Jet Airways will introduce three new international services this winter, besides reinforcing six existing routes with additional frequencies. The carrier will introduce its first non-stop service between New Delhi and Riyadh. It will also deploy additional frequencies on the Mumbai-Riyadh, Mumbai-Kuwait, Delhi-Doha and Delhi-Dammam sectors. Effective October 29, new non-stop flights will commence connecting Bengaluru and Chennai to the airline’s gateways in Amsterdam and Paris, respectively, as part of the carrier’s strategy to connect more cities, especially in the South of the country to destinations in Europe and North America. The airline is the first to operate flights on these routes which, along with a third daily flight on the increasingly popular Mumbai-London sector, will give guests a greater choice of convenient connections to other European cities and destinations in North America. Jet Airways will deploy its Airbus A330 aircraft on the Chennai-Paris and Bengaluru-Amsterdam routes The new intercontinental services to Amsterdam and Paris will operate in codeshare with KLM, Air France and Delta Air Lines. Guests who are members of Frequent Flyer programmes of the codeshare partners – JetPrivilege (JP), Flying Blue and SkyMiles will also be able to easily accrue and redeem points on each other. Jet Airways is also adding new frequencies on certain select routes, including the extremely popular Mumbai-London Heathrow as well as Delhi-Singapore, further enhancing connectivity and choice for guests travelling between North India, United Kingdom and South East Asia. Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, “Jet Airways’ network will see new introductions, in Europe and the Gulf that will strengthen our commitment to provide our guests with wider choice, convenience and connectivity over our hubs in Mumbai and Delhi and onwards …
Read More »Sarovar Hotels takes over a new hotel in Bengaluru
Sarovar Hotels has announced the signing of its latest hotel in Bengaluru, La Marvella Sarovar Premiere. The takeover is expected to be completed by the first week of November. La Marvella Sarovar Premiere, Bengaluru – Jayanagar, is Sarovar’s fifth hotel in the city after Davanam Sarovar Portico Suites, RBD Sarovar Portico, Park Plaza and Radha Hometel. La Marvella Sarovar Premiere is promoted by SVG Exports offering all facilities and services of an upscale five-star business hotel located in Jayanagar. With 102 rooms, a multi cuisine restaurant and a lounge bar, the hotel ensures guests a great stay. An Italian specialty restaurant will soon be introduced to bring a unique culinary experience to guests. Commenting on the development, Ajay K. Bakaya, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels, says, “We are delighted to be signing a deal for yet another hotel in Bengaluru. La Marvella Sarovar Premiere located at a prime destination in the city is ideal for business as well as lesiure travellers. With Bengaluru emerging as one of our key markets, we look forward to further growth and increased traffic contribution from our hotels here. We will continue to focus on our expansion and also strengthen our position as we look to spread farther across South India.”
Read More »MOT considers setting up tourism offices in US, UK, Russia
Tourism Secretary Rashmi Verma reportedly said that the Ministry of Tourism is considering setting up government-run offices in key markets such as the US, the UK and Russia to attract more visitors to India. It will also set up facilitation centres to address queries of tourists at airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru. With Incredible India 2.0 campaign expected to be launched in September, Verma reportedly said the ministry will run market-specific campaigns on it in different countries through local and electronic channels as well as digital media. “A synergy between Incredible India campaign and overseas markets will get us better results. Our offices in different countries would work on a hub and spoke model which will be in sync with our PR agency. This time the states are also complementing our plans and the industry can plan campaigns around it. Our spends are higher than last year,” said Verma. Source: Economic Times
Read More »HeliTaxi service from city to Bengaluru airport soon
Bengaluru will become the first city in the country to have a helicopter shuttle service by November 2017. The Heli Taxi services will become operational between the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) and Electronics City. Ministry of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, who announced the launch, said that the service will ensure quick seamless transfers to and from the airport at a cost similar to luxury taxi fare. The fare of luxury taxis, which ply on this route (KIA and Electronics City), is between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000. Thumby Aviation Private Ltd has been roped in to offer the shuttle services. To begin with, the services will be from KIA to Electronics City and subsequently will be extended to Whitefield and HAL airport. The services are expected to begin in about three months as Thumby Aviation is in the process of seeking regulatory approvals. Thumby Aviation has two Bell 412 helicopters that can ferry 13 passengers and Bell 407 choppers that can carry five passengers. Source: IANS
Read More »Jet Airways appoints ‘Discover the World’ for increased presence in Switzerland
Jet Airways has appointed Discover the World to provide sales and marketing in Switzerland. Jenny Adams, CEO, Discover the World, says, ““Discover is delighted to partner with Jet Airways for the first time. Our team in Switzerland, headed by Director Richard Gugerli, will expand the airline’s visibility, helping to increase its revenues especially through its code share partnership with Air France/KLM.” From 2017 end, Jet Airways will fly to India 54 times a week from London Heathrow, Paris CDG, and Amsterdam to Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai. This includes new services from Amsterdam to Bengaluru and Paris CDG to Chennai which will commence on October 29, 2017. Jet Airways also flies daily from Amsterdam to Toronto.
Read More »Tigerair merges with Scoot
Nine months after Scoot and Tigerair announced their intention to pursue a single brand and operating licence under the enhanced Scoot brand, the airline industry bid farewell to Tigerair Singapore as its last flight departed Singapore for Tiruchirappalli on July 24. Now, all previous Tigerair flights will be operated under the Scoot brand and Scoot flights will operate under the TR flight designator code. This marks the completion of the Scoot-Tigerair integration process that began last May when the airlines were brought under a common holding company, Budget Aviation Holdings. After successfully commencing operations in India last year, value airline Scoot is all set to take up new destinations under its umbrella that were running under Tigerair. These include Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi, Tiruchirappalli and Lucknow which will now operate under the single brand name – Scoot from July 25, 2017. Scoot CEO, Lee LikHsin said, “As we come to the end of Tigerair’s journey, we open up a brand new chapter for Scoot. Building on what Tigerair and the old Scoot had achieved since their respective inceptions, we are stronger than we have ever been before, and consequently in an even better position to offer our guests more choice, connectivity and value. The enhanced Scoot that we are introducing today is spunky and sassy, and promises to create more travel opportunities for our guests.” “Scoot was very well received after the launch of our first three destinations in India last year, the response was remarkable. We hope to create the same impact in Bengaluru, Tiruchirappalli, Kochi, Lucknow and Hyderabad by bringing great prices without compromising on the safety and comfort of the passengers. When flying with a young and passionate airline like …
Read More »SpiceJet to start Hyderabad-Puducherry flight under UDAN
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.
Read More »VFS opens Germany VAC in Bengaluru
The new Germany Visa Application Centre was formally inaugurated in Langford Town by representatives from the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru. Margit Hellwig-Bötte, Consul General of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru, and Jürgen Pengel, Consul and Head of the Consular Department of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bengaluru, inaugurated the centre on June 23. Services at the spacious new facility, which moved from its earlier location in Shivaji Nagar, commenced in March this year. The centre is located at No. 11, First Floor, Global Tech Park, O’ Shaughnessy Road, Langford Town and houses visa operations of 31 diplomatic missions (including Germany) under one roof. With more counters for applicants and expansive waiting and registration areas, the new centre has a larger Premium Lounge for applicants looking for more personalised assistance. An ATM has also been installed within the premises for the convenience of all applicants. Germany visa applicants can avail of separate submission counters, biometric booths, and dedicated services in the Premium Lounge. They can make payments by credit and debit card (in addition to cash payments) at this centre.
Read More »GoAir launches third daily direct flight between Bengaluru and Delhi
GoAir is set to increase its operations between Bengaluru and New Delhi from June 24, 2017 with the launch of a third daily direct flight between the two cities. The flight will leave Bengaluru at 11:35 hours, reaching Delhi at 14:20 hours. A return flight will leave Delhi at 15:05 hours and reach at 18:00 hours. The new additional service has been introduced in response to a growing demand in this sector, particularly from corporate travellers. With this addition, GoAir now flies 1225 weekly flights between its 23 destinations serviced.
Read More »VFS Global launches Georgia Visa Application Centres in 5 cities in India
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, represented by Embassy of Georgia in New Delhi launched its visa facilitation centre in the capital city in collaboration with VFS Global, which will be operational from June 23. Four other centres in Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai will begin operations by the end of this month. The key features of the centre include extended operating hours to enable visitors to submit applications at their time of convenience, dedicated website for easy access to information including visa categories, requirements, checklist, application fees and visa status update; premium lounges for personalised service, etc. The new centre in New Delhi was inaugurated by Giorgi Tabatadze, Director of Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and His Excellency Archil Dzuliashvili, Ambassador of Georgia to India. Dzuliashvili informed that in 2016 Georgia recorded 350,000 Indian visitors but is now looking at ways to increase the two-way traffic given the long standing history that the countries have shared. “I am happy to note that after several months of intensive consultations, we have successfully accomplished negotiation process with VFS Global and finally signed the contract which allows us to facilitate and offer more accessible services to the Indian travellers through the several VFS Visa Application Centres in India,” said Dzuliashvili. He further added that Georgia is emerging as a very popular destination amongst Indians and the country will try to reduce the turn over time for granting visas to Indian nationals for tourism, business and education. The destination is promoting tourism from Georgia to India as well. Vinay Malhotra, Chief Operation Officer-Middle East and South Asia, VFS Global commented, “We are honoured to enter into this partnership with …
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