Tag Archives: London

In a strategic move to expand their international footprints, Dusit Hotels and Resorts have formed a partnership with Generator and Freehand Hotels. By combining their respective strengths, the companies aim to break new ground and enter untapped markets, solidifying their positions as leading hospitality brands. One of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, Dusit Hotels and Resorts has formed a partnership with award-winning hospitality developer Generator and Freehand Hotels. This collaboration aims to maximise the strengths of both companies to synergise their development resources and pursue sustainable international growth for their respective brands. Generator and Freehand Hotels, renowned for their experiential hostels and boutique hotels in Europe and the USA, will contribute their expertise and network in developing lifestyle hybrid accommodation models in the affordable lifestyle segment. Dusit Hotels and Resorts, a leading Thai hospitality brand, will bring its deep-rooted heritage and commitment to service excellence to the partnership. Together, the partners will explore opportunities to introduce Dusit Hotels and Resorts to major European cities like London, Paris, and Rome, as well as popular U.S. destinations such as New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. By combining Dusit’s strong brand recognition with Generator and Freehand’s innovative approach, the partnership seeks to redefine the hospitality landscape and offer travellers unique, memorable experiences. Additionally, Dusit will utilise its existing presence in Asia and the Middle East to introduce Generator and Freehand’s award-winning boutique hotel-hostel hybrid model to prime city destinations like Bangkok, Manila, Kyoto, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. This expansion will extend the reach of Generator and Freehand’s unique brand of hospitality to new markets, offering travellers in these regions exciting and innovative accommodation options. Siradej Donavanik, VP, Global Development, Dusit International, …

Talking about the lack of direct flight connectivity from Kolkata to European countries, Manoj Saraf, Managing Director, Gainwell Travel & Leisure, said, “TAAI and TAFI along with the State Govt are trying to get direct flights into Europe and UK. There is some hope that Air India may start Kolkata-London nonstop flights later this year.”

Vistara inaugurates its non-stop, 5x weekly flights between Mumbai and London . The inaugural flight, operated by the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, departed from Mumbai at 14:35 Hours (IST) and is scheduled to arrive at London Heathrow Airport at 19:55 Hours (BST). It is known for its distinctive features such as comfortable three-class seating, modern interiors, wireless connectivity on-board, cutting-edge in-flight entertainment system with live TV at 35,000 feet and wellness lighting solution to name a few. Mr. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “We are excited to launch direct connectivity between Mumbai and London – a historically significant route for trade, business and leisure alike. While Mumbai is the financial capital of India, London holds critical importance in the global financial world while also being a popular destination for travel and tourism from India”. “The new route, at convenient departure and arrival timings, is in line with our continued efforts towards offering more flexibility and ease to our customers when planning their travel with India’s best airline. We believe that our world-class product complemented with our globally awarded service make for just the right combination for an exceptional flying experience”, he added With this Vistara celebrated the launch of the new international route with a ceremonious lamp lighting ceremony at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Customers will be offered themed delicacies on the inaugural flight including regional favourites – pav bhaji and keema pav, and London’s speciality beer – Brewdog Punk IPA, on the return flight.

Air India has announced that it is all set to launch flights between Hyderabad and London from May 9, 2021 to September 6, 2021. The non-stop flights will be operated every Monday in the said period, and the carrier has allowed bookings through its website, booking offices, call centre, as well as through authorised travel agents.

SpiceJet has announced non-stop flights connecting Delhi and Mumbai with London’s Heathrow airport from December 4. With this announcement, SpiceJet would become the third Indian airline, and the first low-cost carrier, to fly to London. The new connections come under the air bubble agreement with UK. “SpiceJet will operate thrice-a-week to London including twice from Delhi and once-a-week from Mumbai,” revealed Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet on a virtual event for announcement of the new flight. SpiceJet will use an Airbus A330-900 Neo aircraft for these flights. This is a huge milestone for us and I am proud of the fact that SpiceJet will be the first Indian low-cost airline to operate non-stop long-haul flights to the UK. London is one of the busiest long-haul destinations from India and our convenient flight timings should suit the convenience of our passengers perfectly,” added Singh.

SpiceJet, which is all set to start its international operations, will reportedly start flying to London from Delhi and Amritsar starting this summer. According to reports, the airline will be operating its wide-body A330 planes on these long-haul routes, which would range between 6-12 hours in duration. It is believed that the Amritsar-London Heathrow flight may commence from March-end, the services to Gatwick are expected from May. Currently, SpiceJet has a fleet of 45 Boeing 737s and 737 Max planes. The airline flies to eight international destinations, which are of up to 4-hour duration.  

Air India is set to directly connect Bengaluru with London via a three-times-a-week flight starting November 17. The new flight will be operated by a Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) aircraft on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from Bengaluru and on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from London. The national carrier has also offered special introductory two-way fare of Rs 1,29,500 for business class travel and Rs 35,220 for economy for the proposed flight. The flight AI 177 will depart Bengaluru at 05:25 hours and arrive London at 11:05 hours. In its return journey, the flight AI 178 will leave from London at 13:00 hours and arrive in Bengaluru at 04:00 hours, the airline said.  The non-stop flight will fulfil the long standing demand of IT professionals and health tourism in the region. Source: PTI

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) participated at World Travel Market, London, to showcase the rich diversity of Maharashtra. Maharashtra pavilion at WTM London 2017 was inaugurated by Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, in the presence of Rashmi Verma, Secretary-Tourism, Government of India, and Aashutosh Rathod, Joint Managing Director, MTDC. This year, MTDC promoted wildlife tourism, heritage tourism, fort tourism, heli tourism, medical tourism, city tours, wine tourism, mine tourism, cruise tourism and wellness tourism. Maharashtra is fast emerging as one of the most interesting and productive state for the travel industry both for leisure and business purpose. MTDC is also focusing on associating with hospitality colleges including ICE to develop and build skills and provide internship to students in MTDC’s resorts at various locations in Maharashtra. Rawal say, “It is wonderful to discover the world under one roof and get encouraged by industry leaders and their innovations in the travel sector. This is a brilliant stage to growour businesses and meet the new stakeholders around the world under one roof. Maharashtra has rich tourist destinations to fulfill the needs of tourists across the globe. Participation at WTM London 2017 was our golden opportunity to aggressively market the tourism inventories, vibrant culture, unique destinations and investment opportunities in Maharashtra.”

AirPortr, a London based travel technology start-up, in partnership with British Airways, has launched AirPortr + Bag Check-In, a ‘game-changing’ new service for airline customers, which allows them to check in their luggage from anywhere in London. AirPortr + Bag Check-In allows those travelling with British Airways to travel straight through the airport completely luggage free until they reach baggage reclaim at their destination airport. AirPortr will deliver any size or weight item of luggage to London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London City Airport with bags checked in from a London address. Prices start from £30 for the first bag from Central London and £10 for each additional bag. The new service can help reduce travel costs and travel times by enabling travellers to use public transport bag free.