Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Edition May 2019

Welcome to the May 2019 issue of Business Traveller Asia-Pacific. I spent some time in Macau recently for our “4 Hours in Macau” feature (see page 40). The city is often unfairly dismissed by tourists and business travellers alike in favour of Hong Kong, its larger and more powerful neighbour. While it’s true that Macau can hardly compare to Hong Kong – a global economic powerhouse and financial centre – the former Portuguese colony is growing at an impressive rate (driven largely by its gaming industry) and several stunning new hotels are cropping up. I was standing in the Grand Hyatt Macau’s executive lounge (see page 48 for this issue’s feature on executive lounges) talking with butler Randy Wong. The lounge has a commanding view of Macau’s Cotai area; you can…

BACK IN BUSINESS Chongqing may be seeing less growth than in its heyday a few years ago, but the city still offers significant business potential (page 22) SOUND OF SUCCESS Country music has made Nashville a tourist hit – but it’s winning big when it comes to business, too (page 28) BUSINESS CLASS GUIDE Many airlines use the same off-the-rack business class seat products, but which carriers operate which seats? (page 42) ENTER THE DRAGON China’s business travel market continues to boom regardless of the impact trade tariffs from the US may have (page 56)…

DAVID WHITEHOUSE David Whitehouse spent 17 years in Paris with Bloomberg as a financial editor. He is the author of In Search of Rwanda’s Genocidaires: French Justice and the Lost Decades and co-author of We Didn’t Start the Fire: My Struggle for Democracy in Cambodia by longtime opposition leader Sam Rainsy. He now writes for the London financial curation service Substantive Research. On page 56, he explores China’s growing business travel market. NADIA BAILEY Nadia Bailey is a writer and critic based in Melbourne, Australia. Working across fields as diverse as fiction, journalism and poetry, her writing has appeared in publications like The Australian, The Age, Gourmet Traveller, JONES, The Lifted Brow and more. She has published three books on popular culture with Smith Street Books and is currently working on her first…

Founded in 1975 by American entrepreneur Charlie Clifford, TUMI sprang to life to revolutionise travel with stylish, functional and durable bags. Taking its name from a Peruvian icon known to Clifford during his days in the Peace Corps, the first TUMI bags quickly became popular for their ruggedness and superior quality. Even now, some of the original TUMI brown leather duffel bags hold their own over 40 years later – aside from minimal signs of wear, there’s little to indicate that they haven’t just come off the shelves of a store. From its early days producing expertly handcrafted leather bags, TUMI has evolved by innovating new styles and materials while incorporating more advanced functionality and technology. None exemplify this continuous improvement more than the Alpha series, an iconic collection that many…

THE LONG wait for British Airways’ and Virgin Atlantic’s new business class seat products is finally over, with both UK carriers now having lifted back the curtains on their respective offerings. British Airways’ Club Suite, as it is being called, is a bespoke version of Collins Aerospace’s Super Diamond design – a reverse-herringbone 1-2-1 configured seat also found on airlines such as China Airlines, Hong Kong Airlines and Hainan Airlines, among others. The main difference for the Club Suite is that, true to its name, it is an enclosed suite with a sliding door. The seat will debut on the airline’s first Airbus A350 in July. The A350 will operate on select short-haul crew familiarisation flights to Madrid in August and September, before being rostered onto select services to Toronto and Dubai…

SINGAPORE AIRLINES (SIA) plans to extend its pre-ordering meal service to premium economy class passengers from May 1, 2019. Travellers can select their main course from the in-flight menu via the carrier’s website or mobile app any time between three weeks and 24 hours before flight departure. This follows the December 2018 launch of the service to passengers travelling in suites, first and business class on all flights operated by the carrier. Meanwhile, from June 2019, parents travelling with children in all cabins can also pre-order specific meals for their children (between two and 12 years old) on flights departing Singapore. Meals can be viewed and booked up to 24 hours before departure. Three different selection categories will be available: Asian, Western and Vegetarian. The service will be extended progressively to flights departing…