KARACHI: The Convener, FPCCI Central Standing Committee on tourism development, Ms. Shanaz Ramzi called on its 5th meeting via ‘Zoom’ on Wednesday, April 29, 2020. The meeting was attended by Mr. Zubair Baweja, Chairman Pakistan Hotel association & Vice President FPCCI, Ms. Anadil Khan, Ms. Almas Tariq and Ch. Faisal Mahmood, Chief Editor Holiday Weekly. Ms. Ramzi Chaired the meeting. Ms. Shanaz welcomed the members at 12 pm sharp and updated them about the issues being faced by her as FPCCI doesn’t seem to be sending out the circular of the committee’s activities to any of its members in spite…
Author: holidayweekly
BANGKOK: Thailand is set to extend its state of emergency to May 31 to cement progress against the novel coronavirus, while also making preparations to restart businesses nationwide. The emergency was due to expire at the end of April but is set to be extended by another month, Taweesilp Witsanuyotin, a spokesman for the Covid-19 center, said in a briefing. At the same time, the country intends to reopen businesses gradually nationwide by sector, he said. Therefore, under the executive order, the six-hour curfew from 22.00 to 04.00, prohibition of mass gatherings, inter-provincial travel restrictions and ban on travel into…
PARIS: European planemaker Airbus has told the company’s 135,000 employees to brace for deeper job cuts, warning its survival is at stake without immediate action, a Reuters report said. In a letter to staff late last week, Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said: “We’re bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed, which may threaten the very existence of our company.” “We must now act urgently to reduce our cash-out, restore our financial balance and, ultimately, to regain control of our destiny,” he said. With airline customers fighting to survive and unable to accept new aircraft, Airbus is juggling its delivery schedules while…
The French and Dutch governments announced at least 9 billion euros ($9.7 billion) in bailout money Friday, April 24, to rescue Air France and KLM, whose planes have been largely grounded by virus lockdowns around the world. The partner airlines had been in negotiations for weeks with their respective governments, as carriers worldwide are collapsing or seeking government bailouts. The past several weeks of travel restrictions have upended the entire industry, and Air France and KLM said earlier this month that they expect their joint traffic to be down more than 90% in the coming months. Air France will get…
Bench Events had announced a second instalment of its Hospitality Tomorrow series. The move follows the warm reception for the launch event earlier this month, which welcomed 5,343 hospitality decision-makers from 128 countries around the world. Revealing the new event, Bench Events Chairman, Jonathan Worsley, said: “We are back for episode two, where we will follow the sun around the globe with a focus on China, India, the Middle East, Europe and ending with North America.” Speakers at the event will include Marcus-Milan Arandjelovic, Around town; Dirk Bakker, Colliers International; Puneet Chhatwal, Indian Hotels Company; Frank Croston, Hamilton Hotel Partners;…
Princess Cruises has temporarily revised its final payment dates and cancellation policies for cruises departing up to mid-October. In an update to its Cruise with Confidence policy, introduced to give customers more flexibility and peace of mind, those due to depart on a cruise in July can cancel up to 48 hours prior to departure. Customers with departures from August 1 to October 15 can cancel up to 30 days prior to departure. In both cases they will receive a refund of everything they’ve paid and a future cruise credit to the value of any cancellation fees. For all cruises…
OSLO: Norway’s parliament voted through a new company restructuring law on Friday that could help save Norwegian Air and many other companies from potential bankruptcy as a result of the restrictions to stem the spread of COVID-19. The legislation replaces current regulation on debt negotiations and relaxes rules for converting debt into equity. “(The new law) is a more efficient tool to… sort out what parts of a business can be strong enough to survive,” Justice Minster Monica Maeland told parliament. Her comments were not aimed at any specific firms, but budget carrier Norwegian Air is among those likely to…
KARACHI: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has decided to operate 53 special flights from next week to facilitate Pakistanis stranded abroad. According to details, the flights would be operated for Algeria, Khartoum, Nairobi, Oman, Zurich, Amsterdam, Turkey and Jeddah to bring the Pakistani citizens. The PIA has asked the passengers who were unable to travel to Pakistan from these destinations due to suspension of flight operations amid COVID-19 pandemic to contact the airline’s call centre and provide their local numbers for coordination. The numbers would be used to inform the passengers regarding booking procedures, flight suspension and others details pertaining to…
Air travel will not rebound to pre-pandemic levels for another three years, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian warned analysts during the company’s first quarter earnings call on Wednesday. “Demand for near-term air travel dropped to almost zero in a matter of weeks,” he said. But when travel starts to return, Bastian predicts Delta will be a different airline. “Safety will not be limited to flight safety, but [will expand] to personal safety,” Bastian said. “People will pay a premium on service excellence like never before.” Flights, which before the pandemic were operating 80-90 percent full, may only be 65-70…
WASHINGTON:US President Donald Trump has said that he will sign an executive order temporarily suspending immigration to the US, as the nation battles the health and economic effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic. According to an announcement the measure was done “in light of the attack from the invisible enemy,” or the coronavirus pandemic, and to protect US jobs. It’s unclear what mechanism Trump will use to suspend immigration and it is also unclear how long such a suspension could last. Last month, the US suspended almost all visa processing, including for immigrants, because of the pandemic. The US has…