Germany new draft law to tackle sales tax fraud in e-commerce business

The German government on Yesterday approved a draft law to crack down on value added tax fraud in online sales by tightening the rules for e-commerce companies like eBay  & Amazon.
The Govt estimates that it loses up to 500 million euros ($580 million) a year in unpaid sales taxes on goods purchased online from companies which are outside Germany.

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said in a statement:

“We are ending the illegal practice of some vendors on online marketplaces who evade the sales tax and unfairly give themselves competitive advantages”.

The government view is although German customers pay the price for their online purchases includes VAT, many foreign-based vendors never pass the taxes on to the German state.

The proposed legislation, which still needs to go through parliament, would oblige online shopping platforms to track sales by third-party companies on their website, and pass the relevant information on to the finance ministry so those firms can be taxed.

If that fails, the online platforms themselves could be liable to pay the necessary sales taxes.
The proposed German legislation would take effect in 2019, two years before a similar scheme for the entire European Union comes into force.

A spokesman for eBay told DPA news agency that the company has “no tolerance for vendors who fail to comply with their legal obligations on the eBay marketplace”.

But he also criticized Germany for rushing in measures ahead of the EU-wide legislation.

He said
“Any unilateral actions that lead to legal fragmentation pose a huge burden for global companies”.

Do your Website Needs an SEO Agency

Search Engine Optimization can be an addition when developing or redesigning a new website. Look at it this way: Having a solid basis is key to building a house, and having a solid SEO friendly website design is a similar equivalence… so, why is SEO often a lower priority?

It may be there are so much going on in the affordable website design & development process that for SEO thought, “We’ll get to it later.” Or, it may be that your website development company just doesn’t specialize in SEO, even if they say they do. With the continuous evolvement of the search and digital landscape, you need an agency that’s knee deep in SEO best practices to ensure your website launch is successful.

Here we have question, Is your new website SEO friendly?

One of the first deliverables we recommend to new clients is an Onpage SEO Audit. We start with an audit because even the most beautiful website or well-optimized content isn’t going to be found by Google if your overall website isn’t SEO friendly. If search engine optimization is considered during the initial website development phase, you can avoid SEO issues down the road.

China e-commerce spending expected to reach $100bn

An emerging middle class in China with a high tendency to shop for foreignbrands is helping to drive up outlay on goods bought outside of China, according to eMarketer’s cross-border e-commerce spending forecast.

The guess is in line with Singles Day in China, the main e-commerce shopping event hold by Alibaba that happened last Satuaday, as analysts see the festival adding more and more overseas businesses.

The analysis discloses that the total cross-border ecommerce sales in China are expected to reach

US$100.17 billion by the end of 2017, with the average spend per cross-border digital buyer at US$882.

Average spend per buyer has increased since previous forecast due to the growing awareness of overseas brands in China, as well as better logistics and the perception that foreign goods are of better quality.

Also contributing to the growth is the popularity of Tmall Global, JD Worldwide and Kaola, sites that have made it easier for shoppers to access a wide variety of overseas products on a platform they are familiar with.

“The factors fueling the trend toward greater cross-border shopping are nothing new, as the average Chinese consumer is now more tech savvy, more exposed to foreign brands through overseas travel and the internet and, crucially, more willing to spend,” said Shelleen Shum, senior forecasting analyst.
More than a fifth (23%) of digital buyers in China will make at least one cross-border purchase via the internet, and growth in such purchases will start to slow over the forecast period as more residents choose local brands for some categories such as fashion. Realizing the demand for better-quality goods, local brands are starting to adapt to this change.

Computer and printer prices may rise in europe

European Union Court of Justice handed down a ruling today that overlays the way for taxes on anything that can print from a computer. Inkjets, laser printers, multifunction devices, you name it — they’re all in line for a price hike.

The legal shenanigans were kicked off, the group that handles the collection of secondary royalties for copyrighted works in Germany. VG Wort brought a suit against Canon, Epson, Fujitsu, HP, and Kyocera’s German branches.

The complaint? That printers allow people to reproduce copyright-protected works. That being the case, VG Wort believed that a duty should be collected by the companies that sell printers to compensate rights holders.

That’s right. VG Wort went to court because the printers HP sells in Germany might be used to print out a copy of the latest Neil Gaiman epic. Amazingly, the Court of Justice agreed. According to the ruling, any EU member state that allows its citizens to make copies of a work for private use must set up a system that compensates authors for those potential reproductions.

Computer-attached printers are targeted, but the ruling actually says that computers are fair game, too. Yes, HP may be forced to pay a printing levy on a computer and pass that expense on to consumers — even if they never hook that computer up to a printer.

Companies that sell other devices that can be used to reproduce such works — like pencils, pens, and typewriters — are apparently off the hook. Unless, of course, VG Wort can convince the Court that a hand, a pen, and a sheet of paper constitutes a “chain of devices.”

Lenovo Haswell laptop

The latest evolution in a line of affordable laptops is the Idea Pad Y410p. The ‘p’ models historically denote a high performance version and we’ve got that in spades here, along with a nice design and strong feature set.

Lenovo has slowly yet surely gone from virtual unknown to a top-tier PC manufacturer over the past few years. While the ThinkPad line (purchased from IBM) gave them a foothold in the Western hemisphere, their tireless push into mainstream markets has been paying off for them.

 Lenovo IdeaPad Y410plaptop released just a couple weeks ago, the Y410p sports the new Intel Haswell processors. In fact, it packs the powerful quad-core Core i7 chip into a relatively slim 14-inch chassis. You also get the punchy Nvidia GeForce GT 750M 2GB graphics card, both standard on all Y410p models. You also get 8GB of RAM and 1TB hard drives standard on all models.

  One of the standout features of the new Y410p and Y510p gaming laptops is a swappable optical drive, which can be replaced with a second GPU. We saw a couple models offered last week with that option included from the factory, hovering around the $1K mark with the rest of the configurations pretty maxed out too. As of publication none of said models are available, but we expect them to return eventually.

Facebook gets back online

Facebook has gone down for a short time, offering the world a short but horrific glimpse of what life would look like without the social networking giant.

Millions of users were on their PCs / Laptops but unable to log on to the website for about 20 minutes around 11am (AEST) on Wednesday and received error messages on Facebook's launch page.

"Sorry, something went wrong," one of the firm's missives read.

People in the US, South America and Europe all reported being unable to access the website, though it appeared not all users experienced difficulties.

Some took to rival networking site Twitter to giggle at the predicament.

Others appeared genuinely panicked at the prospect of not being able to upload pictures of their breakfast and poke their mates.

It remains unclear why Facebook went down.

Messages posted online, purportedly linked to the hacking collective Anonymous, claimed responsibility for attacking the site.

But it could not immediately verify the claim and it would appear an unlikely scenario.

Facebook representatives in Australia have been contacted for comment.

If it was attacked, and it's a big `if', one possible motive could be the social network recently becoming embroiled in the US National Security Administration PRISM data-mining scandal.

The company also announced on Wednesday that it has passed a major milestone in its development, with more than one million advertisers now using the site.

JetBlue start flights to New York City

Another low-cost airline is coming to the Albuquerque Sunport.JetBlue will start offering the only non-stop, year-round service to and from New York City.After months of conversations, Mayor Richard Berry made the announcement during his State of the City address today.Berry is touting this as a major development for business and tourism in the state.

A new airline will be taking off from the Sunport bound for New York City, starting April 22, 2013.JetBlue, the Big Apple’s hometown airline is known for low fares and free TV.It’s also a direct competitor for Southwest Airlines.I think it's great news,” said Michael Miller of Rio Grande Travel. Competition is always good for consumers. It puts Albuquerque a little bit more on the map in the airline industry.Miller, president of Rio Grande Travel, points out JetBlue’s non-stop flights to and from JFK Airport will be red-eye flights; mostly used by business travelers.

"I don't think we're going to have a lot of leisure travelers who are going to want to take a red eye to New York. But who knows. Maybe, said Miller.The last non-stop flight from Albuquerque into the New York area was to Newark in 2008.There were business travelers who used it. I mean I wouldn't say a lot because they ultimately cancelled the flight,” explained Miller. So JetBlue has a completely different model than the U.S. Flag carriers, the larger carries, so it's possible they could make a go of it..And if all goes well, Miller said you could see even more JetBlue departures and arrivals popping up at the Sunport.Then it's going to bring costs down. They have to compete. Competition's great," said Miller.More access to more places, making it easier for business travels is going to be good I think for folks who want to do business here or want to do business in those places so yeah, I think that would be an improvement," said traveler Jim Kapsis.

Many students choose to start their own business after studying abroad

Chinese students who study overseas and return are increasingly turning to entrepreneurship to make their dreams come true. Zhang Yue reports in Dalian, Liaoning province.An overseas student looks around for job opportunities at a Nanjing job fair. With the intensely competitive job market, many returning students choose to start their own business. An Xin / For China DailyWhen 31-year-old Li Tuo applied to study for a postgraduate degree on public policy at Japan's Kyoto University in 2005, he was thinking he would get a government job when he returned to China.

But Li now runs his own company providing free school applications and a visa service for students who want to study in Japan.The company, in Dalian, Liaoning province, has helped hundreds of students since it was founded in 2008 and makes a profit by receiving commission from universities in Japan.When I returned to China in 2008, I found that landing a job was not as easy as I thought, even with an overseas degree," Li recalls.The salary was disappointing, too.He got one job offer with a salary of 3,000 yuan ($471) per month, but found his study experience in Japan could not help him get a government job.

This is not an unusual experience for students who return from their overseas studies to China in recent years.According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, in 2011, 186,200 overseas students returned to the country.While finding employment after years of overseas experience has become an issue for Chinese students, some are boldly starting their own businesses. Among those who returned in 2011, 20,000 set up their own businesses.Most of my schoolmates stayed at electronics companies in Japan," Li says. "But about 20 percent are returning. We see more potential for self-accomplishment back here.Self-accomplishment is what Li was seeking when he set up his own business.When I returned from the United States in 1996, only those who could not survive in the US came back to China," says Xu Xiaoping, one of the country's best-known angel investors, who now provides funds to entrepreneurs from overseas including Li.But now it is different. Mostly, those who return now have big ambitions and a clear career goal on returning to China and starting their own business."

This has become a major trend among overseas returnees, young entrepreneurs who are enjoying favorable policies in their motherland.Since 2000, China has established various platforms to communicate with returning overseas entrepreneurs. Gatherings are held at both central and city government levels.Among them and one of the biggest is Overseas Chinese Scholars (OCS), a one-week event held by Dalian government, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.This year, the companies that have received most support from the government are in the fields of information technology, biotechnology and new energy development," says Gong Liming from the department of technology of Liaoning province on recapping this year's OCS event in June.

The event attracted more than 1,800 overseas returnees to Dalian and more than 800 projects.Zhang Qun, a 41-year-old who returned to China and set up his company in Dalian in 2009, won support from last year's OCS.He will receive a start-up fund of 2 million yuan ($314,000) and will be able to utilize a 200-square-meter work zone for free for three years.Since 2001, more than 3,200 overseas returnees who set up their own business have been enjoying similarly favorable policies.We want to attract more brilliant young Chinese to return to the motherland," says Wang Xiaochu, vice-minister of Human Resources and Social Security.However, Zhang says after living in Japan and the United States for 13 years, he did not have sufficient understanding of his home country. Recruitment, he says, is a tough issue.His company, INTESIM, deals with simulation techniques and requires a lot of research and technical work.Only when I returned in 2009 did I notice that in China, technicians are not easy to find. More and more young people are going for higher education, but less are doing the handy work," he says. "Also, young people in China are lacking research skills in particular areas.Zhang is now working with Tsinghua University in Beijing and several universities in Dalian.

"I have to make sure that once they finish their degrees, Dalian is the place they are willing to stay at," he says.He is also working with students studying overseas to ensure that "once they return, the company will become their career choice.While people like Zhang enjoy favorable government policies, Li is working hard.As the education service agency is a relatively new industry, and he did not receive any preferential policy from OCS this year, Li is raising funds from angel investors, such as Xu.Compared with those who studied abroad during the 1990s, overseas returnees like Li are very different," Xu says. "They've stayed abroad for a long time, sometimes since middle school. They grew up with both Oriental and Western culture, and their experience was much more ground-breaking.Huang Teng, head of Xi'an International University, who also started his own education business in 1992, thinks that China still has a lot to do for young business starters.When I started the school in 1992, most entrepreneurs like us lacked good ideas about business due to the confined social environment," Huang says.

But this generation is best at ideas. When I was in the US, I noticed that many universities have majors that teach students how to start their own business. I hope our country will do the same to help young entrepreneurs.Huang's university has been helping more than 3,000 graduates run their own business since 1992.Li has 10 overseas-returned staff working for him among a total of 37 employees. His online company, liuxuejp.net, has 117,651 followers on its micro blog.He hasn't gone to bed before 2 am since the company started as he has been studying the service and marketing strategies of other well-known education agencies.I have to say that returning to China and starting my own business has been tough," Li says.Overseas experience doesn't make it any easier for me than other entrepreneurs. When I recruited my first employee, a certificate from Kyoto University did not make me any more credible than other young bosses.But I still encourage students to study overseas. No matter what you do afterward, overseas experience builds confidence and broadens horizons.You will be sure about yourself, and when you come back, even if you start your business the hard way like I did, you see a whole different world in yourself. It's a great treasure.

Start an online course business

Online courses continue to be a trend. With more people go to the Internet to find out about anything and share them on social media, online courses business – in the eyes of online entrepreneurs – will always be a lucrative online business idea. Let’s explore deeper about the online courses business model using Udemy as a success story.

Online courses enable you to learn from anywhere, anytime especially when they are not as formal as taking online courses from online universities. The courses we are talking here are those helping you to get knowledge about one particular subject you want to master, such as this popular free course from Udemy, An Entrepreneur’s Checklist by Steve Blank, Serial Entrepreneur.

Of course, there are plenty of premium or paid online courses available, typically focusing on specialised topics, such as this popular online course, Raising Money for Startups by Startup University.Udemy is one of the most popular online course websites enabling anyone to teach and learn online. You can access hundreds of online courses – both free and paid – on almost any subjects you can think of. It is well known as a place to get experts insight for free. But not only free courses, Udemy also offer paid courses from well-known educational organizations and experts. You can get a good one-page intro to Udemy from this Udemy wiki.

Udemy has been featured by big time publications, such as The New York Times, TechCrunch, Fast Company, and many more, and has been touted as a platform offering great classroom-like learning experience.Udemy offers a self-serving online learning platform meaning, if you are an online course creator, you can build your course right from the inside of your Udemy account using the available tools very straightforward, with no technical skills required. You can add everything documents, videos, slideshows, etc. and package them as a course.

Regarding promotion, you – as an online instructor – can integrate your course with Facebook, as well as partnering with affiliate marketers to promote your online courses.If you are a learner, you can just choose the courses you are interested in and sign-up to access them. Plain and simple.
How to generate revenues from online courses business?So, how to make money from online courses website like Udemy? Well, as what Udemy offers is a free-to-use web-based platform, the site is making money by taking 30 percent of instructors’ paid courses revenue. It is justifiable, as the tools are powerful, and the exposure to your courses is great, via direct visits to Udemy, search engines and social media.

Alternatively, if you want to go all-out offering free online courses only, you can incorporate ad-supported courses, making money from ad impressions and/or ad clicks.
Key success factors.The monetization model is pretty simple. What’s more complex is on how to build a powerful learning platform that is simple enough for non-techie instructors and learners to use – and get the words out about it. Moreover, the ability to integrate your online courses site with Facebook and other popular social sites also detrimental to your success.

Here’s another one: Just like any online business ideas, yours are most likely not original; there are those who have done what you are going to do so, the best practice is for you to make it better and/or go niche.How to make the platform better? Well, you could offer something that can answer the needs of instructors and learners alike. While that is not easy, going niche is in my opinion – a more feasible strategy.You could offer niche online courses for example, you can start a food and beverage online courses website, focusing on courses like how to make a better truffle, how to start a restaurant business, and so on.
Takeaway

Like what I mentioned above, to enhance your chance for success, you need to observe, imitate and modify. You need to learn how Udemy and other platforms work, inside and out. Only by doing so you can see what aspects you can improve.Remember, doing the above is just part of the story. Having a better platform built and assuming you will get a definite success is a misconception; “just built it and they will come” is simply misleading.You need to buzz your online courses business to the right influencers and audiences; you need to attract business evangelists. Doing so, you can leverage your resources to focus on value adding activities.

Multiple airlines increase flights to Big Apple

Canadians are crossing the border in increasing numbers and now they will be doing more of it by air.The Toronto Star reports that several Canadian airlines have announced they are bumping up the number of flights they have into the Big Apple over the coming months.Air Canada is adding three times daily non-stop flights between Toronto’s Pearson airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, beginning May 3 as well as hourly flights between Toronto and New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

WestJet Airlines won a takeoff and slot lottery late last year for LaGuardia flights, so it will be new to the LaGuardia gates.WestJet will operate seven non-stop flights each business day between Toronto and New York beginning June 4. On July 12, WestJet will increase that to eight non-stop flights each business day.Also on the New York radar - Porter Airlines, which operates flights between Toronto’s island airport and Newark, N.J., sid they will be offering two additional daily flights.

Flights to Cape Town launched by Swiss airline

Swiss airline Edelwiss Air launched its maiden flight to Cape Town from Zurich last week.Edelweiss, using its Airbus A330-200, is scheduled to fly the new route non-stop twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays.It becomes the second international carrier to launch flights to Cape Town this year, following Air France's new seasonal non-stop flights to the city out of Paris as of 3 November.

However, Air France has said it would consider extending its newly launched seasonal Cape Town Paris service to a year-round operation if demand remains consistent through this summer season.The airline last week inaugurated the first flights operated between the two cities since 1999.Senior Vice President Air France/KLM: Middle East and Africa, Pierre Descazeaux, said bookings had so far been strong with the Boeing 777-200 aircraft used on the route offering a good balance of product for the leisure and business traveller.The first flights are full and forward bookings are good. We know it will be a success and customers out of South Africa seem to be booking the destination Paris early,he explained.Mr. Descazeaux added Air France could consider utilizing larger aircraft on the route and could also increase frequencies, depending on demand.

Flights Between Abu Dhabi and Prague launched by Czech Airlines

Czech Airlines has launched four non-stop weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Prague. The flights will operate on a codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways.Using an Airbus A319 aircraft, the flights will depart from Abu Dhabi International Airport every Monday and Thursday at 09:50 local time (LT) to arrive in Prague at 14:15, and every Sunday and Wednesday at 01:35 to arrive in Prague at 06:00.The new route will bring the number of destinations served at Abu Dhabi International Airport to over 85 destinations across more than 45 countries around the world.

Thanks to the perfect harmonization of departure and arrival times at Abu Dhabi, destinations in the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Asia and Australia have never been as accessible from Prague as they are now. We look forward to working with Abu Dhabi Airports Company on further developing our services to travelers from Abu Dhabi International Airport,said Miroslav Dvorák, President of Czech Airlines.And thanks to a very close and fruitful cooperation with Etihad Airways enchanting city of Prague opens not only to point to point travelers from Abu Dhabi but also to a numerous number of passengers travelling via Abu Dhabi from the wide network of destinations offered by Etihad Airways.

Tickets for the new route can be purchased through both Czech Airlines and Etihad Airways, as the partnership between Czech Airlines and Etihad Airways allows both companies’ passengers to book and travel with just one ticket for their entire journey with a stopover in Abu Dhabi.Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer said,We’re delighted to welcome the inaugural Czech Airlines codeshare flight into Abu Dhabi. this new strategic relationship which includes, but is not limited to, just a codeshare agreement, illustrates Etihad’s growing ambitions in the Central and Eastern Europe region. It opens up the beautiful city of Prague that we have been eager to offer our guests for such a long time, and we are certain these new connections and the seamless flight experience offered jointly by Etihad and Czech Airlines, will appeal to both business and leisure travellers alike.

Virgin begin 10 flights between Canberra and Sydney

In an effort to capture a larger share of the lucrative business travel market, Virgin Australia will begin a fancy new air shuttle flights between Canberra and Sydney.The new Capital Connect service will offer up to 10 return flights each day between the two cities, with customers reaping the benefits of complimentary snacks, wine and beer.Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation executive chairman Peter Harbison said the new services were part of Virgin’s move to capture some of the valuable corporate market away from Qantas.

The Canberra-Sydney route is very important in that it carries most of the highest value passengers in Australia and lounge access, frequency of service and little details like free evening drinks are key to that.He said catering for government business travel on the Canberra- Sydney route was vital.If you can’t look after business travellers, including a lot of government business, on that route, chances are you miss out on the passenger altogether.He said some business travellers previously shunned Virgin services because they didn’t provide frequent flyer programs, lounges and complimentary food and drinks.

A Virgin spokeswoman said the complimentary inflight service was part of a broader brand repositioning and would be unique to the Canberra-Sydney route.This is responding to the market and providing choice.Virgin Australia currently operates up to eight return services each day between Canberra and Sydney, but this will increase to 10 by October with the likely introduction of new ATR aircraft.By the end of the year all Virgin planes will be fitted with new business and economy class interiors.

RAK to launch flights to Kerala

Ras Al-Khaimah Airways the fourth national airline of the UAE, is seriously considering a plan to increase the frequency of its flights to Kerala, apart from Kozhikode, which is already connected to its network. RAK plans to introduce new flights to Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi. This was announced by Omar Jahameh, Chief Executive Officer of RAK, in a press conference held here on Wednesday.At present, there are five RAK flights a week to Kozhikode and the carrier has plans to introduce flights to Mangalore and Hyderabad also. Jehameh said that the expatriates in Ras Al-Khaimah had made demands to increase the number of flights from the UAE to other parts of India. It was after receiving a number of such appeals from the Indian society in the UAE that the number of flights to Kozhikode was increased to five, he said.

Jahameh also said that the rising number of the Malayali expatriate community in the Emirates of Ras Al-Khaimah has necessitated the operation of new flights to India. Currently, more than 1,000 Indian companies are operating from Ras Al-Khaima free trade zone. Most of the business firms set up there belong to people from South India. This necessitates the need for an effective air traffic between Ras Al-Khaima and Kerala.Muhammed Shihan, in charge of the flight operations in Kerala and Air Travel Enterprises’ managing director E M Najeeb were also present at the press conference.On Tuesday, the office-bearers of various Indian associations representing the Indian Community in Ras Al-Khaimah had demanded during their meeting with the Chief Minister that there was an urgent need for a better air connectivity between Ras Al-Khaimah to cities across India, especially Kerala.

Saleem P B, president of the Indian Association in Ras Al-Khaimah, said that he was anxious to highlight how the absence of good air connections between the northern emirate and the Indian sub-continent was a major hindrance to Indian expatriate community at large, as well as to business, investment and tourism development.The UAE is home to more than two million Indian nationals, of whom almost 25 per cent live and work in the northern Emirate’s catchment areas, with the majority hailing from Kerala.At present, these people have to travel a minimum of 2 to 4 hours by road just to reach an airport or an airline in the UAE that serves destinations in India other than Kozhikode,said Saleem.

We have approached the national carrier of Ras Al-Khaimah and our national carrier Air India to commence flights to Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore and other Indian cities.RAK Airways positively responded to us and is ready to commence their operations to these cities with immediate effect,Saleem said.The Chief Minister has also promised all help to the Indian community and the RAK Airways from the part of the State Government to realise their plans.

Airphil Express increased flights to Cebu-Hong Kong

Lucio Tan-led Airphil Express said it is ready to battle toe-to-toe with leading budget carrier Cebu Pacific with the launch of its Cebu-Hong Kong route last July 28.As the country’s main industrial zone outside Manila, Airphil said Cebu attracts domestic and foreign tourists and investments because of good infrastructure and a dynamic export industry, and serves as gateway to some of the world’s most breathtaking shorelines and nature attractions.Hong Kong, host to many thousands of overseas Filipino workers, remains an important business hub, shoppers’ paradise among middle-income Filipinos, the airline said.

The decision to launch the first Hong Kong flight of Airphil Express from Cebu is an acknowledgment of the valuable business that the province brings into the country in terms of trade and tourism, said Alfredo Herrera, Airphil Express senior vice president for marketing and sales.The addition of the Cebu-Hong Kong route follows Airphil’s launch of its international flight to Singapore in December last year.From cornering 2.9 percent of the market share during the airline’s pre-rebranding period in 2009, the carrier’s slice of the domestic market in 2010 grew to 11 percent, representing some 1.9 million passengers on its first full year of operations.

Singapore Airlines ups flights to Cape Town

SIA Airline has announced an additional weekly flight between Cape Town and Singapore, with a total of four flights a week on offer from 30 October 2011.The new flight will operate every Tuesday and with this additional flight SIA will operate every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday out of Cape Town to Singapore, via Johannesburg. SIA’s services between Johannesburg and Singapore remain unchanged at seven flights per week.

This new frequency will offer customers from Cape Town and surrounding areas more flight choices to Singapore, South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand as well as countries in North Asia.
All four weekly flights will depart Cape Town at 11h40 and arrive in Singapore, via Johannesburg, at 07h05 the following day. The return flight will depart Singapore at 02h35 and arrive in Cape Town, via Johannesburg, at 10h25.We are grateful for the continued support of our customers from the Cape on this route and are delighted that we now have the opportunity to offer both business and leisure travellers an additional choice of flight days, said General Manager Central and South Africa Mr Tein Po Looi.

Flybe begins flights to Belfast from Manston

The first flight from Belfast landed at Kent International Airport this afternoon ahead of schedule.The Flybe plane, which was expected at 1.20pm, touched down at Manston's runway 15 minutes early.Chief executive Charles Buchanan said:Today marks the start of our Belfast flights and also the first anniversary of our Edinburgh flight.

It is a great day and a momentous day and wonderful opportunity to take another step forward in developing the airport.The hassle free, easy facilities that we have here, the immediate access from the car park to the check-in and straight out to the aircraft, combined with the city centre location that Belfast City, George Best airport offers means that if you are getting on that aircraft you are only a few hours away from Northern Ireland hospitality.It is important to us as an airport to build a network of route to serve the needs of our community, serve the needs of our economy, particularly in these times.

We are keen to make the biggest success as possible of the airport.Paul Willoughby, regional sales manager for Flybe, said:We are very excited.We have a long, long history operating out of Belfast and I believe we have somewhere in the region of 17 routes and this is another additional route to Belfast.I think that he most important thing is that we need to get people to use it.It is a new service and we need people to recognise what a fantastic opportunity it is to fly direct and see Northern Ireland and similarly we could work it the other way.We just need to make a success of it because it on sale until the end of the summer, in October, and if it is a success during the summer there is no reason we can't extend it into the winter, especially as this one is a mixture of business and pleasure.There will be three flights a week to the city, leaving at 13.45pm on a Tuesday and Thursday and 12.50pm on a Sunday.

14 weekly flights to Pakistan launched Smart Airline

Nasair, the low fare airline based in Saudi Arabia, today announced it will launch new flights to Karachi, on June 18.The airline will operate daily scheduled flights from both Riyadh and Jeddah airports. These flights will go on sale for an introductory price of SAR 499 inclusive of taxes.
The addition of Karachi to the nasair route network will bring the number of nasair’s international destinations to 19 cities. The flights will accommodate the growth in demand from Pakistani expats living and working in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, with the Hajj season rapidly approaching for the year 2011 this critical route expansion will help serve the nearly 200,000 pilgrims who fly to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan every year.

The routes will be flown by nasair’s modern, comfortable Airbus A320 aircraft. Simon Stewart, CEO says,We are proud of our commitment to being the smart choice for passengers throughout the MENA region and beyond. By adding this new destination, we intend to efficiently serve the Pakistani businessmen, executives, families and workers living in Saudi Arabia.

We also hope to offer Saudi business people more travel options for reaching expanding markets in Pakistan.To better service travelers between the two countries, nasair has introduced seven direct flights between Jeddah and Karachi each week and seven direct flights between Riyadh and Karachi per week. Turki Abdullah Al Jawini, Director of Sales comments, “The nasair team is proud to represent the Smart Airline, catering to the needs of the domestic, international, business and religious tourist alike.We recognize that our passengers want to plan their trips in advance to take advantage of our ‘book early and pay less’ model.Mr. Al Jawini also underscores that alongside its advancing route map, nasair will be offering its customers a redesigned website with more advanced features and capabilities and remains committed to its strong promotions and revamped social media.

Emirates increased flights to Cairo

Emirates has increased its flights to 12 per week, with flights operating twice a day, on five days of the week. The increase of the three weekly flights, which took effect 1 May 2011, offers greater support for both inbound and outbound passengers, as well as passengers flying from Cairo beyond Dubai through the multitude of Emirates connections available to over 100 destinations globally.The increase in flights is reflective of the level of traffic at Cairo International Airport returning to normal,said Jean Luc Grillet, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for Africa.Cairo has consistently been one of the busiest routes for Emirates, and we are committed to enhancing our presence here,he said.

Expanding on the frequency of flights to Cairo will give our customers greater flexibility in choosing their travel times, as well as help boost further business and tourism opportunities in Egypt,he added.Currently, Emirates' flights to Cairo are served by a mixture of Airbus A330- 200 aircraft (offering 237 seats in a three class configuration: 12 First Class Suites, 42 Business Class and 183 Economy Class seats) and Boeing 777-200.EK 923 departs Dubai at 1510 hrs (local time) and arrives in Cairo at 1800hrs (local) every day. The return flight, EK 924, departs Cairo at 1830hrs (local) and arrives in Dubai at 0010hrs (local).

EK 927 departs Dubai at 0850 hrs (local time) and arrives in Cairo at 1140 hrs (local) every day except Wednesdays and Thursdays. The return flight, EK 928, departs Cairo at 11:55 hrs (local) and arrives in Dubai at 1730 hrs (local).Premium on board service includes: the award-winning ice in-flight entertainment system, offering more than 600 channels of on-demand entertainment, including 50 new movie releases, 25 movie classics and 25 children's films. A large number of Arabic, Hindi and other world cinema films are also available.Entertainment choices also include video and audio on-demand, interactive games, satellite telephone, SMS and email, live BBC news headlines, an air show moving map and external cameras for a bird's eye view of the journey en route.

Dubai’s Emirates increases 100 flights to Australia

Dubai flag carrier Emirates Airline hopes to increases its flights to Australia to 100 a week, after seeing a 52 percent rise in profit for the year to $1.5bn.The Arab world’s largest airline currently operates 70 flights a week to Australia but sees opportunity for further expansion, said chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum.We are entitled to operate about 85 flights to Australia under the bilateral. When we meet that I am sure that we try to bring it to 100,he said.

Emirates would require permission from Australian travel authorities to increase capacity.I hope Australia will not mind because it is good business for both of us,Sheikh Ahmed said.
Emirates, which saw off surging oil prices and political unrest to post a 25 percent rise in revenues for 2010 of $14.8bn, has drawn fire for its ambitious expansion plans. Rival western carriers claim Gulf airlines use unfair subsidies and state funding to finance aircraft deals and draw long-haul traffic into their hubs.Canada’s refusal to grant new landing rights to Emirates and Etihad spiralled into a diplomatic row between the two countries last year.

In Germany, national carrier Lufthansa has lobbied its government to deny Emirate’s additional landing slots at Berlin’s new airport, while British Airways has also criticized the Dubai carrier’s expansion plans.Emirates took delivery of eight new aircraft during the year, including seven of its flagship A380s. The airline has a further $13.4bn worth of aircraft on order and plans to increase its fleet to eventually include 120 A380s superjumbos.Capacity between the UAE and Australia has surged over the last decade, with Emirates operating just four flights a week to Australia when it launched the route in 1996.

In February Australia's competition watchdog cleared the way for the country's no.2 airline Virgin Blue to tie-up with Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways for five years, giving Virgin Blue a firmer footing in its plans to expand on international routes.Emirates said it carried 31.4 million passengers in 2010 and its passenger load factor stood at 80 percent for the 12 month period.