IndiGo launches Delhi-Doha daily flight

Gurgaon-based no-frills airline IndiGo today commenced an air service to Qatar from India with a direct flight to the capital city Doha from New Delhi.
With the launch of this new flight, IndiGo now flies to four destinations --Sharjah, Dubai, Muscat and Doha -- in the Middle-eastern region.
The same flight from Doha will fly to Mumbai from where it will be operated as Mumbai-Doha service, the airline said in a release.
From Doha, it will fly back to New Delhi, it said.

Govt mulls hike in passenger service fee, may result in increase of air ticket cost

The passenger service fee (PSF), paid by air travellers, is likely to go up marginally as the government is mulling increasing the security and facilitation charges. This may happen as a high-level meeting, attended by Union ministers of state for home and civil aviation Kiren Rijiju and Jayant Sinha respectively and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, asked the ministry of civil aviation to find out ways and means to recover the cost of security arrangements at airports.
The home ministry has also been told to find out what will be the total annual cost of providing security at 143 functional airports in the country, a government functionary said.
The reports from the two ministries are expected to come within two months and then a decision will be taken to increase the PSF.
Each air passenger in India has to pay Rs 130 as security charge and it is part of the Rs 225 being charged as PSF by the airlines while selling the tickets.

Jet Airways to launch Chennai-Paris flights

Jet Airways on Wednesday announced that it would launch daily direct flights from Chennai to Paris and Bengaluru to Amsterdam starting October 29.
The new flight -- Jet Airways 9W128 -- from Chennai will depart at 1.45am and arrive in Paris at 8.10am local time. In the return direction, 9W 127 will depart from Paris at 10.10am and arrive in Chennai at 12.15am.
The airline has opened a five-day sale of tickets for the Paris flight at an all-inclusive introductory fare of Rs 33,999 for economy and Rs 1,29,000 for premier class for the new flight.
The new service is being planned to capitalise on the growing demand for outbound leisure and business travel and also to tap the inbound tourists from Europe to the southern region of India through Chennai.

Air cargo sector to grow at 9%, says Ashok Gajapathi Raju

The country's air cargo sector is projected to grow at over 9% in the next few years, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said on Thursday.

Noting that various initiatives are being taken in the aviation sector, Raju said the regional connectivity scheme would help in continued growth of the air cargo sector.

The government has taken various policy initiatives including reducing the dwell time and pushing for paperless transactions to boost cargo sector, he added.

"Air cargo in India is expected to register 9% growth rate in the next few years" compared to half of this figure for global air cargo trade as a whole, Raju said.
To Read the News in Full 04/05/17 PTI/DNA

Mumbai Airport celebrates 11th Passengers Day

GVK Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), the company that administers the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), celebrated the 11th Passengers Day, a unique initiative started by the airport in order to create a tradition of appreciation towards passengers.

Both the domestic and international terminals of the airport wore a carnival-like look as enthusiastic passengers participated in interactive games and activities. Tarot Card Reading, Karaoke, and Instant Photo Booth were some of the initiatives that kept passengers busy during their wait at the airport.

Jugglers, Stilt Walkers, Live Statue Artists and Street Magicians performing at different locations at both terminals were a visual treat for the passengers at the airport.

Etihad Airways adds 4th flight on Kozhikode-Abu Dhabi route

The Gulf carrier Etihad Airways today expanded its services to Kerala with the launch of an additional flight on the Kozhikode-Abu Dhabi route.

Etihad Airways, which is strategic investment partner in Naresh Goyal’s Jet Airways, will now fly four times a day to the South Indian city from its Abu Dhabi hub, the airline said in a statement.

The additional services provides passengers convenient connections to a host of international destinations, including London, New York and Chicago, among others, it said.

The UAE’s national carrier operates flights from Abu Dhabi to three cities in Kerala — Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram.

Boarding a Flight From Chandigarh International Airport Will Now Cost More

Boarding a flight from Chandigarh International Airport will cost you more as Chandigarh airport authorities have increased certain charges.

Chandigarh’s newly fabricated and operating – International Airport has increased its usage charges drastically under the directions of the Airport Authority of India. The increase in the airport usage charges will also be reflected in the flight ticket charges so therefore, everyone will have to shell out more money for boarding a plane from Chandigarh International Airport.
To Read the News in Full 03/05/17 Shivali Angrula/Chandigarh Metro

Air Passengers Growth In Andhra Pradesh, Even In Visakhapatnam

The four airports in the state have seen a robust growth in their air passengers. Visakhapatnam Airport reaches an all-time high of 23.58 lakh passengers against 18.04 lakh in the year 2015-16. The rate of growth has been registered as 30.7% in the year of 2016-17. The Vijayawada airport has recorded 6.22 lakh passenger traffic in 2016-17 against 3.98 lakh in the year 2015-16, having registered a growth of 56.1%.  The other airports, at Tirupathi and Rajahmundry has seen an air passenger growth by 31% and 16.7% respectively.

However, the bulk of the passengers travelling from Visakhapatnam are domestic passengers. In the year 2016-17 there has been as many as 21.12 lakh domestic passengers using the Visakhapatnam airport which has a registered growth of 34.3% than the previous year. It is disappointing that the international passengers saw a decline by 19.5% this year.

Indore-Gwalior-Delhi flight under Udan scheme

Indore: Under recently launched ‘Udan’ scheme, the city will be connected to Gwalior with a Indore-Gwalior-New Delhi flight. Gwalior has been identified as under-served airport. ATR plane service would be started by Alliance Air likely by September. The fare of Indore-Gwalior would be Rs 2500.

Udan scheme is a component of the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP) which was released on June 15, 2016 and launched on April 27 by PM Narendra Modi in Shimla. Udan, a scheme with slogan of ‘Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (Let fly common men of the country), is an endeavor to make regional connectivity easy with flights covering distances up to 800 km through a market-based mechanism.

Alliance Air to lease 10 planes from Dubai Aerospace

Air India’s subsidiary Alliance Air will lease 10 small aircraft from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) as the airline looks to serve more routes under the government’s regional connectivity scheme.
Alliance Air began the first flight under the scheme connecting Shimla with the national capital last week.
Dubai Aerospace on Monday said it has signed long-term lease agreements for 10 ATR 72-600 aircraft with Alliance Air.
Generally, an ATR 72-600 plane has around 72 seats.

Qatar Airways’ domestic plan: India home to foreign carriers, says Government; local players resent Foreign May 2017

Qatar Airways’ plans to set up a domestic airline in India and the government’s willingness to permit a local carrier that is fully-owned by foreigners will be a new experiment among the major aviation markets — one that could present its own set of challenges to local players and the security agencies. Top civil aviation ministry officials have welcomed Qatar Airways’ plan to tie up with Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to set up an airline in India to serve local market — less than a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi liberalised the foreign direct investment policy for the aviation sector, permitting foreign investment up to 100 per cent in Indian carriers, comprising maximum 49 per cent stake for a foreign airline and another 51 per cent by a foreign investor.

This also marked a key shift in India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy pertaining to airlines, which, like other countries, had remained guarded against allowing foreign airlines controlling local carriers for decades. Since 2012, the FDI policy in the aviation sector has been liberalised — which enabled Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways to buy a minority stake in Jet Airways (India) Ltd. It also allowed Tata Sons to start two separate airlines in joint venture with foreign carriers — a full-service airline with Singapore Airlines named Vistara and a low-cost airline with Malaysia’s AirAsia, called AirAsia India.

Alliance Air beefed up to take on IndiGo

In what could be seen as revival of Indian Airlines era, the Air India management is mulling giving enough gun powder to its subsidiary company Alliance Air to help it take on market leader IndiGo and others in the domestic market.

Air India, on the other hand, would concentrate on metro, long and ultra-long haul routes.

"We want to make Alliance Air take on IndiGo and other competitors as we believe it has the potential. We should be able to take on the competition within three years when we have a fleet of around 40 aircraft," revealed an AI management source to DNA Money.

As per the plan, the total fleet of Alliance Air will be raised to 40 within the next three years. At present, Alliance Air operates services to 36 destinations in India with a fleet of eight ATR 72-600 (70-seater) and two ATR 42-320 (48seater) aircraft. On Monday, the company announced taking 10 ATR 72-600 on a long lease from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Ltd.

Tourism New Zealand in pact with 2 airlines to tap tourists

Mumbai: Tourism New Zealand and two airlines have come together to promote the island country in the South Pacific Ocean among Indian travellers.
The partnership between Tourism New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand seeks to encourage Indian holiday -makers to travel to the country known for its beautiful lakes, rugged mountains and stunning natural beauty.

The partnership is for the travel period May 2017 to April 2018, Tourism New Zealand said in a release here today.

Under the tie-up, Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines will be positioned as the preferred carriers for travelling to the land of the kiwi and promotional fares will be offered to passengers.

Jet Airways expands scope of its Edujetter programme for students travelling abroad

Kolkata: Jet Airways, India’s full service, premier international airline, has expanded the scope of its popular eduJetter programme for the upcoming 2017-18 academic year.

The revised program will make it easier for Indian students and those from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal - holding confirmed admissions for studying at universities/institutions in Australia, Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the USA, to commence their new academic journey in spite of travelling away from home.

Government to create uniform security platform for all airports

New Delhi: The government is mulling creating a uniform security platform for all airports, including the 45 which were connected under a new regional connectivity scheme.

The issue was discussed today at a high-level meeting attended by Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Aviation Jayant Sinha, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, besides others.

"We are planning to create a holistic aviation network to get all airports on the same security platform," an official, who attended the meeting, said.