The Voice of Chandigarh :

British Airways has announced that the latest Avios-Only destination will be Cape Town, with more than 500 seats now available for customers to spend their Avios on. Members of The British Airways Club can travel to Cape Town over the Christmas period, from as little as 70,000 Avios and £150.

Cape Town marks the release of the airline’s 7,500th Avios-Only seat since the launch in 2023. British Airways has operated 34 Avios-Only flights to 15 destinations across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, and the Caribbean. The most recent Avios-Only flights to Málaga and Marrakech were scheduled during the October half-term and were especially popular with families. Booking rates for families with children were more than four times higher than for other reward flights.

British Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, Colm Lacy, said: “We’re delighted to announce Cape Town as our latest Avios-Only flight destination, in South Africa’s peak travel season. Members will have the opportunity to book seats across all four cabins over the popular festive period offering more value and choice than ever.”

Rob McDonald, Chief Commercial Officer at IAG Loyalty, said: “We know how popular Avios-Only flights are with customers and we’re incredibly excited to work with British Airways to offer the next long-haul Avios-Only flight to Cape Town, operating over the peak Christmas period. This will allow customers to take full advantage of the value Avios unlocks on an incredibly popular route.”

Avios-Only seats are sold as normal Reward Seats, which means that customers with British Airways American Express Credit Cards will also have the option to use their Companion Vouchers. These entitle Members to a second seat for just the taxes and charges, or one seat for half the amount of Avios.

Reward Seats are those that can be purchased using Avios at static rates. British Airways guarantees a minimum of 12 and 14 Reward Seats on standard short and long-haul flights respectively, whereas Avios-Only flights mean that every seat is available to purchase using Avios. Members booking the Avios-Only flight can do so in any cabin as they normally would through ba.com.

India, 04 August 2025 – Following encouraging load factors and sustained demand on its Trivandrum – Kuala Lumpur route, Malaysia Airlines is set to further expand its presence in South India by increasing frequencies to the city. Beginning 12 September 2025, the airline will introduce a fifth weekly service, with daily operations to commence from 1 December 2025. Tickets for the new frequencies will be available with immediate effect. This marks a significant step forward since the route’s launch in November 2023, which initially operated twice weekly before increasing to four times weekly in April 2024.

The airline has also partnered with Kerala Tourism under “Look East” initiative, launched in Trivandrum to strengthen travel ties between East Asia and Kerala.

The increase in frequency reaffirms Malaysia Airlines’ commitment to the Indian market by offering travellers greater flexibility and convenience, while enhancing connectivity between India and Malaysia. Through its hub in Kuala Lumpur, the airline continues to strengthen its role as the gateway to Asia and beyond.

Dersenish Aresandiran, Chief Commercial Officer of Airlines from Malaysia Aviation Group said, “India remains a key focus market for Malaysia Airlines, and this frequency increase reaffirms our dedication to meeting the growing demand for air travel from South India. With daily flights to Trivandrum, we are well-positioned to offer greater flexibility and convenience for both business and leisure travellers, while supporting trade and tourism flows between our two countries.”

Malaysia Airlines currently operates 76 weekly flights across ten key cities in India including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, and Trivandrum. With the new additions, this number will increase to 77 weekly flights by December 2025.

Passengers flying from India to Malaysia can also take advantage of Malaysia Airlines’ Bonus Side Trip (BST) programme, which offers a complimentary side trip to one of seven domestic destinations within Malaysia. This value-added offering allows international travellers to explore more of Malaysia’s unique culture, nature, and heritage—all within a single itinerary.

For more information or to book, visit malaysiaairlines.com or download the mobile app for the latest deals and promotions.

(Yicai) Aug. 4 — China’s civil aviation sector saw a slight uptick in July amid the summer travel rush, but ticket prices are still under pressure, with the average economy fare tumbling 7.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the latest data.

The number of passengers that flew on domestic routes in July climbed 3 percent from a year earlier to 60.3 million, according to statistics from state-backed flight information provider Air Travel Navigator. While passenger numbers on international routes surged 10 percent to 7.7 million.

Ticket sales to tourist hotspots saw much faster growth. Bookings to popular cities such as Xining in western Qinghai province as well as Lijiang and Dali in southwestern Yunnan province jumped more than 13 percent year on year, while bookings to several cities in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region surged by over 10 percent, Zhao Nan, general manager of the industry development department at Air Travel Navigator, told Yicai.

The summer travel boom this year was not as strong as expected, a marketing executive at an airline said. “The first part of July was not bad, but after the middle of the month passenger loads began to decline and it became difficult to raise prices.”

The average price of an economy class ticket on a domestic route slumped 7.5 percent in July from a year earlier to CNY840 (USD117), including fuel surcharges, according to data from flight tracking platform Flight Manager. This is also a 5 percent drop from the same period in 2019, the year before the pandemic.

Of the 20 most popular domestic routes, only the Hangzhou-Shenzhen route saw fares go up, while prices on the rest declined to various degrees. Fares on 11 of these, including the Chongqing to Beijing route, plunged by more than 10 percent from a year ago.

The July-August summer travel season is usually one of the most profitable times of the year for airlines, second only to the Chinese New Year travel rush. It is also a key time for airlines to add international flights. However, this year, international flight volumes are only back to 89.1 percent of 2019 levels, according to the latest statistics from Flight Manager.

The pattern of international routes flown by Chinese airlines has changed significantly since before the pandemic, industry insiders told Yicai. Flights to and from Central Asia, Africa and the Middle East now account for over 70 percent of international flights, while traditional long-haul routes to Europe and the United States, remain well below pre-pandemic levels due to reciprocal air rights restrictions.

In terms of the most popular international destinations, the number of flights to Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Laos in July exceeded the same period in 2019, according to Flight Manager. However, flights to Thailand are only at 54.6 percent of 2019 levels, while those to Cambodia and the Philippines are still less than 50 percent, and flights to North America are under 30 percent of what they were before the pandemic.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Kim Taylor