Category Archives: Aviation

New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport has jumped six notches to break into the league of the top 20 busiest airports in the world for 2017 in terms of traffic volumes. The GMR-group-run New Delhi airport jumped from 22nd rank in 2016 to 16th rank, solidifying its status as one of the fastest growing airports in the world for passenger traffic, as per the Airports Council International (ACI). The ranking is based on the preliminary passenger traffic results for the most-travelled airports in 2017, released by ACI. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) was ranked the busiest airport in the world with 103 million passengers (both departing and arriving) despite a 0.3 per cent decline in traffic volumes over 2016. Delhi, the country’s busiest airport for passenger traffic, grew by 14.1 per cent year-over-year at 63.45 million, pushing it up from 22nd to the 16th busiest airport in the world,” the ACI said in the release. Even with this rapid growth in throughput, Delhi was also ranked first in Airport Service Quality for airports above 40 million passengers per annum along with the Mumbai airport, it said. Besides, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai were also ranked among the fastest growing airports in the world with an year-over-year growth of 26.9 per cent, 19.6 per cent, 12.9 per cent and 10.5 per cent, respectively during 2017, the ACI said. Source: PTI

The first phase of Oman’s brand new Muscat International Airport is operational now. It has increased the passenger capacity to 20 million, up from the previous 12 million passengers recorded in 2017. The state-of-the-art airport has been designed to be the shining symbol of the Sultanate of Oman. The new airport is designed as International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) category 4F airports which will be able to accommodate the world`s largest aircraft, Airbus A380 and the runway will enable independent parallel operations. The passenger terminals built with the latest technology are aligned with IATA Service Level A standards. The total gross area for the new Muscat International terminal building is 580,000 m2 with an overall airport land area of 21 km2. Salim Al-Mamari, Ministry of Tourism, Oman said, “The government of Oman is focusing on Travel and Tourism as a part of its economic diversification strategy. The newly opened Muscat International Airport, brand new Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, revised visa rules along with other infrastructure developments seen in the recent times determine some of the efforts to increase tourism in Oman. India is one of the key markets for Oman and we are certain that this proactive initiative by the Ministry will drive a lot of visitors from India. Since 2014, Oman has witnessed over 23% growth in Indian arrivals. In 2016, Oman received 297,628 Indian arrivals as compared to 256,210 arrivals in 2014 that is over 16% growth within 2 years. In 2017, Oman received 321,161 Indian arrivals which is remarkably higher, showcasing growth of over 7.90 % in just one year.”

InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) has announced the appointment of Rahul Bhatia as its interim Chief Executive Officer who will continue as the director of the company. InterGlobe has also announced the appointment of Gregory Taylor as Senior Advisor to the company reporting directly to Bhatia. Aditya Ghosh will resign from the post of President of IndiGo effective July 31, 2018 and as a Director of the Company with effect from April 26, 2018. In the coming months, the Board will consider the appointment of Taylor as President and CEO of the Company, subject to receiving the necessary regulatory approvals and paperwork. Bhatia said, “We are delighted at Greg’s decision to rejoin the IndiGo team and welcome him back to the company. His enormous and varied experience and understanding of the complexities of the airline industry will be invaluable to our future plans. At the same time, we thank Aditya for all his hard work and contributions and for the successes that the company has enjoyed.” Ghosh, meanwhile, added, “For the last ten years, it has been a relentless, exhilarating and a most satisfying task building IndiGo.  It is now time for me to step off the treadmill and sometime in the near future embark on my next adventure. I wish all my colleagues at IndiGo the very best as they move on to the next phase of growth.” Taylor has more than 40 years of experience in large, world class airlines. During 2016 and 2017, he was the Executive Vice President of Revenue Management and Network Planning at IndiGo. Prior to that he held various senior management roles at United Airlines and US Airways in the areas of Corporate Planning, Strategy, …

Aptech has partnered with GVK Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Mumbai (CSIA) to train 700 CISF personnel in soft skills and to assist first-time travellers transiting through Mumbai’s domestic airport. Mumbai airport, the busiest single runway airport in the world, has been recognised as the world’s best airport  by Airports Council International for service quality that caters to 970-980 flights daily. The Airport Council International has identified 217 subjective service attributes and 52 objective ones in calculating the level of service (LOS) standard. Thus, ensuring high standards of customer service at airports becomes a crucial but tedious exercise. The decision to upskill and train under the expert team from Aptech Aviation was necessary to ensure that the customer satisfaction levels are kept high. Commenting on this partnership, Vishal Mehra, Senior Vice-President & Head of Industry Connects, Alliances & Placements, Aptech says, “Airport need to response rapidly to the changes of air passenger in order to meet their demands. Passenger satisfaction is increasingly important that may impact reputation and long-term profits of airports. Aptech has over two decade’s experience in training and skilling resources across 40 countries. With this partnership, Aptech Aviation will train approximately 700 CISF personnel in new-age soft-skills so that customer engagement and travel experience shall remain the top priority.”

Vistara has become the third Indian carrier to be a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the trade association of more than 280 airlines, which will help it provide a seamless travel experience through an extended global network to travellers to and from India. Vistara, the full-service carrier promoted by Tata Sons Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA), recently became eligible to start international operations. Air India and Jet Airways are the two other airlines in India that are IATA members. The IATA membership will enable Vistara to collaborate with other international member airlines for codeshare and interline agreements, and provide a seamless travel experience through an extended global network to travellers to and from India, the airline said in a statement. IATA represents airlines from over 120 countries. It advocates for the interests of airlines across the globe, establishes standards to simplify process and increase passenger convenience, and helps airlines to operate safely, efficiently and economically. “This membership couldnt have come at a better time as we gear up to launch our international operations soon. Vistara has set new benchmarks for air travel in India, and with IATA?s membership we are confident to showcase Vistara’s strengths on a global scale,” Leslie Thng, Vistara chief executive officer said. Conrad Clifford, Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific, IATA, said they were looking forward to working with Vistara in shaping IATA’s priorities for India and the global aviation industry.   Source: PTI

As its first route to India, Air Italy is set to begin operations to Mumbai from October 31, 2018. The new service will operate between Mumbai and Milan with an Airbus A330-200, offering 24 flatbed seats in Business Class and 228 seats in Economy Class. This will be the Italy-based airlines’ fourth new international destination to be served from its Milan Malpensa hub. Air Italy will offer five weekly flights between Milan Malpensa and Mumbai and will be the only non-stop flight between Italy and Mumbai. This new route between Milan and Mumbai comes after the earlier announcements of new routes from Milan Malpensa to New York and Miami starting in June 2018 and to Bangkok starting from September 2018. The new service to Mumbai will operate the following schedule and is open for sale. Flight schedules are effective from October 31, 2018.  The Milan Malpensa (MXP) flight to Mumbai (BOM) IG 927 departs at 14:20 hrs and arrives at 02:50 hrs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  The Mumbai (BOM) to Milan Malpensa flight (MXP) IG 928 departs at 04:50 hrs and arrives at 09:20 hrs on the same days.

Air Astana passengers holding Indian passports can enjoy 72 hours visa-free stopovers in Kazakhstan with effect from April 23, 2018 until the end of the year. Passengers with Air Astana flights transiting in Almaty and Astana simply need to notify check-in staff at the point of departure to enjoy the benefit of a visa-free visit. Air Astana offers Delhi-Almaty daily flights and a Delhi-Astana service thrice a week operated by modern Airbus and Embraer aircraft. “Air Astana has been enjoying significant growth in transit traffic through the Almaty and Astana over the past two years, particularly from New Delhi,” said Richard Ledger, Vice President – Marketing and Sales, Air Astana. “I’m in no doubt that the introduction of 72 hours visa-free entry to Kazakhstan for Indian passport holders will further boost transit traffic. We look forward to welcoming more Indian passengers on Air Astana flights and hope they enjoy the attractions of Almaty and Astana; particularly given our US$1 Stopover Holidays programme that offers one night accommodation with breakfast and return airport transfers.” Since introduction of the first flight between two countries Air Astana has carried almost 570 thousand passengers.

JetSetGo has announced the acquisition of Indo Pacific Aviation, India’s oldest non-scheduled aircraft operator (NSOP) with operations in India. Speaking about the acquisition, Kanika Tekriwal, CEO, JetSetGo, said, “As the oldest NSOP, Indo Pacific has been instrumental in many ways in the growth of the private jet and helicopter market in India. Indo Pacific has far too many firsts to its credit and we are excited that this acquisition brings together the values of the old with the dynamism of the young. This acquisition now gives a significant boost to our ability to grow our fleet and offer unique services and next generation aircraft for personalised on-demand mobility.” Aggregating India’s available private jets and helicopters for the first time, JetSetGo now has pan-India presence with 2,800 aircraft movements executed in the last financial year. Typically managing and executing chartered flights through DGCA approved non-scheduled operator permits that are owned by others, the acquisition of Indo Pacific Aviation now gives more flexibility to JetSetGo to directly manage its own fleet and to provide on-demand air connectivity. It will also offer its customer’s aircraft sales and acquisition, fleet management and other aviation support services. Government approval from the DGCA and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) was obtained prior to completing the transaction.  

flydubai will now operate Dubrovnik as a seasonal summer route, offering four flights a week between April 10 and October 25, 2018. Emirates will codeshare on this route as part of the Emirates-flydubai partnership announced in July 2017. Jeyhun Efendi, Senior Vice President Commercial Operations (UAE, Middle East, Europe & CIS) at flydubai, says, “flydubai is the first airline to offer passengers convenient, direct flights from Dubai to Dubrovnik. Our new service reflects flydubai’s commitment to open up 71 previously underserved markets on our network of more than 90 destinations. We offer affordable travel options in both Business and Economy classes together with an enjoyable experience on board our young fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft.” flydubai’s first flight touched down in Dubrovnik with a delegation of representatives from the airline on board. The delegation was met by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism, Tonči Glavina; the Managing Director of Dubrovnik Airport, Frano Luetić; the airline’s representative in Croatia, Predrag Popovic and the Country Manager, Austria and Croatia for Emirates, Martin Gross. On arrival, the inaugural flight was met with a traditional water cannon salute.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has appointed Bird Travels, the Airline Management Services arm of Bird Group as its local representative in India. The association marks the airline’s latest step in developing its sales distribution network within the Indian market. The appointment of Bird Travels is part of the intensive preparations undertaken by Philippine Airlines to realise its firm plans to commence operations to India by winter 2018. Reinforcing the airline’s growing confidence in the market, Bird Travels is responsible for all the airline’s sales, marketing and ticketing activities in India through its centrally located headquarters in New Delhi. “India’s tourism industry is expanding rapidly and we’re already seeing a steady flow of leisure and business travellers flying between India and Philippines. Bird Group is a veteran in air travel management and we are challenging them to capitalise on their strength and capabilities to help launch our upcoming flights to New Delhi and Mumbai,” said Ryan Uy, Vice President – Sales, Philippine Airlines. “Armed with our extensive local knowledge and experienced team, Bird Travels is well-equipped and committed to promote the airline’s presence in the country,” said Vijay Bhatia, President, Bird Group. PAL’s planned services from New Delhi and Mumbai to Manila will enable India-based travellers to easily access over 31 destinations in the Philippines, out of PAL’s hubs in Manila, Clark, Cebu and Davao.