Category Archives: Aviation

Come July 1, Indians flying abroad will not have to fill departure cards. According to an order issued by the Union Home Ministry, “It has been decided to discontinue the practice of filling up of the departure card by Indians at all international airports with effect from July 1, 2017.” This is one of the steps by the government to ensure hassle-free movement of Indians travelling abroad. However, those going out of the country via rail, seaport and land immigration check-posts need to fill the embarkation card. The Home Ministry has said that the information shared by the passengers is available in the system from other sources as well. This would reduce the time required to complete immigration related formalities by passengers and would also allow airports to handle larger number of people.

Effective June 12, 2017, Ethiopian Immigration and Nationality Affairs main Department in collaboration with Ethiopian Airlines is offering e-visa service for international visitors to Ethiopia. The e-visa is processed and issued online on a single webpage where applicants apply, pay and secure their entry visa online. Once the online application is approved, applicants will receive an email authorising them to travel to Ethiopia and they will get their passport stamped with the visa upon arrival in Addis Ababa. Tewolde GebreMariam, Group CEO, Ethiopian Airlines, says, “The full commencement of the Online Visa application and issuance system will promote tourism, trade and investment to the country. It will save time, energy and cost for travelers to Ethiopia in addition to the simplicity and convenience that it facilitates. With direct flights to/from more than 95 destinations from all corners of the world operated by the most modern airplanes, we will continue to make travel to Ethiopia, dependable, easy, convenient and affordable. I will take this opportunity to thank our IT team and our colleagues at the Main Department for Immigration & Nationality Affairs for the commendable collaboration and the job well done.” Gebreyohannes Teklu, Director Main Department for Immigration & Nationality Affairs, commented, “We are glad that we have been working together with Ethiopian Airlines for the effective implementation of e-visa facilities at Bole International Airport. Now international visitors to Ethiopia, from countries provisioned for visa upon arrival, will make use of this service. Moreover, we have set up separate counters to process the visas of travelers under electronic travel authorization.”

Singapore Airlines has announced a special offer exclusively for its new and existing KrisFlyer loyalty card members. Customers booking a Singapore Airlines or SilkAir (regional wing of Singapore Airlines) return ticket from June 16-30, 2017, on www.singaporeair.com or SingaporeAir mobile app will receive two complimentary flights on Vistara. This offer is valid for travel between July 01 and August 31, 2017, on Suites, First, Business and Economy (Flexi and Flexi Saver) fares. Travel on Singapore Airlines or SilkAir flights must originate from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. Except for Singapore Airlines Suites or First Class passengers who will be entitled to Vistara’s Business Class, customers will be allotted the same cabin class on their complimentary Vistara tickets with a travel validity from July 21, 2017 – August 31, 2018. Furthermore, travellers from India can redeem a complimentary S$20 Changi Dollar Voucher for use at all participating shops, restaurants and lounges when they transit at Singapore Changi Airport. Indian nationals can also avail of one-way, Visa Free Transit Facility for up to 96 hours in Singapore with a valid onward ticket and a valid visa from selected countries. The transit facility will be provided at the discretion of the immigration authorities.

Vistara has introduced two additional daily return flights between Delhi and Bengaluru to celebrate the second anniversary of its service on the route. With this addition, Vistara now flies five times return daily (four times on Sundays) between the two cities, taking the count of weekly flights on the route (both ways) to 68. Elaborating on this, Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Vistara, said, “In a short time Vistara has emerged as the airline of choice for corporate customers, and the increase in frequency from 3 to 5 flights daily each way between Delhi and Bengaluru is in response to their request for more Vistara flights between these cities. Not only will these flights help us meet the needs of our frequent flyers, it will also attract those wanting to fly us more often.  Bengaluru is a key market for Vistara, and we intend to add more flights there over time, slots permitting.”

Qatar Airways has said that their operations to and from its Doha hub are running smoothly, and in fact, they will only be growing their network. The airline launched direct service to Dublin, Republic of Ireland on June 1. Qatar Airways will also start service to Nice, France, on 4 July, and flights to Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, on 17 July. Other new destinations planned for the remainder of this year and 2018 include Las Vegas (USA), Canberra (Australia), Douala (Cameroon), Libreville (Gabon), Medan (Indonesia), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Santiago (Chile) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), as well as many others. The airline’s much talked about ‘First in Business seat’—Qsuite, will be showcased at the Paris Air Show from 19–25 June before debuting on its first route, between Doha and London Heathrow, later this month.

SpiceJet has announced its e-commerce venture SpiceStyle, which would reportedly help in increasing the airline’s ancillary revenue. This would be SpiceJet’s entry into the retail segment, and the airline has announced that the portal is expected to rake in additional revenues worth Rs 150 crore in the first year. According to a statement by the airline, “The new venture will further boost SpiceJet’s ancillary revenue income which has grown from 6 per cent to around 17 per cent in the last two years.” Initially planned as an in-flight service, SpiceStyle is a wholly-owned subsidiary of SpiceJet and an e-commerce portal ‘www.spicestyle.com’ has been set up in this regard. Besides, it has tied up with Amazon to launch an all new brand store. The strategic alliance would offer SpiceStyle’s entire portfolio of brands on the shopping portal at launch prices offering 25 per cent discount.

Come July 25, 2017, Scoot and Tigerair will be putting finishing touches to the integration of their reservation systems, flight schedules and connections, etc. by merging the two airlines to operate under a single brand. With the merger, Tigerair will operate under the Scoot brand, however the Scoot designator code (TZ) will be re-designated as TR. Scoot flight schedules (departure/arrival dates and times) will remain unchanged, i.e. flights will depart as scheduled, however instead of TZ, the designator code will be TR. For passengers travelling on any Scoot flight on, or after 25 Jul 2017, the airline will be sending out a separate email over the next few weeks (either directly or through the travel agency) to inform passengers of updated itinerary with the new Scoot designator code (TR). With the merger, Scoot will operate two different fleets of Boeing 787 Dreamliner (existing Scoot fleet) and Airbus 320 (Tigerair fleet repainted into Scoot livery). Some of their networks will be served by both fleets.

SpiceJet has started its daily direct flight service from Goa to Surat. This will be the first ever direct connection between Goa and Surat by any airline. As the first nonstop flight between Goa and Surat, the new flight will provide travellers with a convenient travel option, thus saving their time while making their journey hassle free. To cater to the peak summer rush, from March to October, SpiceJet has unleashed a whole new summer schedule wherein the airline has added 19 new domestic and 3 new international flights, thus offering more seats and connecting key metros and cities.

Beijing Capital Airlines (JD) joins Hahn Air’s network of 300 air, rail and shuttle partners. The Chinese carrier signed an Interline Electronic Ticketing Agreement (IET) with the German scheduled airline and can now sell its flights even in markets where it is not participating in the local BSP. Travel agents worldwide using the Global Distribution Systems (GDSs) Amadeus, Galileo, Sabre, Travelsky, Apollo, Abacus, Worldspan, Axess or Infini can issue the services of Beijing Capital Airlines on Hahn Air’s HR-169 ticket under the IATA code JD. Based at Beijing Airport (PEK), Beijing Capital Airlines operates a fleet of 78 Airbus aircraft and flies more than 200 domestic and international routes. Its network spans 73 destinations in ten countries, including Madrid, Moscow, Sydney, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. As part of the HNA Group, Beijing Capital Airlines launched several new long-haul services in 2016, for example Qingdao-Melbourne, Hangzhou-Chengdu-Madrid, and Hangzhou-Qingdao-Vancouver. The same year, Beijing Capital Airlines was named among the 10 Best Regional Airlines in China by the leading air travel review portal Skytrax. In 2017, Beijing Capital Airlines continues to add new routes, such as Hangzhou-Beijing-Lisbon (the first direct connection between China and Portugal), Qingdao-Moscow, Qingdao-London Heathrow and Qingdao-Sydney. “Beijing Capital Airlines is our 12th interline partner from the People’s Republic of China”, says Steve Knackstedt, Vice President Airline Business Group at Hahn Air. “With Beijing Capital Airlines we are adding a wealth of new routes and destinations to cater to the demand of passengers worldwide. We are happy to support our more than 100,000 travel agent partners in 190 countries with another key player in China which is now available for ticketing on our HR-169 ticket in all major GDSs.”

GoAir is set to expand its operations to Patna with the launch of their fourth daily flight between New Delhi and Patna, with effect from June 11, 2017. The launch of this additional daily service between Patna and New Delhi aims at strengthening GoAir’s extensive network of flights to Patna. This additional flight will benefit the large number of passengers travelling from Patna to New Delhi further bolstering the airline’s already extensive network. The flight G8 133 from DEL-PAT will depart at 15:10 hours and arrive at 16:50 hours daily from June 11, 2017, till October 28, 2017. Upon return, the flight G8 134 from PAT-DEL will depart at 17:20 hours and arrive at 19:10 hours daily from June 11, 2017, till October 28, 2017.