Voyageur Magazine - August 2012

AUGUST 2012 A publication of the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce

08 / 2012

Saturday, October 6, 2012 6:30 pm to Midnight Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok

“Join us for the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s most Prestigious event of 2012” (See page 3 for advance details)

Corporate

Partnership

Premier Sponsors

Executive Sponsors

W A w e n t i a W

Calendar

TCCC

Calendar of events: 2012/2013 TCCC Executives

WHEN: Thursday, August 2, 2012 WHAT: National Holiday – Asaraha Bucha

Patron:

His Excellence Ambassador of Canada

Officers:

President – Peter van Haren Vice President – Derek van Pelt Vice President – John Casella Secretary – Dr. Tim Cornwall Treasurer – Michael Howard

Executive Board: Ali Fancy Derek van Pelt John Casella John Stevens Neil Chiu Michael Howard Peter van Haren Ron Livingston Scott Coates Sranyoo Chanate Dr. Tim Cornwall Todd Switzer

Embassy Representative: Ping Kitnikone

Advisors:

Don Lavoie Geoff McIntyre Michael White Picharn Sukparangsee Raymond Bodemer Sam Cohen Surachit Chanovan

Executive Director: Randy Shockley

Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce 139 Pan Road, Sethiwan Tower 9th floor, Bangkok 10500 Tel: +66(0) 2266-6085-6 Fax: +66(0) 2266-6087 Email: tccc@loxinfo.co.th Website: www.tccc.or.th

The Voyageur is the monthly magazine of the Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce, covering all Thai-Canadian business, legal and social news of interest to the members and others who are active in expanding Thai-Canadian bilateral trade.

Editor: Randy Shockley, Executive Director, Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce Publisher: Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. 211 Soi Prasert-Manukitch 29, Prasert-Manukitch Rd., Chorakeabua, Ladprao Bangkok 10230 Tel: +66(0) 2943-7166-8 Fax: +66(0) 2943-7169 Design: Disraporn Yatprom Email: disraporn@scandmedia.com Advertising Contact: Mr. Finn Balslev, Marketing Director Scandinavian Publishing Co., Ltd. Tel: +66(0) 2943-7166 ext.116 or 08-1866-2577 Email: finn@scandmedia.com

WHEN: Friday, August 8, 2012; 11:30 am – 2:00 pm WHAT: Speaker Luncheon: ”How to Avoid Being Ripped-Off By Your Accountant & Run-Over by the Revenue Department” WHERE: Dusit Thani Hotel - Bangkok PRICE: 700 baht – Members; 850 baht – Non Members WHEN: Monday, August 13, 2, 2012 WHAT: National Holiday – Queen’s Birthday (Substitution Day) WHEN: Wednesday, August 15, 2012; 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm WHAT: Canuck Connections Networking Night WHERE: Tenderloins – Sukhumvit Soi 33 PRICE: Members & Non Members – 200 baht WHEN: Thursday, August 2, 2012 WHAT: National Holiday – Asaraha Bucha

CCBA

Upcoming events in the region:

Hong Kong: http://www.cancham.org When: Tuesday, August 21, 2012; 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm.

What: InterCham 50th Young Professional Cocktail Where: Hard Rock Cafe, LG/F LKF Tower, 55 D'Aguilar Street, Lan Kwai Fong, Central.

Price: 180 HK$ for members, 270 HK$ for non-members.

Malaysia: http://www.malaysia-canada.com When: Saturday, September 22, 2012; 6.30 - 8.30 pm.

What: Annual General Meeting Where: High Commissioner of Canada Official Residence, Jalan Langgak Golf, Kuala Lumpur.

Price: please visit www.malaysia-canada.com for further details.

Japan: http://www.cccj.or.jp When: Friday, September 28, 2012; 9:00 am - 3:00 pm.

What: Mercedes-Benz Japan Cup in 2012 the 10th North America - Europe Golf Challenge in Japan Where: Atsugi Kokusai Country Club in Kanagawa.

Price: 3,000 yen non-refundable registration fee and a 21,000 yen fee (paid to the club) for the play, caddie, lunch and party and a lot of great prizes, for a total of 24,000 yen, of which a part will go to charity.

Major Upcoming TCCC Events…

Please mark the following two events in you planning calendar: The Maple Leaf Harvest Ball & Silent Auction - Saturday, October 6, 2012 from 6:30 pm to Midnight at the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok. This is the Chamber’s premier social event of the year so make sure your reserve time for this special evening. The ball’s ‘Silent Auction’ also represents a great opportunity to conduct some early Christmas shopping.

3nd Beaver Invitational Charity Golf Tournament - Friday, November 9, 2012 and Saturday, November 10, 2012. Make sure to block time to participate in this fun-filled golfing weekend at the beach. The Eastern Seaboard Networking Night & Tournament Pre-Registration event will be held on Friday, November 9th from 6:30 pm to 9:00 PM with the Beaver Invitational Charity Golf Tournament and Awards Dinner occurring on Saturday, November 10th.

Thank you for taking note of these two great TCCC annual fund raising event’s !

August 2012

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Community News

Senior Citizen Denies Flying F The Bangkok Flying Farangs were trying to win their third City of Angels crown in five years; all that was stopping them was a 62-year-old goalie - and he did.

The keeper for the all-Finnish team, Ukkometsot, Mika Rantanen, which had flown in from Helsinki, stoned the Farangs in the final match as the visiting Finns won the first tournament to be played at the new arena, The Rink, located on the 7th floor of the Central Grand Rama IX shopping mall.

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he favourite going into the 35-andover tourney was the Hong Kong Tigers who had a slew of relatively young forwards (aged 35-39), who skated rings around the opposition in the early matches, making mincemeat of their

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opposition. But like the Farangs, the Tigers fell victim to the wily Finnish keeper in the semi-final exiting the tourney without the Cup they so eagerly coveted. The Farangs beat the Kuala Lumpur Cobras in their semi-final game to set up the final match against Ukkometsot.

Flying Farang goalie Jason Cotsmire had a brilliant tourney except for a brief 5-minute span at the start of the final game when Ukkometsot scored three quick goals on him. It was erringly similar to the 5-minute breakdown the New Jersey Devils suffered in period one of game 6 of the Stanley Cup final when Steve Bernier took a five minute major boarding penalty and the LA Kings scored three power-play goals. The Farangs did call a time out after the Finns’ three quick goals, but like the Devils were never able to gain the momentum, losing the final by the same score the Devils did, 6-1.

The 15-team tourney was divided into three four-team divisions and one threeteam division, with each team playing the other teams in its division before being reseeded according to their records. Bangkok entered two other teams in the tourney and the second-seeded Bangkok team reached the semi-final of the consolation championship (eventually won by Beijing), while the third Bangkok team, composed - ironically - mostly of Finns, saw an early exit from the tourney as they were unable to muster much scoring power.

Community News

Farangs 3rd Crown In 5 years

The highest-profile player in the tourney was Jay North, who had flown in from Texas to play for the Singapore Hawkers (Singapore like Bangkok, entered three teams in the tourney). North, a Minnesota high-school stand-out, was selected 63rd overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1980 entry draft, ahead of future NHL stars like Jari Kurri, Bernie Nicholls, Steve Larmer, Steve Kasper, Hakan

Loob & Andy Moog. His NHL career never did pan out, but people still talk about the way he dazzled the crowd in his high school days.

All the matches on the final day were televised live on Thai TV and the rink was a beehive of journalistic activity with cameramen, photographers and writers everywhere.

Tournament organizer Scott Whitcomb and

his team at Jogsports did an outstanding job of running the event. And the Rink, which was still trying to air out its kinks was able to withstand the heavy schedule of morning to late-night matches despite Bangkok’s heavy humidity.

www.jogsports.com August 2012

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Community News

“She says the popcorn isn’t hot”

By Scott Murray

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hat might seem like an innocuous expression to most, but it was those very words that made a 13-year-old Alex Mavro determined to speak Thai. He had been in Bangkok for eighteen months and had refused to learn Thai, longing to return to Vietnam, a country that enchanted him. But when his buddy named David Morris recognized those words while the two were waiting to buy popcorn at a kiosk in the parking lot of the Plaza Hotel, Alex chastised himself, saying inwardly “If he can learn this language, so can I.” Alex first came to Southeast Asia in 1955 as a seven-year-old boy. His father, due to his French-language skills, was posted to Saigon as an extension of the Marshall Plan.

The family was based both in Saigon and Phnom Penh before taking root in Bangkok.

Alex fell so in love with Vietnam that at age eleven he ran away from home trying to get back to Saigon.

Eventually adjusting to life in the Land of Smiles, Alex graduated from ISB in Bangkok then through ROTC earned an undergraduate degree at the University of Florida at Gainesville in political science (Asian Studies). He owed the Air Force six years, and since he was fluent in French, Mandarin and Thai they shipped him off to Thailand where he spent his entire tour of duty as a civilianmilitary liaison at various air force bases in northeastern Thailand. 1976, Alex was one of the few serviceman to be separated in place, meaning he didn’t have to go back to the US to muster out of the service.

Alex’s first civilian job was as a diving instructor; he’d teach the students at pools in Bangkok and then take them out to Pattaya for the actual dives. He then moved into the security business, becoming Operations Manager for MPA, the first private security outfit in Thailand, which guarded everything from embassies to the airport. But he soon grew tired of the security business, and moved into the logistics business with a friend named Stan Griffin, who had started

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DHL here.

He stayed with DHL until 1990, when through a bitter fall-out with the parent DHL company Griffin’s widow (Stan died in 1988), Alex and his other partner, Dave Daly, left to set up a rival logistics company called GDM (using the first initial of their last names to form the company’s acronym). By the way, DHL is an acronym for the first initials of the last names of its three founders too: Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn.

Explaining the courier business here, Alex says “It’s not about brand, it’s about who you are, it’s who the secretary sees, she sees Somchai the messenger, and she’s using your company because she likes Somchai, not the brand. We kept all our messengers; we didn’t lose any of our staff. But the war between DHL and us hit the industry hard and probably set it back ten years. (By the way, at that time, FedEx and UPS were making enormous profits stateside and didn’t see Thailand as a particularly valuable area; they were eventually forced to expand by customer demand.)”

GDM eventually agreed to be taken over

by TNT, but Alex was kept in place to make sure the transition was smooth; problem was

he was used to being his own boss, and didn’t take very kindly to being told want to do by those far less experienced in the business so he only lasted a couple of years with TNT, before setting out on his own to do consulting work in corporate social responsibility.

Then in September of last year Alex was approached by Chulalonghorn University to become the Chief of Operation for the Sasin Centre for Sustainability. He was to work with academics to set up a series of courses so that MBA students could pick up a major in sustainable development during their two years at SASIN. Alex explains sustainability in this context as teaching people to manage their business operations so that their overall impact is positive, and doesn’t take away anything from the world, but hopefully adds something to it. With the world having finite resources, he says it’s very important to imbue this mindset in the business community, especially the young business community.

Another important part of Alex’s life is his work with the Rotary Club. In 1995, he was invited to a Rotary meeting; you have to be invited by a member to attend one. He’d been to a meeting before and hadn’t been impressed, but at his friend’s persistence (he said his club didn’t have a courier) he went, this time to a different club, and his experience was totally different; he was smitten, he’s been a member ever since.

But not only is he a member, he’s the first farang Rotary District Governor in Thailand’s history. There have been farang heads of local clubs before, but to be a governor you need to fluent in Thai, and be able to read and write Thai too, which Alex can. Alex’s club, Bangkok South, stretches from Rama IV to the River, and has 108 members (it’s the biggest in Thailand). Most clubs have between 50-100 members and there are 300 clubs throughout the country. Clubs are broken down into districts and Rotary likes to see 50-100 clubs in a district. Alex’s District (Central) spans 11 Thai provinces and has 85 clubs, including five clubs in Cambodia.

Only four of these speak English, one speaks Japanese, one Mandarin and four Khmer.

Rotary is a service organization made up of volunteers (usually professional businessmen) who have time to devote to doing service and helping the disadvantaged. It’s not just about donating money though, but time as well, e.g. a carpenter, accountant, or IT expert all have skills that can help Rotary with the projects its working on. And each club has its own projects depending on the needs of the area where it’s located.

Alex has made a tremendous journey in his five-and-a-half decades in Thailand. Few foreigners can speak Thai as well as he can and few foreigners have a better grasp of Thai culture than he has; Rotary is lucky to have him.

Business News

AEC: Opportunities, Challenges and the Way Forward

By Michael Doyle

There is both growing excitement and apprehension concerning Thailand’s participation in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) set to be established by 2015.

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he goal of the AEC as set forth in the AEC blueprint is to “establish ASEAN as a single market and production base making ASEAN more dynamic and competitive with new mechanisms and measures to strengthen the implementation of existing economic initiatives; accelerating regional integration in the priority sectors; facilitating movement of business persons; skilled labor and talents; and strengthening the institutional mechanisms of ASEAN” and “to hasten the establishment of the [AEC] by 2015”.

The following are the key characteristics of the AEC as set forth in the blueprint.

• free flow of services; • free flow of investment; • freer flow of capital; and • free flow of skilled labor.

ASEAN member countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

And, unlike other far reaching multilateral policy initiatives, it seems at least that there is a strong, broad-based commitment to follow through on these commitments as each of the ASEAN member countries has already signed off on an action plan designed to achieve the above referred to objectives as set forth in the blueprint by 2015.

These are exciting and ambitious goals which will no doubt have significant short, medium and long term economic implications on Thailand and the rest of the ASEAN countries.

But, as with most big, ambitions new government plans there will be perceived winners and losers.

Among the major winners from Thailand’s participation under the AEC should be the Thai consumer.

Implementing a policy of free flow of goods and investment throughout the region should reduce transaction costs and help to drive down the cost of goods produced in the region.

Another major winner should be Thailand listed companies and other large Thailand companies looking to find new markets for their products and services throughout the region. The removal of the trade barriers as required by the AEC should open up interesting opportunities for Thai companies looking to expand their customer base and diversify their businesses.

However, many of Thailand’s SME’s will likely see these coming changes a bit differently. Although SME’s, also, stand to benefit from Thailand’s participation under the AEC, many will likely feel threatened

by the provisions of the AEC requiring Thailand to open up to its market to increased foreign competition.

This situation sets the stage for an intense policy debate in Thailand (and the other ASEAN countries as well) leading up to 2015.

In order to satisfy its commitments under the AEC, the Thai government will be required to make a series of legal changes in order to make Thailand investment law consistent with its AEC obligations.

Source: Thailand Investment Review (TRI) - A publication of the Thailand Board of Investment (BOI).

For more information about investment opportunities in Thailand, click www.boi.go.th The BOI Investment Review is a monthly publication of the Thailand Board of Investment.

Any questions or comments regarding content may be addressed to marketing@boi.go.th or the BOI Marketing Division at Tel. 66 2553 8217.

August 2012

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Member Profile

THE QATAR AIRWAYS Charting the Rise of One of the Fastest Growing Airlines In The World Airline of the Year 2011 (Named By Skytrax Airline Global Industry Audit) Introduction

Qatar Airways is the national airline of the State of Qatar and one of the aviation industry’s big success stories. Operations began in 1994 when the airline was a small regional carrier servicing a handful of routes. The airline was re-launched in 1997 under the mandate of the country’s leader The Emir, His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who outlined a vision to turn Qatar Airways into a leading international airline with the highest standards of service and excellence.

Qatar Airways has since become one of the fastest growing carriers in the world with unprecedented expansion averaging double digit growth year on year that industry peers can only admire with envy.

The airline, which is 50 per cent government-owned and 50 per cent under the private sector, has developed under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, appointed CEO in 1996, who has been instrumental in turning Qatar Airways into an award-winning carrier and the best in the world.

Under Al Baker’s stewardship, Qatar Airways has matured into a leading force in regional and global aviation, earning many admirers around the world for its excellent standards of service.

In April 2011, Qatar Airways reached a milestone reaching 100 destinations in its global route map. Two months later, the airline achieved a remarkable feat, just 14 years after its relaunch, being named Airline of the Year 2011 at the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards with over 18 million travellers worldwide casting their votes. In October 2011,

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker addresses guests at an airport arrival ceremony in Zagreb following the carrier's inaugural service to the Croatian capital.

Qatar Airways attained another key milestone by taking delivery of its 100th aircraft.

During the Dubai Air Show in November 2011, Qatar Airways placed orders (firm and options) for 90 aircraft, comprising 80 of Airbus’ new A320 Neos, an additional eight A380 super jumbos and two Boeing 777 freighters.

Today, the award-winning airline has orders for over 250 aircraft worth more than US$50 billion.

Global Network and Expansion

From Qatar Airways’ hub in Doha, the

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker is welcomed at Zagreb Airport by traditional Croatian folklore dancers and musicians.

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country’s capital, the airline has developed a global network of over destinations, covering Europe, Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Asia Pacific, North America and South America with a modern fleet of over 100 passenger and cargo aircraft.

In March 2009, Qatar Airways launched the longest flight in its global network – scheduled daily services from Doha to Houston marking its third US destination – with a flying time of around 16 hours to make it one of the longest non-stop flights in the world.

During 2010, Qatar Airways launched flights to 10 new destinations including: Bengaluru (Bangalore), Tokyo, Ankara, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Phuket, Hanoi and Nice.

Between January and May 2011, Qatar Airways launched five new routes, expanding to Bucharest, Budapest, Brussels, Stuttgart and Aleppo, the latter becoming Qatar Airways’ milestone 100th destination which started on April 6.

In June of last year, the carrier expanded its network further with the launch of three new routes from Doha – twice-weekly flights to its third Iranian destination of Shiraz; daily flights to Venice marking its third Italian point; and its entry into Canada with thrice-weekly flights to Montreal.

During the second half of 2011, Qatar Airways expanded in Saudi Arabia with its fourth gateway to the holy city of Medina, operating four weekly flights; daily to Kolkata (Calcutta); and the Bulgarian capital Sofia .

Last October, flights to the Norwegian capital Oslo were launched and in Novem-

Member Profile

ber flights were commenced to Benghazi in Libya, Entebbe in Uganda and Chongqing (the carrier’s fifth gateway in China).

The audit was set up to standardise and rationalise a number of safety and security procedures carried out by individual airlines for the purpose of codesharing. Qatar Airways was assessed on flight and ground operations, aircraft engineering, maintenance, operational security, cabin operations and management systems.

Young Fleet

From only four aircraft in 1997, the airline grew to a fleet size of 28 aircraft by the end of 2003 and a milestone 50 by October 2006.

Today the airline operates over 100 aircraft.

By 2013, the fleet size will rise to more than 120 aircraft.

Qatar Airways has one of the industry’s youngest fleets with an average aircraft age under four years old. The Qatar Airways family includes several different Airbus and Boeing aircraft types – the long-range Boeing 777 passenger and freighter aircraft, Airbus A340, A330, A300, A300F freighter, A321, A320 and A319. The latter A319 includes a corporate jet version.

The company also operates corporate jets, including Bombardier Challenger 605s, Bombardier Global 5000s and a Global Express XRS, for its executive subsidiary Qatar Executive, launched in 2009.

Qatar Airways currently has over 250 new aircraft worth more than US$50 billion pending delivery over the next few years. This includes an order for Airbus’ new generation A350s, A320 Neos, A380s and Boeing 787s.

Qatar Airways is one of the launch customers of the twin-deck Airbus A380-800 “super jumbo” – the world’s biggest aircraft capable of carrying 555 passengers in a luxurious configuration. Qatar Airways has ordered 13 A380s with a delivery schedule beginning in 2012.

Premium Terminal

In line with the company’s philosophy to be innovative, the airline operates the world’s only dedicated commercial passenger terminal exclusively for its First and Business Class passengers at Doha International Airport.

The US$90 million Premium Terminal, built in just nine months, opened in November 2006. It features facilities such as sit-down check-in for First and Business Class passengers, a spa, Jacuzzi, duty free shopping, business centre, fine dining restaurants, delicatessen and a cocktail bar.

The innovative Premium Terminal facilities are designed to provide Qatar Airways’ most loyal customers with the best levels of comfort and hospitality prior to catching their flight. Open round-the-clock, 24-hoursa-day, seven days a week, the stand-alone facility is seen as an industry benchmark in premium class travel experience.

Due to the rapid expansion of Qatar Airways, the Premium Terminal was expanded

New Doha International Airport

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker announces the carrier's 2012 expansion plans during a press conference in Dubai. in 2009 to accommodate over 80 per cent additional seating space.

Global Achievements

Qatar Airways is proud to have been named Airline of the Year 2011 in the annual Skytrax World Airline Awards. Over 18 million travellers worldwide cast their votes in the survey by the leading global airline industry audit.

Having been elevated to third best airline in the world by Skytrax last year, announcement of the 2011 results in June ranking Qatar Airways as Airline of the Year was a culmination of sheer dedication and hard work by the airline’s workforce under the leadership of its Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker.

Already ranked Five Star for service excellence by Skytrax, the independent aviation industry monitoring agency confirmed Qatar Airways as Best Airline in the Middle East for the sixth year in a row and Best First Class Lounge for its Premium Terminal at its Doha hub – a facility for exclusive use by Qatar Airways’ First and Business Class passengers.

Safety

Qatar Airways was the first airline in the world to pass the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit with a maximum 100 per cent compliance in 2003 and passed the test again during the two-year renewal period in 2005, 2007, 2009 and, in June 2011.

In order to cope with the airline’s growth strategy, more than US$1 billion is being invested in infrastructure improvements at Doha International Airport, Qatar Airways’ operational hub. This includes a new transit terminal, extension of the existing Premium Terminal for Qatar Airways’ First and Business Class passengers, new arrivals terminal, new terminal for foreign airlines and additional aircraft parking bays.

The New Doha International Airport, located four kilometres from the existing airport will open this year at a cost of US $14.5 billion with an initial capacity of 28 million passengers a year. Construction work began in January 2005. Once fully developed beyond 2015, the airport is expected to handle up to 50 million passengers a year. One of the project’s key features is that 60 per cent of the site is built on reclaimed land from the Arabian Gulf.

Qatar Airways will manage the new airport, designed to help shape Doha as a key regional and global aviation hub.

Corporate Social Responsibility

As an industry leader, Qatar Airways and its group of companies strive to lead the charge towards environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The airline is one of the leaders in new-generation fuel research and gives back to the communities in which we serve.

Qatar Airways goes beyond the current industry best practices for fuel and environmental management and is making a serious effort to ensure a sustainable future for the airline, its staff and its neighbourhoods.

The airline administers an innovative “Five Pillar Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy” which embraces Change Management, Communication, Environment, Integrated Fuel Management and Sustainable Development.

Qatar Airways “Five Pillar” strategy is designed to limit the airline’s impact on global climate change, noise, local air quality, nonrenewable resources and waste.

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Member Profile

Qatar Airways' inaugural flight from Doha to Zagreb arrives in the Croatian capital to a traditional water salute welcome.

QATAR AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES LAUNCH DATES OF NEW ROUTES Myanmar and Iraq are among the highlights of Qatar Airways’ announcement of launch dates for new routes in the Middle East, Africa and Asia with capacity hikes being introduced to a number of other international destinations from the carrier’s Doha hub.

Speaking at the recent Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the Middle East’s premier travel trade event in Dubai, Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker unveiled the expansion plans covering a wide network of markets across the carrier’s global network.

Scheduled flights to Iraq began on May 23 with Erbil in the north, followed two weeks later by services to the capital Baghdad on June 7. Each route will be served with fourflights-a-week non-stop from Doha.

Effective July 25, the airline will launch flights to Kilimanjaro, its second gateway in Tanzania. The daily services will operate via Nairobi.

Beginning August 15, Qatar Airways introduces its third African destination of 2012 with the launch of flights to the holiday centre of Mombasa – its second point in Kenya after the capital Nairobi. Each of the daily services will operate via the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam. In March, Qatar Airways began flights to Rwanda’s capital city of Kigali, the carrier‘s first African route of the year.

And starting October 3, Qatar Airways resumes operations to Myanmar following a four-year absence on the route, linking Doha with the capital Yangon. With political reform taking place in Myanmar at a rapid pace, interest in the South East Asian country has gathered momentum from both a business and tourism perspective.

New route Perth is experiencing excellent sales for its thrice-weekly flights which begin on July 3 – the carrier’s second Australian gateway after Melbourne. The Perth route goes daily in December at the peak of the holiday season.

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Qatar Airways has already launched flights to the European capital cities of Baku in Azerbaijan and Tbilisi in Georgia. Starting May 9, the airline’s European expansion continues with daily flights to the Croatian capital Zagreb, operating via Budapest. Further route launches are planned to Belgrade in Serbia, the Finnish capital Helsinki and Zanzibar in Tanzania.

In line with the airline’s strategy to increase frequency on existing routes to offer passengers more choice, Qatar Airways is also stepping up capacity to selected destinations in phases.

In Asia, the Kuala Lumpur route will be served three-times daily from September, up from the recently-expanded capacity of 17 flights each week.

In Europe, the Doha – Milan route will be upgraded to double daily this month from the current 11-a-week. In December, the Doha – Paris route will have an additional two flights taking frequency up to 18 services-a-week.

In the Middle East, three routes will benefit from additional capacity. Kuwait last month saw the introduction of a new daily flight taking frequency up to 49 services each week. From June, an extra seven flights will be operated on the route taking capacity up to 56 services – eight daily round-trip flights every week.

Also in June, the Doha – Abu Dhabi route will go up to 42 flights each week with the introduction of a new daily service offering in total six daily flights.

Having introduced two extra weekly flights on the Doha – Cairo route last month to take frequency up to 11 each week, capacity will be stepped up further next month with the addition of one extra flight a week.

And in Africa, more capacity will be introduced on the double daily Doha – Dar es Salaam route from next month. With seven services operating via Nairobi, these will become non-stop to Dar es Salaam effectively providing more seats direct to the Tanzanian capital.

In March, Qatar Airways introduced fre-

quency hikes to other destinations – namely London Heathrow, up from four to five flightsa-day; the Algerian capital Algiers from seven to 11 services each week; Muscat in Oman from 24 to 31 flights each week; and the Indonesian capital of Jakarta from seven to 10 services a week.

The airline’s Doha hub will continue to facilitate passenger and cargo traffic to all parts of the world, offering convenient connections across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

“This announcement reflects the importance Qatar Airways places on expanding its portfolio of destinations and frequency on existing routes to provide passengers with more choice, more flexibility and more travel options,” said Al Baker, addressing a packed press conference at the Dubai Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“We are entering new markets and strengthening our presence in established markets to provide a greater footprint. In particular, we are focusing on markets that are in need of extra capacity.

“The changing political landscape in Myanmar presents tremendous business opportunities and Qatar Airways is extremely delighted to be re-entering this wonderful destination that clearly will be one of the hottest markets in Asia for travellers from across our diverse international network.

“Iraq too provides many opportunities as infrastructure improvements taking place across the country prompt more international travel to support economic reform.”

Added Al Baker: “This year alone will see Qatar Airways take delivery of one new aircraft every 15 days, so there are plenty of opportunities to look at inducting them into service on both new and well established routes.”

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 15 years of operation, currently operating a modern fleet of 108 aircraft to 114 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

Chamber News

Canuck Connections Networking Night, Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Sponsored by Rabbit Card, Carrot Rewards and the Eastin Grand Hotel It was a Hopping Good Time for All . . .

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he Thai-Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s June 20th ‘Canuck Connections’ was a very special networking event and was jointly sponsored by Carrot Rewards, Rabbit and the all new Eastin Grand Hotel.

On this night, the Chamber’s 80 plus guests were treated to a poolside party offering free flowing drinks, a great skyline view of Bangkok, live music and an wide offering of the Eastin Grand’s outstanding hors d'oeuvres. Guests were also invited to receive an Exclusive Limited Edition Rabbit Card when they enroll in Carrot Rewards.

Rabbit is Bangkok’s new prepaid smartcard for mass transit and retail. Launched on May 1, 2012, Rabbit can be used on the BTS as well as at over 20 retail brands in Bangkok, including McDonald’s, Starbucks, Au Bon Pain, Major Cineplex, Gourmet Market and Oishi.

Rabbit is also set to expand to the MRT and BRT bus networks later this year.

The Carrot Rewards Loyalty Program is the Exclusive Benefits Program for Rabbit. Rabbit holders can enjoy earning points, coupon offers and other special privileges by enrolling their Rabbit card in Carrot Rewards. Once a Rabbit holder enrolls in Carrot Rewards they can begin earning “Carrot Points” with their Points Issuing Partners.

If you missed this opportunity to become a Rabbit card holder and register for Carrot Rewards, then you can still hop in by purchasing a Rabbit card and accessing the Carrot Rewards website at www. carrotrewards.co.th or through submitting a paper registration form at any BTS ticket sales outlets. So remember to purchase you Rabbit card and… Hop in Today!

Again, the TCCC thanks Carrot Rewards, Rabbit and the Eastin Grand Hotel for sponsoring a great Canuck Connections event.

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1. (R-L) Khun Fang, Peter and friend 2. Carrot Rewards host, John Stevens discussing the benefits of the all-new Rabbit Card 3. Eastin Grand Hotel’s band provided some excellent background music on this evening 4. The Carrot Rewards team registered 80+ attendees on new the Rabbit Card program August 2012

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