Jet Airways marks 10 years of operations in Gulf

Muscat: Jet Airways, India’s premier, full service international airline, on Monday completed ten years of operations to the Gulf region. The airline connects ten destinations in the Gulf with nine metros and emerging cities in India.

The first Jet Airways flight 9W 592 landed in Bahrain in 2008, marking an important milestone for the airline, as it was the first privately owned Indian carrier to provide direct air connectivity between the Gulf region and India. Over time, the airline expanded services to include Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait, Muscat, Riyadh and Sharjah to its Gulf network.

Jet Airways has flown nearly 200,000 flights, carrying over 25mn guests between India and the Gulf region. Today, the airline operates 600+ weekly flights on 33 unique routes between India and the Gulf.
To Read the News in Full 22/01/18 Muscat Daily

SpiceJet flight to Sikkim

Calcutta: Low-cost airline SpiceJet has been granted permission to fly to Pakyong in Sikkim from Calcutta under the civil aviation ministry's regional connectivity scheme. Flights can start once the airport is cleared for operations.

"We have been selected to operate on the Calcutta-Pakyong-Guwahati and Delhi-Pakyong routes," a SpiceJet official said on Monday.

The airline is planning to operate Bombardier Q400 series aircraft to and from Pakyong. These are turboprop planes with 78 passenger seats each.

Around a week ago, a flight safety team from the airline had conducted an assessment of infrastructure at Pakyong airport along with safety parameters and the navigational aids available there.
To Read the News in Full 23/01/18 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

City airport to get a restaurant, lounge in both terminals

Ahmedabad: Soon, Amdavadis flying out of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPI) will be served piping hot food at each terminal. Filling the long pending requirement, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to bring a restaurant and a business lounge, at both terminals.

Confirming the same, Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, AAI said, "There was no restaurant at Ahmedabad airport serving hot food and we have been getting requests for quite some time. Hence, we decided to bring a restaurant and a business lounge at both terminals – international and domestic this year. We will be soon issuing the bidding process and have decided to restrict the bidding to only local vendors due to pending partial privatisation."

Surat airport to get modular cargo terminal by December

Surat: The Diamond City is all set to get a modular cargo terminal at Surat airport by December 2018.
The groundbreaking ceremony was performed for the construction of modular cargo terminal at the airport premises on Tuesday. The construction of the terminal is likely to be completed by December 2018, official sources said. Airports Authority of India had invited proposals from engineering firms across the country for setting up a state-of-the-art cargo terminal. In October 2016, the AAI had given administrative approval for setting up the modular cargo terminal. AAI sources said administrative approval and expenditure sanction (AAES) have been accorded and that the tender was issued at a cost of Rs 8 crore.

Why passport changes in India are unnecessary; colour coding discriminatory even

The changes that to the passport that the government is proposing are, confusing, at best, and at the worst, misguided and even discriminatory. One of the changes being suggested is that the passport’s last page, that has details like the holder’s address, her/his parents’ name, etc, will be dropped. The reason forwarded, as per a press note from the ministry of external affairs (MEA), is that the it is being done to keep up with changed and emerging social norms. The press note says a committee of government officials, examining instances from the past in which the applicant had either insisted that the name of the father should not be mentioned in his/her passport or in her child’s passport, had suggested dropping the page, and the recommendation was accepted. This also resolves the issue of children of single parents applying for passports.

The intention is laudable. However, as the e-form for passport application—last updated on December 15, 2017—shows, the government is going to collect these particulars nevertheless. And this not just for passports, but for many other government documents.

Airline Boarding Pass Can Get You 20% Discount On Hotel Stay

Those who travel by GoAir are entitled to get 20% discount for hotel stays at Treebo Hotels. To be able to access the discount, one can use promo code TRBFLY on the best available. One needs to only present the boarding pass at a hotel to be able to avail the discount.
It often happens that we place the hotel bookings at the last minute and miss out on hotel discounts on hotel aggregators' websites. But in case we manage to do so, it is a great blessing for those who miss out on discounts in the last minute rush.

All you need to do is to present the GoAir boarding pass at the hotel reception (only Treebo hotels). This is irrespective of any discount that you might have availed from the budget airlines.

Lufthansa to offer Wi-Fi on flights bound for India

New Delhi: : A day after India allowed in flight connectivity (IFC) in its skies, German major Lufthansa has announced it will offer Wi-Fi on its flights to, from and over India the moment "it is allowed to". Lufthansa Group South Asia head Wolfgang Will told that the airline offers Wi-Fi on all its longhaul flights. "Till now we had to switch off the service on entering Indian airspace. Now as soon as we get all the regulatory clearances, we will provide this service on our flights to, from and over India," Will said.

This will mean flyers taking off, headed for and overflying India will get the paid-Internet Lufthansa offers on its long haul flights. TRAI has said airlines can provide this service the moment a plane starts taxiing and personal electronic devices are put on flight mode.

IndiGo commences Colombo operations

New Delhi: In its endeavour to strengthen its growing network, IndiGo, India’s largest and fastest growing carrier on Saturday commenced its operations in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
With touch-down of 6E-1202 (Chennai-Colombo) on Saturday, January 20th at Bandaranaike International Airport; Colombo became its 8th international and 49th overall destination on IndiGo’s ever growing network.
According to a press release issued by the Airlines, both corporate and leisure passengers travelling to and from Colombo will get the opportunity to experience on-time, affordable and a hassle-free travel experience that IndiGo is synonymous with.

Not Sure Of Travel Plans? Air India's Fly For Sure Offer Now Allows Flight Change Facility

Air India's 'Fly for Sure Offer' allows flexibility of one-time flight change facility on same day for passengers who are concerned their travel plans may change. Air India's 'Fly for Sure offer' is applicable only on domestic flight tickets. Passengers who are uncertain about their plans can pay extra Rs. 2,000 plus GST charges (5 per cent for economy class and 12 per cent for business class) while booking the ticket and they can board any Air India flight on the same day and same sector, said Air India on its official website-airindia.in.

Air India's 'Fly for Sure offer' is applicable for passengers wanting to prepone or postpone their original booked flights to an alternate flight of Air India operating on the same day.

US govt shutdown: No flights from India to America cancelled, say sources

Despite the ripple effect of the United States shutdown across the world, no flights from India to America had been cancelled, according to sources.

Though travellers were not impacted immediately, industry players said that if the government shutdown was prolonged, it would have an effect in the near future.

"The US government shutdown will have no impact on those travelling from India. Airlines are functioning as per their schedules, the air traffic control, immigration and customs services which are deemed as essential services are not covered by the shutdown," said Karan Anand, Head of Relationships at Cox & Kings.

"The government shutdown could impact travellers planning a trip to the US in the foreseeable future," said Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C) at Yatra.com, adding that "while there will be a minuscule impact on air traffic controllers, visa processing will certainly face some delay. Also, passport processing for the US citizens visiting India or other foreign nations might also get delayed."

Trai gives approval for mobile calls, net surfing while flying

New Delhi: Air travellers in India and also those flying over the country can now have onboard access to internet and mobile phone services with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) allowing in-flight connectivity (IFC) on Friday.
The decision paves the way for airlines to offer these services once they meet certain security norms. While internet can be provided from the moment a plane taxies and personal electronic devices (PEDs) put on "flight mode", mobile phone services will be allowed when aircraft are flying above an altitude of 3,000 metres. The operation of MCA (mobile communication on aircraft) services has a minimum height restriction of 3,000 metres in Indian airspace to ensure its "compatibility with terrestrial mobile networks".

In-flight internet services: All you need to know

How internet is provided onboard an aircraft
Broadly, there are two ways to get an internet signal onto something that is 35,000 feet above ground:
1. Ground-to-air
-Technology uses ground-based mobile broadband towers
-Aircraft installed with antennae on the fuselage pick up signals from ground towers that are closest to flight path
-The technology isn't highly reliable for on-board connectivity on flights that fly over vast water-bodies like the oceans
2. Via satellite
-Expected to be more popular in the future
-Satellite technology overcomes the hurdle of receiving signals over vast water bodies
-Aircraft antennae connect to satellites in geostationary orbit (satellites that rotate along with the Earth and so, in effect, remain stationary with respect to the Earth) using receivers and transmitters
-All information between ground and aircraft is passed via satellite

Air India Express starts direct flights from Vijayawada to Mumbai

Vijayawada: Air India Express on Friday started its direct flight services from Vijayawada to Mumbai at Gannavaram airport. The airlines' flights to Mumbai will be available thrice a week i.e. on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays and will depart from Vijayawada at 10:30 am and arrive Mumbai at 12:10 pm on these days. From Mumbai, the airline will depart at 8 am and reach Vijayawada at 9.45 am.

Speaking at the inauguration, civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said, “It is the happiest day to see the airport of our state and capital region is expanding its wings and soaring high.

6 longest air routes from San Francisco

At one time, a non-stop flight from San Francisco to London or Tokyo used to be considered a big deal. In the 1940s it took 60 hours and five stops for a transpacific crossing. Those days are long gone.

Today, thanks to the latest generations of wide-body aircraft made with lighter composite materials, more efficient engines and bigger fuel tanks from Boeing and Airbus, travelers can fly farther than ever before without touching down.

The upside: No connections or lengthy stopovers, so a shorter total trip time. The downside: No chance to get off the aircraft and walk around to stretch your legs, so you’re stuck in your seat for the better part of a day.

Airline schedules are constantly changing, and new, longer flights are often added, so let’s take a look at the current roster of the five longest non-stops from San Francisco International Airport.

Anti-Trust immunity pact on cards for Singapore Airlines, Vistara

Mumbai: Singapore Airlines and Vistara are now working on an anti-trust immunity (ATI) agreement — the next big step to the Indian joint venture's plans to fly abroad — that will help both airlines extract greater operational synergies.

"Deeper synergies in international operations with Vistara will only be possible with an ATI agreement. That is being worked upon right now. But it's still in its initial stages," David Lim, general manager, India for Singapore Airlines, told ET in an interview.

In the absence of such an agreement, the two airlines would be competitors in the international space and can't align inventories and services to capture the synergies.