Category Archives: Aviation

Garuda Indonesia has announced that they will be starting flight services from Mumbai to Jakarta from December 12. The prices of the flight will start from Rs. 27,600, and the flight would offer further connection to Bali from Jakarta. Bird Travels is the GSA for the airline in India.

Air India launched its first direct flight from Delhi-Madrid at a gala ceremony in Delhi, which was graced by P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Minister, Civil Aviation; Pankaj Srivastava, Director-Commercial, Air India; I Prabhakara Rao, Chief Executive Officer, Delhi International Airport; Ignacio Ducasse Gutierrez, Tourism Counselor, Embassy of Spain in India and Director, Tourism Office of Spain in India, Mumbai; and other dignitaries from the travel and tourism industry. Madrid is Air India’s ninth European destination and 42nd international destination. Srivastava addressed the gathering and said, “The nine-hour flight would be able to cut down the flying time to Madrid by 4-5 hours, and would offer further connections to South American countries like Argentina, Brazil, Columbia and Chile.” The thrice a week flight with a  B787 Dreamliner, offers a convenient departure at 1425hrs from Delhi and arrival at Madrid at 2020hrs. From Madrid the departure time is 2150hrs and arrival in Delhi at 1110hrs the next day.

Starting from December 1, Myanmar Airways International will operate two times weekly service between Yangon and Kolkata on Airbus A320 and A319 aircraft. These flights between the two destinations will be operated on Thursdays and Sundays. MAI currently flies between Yangon and Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Gaya, Guangzhou, and between Mandalay and Bangkok. An official statement from MIA stated that Myanmar Airways is offering very attractive introductory fares on Kolkata to Yangon sector and can contact STIC Travel Group’s office in Kolkata-their representatives in India- for making flight reservations or any of the preferred travel agents. MAI also has code share agreements with Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Garuda Indonesia.

Greater Malabar Initiative (GMI) formed by industrialists, healthcare professionals and eminent persons to promote development of the Malabar region called upon Union Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju’s intervention for securing DGCA’s speedy approval for landing of wide-bodied jets at the Calicut airport – thereby strengthening  its international connectivity. A GMI team led by Chairman Dr. Azad Moopen submitted a memorandum to the Hon’ble Minister at his office in the capital. The appeal sought to point out that augmenting Calicut’s international connectivity  is critical for promoting exports and tourism in the region. Currently wide-bodied jets are not allowed to land in the airport hindering international connectivity, especially with Gulf countries. Final work on the runway is expected to be completed by March next year. Dr. Azad Moopen, Chairman of GMI said, ‘’Calicut’s economic development hinges on international connectivity. The withdrawal of wide-bodied aircraft services has caused considerable hardship to travellers from Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad districts. Insufficient cargo movement hasalso hit farmers and exporters who send perishable goods to the Gulf countries.We have requested Hon’ble Civil Aviation Minister for his support to ensure that the necessary DGCA approval is accelerated as soon as the final re-carpeting work is completed in March next year. We are hopeful of a speedy clearance.’’ Calicut Airport commenced operations in 1988 with a short 6,000 feet runway. After four years, the runway length was extended to 9380 feet to enable bigger aircrafts to operate to Calicut connecting with Gulf countries through erstwhile Indian Airlines. In 2006, more international flights including Hajj flights were being operated using wide-bodied aircrafts. The airport was partially closed for re-carpeting and pavement strengthening since May 2015.

Under a new agreement with the IndoCanadian Bus Service, Jet will provide bus services to passengers wanting to connect between Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and the Punjabi city of Jalandhar. The service is also available to passengers in several other cities in north India, including Amritsar, Chandigarh and Mohali. “Our agreement with IndoCanadian Bus Service illustrates the way in which Jet Airways goes the extra mile to set new service standards for its guests,” said Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways. “We’re confident that the added convenience of being able to book their first-mile or last-mile connection to [and] from Jalandhar via Delhi, simultaneously with their flight booking.” IndoCanadian will operate the services using air-conditioned tourist coaches. The company will also provide free pick-up and drop-off services via shared cabs for passengers in other cities.

Bhutan Airlines will start flying to Bodh Gaya next month, catering to the Buddhist pilgrimage market. Effective 4 December 2016, the airline will fly from Bangkok and Paro to the UNESCO-listed heritage site in India’s Bihar state, which is said to be where the Lord Buddha gained enlightenment. Flights will operate twice a week (every Wednesday and Sunday) on a seasonal basis, ending on February 26, 2017. A 122-seat Airbus A319 aircraft will be deployed on the route.

SpiceJet will commence its daily direct flight on the Hyderabad–Jabalpur route from December 23, 2016. Hyderabad is the third metro after Delhi and Mumbai that SpiceJet will be serving a daily direct flight connecting Jabalpur. The fares for the Hyderabad-Jabalpur route will start from Rs 3,613 whereas for Jabalpur – Hyderabad route it will start from Rs 3073. Bookings for the routes are currently open.

Passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-Oct, 2016, were 813.70 lakhs as against 660.60 lakhs during the corresponding period of 2015, thereby registering a growth of 23.18 per cent, according to a DGCA report. SpiceJet recorded the highest PLF of 91.9 per cent amongst all other domestic airlines. The passenger load factor (PLF) in October this year almost remained constant compared to previous month primarily due to the end of tourist season, while the overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for the month of Oct 2016 has been 0.72 per cent. In terms of On Time Performance (OTP), SpiceJet again came out a winner with an average OTP of 86.1 per cent, as against Vistara (83.6 per cent) and IndiGo (81.2 per cent).

Come March 2017, Brussels Airlines will come on board with Lufthansa Group Airlines. Lufthansa Group Airlines represents Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian in India. Wolfgang Will, Director South Asia, Lufthansa Group Airlines, said, “Lufthansa Group Airlines will also now represent Brussels Airlines in India from March 2017 onwards and has also announced five flights from Mumbai to Brussels from the same month.” Will also added that they have received a robust load factor from India which is over 85 per cent.

Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, is celebrating the country’s 46th National Day with the inauguration of its Kochi office at a new location. The new office is located in MG Road, which is the most coveted location in the city. It was the first international carrier to operate from the Kochi International Airport. The office inauguration was marked by the ribbon cutting ceremony by Kochi Mayor Soumini Jain, in the esteemed presence of Ihab Sorial, Senior Vice President – International Sales, Sunil VA, Regional Vice President – Indian Subcontinent, Bhanu Kaila, Country Manager – India, Jayakrishna Bhaskaran – District Sales Manager, Kochi and Vijay Bhatia, President, Bird Group of Companies. In 2001, Oman Air started its operations in Kochi with 3 flights in a week which was later increased to 5 flights a week. In 2005, Oman Air announced daily operations from Kochi to Muscat. To meet the ever increasing travel needs of our customers, Oman Air now operates twice daily from Kochi since December 2015.