National carrier Air India Sunday launched its daily Delhi-Chicago flight via Frankfurt, the airline's
official said. The flight took off around 1.50 a.m. Sunday, the airline spokesperson Chandra Kumar said.
"We had 274 passengers on board, of which 24 were for the business class. The response is quite encouraging. We had about 80 percent occupancy for the inaugural flight," Kumar said.
Air India has deployed a state-of-the-art 342 seater B777-300ER aircraft configured in three classes for the its Delhi-Chicago sector.
The launch of the flight follows the airline's decision to make Frankfurt the hub for operations to Europe and the US, an initiative towards strengthening its global network and restructuring its operations to these continents.
According to Lalit Kapur, Air India's general manager (sales and marketing), the Delhi-Chicago flight will actually originate from Hyderabad, while passengers from Kolkata and Amritsar will be able to check-in at airports in their cities to avoid the hassle of doing so at Delhi's international airport.
Air India already operates daily flights to New York from Hyderabad (Newark Liberty International Airport) via Mumbai and Frankfurt, to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, also at New York, and to London via Mumbai. It also operates daily flights to Frankfurt via Delhi and Mumbai.
The carrier is now planning to launch a non-stop Delhi-San Franscisco flight later this year after inducting three new Boeing 777LR aircraft between June and August.
Currently, Air India has over 150 aircraft, including 45 inducted since October 2007, and expects to induct 30 more by March 2010. The airline had ordered 111 Boeing and Airbus aircraft in 2005.
Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Frankfurt is Air India’s new hub
As part of its efforts to strengthen global presence, Air India is restructuring its operations in Europe, the US and the UK. In the process, it has made Frankfurt the operational hub for its connecting flights to other destinations.
For instance, passengers travelling from Mumbai and Delhi towards destinations like Chicago and Newark will now have the option of travelling to Frankfurt directly and go to their final destination without shuttling between cities in India. The flight schedules
have also been drawn in such a way that the passengers can arrive at their destination in the morning itself. Even passengers travelling from Chennai and other destinations will have to clear security and immigration only twice - while boarding and while landing at their final destination.
The new schedules will come effective by the end of March. Attractive fares would be a major feature, said Air India officials.
The airline is also going to launch its non-stop flights between Delhi and San Francisco. As Air India has been invited to join the Star Alliance, the consortium of 21 carriers across the world, a further boost in business is expected. It will help in better global connectivity, with access to 912 destinations in 159 countries.
Source:http://www.expressbuzz.com
For instance, passengers travelling from Mumbai and Delhi towards destinations like Chicago and Newark will now have the option of travelling to Frankfurt directly and go to their final destination without shuttling between cities in India. The flight schedules
have also been drawn in such a way that the passengers can arrive at their destination in the morning itself. Even passengers travelling from Chennai and other destinations will have to clear security and immigration only twice - while boarding and while landing at their final destination.
The new schedules will come effective by the end of March. Attractive fares would be a major feature, said Air India officials.
The airline is also going to launch its non-stop flights between Delhi and San Francisco. As Air India has been invited to join the Star Alliance, the consortium of 21 carriers across the world, a further boost in business is expected. It will help in better global connectivity, with access to 912 destinations in 159 countries.
Source:http://www.expressbuzz.com
Monday, March 16, 2009
Qatar Airways to open flights from Goa, Amritsar
At a time when international carriers are pulling out flights from newly started routes, Doha-headquatered airline company Qatar Airways said today that the company will expand its operations in India connecting Goa and Amritsar to the middle east city.
The addition of two new destinations in India is part of the company's overall expansion plan, which also includes new routes to Europe and the launch of scheduled flights to Australia.
Qatar Airways currently operates 58 flights a week to nine cities across India – daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Kozhikode and twice-weekly to Nagpur.
"The expansion is part of the airline’s ongoing growth strategy – a long-term commitment to develop its route infrastructure as new aircraft join the fleet at an average delivery rate of one a month", stated a press note.
Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways said, "India has been, and remains, one of our most important destinations and we are pleased to be strengthening economic and cultural ties with one of the world’s fastest growing economies. With the growth of the Indian economy into a potential global powerhouse and Qatar's drive to spread its economic wings globally, increasing air links between the two countries is of paramount importance."
Despite a rapidly deteriorating environment for the aviation sector, Qatar Airways has decided to go ahead with the induction of one new aircraft in its fleet every month in the near future. The airline currently has on order more than 200 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft worth over $40 billion.
With the opening of the New Doha International Airport scheduled for 2012, Qatar Airways plans to increase its global network to beyond 100 cities worldwide.
Source:http://www.business-standard.com
The addition of two new destinations in India is part of the company's overall expansion plan, which also includes new routes to Europe and the launch of scheduled flights to Australia.
Qatar Airways currently operates 58 flights a week to nine cities across India – daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, Ahmedabad, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Kozhikode and twice-weekly to Nagpur.
"The expansion is part of the airline’s ongoing growth strategy – a long-term commitment to develop its route infrastructure as new aircraft join the fleet at an average delivery rate of one a month", stated a press note.
Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Airways said, "India has been, and remains, one of our most important destinations and we are pleased to be strengthening economic and cultural ties with one of the world’s fastest growing economies. With the growth of the Indian economy into a potential global powerhouse and Qatar's drive to spread its economic wings globally, increasing air links between the two countries is of paramount importance."
Despite a rapidly deteriorating environment for the aviation sector, Qatar Airways has decided to go ahead with the induction of one new aircraft in its fleet every month in the near future. The airline currently has on order more than 200 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft worth over $40 billion.
With the opening of the New Doha International Airport scheduled for 2012, Qatar Airways plans to increase its global network to beyond 100 cities worldwide.
Source:http://www.business-standard.com
Monday, March 2, 2009
Flying out of Mumbai to cost more, still less than Delhi
The government Friday approved the levying of a development fee on passengers flying out of Mumbai airport, who will have to pay Rs.100 per trip for domestic flights and Rs.600 for flights abroad.
The approval comes after a Feb 9 decision for passengers flying out of Delhi. The GMR-led consortium that is developing Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) will get the extra amount - Rs.200 for domestic passengers and Rs.1,300 for international travellers - for three years from March 1.
Domestic passenger already pay Rs.375 and Rs.260 to fly out of the new airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore respectively, while international passengers at these airports are charged Rs.1,000.
In the case of the developers of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the GVK-led consortium, the development fee levy comes into effect from April 1 for a period of four years, an official statement said.
However, as in the case with the developers of Delhi airport, the government or the designated regulatory authority will review the development fee after six months, Friday's statement added.
'The amount collected through the development fee would under no circumstances exceed the ceiling of Rs.1,543 crore (Rs.15.43 billion) and in case of any cost escalation beyond Rs.9,802 crore (Rs.98.02 billion),' it said.
'The amount representing the escalation would have to be brought in by Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) through other sources. The ceiling amount would be exclusive of taxes, if any,' the statement added.
MIAL had prepared a master plan for developing the Mumbai airport in 2006 and tied up requisite resources of Rs.5,826 crore (Rs.58.26 billion).
'But considering the increasing needs of Mumbai metropolitan region and to create adequate terminal and airside capacity, the master plan was revised in November 2007. The revised Master Plan is being implemented at an estimated cost of Rs.9,802 crore (98.02 billion),' the statement stated.
The government decision came after MIAL said it would not be able to raise the requisite funds, that the lenders had refused to extend any further debt, and that shareholders were not in a position to take additional equity exposure beyond the committed Rs.1,200 crore (Rs. 12 billion).
Officials said the additional fee permitted for the Delhi and Mumbai airport developers is temporary and aimed at bridging the capital funding gap.
Source:bombaynews.net
The approval comes after a Feb 9 decision for passengers flying out of Delhi. The GMR-led consortium that is developing Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) will get the extra amount - Rs.200 for domestic passengers and Rs.1,300 for international travellers - for three years from March 1.
Domestic passenger already pay Rs.375 and Rs.260 to fly out of the new airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore respectively, while international passengers at these airports are charged Rs.1,000.
In the case of the developers of Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the GVK-led consortium, the development fee levy comes into effect from April 1 for a period of four years, an official statement said.
However, as in the case with the developers of Delhi airport, the government or the designated regulatory authority will review the development fee after six months, Friday's statement added.
'The amount collected through the development fee would under no circumstances exceed the ceiling of Rs.1,543 crore (Rs.15.43 billion) and in case of any cost escalation beyond Rs.9,802 crore (Rs.98.02 billion),' it said.
'The amount representing the escalation would have to be brought in by Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) through other sources. The ceiling amount would be exclusive of taxes, if any,' the statement added.
MIAL had prepared a master plan for developing the Mumbai airport in 2006 and tied up requisite resources of Rs.5,826 crore (Rs.58.26 billion).
'But considering the increasing needs of Mumbai metropolitan region and to create adequate terminal and airside capacity, the master plan was revised in November 2007. The revised Master Plan is being implemented at an estimated cost of Rs.9,802 crore (98.02 billion),' the statement stated.
The government decision came after MIAL said it would not be able to raise the requisite funds, that the lenders had refused to extend any further debt, and that shareholders were not in a position to take additional equity exposure beyond the committed Rs.1,200 crore (Rs. 12 billion).
Officials said the additional fee permitted for the Delhi and Mumbai airport developers is temporary and aimed at bridging the capital funding gap.
Source:bombaynews.net
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