Police believe a criminal gang is behind the theft but they doubt the criminals were stealing ice to place in their own drinks. Some international gourmets will pay high prices for designer ice cubes, believing that a piece of pure glacier ice can enhance the taste or the social prestige of their cocktails, gin-and-tonics or Scotch-on-the-rocks.

Police found a large chunk of the 5.2 tonnes of ice, thought to have been stolen from the Jorge Montt glacier, in a refrigerated truck, the Guardian reported.

Authorities believe the theft could be adding to the impact of global warming in damaging the glacier. They may charge the truck driver with violating a national monument.

Jorge Montt is already on the retreat, shrinking by almost a kilometre a year. A widely publicised series of images of the glacier have been used to show graphically the effects of global warming. Scientists argue whether the activities of man are to blame for global warming but no one disputes that humans were behind the glacier ice-cube theft.

Jorge Montt glacier is part of Chile’s Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. Bernardo O’Higgins, incidentally, was an 18^th-century Chilean independence leader, the illegitimate son of the splendidly named Ambrosio O’Higgins, First Marquis of Osorno, a Spanish officer born in County Sligo, Ireland, who became governor of Chile and later viceroy of Peru. It’s yet another example of the influence of Ireland on the world. The ice cubes could go well with Irish whiskey.

Written by Peter Needham

The total surcharge for a one-way flight to the US will climb to AUD310, while those to Britain and Germany will reach AUD350.

European Union and Australian carbon pricing schemes and increased fuel costs would lift future ticket prices for Qantas and Jetstar passengers travelling domestically and internationally, the airline stated.

From 15 February 2012, surcharges to Asia and Honolulu will rise by AUD20 to reach AUD165, surcharges to Buenos Aires, Johannesburg and Santiago will rise by AUD40 to reach AUD240, surcharges to the US will rise by AUD60 to reach AUD310 and surcharges to London and Frankfurt will rise by AUD60 to reach AUD350.

The previous increase in international fuel surcharges took place on 19 April 2011.

Jet fuel is Qantas’ biggest operational cost and market prices remain consistently high, the carrier stated. The Qantas Group’s jet fuel cost for the six months to 31 December 2011 was AUD2.2 billion, an increase of around AUD450 million compared with the previous year. Average year-to-date jet fuel prices are at their highest level since 2007/08.

Qantas will also increase domestic Qantas and QantasLink fares from 9 February to reflect fuel costs. Increase amounts will vary by route and fare class but will average approximately 2.5%.

Examples of new Qantas lead-in, year-round domestic fares on and after 9 February are as follows: Sydney-Melbourne AUD117 becomes AUD122, Brisbane-Melbourne AUD155 becomes AUD159, Melbourne-Perth AUD229 becomes AUD235.

An increase of AUD2 in the fuel surcharge for domestic Qantas Frequent Flyer Classic Award redemptions (from AUD10 to AUD12) will also be implemented.

In an issued statement, Qantas said that while fuel surcharges, price increases and hedging are being used to mitigate the impact of fuel prices, they will not fully recover the cost impact.  Qantas has hedged 86% of its remaining fuel requirement in 2011/12 at a worst-case crude oil price of USD121 per barrel.

On carbon pricing in Europe, Qantas says it will be required to pay an estimated AUD2.3 million for the necessary allowances. It will accordingly place a AUD3.50 surcharge on one-way fares booked in Australia for flights to London and Frankfurt.

The airline has previously put the total cost of a carbon tax in Australia, which will take effect from July, at between AUD110 million and AUD115 million next financial year, (Qantas AUD75.7 million, Jetstar AUD37 million).

Written by Peter Needham

DoT-Central Luzon Regional Director Ronaldo P. Tiotuico said the MoA aims to expand access to vital destinations by building roads that directly connect to infrastructures like international gateways as well as town service centers where a cluster of hotels, restaurants, travel and tour services and other related services abound.

Ronaldo said that an action planning conference was held recently among regional executives of DoT and the DPWH, together with some partner non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and tourism councils to flesh out the directives contained in the agreement by prioritizing tourism road infrastructure projects (TRIP) located in the 21 tourism development areas (TDAs) identified in the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP 2011-2016).

He said that the TDA is defined as an area covered by a single local government unit (LGU) that has already an existing or emerging tourist center but which lacks road infrastructure support leading to places most frequently visited by tourists. “This is just the first step in achieving the goal of generating 10 million visitors in 2016,” he added.

Based on the agreement, the DOT would identify the tourism road projects while DPWH would be the one to build. The timetable for the project is between 2013 up to 2016.

He said priority will be given to those tourism development areas which have already an existing gateway like an airport or seaport, and are served by a service center clustered by hotels, dining facilities, among other services. Also, priority will be granted to tourist centers which generate a significant number of visitors and are supported by an ample supply of rooms and services.

In Central Luzon alone, and in accordance with the NTDP conclusions, its TDAs consist of Subic-Clark-Tarlac corridor, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan coast and inland, Zambales coast, Nueva Ecija and Aurora.

“These areas have already existing gateways and are served by a host of vital tourism services while the volume of visitor arrivals has become significant to warrant priority consideration in the program with a significant number of hotel rooms to support such development,” Ronaldo said.

He also said that the tourism development for the region is centered on the current and future development of Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) which is seen to be the next premiere gateway to the world. At present, DMIA generates monthly inbound travel for some 30,000 passengers wherein half of which are foreign visitors.

Its existing passenger terminal can accommodate 2.5 million passenger movements but once the second phase of the terminal is completed this year, its holding capacity will reach 10 million.

On the other hand, the volume of domestic visitor arrivals in the entire region has reached the one millionth mark based on statistics gathered by local government units (LGUs) wherein 50% of which is generated by both Clark and Subic.

The tourism road infrastructure project is expected to interlink all the provinces in Central Luzon to the gateway in Clark.

In so doing, “we are optimistic that it will increase visitor traffic in all the provinces, bolster the economic development of the entire region and at the same time, create more jobs for all,” he said.

He said the final draft of the project for Region 3 is expected to be formally submitted to DPWH by April 9, 2012 for inclusion in their 2013 work program.

Written by: Kanchana Ganglani

“We are now able to bring even more value to, what we truly believe already to be, the most valuable and cost-effective travel agent marketing opportunity available,” he added.

“As we expand development, and add even more niche market ‘feeder’ sites,” Peter continued, “we expect consumer traffic to OTD to rise from the current levels of over 6,000 per day to over 25,000 per day by the end of this year, and we are forecasting over three million ‘mobile’ travel consumers downloading our Apps over the next two years. OTD provides a tremendous opportunity for independent, or affiliated, agents to reach a huge audience for relatively little cost.”

The easy to use interfaces, searching over 700 (and growing) categories, including travel suppliers, travel specialties and destinations, plus mapping and contact options, on OfficialTravelDirectory.com and the Apps, help consumers find the desired specialist, whether nearest to their home or even an agent expert that resides at their planned destination who may be able to provide local insights in addition to booking services.

Travel agents located in the U.S.A., Canada, the U.K. or Australia wishing to list their services may do so online at OfficialTravelDirectory.com.

Written by: Kanchana Ganglani

Previously it used to be highlighted on just Asia Pacific but now the latest survey has extended its reach to know the past and future travel plans of global travelers. The report gathers information gleaned from interviews with 11,620 respondents from 23 countries and territories around the world, including Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Respondents in each market were aged 18 years and older, had travelled internationally for holidays in the past two years or had the intention to do so in the next two years.

The report, focused on results from a global perspective with country and segment highlights as appropriate will take on the following key areas including travel and destination trends in the past two years and the next two years, and influences on the choice of destination. Travel budgets and preferred modes of payments of travelers. How travelers plan their holidays, their preferences and sources of information and also the affluent travelers’ preferences.

The complete Visa Global Travel Intentions Survey 2011 can be downloaded at http://www.visa-asia.com/ap/sea/index.shtml.

Written by: Kanchana Ganglani

The Heathrow-based pilot, whose nationality is British and who cannot be named for legal reasons, worked for “a well-known British carrier” but was judged a security risk, the Daily Mail reported.

The carrier took action only after the pilot was arrested over an alleged terror plot.

The pilot told an employment tribunal his employer suspected he might fly planes into buildings because of his “race and religion, because of the actions of other people of a similar race and religion”.

The pilot strongly denies the airline’s claim that he was unsuitable to fly because of his links to two alleged extremists suspected of “planning to use an aircraft as part of a hostile or terrorist act”, the Mail reported.

Concerns about the two suspected extremists arose when they paid in cash for a light aircraft and flying lessons. A subsequent raid by detectives on the London home of one of the pair revealed documents relating to the operation of aircraft, a flight map of Britain and literature from Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Islamist political organisation that aims for the unification of all Muslim nations over time in a unitary Islamic state or caliphate, headed by an elected caliph and ruled by Islamic law.

Both men were detained under Britain’s Terrorism Act. However, charges against one of them were later dropped while the other was cleared by a jury.

The pilot and his brother – an active member of Hizb ut-Tahrir – were also arrested but never charged.

The tribunal heard that the pilot had been questioned about comments he had allegedly made on a flight deck in 2005 about the 9/11 attacks on New York, that those killed were “not innocent victims”. He denied making the remark.

One of the airline’s security managers told the tribunal that  “anyone caught up in a terror plot has the potential to damage the good name” of the company.

Suggestions have been made that the pilot was dismissed primarily because he was “a Muslim with a Pakistani-sounding name” and was deemed by his employers to be guilty by association.

The pilot was dismissed in October 2010. He is claiming racial and religious discrimination. The hearing continues.

Written by : Peter Needham

The airline posted operating revenue of 3,062.1 billion KRW for the fourth quarter of 2011, up 7.7% compared to the same period last year, and an operating profit amounted to 76.8 billion KRW. International passenger and cargo businesses remained the major revenue contributors for the airline in Q4, accounting for 55.1% and 29.3% of the operating revenue respectively. Compared to the same period last year, net income for Q4 returned to the black and reached 125 billion KRW.

For the full year of 2011, the airline recorded operating revenue of 11,805.3 billion KRW, up 4.7% year-on-year, and operating profit of 394.1 billion KRW. However, due to a surge in jet fuel expenses, a net loss is resulted during the period.

International Passenger Business

Traffic kept growing. During the quarter, the airline saw increased traffic across all routes, including Americas (up 12%), South-east Asian countries (up 12%), and China (up 14%); the international passenger segment recorded year-on-year growth of 10.6% and 10.2% in passenger carrying capacity and traffic, reaching 21,081 million ASK and 15,774 million RPK respectively.  Overseas inbound traffic lifted 15% compared to the same period last year.

According to IATA, international air traffic is expected to grow by 5.2% in 2012, in which Asia region growth rate is projected to exceed 7%, and hence passenger traffic is expected to continue on a steadily upward trend. In addition, with the introduction of new routes (e.g. Incheon – DaNang, Incheon – Gatwick, Incheon – Urumqi and Incheon – Nairobi) and stepping up frequency on selected routes, such as Busan – Hong Kong, Incheon – Qingdao, Incheon – Tianjin, Jeju – Beijing and etc., the airline sees potential growth in passenger traffic.

With the latest addition of more fuel efficient aircrafts to the fleet, including Airbus A380 and Boeing B777-300ER, the airline is expected to see improvement in profitability.

Cargo Business

Cargo traffic recorded a year-on-year fall of 6.7% to 2,284 million FTK as it saw a year-on-year decrease of 10% and 4% in Korea outbound traffic and transit traffic respectively. While outbound cargo traffic from China reported a slump, outbound traffic from south-east Asian Countries, Japan, Americas and Europe recorded increases of 6%, 5%, 6% and 3% respectively. In Q4, the carrier saw the return of wet-lease aircraft in October and November for profitability improvement. Charter flights to Sao Paulo and Lima were also put into operation in the quarter.

Going into 2012, cargo traffic is expected to be on a steadily upward trend with the Free Trade Agreement between Europe and Korea and The London Olympic Games. Korean Air will strive to enhance profitability and sustain growth by focusing operation on new markets development. Korean Air also sees the potential of leveraging Brazil as a hub and builds the cargo network in Latin America.

Korean Air said it would continue to expand its business prudently while enhancing the quality of its service in 2012. With its long-standing commitment to achieving “Excellence in Flight”, Korean Air aims to provide the best quality to its customers while bringing the best returns to its shareholders.

One Australian dollars is currently worth about 1193 Korean won (KRW) and one US dollar is currently worth about 1126 Korean won (KRW).

Edited by William Sykes

In unveiling the special promotion, Queensland’s Tourism, Manufacturing and Small Business Minister Jan Jarratt said it would coincide with the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 on DVD and Blu-ray in the US on 11 February 2012.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn is the blockbuster 2011/2012 set of romantic fantasy films directed by Bill Condon and based on the novel Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The two films form the fourth and fifth instalments in The Twilight Saga series.

“Tourism Queensland has partnered with Summit Entertainment on two Twilight Saga sweepstakes at US retail giants Walmart and Target where fans can win a trip to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef,” Jarratt said.

The promotion is so important to Queensland that the state has arranged a solar eclipse.

“Tropical North Queensland will experience its own twilight phenomenon in November as it becomes the best place on earth to experience the full solar eclipse,” Jarratt confirmed.

“So the opportunity to promote Queensland to millions of American Twi-hard fans was just too good to miss.

“The sweepstakes will feature on more than a million copies of the DVD and Blu-ray in Target stores across the US, while Walmart.com will tout the promotion in prominent online advertising across its website.

“Twenty lucky competition entrants will win a trip for two to Queensland, including return airfares, seven nights’ accommodation and touring experiences offered by Down Under Answers – an American-based travel company.”

Member for Barron River Steve Wettenhall said on top of the sweepstakes, the promotion would see Queensland and the Tropical North showcased to 27 million people through the Twilight Saga’s official Facebook page.

“Not only will fans get a chance to win a fabulous Tropical North Queensland holiday and other prizes, but Twilight fans will learn more about our many experiences and destinations, with Down Under Answers offering holiday packages for the campaign,” he said.

“The timing is perfect, ahead of the anticipated release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 which just so happens to also coincide with November’s solar eclipse.”

The Twilight Saga sweepstakes runs until early March, with 20 winners and their guests able to travel to Queensland until January 2013, and even potentially experience the eclipse themselves.

Wettenhall said the competition would be followed up by e-marketing activities, showcasing the amazing breath of holiday experiences available in Queensland and encouraging fans to visit soon.

“If entrants miss out on one of the s prizes they still have the opportunity to grab a great holiday deal and learn more about the 2012 eclipse as part of a Tourism Queensland campaign encouraging entrants to book a trip to Queensland.

“The US is an important international market, with 149,000 American visitors travelling to Queensland in the year to September 2011.”

Edited by : Peter Needham

NSW Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts, George Souris, confirmed that Kylie will be a special guest at the state’s biggest tourism event – and one of the biggest in Australia.

Her appearance comes about thanks to a partnership forged between Destination NSW and Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

“We welcome Kylie Minogue to Australia’s leading tourism and events city for one of the world’s leading events,” Souris said.

“Ms Minogue has a very special place in Australians’ hearts. She has a global audience who adore her.  Where better for her to celebrate her 25 years in entertainment than in Sydney, Australia’s global city.

“The presence of Kylie Minogue is sure to make this the biggest and best Sydney Mardi Gras ever,” he said.

Sydney Mardi Gras 2012 coincides with Kylie Minogue’s 25th anniversary in the entertainment industry and her recent induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame last year.

Minogue will be the guest of honour at the Parade this year with a special float set to be one of the highlights of the night.

Kylie Minogue said, “I am coming home for Mardi Gras this year!”

“I simply cannot wait, and it’s going to be a beautiful way to celebrate 25 years of this relationship.

“Your support over the years has just been phenomenal and I can’t wait to come home and share that with you. So see you in March,” Minogue said.

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras CEO, Michael Rolik, said Mardi Gras is part of the cultural fabric of Sydney and the Parade.

“In partnership with Destination NSW our goal is to grow the event as the world’s premier celebration of diversity for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex communities.

“Sydney Mardi Gras says something great about Sydney.  We are accepting, open, diverse and colourful,” he said.

Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase said Sydney Mardi Gras is a perfect platform to showcase Sydney and NSW to the rest of Australia and the world.

“Destination NSW research has found Sydney Mardi Gras attracts more than 20,000 overseas and interstate visitors who come specifically for the event, injecting around $30 million in new money to the State.

“Sydney Mardi Gras also reaches huge media audiences. In previous years it has reached more than 70 million people from interstate and key international tourism markets via press coverage and social media feeds about the event.

“With the addition of Kylie Minogue in 2012 we can expect even greater community engagement and enthusiasm.  We anticipate huge social media traffic and interest in travelling to Sydney to attend the event.

“Mardi Gras is a stand out and a unique asset for Sydney and NSW,” she said.

Edited by : Peter Needham

The problems also hit travel agents and airline check-in desks at airports.

The system crash happened in the late evening in eastern Australian time, a quieter period. It was also quieter in the Northern Hemisphere, being winter and not a holiday peak. But passengers were delayed at check-in as staff had to key in passport details manually, being unable to scan the documents.

One report said the delays came close to bringing flights in Finland to a standstill.

As is usual, the first complaints surfaced vis Twitter. “Goddammit, whole european flight reservation system down, and my flight to Stuttgart canceled,” tweeted user Sakari Hyoti.

“The systems incident has been fully resolved,” the company said. “All Amadeus systems are now operating normally. Amadeus regrets any inconvenience this incident may have caused.”

Just two months ago, Qantas check-in staff were reduced to writing out boarding passes by hand after a sudden glitch paralysed the airline’s check-in system.

Amadeus later accepted responsibility for that outage, issuing a statement: “Amadeus can confirm that the issues related to printing of boarding passes from our departure control system experienced this morning have now been fully resolved.

“We are currently investigating the cause of the issue that occurred today and regret any inconvenience caused to our customers. We remain committed to providing the industry’s leading information technology services that support many airlines around the world.”

It’s not the fist time Qantas has struck that sort of glitch. Widely publicised system failures caused major delays for the airline in November 2009 and January 2010, forcing manual check-in. Amadeus was reported to have reached a private agreement with Qantas following those failures.

Judging from yesterday’s problems, a few kinks may still have to be ironed out.

Ironically, the latest glitch struck not long after Amadeus announced it had created the world’s first interline Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) link. The application of EMD to interline partnerships allows participating airlines to facilitate payment for and delivery of ancillary services across their partnerships and alliances.

Written by Peter Needham