Category Archives: Aviation

Oman Air has revealed its newest range of luxury on-board amenity kits in collaboration with high fragrance House, Amouage. Featuring a bespoke selection of fragrance and skincare products, the finely crafted kits draw inspiration  from Oman’s nature and heritage, reflected in their soothing sand and cocoa tones. Available for guests in premium cabins, exceptional attention  has been given to the materials, ensuring their enduring appeal for in-flight use and beyond. With exclusive designs for men and women, the First Class kits feature iconic Amouage fragrances, Epic Man and Epic Woman, with a luxurious assortment of hand  &  body  lotion,  facial moisturiser and lip balm, as well as socks, eye mask, hand cleansing gel, mouthwash and 3M earplugs. The kit for Business Class passengers is a functional unisex folio design containing Amouage fragrance, Meander,   facial moisturiser and lip balm, in addition  to socks, eye mask, hand cleansing gel, mouthwash and 3M earplugs. Designed with sustainability as a key consideration, the stylish pouches are ideal for reuse and repurpose beyond the flight. In addition, all unnecessary packaging has been removed to ensure minimal waste. With a focus on unique products and high-quality service, Oman Air has garnered a global reputation  for exceptional in-flight  hospitality, marked by a string of awards, including most recently the 2024 Five-Star Major Airline rating by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX).

Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia, informed that there were 74 airports in the country in first 65 years, but now 149 airports/heliports/water aerodromes are now functional. He added that the viability gap funding provided for UDAN scheme has helped 1.3 crore people travel by plane. “It is the government’s endeavour that by the year 2030, India will have 42 crore people travelling by aeroplane,” he added.

Around 160 aircraft in India are currently grounded, the majority due to supply chain challenges, reveals CAPA. This figure could cross 200 aircraft by 31-Mar-2024, or close to 25% of the projected fleet on the register as of that date. This is undoubtedly compromising traffic growth in the short term. Despite these constraints, domestic traffic in the first 8 months of FY2024 is up around 20% yoy, and international by around 25%. Both are expected to exceed their pre-pandemic highs this year. A performance that reflects the resilience of Indian aviation. However, with supply chain risks expected to continue into FY2025, there could be a further impact not only on traffic, but also on financials.    

With the fifth edition of the Emirates Travel Agents Cricket Tournament 2023 underway, the teams are getting for the final match that will be held on Sunday, December 10 in Mumbai. It is one of the most awaited cricket tournament for agents and frontline staff over the past few years and this year saw a total of 18 teams and over 400 registered players/agents. The prizes include eight trophies, Man of the Match award for Semi Finals and Finals, Best Batsmen, Best Bowler, and Player of the Tournament. Thomas Cook was the winner of the last tournament.

Vistara, India’s finest full-service carrier and a joint venture of Tata group and Singapore Airlines, declare the addition of Doha (Qatar), its 50th destination, to its growing network. The airline will be operating direct, 4x weekly flights between Mumbai and Doha, starting from 15 December 2023 using its A321neo aircraft. Bookings for the flights are being progressively opened on all channels, including Vistara’s website, mobile app, and through travel agents. Mr. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara said, “We are thrilled to introduce direct flights between Mumbai and Doha – the capital of Qatar and a burgeoning financial hub in the Middle East. Given the city’s growing economic significance, this move not only further solidifies our presence in the Gulf region but also enhances our network offering from our Mumbai hub. We hope that our customers will appreciate having the option of flying with India’s best airline on this route.” Vistara will accept all eligible customers meeting visa/entry requirements in both countries, as specified by the respective government bodies. Vistara strongly encourages its customers to fully understand these guidelines before making their bookings. Vistara is India’s highest-rated airline on Skytrax and TripAdvisor, and it has been the winner of several ‘Best Airline’ awards, besides being lauded for world-class cabin cleanliness and upholding high safety standards. The only Indian carrier to feature amongst World’s Top 20 Airlines, Vistara has been named ‘16th Best Airline’ globally, while also being recognized as the ‘Best Airline in India and South Asia’ for the third time in a row, ‘Best Airline Staff in India and South Asia’ for the fifth consecutive year, ‘Best Cabin Crew in India and South Asia’ for the third time in …

Vistara, India’s finest full-service carrier and a joint venture of the Tata group and Singapore Airlines, inaugurated daily, non-stop flights between Delhi and Bali. The inaugural flight, operated on Vistara’s A321LR aircraft, commenced from Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi at 00:30 Hours (IST) on 01 December 2023 and arrived at Denpasar International Airport, Bali (DPS) at 11:05 Hours (WITA). Vistara’ s A321LR with three-class seating configuration is distinguished for its exceptional features including contemporary interiors, in-seat power/USB charging ports, state-of-the-art In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system, live TV and onboard Wi-Fi to accentuate the overall in-flight experience for customers. Mr. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “Bali is one of the most coveted holiday havens for travellers in India and we are excited to be the only airline currently to launch direct connectivity between Delhi and Bali. Given the close commercial and cultural ties that India and Indonesia share, Bali has also rapidly grown to be a key destination for corporate travel and MICE. We are excited to bring the Best Airline in India and South Asia to Bali and are confident that Vistara with its world-class product and services will be a much-preferred choice for customers travelling on this new route.” Mr. Faik Fahmi expressed PT Angkasa Pura I (AP1) President Director,  enthusiasm and optimism regarding the opening of this route. “We welcome Vistara to Bali. After a long time, finally today Bali is connected directly with India via the inaugural flight operated by Vistara. This deserves to be recorded in the history books of AP1; this long-awaited flight route is officially operational today.” SCHEDULE OF FLIGHTS BETWEEN DELHI AND BALI EFFECTIVE 01 DECEMBER 2023 Sector Flight No. Days of …

Domestic traffic forecast for FY2024 has been revised downwards slightly by CAPA from 160mn to 155mn airline passengers, due to the sudden grounding of GoFirst, scaling down of SpiceJet operations, greater focus by IndiGo on international routes, more aircraft on the ground than expected, due to supply chain issues becoming more, rather than less serious, and unexpected weakness in demand during October and first half November.

The Global Quarterly Trend Report by FCM Consulting listed a major aviation takeaway for Q3-2023, which is that fuel, cost recovery, sustainability and fleet upgrades will continue to impact the airlines. 3 per cent -7 per cent rise in fares is predicted by the report.

Sharing its data on the global top 10 busiest domestic airline routes in November 2023, OAG has found that the Mumbai – New Delhi route ranks tenth on the list with 596,440 seats in total on the route. This is the only Indian airline route that figures on this list. Number one is Jeju International – Seoul Gimpo route with 1,200,905 route.

Oman Air has been awarded the 2024 Five-Star Major Airline rating by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) for the fourth consecutive year. The APEX Five Star and Four Star Airline Awards, formerly APEX Official Airline Ratings™, were created based on neutral, third-party passenger feedback and insights gathered through APEX’s partnership with TripIt from Concur, the world’s highest-rated travel-organising app. Nearly one million flights were rated by passengers across more than 600 airlines from around the world using a five-star scale, and are independently certified by a professional external auditing company. The award is the latest in a string of accolades Oman Air has received from APEX, including the 2022 Passenger Choice Award® for Best Seat Comfort in the Middle East, as well as the Five-Star Major Airline rankings for 2023, 2022 and 2021. The airline was also recently named ‘Best Airline Staff in the Middle East’ at the Skytrax 2023 World Airline Awards, a testament to its unwavering commitment to setting new benchmarks for guest experience, year on year.