V Air was unveiled on 24 March 2014, along with the budget airline’s new corporate logo and aircraft livery. The new LCC will use the symbol of Taiwan’s native Formosan black bear, to be known as the ‘V Bear’, along with a bold blue name on a white background. Expected to launch later this year, V Air will initially operate a fleet of two or three Airbus A320 or A321 aircraft on flights within a flight radius of five hours. This will include destinations in Northeast and Southeast Asia, which the airline said are “popular travel destinations for Taiwanese”.

Archipelago International is expanding its budget hospitality offering with the signing of three new favehotels in Indonesia. Located in Jakarta, the favehotel Cendrawasih will consist of 120 rooms and will be located close to the airport. The 100-room favehotel Daan Mogot will be located near the Ciputra Mall and will provide easy access to the Toll Highway. In Bali, favehotel Cokroaminoto will offer 120 rooms and will be located in the commercial district of Denpasar.

Set to open in 2017, the five-star Centara Grand Hotel Vientiane will be a new-build French colonial-style property located in the centre of the Lao capital. It is being developed by the Simuong Group at a cost of THB1.5 billion (US$46 million). Centara Grand Hotel Vientiane will have 200 rooms and a range of luxury facilities, including two restaurants, a spa, swimming pool, fitness centre and kids’ club. It will also offer meeting facilities, including a ballroom. Laos becomes the ninth country in Centara’s international portfolio, while the Centara Grand Hotel Vientiane will mark the company’s 20th luxury ‘Grand’ property.

The luxury hotel group, which forms part of Marriott International, has penned an agreement with the Far East Consortium for the development of the brand new Ritz-Carlton Perth, in the new Elizabeth Quay area of the city. The new 204-room Ritz-Carlton Perth will be developed on the banks of the Swan River in Elizabeth Quay, which forms the centrepiece of Perth’s urban redevelopment plan. Work on the new hotel is expected to commence in 2015, and once complete the project will also include ground floor retail space, waterfront dining and a series of luxury apartments.