Category: Aviation

Air India has announced that the first flight from Indore to Dubai will take off on July 15. Air India has already started taking bookings and over a dozen people have already booked the tickets for the inaugural flight within the first six hours. The new flight will take off from Indore on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The flight will depart from Indore at 4.40 pm and reach Dubai at 7.05 pm on Mondays. On Saturdays, the flight will take off at 3.35 pm and reach Dubai at 6.45 pm. On all three days, the flight will take off from ... Read more

Emirates will be expanding its services to Jeddah and Medina with an additional 46 flights to help facilitate travel for Hajj pilgrims heading to and from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The flights will be operated between 27 July and 22 August to support the Hajj journey to the Holy City of Mecca. The services will run in parallel with Emirates’ regularly scheduled services to Jeddah and Medina, and will be available to travellers holding a valid Hajj visa. This year, Emirates expects thousands of pilgrims to travel on its services for Hajj, coming from top inbound destinations such as ... Read more

Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) has launched its direct flight linking Baku and New Delhi. An Eastern country with a Western outlook, Baku is known as the “Pearl of the Caucasus”. Combining history, culture and modernity, the vibrant city offers a safe and attractive setting along the Caspian Sea. From outdoor activities, phenomenal shopping experiences, luxury hotels, and beautiful venues and locations for weddings and honeymoons, Azerbaijan is a perfect destination for couples, families, and friends. “India is a key market for us with immense potential due to the high number of international travellers and their growing interest in the region. We ... Read more

SpiceJet has launched eight new non-stop international flights from Mumbai and Delhi. The airline is the first Indian LCC to connect Mumbai with Riyadh and Dhaka and Delhi with Dhaka and Jeddah. Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, earmarks SpiceJet’s 10th international destination and the fourth station in the Middle Eastern market. The flights to Dhaka and Jeddah are effective from the last week of July while the flight to Riyadh will commence on August 15, 2019. SpiceJet will service Mumbai-Riyadh-Mumbai, Mumbai-Dhaka-Mumbai, Delhi-Dhaka-Delhi and Delhi-Jeddah-Delhi with daily non-stop flights. The airline will deploy its 168-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft on ... Read more

Qatar Airways and Emirates recently announced their recent launch of new year round services between Portugal and India. Seven times weekly services in summer 2019 and five times weekly service in winter 2019/2020 by Qatar Airways to Lisbon. Four times new weekly services by Emirates to Porto along with its on-going double daily flights year round to Lisbon. Travellers will have direct access to Qatar Airways’s and Emirates’ global network via Doha and Dubai respectively. Qatar Airways will start its new route from its global network from Doha to the capital of Portugal- Lisbon. There will be seven times weekly ... Read more

JetPrivilage, an award-winning loyalty & rewards programme, part of the Etihad Aviation Group has unveiled its latest consumer campaign, which reiterates that the reward currency, JPMiles, is “More powerful than ever”. The brand campaign seeks to educate all – about the innumerable opportunities for members through its platform for earning and redeeming JPMiles across airlines worldwide, any hotel booking across the globe, every time one shops online or at a store, using any of its –co-brand cards, at hundreds of restaurants or thousands of petrol pumps. The campaign remains true to the brand ethos of fulfilling aspirations by creating an ... Read more

Vistara has announced a significant network expansion with the addition of 62 new flights to and from Mumbai and Delhi. These new flights represent an over 50 per cent increase in the size of the airline’s network, with 170 flights a day across 24 destinations operated by a fleet of 23 Airbus A320 and 6 Boeing 737-800NG aircraft. “Our frequent fliers have often expressed their wish to see Vistara add more flights and frequencies from Mumbai and Delhi to key destinations, and we’re happy that we are now able to announce these new flights and additional frequencies. These new flights ... Read more

The Jammu & Kashmir government has said that the Kargil Airport will be developed into a full-fledged airport for commercial flight operations. BVR Subrahmanyam, Chief Secretary, Jammu & Kashmir government held a meeting in New Delhi with Union Secretary, Civil Aviation and other Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials including Member Planning, AAI for development of existing Kargil Airport for full operation of commercial flights including Boeing, Airbus, etc. The MoU with AAI is expected to be signed by July, 15. The foundation stone for the extension of the runway is expected to be laid by the end of August, ... Read more

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) who manages 125 airports in the country, has made 35 of its airports single-use plastic free while 20 more will soon follow the suit. The state-run airport operator has declared Indore, Bhopal, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Tirupati, Trichy, Kolkata, Varanasi, Chennai, Patna, Coimbatore, Ranchi, Trivandrum, Goa, Lucknow, Vijayawada, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Vadodara, Madurai, Raipur, Vizag, Pune, Udaipur, Srinagar, Imphal, Jammu, Mangalore, Amritsar, Port Blair, Guwahati, Bagdogra, Agartala, Calicut and Jaipur, single-use plastic-free terminals. “On the basis of a third-party assessment carried out by Quality Council of India, 35 airport terminals have been declared as single-use plastic-free,” an ... Read more

IndiGo is planning to introduce 12 ATR flights on the Buddhist circuit, which would include daily non-stop ATR flights between Kolkata, Gaya and Varanasi. Starting August 8, 2019, IndiGo will commence flight operations on Kolkata – Gaya, Kolkata – Patna, Kolkata – Varanasi and Gaya – Varanasi routes along with additional frequency on Kolkata – Varanasi route. Bookings are already open for these routes, with fares starting at Rs 1499. “As a part of our endeavour to enhance domestic connectivity, our ATR fleet helps us serve regional operations efficiently. We are delighted to have launched these flights on the Buddhist ... Read more

IndiGo has launched non-stop daily flight on Kolkata – Hong Kong route, effective from August 20, 2019. Bookings for the flight are open and the one-way fare would be Rs 10,999. The aircraft on the route would be an Airbus 320, with a capacity of 180 seats. “As part of our international expansion plans, we are happy to announce the launch of a daily direct flight on the Kolkata – Hong Kong route. We are committed to strengthen and grow our international network, in line with our overall growth strategy to meet the requirement of both business and leisure travellers. ... Read more

Air travel will become a bit costlier as the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has decided to increase the aviation security fee (ASF) from Rs 130 to Rs 150 for Indian passengers from July 1 onwards. For international passengers, the ASF will be increased from 3.25 USD to 4.85 USD from next month, an MoCA document stated. “The ASF for domestic passengers will be levied at the rate of Rs 150 per embarking passenger,” said an Ministry of Civil Aviation order. “The ASF for international passengers will be levied at the rate of USD 4.85 or equivalent Indian rupees per ... Read more

JPMiles, the reward currency of JetPrivilege, has become even more compelling with the launch of a unique platform ‘Select Flights’. Members can now earn JPMiles across airlines worldwide to any destination, on any flight and for all seats booked on this platform. JetPrivilege, the award-winning loyalty & rewards programme, part of the Etihad Aviation Group, has introduced the offering ‘Select Flights’, powered by EaseMyTrip.com, one of India’s leading online travel aggregator. Members can also book flights for their loved ones, family or friends, and earn JPMiles for their entire booking. Commenting on this development, Manish Dureja, Managing Director, Jet Privilege ... Read more

To mark World Environment Day, Emirates gave its old advertising billboards in South Africa a new lease of life, transforming the PVC Flex material into hundreds of reusable bags. In an effort to spread the message of sustainability and make a positive impact on local communities, the advertising banners collected from across South Africa, were given a second life – the heavy-duty, PVC Flex material was upcycled to produce school bags that were donated to students of Emfundisweni Primary School in Alexandra. A total of 517 square meters of PVC Flex material was collected and sent to Johannesburg, where Emirates ... Read more

From June 1rst onwards, agents and advisors booking flights for clients through the IATA’s Passenger Agency Program must ask travelers if they want their contact information shared with airlines in the case of operational disruptions. Agents and advisors will be required to enter the passenger contact information (phone number and/or e-mail address) when booking flights beginning June 1. Carriers will be able to use the information to advise passengers of irregular flight operations and disruptions. “In the event the passenger exercises his or her right not to provide contact details it is incumbent on the Agent to indicate that the ... Read more