MFM | Macau International Airport [Archive]

hkskyline

September 22nd, 2004, 03:27 PM

Wednesday September 22, 8:02 PM
CNAC denies report on Air Macau takeover

HONG KONG, Sept 22 (Reuters) - China National Aviation Co. Ltd. on Wednesday denied a newspaper report that talks were going on about a takeover of its subsidiary Air Macau Co. Ltd. by Australia no-frills airline Virgin Blue Ltd. .

Earlier in the day, the South China Morning Post quoted unidentified Macau-based sources as saying Virgin Blue, Air Macau and CNAC were discussing several options, such as merging Air Macau into Virgin's operation in Macau.

The newspaper also quoted CNAC sources as saying the carrier's senior executives were pushing for the deal but had encountered resistance from some Macau-based executives who opposed ceding control of the Macau market to other carriers.

CNAC, which owns 51 percent of Air Macau, said in a statement late on Wednesday that those paragraphs of the report were "untrue and unfounded".

"In view of the tremendous growth potential of Macau's tourism and entertainment industries, CNAC Ltd has been actively exploring opportunities for further business development of Air Macau," said CNAC.

"One of the actions taken was conducting discussions with different companies in respect of the future developments of Air Macau. However, the option of having another organisation take over Air Macau has never been the company's intention, nor has it been considered/discussed with any entity," CNAC added.

CNAC shares rose 1.35 percent on Wednesday in Hong Kong to end at HK$1.50.

"Given the aforementioned SCMP article carries inaccurate facts and misleading information, the company would take appropriate legal action where necessary," CNAC said.

CNAC is the Hong Kong arm of China National Aviation Corp., which is controlled by China's regulatory authority, the Civil Aviation Administration of China.

(US$1=HK$7.8)

hkskyline

September 25th, 2004, 11:19 PM

Source : http://www.pbase.com/cathayderek/macau

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hkskyline

October 1st, 2004, 02:19 AM

By SuperJet from HKADB :

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hkskyline

October 6th, 2004, 10:57 PM

By lhcdennis @ HKADB :

Macau International Airport
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/lhcdennis/Eva805%20A330/P8220045.jpg

Macau Tower & TNA A321
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/lhcdennis/Eva805%20A330/P8220046.jpg

Air Macau Cargo
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Air Macau East Asia Games
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hkskyline

October 14th, 2004, 03:10 AM

Passengers through Macao airport increase in first 8 months
12 October 2004

MACAO, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- The number of passengers through the Macao International Airport hit 2.37 million in the first eight months of 2004, marking an increase of 32.1 percent as compared with the same period of last year.

According to an executive of the airport, the number of passengers through the Macao International Airport is expected to keep the upward tendency in the fourth quarter of the year, as residents of more and more cities in China's mainland are allowed to make individual trips to Macao Special Administrative Region ( SAR) and Hong Kong SAR.

Meanwhile, the number of Macao residents flying to Bangkok and Manila registered a large-margin growth as compared with the same period of last year, respectively at 71 percent and 28 percent.

hkskyline

October 15th, 2004, 07:31 AM

DC-8 by superjet from HKADB :

http://www.carnoc.com/bbs3000/image/list/upphoto110188.jpg

Nick in Atlanta

October 16th, 2004, 02:25 AM

@HKSKYLINE: Another great round of pics of a very cool airport and interesting planes. Keep up the great work.

hkskyline

October 17th, 2004, 01:31 AM

Source : superjet @ HKADB :

http://hkadb.no-ip.org/hkadb/forum/files/s2-adt_02.jpg

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hkskyline

October 17th, 2004, 06:32 PM

By superjet from HKADB :

http://hkadb.no-ip.org/hkadb/forum/files/9m-tgf.jpg

hkskyline

October 29th, 2004, 07:35 PM

By klyim from HKADB :
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hkskyline

November 2nd, 2004, 04:19 AM

By AirCanon @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

November 4th, 2004, 01:29 AM

By brian from HKADB :

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hkskyline

November 5th, 2004, 02:53 AM

Thursday November 4, 1:12 PM
Virgin Blue says still in Shun Tak, Air Macau talks

HONG KONG/SYDNEY, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Australia's discount airline Virgin Blue said on Thursday talks continued with Hong Kong casino magnate Stanley Ho's Shun Tak Holdings Ltd and Air Macau about setting up a Macau-based no-frills airline.

Hong Kong newspapers quoted Shun Tak's Managing Director Pansy Ho as saying the companies had agreed on details of the joint venture, such as shareholding structure and the form of participation, but Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. said no deal was imminent.

"We've certainly had discussions and certainly there are some points we found common ground on and there's other points that we're still working through. But we haven't signed anything at this point in time," David Huttner, Virgin Blue's commercial head, told Reuters. "Nothing is imminent."

Shun Tak, which was not available for comment, wants to target mainland Chinese gamblers who flock to casinos on the tiny island of Macau.

Trading in Shun Tak shares was suspended shortly after the market opened on Thursday, pending an announcement from the Hong Kong stock exchange. Prior to its suspension, shares of Shun Tak jumped 3.45 percent to HK$6, hitting a new high since 1995.

Newspapers also said Ho planned to invest more than HK$1 billion ($128 million) in hotel and property projects in Macau, where tourism and casinos are the main business.

Virgin Blue, which is 45 percent owned by Australian transport group Patrick Corp. Ltd. and around 26 percent by British entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Group [VA.UL], said it was still in talks with other parties in the region about setting a Asian low-cost venture.

Shares in Virgin Blue rose 0.5 percent to A$1.87 in an overall market up 0.2 percent in afternoon trade.

China National Aviation Co. Ltd. owns 51 percent of Air Macau. Visitor arrivals in Macau surged after Beijing relaxed individual travel permits for citizens of mainland China and liberalised the city's gaming industry.

At least five new casinos are expected to open in the next five years in Macau, the only legal gambling haven in China, including casino entrepreneur Steve Wynn's Wynn Resorts Ltd $705 million resort.

Octogenarian Stanley Ho had a monopoly on the casino business until earlier this year when Las Vegas magnate Sheldon Adelson opened the Macau Sands casino.

The number of hotel rooms is expected to increase fivefold in over the next five years to cope with growing numbers of tourists to the former Portuguese colony.

hkskyline

November 7th, 2004, 12:36 AM

By SuperJet from HKADB

B757F
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AN124
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DC-10F
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hkskyline

November 8th, 2004, 10:33 PM

By AN888 @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

November 10th, 2004, 08:03 AM

By superjet from HKADB :

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hkskyline

November 16th, 2004, 09:54 PM

By superjet @ HKADB :
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hkskyline

November 18th, 2004, 12:14 AM

Macau opens up China for Virgin Blue
New aviation pact with Beijing gives operation to be set up by the no-frills carrier extensive access to mainland centres
Joseph Lo
18 November 2004
South China Morning Post

Macau yesterday signed a liberal-ised air-services pact with the mainland, opening the door for Australian no-frills carrier Virgin Blue to go ahead with plans for a new China-focused airline in the former enclave.

The new deal gives Macau airlines 539 passenger flights between Macau and mainland cities per week - a near 90 per cent increase of 244 flights.

More importantly for Virgin Blue, the new deal allows a second airline to operate from Macau to mainland cities for the first time.

An announcement on the new airline is expected in weeks. The only cities that are exempt from the dual-carrier designation are Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, which will be opened up to a second carrier at the start of the 2006 summer airline schedule.

The number of mainland cities accessible by air from Macau has also been increased from 31 to 37. These cities include Tianjin, Jiangjiajie, Lijiang, Jinan, Nanning, and Wenzhou.

The biggest difference between the new Sino-Macau deal and the agreement Hong Kong officials negotiated with Beijing in September is that mainland carriers have not been given through rights from Macau, meaning they cannot compete on international routes with Macau-based airlines. But mainland carriers now have reciprocal rights to Macau, so they can also fly to there 539 times a week from anywhere in China.

Macanese officials said they were surprised at the pace of the negotiations, which went much more smoothly than they had anticipated. The talks started shortly after the Hong Kong deal was finalised in early September.

"Our philosophy was for more frequent connections from Macau to the mainland. Now all the mainland [routes] we have can be served with at least a daily frequency," one official said.

Virgin Blue's plans to launch a new carrier in Macau were not directly discussed between Macanese aviation officials and the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC).

But its plans were implicit in the talks, given the discussion of a second carrier joining Air Macau.

While Virgin Blue's Macau start-up will not have access to the lucrative Shanghai route until 2006, it will be able to code-share on Air Macau's services, or those of mainland carriers, to the city in the meantime.

According to industry sources, Air Macau has already agreed to open up its monopoly on air services from Macau for Virgin Blue.

This agreement was ratified by Air Macau shareholders - which include China National Aviation Corp (CNAC), TAP Air Portugal, Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau, Macau's tourist office, the Macanese government and Taiwan's EVA Airways - at a shareholders meeting this month.

Sources said an announcement on the new airline would be made over the next few weeks. It is expected that CNAC and other local interests will take at least a 51 per cent stake in the new carrier so that it can qualify as a Macau-owned entity to enjoy the new air rights.

It is also understood that the branding of the new carrier will not include the Virgin name, because of licensing concerns with Richard Branson's Virgin Group.

Instead, Virgin Blue is expected to use another variation of the "Blue" name, similar to the Pacific Blue name with which it operates to New Zealand.

At present Air Macau operates scheduled services to just nine mainland cities, and to three of the 42 countries and territories (the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand) with which Macau has agreements.

hkskyline

November 18th, 2004, 05:19 AM

By superjet from HKADB :

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hkskyline

November 21st, 2004, 08:25 PM

By superjet from HKADB :

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hkskyline

November 24th, 2004, 02:19 AM

By Mark Tang @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

November 24th, 2004, 08:13 PM

By "AN888" @ HKADB :

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Paulo2004

November 25th, 2004, 02:40 AM

Just a quick but IMPORTANT information about Macau's International Airport:

It was built by the Portuguese before handing the territory over to China, abling Macau to gain some travelling and movement autonomy.

http://www.macau-airport.gov.mo/images/index_top2.jpg

hkskyline

November 25th, 2004, 06:44 PM

By klyim @ HKADB :

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Nick in Atlanta

November 25th, 2004, 11:41 PM

The Antonov An124-100 "Ruslan", yes "Ruslan" and not Russian, is an amazingly huge cargo plane. I've played football inside an empty one, before it was loaded with firefighting helicopters that were going from Atlanta to Spain.

It looks like Macau is a hub for Volga Dnepr Cargo, because those An-124-100s just keep coming in and going out. I wonder what the white one with the United Arab Emirates flag is doing there? It seems strange that they would fly into Macau.

The Rusland is so big that I hope the runway was long enough for their takeoff, or there is a big Russian plane floating in the South China Sea. :)

Great work compiling the pics HKSkyline!!

Nick in Atlanta

November 26th, 2004, 07:09 AM

Just a quick but IMPORTANT information about Macau's International Airport:

It was built by the Portuguese before handing the territory over to China, abling Macau to gain some travelling and movement autonomy.

@Paulo2004: What do you mean about the Portuguese government getting some travelling and movement autonomy for Macau? What kind of rights did they obtain?

hkskyline

November 30th, 2004, 03:16 PM

By AN888 @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

December 1st, 2004, 09:31 PM

By klyim @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

December 6th, 2004, 06:22 PM

By brian @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

December 7th, 2004, 06:21 AM

By superjet @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

December 13th, 2004, 06:25 PM

By superjet @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

December 20th, 2004, 08:40 AM

By superjet @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

January 2nd, 2005, 10:59 PM

By superjet @ HKADB :

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SkylineTurbo

January 2nd, 2005, 11:11 PM

Macau is primarely a cargo airport now, but with Taipei-China traffic normally stops there.

hkskyline

January 7th, 2005, 03:43 PM

By superjet @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

January 8th, 2005, 04:14 PM

By superjet @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

January 11th, 2005, 10:34 PM

By superjet from a Taipei - Macau flight report :

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hkskyline

January 17th, 2005, 06:47 PM

By AN888 @ HKADB :

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hkskyline

January 27th, 2005, 06:01 PM

Lucky Virgin Blue on a roll with Macau-China flights
Steve Creedy
26 January 2005
The Australian

VIRGIN Blue is believed to be on the verge of unveiling an agreement that will give it access to the lucrative Chinese market through a deal in Macau.

Macau International Airport executive director John Chan Wai Leong said last night a deal with a low-cost carrier was expected within 30 days, with flights to the territory due to start by the end of the year.

Mr Leong would not name the carrier but said it was "a proven carrier, not a fly-by-night operator". "It's got a good track record."

Sources said they believed Virgin Blue had already signed an in-principle agreement and was waiting for paperwork to be done before making an announcement.

Rumours have been circulating for months that Virgin Blue wanted to form a joint venture with Air Macau to service routes between the gambling centre and China.

raymond_tung88

January 28th, 2005, 01:37 AM

That airport looks pretty empty... I hope the Pearl River Delta can work together and find a solution to the problem of having too many international airports...

hkskyline

February 6th, 2005, 09:14 AM

Macau International Airport is awarded "CAPA Asia Pacific Airport of the Year, 2004 "

Macau International Airport was awarded the "CAPA Asia Pacific Airport of the Year, 2004" for its excellent performance and achievement in the past year.

The CAPA Awards for Excellence in Asian Aviation 2004 hosted by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) took place in Singapore on 24th January 2005. Mr. Chan Wai Leong, Executive Director of Macau International Airport Company Limited was representing the company to receive the award.

The awards are made on the basis of strategic leadership and of value to the industry. Macau International Airport was awarded this prize for "undertaking aggressive marketing to reposition the airport effectively, despite strong local competition, and establishing itself as the most attractive LCC airport in the region, with the first north Asian low cost airline operations". As a consequence, Macau International Airport is now regarded as an attractive base for Low Cost Carriers and appears likely to prosper.

The judging panel is formed by management of the Centre, highlighting its Advisory Board of industry specialists, including for example, former Chief Executive Officer of airlines. Last year´s award went to Singapore Changi Airport for its leadership and initiative in ensuring a speedy turnaround from the devastating effects of SARS.

While receiving the award, Mr. Chan remarked "It wasn´t only the aggressive marketing strategy that the Macau International Airport Co. Ltd. put through, but that we have demonstrated our teamwork and spirit when undertaking the Company´s strategy, with the support from the industry members as well as from our sub-concessionaires at the MIA.

2005 is full of challenges ahead and the Macau International Airport will continue to strive to allow the airlines to be more aware of Macau´s open skies and professional operating environment, attracting more airlines to use MIA as well as strengthening Macau´s role as an international tourism city".

hkskyline

February 8th, 2005, 03:22 PM

Bad weather and pollution force airline to alter Macau schedule

HONG KONG, Feb 8 (AFP) - Budget airline AirAsia said Tuesday it has rescheduled its flights to Macau due to poor weather and pollution.

It said planes will now fly in and out of the southern Chinese autonomous region early in the morning instead of late in the evening.

The decision was made after two flights, on February 4 and 5, were forced to land in nearby Hong Kong because of poor visibility over Macau, the Malaysia-based carrier said.

"This temporary change in flight schedule is implemented due to current weather conditions in Macau causing visibility to drop, resulting in inability to land," a statement said.

The former Portuguese territory has been shrouded in a thick cloud of fog and smog for days.

"The airline has been advised by the Macau Meteorological Department that this trend in weather conditions may continue until May," the statement said.

AirAsia, launched in December 2001 with just two aircraft, has 26 Boeing 737s which will be phased out as Airbus replacements arrive.

ShayPlan

February 8th, 2005, 03:30 PM

I thought this airport would not survive (economically) after HKIA new airport and upgrades at other nearby airports. Im guessing it acts as a cargo airport?!

hkskyline

February 8th, 2005, 05:44 PM

Macau is heavily dependent on Taiwan transit passengers. It is now an emerging hub for low-cost carriers. With many casinos slated to open, I expect air traffic from the mainland to substantially increase.

hkskyline

February 16th, 2005, 10:03 PM

Macau gains China rights
Mark Pilling
01 January 2005
Flight International

A new air services pact has been agreed between China and its Special Administrative Region of Macau allowing a second airline to operate from each side.

Most observers expect this will be a new low-cost carrier part-owned by Australia's Virgin Blue. The agreement was negotiated late in November. Macau's civil aviation authority says the new memorandum of understanding "greatly enhances the liberalisation of the air transport market between the two places".

It says the number of destinations included in the agreement has been increased to 37 from 31, while the number of allowable passenger and cargo combination services has been increased by 82%, to 539 weekly flights. The number of allowable all-cargo services has been doubled, to 50 from 25 a week.

Perhaps most importantly, the new agreement allows each regulatory authority to designate two airlines to operate between the two sides, up from one. Until the summer schedule of 2006, however, only one airline from each side can be designated for Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, although after that time "all designated airlines are allowed to operate services to all destinations".

Codesharing is also allowed, although not with third-country airlines. Macau became a Special Administrative Region of China late in 1999, but it maintains authority to negotiate its own air services agreements. "The arrangement has put into consideration the potential development of the Macau aviation industry under the present environment and paved the way for big expansion in the future," says Macau's government of the new agreement.

Macau has only one fixed-wing passenger airline, Air Macau, but that carrier has been in talks for months with Australia's Virgin Blue and other potential partners on the establishment of a low-cost airline focusing on the China market. The carrier also plans a major expansion of its cargo fleet. Macau itself is growing in popularity as a leisure destination. Its airport is keen to attract new business from low-cost carriers.

hkskyline

February 16th, 2005, 10:06 PM

Macao Intl Airport Jan 2005 Cargo Traffic Up 68 Pct Y/Y
02 February 2005
Portuguese News Digest

Cargo traffic at Macao's International Airport Taipa rose by 68 pct year-on-year in January 2005 to a total 17,617 tonnes, data from the airport's authorities ADA, controlled by Portuguese airport operator ANA-Aeroportos de Portugal, showed on February 2, 2005.

The airport ended 2004 with 221,000 tonnes of cargo traffic, up 56 pct year-on-year. The average monthly cargo traffic in 2004 stood at 18,417 tonnes.

The number of passengers at the international airport in Macao remained unchanged at 289,701 in January 2005 compared to the same month of 2004.

The postal traffic at the airport surged by 147 pct to some 18 tonnes in January 2005, after the fall registered for the full 2004. No comparative figures were available.

Macao's International Airport was officially opened on December 8, 1995. Macao's flag carrier Air Macau accounts for close to half of the total airport traffic. Air Macau operates flights connecting China with Taiwan.

ADA has earlier announced it planned to invest an undisclosed sum in various reconstruction and modernisation projects in 2005, aimed at improving the airport's capacity.

(Alternative/Original name: Aeroporto Internacional de Macau, Administracao de Aeroportos)

hkskyline

March 18th, 2005, 09:37 AM

Orient Thai skipping enclave for time being
Zach Coleman
18 March 2005
The Standard

Orient Thai Airlines has no plans to start services to Macau for the time being despiteits successful campaign last year for the right to fly to the SAR.

"We're not in a hurry," said Udom Tantiprasongchai, the carrier's managingdirector and chief executive. "Demandis very poor."

Udom last year sought to make Macau the first overseas destination for Orient Thai's discount arm, One-Two-Go. But because rival budget carrier AirAsia had started its own Bangkok-Macau flights, One-Two-Go was blocked as the aviation agreement betweenThailand and Macau then allowedonly one airline from each side to offer regular flights. Air Macau already served the route from this end.

One-Two-Go operated a few charter flights from Pattaya before the Thai and Macau governments agreed to liberalize air traffic rights last fall. After flying some more charters from Bangkok, One-Two-Go gave up.

"There's overcapacity in this sector,"Udom said. Travelers from Thailand have been put off flying to Macau because of rising hotel room rates. "There's just not enough hotel rooms in Macau," he said.

According to figures from the Statisticsand Census Service, Macau's room supply contracted by 0.2 percent last year to 9,168 rooms.

For the year, hotels filled 76 percent of available rooms. The number of hotel guests coming from Thailand quadrupledin January from the same month a year ago to 1,895. Most Thai visitors stayed in four-star hotels.

Udom claimed AirAsia is doing poorly on its Macau route, filling only half the seats on its flights and selling many of those at deep discount.

AirAsia's Web site features one-way, pre-tax fares between Macau and Bangkok as low as 179 patacas, just over the promotional price of 149 patacas at which AirAsia introduced the service and below the 219 pataca level chief executive Tony Fernandes identifiedlast year; the price of the most expensivetickets has fallen to 679 patacas from 709 patacas.

AirAsia spokeswoman Jeamie Lee, however, disputed Udom's contentions.

"Our loads are very good," she said, pointing to the airline's addition of a second daily flight on the route just three months after it started service. She said that the airline has filled three-quarters of the seats on the flights since they started.

"Macau is one of our top sectors from Kuala Lumpur," she added, citing an 80 percent seat-fill rate. Many passengers taking AirAsia to Macau are traveling onward to Hong Kong or mainland China, she said.

Orient Thai serves Hong Kong and Guangzhou directly.

babystan03

March 18th, 2005, 09:43 AM

One question here: From Macau Airport to HK, how much is the ferry & ground transport?? and how long does it take to reach HK??

hkskyline

March 18th, 2005, 09:50 AM

It costs HK$180 to take a Turbojet high-speed ferry from Hong Kong International Airport to Macau. The other way costs HK$200. Turbojet's other service from Shun Tak in Hong Kong costs HK$141 one way and HK$142 the other way.

babystan03

March 18th, 2005, 09:55 AM

hkskyline

March 18th, 2005, 09:57 AM

I suggest using the Shun Tak terminal. The schedules are more frequent since they are the primary ferry terminal for Macau-bound ships.

New Ferry has a service from Tsim Sha Tsui. The prices are about the same. Click for more information (http://www.nwff.com.hk/english/schedule/route.asp).

babystan03

March 18th, 2005, 10:00 AM

You'll be better off using the Shun Tak terminal. The schedules are more frequent since they are the primary ferry terminal for Macau-bound ships.

Is the Shun Tak Terminal near any MTR station??

gakei

March 18th, 2005, 10:40 AM

Is the Shun Tak Terminal near any MTR station??

can be accessed by walk from Sheung Wan MTR Stn.

babystan03

March 18th, 2005, 10:42 AM

can be accessed by walk from Sheung Wan MTR Stn.

OK.....thanks......:)

hkskyline

March 19th, 2005, 06:45 AM

Macau International Airport attended the "First Logistic Summit on Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau" in Shenzhen
2005-03-17

A delegation of the Macau International Airport Company Limited led by Mr. Cui Guang, Director of Logistic Cargo Development, representing the Company attended the "First Logistic Summit on Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macau" in Shenzhen which was jointly organized by the Shenzhen Municipal Office of the Leading Group for Logistics Development, Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and the Bureau of Economy of the Macao SAR Government.

The two-day Summit took place at Shenzhen Wuzhou Guest House; it was the first designed topic since the implementation of CEPA and the Pan-PRD Regional Co-operation Framework Agreement. The Vice Mayor of Shenzhen, Mr Liu Yingli delivered the opening address of the Forum unfolding the current logistics development of Shenzhen. More than 200 industry practitioners from the logistics sectors in Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau attended this "First Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Logistics Summit".

The focus of the summit is to explore competitive advantages of the three cities´ logistics sectors and identify the areas for co-operation for sustainable development. Government officials and industry leaders from the three cities presented their latest developments in customs and logistics policies and regulations, logistics infrastructure, industry trends and e-logistics technologies. After the Forum's proceedings, the delegates had the opportunity to visit some of the industry´s entities in Shenzhen.

Mr. Franco Kwan, Manager and Mr. Stanley Sam, officer of Logistic Cargo Development represented Macau International Airport Co. Ltd attended in this summit as well.

hkskyline

March 25th, 2005, 05:54 PM

Macau plans to Wow the world
Zach Coleman
25 March 2005
Hong Kong Standard

After decades as a day-trip destination for Hong Kong's ferry-riding multitudes, Macau now welcomes busloads of mainlanders on excursion.

But former Cathay Pacific Airways executive Andrew Pyne intends to bring visitors by the planeful from Europe, the Middle East, North America and Africa.

"We're not viewing Macau as a transit point but as an exciting destination," said Pyne, the public face of the yet-secret band of investors from Macau, Hong Kong, Australia, Italy and the United States who are raising US$30 million (HK$234 million) to launch airline Wow Macau later this year. "This place is booming."

As a startup, Wow is keen to avoid head-to-head competition so the lack of long-distance flights from Macau appeals to Pyne's group more than Hong Kong's saturated marketplace. Macau officials have negotiated air services agreements with 41 countries, but only six are presently served by passenger flights, another reason for Wow to skip Hong Kong's long route licensing process.

Operating from Macau, however, requires the consent of Air Macau as the incumbent holds a 25-year legal monopoly on offering commercial flights there. Talks are advancing and Pyne expects the two airlines to work out an agreement to channel traffic betweenAir Macau's regional flights and Wow's planned long-haul routes. Air Macau's best customers are Taiwanese traveling to mainland China on business or pleasure, few of whom stop off in the territory for a look around. Officially, 5 percent of the 2.9 million people who visited Macau in the first two months of the year came by air, but that figure includes people transiting between flights here and nearby cities by road or sea. Pyne believes Wow can help raise the air share up to 15 percent. He anticipates carrying one million passengersannually within two years with an initial fleet of five leased Boeing 757 and 767 jets, which are both mid-sized and mid-range.

Generating those passenger numberswill require extending Wow's targetmarket to include some passengers traveling to and from Hong Kong and nearby mainland cities, Pyne admitted. Acknowledging that Wow will need to provide an incentive beyond price to fly via Macau, Pyne said the carrier will sell tickets through innovative channels that he declined to reveal and will offer a much broader range of food, entertainmentand seating choices than the conventionalclass options of economy, business or first.

Wow currently has a staff of 14, but Pyne sees that growing to 400 by launch. He expects the carrier will operate 10 planes within four years and he has his sights on introducing the new mid-sized, long-range Boeing 787 model by 2010. Pyne expects Wow to generate at least 20 percent of revenue from carrying cargo.

babystan03

March 25th, 2005, 06:53 PM

Business Times - 25 Mar 2005

Tiger Airways launches service to gambling enclave of Macau

HONG KONG - Singapore-based budget carrier Tiger Airways on Friday launched flights between the Republic and the Chinese gambling enclave of Macau.

Tiger Airways, a unit of Singapore Airlines, said it will fly five times a week between Singapore and Macau, a former Portuguese colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1999.

"Tiger Airways is excited to add Macau as our new destination," said Tony Davis, the airline's chief executive. "Given we are the only service between the two vibrant cities, we hope to play our part in boosting the economy and tourism locally."

Macau is 60 kilometres west of Hong Kong and attracts thousands of Hong Kong and Chinese gamblers who have no casinos at home.

Mr Davis said in a statement that the airline will further expand its service in the region in the next two months. It will launch flights to Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi and Manila, the Philippines' capital, in April and to Indonesia's Padang city in May.

Copyright © 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved.

hkskyline

March 25th, 2005, 07:19 PM

Airline passengers end fog delay row with EVA Airways
8 February 2005
The China Post

Two groups of airline passengers ended protests against overnight delays in flights from Macau and went home yesterday after EVA Airways paid each of them NT$2,500 as compensation for the inconveniences.

The protesters were among 596 passengers stranded at Macau airport and were forced to spend the night there due to heavy fog at Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek International Airport.

The fog, which reduced visibility to less than 100 meters forced postponement of more than 100 international and domestic flights in the past two days.

The passengers for the two EVA Airways flights were scheduled to return last night but didn't reach CKS airport until 800 a.m. and 1210 p.m. respectively.

Both groups refused to leave their aircrafts for about an hour, claiming they had been ignored by the airline, which they said was trying to avoid putting them up in a Macau hotel for the night.

"The airline repeatedly lied to us. Time and again they told us to stand by at various boarding gates. What they did was aimed at saving the due accommodation fees," one passenger said.

More than a dozen of police officers finally managed to persuade the passengers to disembark after an hour.

But the passengers carried their protest into the EVA Airways counter at the airport, where they demanded US$200 plus ground transportation service to take them to the three metropolises -- Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung -- as compensation from EVA Airways, police officials said.

An EVA Airways spokesman said weather could not be used to demand compensation for delays. "Weather is a factor beyond our control," he said.

Aviation officials and police officers also emphasized that the regulations prohibit passengers from engaging in sit-ins or protests of other forms due to forces majeur.

But following negotiations, the airline agreed to give NT$2,500 (US$78.86) and a meal coupon worth US$20 to each of the passengers who later embarked on trips home for the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.

But some passengers declined the offer saying they would ask a non-profit consumers protection group to arbitrate the dispute.

Officials of the Consumers Foundation pointed out that although the heavy fog was beyond human control, the airlines were still obligated to provide passengers with assistance for food, beverages, and boarding.

They said it didn't surprise them that passengers became emotional after they were forced to spend the whole night Sunday at the Macau airport and changed boarding gates seven or eight times as told by airline staff but were still unable to get on the planes until yesterday morning.

hkskyline

March 26th, 2005, 03:13 AM

Macau International Airport Co. Ltd. participates in New Route Asia 2005
2005-03-07

A delegation of the Macau International Airport Co. Ltd. participated the third annual New Route Asia 2005 which took place from 7th - 8th March 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. New Route Asia is a forum designed to bring airlines and airports together to discuss future market opportunities. It is a regional event focused entirely on the development of air services within the Asia Pacific region and this year.with over 300 delegates in attendance at this year´s event - a record for this event.

A promotional booth was jointly set up by Macau International Airport Co. Ltd. and Menzies Macau Airport Services Ltd., where the forum participants had access to Macau International Airport Co. Ltd.´s video and information of the airport services and facilities and its latest achievements, namely the CAPA Asia Pacific Airport of the Year, 2004.

During the proceedings of the forum the representatives from the Macau International Airport Co. Ltd. held meetings with both airlines and airports. Macau´s aviation environment as well as the latest developments in the infrastructure, tourism, gaming and entertainment were the main topics the airlines discussed with the MIA representatives. A lot of airlines showed interested in Macau International Airport and will plan inspection trips to Macau shortly.. Information and experience sharing also took place when meeting with colleagues from other Asian Airports.

Mr. Neo Liu, Manager of Marketing Department, Ms. Patricia Au, Assistant Manager of Marketing Department and Mr. João Antunes, Assistant Manager of Communications Department represented Macau International Airport Co. Ltd in this forum.

SKYLINEPIGEON

March 26th, 2005, 08:22 AM

whts the volume of traffic annually???

hkskyline

March 26th, 2005, 06:25 PM

In 2004, Macau International Airport handled a total of 3,714,259 passengers.

SKYLINEPIGEON

March 26th, 2005, 07:16 PM

far behind hkg

hkskyline

April 1st, 2005, 07:07 AM

Nok Air in race to tap Thai travel boom
Zach Coleman
1 April 2005
The Standard

Thai discount carrier Nok Air plans to start services in July from Bangkok to Macau, making the SAR its first internationaldestination.

Chief executive Patee Sarasin said he is targeting Macau as a stepping-stone into the mainland and because he expects interest in travel to the territory to surge in Thailand.

"It's just a gambling center for now," he said. "I think within the next two years, Macau is going to sprout into a center of entertainment for Asia."

Thailand emerged as Macau's fastest-growing source of visitors last year, sending 41,841 residents to the SAR, a 131 percent jump on 2003.

Patee said Nok Air wants to operate flights from Macau to mainland cities and that he is setting up a team in the SAR to pursue this strategy.

Flying from here will require the consent of Air Macau as it holds a 25-year monopoly on local commercial airline operations, but Patee said Nok Air is not yet in talks with the carrier.

Air Macau's favor is much in demandas Australia's Virgin Blue Airlines and local group Wow Macau are also seeking permission for flights from the territory.

As an intermediate step, Patee said, Nok Air will introduce flights to Shenzhen and other mainland cities from Bangkok, possibly by year-end.

Even for the Macau-Bangkok flights, Nok Air is counting on drawing many customers from the mainland to tap interest there in travel to Thailand.

Though he expects most early passengers on the new flights to be Thai, Patee said familiarity with Nok Air has already spread beyond Thailand, citing internal figures showing up to 30 percentof passengers on some domestic routes to be foreigners. Macau airport officials started courting Patee even beforeNok launched last summer.

The airline, in which Thai Airways International holds a 39 percent stake, has made its mark in Thailand's cut-throat domestic market with sales innovations, such as distributing tickets through 7-Eleven stores, video rental outlets and ATMs.

To ease its entry into Macau, Nok Air is in talks to enlist local travel agents to promote its flights, but Patee said it will also carve out some new channels here. "It could be ATMs," he said.

Nok Air also distinguishes itself from other discount carriers by offering business class service. For an extra 500 baht (HK$99), domestic passengers get a bigger seat, a drink and a snack, a newspaper, double baggage-weight allowance and looser rules on bookings.

Nok Air will offer the same class of service on its Macau flights using the same Boeing 737-400 jets but will also introduce something new that Patee insists on keeping secret.

"It's a new kind of service," he said. "It'll be the talk of the town."

Nok Air's Bangkok-Macau flights will compete directly with those offered by Air Macau and AirAsia, another discountcarrier that is battling Nok Air on Thai domestic routes. AirAsia flies from Macau twice a day and Air Macau goes four times a week, with Thai Airways also selling seats on its flights.

Nok Air will initially fly the route once a day. Patee is confident demand will be sufficient to sustain entry of anotherairline. Nok Air will emphasize its innovations rather than aim to be the cheapest carrier, he said.

Patee's comments come as Singapore discount carrier Tiger Airways grabbed the spotlight this week by offering limited tickets on its new Macau-Singapore flights for a pre-tax price of HK$45 each way. AirAsia introduced its Macau-Bangkok flights at the promotional pre-tax price of 149 patacas (HK$145).

Patee indicated that Nok Air is also choosing to fly north to Macau because of the heavy competition on "southern"routes such as Bangkok-Singapore,a corridor served by several budget carriers as well as full-service airlines. "That market is very much saturated," he said. Macau beat out other airports in this area as Nok Air's first target because of its low fees.

hkskyline

April 2nd, 2005, 06:31 PM

Air Macau Swings to 6.8 Mln Euro Profit - 2004
30 March 2005
Portuguese News Digest

Flag carrier Air Macau, in which Portuguese flag carrier TAP Air Portugal has a stake, ended 2004 with a net profit of 71 mln Macao patacas ($8.9 mln/6.8 mln euro), it was reported on March 30, 2005.

The carrier posted a net loss of 150 mln patacas ($18.7 mln/14.5 mln euro) for 2003.

The 2004 results followed a recovery of the Asian airlines market, after the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic outbreak in China, Hong Kong and other southeastern Asian countries in the first six months of 2003. The outbreak resulted in a loss of some 500,000 passengers and the cancellation of some 100 flights for Air Macau in 2003.

Air Macau flies a fleet of five Airbus A321 aircraft, one Airbus A320, five Airbus A319, and three cargo aircraft. The company operates 14 regional routes, eight to China continental, two to Taiwan and one to Bangkok, Manila and Seoul each.

Air Macau's was established in September 1994 and its main shareholder is the aviation conglomerate China National Aviation Corp with 51 pct.

hkskyline

April 11th, 2005, 06:06 PM

Monday April 11, 1:31 PM
New Macau airline to launch later this year

AP - Startup airline Macau Eagle Aviation Services Ltd. said it expects to begin operations this year after completing a sub-license agreement with Air Macau Co., the territory's only airline.

Macau Eagle, whose airline will be marketed under the brand name of WOW! Macau, said it will complement Air Macau by "feeding overseas traffic to its existing mainland China- and Taiwan-focused route network."

"We intend to welcome customers to our services well before the end of the year," Macau Eagle Chief Executive Andrew Pyne said in a statement e-mailed to reporters over the weekend.

Pyne said a firm launch date and service plans will be announced when it completes agreement with Air Macau.

Macau has emerged as a cheaper alternative to neighboring Hong Kong as an airline base. Several new budget carriers are considering locating there.

The southern Chinese gambling enclave is also attractive because of a tourism boom amid a resurgent casino industry.

Macau Eagle, had reportedly also been considering Hong Kong as a base. But Pyne said it now favors Macau because of support from the local government and business community.

Air Macau, now the territory's sole airline, is majority owned by China National Aviation Co., a Chinese government company. Macau tycoon Stanley Ho also has a large interest in the carrier.

hkskyline

May 10th, 2005, 04:13 PM

Asian airlines place bets on Macao
Enclave is a natural hub but Chinese airports pose long-term threat
By JUSTINE LAU
9 May 2005
Financial Times

Low-cost carriers are making strong inroads into southern Asia. In Australia, Virgin Blue flies one in three domestic passengers. Malaysia's Air Asia accounts for roughly the same share of that country's domestic market and Singapore is building the region's first low-cost airport terminal.

But with the exception of Japan, the region's biggest aviation market, North Asia has remained reluctant to embrace the budget airline industry due to the slowness in deregulating the sector.

This is set to change. Although still keen to protect its three big airlines, China is slowly relaxing its rules to allow some carriers to offer discount domestic flights. In Hong Kong, the recently formed Oasis Airline is reportedly planning to launch low-cost, long-haul services by end of the year.

Industry executives and analysts say Macao, the former Portuguese colony that is already a destination for low-cost carriers including Air Asia and Singapore's Tiger Airways, is taking the lead and looks more likely to become a North Asian hub.

"Macao is a natural hub for low-cost carriers, with substantially lower costs than neighbouring Hong Kong and a highly incentivised environment for tourism development," says Ian Thomas, senior consultant for the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Macao's economy has been growing rapidly since last year, when foreign-owned casinos began operations. Tourist arrivals grew 40 per cent to 16.7m in 2004, or 36 times the enclave's population. Airport arrivals, however, remained low at 3.7m, partly because Air Macao, the monopoly carrier, has been under-utilising the city's 42 bilateral air service agreements.

The airline, awarded a 25-year exclusive operating licence in 1995, only flies to three countries other than China and Taiwan.

"We made a deliberate decision in June 2003 that Macao should become a low-cost hub. We are fully aware that things will have to change if we want to achieve this," says John Chan, executive director of Macao International Airport.

To this end, Air Macao, 51 per cent owned by mainland state-controlled China National Aviation Corporation, has been in talks with three carriers on sub-concession agreements.

Mr Chan expects Virgin Blue to be the first airline to strike a deal with the home carrier by end of the year while start-ups WOW! Macao and Golden Dragon are likely to win similar rights in the next 12 months.

After that, Mr Chan expects the number of budget flights in Macao to rise from about 5 per cent of the total now to as much as 15 per cent in two years.

Macao airport, which likes to compare itself with London's Stansted airport, will then serve as a cheaper entry point to the Pearl River Delta, or PRD - the southern Chinese industrial region around Hong Kong.

Landing fees in Macau are about 30 to 35 per cent lower than those of Hong Kong, Mr Chan says. Hong Kong, in turn, is about 30 per cent cheaper than Chinese airports, according to the International Air Transport Association.

But Macao is not without its own challenges.

The 10-year-old airport is set to reach its passenger capacity of 6m in three years, according to Simon Chan, acting president of the Civil Aviation Authority.

Although it is currently building five new cargo parking stands, the airport has not yet finalised a proposal to expand its passenger capacity.

The other challenge is Macao's small home market. More than half of the 3.7m people who used the Macao airport last year were transit passengers travelling between Taiwan and China. The bulk of its tourists come from China and Hong Kong by bus or ferry.

The airport, therefore, is heavily exposed to competition for passengers with its bigger and - some argue - more efficient rivals in the PRD. Besides, some budget carriers are already bypassing Hong Kong and Macao and flying to China direct, although they are unlikely to gain access to premier cities such as Shanghai and Beijing in the near future.

Macao's supporters are optimistic.

If the enclave's casino industry continues its breakneck growth, many believe Macao, which aims to become Asia's Las Vegas, will emerge as a significant destination for tourists worldwide.

Sheldon Adelson, owner of Las Vegas Sands, which is building a USDollars 12bn casino project in the city, has forecast that 35m to 40m people will be visiting Macao annually in seven to 10 years.

hkskyline

May 11th, 2005, 07:19 PM

Virgin loses Macau gamble
Steve Creedy
12 May 2005
The Australian

The domestic airline bets on trans-Pacific route

VIRGIN Blue has abandoned its high-profile attempt to start a joint venture airline in Macau, as it turns its international focus on a potential trans-Pacific airline. Virgin terminated the long-running Macau talks on Friday, after it was unable to reach an agreement with potential partners about starting a low-cost operation from the fast-growing gambling destination. It is understood the decision was made by Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey.

Virgin Blue spokeswoman Heather Jeffery last night confirmed reports that the Macau talks had ended. "Yes, it is the case that we've formally concluded our discussions," she said. "Suffice to say, it didn't meet the requirement of all parties at this point in time.

"Virgin had hoped to form a low-cost airline with incumbent carrier Air Macau, China National Aviation Corp and Shun Tak Holdings, controlled by casino tycoon Stanley Ho. In 1995 Air Macau was granted a 25-year exclusive operating licence but the undercapitalised carrier was only servicing nine of the 31 Chinese cities to which it has rights to fly. The joint venture airline aimed to boost services and feed the territory's booming casino industry with gamblers.

Virgin Blue had been locked in talks for months when low-cost carrier WOW announced in April it would start services in Macau, and another company, Golden Dragon, also started talks with Air Macau.Virgin's decision to pull out of Macau comes as the airline confirmed it had submitted documents to the Australian Department of Transport outlining proposals for a trans-Pacific airline.

Ms Jeffery would not comment on the substance of the airline's proposal but confirmed it had lodged a document outlining its thoughts on the route. "We have had discussions and we'll be presenting more of our position in time," she said. It is understood the airline is lobbying the Government to delay Singapore Airline's entry into the market until it can develop its own plans to fly across the Pacific. It reportedly argued that it needed at least a year to 18 months to develop its international model and Singapore's entry during this time would damage both its international ambitions and domestic assets.Cabinet discussed the issue briefly this week and is expected to return to it next month.

The entry of Virgin chairman Chris Corrigan into the debate will be setting off alarm bells in Singapore, which now finds itself battling both Australian domestic carriers.

hkskyline

May 19th, 2005, 04:04 AM

Air Macau opens 2nd daily flight on Macao-Beijing route
18 May 2005
Xinhua

MACAO, May 18 (CEIS) -- The Macao-based Air Macau on May 18 operated its second daily flight on the route from Macao to Beijing.

To mark the opening of the fresh flight, merchant prizes as free tickets, digital cameras and mobile phones are offered to passengers who get the win-cards from Air Macau's web-page, said the company.

Air Macau has reinforced its 12-strong air craft squad by purchasing a new A321 air bus, making the total 13, it said.

The air company is to open the third daily flight between Macao and Beijing early in 2006, it said.

hkskyline

June 6th, 2005, 06:36 PM

UPDATED: 14:27, June 05, 2005
Air Macao sees stronger passenger stream

Air Macau, the only air company in the Macao Special Administrative Region of China, saw a record high of over 170,000 passengers flow in May.

The total passenger turn-out of was 170,551 in May, breaking record in the company's decade-long operation history, according to statistics issued by Air Macau on Sunday.

The figures showed that the passenger turn-out has also witnessed a 26-percent increase in the first five months over the same period of 2004.

Air Macau has recently implemented a package of management policies as increasing international flight numbers to achieve a 14-month non-stop pay-off.

Source: Xinhua

hkskyline

June 6th, 2005, 10:44 PM

Macau resumes budget carrier hunt
Investors being courted but authorities are ready to go it alone if necessary
Russell Barling
7 June 2005
South China Morning Post

Aviation authorities in Macau are again courting strategic investors for a low-cost carrier to replace the deal that collapsed last month when frustrated management at Virgin Blue walked away after 18 months of talks.

The authorities, including the Macau branch of the General Administration of Civil Aviation for China (CAAC Macau), are talking to executives and airlines from the low-cost industry to slot into the place vacated by Virgin Blue.

"[CAAC Macau officials] believe it is a project with good potential and they are determined to go ahead even if it means proceeding by themselves," said a Macau-based executive. "They have contacted some airlines, and some of them appear to be interested."

It is understood the latest courtship, successful or not, will have minimal impact on talks with Golden Dragon and Wow!Macau, two start-ups in talks with Air Macau for sub-concession licences to operate from Macau.

Golden Dragon, which had been targeting mainland destinations to serve with a fleet of 70-seat Embraer aircraft, has completed the negotiations for its sub-concession and requires only a formal signing, according to sources close to the company.

Wow!Macau chief executive Andrew Pyne, who has been pushing for regional and medium-haul destinations in Europe and the Middle East, said negotiations with his company were also progressing well.

"There may be some regional points that we will be disappointed on because of the new [low-cost carrier] development, but we'll take the rough and smooth," Mr Pyne said yesterday. "The main thing is that we end up with a working network and something that makes sense."

Mr Pyne would not say which regional destinations had been taken off the table during the talks. But with Air Macau flying to or having aspirations for Seoul, Singapore, Manila and Bangkok, the possibility of approval for those cities is thought to be remote.

It is understood Virgin Blue walked away last month after Air Macau, majority owned by China National Aviation Corp, waited until the 11th hour to pull Hangzhou and Taiwan from its destination list. Budget heavyweights Ryanair and Air Asia are also thought to have failed to work out a deal with the Macau negotiating team.

Mr Pyne said he was prepared to co-exist with a new low-cost carrier, which will probably be 51 per cent owned by Air Macau. "We know we can't go into Macau and encroach on Air Macau's patch," he said.

An expected flood of gamblers and tourists to Macau over the next few years prompted the government to order Air Macau to surrender its exclusive concession. The airport handled 960,000 passengers in the first quarter, up a comparative 24.7 per cent.

"It looks crowded with four home carriers but, to a certain extent, we're clear of that entanglement because we are still focused on the longer sectors that for technical reasons are beyond the reach of the others," Mr Pyne said. "There will be quite a tangle on the two to three-hour sectors, but I think we are a little further afield and that is the strength of our business plan."

hkskyline

June 17th, 2005, 05:57 PM

Golden Dragon wins flights deal
Alman Loong, Hong Kong Standard
June 16, 2005

Golden Dragon, one of three start-up airlines in Macau, has won regulatory approval to fly to 10 destinations, after agreeing with the Macau government to largely avoid routes offered by Air Macau's new budget airline and Hong Kong Dragon Airlines.

Golden Dragon received rights to fly to mainland cities Nanning, Shijiazhuang, Nanchung, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Changsha, Guangzhou and Hohhot, as well as Hanoi in Vietnam and Vientiane in Laos, said an industry source.

The approvals came after it reached a sub-concession license agreement with Air Macau to operate from the city. Sources earlier said tycoon Stanley Ho's helicopter unit, East Asia Airlines, will take a majority stake in Golden Dragon after the sub-concession talks.

"Golden Dragon only has three destinations overlapping with Dragonair's existing ones, reflecting the government's arrangements during the negotiations," said the source.

Dragonair and Air Macau are controlled by China National Aviation Corp. Golden Dragon's approved destinations also largely avoid competition with Hong Kong Express, a Hong Kong-based budget airline also controlled by Ho, which has been granted rights to fly to Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Chongqing and Ningbo.

"Both companies will not complete with each other," said Hong Kong Express chief executive Andrew Tse.

Golden Dragon will need to invest 160 million patacas (HK$155.3 million) to develop the business and pay 10 percent of total investment to the Macau government for the license. It will lease two 75-seat Embraer aircraft this year and plans to schedule flights next year, said the source. "Golden Dragon will act as a regional airline in the future, not a low-cost carrier," he said.

Macau is an attractive base for budget carriers because of its low airport charges and the rosy outlook for its gaming-led tourism sector.

Air Macau along with two partners plans to start a budget airline at the end of the year in which it will invest US$30 million (HK$234 million) for a 51 percent stake. The new carrier will fly 22 mainland and regional routes with four aircraft to be delivered next year. Wow Macau, another start-up in talks with Air Macau for sub-concession licenses, has been pushing for medium-haul destinations in Europe and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong-based budget carrier Oasis Hong Kong Airlines has applied to the Air Transport Licensing Authority for six destinations - London Gatwick, Cologne/Bonn, Berlin, Milan, Oakland and Chicago.

However, the Civil Aviation Department said it has not yet granted it an air operator's certificate.

hkskyline

June 18th, 2005, 08:28 PM

Macau eyes Zhuhai airport for growth
Zach Coleman
17 June 2005
Hong Kong Standard

Macau could emerge as the dark-horse winner among the prospective suitors of troubled Zhuhai Airport.

Hong Kong International Airport has been keen to link up with Zhuhai on concern that airports in Guangzhou and Shenzhen are diverting mainland- bound or originating traffic that would have previously come to Hong Kong. Partnering with Zhuhai could give Hong Kong a route to recapture profit from this development.

Guangzhou's Baiyun International Airport is also reportedly eyeing Zhuhai.

Macau, however, might be the most logical partner for Zhuhai. Only Macau is a neighbor of Zhuhai and, where Macau is crowded and strapped for space, Zhuhai's vast undeveloped acreage is already attracting attention from Macau investors and officials seeking room to expand.

Zhuhai Airport, which has been losing money since its opening 10 years ago due to under-utilization, would fit into this pattern.

John Chan, executive director of Macau International Airport, said European consultants are currently drawing up a plan on how to meet the airport's needs for facilities in the next five years. He expects the consultants to recommend doubling the size of the airport's terminal and reclaiming land to move maintenance facilities to create more plane parking spaces.

Already, the airport is adding five parking stands and doubling its cargo terminal space. The current terminal can handle six million passengers a year.

Chan said he expects airport traffic this year to come close to a record 4.2 million passengers handled in 2002. Given plans afoot for new airlines and resorts in the territory, Chan said: "In 2007, I think we will cross six million.''

The airport has just one runway and the cost of building it in the waters of Macau's outer harbor accounted for much of the airport's HK$9.3 billion construction budget, said Chan.

Building a second runway at today's costs and starting from the greater depths further offshore would require a huge outlay.

Consequently, aviation officials are eyeing Zhuhai's runway as an expansion outlet, especially for domestic mainland traffic. Chan said many visitors from northern China are already flying to Guangzhou and Shenzhen and proceeding to Macau by bus or ferry. With coordination, these passengers could be channeled via Zhuhai.

The two airports have held several rounds of talks, and Chan said he believes Zhuhai will have to make a decision among its suitors soon.

Andrew Miller, director of consulting for the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Sydney, said support from Macau airport management could help turn around Zhuhai's fortunes. The center chose Macau as its airport of the year in 2004. "They're entrepreneurial, they're on the ball,'' Miller said.

hkskyline

August 9th, 2005, 04:36 AM

HK-listed Shun Tak eyes launch of budget carrier in Macau in Oct - report
5 August 2005
AFX Asia

HONG KONG (XFN-ASIA) - Shun Tak Holdings aims to reach an agreement with Air Macau to set up a discount airline in Macau by October, South China Morning Post reported, citing Shun Tak chief executive Pansy Ho Chiu-king the daughter of Macau casino magnate Stanley Ho.

Shun Tak and Air Macau are currently in talks relating to the budget airline after Australia's Virgin Blue Holdings withdrew from discussions earlier this year, she said.

She said Shun Tak hopes to reach an agreement with Air Macau by the third quarter.

Malaysia's AirAsia and Singapore-based Tiger Airways are currently offering flights to Macau.

hkskyline

August 12th, 2005, 03:55 AM

Macau's skies set to get crowded as three new airlines take wing
12 August 2005
South China Morning Post

The dust appears to be settling on the airline shake-out in Macau, with three soon-to-be start-ups having carved out the niches they will serve - at least in principle.

Shun Tak Holdings managing director Pansy Ho Chiu-king is on the verge of getting a stake in an as-yet unnamed but nevertheless coveted low-cost carrier.

Shun Tak will share minority interests with Hong Kong-listed China National Aviation Co (CNAC).

Air Macau, which is majority held by CNAC Macau and which has been gracious enough - albeit with some state prodding - to surrender its monopoly in the city and negotiate sub-concessions with the newcomers, will receive 51 per cent.

According to people on the ground in Macau, Ms Ho's budget carrier has gained approval in principle to fly to 16 regional destinations, including cities in Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea and on the mainland.

The same source told Below Deck the airline already had a deal in place for six Boeing 737 aircraft.

Ms Ho, the source said, was expected to make an announcement about the airline - and its closely guarded name - in a matter of days.

An executive who works for one of the shareholding companies was more cautious.

"We are about to submit all the legal documents and the sub-concession to the government," he said.

"Until the government approves, we cannot announce other details. It is no secret that the low-cost carrier will be a subsidiary of Air Macau. But no final decision has been made on the number or type of aircraft."

There had been speculation that the airline would favour A320 aircraft to capitalise on the benefits of sharing a common fleet with its majority shareholder; Air Macau has eight A320 family aircraft.

However, the executive did acknowledge that an agreement in principle had been reached with Air Macau on a route network.

That was all it took last week for Golden Dragon Airlines, the new airline controlled by Ms Ho's father, casino magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun, to trumpet its arrival. So we could be hearing from Ms Ho's entourage soon.

None of the three Macau start-ups have signed a sub-concession agreement yet.

It is understood that a deal with the third new entrant, Wow!Macau, will be reached after Ms Ho's venture gets the requisite attention with its pending launch.

According to the source, Golden Dragon and Wow!Macau, which has been approved in principle by Air Macau's executive committee to serve destinations outside a four-hour flight zone, have agreed to a 10 per cent capital levy as a condition of their sub-concessions.

None of the contracts have received the government's stamp of approval, so it all remains up in the air.

But one would think that officialdom would be amenable to most arrangements, given Macau's acute need for more flights than its airline can offer.

Macau's Cotai strip is expected to see a sixfold increase in the number of hotel rooms on offer in the next five years to 70,000.

Most of the rooms will be high-end and will require a different mix of clientele than those who now frequent Macau. At present, the average length of stay for a Macau visitor is 1.3 days, compared with 3.7 days in Las Vegas, the city it aspires to emulate.

Only 6 per cent of visitors to Macau arrive by air, against 50 per cent in Vegas.

Macau needs to liberalise its aviation regime to attract a higher calibre of visitor.

As the monopoly carrier for the city, Air Macau utilises only 25 per cent of its 42 air service agreements with other countries.

A dose of competition will be just what the doctor ordered to awaken the sleepy enclave.

China, of course, is the market with the most potential visitors. With Ms Ho's airline apparently destined to compete on some of the eight mainland routes recently awarded in principle to Golden Dragon, there is even the prospect of market-regulated ticket prices. They are targeting different markets - Golden Dragon is more a premium economy provider with its 76-seat Embraer aircraft, however, there should be some overlap.

Wow!Macau, on the other hand, looks well positioned for the longer-haul market.

"It looks initially to be a crowded environment with four carriers," Wow!Macau chief executive Andrew Pyne told Below Deck last month.

"There could be quite a tangle in terms of the two- to three-hour short sectors. But I think we're a little further afield and that is one of the strengths of our business plan."

hkskyline

August 16th, 2005, 05:42 AM

Shun Tak to take stake in Macau low-cost airline-paper

HONG KONG, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Shun Tak Holdings , the property and entertainment group controlled by casino magnate Stanley Ho, will take up to a 30 percent stake in Air Macau's planned US$30 million low-cost carrier, the Standard newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Air Macau Co. Ltd. will control a 51 percent stake in the venture and its parent China National Aviation Co. (CNAC) will hold the rest, the paper said, quoting unidentified sources.

Shun Tak has already signed an agreement that Air Macau and CNAC will hold the majority stake in the low cost carrier, the paper said.

Air Macau will also transfer 22 routes to the new carrier, including 11 routes to mainland China and the rest to cities in the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, it said.

The venture is the third airline scheduled to start operation in 2006 since Macau's government cut short Air Macau's monopoly two years ago.

Shares in Shun Tak ended on Monday at HK$7.

The stock had gained 2 percent in the last month but is up 81 percent in the last year as investors bet on strong growth prospects for Macau's gaming and tourist industries.

The tiny territory is the only place in gambling-mad China where casinos are legal and companies from around the world are pouring in billions of dollars to build more opulent gaming parlours, plush hotels and shopping malls.

CNAC owns a 43 percent of Hong Kong carrier Dragonair and 51 percent of Air Macau.

hkskyline

October 26th, 2005, 02:17 PM

Thailand's Nok Air picks gambling enclave Macau as first foreign stop
AFP
October 26, 2005

Thai budget carrier Nok Air plans to expand into foreign markets in 2006 with the launch of services to Asia's casino capital Macau, a top company official said here Wednesday.

"Probably mid-year we are going to Macau. It will be the first foreign destination," Nok Air's chief executive Patee Sarasin told AFP on the sidelines of a regional aviation forum.

According to Patee, Thai AirAsia is the only budget airline servicing the Bangkok-Macau route, which means there is room for further growth. It is a subsidiary of Malaysia's discount carrier AirAsia.

Owned partly by flag carrier Thai Airways International, Nok Air was launched last year to tap growing demand for no-frills travel especially in key Southeast Asian economies like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

It is the third budget airline in Thailand, where One-Two Go, owned by Orient Thai, is already in fierce competition with Thai AirAsia.

Nok Air currently flies to Chiangmai, Udon Thani, Hat Yai and Phuket.

Despite soaring fuel costs, Patee said the airline has been enjoying an "operating profit" since January and is expected to break even by the end of the year, but he gave no details.

Aside from Macau, Nok Air will also be looking to expand to other parts of Asia over the next few years but the carrier will not rush into any markets until its distribution network has been established properly, Patee said.

"So therefore in terms of moving into foreign destinations, we are going to be very, very careful in terms of how we are going to make sure that we understand the consumers over there as well," the chief executive said.

"And so therefore in terms of distribution of our tickets and so forth, it will have to fit that particular demand," he said.

Nok, which means "bird" in Thai, has adopted a playful theme by depicting a golden bird's beak on the nose of its purple and white aircraft.

hkskyline

December 7th, 2005, 07:09 AM

Air Macau to set up Macau's first budget airline

HONG KONG, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Air Macau will finalise plans to set up Macau's first budget airline with Shun Tak Holdings Ltd. , the Hong Kong-listed flagship of gaming magnate Stanley Ho, and China National Aviation Co. Ltd. , a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

After more than a year's discussion, board members of Air Macau will meet on Friday to conclude the plan, which will involve a total investment of HK$234 million ($30 million), the Apple Daily said.

Air Macau will have a controlling stake of 51 percent and Shun Tak and CNAC will share the remaining 49 percent with Shun Tak taking nearly 33 percent, the newspaper quoted market sources as saying.

The deal will still require approval from the Macau government but that is expected by the end of December or January, it added.

Shun Tak officials were not immediately available for comment.

Virgin Blue Holding Ltd. had talks with the group earlier about setting up a low-cost airline in Macau, the only place in China where casinos are legal and whose tourist industry is booming. But Virgin Blue withdrew in May. Low-cost airlines are mushrooming across Asia, putting pressure on traditional carriers to cut costs.

Shares of both Shun Tak and CNAC were unchanged on Wednesday at HK$6.65 and HK$1.44, respectively. (US$1=HK$7.8)

hkskyline

December 10th, 2005, 12:26 AM

VIVA Macau forced to delay date for launch of flights
10 December 2005
Hong Kong Standard

VIVA Macau, a low-cost airline previously known as WOW!Macau, has pushed back its target date for launching flights to next summer because it hasn't obtained rights to operate from the city.

The airline named Ngan In-leng, head of Hang Huo Enterprise Group, as its president Friday, and said its subconcession agreement with Air Macau is under the government review.

The agreement will allow VIVA Macau, which earlier planned to start services in April, 2006, to serve medium- and long-haul routes.

Ng said the airline will be equipped with a fleet of modern wide-body aircraft to fly across Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

"We are making a firm commitment to building a strong network of international air services to and from Macau,'' Ngan said Friday at the brand launch celebration for VIVA Macau.

VIVA Macau will probably compete with another low-cost carrier, Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, which last week won licenses to operate on several European and United States routes from Hong Kong. Oasis aims to start services to London Gatwick next June.

Ngan said a date for the launch of VIVA Macau's services and the range of new destinations will be announced once the Macau government approves and ratifies the airline's subconcession arrangement.

Air Macau, which operates under a 25-year government concession as the territory's exclusive home carrier, in June agreed to share its rights with Golden Dragon, a startup carrier that plans to operate regional jet flights to the mainland.

"Macau is becoming an increasingly important low-fare gateway to southern China, and we will support Macau International Airport's development as one of Asia's fastest growing air transport hubs.'' Ngan said.

hkskyline

December 16th, 2005, 06:44 AM

Startup airline Viva Macau plans to purchase 12 planes
By Joyce Li
Dow Jones Newswires
16 December 2005

HONG KONG -- Budget airline Viva Macau plans to buy 12 aircraft valued at $1 billion, though it will initially operate leased planes as it prepares to launch its first flight from Macau in the middle of 2006, said Chief Executive Andrew Pyne.

The startup airline is choosing between purchasing Boeing Co. 787 planes or Airbus A350-800s and will announce its final decision as early as next month, he said.

"Macau's expansion as a destination will be quite aggressive," Mr. Pyne said. "We have to build our market presence very, very quickly."

Tourists have been flooding into the booming gaming enclave of Macau, a special administrative region of China, since the local government liberalized the gambling industry in late 2002.

Mr. Pyne estimates that in five years, five million passengers will use the city's airport annually. Viva Macau hopes to control 25% of the local air-passenger market by then, he said.

Mr. Pyne also said cargo is an indispensable part of an Asian airline's operations and may eventually represent about 20% of the company's revenue.

The purchase of either Boeing 787s or Airbus A350s is Viva Macau's longer-term plan for its fleet, as the Boeing planes wouldn't be delivered until 2010, while the Airbus planes would take even longer, Mr. Pyne said.

To begin with, Viva Macau will lease either Airbus A330-200s or Boeing 767s, before expanding its fleet to 12-15 planes by 2010, he said. It will also wet-lease aircraft -- where one company leases an aircraft and at least one pilot from another company -- from within the region.

Viva Macau hopes to break even in the first or second year of its operation, Mr. Pyne said.

He said the company also hopes to serve medium- to long-haul destinations in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Australasia.

hkskyline

January 21st, 2006, 07:44 AM

Viva Macau plans flights to Hawaii and Russia
Bloomberg
20 January 2006

Viva Macau, a low-cost airline based in the former Portuguese colony, said Thursday that it planned to start flights to Hawaii and Russia, becoming the first Asian low-fare carrier to express interest in flying to the two destinations.

The carrier is also planning flights to northeast Asia, including Japan and South Korea, as well as Australia, the Middle East, and Europe, the airline's chief executive, Andrew Pyne, said. The airline plans to start Asian flights in June before expanding to the Middle East and Europe.

hkskyline

January 24th, 2006, 03:19 AM

Budget air carrier for Macau close to launch
24 January 2006
South China Morning Post

The long-awaited Macau-based budget airline is about to take off. A venture formed by Air Macau, China National Aviation Co (CNAC) and Shun Tak will be incorporated today and is planning to operate flights to about 20 cities in the mainland and the region.

It is understood that Air Macau, which is majority-held by CNAC will hold 51 per cent of the new venture, while Shun Tak, which is controlled by the casino tycoon Stanley Ho, will share the balance with CNAC.

An official from the Macau Civil Aviation Authority said there was plenty of room for the new venture to flex its muscles due to the low utilisation rate of Macau's traffic rights.

"Macau has rights to fly to more than 30 mainland cities but at present only nine are ulitilised [by Air Macau]," said an official from the Macau Civil Aviation Authority.

Air Macau has launched services to the major first-tier cities in the mainland where the high income tourists and gamblers come from, namely Shanghai, Beijing, Xiamen, Nanjing and Shenzhen.

That means the new carrier could fly only to the second-tier cities which Air Macau did not cover. Market talk ahead of the today's incorporation, however, was that Air Macau had reached a deal with the new venture which would allow the new carrier to fly to the existing points that Air Macau served after a quarantine period of three years.

Southeast Asian destinations, which remain under-developed markets for Macau airlines, are known to be another focus of the new venture.

"It could fly to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, the major sources of tourists coming to Macau," the official said. Since Air Macau served only Seoul, Manila, Bangkok, Taipei and Kaohsiung in Asia, there was plenty of room for a newcomer, he added. Shun Tak's share price rose 3 per cent to $8.7 yesterday, against the trend of declining Hong Kong share prices. Shares of CNAC fell 4 per cent to $1.47 due to the leap in oil prices.

The negotiations between Air Macau and Shun Tak over the new budget airline began in earnest last summer after Virgin Blue withdrew from talks. Though it holds the concessions to run airlines in Macau till 2020, Air Macau has been forced to surrender its monopoly and negotiate sub-concessions with newcomers. In order to fulfil the requirement of the concessions, it also set up Viva Macau and Golden Dragon to tap into different market segments.

Sub concession agreements will now be signed after the new venture hands in all the details of the shareholders background, professional management and the financial plan of the company and gains approval from the Macau government. Viva Macau and Golden Dragon are still pending approval.

hkskyline

January 24th, 2006, 05:03 PM

New Macau Budget Airline Targets Asian Market
By Keri Geiger
24 January 2006

MACAU (Dow Jones)--Hong Kong-listed Shun Tak Holdings Ltd. (0242.HK) said Tuesday it has formed a new budget airline with Air Macau and China National Aviation Co. (1110.HK), joining a competitive market as Asia's low-cost carrier sector takes off.

Macau Asia Express will offer flights from the booming gaming enclave of Macau to cities in China and Asia. The new airline didn't specify the routes it plans to serve, but said it won't overlap with Air Macau.

Macau Asia Express will be only the second airline to be based in Macau, after Air Macau, which started operations in 1995. But it isn't the first to look to Macau as a base for budget operations: Viva Macau, another budget carrier, is awaiting approval from aviation authorities to operate flights. Airlines operating from the Macau airport pay lower fees than they would at other airports in the region and tend to offer lower fares.

"Macau's growing tourism industry is a tremendous opportunity for a new airline in Macau," Pansy Ho, managing director of Shun Tak, told a news conference.

The initial funding for the new airline, primarily working capital, is just US$30 million. The company didn't indicate what aircraft it would acquire to run its flights. In three years, the new airline hopes to operate 15-20 aircraft, Shun Tak's Ho said.

Budget airlines, which have been popular in Europe and North America for several years, have only recently begun to emerge in Asia. The low-cost carriers in the region include Singapore-based Tiger Airways and Valuair, and Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd. (5099.KU).

Macau Asia Express is 51%-owned by Air Macau, and 49% by a joint venture between Shun Tak and CNAC. But since CNAC, an investment company controlled by state-owned Chinese flag carrier Air China Ltd. (0753.HK), owns a controlling 51% of Air Macau, it will also control Macau Asia Express.

Macau Asia Express is the latest in a string of investments that Shun Tak and other companies owned by the family of casino magnate Stanley Ho have made to expand their holdings in Macau. Ho once held an exclusive license to operate casinos in Macau, but has bounced back with new business plans even after the government allowed in international players in 2002.

Shun Tak has been exploring the idea of a budget airline for some time. Last May, the company withdrew from talks with Australian budget airline Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. (VBA.AU) aimed at launching low-cost flights to Macau.

A budget airline in Macau will be an added boost to its thriving tourism industry, which has been benefiting from the thousands of mainland Chinese converging on its casinos.

Visitor arrivals to Macau by air increased 21% in 2005 to 1.03 million, though most tourists to the territory still come overland from China or by ferry from Hong Kong.

Those numbers are expected to rise faster as several grandiose casino projects start operations from 2007 on Macau's Cotai strip, an area of reclaimed land that is destined to be the city's Las Vegas Strip.

hkskyline

January 26th, 2006, 03:04 AM

Macau aims to double airport capacity
Operator awaits government approval for project designed to handle 12 million passengers annually
26 January 2006
South China Morning Post

Macau is planning to double the passenger capacity of its airport to handle the anticipated influx of international travellers as the city's investment boom boosts its reputation as a leisure destination, according to an official.

The project will expand the airport's capacity to about 12 million passengers a year and has been forwarded to the Macau government for evaluation, according to John Chan Wai-leong, an executive director of CAM Societe do Aeroporto Internacional de Macau, the company that owns a 50-year concession to operate the airport.

"The project is still in its planning stages and was forwarded last month to the government to sound them out about funding," Mr Chan said yesterday. "We expect to see more foreign carriers calling over the next few years and we need to grow."

Initial positive discussions had already been held with CAM shareholders, which include the Macau government, Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau and other minorities.

Mr Chan said he expected the approval process to take six to eight months, indicating building may start next year.

Construction would take about two years, he said, adding that it was too early to discuss capital costs.

Macau's tourist arrivals hit a record 4.27 million last year, up a comparative 14 per cent. Based on those growth levels, the present terminal, which was designed to handle six million passengers a year, will reach capacity in three years.

However, a study conducted this year for CAM by Netherlands Airports Consultants offered a more conservative forecast of 7 to 8 per cent growth over the next five years.

"A lot of our volume is still Taiwan, but we expect to see a lot more traffic from the Middle East and Europe, especially from charter operators that have come under pressure from the low-cost carrier boom," Mr Chan said.

However, he ruled out building the second terminal exclusively to cater to budget carriers, as Singapore has done.

"We are constrained by a lack of land," he said.

Macau's foreign investors have been pressing the government to ensure there are enough air links to bring the travellers and punters to their multibillion-dollar entertainment complexes.

The number of hotel rooms is expected to triple to 30,000 in the next four years, according to research by brokerage CLSA.

Two budget carriers to be based in Macau moved along their launch plans this week.

Macau Asia Express said it would start flying in the fourth quarter, while Viva Macau drew nearer to its June launch plans and a US$1.75 billion aircraft order with Boeing.

Both airlines have plans to operate fleets of about 20 aircraft, which will strain the airport's existing infrastructure in the longer term, especially its aircraft parking bays, which are already in short supply.

CAM, which has committed to extend the airport's runway and expand the cargo handling terminal, is also examining the possibility of filling in the water between its two taxiways to cater to interim aircraft parking needs.

Mr Chan said the airport's runway could handle aircraft movements sufficient to bring 25 million people a year to Macau, so another runway was not being planned.

advani_fan

January 7th, 2007, 03:27 PM

i cant see any pics....:(

hkskyline

January 8th, 2007, 08:59 AM

i cant see any pics....:(

They probably have expired by now as the owners might have taken them offline.

Raven83

July 1st, 2007, 04:34 AM

@khskyline dude your pics doesnt show up on my computer...do you have other links to those pics?

hkskyline

July 1st, 2007, 06:53 AM

@khskyline dude your pics doesnt show up on my computer...do you have other links to those pics?

A lot of the pictures in this thread are not mine, so the owner might have taken them offline already.

hkskyline

July 29th, 2007, 06:18 AM

East Star flights to HK, Macau approved
19 July 2007
Hong Kong Standard

Hubei-based East Star Airlines has won approval from mainland aviation regulators to operate flights from Wuhan to Hong Kong and Macau starting in September, bringing the private carrier a step closer to its goal of servicing international destinations.

Currently, Hong Kong's Dragonair and Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines (1055) are the only airlines offering direct flights between Hong Kong and Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province and most populated city in central China with more than nine million people.

Dragonair currently offers four flights a week between Hong Kong and Wuhan.

East Star told a mainland newspaper that it plans to operate one flight a day to Hong Kong and Macau, with one-way fares not exceeding 1,000 yuan (HK$1,034).

The Wuhan carrier will become the first private Chinese airline to fly to Hong Kong and Macau.

China currently has 10 private airlines, all flying domestic routes, excluding the two special administrative regions that were returned to Chinese sovereignty in the late 1990s.

The permission granted by mainland regulators is seen as part of efforts to loosen the country's strictly-controlled aviation sector, East Star said.

So far, state carriers, including the three largest airlines: China Southern, Beijing-based Air China (0753), and Shanghai's China Eastern Airlines (0670) have dominated international destinations, along with several domestic routes such as Shanghai and Beijing.

Meanwhile, the smaller private airlines in China face stringent restrictions in comparison to the government-backed carriers.

East Star, which currently serves cities including Shenzhen, Nanjing, Xian, Haikou and Hangzhou, said it aims at flying to all provincial capitals and will continue to expand overseas. It has also applied to operate flights to Singapore and Thailand.

hkskyline

August 15th, 2007, 07:10 PM

Viva fails to fly under radar
16 August 2007
Herald-Sun

ASIA'S newest start-up airline Viva Macau has run foul of Australia's aviation regulator -- just hours before 200 passengers were to board the first flight from Macau to Sydney.

Viva Macau, owned by United States and Macau-based shareholders, planned to run three return services a week from the gambling hotspot, dubbed China's Las Vegas.

But the plan went awry last night when the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in Canberra shut off access to Australian airspace for the airline's two Boeing 767 250-seat aircraft.

The reason was that an application was lodged too late, just 10 days ago, for a foreign-going Air Operator's Certificate from the Australian government.

BusinessDaily has also learned that AirAsiaX, a Malaysian-based budget airline part-owned by Sir Richard Branson which wants to fly long haul services from Queensland's Gold Coast from late next month, also has yet to lodge its AOC application.

CASA spokesman Peter Gibson said airlines applying for an AOC were told it takes up to 130 days to complete all regulatory approvals.

"Some time ago we advised them (Air Macau) to get it (the application) happening. But they were slow in doing so," Mr Gibson said.

Janis Tse, the carrier's corporate affairs manager, said a major event at Sydney airport, planned for 10am today when the first aircraft landed, had to be postponed.

She added that arrangements were being made to compensate customers booked on the incoming flight and the return service out of Sydney.

Viva Macau is run by Con Korfiatisa, one-time Qantas executive and former boss of Jetstar Asia.

He was appointed chief executive in June after joining the airline last August as chief financial officer.

hkskyline

November 14th, 2007, 04:05 PM

Viva Macau awarded CAPA New Airline of The Year 2007
Corporate Press Release

(Macau, November 1, 2007) - Viva Macau, Asia's newest international low-fare airline, today celebrated its success in contributing to the region's aviation development with the recognition of being the New Airline of The Year.

Viva Macau was honored New Airline of The Year at the Aviation Awards for Excellence Gala Dinner Ceremony held in Singapore on 31 October, and organized by Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), the region's pre-eminent aviation strategists.

Viva Macau's Chief Executive Con Korfiatis said, 'we are very excited and honored with the recognition that reflects Viva Macau's contribution in bringing the world to the new Macau through its launch of an innovative wide-body product and low fares servicing Macau to Asia and beyond.'

'Viva Macau started up at the right time and place. Macau, Asia's best-kept secret until recently, is now one of the hottest destinations in the world,' said Korfiatis.

'Its rapidly developing, hotel, leisure, entertainment, conference and gaming facilities, along with its world heritage sites and architecture makes it a must to visit, and Viva Macau is committed to offering best-value travel option, and being the airline of choice", Korfiatis added.

The CAPA New Airline of the Year category is awarded to the start-up airline that has, in the past 18 months, had the most significant impact in the markets it operates and to the development of aviation in the region.

At the ceremony, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation acknowledged the contribution Viva Macau has made to the low cost long-haul model and in particular to the rapidly evolving aviation scene in the Macau Special Administrative Region.

"Viva Macau epitomizes the excitement and optimism that surrounds the development of Macau as one of the region's leading leisure and entertainment centers. The city is fast becoming one of Asia's most vibrant LCC destinations and Viva Macau, with its significantly tailored model, will play a major catalyst role", said Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Currently, Viva Macau flies directly to Jakarta, Busan, and Sydney. Flights to Tokyo and Hi Chi Minh will commence before the end of the year. Announcement of start dates for these new routes will be made in the coming weeks.

End

hkskyline

November 14th, 2007, 05:58 PM

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skytrax

November 15th, 2007, 01:28 AM

Is great t have a forum about Macau airport, but I can't see any picture...
:ohno:

FM 2258

November 15th, 2007, 05:30 AM

I love the engines on that Eva Air MD-90.

hkskyline

November 15th, 2007, 04:20 PM

By 2700 from a Hong Kong discussion board :
(Notice the Portuguese on the plane's body.)

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hkskyline

November 15th, 2007, 07:47 PM

Budget Carrier Viva Macau to Fly Direct to Ho Chi Minh City

HANOI, November 15, Asia Pulse - In mid-December, Macau's international low-fare airline Viva Macau will begin direct flights from Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City to Macau. The airline's managing director Con Korfiatis said yesterday there would be a return service four times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday on the wide-body aircraft B767.

The first flight is slated for December 14. "Viva Macau will be the first and only direct flight between HCM City and Macau, an attractive destination where visitors may combine relaxation, entertainment and participate in events like seminars and conferences," said Korfiatis.

"It's not only Asia's Las Vegas, it also has multicultural charisma, a unique rich historical background and heritage, and convenient accessibility to major cities of the Pearl River Delta like Shenzhen," he said, adding that visas could be acquired at the immigration gate. The ticket price begins at US$82 for one-way tickets, excluding fees and surcharges.

(VNA)

hkskyline

December 22nd, 2007, 08:53 PM

By macau360 from a Hong Kong discussion forum :

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daloso

December 22nd, 2007, 09:02 PM

NIce pictures!!Do you have a panoramic view of this airport??

CS-TOA

January 16th, 2008, 06:23 AM

Wow! :drool: Amazing pics! :applause:

hkskyline

January 16th, 2008, 07:01 AM

NIce pictures!!Do you have a panoramic view of this airport??

I'll keep an eye on the other sources to see if there is one. There is a place in the hillsides next to the airport that should yield such a view.

hkskyline

February 18th, 2008, 07:41 AM

Over 5 million passengers use Macao airport in 2007

MACAO, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Macao International Airport, the only airport in the island city, recorded 5.5 million passengers and handled 180,000 tons of cargo in 2007, according to a press statement released on Friday by the company that runs the airport.

The airport also saw 53,000 aircraft movements last year, which, combined with the surging volumes of passengers and the cargoes, boosted the revenue of the airport to a new level, the Macao International Airport Company (CAM) said in its statement.

Despite the substantial increase, the current passenger volume and number of aircraft movements has reached 90 percent of the airport's capacity, while cargo handling volume has already exceeded the original capacity of just 160,000 tons, according to the statement.

For this reason, the airport's two extension projects were underway and expected by the end of next year, which will double the airport's area of shopping and dinning outlets and increase the mezzanine floor to 1,855 square meters, said CAM, adding that other development projects will be launched in the near future.

hoosier

February 18th, 2008, 08:02 PM

Macau needs to expand its airport- and by that I mean adding another runway and a new terminal.

It is a booming tourist destination and a bigger airport would help the city's economy immensely.

jefferson2

June 26th, 2008, 05:31 PM

Macau needs to expand its airport- and by that I mean adding another runway and a new terminal.

It is a booming tourist destination and a bigger airport would help the city's economy immensely.

at one point they were talking about building a bridge from hong kong... they don't have so much land to expand the airport, the current one is already over water

hkskyline

December 6th, 2008, 05:11 AM

New horizons for Viva Macau
Budget airline plans to double workforce and fleet size next year
6 December 2008
South China Morning Post

In the face of the global financial crisis and tough regulatory regime, Viva Macau Airlines is planning a major expansion next year in a bid to more than treble passenger numbers.

Chief executive Con Korfiatis said the budget airline had not realised its full potential in the past 12 months due to external factors including the price of oil, limited availability of aircraft and restrictions on adding new routes.

Mr Korfiatis said Viva had a five-year business plan that included adding up to four new aircraft each year. He said the airline, which is operating at a loss, was only flying the two 250-seat capacity planes it started with in December 2006.

The ambitious expansion plan will see Viva's fleet size and workforce more than double next year.

"Our shareholders understand that the airline industry is not one where you open the doors and profits roll in. We expected to lose money for a year or two," Mr Korfiatis said. "We have had profitable months and the loss has been in accordance with our business plan, but we do not want that to go on."

The introduction of new destinations and increased frequency on existing routes is designed to increase passenger numbers from 15,000 a month to more than 50,000. Despite the global financial downturn, Mr Korfiatis is hopeful of adding three new aircraft next year.

"Last year, with everything booming, it was difficult to find any new or used aircraft in the market and that had an impact on our growth, but the global economy is very different now," he said. "Customers seek value in times of economic difficulties, which means Viva Macau remains attractive and sought-after with its low-fare model."

Each additional aircraft will require at least 50 new staff, mainly cabin crew and pilots. Staff will be recruited from around the world, as there are not enough qualified people in Macau. The airline currently employs 160 people from 30 countries.

"The new year will see Viva Macau doubling its staff size, as we have planned to increase the frequency of our existing routes to Sydney, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta," Mr Korfiatis said. "We are considering launching additional ports in Australia, Indonesia, Japan and Korea as well as new destinations in the Middle East, India and Russia."

Mr Korfiatis said finding staff, particularly experienced pilots, had been difficult and time-consuming, but the global economic crisis should ease the human resources shortage in the airline industry.

"With uncertainties and the global economic issues faced now, many airlines are downsizing and the pool of available professionals is increasing significantly," he said. "This is now an advantage for Viva Macau, as contrary to other airlines we plan to grow our airline significantly in 2009."

Pilots and cabin crew applying for positions must pass written and practical examinations based on safety rules set by Macau's Civil Aviation Authority. Technical qualifications are updated annually and cabin crew must undergo customer service training.

Despite being only in its second year of operation, Mr Korfiatis said Viva Macau offered competitive remuneration packages aimed at attracting "world-class candidates". He said human resources and Macau's aviation regulatory system were the biggest challenges.

"The fact is there is really not enough of an understanding of what an aviation industry should be and the role it needs to play in the development of the place," he said. "The multiplier effect that aviation contributes to the economy is massive."

Mr Korfiatis said authorities in cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore understood the situation very well and had developed regulatory regimes to create a strong, healthy industry.

"The regulatory environment in Macau is completely the opposite," he said. "It is not aggressive enough to promote the city."

The civil aviation industry in Macau is run by the government, which allocates flying concessions to carriers, much like it does with gaming licences. Viva Macau has a sub-concession and any new destination must be approved by the government and concession holder Air Macau.

"A concession environment is not appropriate for Macau or the industry," Mr Korfiatis said. "It needs to be promoting growth, especially in a city that is growing so fast, but it simply does not do that."

Mr Korfiatis said under the Macau regulatory system he was unsure if Viva would gain approval for all of the new destinations it planned to introduce next year. He said many of them were untapped markets, which meant that they should be approved, and he was confident of gaining approval for increased frequency on current routes and additional destinations to existing countries.

"All the routes we operate have shown signs of growth," he said. "Arrivals from Australia have grown 50 per cent, Vietnam 60 to 70 per cent, Indonesia 70 per cent and Japan about 35 per cent.

hkskyline

December 20th, 2008, 02:51 PM

Macau International Airport 2008 Performance Review and 2009 Prospects
Date: 2008-12-19
Speech of Dr. Deng Jun, Chairman of Board of Directors of Macau International Airport Company Limited

Progression for the“Three Direct Links”achieved breakthrough in 2008, with its implementation fulfilled on 15 December. It is a dream that has been longing for among all Chinese in the world. It opens up a new prospect for mutual unification, interaction, cooperation and development across the strait. Direct flight is beneficial to communication and exchange of trade, economy and people between the two places, and it also creates multi-win conditions for the aviation sector and the travelers. At the meantime, part of the Macau aviation industry may be affected, but it will not last long. With Taiwan’s open policy for Mainland travelers, the pattern of tourism market between the strait changed from one-way to two-way. In the long run, it may be seen as another opportunity for the Macau aviation sector. In recent years, Macau International Airport has already re-positioned as a destination airport. Should the aviation policy be adjusted to a more open sky approach to integrate with the tourism development in Macau, for sure it will further drive the aviation industry to move forward.

Foreseeing that the“Three Direct Links”would eventually come one day, Macau International Airport has started its transformation from transit/transfer airport to destination airport back in 2004, with the purpose to re-position its market structure. However, the global economic crisis came so quick and unexpected that it shocked almost every industry in the world. This has become a new topic and challenge that deserves Macau International Airport to study.

2008 Performance Review

2008 is a difficult year for global aviation industry: oil price soared to historical high in June, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt in September, followed by world-wide spread economic tsunami, causing the global demand for air traffic to fall significantly.

Besides the aforesaid negative factors, Macau aviation industry also has to face additional impacts arising from extraordinary incidents such as : severe snow disaster in beginning of the year, riot in Tibet in March, Sichuan earthquake which shocked the world in May, weekend direct charter flights between the strait in July, visa control policy on Mainland FIT travelers to Macau started from August, Macau economic growth slowed down since September, some casino projects suspended in November, one of Macau’s important market-Bangkok, closed its airports, and most recently the opening up of direct daily flights between the strait. All these vigorous changes in the external environment brought big challenges to the aviation sector.

Although confronting all these difficulties and challenges, Macau International Airport (MIA) succeeded in introducing 3 international airlines flying into Macau in 2008 : Jetstar Asia flies from Singapore, Philippine Airlines flies from Manila, and Bangkok Airways flies from Bangkok. Currently, there are 15 airlines serving 27 destinations from MIA.

From January to November 2008, MIA handled 4,743,549 passengers, 96 thousand tones of cargo, and 46,404 aircraft movements, representing a drop of 5.76%、42.2% and 4.9% respectively when compared to the same period of last year. Despite all of the negative external factors, it is estimated that the total number of passengers travelled via Macau International Airport in 2008 will still be the second highest since its inauguration in 1995. In General, although the overall total passenger volume is expected to drop by 6% this year, the point to point passengers increase by 26%, LCC passengers increase by 36%, and the non-mainstream market passengers (excluding Mainland and Taiwan markets) significantly increase by 41%.

Under the constraint of global economic crisis and the open aviation market policy in Mainland, the airport cargo business is facing even more severe challenges. But it is worthwhile to mention that MIA was honored to receive the “2008 Air Cargo - Award of Excellence” for achieving a superior overall score from the readers of Air Cargo World magazine for the third year. Also received from the Asian Freight and Supply Chain Award for “Best Emerging Airport – Asia” for the third year as well. These achievements show that the ability of cargo handling and service quality of MIA was recognized in the world.

2009 Prospects

It is estimated that the global economic crisis will continue to spread in 2009, and will further influence the world and the development of Macau aviation industry. Besides, unpredictable issues and unfavorable situations may happen at any time.

Although Macau's civil aviation industry is facing severe challenges, the Macau International Airport will, as usual, persist in pursuing “security, efficiency and effectiveness” as core values and goals. With the spirit of developing and improving our services appropriately, and acting within the limits of our own resources and capability, in year 2009, Macau International Airport will : continue to improve and enhance our service and operation level ; also continue to deepen our efforts in repositioning our market structure, so as to overcome the difficulties with airlines together ; strengthen market development and promotional efforts for diversification of passenger and cargo markets to improve our ability to resist risks.

Continue to invest in necessary infrastructure improvement projects in MIA such as: improve safety standard of the runway, finish renovating all washrooms, completion of upgrading the communication and navigation system, improvement of the internal and external environments of the terminal building, rebuild the facilities of smoking areas, launch the expansion of the South Terminal Building Projects at different stages, etc.

It is our social responsibility to build and run a green airport. Using information technology is the main future development path for us to go. We pursue green and sustainable development.

Continue to play a role as the communication platform between the airports in China and Portuguese-speaking countries, push ahead the cooperation and interaction between them. Utilize the economic cooperation platform of Portuguese-speaking countries to work with other airlines and develop long haul freight transportation.

Last but not least, continue to strengthen the professional training to our staff for improvement of the overall comprehensive quality and professional knowledge. Keep on encouraging employees to concern about development of the community and to advocate support of public charity, so as to grow with our community and society together.

hkskyline

December 26th, 2008, 12:56 PM

澳門消息︰兩岸擴大通航使澳機場客量減6%
【14:42】2008年12月26日

【on.cc 專訊】澳門國際機場公布上月共有3500多班飛機升降，訪澳旅客約有36.6萬人，較去年同期下跌6%，澳門航空運輸業界表示，海峽兩岸擴大包機服務範圍後，澳門將流失一批中轉乘客，認為機場和航空公司需要開辦更多新航線吸引客源。另外，數據顯示，澳門今年首11個月機場旅客量約為474萬人次，其中台灣航線佔總客量41%，達193萬人次、其次的內地航線則佔24%，約有114萬人次，而第三和第四位分別為馬來西亞和泰國航線，客量分別為52萬和42萬人次。

hkskyline

February 6th, 2009, 08:33 PM

Commercial flight movements at Macao's airport down 7 pct in 2008

MACAO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Commercial flight movements at the Macao International Airport decreased by 7 percent year-on-year to 46,036 in 2008, according to the figures released on Friday by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

The DSEC figures showed that the Chinese mainland and China's Taiwan, and Malaysia were the major routes that accounted for 27 percent, 38 percent, and 10 percent of the total commercial flights to/from Macao. Helicopter flights between Macao and Hong Kong totaled 17,553 and those between Macao and mainland were 2, 933, down by 1 percent and 4 percent respectively from 2007.

Outward air cargo fell sharply by 40 percent year-on-year to 41, 548 tons in 2008. China's Taiwan and mainland were the main destinations that accounted for 67 percent and 11 percent of the total, respectively. Meanwhile, inward air cargo decreased by 27 percent to 16,705 tons, with those from Taiwan taking a predominant share of 83 percent. Transit air cargo dropped significantly by 52 percent over 2007 to 42,515 tons.

In addition, traffic flow by land between Macao and the mainland decreased by 1 percent to 3.79 million vehicle trips and the Border Gate in 2008, which connects Macao with the neighboring mainland city Zhuhai, was the major passage that took up 81 percent of the total.

As for passenger transport by sea, the transport between Macao and Hong Kong decreased by 4 percent compared with 2007 to 84,375 ferry trips in 2008, while that between Macao and the mainland increased by 20 percent to 20,914 trips.

hkskyline

February 27th, 2009, 10:36 AM

Bangkok Airways to cancel Macao route

MACAO, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Bangkok Airways will stop its flight routes to Macao at the end of March 2009, the Macao Daily Times reported on Thursday, quoting information posted on the airline's website.

The move has left Macao Government Tourist Office (MGTO) in Thailand concerned, when the company was reportedly re-assessing its flights to and from Macao last month, the daily said.

MGTO marketing officer Nantana Pitpeeraka said at the time that "if the airline cancels the flight, it would mean a loss of 120 seats a day or a potential 840 arrivals a week."

The daily also said that the airline will maintain its current network of routes and flight frequency, except for the Bangkok- Macao route.

urbanfan89

February 27th, 2009, 11:27 AM

Anyone know what the airport's business plan will be, now that its golden goose (mainland to Taiwan traffic) has been killed?

hkskyline

March 3rd, 2009, 12:51 PM

Anyone know what the airport's business plan will be, now that its golden goose (mainland to Taiwan traffic) has been killed?

There is interest from low-cost carriers to use Macau as an alternative base for Hong Kong. AirAsia and Viva Macau have a sizeable local presence, among others.

hkskyline

April 17th, 2009, 02:35 PM

Budget Airline Jin Air to Fly to Bangkok, Macau
2 April 2009
Korea Times
By Kim Rahn

Jin Air, Korean Air's budget affiliate, has selected China and Thailand as its first two destinations for international service.

The budget carrier, which started domestic service last July, said it would start international operation starting in October to Macau and Bangkok. Airfare will be about 80 percent of that of full service carriers.

``We are also considering operating to cities in nations with which Korea has made `open sky' pacts, such as Osaka in Japan and the Shandong Peninsula in China. We'll add three more destinations by the end of this year,'' Kim Jae-kun, president and CEO of Jin Air, said in a media briefing in Seoul, Monday.

Kim said Jin Air's competitor on the international routes to Southeast Asia is not Korean Air but foreign carriers which take up 60-70 percent of the market, especially low cost ones.

``We can guarantee much better safety than those budget airlines. We may be able to lower fare to similar levels,'' Kim said.

For the plan, the carrier will adopt one more aircraft within the year. It now has four B737-800s.

The airline also expanded domestic operations between Seoul and Jeju to 24 from 16 last Sunday, and will newly provide eight daily service between Busan and Jeju Friday.

``We had 10 billion won in sales last year, and aim to get 90 billion won this year along with the launch of international operation. We hope we can reach the break-even point in 2010 and lead the budget air travel market here,'' Kim said.

He said one of the strongest points of Jin Air is safety ― the airline was recently listed on the International Air Transport Association (IATA)'s IATA Operational Safety Audits (IOSA) registry, an evaluation system to assess the operational management and control systems of airlines.

Jin Air is the first budget airline in Korea to pass the audit, and it obtained approval eight months after the service launch, the shortest time of every carrier in the world. ``We passed the audit without any findings or observations and were recognized as `perfect.' It showed our commitment to safety,'' Kim said.

The airline has 10 percent discount programs for corporations, available not only to workers of the companies but also their family members. The program will apply to international flights as well.

hkskyline

June 22nd, 2009, 05:21 PM

Airlines cutting back on service to Macau
22 June 2009
South China Morning Post

Flight cancellations by airlines serving Macau have soared in the wake of the financial crisis, as hard-hit carriers struggle to respond to plunging cargo volumes and passenger traffic.

China Eastern Airlines has cancelled all of its scheduled flights to and from the gaming hub in the first three months of the year, compared with an already dismal 67.7 per cent cancellation rate in the second half of last year, figures from the Macau Civil Aviation Authority show.

Fujian-based Xiamen Airlines slashed 59 per cent of Macau flights and Malaysia Airlines cancelled 38 per cent. Debt-laden East Star, a private carrier based in Wuhan whose licence was revoked by regulators in March, slashed 40 per cent of its Macau flights in the first quarter.

Financially troubled flag carrier Air Macau, which captured 35.1 per cent of passenger market share on Macau routes during the first four months of the year, cancelled 9 per cent of its flights in the first quarter.

Separately, local press reports last week said Portuguese carrier TAP was considering selling its 15 per cent stake in Air Macau, which is 51 per cent held by state-owned China National Aviation Corporation.

Aviation authority president Simon Chan Wing-hung said in a written reply to local legislators that the cancellations were due not only to the effects of the financial crisis, but the increase in the number of direct flights between the mainland and Taiwan. Flights to and from Taiwan still accounted for 43.5 per cent of Macau's total air traffic in the year to April. The figure was up from 40.69 per cent of passenger traffic last year but down from 46 per cent in 2007.

But Mr Chan said low-cost airlines appeared to be riding out the downturn better and had suffered few, if any, cancellations. Malaysia-based Air Asia cancelled none of its Macau flights in the first quarter and captured a 14.7 per cent market share on passenger traffic. Homegrown budget airline Viva Macau cancelled only 4 per cent of its flights and had a 3.9 per cent market share.

In the first four months of the year, passenger traffic in Macau fell 21.7 per cent from a year ago, while cargo volumes plummeted 65.7 per cent, according to figures from Macau International Airport. Aircraft movements have declined 22.4 per cent over the same period.

Visitor arrivals by plane and helicopter accounted for 7.9 per cent of Macau's total visits in April, while 41.8 per cent of visitors arrived by sea and 50.3 per cent by land.

hkskyline

July 15th, 2009, 03:36 AM

Air China buys 1.25 pct Air Macau stake -report

HONG KONG, July 15 (Reuters) - Two companies controlled by Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho have sold a combined 1.25 percent stake in financially troubled Air Macau to a unit of China flagship carrier Air China , the South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

The stake sale for an undisclosed sum was confirmed by sources at Air China , a unit of Air Macau controlling shareholder China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC). The deal comes weeks after Air Macau's shareholders voted to approve a 507.3 million pataca (US$65 million) rescue package by the Macau government, the newspaper said.

Ho, whose term ay the top post in Macau ends in December, was a founding shareholder of Air Macau when the airline was set up in 1994.

CNAC's voting interest in the Macau airline increases to 52.25 percent following the deal, the paper said.

Other shareholders include Portugese airline TAP, which holds a 15 percent stake, and Sociedade de Turismoe Diversoes de Macau with 14 percent. Portugese-owned lender BNU, Taiwan's Evergreen Airways and the Macau government each hold 5 percent.

It gave no further financial details.

Late on Tuesday, Air China said it expected to see at least a 50 percent year-on-year rise in profit for the first half of 2009 as fuel purchase costs fell and the domestic air passenger market showed stable growth.

hkskyline

July 24th, 2009, 03:31 PM

Stake sale casts new light on Macau Inc Family ties loom large in enclave's corporate affairs
24 July 2009
South China Morning Post

On several fronts, Macau's economy ranks among the freest in the world. Like Hong Kong, it is a free port with no import or export duties on transshipments. Profit and income tax rates, capped at only 12 per cent, are the lowest in Asia.

But, as has also been the case in Hong Kong, large swathes of the enclave's domestic economy have for years been carved up into a number of lucrative de jure and de facto monopolies.

And while the builders of the flashy Las Vegas-style casinos may dominate news flow out of the city, the real face of Macau Inc consists of a small and politically influential group of business families that have loomed large over most aspects of the city's domestic economy for decades.

The oft-blurred lines between business and government in the city were highlighted anew with the recent sale by the family of Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah of a 1.25 per cent stake in financially troubled Air Macau to a subsidiary of mainland flag carrier Air China.

The Air Macau stake, sold to majority shareholder Air China's wholly owned subsidiary CNAC (Macau) last month as the technically insolvent airline launched a government-backed 507.3 million pataca bailout plan, was only a small part of Mr Ho's economic footprint in Macau. Many of the family's holdings are legacy assets of the empire left behind by Mr Ho's father, the late Tai Fung Bank founder Ho Yin.

The sprawling nature of his father's businesses and his own endeavours since taking over the helm at Tai Fung in the early 1980s have sometimes complicated Mr Ho's role as the top official in Macau.

As he prepared to assume office following Macau's handover by Portugal in December 1999, Mr Ho transferred nearly all of his personal business holdings to other members of the family or trusted friends. But he would appear to have overlooked several interests.

From 1991 to 2003, inclusive of his first four years in office as the chief executive of Macau, Mr Ho served as a director of the private Hong Kong-registered firm Viable.

Viable was established in 1987 and, along with Shun Tak Holdings, maintains a controlling stake in Sociedade de Turismo e Desenvolvimento Insular (STDI), which owns the Macau Golf and Country Club and the attached Westin resort hotel, according to Hong Kong and Macau companies registry filings and Shun Tak's filings to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Mr Ho's fellow directors at Viable included gaming magnate Stanley Ho Hung-sun and jewellery and property tycoon Cheng Yu-tung, who heads New World Development and Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, registry filings show.

Other directors included Macau leaders like National People's Congress Standing Committee member Ma Man-kei and Roque Choi, the former Portuguese secretary to Ho Yin and an uncle of former Hong Kong chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan.

For years, Mr Ho's family-run Tai Fung held a minority stake in the firm, according to Hong Kong companies registry filings. Mr Ho resigned as a director of Viable on October 29, 2003.

Apart from Viable, Mr Ho and two brothers inherited from their father a small interest in Many Town, a Hong Kong firm that holds a substantial stake in Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM). STDM controlled Macau's gaming monopoly for four decades until 2002 and remains the controlling shareholder of Stanley Ho's SJM Holdings.

Mr Ho in 2007 announced that he had transferred the Many Town stake to one of his brothers in 1995, well before assuming office. But Hong Kong companies registry filings did not reflect that transfer.

Many Town's annual filings continued to list Mr Ho and two brothers as shareholders until April 2 last year, when their stake was transferred to Braniff Assets, a British Virgin Islands company.

The Macau government did not respond to e-mail inquiries from the South China Morning Post.

And then there is the Air Macau stake. Government-issued concessions for monopolies, duopolies and oligopolies in Macau range from the most obvious - the six casino licensees - to activities and industries including horse and dog racing, ferry services, sports betting, lottery sales, electricity, water, bus services, taxis, rubbish collection and helicopter services. And airlines.

Air Macau holds a monopoly concession on operating air services from the city, but the licence has lost some of its exclusivity in recent years as several "subconcessions" have been granted to smaller start-ups.

Still, for the most part, Air Macau enjoys the right of first refusal on route allocations and dominates the lucrative passenger flows to and from Taiwan.

Mr Ho, whose term as chief executive expires in December this year, was a founding shareholder of Air Macau when it was established in 1994 through two local companies he controlled together with his wife: Tenways and Tengood.

On assuming his present office in 1999, Mr Ho transferred control of the firms to other family members. According to Macau-based Portuguese newspaper Ponto Final, which first reported the sale of the Air Macau stake, Tenways is controlled by Mr Ho's mother, Chan King, while control of Tengood was transferred on June 6 to Mr Ho's son, Justin Ho King-man.

The sale of the stake to Air China came just weeks after shareholders of the troubled airline voted on April 15 to approve a government-backed 507.3 million pataca bailout package.

Air Macau's financial rescue plan includes an injection of 200 million patacas in taxpayer funds from the Macau government, which Mr Ho heads, prompting some observers to speculate that the sale of the family stake was a timely effort to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.

CNAC's purchase of the Ho family stake lifts its voting interest in Air Macau to 52.25 per cent.

Other substantial shareholders with voting rights include Portuguese airline TAP with 15 per cent and STDM with 14 per cent.

Locally incorporated and Portuguese-owned lender BNU, Taiwan's Evergreen Airways and the Macau government each hold a 5 per cent stake in the airline.

Air Macau has operated at a loss for several years and slipped into technical insolvency as of December last year with a net asset value of negative HK$104.2 million, Air China said in a June 1 filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Because Air Macau's equity value sank far below the legal threshold of 50 per cent its registered share capital, Macau corporate law mandated that existing shareholders either inject new funding or dissolve the company.

The resulting bailout plan was passed by a two-thirds majority of shareholders on April 15, but not all shareholders were happy as it required them to contribute new capital to a money-losing business facing declining passenger and cargo volumes.

TAP took legal action and earlier this month won an injunction from a Macau court that has temporarily suspended the restructuring plan from proceeding further.

It is interesting to note that Tenways, one of the holding companies for the Ho family stake in Air Macau before the sale, has been an investor in other Macau business interests alongside Chui Sai-cheong.

Mr Chui hails from another influential local business family and serves as an indirectly elected member of the local legislature.

His younger brother, Fernando Chui Sai-on, is running unopposed to succeed Mr Ho as Macau's next chief executive. He is expected to take office in December.

hkskyline

December 19th, 2009, 06:35 AM

Viva Macau considers service to Hanoi
8 December 2009
The Saigon Times Daily

HCMC - Viva Macau Airlines is looking for the opportunity to fly to Hanoi after two years of operating successful flights to HCMC, the low-cost air carrier’s chief executive officer Reginald Macdonald said.

“We are very keen in starting new service to Hanoi,Macdonald said in a statement released before Viva Macau inaugurated its new reservations and ticketing office at the Sheraton Saigon Hotel in HCMC yesterday.

Macdonald told the Daily after the opening that Viva Macau was evaluating the Hanoi market and expected to launch flights to the capital city soon.

“We would love to be able to start our service to Hanoi in time for the Tet holiday (Lunar New Year).

He stressed Vietnam was one of the best markets for Viva Macau and that the airline was looking to further expansion in this market.

“Overall, Vietnam is a country that is very good for us?That’s why we increased our frequency (to HCMC),he said.

Viva Macau started to fly daily between Macau and HCMC since July this year from its previous four weekly flights. “The number of passengers has almost doubled for Viva Macau’s both flights to and from Vietnam compared to the first half of this year.

Though Macdonald did not reveal the average seat occupancy of Viva Macau’s flights to and from Vietnam in 2009, he said the load factor of both business and economy-class seats was good and grew significantly.

“I cannot disclose the exact figures but I can say that we are quite happy with the market development and the increase as it is going to the direction that we want,Macdonald said.

He explained Viva Macau had attracted a lot of tourists. On top of that, business people of small and medium-enterprises in Vietnam are flying with the carrier to Macau to do business and more Chinese businessmen are coming to HCMC with the same purpose.

“So, we see good growth in both segments,Macdonald said. He referred to the opening of the new office at the Sheraton Saigon as a sign of the carrier’s growing commitment to Vietnam and part of its partnership with the five-star hotel on Dong Khoi Street in downtown HCMC.

Macdonald said Viva Macau and the Sheraton Saigon would cooperate in promoting their services and packages for leisure and business travelers from Macau and China to HCMC.

Macdonald said Viva Macau was about to launch more services to Japan and Australia to offer more connecting flights for passengers departing from HCMC. As scheduled, the airline will commence twice weekly service between Macau and Melbourne from this Wednesday and Sapporo from December 19.

Also yesterday, Viva Macau announced promotional fares starting from US$49 for a single trip between Macau and HCMC.

hkskyline

December 24th, 2009, 08:53 AM

DanielFigFoz

December 24th, 2009, 07:21 PM

Is there any chance of TAP starting to fly there again?

hkskyline

December 29th, 2009, 10:46 AM

Is there any chance of TAP starting to fly there again?

Yikes ... haven't heard of this one actually. There is a sizeable Portuguese population in Macau, but I don't think it's large enough to sustain regular service for this long-haul, which would likely need an A330-type big jet. I presume TAP would probably be able to better fill so much capacity heading to Africa or Brazil.

DanielFigFoz

December 30th, 2009, 12:44 AM

I know that TAP did fly there for one year, the first year of operation, one route to Lisbon and one to Bangkok I think. I am aware the Portuguese people do go to and from Macau but how they get there I don't know really, Portuguese Airport»Other European Airport»Hong Kong»Ferry seems like al ot really. Or perhaps Portugal»European Country»Asian Country»Macau?

hkskyline

January 11th, 2010, 04:01 PM

Viva Macau To Start Flights To Hanoi From Feb 13 - Report
23 December 2009

HANOI (Dow Jones)--Viva Macau Airlines will start direct air services between Macau and Hanoi from Feb. 13, Vietnamese state media said Thursday.

The carrier will offer three flights a week on the route, Hanoi Moi newspaper reported, citing the airline.

Here is the detailed press release :

Viva Macau Airlines Announces New Services Between Macau and Hanoi and Special Fares

(December 23, 2009) Macau, SAR - Viva Macau Airlines, Macau's international award-winning airline, today announced its newest destination: Hanoi, Vietnam. As the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years, Hanoi is a cultural center with a rich history and now an attractive tourism destination famous for its art galleries and culture. The Hanoi service further expands Viva Macau's coverage of the growing Vietnam market into Macau, complementing Viva Macau's daily flights to Ho Chi Minh City.

The new Hanoi service will commence from 13 February 2010 just in time for the Tet holiday! There are three flights weekly on every Tuesday/ Thursday/ Saturday, with a choice of morning, evening or afternoon flight with ZG257 departing Macau at 7:45, 20:10 and 14:20 arriving in Hanoi at 8:45, 21:10 and 15:20, and return flight ZG256 departing Hanoi at 9:30, 21:55 and 16:20 arriving in Macau at 12:30, 0:55 and 19:20 respectively.

To celebrate the inauguration of Hanoi service, Viva Macau launches special off-peak fares from only USD25 one way on Economy Class between Macau and Hanoi. Business Class tickets are also available from USD199 only. Taxes and surcharges are exclusive. Tickets are on sale now on Viva Macau website www.flyvivamacau.com and through all participating travel agencies!

"Macau and Hanoi are both rich in cultural heritage as well as being vibrant growth economies. We are pleased to provide a direct bridge for travelers between our two cities." said Dr Reg Macdonald, Viva Macau CEO "We are committed to serving and growing the Vietnam market. We recently opened our new ticketing and reservations office in partnership with Sheraton Saigon Hotel and celebrated the 2nd anniversary of our Ho Chi Minh City service. With the addition of the new Hanoi flights, we will cover the two major cities of Vietnam and provide better direct connections than ever before between Macau and Vietnam. Also our Vietnamese visitors have the option to transit via Macau to reach other Viva Macau destinations in Japan, Australia, Indonesia as well as next door in China."

Viva Macau Airlines, Macau's award winning international airline with the motto "We Mean the World to Macau", offers value-for-money International air fares and in-flight service to make travel fun, enjoyable and convenient. Viva Macau flies direct from Macau to Ho Chi Minh City, Tokyo, Sapporo, Jakarta, Sydney and Melbourne.

soorox

January 12th, 2010, 09:07 AM

I am pretty dissapointed with Macau Airport, I flew ZG to HCMC on the 28th and nothing was opened, there are not alot of food outlets at the airport and some proces were high, but overall it is clean and a very modern airport, but when I was there I just saw no traffic at all! Only Viva Macau's 3 767's were present. Macau does get awfully cold and try walking up a staircase when icy cold air rushes against your body!

hkskyline

January 18th, 2010, 05:33 PM

It's a small airport. If you're looking for shops and restaurants, the casinos have plenty of choice nearby!

hkskyline

January 19th, 2010, 11:26 AM

Passenger throughput drops 16.6 pct Macao airport in 2009
18 January 2010

MACAO, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Macao International Airport (MIA) recorded 4,250,249 passengers last year, representing a year-on-year decrease of 16.6 percent, the airport announced on Monday on its website.

The airport also recorded 52,464 tons of cargo and 40,601 of aircraft movements last year, representing a year-on-year decrease of 47.9 percent and 18.4 percent respectively, according to the website.

The decrease was mainly owing to the sharp drop of 58 percent in transfer passengers.

The airport said MIA was confronted simultaneously with a variety of challenges in 2009, including the global economic downturn, the H1N1 pandemic, and the fast development of regular direct cross-strait flights.

However, Asia's economy that is picking up will boost demand for air transport and travel services. MIA air traffic has shown signs of recovery with passenger and cargo throughput seeing significant growth in December of 2009.

Passenger throughput at MIA reached 388,573 in December, up 9.7 percent compared with the same period of 2008. Cargo throughput also increased 25.6 percent year-on-year to 5,601 tons.

soorox

January 19th, 2010, 07:38 PM

Viva Macau will axe Sydney & offer Melbourne with an additional weekly service from March 28! Looks like the Melbourne market is doing good for them!

http://peanuts.aero/low_cost_airline_news/airline/33026/59/Viva+Macau+increases+services+in+response+to+strong+Melbourne+market

http://www.impactpub.com.au/micebtn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5939&Itemid=49

hkskyline

January 27th, 2010, 07:44 AM

Viva Macau says imminent service to Hanoi agreeable
20 January 2010
The Saigon Times Daily

HANOI - Viva Macau Airlines yesterday announced in a press conference in Hanoi that its soon-to-start service to Hanoi has generated overwhelming response since tickets became available for sale in December.

The airline will launch the direct service from Macau to Hanoi on February 13 with the inaugural flight already sold out, said a high-ranking representative from Viva Macau.

There will be morning, afternoon and evening flights every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday between Macau and Hanoi, besides the operational service to HCMC.

“We are very excited to see the positive response from our customers. The Hanoi inaugural flight has sold out within two weeks,?said Reg Macdonald, CEO of Viva Macau, at the press conference.

“We are committed to serving and growing the Vietnam market. With the addition of the new Hanoi flights, we will cover the two major cities in Vietnam and provide better connections than ever before between Macau and Vietnam? he added.

Viva Macau pins high hopes on the increase of Vietnamese visitors who will have the option to transit via Macau to other Viva Macau destinations in Japan, Australia, Indonesia, China and Hong Kong.

Viva Macau Airlines is extending its special off-peak fares from only US$25 one-way (economy class) between Macau and Hanoi to celebrate the inauguration of the new service.

Business/Premium Class tickets are also available from US$199, excluding taxes and surcharges.

According to TransViet Travel, exclusive marketing agent for Viva Macau in Hanoi, the special Hanoi promotion is available for booking until January 25 for travel between February 18 and October 24.

Viva Macau Airlines operates direct flights from Macau to HCMC, Tokyo, Sapporo, Jakarta, Sydney and Melbourne.

hkskyline

February 11th, 2010, 04:50 PM

Macao SAR signs air services agreement with Japan
10 February 2010

MACAO, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The governments of Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Japan Wednesday signed the Air Services Agreement to strengthen the air link between the two sides.

The signing ceremony was held at the SAR's Government Headquarters, and it was the first air pact officially signed after the formation of the new SAR government in December 2009.

With the conclusion of the bilateral Air Services Agreement between the two sides, "I am confident that the tourism market as well as the development of trade and commerce between Macao and Japan can further be enhanced", said Lau Si Io, the SAR's secretary for transport and public works, at the signing ceremony.

Under the new air pact, the restriction on airline designation and flight capacity will be lifted, and the Air Macao, the SAR's flagship airline, will operate three weekly scheduled flights between Macao and Tokyo starting from March 28 this year.

Japan possesses rich tourism resources and has always been a popular destination among the Macao residents, while Macao, being listed as the 31st designated World Heritage site in China, is also an attractive tourist destination with mixed cultures of East and West, said Lau.

The number of Japanese tourists visiting Macao has risen by an average of 30 percent year-on-year for the past five years, and they ranked No. 4 in the SAR's inbound tourist market, according to the figures from the SAR government.

Currently, Air Macao operates a daily flight between Macao and Osaka, and Viva Macao flies to Tokyo with four weekly frequencies.

hkskyline

February 25th, 2010, 03:48 AM

Viva Macau flies to Hanoi to further tap growing market
Domestic air traffic remains very tight after Tet
22 February 2010
The Saigon Times Daily

HCMC - Viva Macau has launched direct service to Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi after over two years of running services to HCMC in a move to further capitalize on the local growing aviation market.

The low-fare international airline now has three weekly Macau-Hanoi flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in addition to the daily flight to HCMC.

It takes two hours for Viva Macau to complete its Macau-Hanoi service, which was launched just in time for the Lunar New Year festival, or Tet in Vietnam. The one-way fare starts from US$59 for the economy class and from US$299 for the business class.

Viva Macau CEO Reginald Macdonald said the direct flights to Hanoi besides the HCMC services would certainly create a stronger linkage between Vietnam and Macau, the destinations that he described as “both rich in culture and very unique.?

“This is a great step for tourism in both directions,?Macdonald said.

Bookings for this new route are very high and exceed 80% for certain flights, according to TransViet Travel, which acts as general sales agent for the carrier in Vietnam.? Macdonald told the Daily in an earlier encounter in HCMC last December when he revealed the Hanoi service plan that Vietnam was one of the best markets for Viva Macau and that the airline was committed to growing in this market.

His view was echoed by the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) as this authority said Vietnam’s overall aviation market still registered positive growth of 8.4% in the number of passengers last year when the global industry was still facing tough business.

The growing market is one of the reasons for Viva Macau to increase the frequency to HCMC from four flights a week to daily service last year. Macdonald said the number of passenger had almost doubled for the carrier’s flights to and from Vietnam.

* Though the Lunar New Year celebration is over, local airlines are still very busy with their domestic flights to transport people back to their homes and work, and passengers find it nearly impossible to buy tickets for the flights from the north to the south.

Jetstar Pacific said the seats on its flights from Hanoi, Vinh and Haiphong cities to HCMC in the coming week had been fully booked before Tet so people would only have a chance to buy tickets for the flights this week in case ticket holders abort their trips. ?

Seat occupancy on the domestic flights of Vietnam Airlines from the north to the south is in the same situation, especially for the economy class because passengers had secured seats for returning to HCMC after Tet.

The local demand always jumps before the first day of the Lunar New Year for the flights from HCMC to Hanoi, Vinh and Haiphong and after Tet in the opposite direction.?

The demand during this Tet season was much higher than the year-earlier period as more people wanted to travel by air.

During this Tet holiday, Vietnam Airlines operates an additional 986 flights from February 1 to 28, with the number of seats for the HCMC-Hanoi route up from 50% to more than 100% over normal days, or equivalent to 8,200 seats a day for one-way flights.

Vietnam Airlines sees an increase of 28% in seating capacity on the HCMC-Hanoi route for the Tet season this year compared to the same period last year and 32% for the flights between HCMC and Danang.

Jetstar Pacific told the Daily yesterday that it conducted more than 1,000 flights during the Lunar New Year 2010, an increase of 40% compared to the number for the country’s biggest and longest holiday last year.

The low-cost carrier already transported the 3 millionth passenger on the Tet holiday since it was renamed Jetstar Pacific in May 2008 from Pacific Airlines.

hkskyline

March 2nd, 2010, 02:17 PM

Korean Air offers code-sharing flights from Incheon to Macao

SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) -- Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's largest air carrier, said Thursday it has launched code-sharing flights with Air Macau Co., the Chinese island's No.1 airline, on the Incheon-Macao route.

The daily Korean Air flight departs from South Korea's main international gateway at 8 a.m. and returns at 2:10 p.m. on a code-sharing basis with Air Macau.

hkskyline

March 5th, 2010, 05:13 PM

TWO DESTINATIONS FOR ONE AIRFARE: Easy Connections to Hong Kong on Viva Macau
Press Release

(1 March 2010) Macau SAR - Viva Macau Airlines, Macau's international award-winning airlines, today announced that Viva Macau passengers on the airline's Melbourne route will be offered free connecting ferry tickets to Hong Kong via the "CotaiJet" high speed ferry.

Book now with Viva Macau Airlines and you could be taking in the sights of Macau and catching the quick and easy 45-minute ferry ride to Hong Kong on the high speed "CotaiJet" departing from beside the Macau International Airport for free.

Dr Reg Macdonald, Viva Macau Airlines CEO said, "Flying with Viva Macau Airlines to Macau is ideal; now, in effect, you can reach Hong Kong with Viva Macau too! The Viva Macau offer, in cooperation with the high speed "CotaiJet" Ferry service, means Viva Macau customers can travel to Hong-Kong for FREE after their arrival in Macau".

"By offering our customers FREE return ferry tickets to Hong Kong, we are helping holiday budgets go further, so our customers can experience more while traveling. Passengers can redeem their CotaiJet ferry tickets by presenting their Viva Macau boarding pass stub and identification at Cotai travel desk in the world famous Venetian Macau, just 2 minutes from Macau International Airport by complementary shuttle bus" added Dr Reg Macdonald, Viva Macau Airlines CEO.

Do not miss out on this great deal available for all economy and business class airfares departing Melbourne. Save money and let your family see two of Asia's hottest destinations flying Viva Macau Airlines. Book your airfare today by visiting www.flyvivamacau.com.
Promotion Terms and Conditions:

* Sales from 1st March to 30th June for travel from 1st April to 30th June 2010.
* CotaiJet return ferry ticket is non-transferable and not convertible to cash.
* CotailJet return ferry ticket to be redeemed within 10 days from your flight date.
* Strictly 1 ticket per person and must present valid boarding pass stub and identification to redeem ferry ticket.
* Only valid for Melbourne-Macau route passengers (flight ZG9700)
* In case of dispute, the decision of Viva Macau or CotaiJet shall prevail.

hkskyline

March 15th, 2010, 12:42 PM

Viva Macau Airlines Waives Bag-Check Fee for All Flights
Release date - 26022010

Macau, SAR - Today Viva Macau Airlines, Macau’s international award-winning airline, announced that it will waive bag-check fees for all flights across its entire network effective 1st March.

Passengers traveling on Viva Macau Airlines will enjoy 15kg of checked-in luggage, plus 7kg of cabin baggage allowance, at zero cost!

Dr Reg Macdonald, Viva Macau Airlines CEO said, ‘We have received a lot of positive feedback from our customers since we waived the bag-check fee for our Sydney and Melbourne flights last month. We are pleased to extend the waiver to all our flights across the network. Now Viva Macau passengers on our Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi flights can enjoy travelling with up to 15kg of baggage without having to pay extra at the airport.’

He added, ‘We want to make travelling on Viva Macau Airlines easy and the most convenient experience for all our passengers, so that we continue to be the leader in value-for-money travel between Macau and our international destinations.’

Viva Macau Airlines, Macau’s award winning international airline with the motto ‘We Mean the World to Macau’, offers value-for-money International air fares and in-flight service to make travel fun, enjoyable and convenient. The airline flies direct from Macau to Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Jakarta, Sydney and Melbourne.

For inquiries and reservations, please visit www.flyvivamacau.com.

About Viva Macau Airlines

Viva Macau Airlines, awarded CAPA New Airline of The Year 2007 and voted Top 10 Low Cost Airlines in Asia by Smarttravelasia.com, is Asia’s newest, low-fare international airline providing a network of direct flights from its home base, Macau - the Las Vegas of the East - to Australia, Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Viva Macau operates a fleet of wide-bodied Boeing 767s with a two-class cabin service - Premium/Business Class and Economy Class. Viva Macau cabin and cockpit crews hail from 28 different nationalities, with a management team of more than 200 years combined airline experience. Viva Macau Airlines is a privately owned company whose shareholders including Macau prominent businessman and Viva Macau’s Chairman Mr. Ngan In Leng and MKW Capital, an international venture capital firm with a series of equity investments across a diverse portfolio of businesses in Macau. Viva Macau is innovative and fun, a flying experience that is ‘simply different’.

hkskyline

March 27th, 2010, 07:30 PM

SAR Government activated Tourism Crisis Management Office to assist affected VIVA Macau passengers
Last modified: 2010.03.27 22:42:26
Government Press Release

The Macao SAR Government, after evaluating the operational situation of VIVA Macau, considered the company incapable of maintaining normal flight service. In consideration of public interest and to protect Macao’s image as a tourism city, the SAR Government this afternoon (27 March) activated the tourism crisis response mechanism and decided to sponsor the returning flight fare for Macao residents stranded abroad and foreign visitors stranded in Macao because of the incident.

The SAR Government would also assist passengers holding VIVA Macau tickets who have not yet embarked on their journey to rebook on other flights with a special fare.

Due to fuel payment issues, VIVA Macau’s flight scheduled for Jakarta at 14:20 today failed to depart, and the 121 passengers sought assistance from the SAR Government. Meanwhile, the SAR Government had also been notified by the fuel supplier that they have officially informed VIVA Macau that no further fuel will be supplied to their aircrafts. Thus, the SAR Government decided to activate the Tourism Crisis Response Mechanism.

The Tourism Crisis Management Office had discussed with representatives of relevant departments, the Macau International Airport, other airlines and tourism operators on contingency arrangements.

The SAR Government decided to sponsor the returning flight fare for Macao residents stranded abroad.

The SAR Government will also coordinated with travel agencies to follow up the arrangements for tour groups which had booked VIVA Macau tickets through Macau travel agencies and are stranded abroad.

The SAR Government will sponsor the returning flight fare for foreign visitors stranded in Macao because of the incident.

The SAR Government had also coordinated with other airlines to assist passengers holding VIVA Macau tickets who have not yet embarked on their journey to rebook on other flights with a special fare. The SAR Government urges all passengers to contact the airlines which have agreed to offer assistance for detailed information before heading to the airport.

The SAR Government is deeply disappointed and expresses regret that, having provided various assistance and support, VIVA Macau was still not able to overcome operational problems affecting a large number of passengers.

As VIVA Macau’s ticketing system is still in operation, the SAR Government appeals to all residents to fully assess all possible risks before purchasing.

Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) has set up a 24-hour dedicated hotline 28333088 in Macau for inquiries. VIVA Macau passengers outside Macau can also contact hotlines at VIVA Macau’s destinations for assistance.

The overseas hotlines are: Japan: 09032205564 (in Japan) and (81) 9032205564 (from Macau); Jakarta, Indonesia: (62) 21 83705913; Australia: (61) 2 82677212 (from Macau), 0282677212 (from Melbourne) and 82677212 (from Sydney). Overseas hotlines are operated in English.

In order to have more accurate understanding of the number of passengers affected, Macau residents are advised to notify their relatives and friends who are holding VIVA Macau tickets at the above destinations to call the respective hotlines to register with GGCT.

In addition, GGCT will also send out SMS messages to inform Macau mobile phone users with roaming service the related information and hotline numbers.

Latest information will continue to be uploaded to GGCT’s website: www.ggct.gov.mo The tourism hotline 28333000 will maintain normal operation.

hkskyline

March 28th, 2010, 07:54 PM

SAR Government assists immediately affected passengers of VIVA Macau
Last modified: 2010.03.27 01:55:14
Government Press Release

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The Macau SAR Government is concerned about VIVA Macau’s suspension of flight service due to operational problems and has taken emergency measures to assist over 300 immediately affected passengers.

Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was notified by the Macau International Airport that VIVA Macau, who failed to settle its fuel charge, has delayed and cancelled respectively its services to Jakarta and Tokyo today, causing over 300 passengers to be stranded at the airport. The SAR Government is very concerned about the impact this incident has on the passengers as well as the aviation and tourism sectors, and has taken immediate measures to assist the affected passengers.

Tourism Crisis Management Office (GGCT) and CAA held a press conference regarding VIVA Macau’s suspension of flight service to announce the government’s contingency measures and the latest development of the incident to the public.

President of the Civil Aviation Authority Chan Weng Hong expressed that the SAR Government has activated the emergency response mechanism and coordinated related departments, Macau International Airport and relevant entities for urgent arrangements.

Chan Weng Hong pointed out that in order to offer timely assistance to passengers immediately affected by the incident, the SAR Government has coordinated with the fuel company to enable the flight which was scheduled to depart for Jakarta this afternoon (26) to take off at 10pm. Regarding the flight scheduled to depart for Tokyo this afternoon, the SAR Government has demanded VIVA Macau to fulfill its commercial obligation and VIVA Macau has promised to provide hotel accommodation for the stranded passengers.

The SAR Government urges all passengers holding VIVA Macau tickets who have not yet embarked on their journey to check on the latest situation before heading to the airport.

Chan expressed that the SAR Government will closely monitor the development of the situation and continue to provide assistance to affected passengers through the emergency response mechanism. If necessary, resolute measures will be taken when appropriate to assist affected passengers.

Chan emphasized that, as a responsible commercial entity, it is compulsory to cater well for its passengers. The SAR Government is deeply disappointed and expresses regret with VIVA Macau’s suspension of flight service due to operational problems having affected a large number of passengers.

Updated information about the incident will be released on Tourism Crisis Management Office’s website: www.ggct.gov.mo

hkskyline

April 10th, 2010, 05:36 PM

New routes launched at Narita after capacity expansion
28 March 2010
Kyodo News

NARITA, Japan, March 28 -- Three foreign airlines launched services Sunday linking Narita International Airport with the Middle East and Macao as the airport has expanded its capacity for departures and arrivals.

The three carriers are Emirates, Etihad Airways and Air Macau. They will be joined by Qatar Airways, which will start service at the airport outside Tokyo in April.

Narita airport increased services after the extension of its second runway last October, which enabled the annual number of takeoffs and landings to rise by 20,000 to 220,000.

hkskyline

April 12th, 2010, 07:51 AM

Asia's budget carriers running into headwinds
12 April 2010
SCMP

They may have carried millions of budget-conscious Europeans and Americans to exotic locales over the past 30 years but in this region low-cost carriers are hitting serious turbulence.

The recent failure of Viva Macau, a Macau-based budget carrier, nearly two years after the collapse of Hong Kong Oasis Airlines, has put the survival of so-called low-cost carriers in this region in question again.

A lack of demand does not seem to be the problem. A lack of an "open sky" policy and an absence of a genuine low-cost operating environment in the region are the underlying reasons the two carriers shared the same destiny, transport experts say.

The low-cost model originated in Britain in 1971 when Freddie Laker founded Skytrain, which served the transatlantic route. The model was later adopted with outstanding success by Southwest Airlines in the United States, Ryanair and EasyJet in Europe and more recently by AirAsia, a Malaysian-based carrier.

Low-cost carriers generally refer to airlines providing discounted fares and a no-frills service to passengers.

"If you think you can copy the business model of low-cost airlines used in the West to the East without any adjustment, you are meant to fail," said Zhang Wuan, an executive with Spring Airlines, a Shanghai-based budget carrier that started operation in 2005 and plans to list it shares by next year.

One of the major reasons budget airlines in Hong Kong and Macau have struggled to lower their operating costs is a lack of pilots. Asian carriers, especially those on the mainland and in India, are growing at about 10 per cent a year, meaning a shortage of qualified pilots.

That means low-cost carriers in the region are sometimes forced to offer higher salaries than other airlines to lure pilots, said Kelvin Lau, a transport analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets. Labour costs are the second-largest cost component of airlines after fuel expenses.

By contrast, budget carriers in the US and Europe can pick from a plentiful supply of pilots, giving them much more leeway to cut costs.

Another cost advantage enjoyed by low-cost carriers in other parts of the world are secondary airports, or the so-called budget terminals, which have lower operating charges than the larger hubs.

For example, Stansted Airport in London offers much lower landing fees and airport charges, providing budget airlines with a competitive edge over the full-service carriers operating out of Heathrow Airport.

But secondary airports are not popular in this region. No budget terminal is in sight for the Pearl River Delta, which is already crowded with five big airports including those in Hong Kong, Macau, Zhuhai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

"We have to distinguish low-cost carriers from low-fare carriers," Lau said. "Oasis and Viva Macau were low-fare but not genuine low-cost carriers."

Perhaps the biggest reason for the failure of low-cost carriers to take to the skies in the region is the absence of a liberalisation of air transport rights. Also known as the "open sky" policy, this has meant budget airlines cannot operate popular routes until their government allocates them air rights to do so. Even when these budget carriers do get the rights to serve popular routes, the number of flights they are allowed is much fewer than existing airlines, undermining their competitiveness.

Viva Macau, which operated under a sub-concession contract with its rival Air Macau, was not allowed to fly into the mainland. The reason was that these routes are served by Air Macau, which is backed by state-owned Air China.

Despite hard lobbying by Con Korfiatis, the former chief executive of Viva Macau, for liberalised air rights into the mainland, the airline failed to get the approval. Instead, it flew to Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Tokyo, Sydney and Melbourne.

"It's impossible to fill up seats from the local market since Macau has a small population," said Jim Wong, a transport analyst for Nomura Securities. "The routes can't be profitable without channelling passengers from the mainland or Hong Kong."

Since Viva Macau could not fly to mainland, it was difficult to lure mainland passengers transiting Macau, he added.

Viva Macau, with three Boeing 767s, wound down its business on April 6 after the Macau government revoked its operating licence. The financially strapped carrier, which received 200 million patacas in loans from the Macau government, failed to pay its fuel bill, causing hundreds of passengers to storm its office demanding refunds at the end of last month.

However, not all budget carriers in Asia are struggling. AirAsia and Spring Airlines, which can take advantage of a strong domestic network, have been successful in overcoming the challenges.

AirAsia, which started with a handful of aircraft when it was bought out by Tony Fernandes in 2001, has now emerged as the biggest budget airline in Asia, flying 400 flights a day with more than 80 aircraft. Based in a budget terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the first of a kind in Asia, since 2006, it still holds the record as the world's lowest-cost carrier at US$3.21 per seat-kilometre.

It increased routes connecting Kuala Lumpur and other domestic cities at a breakneck speed in 2002 and registered a remarkable turnaround that year. It then expanded its network to Thailand and Indonesia in 2004 before further stretching its wings to Macau, Vietnam, Cambodia, mainland China and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Spring Airlines, which is controlled by Huang Zhenghua, the founder of Spring International, a travel agency on the mainland, can benefit from the nationwide sales network of its sister company.

"The mainland market is undergoing an exponential growth," Zhang said. "China is committed to growing the number of air passengers to 1.5 billion by 2030 from 200 million at present.

"The market potential for budget airlines is huge as there are so many Chinese who cannot afford to pay for the air fares by full-service airlines."

Spring Airlines operates 17 aircraft and plans to expand the fleet to 21 planes within 12 months.

Zhang said the airline plans to operate its first international service this year to Tokyo or Seoul. He admitted that the lack of an open sky policy and budget terminal are constraints on the company's ability to expand to the international market. Which made it all the more important to fly to the destinations with secondary airports, such as Tokyo and Seoul, as their first international routes.

hkskyline

April 19th, 2010, 04:24 PM

Macau aviation licence up for grabs: report
12 April 2010
AFP

Foreign airlines have an opportunity to grab an air operating licence in Macau, opening the door to the world's biggest casino market in terms of revenue, a report said Monday.

Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia is among the interested parties after the city's aviation regulator withdrew Viva Macau's licence last month, the Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Macau took the unusual step after the start-up budget airline's dispute with a fuel supplier sparked flight cancellations, stranding hundreds of passengers.

Viva Macau has challenged the watchdog's move, calling it "legally invalid," the newspaper said.

hkskyline

April 26th, 2010, 11:14 AM

Firefly may take MAS jets to expand
21 April 2010
Business Times

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) is evaluating the potential of allowing wholly-owned FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd to operate its B737-400 planes when it replaces its fleet gradually from the end of this year.

The national carrier will receive three of its B737-800 this year and the next. It will also receive five A330-300 and another five A380 next year.

Sources said that Firefly would either lease or buy up to 35 of the used MAS jets, and would use the aircraft for short-range domestic and regional routes.

The plan is expected to take off from December this year until the end of 2013 when MAS stops using the B737-400.

Business Times has learnt that Firefly may either operate the Boeings from the KL International Airport (KLIA) or the new Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).

The airline is believed to have already contacted Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) about reserving slots for the additional planes at the new LCCT.

"It is likely that Firefly will opt for KLIA, which is currently under-utilised, as this will enable the airline's passengers to connect seamlessly on their onward journeys," a source said.

Firefly, which was set up by MAS three years ago, currently operates ATR 72-500 turboprops from its hubs in Subang and Penang.

Besides using the jets to add capacity and frequencies to the domestic routes it serves (and also those of MAS), Firefly is also likely to add new destinations like Macau, Jogjakarta, Haadyai, Bandung and Chiangmai, which are not served by MAS at present.

In addition, Firefly may ply routes where MAS is facing intense competition from low-cost carriers.

These include routes like Kuala Lumpur-Medan, Penang-Medan, Kuala Lumpur-Singapore and Penang-Singapore.

"As a new airline operating out of KLIA, Firefly will be entitled to many incentives from MAHB and this could result in lower operating costs which could then be transferred to even lower fares," the source said.

Firefly currently has a staff headcount of 350. If the plan to use the jets in addition to the turbo-props materialises, the airline is set to boast a headcount of 1,500 in four years.

AsianDragons

April 26th, 2010, 12:00 PM

^ whats this got to do with Macau International Airport?

hkskyline

April 26th, 2010, 03:41 PM

^ whats this got to do with Macau International Airport?

Potential new route - see bold.

hkskyline

July 5th, 2010, 05:10 PM

Macau Woos Indian Carriers to Start Direct Flights
16 June 2010
Travel Talk - India

In a bid to attract Indian carriers flying international to initiate services to Macau, the Macau International Airport Company (CAM) has decided to offer special incentives to the first carrier which will launch a direct fight between India and Macau. The incentives include a 50 per cent rebate on the passenger fee and the landing fee, for the first two years of operations.

CAM has been exploring the Indian market for two years, and is now presenting its plans to potential Indian carriers.

In addition, we estimate that at least five landings per week are required during a lean period, example in February," said Patricia Au, manager, marketing department, Macau International Airport Company.

According to CAM, ninety-one direct flights connect different Indian cities to Hong Kong on a weekly basis. But due to lack of direct end up spending three additional hours in commuting.

"Indian arrivals to Macau in 2009 registered a 30 per cent increase over 2008. We expect the figure to rise in future. However, without direct commercial flights from India, visitors have to arrive to Macau via other cities like Hong Kong through a ferry, or by private jet or by helicopter," said Au.

Presently, CAM is looking at launching direct flights from Indian hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, and flights to Macau, Indian visitors Kolkata. "Macau Airport has a capacity to handle 6 million passengers annually. We are already catering to 5.25 million. Therefore, the opportunity is limited," opined Au.

With the Indian arrivals expected to grow in the coming years, the Macau sector could emerge as a lucrative option for Indian carriers flying international.

hkskyline

August 19th, 2010, 07:51 PM

By Bluesky2009 from a Hong Kong discussion forum :

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hkskyline

August 20th, 2010, 08:54 AM

PAL increases fares in 8 routes
12 August 2010
Manila Standard

The Philippine Airlines has obtained the government’s approval to raise its fare in its eight regional routes including Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong amid the rising cost of jet fuel.

The flag carrier will raise its fuel surcharge from $35 to $42 on Manila–Bangkok flights effective Aug. 15 until Nov. 14.

“PAL is constrained to increase its fuel surcharge to enable it to partially recover the steady increase in the cost of fuel,” the airline told the Civil Aeronautics Board.

The Lucio Tan-owned airline said it was incurring “under-recovery” of fuel cost amounting to $6.36 per passenger in its Manila-Bangkok route.

It was also allowed to extend until October 12 fuel surcharges it raised from July 13 on its flights to Singapore ($29), Indonesia ($44), Hong Kong ($25), Macau ($19), Xianmen ($24), Shanghai ($44) and Beijing ($44).

For domestic flights, PAL charges P500 to P700 for fuel surcharge.

A fuel surcharge is added to each airline ticket to offset increases in jet fuel prices, which in turn make up an airline’s highest expense after labor, accounting for more than a third of its operating cost per passenger.

PAL said it was spending as much as $30 billion a year on jet fuel.

The carrier is locked in a dispute with a group of pilots and in-flight crew over issues ranging from salary to retirement age to benefits. Its ground employees are also restive over its plan to spin off three non-core units.

PAL has reduced its domestic flights after the resignation of 26 pilots operating its Airbuses.

Meanwhile, foreign carriers Thai Airways and Malaysia Airlines were also allowed to increase their fuel surcharges.

Only Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Dragon Airlines are bucking the trend and are cutting fuel surcharge.

Fuel surcharges will be as follows: Thai Airways’ Manila-Bangkok and Manila-Osaka services, $43; Malaysian Airlines’ Manila-Malaysia service, $30; Dragonair’s Manila-Hong Kong, $64.70; and Cathay Pacific’s Manila-Hong Kong service, $64.70.

Data from the International Air Transport Association showed that the price of jet fuel rose 4.3 percent to $92.40 a barrel on August 6 from a week ago.

The average price of jet fuel so far this year stood at $88.3 a barrel, and that increased the international airlines’ fuel bill by $17 billion.

Jet fuel was most expensive in Latin and Central America at $95.6 a barrel and cheapest in the Middle East and Africa at $90.20 a barrel.

Jet fuel prices in Asia stood at $92.80 a barrel on August 6, up 12.5 percent from a year ago.

hkskyline

August 25th, 2010, 08:37 AM

ANA and Air Macau to initiate code-sharing in July 2010
15 June 2010
Airline Industry Information

Japanese airline ANA announced today that it will begin a code-sharing and reciprocal mileage agreement with Air Macau on 1 July 2010. Under the agreement ANA will place its NH flight code on Air Mancau's Narita-Macau and Osaka-Macau services and Air Macau will place its NX code on ANA's domestic flights. Both airlines will expand their respective networks into Southern China and Japan, respectively, under the first code sharing agreement between the two airlines. Both airlines will also link their Frequent Flyer Programmes to allow Ana Mileage Club members and Air Macau's Privileges members to gain and redeem mileage on flights on the other airline's networks.

soorox

August 25th, 2010, 10:29 AM

I think that Viva Macau was actually very good for Macau tourism, as Air Macau wouldn't even consider flying the routes that ZG flew, what ZG did was create a new market for Macau, giving an awareness for tourists to come to Macau, they promoted Macau as much as they could, the government could of atleast taken over ZG. Markets such as;
MFM>MEL,CGK,SGN,HAN are now all gone

hkskyline

August 27th, 2010, 06:05 PM

FM 2258

August 27th, 2010, 06:49 PM

Just booked a round trip flight from MFM - SIN on Tiger Airways for next month. Can't wait to see this airport. I wish it was on Air Macau though. Wikipedia says they fly to Singapore but their actual website does not reflect this. :(

hkskyline

September 2nd, 2010, 05:55 AM

Japan-Macau Aviation Accord Takes Effect
26 July 2010

Hong Kong, July 26 (Jiji Press)--A Japan-Macau aviation accord took effect on Monday, officials at the Japanese consulate general in Hong Kong said.

The pact gives Japan and Macau a legal framework to launch regular flights between them.

Japan and Macau reached a basic agreement in May last year and signed the pact in February this year. Japanese parliament approved it on May 27.

hkskyline

October 1st, 2010, 03:40 PM

GDS uncertain of Viva Macau’s debt payment
31 August 2010
The Saigon Times Daily

HCMC - Global distribution system firm GDS, former general sales agent of Viva Macau in Vietnam, is unsure about chances for booking agents, travel agencies and individual passengers to get their money back from the low-fared carrier ahead of a first hearing in Macau.

GDS said in a statement that it together with other booking agents and travel companies had had to deal with many losses since Viva Macau suspended services to Vietnam five months ago. But GDS does not know when the Vietnamese creditors would be able to take back their deposit money.

GDS told the Daily via email that Viva Macau still owed more than US$155,700 to booking agents, travel companies and individuals who had booked seats on flights of Viva Macau before the discount airline stopped services to Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai airports.

GDS revealed the fresh combined debt after collecting complaint files from 901 corporate and individual guests who fell victim to Viva Macau in its role as the former general sales agent of Viva Macau in Vietnam.

GDS will send an executive to the first hearing for all creditors of Viva Macau as subpoenaed by the court of Macau to get updates about the airline’s case. The two-day hearing will start at 10 a.m. on September 13, with an aim for the court to collect more information about the airline.

GDS quoted international sources as saying that Viva Macau still owed huge debts to the government, jet fuel and services providers in Macau. The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) said Viva Macau had not paid off debts for services providers at airports in this country.

Therefore, CAAV said, Viva Macau’s combined debt in Vietnam was not small if unpaid bills for services providers in Vietnam were also calculated. However, this aviation authority acknowledged that it did not know exactly how much Viva Macau still owed to guests in Vietnam.

Viva Macau operated daily service to Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCMC and three weekly flights to Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi before it had to suspend its flights to these airports since late March 2010.

hkskyline

October 12th, 2010, 03:25 AM

CAAV cannot force Indochina Airlines to pay off debts
23 August 2010
The Saigon Times Daily

HCMC - The Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) has confirmed that it cannot force Indochina Airlines to pay off debts totaling tens of billions of dong for ticketing agents and service providers as this is a matter between the airline and its creditors.

However, CAAV will help the creditors with the steps to get their money back from the airline that has suspended services for almost 10 months because of financial woes, said Vo Huy Cuong, head of CAAV’s Air Transport Department.

Cuong explained that CAAV would only be able to inform Indochina Airlines of what the creditors requested for debt payment when the authority got the appeal from ticketing agents as the authority was not involved in the contracts signed by the first operational private carrier and the agents.

Cuong told the Daily on the phone that relevant regulations already in effect from 2006 clarified companies were not required to register with CAAV when they wanted to act as agents for a local airline. So, the agents should negotiate directly with the carrier and then take legal actions if talks between them do not bring about any good results.

Cuong said what CAAV would do in the case of Indochina Airlines was similar to the moves of Macau’s aviation regulator after the latter received CAAV’s document about the money that Viva Macau owed to ticketing agents and service providers in Vietnam. In its written reply, the foreign agency said it had told Viva Macau about its responsibility to settle debts but stressed payment would depend on legal procedures in Macau.

Viva Macau suddenly suspended its services to HCMC and Hanoi in late March this year, and has not paid money back for the already booked tickets and deposits of travel agencies, ticketing agents and passengers in Vietnam.

Viva Macau is said to owe more than US$100,000 to travel agencies, ticketing agents and passengers in this country. But, the total debts of this low-cost carrier in Vietnam are much bigger if unpaid bills of airport service providers are also calculated.

Cuong said CAAV did not know the exact debts of Indochina Airlines but put the combined amount at tens of billions of dong, with the biggest parts attributed to the jet fuel supplied by Vietnam Air Petrol Co. (Vinapco) and services providers at Tan Son Nhat Airport.

Tran Huu Phuc, director of Vinapco, said Indochina Airlines had not paid off any of the around VND20 billion (more than US$1 million) worth of jet fuel.

Phuc said Vinapco was waiting for instruction of the parent company, Vietnam Airlines Corp. and observing moves of airport services suppliers before preparing legal procedures against Indochina Airlines.

Cuong said Indochina Airlines would have been grounded for one year this October and thus having its license revoked according to the country’s civil aviation regulations.

The Ministry of Transport has not decided the fate of Indochina Airlines though Cuong said CAAV had reported the actual situation of this airline to the ministry months ago.

hkskyline

October 14th, 2010, 03:14 PM

By F2B05 from a Hong Kong discussion forum :

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hkskyline

October 18th, 2010, 04:53 PM

Macao's ex-budget airline president vows to launch luxury charter flights
18 October 2010

MACAO, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- Ngan In Leng, president of low-cost carrier Viva Macao that went bankrupt two months ago, planned to start his new aviation business focusing on luxury charter flights for well-heeled customers by the end of this year, the Macao Post Daily reported on Monday.

The newspaper quoted Ngan as saying that preparations for his new airline company were going "smoothly" and that he was just waiting for the planes to get his new aviation business off the ground.

According to Ngan, his new joint venture, which he said had already been approved by the government, will operate under an independent aviation license, unlike Viva Macao's sub-concession license granted by Air Macao.

Ngan, who briefed reporters about his new joint venture Saturday on the sidelines of a public function in Coloane, did not reveal any information on his joint-venture partners.

Established in 2005, Ngan's Viva Macao came to an abrupt end in March after failing to resolve payment issues with its local fuel supplier that left its fleet grounded, leading to a mass cancellation of flights.

Ngan kept mum on Viva Macao's overdue loan repayments to the government when asked about the case, adding that it was "in the courts now".

hkskyline

October 22nd, 2010, 04:33 AM

Viva Macau bankruptcy hits 900 creditors in Vietnam
15 October 2010
The Saigon Times Daily

HCMC - Global distribution system firm GDS, the former general sales agent of Viva Macau in Vietnam, said Viva Macau’s bankruptcy had affected at least 900 local creditors.

Viva Macau still owes over US$150,000 to GDS, booking agents, travel agencies and passengers in Vietnam, according to GDS. However, the airline’s combined debt in Vietnam could reach around US$1 million if the unpaid bills of local service providers were included.

The company told the Daily yesterday that there was little chance of the budget airline settling the debt.

GDS said it would continue to track new developments of the Viva Macau case, but noted Viva Macau leased almost assets from offices to aircraft as reported by the bankruptcy management agency under the court of Macau.

Viva Macau reportedly owes some US$38 million to 1,983 creditors including the Macau government, aircraft leasing and service companies, its staff, general sales agents, booking agents, travel firms and passengers in and outside the Chinese territory.

The court of Macao will consider petitions from creditors and decide who will be prioritized to get compensation after the court allowed Viva Macau to go bankrupt at the first two-day hearing in Macau last month because the carrier was unable to resume services.

Viva Macau started to fly to Tan Son Nhat Airport in December 2007 and Noi Bai Airport in early 2009. The carrier operated daily service to Tan Son Nhat and three weekly flights to Noi Bai before it had to call off its flights to Hanoi on March 27 and HCMC a day later.

In Vietnam, Indochina Airlines faces legal action from booking agents after the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV) said this agency did not know how to contact the private airline to tell it to pay deposit debts for over 30 agents.

An official of CAAV told the Daily that he had once attempted to phone Ha Hung Dung, chief executive officer of Indochina Airlines, informing him of the agents?calls for debt payment and order this carrier to send a report on how to settle debt, but Dung did not answer the call.

CAAV also received back a document it sent to the address of Indochina Airlines in its business license to inform the carrier of the agents?request for their deposit payment. In addition to agents, the carrier has not paid tens of billions of dong to jet fuel and service providers, including Vietnam Air Petrol Co.

gussinyo

October 22nd, 2010, 10:40 AM

nice

hkskyline

October 22nd, 2010, 04:56 PM

By kalon from HKADB :

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hkskyline

November 4th, 2010, 11:54 AM

Budget Carriers to Challenge Larger Rivals on Int'l Routes
29 October 2010
Chosun Ilbo

Five years after they burst onto the scene, domestic budget carriers are turning up the heat on larger airlines by launching international flights. Jeju Air, Korea's biggest budget airline, said on Wednesday it plans to start flying between Incheon and Hong Kong, taking on Korean Air currently operating 23 flights and Asiana Airlines 14 on the route. While Jeju Air will offer only three flights per week, it aims to lure passengers with fares at least 30 percent lower than those of its larger rivals. Jin Air on Tuesday launched service from Incheon to Clark in the Philippines, pushing into a route previously served solely by Asiana. A Jin Air spokesperson said that the flights would run at night and early morning to differentiate from Asiana, which flies during the day. The new service is targeted at tourists, especially those on golf trips. Jeju Air also plans to launch flights to Manila on Nov. 24 and Macau on Nov. 29.

In addition, it will find itself going head-to-head with another budget carrier, Air Busan, when they both debut flights between Busan and the Philippine resort city of Cebu on Nov. 25 and Dec. 23, respectively. Foreign budget carriers are fueling the competition. Business Air Thailand has already launched Incheon-Bangkok service, while Malaysia's AirAsia, the region's largest low-cost carrier, will start operations connecting Incheon with Kuala Lumpur next month. By the end of the year, larger airlines and budget carriers are expected to be competing on 10 international routes. In the first nine months of the year, domestic budget carriers transported a combined 632,000 passengers on international routes, accounting for 3.18 percent of the total 19.895 million international passengers. The figure has quadrupled from 0.75 percent last year.

hkskyline

November 8th, 2010, 05:15 PM

Source : http://www.macau-airport.gov.mo/site/php/en/statistic_passengers.php

2010 figures up to and including August

http://www.macau-airport.gov.mo/site/upload_files/images/pass_stat.jpg

hkskyline

November 11th, 2010, 03:59 PM

The Delegation of Civil Aviation Administration of China Visited Macau International Airport Company Ltd.
2010-10-27
Press Release

Mr.Xia Xinghua, Deputy Director of Civil Aviation Administration of China led a delegation to visit Macau International Company Ltd.on October 27, 2010 to better understand the current development process of Macau International Airport, and the market orientation in the future. Dr. Deng Jun, Chairman of Macau International Airport warmly welcomes the CAAC delegations. Follow by Ms. Liu Suning. Executive Director of Macau International Airport Co. Ltd introduced the latest development of Macau International Airport. CAAC delegation included Mr. Xiongjie, Deputy Officer of Aviation Safety Office, Mr. Liu Rengang, Director of 2nd Station of Public Security Bureau and Mr. Chu LiYong, Secretary to Deputy Director of Comprehensive Department.

Dr. Deng Jun, Chairman of Macau International Airport Company Ltd stated at the welcome speech: This year is 15th Anniversary of Macau International Airport. During fifteen years operation, Macau International Airport was recorded carried over 53 million passengers, carried 1.63million tones cargo, over 520 thousands aircrafts movement. Over 4,000 people were employed at Macau International Airport with only 500 thousands populations city. Facing the numerous crisis and difficulties, Macau International Airport has been taking proactive measure to go through and has been successfully maintain profits within a decade, ensure the safety operation. Macau International Airport was awarded by International Aviation Institution several time. It can be summarized: First the Motherland with sustained economic development, promote sustained economic development of Macau SAR; followed by the Macau SAR Government’s active policy of open skies, in order to attract more airlines to enter the Macao market and create favorable conditions. In addition, it is critical to the success as the right decision made by the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee as well as the innovation of teamwork provided.

Ms. Liu Suning, Executive Director of CAM had also introduced the development process of Macau International Airport in which provide the connection between China and Taiwan at the early stage, and developing to an International multifunctional airport nowadays with the core mission “Safety, Efficiency and Effectiveness.” Moreover, Ms. Liu Suning also introduced the future development planning regarding the issue on strengthen the runway, replacement of baggage conveyor systems, ramp safety management system innovation and international training projects, business transformation plan, virtualization Airport, Green Airport and Culture Airport Program, etc.

Mr.Xia Xinghua, Deputy Director of Civil Aviation Administration introduced the development of Civil Aviation Administration of China as well as the current status of Civil Aviation in China, and affirmed the development of the Macau International Airport and our team’s efforts and achievements over the years. Mr. Xia raised four suggestions to Macau International Airport, which included: a) Safety is the first priority, it is critical to maintain the safety operation in mind so as to implementing the safety standardization of International Civil Aviation Organization. b) Market Development, Macau International Airport was position as small and medium multifunctional International Airport, with an obviously different role in comparing with neighbor airports, and we should further extend this position for the future development, besides, with high, medium and low strategies in order to cope with the local tourism development, attracting the low cost carrier in China and other countries. c) Providing qualification services had always been the core to attract the tourists in the neighbor regions. d) With the supporting from the Chinese Centre Government, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, and Macau Government, to set up an attractive incentive to the airlines to develop Macau market and attract more passengers. Finally, Mr. Xia expressed that CAAC will continue to support Macau Aviation development.

Mr. Xia Xing hua, Deputy Director of Civil Aviation Administration is taking the change of 47th DGCA Conference to visit Macau International Airport Company Ltd, in which to show that CAAC and himself are very support Macau International Airport.

Mr. Lo Keng Chio, President of Assembleia Geral, Mr. Ng Fok, Executive Director of CAM, Mr. Mr. Tsui Wai Kwan, Executive Director of CAM and all staffs of CAM attended the foresaid Conference.

soorox

November 14th, 2010, 01:29 PM

hkskyline

November 14th, 2010, 06:08 PM

Does anyone know if Air Macau or any airline has any intention of re-starting MFM-MEL? Or any other route once operated by Viva Macau?

Wow! That's a giant drop in pax figures, maybe this is due partly to the demise of ZG?

Macau's airlines have suffered quite a lot lately, and it's not just Viva Macau's demise. Air Macau needed a bailout and their most lucrative routes to connect Taiwanese with mainland China are being challenged by new direct flights. Not sure whether Air Macau has any appetite to expand right now.

Melb_aviator

November 15th, 2010, 07:21 AM

Does anyone know if Air Macau or any airline has any intention of re-starting MFM-MEL? Or any other route once operated by Viva Macau?

Wow! That's a giant drop in pax figures, maybe this is due partly to the demise of ZG?

MFM operates in one of the most competitive aviation environments in the world. It is nearby to HKG, along with the numerous mainland Chinese airports next door and nearby. That whole Pearl Delta area is essentially one market, with so many options coming through.

As from MFM-MEL, Air Macau would need to get a bigger, longer range aircraft to operate the route, and with the yields well below optimum, I can not see it happening. Macau's strength is Asia, as its centrally located. Australia, or anything outside its immediate region, really are not likely to generate profits. Its all about loss minimisation at the moment, providing seats for people to visit the casinos.

The Taiwan-China market is now not in MFM's favour either, as was stated, so its hard to see where they will turn to generate a significant market.

hkskyline

November 16th, 2010, 02:29 PM

By F2B05 from a Hong Kong discussion forum :

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hkskyline

November 22nd, 2010, 06:22 AM

Airlines raise fees on hike in fuel costs
Created: 2010-11-22
Author:Joyce Pan
Shanghai Daily

AIR China and Air Macau will raise the fuel surcharges from December 1 on routes linking the Chinese mainland and Macau to US$27.50 from US$25 per person to counter rising jet fuel costs.

The rise comes after major airlines, such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines, increased fuel surcharges on domestic routes in late October to 70 yuan (US$10.55) from 40 yuan per passenger for routes longer than 800 kilometers and to 40 yuan for shorter distances from 20 yuan.

Airlines took this action after the National Development and Reform Commission, which controls fuel prices, on October 25 authorized state oil firms to raise factory-gate prices for jet fuel to 5,690 yuan a ton from 5,470 yuan to reflect price gains in global crude markets.

Fuel costs are the biggest component of an airline's expenses, accounting for more than 40 percent of total costs.

Based on their 2009 earnings reports, China Southern Airlines, Air China and China Eastern Airlines consumed 3.31 million tons, 3 million tons and 2.6 million tons of kerosene last year, respectively.

hkskyline

November 23rd, 2010, 08:04 PM

By SHINN ASUKA from HKADB :

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hkskyline

November 25th, 2010, 06:18 AM

Air Macau will Launch Macau -Singapore, Macau -Ningbo and Macau-Hefei v.v. Routes
Press Release date - 12112010

1. As the fast developing of economy and tourism in Macau and successful strategy transition of Air Macau (more than 85% passengers of Air Macau are travelling to Macau now), the carriers is confident to operate three new routes.

2. Air Macau will launch Macau will launch Macau -Singapore v.v. route on Nov. 19, 2010. Two flights per week (every Monday and Friday) will be operated.

Macau-Singapore v.v. Route

Flt. No.

Sector

Departure

Arrival

Date

NX860

Macau-Singapore

02:00

05:50

Monday & Friday

NX859

Singapore-Macau

06:50

10:30

Monday & Friday

3. Air Macau will launch Macau - Ningbo v.v. routed on Dec. 1st, 2010. Four flights per week (every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday) will be operated.

Macau -Ningbo Route:

Flt. No.

Sector

Departure

Arrival

Date

NX118

Macau-Ningbo

11:35

13:45

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday

NX117

Ningbo-Macau

14:35

16:55

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday

4. Air Macau will launch Macau - Hefei v.v. route on Dec. 18, 2010. Three flights per week (every Monday, Thursday and Saturday) will be operated.

Macau-Hefei Route:

Flt. No.

Sector

Departure

Arrival

Date

NX130

Macau-Hefei

10:55

1335

Monday,Thursday & Saturday

NX129

Hefei-Macau

14:25

17:10

Monday,Thursday & Saturday

hkskyline

December 19th, 2010, 07:27 AM

By SHINN ASUKA from HKADB :

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hkskyline

December 20th, 2010, 07:34 PM

By F2B05 from a Hong Kong discussion forum :

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hkskyline

December 24th, 2010, 03:58 AM

3rd China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Airports Conference – Macau 2010
2010-12-10
Macau International Airport Press Release

The 3rd China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Airports Conference – Macau 2010, which was held at the Macau Tower Entertainment and Convention Center on 8th and 9th December 2010, was very successful. The Conference was organized by CAM – Macau International Airport Company Limited and the Permanent Secretariat to the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese Speaking Countries and co-organized by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau and by the Institute of Macau Civil Aviation. The Macau Foundation sponsored this event and the Macau Government Tourism Office and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute were the supporting entities of this event, and the local airline – Air Macau – was the official carrier.

The Government of the MSAR attached great importance to this conference which was jointly organized by the Permanent Secretariat to the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese Speaking Countries and CAM –Macau International Airport Company Limited. The conference also received the great support of the civil aviation sector of Mainland China, having counted on the participation of several notable representatives, including Mr. Qin Zhanggao, Director-General of the Airport Department of the Civil Aviation Authority of China (CAAC); Mr. Li Jun, Secretary of Party Leadership Group and Vice President of China Eastern Air Holding Company; Mr. Liu Zijing, Chairman of the China Civil Airports Association; Mr. Shen Zeijiang, President of the CAAC Eastern Regional Administration; Mr. Zhang Zhongxiao, Deputy Director- General of the CAAC Central and Southern Administration; Mr. Zhang Jian, Director General of the CAAC Central and Southern Administration, the directors of airports in the Pearl River Delta region; Mr. Zhang Baojiang, Regional Vice-President of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) North-Asia, regional representatives of IATA along with several airlines and other guests and experts. Moreover, distinguished guests from Portuguese-speaking countries, namely Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Portugal also participated in the conference, alongside representatives from the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau and the local civil aviation industry. Government departments, airports, airlines, along with companies operating in the field of transport and logistics, air traffic management, engineering and information technology were also heavily involved in this event

This conference focused on three themes: The first of these was Regulation, Air Space and Cooperation Framework, on which Mr. Qin Zhanggao, Director-General of the CAAC Airport Department; Mr. Simon Chan, President of the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau; Mr. Carlos Alves, Director of Air Navigation of Portugal and Ms. Maria Helena Almeida, Director of Economic Regulation of the Civil Aviation Institute of Portugal gave speeches. Li Jun, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Vice-President of China Eastern Air Holding Company; Mr. Liu Zijing, President of the Guangdong Airport Management Corporation; Ms. Rita Santos, Deputy Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat to the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese Speaking Countries; Mr. Kong Yue, Director of the Commercial Department of the Beijing Capital International Airport and Mr. Zhang Baojiang, Regional Vice-President of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) North-Asia all gave speeches related to the second theme of the Conference: Airports and airlines, partners connecting the world. The third theme was Airport Development, Innovation and Technology, with Ms. Roquia Mulungo, Chief of the Office of the Board of ADM – Mozambique Airports, Olavo de Assis Vieira, Technical Director of ENAG – Airports of Guinea-Bissau; Mr. Henrique Oliveira, Engineering Director of the Beja Technology and Management School; Mr. Gil Braz de Oliveira, Director of LOGICA; Ms. Isabel Oliveira, Head R&D Technician of ANA – Portuguese Airports and Mr. Reis Borges, Advisor to the Executive Body of ANA CONSULTING giving the relevant speeches.

In addition to this and with the objective of achieving practical results in the field of cooperation, totally 5 cooperation protocols and memorandums were signed, including between the Macau International Airport Company Limited and air traffic control companies in Portugal and ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal. The CAAC Eastern Regional Administration signed a letter of intent for cooperation in training programs with ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal and the Macau International Airport Company Limited. These agreements will increase the scope of cooperation between airports in China, Portugal and Macau in the future. It is also possible that the training programs for workers in the airports will be extended to other Portuguese speaking countries. At the same time, Macau International Airport Company Limited signed the memorandums with China National Aviation Fuel Supply Co., Ltd in order to strengthen the safe operation of Macau International Airport.

This year’s edition was the 3rd China and Portuguese-speaking Countries Airports Conference. As Macau strengthens its role as a cooperation platform for airports in China and Portuguese-speaking countries, the Macau International Airport has continued to increase the scope of cooperation in the field of aviation, thereby increasing the cooperation exchanges in the aviation sector. We invited renowned companies in the field of aviation, along with senior staff members from airline companies to participate and give speeches during the conference on the status of the aviation industry and its future development. Moreover, the participants from the aviation industry had lively discussions and exchanged ideas on different themes. We believe that this conference was of considerable importance to the aviation industry.

To obtain additional information regarding the conference, interested parties may visit the webpage created by the organizers at https://www.3cpscac.com/en/info.php. Information is available in Chinese, Portuguese and English. Feel free to have a look!

hkskyline

December 25th, 2010, 04:51 PM

77 Macao students stranded in London return home

MACAO, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- Another 19 Macao students who were stranded at the London Heathrow Airport have flown back to Hong Kong and later returned to Macao on Thursday, the Tourism Crisis Management Office of Macao said.

Heavy winter snows have stalled traffic in London as flights were canceled at the Heathrow Airport, leaving thousands of travelers stranded. The Tourism Crisis Management Office has got in touch with 143 stranded Macao students so far.

With assistance and coordination of the government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Cathay Pacific Airways, the second batch of 19 Macao students stranded in London boarded the second extra flight of Cathay Pacific, CX2252, which arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport this morning, and returned to Macao later Thursday, according to the Office.

Some 58 stranded students already returned to Macao via Hong Kong last night. In addition, 16 other stranded students with Cathay Pacific tickets have departed the UK on other flights of the airline. So far 93 of the 143 stranded students have left the UK.

Meanwhile, the Office assisted another 12 stranded students holding tickets of different airlines to travel on the third additional flight of Cathay Pacific, CX8250, which was expected to arrive in Hong Kong Friday.

Among the remaining 38 students who have registered with the Office, including holders of tickets of Cathay Pacific and other airlines, 32 have already departed the UK or have rebooked other flights with the help of their airlines, three students will make their own travel arrangements while three have decided to stay in the UK, according to the Office.

The Tourism Crisis Management Office also said that there were a total of 127 requests for assistance and 127 inquiries in the course of the past few days concerning the situation in London.

hkskyline

December 31st, 2010, 04:03 AM

Air Macau starts services at Changi
30 December 2010
The Shipping Times

(SINGAPORE) Changi Airport has announced that it will welcome Air Macau on board from Jan 3 - the first carrier to join Changi's growing network of airlines in 2011.

Air Macau is a full-service carrier, operating twice every week. Offering passenger services to Macau on Airbus A321 aircraft with a capacity of 178 passengers in a two-class configuration, the carrier will operate at Changi Terminal 2.

Air Macau is offering a three-month, one-for-one promotion for return business class fares at $1,999 for a pair of tickets to celebrate its commencement of operations at Changi Airport. The promotion period is from now until March 28.

In 2010, nine new airlines commenced operations at Changi Airport. The two most recent are Philippine carrier Southeast Asian Airlines (SEAIR) and Moscow-based Transaero Airlines, both of which commenced flights to Changi Airport earlier this month.

With the addition of Air Macau, the Singapore- Macau route will be served by three carriers operating a total of 32 flights a week, the other two being Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways.

Changi Airport currently serves a total of 101 airlines operating more than 5,200 scheduled flights each week, connecting Singapore to over 200 cities in 60 countries and territories.

hkskyline

January 18th, 2011, 06:19 PM

Author : http://www.barcaferry.com/

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hkskyline

January 21st, 2011, 07:41 PM

Macau International Airport recorded stable performance in 2010
2011-01-13
Macau Airport Press Release

Macau International Airport (MIA) in 2010 faced a series of challenges in operation, such as the impacts of the fluctuation of oil prices, the political instability of Thailand, the increasing cross-strait direct flight services, and the closing of Viva Macau. Despite of these, MIA still delivered 4,078,836 passengers in 2010. Although the passenger throughputs at MIA were down 4% compared with 2009, the destination passengers, occupying 93% of total passenger volume, rose 3% against 2009 and the mainland visitor number registered a 12% yearly increase. The decrease in passenger throughputs at MIA is due to the increase of cross-strait flight and destination. These result in a sharp decrease by 50% in transit passengers compared with year 2009. MIA handled 52,148 tons cargos as is almost the same compared with 2009, and had 37,148 flight movements with 8.7% decrease year-on-year.

In 2010, MIA was progressive and constant in adjusting the marketing strategy by seeking the new airlines, exploring the new markets, and developing new flight destinations to open the new service to Macau. MIA successfully attracted four new airlines to serve more destinations. The launch by Air China in January connected Macau to Wuhan, Mandala Airlines to serve Jakarta in July; China Eastern Airlines further serves Shanghai and Jin Air to Seoul in December. The existing airlines Cebu Pacific Air also added Tuguegarao and Laoag respectively. Xiamen airlines opened Macau to Jinjiang. The flag carrier Air Macau since last year opened three destinations including Singapore, Ningbo and Hefei. All these efforts made MIA a 3% increase of destination passengers compared with 2009, occupying 93% of MIA’s total passengers. The passenger number of mainland China had a 12% increase comparing with the earlier year. These indicate that MIA has finished its strategic transformation from transit airport to destination airport. MIA’s cargo service quality was also confirmed by industries. MIA was awarded “The Best Emerging Airport” by Cargo news Asia and “2010 Air Cargo - Award of Excellence” by Air Cargo World in 2010.

Looking into 2011, MIA will explore the medium long haul routes including Australia and India. To attract more new airlines and add frequency to those target markets from North Eastern, North western and the mid of China, so that to reinforce the market in South China. MIA will continually support the airlines to add new routes and destinations, improve the seat factor and load factor for the existing aircraft, and build new virtual cargo stations. These focuses will achieve an increase of both passengers and cargo at MIA.

With the gradual recovery of the global economy and the position of Macau as an international travel and leisure center, MIA is constantly following the policy of Macau SAR to strengthen the co-operation with aviation companies and tourist industry to achieve the joint development in exploration of more potential markets. It will make continuous efforts and contributions to the sustainable development of aviation, tourism and the whole economy of Macau.

hkskyline

March 20th, 2011, 08:04 AM

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/527/5270648.html

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hkskyline

March 30th, 2011, 11:49 AM

Spring Airlines Flying to Macau
16 March 2011

SHANGHAI, March 16, SinoCast -- Spring Airlines, China's first low-cost air carrier, March 15 announced its entry into Macau's aviation market with the lowest-priced air tickets sold at CNY 199 or MOP 199.

From April 8, the air carrier will formally start a daily two-way flight service between Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Macau International Airport, with the support of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau, and Macau International Airport Co., Ltd.

Spring Airlines, headquartered in Shanghai, east China, will serve passengers with the 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft model on the new route. It will try to attract more tourists to Macau with low-priced air tickets.

In June 2009, the Shanghai-based air carrier announced that it got the permission to fly between Mainland China and Hong Kong, Macao, and several neighboring countries. Moreover, the CAAC allowed the Chinese private air carrier to apply for international flights from mainland cities outside Shanghai.

hkskyline

April 6th, 2011, 11:17 AM

Budget airline to launch flights between Phl and Macao
1 April 2011

MACAO, April 1 (PNA/Xinhua) -- A budget airline of the Philippines has announced a new route between Macao and Clark International Airport, the Macao Post Daily reported on Friday.

The newspaper quoted the airline, namely Spirit of Manila Airlines, as saying that the inaugural flight will take off from Clark to Macao on April 17. The airport lies about 90 kilometers from Manila.

Flights have been scheduled twice a week on Mondays and Fridays, departing from Macao International Airport at 8 a.m. to international airport in the Clark Special Economic Zone, according to the airline.

Each flight will take approximately an hour and 45 minutes and the MD 83 aircraft flying the route has a capacity of 165 passengers.

Spirit of Manila Airlines, which was established in 2008, said it hoped to promote travel between the Philippines and Macao and expand its route network to Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan and selected cities in Chinese mainland. (PNA/Xinhua)

hkskyline

July 18th, 2011, 04:53 PM

Unlimited flights to Japan by 2013
18/07/2011 06:42:00
Macau Daily Times

Airlines will be able to operate seven flights per week to Japan next year, and all limitation will be axed in 2013, according to the new agreement inked by Japanese and Macau authorities on Thursday.

According to a statement, the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau (AACM), the Civil Aviation Bureau and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan met in Macau on Wednesday and Thursday to renew the record of discussions (ROD) relating to air services between the two places.

Under the new treaty, Japan agreed to increase the Tokyo capacity to the Macau designated airline – Air Macau – with seven flights per week from 2012 and then eliminate all Tokyo capacity restrictions from 2013 after boosting the capacity at Narita Airport.

“Japan has agreed to grant fifth freedom traffic rights to the Macau designated airline for all points in Japan, except Tokyo. The new ROD has created more advantageous conditions for the operation of air services by the Macau designated airline,” said the statement issued by the AACM.

In accordance with the old ROD signed in 2009, Macau could fly to all points in Japan with no restrictions. However, the operation to Tokyo Narita Airport was only limited to three flights per week.

It is also the first time that fifth freedom rights are granted to Macau by the Japanese government. “From 2013 summer schedule when the capacity at Narita Airport has increased, the [designated] airline is allowed to operate flights to Tokyo with unlimited frequencies,” they said.

The local flag airline can enjoy fifth freedom rights for all points in Japan except Tokyo. As for code-sharing for Japanese domestic segments, the old ROD only permitted up to five segments with two frequencies per segment. The new ROD has lifted these restrictions.

Furthermore, Macau expressed its wish to operate at the Haneda Airport, but will have to wait for available slots.

Affected by the earthquake and Tsunami in March this year and the radiation impact that followed afterwards, Japan is looking to further liberalise its skies in order to boost tourism, a sector that has been most affected by the economic downturn.

hkskyline

July 22nd, 2011, 05:04 PM

Macau now a drug transit point: PJ
13/07/2011
Macau Daily Times

Macau has become a transit point for international drug trafficking, warned director of the Judiciary Police (PJ) Wong Sio Chak yesterday.

Speaking at the award ceremony of the 51st anniversary of the PJ, Wong disclosed that in spite of drug offence numbers remaining steady, the amount of illicit drugs seized at the Macau International Airport and the rapid changes in the means of drug trafficking showed that “Macau has already become a transit point for international drug trafficking”.

The situation deserves special concern and immediate countermeasures, he added.

Macau’s position as gateway to mainland China along with the increasing number of budget airline flights, had already raised concerns that the territory may be used as a transit point for drug trafficking. Smuggling routes that originate in the Golden Crescent, primarily Afghanistan, the largest opium producer in the world, may increase to include Macau.

The PJ handled 1,627 drug related cases between 2000 and the end of March 2011. The majority of the seizures were heroin with a street value totalling more than MOP 58 million.

Last year alone, 191 drug offences were detected, according to official figures, with most cases being drug trafficking. The PJ also reported 191 arrests, the highest number of drug-related cases since 2001. Between June 2010 and May 2011, there were 99 instances of drug trafficking.

Early this year the PJ had acknowledged that there had been “an upward trend since the first ever case of drug smuggling by means of internal concealment was intercepted in Macau in 2006”.

Thus, the director said the PJ will reinforce inspection at various borders and be equipped with “advanced drug-detection devices”. The police force will also increase monitoring and raids at casinos and encourage the public to report drug crimes.

Furthermore, Wong said that the PJ will strengthen intelligence exchanges further with other countries and regions, especially concerning cross-border crimes, the latest trend of modus operandi and even terrorist activities, to implement effective operations to prevent and crack down on drug offences.
On the other hand, between June 2010 and May 2011, the PJ received 10,150 new cases, down 4.1 percent over the same period between mid-2009 and mid-2010.

Wong said there was 1 murder, 2 kidnappings, 25 ‘deprivation of one’s freedom of movement’, 24 cases of extortion, 34 arson cases, 158 loan-sharking for gambling purposes, 6 crime syndicates, 1,689 thefts as well as 146 robbery cases during the period.

Compared with the preceding 12 months, the PJ chief said cases of murder dropped significantly by 66.7 percent, extortion decreased 36.8 percent and robbery also dropped down 29.5 percent.

There was a “notable increase” in ‘deprivation of one’s freedom of movement’, theft and also computer crime, he added.

In addition, Wong said the renovation of the new PJ headquarters building, in the old premises of the Central Government Liaison Office, is expected to be completed at the end of 2012 and the police force can then move to a more spacious office area in early 2013.

hkskyline

July 26th, 2011, 05:04 PM

Body scanner ‘won’t breach privacy’: PJ
21/07/2011 06:15:00
Macau Daily Times

The Judiciary Policy (PJ) guaranteed that the new body scanning machine that will be placed at the airport “won’t breach privacy”, as it will only be used in specific areas.

Responding to some concerns of residents, the PJ made it clear that the x-ray machine won’t be installed at exit and entry points of the airport, they said in a statement.

Instead, it will be set up in “specific areas of the airport where the PJ usually operates”. “It won’t be installed on the normal areas through which passengers flow.”

The body scanning machine will become operational early next month to assist in combating drug trafficking, by helping the police in the crackdown of smuggling illicit drugs internally.

hkskyline

July 28th, 2011, 08:19 PM

Author : http://www.flickr.com/photos/montoya711/with/5984217578/

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hkskyline

July 29th, 2011, 07:36 PM

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/539/5395462.html

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hkskyline

August 9th, 2011, 07:16 PM

CAM to buy ADA for MOP 30 million
01/08/2011 20:08:00
Macau Daily Times

Macau International Airport Company (CAM) is close to reaching a deal to purchase the Administration of Airports (ADA), which currently runs the local airport’s daily operations.

The deal “is likely to be settled this week,” a source told Macau Daily Times. However, “everything is still being discussed and nothing has been put down in black and white,” the person added.

The deal to purchase the Sino-Portuguese joint venture between CNAC - China National Aviation Corporation (Macau) and ANA - Aeroportos de Portugal will be concluded for about MOP 30 million, according to a source quoted by TDM on Friday.

But that may not be the final sum. “Both sides are discussing final details and the price of the deal has not been set while talks are ongoing,” the source told MDTimes.

China National Aviation Corporation, ADA’s biggest shareholder with 51 percent of the company, is now analysing CAM’s proposal and a decision is expected soon. “ANA is also expected to provide an answer this week,” the person said.

CAM wants to buy ADA as a whole in order to retain the entire management structure, including existing personnel. But the company may not be alone in the deal, the source said.

ADA will maintain its structure but it will have two new shareholders. CAM will be the major stakeholder but another company will be included as a partner, the source said without identifying the third party.

Although the final procedures are not yet completed, CAM executive director Sunning Liu told TDM on Friday that ADA employees could rest assured about their jobs.

“ADA employees are valuable assets to the airport. Therefore, CAM will endeavour to safeguard their employment under the new model of airport management,” CAM chairman Deng Jun stressed last March.

But precaution must prevail, the source said, adding that some people will have to renegotiate their contracts. “Common sense tells us we must wait and see what the terms of the agreement are and what steps CAM takes after signing the deal.”

ADA has been responsible for maintaining most of the airport’s day-to-day functions, including logistics, safety equipment, the aerodrome and financial functions since 1995 but its contract will expire on September 11.

In March the CAM chairman announced that the contract would not be renewed. ADA’s initial 15-year contract with CAM was renewed in 2009 but only for two years.

“On the principle of ‘safety, effectiveness and efficiency,’ the board of directors decided that CAM, as the airport concessionaire, will set up a new management structure” for the airport, he said.

The management revamp “is only a part of a wider reform” of the airport, the executive added.

Two weeks ago an airport development master plan was disclosed, suggesting the expansion of parking areas for private jets and small planes and the construction of a transport hub complex at Pac On, connecting the airport with the new Taipa Ferry Terminal.

hkskyline

August 31st, 2011, 03:00 AM

Media union slams aviation regulator
25/07/2011 06:07:00
Macau Daily Times (http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/27633-Media-union-slams-aviation-regulator.html)

The Macau Civil Aviation Authority (AACM) acted in a “discriminatory” manner by disclosing an airport masterplan to a selected group of media representatives, the Macau Portuguese and English Press Association (AIPIM) accused.

On Thursday a few local media were invited to a media lunch, “which was nothing but a press conference in which preliminary data of a study on the expansion of the Macau International Airport were disclosed,” AIPIM wrote in an open letter to the head of AACM, Simon Chan Weng Hong.

Although “it was not a formal presentation of the study’s final report,” the association believes AACM “has the duty to inform every media in the same manner and at the same time” and should not, “based on undisclosed criteria, select merely a few”.

hkskyline

September 9th, 2011, 11:09 AM

Not sure whether all the stats in the last paragraph are accurate.

Airport passenger traffic recovers
05/09/2011 09:51:00
Macau Daily Times (http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/29182-Airport-passenger-traffic-recovers.html)

Passenger traffic at the Macau International Airport increased 8.8 percent year-on-year to almost 396,000 in August, completing a three-month rising trend. According to a press statement it was the highest figure recorded so far this year.

The last three months show an improvement in the airport’s performance after consecutive year-on-year decreases between August 2010 and May 2011.

The comeback began in June when passenger traffic increased by five percent to top 343,000 and continued in July with a 6.3 percent growth to more than 379,000. In August there was also an 11 percent jump in flight movements to over 3,400.

The passenger traffic increase was fuelled by the launch of new destinations and additional flights and also an increase in the number of local residents travelling outside of the territory, the Macau International Airport Company (CAM) wrote.

On June 23 mainland China carrier Juneyao Airlines launched a new route between Macau and Shanghai. On July 1 Air Macau resumed its regular service to Tokyo after a suspension as a result of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11.

Good prospects for local economic development, population employment stability and the overall increase in income were the main reason why more residents flew out of Macau during the summer, CAM wrote.

On the other hand more and more tourists are arriving in the MSAR by air, the company added, as the city becomes “a world tourism, leisure and gaming destination”.

However last month’s figures are still a far cry from the historic heights recorded in April 2007, the only month in which the airport reached 500,000 passengers.

In 2010 the terminal hosted less than 4.1 million passengers, the lowest number since 2004. And in the first eight months of this year the airport recorded just 2.3 million, down from 23.8 million in the same period of 2010.
Still the airport’s master plan disclosed last July includes an expansion project slated to accommodate a volume of 5.6 million passengers in 2015 and ultimately 15 million in 2039.

hkskyline

January 13th, 2012, 05:12 AM

Airport extends positive trend
30/12/2011 10:43:00
Macau Daily Times (http://www.macaudailytimes.com.mo/macau/32644-Airport-extends-positive-trend.html)

The number of people who used the Macau International Airport increased year-on-year in November, for the sixth consecutive month. After a dismal start in 2011 the local airport is recovering.

Last month the infrastructure handled 328,800 passengers, up by eight percent from the same period of 2010. However this is still a far cry from the best November ever, registered in 2007, when over 455,000 people went through the airport.

Even though the launch of direct flights between Taiwan and mainland China has heavily reduced the number of stopovers in Macau, the island is still the most important market for the local airport, accounting for 1.32 million passengers or 36 percent of the total.

Mainland China comes next with a 29 percent share, followed by Thailand with 11 percent of the total.

The Taipa terminal has been posting consecutive year-on-year growth since July. Despite this recovery the figures so far this year show a one percent decrease from 2010 to 3.69 million.

This positive six-month period has been unable to counter the passengers lost in the beginning of the year. From January to May 2011 the airport handled just 1.58 million passengers, down 10 percent from the same period last year.

But the biggest worry comes from airfreight, which plummeted in the first 11 months of 2011. The airport processed just 36,250 tonnes, down 25 percent year-on-year – a decrease that is worrying the members of the Logistics Development Committee.

“We think that this year air freight will reach just 40,000 tonnes. That’s far below the 200,000 tonnes we registered a couple of years ago,” the committee secretary-general Wong Wan said earlier this month.

hkskyline

January 26th, 2012, 02:53 PM

Flying Hospitals to open local hub
12/01/2012 07:16:00
Macau Daily Times

Macau is set to become the Asian hub for charity Global Flying Hospitals (GFH), which wants to take high-tech medical cares to the developing countries in the region. The organisation signed a sponsorship agreement with a hotel chain but is also looking for partners to manufacture emergency shelters.

The US-based charity has been eyeing the MSAR for the last couple of years, founder and chairman Neill Newton said. “Macau is a far better place because it’s right in the geographical bull’s-eye, surrounded by developing countries,” he explained.

GFH is looking for funding of about USD 14 million (MOP 112 million) to turn two Boeing 747 into training hospitals and Newton believes it will be cheaper to do it in the territory. “We are close to Xiamen, where we can get refurbishing at a much lower price and the same for airplane servicing in Hong Kong,” he said.

The charity still needs to get the approval from local authorities to station its fleet in Macau. “We know it’s a small airport with limited parking space. But we are confident most of our fleet will be out on the field at any time,” the Australian national said.

The president of the Civil Aviation Authority (AACM), Simon Chan Weng Hong, confirmed to Macau Daily Times that so far he had not been contacted by GFH. “I’m not yet familiar with their operation model,” he said on the sidelines of the sponsorship signing ceremony.

Humanitarian studies

The charity is now sponsored by Sofitel hotel chain but it is also looking for partners to start manufacturing emergency shelters in the MSAR. “We were speaking to the Detroit airport authorities but it’s too expensive to do it there. Each shelter would cost from USD 6,000 to 7,000 [MOP 48,000 to 56,000],” Newton said.

The process would not only involve shelters big enough for 16 people but also sanitation, water purification and solar power generation, he explained. “There are no talks yet but we are open to discussions with anyone interested.”

The entrepreneur believes the territory can become a humanitarian hub. “Most people in Australia haven’t heard of Macau or if they did it was all about gaming,” he bemoaned. GFH and the manufacturing of shelters would bring “the focus of international media on Macau,” Newton promised.

He is also interested in talking to the University of Macau on the possible creation of a chair on Humanitarian Studies.

“There are thousands of volunteers and charities working worldwide but there is no place where you can learn how to carry out humanitarian work. A chair on Humanitarian Studies would draw people from all over the world,” the businessman stressed.

GFH has already worked with refugees from the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2011 Japan tsunami but is now keen on providing logistics to medical charities. “Can’t we send a high-tech hospital to people in need instead of sending volunteers to makeshift facilities?” Newton said.