Tag Archives: Bengaluru

Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma reportedly said that the Ministry of Tourism is considering setting up government-run offices in key markets such as the US, the UK and Russia to attract more visitors to India. It will also set up facilitation centres to address queries of tourists at airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. With Incredible India 2.0 campaign expected to be launched in September, Verma reportedly said the ministry will run market-specific campaigns on it in different countries through local and electronic channels as well as digital media. “A synergy between Incredible India campaign and overseas markets will get us better results. Our offices in different countries would work on a hub and spoke model which will be in sync with our PR agency. This time the states are also complementing our plans and the industry can plan campaigns around it. Our spends are higher than last year,” said Verma. Source: Economic Times

Bengaluru will become the first city in the country to have a helicopter shuttle service by November 2017. The Heli Taxi services will become operational between the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) and Electronics City. Ministry of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, who announced the launch, said that the service will ensure quick seamless transfers to and from the airport at a cost similar to luxury taxi fare. The fare of luxury taxis, which ply on this route (KIA and Electronics City), is between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000. Thumby Aviation Private Ltd has been roped in to offer the shuttle services. To begin with, the services will be from KIA to Electronics City and subsequently will be extended to Whitefield and HAL airport. The services are expected to begin in about three months as Thumby Aviation is in the process of seeking regulatory approvals. Thumby Aviation has two Bell 412 helicopters that can ferry 13 passengers and Bell 407 choppers that can carry five passengers. Source: IANS

Jet Airways has appointed Discover the World to provide sales and marketing in Switzerland. Jenny Adams, CEO, Discover the World, says, ““Discover is delighted to partner with Jet Airways for the first time. Our team in Switzerland, headed by Director Richard Gugerli, will expand the airline’s visibility, helping to increase its revenues especially through its code share partnership with Air France/KLM.” From 2017 end, Jet Airways will fly to India 54 times a week from London Heathrow, Paris CDG, and Amsterdam to Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai. This includes new services from Amsterdam to Bengaluru and Paris CDG to Chennai which will commence on October 29, 2017. Jet Airways also flies daily from Amsterdam to Toronto.

Nine months after Scoot and Tigerair announced their intention to pursue a single brand and operating licence under the enhanced Scoot brand, the airline industry bid farewell to Tigerair Singapore as its last flight departed Singapore for Tiruchirappalli on July 24. Now, all previous Tigerair flights will be operated under the Scoot brand and Scoot flights will operate under the TR flight designator code. This marks the completion of the Scoot-Tigerair integration process that began last May when the airlines were brought under a common holding company, Budget Aviation Holdings. After successfully commencing operations in India last year, value airline Scoot is all set to take up new destinations under its umbrella that were running under Tigerair. These include Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Tiruchirappalli and Lucknow which will now operate under the single brand name – Scoot from July 25, 2017. Scoot CEO, Lee LikHsin said, “As we come to the end of Tigerair’s journey, we open up a brand new chapter for Scoot. Building on what Tigerair and the old Scoot had achieved since their respective inceptions, we are stronger than we have ever been before, and consequently in an even better position to offer our guests more choice, connectivity and value. The enhanced Scoot that we are introducing today is spunky and sassy, and promises to create more travel opportunities for our guests.” “Scoot was very well received after the launch of our first three destinations in India last year, the response was remarkable. We hope to create the same impact in Bengaluru, Tiruchirappalli, Kochi, Lucknow and Hyderabad by bringing great prices without compromising on the safety and comfort of the passengers. When flying with a young and passionate airline like …

SpiceJet has announced its third daily direct flight on the UDAN routes of Hyderabad-Puducherry, starting August 16, 2017. After the new flight, Puducherry will be connected with Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Tirupati, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Vijaywada and Varanasi with convenient onward connections. SpiceJet was awarded six proposals and 11 routes in the first phase of Ministry of Civil Aviation’s UDAN scheme. Out of the six finalised proposals, four will cater to the unserved markets of Adampur, Kandla, Puducherry and Jaisalmer, and the other two will be for the underserved markets of Porbandar and Kanpur. Flights have already started on Mumbai-Porbandar-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kandla-Mumbai routes from July 10.

The new Germany Visa Application Centre was formally inaugurated in Langford Town by representatives from the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru. Margit Hellwig-Bötte, Consul General of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru, and Jürgen Pengel, Consul and Head of the Consular Department of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru, inaugurated the centre on June 23. Services at the spacious new facility, which moved from its earlier location in Shivaji Nagar, commenced in March this year. The centre is located at No. 11, First Floor, Global Tech Park, O’ Shaughnessy Road, Langford Town and houses visa operations of 31 diplomatic missions (including Germany) under one roof. With more counters for applicants and expansive waiting and registration areas, the new centre has a larger Premium Lounge for applicants looking for more personalised assistance. An ATM has also been installed within the premises for the convenience of all applicants. Germany visa applicants can avail of separate submission counters, biometric booths, and dedicated services in the Premium Lounge. They can make payments by credit and debit card (in addition to cash payments) at this centre.

GoAir is set to increase its operations between Bengaluru and New Delhi from June 24, 2017 with the launch of a third daily direct flight between the two cities. The flight will leave Bengaluru at 11:35 hours, reaching Delhi at 14:20 hours. A return flight will leave Delhi at 15:05 hours and reach at 18:00 hours. The new additional service has been introduced in response to a growing demand in this sector, particularly from corporate travellers. With this addition, GoAir now flies 1225 weekly flights between its 23 destinations serviced.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, represented by Embassy of Georgia in New Delhi launched its visa facilitation centre in the capital city in collaboration with VFS Global, which will be operational from June 23. Four other centres in Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai will begin operations by the end of this month. The key features of the centre include extended operating hours to enable visitors to submit applications at their time of convenience, dedicated website for easy access to information including visa categories, requirements, checklist, application fees and visa status update; premium lounges for personalised service, etc. The new centre in New Delhi was inaugurated by Giorgi Tabatadze, Director of Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and His Excellency Archil Dzuliashvili, Ambassador of Georgia to India. Dzuliashvili informed that in 2016 Georgia recorded 350,000 Indian visitors but is now looking at ways to increase the two-way traffic given the long standing history that the countries have shared. “I am happy to note that after several months of intensive consultations, we have successfully accomplished negotiation process with VFS Global and finally signed the contract which allows us to facilitate and offer more accessible services to the Indian travellers through the several VFS Visa Application Centres in India,” said Dzuliashvili. He further added that Georgia is emerging as a very popular destination amongst Indians and the country will try to reduce the turn over time for granting visas to Indian nationals for tourism, business and education. The destination is promoting tourism from Georgia to India as well. Vinay Malhotra, Chief Operation Officer-Middle East and South Asia, VFS Global commented, “We are honoured to enter into this partnership with …

IndiGo has announced its first non-stop flight and 5th overall flight between Singapore and Bengaluru, which will start from June 30, 2017. The launch of the daily direct flight would offer an affordable and a convenient option on two of the busiest business sectors. Sanjay Kumar, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo, said, “Both Singapore and Bengaluru are strong business and tourism hubs and attract significant passenger traffic.  It gives us pleasure to introduce a direct flight on Singapore-Bengaluru route which will save flyers upto three hours of travel each way. We have been witnessing an encouraging traffic to Singapore from the cities in the south of India. There is a large Indian diaspora that resides in Singapore and regularly travels to their home to connect with their heritage and loved ones. Increased to and fro flights will not only boost tourism but also provide an affordable fare and a superior travel experience to flyers.”

GoAir starts two additional flights out of Pune. Effective May 19, the airline will start daily flights from Pune to Bengaluru and Kolkata. The airline will now provide non-stop connectivity from Pune to Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Nagpur, Delhi, and Kolkata. The city of Pune and state of Maharashtra both play an important role in GoAir’s network. The new routes aim at connecting Pune across its network and providing passengers flexible options in planning their travel.