Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Kolkata are among top ten air routes in India

New Delhi: India's air passenger traffic has doubled over the last decade, though the pecking order of the top air routes on which people travel regularly has largely remained the same. Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi, Delhi-Bengaluru-Delhi and Mumbai-Bengaluru-Mumbai are the top routes ranked in terms of the seats that are deployed.
From a fifteenth place in 2007, Delhi-Pune-Delhi has climbed up to sixth place in 2017 while Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi route has scaled up to fourth spot in 2017 from seventh in 2007, says data sourced from civil aviation research firm OAG. The Delhi-Lucknow-Delhi route climbed five places from the seventeenth rank in 2007 to twelfth in 2017.

Jet to launch flight to Delhi via Mumbai

Trichy: Jet Airways is all set to launch a new service between Trichy and Delhi via Mumbai from March 25 and has commenced booking for the same, according to information available on its website .
The website said that flight 9W311 would depart from Trichy at 2.30 pm and reach Mumbai at 4.40 pm and Delhi at 8.20 pm.
However, travel agents pointed out that they had not enabled any bookings in the return direction — from Delhi to Trichy via Mumbai.
Sources said that the private carrier had submitted its proposal to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for plan approval. Airport authorities said that they had been preparing for allotting a slot for the flight. However, Jet Airways officials were not available to comment on the details.

SpiceJet to launch Belagavi-Hyderabad flight soon

Belagavi: Private airline companies are taking keen interest in connecting Belagavi with more cities across the country with upgradation of the airport drawing to a close. 
On Wednesday, SpiceJet decided to introduce a flight between Belagavi and Hyderabad on a daily basis from March 25. The flight will take one hour and 10 minutes to travel from Belagavi to Hyderabad and almost the same time back to Belagavi from Hyderabad.

Inline baggage screening soon at Bhubaneswar airport

Bhubaneswar: The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here would soon have an inline baggage screening system for passengers’ convenience.

The decision was taken since the airport is witnessing a surge in passenger traffic after the first international flight took off from here in April, 2017, said a senior airport official.

“The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has agreed and we are planning to have the inline baggage checking) at BPIA by end of September or at best by end of this year,” said BPIA Director Suresh Chandra Hota.

He said that introduction of inline screening would not only upgrade the security system with automated screening but also speed up the baggage movement as well.

IndiGo Airlines eyes A321neo(LR), A350s

IndiGo Airlines is considering converting part of its order with Airbus for 405 A320neo to A321neo (LR)s, the Financial Express has reported. The conversion will most likely cover 20-25 aircraft slated for delivery during Fiscal Year 2018-19, according to inside sources.

The new aircraft could be used for new medium- and long-haul services planned by the carrier. IndiGo recently applied for route authorities to a number of European destinations which would supplement its existing international regional network to the Gulf region, South East Asia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

SriLankan Airlines expands footprint in India

New Delhi: SriLankan Airlines has been focusing on the Indian market to strategically expand its operations in the country. During the past years, the airline has established a strong market presence and lasting relationship with the travel partners and industry stakeholders of India.

India has been a vital partner in SriLankan Airlines' route network from the early days. The airline holds the widest coverage in India, which is Sri Lanka's primary source of inbound tourist traffic. Today, it directly operates to 14 Indian destinations with a total of 135 flights a week.

Air operators told to make use of facilities

Visakhapatnam: The possibility of increasing exports through Visakhapatnam International Airport should be considered by all stakeholders by making use of the existing amenities, MP Kambhampati Haribabu has said.

The possibility of increasing exports through Visakhapatnam International Airport should be considered by all stakeholders by making use of the existing amenities, MP Kambhampati Haribabu has said.

He was speaking at an interactive meeting on: “Promotion of international cargo facilities from Visakhapatnam Airport”, organised by the AP Chambers here on Monday.

Mr. Haribabu said he would talk to the managements of the pharma companies, many of which have their head offices in Hyderabad, to consider routing their products manufactured in the city, through Vizag Airport.

Philippine Airlines eyes flights to Australia, Japan, India

Manila: Philippine Airlines said Tuesday it was looking at opening new routes in Asia and Australia this year, as it expands its fleet while strengthening its position as a full-service carrier.

Prospective destinations include Brisbane in Australia, Sapporo in Japan and New Delhi and Mumbai in India, PAL president Jaime Bautista said.

These routes will use the Airbus A321neo, which can fly non-stop up to 8 hours and are equipped with WiFi connectivity, he said.

Saudi Arabian Airlines opens office in New Delhi

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) recently launched its new office in New Delhi, India.
The new office was inaugurated by Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to India, Saud bin Mohammed Al-Sati, in the presence of the diplomatic corps of the embassy in India, senior officials from the airline, as well as customers and travel agents in India.
The airline’s new city office is located in the historical area, Connaught Place, in the central business district of New Delhi.
Saudia’s new head office in India is welcoming guests for all of their booking requirements with the airline. During the event, officials participated in a ribbon cutting and reveal ceremony.

Training classes begin for immigration staff

Vijayawada: Commissioner of Police D Gowam Sawang on Monday inaugurated 15-day training programme for immigration officers at Gannavaram Airport.  In all 21 officials will be given training on how to deal with passengers at the airport.

The training is conducted in view of upgradation of Vijayawada airport to International Airport in August 2017. 

Domestic and international flyers from Jaipur airport increase

Jaipur: The number of domestic and international flyers from Jaipur International Airport (JIA) has increased significantly with a growth of 72.34 per cent in the last three fiscal years, as per the airport data.

According to the JIA Director, J S Balhara, better international flight connectivity, tourist inflow and blue collar job flyers from Rajasthan can be attributed to this rise.

The connectivity of Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, Malaysia, Sydney and European countries to the Pink city have led to the increase in the number of flyers, Balhara told PTI.

sky high

Jaipur airport is taking wings: Passenger traffic has surged by 31% in fiscal 2016-17 with the total number of passengers touching 38,05,711 during the period.

Of these, 4,54,183 were international passengers with the rest being domestic passengers.

In the financial year 2015-16, the total number of passengers travelling through Jaipur airport stood at 29,04,350. That year, too, the growth rate was an impressive 31.52 %.

As such, the airport authorities are now gearing up to ease the congestion at the airport.

In order to do that, a plan has been charted whereby terminal 2 (T2) will see a horizontal expansion. Work for the development of terminal 2 has already been awarded.

Surat-Mumbai air passenger traffic increased in 2016-17

Surat:  The passenger air traffic between Surat and Mumbai has increased by 203 per cent in 2016-17 as per the domestic sector data released by GVK, the operator of Mumbai international airport.
'We Work For A Working Airport at Surat' (WWWAS) has written to Air India's chairman and managing director (CMD) to introduce daily flights connecting Surat and Mumbai in order to facilitate passengers, especially international passengers travelling to Surat.

Soon, book Lufthansa ticket through Air India mobile app!

New Delhi: Passengers might soon be able to book tickets on Star Alliance member airlines through the website or app of any member carrier, thanks to the grouping's digital services initiative.

A 28-member strong Star Alliance, that also has national carrier Air India onboard, has launched the digital services platform in collaboration with technology major Accenture.

The platform can gather data provided by an individual member airline or third-party source and make it available to all member carriers as well as enable them to have their own customer-facing digital applications, according to the alliance.

Three more UDAN flights to begin from Karnataka from March

Three more flights under Regional Connectivity Scheme or UDAN are likely to start operations from Karnataka from March.

Two-way flights from Vidyanagar and Salem to Bengaluru and Chennai to Mysuru is scheduled to start operations from March, officials said. These services were allotted during the first round of UDAN bidding in March 2017.

The Bengaluru-Vidyanagar-Bengaluru flight will be operated by Trujet which will commence its service from March. Officials said the Salem-Bengaluru-Salem and Mysuru-Chennai-Mysuru has been awarded to Air Odisha and it is also likely to start operation from March.

According to the scheme, up to 40 seats in such flights would have a cap of Rs 2,500 per seat/hour.