AirAsia commences inaugural flight to Surat Thani with full flight

Sepang, 7 Feb 2012 – AirAsia, the world’s best low cost airline for three consecutive years (2009, 2010, 2011) commenced its first flight from Kuala Lumpur – Surat Thani today with a full flight load of 180 guests on board.

Flight AK 1808 departed Kuala Lumpur on time at 11.20am and arrived in Surat Thani on schedule at 11.50am (Thailand local time). The Kuala Lumpur – Surat Thani route is available 3x weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The new route from Kuala Lumpur – Surat Thani was announced open for sale on 1 December 2011, making this the sixth direct Thailand destination from Kuala Lumpur. The other cities are Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Krabi and Phuket.

To celebrate the inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur – Surat Thani, AirAsia is offering a special all-in-fare specifically for this route from RM99 one way. The booking period for this special all-in-fare is from 7 – 12 February 2012, for the travel period from 14 February – 30 April 2012. Guests can log on to www.airasia.com to book this special all-in-fare.

AirAsia guests who have signed up for the global loyalty program BIG will also be able to redeem free flights from Kuala Lumpur – Surat Thani with only 600 BIG Points during the promotion period, from 8 – 12 February 2012, and travel from 13 February – 31 March 2012. For more information about BIG, AirAsia’s loyalty program, log on to www.tune2big.com.

Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial, AirAsia says, “AirAsia is committed to connecting people and Surat Thani acts as a gateway to world-famous islands such as Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao which boast white beaches, crystal-clear sea, intact coral reefs and great diving spots, as well as the much talked about Full Moon parties. This new destination adds to our current extensive route network, and guests will now be spoilt for choice with another sexy beach destination added to the list. As a truly Asean airline, AirAsia is glad to service yet another route to and from the largest city in the Southern province of Thailand.”

Apart from breath-taking beaches and islands for leisure, Surat Thani, which is also known as the ‘City of Good People’ also offers nature lovers various activities at the Khao Sok National Park, or the Rachaprapha Dam also known as Thailand’s Guilin and cave trekking to view formations of stalactites and stalagmites at the Ban Na San district. Visitors to Surat Thani can also go on an educational tour at the Oyster Farm and the Monkey School, as well as the Silk Village. History buffs have Phra Borommathat Chiaya Ratchaworawihan located in Tambon Wiang, an ancient monument built with Buddhism influence under the Srivijaya period; apart from Ruins of Wat Kaeo, Suan Mokkhaphalaram and Chaiya National Museum.

Food enthusiasts will be able to experience the exotic taste of southern Thailand food, which is generally spicier than other regions of the country, apart from fresh oysters which are bred at the local oyster farms. Surat Thani is also a very Muslim-friendly holiday destination with Halal food easily available everywhere.

Stay connected with AirAsia via social media by following them on Twitter (twitter.com/AirAsia) and Facebook (facebook.com/AirAsia) for latest promotion updates as well other AirAsia activities.

GREYSON CHANCE Live In Malaysia on April 17th at 8.30 pm at KL Live

Greyson Chance charmed Malaysians in November 2011 on his first promo tour stint. Now he is back on his first major concert tour of Asia which includes Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia. Greyson will perform in Malaysia on April 17 at KL Live at 8.30 pm.

Chance hit instant fame when TV talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres caught the video of his piano cover of Lady Gaga’s Paparazzi on YouTube in April last year. The video went viral (with over 44 million views and counting) and became the No. 3 most-watched video on the social network site last year.Chance is the first artiste signed to Degeneres’ music label eleveneleven and has performed several times on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Chance began playing the piano at the age of 8 and has had three years of piano lessons. He, however, had no formal vocal training. He was emboldened by Lady Gaga after seeing her performance of Paparazzi at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. He stated, “I was awestruck by her performance. I love her sense of drama and theatricality.

Chance’s “Paparazzi” cover video was posted to YouTube, on April 28, 2010, and for almost two weeks the video generated low views. At least two social websites, GossipBoy.ca and reddit.com, posted video embeds on May 10, 2010. Ellen DeGeneres first saw the video after Chance’s brother, Tanner Chance, wrote to her show suggesting she watch it. The video had about 10,000 views when DeGeneres first saw it. While explaining her reasons for naming her new record label eleveneleven, she listed as one reason the fact that she first saw Chance’s Paparazzi cover on May 11, 2010. Also, she states that 11 is Greyson’s soccer jersey number. On the afternoon of May 11, Yahoo! Music reported: “As of this writing, the video has got more than 36,000 views so far, and he’s even been invited to perform on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

On May 12, 2010 Greyson Chance taped an interview and performance of “Paparazzi” for Ellen in Los Angeles.It was broadcast on May 13. During the interview, Chance received a phone call from Lady Gaga,[ whom he says is his “true inspiration.”

On the morning of May 11, 2010, Chance’s cover video of “Paparazzi” was embedded at RyanSeacrest.com, which reported finding the video via BuzzFeed, a website that attempts to track and predict emerging viral internet memes Later in the day, TVGuide, The Huffington Post, and Yahoo! Music’s video blog, Video Ga Ga, also posted articles embedding the video; TVGuide mentioned in its article that a Facebook fan page had already been started for Chance. That afternoon, Ryan Seacrest and DeGeneres linked the video on their Twitter accounts, as did celebrity Ashton Kutcher later that evening.

On May 12, 2010, DeGeneres’ announcement of Chance’s booking, on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, was broadcast at different times across the U.S. and posted to her website. Wall Street Journal\ and Los Angeles Times, among other mainstream media, posted articles embedding the video and announcing the forthcoming appearance. That evening, ABC World News broadcast a report on Chance which was introduced by Diane Sawyer, who said the story struck ABC News as “part Billy Elliot and part Glee.” That evening, Guy Oseary, an L.A.-based entertainment manager whose clients include Madonna, Demi Moore, and Ashton Kutcher, recommended Greyson’s “Paparazzi” video on Twitter.

On May 13, 2010, Chance’s appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show was broadcast, and mainstream media, including CBS and People, reported on the appearance. That morning, Ryan Seacrest posted another link on Twitter, this time to the video of Chance appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Not only has he received attention from DeGeneres and Seacrest but also, on May 14, singer, songwriter, David Archuleta linked the video on Twitter claiming that Greyson “is talented.”

This first appearance on Ellen was followed by a second appearance on the show, airing May 26, 2010, on which Chance performed his original song “Broken Hearts,” received a $10,000 award for winning Ellen’s Wonderful Web of Wonderment contest, a brand new Yamaha piano, and was announced as DeGeneres’s first signed artist to her new recording label eleveneleven.

On May 25, Ellen DeGeneres announced that she had formed a record label called eleveneleven and Chance was her first artist. Guy Oseary who manages Madonna’s career and Troy Carter, who manages Lady Gaga’s career, would be co-managers of Greyson Chance’s career,

To date Greyson Chance’s performance of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” on YouTube, as of December 3, 2011 has gained over 45 million views. Two of his original compositions, “Stars” and “Broken Hearts”, has now gained over 5 and 7 million views respectively on his YouTube channel. Chance now has many fans on online social sites such as Facebook and Twitter. He is the 28th most subscribed musician of all time on YouTube, with a 286,000 subscriber base, as of January 3, 2011.
His debut single title “Waiting Outside the Lines” was released to iTunes on October 26, 2010. It was released digitally in the UK on December 9. The single also contained a studio version of his cover of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi”. In early December 2010 he visited both Paris and London, appearing on local radio stations and giving private concerts in both cities.

On February 5, Greyson Chance entered the National spotlight again with an appearance/performance of “Waiting Outside The Lines” on the CBS Early Show, while stopping through New York on his tour with Miranda Cosgrove.

On May 17, 2011 his new single “Unfriend You” was released to iTunes. On April 9, he started the Waiting 4U tour with Australian pop/R&B singer Cody Simpson in Ivins, Utah. The tour ended on May 18, 2011 in Portland, Oregon.

On May 23, Greyson visited The Ellen DeGeneres Show to premiere his new single, “Unfriend You”. After the performance, Greyson revealed a solid release date for his upcoming debut album, Hold On ‘Til the Night, which was released on August 2, 2011. It is the first album released under Ellen DeGeneres’ record label eleveneleven.

On September 15, he again appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about his album, and also revealed that he had taken his first steps into acting, portraying a younger version of Jimmy Chance, the protagonist of Raising Hope, in the series’ second season premiere.

In November 2011 Greyson undertook a tour of Southeast Asia to promote his album, which had just been released in the region. Starting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where in addition to a showcase performance he was invited to perform at the Anugerah Industri Muzik (Malaysian Music Industry Awards) show (the first foreign artist so invited since 1999), Greyson also gave performances in Singapore; Kota Kinabalu (East Malaysia); Manila, Philippines; and Jakarta, Indonesia.

He has released his remix of“Waiting Outside the Lines.” as a duet with Charice where both were discovered on YouTube by Ellen DeGeneres and they both became international recording artists right after that eventually.

Now Greyson Chance embarks on a concert tour of Asia of Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia. Greyson will perform in Malaysia on April 17th at 8.30 pm at KL Live.

Tickets go on sale from Friday, February 9th and one can purchase concert tickets at the following outlet; Rock Corner KLCC, Subang Parade, The Gardens, Midvalley Megamall, The Curve; Victoria Music Centre, The Guitar Store outlets and at KL Live and is priced @ RM 188 (JS Zone); RM138 ( Party Zone) ; RM 88 (Regular).

For enquiries call Ticketpro Hotline : +603-78807999 or get your tickets online @ www.ticketpro.com.my

Tickets go on sale Friday, 9th February, early birds will get 20% discount vaild until February 29th.. To know more about GREYSON CHANCE Live In Malaysia go to www.jsconcert.com and https://www.facebook.com/JSConcertProductions and Official website – www.greyson-official.com

GREYSON CHANCE Live In Malaysia is brought to you by JS Concert Productions with MIDAS Promotions.

TUNE HOTELS SET TO OPEN SECOND THAI PROPERTY IN PATTAYA
Opening promotion with 199 baht rooms

A twin room at Tune Hotel Pattaya. More pics are available at www.flickr.com/tunehotels.

The award-winning value hotel brand taking Asia by storm – Tune Hotels – will swing open the doors of its latest property when the 192-room Tune Hotel Pattaya starts receiving its first guests on 17 February.

To celebrate, Tune Hotels is offering guests booking online through www.tunehotels.com rooms at amazing rates that start from just 199 baht per night. The rooms are open for sale between 10-17 February 2012 for travellers booking stays in Tune Hotel Pattaya from 17 February up to 5 April 2012.

Including Pattaya, Tune Hotels now operates 16 hotels globally – ten in Malaysia; two in Bali, Indonesia; two in Thailand and two in London, England. Adding to the list soon will be three locations in the Philippines – Angeles City (10 Feb 2012), Cebu City (24 Feb 2012) and Ermita, Manila (9 March 2012). Rooms at these hotels are now available for booking at www.tunehotels.com.

Tune Hotels’ first property in Thailand opened in Hat Yai in December 2011. It has become hugely popular amongst tourists and travellers that it is ranked as the number one hotel in the southern Thai city by the global travel website TripAdvisor.

Group CEO of Tune Hotels, Mark Lankester says: “The opening of Tune Hotel Pattaya marks a crucial point of Tune Hotels’ expansion in Thailand. It verifies our strong commitment towards Thailand and its tourism industry. This follows the successful opening of Tune Hotel Hat Yai, and with more Tune Hotels coming up in Thailand we are proud to be playing an even bigger role.”

Adding to its 16 properties currently will be another 30 hotels scheduled for opening this year in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and the UK.

Tune Hotels has collaborated with the Bangkok-based Red Planet Hotels for the development of Tune Hotels in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Red Planet Hotels CEO Tim Hansing said: “Tune Hotel Pattaya will be one of the busiest hotels in the network, so we don’t expect these great promo rates to be available for long but there will be more chances for travellers who love the brand to take advantage more great value rates across the network as the year goes on.”

Tune Hotel Pattaya is located on the beach resort’s bustling Second Road, just minutes from the beach, shopping, entertainment and nightlife. Just a 90-minute drive from Bangkok’s international airport, the hotel is already proving popular with Thai and international tourists who want a comfortable, clean, safe and secure hotel to stay in before enjoying all that Pattaya has to offer.

Tune Hotels has successfully pioneered a branded value hotel brand with the concept of pay-as-you-use that has become hugely popular amongst travelers from across the world. Under the concept, guests only pay for room rates with the option of adding on other amenities like towels & toiletries, air-conditioning, in-room wifi and satellite TV service at selected hotels. Tune Hotels has received over three million guests since the opening of its first hotel in downtown Kuala Lumpur in 2007.

Apart from enjoying great value, great savings at Tune Hotels, guests can also enhance their benefits and privileges by becoming a member of the BIG loyalty programme, of which Tune Hotels is a partner. BIG is a global loyalty programme that allows card members to accumulate points when travelling and shopping with BIG partners worldwide, and redeem the accumulated points for exciting rewards including flight seats on the world’s best low cost carrier, AirAsia. More information on BIG is available at www.tune2big.com.

For real-time updates and promotion alerts, guests can stay connected with Tune Hotels via Facebook at www.facebook.com/tunehotelsTH and on Twitter via www.twitter.com/tunehotelsTH.

For booking and further information, visit www.tunehotels.com/thailand.

About Tune Hotels
Tune Hotels is part of the lifestyle business conglomerate Tune Group that was founded by Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun. Tune Group seeks to innovate and revolutionise the way services are made available and has employed efficient web-based technologies to reach and engage its customers, presenting a unique lifestyle offering ranging from value hotel stays, personal finance solutions and affordable prepaid mobile services. Tune Group of Companies are Tune Air, Tune Hotels, Tune Money, Tune Talk, Tune Box, Tune Studios, Tune Live and, Queens Park Rangers Football Club (QPR).

Since Tune Hotels was first launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2007, over 3 million guests have stayed in its properties spread across Malaysia, Indonesia and the United Kingdom. It now has 16 hotels located in Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, KLIA-LCCT Airport, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kota Damansara, Bintulu, Kota Bharu and Kulim in Malaysia; Kuta and Legian in Bali, Indonesia; Westminster and Liverpool Street in London, England; and Hat Yai and Pattaya in Thailand.

All Tune Hotels feature space-efficient, streamlined rooms focusing on high-quality basics: 5-star bed, powerful hot showers and energy-saving fans. The strategically located hotels provide housekeeping services, electronic keycard access into rooms, CCTV surveillance, and prohibits access into the main lobby without a keycard past midnight. Through Tune Hotels’ pay-as-you-use system of add-on WiFi, TV, laundered towels and other energy-consuming facilities and amenities, Tune Hotels aims to help guests conserve both their funds as well as the earth’s resources.

Tune Hotels is a part of Tune Group, the principal partner of the Premier League’s Professional Games Match Officials (PGMO) & the BIG Global Loyalty Programme.

About Red Planet Hotels Limited
Red Planet Hotels Limited (RPHL) was formed in 2010 and is a privately owned regional hotel investment company focused on Asia’s emerging markets by developing a portfolio of budget hotels in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Bangladesh.

RPHL owns the hotels it operates and they are all managed under a franchise agreement with Tune Hotels and was formed with a vision to capture the growth in the worldwide limited-service hotel market, supported by the growth in budget airlines and the robust economy of the ASEAN region and China.

Headquartered in Bangkok, RPHL now has 3,126 Tune Hotel rooms under development.