Air Asia remains upbeat

The airline industry has different positions on the future, but AirAsia X says it remains encouraged by resilient travel demand across key markets, supported by ongoing regional stabilisation. 

The budget airline said this week that it continues to focus on strengthening operational performance and network efficiency, building a more scalable operating model across the network.

The group is progressively restoring aircraft frequencies and capacity across its network, with full capacity expected by August 2026. 

It has announced services to several new destinations, including Busan, Bahrain, London, Batam and other domestic destinations. 

Bo Lingam, Group CEO of AirAsia Group said: "Over the past several months, we have been reminded that resilience is not built during easy times but through how we respond to challenges. 

"Throughout this period, the group remained focused on strengthening our operations, improving efficiency and accelerating the adoption of AI and data-driven tools to support better decision-making and smarter execution across the business. 

"Today, we are a stronger, more agile and more focused ecosystem because of it."

Giant armchairs mark the spot

A slightly unusual new attraction has appeared in Sweden.

After analysing 20 years of solar data together with the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, IKEA has identified the exact spot in Sweden with the highest statistical chance of sunshine.

The location, on the island of Gotland, is now marked by a permanent monument consisting of two granite IKEA armchairs.

The project draws on Sweden’s long-standing fascination with geographical landmarks and places people travel to simply because they are what they are. 

In Sweden, months of winter darkness have made people obsessed with making the most of every ray of sunshine and the new monument serves as a lasting tribute to Swede’s love of sunshine.

The site is intended to become a new tourism destination. 

“As the seasons change, so do the ways we live," says Linda Vikström, communications manager at IKEA Sweden. 

"When the sunlight and warmth return after winter, people across Sweden move outdoors. At IKEA, we want to help as many people as possible make the most of life outside. 

"Identifying and marking Sweden’s sunniest square metre is part of that ambition.” 

Funny folk the Swedes. 

The scourge of semi-naked silver men

Bali is struggling to find a way of removing half-naked men who are painted silver from its major streets. 

Yes, you read that right.

It's a serious story in the latest edition of Bali Update, the valuable guide to what is happening on the resort island. 

Under the headline  "Bali Ponders Ways to Remove 'Silver Men' from Denpasar Streets",  he newsletter reports the Denpasar Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) is "overwhelmed by large hordes of young men, typically wearing only shorts, whose half-naked bodies are lathered with silver paint, who stand at busy intersections in Denpasar, Bali, holding tin canisters asking passing motorists for “donations”."

Authorities are apparently involved in a cycle of apprehending the “silver men” who are taken to a nearby location, given soap and water, and ordered to scrub off the silver paint. 

A short time later, the men have repainted their skins and are back on the street.

​Quoted by NusaBali, the head of Denpasar City Satpol PP, AA Ngurah Nendra, said his agency is "in the field apprehending violators who disturb public order. Once apprehended, these social violations should be referred to the city or provincial Social Services for guidance.”

​Inage: BaliDiscovery.com

When Champagne trumps whisky

One of Scotland's leading resort hotels has unveiled a new drinks partnership, but it is Champagne, rather than whisky, that will grab the spotlight.

The Gleneagles Hotel and Dom Pérignon have announced a new collab that will see the launch of The Cellar x Dom Pérignon, a private dining and tasting experience, news hubs the drinks business reports.

The experience combines a five-course menu created by Gleneagles’ chefs with a selection of Dom Pérignon cuvées.

The Cellar has served as the hotel’s storage and ageing space for rare wines and spirits for more than 100 years and has now been converted into a private dining room that accommodates up to a dozen guests/

It mow features bespoke Champagne cabinets designed to store Dom Pérignon at its optimum ageing and serving temperature.

Design details reference Dom Pérignon’s home at the Abbey of Hautvillers in Épernay.

The signature Dom Pérignon Experience begins with two glasses of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017 served alongside King’s Golden Oscietra Caviar and accompaniments.

Guests then enjoy a five-course tasting menu, plus an amuse bouche and pre-dessert, with each course paired with a different Dom Pérignon expression, including Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017, Dom Pérignon Rosé 2010 and Dom Pérignon Vintage 2008 Plénitude 2.

The Cellar also houses a library of more than 40 Dom Pérignon rarities. Guests can book bespoke tastings, including vertical tastings and selections from landmark vintages.

Other experiences available include a Dom Pérignon & Canapé Reception featuring two glasses of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2017 and four canapés per person, a Dom Pérignon Tasting with five Dom Pérignon expressions paired with canapés, and The Cellar Experience, which pairs the tasting menu with wines selected from the Gleneagles wine list.

Guests must reserve the full dining experience at least three weeks in advance, while tastings can be booked up to three days ahead. Prices start from £150 per person, rising to £695 per person ($1310 in Aussie dollars) for The Dom Pérignon Experience.

* Gleaneagles Hotel is owned by Ennismore - the group that also owns Mama Shelter, the Hoxton and Mondrian hotels.

Hyatt brand hits Hua Hin with a hint of Sanook

I've been looking for a new Thai destination for a proposed trip later this year. Hua Hin just jumped to the top of the list.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation this week announced the opening of The Barai Hua Hin, marking the debut of The Unbound Collection by Hyatt brand in Thailand.

Located on the historic Khao Takiap coastline in Hua Hin, a favourite seaside destination for generations of Thai royalty, the 98-room beachfront resort is designed in the spirit of Sanook (สนุก) - the Thai expression for the joy of living.

Long before the concept of the "wellness retreat" became fashionable, Hua Hin was one. 

The destination has been a seaside escape for Siamese nobility since the early 20th century. 

Drawing on this legacy, The Barai Hua Hin opened as a spa 20 years ago. It has now expanded into a boutique resort. 

“Every stay is designed to unfold at the guest's own rhythm,” says GM Marco Avitabile. 

“Our philosophy is rooted in Sanook, the belief that joy, ease and delight should be part of life’s most meaningful moments. Whether guests come for deep rest, movement, spa rituals, culinary discovery or time by the sea, we invite them to experience renewal in a way that feels personal, memorable and entirely their own.”

Guests can also explore the Kui Buri National Park, Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park, and Phraya Nakhon Cave in the region.

The resort has 27 suites and a pair of two-bedroom penthouses. 

Higher-category suites include butler service, terraces, in-suite rituals and daily massage inclusions. 

At the centre of the resort, The Barai Spa takes its name from ancient barays, reservoirs that once sustained daily life in the ancient empire. 

Wellness extends to the two-story Wellness Hub which includes a 24-hour fitness studio, yoga studio, holistic zone and wellness shop. 

The resort offers two dining destinations led by chef Benn Rowe, whose career spans kitchens across Australia and Thailand. 

I've made a note of this one. Small resort, wellness focus, interesting location. 

See www.thebaraihuahin.com

Tasmania gets a uniquely eclectic new library

From words by William Shakespeare to Hunter S. Thompson and David Bowie, the new library at Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) is decidedly eclectic.

Phrontisterion, a $100 million library housing Mona owner's David Walsh’s collection of nonfiction, novels, rare books and maps, autographs opens to the public at Berriedale, north of Hobart, from 10am on Sunday.

"I was always all-in on books and libraries," Walsh says. "My first library card was the great leveller, the thing that gave impoverished child-me a chance to seek."

Phrontisterion, a word that suggests ‘a thinkery’, takes its name from Aristophanes’ Clouds, in which the author ridicules the self-certainty of the educated.

Walsh says it is a place to explore, be entertained, and research topics as diverse as ancient brewing methods, winter rituals, heavy metal pollution, Antarctic exploration, science fiction, sex, casinos, charcuterie, and the museum collection.

Rare books include Shakespeare’s ‘First Folio’, a second edition of Sir Isaac Newton’s Opticks, and the sixth edition of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, the last produced in the author’s lifetime.

There are also books signed by Umberto Eco, J.G. Ballard and Hunter Thompson, and hand-written documents by Balzac, Bowie, Whitman, Flaubert, Einstein, Newton, Marconi and Alexander Graham Bell.

"If you want to know what David is really like, browse his bookshelves," says Mona’s librarian, Mary Lijnzaad.

The way Phrontisterion organises books is as idiosyncratic as the collection itself. It uses novel technology to treat books as curatable objects rather than conforming to the Dewey Decimal System, used by libraries around the world.

Phrontisterion is connected to Mona’s existing buildings via tunnels in the sandstone. It’s located in the space beneath the inverted-ziggurat levels of Elektra (top image), Anselm Kiefer’s monumental concrete amphitheatre.

See phrontisterion.net.au