Jet Airways Offers Guaranteed Bonus Miles Under Promotional Scheme

As competition among airlines in the Indian market takes a new turn, Jet Airways is offering flyers "guaranteed JPMiles" and a chance to win daily prizes of 100,000 JPMiles on every flight under 'The Billion Miles Festival'. This special scheme is applicable on bookings made on Jet Airways' website or mobile app before March 31, 2017 for travel up to May 31, 2017, the airline - which competes with the likes of Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet and AirAsia in the domestic market - said on its website. Terming its scheme a "big opportunity", Jet Airways said a million JPMiles is "equal to redeeming 10 return trips between Mumbai and London or 100 return trips between Mumbai and Goa, simply using your JPMiles".

Under its "once in a life-time offer", flyers get guaranteed additional JPMiles and "a chance to win a million JPMiles", the carrier said. Jet Airways is offering a grand prize of 1 million JPMiles to a lucky winner and daily prizes of 1,00,000 JPmiles each to 40 lucky winners.

Here’s Why Delhi & Mumbai Airports Won’t Add New Flights This Summer

Major Indian airports will not be including new flights this summer despite the increasing traffic. The situation is worse at India's major airports like Delhi and Mumbai which together accounted for 10 crore commuters out of India's total air traffic of 15 crore last year.
According to a report by The Times of India, Delhi airport will not be adding any new flight between 7 am and 10 pm this summer. Mumbai airport, on the other hand, may have to introduce additional domestic flights at night, a request which has been made by all the airlines.
In February, 2017, a Reuters report had pointed to capacity crunch at Indian airports which are failing to keep pace with the number of jets entering the market and rapid growth in demand from travellers.

SpiceJet Chief's Views On Qatar Airways' India Entry

SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh told NDTV Profit that the views of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which includes all the four major airlines (Jet Airways, IndiGo, GoAir and SpiceJet) as well as the national carrier (Air India), on impending entry of Qatar Airways are similar as there is no country in the world that allows 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in aviation. These policies should be on the basis of reciprocity and we should only allow airlines or countries into India if they allow us the same privilege, he added.

Air Asia resumes cargo service

Tiruchi: Days after it suspended lifting overseas cargo, foreign carrier Air Asia resumed lifting freight from the Tiruchi international airport on Friday.

Three shipments meant for different destinations were dispatched by the morning Kuala Lumpur-bound flight much to the relief of stakeholders. Air Asia, which operates three flights a day from Tiruchi to Kuala Lumpur and back, stopped lifting overseas freight from last Saturday putting exporters and other stakeholders in a quandary. Airport sources said that among the three overseas shipments dispatched on Friday, one was fabrics bound for Brunei. The remaining two shipments were perishables bound for Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
To Read the News in Full 18/03/17 The Hindu

Duty-free outlets to come up at Chandigarh International Airport

Chandigarh: Duty-free outlets at Chandigarh International Airport are soon going to become a reality as the airport authority has called for tenders for opening of two duty-free outlets at the airport. The new terminal of the Chandigarh International Airport was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in September 2015. The international flights, however, started last year only.
Chandigarh airport authority officials on Friday told Chandigarh Newsline that global tenders have been called for setting up of the outlets. “We have called for tenders from the firms. Once the authorities finalise one firm through the tendering process, one duty-free outlet each will be coming up in the departure and the arrival area of the airport,” said a senior official. The official said they are expecting duty-free outlets to come up “very soon” at the airport.

Centre wants to revive air services from Puducherry

Puducherry: The Union government has proposed to revive air services from the Union territory of Puducherry and connect the former French town with Hyderabad, Tirupathi, Chennai, Salem, Bangalore and Coimbatore, said chief minister V Narayanasamy.
The proposal was revealed by the Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati to Narayanasamy, who called on him along with health and family welfare minister Malladi Krishna Rao and chief secretary Manoj Parida in New Delhi.

Airbus India Training Centre to take wings by 2018-end

New Delhi: French aircraft manufacturer Airbus today began work on its first fully-owned training centre in Asia, with the ground-breaking ceremony at Aerocity, near Indira Gandhi International Airport here. Vistara, the joint-venture airline of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, became the first airline to sign an agreement with Airbus to train its pilots at the centre.
Vistara said it had signed a five-year agreement with Airbus Group India Pvt Ltd to provide training to its pilots for the A320 aircraft.
Airbus India Training Centre (AITC) brings state-of-the-art technology to India for the training of flight crew. It is equipped with latest software that accurately simulates the aircraft-handling characteristics and system responses.
The ground-breaking ceremony was performed by Civil Aviation Minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Tom Enders, CEO, Airbus. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha was also present.

Qatar Airways Offers Up To 15% Discounts On SBI Cards

Mumbai: State Bank of India and Qatar Airways on Thursday entered into a partnership to offer the bank's corporate and retail cardholders up to 15 per cent discount on business class tickets and up to 10 per cent discount on economy fares to the US, Europe and Africa.

The offer is on both debit and credit cards and is valid for bookings done on or before April 7 for travel until September 30, the national carrier of Qatar said in a statement.

Naveen Chawla, Qatar Airways senior manager for the Subcontinent said this partnership provides them a platform to leverage SBI's massive corporate customer base.
To Read the News in Full 16/03/17 PTI/NDTV

Airlines run out of flight numbers, DGCA warns safety at risk

New Delhi: The boom in aviation in India has given rise to a peculiar problem — airlines are running out of flight numbers. With a growing number of flights and too few flight numbers, call sign confusion emerged as a serious concern among authorities at the recently concluded meeting for deciding summer slots.
The existing three-digit codes are increasingly leading to confusion and there has been a spate of safety scares when similar sounding flight numbers operate to or from the same airport around the same time — something that's happening with increasing frequency due to the volume of traffic.
At the meeting, S B Sharma, Airport Authority of India's joint GM (air traffic management), said 1,800 call sign conflicts were resolved in the last season (last summer).

Qatar Airways' proposal would be allowed only after proper examination: Aviation secy

New Delhi: The government today said any proposal by Qatar Airways for FDI would be allowed only after proper examination, said a top government official today.

"In general, we welcome FDI. As far as a specific proposal is concerned that proposal has to follow the approval route... I can not predict that. The government process will examine," aviation Secretary R N Choubey told reporters today in response to whether a foreign airline with an investment partner can own 100 per cent of an airline in India.

The statement assumes significance, as Indian carriers had registered a protest to the government on an announcement by Qatar Airways to launch an airline in India.
To Read the News in Full 17/03/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

‘Indigo to get delivery of new plane every 9 days’

After the latest order of 250 aircraft placed in 2014, Indigo Airlines will be getting delivery of a new aircraft every nine days till 2027.
Summing up all the acquisitions since 2005, the airlines' fleet will reach 530 in all, said Rahul Bhatia, founder and group managing director of Interglobe Aviation, which operates the Indigo brand of airlines.
Bhatia, who was addressing a convocation meet at Institute of Management Technology (IMT), 35km from the city, said Indigo began with 100 aircraft in 2005. At that time, other players in the industry thought it was a suicidal move. "The industry was of the view that Indigo was a late entrant in the business and starting with a huge acquisition of 100 aircraft would be a disaster. This was the biggest acquisition in the history of commercial aviation," he said.

Company of the Year: Flying high

InterGlobe Aviation, the company that operates IndiGo, India’s most profitable airline, has redefined aviation in the country. The airline, which started operations in 2006, has become the largest in the country and has proved that it is possible to consistently make profits in the highly competitive domestic aviation industry.

IndiGo has run a tight ship with an obsessive focus on cost. It brought in efficiency to reduce turnaround time, getting more out of each aircraft, without losing focus on quality, cleanliness and customer service. IndiGo was the first airline to tell customers that it respected their time and made “on-time performance” a key metric, and continuously reinforced the message. It also made flying a pleasurable experience with responsive attendants, innovative food and beverages, and quirky merchandise.

The company had announced its arrival with a bang in the 2005 Paris Air Show through a surprise $6 billion order of 100 planes, when very few had even heard about it.

Regional connectivity scheme will add 50 airports in next 6 months: Jayant Sinha

The Aviation Ministry's ambitious regional connectivity scheme will add 50 airports to the country's existing 75 in the next six months, said Minister of State for Aviation Jayant Sinha.

The airports that fall under the "regional airport" category will be announced in a week's time, he said.

The country is currently witnessing 150 million passenger trips per year, whereas the US, with only a third of India's population, witnesses around 900 million passenger trips per year. The aim of the Regional Connectivity Scheme is to increase passenger trips three-fold, said Sinha.

Centre wants to revive air services from Puducherry

The Union government has proposed to revive air services from the Union territory of Puducherry and connect the former French town with Hyderabad, Tirupathi, Chennai, Salem, Bangalore and Coimbatore, said chief minister V Narayanasamy.
The proposal was revealed by the Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati to Narayanasamy, who called on him along with health and family welfare minister Malladi Krishna Rao and chief secretary Manoj Parida in New Delhi.

Air India to Launch New Delhi - Tel Aviv Flights

Air India is to launch flights between New Delhi and Tel Aviv, Israel in May 2017.

The airline will operate the route three times per week.

Mr. Yariv Levin, Minister of Tourism - Israel, said, “Air India Chairman Lohani was deeply impressed with his visit to Israel and, in his own words, is convinced that the many Indian tourists who will visit Israel will find it an exceptional tourism destination.

Air India opposes changes to ownership norms

State-owned Air India has opposed changes to guidelines of ownership and control that will make it easier for a foreign entity to fully own an airline in India. Private airlines have already opposed the proposed changes.

Two Air India executives that Business Standard spoke to confirmed the airline had conveyed its opposition to the proposed changes to the civil aviation and commerce ministries. The development could dampen the government’s zeal to relax norms in order to attract foreign direct investment.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker last week announced it would start an airline in India, the world’s fastest-growing aviation market, together with Qatar’s sovereign fund.

Existing norms mandate that two-thirds of members of an airline’s board must comprise Indian nationals, which the draft proposal intends to change.

Delhi airport signs deal with Airbus

Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd, a GMR led consortium, signed a land license agreement with Airbus for setting up India’s first full flight simulator at the Aerocity – Terminal District of Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. On the 1.11 acre of land, the France based company will set up India’s first full flight simulator to address the growing demand of trained pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers. Airbus will also establish its India Headquarter within the same development.

The land license agreement was signed today between DIAL and Airbus India for a period till 31st March, 2036. DIAL has received the initial security deposit and ADC and will also receive an annual license fee from this license.

This Indian airline is making travel easier for solo women travellers

Giving a boost to solo women travellers is Vistara airlines' newly launched #VistaraWomanFlyer service. The service includes assigning preferred seats to solo women travellers flying on any domestic sector, as well as providing baggage and transport assistance on arrival.
As per the details shared by Vistara, customers can pre-select seats during booking, after booking through the 'manage my booking' feature as well as during web check-in.

IGI to have 'air train' by 2020, says Jayant Sinha

In three years, transiting between the different terminals of IGI Airport (IGIA) will mean simply hopping on a dedicated air train that will keep going around T1, 2 and 3 -- instead of taking a bus to commute between them.
Aviation minister Jayant Sinha on Thursday told Parliament that Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL) proposes to have an automated people mover (APM) between its terminals by 2020.
TOI had first reported this on February 24, 2016.
The master plan, 2016, (for IGIA) contains a provision for APM for connecting all the terminals of the airport. Total length of the proposed APM alignment is 5.5 km, out of which 1.5 km is underground whereas 4-km portion is elevated," Sinha said in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
According to sources, the average cost of each km of under and overground metro line is up to Rs 500 and Rs 200 crore, respectively. So a 4-km over and 1.5-km underground line should cost about Rs 1,550 crore.

IGI choked: No new peak-hour flights in Delhi this summer

Indians may be flying like never before but the infrastructure crunch at metro airports is limiting their choice of flights. The problem is so acute that putting an additional flight in peak hours is becoming tough at most metros.
Delhi airport, for instance, will not be adding a single flight between 7am and 10pm this summer.
Airlines are pleading with Mumbai airport to allow more domestic flights at night as the airport has no additional slots left.
These two airports alone accounted for almost 10 crore of the total (domestic-cum-international) traffic of just over 15 crore last year.
The severe infrastructure crunch at major Indian airports was highlighted during recent deliberations aviation authorities held with airlines to finalise the summer schedule this year.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) cleared a summer schedule of 17,170 domestic flights a week from 77 airports by 12 airlines.

SpiceJet's One-Year Apprenticeship Programme: Here Are The Details

SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh in an interview with NDTV Profit on Thursday announced an apprenticeship programme under Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (AME). The one-year programme, Mr Singh said, will train young engineers who graduate from 70 or 80 AME schools across the country. Currently, we found that there is a big gap between education and skills while interviewing students from the AME schools in the country, SpiceJet chief further said.

Airlines pleading with Mumbai airport to allow more domestic flights

Indians may be flying like never before but the infrastructure crunch at metro airports is limiting their choice of flights. The problem is so acute that putting an additional flight in peak hours is becoming tough at most metros.Delhi airport, for instance, will not be adding a single flight between 7am and 10pm this summer.Airlines are pleading with Mumbai airport to allow more domestic flights at night as the airport has no additional slots left.These two airports alone accounted for almost 10 crore of the total (domestic-cum-international) traffic of just over 15 crore last year.The severe infrastructure crunch at major Indian airports was highlighted during recent deliberations aviation authorities held with airlines to finalise the summer schedule this year.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) cleared a summer schedule of 17,170 domestic flights a week from 77 airports by 12 airlines.

Sri Lankan Airlines proposes to operate Coimbatore-Colombo flights from July 15

Coimbatore:  Sri Lankan Airlines is planning to operate four flights per week from Coimbatore to Colombo starting July 15. This will be the third international carrier flying out of the Coimbatore airport, after Air Arabia (to Sharjah) and Silk Air (to Singapore).
Director of Coimbatore Airport G Prakash Reddy confirmed to TOI that Sri Lankan Airlines has proposed to operate flights from the Coimbatore to Colombo from July 15. "The flight will operate on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Qatar Airways Offers Up To 15% Discounts On SBI Cards

Mumbai: State Bank of India and Qatar Airways on Thursday entered into a partnership to offer the bank's corporate and retail cardholders up to 15 per cent discount on business class tickets and up to 10 per cent discount on economy fares to the US, Europe and Africa.

The offer is on both debit and credit cards and is valid for bookings done on or before April 7 for travel until September 30, the national carrier of Qatar said in a statement.

Naveen Chawla, Qatar Airways senior manager for the Subcontinent said this partnership provides them a platform to leverage SBI's massive corporate customer base.
To Read the News in Full 16/03/17 PTI/NDTV

No foreign carrier applied to start fully-owned domestic airline: Minister

The central government has not received any application from foreign airlines to start a domestic passenger carrier through the 100 per cent FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) route, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said on Wednesday.

The minister gave the information in reply to a question raised about Qatar Airways’ plan to start a fully owned domestic passenger carrier in partnership with an institutional investor on the sidelines of an industry event here.

Earlier, Qatar Airways had said that its plan to set up an airline in India along with Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.

Ajmer airport to be operational from I-Day

Ajmer: The Ajmer airport in Kishangarh is on the last phase of completion and therefore, various teams from different technical departments are visiting the airport to verify security and management systems. State education and panchayat minister Vasudev Devnani Wednesday visited the under construction airport for feedback.
Earlier, flight operations were supposed to start from March-April this year but it was further delayed for few months due to verify certain measures. A land dispute also propped up amid this which delayed the process further.

Etihad Airways to withdraw A380 services on Mumbai route

Mumbai: Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways on Wednesday said that as part of its continued review of schedules, seasonal adjustments are being made to the airlines A380 services between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai.
“Effective 1 July until 28 October 2017, A380 flights EY 203 and 204 between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai will be operated by an A340-600 aircraft,” the airline said in a statement.
“The A380 will be redeployed on the Abu Dhabi-Paris route during the peak summer travel months.”

25 airport have reached their optimum utilisation: Govt

New Delhi: Twenty-five operational airports in the country have almost reached or nearing their optimum utilisation, and steps have been taken to bring their capacity as per the traffic demand, the government said today.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha, in a written reply also informed the Lok Sabha said that the existing infrastructure capacity at Indian airports is sufficient to meet the traffic demand.

There are 77 operational airports in the country.

India's Captain Gopinath to launch new passenger airline

Indian aviation entrepreneur Captain Gopinath is keen to re-enter the commercial passenger business and is on the lookout for 20-seater aircraft to launch on regional routes. Speaking with the Mumbai Mirror, Gopinath said he is using his charter airline Deccan Charters (Bangalore Int'l) to bid on routes for Tier III and Tier IV cities.

Gopinath launched India's first low cost carrier, Air Deccan (DN, Bangalore Int'l), in 2003 which grew to become the country's second largest carrier by 2007.

Biometrics-enabled e-boarding trial completed at Bengaluru airport

An e-boarding pilot, powered by Safran Identity & Security’s MorphoWave touchless biometric technology deployed in a fully operational environment, has been successfully completed at Southern India’s busiest airport, Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru (BLR).
The process throughput was developed and designed together with Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of the BLR Airport, in accordance with the Indian Aviation Security Policies. It is based on real-time biometric authentication of passengers using their Aadhaar ID. Passengers are able to complete all the airport processes from the airport entry kiosk to boarding, by simply waving their hands.

Air India Announces eSuperSaver Multi User Scheme

Air India has introduced a promotional scheme called "eSuperSaver - Multi User" for travel on domestic sectors. Under Air India's eSuperSaver scheme, an online booklet can be purchased in business class or economy class, with ten eCoupons. It comes in two variants: up to 750 km and all domestic sectors. The online booklet would be open for sale till April 30, 2017, Air India said. For business class travel, the cost of 10 eCoupons in "up to 750 km" category is Rs. 80,000 and in "all sectors" Rs. 1.5 lakh. For economy class travel, the cost of 10 eCoupons in "up to 750 km" category is Rs. 40,000 and in "all sectors" Rs. 55,000.
To Read the News in Full 16/03/17 Surajit Dasgupta/NDTV

Air India to complete procurement of all 27 Dreamliners by October: Jayant Sinha

Air India will complete the procurement of all the 27 Dreamliners  by October, 2017 as per the contract, MoS for Civil Aviation, Jayant Sinha said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.

“Air India has acquired 23 Dreamliners progressively from September, 2012 to January 9, 2017.  The Dreamliners aircraft have experienced technical reliability issues, since induction into Air India fleet.   These issues, however, do not affect the safety of the airplane due to the system design and inbuilt system redundancy.  Further, system improvements are incorporated as a part of reliability enhancement process and the glitches have significantly reduced,” the minister informed the Upper House.

Now, book an Uber when flying Jet Airways

Mumbai: Full-service airline Jet Airways has announced a partnership with ride-hailing app Uber to book airport cabs through the Jet Airways app itself.

The airline will partner Uber and facilitate travel to/ from the airport once a passenger has booked a ticket on the Jet Airways app.

Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, “The association is especially meaningful since both Jet Airways and Uber have substantially similar guest profiles and needs, which will facilitate greater collaboration.”

Guests booking their flights on the app and using Uber for the first time will also benefit from a discount of Rs 150 across their first three rides by using the promo code JETUBER.
To Read the News in Full 15/03/17 Varun Aggarwal/Business Line

SpiceJet, IndiGo Offer Attractive Deals Through Vouchers. Here's What You Get

SpiceJet and IndiGo are offering money-saving vouchers and discounts to counter the highly competitive Indian market. Under a "value pack" programme, SpiceJet is offering special vouchers priced from Rs. 499, under which customers get two flight vouchers of Rs. 600 and Rs. 199, and a hotel voucher worth Rs. 1,000, among other benefits. SpiceJet is also offering flight vouchers of Rs. 1,100 and Rs. 199 as part of another value pack, which is priced at Rs. 999. "Now pay just Rs. 499/Rs. 999 and get SpiceJet Vouchers worth Rs. 1,999/Rs. 3,999," SpiceJet - which competes with the likes of Air India, IndiGo, Jet Airways and AirAsia India in the domestic market - said on its website.
Analysts say increasing competition among airlines present in the market is leading to such benefits for customers.

Airlines go to Sitharaman with FDI concerns

New Delhi: Representatives of domestic airlines' grouping, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) on Tuesday met Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and raised concerns over a move to permit overseas players to establish carriers in the country.

The federation - comprising Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir - have been vociferous about their opposition to foreign entities being allowed to invest in local carriers.

The meeting assumes significance as it comes nearly a week after Qatar Airways announced plans to set up an airline in India, along with the Gulf nation's sovereign wealth fund.

Duty-free shop opened at Visakhapatnam airport

Amalapuram MP Ravindra Babu inaugurated the duty- free shop at Visakhapatnam Airport on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion Dr Ravindra Babu said in the coming days Visakhapatnam Airport traffic will improve and more number of flights will be operating from Visakhapatnam to other international destinations.

The Airports Authority of India had floated a global tender in 2015 for operating duty free shops in 15 airports in the country, for a contract period of seven years.

AGM Duty Free Selatan Sdn. Bhd of Malaysia, participated in the contract and secured the tender for operating duty free shops in five airports such as Trivandrum, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Coimbatore and Madurai.
To Read the News in Full 16/03/17 The Hindu

Everything you need to know about JetScreen, the in-flight entertainment service from Jet Airways

Air travel usually involves a lot of fun and excitement. The joy of soaring in the skies, hovering above cloud cover is unparalleled in any of the other modes of transport currently available. But once your flight has attained designated flight altitude, which stays steady, there’s not much to do. For years, long haul international flights had in-flight entertainment facilities. These allow you to watch movies or popular TV series. Even listen to some music or play games. Vistara did offer a similar service, but the devices were provided by the airline. But in today’s day and age where devices with passengers is a given, Jet Airways introduced its in-flight entertainment (IFE) service called JetScreen. The service is live on most routes the airline operates on.

IBS wins 'Information Technology Provider of the Year for the Airline Industry' award

Trivandrum: IBS Software has won the prestigious 'Information Technology Provider of the Year for the Airline Industry' award instituted by Transport News International (TNI), the widely read UK based monthly journal published by AI Global Media Ltd. TNI specializes in the global transport industry with features on the deals, appointments, research, news and other developments.  Industry experts in their field, government and think-tanks from around the world shed light on the issues that matter, with special sections on rail, roads, logistics, shipping and aviation in every issue of the publication. TNI has been in existence for seven years and has a current readership of around 59,000 world-wide.

ICG nod for air wing at Thiruvananthapuram airport

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has given the approval to set up its air wing at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The move aims to ensure immediate assistance in rescue operations during mishaps in the sea off Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram coasts.

The new air wing would be set up at the old domestic terminal at the airport. A Chetak helicopter and Dornier aircraft would be stationed in the air wing. Airports Authority of India (AAI) had given its nod for the air wing earlier, but the approval of ICG was long pending.

IndiGo adds Sharjah to its international destinations

New Delhi: Budget carrier IndiGo on Tuesday added Sharjah as its sixth international destination with daily non-stop flights from Kozhikode and Thiruvananthpuram in Kerala. The Sharjah-Kozhikode flight service will start from March 20 and the Sharjah-Thiruvananthpuram service will be effective from April 8, the airline said in a statement.
“With rising business and tourism stemming from the Gulf market, IndiGo (6E) is determined to provide the best travel experience to all those who wish to fly to these destinations. We are looking at providing affordable fares on these new routes for 6E travellers,” Sanjay Kumar, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo told reporters in Sharjah.
With its fleet of 126 Airbus A320 family aircraft, the airline now operates 884 daily flights connecting 44 destinations.
To Read the News in Full 14/03/17 Indian Express

Vistara codeshares with Singapore Airlines, SilkAir

Mumbai: Vistara on Tuesday said it has signed codeshare agreements with Singapore Airlines and SilkAir, which is a regional subsidiary of the flag carrier of the city-state.
Under the agreement, SIA will add its 'SQ' code to Vistara flights beyond Mumbai and New Delhi to 10 destinations, while SilkAir will add its 'MI' designator code to Vistara-operated flights beyond Bengaluru and Kolkata to six destinations.
The Tata-SIA joint venture Vistara operates only domestic flights currently.

SpiceJet plans to venture into retail: Report

Shares of low-cost carrier SpiceJet were trading with gains of almost 3 percent at Rs 81.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) at around 1.40 pm. A business news channel has reported the Ajay Singh-controlled carrier plans to enter India's retail sector with presence in both online and offline (physical stores) formats.
The goods will be sourced from various vendors in India and abroad and sold under the "Spice" brand, the Moneycontrol.com quoted sources as saying. The product category is likely to include gadgets, food and fashion items.
The news reminds us about the fate of one of the famous liquor business owner who forayed into the glamorous civil aviation sector, launching the full-service carrier Kingfisher Airlines (KFA).

Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology gets its wings back

Thiruvananthapuram: Though the Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology is all set to get its flying license renewed, the struggle of students to complete the flying hours for the pilot license continues. The flying license of the institute had expired in February, 2016, following which the institute could not provide flying lessons to the students.
The group of officials from directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) visited the institute in the first week of March and according to officials from the academy the license for the institute would be renewed in a week's time.

Kempegowda Airport bags top award for the ‘Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia’

Bengaluru: Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru, has been awarded the SKYTRAX Award for ‘Best Regional Airport in India and Central Asia’ by air-travellers, at the World Airport Awards, held at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The award was handed over on Tuesday, March 14.
In a release, Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL) said that the award was the result of innovations and new initiatives introduced at the Airport.

Delhi airport bags top award in customer satisfaction survey

Hyderabad: Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd, a GMR-led consortium, has announced that Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has been adjudged the 'Best Airport in India and Central Asia' by Skytrax.

The announcement was made at the World Airport Awards held at Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The World Airport Awards are voted by customers in the annual global airport customer satisfaction survey.

The 2017 awards are based on 13.82 million airport survey questionnaires that were completed by 105 different nationalities of air travellers during the survey period.
To Read the News in Full 15/03/17 V Rishi Kumar/Business Line

Mumbai Airport bags top award for the 'Best Airport Staff Service' at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2017

Mumbai: GVK Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Limited (MIAL), the company that administers the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), secured the top award for the 'Best Airport Staff Service' in India & Central Asia at the World Airport Awards organized by Skytrax which was held on March 14th  at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam, Netherlands. This prestigious recognition was bestowed upon MIAL after air travelers voted the airport best in the category in the largest, annual global airport customer satisfaction survey conducted by Skytrax, an international air transport rating organization.
The winners of these prestigious awards were announced after an impartial and independent customer survey conducted based on 13.02 million customer nominations across 112 nationalities of air travelers, and included 550 airports worldwide.

Travelator at airport by year-end

Chennai: A travelator, connecting the domestic and international terminals right at the entrance, will most likely be ready for use by the end of the year.

Airport officials said they planned to award the tender for this facility by the end of the month and it is likely to be completed by the year-end.

“This facility is estimated to cost ₹40 crore; of that ₹25 crore will be spent towards civil work and the remaining ₹15 crore for other installation related works. We have started work to award the contract and the contractor will be given nine months to complete the work,” an official said.

MLA’s ‘interference’ leaves Immigration Bureau in turbulence

Kasargod: The Bureau of Immigration under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has accused Kasargod MLA and Indian Union Muslim League leader N A Nellikkunnu of meddling in the immigration affairs at the Mangalore International Airport.
In a report sent to the Karnataka State Intelligence, the bureau’s Foreigners Regional Registration Officer (FRRO), Bengaluru, said whenever any passenger with “emigration check required” passport was not allowed to travel abroad, the MLA “interfered through various channels.” “He (the MLA) alleges ill-treatment by immigration officials so as to gain influence among the local public in his Assembly constituency,” said the FRRO.

Pune airport to get e-Visa facility by month-end

Pune: E-Tourist Visa (eTV) facility for foreign tourists will be rolled out at Lohegaon Airport from by the end of this month, officials have said. This means that foreign tourists from as many as 116 nations, having friendly relations with India, will be able to land at Pune Airport by applying for a visa electronically, only four days in advance of arrival.
The e-Visa facility, enabled by Electronic Travel Authorisation, is currently available at 16 airports in the country.
Airport authorities informed about the facility at a meeting of Airport User Consultative Committee (AUCC) and Airport Advisory Committee Meeting (AAC) chaired by city MP Anil Shirole.
“The infrastructure that was required for starting of eTV has been put in place and we are hopeful that by the end of March the facility will be open for use,” said Ajay Kumar, Director, Pune Airport.

With more flights, air fare to Port Blair dips

Chennai: Port Blair is turning into an attractive option for vacationers with air fares dropping after more flights were added on the Chennai-Port Blair route over the last few months following a request to airlines from the administration of the Union territory.
About the steps taken by the administration to bring down fares, lieutenant governor Jagdish Mukhi said he requested civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju to introduce subsidised air fares for those travelling from other parts of the country to Port Blair. However, Raju instead suggested an increase in the number of flights to help slash fares.
One direct flight to Port Blair from Mumbai and three flights via Chennai have been introduced. The three new flights operating through Chennai are from New Delhi, Goa and Hyderabad.

Great initiative : Dubai-Bengaluru Emirates flight has Kannada menu now

Mangaluru: Menus of food outlets from small restaurants to star hotels are never found in Kannada. Then how will you find a menu in an airline? That too from an airline from a foreign land?

The Dubai based Emirates Airline has taken up such a step. In between stigma that Kannada is being neglected in Airlines and Airports, the airline has come forward to show that it is pro- Kannada.

No local languages can be found in the menus of local airlines Air India, Indigo, Air Arabia, Jet Airways and others. In the circumstances all Emirates airline flights from Dubai to Bengaluru have got their menus printed in English, Urdu and Kannada. This has caused joy and surprise to Kannadiga travelers.

Global players eyeing smaller Indian airports

New Delhi: Europe's Fraport AG and Vinci Airports SAS are among 11companies that have bid for management contracts to run Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports, underscoring global aviation's increasing interest in one of the world's fastest-expanding air-travel markets.

"We have received bids from five international airport operators, two domestic airport operators and a couple of companies that run shopping malls to manage our airports in Ahmedabad and Jaipur," a senior Airports Authority of India (AAI) official, who did not want to be named, told ET.

Companies that run airports in European financial centres such as Zurich, Frankfurt, Dublin, and Lisbon are competing with local rivals GMR Infrastructure and GVK Power & Infrastructure for the two airports that serve the north-western tourist hotspot of Rajasthan and the industrial hub of Gujarat.

AirAsia stops lifting cargo from Tiruchi airport

Tiruchi: Export of overseas air cargo from the Tiruchi international airport has taken a severe hit as foreign airline AirAsia has stopped lifting freight.

The airlines sources said cargo bookings had been stopped temporarily because of operational issues and were hopeful that it would be revived soon.

The sudden move has put the exporters in a quandary.

Notwithstanding heavy passenger load, AirAsia, which operates three flights to Kuala Lumpur from Tiruchi, had been lifting nearly 10 tonnes of cargo – mostly perishables- on an average every day. Since Saturday, this had been stopped.

Centre’s ambitious UDAN scheme is likely to give wings to aviation and allied sectors

In an interesting development, the Union Cabinet recently approved a plan to spend Rs 4,500 crore to develop and upgrade 50 under-served or un-served airports and airstrips in order to boosting regional air connectivity (RAC) scheme, called UDAN.
The UDAN is expected to be a ‘game-changer’ for the Indian aviation sector. With the implementation of the RAC scheme, UDAN, we may see many more operational airports in the country. At the same time, the cost of travel is likely to come down significantly. The Indian airline industry is on a structural growth path with growth in excess of 23 per cent over the past two years.

The ultimate aim of the government under the scheme is to make flying viable to tier II and III cities. This effort would not only support the aviation sector, but would also boost other sectors such as tourism and business.

Vijayawada-Mumbai daily flight to start operation from May 22

Vijayawada: The all new swanky Gannavaram Airport is on the path of development and it is moving forward by striking deals with both national and international airline companies.
Mumbai-based airlines Zoom Air is all set to operate their services from Vijayawada airport from May 22. Vijayawada is going to have a direct flight to the financial capital of India, Mumbai from May 22. Zoom Air will operate the services in Vijayawada- Mumbai- Surat route with a fare starting from `4,000 on a daily basis. The flight would start at 1.30 pm from Vijayawada and reach Mumbai at 3.30 pm. After a halt of 30 minutes, the flight will take off to Surat.

New international terminal commissioned at Cochin Airport

Kochi:  Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated three mega projects at the Nedumbassery airport on Saturday. After opening the new international terminal, newly built 4.3-km road and capacity augmentation of the solar plant, Pinarayi said Kerala would soon become home to four well-managed international airports.

Later, the Chief Minister received the crew and passengers of the first plane - Jet Airways flight from Muscat - that landed at the new terminal.

“The Kannur airport is expected to be ready for commercial operation in six months. After maintenance works at the Kozhikode airport completed, the state government requested the Director General of Civil Aviation  to grant permission for operation of large aircraft. We are expecting a favourable response from the authorities concerned,” said Pinarayi. He said the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) had broken the concept of ‘privatising profits and socialising losses’.

Qatar's India airline plan may fly into 'ownership' wall

Mumbai: While Qatar Airways chief Akbar Al Baker has announced that the cash-rich Gulf carrier will soon start a fully-owned foreign airline in India, sceptics claim that it won't be a cakewalk.

Though the challenges are many, the main roadblock will be International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) guidelines over 'effective control and ownership' of the airline, said Devesh Agarwal, a Bengaluru-based aviation analyst, said.

The ICAO had last year expressed concerns that a foreign-owned airline operating from India may have legal and procedural issues in obtaining seats under bilateral rights for flying abroad.

Hand baggage tag-free regime at all airports soon: CISF DG

Ghaziabad: The CISF is trying to do away with the practice of stamping hand baggage tags of fliers at all airports soon in order to make air travel more comfortable, the chief of the paramilitary force today said.
Delivering his address on the occasion of the 48th Raising Day of the force here, CISF Director General O P Singh said the force has already conducted a trial in this regard and it has been successful.
“We are trying to do away with the stamping of hand baggage tag of passengers soon at all airports that we secure.

Old Indian carriers to oppose Qatar Air proposal

New Delhi: Qatar Airways' plan to set up a 100% Qatari-owned domestic airline in India is all set to get a red carpet treatment from the Modi government, but 'old' Indian carriers are gearing up to oppose the proposal tooth and nail.
Aviation minister Jayant Sinha told TOI on Thursday that India now has among the most liberal FDI regimes in the world for the aviation sector. "Qatar and other airlines are very welcome to explore how they can establish themselves in India under that FDI regime. Under our regulations, it is possible to have a 100% foreign-owned carrier in India," he said. India since last June, allows 100% foreign-owned domestic carrier, in which a foreign airline can have up to 49% stake and foreign investment arm/s the remaining 51%.

Air India sold 5 Boeings at ‘significantly’ low cost: CAG

New Delhi: Air India sold its five Boeing planes to Etihad Airways at a “significantly” lower cost than the “indicative” market price of the aircraft, CAG said in a report tabled in Parliament today.

The government-owned Air India sold these five Boeing 777-200 LR planes to the Gulf carrier Etihad for $336.5 million ($ 67.3 million per plane) in 2013 against $86-92 million per aircraft obtained from two parties — M/s AVITAS and ASCENT, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) observed in its report ‘Turnaround Plan and Financial Restructuring plan of Air India Ltd’ (AIL).

In its latest report on the airline, the CAG also observed that AIL incurred a book loss of Rs 671.07 crore on the sale of these planes and payment of Rs 324.67 crore towards interest on loans availed for procurement of these aircraft.

AI’s Vineeta from Bhopal flies into aviation record book

Bhopal: Air hostess with national carrier, Air India, Vineeta Shakya of Bhopal was a part of all women globe-trotter team that scripted history by flying an all-women crew flight around the world. The 16-member crew that took off on February 27 from New Delhi flew to San Francisco, and returned on March 3, covering 13 times zones over Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Air India had commissioned Boeing 777-200LR aircraft with its only women team to mark the International Women' Day. Right from the pilot to technical and non-technical staff on the aircraft were women, and was the first time they were assigned the task of flying 32,000 kms in about a week.

Air travel from Delhi to remote areas set to get cheaper

New Delhi: Air travel from Delhi to remote areas will be cheaper with the AAP government on Thursday announcing slashing of VAT on Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) from existing 25 per cent to one per cent to compliment the Centre's regional connectivity scheme (RCS).

Presenting the Delhi budget for 2017-18, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the cut in VAT on ATF will be applicable for direct flights between Delhi and remote areas identified under the RCS scheme as per prescribed conditions.

Sisodia said the decision to cut the VAT on ATF will benefit people from the Northeast and other remote areas as fares under RCS will come down significantly.

Chennai airport to become more passenger-friendly under DISHA

Chennai: Chennai Airport is to introduce a series of measures to ensure that passengers have a pleasant time while flying in and out of the city, according to its Director G Chandramouli.
Under the Airports Authority of India’s Project DISHA (Driving Improvement in Service and Hospitality at Airports), Chennai Airport has tried to cut down on check-in time, which is usually 25 minutes, to 15 minutes.
It is learnt that Chennai airport has created self check-in counters as well as installed additional X-Ray scanner.

After concession under RCS, airlines seek fuel tax cut for all routes

Mumbai: The airlines want the government to reduce taxes on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) for all routes and not just those covered under regional connectivity scheme (RCS) as the operating cost is expected to increase by about 10% in FY18 on the back of hike in oil prices.

The Delhi government on Wednesday announced a reduction in value added tax (VAT) on ATF to 1% from 25% earlier on planes fuelling tanks for flying to airports under the RCS. This move will help in bringing down the airfares for common passengers as fuel constitutes more than 40% of the total operating cost of the airlines in India, claim experts.

The airlines have long been lobbying for a reduction in the taxes on ATF in India, which are said to be among the highest in the world.

Commenting on the development Aditya Ghosh, president and whole-time director at low-cost carrier IndiGo, said, "I understand that this relief is only for the regional connectivity routes. While this is a welcome move and it will provide the much-needed impetus to the regional connectivity scheme, we do request that this tax break is broadened to all air travel out of Delhi as it will allow IndiGo to provide even more affordable air travel to millions of our customers out of Delhi which is our biggest base of airplanes."

Jet Airways to increase its daily flights to 650

Mumbai: Jet Airways, India's second-biggest carrier by market share will increase its daily flights to 650 from just over 600 in the forthcoming summer schedule, starting end of March.

"The carrier will launch new, direct services to Madurai and Bagdogra, from Mumbai," it said in a statement.

"Similarly, the airline will also connect the Pink city of Jaipur with Chandigarh, Dehradun with Srinagar, and Bengaluru with Kozhikode with non-stop flights, aside from services linking Bengaluru with Lucknow, via New Delhi and, Mumbai with Srinagar, via Dehradun," it added.
Jet will also add 12 additional frequencies on existing routes across its network. These include a seventh daily flight between Mumbai and Goa, as well as Delhi and Lucknow, aside from a fourth frequency between Chennai–Tiruchirappalli and a second frequency between Delhi and Bhopal. The airline will also introduce two additional services on the New Delhi–Patna route, it said.
To Read the News in Full 09/03/17 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

Govt mulls naming airports after cities

New Delhi: The government is looking at naming new airports after cities of their location and terminals after eminent personalities.

While emphasising that there is no proposal for renaming the existing airports, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha informed the Lok Sabha that a "consensus view" has emerged on naming airports after cities of their location.

There are more than 75 operational airports in the country and many of them are named after personalities, including political leaders from congress party.

Qatar Airways' plans to set up an airline in India may face political and regulatory hurdles

New Delhi: Qatar Airways has been interested in traffic from India for a long time. It was wooing India’s biggest domestic airline, IndiGo, for an equity partnership earlier to gain a foothold in this market but IndiGo did not respond to its overtures. Frustrated at IndiGo’s persistent refusal, Qatar has now come up with a proposal to set up an airline in India from scratch. The recent government move to allow 100 percent FDI in commercial aviation may seem to be the trigger for this bold move by Qatar. Whether it will succeed in overcoming the myriad regulatory hurdles in this endeavour remains in doubt.

But what is more important to understand is its actual motivation in eyeing the Indian traffic: It wants to make Doha a bigger international aviation hub and the Indian narrow body traffic will likely feed into the existing global network of Qatar Airways. The focus of the government of Qatar (which wants to invest through its sovereign fund) and Qatar Airways is onward traffic from Doha; let us not be fooled about any intentions of a new airline in India setting up a wide domestic network or feeding domestic underserved routes.

Mumbai-Amritsar-Mumbai route has new flight

Amritsar: The Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in the holy city got its second air connectivity to the tinsel town as Vistara Airlines launched its Mumbai-Amritsar-Mumbai flight today.
As many as 158 passengers were on board the Mumbai-Amritsar maiden flight, which arrived today. While another 157 passengers availed the service of the return flight.
Similarly, Vistara’s Delhi-Amritsar-Delhi flight, which was launched on March 1, became regular from today. This is the ninth daily flight between the holy city and the National Capital.
Besides, IndiGo will operate a daily non-stop flight between Amritsar-Delhi-Amritsar and Amritsar-Mumbai-Amritsar from March 16 onwards.