Tag Archives: Dubai

Dubai Airports welcomed 8.5 million Indian passengers during January-September, 2016. The total number of Indian passengers who travelled to Dubai (including transit passengers) in 2015 was 10.5 million. Lorne Riley, Director Corporate Communications, Communications and Business Development, Dubai Airports, says, “India is the largest source market for Dubai. Traffic from India till September has been recorded at 8.5 million but we will surpass the total traffic from last year by the end of 2016 and the total growth rate right now is 10 per cent between Dubai and India.” On an average 79 daily flights or 550 flights per week are operated between India and Dubai, informed Riley. He added, “Despite the capacity constraints, Indian airlines as a group are the fastest growing airlines that we have operating into Dubai International. Over the past 12 months, (November 2015 to November 2016) we have seen a 35 per cent increase in seats and 29 per cent increase in number of flights between India and Dubai.” Riley believes that by the end of 2020 Dubai International Airport will not only be the number one airport for international passenger traffic but also for total number of passenger traffic.

Air India Express will connect Sharjah with Chandigarh and Tiruchirapalli (in Tamil Nadu) from September. The airline will introduce three non-stop flights per week each from Chandigarh (IXC) and Tiruchirapalli (TRZ), to add Sharjah International Airport, bringing the total number of its routes between Sharjah and Indian destinations up to seven. India is one of the United Arab Emirates’ leading trade partners, accounting for some 9.8 percent of the country’s total non-oil trade, buying 14.9 percent of the Emirates’ exports and 8.7 percent of its re-exports. The total volume of bilateral trade between India and the UAE is expected to increase from $60 billion in 2014 to $100 billion by the year 2020. India is also the largest single origin of investors for Sharjah’s Hamriyah Free Zone and Sharjah International Airport Free Zone (SAIF Zone). Air India Express has been expanding its services to destinations in the UAE, including daily Mumbai-Dubai, Mumbai-Sharjah, New Delhi-Dubai and New Delhi-Abu Dhabi routes, which it added earlier this year. According to the airline, the number of its weekly flights between India and the UAE increased from 107 flights to 146 flights per week before the summer. The low-cost airline currently operates five routes with a total of 15 weekly flights to Sharjah International Airport. Air India Express now flies direct to Sharjah from Kochi (COK), Kozhikode (CCJ), Mumbai (SAHAR), New Delhi (DEL), Thiruvananthapuram (TRV) and Varanasi (VNS. India is well connected to Sharjah, with Sharjah-headquartered Air Arabia operating flights between Sharjah and 13 Indian destinations. Jet Airways, India’s second largest airline, operates direct daily flights on Sharjah-Kochi and Sharjah-Mangaluru (IXE) routes.

Mumbai-based Avant Garde Consulting has taken on JA Resorts & Hotels as part of its connoisseur’s collection, which is a collection of seven properties spread across Dubai, and one each in the Maldives and Seychelles. Pooja Wadhwa, Partner, Avant Garde Consulting, said, “The company has an analogous marketing philosophy and market segmentation as ours, and we see a perfect fit for each of their properties in various segments within the ever evolving Indian market that desires an authentic and enriching experience. We look forward to building the JA Resorts & Hotels brand in India, and subsequently acquire a large market share for JA in India.” JA’s Portfolio includes seven properties in Dubai, JA Manafaru exclusive island resort in the Maldives and Enchanted Island Resort by JA in Seychelles, which is a super-luxurious 10 villa property each with private beach access and a private pool.

Kerala Tourism has rolled out a taxi campaign in Dubai targeting Arab travellers, showcasing the state’s features on taxis on the Dubai roads. Around 200 Kerala-branded taxis carry the message of ‘A Faraway Land Four Hours Away’– with visuals featuring hill stations, backwaters, waterfalls and also Ayurvedic therapies. The campaign will see the cabs take to the streets sporting wrappings aimed to promote the state’s Monsoon getaways. “Apart from the favourable climate, the relative proximity and excellent air connectivity between Kerala and the cities of the Middle East make it easier to attract holiday makers to the state,” said Dr. Venu V, Principal Secretary Tourism, Kerala. “Dubai, being the hub for air travel in the region, was the logical choice of location for the marketing campaign. The exposure and footfalls gained by Kerala will bear this out.” The campaign, inspired by the previous highly successful branding efforts on London taxi cabs and the Mumbai metro, will run until August 15. Besides serving to augment Kerala’s destination pull, it is an acknowledgment of the growing importance of the Middle East outbound tourist market. Kerala received more than one lakh visitors from the region in 2015, with some 20,506 tourists from the UAE alone. The majority came from Saudi Arabia with 51,149 Saudi nationals visiting last year, while Oman accounted for 18,763 footfalls. “As the holiday season in the Middle East coincides with the Monsoon season here, Kerala is well-positioned to benefit from the influx of travellers looking to trade in the sizzle and dust for cooler climes and greener pastures,” said U.V. Jose, Director, Kerala Tourism.

Effective September 26, 2016, IndiGo (6E) will operate its new daily non-stop flight between Chandigarh and Dubai at an all-inclusive return fare of Rs. 10,000. The airline also announced additional daily non-stop flight between Chandigarh and Delhi.Speaking on the launch to Dubai, Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo said, “We are very excited about the introduction of new launch from Chandigarh to Dubai. Chandigarh has been promising for us at IndiGo. We are excited to provide an international connection from Chandigarh which has been a long standing request from the people of city. The new service connecting Chandigarh with Dubai will reinforce our commitment to the State of Punjab & Haryana. This will also provide increased convenience for customers travelling from Himachal Pradesh & other adjoining cities of Punjab & Haryana.”

AccorHotels and Cyberabad Convention Centre, a joint venture between Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) and Emaar Properties PJSC, Dubai, announced the renewal of their agreement for the management of the Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre and the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC). This follows the completion of a 10-year commitment to manage and operate the 287-room hotel and the 15-acre convention facility in Hyderabad. Both facilities operate in a complementary yet distinctive manner, guided by Novotel’s brand promise of meeting the needs of everyone, anywhere and anytime. Cyberabad Convention Centre and AccorHotels also announced a refurbishment programme for the hotel and the convention centre to build on the complex’s current position as South Asia’s most recognizable and modern convention facility.

Air India Express has commenced its direct services from Delhi to Dubai and Delhi-Abu Dhabi. Air India Express will operate the two direct flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi daily. New Boeing 737-800 aircraft with capacity to carry 189 passengers are being deployed. “The inaugural flight to Dubai, IX 141, took off with 166 passengers from New Delhi at 9.05 am on Sunday. The daily flight to Abu Dhabi will be effective Monday,” Air India Express said in a release. The entry of Air India’s international budget arm into Delhi is likely to intensify competition in the lucrative Gulf routes from the national capital since other Indian carriers have recently increased their frequencies. SpiceJet, IndiGo and Jet Airways have flights on Gulf routes, a PTI report stated. Headquartered in Kochi, Air India Express flies from 13 places across the country to as many destinations in the Middle-East and South-East Asia.

With effect from March 1, Jet Airways will launch a sixth daily frequency from Mumbai to Dubai. With the introduction of this new flight, Jet Airways will offer the maximum number of daily flights between the two cities. Jet Airways will also launch a third daily frequency between Delhi and Dubai, starting March 27, offering guests a greater choice when travelling between India’s national capital and the Emirate. With the launch of the new frequencies, Jet Airways will operate a total of 11 daily flights between India and Dubai. This includes flights from Kochi and Mangalore. Gaurang Shetty, Senior Vice-President – Commercial, Jet Airways, said, “Jet Airways is delighted to introduce additional frequencies from Mumbai and Delhi to Dubai providing greater choice and convenience to our guests on these popular routes. Dubai is amongst our most popular destinations for business and leisure travellers and it was only fitting to increase capacity to this key market. The new frequencies will enable Jet Airways to offer guests a wide choice of departure times to/from Dubai and convenient domestic connections via our hubs in Mumbai and Delhi.” Jet Airways will deploy Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the new services, offering Premiere and Economy guests a best in class in-flight product, warm service, a choice of Indian and international cuisine and the latest in-flight entertainment.

IndiGo has launched 10 flights across its domestic and international network. The airline will connect Delhi to Dubai from February 10; Bengaluru to Patna and Ranchi from February 15; and from February 18 flights will operate between Chandigarh to Delhi and Kochi (via Delhi); and Jaipur and Pune. Also, Delhi-Lucknow route will now have eight daily non-stop flights, with effect from February 18. The 3rd daily non-stop flight, effective Feb 10, from Delhi to Dubai costs Rs 6,980, while the Dubai to Delhi flight will cost Rs 7,025.The first daily non-stop flight, effective Feb 15, from Bengaluru to Patna will cost Rs 5,737, while the Ranchi to Bengaluru 1st daily non-stop flight will cost Rs 4,349. For flights effective Feb 18, the 1st daily non-stop flights from Delhi to Chandigarh will cost Rs 1,600; from Chandigarh to Delhi Rs 1478; Chandigarh to Kochi (via Delhi) will cost Rs 6,268; Kochi to Chandigarh (via Delhi) is worth Rs 6,313. Flights from Jaipur to Pune will cost Rs 3,933; and Pune to Jaipur Rs 3,730. The 8th daily non-stop flights from Delhi to Lucknow cost Rs 1,761 and from Lucknow to Delhi is for Rs 1,831. With the launch of these new flights the airline will operate 700 daily flights, connecting 39 destinations.

SpiceJet has announced the launch of two new flights to Jaipur and Hyderabad. With the introduction of these two new flights, SpiceJet now connects 10 Indian cities with Dubai every day. The airline is offering an introductory one way offer of Dh359 (all-inclusive) between Dubai and Jaipur. The Dubai-Hyderabad fares are available at Dh397 (all-inclusive) on a first-come-first-served basis. The flights will commence on February 16, 2016, for which bookings are now open. “With the launch of our Jaipur-Dubai sector, SpiceJet will become the first private airline to operate a direct flight on this route. SpiceJet will also be the only airline to fly five times per week on this route. The Hyderabad-Dubai flights are so timed as to allow business travellers to India’s IT hub make the most of every working day,” said Shilpa Bhatia, Senior VP Commercial, SpiceJet. The airline will deploy its Boeing 737-800 aircraft on these routes.