Air India joins Star Alliance

Air India (AI) has been invited to join the Star Alliance and has signed the Agreement, which, inter alia, details the terms and conditions of its entry and membership. AI is currently in the process of integrating into the Star Alliance – a process that generally takes about 12 to 18 months depending upon the airline's state of readiness, particularly in IT related areas.

Prior to its entry into the Star alliance, AI is required to comply with the Minimum Joining Requirements (MJRs) stipulated by the Star Alliance. To achieve compliance with these MJRs, AI would have to raise the standards of its product and service to levels that are comparable with those of the other Star carriers.

Air India is likely to benefit from its participation in the Star Alliance by way of:

(1) Network Expansion and Increased Traffic Feed - through Commercial Cooperation Arrangements (Code Sharing, Network Connectivity, Schedule Coordination, Special Prorate Agreements (SPAs), etc).

Through code sharing, AI will be able to expand its secondary network of code-share services to cover new international destinations. Through schedule-coordination, AI will be able to improve the connectivity between AI/Star Carrier networks and this – along with improved/expanded SPAs – is expected to result in increased traffic/revenue feed on AI’s flights.

(2) Increased Traffic Volumes - through Frequent Flyer Programme (FFP) Cooperation Arrangements.

All the Star carriers are required to conclude FFP Cooperation Arrangements with all the other Star carriers. Under these arrangements, the members of the FFP of one Star carrier can accrue/redeem miles while traveling on flights operated by the other Star carriers. Further, certain additional benefits (lounge access, priority check-in, etc) are provided to FFP members by all the Star carriers. Such arrangements are, therefore, expected to result in increased preference (loyalty) for Star Carrier flights amongst passengers and a consequent increase in revenues.

(3) Increased Revenues - through participation in Star Alliance Joint Products, such as round the world fares, corporate plus, conventions plus, etc.

(4) Improved Product Quality and Image

Compliance of the MJRs - coupled with the brand equity of the Star Alliance – is expected to result an improvement in AI’s product quality and image and, therefore, in increased traffic/revenues, particularly in the high-yield, premium segments.

(5) Cost Reduction – through participation in Star Alliance Initiatives, such as StarNet Data Network, Lounge Sharing Arrangements, Move Under One Roof Projects, Umbrella Agreements with service providers, etc.

The likely financial benefits to AI from its participation in the Star Alliance cannot be quantified at this stage – since these would depend on the terms and conditions of the Commercial Co-operation Arrangements negotiated/concluded by AI with the other Star carriers. However, according to expert opinion, at maturity (i.e. 3 to 4 years after entry), by participating in a global alliance (such as Star Alliance), an airline could expect to generate incremental revenues equivalent to 2-3% of its international passenger revenues.

Source:webnewswire

Holidays bring cheer to travel and tourism sector

Christmas and New Year holidays have come as a bright streak in an otherwise bleak landscape for the travel and tourism sector as
leisure travel has increased in spite of the economic slowdown.

Though there is a general slump in the business, inbound and outbound leisure tourist movement is slowly picking up. The number of bookings for leisure travel to destinations abroad as well as within the country have increased this month as compared to last month, said industry sources.

The domestic tourist traffic has also improved for this month end because several people who used to travel abroad have switched to destinations in Kerala.

However, the numbers are not as good as it used to be last year. "But still this brings hope for the sector," says Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) president Basheer Ahemed.

He said, "Christmas and New Year have brought a little hope for us. We have received several bookings from people who want to travel to Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong in the coming weeks. Thailand was popular but some people hesitate to go there because of the current political unrest in the country, he added.

The flights to Singapore and other south-east Asian countries are full till the first week of January. Even Dubai is a popular destination. Cathay Pacific has come out with interesting packages while Malaysian Tourism is offering incentives to travel agents to lure more travellers during the holiday season.

Basheer said there were more inbound travellers from Singapore as it is holiday time there. "The situation is not as buoyant as it used to be last year. But it is improving."

Cleartrip vice president Tarique Khatri said, "There is a 20% increase in the online travel bookings this month when compared to November. Majority of the people are preferring domestic destinations. So, December is not as badly hit as was the case during the meltdown.

Nevertheless, several travellers are preferring domestic destinations. Hi tours has received a few last minute enquiries and bookings for this week.

"We are getting good bookings for the domestic sector. Kerala is so popular that there is a shortage of rooms in the state," an officials of the company said.

Inbound travellers have not cancelled their plans for Christmas and New Year holidays here.

"We do not have any cancellations so far from tourists from Europe and North America. The slowdown impact is yet to show while the Mumbai attacks have not affected us adversely," said Hi Tours managing director Sethuraman.
Source:indiatimes

SpiceJet to employ more pilots soon

SpiceJet will hire about a dozen pilots including foreign commanders, in a fortnight, reports Economic Times.

It is understood that SpiceJet will pay Rs 7 lakh per month to the foreign pilots, including accommodation allowance, double the amount it offers its Indian pilots. SpiceJet employs 65-70 expat pilots.

SpiceJet requires more pilots as it is expanding capacity, it intends to increase flights by another 20% over the next two months, it plans to double the frequency in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai routes.

The daily flights will jump to 120 from the current 98 in 20 cities by the end of this fiscal. The company has also pulled back from its earlier decision of returning three aircraft.

It is learnt that SpiceJet has resolved its problems related to cash after the WL Ross infused Rs 3.60 billion in it.

The SpiceJet might double its fleet size to 600 aircraft by 2010.

Source:myiris

Boost for Hyderabad traffic as British Airways begins regular service to London Heathrow– 08/12/08

In a welcome boost to its international traffic profile, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad yesterday hosted the first flight from the UK’s largest scheduled airline, British Airways.

The new route provides a direct flight from Hyderabad to London Heathrow Terminal 5 in the UK and offers connections to 22 destinations in North America. British Airways will operate five weekly non-stop flights between Hyderabad and London – the only airline to offer direct flights between the two cities.

British Airways Area Commercial Manager for South Asia Amanda Amos said: “We are very excited about the launch of our Hyderabad service. India is an incredibly important market for the airline and the start of this service demonstrates our commitment to this market.”

The inaugural British Airways flight, which landed at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 4:40a.m. on 7 December, received a traditional water cannon salute from the fire-fighting ‘Panthers’ at the rapid exit way.

The passengers and crew were welcomed by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) Chief Operating Officer, Peter Noyce, Director Prasanna C and Chief Commercial Officer Viswanath Attaluri.

“Despite the economic meltdown, Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) has registered a reasonable growth in the international passenger traffic. The excellent facilities available at RGIA have opened up exciting opportunities for world-class carriers like British Airways to add Hyderabad as a preferred destination,” Viswanath said.

He added: “Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is poised to make Hyderabad a truly global air travel hub in India.”

Source:moodiereport

Jet Airways to Operate Two Flights from U-Tapao to India today

Jet Airways has confirmed it will operate two flights between U-Tapao airport near Pattaya in Thailand and India today (1 December).

BKK (U-Tapao) - BOM departure 20.00 hrs. Buses will leave Bangkok at 2.00 pm 1 December.
BKK (U-Tapao - CCU departure 00.01 hrs. Buses will leave Bangkok at 5.00 pm on 1 December.

All passengers must contact Jet Airway's town office for confirmation rerouting and a check-in number. The phone number is 02-6968980 or 02-6968960. Jet Airways office in Bangkok is located on the 4th Floor, Cathay House, North Sathorn Road, Silom, Bangrak.

The airline has said that passengers who do not contact the office and do not have a check in number will not be accepted for the flights.

Source:asiatraveltips

Kingfisher to start air service between Mumbai and Nashik

Kingfisher Airlines has decided to start two daily flights between Mumbai and Nashik from 17 November from Ojhar air strip of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), about 21 kms from here.
“There was a demand from civilians and entrepreneurs to have air service between Mumbai and Nashik and their demand is being fulfilled,” HAL’s Managing Director Prakash Deshmukh stated in a release issued today.

As per the release, the first flight would leave from Mumbai at 1050 hrs and reach Ojhar at 1140 hrs. The flight will leave Ojha at 1230 hrs and reach Mumbai at 1320 hrs.
The next flight will leave Mumbai at 1530 hrs and reach Ojhar 1620 hrs and leave for Mumbai 1650 hrs to reach the destination at 1740 hrs, the release said.

Air services will also be made available for New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad from Nashik (Ojhar), the release added.

Air-service from Mumbai to Nashik was earlier launched by Indian Airlines, Vayudoot and Air-Deccan but was closed down following poor response from passengers.
Recently, Air-Deccan had launched flights to Nagpur from Mumbai via Nashik but was also closed down following similar reasons.

Source:livemint

Jet Airways to reintroduce Bangalore-Mangalore flights

With the rise in passenger traffic, Jet Airways would reintroduce daily service on the Bangalore-Mangalore sector from December one.

Flight 9W 3561 will fly to and fro twice between the two cities in Karnataka everyday. The first flight would depart here at 0855 hrs and arrive Mangalore at 0955 hrs. On the return leg, it would leave Mangalore at 1025 hrs and arrive in the city at 1125 hrs.

In the evening, the flight will leave the city at 1730 hrs and arrive in Mangalore at 1830 hrs. On its return trip it will leave Mangalore at 1900 hrs and arrive here at 2000 hrs.

Also from December one, Jet Airways would further enhance its services to and from India's IT hubs Pune and Bangalore. Flight 9W 3559 would depart Pune daily at 0620 hrs and arrive in the city at 0820 hrs. It would depart here at 2030 hrs and arrive Pune at 2250 hrs.

This is in addition to Jet Airways existing services operated by 9W 445 and 9W 446 on the same route.

All the mentioned routes will be serviced by Jet Airways comfortable turboprop aircraft, ATR 72-500 series, with an all economy configuration, a press release here said.

Source:sahilonline

Heavy snowfall in Kashmir; all flights cancelled

Heavy snowfall and thunderstorms hit Kashmir Valley marking early onset of winter as normal life was paralysed and all flights, including those scheduled to carry Haj pilgrims, cancelled on Friday.

A six-inch-thick blanket of snow covered Srinagar and other parts of the valley as the first snowfall of the season which is usually experienced in December continued overnight forcing closure of Srinagar-Leh National Highway for vehicular traffic for six months.

All nine flights, including two Air India flights scheduled to leave Srinagar for Jeddah, were cancelled due to inclement weather, leaving 300 pilgrims stranded.

Co-ordinator of the State's Disaster Management Cell Aamir Ali said that there was heavy snowfall in the entire Valley, including Gulmarg, which has witnessed two feet snow since Thursday.

"There has been snowfall in all parts, including Gurez, Karnah, Macchil, Anantnag, Pahalgam, Shopian, Kupwara and Kangan," Ali said.

There were no reports of any loss of life or major damage to property. However electric poles and trees were uprooted at many places, he said.

This is for the first time in four years that snowfall in the city has been witnessed as early as November. The usual time for snowfall in the city is late December or early January.

"All the district routes have been cleared but it has been snowing continuously, causing some problems," he said.

The early snowfall has been caused by unusual western disturbances over Kashmir, a MET official said.

Thunderstorms occurred at many places which was unusual for this time of the year.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Jet Airways offers double mileage points on India-London route

Jet Airways’ JetPrivilege, India’s frequent flyer programme, now offers its members travelling on the Mumbai/Delhi-London sectors (return) the opportunity to earn Double JPMiles (mileage points) between 06-Nov-08 and 15-Jan-09.



The Double JPMiles will be eligible for flights booked in First Class, Premiere and Economy, enabling JetPrivilege members to earn over 25,000 JPMiles on a return First Class ticket booked for the London route. Jet Airways currently flies twice daily to London from Mumbai and daily from Delhi aboard its state-of-the-art Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

London-bound JetPrivilege members may earn an additional 500 bonus JPMiles when they book their travel online and an additional 250 bonus JPMiles on use of Jet Airways’ Web or SMS check-in facilities.

Source://indiaaviation.aero

Emirates airline spreading wings in India

he United Arab Emirates' (UAE) national airline Emirates is embarking on a major expansion drive in India this winter with the addition of 31 flights a week.

With this, the airline's reputation as the largest international carrier to operate in India will be reaffirmed as the number of weekly flights to 10 destinations in India will touch 163, the official Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

"Owing to the liberalisation of the Indian skies and growing demand for air travel, Emirates is extending its presence in India," Salem Obaidalla, Dubai-based airline's senior vice-president for commercial operations in West Asia, Indian Ocean and Africa, was quoted as saying.

"Our winter expansion - the single largest growth in our operations - closely follows the extension of services in the summer of this year, and represents our commitment to the market and our confidence in its potential," he said.

The expansion will be implemented in a phased manner and the key cities of Mumbai and New Delhi will be the main beneficiaries.

Other important commercial hubs, including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi, will also be served with additional flights.

"The additional frequencies have been timed to offer passengers more consistent schedules and seamless connections to onward points in Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Middle East," Obaidalla said.

The UAE is home to around 1.5 million expatriate Indians.

Source://indiatimes.com

Now, early evening flight to Mumbai

Beginning Saturday, air passengers will have a reason to smile as a new flight begins its service. The flight will leave Nagpur at 7.15
pm and land in Mumbai at 8.30 pm. Jet Airways has replaced its regular flights with the low-cost JetLite.

The evening JetLite 144-capacity Boeing aircraft will take off from Mumbai at 5.25 pm and land in Nagpur at 6.45 pm.

In the morning, the 168-capacity Boeing aircraft will depart from Mumbai at 7 am and arrive in Nagpur at 8.25 am. The Mumbai-bound flight will depart from Nagpur at 8.55 am and reach Mumbai at 10.10 am, informed a senior JetLite official.

Both the morning and evening flights will be operated with minimum airfare of Rs 3125 (including taxes). JetLite will offer airfares in four slabs with lowest being Rs 3,175 and Rs 3,325, Rs 3,475 and Rs 3,645, the official added. The other airlines operating in Mumbai sector like Air India (departure 8.45 pm) and Indigo (8.40 pm) departs late in night and reach Mumbai after 10 pm, putting passengers to inconvenience many times.

Both the morning and evening flights for November 1, have received overwhelming response from passengers as almost 120 seats in morning flight and 85 in evening flight were booked a day before the launch (on Friday).

“The fares charged by JetLite during the period of rising airfares are comparatively less than the other airlines,” the official claimed.

Said the official, “All our flights have incurred heavy losses for some months now on both Mumbai and Delhi route. There is no response from passengers to 20-seat capacity business class option in regular flights for Mumbai. Thus, the company decided to introduce all economy class flights on Mumbai route.”

Meanwhile, Jet Airways while introducing low cost option on Mumbai route has decided to discontinue its evening flight to and from New Delhi from Saturday for next few months.

The official further added, “Company has plans to introduce low-cost JetLite option for Delhi route too in near future. After going through the response of passengers on Mumbai flights, the Delhi flights will be introduced.”

Source://indiatimes.com

Austrian cancels flights to Mumbai from 1 March 2009

Austrian Airlines is to cease operating its service to the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) from 1 March 2009 onwards.

As a result of drastic overcapacity between European airports and the city in southwestern India, the weakening Indian economy and the consequences of the crisis in European financial markets, it is no longer possible to operate this route profitably in the medium term. The measure means that one more of the airline’s total of six Boeing 767 aircraft will no longer be deployed on long-haul routes. The question of how to use the aircraft freed up by the decision remains open at present.

This necessary capacity reduction on the Mumbai route can be compensated with minor medium-haul network adjustments, without any need for further reductions in staff numbers. Services from London City Airport, Luxembourg and Riga, as well as the long-haul destination of Chicago, have already been cancelled this year.

Source://finchannel.com

Sri Lanka to Tailor Tourist Promotions to Indian States

Sri Lankas tourism promotion agency will market Sri Lanka to Indians on a state by state basis, with the Gujarat in Andhra Pradesh as its pilot project, officials said.

Head of Sri Lanka Renton de Alwis says India is a large market but it is difficult to market due its large size.

"So we want to be state-specific and segment-specific," says, De Alwis.

India has one of the largest and fastest growing middle classes in the world, with approximately 300 million people.

By September 2008, 63,915 Indians had visited Sri Lanka down from 77,900 in the same period, a year earlier.

Sri Lanka's tourist industry wants to reverse the trend. The new campaign will kick off in Gujarat to be followed by Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore.

Air travel - especially over long distances - has been made prohibitively expensive over the past year. Though oil prices are falling, many Western economies are in turmoil. Worries about job losses are hardly conducive for a holiday mood.

Sri Lanka's internal conflict has also resulted in travel advisories being issued by Western governments.

Sri Lanka's tourist industry is hoping that Indian holidaymakers would prove more resilient.

"India is a growing economy and the downturn in the world economy would not affect India that much as the rest of world," hopes Ajith Gunawardane, deputy chairman of John Keells Holdings which runs hotels both in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

"Last year nine million Indians traveled out of India, we want to capture six to seven percent of that."

The countries that attract most Indian tourists are Singapore and Dubai, says Gunawardane. Both are shopping paradises.

Special Attractions

But officials are banking on Sri Lanka's proximity and wide variety of attractions to tempt the tastes of different Indian visitors.

"Sri Lanka is one of the closes travel destinations to the Indian Traveler," says Amal Goonetilleke, deputy chairman of the City Hotels Association.

"People from Chennai like to see temples and go to places like Nuwara Eliya which is quite similar to Ute in India.

"People from Delhi, like night life, discos, and casinos," says Goonetilleke.

Officials are also hoping to spice up the menus of local hotels to suit the Indian palate, by flying in Indian chefs to train Sri Lankans.

"We would conduct classes to cater the needs of regional travelers," says Bernard Goonatilleke head Sri Lanka's state-run hotel school.

"Chefs will come on short training courses".

Officials say Sri Lanka hotel room rates are also much lower than India now. A five star room in Colombo is about 70 US dollars.

"Indian hotels are very expensive. The equivalent to Taj Colombo would cost 300 500 dollars," say De Alwis.

SriLankan Airlines, the island's national carrier, says it will link with regional Indian airlines to provide cost effective connection from different states.

"We have 27 points in India and we want to expand, but then have to look at the competition," Amith Sumanapala, head of the travel arm of SriLankan

"Our strategy would be to tie up with other regional airlines as feeder routes. Already we are in talks with King Fisher, Jet Airways and Indian Airlines."

SriLankan has been cutting frequencies to some destinations after the country opened up to foreign competition and a large number of foreign carriers started to fly in. Its 100 weekly flights to India has been cut to 77.

Officials are hoping that the new promotion would lure more Indians to Sri Lanka where hotel room rates are also much lower than in India.

Source://asia.news.yahoo.com

New airline named RP carrier to Taiwan

THE Civil Aeronautics Board has designated local carrier Spirit of Manila Airlines as the only official carrier to operate international passenger services between Clark and Taiwan.

The airline will mount flights to Taiwan from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in the Clark Freeport Zone before the end of the year.

The designation will allow the carrier to operate passenger services at 450 seats per week between Clark and Taiwan, pursuant to an air traffic in 2006.

Long-Wen Lee, director-general of Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration, said the capacity under the Category II slot has been fully allocated to Spirit of Manila Airlines.

Spirit of Manila, led by Juan Paraiso III as president and chief executive, is the country’s newest airline and operates out of a 10-hectare property at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark. Paraiso has over 41 years experience in the aviation industry.

Two Boeing 737s will be coming in next month to service the airline’s regional routes like Taiwan. It is also negotiating for the dry-lease of two or three Boeing 767-300ERS and later Boeing 747-400s for long-haul international flights to the Middle East.

It plans to fly to Bahrain, Bangkok, Dubai, Hong Kong, Johor Bahru, Kaohsiung, Macau, Osaka, Palau, Taipei, Mumbai, Karachi and the Gulf Region.

The airline also offers budget fares and other affordable fare schemes to cater to Filipinos working overseas.

Source://manilastandardtoday.com

Air India, Saudi Airlines to fly Haj pilgrims from Oct 30

More than 120,000 Haj pilgrims from India will travel to Jeddah on two airliners - India’s flagship carrier, Air India, and Saudi Airlines, a Gulf air carrier, - from 17 Indian cities from Oct 30, an airline official said Friday.

While Air India will fly 63,511 pilgrims, Saudi Airlines will carry 59,700 pilgrims.

Executive director and spokesperson of Air India Jitender Bhargava told IANS Friday that Air India would ferry the pilgrims on 400 flights.

The airlines will have an equal number of flights back from Jeddah to India after the Haj. The entire process is expected to end by Jan 12 next year.

The government has allowed 123,211 Haj pilgrimage this year. While Haj pilgrims were flown to Jeddah from 15 cities last year, two more destinations have been added this year. These include Aurangabad and Indore.

The Haj pilgrimage is the major annual event where millions of Muslim pilgrims from all over the world arrive in Jeddah on their way to Makkah. Haj is one of the five tenets of Islam and is every Muslim’s desire to perform Haj at least once in his lifetime.

Source:sindhtoday.net

Emirates Airline to go double daily to Moscow

Emirates Airline is going double daily to Moscow, further bonding the Russian route into the airline's network and broadening the scope for investment between Russia and the UAE.

Responding to passenger demand for increased frequencies, the Dubai-based carrier will launch the extra daily service on February 2nd next year. The new EK 131 flight will depart Dubai at 1740hrs and arrive in Moscow at 2205hrs. The return flight, EK 132, will depart Moscow at 2340hrs and arrive in Dubai at 0555hrs the following day.

Nabil Sultan, Emirates' Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe, said:

Mr Sultan, who attended a press conference yesterday in Moscow, added: 'Emirates will continue offering its passengers the best travel experience on the market and what is particularly pleasing is that they now they will have even more convenient access to numerous Emirates' destinations around the world.'

For example, passengers travelling between Moscow and the Seychelles or Johannesburg will benefit from reduced connection times in Dubai. Meanwhile, transit passengers will be able to avoid an overnight stop-over in Dubai when travelling between Russia and Cape Town, Sydney, Auckland, Christchurch, Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Customers can also look forward to easier connections to Middle Eastern destinations such as Amman, Beirut, Damascus and Sanaa.

Emirates' passenger and cargo services to Moscow began on a five times a week basis in 2003. As demand grew, that became six times a week, and in March 2005 Dubai to Moscow went daily.

Currently, Emirates' flights to Moscow are served by the airline's Boeing 777 series. The second daily flight will increase weekly capacity by 65% in Economy Class and the number of seats available in First and Business Class will double.

On the cargo side, the extra flight will increase Emirates SkyCargo's weekly capacity into Russia to more than 220 tonnes. Currently, the main products arriving in Moscow via Emirates SkyCargo are flowers from Africa, pharmaceuticals from the Indian subcontinent and meat from Australia and New Zealand.

The additional services will also enable Sky Cargo to even better serve Russian exporters by offering them more capacity and more frequent connections with their target markets.

Emirates offers passengers in Russia a range of ground services including online check-in, preferred seat selection at the time of booking when they purchase their tickets online and chauffeur-drive for First and Business Class travellers.

Emirates currently operates services to 101 destinations in 61 countries in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and the Asia-Pacific.

New passenger routes for 2008 include Cape Town (launched on the 30th of March), Kozhikode (Calicut) and Guangzhou - both launched 1st July. Services to Los Angeles start October 26th, while San Francisco kicks off December 15th.

Emirates is the world's largest customer for the A380. The Emirates' version of the super-jumbo has Onboard Shower Spas and an Onboard Lounge where Premium class passengers can socialise over a drink - effectively creating a premium hotel in the sky.

The carrier is expecting to receive its second A380 on October 24th, which will be added to the aircraft serving the New York JFK route. From December 1st, the double-decker is set to fly the London Heathrow route and then Sydney and Auckland in February 2009.

Flights from Dubai:

- EK 133 departs Dubai 1015hrs, arrives Moscow 1440hrs.
- EK 131 departs Dubai 1740hrs, arrives Moscow 2205hrs (effective February 2nd, 2009).

Flights to Dubai:

- EK 134 departs Moscow 1650hrs, arrives Dubai 2255hrs.
- EK 132 departs Moscow 2340hrs, arrives Dubai 0555hrs the following day (effective February 2nd, 2009).

Source://ameinfo

Airlines to pay Rs 30,000 for abrupt flight cancellation

The State Consumer Commission has pulled up the Deccan Aviation Limited for putting a passenger to inconvenience by abruptly cancelling its Kullu-Delhi flight for four days at a stretch and directed the airlines to pay Rs 30,000 compensation to him.

"The airlines-service provider is supposed to keep the flights in perfect order and not to put the passengers in unnecessary inconvenience and mental stress by keeping them waiting or sending them back who might be having some urgent business engagements or assignments," the Commission said.

"All such acts amount to deficiency in service and render the service provider (aviation company) liable to compensate the consumer adequately and reasonably in terms of the observations of the Supreme Court," Commission President Justice J D Kapoor said, rejecting the airlines' plea that the cancellation of flight was due to bad weather.

Anjani Malik, a resident of Haryana, suffered at the hands of the airline when he was not able to catch a flight from Kullu to Delhi in March last year and was told to wait for the next day, the exercise which lasted for four days at at a stretch.

After the harassment, he decided to return to the Capital at his own costs. Malik then approached the District Consumer Forum, Sheikh Sarai, claiming Rs 50,000 compensation following which the airlines was asked to pay Rs 30,000.

"In the instant case, Malik purchased tickets in February 28, 2007 and they had to remain in Kullu upto March 4 and therefore faced inconvenience and had to incur expenditure on boarding and lodging," Justice Kapoor said.

source://business-standard

Lack of direction hurts sector

The government may have a policy to restore the country's tourism image after months of political turmoil, but its top players appear to be working against each other, complains a local hotelier.

While the Tourism Authority of Thailand is working to improve the country's image, Thai Airways International is cutting flights and Airports of Thailand is talking about increasing landing fees, says Chanin Donavanik, managing director and CEO of Dusit Thani Plc.

He said that THAI and AOT should ask themselves what their priorities were: the country's interests or their own.

"I have been president of the Thai Hotels Association for 10 years. Over the past three years, I have seen weak governments, and business operators, including me, have come to realise that we can't rely on the state to help us in the long term," he said.

Mr Chanin has predicted the number of western tourist arrivals would decrease by between 20% and 30% next year before improving in the following year. Asian tourist arrivals would grow by 5% to 10% next year if the domestic political problems end soon.

He forecast that the country would lose 10 billion baht in tourism revenue this year due to the political strife and global financial crisis.

Reservations in the coming high season may appear good, he said, but only between Dec 15 and Jan 15, compared to the normal situation when bookings are solid from November to February.

To stimulate travel, Mr Chanin suggested that the government create new and sustainable marketing campaigns to compete with neighbouring countries.

He believes the global economic situation will get worse over the next six months. But since travel is a part of life, the government needs big marketing campaigns to help tourism businesses, especially in Asian and Middle East markets with high potential.

To promote Thailand in Asia, he said, the TAT should stress shopping, spa, medical treatment, and food packages instead of the cultural and natural attractions that have long been at the core of its marketing.

"We have sold Thai culture and natural tourist destinations for more than 10 years. It's time we changed, especially for Asian tourists," said Mr Chanin.

He expressed concern that that Thai tourism industry was now trailing those of Singapore and South Korea, which have done a better job promoting themselves in recent years.

"Singapore Airlines does not decrease its flights even in the face of loses. THAI, on the other hand, has done exactly the opposite. As well, THAI would rush to buy new aircraft after making some profits. That's why Singapore's tourism industry has sustainable growth."

He also said that some small hotels had gone out of business because they couldn't compete with rivals, saying the government should pay more attention to them. Unfortunately, he said, authorities have focused only on the macro picture because it is very easy to just spend money on advertisements.

"Some small hotels are looking for foreign investors to take over their businesses. This is sad for Thai hoteliers."

Source://bangkokpost

Canadians pack inaugural Allegiant flight to Las Vegas

An Elvis impersonator and a showgirl were at Grand Forks International Airport for Monday’s inaugural flight from Grand Forks to Las Vegas on Allegiant Air, bringing a little Vegas glitz to the occasion.

But make no mistake, the first packed flight to Las Vegas had a distinct Canadian flavor.

Allegiant officials would not disclose booking data about their customers, but there were clearly plenty of Winnipeg-area travelers on the first flight.

We have had a substantial amount of Canadians booking,” Allegiant spokeswoman Sabrina LoPiccolo said. “The border is so close. Flying out of an American airport they don’t have as many fees. It’s very cheap for them.”

A number of Canadian travelers on the inaugural flight to Las Vegas said Allegiant’s cheap fares and more convenient departure and arrival times in Grand Forks made the about two-hour drive from the Winnipeg area worthwhile.

A few travelers said Allegiant’s Grand Forks ticket prices were as much as half the price of flying to Las Vegas from Winnipeg on Canadian low-fare carrier WestJet.

“The price was the main thing,” said Doug Allard of Winnipeg Beach, Man., who said he flies to Vegas a couple times a year on WestJet. “We’re just trying to cut the price down.”

Christine Keller of Anola, Man., said she usually drives to Fargo to fly to Vegas on Allegiant. But she said the introduction of Allegiant’s Grand Forks service makes for a shorter drive.

“I’d rather fly out of Winnipeg,” she said. “But it’s cheaper. You guys have great deals.”

Trevor McKee of Winnipeg said he likes Grand Forks’ two-day-a-week service to and from Las Vegas on Mondays and Fridays.

“The flight times are fantastic,” he said, comparing the 1:30 p.m. departures from Grand Forks with late-night flights from Winnipeg. “The price is great, too. This is quite convenient. This is handy.”

But Canadians weren’t the only ones to take advantage of Allegiant’s new service Monday.

Pat and Mary Miller of Bemidji usually fly to Las Vegas every spring using Allegiant’s Fargo flights. But the introduction of Grand Forks service offers them a shorter drive.

“We had stressful summers office-wise, so we needed a break,” Pat Miller said. “This is a relaxing trip. We just like Vegas. It’s nice to go somewhere where people actually wait on you.”

LoPiccolo said Allegiant has been pleased with the bookings so far for the new Grand Forks service. She said that if the flights prove successful the carrier will consider adding more flights or another destination from Grand Forks.

Many travelers on the first flight to Las Vegas said they were on vacation and planned to fly back to Grand Forks on Friday. It is expected that many travelers also will spend weekends in Vegas, flying out of Grand Forks on a Friday and returning on a Monday.

But at least a few passengers are expected to take advantage of the Vegas flights for business travel, while a few others may use it as a way to connect to other westbound airports.

Kurt Brorby of Crookston was flying to Vegas on Monday to work for Caesars Palace dealing poker in a tournament — one of six tournaments he works a year.

“It’s way more convenient,” said Brorby, who usually flies to Las Vegas from Fargo. “It’s just easier. It’s so close that someone can drop you off at the airport, instead of driving to Fargo and paying to park your car.”

Arla Hendricks of Lancaster, Minn., was with a party flying to Las Vegas that will take an Alaska Airlines flight to Portland, Ore., from there.

Hendricks said having Grand Forks to Las Vegas service makes for a shorter drive than flying out of Fargo or Minneapolis to connect to the West Coast.

“It’s much cheaper,” she said. “It’s just nice to have another option.”

Source://grandforksherald

India's passage to tourism megabucks

India has caught up, belatedly and gingerly, in the race to attract foreign tourists, going by the World Trade Organisation's World Tourism Barometer.

Globally, it ranked 21st, with estimated earnings of US$8.9 billion (RM30 billion) in 2006. It rose to US$12 billion last year. But this is peanuts compared with the No. 1, the United States' US$85 billion, or even fifth-ranking China's US$33 billion.

But then, following the Indian philosophical tradition, everything must be seen in relative terms. In this case, it would be the post-1991 period, when the world opened up and India itself opened up with its economic reforms.

The revenue from international tourism rose from US$2.6 billion in 1995 to US$3.6 billion in 2000, US$6.2 billion in 2004 and US$7.5 billion in 2005.
The percentage increase in foreign exchange earnings from tourism was 13.3 per cent in 2006 and 16.8 per cent last year.

This makes a 15 to 20 per cent target achievable.

The last financial year, when more than five million tourists arrived, was the fourth running that India's growth in arrivals picked up pace, with an increase of 13 per cent from 2005 to 20006, according to governmental data. India expected to host six million tourists last year and 10 million by 2010.

The "Incredible India!" promotional campaign won the Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata) Gold Award last year.

With better tourist infrastructure, the government could capitalise on the country earning the coveted world No. 1 travel destination ranking in the latest Conde Nast Traveller UK awards.

India jumped ahead of Italy, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand among the world's top five most-preferred tourist destinations from fourth a year earlier and 10th in 2004.

A Lonely Planet survey of 167 countries also ranks India among the world's top five most popular destinations.

It is really looking up, what with conference tourism, beach tourism, health/medical tourism, mountaineering tourism, pilgrimage tourism and, since the Liz Hurley-Arun Nayar wedding, even marriage tourism contributing to the slow but steady pace of growth.

The flow is increasingly two-way, with countries far-off like Australia and Ireland and near like Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong targeting the fast-growing market of the Indians travelling as never before.

There are more and more flights, and they are not merely carrying Indian workers and NRIs (non-resident Indians) but real, splurging tourists.

Ditto domestic tourism. Look at the five-star luxury hotels across India: restaurant clientele and room occupancy have more Indians with buying power than ever before.

For several years, India had been singing Atithi Devo Bhava (A guest is like God) but few were willing to play God.

When India crossed the one million tourist mark, it was celebrated as a major achievement, amid the realisation that a tiny Hong Kong was doing much better.

India has travelled a long distance since then. Or has it?

Much as it seeks atithi, domestic and foreign, it lacks a tourism culture. An average Indian still views a splurging tourist as one indulging in something obscene.

The shopkeepers, guides, transporters and hoteliers think a rich tourist is someone to be fleeced.

And if he is ill-clad, simple, on a shoestring budget with a backpack, probably unshaven and unbathed, then he is seen as anathema to Indian cultural values and environment.

Old timers recall auto-rickshaw pullers and the general public beating up hippy couples smooching on Delhi roads in the 1970s. Now they are ignored.

They would also recall the shanty hotels and guest houses along Paharganj and in by-lanes doubling as dens for drugs and prostitution. Drugs in India were supposed to be cheap. Much of that has changed.

There is a positive side to Indian tourism, too. Good conceptualisation and planning have led to the success of medical and health tourism. For long, the ayurvedic ashrams were crying to be projected. It has slowly happened.

More than 150,000 medical tourists travelled to India in 2002, bringing in earnings of US$300 million. Since then, the number of such travellers has been increasing by 25 per cent every year. A CII-McKinsey report projects that earnings through medical tourism would go up to US$2 billion by 2012.

It is a global competition and keeping pace has not been easy. The real challenge to tourism is coming in the form of the Commonwealth Games 2010. It has meant creating a huge infrastructure, including hotels, both star and budget ones.

The tourism explosion has attracted domestic and international hotel chains to put their money and minds into more hotels.

Any visitor to New Delhi's Janpath cannot miss the row of colourfully dressed women selling handicraft and fabrics with mirror work. Unlettered they may seem, but they use a smattering of just about any language the foreign tourist may speak to sell their wares. Even their children do the act well.

Switch to the narrow by-lanes crisscrossing the lake city of Udaipur, touted as Venice of the East.

The entire city is geared to receive the foreign tourist. Wayside shops cater to German or Italian tourists, offering them not only the exotic India of the maharajas of yore, but also confectionery, coffee and wine that a European far away from home would fall for.

From roadside restaurants to the five-star luxury hotels, the food is non-greasy and non-spicy, to suit the European palate. Smiling bearers display tremendous patience with the visitor.

On a recent visit to Udaipur, I came across tourists from the US, Germany, France and Britain. Not part of large conducted group tours, most had come as couples or families.

A German group paid US$3,000 for 15 days across India. Quite cheap when compared with a European or American tour.

"Don't you feel cheated while shopping?" I asked.

"Oh, after a while, we learn to bargain," was how a woman put it, with a smile and no complaints.

Source://nst.com

Flights to India from Birmingham Airport

Passengers using Birmingham Airport will be able to get a taste of the Orient after Bilga Air announced it will be introducing new flights between the hub and India, according to reports.

The airline will fly to the city of Amritsar in the north of the country twice a week beginning on October 9th.

Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry, explained that the new route will help service one of the city's most prominent business communities.

He told the Birmingham Post: "I am not surprised really as it seems to me that the business communities that fly from Birmingham to India were there and it was only a matter of time before another airline came forward.

"Our greatest cultural asset is the Asian business community."

Birmingham Airport recently announced that August was its busiest month since it began operations in 1939.

This is the hub's sixth consecutive record breaking month, following growth in traffic throughout the five preceding months of the year.

Source://fhr-net

More flights

To cope with the passenger rush during the festive season, Air India will operate additional flights on the Kolkata-Bagdogra-Kolkata route between 14 September and 9 November. The additional flight IC 1721 will take off from Kolkata at 2 p.m. and arrive at Bagdogra at 2:55 p.m. The return flight IC 1722 will leave Bagdogra at 3:35 p.m. and reach Kolkata at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Sunday. Air India will also start operations to Yangon from 3 October on Monday and Friday. n SNS


Source://thestatesman.

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