Category Archives: Aviation

Air Asia India plans to increase its flight connectivity between Bengaluru, Pune and Goa. The low-cost carrier will now operate two flights from Bengaluru to Pune, adding to the frequency to its current one daily flight between these cities. Also, the airline will operate its fourth daily connection between Bengaluru and Goa, starting December 18. “Our flights from Bengaluru to Pune are doing extremely well, so are our three existing connections to Goa. We see immense demand in this sector. We are confident that this new connection is going to be well received by our guests,” said Amar Abrol, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Air Asia India. The Bengaluru-based budget carrier currently flies to 11 destinations with its two hubs in Bengaluru and New Delhi covering Chandigarh, Jaipur, Guwahati, Imphal, Pune, Goa, Vizag, Kochi and Hyderabad.

According to IATA, India has topped the domestic growth chart for the 11th consecutive month with a 22.7 per cent year-on-year traffic growth in October, supported by significant growth in real consumer spending and increases in the number of airport pairs served. Asia-Pacific airlines’ traffic rose 7 per cent in October compared to the year-ago period. Capacity rose 7.1 per cent and load factor dipped 0.1 percentage point to 76.9 per cent. The strong upward trend in seasonally-adjusted traffic has slowed in recent months, although it is too soon to determine whether this is an actual weakening or just a brief pause. On the other hand, the Asia-to-Europe market, which is highly sensitive to shock events, is continuing to recover.

In an attempt to boost regional connectivity, Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India will connect Delhi and Bhatinda from December 11. The flights will be operated three times a week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. 70-seater ATR-72 aircraft would be utilised for the services. The flight will depart from Delhi at 12.15 pm and reach Bathinda at 1.45 pm. The return flight will fly out from Bathinda at 2.15 pm and reach Delhi at 3.45 pm. Alliance Air, which flies to tier-II and tier-III cities, has a fleet of eight ATR-72 and two ATR-42 aircraft. Currently, it operates flights to 33 destinations, including Allahabad, Bengaluru, Bhavnagar, Dharamshala, Gorakhpur, Shillong and Silchar.

According to a report from Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), Kempegowda International Airport (Bangalore-BLR) will not have flights landing and taking off between 10:30am and 5pm from February 19 to April 30, 2017. The move is to facilitate upgradation work in the existing runway. The release says that operations at the airport will be partially closed for three months next year. The runway will be partially closed during the rehearsals and show timings of the Aero India 2017. Authorities have worked out the flight schedules in the hours preceding and following the closure each day during this period with the Air Traffic Control and all the airline companies that operate in KIA, with the approval of the civil aviation ministry, the statement said. The plan is to build two rapid exit taxiways (RETs) under the existing runway to enhance air traffic movement from 38 per hour to 48 per hour. The enhancement is part of KIA’s total upgradation. BIAL authorities say work has to be completed before the onset of monsoon in May. Other activities related to the building of two RETs will be carried out with minimal impact on airline operations and passenger movement. The airport taxi and BMTC shuttles have also been informed to align their services to accommodate the increase in traffic between 5pm and 10:30am. KIA is also building the second runway towards the southern side of the airport, which is estimated to become functional by September 2019. The second terminal will be operational by 2021. Together, the two terminals will be handling 55 million passengers a year by 2021.

Garuda Indonesia has announced that they will be starting flight services from Mumbai to Jakarta from December 12. The prices of the flight will start from Rs. 27,600, and the flight would offer further connection to Bali from Jakarta. Bird Travels is the GSA for the airline in India.

Air India launched its first direct flight from Delhi-Madrid at a gala ceremony in Delhi, which was graced by P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Minister, Civil Aviation; Pankaj Srivastava, Director-Commercial, Air India; I Prabhakara Rao, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi International Airport; Ignacio Ducasse Gutierrez, Tourism Counselor, Embassy of Spain in India and Director, Tourism Office of Spain in India, Mumbai; and other dignitaries from the travel and tourism industry. Madrid is Air India’s ninth European destination and 42nd international destination. Srivastava addressed the gathering and said, “The nine-hour flight would be able to cut down the flying time to Madrid by 4-5 hours, and would offer further connections to South American countries like Argentina, Brazil, Columbia and Chile.” The thrice a week flight with a  B787 Dreamliner, offers a convenient departure at 1425hrs from Delhi and arrival at Madrid at 2020hrs. From Madrid the departure time is 2150hrs and arrival in Delhi at 1110hrs the next day.

Starting from December 1, Myanmar Airways International will operate two times weekly service between Yangon and Kolkata on Airbus A320 and A319 aircraft. These flights between the two destinations will be operated on Thursdays and Sundays. MAI currently flies between Yangon and Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Gaya, Guangzhou, and between Mandalay and Bangkok. An official statement from MIA stated that Myanmar Airways is offering very attractive introductory fares on Kolkata to Yangon sector and can contact STIC Travel Group’s office in Kolkata-their representatives in India- for making flight reservations or any of the preferred travel agents. MAI also has code share agreements with Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Garuda Indonesia.

Greater Malabar Initiative (GMI) formed by industrialists, healthcare professionals and eminent persons to promote development of the Malabar region called upon Union Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju’s intervention for securing DGCA’s speedy approval for landing of wide-bodied jets at the Calicut airport – thereby strengthening  its international connectivity. A GMI team led by Chairman Dr. Azad Moopen submitted a memorandum to the Hon’ble Minister at his office in the capital. The appeal sought to point out that augmenting Calicut’s international connectivity  is critical for promoting exports and tourism in the region. Currently wide-bodied jets are not allowed to land in the airport hindering international connectivity, especially with Gulf countries. Final work on the runway is expected to be completed by March next year. Dr. Azad Moopen, Chairman of GMI said, ‘’Calicut’s economic development hinges on international connectivity. The withdrawal of wide-bodied aircraft services has caused considerable hardship to travellers from Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad districts. Insufficient cargo movement hasalso hit farmers and exporters who send perishable goods to the Gulf countries.We have requested Hon’ble Civil Aviation Minister for his support to ensure that the necessary DGCA approval is accelerated as soon as the final re-carpeting work is completed in March next year. We are hopeful of a speedy clearance.’’ Calicut Airport commenced operations in 1988 with a short 6,000 feet runway. After four years, the runway length was extended to 9380 feet to enable bigger aircrafts to operate to Calicut connecting with Gulf countries through erstwhile Indian Airlines. In 2006, more international flights including Hajj flights were being operated using wide-bodied aircrafts. The airport was partially closed for re-carpeting and pavement strengthening since May 2015.

Under a new agreement with the IndoCanadian Bus Service, Jet will provide bus services to passengers wanting to connect between Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and the Punjabi city of Jalandhar. The service is also available to passengers in several other cities in north India, including Amritsar, Chandigarh and Mohali. “Our agreement with IndoCanadian Bus Service illustrates the way in which Jet Airways goes the extra mile to set new service standards for its guests,” said Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways. “We’re confident that the added convenience of being able to book their first-mile or last-mile connection to [and] from Jalandhar via Delhi, simultaneously with their flight booking.” IndoCanadian will operate the services using air-conditioned tourist coaches. The company will also provide free pick-up and drop-off services via shared cabs for passengers in other cities.

Bhutan Airlines will start flying to Bodh Gaya next month, catering to the Buddhist pilgrimage market. Effective 4 December 2016, the airline will fly from Bangkok and Paro to the UNESCO-listed heritage site in India’s Bihar state, which is said to be where the Lord Buddha gained enlightenment. Flights will operate twice a week (every Wednesday and Sunday) on a seasonal basis, ending on February 26, 2017. A 122-seat Airbus A319 aircraft will be deployed on the route.