Category Archives: Aviation

Ras Al Khaimah has signed an agreement with leading Indian tour operator, Cox & Kings, to strengthen its relationship and expand its presence in the Indian market, which is one of the fastest outbound markets in the region. This agreement will focus on promoting the various aspects of Ras Al Khaimah and popularize it in the Indian market. The agreement, which was signed today at Arabian Travel Market (ATM), is aimed at increasing tourism arrivals to Ras Al Khaimah from India. The partnership, which will take effect from May 1st 2016, will also introduce Ras Al Khaimah to the Indian market through specially created itineraries, creation of stand alone tourism products for the emirate and market the destination via a series of campaigns and training programmes for Cox & Kings staff. India has already cemented its position as one of the emirate’s leading source markets with an 80 percent increase in visitors year-on-year (2014-2015). Haitham Mattar, CEO of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority said: “Following our revised strategies and Vision to reach one million visitors by the end of 2018, we will be announcing a number of partnerships such as this. Air India Express has already launched new routes to the emirate and our agreement with Cox & Kings will ensure we’re making the destination as accessible as ever. We are proud to begin a long relationship with such an established travel company within one of our top source markets. India offers an important contribution towards our overall visitor figures and we keen to progress this opportunity to target Indian travellers even further.” Ashutosh Mehere, Sr. Vice President, Alliances & Special Projects, Cox & Kings Ltd., said: “Ras Al …

Munich Airport’s new satellite terminal was launched on April 26, 2016. The new facility will give Munich Airport 27 new gate positions where passengers can board aircraft directly without bus transportation. With the new satellite facility, the capacity of Terminal 2, which is used by Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners, will be increased by 11 million to 36 million passengers per year.Germany’s first midfield terminal – Europe’s only five-star airport is again setting new standards for excellent service, expertise and sustainability. The satellite terminal is also a continuation of the joint venture between Munich Airport and Lufthansa. As in Terminal 2, the partners have joined forces to design, build and finance the new passenger handling facilityon a 60:40 basis. The Munich architectural firm Koch + Partner was selected for the design and general planning. 1,900 guests in attendance at official opening of the Munich Airport satellite terminal. As one of the world’s most advanced passenger facilities, the satellite terminal will offer passengers pleasant surroundings, a wide range of shopping and dining options, and outstanding travel convenience in attractive and spacious areas flooded with natural light. Passengers will also have five new Lufthansa lounges to choose from.

GoAir will become the first airline to offer non-stop daily flights connecting Mumbai – Leh effective April 13, 2016. As per its latest Summer Schedule 2016, the GoAir flight G8-386 will take off from Mumbai at 4:00hrs and arrive in Leh at 6:40hrs while the return flights will take off from Leh at 7:10hrs and arrive at Mumbai at 8:30hrs via Srinagar. Additionally, it has further strengthened its domestic network in the Summer Schedule 2016 with the addition of frequencies on the Mumbai – Patna and Mumbai – Lucknow routes effective April 17, 2016 to cater the holiday rush.

In a bid to boost regional connectivity, Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India, has introduced new flights on sectors Delhi-Jammu, Bengaluru-Vijayawada and Kolkata-Agartala. The flights on the Bengaluru –Vijayawada and Kolkata- Agartala sectors will start operating from April 1, 2016. More flights will be added to its existing Delhi – Jammu route starting April 07, 2016, fares starting Rs 6,545 (super value economy). The flights on the Bengaluru-Vijayawada- Bengaluru and Kolkata-Agartala-Kolkata routes will operate with ATR 42-320 aircraft. The flight AI9507/9508 will operate five days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) departing from Bengaluru at 1600 hrs and will arrive Vijayawada at 1730 hrs, fares starting Rs 6000. On the return, AI-9508 will depart from Vijayawada at 1750 hrs and reach Bengaluru at 1920 hrs. The evening frequency from Kolkata to Agartala will operate five days a week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday). AI9715 from Kolkata will depart at 1710 hrs and will reach Agartala at 1815 hrs. The return flight AI9716 will depart from Agartala at 1835 hrs and will reach Kolkata at 1940 hrs. From April 07, 2016, Air India will be operating additional frequency three days a week (Monday, Thursday and Sunday) on its existing route of Delhi-Jammu-Delhi. Operating with Bombardier jet aircraft, the flight AI9613 will depart from Delhi at 0745 hrs and will reach Jammu at 0900 hrs. The return flight from Jammu, AI9614 will depart at 0930 hrs and will touchdown at Delhi at 1045 hrs.

India’s low-cost airline GoAir has introduced two new flights from Patna to New Delhi and Bengaluru. The airline discontinued its Patna-Kolkata service and introduced these routes. According to Santosh Kumar, Assistant General Manager – Air Traffic Management, Patna airport, “The proposal submitted to director general of civil aviation (DGCA) was for additional eight flights. However, a few operators later withdrew their proposals.” With the introduction of the new routes, the Patna airport now operates 42 flights daily.

Tata Sons has entered into an agreement with Air Asia (India), Telestra Tradeplace and two of the directors of the Company, being S. Ramadorai (Chairman) and R. Venkataramanan, under which Tata Sons proposes to increase its stake in the company to 49 per cent from its existing stake of 41.06 per cent, by acquiring 7.94 per cent equity stake from Telestra. S. Ramadorai and R. Venkataramanan, in their individual capacity, propose to acquire 0.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent shareholding respectively of Telestra’s remaining 2 per cent equity stake in the Company. AirAsia Investment Ltd. will continue to hold its 49 per cent stake in the Company. The agreement was entered into on March 14, 2016, and the transaction is proposed to be completed in April, 2016, subject to completion of the relevant corporate approvals and processes.

The first aircraft of Jet Airways landed on Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Effective March 27, India’s premier international airline will operate three daily non-stop flights from Amsterdam to Mumbai, Delhi and Toronto. The airline offers all inclusive return fare (Tickets purchased on or after Mar 1, 2016) on Delhi – Amsterdam – Delhi of Rs 1,50,001 (Première) and Rs 49,822 (Economy) and on the Mumbai – Amsterdam – Mumbai sector all inclusive return fare in Première Rs 2,41,697 and in Economy Rs 54,323. For Première, travel must commence on or after Mar 27, 2016, and Economy, travel must commence between Mar 27, 2016 and Apr 8, 2016. Before the first departure of Jet Airways flight 9W 233 to Delhi, a traditional prayer ritual was performed. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol will be the new European gateway of Jet Airways. Together with codeshare partners KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Air Lines, Jet Airways will offer one stop codeshare access between India and 30 destinations across Europe and 11 destinations in the United States and Canada. Customers flying via Mumbai and Delhi will also be able to access Jet Airways’ network of 48 destinations within India as well as destinations in the Indian subcontinent and Asia. Naresh Goyal, Chairman of Jet Airways states, “Finally, we have arrived in the Netherlands. Today marks the start of our new service connecting three continents, together with our codeshare partners KLM and Delta Air Lines. We are thrilled to operate daily flights from Amsterdam to Mumbai, Delhi and Toronto and thereby facilitate trade and co-operation between India and the Netherlands”.

Jet Airways has said that its passengers in Brussels have been accommodated at four locations by the local authorities and its staff has been positioned in all these locations for any help, a statement issued by the airline said. Brussels airport continues to be closed for operations but Jet Airways is co-ordinating with the Belgian authorities to make alternate travel plans for its guests and crew in Brussels. It is also working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the India Embassy in Brussels to facilitate the passage of its staff and guests.

SpiceJet continues to record highest passenger load factor among Indian carriers with 92.3 per cent for the month of February 2016, according to statistics released by DGCA. SpiceJet has achieved above 90 per cent passenger load factor (PLF) for 10 successive months. The airline has also bettered its On-time Performance (OTP) for the month of February 2016 with 77.7 per cent as compared to 74.7 per cent during January 2016. OTP has been computed for its operations across the four metro airports of Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. SpiceJet operated 293 daily flights and carried 9.76 lakh passengers during the month thereby registering a market share of 13.1 per cent. Shilpa Bhatia, Sr. VP, Commercial, SpiceJet, said, “This achievement is recognition of the faith and confidence our customers have reposed on us and at the same time reflects the commitment and persistent effort of entire SpiceJet staff.” Flight cancellations have also declined steadily over the past few months for the airline, with the cancellation rate for February 2016 being just 0.35 per cent.

Bengaluru International Airport greeted its 100 millionth passenger at the Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru (KIAB) reaching a historic milestone in less than eight years of operations. The 100 millionth passenger, Vinay Kulkarni arriving from Mumbai on Jet Airways 9w394 was greeted by the airport’s management. G.V. Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, Bengaluru International Airport, says, “This is a very special moment for all of us. The achievement comes within eight years of operations and is a testimony of our ability to meet the rapid demand and growth of the domestic and international air traffic. This recognition would not have been possible without the collective showcase of passion and perseverance of the KIAB workforce to create an unparalleled experiences for our passengers.” Bengaluru International Airport determined the 100 millionth passenger after it created an algorithm that was based on actual passenger numbers from the start of airport operations in May 2008 to March 2016. KIAB, is India’s third busiest airport with the highest passenger traffic in South India. Surpassing the 100 millionth passenger milestone is a validation of the airport’s reputation as being the region’s largest hub. In March 2015 KIAB was classified as a mid-sized airport when it clocked 15 million passengers. The airport further experienced a positive growth in 2015 with 18.1 million passengers transiting through the airport at the end of the calendar year. On an average approximately 52,000 passengers transit through KIAB every day