Tag Archives: Bird Group

Bird Travels, the airline management service arm of Bird Group, has been appointed as the General Sales Agent in Mumbai for Maldivian – the national carrier of Republic of Maldives. The appointment is part of Maldivian’s expansion in India, which aims to strengthen the airline’s sales team and provide support to the Indian travel trade.

Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group, commented that India’s vaccination program may help in economic recovery. “However, the Indian economy is awaiting a return to normalcy in sectors such as travel and aviation. These sectors are now carrying most of the COVID-19 burden and have yet to start operating at anywhere near pre COVID-19 levels. They are also the sectors responsible for enormous job losses and consumption declines. We expect a full throttle vaccination programme to bring the long-awaited cheer to the sector,” he added.

Sharing his views during the 2nd TravTalk Digital Tourism Conclave, Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group which owns Roseate Hotels and Resorts, said, “I don’t think we will be travelling to any international destination any time soon. So the revenue will come from domestic tourists. We need to look at the localised audience rather than a globalised audience. We also need to look at the context of luxury. At this point in time, luxury is getting out of the house and meeting friends and family. The current situation is far beyond pandemic and we really don’t know when travel will resume. There is real fear in the minds of people. But when we do start to open up, we have seen globally that people will get into their cars and drive to the nearest holiday destination. We see the same thing happen in India as well. I think this is what we will see start to happen first.”  

Bird Apps, a venture by Bird Group, has launched Odigos, a marketplace app that provides an opportunity to select and book a travel guide on the go to make travel experience more worthwhile. Odigos facilitates a connect between expert tour guides and travellers according to preference of years of experience and languages spoken with a simple tap anytime anywhere. Be it a local who wants to explore the city, or a visitor who wants to discover monuments, historical sites, go for wedding shopping or even enjoy a guided nightlife experience, Odigos ensures a smooth, transparent and hassle free experience. A pre-booked guide saves the hassle of looking for a guide after reaching the spot. Odigos ensures a safe experience for its tourists through diligent checks and screening of each tour guide before taking them on board. “Through Odigos, we ensure that domestic as well as international travellers can make most of their travel time by booking an appropriate guide who provides them with an itinerary, curated, customised and charted out especially as per individual requirements. Most of the Odigos guides are certified by the Ministry of Tourism.” said Dr Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group. For tourists, Odigos provides information such as the profiles of tour guides, their background details, packages and areas of expertise enabling the tourist to make an informed decision. It saves time and eliminates the hassle of negotiation by providing a convenient option of pre-booked guides who can meet at the choice of venue, at a transparent service fee.

Philippine Airlines (PAL) has appointed Bird Travels, the Airline Management Services arm of Bird Group as its local representative in India. The association marks the airline’s latest step in developing its sales distribution network within the Indian market. The appointment of Bird Travels is part of the intensive preparations undertaken by Philippine Airlines to realise its firm plans to commence operations to India by winter 2018. Reinforcing the airline’s growing confidence in the market, Bird Travels is responsible for all the airline’s sales, marketing and ticketing activities in India through its centrally located headquarters in New Delhi. “India’s tourism industry is expanding rapidly and we’re already seeing a steady flow of leisure and business travellers flying between India and Philippines. Bird Group is a veteran in air travel management and we are challenging them to capitalise on their strength and capabilities to help launch our upcoming flights to New Delhi and Mumbai,” said Ryan Uy, Vice President – Sales, Philippine Airlines. “Armed with our extensive local knowledge and experienced team, Bird Travels is well-equipped and committed to promote the airline’s presence in the country,” said Vijay Bhatia, President, Bird Group. PAL’s planned services from New Delhi and Mumbai to Manila will enable India-based travellers to easily access over 31 destinations in the Philippines, out of PAL’s hubs in Manila, Clark, Cebu and Davao.

After launching its new office in New Delhi in partnership with RL Group, Oman Air is now planning to open offices in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Sunil V.A., Regional Vice President-ISC, Oman Air along with Chetan Gupta, Chairman, RL Group; Varun Mohindra, Head of Sales & Marketing, RL Group and Vijay Bhatia, President, Bird Group were present for the inauguration. “We have 162 flights operating from India, all connect well to the destinations. With our focus on Europe and Europe GCC, we are now planning to sell the east. We are not just dependent on the online network but also looking at the offline too.” said Sunil V.A. Oman is currently focusing to develop MICE segment in 2018 with a launch of its new airport on March 20, 2018.

BirdRes Technologies, part of Bird Group and a leading provider of automated aviation and travel related software solutions, has received Level 3 status of New Distribution Capability (NDC) certification. The New Distribution Capability (NDC) certification will allow BirdRes Technologies to offer smoother communication, rich and customised content and further transparency in transactions across its product portfolio. Dr. Ankur Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Group said, “Bird Group has constantly endeavoured to offer the latest and most innovative products. We are delighted to receive the Level 3 Offer and Order Management certification of New Distribution Capability (NDC) that will allow us to offer products that generate greater business value for our customers.” The “NDC Capable” Level 3 status certification was conferred upon to BirdRes Technologies by International Air Transport Association (IATA) on December 14, 2017. The certification recognises entire product portfolio including Birdres.com, Birdres SBT, Front Office Solution, and Consumer Internet Booking Engine support deployments using Level 3 Offer and Order management.

Bird Information Systems (BIS), a subsidiary of Bird Group and a leading provider of automated aviation and travel related software solutions, have partnered with Nepal Airlines Corporation to provide them with Internet Booking Engine (IBE). As per the new partnership, BIS will provide a booking platform that will deliver on time, accurate and reliable processing of online transactions for Nepal Airlines Corporation. This new service will be open for both B2B and B2C channels.

BirdRes, the B2B distribution channel from Bird Group, has joined hands with OYO, the budget hotel aggregator. With this association, BirdRes would give OYO access to its nationwide network of travel agents and help expand its business in the India market. Rakesh Mehta, Manager – Operations, BirdRes said, “We are pleased that OYO has chosen BirdRes as their preferred B2B partner. This partnership will offer BirdRes customers an easy access to book OYO Rooms for their clients through a simple and hassle-free payment process. Further, it will offer OYO a large platform to offer their services to a wide range of travel agents all over India. At BirdRes, we continue to offer flexible and user-friendly solutions to our partners and customers.” On the partnership, Abhinav Sinha, COO, OYO, said, “We are glad to partner with BirdRes for our channel expansion efforts. With over 25,000 registered Travel Agents, the platform provides us seamless access to this preferred network of India’s top corporates and mid-sized businesses. It enables us to offer OYO’s hassle-free stay proposition to a new set of corporate travelers across the country.”

Bird ExecuJet Airport Services, a joint venture between Bird Group and ExecuJet Aviation Group has announced a strategic partnership with Honeywell India, a global provider of engineering and aerospace solutions. Under this partnership, Bird ExecuJet Airport Services shall provide array of approved maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services, from its approved facility, including avionics, connectivity, maintenance and upgrades to business/general aviation customers in the region. Bird ExecuJet is developing a world class FBO/MRO at Indira Gandhi International Airport and currently offers maintenance services from 2 exclusive hangars. The existing facility offers excellent logistics and operational readiness for its clients within India and also supports international clients and clients from neighbouring countries This partnership will also provide customers with an option inside Delhi airport to get support on Honeywell services and components, which was not there since the new concessionaire was granted to Bird ExecuJet.