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Anna Healy Fenton

The official opening of the Four Seasons comes as nearly all of the Central hotel's 345 rooms and 54 suites are operational.

Occupancies are running at 90 per cent, the hotel says, with guests divided between business and leisure.

Li Ka-shing has been spotted heading to the spa for his daily afternoon massage - by private lift, of course - so the new property is definitely on the map.

When it comes to rates, the corporate tariff is  $2,900, the same as the boutique Landmark Mandarin Oriental's  rate on  its website.

Many hoteliers correctly predicted  the  move by Four Seasons and Landmark  to charge premium tariffs would provide the impetus to push Hong Kong's flagging rates upwards.

And the opportunity has been seized - the  past two months have seen a 15 to 16 per cent increase in five-star corporate rates to an average of  between $1,900 and $2,400.

There is still a gap to the newcomers, but it is closing.

Looking ahead, as most hoteliers do, by this time next year, there will be an extra 13,000 hotel rooms across the board.

But barring any unforeseen disasters, this looks set to be a bumper year with occupancies to April averaging 84 per cent, up 12 per cent on 1997.

Five-star hotel rates, which peaked during  1997 at  $1,755, were at $1,596 in April this year.

Rates and occupancy have recovered more or less to 1997 levels, but April's yields of $1,341 are actually up 2 per cent on 1997's figure of $1,316.

But there was a salutary lesson in  1998-99, when yields slumped 50 per cent.

Yield is the same as 'revenue per available room' and is calculated by dividing the average room rate by  occupancy.

So,  things look good in the five-star sector. But with the extra room supply looming, occupancies could suffer next year.

All the more reason to push for improved rates this year, while rooms are full and corporate clients are easier to convince.

With owners bearing the cost of upgraded inventory such as the installation of  wireless technology, they will be looking for every opportunity to maintain yields.

Irish gateways

At first glance, Gulf Air's launch on December 2 of a Hong Kong-to-Dublin service via Bangkok and Bahrain seems like an overly accommodating gesture.

Hong Kong's Irish community hardly numbers 3,000 and Ireland, with a  population of about five million, hardly warrants a service for its Asia-bound traffic.

Then there is the downside, even for the reasonable  $4,800 return economy fare, which is the round-the-houses route.

No, where Gulf is likely to score is with the United States immigration facility in Ireland. For some time, US-bound passengers have been able to clear  formalities in Ireland's Shannon Airport. The introduction of the Bahrain-to-Dublin flight will give Middle East passengers the option to do this, too, which could prove a more attractive option than US immigration in New York or Boston. Their transatlantic leg is facilitated by Gulf's code share with Continental Airlines.

For this reason, some US East Coast-bound traffic may even choose to go this way round from Asia, too.

Big bird

If you see an enormous aircraft flying overhead next month, it is just the giant Airbus A380 double-decker superjumbo on its first route-testing flight.

The 800-seater will visit Singapore, Malaysia and Australia but not Hong Kong this time.

Cathay Pacific has adopted a wait-and-see attitude before ordering.

This trip will check new airport facilities for the  aircraft.

The vast aircraft will also pause in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, according to Airbus.

Singapore Airlines, which has trumpeted that it will get the first delivery, now does not expect to see its first A380 until November next year,  eight months behind schedule.

Disgruntled airlines have been muttering about seeking compensation from Airbus for lateness.

The aircraft maker in turn blames airline demands for customised cabins and the necessary rewiring for its tardiness.

'There is no technical showstopper, just bottlenecks in engineering and electrical harnesses,' Charles Champion, the head of Airbus' A380 programme, said last month regarding the delays.



Five-star rates back in season as market laps up luxury