News in brief: Wednesday, January 16
Singaporean serviced apartment firm The Ascott Limited has won management contracts for three more properties in China totalling more than 500 units. The addition of one property in Shanghai and two in Suzhou cement the firm's position as the "largest international serviced residence owner-operator" in China, with more than 8,000 apartment units in 46 properties across 17 cities.
MSC Cruises Australia will hold a four day sale from January 29 with discounts if up to 50% on offer.
Skimax has released its 2013 Southern Hemisphere brochure featuring holidays in Australia and New Zealand. Earlybird packages are available for bookings paid in full by May 31.
Australians have been revealed as creatures of habit by a new survey which shows the majority of Aussie holidaymakers are heading for tried and tested destinations.
The report by cheapflights.com.au found that almost 83% of Australians are likely to holiday at the same destination more than once, encouraged by value pricing, safety, ease of getting around, weather and the ability to visit family.
P&O Cruises will hold its first Mothers Day-themed cruise this year aboard Pacific Jewel. The three-night roundtrip cruise departs Sydney on May 10 and is priced from $419 per person.
Sydney has been voted the number one destination for the tenth year running in Wotif.com's annual ranking of Australia's holiday hotspots.
Based on 2012 bookings made via the accommodation booking site, the NSW capital was followed by Melbourne, Gold Coast, Brisbane and Perth.
United Airlines has introduced onboard WiFi internet connectivity to the first of its international wide-bodied aircraft. The Boeing 747 aircraft, which serves trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes, including its LA to Melbourne via Sydney service, has been fitted with Panasonic Avionics Ku-band satellite technology.
Tempo Holidays has cut the cost of its new 12-day Cycladic Adventure tour by 10% when booked by February 28.
The newly formed LATAM Airlines Group saw systemwide passenger traffic grow 10% in December year on year, outpacing capacity increases of 7.4%. As a result, load factor rose 1.8 percentage points to 78.2%.
International passenger traffic acounted for around 50% of the overall total. However, traffic increases of 9.6% on international routes did not keep pace with capacity increases of 15%, resulting in a 3.7 percentage point decline in load factor to 75.7%.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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