Category Archives: Aviation

Air India has announced orders for 470 Boeing and Airbus passenger jets. It is buying 220 Boeing aircraft valued at $34bn and 250 passenger jets from Airbus. Air India is seeking to reinvent itself by expanding its operations and modernising its fleet to tap surging demand for affordable air travel. India is going to be the world’s third-largest market in the aviation sector,” Modi said, adding that over the next 15 years, it is estimated India will need more than 2,000 aircraft.

flynas, the Saudi air carrier, announced that its passengers can apply for an electronic Stopover Visa through its website. The “Stopover Visa” is issued after purchasing the airline ticket, and the validity of the visa extends to three months and the stay in the Kingdom up to 4 days. The visa application will be passed automatically to the unified national visa platform at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to process and issue the digital visa immediately and send it to the beneficiary via e-mail. Expecting that the new service will contribute to increasing the visitors to the Kingdom, including Umrah and Pilgrim visitors, tourists, and businessmen, Bandar Almohanna, CEO and Managing Director of flynas, said, “the Saudi Vision 2030 has laid the foundations for cooperation among the regulatory and executive sectors on one hand, and with the private sector on the other hand, to serve the Kingdom’s goals in all sectors. Today, we see a practical application of this integration and cooperation by enabling the national carriers to facilitate a request for issuing a Stopover visa, which facilitates procedures of obtaining a Stopover visa for whoever wishes to visit the Kingdom”. Almohanna stressed that this service will contribute to strengthening the Kingdom’s position as a global hub for travel and business by facilitating quick business visits, making the Kingdom a point of contact between countries and continents. He indicated that the new service comes in line with the civil aviation strategy to reach 330 million passengers and link the Kingdom’s cities with 250 global destinations and 100 million tourists annually. Thousands of tourists are expected to benefit from the Stopover visa to attend the various cultural and entertainment events in …

SriLankan Airlines will start operations from additional three cities in India, including Ahmedabad, to lure more Indian travellers to the island nation. Currently, it flies out of nine Indian cities, revealed Richard Nuttall, CEO, SriLankan Airlines.

Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet, has said, “The budget is growth oriented and yet prudent and responsible. Coming as it does in a year when India has assumed the presidency of the G20, it is an object lesson in how an economy should be managed in a crisis.”

Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation, has said that tourism and civil aviation are two sides of the same coin. “These two sectors are conjoined twins in terms of seeing development of each other’s sector,” he claimed.

Campbell Wilson, CEO, Air India, has shared that Air India has completed one year of returning to the TATA Group. An infographic on the achievements in the last year, which claims that the airline’s average daily revenue has doubled in the last one year.

Sharing his views on high airfares, Rakesh Narayanan, Vice President, Regional GM (Asia Pacific), Travel Solutions Airline Sales, Sabre, says, “We see strong airfares for domestic and international flights, including for leisure travel, which tends to book in advance, and for close-in corporate travel. It is also important to note that the average fare disparity between purchase dates is very small. Historically, there has been a more pronounced difference in the average fares based on advance purchase periods. Airlines are continuing to face challenges in bringing capacity back. However, higher air fares encourage carriers to increase the number of seats they plan to fly. We’re already seeing this with the large US network carriers, and we expect to see this trend elsewhere globally. Currently, we do remain in a capacity-constrained period with higher-than-normal fares, but it’s important to note that consumers remain eager to fly despite these challenges. The good news is that airlines and airports are working aggressively to improve their operational throughput. They want to increase aircraft utilization and seat capacity and, as capacity meets demand, we expect fares to rationalise.”

THAI Smile Airways continues expanding international routes by launching Jaipur – Bangkok flight to underscore its aviation standards and excellent service. The new flight aims at accommodating those targeted groups who are looking for convenient travelling from a full service airline, while opening a new window of adventure for the Thai passengers to explore the Pink City of India. It also offers exclusive travelling experience for Indian passengers with the best services. The A320-200 Airbus will fly directly from Jaipur to Bangkok where passengers can continue travel connections to other cities in Thailand and other countries conveniently. The service flight operates 4 flights a week and starts on January 5, 2023 onwards. Thamanoon Kuprasert, Acting Chief Executive Officer of THAI Smile Airways, a subsidiary airline of THAI Airways International Public Company (THAI), stated that “We are proud and ready to reintroduce the another route to India, that is between Jaipur – Bangkok. This is to underscore our proactive strategy in expanding international routes while encouraging passengers from both countries to explore the new travelling experience. Apart from being the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, with more than 3 million of populations, Jaipur is globally recognized as the Pink City of India. There are plenty of interesting tourist attractions, especially for the art and cultural activities and resources. Opening this new route is to answer to the demands of the Indian tourists who love the charming of Thailand. The excellent services are provided by our flight attendants who are committed to serving the passengers with humble and smile, which is the unique of Thainess that is recognized worldwide.” Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand …

Shri Narayan Rao, Deputy MD, GMR Group and Chairman ASSOCHAM National Council on Civil Aviation, has said that Tier 1 and 2 airports should be privatised. “The government is planning another 25 airports in India for privatization. The most important stakeholders are airports,” he added.

Oman Air, the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman, has been named top in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) for punctuality. As per the results of the 2022 On-Time Performance Review by global aviation analytics leader, Cirium, the airline’s on-time arrivals stood at 91.38%, almost 5% ahead of the region’s second highest ranking airline. The annual Cirium On-Time Performance Review is considered the global gold standard for airline   and airport performance, its results based on data collected from more than 600 sources of real-time flight information. It defines on-time flights as those that arrive within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival. Captain Nasser bin Ahmed Al Salmi, Chief Operating Officer at Oman Air, said, “During 2022, the global operational environment has been challenging, with many airports affected by disruptions and resource challenges, as well as the lingering effects of Covid-19. Despite such a backdrop, we have continued to maintain an excellent service record. To have achieved this recognition for on-time performance against some of the world’s most reputable airlines is a testament to the dedication and hard work of all Oman Air staff across our global network. As we enter into 2023, we look forward to continuing to pursue excellence in all elements of our guest experience, from punctuality to convenience, our products and services, and of course our signature Omani hospitality.” Continuing to position itself as a major international carrier, Oman Air has set several benchmarks for quality, comfort and hospitality in the last year, earning itself the 2023 Five-Star Major Airline rating by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX), among others. Evolving to meet the demands of a rapidly shifting market, the airline has made …