India will require 1,750 new passenger and cargo aircraft over the next 20 years to meet an exponential rise in both passenger and freight traffic, according to Airbus’ latest India Market Forecast. To help meet this growth, India will need 1,320 new single-aisle aircraft and 430 wide-body aircraft valued at US$255 billion. While much of the air traffic growth is expected to be driven by the fast expanding economy, rising wealth and urbanisation, ambitious government-backed regional connectivity programmes are also set to enhance demand for air travel. By 2036, Indians will each make four times as many flights as today. As a result, traffic serving the Indian market is forecast to grow 8.1 per cent per year over the next 20 years, almost twice as fast as the world average of 4.4 per cent. Domestic Indian traffic is expected to grow five-and-half times over the next 20 years, reaching the same level as USA domestic traffic today, making it one of the world’s fastest growing markets, according to Airbus’ latest India Market Forecast for the period. Srinivasan Dwarakanath, President, Airbus Commercial Aircraft in India, says, “Make in India is at the heart of our strategy. Airbus has the largest footprint in India of any International aircraft manufacturer, nationwide across all aircraft programmes. Our sourcing volume has grown 16 times over the past ten years and it is currently at more than US$550 million annually.”

The who’s who of India’s travel and hospitality fraternity, diplomats and several business leaders gathered at a glitzy evening gala hosted by Cox & Kings at the Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel, New Delhi, to mark the 260th anniversary of Cox and Kings, also the world’s oldest travel company. The evening was graced by KJ Alphons, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism, who lauded the company for its continuous service to the tourism industry. Alphons said, “I am very happy to be a part of Cox & Kings’ 260th year celebration and congratulate everyone who has contributed to this rich legacy by enabling holidays and spreading happiness into the world. The tourism sector in India is looking very positive this year as we have crossed the 10 million mark for foreign tourist arrivals and earned revenue of 27 billion dollars through foreign tourist arrivals. This has been possible because of companies like Cox & Kings who have been working together with the government. In the next three years, we aim to double the foreign tourists inflow and the revenue we earn from the foreign tourist arrivals and that is only possible if the industry continues to work together.” Speaking at the event, Peter Kerkar, Group CEO, Cox & Kings, said, “We are unique in the leisure space with an unrivalled tradition of 260 years of service to our customers. It is with pride that I commend our staff for making our company so successful and more particularly relevant even today. Our longevity is a testimony to their ingenuity and transformative spirit that Cox & Kings remains a world leader in the travel, education and hotel space.”

Air India will begin non-stop flight operations from New Delhi to Tel Aviv in Israel starting March 22, 2018, onwards. The carrier has confirmed flying thrice a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday on Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner that has 18 business class and 238 economy seats. The aircraft will depart from New Delhi at 4.50 pm and arrive in Tel Aviv at 8.25 pm. On its return leg, the plane will depart from Tel Aviv at 10.15 pm and land in Delhi the next day at 9 am. With one way duration of 7 hours and 10 minutes, Air India will be the fastest nonstop flight between India and Israel taking a straight route between the two countries. In addition to Air India, Israel’s national carrier El Al currently has four weekly nonstop flights from Mumbai to Tel Aviv and will soon increase its frequency furthermore. Arkia has also expressed interest to begin operations soon and introduce direct flights between Israel and India.The Ministry of Tourism along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to facilitate similar introductions including relaxing visa requirements and express visa services through VFS to encourage Indian travelers to visit Israel. This announcement has come at a time when Israel Ministry of Tourism has recorded a whopping growth of 50 per cent in January and 25 per cent in February 2018, of Indian arrivals to Israel vis-à-vis the same period in 2017. Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism India & Philippines, says, “In light of the significant increase in incoming tourism from India over the past few years, the Ministry of Tourism has been in talks with Air India and other airlines …

Virgin Atlantic has announced the launch of three new ways to fly economy as part of a multi-million pound investment in the cabin for the 21st century traveller. Recognising that one size doesn’t fit all, from spring 2018 Virgin Atlantic will introduce ‘Economy Delight, ‘Economy Classic’ and ‘Economy Light’ tickets. The three new ways to fly will allow passengers to choose the product that suits their budget and travel style. “We’re unveiling the biggest change to our Economy cabin in over a decade – launching three new ways to fly, and a host of innovations on the ground and in the air as part of a wider £300 million investment. We know that one size doesn’t fit all, and soon our passengers can afford to be choosy and still travel in the UK’s leading economy cabin,” says Craig Kreeger, Chief Executive, Virgin Atlantic.

The Indian delegation led by KJ Alphons, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism, Government of India, highlighted the country’s tremendous tourism potential at the 52nd ITB Berlin as it kicked off at the Messe Berlin fairgrounds on March 7. Addressing the media, Alphons spoke about the country’s 5000 year-old civilisation, beautiful beaches, backwaters, desserts, coastline, Himalayas, and immense possibilities for millennials who are looking for adventure. The minister also apprised the audience about the growing yoga and ayurveda related activities and centres in the country, exploring the North East and the great potential of religious tourism, with emphasis on Buddhist tourism. “In terms of general numbers, India has done considerably well last year. 2017 was fantastic! We recorded 15.6 per cent, when the global numbers went up by 5 per cent. Our international tourists arrivals were 16.5 million last year. Are we happy with the numbers? No. We have so much to offer and we want to double the numbers in three years or less, double the revenues in three years or less. India’s tourism contributes about 8 per cent to the GDP of India. We have 14 million people employed in the tourism industry,” Alphons said. In terms of domestic tourism, close to 24 million Indians travelled last year. “In 2017, 1.8 million trips were made by Indians within the country and which will go up to 2 million in 2018 and we want this number to increase dramtically, its not just about international arrivals but also Indians visting India,” he said. The minister also stressed on the growing use of new technologies and methodologies in tourism, specially social media. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of …

The international airports of Mumbai and New Delhi have been rated as the number one airports in the Asia Pacific region serving over 40 million passengers a year. This is announced by the Airports Council International (ACI) – a trade association of 1,953 member airports across 176 countries – for its Airport Service Quality (ASQ) ratings it conducts every year. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) operated and managed by GVK MIAL shared the spot with Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) for the World’s Best Airport for customer experience. They were selected by millions of passengers in a survey carried out by ACI. The Hyderabad airport became the number one in the 5-15 million passengers per annum category for the year 2017. As part of the ACI’s worldwide programme, passengers were surveyed across international airports for their feedback on 34 key performance indicators including airport access, check-in, security screening, restrooms, stores and restaurants. This year an unprecedented 16 airports were first-time winners, which reflects the increasingly competitive airport industry operating environment, where continuous service improvement is a key ingredient in business performance. These include Indore and Ahmedabad apart from Athens, Zagreb and Bandung.  

WelcomHeritage is looking for expansion towards South and Northeast India with new properties. Sunil Gupta, CEO, WelcomHeritage shared, “There is a lot of potential in South and North East. WelcomHeritage is known for its best heritage properties and by further expanding to these regions, we will be bringing the values and rich hospitality of these regions on a global platform. We have already identified properties and are in discussion with the properties owners.” The next property, immediately, to be flagged will be WelcomHeritage Ashdale in Nainital, which is an old manor from the British era, owned by the Royalty of Sahaspur.  Thereafter, WelcomHeritage will be flagging two nature resorts, one in Tadoba, Maharashtra, and the other in Coorg, Karnataka. Both these properties are in the advance stages of the project, and will be launched within this financial year.

Sarovar Hotels & Resorts has launched its newly redesigned website. Guests can now explore the website which has been designed to offer a more user-friendly experience and is mobile and e-commerce optimised. The initiative further signifies the group’s effort in enabling guests a superlative experience and its strong expansion plans. The website is now live at www.sarovarhotels.com. The new website offer add-on benefits to customers booking rooms from the brand website directly with services such as customized meal by the Chef, takeaway breakfast on early check out, check-in/check-out at your convenience and free high speed internet browsing. Ample usage of imagery showcases the brand and its properties in the finest form. Sarovar Hotels is targeting to have 100 hotels under its portfolio by 2020. Expected openings in 2018 include hotels in Jaisalmer, Jhansi, Jaipur, Somnath, Dibrugarh, Junagadh, Gorakhpur and Lusaka, Zambia.

Hahn Air announced the evolution of its portfolio of services for partners worldwide. It launched additional benefits for registered travel agents, including VIP flights aboard the airline’s aircraft and discounts on courses provided by the Hahn Air Business School. With its global infrastructure of connections to all major Global Distribution Systems (GDS) and memberships in almost all Billing and Settlement Plans (BSPs), Hahn Air enables more than 100,000 travel agents worldwide to issue the services of over 350 air, rail and shuttle partners on its HR-169 ticket. Following a one-time registration on Hahn Air’s corporate website, travel agents from over 190 markets can take advantage of the exclusive list of services. The services have now been extended to include a VIP-journey from Dusseldorf to Luxembourg aboard one of Hahn Air Lines bizjet aircrafts at 50 per cent of the official Product Experience Programme (PEP) rate. “The travel agent community is the reason for our business and we are constantly trying to create new and exciting ways to foster even stronger relationships between us. We appreciate their growing interest in our portfolio and value their trust in our ticketing solutions”, says Kimberley Long, Vice President—Sales and Agency Distribution, Hahn Air.

In an effort to expand its fleet, Air Arabia will receive three of its new A320 aircraft in 2018. Speaking about the same, Adel Abdulla Al.Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer, Air Arabia said, “Air Arabia has ordered six Airbus A321 LR and will receive them in 2019. The variant can accommodate 15-20 per cent more passengers than its current capacity. It is also looking to placing an order for aircraft requirement after 2019” Air Arabia currently operates in 145 routes from five hubs in UAE, Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. The airline’s fleet consists of the popular Airbus A320 aircraft, the world’s best-selling commercial jetliner ever, offering Air Arabia passengers the best economy configuration in the market with a 32′ seat pitch.