Etihad Airways has introduced a new baggage policy that allows for a simpler baggage structure as the allowance for all markets, excluding the US and Canada, is now based on total weight rather than the number of bags checked in. The majority of markets will be entitled to 23kg of checked baggage on Economy Deal fares, 30kg on Economy Saver and Classic fares, and 35kg on Economy Flex fares. Customers in all Business Class fare categories are entitled to 40kg, and First Class customers enjoy a 50kg allowance. Guests in The Residence onboard Etihad Airways’ flagship Airbus A380 fleet are provided with an allowance of four bags at 32kg each. Exceptions apply to select markets. Mohammad Al Bulooki, Executive Vice President Commercial, Etihad Airways, said, “In line with global best practice and market trends, Etihad Airways has developed a baggage policy that best caters to the differing needs of our guests around the world. The switch to a policy based on weight rather than the number of bags simplifies our allowance system and provides greater convenience and customer benefit while enhancing the travel experience.” Etihad Guest Silver, Gold and Platinum members will continue to receive a complimentary excess baggage allowance of 32kg on US and Canada routes, and 20kg for Platinum members, 15kg for Gold members and 10kg for Silver members on all other routes.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has six key initiatives underway, said Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation. Addressing a gathering at CAPA Conference in Mumbai via a video link, the minister opted to answer questions from the audience instead of giving a speech. As part of a response, he outlined six key initiatives that India has undertaken. “There is no other country in the world that has undertaken such pathbreaking projects in the last four years as we have. Apart from the privatisation of our national carrier, UDAN and country-wide up gradation of airport infrastructure, we are also working on our passenger-centric measures via Air Seva initiative, dramatic breakthrough in the security architecture of our airports and last but not the least, a drone policy that will change the landscape as far as drone services are concerned. This has not been spoken about much but it will make India a world leader in drone services,” Sinha pointed out.

Sharing CAPA’s forecast for 2018-19 during the Annual CAPA India Aviation Summit 2018 held in Mumbai,  Kapil Kaul, CEO & Director—South Asia, CAPA revealed some key expectations from IndiGo. He said, “IndiGo’s long-haul expansion will be aggressive and akin to a full service carrier. It will dominate the low cost carrier market which may cause some sort of friction between airlines. IndiGo may also build cross-border joint ventures but it depends on what happens with its plans for Air India, since IndiGo is one of the six possible bidders for the national carrier. IndiGo may also look at franchise as part of its cross-border plans.” Kaul added that while there might be four Indian carriers to bid for investing in Air India, there might also be two non-aviation entities and huge corporates.

As a result of the Indian subcontinent’s growing outbound demand, Dubai Tourism has announced the appointment of Nijhawan Group as its in-market destination representation and trade marketing management firm in India. With over 45 years of experience in India, Nijhawan Group will now be responsible for all trade communications, brand partnership conversations and building crucial trade relationships in the Indian subcontinent to strengthen Dubai’s position in the market. Meanwhile, Cruise Club has been appointed as the representative in India for Dubai Business Events, a division of Dubai Tourism. Based out of Mumbai, Cruise Club’s role is to increase Dubai’s market share from incentive groups and corporate meetings. The team has already begun delegate boosting activity and promoting upcoming events. Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) said, “India remains a top priority for us, now consistently being the largest source market for tourists to Dubai. This is a feat achieved through years of establishing and building strong trade ties in the market.” Ankush Nijhawan, Managing Director, Nijhawan Group, added, “With our appointment, we hope to capitalise on our extensive network of agents and generate greater growth into Dubai with their support.”

Indian tourist arrivals to Israel have increased by 31 per cent from January to December, 2017 with around 60,000 Indian tourists visiting the country last year. This marks a growth of 48 per cent in the last two years, according to statistics released by Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT). Hassan Madah, Director, Israel Ministry of Tourism India & Philippines said, “2017 has been outstanding and by far the best year for Israel tourism in India and worldwide. By October, 2017 we already saw 49,000 Indians arrive in Israel, breaking previous records, and we were positive to close the year with 60,000 travellers to Israel from India. With over 20 million outbound tourists a year, India has been an important market for us. Introducing initiatives, including easing of the visa process and with airlines in India and Israel expressing interest to increase connectivity between the countries, I am confident that this growth will help us achieve 1 lakh Indian arrivals in 2018.”

Desaru Coast, the newly created integrated premium destination in Malaysia, met the Indian trade recently in New Delhi and held an exclusive showcase to inform about their varied offerings and developments. The new destination is located at the south-eastern region of Malaysia, spanning over 3,900 acres along an unspoiled 17 km beachfront facing the South Coast Sea, and is easily accessible via land, ferry and air. “Desaru Coast’s India tour will open doors for us to connect with buyers of all sectors within the travel-value chain commerce whilst positioning Desaru Coast as the destination of choice amongst holidaymakers and business travellers alike within the region. We look forward to sharing a preview of the destination that will appeal to international travellers with its myriad offerings,” said Muhammad Zainal Ashikin, Chief Executive Officer, Desaru Development Holdings One Sdn Bhd. He further informed that they are opening in stages currently, and will be fully open in June 2018.

Karma Group has announced the acquisition of a new property in Dharamshala. Surrounded by the Dhauladhar ranges, the property has 25 rooms and suites, a restaurant, pool, gym with future plans including a Karma Spa. “I am delighted to announce the acquisition of our newest resort in the beautiful town of Dharamshala,” said John Spence, Founder and Chairman, Karma Group. “We will be renovating the property to bring it up to our high standards and expect to have it open for the main Indian holiday season. To be in the adopted home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is wonderful and particularly fitting as Karma Group has drawn much inspiration from his philosophies.” Dharamshala is a popular destination for tourists wishing to visit Tibetan temples and monasteries and is a starting point to a number of trekking trails.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has given a nod to 90 proposals for 325 routes during the second round of bidding in the UDAN regional connectivity scheme. While SpiceJet and Air India subsidiary-Alliance Air have been a part of the scheme from the first round itself, IndiGo and Jet Airways participated in the second round only. R N Choubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation, said, “In all, we got 141 proposals for 502 routes (for both planes and choppers). Out of 325, 129 routes are in a newly created category of ‘priority areas’ that include Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal, Uttarakhand, North East, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands.” IndiGo has got 20 routes Kannur-Bangalore; Kannur-Trivandrum; Cochin-Hubli-Goa; Bangalore-Allahabad-Pune; Nagpur-Bhubaneswar-Allahabad; Mumbai-Allahabad; Hindon-Allahabad-Dehradun; Hindon-Gorakhpur-Allahabad and Hindon-Jaisalamer-Udaipur. SpiceJet was awarded 20 new sectors. “Out of these 20, 15 will cater to unserved markets of Kannur (Kerala), Darbhanga (Bihar), Ozar (Nashik), Pakyong (Sikkim), Kishangarh (Rajasthan).” Alliance Air has got 18 routes like Nashik-Ahmedabad-Kandla; Hyderabad-Kohlapur; Hubli-Hyderabad; Bikaner-Jaipur and Jammu-Bhatinda. Jet has got four proposals.  

Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) will host its first event in Asia—Adventure Next in Madhya Pradesh from December 10-12, 2018. The event is set to bring together all stakeholders of the adventure travel trade from across the globe. With support from Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI), this event will showcase the adventure tourism potential of India. Commenting on the same, Hari Ranjan Rao, Principal Secretary Tourism, Madhya Pradesh Tourism says, “Adventure Next is one of the most important events of ATTA. ATTA has been one of the most front running associations in the adventure travel space across the world, hosting notable events for this segment and we hope to make their visit in India successful in Madhya Pradesh.” Madhya Pradesh, ATOAI and ATTA also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to mark the launch of this event in India. Capt. Swadesh Kumar, President, ATOAI further says, “We are very happy that Ministry of Tourism has declared 2018 as the Year of Adventure and we are going to make use of this opportunity to the fullest. Adventure Next is one such initiative where we are bringing the global adventure travel industry to India.”

Around 90 travel agents from Saharanpur, Roorkee, Meerut, Haridwar and Rishikesh attended STHI Group’s first roadshow of the year in Dehradun. Exhibitors from Air Arabia and Sheraton were also seen at the event. Speaking at the roadshow held on January 24, Lalit Singh, COO, STHI Group, said, “We want to aim for global fraternity by hosting this roadshow in our earnest endeavour. We want to do everything possible to achieve this goal for posterity.”