Category Archives: Aviation

Building on its robust presence in India, Lufthansa today announced the introduction of two new routes – Munich to Bangalore and Frankfurt to Hyderabad.  The new flights on the Munich-Bangalore route will be operational three times a week, with the first flight scheduled on November 3, 2023. The flights from Frankfurt-Hyderabad will commence operations in the coming winter and combined these flights represent the first new routes in Asia Pacific for the Group. This expansion underlines Lufthansa’s long-term vision to strengthen its footprint in the Indian market by catering to the growing population of young working professionals. The brand intends to make the best of India’s untapped growth opportunity – especially in the post-COVID era – by providing consumers with the most premium travel experiences during their international trips, be it for business or leisure. With more than 50 weekly services to India, the Lufthansa Group tradition in India dates back nearly a century, and these new routes will strength its position as the leading European airline group on the subcontinent.

CAPA India has said that the aviation policy should plan for airport capacity that will last for a generation and beyond, and which is developed ahead of demand. “Delhi and Mumbai need to start planning for 3rd airports, for which land acquisition should commence immediately,” it was stated at its 35th Research Briefing.

Passenger Load Factor (PLF) for leading airlines like Interglobe Aviation, Spicejet, Air India, and GoFirst has dipped. DGCA revealed Air India’s market share for March dipped from 8.9% to 8.8%; while Spicejet’s went from 7.1% to 6.4%. Vistara saw a jump from 8.7% to 8.9% and Indigo’s went from 55.9% to 56.8%.

Global airline capacity will be lower than expected this year and stay constrained until 2025 at the earliest, warned IATA director general Willie Walsh, due to delays in new aircraft deliveries and a lack of availability of spare parts. “I can’t see anything really improving or significantly improving probably until 2025 at the earliest and it may even go beyond that,” Walsh said.

Vinod Kannan, CEO, Vistara, has said that “While ideal fleet size depends on context and goals, Vistara aims to increase its international capacity from 25 per cent to 40 per cent and reach a fleet size of 70 in the next year.”

Amit Ray, Director India, DACH markets & Italy and Head of Global Corporate and Strategic Sales at LOT Polish Airlines, has said that LOT Polish Airlines and India are a good fit. “Our engagement in India has been fruitful and we strongly believed in the Indian market from the beginning,” he said.

Air India starts flight from London Gatwick Airport. This will see 12 flights departing every week to Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Kochi and Goa. Campbell Wilson, MD & CEO, Air India, said, “We are pleased to be launching services from London Gatwick, enabling our passengers to have even more choice on how they enter India.”

Airindiaexpress.Com, the unified customer interface of Air India Express and AirAsia India – the two subsidiary airlines of Air India, has witnessed a surge of visitors within days of launch with the platform, contributing over 25% of international flight revenue on the first day itself, making it the dominant single source of reservations.

Sharing details about increase in air connectivity between India and Israel, Sammy Yahia, Consul, Tourism Affairs, Israel Ministry of Tourism, India & Philippines, says, “We are aiming to cross the 1,00,000 mark this year in terms of visitor arrivals from India. We will have two carriers flying directly from BOM-TLV which will be EL AL Airlines and Air India. it will be approx. a five-hour direct flight, three times a week. Moreover, Air India will be flying from BLR as well from October 2023. Arkia will also be resuming operations via Goa and Kochi directly to TLV and Israir announced they want to start operations in India too. With this increase in air connectivity, tourism from India is expected to multiply.”

Changi Airport Group (CAG), Singapore Airlines (SIA), and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) re-launched the Free Singapore Tour today after a two-year hiatus due to Covid-19. Three of the existing tours available since pre-Covid-19 – the City Sights Tour, Heritage Tour, and Jewel Tour – have been refreshed to include new points of interest. A brand-new Changi Precinct Tour will introduce travellers to the interesting sights and sounds of the eastern region surrounding Singapore Changi Airport. Each tour lasts 2.5 hours and will be available daily, with plans to progressively increase to nine tours a day. With transit and transfer passengers accounting for about 30% of passenger traffic at Changi Airport pre-pandemic, the tour was first introduced in 1987 to enhance the airport’s attractiveness as a transfer hub and to entice transit and transfer passengers to visit Singapore as a holiday destination. In 2019, over 80,000 passengers went on the Free Singapore Tour. The top markets were India, Australia, and Indonesia, with Indian and Australian travellers making up more than one third of the total participants. New Changi Precinct Tour to showcase eastern Singapore The Changi Precinct Tour is a new itinerary that will bring participants to the eastern part of Singapore to visit local community spaces such as the Tampines heartland, and to admire the rustic charms of Changi Village and Changi Beach. It offers a glimpse of how local residents live, and tells the tale of Singapore’s history on this part of the island, away from the usual hustle and bustle of Singapore’s city centre.   Refreshed itineraries to offer travellers new experiences At the Jewel Tour, in addition to visiting popular attractions like the Shiseido Forest Valley …