Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

SpiceJet will start 28 daily flights connecting Mumbai and Delhi with other cities on its domestic network from April 26. “We hope these new flights will help minimise passenger inconvenience caused as a result shortage of capacity in the Indian aviation market,” said Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Sales and Revenue Officer, SpiceJet. In addition, SpiceJet has further announced new non-stop international flights to Hong Kong, Jeddah, Dubai, Colombo, Dhaka, Riyadh, Bangkok and Kathmandu from the Mumbai effective May-end. The new flights from Mumbai are on the Mumbai-Jaipur-Mumbai, Mumbai-Amritsar-Mumbai, Mumbai-Mangalore-Mumbai and Mumbai-Coimbatore-Mumbai sectors. The airline has also enhanced operations with additional frequencies from the city on the routes of Mumbai-Patna-Mumbai, Mumbai-Hyderabad-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kolkata-Mumbai. “SpiceJet will also introduce two new frequencies each from Delhi to Patna and Bengaluru besides three additional frequencies on the Mumbai-Delhi-Mumbai sector,” SpiceJet said. The new flights from Delhi to Mumbai and Bengaluru will operate from Terminal 2 and have a 4-digit flight number starting with 8. Additionally, 4 digit flight numbers starting with 6 would be used for flights departing and arriving at Mumbai’s Terminal 2. (Source: PTI)

The Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently released statistics on domestic airlines traffic where the number of domestic passengers was up by 5 per cent from Jan-March with IndiGo in the lead with 44 per cent market share. Passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-Mar 2019 were 354.53 lakhs as against 337.90 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering a growth of 4.92%.

Sarovar Hotels has announced the opening of Nirvana Sarovar Portico in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. Gorakhpur is Sarovar’s 5th city in Uttar Pradesh after Agra, Jhansi, Lucknow, Vaishali and Vrindavan. The hotel features 67 rooms including suites, with all modern amenities. The hotel also includes conferencing and banquet spaces and facilities for up to 350 guests. Ajay K. Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels, said “This beautiful, new hotel is a fantastic addition to our growing portfolio in Uttar Pradesh. With its significant development, Gorakhpur is an emerging destination with rising number of visitors from overseas and across the country. It is an important location for us to further tap the market and grow our business. This is set to be one of the best hotel in the city and will cater to the needs of Corporate, Groups, Leisure and Conferences.” Sarovar Hotels is targeting to have 100 hotels under its portfolio in the near future. Expected openings in 2019 include hotels in Bangalore, Bihar, Goa, Gujrat, Mumbai, Punjab, Tanzania, Uttarakhand.  

The Election Commission of India has levied a ban on serving alcohol after 11 pm which has pushed many tourists away. Concerned over the impact of the time restrictions and inflow of tourists, hoteliers in Goa submitted a representation to the Director, Department of Tourism seeking relief from the ECI on the same. The representation stressed on the need for a relaxation in timings as the tourism season is currently at its peak and is expecting a further surge for the weekend festivities. In November last year, the state government made a draft public for comments- Tourism Policy and Masterplan by KPMG Advisory Services and Tourism and Leisure Advisory Services. Post which, the stakeholders of tourism industry were upset since there wasn’t much for small-scale restaurateurs and businesses while the big players were taken more into consideration. In the future, tourism officials want the state to plan a roadmap in such a way that doesn’t hamper the inflow of tourists. Goa has concluded its polls on April 23 and Panaji assembly by-poll will be held on May 19.

The Tata group has signed a formal agreement with the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) for operating Taj Mansingh, New Delhi. Earlier, the hotel was given to the Tata group in 1978 on a 33-year lease, which ended in 2011. The company had since been given nine temporary extensions. The Tata group has retained the lease at a license fees of Rs 7.03 crore per month including GST. Earlier, they were paying Rs 3.94 crore per month as license fees. From April 11, NDMC will get 32.5 per cent more revenue as against about 17.25 per cent. “This is an achievement for us that we could finally plan the public auction, settle the legal litigation, auction the property and finally implement it on the ground,” a senior NDMC official said. (Source: PTI)

Radisson Hotel Group is on track to reach the landmark of opening its 100th hotel in India this year. New hotels set to open within the next 12 months include India’s first Radisson RED hotel, located in Mohal. Zubin Saxena, Managing Director and Vice President Operations, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group says, “This is a very exciting point in my journey. We are excited about Radisson Red Mohali, which is our new lifestyle, select service brand. It will be a 160-room property and is currently in the advanced stages of construction. We are looking to launch it in the next 12 months. This will be the first Radisson Red in the Asia Pacific region and in India. We have also recently signed a 350-room Radisson Red in Noida which will open in four to five years.”

IndiGo has announced the launch of six additional daily non-stop flights to strengthen connectivity from Delhi. Effective May 25, the airline will operate its first direct flight on Delhi-Allahabad route, second and sixth frequency on Delhi-Bhopal and Delhi-Patna routes respectively. The new flights are designed to cater to business and leisure travellers who are constantly on the lookout for new and affordable flying options. Customers who would like to plan their travel can book tickets through our official website www.goindigo.in. Mr. William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said, “As part of our endeavour to strengthen Delhi as a travel hub, we are delighted to announce the addition of six new flights to enhance direct connectivity to Allahabad, Bhopal and Patna. These flights will not only provide more travel options to customers, but also bolster regional connectivity within the country”. Mr. Boulter further added, “IndiGo will continue to expand its network to meet the requirements of both business and leisure travellers. It is our constant endeavour to provide more flexibility of choice to our customers as IndiGo continues to offer them on-time, affordable, courteous and hassle-free flying experience”.

Nepal based, Buddha Air, has delayed the launch of Kolkata-Kathmandu operations by over a month because of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Rupesh Joshi, Marketing Director, Buddha Air says, “Both the India government and all agencies involved with aviation business suggested to begin the service post election. So we decided to defer it.” Buddha Air will operate thrice a week- Monday, Wednesday and Friday from May 27 2019. The airline would be the second Nepali air carrier to connect Kolkata with Kathmandu after the Royal Nepal Airlines’ withdrawal from Kolkata two decades back.  (Source: PTI)

Emirates and SpiceJet have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enter into a reciprocal codeshare agreement, which is set to open new routes and destinations for passengers travelling between India and popular destinations across Africa, America, Europe and the Middle East. Subject to necessary government approvals, the partnership will enable Emirates’ passengers to enjoy seamless connectivity on flights to India, leveraging SpiceJet’s strong domestic presence and adding six new destinations: Amritsar, Jaipur, Pune, Mangalore, Madurai and Calicut – to the nine existing cities in India served by Emirates. This will bolster Emirates’ already-extensive network adding a total of 67 weekly connections between Emirates’ hub in Dubai to these six fast growing destinations in India. This includes increased domestic connectivity  from Emirates’ nine Indian gateways to points such as Goa, Hubli, Guwahati, Vishakhapatnam and Tuticorin which would allow for a greater variety of travel options between both Emirates and SpiceJet flights. “Our journey in India has been defined by progressive investment, partnership and growth. We constantly try to improve and provide our customers with greater flexibility and travel choices. This partnership with SpiceJet and the mutual expansion of our network will go a long way in further enhancing the travel experience of our customers in India as well as those heading into India, benefiting travellers and businesses alike,” said Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Divisional Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, Revenue Optimization and Aeropolitical affairs. Passengers travelling from India will have more choice to travel seamlessly with minimum connection times, when flying to destinations in Emirates’ Europe network such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, Manchester and Amsterdam. The codeshare agreement will also open up flights for Indian travellers to North and South American destinations …

GVK Power & Infrastructure has announced that its subsidiaries, GVK Airport Developers and GVK Airport Holdings, have signed a term sheet and exclusivity agreement with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the National Investment & Infrastructure Fund for an investment in new shares in GVKAHL equating to a 49% stake. GVK had initiated a process to identify and select preferred investors to raise capital to reduce or refinance debt obligations of up to INR 5,750 crore. The transaction is subject to conclusion of confirmatory due diligence by ADIA and NIIF, agreement on definitive documents and satisfaction of customary closing conditions including regulatory/third party approvals and lender consents. Citigroup Global Markets India is acting as the exclusive financial advisor to GVK for the transaction. ADIA and NIIF were selected as the preferred partners by GVK following this process. All proceeds from the proposed transaction will be used by GVK towards retiring debt obligations. Dr. GVK Reddy, Founder and Chairman, GVK, commenting on this development said, “We are delighted to sign these agreements with ADIA and NIIF. The funds brought in through this proposed transaction will help us deleverage as we continue with our endeavours to create the infrastructure for a strong aviation hub in India that will provide the impetus for growth and development for the entire country. Our future focus will be on delivering Navi Mumbai International Airport, successfully monetising Mumbai airport’s real estate and building a strong airports business at GVK.”