Category: Aviation

Emirates’ Economy Class customers can now enjoy even more personal space and privacy onboard with the ability to purchase up to three empty adjoining seats on their flight. These seats will be offered to all Economy Class customers holding a confirmed booking. Customers will not be able to pre-book empty seats, as these are subject to availability. Empty seats will only be offered for purchase at the airport check-in counter prior to flight departure, and costs range from AED 200 to AED 600 (US$ 55 to US$ 165) per empty seat, plus applicable taxes depending on flight sector. Emirates has ... Read more

Marking the inauguration of a domestic airline, which coincided with International Women’s Day, on 08th MAR, an all-woman crew flew from Delhi to Bareilly with Santosh Gangwar, Union Minister and MP from Bareilly on board. According to news reports, the maiden flight of Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India was flagged off by Hardeep Singh Puri , Union Aviation Minister, and was manned by Captain Poonam Yadav. Minister of Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri while announcing the inaugural flight, virtually said, “I would like to thank all the stakeholders who have done a tremendous job to get start the Bareilly ... Read more

Vistara, one of India’s leading airline and full-service carrier, a joint venture of Tata group and Singapore Airlines, on 03rd March, inaugurated its non-stop flights between Mumbai, India and Malé, Republic of Maldives. Vistara, thus, becomes the only airline to offer the choice of Premium Economy class of travel on the route, in addition to Business class and Economy class. The inaugural flight, operated by Vistara’s Airbus A320neo aircraft, departed Mumbai at 1010 hours (IST) today and landed in Malé at 1225 hours (MVT). The airline will fly three times a week on the route under India’s transport bubble agreement ... Read more

The Director-General of Civil Aviation has extended the restrictions on international passenger flights due to the Covid disease until March 31. However, the restrictions do not apply to cargo flights approved by the DGCI. At the same time, the order states that international services will be allowed on selected routes depending on the circumstances. In the wake of Covid, the country imposed restrictions on international flights last March. Since then, regulation in other parts of the country has eased, but restrictions on international flights remain. By the end of last year, domestic flights were allowed in the country.

Uttar Pradesh got its third international airport in the form of Kushinagar. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Hardeep Singh Puri informed that the Kushinagar Airport in Uttar Pradesh has got the necessary clearances from aviation regulator DGCA to operate international flights from the facility. In a tweet, Puri said that this will help boost tourism in the region. “Kushinagar to become 3rd licensed international airport of UP. Will boost tourism in the region and facilitate travel on the Buddhist circuit by providing direct aviation connectivity to the city where Lord Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana.” Here is all you need to ... Read more

SpiceJet, the country’s favourite airline and the largest regional player, today announced the launch of 24 new domestic flights. SpiceJet will be the first and only airline to connect Ajmer with Mumbai and Ahmedabad with Amritsar reiterating the airline’s commitment to enhance connectivity between metro and non-metro cities. The new flights also include four new seasonal flights connecting Jaisalmer, the ‘Golden City’ of India, with Delhi and Ahmedabad. The airline will also launch daily flights on the Ahmedabad – Bengaluru – Ahmedabad, Kolkata – Guwahati and Guwahati – Delhi routes. Flights between Ahmedabad-Bagdogra-Ahmedabad and Chennai -Kolkata -Chennai will operate three ... Read more

In a boost for Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club, members in the UK can sign up to Virgin Red, Virgin’s new rewards club. Through the Virgin Red app and website, which celebrates its members for living a life more Virgin, Flying Club members will unlock a wealth of new earning and spending options overnight, across a wide range of products and services from the Virgin family and beyond. New and existing Flying Club members in the UK can now enroll in Virgin Red and seamlessly link their Flying Club account, creating a shared Virgin Points balance that they can use across ... Read more

The flight tickets in India are set to rise as the civil aviation ministry on Thursday has increased the lower and upper limits on domestic airfares by 10 to 30%. The ministry extended the cap on airfare till 31 March. In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, the aviation ministry implemented a restriction on domestic airfare in May 2020. Domestic flights in India have a cap on fares with both an upper and lower limit. Flights between cities that are under 40 minutes have been classified under section one, while those under 40-60 minutes are under section two. Section three ... Read more

SpiceJet has inducted two more wide-body planes – a Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 – into its cargo fleet. With the latest induction, SpiceJet will have a dedicated fleet of 19 cargo aircraft, including five wide-body jets. Other than the wide-body aircraft, SpiceJet’s cargo fleet includes five Boeing 737 freighters and nine Q-400s. The two wide-body cargo aircraft that have been inducted would primarily be used for transporting cargo goods, medical and essential supplies on long-haul routes including to destinations in Europe and North America. With the latest induction, SpiceXpress, the airline’s cargo arm, aims to further strengthen its cargo ... Read more

Vistara Airlines has upgraded the map application in its inflight entertainment (IFE) system and launched Arc, Panasonic Avionics’ new, state-of-the-art, 3D inflight map application on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. The mapping platform will be progressively made available on the airline’s brand new A321neo aircraft as well. Arc will be available in all cabins – in the overhead monitors, seatback screens, video handsets as well as on passengers’ mobile devices connected to the inflight Wi-Fi. Vistara passengers will now be able to choose from over 20 distinct map views in 4K for various phases of flight, incorporating everything from stunning ... Read more

India’s aviation safety regulator DGCA on Thursday decided to extend the suspension of scheduled international commercial passenger flights till 28 February 2021. The DGCA circular also said that the suspension does not affect the operation of international all-cargo operations and flights specifically approved by it. The circular issued by DGCA also said “However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis” International scheduled flights, however, may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis, the circular added. The suspension of international commercial passenger flights from/to India, ... Read more

Delhi-Pakyong (Gangtok) is a UDAN route To launch Delhi-Pakyong-Delhi flights from 23rd January 2021 Bookings open Pioneering regional connectivity in India, SpiceJet, the country’s favourite airline and the largest regional player today announced the launch of a daily non-stop flight connecting Delhi with Pakyong (Gangtok), Sikkim effective 23rd January 2021. SpiceJet was awarded Pakyong under UDAN II. Pakyong airport is the only operational civil airport handling commercial flight operations in the State and SpiceJet will be the first and only airline to offer daily direct air connectivity between Delhi and the North-Eastern State of Sikkim. The airline will deploy a ... Read more

In order to further strengthen domestic connectivity, IndiGo, India’s leading carrier, announced Leh, the land of Buddhist Monasteries to its domestic network as its 63rd domestic destination. The bookings are now open as the airline will commence daily flights between Delhi-Leh effective February 22, 2021. Leh, the capital of Ladakh is known for its magnificent landscapes, crystal clear skies, adventurous activities, Buddhist Monasteries, and festivals. The destination attracts tourists from April to September. Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer, IndiGo said, “We are pleased to begin expansion of our domestic network beyond the pre-covid levels. This will also ... Read more

Vistara, India’s finest full-service carrier and a joint venture of Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, today inaugurated its daily services to and from Sharjah, under the travel bubble agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This is Vistara’s second destination in the UAE, complementing its 4x weekly connectivity between Delhi and Dubai. Deploying its A320neo aircraft with a three-class cabin configuration and enhanced features, Vistara is the only airline to offer travellers the choice of flying Premium Economy between India and UAE, in addition to Business and Economy cabins. Starting 24 January 2021, the airline will also fly ... Read more

On Tuesday the 19th of Jan, The Airports Authority of India has signed a concession agreement with Adani Group for three airports including Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. The agreement was signed even as a petition filed by the state government against the Centre’s decision to lease the airport to Adani Enterprises, which would be coming up for hearing at the Supreme Court in a couple of days. With the agreement in place, the company is expected to take over the airport within six months. For the first year after the takeover, it would be operated jointly by AAI and Adani Enterprises ... Read more