Category Archives: Aviation

Bird ExecuJet Airport Services, a joint venture between Bird Group and ExecuJet Aviation Group has announced a strategic partnership with Honeywell India, a global provider of engineering and aerospace solutions. Under this partnership, Bird ExecuJet Airport Services shall provide array of approved maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, from its approved facility, including avionics, connectivity, maintenance and upgrades to business/general aviation customers in the region. Bird ExecuJet is developing a world class FBO/MRO at Indira Gandhi International Airport and currently offers maintenance services from 2 exclusive hangars. The existing facility offers excellent logistics and operational readiness for its clients within India and also supports international clients and clients from neighbouring countries This partnership will also provide customers with an option inside Delhi airport to get support on Honeywell services and components, which was not there since the new concessionaire was granted to Bird ExecuJet.

Hahn Air announced that in the first quarter of this year it has already integrated 11 new carriers into its global network of more than 300 air, rail and shuttle partners. Of the 11 new partnerships, eight are interline agreements with carriers that are now available on the HR-169 ticket under their own designator. Among them are Nile Air (NP) from Egypt, Atlantic Airways (RC) from Faroe Islands, Yamal Airlines (YC) from Russia and Plus Ultra Lineas Areas (PU) from Spain. Hahn Air also signed its first interline agreement with a rail company, the UK-based high-speed rail operator Eurostar (9F), whose services are now available to almost all travel agents worldwide* for ticketing on Hahn Air’s HR-169 document. In addition, the Hahn Air Group welcomed two new airline partners and one new ferry partner of the consolidation service Hahn Air Systems. Pacific Coastal Airlines (8P) from Canada and SkyTaxi (TE) offering selected routes in France can now be booked under the reservation code H1 (H1-Air) while the Estonian shipping company Tallink can be booked under 5W (5W-Rail&Shuttle). Respectively, they can all be issued on HR-169 tickets. “We are especially pleased that three of our new interline partners are already using our product H1-Air”, says Steve Knackstedt, Vice President of the Airline Business Group at Hahn Air. “By making use of a dual partnership with the Hahn Air Group, TAG Airlines (5U) from Guatemala, FlySafair (FA) from South Africa and the Greek airline Sky Express (GQ) are now available on the Hahn Air ticket under their own IATA codes while at the same time, they can be issued in all major GDSs under the Hahn Air Systems code H1. This is …

Strengthening its position in the Middle East, IndiGo has introduced its first daily non-stop flight connecting Doha to Delhi and Mumbai. Doha is IndiGo’s 7th international and 46th overall destination. With Doha as a new destination, IndiGo is all set to enhance connectivity between India and the Gulf region after Dubai, Muscat and Sharjah. The introduction of direct flights connecting Doha to New Delhi and Mumbai will open more convenient travel options for business and leisure travellers including the Indian expatriates based in Middle East. Aditya Ghosh, President and Whole Time Director, IndiGo said, “Being an economic and cultural hub of Qatar, Doha attracts a lot of business and leisure tourists. Adding Doha on our network is in line with our growth strategy and more so for the Middle East. IndiGo has established itself as a preferred carrier on India-Gulf routes. We are hopeful that this daily service would also prove equally popular with our flyers.”

Air India will operate a non-stop flight from Delhi to Washington from July 7th, 2017, to connect the capitals of India and the USA. This will be the only direct flight connecting Delhi with Washington with a B777-200LR aircraft. Washington will be Air India’s fifth non-stop destination in USA after New York (JFK), Newark (EWR), Chicago (ORD) and San Francisco (SFO). AI 103 will depart from Delhi at 0115 hrs (IST) to reach Washington at 0715 hrs (GMT). While AI 104 will depart from Washington at 1100 hrs (GMT) and will land at IGI airport, Delhi at 1030 +1 hrs (IST). Operating thrice a week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, the flight will offer a 3-cabin configuration, with 8 seats in First Class, 35 seats in Business Class and 195 seats in Economy Class. The direct flight will take around 15 hours and 30mins to reach Washington from Delhi. Passengers looking to travel and experience the world class facilities with a non-stop Boeing 777 flight can start booking their tickets now through www.airindia.in or through Air India booking offices.

In a latest development regarding agency commission, Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary Cathay Dragon has withdrawn its IATA commission to travel agents applicable for any/all tickets issued in India. It will go from five per cent to zero commission with effect from May 1, 2017. In a letter signed by Rajesh Menon, Regional Sales and Marketing Manager, South Asia, Cathay Pacific Airways and Cathay Dragon, to all its trade partners, reasons, ‘Market dynamics for the aviation industry have changed in the recent times and has resulted in making the operating environment for our airline very challenging. The projections for the aviation industry and for our airlines remain to be volatile in the future.’ All tickets issued prior to May 1, 2017 will be eligible for a five per cent IATA commission. It adds, ‘We request you to kindly make a note of the change in commission structure and the effective date as this change might require a change in your business model too.’

British Airways has introduced its most technologically advanced aircraft, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the Mumbai-London route. Mumbai is the second route after Delhi to benefit from the airline’s latest aircraft. Commenting on this Robert Williams, Head of Sales- Asia Pacific and Middle East, British Airways, said, “Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is the latest aircraft in our fleet which is slightly different to 787-8 aircraft. The 787-9 is 20 feet longer and incorporates our first class cabin with just 8 seats. Together with our World Traveller economy class, World Traveller Plus premium economy, Club World business class and the exciting new First class product we have all four cabins on the new aircraft flying people overnight from Mumbai into London. The 787 is fast becoming the principle aircraft of the British Airways fleet for the next generation.” A total of 42 787s are destined to join British Airways, becoming the mainstay of the airline’s fleet. Currently, British Airways has 12 A380 aircraft which have joined the fleet recently. Starting from 2018 British Airways will be making changes to its short haul flights in UK or flights flying into Europe from London. The airline also looks forward to welcome the A320, A321 and  A350 aircraft soon.

SpiceJet, Alliance Air, and three other airlines have emerged winner in the first round of bidding and 43 airports in India are set to get flights under the Regional Connectivity Scheme, revealed Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Civil Aviation Minister, Govt. of India. Apart from SpiceJet and Alliance Air, the other three airlines awaiting license include Air Deccan, Air Odisha and Turbo Megha. Airports Authority of India (AAI), the implementing agency, will issue Letter of Awards for 27 proposals received under RCS-UDAN. A total of 13 unserved airports will get flights under the scheme, and the total viability gap funding that the government will provide will be around Rs. 200 crore. Raju also said that the total seats on these routes will be around 13 lakh and the scheme will be active in the next 4-6 months.

Qatar Airways may order 100 new jetliners before the end of this year to power its push into India, chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker said. The Persian Gulf carrier is confident that a new aviation policy mapped out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will permit 100% foreign ownership of a domestic airline, Al Baker said Monday in London. Qatar Airways is briefing lawyers in India and will seek formally to establish the new airline soon, with a tender for aircraft to follow. “It could be this year,” the CEO told journalists after addressing the Qatar-U.K. Business and Investment Forum. “It depends how fast we can arrange our application.” Al Baker revealed last month that he planned to set up an Indian carrier with a fleet of 100 narrow-body jets, breaking into a fast-growing market where local rules previously prevented full ownership by foreign airlines. He said at the time that the Qatar Investment Authority could fund the venture, leaving Qatar Air to run it, though it’s not clear whether such an arrangement would avoid the curb. Source: Bloomberg

Government of Jharkhand, Airports Authority of India (AAI), and Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) signed a tripartite MoU for development of Deoghar Airport in Deoghar district of Jharkhand. The existing Deoghar Airport will be developed for operations of A-320 and C-130 aircraft. Signing of MoU took place in a ceremony held at the CM residence. The Govt. of Jharkhand has acquired 600.34 acres of land which will be handed over to AAI apart from the existing 53.41 acres Deoghar Airport land. DRDO, Jharkhand Govt. and AAI will provide Rs. 200 crores, Rs. 50 crores respectively to develop, operationalise and maintain the airport. The time frame given to develop and operationalise the Deoghar Airport is two years. Chief  Minister of Jharkhand Raghubar Das,  Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha,  Minister of Transport, Govt. of Jharkhand C.P.Singh,  MP Ram Tahal Chaudhaury and  MP Nishikant Dubey graced the occasion. Dr. Guru Prasad Mahapatra,  Chairman AAI,  Rajbala Verma, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Jharkhand, Amit Khare, Development Commissioner, Govt. of Jharkhand, Sudhir Raheja, Member Planning AAI, Sanjay Jain, RED (ER), AAI, H. S. Chaudhry, Additional Director of DRDO, Anil Vikram, Airport Director, Ranchi, senior officials of State Govt. of Jharkhand and AAI were also present on this occasion.

The Cathay Dragon website will soon be merged into the Cathay Pacific website. The merger, which will be in effect from March 29, 2017, means that customers will enjoy the convenience of being able to book flights from all departure points across the airlines’ combined network through a single website. Other functions – including booking management and online check-in services – in addition to a wealth of travel-related information, including flight timetables, flight status, baggage information and inflight entertainment options for both airlines will also be available through the enhanced website. Furthermore, four new country sites for Cathay Dragon customers in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal will be made available through cathaypacific.com. The website merger is the latest development in Cathay Dragon’s rebranding process, which officially commenced in November 2016 in order to bring the airline closer to Cathay Pacific.