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Air India Express receives eighth Boeing 737-800
2007-07-20 14:53:00
Air India Express , the low-cost unit of national carrier Air India, on Thursday received its eighth Boeing 737-800, taking the total fleet to 15. The addition of this aircraft increases the fleet size of the airliner to 15, of which seven are on lease, a company release said. Air India Express operates with all economy class seats on Gulf, Singapore and Sri Lanka routes, it said. The airline, which commenced operations in April 2005, operates 114 weekly flights between 10 cities in the country and another 10 foreign stations. From July 8, the number of flights will increase to 119 a week.
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Asian no-frills airlines woo fliers from south India
2007-07-20 14:50:00
South-East Asian airlines are getting more aggressive. Value carriers, such as Nok Air, AirAsia, Tiger Airways and Lion Air, have either started betting big on destinations in south India or are planning to do so. The airlines are not only offering low fares, but also packages such as night stays in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur to lure travellers. ?South India and south-east Asia have historical affinity. People from south India went to south-east Asia and are living there as citizens of those countries. These people keep visiting India and, hence, there is considerable air traffic on those routes. This offers huge opportunity to value or low-cost carriers from Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand,? said Kapil Kaul, CEO (Indian subcontinent and middle east) of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. ?The air traffic growth between south India and south-east Asia is higher than between north Indian cities and south-east Asian cities. The growth on these route is to the tune of 20%, which is mo...
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Tiger Airways to launch India-Australia Flight Combos
2007-07-20 14:48:00
Low fare airline Tiger Airways yesterday launched four new Flight Combos linking its newly announced South India n Cities of Kochi and Chennai to its two Australia n destinations of Darwin and Perth. The flights combos through Singapore, which facilitates convenient, value-for-money Flight Combos travel on Tiger Airways with the fuss-free accessibility of the Budget Terminal and its convenient immigration formalities. Return fares start from AUD599 all-inclusive. The Flight Combos to Chennai start from 28 October 2007 while the Flight Combos TM to Kochi start from 30 October 2007. Flight Combos introduced by Tiger Airways have revolutionized low fare travel by allowing passengers to co-ordinate their flights on two legs of their journey with minimum downtime in between. Now passengers can enjoy reliable fuss free travel at affordable low fares throughout the Asia-Pacific region served by Tiger Airways. Flight Combos allow passengers to book two sectors of their travel at one time onli...
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Air India Express to fly to Malaysia from October
2007-07-20 14:44:00
Low-cost carrier Air India Express aims to begin flying from Chennai to Kuala Lumpur from October under a new agreement to liberalize air travel between the two countries, an airline official said on Thursday. The carrier, which is a subsidiary of state-run Air India, is finalizing details of its entry to Malay sia following the signing of the pact earlier this month, said Saket Saran, country manager for Air India. "It is a landmark agreement. It will increase the number of direct flights to Indian cities, and make travel cheaper and more convenient for passengers," Saran said. "Air India Express hopes to operate by October. We plan to start to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai in the first phase and expand later to Trichy in southern India and to other Indian destinations," he said. Malaysia will be the carrier's second international destination after Singapore, he said. Air India Express is negotiating to fly to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, rather than to the low-cost t...

Spicejet aircraft makes emergency landing at Hyderabad
2007-07-20 14:40:00
Over 119 passengers were stranded for hours after a Spice Jet flight in which they were travelling landed under emergency conditions at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Begumpet early on Thursday after it developed a technical snag mid-air. The pilot of the Boeing 391 Hyderabad -Ahmedabad-Jaipur flight detected a technical glitch minutes after it took off from the runway around 6 a.m. and landed safely as staffers were kept on standby. All the passengers on board were safe. The aircraft was later towed to the taxiway for a thorough inspection. Spice Jet spokesperson Ajay Jasra said a separate flight was arranged and passengers shifted to their respective destinations at 11.30 a.m. All measures were taken to avoid inconvenience to passengers and refreshments served to them. Passengers argued with the staff in the airport for not providing information on flight departure as cancellation. ?All our plans got affected because of the delay,? said a passenger Praveen Rao. Passenger...
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Brussels airport pins hopes on Jet Airways
2007-07-20 14:36:00
With the imminent arrival of aircraft from Jet Airway s, India's largest private airline, from Mumbai on August 5, low-key Brussels airport is hoping that the Indian carrier's daily Mumbai-Brussels-Newark service will bolster not only passenger but also cargo traffic with both India and the United States. Brussels airport benefits from the huge presence of the Indian business community in and around Antwerp, the majority of whom are engaged in the diamond trade. Antwerp is an important diamond hub where billions of dollars in precious stones change hands in trade with India, Israel, South Africa and the United States. A large chunk of this diamond business passes through Brussels airport. Brussels airport, which likes to portray itself as a "hub in the heart of Europe", is keen to come out of the shadow of its next door "big brother", Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, which has long dominated the Benelux region and has come close to challenging Frankfurt airport, Europe's leading car...
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Airlines ferrying ballot boxes told to be punctual
2007-07-20 05:55:00
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed all airlines bringing ballot boxes of the presidential elections from state capitals to New Delhi Friday to stick to their flight schedules. All the officers on duty will be returning by Executive Class and their seats have been blocked so that they are able to keep the ballot boxes in the adjacent seat in keeping with Election Commission directives. The boxes will be treated as hand luggage - they will be sealed but screened through X-ray before being carried into the aircraft. This shall be done without damaging the seal. The airlines have been asked to ensure that the seating provided to the officers is such that the boxes can be brought in as cabin baggage without difficulty. The Airports Authority of India, the Delhi International Airport Ltd., Indian Airline s , DGCA and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) have nominated one officer each for coordinating with the Election Commission in order to ferry the ballot boxe...
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Canadian firm bags Delhi Metro order
2007-07-20 05:53:00
Bombardier Transportation, a global major based in Canada, has bagged a contract worth $590 million for supplying 340 coaches for the second phase of Delhi Metro operations. The company will start delivering the world-class coaches to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) from the last quarter of 2008 with completion in 2010 "to provide effective public transport during the Commonwealth Games". "Some of the greatest cities in the world, such as New York, Paris, London, Berlin, and Shanghai have chosen Bombardier metros to provide modern mobility for their citizens while reducing traffic congestion and helping their cities breathe," André Navarri, president of Bombardier Transportation, said in statement. "We are very excited to be able to add the city of New Delhi as a new metro customer," said Navarri. "We've been an employer in India for over 35 years and we hope that this project will set the standard for other mass transit projects that we intend to pursue in New Delhi, Mumbai, ...
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India drives passenger traffic for Finnair
2007-07-20 05:41:00
Finnair has reported a 19.3 percent jump in scheduled traffic during the first six months of this year, thanks to an impressive growth of 30.5 percent in Asia, where it has added Mumbai as its latest destination. In June alone, the airline reported a 26.5 percent increase in scheduled traffic during which it added two Airbus A340 aircraft to its fleet, one of them to Mumbai. "The growth was derived from Asian traffic, which grew in June by 35.4 percent, as well as from European traffic, where demand exceeded last year's figure by 27.9 percent," the carrier said in a statement. Finnair, which was earlier flying charters to Goa, started its scheduled flights from Delhi Oct 31 last year and has been flying daily from Helsinki to the India n capital since May 19. Mumbai was added to its schedule June 27 with five flights a week.According to Taina Törnström, the Finnair director for the Indian subcontinent, the carrier was in talks to add more destinations for onward connections in Ind...
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Agra readies for a tourist boom
2007-07-20 05:39:00
Uttar Pradesh's efforts to promote tourism in Agra have gained momentum after the inclusion of the Taj Mahal, India's greatest tourist draw, in the new list of Seven Wonders of the World. Everyone from the district authorities, the municipal corporation and tourism bodies is trying to cash in on the euphoria. Le Passage to India, a travel agency, has announced plans to distribute specially designed badges with Taj inscribed on them to 10,000 foreign tourists next month. Rakesh Chauhan, president of the Hotels and Restaurants Association, said: "The coming tourist season beginning September should see a big spurt in tourist arrivals. The interest in Agra and its monuments has definitely increased and we are determined to cash in on the publicity." In early August, the executive committee members of the Domestic Tour Operators of India will be meeting in Agra to discuss plans to promote tourism in Agra. Sunil Gupta, a member of the executive committee, said: "The tourism industry is...
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Plan to set up 25 low-cost airports in India
2007-07-19 14:28:00
After low-cost airlines, it is the turn of no-frill and low-cost airports. In a bid to encourage regional airlines and provide air links to small cities and towns, nearly 25 greenfield or unutilised airport projects have been identified by various states, which will be up for bidding by the private sector. Plan ned in tier-II or tier-III cities, the airports would be in addition to the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s (MoCA’s) ambitious modernisation programme for 35 non-metro airports. A no-frill airport is built at a minimum cost and allows operation of small jets as well as slightly bigger aircraft like Boeing's B737 or Airbus' A320. The investment in such an airport could range from Rs 40 crore to Rs 100 crore. The places identified for the purpose include Hassan, Shimoga, Gulbarga, Bidar, Mysore (all in Karnataka), Shirdi, Jalgaon, Solapur, Akola (all in Maharashtra), Kannur (Kerala), Madurai, Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu), Rupsi (Assam), Ajmer, Mount Abu, Kailashar (Rajasthan),...
More About: India , Cost , Airports , Low cost

Tragedy averted as runway damage detected in time
2007-07-19 14:26:00
A bird watcher on the runway was the unlikely hero as a flight with 130 passengers had a narrow escape on Wednesday. A Delhi-Calcutta Jet Airways flight was preparing to land just after noon when the ground staff member posted to shoo away birds noticed that a portion of the primary runway had peeled off. The bird watcher immediately sounded the alarm. The primary runway was promptly shut down and flight 9W-922 was told not to touch down. “A chunk of around 16 square feet on the primary runway had peeled off. The Delhi-Calcutta Jet flight was preparing to land when this was noticed. Anything could have happened if the wheels would have hit that uneven patch, a tragedy was averted,” said an airport official. Flight 9W-922 remained airborne as the secondary runway was also congested. “We informed the pilot about the congestion on the other runway. The plane was kept in the air for around 10 minutes before the secondary runway was cleared and the flight landed safely,” said an ...
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Airlines hope to see profit with fare hike
2007-07-19 13:08:00
With consolidation taking place in the aviation industry, airline companies have hiked their fares by Rs 200 to Rs 300 across all the sectors in an attempt to bring the industry back into black. This is in addition to the Rs 50 increase in the fuel surcharge by all the carriers this month following a 2.8% increase in the aviation turbine fuel prices in July. The trend has really picked up after Vijay Mallya-led UB Group picked up 26% stake in Air Deccan for Rs 550 crore in March end. "We have increased our fares by Rs 200 on all our flights but that has not affected our load factors at all. Despite the increase in fares we registered over 77% load factor last month. Passengers have accepted the fare hike," a senior executive with a private airline said. "But this is a trend being followed by all the airlines. This had to happen. A price correction was long overdue," he added. The last three months have witnessed three mergers and acquisitions in the aviation industry with Air India-...
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New navigation system to help reduce flight time
2007-07-19 13:04:00
By 2010, a flight from Delhi to Chennai could take just two hours, a full 45 minutes less than the current duration. And a Mumbai-Delhi flight could be only an hour. This anticipated saving in time and money (in terms of fuel costs and airport charges for carriers) will be possible with the launch of GAGAN, or the satellite-aided geo-augmented navigation project being jointly implemented by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). A Rs 644-crore project to implant navigation software in existing satellites, GAGAN, which is currently undergoing feasibility tests, will do away with the need for aircraft to be navigated through ground navigation stations, which now send position signals to the aircraft. When the project is implemented, the signals will come from the satellite to reference stations across the country, get corrected by them and uplinked to the satellite, which will then transfer the accurate signals to the aircraft. Apart f...
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Helicopter passenger services set to start in India
2007-07-19 13:00:00
Indian helicopters are all set to start services at par with regular fixed-wing airlines, with the Centre giving its nod to chopper operators. Chopper operators say this would facilitate quick transportation, especially for corporate sector, which would not like to depend entirely on scheduled air carriers. "Basically, we want to create a facility which can be used by all the helicopter operators. People will just come in their cars, they will go in the helicopters, finish their work and come back. People would be free to travel through helicopter and there would be no restricted regulation," R. K. Tyagi, Chairman and Managing Director of state-run Pawan Hans Helicopter s, said. Tyagi further said that the service would also boost tourism, as most of the foreign tourists avoid combining major tourist spots for want of time. The charters would be helpful for rescue and relief operations in case of disasters, said K. Gohain, Director General of Civil Aviation. "If there's an accident...
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UB Group raises Rs 550 crores for Air Deccan stake
2007-07-19 12:57:00
Beer to airline behemoth UB Group has raised Rs 550 crore as debt financing from IDFC, HDFC and IL&FS for its stake buy in Air Deccan, sources said. These institutions could pour in more debt as group company UB Holdings is set to make an open offer for 20% stake more in Deccan Aviation, the parent of low-cost airline, shortly. On May 31, UB Holdings bought 26% stake in Deccan Aviation for Rs 550 crore and announced plans for mandatory open offer. At the time of acquisition, UB indicated that it could rope in financial investors for de-leveraging the acquisition partially, as it had received several expressions of interest from private equity funds. But with debt financing clinched, UB is not likely to be in a tearing hurry to divest stake for de-leveraging. Sources said that UB has tied up debt financing from IDFCand HDFC for over Rs 400 crore. “The debt financing has been arranged for funding most of the 26% purchase,” a top UB official said, without divulging the name of the ...

Hertz India ties-up with Kingfisher Airlines
2007-07-18 12:24:00
Hertz India , has tied up with Kingfisher Airline s ? Frequent Flyer Programme ? King Club as its preferred car rental partner. As per the alliance, Hertz Car Rental as well as Hertz Holiday cars will be made available to King Club members at all sectors operated by Kingfisher Airlines. Guests of both Hertz and Kingfisher Airlines will be able to benefit from this alliance through value-added services and regular offers jointly taken out by both the companies. Announcing the tie up Mr Rajiv K Vij, CEO Hertz India said ?this tie also showcases our resolve to make car rentals an exclusive experience for our customers in India. With this initiative the customer of our partner airline will also get preferred rentals. We at Hertz believe in elevating the experience of the customers?. Commenting on the alliance, Mr. Vikram Malhotra, Deputy General Manager ? Marketing, Kingfisher Airlines said, ?Kingfisher Airlines has always been at the forefront of bringing delight to its esteemed guests an...
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Air India seeks to enter Star Alliance
2007-07-18 12:22:00
The new state airline Air India informed of its interest on Tuesday of becoming part of international "Star Alliance ," the largest airline group in the world, to expand its share of global action. Air India was a result of the fusion of the two major Indian airlines and has scheduled its first direct flight to the US since the merger for August 1st. In September it will start negotiations to enter Star Alliance, which includes such as Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and United Airlines. The press note added that the directors of the companies forming the alliance will meet on December 13 to make a decision on Air India's proposal.
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Emirates flight makes emergency landing at Chennai
2007-07-18 12:20:00
A Manila bound Dubai-Manila Emirates flight (EK 777) with 446 passengers and crew made an emergency landing at Anna International airport, Chennai , today, as one of its passengers suffered severe chest pain. Airport sources said, as the flight was approaching Chennai, the passenger Paraso Mathew (43), hailing from Philipines complained to the crew members that he was suffering from severe chest pain. The matter was informed to the pilots, who in turn contacted the Air Trafic control (ATC) for their permission for emergency landing. The ATC, after clearance from the headquarters of the Airport Authority Of India (AAI), after making all emergency arrangements, allowed the pilot to made an emergency landing. The flight landed around 1710 hrs. Soon after the flight landed, the airport medical team rushed to the passenger and gave first aid. As his condition was critical, the immigration authorities issued a temporary visa to the patient. Later, he was admitted to a private hospital at G...
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IndiGo adds new flights between Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi
2007-07-18 12:18:00
IndiGo, the low-fare domestic airline that is redefining airline quality standards in India, will add new services between Mumbai and Bangalore & Mumbai and Delhi from 27th July, 2007. IndiGo will serve these routes using its eleventh brand-new Airbus A320, which will be delivered to the airline on 24th July 2007. IndiGo is offering these in addition to its existing services between the above routes. Speaking on the new services from Mumbai, Bruce Ashby, President and CEO of IndiGo said, ?At IndiGo, we are steadily building our route network. After taking delivery of our eleventh aircraft, we now connect 15 Indian cities offering 78 daily flights. Since its launch in August 2006, IndiGo has carried over 1.75 million passengers and this number is increasing every day. As we continue to add aircraft, we will continue to enhance our connectivity in the cities we already serve.? To offer superior service to its customers, IndiGo now also offers a wide array of food and beverages includ...
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Andhra Pradesh Tourism promo aboard Air India
2007-07-18 12:16:00
The name Andhra Pradesh will be displayed on the fuselage of at least some of the 62 new state-of-the-art, Boeing 777-200 aircraft being acquired by Air India . The first of the aircraft will fly in to New Delhi from Boeing headquarters at Seattle, USA, on July 28. These and other initiatives to promote AP Tourism will be possible, following a Memorandum of Understanding between AP and the airline on joint promotional activities in the new additions to Air India?s fleet soon. Eight of the 62 new aircraft to be inducted into Air India?s fleet will be the long-haul flights that can fly 14 hours non-stop. A press release said each aircraft would be given a special name, after various States of India and major cities, starting with AP. Also, provision would be provided for placing printed promo material in each seat pocket on board, showcasing tourist places and their arts, crafts, cuisine, history and heritage. A 2.33 minute film highlighting the State will be screened on every flight a...
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Flying to Malaysia to become cheaper
2007-07-18 08:51:00
Flying to Mala y sia could soon get cheaper for both small town Indians and people living in Metros. India has signed a pact with Kuala Lumpur that will allow designated airlines of both sides to operate any number of services to and from 18 tourist destinations here like Lucknow, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Goa, Jaipur and Port Blair. Moreover, the pact will allow designated low cost carriers of both countries to operate on this route and Indian passengers can soon look forward to lower than the Rs 18,000-20,000 (with taxes) fare they pay on legacy carriers for a return ticket to Kuala Lumpur. This agreement came when the two sides held talks last week in Kuala Lumpur to resolve the deadlock over allowing AI Express and Air Sahara (now Jetlite) to fly there. Led by aviation secretary Ashok Chawla, India signed an agreement for "multiple designations" that will enable the countries to "designate any number of airlines as they wish to operate on the India-Malays ia route." Currently Malaysia...
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Indian Railways discarding computerised enquiry service
2007-07-18 08:45:00
Indian Railways is discarding the computerised system for enquiry regarding train timings and reservation and reverting to the manual service. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Tuesday inaugurated the new railway enquiry phone number 139 by asking the operator about the timing and first class air-conditioned rail fare of the Patna Rajdhani Express. The phone number 139, to be available in four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, is part of the integrated train enquiry system (ITES) called Rail Sampark consisting of interactive voice response system and regional call centres, Railway Board Chairman Jai Prakash Batra said. The railways already have dedicated numbers for North, South, East and West zones on separate phone numbers, 1330, 1331, 1332, 1333, 1334 and 1335, which provide timings, reservation position and confirmation of rail tickets. There is also a computerised voice reply system. Asked what will happen to the existing computerised service, Batra said: "It will coexis...
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Vijay Mallya may go for total majority in Air Deccan
2007-07-16 13:24:00
UB Group could strengthen its position in Air Deccan by raising its stake in the low cost carrier to 51% in the next few months?making the price warrior a subsidiary company of the group. The Bangalore-based liquor conglomerate, which runs Kingfisher Airlines, bought a 26% stake in Air Deccan in early June and is on schedule to make an open offer for 20% more that opens next week. Besides this, sources say, other investors are willing to sell about 4-5% stake, taking the UB group holding up to 51%. The open offer price of Rs 155 is Rs 14 higher than the Deccan Aviation stock price on Friday. The stock has been rising since the two firms shook hands to clinch the deal, and it is widely expected that the alliance will help the airline cut losses. An absolute majority will enable the Kingfisher group to take major decisions to synergise operations of the two carriers. Airline sources said, one of the major decisions is expected to be in respect to whether the Air Deccan brand will be r...
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Cochin airport passes the buck to AAI
2007-07-16 05:57:00
The Cochin airport authorities have blamed the Airport Authority of India (AII) for poor air traffic management that resulted in two aircraft skidding off the runway early this month.?The AAI has to install the Approach Surveillance Radar (ASR) at the airport and the same is being continuously pursued by the CIAL. The early installation of ASR would definitely improve the quality of the air traffic management,? Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) managing director S Bharat said.About 60 passengers and the crew of an Air Sahara Delhi-Bangalore-Kochi flight had a miraculous escape after it skidded off the runway on July 3. The incident was repeated within a week, this time on an Air India Express (AIE) aircraft that arrived from Muscat with 61 passengers including an infant onboard. The Air Sahara flight landed with its right wheel on the edge of the runway but the pilot managed to bring back the aircraft to the runway. On July 9, the AIE?s Muscat-Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi fli...
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India-US air route hotting up
2007-07-16 05:55:00
For international airlines in India , it?s time to go looking for America. Come August, and there?ll be two new options to fly to America. While Jet Airways will inaugurate its transatlantic services on August 5, 2007 with daily flights between New York and Mumbai, Air-India is geared up to start non-stop flights to New York from Mumbai from August 1. After that, Continental Airlines plans to launch a non-stop flight between Mumbai and New York in October 2007, while Kingfisher has announced that it will fly to the US by early next year. The hotting up of the US-India route is obviously good news for both business and leisure travelers. Says Laurent Recoura, senior country director, Continental Airlines: ?The sudden surge in the number of flights or airlines flying to the US only reflects that there was and is a lot of demand not only in terms of business travelers but tourists as well. And then, there is a large successful Indian diaspora in the States.?For some of the existing play...
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Indian, Air India to fly high on shared routes
2007-07-16 05:52:00
With the battle for the global skies expected to zero down to three big players in India , innovation is the name of the game. And in an attempt to grab more marketshare and make the life of the international air-traveller just that much easier, National Aviation Company Ltd, the new merged AI-IA entity, will use the hub-and-spoke concept to get more passenger footfalls and bring about greater synergy between themselves. What?s more, it will add to the revenue. "The merger of AI and IA will give us an additional revenue of around Rs 800-1,200 crore, and includes what we gain from the hub-and-spoke concept too. This revenue, incidentally, is after taking into account various costs," says V Thulasidas, chairman, AI, and CMD of the merged entity. This concept is due to start from August 1 when AI?s 777s start direct non-stop operations from Mumbai to New York, says V Trivedi, CMD, IA. "Initially, we?ll have three dedicated planes for this on three sectors daily ? two A-320s of IA and on...
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Budget airlines told to simplify refund rules
2007-07-16 05:46:00
Here?s some good news for frequent fliers of budget airlines who face hurdles when trying to get refunds if flights are cancelled. The ministry of civil aviation has asked all domestic airlines to develop a system through which ticket refunds to passengers could be made within 15 days of ticket cancellation. ?We have been getting complaints against many low cost airlines that they either refuse to refund the ticket or return only half of the money. In fact, we have asked the airlines to give the break up of the tax structure that they charge from the passengers,? a senior civil aviation ministry official said. In a four-point note, the ministry has asked the airlines to work out a transparent system to refund the ticket and create proper grievance cells. Further, low cost airlines have been directed to provide proper amenities for senior citizen and the physically challenged, besides providing basic facilities such as drinking water for all the passengers on board, free of cost. Acc...
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Air Deccan's June passenger traffic up 22%
2007-07-14 12:05:00
Low cost carrier Air Deccan has recorded a 22% jump in passenger traffic for June 2007 as compared to June 2006. In the month of June 2007, the airline has carried 6,63,355 passengers representing a growth of 22.3% over the same month in the previous year. The average load factor too has steadily risen to 83.19% from 81.21% in June 2006. Air Deccan now operates 350 flights to 65 destinations daily as compared to the 265 flights to 55 destinations in the same month last year. The airline has crossed the 12 million passenger mark this year, in a span of less than 4 years since its inception in August 2003.
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Indian?s Airbus A320 touches down in Visakhapatnam
2007-07-14 12:02:00
State-owned air carrier Indian operated its maiden Airbus A320 flight to Visakhapatnam on the Mumbai-Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam route on Thursday morning. This is the second launch of A320 service to the city as it was only on Tuesday Air Deccan introduced a similar brand new aircraft to Kolkata. Indian?s station manager R. Rajasekaran said the advantage of the A320 is that it has more seats ? 125 economy and 20 business class seats unlike Boeing 737 hitherto operated in this route. The Boeing 737 has only 119 all-economy seats and there is no business class. As the new aircraft connects the industrial capital of the country (Mumbai) with the industrial capital of Andhra Pradesh (Vizag), more patronage is expected. ?We are planning to operate a direct service to Mumbai without touching Hyderabad using this type of aircraft soon,? he added. Country?s first low cost airliner Air Deccan is operating A320 to Kolkata by removing the business class seats and making the aircraft of all econom...