Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

Switzerland Tourism invites the travel trade to attend an exclusive webinar highlighting the Interlaken Holiday Region on August 17 at 3pm. Nestled between the lakes Thun and Brienz, and surrounded by the iconic Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau mountains, this popular holiday destination is a starting point for numerous excursions and adventure activities. Attend all webinars for a chance to win a trip to Switzerland in 2024! For more information, write to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or 9650196532.

Espire Hospitality Group announced the opening of its second property under their upscale brand ‘Country Inn Premier’ in Uttarakhand, ‘Country Inn Premier – The Prominence, Dehradun’. Nestled in the foothills of majestic Himalayas, this upscale hotel offers a perfect blend of contemporary aesthetics and enriching experiences, coupled with the brand’s signature heartfelt hospitality. Strategically located on the Dehradun – Mussoorie road, overlooking the serene Malsi Forest and the awe-inspiring Himalayan range, ‘Country Inn Premier – The Prominence, Dehradun’ enjoys excellent connectivity to major Indian cities including Delhi NCR, Punjab, Lucknow, Mumbai, Gujarat and Bangalore. The hotel features 42 well-appointed modern rooms and suites, thoughtfully categorized into Classic Rooms, Club Premier Rooms, and Premier Suites. Guests opting for Club Premier rooms and Suites can enjoy exclusive Club Premier privileges, including early check-in and late check-out, ironing facility, complimentary minibar once during their stay, discount on food and beverages, and much more. Akhil Arora, Chief Executive Officer, Espire Hospitality Group commented on this important opening, “We are thrilled to open our second ‘Country Inn Premier’ hotel in the state capital of Uttarakhand. Dehradun has significantly evolved with modern times while maintaining its vintage charm. The place is the hotspot of many activities, hidden attractions and ardent foodies which makes it a perfect destination for our new launch. We eagerly await the opportunity to welcome guests to enjoy our offerings and experience the heartfelt hospitality we are renowned for.”

Café Akasa, the onboard meal service of Akasa Air, introduced a special Onam meal for travellers to savour the authentic flavours of this southern Indian festival and enjoy traditions from across India even while flying. As an ode to this custom, the meal comprises of regional favourites such as spicy kadala curry wrap in malabari paratha which is a black Bengal gram curry in a griddled fried layered Paratha. This is served with traditional delicacies – Neiappam and Ada Pradhaman along with a choice of beverage. The special festive meal is available from 1st August to 31st August, 2023 across the Akasa Air network and can be pre-booked on Akasa Air’s website or mobile app as well as with select online travel agents (OTAs). Like the traditional onam meal, this specialty has had an emphasis on nutrition and richness nutritional values and the highest standards of hygiene and quality. As a part of Café Akasa’s refreshed menu, customers can now expect an expansive choice of over 60 meal options including healthy, fusion, festive and gourmet meals that cater to a wide array of diets and palettes. Since beginning operations in August 2022, Akasa Air has introduced specially curated meal options that are motivated by regional specialties connected with celebrations during popular festivals and special occasions like Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, Diwali, Christmas, Makar Sankranti, Valentine’s Day, Holi, Eid al-Fitr, Mother’s Day, International Yoga Day, and Monsoon. The airline also provide a pre-selection of cakes on its regular menu for flyers who want to celebrate the birthdays of their loved ones in the skies.

Jazeera Airways today declare financial results for the first half (1H) of 2023 with total revenues up 26.1% to KD97.85 million and operating profits of KD9.35 million. Net profit for the period was KD6.27 million compared to KD 7.38 million for the same period last year. Profits for the last year also included a “one-off” gain of KD1.73 million from the airline’s sale and lease-back of engines. With a strong demand for air travel, Jazeera’s passenger traffic showed a 40.9% increase to 2.1 million for the first half of the year. Load factors also increased by 4.1% to reach 78.1% in H1. Announcing the results, Marwan Boodai, Chairman, Jazeera Airways said: “As we share our positive results for the first half of 2023, we remain optimistic and confident of our performance. Demand for travel is high and we are pleased to see that reflected in the increased passenger traffic as well as consistent load factors. We have introduced several new and attractive destinations and look forward to launching others in the next half of the year. While doing so, we continue to focus on maximizing our operational and financial performance through different products, services, and initiatives, in the best interest of all our shareholders, partners and customers.” The Jazeera Airways Board of Directors approved an interim cash dividend of 28 fils per share, a total of KD6.16 million for H1 that reflects the company’s strong cash position. Second Quarter 2023 Review In the second quarter of the year, Jazeera considerably expanded its network by adding direct flights to Moscow, Samarkand, Larnaca, Shiraz, Belgrade, Tirana and Tivat. The airline also became the first GCC carrier to fly direct from Kuwait to …

Highlighting about future plans of Summit Hotels, Sumit Mitruka, CEO & Founder, “Our plans are focused on extending our presence beyond hill stations. We are expanding ourselves to major leisure destinations. We are delighted to bring our properties to diverse destinations, combining luxury with authentic local experiences.”   

Bain & Company in their latest report on the Air Travel Forecast to 2030 titled The Recovery and the Carbon Challenge highlights that Asia intraregional air travel is anticipated to rise by 61% as compared to 2019.  It stated inflationary pressures are dampening aviation outlook.   

Sharing details about upcoming educational tours, Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, GPS, says, “Within India, we have been doing tours in Ladakh. This year, after a gap of almost 3 years, we are looking at conducting it in South Africa, which is scheduled on 1st-15th Dec, 2023 for about 60-odd buyers

The current International Air Transport Association (IATA) report announced that the domestic demand for Indian airlines increased 14.8% in June and was 1.3% higher than in June 2019. Post-COVID recovery momentum continued in June for passenger markets.

Air India launched a new logo on Thursday as a part of their rebranding step after being acquired by Tata Group. The new logo and colour scheme were unveiled at an event in Delhi. N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, launching the new logo during the event said, “signifies limitless possibilities.” The new colour scheme retains the bold red lettering of Air India but in a different font. The colour scheme also features a patch of red on the underbelly of planes with Air India written in white. The new look also re-imagines the iconic Indian window shape, historically used by Air India, into a gold window frame that becomes central to the new brand design system. It symbolises a ‘Window of Possibilities’. Subsequently, it was announced that Air India and Vistara, another subsidiary of Tata Sons, would be merged to create a more unified entity. This merger is projected to be completed by March 2024.

While airlines are beginning to operate international flights to and from Manohar International Airport (MIA), foreign travellers have been in for a rude shock on their arrival to learn that eVisa facilities are not available at MIA. According to the authorised portal for Visa Application to India, Goa has been included in the list of 29 designated international airports, through which eVisa holders can travel. However, it has not been clearly specified in the portal that only the Dabolim International Airport is an authorised immigration checkpost through which eVisa holders can travel.