Singapore Airlines has taken its lead from low-cost carriers by introducing a charge for certain economy class seats.

Customers who want guaranteed exit row seats on Singapore Airlines flights will have to pay US$50 per sector for the privilege.

For example, customers going on a long-haul flight to San Francisco could end up paying US$100 extra for a return flight.

Previously, exit row seats were only available on request, and subject to availability. Now, the new option offers a guarantee of assignment on a first-come-first-served basis.

SIA says it may extend this Preferred Seat Selection programme to other seats that offer more legroom.

BEST Air of Bangladesh has embarked on a Southeast Asian expansion spree with the launch of new twice-weekly services on the Dhaka-Singapore route and four times weekly services to Kuala Lumpur.

Both new services are being operated using its leased MD-83 aircraft configured in an all-economy 162-seat layout. Best Air's country manager Mr Muhammad Rezual Karim said: "Although our passengers on the Singapore route now are mostly leisure travellers, we see a strong potential to attract Bangladeshis coming to Singapore for medical treatment. In a few months, we expect to double our frequency to Singapore and add another flight to Kuala Lumpur." A second MD-83 is to be acquired shortly to facilitate this expansion.

Best Air, a full-service carrier, also flies thrice-weekly to Bangkok, four times weekly to Dubai, and twice-weekly to Colombo and Male.

In the medium term, Best Air is looking to acquire a wide-body Boeing 767 for the Dhaka-Singapore-Sydney route. When launched, this will be the only same-plane service between Bangladesh and Australia as current connections require a change of airline in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore.

INDIA has approved the construction of the first airport in the north-east state of Sikkim, to be operational by 2010.

The greenfield airport at Pakyong 35.4km away from capital, Gangtok is being built for US$72 million and has been given to the Airport Authority of India on a build- and-operate basis.

The new airport will have 1,700m long runway with two parking bays for ATR 72 aircraft, and the terminal building will be able to handle 100 passengers (50 arriving and 50 departing) at a time.

Sikkim is a landlocked state and is connected only by road.

Sikkim shares long international borders with Nepal, Bhutan, and China and has substantial tourism potential due to its scenic and natural beauty. It received 17,837 international visitors in 2007. It received 9,083 visitors in the first half, a rise of 13.5 per cent over the same period last year.

DRAGONAIR has launched daily Hong Kong-Hanoi flights to capitalise on what it said was growing business and tourism ties between the two cities.

The carrier is operating an Airbus A320 aircraft for the route, the airline's eighth new destination since it became part of the Cathay Pacific Group in September 2006.

The final phase of British Airways’ move into London Heathrow Terminal 5 will happen on Wednesday 22 October.

From this date, only flights between London Heathrow and Bangkok, Singapore and Sydney will continue to operate to and from Heathrow’s Terminal 4.

As a result, the Arrivals Lounge in London Heathrow Terminal 4 will close. Customers who are eligible to use the lounge* will be able to make use of its new Galleries Arrivals Lounge in London Heathrow Terminal 5.

A dedicated transfer service will be in place from London Heathrow Terminal 4 Arrivals. A return service will also be available between Terminal 5 and Terminal 4.

Once customers clear Baggage Reclaim and Customs, they should make their way to the BAA Information Point on the Arrivals level. Representatives from its ground transport team will be on hand to escort customers to its dedicated transfer coach.

Customers will be asked to present their boarding card or Gold Executive Club card. The short journey to Terminal 5 takes approximately 5-10 minutes.

This service will be in place until BA moves flights to and from Bangkok, Singapore and Sydney and Qantas flights into Terminal 3 in 2009.

Due to an agreement between Qantas and British Airways, Terminal 5 Galleries Arrivals lounge is not available for use by Qantas passengers ticketed on the following flight numbers:
QF1, QF9, QF31, QF29

The opening hours of the Terminal 5 Galleries Arrivals lounge, means that British Airways customers travelling on BA7317 (Qantas operated flight from Melbourne/Hong Kong) will be unable to use the Galleries Arrivals lounge.

For more information on this and other changes at London Heathrow, please visit ba.com or speedbirdclub.com.

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*Destinations depend on city of origin