Wanderlust Tips Magazine | SkyTeam announces lounge expansion, focus on technology

SkyTeam announces lounge expansion, focus on technology

SkyTeam currently offers six branded lounges around the world in Beijing, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London Heathrow and Sydney, serving hundreds of thousands high-value customers each year.

[rpi]

SkyTeam is taking its customers’ airport experience to new heights by opening a new lounge at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) later this year. The alliance’s first branded facility in North America, it will offer a luxurious environment for First, Business and Elite Plus customers flying on any of the alliance’s nine member airlines currently serving the airport.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | SkyTeam announces lounge expansion, focus on technology

Speaking at the 73rd annual IATA AGM held in Cancun, Mexico, SkyTeam CEO and Managing Director, Perry Cantarutti, also outlined some of the focus areas that the alliance was working on to improve customer travel experiences while gaining its members value from the synergies.

With the opening of Vancouver later this year, SkyTeam will offer more branded airport lounges around the world than any other airline alliance. Increasing the number of shared facilities worldwide realizes significant synergies for our airlines while offering a greatly enhanced airport experience for our top customers,” said Perry Cantarutti, SkyTeam’s CEO and Managing Director. “Meanwhile, we continue to invest in technology so that we can capitalize on emerging customer trends, drive greater efficiencies and continue to deliver value for our airlines and their passengers.”

In addition to increasing its global lounge network, the 20-strong airline alliance is focused on projects designed to enhance the customer experience giving SkyTeam airlines the most from their membership. These include customer engagement, loyalty benefits, business solutions.

Skyteam | Wanderlust Tips | Cinet

wanderlust-tips-best-spectacular-treks-in-vietnam0

Best spectacular treks in Vietnam

Vietnam offers excellent trekking and less strenuous walks. The scenery is often remarkable – think plunging highland valleys, tiers of rice paddies and soaring limestone mountains. Northern Vietnam is your best hiking bet: its dramatic mountain paths and fascinating minority culture are a huge draw. Elsewhere, national parks and nature reserves have established trails.

[rpi]

  1. Sapa

Established as a hill station by the French in 1922, Sapa today is the tourism centre of the northwest. Sapa is oriented to make the most of the spectacular views emerging on clear days; it overlooks a plunging valley, with mountains towering above on all sides. Views of this epic scenery are often subdued by thick mist rolling across the peaks, but even when it’s cloudy, local hill-tribe people fill the town with colour.

Best spectacular treks in Vietnam

If you were expecting a quaint alpine town, recalibrate your expectations. Modern tourism development has mushroomed haphazardly. Thanks to rarely enforced building-height restrictions, Sapa’s skyline is continually thrusting upwards.

But you’re not here to hang out in town. This is northern Vietnam’s premier trekking base, from where hikers launch themselves into a surrounding countryside of cascading rice terraces and tiny hill-tribe villages that seem a world apart. Once you’ve stepped out into the lush fields, you’ll understand the Sapa area’s real charm.

  1. Bac Ha

Sleepy Bac Ha wakes up for the riot of colour and commerce that is its Sunday market, when the lanes fill to choking point and villagers flock in from the hills and valleys. Once the barter, buy and sell is done and the day-tripper tourist buses from Sapa have left, the town rolls over and goes back to bed for the rest of the week.

Best spectacular treks in Vietnam

Despite being surrounded by countryside just as lush and interesting as Sapa, Bac Ha has somehow flown under the radar as a trekking base so far. In town, woodsmoke fills the morning air, the main street is completely bereft of hawkers, and chickens and pigs snuffle for scraps in the back lanes where a small clutch of traditional adobe houses valiantly clings on in the age of concrete.

  1. Mai Chau

Set in an idyllic valley, hemmed in by hills, the Mai Chau area is a world away from Hanoi’s hustle. The small town of Mai Chau itself is unappealing, but just outside the patchwork of rice fields rolls out, speckled by tiny Thai villages where visitors doss down for the night in traditional stilt houses and wake up to a rural soundtrack defined by gurgling irrigation streams and birdsong.

Best spectacular treks in Vietnam

The villagers are mostly White Thai, distantly related to tribes in Thailand, Laos and China. Most no longer wear traditional dress, but the Thai women are masterful weavers producing plenty of traditional-style textiles. Locals do not employ strong-arm sales tactics here: polite bargaining is the norm.

Due to its popularity, some find the Mai Chau tour group experience too sanitised. If you’re looking for hard-core exploration, this is not the place, but for biking, hiking and relaxation, calm Mai Chau fits the bill nicely.

  1. Ba Be National Park

Often referred to as the Ba Be Lakes, Ba Be National Park was established in 1992 as Vietnam’s eighth national park. The scenery here swoops from towering limestone mountains peaking at 1554m down into plunging valleys wrapped in dense evergreen forests, speckled with waterfalls and caves, with the lakes themselves dominating the very heart of the park.

Best spectacular treks in Vietnam

Ba Be lake

The park is a rainforest area with more than 550 named plant species. The hundreds of wildlife species here include 65 (mostly rarely seen) mammals, 353 butterflies, 106 species of fish, four kinds of turtle, and the highly endangered Vietnamese salamander. The 233 bird species include the spectacular crested serpent eagle and the oriental honey buzzard. Hunting is forbidden, but villagers are permitted to fish, and the government subsidises the villagers not to cut down the trees.

The region is home to 13 tribal villages, most belonging to the Tay minority plus smaller numbers of Dzao and Hmong.

  1. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

Designated a Unesco World Heritage site in 2003, the remarkable Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park contains the oldest karst mountains in Asia, formed approximately 400 million years ago. Riddled with hundreds of cave systems – many of extraordinary scale and length – and spectacular underground rivers, Phong Nha is a speleologists’ heaven on earth.

Best spectacular treks in Vietnam

The Phong Nha region is changing fast. Son Trach village (population 3000) is the main centre, with an ATM, a growing range of accommodation and eating options, and improving transport links with other parts of central Vietnam.

The caves are the region’s absolute highlights, but the above-ground attractions of forest trekking, the area’s war history, and rural mountain biking means it deserves a stay of around three days.

Lonely Planet | Wanderlust Tips  | Cinet

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Exploring remote Con Dao Islands in Vietnam

Exploring remote Con Dao Islands in Vietnam

Way south of the mainland, Vietnam’s idyllic Con Dao Islands are the perfect oceanic antidote to the feverish energy and punishing pollution that can afflict the nation’s booming mega-cities.

[rpi]

For decades the main settlement of Con Son was used by the French and Americans as an island prison for anti-regime activists and criminals. Several of these jails are now deeply moving, harrowing sights to visit. History aside, Con Dao is blessed with stunning beaches and rich coral reefs that represent the best diving in Vietnam. The islands have been declared a National Park, and there are rewarding rainforest hikes to remote bays.

Take a morning stroll in Con Son town

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Exploring remote Con Dao Islands in Vietnam

The islands’ tiny capital is a delight to explore on foot, with traffic-free streets, a couple of traffic lights and a solitary gas station. This is Vietnam in the slow lane.

Begin with an early morning stroll along the town’s spectacular promenade, with a horizon-filling turquoise ocean on one side and a roster of handsome ochre French colonial buildings to admire on the other. You’ll pass the old Gallic customs house where Camille Saint-Saëns composed his opera Brunhilde in 1895.

Next up, take a peek inside Con Son Market, where you’ve the option of a local breakfast and a glass of drip-fed, treacle-thick Vietnamese coffee. If you’re thinking more along the lines of a cappuccino and an omelette, head to Infiniti Cafe & Lounge instead, which has an arty vibe and a great street terrace.

Discover the islands’ terrible past

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Exploring remote Con Dao Islands in Vietnam

For a good overview of the islands, their environment and their role as a concentration camp, drop by the modern Con Son Museum. This will prepare you for a tour of the prisons themselves.

There were once 11 jails. The largest was Phu Hai, where political rebels and criminals were herded together naked in the French period; today the dank rooms are filled with emaciated, chained mannequins. This prison acted as a revolutionary university for leaders of the People’s Army of Vietnam and Vietnamese Communist Party, many of whom were incarcerated here by the French and Americans.

The most difficult prisoners were singled out for particularly gruesome treatment in the infamous neighbouring Tiger Cages, where they were kept in open-roofed pens, beaten with sticks and doused with lime. Over 20,000 prisoners died in Con Dao.

Reflect on the beach

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Exploring remote Con Dao Islands in Vietnam

After a disturbing look into Con Dao’s past, lighten your mood with a trip to the beach. Grab a scooter and buzz up to the north of Con Son island, past towering granite hills and fishermen’s houses wrapped in wild bougainvillea. Nestling in a niche in the coastline close to the airport is the glorious cove of Dam Trau, flanked by rocky promontories, blessed with soft pale sand and fringed by casuarina and pandan trees. Feast on ocean-fresh seafood at one of the shacks on the shore.

On the return leg you could drop by the uber-luxurious Six Senses resort, which occupies a stunning sheltered beach, for a sundowner, or even a gourmet meal. Alternatively, dine in the family-owned Thu Ba in Con Son town for delicious Vietnamese dishes. The English-speaking owner will guide you through the menu and make suggestions.

Hike the national park

Drop by the National Park management office at 29 Vo Thi Sau, Con Son town and get a permit for entering the national park. There are many trails but some are closed during dry season (November to February) because of the risk of forest fire.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Exploring remote Con Dao Islands in Vietnam

The two most popular are the hike to the rocky bay of Ong Dung and the steep climb up to So Ray, an abandoned plantation with fine views over the islands – it’s now home to a large troop of long-tailed macaque monkeys. In the forest keep an eye out for other wildlife, including black giant squirrels and monitor lizards.

Dive Vietnam’s best reefs

The Con Dao islands’ reefs are unquestionably the best in Vietnam, with healthy soft and hard coral, and there are also a few wrecks to explore (including a 65m Thai freight ship). You can expect to see a good variety of tropical marine life: parrot fish, triggerfish and perhaps a turtle. The best conditions are between January and June but diving is possible year-round.

Professional dive schools include Dive! Dive! Dive!, a long-established operation run by Larry, who knows the seas around Con Dao better than his backyard. The Con Dao Dive Center is another great outfit. Prices are comparable whoever you book with: two-dive packages cost around USD140; snorkelling trips about USD40.

Lonely Planet | Wanderlust Tips | Cinet

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | SkyTeam global airline alliance partners with Alibaba

SkyTeam global airline alliance partners with Alibaba

SkyTeam to open an online flagship store on alitrip.com, accessible to millions of passengers using Alitrip. And in this year, SkyTeam offered an exclusive promotion of the Go Round-the-World Pass fares on Fliggy.

[rpi]

SkyTeam has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Fliggy, an Alibaba travel platform previously known as Alitrip, marking the start of a partnership that will deliver benefits to Chinese consumers. As part of the deal, SkyTeam will open a flagship webstore on Fliggy offering customers access to services across the alliance’s member airlines.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | SkyTeam global airline alliance partners with Alibaba

Earlier this year during the ‘Double-11’ travel festival, SkyTeam offered an exclusive promotion of the Go Round-the-World Pass fares on Fliggy, which proved popular with Chinese globetrotters. SkyTeam’s membership includes four airlines from Greater China:  China Eastern, China Southern, Xiamen Airlines and China Airlines, and the alliance offers regional Go Passes in addition to its Round the World fares.

Vincent Vogt, Senior Advisor Business Development for SkyTeam, said: “We look forward to offering our Chinese customers a wider range of travel products tailored to their needs, allowing them to discover the 1,000+ destinations on offer across SkyTeam’s network as well as our members’ award-winning products and services.

Wells Zheng, Vice President of Fliggy said: “Fliggy makes dreams of global travel a reality for our customers. Chinese millennials are placing a higher value on quality of life and many of them want to travel the world.” He continued, “Fliggy welcomes SkyTeam to its platform, offering Chinese customers a simple one-stop-shop that provides them with easy access to the best value products, so they can travel when and how they want.

Skyteam  | Wanderlust Tips | Cinet

wanderlust-tips-the-most-popular-food-to-eat-in-hue00

The most popular food to eat in Hue

Hue food mainly focuses on its own specialities which are mainly processed in the special style, strongly influenced by the palace processing style. In fact, Hue culinary still remains in its traditional characters, which are very picky in processing methods, choosing materials, and presenting the dishes. Here are the best Hue food dishes to eat which are very famous, delicious, and have been existed for a long time.

[rpi]

  1. Com Hen – Tiny Mussel Rice:

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | The most popular food to eat in Hue

The tiny mussel rice dish is a very famous food to eat in Hue that tourists should never miss! If you have a chance to come to visit Hue, you will be able to visit the beautiful sceneries everywhere: the Huong river with the sound of the bell from Thien Mu Pagoda, the mist and incense sight in Hon Chen temple, or go to visit Vy Da river, the Citadel, or visit the tombs of Minh Mang, Tu Duc …

Before traveling the rivers and mountains, you should stop at the first corner of the Truong Dinh Street and opt for Hue tiny mussel rice as a delicious, spicy, and aromatic breakfast. Hue tiny mussel rice is a rustic dish which is sold everywhere whether in the village or country road in Hue. This dish is very simple, rustic yet still tastes like a cheer. Hue tiny mussel rice is also called with a luxurious name: “Cau Lau Con” to honor the simply, rusticiality, and frugality which are the characteristics of Hue.

2. Banh Canh Nam Pho – Nam Pho Thick Noodle Soup

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | The most popular food to eat in Hue

Not popular and widely sold as beef vermicelli or tiny mussel rice, yet Nam Pho crab thick noodle soup (Phu Vang district, Thua Thien Hue) is still preferred by many tourists, so it attracts a lot of tourists to come and enjoy it whenever they have chance to visit the former Citadel . No bar, no fame, Nam Pho thick noodle is sold in small diners and mobile stalls on the sidewalk or in small alleys in every evening.

Nam Pho thick noodle soup is not picky in ingredients. It just contains thick noodle (fresh), shrimp, crab, meat pie…yet very meticulous in cooking process. Therefore, the thick noodle soup here has its own characteristics compared to other thick noodle soup which is originated in other provinces throughout the Central. The meticulous requirement is expressed through each processing stage. First, the thick noodle fibers are also made from rice flour, yet it requires many efforts to create soft and tough noodle fibers which are used to make Nam Pho thick noodle soup. After milling the rice, the flour will be put into a hot pot and steamed over low heat. People will need to whisk the flour until it is viscous. After that, the flour will be poured into a plastic bag with a side cut in the tapering shape to create the noodle fibers in a pot with boiling water. When the noodle fibers are milky, take them out and soak in cool clean water.

3. Bun Bo Hue – Hue Beef Vermicelli

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | The most popular food to eat in Hue

Hue beef vermicelli (“bun bo Hue” in Vietnamese) is the soul of Hue cuisine. The fame and delicious taste of this dish makes no discussion as it is on the list of the top 50 most delicious dishes in the world. Hue beef vermicelli contains a piece of pig’s leg, a piece of beef pie, a small piece of boiled pig’s blood, and of course a few thin slices of beef. The fresh herbals to serve with Hue beef vermicelli are also very fresh and plentiful.

4. Bun Thit Nuong – Grilled Meat Vermicelli

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | The most popular food to eat in Hue

Grilled meat vermicelli is a popular dish which is the favorite of many people in all three regions of the country. Among these, Hue is the place that has the most preferred beef vermicelli dish. Grilled meat vermicelli everywhere keeps its own distinctive taste depending on the 3 regions: the North, the Central, and the South. This noodle dish can be suitably used for breakfast, daily meals, or between meals. It is very tasty and attractive dish which many people in the country and also the foreigners love. The requirements of grilled meat vermicelli contain:

– The grilled meat need to be brown with the charming scent of lemongrass and sesame

– The sauce must be harmoniously sweet and sour served with many kinds of fresh vegetables and raw herbals.

In fact, this is also one of the best Hue food dishes which are famous and popular in Vietnam.

5. Banh Beo – Bloating Duckweed -Shaped Cake

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | The most popular food to eat in Hue

Bloating fern-shaped cake is a simple, rustic Hue food that is very famous in all 3 regions in Vietnam. The tiny, limber cake with the attractive fragrant of rice flour, the sweetness of fried dried shrimp, and the spiciness of the dipping sauce, making people are really attracted when enjoying this dish. The name “Banh Beo” was born due to the shape of the cake which is thin, rounded like the duckweed, or according to the folk comparison, this dish is very cheap (“beo” in Vietnamese). Bloating duckweed-shaped cake is rustic yet very famous speciality which everyone who comes to visit Hue wants to taste.

6. Banh Bot Loc – Chestnut Starch Cake

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | The most popular food to eat in Hue

Hue chestnut starch cake is very picky and meticulous in choosing ingredients, cooking process, and also the shape of the cakes. In the Hue ancient palace in the past, this cake was shaped in the form of bullion, wrapped in fresh banana leaves. Chestnut starch cake is small yet has unique taste. Hue chestnut starch is tough with the fragrance of chestnut starch, fleshy stuffing made from shrimp and milled pork meat, sweet and salty shrimp rousing, fatty and aromatic cooking oil with scallion, and Hue’s style sweet and sour dipping sauce.

Vinafood | Wanderlust Tips | Cinet

wanderlust-tips-top-cultural-and-historic-sights-in-hue00

Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

Hue owes its charm partly to its location on the Perfume River – picturesque on a clear day, atmospheric even in less flattering weather. Today the city blends new and old as sleek modern hotels tower over crumbling century-old Citadel walls.

[rpi]

1. Imperial Enclosure

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

The Imperial Enclosure is a citadel-within-a-citadel, housing the emperor’s residence, temples and palaces, and the main buildings of state, within 6m-high, 2.5km-long walls. What’s left is only a fraction of the original – the enclosure was badly bombed during the French and American Wars, and only 20 of its 148 buildings survived. This is a fascinating site easily worth half a day, but poor signage can make navigation a bit difficult. Restoration and reconstruction is ongoing.

Expect a lot of broken masonry, rubble, cracked tiling and weeds as you work your way around. Nevertheless it’s enjoyable as a leisurely stroll and some of the less-visited areas are highly atmospheric. There are little cafes and souvenir stands dotted around. It’s best to approach the sights starting from Ngo Mon Gate and moving anticlockwise around the enclosure.

2. Thien Mu Pagoda

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

Taking up the southwest corner of the Imperial Enclosure, this highly impressive walled complex has been beautifully restored. The imposing three-tiered Hien Lam Pavilion sits on the south side of the complex; it dates from 1824. On the other side of a courtyard is the solemn To Mieu Temple, housing shrines to each of the emperors, topped by their photos. Between these two temples are Nine Dynastic Urns (dinh) cast between 1835 and 1836, each dedicated to one Nguyen sovereign.

3. To Mieu Temple Complex

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

Taking up the southwest corner of the Imperial Enclosure, this highly impressive walled complex has been beautifully restored. The imposing three-tiered Hien Lam Pavilion sits on the south side of the complex; it dates from 1824. On the other side of a courtyard is the solemn To Mieu Temple, housing shrines to each of the emperors, topped by their photos. Between these two temples are Nine Dynastic Urns (dinh) cast between 1835 and 1836, each dedicated to one Nguyen sovereign.

 4. Tomb of Minh Mang

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

This majestic tomb is renowned for its architecture and sublime forest setting. The tomb was planned during Minh Mang’s reign (1820–40) but built by his successor, Thieu Tri. Minh Mang’s tomb is in An Bang village, on the west bank of the Perfume River, 12km from Hue.

The Honour Courtyard is reached via three gates on the eastern side of the wall. Three granite staircases lead from the courtyard to the square Stele Pavilion (Dinh Vuong).

Sung An Temple, which is dedicated to Minh Mang and his empress, is reached via three terraces and the rebuilt Hien Duc Gate. On the other side of the temple, three stone bridges span Trung Minh Ho (Lake of Impeccable Clarity). The central bridge was for the emperor’s use only. Minh Lau Pavilion (Pavilion of Light) stands on the top of three superimposed terraces that represent the ‘three powers’: the heavens, the earth and water. To the left is the Fresh Air Pavilion, to the right, the Angling Pavilion.

From a stone bridge across crescent-shaped Tan Nguyet Lake (Lake of the New Moon), a monumental staircase with dragon banisters leads to Minh Mang’s sepulchre. The gate to the tomb is opened only once a year on the anniversary of the emperor’s death.

5. Tomb of Khai Dinh

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

This hillside monument is a synthesis of Vietnamese and European elements. Most of the tomb’s grandiose exterior is covered in blackened concrete, creating an unexpectedly Gothic air, while the interiors resemble an explosion of colourful mosaic. Khai Dinh was the penultimate emperor of Vietnam, from 1916 to 1925, and widely seen as a puppet of the French. The construction of his flamboyant tomb took 11 years. The tomb of Khai Dinh is 10km from Hue in Chau Chu village.

Steps lead to the Honour Courtyard where mandarin honour guards have a mixture of Vietnamese and European features. Up three more flights of stairs is the stupendous main building, Thien Dinh. The walls and ceiling are decorated with murals of the Four Seasons, Eight Precious Objects and Eight Fairies. Under a graceless, gold-speckled concrete canopy is a gilt bronze statue of Khai Dinh, who is presumed to have been homosexual, though he did produce one heir. His remains are interred 18m below the statue.

6. Tu Hieu Pagoda

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

Nestled in a pine forest, this popular pagoda was built in 1843 and later co-opted by eunuchs from the Citadel. Today 70 monks reside at Tu Hieu; they welcome visitors to the twin temples (one dedicated to Cong Duc, the other to Buddha). Listen to their chanting daily at 4.30am, 10am, noon, 4pm and 7pm. Tu Hieu Pagoda is about 5km from the centre of Hue, on the way to the tomb of Tu Duc.

Tu Hieu is associated with Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, who studied at the monastery in the 1940s, but lived in exile for more than 40 years and was only permitted to return to Vietnam in 2005.

7. Royal Theatre

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

The Royal Theatre, begun in 1826 and later home to the National Conservatory of Music, has been rebuilt on its former foundations. Even when performances aren’t on, it’s free to sit in the plush chairs or examine the fascinating display of masks and musical instruments from Vietnamese theatre, with English descriptions.

Cultural performances here last 45 minutes. Southeast of here almost nothing remains of the Thai To Mieu temple complex (it’s now a plant nursery) and the former University of Arts.

8. Halls of the Mandarins

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

Located immediately behind Thai Hoa Palace, on either side of a courtyard, these halls were used by mandarins as offices and to prepare for court ceremonies. The hall on the right showcases fascinating old photographs (including boy-king Vua Duya Tan’s coronation), gilded Buddha statues and assorted imperial curios. Behind the courtyard are the ruins of the Can Chanh Palace, where two wonderful long galleries, painted in gleaming scarlet lacquer, have been reconstructed.

9. Dien Tho Residence

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

 

The stunning, partially ruined Dien Tho Residence (1804) once comprised the apartments and audience hall of the queen mothers of the Nguyen dynasty. The audience hall houses an exhibition of photos illustrating its former use, and there is a display of embroidered royal garments. Just outside, a pleasure pavilion above a lily pond has been transformed into a cafe worthy of a refreshment stop.

10. Thai Hoa Palace

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Top cultural and historic sights in Hue

 

This 1803 palace is a spacious hall with an ornate timber roof supported by 80 carved and lacquered columns. It was used for the emperor’s official receptions and important ceremonies. On state occasions the emperor sat on his elevated throne, facing visitors entering via the Ngo Mon Gate. No photos are permitted, but be sure to see the impressive audiovisual display, which gives an excellent overview of the entire Citadel, its architecture and the historical context.

Lonely Planet | Wanderlust Tips | Cinet

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | SkyTeam marks five years of SkyPriority benefits

SkyTeam marks five years of SkyPriority benefits

Offering top customers smoother experiences at more than 1,000 airports. SkyTeam became the first global airline alliance to offer aligned priority benefits for top customers when it launched SkyPriority five years ago.

[rpi]

Designed to make travel more seamless for First, Business and Elite Plus passengers flying on all SkyTeam member airlines, today SkyPriority is offered at more than 1,000 airports across the globe. SkyPriority was initially developed by Delta Air Lines, which launched the service in 2010.  It proved successful in delivering a superior airport experience for top travellers. In 2012, SkyPriority became the first customer-facing initiative to be implemented by all SkyTeam member airlines.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | SkyTeam marks five years of SkyPriority benefits

Over five years, SkyPriority has set SkyTeam apart as an industry leader on priority service innovations,” said Perry Cantarutti, SkyTeam’s CEO and Managing Director. “It’s our most popular customer initiative to-date, and because we are committed to delivering excellence, we are using real-time feedback from customers on-the-go via our award-winning SkyPriority Audit app to maintain a consistently high standard of service around the globe.

SkyPriority offers eligible travellers a suite of priority airport benefits.  The highlights include the following benefits: Priority  (at check-in, baggage drop off, security and immigration, ticket and transfer desks, boarding and baggage collection); Clear branding (easily-identifiable signs at each location and indicators on boarding passes ensure seamless access to services); SkyPriority Finder (available on SkyTeam.com and SkyTeam APP it allows customers to discover which services are available in airports they are flying to/from); SkyPriority Customer Audit APP (Eligible customers wishing to join the SkyPriority Panel program can enrol via SkyTeam.com).

SkyTeam continues to invest in SkyPriority, adding fast-track security and immigration access at an increasing number of global airports.

Skyteam | Wanderlust Tips | Cinet

wanderlust-tips-a-week-of-thai-cuisine-at-melia-hanoi-hotel

Thai Cuisine at Melia Hanoi Hotel

From 14th to 20th July 2017, the Royal Thai Embassy in Vietnam, in collaboration with Thai Airways International and Melia Hanoi Hotel will organize a food festival named “A week of Thai cuisine” at El Patio Restaurant.

[rpi]

Thailand has gained its own fame for the delightful culinary art. Meticulously fusing the elements of several Southeast Asian tastes, this gastronomic culture embraces harmonious blends of herbs, spices and fresh ingredients with well-balanced combination of spicy, sour, sweet and bitter flavors.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Thai Cuisine at Melia Hanoi Hotel

Exclusively from 14th to 20th July 2017, the Royal Thai Embassy in Vietnam, Thai Airways International and Melia Hanoi Hotel will hold a food festival: “A week of Thai cuisine” at El Patio Restaurant (Buffet Lunch from 11:30am – 2pm & Buffet Dinner from 6pm to 10pm). Well-known Thai Chef Professor Chayanit Prampate with her hand-picked ingredients and finest recipes will visit Hanoi to tantalize the taste buds of the most demanding palates.  Through this awaited gastronomy experience, guests will discover the Country of Smiles by its traditional specialties such as Tom Kha Gai, Tom Yam Goong, and the list goes on.

Melia Hanoi Hotel

  • Address: 44B Ly Thuong Kiet Street
  • Tel: 04 3934 3343 (ext. 7405), fax: 04 3934 8688
  • Email: marcom@meliahanoi.com.vn

Wanderlust Tips | Cinet

wanderlust-tips-melia-hanoi-received-international-hotel-awards-2017-20183

Melia Hanoi received International Hotel Awards 2017-2018

Melia Hanoi has been victorious in three categories at the International Hotel Awards, including ‘Best City Hotel Vietnam, ‘Best Large Hotel Vietnam and ‘International Five Star Hotel 2017 – 2018’, demonstrating the hotel’s consistent excellence on a global scale.

[rpi]

The International Hotel Awards exclusively provide 5-star accolades at an international level, determining the finest hotels and hospitality companies in the world. The awards take in consideration of location, service, facilities, exterior as well as interior design, safety and security.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | Melia Hanoi received International Hotel Awards 2017-2018

Melia Hanoi’s General Manager, Guillermo Pantoja happily shares: “This is a huge achievement for us and we are very proud to have received not one, but three, prestigious accolades along with the well-known international 5 star hotel standard. Of course none of this would be possible without the dedication and hard work of all the hotel’s associates, each of whom is passionate about providing guests with the very best Melia experience”.

Since opening in 1999, Melia Hanoi has been a leading hotel in Hanoi with the unrivalled location in the center of the city, luxurious rooms and a wide array of facilities, from a state-of-the-art business center to an outdoor swimming pool. The hotel is the perfect choice for business or leisure. The hotel has been recognized as “Top 10 5-star hotel of Vietnam” by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, “Best MICE Hotel of Hanoi” by Vietnam Economic Times, “Best Revenue Management Hotel”, “Best Quality Hotel” of Melia Hotels International Asia Pacific and the list goes on.

Wanderlust Tips | Cinet

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | SkyTeam launches Marine and Offshore travel options

SkyTeam launches Marine and Offshore travel options

SkyTeam, the global airline alliance has launched a branded product to meet the specific travel requirements of the Marine and Offshore (M&O) industry. SkyTeam Marine and Offshore offers tailored travel solutions for seafarers and offshore workers alike.

[rpi]

SkyTeam Marine and Offshore is managed by IAS Global (International Airline Services Limited) and will initially include travel on six SkyTeam members – Aeroflot, Air France, Delta, KLM, Kenya Airways and Saudia – with more airlines set to participate in the coming months.  The airlines of SkyTeam’s Marine and Offshore product offer one way and round-trip special fares to more than 1,000 global destinations with bespoke conditions for baggage allowance and ticket flexibility to meet the travel needs of ship crews and offshore workers.

Wanderlust Tips Magazine | SkyTeam launches Marine and Offshore travel options

Launching a dedicated Marine and Offshore product combines our members’ M&O expertise with SkyTeam’s track record of delivering a seamless travel experience,” said Perry Cantarutti, SkyTeam’s CEO and managing director. “Meanwhile, working with IAS Global will ensure SkyTeam’s product is widely available to M&O specialist travel agencies worldwide through one convenient point of contact that includes multiple member airlines.

Bernard Rafferty, Managing Director of IAS Global stated “With over 20 years’ experience in the Marine and Offshore crew travel sector IAS is delighted to now offer our expertise to Skyteam airlines to provide an enhanced service to their travel trade partners and in turn, to their industry clients.

SkyTeam Marine and Offshore is one of a number of branded, alliance-wide travel products developed to deliver value to member airlines and global customers. These include SkyTeam Global Meetings – designed for the Meetings (MICE) industry to simplify travel to small and large-scale international events, SkyTeam Corporate Agreements – streamlined travel management offering a tailor-made, competition-law compliant solution for corporate contracting and SkyTeam China Corporate Connection – simple, competition-law compliant corporate airline agreements for companies in China.

Wanderlust Tips | Cinet