Category Archives: Aviation

Commerce and Industries minister Suresh Prabhu has been given additional charge of the Civil Aviation Ministry, a day after the resignation of TDP’s Ashok Gajapathi Raju was accepted by President Ram Nath Kovind, a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said. In a brief communique, the spokesperson said, “The President, as advised by the Prime Minister, has directed that Suresh Prabhu, Cabinet Minister, shall be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in addition to his existing portfolio.” Raju and another Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Y S Chowdary had resigned from the council of ministers after party supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu decided to pull out his ministers. Naidu took the decision after facing relentless attacks from the opposition for “failing” to secure special category status for Andhra Pradesh. SOURCE: PTI

AirAsia India will focus on expanding its domestic network and increase flight frequencies, before commencing international operations to Southeast Asia by early next year, as informed by Amar Abrol, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia India. Just a few days ago, the budget passenger carrier announced the addition of Nagpur and Indore to its network, effective March 17. It will also introduce new routes connecting Bengaluru, Kolkata, Goa, Indore and Nagpur. In addition, the airline will operate daily flights connecting its two hubs—Bengaluru and Kolkata—which will become operational from March 25. “We are not shying away from India. We will first commence flight operations to new domestic destinations and increase frequencies. In all, we are looking at starting flights to four to five new cities in this year,” Abrol shared. “We are making the preparations for international operations but it will most probably take place by the first quarter of 2019,” he added. When asked about the first international port of call, Abrol said, “It can be anywhere from India’s eastern seaboard to Southeast Asia, particularly to Thailand and Malaysia.”According to Abrol, apart from adding more domestic flight frequencies, the airline is “steadily working” towards “break-even” by the year-end. SOURCE: IANS

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.”

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 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.  

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.  

Charting out expansion plans to connect more Tier-II and III cities, AirAsia India has set a target to commence flights to overseas destinations by January 2019, according to Amar Abrol, Managing Director and CEO, AirAsia India. The airline inducted its 16th aircraft and announced the addition of Nagpur and Indore to its list of destinations. “Our strategy is that once we get to 20 planes (operating in domestic operations) we will start flying international. Mostly, it will be to South East Asian countries,” Abrol shared. Stating that 27 per cent of the people who fly with AirAsia were flying for the first time ever, he said, “So, we are opening up Indian skies. And we are getting lot many more Indians to fly for the first time.” The plan is to connect more and more Tier-II and III cities in India, wherever A320 can go and also start flying international after crossing 20 aircraft, he said. Source: PTI

Oman Air has deployed the new Boeing 737 MAX on its recently launched Delhi-Muscat route. The new B737 MAX is equipped with 12 new Business Class seats with large 17-inch touch screen monitors and all the amenities needed for the busy road warrior such as individual power and USB points. The 150 seat Economy Class cabin will also undergo a significant refresh with new interiors, 10.2-inch Thales Gen V touch-screen monitors, high power USB outlets for each triple seats and individual USB outlets for every guest. H.E. Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi, Chairman, Oman Air, said, “The Boeing 737 MAX is at the forefront of aviation technology and amongst the most efficient planes in the sky today. Oman Air has put an order of 30 MAX aircraft and this is the first aircraft delivery of this order.”