jet Airways has launched daily direct flights between Mumbai and Bangkok with effect from Wednesday.

This will be its third service to Bangkok from the country.The air-carrier already operates daily services to Bangkok from Delhi and Kolkata respectively.Its Mumbai-Bangkok flight (9W 62) will depart Mumbai at 0110 hrs and arrive at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport at 0650 hrs.On the return leg, its flight (9W 61) will depart Bangkok at 0840 hrs and arrive in Mumbai at 1145 hrs.

The air-carrier is offering Economy Class return airfares beginning Rs 15,320, exclusive of taxes and Premier fares from Rs 35,115, exclusive of taxes.

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Wireless Broadband Access for the whole Langkawi In June 2011

All areas in this popular resort island will receive wireless broadband access when the installation of 90 transmitters are completed in June.

The RM4 million Langkawi Digital Multimedia Island project would be begin after the Chinese New Year.Presently, only Pantai Cenang and Kuah have access to wireless broadband services.

By then, you can keep on blogging or just simply access your facebook by the beautiful beach or from the comfort of your hotel room. Langkawi is doing all the things to please its visitors.

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Discount ticket from MAS

The Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair (MATF), which will be held from Feb 22-24, is offering six million seats, for both domestic and international travel.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) offers attractive prices, up to 70 percent discount off the current market fares, would be made available during the promotional period for travel through the seven months up to end-September 2011, except certain blackout periods.

The low fares included those to its latest destinations, Macau and Yogyakarta, as well as on additional frequencies to the South Asian destinations of Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore.

Attractive fares are also offered to the orient and the traditional favorite MATF destinations like London, Amsterdam, Melbourne and Perth.

MAS also offer a 'Buy 1 Get 1 Free' promotion on business class seats for routes to Association of South-East Asian Nations cities as well as to Xiamen, Kunming and Macau.

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AirAsia to fly route Bangkok - Johor Bahru

AirAsia is expected to ply the Bangkok-Johor Baharu route beginning Feb 25 with four flights a week.

The once-daily flight will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.An airline official said Bangkok will be the first destination in Thailand from Johor Baharu, targeting Johoreans, Singaporeans and also those flying into the city from Sabah and Sarawak.

Besides Bangkok, AirAsia will also fly to Medan and Surabaya from Johor Baharu soon, he said.Currently, AirAsia and its Thai subsidiary, Thai AirAsia, operate seven flights daily from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, as well as serving Krabi, Phuket and Chiang Mai, on top of the Penang-Bangkok route.

The Bangkok-Langkawi and Bangkok-Kota Kinabalu services were discontinued last year due to low passenger load.It's learnt that Thai AirAsia was not keen to operate the Johor Baharu-Bangkok route as it wanted to concentrate on strengthening its existing destinations while looking into the possibility of entering the Bangkok-Jakarta route and expanding its China base.

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