Category Archives: Aviation

een Travelers from the United Arab Emirates will now be able to fly directly to Delhi four times a week. Air Arabia, Abu Dhabi’s first low-cost carrier, has announced the launch of a new route to Delhi, India’s capital city, beginning November 24. Since the commencement of Air Arabia Abu Dhabi’s service from Abu Dhabi International Airport in July 2020, the new route is the carrier’s 16th. This will enhance the connectivity between India and the United Arab Emirates for travellers from both countries.

Children under the age of five years are excluded from both pre- and post-arrival COVID-19 testing in India, according to the Health Ministry, due to increased vaccination around the globe and the changing nature of the pandemic. If they show signs of coronavirus infection upon arrival or during the home quarantine period, they must be tested and treated according to the established protocol.

As per IATA, the number of unruly passengers has more than doubled since 2020, and the trend is expected to continue in 2021. Incidents have even caused flights to be rerouted, including one from Paris to Delhi. Between January and early October 2021, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) recorded more than 4,600 incident reports in the US, with 72 percent of them, refusing to wear a mask. Some 849 of these reports have been handled, compared to a yearly average of 142 over the last decade.

Indian tourists will be some of the most desirable travellers, given India’s growing economy, young population and rising middle class, according to GlobalData. The data and analytics company notes that the country is projected to reach record levels of 29 million outbound trips by 2025 – a buoyant outlook considering the strains of COVID-19.

Maldivian airlines first flight departed from Delhi to Male’. It’s a non-stop flight with Economy Class and Business Class configuration. Maldivian, the national carrier of the Maldives, will be operating this service three times a week with an Airbus A320 aircraft. For Business Class travellers, the airline also offers access to lounges at airport, exclusive check-in counter and generous seats with comfortable recline and seat-pitch.

Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation inaugurated the IndiGo flight between Kanpur – Bengaluru. Scindia said that this new route will not only enhance connectivity to/from Kanpur but will also promote trade, commerce and tourism between these cities. Flights between Kanpur and Mumbai & Hyderabad have also started. In addition, he recently inaugurated first direct flights on Indore-Prayagraj, Indore-Jodhpur, Indore-Surat routes, in a bid to boost regional connectivity.

Etihad Airways hosted a meeting to explore how the market is opening and what prospects exist for the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022. The meeting was attended by top clients at the MD and CEO levels. Also in attendance were, Martin Drew, Senior Vice President, Global Sales, and Murli Krishnan, Vice President, Revenue, both from Abu Dhabi; Neerja Bhatia, Vice President for the Indian Subcontinent; and Salil Nath, Regional Sales Manager, North Central India, Bangladesh, and Seychelles, both from India.

The next three to five years could see failures of multiple airlines that do not have the financial strength to invest in decarbonisation, says the CAPA-Envest Airline Sustainability Benchmarking Report 2021. “Climate change is a critical challenge, and climate inaction is a critical mistake. We have partnered with Envest Global to assess the impact on airlines of increased pressure to reduce aircraft carbon emissions, and to assist them in understanding global trends and meeting the growing expectations of stakeholders,” says CAPA Chairman Emeritus Peter Harbison.

Sharing his perspective on the new entrant in the LCC segment, Gavin Eccles, Managing Partner, GE Consulting & Advisory, says, “Key for Akasa Air is to differentiate through ancillaries.  Make ancillaries a key part of the travel proposition.  And, what that means is moving beyond just ancillary development with seats, boarding, etc., but to really look at the total travel proposition.  One area growing well at the moment is an in-house tour operator that allows the airline to sell the leisure proposition via a controlled inventory system. Could we see Akasa Air Holidays?”

Sharing his perspective on the new entrant in the LCC segment, Gavin Eccles, Managing Partner, GE Consulting & Advisory, says, “Key for Akasa Air is to differentiate through ancillaries.  Make ancillaries a key part of the travel proposition.  And, what that means is moving beyond just ancillary development with seats, boarding, etc., but to really look at the total travel proposition.  One area growing well at the moment is an in-house tour operator that allows the airline to sell the leisure proposition via a controlled inventory system. Could we see Akasa Air Holidays?”