Category Archives: Aviation

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) has launched South India’s first Airport Radio under its signature “#PassengerIsPrime” programme at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. Mirchi Airport Radio is a 24×7 custom-produced, exclusive airport radio, creating a melodious theme to the travel experience for the passengers at the airport, as per a press release by GHIAL. SGK Kishore, CEO, GHIAL, said, “It is our continuous endeavor to enhance the passenger experience at the airport and the ‘Airport Radio’ concept is one of our many #PassengerIsPrime initiatives. We hope that the passengers would enjoy this welcoming and melodious feature that the airport offers during their journey.” The airport handles over 55,000 passengers on a daily basis. Typically a passenger stays at the airport from 15 minutes to three hours depending on his/her travel. Airport radio – Mirchi Hyd will offer the passengers a musical treat across the 1.2 lakh square metre expanse of the terminal building and delight them, the press release mentioned. Source: PTI

Lufthansa will offer five weekly flights from Frankfurt Airport to Austin – Bergstrom International Airport commencing on May 3, 2019. The airline will operate the Airbus A330-300 in a three-class cabin configuration offering customers business class (42), premium economy (28) and economy class (185) seats. Flights will be operated on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Optimally timed, flights arriving from India will connect perfectly to  LH468 departing from Frankfurt at 10:05 am and arriving in Austin at 2:20 pm. On the return, LH469 leaves Austin at 4:05 pm and arrives in Frankfurt at 9:10 on the following day thus comfortably reaching all departures to India. Paurus Nekoo, General Manager – Sales, India, Lufthansa Group, said, “With more and more Indians displaying a growing zeal for exploring the world, the launch of the new Frankfurt-Austin flight brings the world closer to Indians within the country as well as the Indian diaspora in Texas and Europe.”

Star Alliance Invitational Golf tournament 2018 was organised for corporate clients at Delhi Golf Club recently. The event was a great opportunity for the 28 Star Alliance member airlines to network with the corporate community and educate them about benefits of Star Alliance. The game of golf was followed up by an awards function in various categories with a gala lunch. The pleasant weather, great food and great sitting at the Delhi Golf Club was a treat to the players. Also seen playing golf was Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. The championship prizes were given away by the Star Alliance members.

Travelport has signed a long-term supplier agreement with India’s Jet Airways that will be effective from April 2019 and enable online and offline travel agencies around the world to shop, book and manage itineraries for leisure and business travellers. Jet Airways will also deploy Travelport’s Rich content and Branding, from which over 270 airlines now benefit by displaying graphical content, their fares families and a full range of ancillary products. Damian Hickey, Head, Air-Travel Partners, Travelport, commented, “Travelport’s commitment to the Indian travel market and the provision of the widest range of content has been further evidenced today with the announcement of this new mutual commitment between Jet Airways and our company beginning April 2019. Furthermore, our position in the rest of Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas means that we are able to deliver to them a wide mix of international travellers. This is in addition to the millions of outbound and domestic Indian travellers they serve.”

AirAsia India has appointed Sunil Bhaskaran as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director with effect from November 15, 2018 to oversee the next phase of expansion and growth of the company. Bhaskaran is currently Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel. He has over three decades of experience in the fields of manufacturing, export and commercial operations with the Tata group. S Ramadorai, Chairman, AirAsia India, said, “We are delighted to welcome Mr Bhaskaran as the new CEO & MD of AirAsia India. With India’s aviation sector growing at a rapid pace, we are confident his extensive experience, ability to drive performance and work seamlessly with all stakeholders will be a great asset for AirAsia India.” Bhaskaran has held several senior positions in the Tata group. He is also on the Global Advisory Board of Social Accountability International (SAI), New York. He was with Tata International from 2001 till 2005. He completed his B Tech from IIT, Delhi in 1985, followed by a post-graduation in management from IIM, Kolkata in 1987. He joined Tata Steel in 1987 and subsequently completed his GMP from Cedep at Insead, France in 2000.

GoAir has launched its first-ever direct flight from Mumbai to Male. The new international schedule introduces direct flights connecting Male to India – Mumbai and New Delhi. Flight G8 023 was given a ceremonial flag off at 13:25 IST which departed from Mumbai on its maiden flight to Velana International Airport, Maldives. In sync with the aviation tradition to mark key milestones, the flight was greeted with a grand water cannon salute upon its arrival at the Male Airport followed by ribbon-cutting ceremony. GoAir’s international service is operated by airbus A320 Neo aircraft and with immediate effect, it will mark the commencement of a direct service 2 times a week between New Delhi – Male – New Delhi sector and direct service of 3 times a week between Mumbai – Male – Mumbai sector. Speaking on the occasion, Cornelis Vrieswijk, Chief Executive Officer, GoAir said, “We welcome Male as a part of our new global network. In light of the significant increase in outgoing tourism from India over the past few years, GoAir introduced a direct flight services from Mumbai and New Delhi to Male. It is a huge amendment in the books of GoAir and we hope to provide our customers with superior experience at the best yet affordable prices.”

The Hyderabad International Airport has inaugurated the Interim International Departure Terminal (IIDT) that is set to commence operations from October 23. The terminal has been designed to cater to the continued growth in passenger traffic, while the existing Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) facility has been expanded to more than double the present capacity. The terminal was inaugurated by Rajiv Nayan Choubey, Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) in the presence of Shailendra Kumar Joshi, IAS, Chief Secretary, Telangana government and other dignitaries. The new terminal building is an exclusive concourse to handle check-in, security, immigration and customs processes for departing international passengers. Coinciding with the opening of the new terminal, the Hyderabad Duty-Free (HDF) store at the departure level has been relocated and upgraded to offer an enhanced shopping experience to the passengers. SGK Kishore, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), said, “Our city is witnessing a boom in air travel and with its strategic locational advantage, the passenger traffic through Hyderabad airport is growing at a rate of about 24 per cent year over year. The changes will only affect our departing international passengers and we will continue to handle international arrivals from the main passenger terminal building.” Source: ANI

India is forecast to gain an additional 359 million passengers by 2037, compared to 2017,  according to a report by IATA, titled ‘The Future is Bright…But Not Without Its Challenges’. This means that, by 2037, there will be almost 520 million passengers flying to/from and within India each year. Domestic passengers will account for around 63 per cent of the total growth over this period, or 228 million additional passengers. Foreign passengers will contribute less to overall growth, representing 37 per cent of the total market growth, equal to 131 million additional passengers.

In a recent forecast by Boeing, Indian airlines are expected to order as many as 2,100 planes worth US$290 billion over the next 20 years. As per a study by FICCI-Yes Bank report titled ‘Opportunities and Financing Outlook for Aviation Sector’, this increase is led by strong passenger demand, low fuel prices, high load factor, strong local currency and strong economic growth. Indian carriers operated 496 aircraft in FY17 up from 381 in FY08. At the end of FY17, Indian airlines had ordered more than 800 planes. Boeing projects a worldwide demand for 41,030 new airplanes over the next 20 years, with India carriers needing more than 5.1 percent of the total global demand.

Travelport has announced that it had won a competitive tender process undertaken by Air India for the sole provision of distribution of its domestic flight content. The contract awarded to Travelport will begin to come into effect from November 2018 and be fully implemented by the end of 2019. The agreement confirms Air India’s continued deployment of Travelport Rich Content and Branding, now used by over 270 airlines. This displays airlines’ graphical content, their fares families and a full range of ancillary products. Travelport has seen a rapid expansion in India in recent years following the acquisition of business from the largest online travel agencies like MakeMyTrip, Ibibo, Yatra, EaseMyTrip and ClearTrip as well as working with the major corporate travel agencies and new entrants to the travel sector such as Paytm. Pradeep Singh Kharola, Chairman and Managing Director, Air India, said, “Air India is pleased to award this important contract to Travelport. In written submissions and in discussion with their team, the company demonstrated a clear understanding of our needs and displayed impressive technological and financial capability. As we make the switch to Travelport, we hope to be able to deliver even better value for money and a superior distribution to our customers in India and abroad.” Gordon Wilson, President and CEO, Travelport, commented, “Travelport is delighted to have been selected by Air India to provide these services. It is another welcome endorsement of our technology and our services in India. We look forward to implementing the agreement and delivering a world-class service to the airline.”