Category Archives: Aviation

The Union Civil Aviation ministry has decided to increase the aviation security fee (ASF) for embarking domestic and international passengers with effect from September 1. The aviation security fee has been hiked by Rs 10 to Rs 160 from Rs 150 for domestic passengers and to $5.20 from $4.85 for international passengers. The fee has been increased in view of rise in cost of security at airports and enhanced security deployment requirements.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for leasing out Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram airports, which are currently run by Airports Authority of India (AAI) through Public Private Partnership (PPP). Adani Enterprises had won the bid last year to operate, manage and develop these airports for next 15 years.  

Vistara will operate special, non-stop flights between Delhi and London Heathrow from 28 August to 30 September 2020, marking its foray in long-haul international operations. The flights have been introduced as part of the bilateral ‘transport bubble’ formed between India and the UK. During the period, Vistara will fly thrice a week between the two cities – on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The one-way fares from Delhi to London start from INR 29,912 in Economy Class, INR 44,449 in Premium Economy, and INR 77,373 in Business Class. Bookings for these flights are being progressively opened on all channels, including Vistara’s website, mobile app, and through travel agents. The airline will deploy its brand-new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft on the route to provide an exceptional, non-stop flying experience to travellers in both directions. The airline also received its second Dreamliner aircraft recently, further strengthening its fleet to operate more such long-haul flights and expand its international operations. Vistara is also seeking necessary regulatory approvals to soon operate similar special flights to Paris, France and Frankfurt, Germany. Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “As the world starts opening up in a phased manner following an extended global lockdown, these special flights give us the privilege of facilitating travel between the two countries. We are confident that travellers will appreciate having the choice of flying India’s only five-star airline to and from London, which also upholds the highest standards of safety and hygiene.” “The arrival of our second Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner further strengthens our fleet and underlines our commitment to expanding globally. There is an inherent need for an Indian carrier with a modern fleet, world-class cabin products and onboard service to …

In a series of tweets, Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation, announced that MoCA has proposed air bubbles with neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bhutan. “We are now taking these efforts forward and are negotiating with 13 more countries to establish such arrangements. These countries include Australia, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Nigeria, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. We continue to further strengthen the reach and scope of ‘Vande Bharat Mission’. Air travel arrangements are already in place with USA, UK, France, Germany, UAE, Qatar and Maldives,” he tweeted.

SpiceJet has started scheduled flights to Dubai from 5 Indian cities—– Delhi, Jaipur, Kozhikode, Madurai and Mumbai— starting August 17 till 31st August. The airline made the announcement through a Tweet, which said, “We are back, Dubai! SpiceJet is operating scheduled flights between Dubai and 5 Indian cities – Delhi, Jaipur, Kozhikode, Madurai and Mumbai, from 17th to 31st August 2020.” According to guidelines issued by SpiceJet, all types of visas will be acceptable for these flights. Flight schedule from India to Dubai City (origin)                                                         Dates Delhi to Dubai                   August 17,19,23,25,26,31,31 Jaipur to Dubai                 August 20,23,27,30 Kozhikode to Dubai         August 18,19,20,23,25,26,27,30,31 Madurai to Dubai             August 17, 19 Mumbai to Dubai             August 18,20,25,27 Flight schedule from Dubai to India City (Destination)             Dates Dubai to Delhi                    August 17,19,23,25,26,31,31 Dubai to Jaipur                  August 20,23,27,30 Dubai to Kozhikode         August 18,19,20,23,25,26,27,30,31 Dubai to Madurai             August 17, 19 Dubai to Mumbai             August 18,20,25,27

AirAsia India has become the most punctual airline for the month of July 2020 with an OTP of 98.1%, according to statistics released by DGCA for domestic airlines. Air Asia is followed by IndiGo (97.6%), Vistara (95.9%), SpiceJet (93.2%), Go Air (91.3%) and Air India (89.3%)

Airline and travel management company, InterGlobe Air Transport (IGAT) has launched its new website. IGAT provides diverse expertise across passenger and cargo sales, which will be showcased through a modern, well-organized, and easy to navigate website. It has been revamped to address the need of the current business landscape and is in-line with the company’s mission to provide its customers with the resources and tools to understand the experience and gain knowledge about the company’s three decades in the business. Commenting on the launch of the refurbished website, Siddhanta Sharma, President & CEO, InterGlobe Air Transport, said, “The business landscape has tremendously changed over the last few months with the global pandemic. In an era when every business is moving online, we felt there was a need to refurbish our digital presence to address the need of the hour.  We are delighted to launch our new user-friendly brand website, which will make all relevant information on our services easily accessible to our customers across the globe. By investing resources in the focused development of a modern age interface, we have ensured that the website allows prospective customers to find business-relevant information with the utmost ease. We are confident that this new website will not only serve our existing customers but also be instrumental in landing new business for the company.” The website is designed to deliver a smooth experience by enabling efficient navigation between passenger services, cargo services, car rental and other pages. InterGlobe Air Transport has worked with Multia – the design division of Multiversity Group  to completely revamp its website – www.interglobeairtransport.com

After successfully organizing & operating a number of repatriation flights in last two months, bringing back thousands of stranded Indians home, CapaJet has announced that it would be operating new flights beginning 19th August targeting key routes in South East Asia & Pacific. These flights will be operating from Jakarta, New Delhi, Port Moresby, Nadi and will touch down in Delhi, Singapore & Jakarta. These flights will operate in accordance with the directive released by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Department of Civil Aviation India to bring back stranded Indians in the country. The first flight will be between Delhi, Singapore & Jakarta on 19th August followed by another Jakarta-Delhi flight on 22nd August. While online bookings have already started and tickets are selling fast, there are limited seats available. All the necessary approvals to run these special flights have been granted by the authorities of relevant countries. The flight from Port Moresby to Delhi will depart on the 23rd of August while Nadi-New Delhi is scheduled for 24th August. CapaJet is committed to providing high-end service and comfortable flying experience to its flier. To ensure this, the company has selected Singapore Airlines and Garuda Airlines to operate its long-haul Asia and APAC repatriation mission. CapaJet has emerged as a preferred repatriation carrier in last few with months and we have received overwhelming praise for its past flights. Komal Seth, India Representative – CapaJet said, “At CapaJet, we are constantly engaging & collaborating with various governments to ensure that stranded citizens from around the world reach their home. All our missions have been very successful so far and these upcoming flights targeted in the pacific & Southeast Asian …

Under the air bubble scheme of the India and UK governments, Virgin Atlantic has announced to restart passenger flight to India from London Heathrow starting 2nd September from Delhi and 17th September from Mumbai. The airline plans to operate 3 flights a week from Delhi and four flights a week from Mumbai on 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. Virgin Atlantic have put in place additional measures at the airport and onboard to ensure the health and safety of its people and customers. On the development, Alex McEwan, Commercial Manager India, Virgin Atlantic commented, “This year marks 20 years of flying between UK and India and we’re delighted to resume our passenger services to this beautiful country. We know many of our customers will be excited to reunite with friends and family and we are looking forward to welcoming them on board, taking to the skies safely in true Virgin Atlantic style. The health and wellbeing of our customers and crew remain our number one priority and our teams have been working tirelessly to implement new measures and evolve our experience so customers can feel confident to book and fly with us. This includes social distancing at the airport and onboard wherever possible, meticulous cleaning of the aircraft and individual Health Packs for all customers, containing medical-grade face masks, hand sanitizer and surface wipes.” The airline will be offering a simplified hot food service in all cabins, redesigned to limit interaction, enclosed and controlled from preparation in a COVID-safe, monitored environment to the moment it is served. Economy and Premium Economy customers will now enjoy a “Fly safe, eat well” meal box, which incorporates a choice of two hot meals, cheese and biscuits and …

Recent statistics from ForwardKeys have claimed that Delhi-Mumbai and Mumbai-Delhi have been the top 2 most searched domestic routes in India in July 2020. However, In July 2019, Delhi-Goa and Goa-Delhi were the top 2 most searched routes.