Tag Archives: Varanasi

In a bid to further enhance its flight connectivity from Uttar Pradesh, IndiGo has announced Allahabad as its 60th destination after the successful launch of operations to and from Gorakhpur. The airline will now operate flights between Allahabad and Bangalore effective November 15, 2018. From Uttar Pradesh, Allahabad will be the fourth city IndiGo will be connecting from, after Lucknow, Varanasi and Gorakhpur. The introduction of these flights will bring Allahabad closer to the other cities of India with all-inclusive fares starting from Rs 3620, bookings for which are open with immediate effect. William Boulter, Chief Strategy Officer, IndiGo said, “Allahabad is a key market for us and the fourth strategic launch in Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow, Varanasi and Gorakhpur on IndiGo’s network. We are strengthening our network from the state and hope to create more affordable, point-to-point connectivity for our passengers. IndiGo will continue to offer an on-time, courteous and hassle-free service and affordable flying experience always.”

In the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for creating digital museums at stations using QR code, Ministry of Railways has recently made ‘digital screens’ operational at 22 stations as an innovative low-cost solution to spread awareness among public about the heritage of Indian Railways. Being initiated on a pilot basis, the project aims at showcasing the legacy of Indian Railways through one to two minute-long movie clips on digital LED screens at the entrance gate of railway stations and also at different comfort areas. The short films will showcase heritage buildings, locomotives and much more to make people aware of the rich heritage of Indian Railways. For now, the screens have been set up at New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Howrah, Sealdah, Jaipur, Agra Cantonment, Coimbatore, Lucknow, Varanasi and other railway stations. In addition, QR code based posters on Railway Heritage are also being displayed at these stations. Passenger can scan the QR code on their mobile to view a streaming video on their mobile on various facades of Railway heritage.  

IndiGo is set to operate flights to and from Surat from August 16, 2018, connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Jaipur. After a successful launch of seven domestic and two international destinations since January 2018, the airline has announced Surat as its 56th destination. Bookings are open with immediate effect with fares starting from Rs 1999. To provide more enhanced connectivity across India, IndiGo will operate three new routes, including Jaipur-Varanasi, Jaipur-Guwahati and Mumbai-Bagdogra. All new services start in August 2018. 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 wish to plan their travel can book tickets via the official website. William Boulter, Chief Strategy Officer, IndiGo said, “We are pleased to have the opportunity to fly out of Surat starting August 2018. Surat, undoubtedly holds immense potential for IndiGo, and launching operations to and from the diamond city is in line with our growth strategy for the India market. We are also launching three other new routes which includes Jaipur-Varanasi, Jaipur-Guwahati, and Mumbai-Bagdogra.  With these new services, we are providing more flexibility of choice to our customers as IndiGo continues to offer them on time, courteous and hassle-free service and an always affordable flying experience.”  

Identifying the state of Uttar Pradesh as a significant growth market for its foreign exchange business, Thomas Cook (India) has opened two new counters at Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi. The outlets were inaugurated by Anil Kumar Rai, Airport Director in the presence of Shouvik Chatterjee and Amit Gupta, Associate Vice Presidents of Thomas Cook India’s Foreign Exchange business. The two new airport counters extend Thomas Cook India’s Foreign Exchange distribution and reach for Uttar Pradesh to a total of 12 consumer access centres – seven owned branches and five Gold Circle Partner (franchise) outlets. Deepesh Varma, Senior Vice President & Head—Sales & Relationship Management Foreign Exchange, Thomas Cook (India) said, “At Thomas Cook India, we have identified Varanasi as a powerful source market given strong growth continuum of 17 per cent YoY for our Foreign Exchange business. Our two new Foreign Exchange outlets at Varanasi’s Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, will offer travellers easy access to Thomas Cook India’s range of Foreign Exchange products and services- right at the airport on arrival or departure.” Industry data highlights that Varanasi Airport has witnessed strong growth in passenger numbers from one million in 2014-2015 to 1.9 million passengers in 2017–2018.

THAI Smile Airways has commenced its new flights on the Bangkok–Mumbai–Bangkok route. The airline has already been operating since last quarter of 2016 direct flights from Bangkok to Jaipur, Lucknow, Gaya and Varanasi. This new route will help all segments like – leisure, corporate and MICE travellers. THAI Smile operates its Bangkok-Mumbai flights five times a week under the flight no. WE335 Bangkok – Mumbai (BKK-BOM) on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 22.15-01.35 (+1), WE335 Bangkok – Mumbai (BKK-BOM) on Friday and Sunday at 23.55-03.10) and WE336 Mumbai – Bangkok (BOM-BKK) on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 02.40-08.55 and WE336 Mumbai – Bangkok (BOM-BKK) on Monday and Saturday at 04.40-10.55. All flights are served in full service of excellence with complete course of foods and beverages. The foods on board are divided into vegetarian (Vegetarian Jain Meal) and common foods (Non-Vegetarian Hindu Meal). Baggage loading is up to 40 kg for Premium Economy Class or Smile Plus and 30 kg for economy class passengers or Smile Class. Both classes have spacious seats that passengers can select seats without additional charges and can also earn mileages with Royal Orchid Plus (ROP).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flaged off third Mahamana Express on September 22, 2017, to ply between Varanasi and Vadodara through video conferencing from Varanasi. On this occasion, Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal, Dy. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Nitinbhai Patel were present at Vadodara station, while Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Railways & Minister of Communications (Independent Charge), Govt. of India, were present at Surat Railway station. The train, in its inaugural service, will run as special train with the Train No. 09103 Vadodara – Varanasi Special and will depart from Vadodara on Friday, September 22, 2017, and reach Varanasi on Saturday, September 23, 2017. Similarly, in return direction, the special trip with Train No. 09104 Varanasi – Vadodara Special will depart from Varanasi at 22.00 hrs on Saturday, September 23, 2017, and will reach Vadodara at 01.50 hrs on Monday, September 25, 2017. After the inaugural trip, a regular service from September 27, 2017, onwards, Train No. 20903 Vadodara – Varanasi Weekly Superfast Mahamana Express will depart from Vadodara on every Wednesday at 19.40 hrs and will reach Varanasi at 22.20 hrs the next day. Similarly, in return direction w.e.f September 29, 2017, onwards, Train No. 20904 Varanasi – Vadodara Weekly Superfast Mahamana Express will depart from Varanasi on every Friday at 06.10 hrs and will reach Vadodara at 09.40 hrs the next day. The train will halt at Bharuch, Surat, Amalner, Bhusaval, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Katni, Satna and Chheoki stations in both directions. The train will have I AC, II AC, Sleeper Class and II Class General Coaches. Two Mahamana Express are already in service namely 22163/22164 Bhopal – Khajuraho Mahamana Express and 22417/22418 Varanasi New Delhi Mahamana Express.

SpiceJet has announced its third daily direct flight on the UDAN routes of Hyderabad-Puducherry, starting August 16, 2017. After the new flight, Puducherry will be connected with Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Tirupati, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Vijaywada and Varanasi with convenient onward connections. SpiceJet was awarded six proposals and 11 routes in the first phase of Ministry of Civil Aviation’s UDAN scheme. Out of the six finalised proposals, four will cater to the unserved markets of Adampur, Kandla, Puducherry and Jaisalmer, and the other two will be for the underserved markets of Porbandar and Kanpur. Flights have already started on Mumbai-Porbandar-Mumbai and Mumbai-Kandla-Mumbai routes from July 10.

The Tree of Life Resort & Spa, Varanasi is the newest luxury addition to Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels’ chain of hotels and resorts. Slated to open on September 4, 2017, The Tree of Life Resort & Spa, Varanasi is conveniently located halfway between the airport and the city, the resort is also conveniently connected to Sarnath via the new Ring Road. The 18 junior suites each with a private area of around 650 sq.ft. include high ceiling, teak wood carved furniture, hand-painted Shiva on the wall, a separate living area with a sofa and a large flat screen television; well en suite 150 sq.ft bathroom, a large private sit-out overlooking the gardens, and the ‘Ganga Kund’ (religious pond) Situated in rural surroundings, 11 kms from the airport and just 12 kms from the city centre (Cantt area) , the new expressway connecting the airport and the city makes it a convenient 20-25 minutes drive to either location. The new Ring Road to Sarnath starts just a few kilometers from us and once operational, will make it a pleasurable 25 minutes drive. Tree of Life Resorts & Hotels is a collection of boutique experiences and each of our properties are set in calm and serene handpicked locations, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Space and privacy, coupled with personalized service is what the Tree of Life is known for.

THAI Smile Airways has launched new flights to Gaya, Varanasi, Jaipur and Lucknow. The flights will gradually start operation from Bangkok to Gaya and Varanasi from October 1, Bangkok to Jaipur from November 15, and Bangkok to Lucknow from December 1, 2016. The airline has chosen Bird Group as its General Sales Agent (GSA) for the Indian market with immediate effect. The Bird Group will handle the airline’s sales development, bookings, and ticketing services within India as well as conduct direct marketing and service support to Indian travel agents. The new connections would bridge the demand of both Indians and Thais, who have been looking for seamless connections for religion, work and leisure purpose, in Thailand, India and onward destinations. Captain Woranate Laprabang, Acting Chief Executive Officer, THAI Smile Airways, said, “We consider these connecting flights as one of our strategic destinations in Indian region. THAI Smile Airways is undertaking an ambitious growth programme to develop network and ensure international connectivity. Moreover, we are committed to ensuring that our passengers have greater choice and opportunity to discover new destinations by flying with THAI Smile Airways.” He added, “THAI Smile Airways understands the immense need for passengers travelling among these 4 cities. A journey which can be covered in less than 4 hours can take up to 8 – 10 hours. We wish to make it more comfortable and affordable to Indian passengers.” “By appointing The Bird Group, THAI Smile Airways aims to generate awareness of its product and services in India by strengthening relations with existing travel partners and forging new strategic partnerships with specialized operators in a number of various segments,” said Captain Woranate. Gaurav Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Travels, …

The Sri Lankan carrier, Mihin Lanka will stop its services effective October 30, 2016. This decision has been made by the Government of Sri Lanka, as part of its long term strategy to restructure the local aviation industry and strengthen the national carrier’s offering and efficiency. Chinthaka Weerasinghe, Manager Northern India, SriLankan Airlines, says, “There are four routes that we will be taking over in India itself; Madurai, Kolkata, Varanasi and Bodh Gaya. With these operations we will be having overall 103 flights in a week from 11 destinations in India. This will make us one of the top five international airlines operating into India in terms of frequency as well as seat capacity.”