British Airways deploys B787-9 Dreamliner on Mumbai- London route

British Airways has deployed the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner between London and Mumbai route. Earlier the carrier used to fly a Boeing 777. With this new deployment the Airline has invested more in the premium products between London and Mumbai. The new aircraft features a brand new First cabin.

Speaking about the new deployment Robert Williams, Head of Sales - Asia Pacific and the Middle East, British Airways said, “India is a very important market for us, we are investing a lot in this market. Earlier we had introduced a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner between New Delhi- London which has been successful. We have been hearing a lot of positive feedback from our Delhi travellers who have flown the 787-9. The new aircraft will feature a total of eight first class seats, 42 ClubWorld seats, 39 World Traveller Plus premium economy seats, 172 economy seats. So the new aircraft is longer than the B787-8, we have invested in first class cabin. It’s an improved customer proposition.”

Second airport in Jewar may take wing as IGIA bursts with capacity

The Uttar Pradesh government is pushing for a new airport at Jewar, in the same district as Noida and about 100 km from the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) here.

The state government feels Delhi will require a second airport in a few years and this is an opportunity. The GMR Group manages Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL).

The state appears to have already sent a proposal for the Jewar airport to the Union aviation ministry, asking for a technical evaluation of the site.

The Jewar proposal is not a new one. In 2001, Rajnath Singh, now the Union home minister and then the UP chief minister, first proposed an airport there. So did Mayawati after she became CM in 2007. Her proposal did not make progress because of a clause in the agreement with GMR for DIAL, preventing the establishment of a new airport within 150 km of IGIA. However, Union minister of state for civil aviation, Jayant Sinha said, “within a few years, we will be using all of the capacity (at Delhi). It is necessary for us to build a new airport”. Sinha said on Thursday that planning for increasing of capacity at the Delhi airport terminals would depend on improvement in airside capacity. DIAL wishes to take steps to increase the airside movement from 67 to 95 an hour. UK-based NATS has been asked to help.

New airport difrector vows to wow fliers

Ahmedabad: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport has a new pilot at the helm. Manoj Gangal will take over from A K Sharma as the new director on Monday. His focus is to amp the airport’s WOW factor. And Gangal, who has worked at several airports across the country, believes that the only way to woo passengers is by ensuring their comfort. “The airport should reflect the ethos of Gujarat as well as attract citizens to visit us again and again. My priority is to revamp the airport to ensure that travellers have a pleasant experience here,” said Gangal, who has worked as airport director in Pune, Port Blair and Chennai.
He has also been associated with administrative and quality control work at Airports Authority of India headquarters.

Air India revises senior citizen age from 63 to 60

In a major bonanza, the Air India has revised the minimum age limit for senior citizens to avail discounted tickets from existing 63 to 60 years, official sources said.

The revised age limit has been implemented with immediate effect for all domestic sectors, just as the summer holiday season rush has begun.

As per the revised rules, any senior citizen who is an Indian national, permanently resident in India and has attained the age of 60 on the date of commencement of journey, shall be entitled to a 50 per cent discounted ticket in economy class on the basic RBD (reservation booking designators) fare.
To Read the News in Full 20/04/17 PTI/Economic Times

Virgin Atlantic and Jet Airways extend codeshare agreement

Virgin Atlantic and Jet Airways have announced they are expanding their codeshare agreement between India and the US, providing greater choice and enhanced connectivity via London Heathrow.
The new agreement will make it even easier for guests to tailor their perfect trip, combining flights from Jet Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines in a single booking.
Jet Airways guests travelling between India and the US can now connect through London Heathrow on to nine US destinations operated by Virgin Atlantic: Atlanta, Boston, Newark, Washington, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco and Seattle.

Bengaluru-Mumbai Is One Of The Most Profitable Routes For Indian Airlines

Bengaluru-Mumbai may be one of the most lucrative routes for domestic airlines in India. The latest data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the month of March shows passengers booked their tickets on this route at peak prices.
Three out of the seven commercial passenger airlines, including the country's largest private air carrier InterGlobe Aviation Ltd. (IndiGo) sold the maximum number of tickets on this route when prices were at its peak. AirAsia India is not present in Mumbai and Vistara has no direct flight between these two cities.
IndiGo operates the maximum number of flights on the Bengaluru-Mumbai route.

Authorities plan to increase aircraft movement by 40 percent at Delhi airport

New Delhi: Authorities at the international airport in New Delhi have planned to increase the number of aircraft movements by over 40 per cent to 95 movements per hour in three years seeing the increasing passenger traffic at the airport.

After detailed discussions with stakeholders concerned on increasing the overall capacity at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), Union Minister Jayant Sinha on Thursday said there is a “strong working hypothesis” to increase the aircraft movements at the aerodrome.

A takeoff or landing is considered as one aircraft movement.

Besides, a flight operations committee would be set up to look into various issues related to the airport and the panel would hold meeting every month.

Explosive growth of Delhi's air traffic could prepone construction of IGI Airport's Terminal 4

New Delhi: The explosive growth of air traffic in Delhi could prepone construction of IGI Airport's Terminal 4.Aviation minister Jayant Sinha said on Thursday that the government, in consultation with stakeholders, would decide in the next two months whether T2 should immediately go to make way for T4. The other solution is to shift some budget airline flights from T1 to T2 to allow expansion of T1 and then demolish T2 to make way for T4.
Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd's (DIAL) master plan proposes the second option that says T2 should remain in use till 2020 -by when T1 expansion would be completed, including addition of the fourth runway -and T4 construction should start after that. But none of the three low-cost carriers (LCCs) -IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir -operating all their domestic flights from T1 are keen to shift to T2 for just three years and then return to T1, forcing the government to step in.

UP exploring air connectivity to tourist spots

The Uttar Pradesh government is exploring air connectivity to major religious tourist places in the state, an official said on Friday.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked the tourism department officials to work out an action plan to connect religious hot spots including, Lucknow, Mathura, Vrindavan, Ayodhya, Allahabad, Vindhaychal, Naimisharanya, Kushinagar, Varanasi and Chitrakoot through helicopter services.
To Read the News in Full 21/04/17 Daiji World

British Airways deploys B787-9 Dreamliner on Mumbai- London route

British Airways has deployed the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner between London and Mumbai route. Earlier the carrier used to fly a Boeing 777. With this new deployment the Airline has invested more in the premium products between London and Mumbai. The new aircraft features a brand new First cabin.

Speaking about the new deployment Robert Williams, Head of Sales - Asia Pacific and the Middle East, British Airways said, “India is a very important market for us, we are investing a lot in this market. Earlier we had introduced a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner between New Delhi- London which has been successful. We have been hearing a lot of positive feedback from our Delhi travellers who have flown the 787-9.

Air Passenger Traffic Up 15%, SpiceJet Tops Load Factor

India's domestic air passenger traffic rose 14.91 per cent last month to 90.45 lakh, official data showed on Thursday. "Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-March 2017 were 272.79 lakh as against 230.03 lakh during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering a growth of 18.59 per cent," aviation regulator DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) said in its statistical analysis. According to the previous data furnished by DGCA, domestic air passenger traffic had increased 15.77 per cent in February to 86.55 lakh from 74.76 lakh during the corresponding month last year.

The data showed that low-cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet had the highest passenger load factor (PLF) during the month under review at 91.4 per cent.

India becomes fourth largest aviation market in the world

According to International Air Transport Association (IATA), India has moved up two places to become the fourth largest aviation market in terms of passenger number. India saw the fourth highest number of passengers taking off in 2016, up two places from the previous year overtaking the UK and Brazil. The top three markets – the US, China and Japan – remain unchanged.
Last year, India’s aviation industry had 131 million passengers taking off – including domestic, international and connecting.

Aviation Ministry works on increasing capacity of Delhi Airport

The Ministry of Civil Aviation is working with stakeholders on a roadmap to increase Airside Capacity of Delhi Airport from the current 67 movements per hour to 95 movements per hour at peak time in the next three years. By the end of 2017 the Airside Capacity is expected to rise by 10 percent, with around 72 to 73 movements per hour. Briefing media persons in New Delhi today, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said that with the increase in airside capacity it is expected that the passenger movement at Delhi airport would also rise from the current 60 million passengers to about 90 million passengers annually. Sinha said that the Ministry will soon put in place a Master Plan for expansion of Airside Capacity and Terminal Capacity at the airport to accommodate the increase in passenger volume.
To Read the News in Full 20/04/17 Travel Trends Today

Jet Airways to Introduce New Services to Europe from Chennai and Bengaluru

Jet Airways announced the launch of two new flights directly connecting Chennai with Paris and Bengaluru with Amsterdam.

The launch of these new routes will enable guests to travel to destinations in Europe and North America with its codeshare partners Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

Commencing October 29, 2017, Jet Airways 9W 236 will depart from Bengaluru at 02:25 hrs and arrive in Amsterdam at 08:35 hrs. On the return leg, Jet Airways 9W 235 will depart from Amsterdam at 10:50 hrs and arrive at Bengaluru at 00:40 hrs. These flights will be operated in conjunction with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Delta Air Lines, with each airline placing their respective codes on the service.

On the same day, Jet Airways 9W 128 will depart from Chennai at 01:45 hrs and will arrive into Paris at 08:10 hrs.

SpiceJet joins hands with Lufthansa Systems to offer in-flight entertainment and e-commerce

SpiceJet, India’s budget airline is all set to now offer in-flight entertainment (IFE) and e-commerce, soon.

SpiceJet has joined hands with Lufthansa Systems to equip its whole fleet with BoardConnect Portable offered by the latter. The new service will allow SpiceJet passengers to do shopping, stream movies, cricket and other content from select platforms offered by the airline.

The airline signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Lufthansa Systems to this effect after the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg. SpiceJet passengers will be able to avail the new offer this year.

“Enhancing customer experience and comfort on-board has always been our prime focus at SpiceJet. SpiceJet expects to be the first LCC in India to provide this unique entertainment and shopping experience to its customers.