Indonesia’s Biometric Airport Corridor, Hotel Taxes in Malaysia & What Happens Next Between China & Japan?: November 2025 in Review

With one month remaining of 2025, airports are getting busy across South East Asia as the year-end travel season swings into gear. And November was another month filled with intriguing talking points to break down. We begin by discussing the long-term societal, political and travel impacts of heavy flooding in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. We take to the skies to address whether AirAsia might enter Vietnam via a stake share in Vietravel Airlines, and ponder the science fiction elements of new Biometric Corridors to verify traveller identities in Indonesia. Moving to China, we calculate which countries in ASEAN are (and aren't) improving their airline seat capacity with China* - and then dive into the complexities of Chinese airlines cancelling flights to Japan, and where that capacity may get redirected in the coming months. Plus, we talk hotel taxes in Malaysia, new charter flights between Brunei and Hainan Island, and the Philippines makes new strides in its play to become a regional player in gastronomy tourism.

[* Click here to access the OAG graph discussed in the show which illustrates China's airline seat capacity with its top 20 air markets for November 2019, 2024 and 2025.]