Category Archives: Aviation

Launching its flight on the Delhi-Istanbul sector, IndiGo has announced to use its expanding fleet of A320neo and A321neo aircraft to connect more Indian cities to China, Vietnam, England, Myanmar and Saudi Arabia. William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “We are looking very seriously into other points in South East Asia, notably the obvious ones of Vietnam and Myanmar. We also want to operate shortly to Saudi Arabia on the west side. We are seriously interested in getting in China as soon as we can. We are still selecting precise destinations.” The airline plans to add 125 A321neo aircraft in its fleet over number of years. In 2019, it will receive 20-25 of these aircraft from Airbus, he said. While Delhi-Istanbul flight is being operated in A321neo aircraft having 222 seats, Boulter clarified that the flights to China would be based on A320neos. The Delhi-Istanbul flight plans to connect 20 forward destinations using the codeshare pact that was signed between India’s largest airline and Turkish Airlines on December 21 last year. Codeshare pact allows passengers to travel on a single ticket on flights operated by the partner carrier. Source: PTI

Singapore Airlines is all set to merge Silk Air into the parent airline by 2022, and would eventually scale back all Silk Air services in the next three years. The move is being made to remain profitable in line with increasing competition with Chinese and Middle Eastern airlines. The aircraft under SilkAir would undergo the required refurbishments to match the quality and product offerings of Singapore Airlines. This three year transformation programme is designed to boost revenue and trim back costs.

Virgin Atlantic recently hosted a dinner and cocktail party for its top 50 travel trade partners in Amritsar at Hyatt Regency. The airline shared an update about its latest product and services with agents.  

The new civil terminal at Hindon Airbase, Ghaziabad, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently is likely to start operations by April-end. Hindon Airbase is located at a distance of 40 kms from Indira Gandhi International Airport. Hindon Airport has been developed for the operation of RCS flights at the cost of Rs. 40 Crores. This Civil Enclave will be connected to Jamnagar, Shimla, Kalaburgi, Kannur, Faizabad, Nasik, Hubli and Pithoragarh under RCS – UDAN. The development of new civil enclave at Hindon Airport will take the load off from Delhi`s IGI Airport and will also serve the passengers from Delhi NCR and Uttar Pradesh. Development of Civil Enclave at Airforce Station Hindon has been planned for the operation of RCS flights in two parcels of land measuring 5.6 acres for Civil Enclave and 4.8 acres for construction of approach road from Sikandarpur Marg. Airport Infrastructure has been developed by AAI and the approach road has been constructed by Govt. of Uttar Pradesh. A terminal building has been constructed on an area of 5425sqm. With 8 check-in Counters, the terminal building will be able to handle 300 passengers during peak hours.

In a recent announcement, SpiceJet has joined global airlines’ grouping, The International Air Transport Association (IATA), becoming the first Indian airline to get the membership. This new move is aimed to boost Spicejet’s aggressive expansion plans especially on international footprint through code shares and interlining.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, is in a process of drafting a National Green Aviation Policy. In this regard, a White Paper on the same has been developed for wide consultation of stakeholders. This vision document sets out a strategic framework to address the major environmental challenges of the aviation industry.

Expanding its network, AirAsia India has announced the launch of its new daily flight to Kolkata from Mumbai, starting from April 15. This would be the airline’s second destination from Mumbai after it started operating daily services to Bengaluru from the country’s financial capital. AirAsia India will now fly connecting Kolkata and Mumbai, with one daily flight, effective April 15, the airline said in a release. The introduction of Mumbai-Kolkata route comes close on the heels of AirAsia India adding eighth additional flights to its network of 19 destinations. “We recently introduced the first connection between Bengaluru and Mumbai and are now adding a new connection between Mumbai and Kolkata. It’s a key market for AirAsia and this flight will strengthen our operations in East. This new route is a manifestation of our future growth plan in these key and important business markets, said Sunil Bhaskaran, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia India. AirAsia India currently operates 19 domestic destinations with a fleet of 20 Airbus A320 planes. Source: PTI

Thai Smile is all set to start operating from Kolkata to Bangkok, five times a week, from March 31, 2019. The aircraft used for the operations on this route is Airbus 320. The starting fare for the flight is Rs. 8993 all included. The direct flight will also place TG-coded flight numbers on this route. The flight from Kolkata would take off at 01:00 hrs and would arrive in Bangkok at 05:30 hrs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. From Bangkok it will fly every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 22:05 hrs and would land in Kolkata at 23:30 hrs.

Further enhancing its customer experience, Indigo has introduced 3 new routes while adding 14 additional flights on its network. The low-cost carrier will operate its first flight between Chennai-Raipur, Hyderabad-Gorakhpur and Kolkata-Gorakhpur. The airline will also add flights on its existing routes connecting, Chennai – Trivandrum, Bengaluru – Mangalore, Bengaluru – Udaipur and Bengaluru – Chennai.All new services will commence from April 2019. Providing details, William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo, said, “We are very excited to add14 new flights to our network along with along with 3 new routes connecting Chennai, Raipur and Gorakhpur. IndiGo has completed 12 years of successful operations in the India market as a low cost carrier, and adding new flights to its network will further augment the connectivity that we aspire to provide to our customers. It is our constant endeavour to provide our customers on-time, courteous and hassle-free service, and an affordable flying experience always.”

After deciding to ground the Boeing 737-MAX 8 planes operated by Indian airlines, DGCA has now decided to ban overflying of the aircraft which will also restrict take off and landing of the 737 MAX 8 planes in the Indian territory. “No B737 Max aircraft will be allowed to enter or transit the Indian airspace effective 1600hrs Indian time or 1030 UTC (Universal Coordinated Time). The timeline is to cater to situations where aircraft can be positioned at maintenance facilities and international flights can reach their destinations,” the civil aviation ministry said in a post on Twitter. Amid global backlash following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight last week, US and major European nations, including Britain, Germany and France, have also suspended operations of the aircraft. Meanwhile, SpiceJet has decided not to take further deliveries of the plane till the safety concerns are sorted out. The airline has as many as 205 B737 MAX on order.