Oman Air all set to start daily Muscat-Paris flights

Headed by the Airline's CEO Peter Hill, Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman displayed its unique style of hospitality at Top Resa, the leading French travel trade exhibition. The four day event that took place in Paris between September 22nd-25th featured a dedicated Oman Air stand manned by sales and marketing staff. Oman Air's Chief Executive Officer Peter Hill explained that Top Resa, the leading international high profile tourism show in France, would help raise the airline's awareness in the French market. Alongside Ministry of Tourism he stated, "We are promoting Oman as one of Arabia's most attractive yet undiscovered countries, which will become more accessible through our new service to Paris. As expected, a steady stream of visitors were welcomed at the Oman Air stand, over what was an extremely busy and fruitful four days."

Effective October 9, Oman Air will commence four weekly non-stop frequencies between Muscat, the airline's operational hub in the Sultanate of Oman, and the French capital, Paris. The airline will operate a Business and Economy class state-of-the-art Airbus A330 on the route. Promoting the new service, Oman Air offered a special attractive Round-Trip Introductory Fare, giving customers the chance to sample the airline's own unique brand of hospitality as well as experience the very special delights that a visit to the Sultanate of Oman affords. In conclusion, Peter Hill pointed out that Oman Air is growing at a phenomenal pace, opening up new routes, and adding new aircraft to the airline's rapidly expanding fleet. Oman Air has recently taken delivery of its first A330-200, becoming the newest operator of the aircraft. Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, the A330 will be configured in an ultra high comfort two-class layout with 20 Business and 196 Economy seats.

Gulf Air starts flights to Najaf in Iraq

Gulf Air, Bahrain's national announced the beginning of its new four times weekly service to Najaf in Iraq. The new service will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays until October 25, after which it will go daily, the airline said.

Jazeera Airways to add additional cabin classes

Low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways plans to add additional cabin classes as part of an effort to build revenues by attracting business and leisure travellers. New management is implementing changes at the Kuwait-based airline, including the new cabin classes as well as targeting other travel segments and adding more bases of operation throughout the region, in a bid to become one of the top regional carriers.

Finnair launches daily New Delhi-Helsinki flight

Finnair is launching daily flights to Delhi from Helsinki today. The route, which began in October 2006, has been expanded due its popularity among both business and leisure travellers. Flights to the Indian capital from Helsinki last just six-and-a-half hours thanks to its location on the great circle route. It is the shortest flight time between India and anywhere in the European Union. The route, which is the only direct link between northern Europe and Delhi, offers Scandinavian-bound passengers onward connections to Baltic Sea destinations in addition to London and Paris. Passengers travelling to the Indian capital can benefit from Delhi's status as a major hub, with flights operating to most major cities in the country.

Indian Railways rushes to the aid of stranded flyers

With the agitation by Air India executive pilots leading to cancellation of scores of flights for the fourth consecutive day, Railways today started operating 'May I Help You' booths at major airports, including Delhi, for the benefit of stranded passengers. "Passenger reservation counters would also start functioning shortly at all major airport terminals," said a senior railway official after Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee announced running special trains from Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Bangalore for those stranded. The official said services at the 'May I Help You' booths would be further beefed up if the need arises.

She said an additional coach could be attached to each superfast train to carry the extra passengers as per the instructions of the Minister. This apart, zonal railways have also been instructed to coordinate with airline officials to facilitate the movement of stranded passengers, the official said. All zonal authorities have been asked to provide information to passengers about vacant berths in all express trains at the temporary reservation counters and help booths at major airports, she said. Banerjee, earlier in the day, said she has asked Union minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy to arrange a special service of the Shipping Corporation of India tomorrow to bring back stranded air passengers at Port Blair.

Air India to pay staff incentives soon

Air India on Tuesday said that it would pay productivity-linked incentive (PLI) to all sections of employees on October 7. "Air India will pay the August PLI payable in September on October 7," Air India's executive director, Jitendra Bhargava, said. September salaries have already been paid to the employees' respective bank accounts, he said. The PLI will be paid in full, Bhargava added. The national carrier has cancelled 14 international and 79 domestic flights today, the fourth day of the strike by a section of its executive pilots protesting against the up to 50 per cent cut in their PLIs effected by the management. Bhargava said that today 116 pilots from Indian Airlines and 72 from Air India reported sick.

AirAsia to start new routes to India

AirAsia, Asia's leading low cost airline, will fly to Kochi, Trivandrum and Kolkata come December, in a move to expand its network in Southern India. AsiaAsia Group's Regional Head of Commercial Kathleen Tan said AirAsia was flying now to Tiruchirappalli and would spread its wings to other destinations in Southern India this year. "For the fourth quarter and next year, AirAsia will focus on building our network in India where there is huge demand," she said. Elaborating on the Indian sector, Tan said AirAsia was looking at tapping destinations like Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and AirAsia's long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X, would look further at Mumbai and Delhi.

She said the Tiruchirappalli sector received overwhelming response from the population in Southern India who visited Kuala Lumpur and used it as a gateway to enter Southeast Asia. Tan said the low cost carrier had opened up the flying experience as people not just travel for holidays but also for shopping or medical treatment. She said AirAsia's low cost model also boosted domestic tourism as the airline's huge network enabled more Malaysians to take short domestic holidays to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Miri and Tawau.

Angsana Dubai Hotel and Suites to be closed

Damas Hotels LLC and Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts have agreed to terminate the hotel management contract for the five star Angsana Dubai Hotel and Suites. The hotel will cease to operate as of September 30 and will be converted into residential units that are expected to be sold on a vacant possession basis. Staff will also be compensated and helped to find new jobs, Bernold Schroeder, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Hotel Operations said.

Hilton Hotels Corporation rebrands corporate name and logo

Hilton Worldwide, formerly Hilton Hotels Corporation, has announced launch of its new corporate name and logo. According to the group, Hilton Worldwide signifies the company's global reach, and the logo incorporates key design elements reflecting Hilton's heritage, vision for the future and commitment to excellence in service. 'The changes have also been mirrored by the internal launch of a refreshed company vision, mission, values and key strategic priorities, which are intended to communicate more clearly how Hilton conducts business and plans to achieve company goals,' the company said in a statement.

US Federal Aviation Administration decides against downgrading India

India was saved a huge international embarrassment on Wednesday when the US Federal Aviation Administration decided against downgrading the country’s aviation safety standards from the current top billing to sub-Sahara Africa level. The aviation ministry let the agency responsible for ensuring safe flying, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), weaken over years despite the International Civil Aviation Organisation pointing out major deficiencies in 2006 and air traffic in India growing by leaps and bounds. 

Finally, earlier this year, the FAA came for an audit and gave five months before downgrading it, something that would have meant no new flights by Indian airlines to America and strict checks for their planes on US soil. In this short timeframe, aviation secretary M M Nambiar and DGCA’s new chief Nasim Zaidi mounted a herculean effort to strengthen the regulatory mechanism by getting almost 600 technical posts sanctioned for effective implementation of much needed rules for safe flying that were also put in place. Now as a result, Indian carriers will be able to able to expand service in US through more flights and new access points.

Indian carriers dish out offers aplenty to attract fliers

With full service airlines making inroads into the low fare airspace, existing budget carriers are going beyond price advantage and handing out sops to attract and keep passengers. These carriers are either giving away gifts or offering discounts at hotels, restaurants, and retail stores against boarding passes. Low-fare carriers such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and JetLite, consider this the most effective way to counter loyalty programmes that are being offered by full service rivals. Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Air India and Paramount Airways are full service carriers and run loyalty programmes that offer flying miles based on how often a passenger uses the carrier. India’s largest low-fare carrier IndiGo has announced a 20% saving on the prepaid in-flight meal if a passenger books tickets online. In the prepaid excess baggage option, too, the airline has offered a discount of up to 25% on luggage weighing between 10kg and 25kg.

 

Last week, SpiceJet launched its Privilege Pass Programme that allows travellers to avail special benefits from partner hotels against a used boarding pass. Benefits range from complimentary meals worth Rs1,500 or a discount of Rs500 on their total hotel billing. The partner includes Trident Hotels, Ista Hotels, Keys Hotels, Pride Hotels, Maidens Hotels, Rain Tree Hotels, JHM Interstate and The Park. GoAir in early September ran an offer of gifts worth Rs3,000 on tickets sold through 20 September. The gift catalogue includes men’s watches and ties, and an oval pearl jewellery set for women. JetLite, the low-fare unit of full service Jet Airways, is also offering discounts of up to 20% on car rentals with Avis and Hertz, dining, retail stores, and Lemon Tree and Marriott International hotels.

Indian Air Force takes control of 5 civilian airbases in Arunachal Pradesh

India has begun fortifying its borders in Arunachal Pradesh against China. As the first step, five air bases in Arunachal Pradesh have been taken over by the military. On the night of September 18, the Pasighat, Tuting, Vijaynagar, Walong and Mechuka bases close to the China border were passed from the Airports Authority of India to the defence ministry. The five bases were transferred to the military authorities after a quick clearance from the Prime Minister's Office.
 
The bases were initially only to be upgraded by the defence ministry, but now it has been given full control. Under military control, the five bases will be used by the air force and the army to increase surveillance across crucial stretches of the border with China. The defence ministry has already drawn up a fresh airborne surveillance plan for the eastern sector. The plan will coincide with the visit of the Dalai Lama to Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

Air India & Star Alliance hold discussions on integrating network

The top management of Air India and the Star Alliance held discussions as the national carrier presented its progress report on integrating its domestic and international network, including the work on evolving a common flight code. Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav held talks with a six member Star Alliance delegation and briefed them about the work being done on integrating the two erstwhile carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines, their fleet and network strength and of integrating their IT systems, official sources said.

 

One of the biggest obstacles for Air India in becoming a part of Star Alliance is the absence of same flight code, which is IC for Indian Airlines and AI for Air India. A common IT system, on which a US company was working, is likely to be finalized soon, the sources said, adding, eventual integration would take another six months. Efforts were being made to align the processes and systems of the two erstwhile airlines and bring them on par with the Star Alliance standards, the sources said.

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to manage Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi

Fairmont Hotels and Resorts will manage a newly built five star hotel in Abu Dhabi when it opens on October 1. The Fairmont Bab Al Bahr, which is owned by the Al Fahim Group unit Rmal Hospitality, is located near the Abu Dhabi International Airport and has 369 guest rooms, a variety of restaurants, in addition to a private beach, two outdoor swimming pools, a fitness centre and a spa.

New cruise terminal planned in Goa

Mormugao Port Trust is planning a world class cruise terminal to promote cruise tourism in Goa by attracting passenger ships and foreign naval vessels to the state. "We are in the process of developing a large noncargo berth near the port’s breakwater to handle cruise traffic," MPT chairman Pravin Agarwal said. MPT also plans to attract navy ships from countries that opt for Goa as a destination for rest and recuperation. The 235 metre wide and 450 metre long berth will be built on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. 

 

"We will go for a PPP model in order to make a world class cruise terminal after creating the basic infrastructure. But we are yet to finalize on this," he said. Incidentally in 2005 MPT had constructed a cruise terminal but due to lack of requisite facilities failed to attract such ships. In 2008-09, MPT received 52 cruise ships with just about 20,000 passengers alighting. "Goa is a popular place, but we don’t have adequate facilities. Also when these ships come, we dock them next to berths 11 and 12, which are the coal handling berths. The coal dust renders the port a less attractive destination for cruise vessels. Once we have regular facilities then we will come on the tourist cruise map," he said.

Air India to convert 5 Airbus A320's to all economy configuration

The National Aviation Company Ltd (Nacil), which runs state owned Air India, is planning to convert five of its Airbus 320 planes into low cost carriers under the Air India Express brand. The launches would be in the winter schedule and on 10 sectors. A normal A320 has 124 economy class seats and 20 business class seats. After the conversion, making it a full economy class plane, the number of seats increases to 168. These converted aircraft, say sources, would fly on 10 sectors. These include flights to Sharjah from Hyderabad, Cochin, Trivandrum, Amritsar and Lucknow, Calicut-Dubai, Chennai-Kuala Lumpur, and Chennai-Colombo.

 

An Air India spokesperson said the routes would be decided next week. However, industry sources say Calicut-Dubai and Chennai-Colombo are routes where there is a demand for business class. Business class flyers account for 12 per cent of the revenue and many say the strategy to move more and more aircraft into a single configuration could have an adverse impact on the company’s total revenues from these flights. Air India Express operates 193 weekly flights to 14 international destinations: Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Muscat, Salalah, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait, Colombo and Dhaka from 17 Indian cities.

Air India to hedge jet fuel requirements

National carrier Air India may hedge a part of its fuel requirement for the first time in three years to guard its bottomline from any future fluctuation in the price of aviation turbine fuel. The spending on ATF is the biggest chunk almost 40% of an airline's operating expenses. "We have approval from the board to hedge nearly 25% of our fuel uplifts. If the prices are likely to increase, Air India would certainly look at hedging, at least a part of the uplift," said an AI spokesperson. A senior Air India official said the company will take up the issue once again at its board meeting on Wednesday, where it will discuss ways to cut costs and rationalise routes.

 

Although airlines across the globe resort to fuel hedging, a contractual agreement to buy fuel in future at a pre-determined rate, Indian companies have largely refrained from it. Air India was the first Indian airline to hedge its jet fuel requirements in March 2006. That time the company’s board set a hedging limit of 750,000 barrels a quarter. The company has not hedged its ATF requirements since then. Other domestic airlines started hedging their fuel needs only very recently, with Jet Airways, Kingfisher and SpiceJet hedging a small portion of their requirements in 2009 due to the high volatility in ATF prices in the global market.

Kingfisher Airlines flights delayed as ground handling staff strike work

A strike by the ground handling staff of Kingfisher Airlines on Monday saw most of its flights delayed by 30 minutes to one hour through the day. The staff reportedly refused to work on the ground of non-payment of outstanding dues by the airline. According to sources, the ground handlers called for a one day strike and hence several of them did not report for work on Monday. Even though other airline staff jumped in to salvage the situation, almost all flights were delayed by up to an hour. Ground handlers are responsible for almost all non-technical work of an airline, including loading and unloading of baggage from the aircraft, driving of trolleys, etc. While sources claimed that the issue was of non-payment of dues by the airline itself, Kingfisher officials said the issue was between the loaders and the previous ground handling agency (GHA) that the airline had employed.

JetLite aircraft returns to Kolkata due to engine trouble

A JetLite flight from Kolkata to Bangalore with 140 passengers on board returned to Kolkata's NSC Bose International Airport, 90 minutes after it had left, after one of its engines developed trouble, airport sources said. The JetLite flight left NSC Bose International Airport at 6.05pm for Bangalore. It landed safely back at NSC Bose around 7.30pm, they said.

Oman to see rise in tourist arrivals this season

The head of development at Oman's tourism ministry said he expects the country to see an increase of about 11% in tourists this year, taking it to the two million mark for the first time. 'The global crisis has forced Gulf nationals to travel closer from home and Oman is hugely benefiting from it,' Khalid al-Ghassan said.

Marriott International to open new hotels in UAE

Marriott International, which operates six hotels in Dubai, is planning to further expand its presence in the Emirate. The company has signed agreements with developers to operate two hotels at Lifestyle City, one in the Marina, one on Sheikh Zayed Road, another two at Healthcare City, one at Jebel Ali and two at Motor City, across its portfolio of brands including Courtyard and Renaissance, according to Jeff Strachan, the area director of sales and marketing for Marriott, Middle East and Africa. Most of the hotels are expected to open between next year and 2012, but construction on those in Jebel Ali and Healthcare City has yet to begin as the broader developments remain on hold.

Millennium Gold Mohur Beach Resort Aden opens in Yemen

The Millennium & Copthorne Hotels has signed its first hotel in Yemen. The five star Millennium Gold Mohur Beach Resort Aden hotel, with 124 rooms and suites, is located on the shore of the Gulf of Aden with private beach and recreational facilities as well as a variety of food and beverage outlets.

Thai to launch Bangkok-Dubai flights using new Airbus A330 aircraft

From 21st September, Thai will offer 10 weekly flights between Dubai and Bangkok on the all new Airbus A330-300 aircraft. Featuring an improved cabin layout for greater comfort, an extensive range of in-flight entertainment options including audio, video and games on personal seat monitors and 32' seat pitch in Economy plus convenient departure times, Thai's new Airbus A330-300 service is both enjoyable and reasonably priced. The A330-300 flights depart Dubai daily at 2240, arriving Bangkok 0805 the following day, with additional flights on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday departing 2000 arriving 0525 the following day. The Thai Airbus A330-300 features 263 Royal Economy class seats and 35 Royal Silk Business Class seats, increased seat width in Economy as well as fewer Business Class seats with greater seat pitch and enhanced in-flight comforts.

PC Power outlets are provided for all passengers, with one per Business Class seat and more than one per couple in Economy. In-Flight Entertainment is provided by Panasonic 3000i with audio video on demand in six languages in all classes, plus in-seat telephone. Royal Silk Business Class passengers flying Thai from Dubai until 19 November also enjoy two nights accommodation in Bangkok in a 5-star hotel for only AED 100 additional charge including American Breakfast and return hotel transfers in Bangkok. For Royal Economy Class passengers, a wide range of promotions are on offer until mid November, including Family, Golf, Honeymoon, Health, Medical, Leisure and Luxury options.

Indian Air Force opens new airfield at Ladakh near Chinese border

For the first time ever, the Indian Air Force landed an AN-32 transport aircraft at the Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground in eastern Ladakh, just 23 km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. The touchdown by the medium lift transport aircraft signifies India's capability to move its troops quickly to the forward areas, whenever required. The IAF move comes in the wake of reports of recent Chinese intrusions into the Indian side of the LAC, including airspace violations by their helicopters and painting Mandarin letters on rocks in red. The AN-32 aircraft, flown by Shaurya Chakra awardee Group Captain S C Chafekar and carrying Western Air Command (WAC) chief Air Marshal N A K Browne and Northern Army Commander Lt Gen P C Bhardwarj, landed at Nyoma at 0625 hours, WAC spokesperson Flt Lt Priya Joshi said in New Delhi.

Nyoma ALG is situated at an altitude of 13,300 feet above sea level and is the third such ALG opened by IAF in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir in the last two years. The ALGs opened earlier were Daulat Beg Oldi, the world's highest airfield at 16,200 feet, in May last year and Fuk Che in November that year. The IAF had, before this AN-32 landing, used Nyoma airstrip only for helicopter operations. Only recently, the IAF took up work to convert it into an ALG for transport fixed-wing aircraft operations by laying a compacted airstrip, IAF officials said. "After deliberating on all aspects and carrying out aerial and ground reccees, it was concluded that Nyoma could be developed for fixed wing operations as well," Joshi said. An Engineer Regiment of the Army's 14 Corps executed the task of developing the ALG to standards required for fixed wing operations.

"The successful landing of a fixed wing aircraft at Nyoma marks the culmination of joint effort by the IAF and Army to enable the IAF to operate in the inhospitable terrain of Leh-Ladakh region in support of the Army," she said. "The joint development of Nyoma, braving the extremely difficult working conditions and hostile weather, is yet another step towards enhanced jointmanship between the two services," she added. Joshi said Nyoma was developed with an aim to connect the remote areas of Ladakh region to the mainland. "This would also ensure that movements in the area continue when the road traffic gets affected, during the harsh winters besides enabling improved communication network in the region, facilitating economical ferrying of supplies as well as promotion of tourism to the general area," she added.

American Airlines to charge for checked in baggage on flights from India

Flying is all set to get more expensive with the concept of pay for check-in baggage arriving in India this week. One of US' biggest carriers, American Airlines, has from Monday discontinued the earlier practice of allowing economy passengers to check in two bags of up to 23 kg each for no charge. The airline, which flies between Delhi and Chicago, will now charge $50 for the second bag and $150 for the third one, said the airline's call centre. Aviation industry insiders say the concept had been prevalent in US and Europe for a while and it was only a matter of time before cash-strapped airlines here too start levying it. "It is a new trend that has come to India. So far only American has told us of this change. Very soon, other airlines, including domestic low cost carriers, could start levying it here too."

"Nothing will come for free to flyers," said Rajendra Rai, president of the Travel Agents Association of India. American's website said, "Customers purchasing economy class tickets on or after September 14 for travel between India and US may check one bag for no charge and the second bag for $50." The airline's call centre said the first bag allowed to be checked in for free should weigh up to 23 kg. "If that bag is over 23 kg and below 32 kg, a charge of $50 will be for being overweight. Similarly, if the second or third bags also weighs between 23 kg and 32 kg, then a similar fee of $50 will be levied on each in addition to the additional bag charge of $50 and $150," said the call centre for economy class passengers. People flying out of India can pay in rupees.

Foreign carriers, especially US airlines, had earlier this year started levying charge for both internal and international flights. Many even levy a charge of $20-30 for the first check-in bag. LCCs abroad, like Britain's Ryan Air, also make passengers pay for check-in baggage. "Airlines have suffered huge losses in past two years and now are looking at every possible way of increasing revenue generation. Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal always used to say that charging for food onboard is not possible as that's like charging for lunch and dinner that's served at home to guests. But he had to change that philosophy for his LCC when airlines flew into a financial bad weather. So nothing is impossible," said an airline CEO.

Kingfisher Airlines starts Mumbai-Hong Kong flight

Kingfisher Airlines flagged off services between Hong Kong and Mumbai with its inaugural flight taking off from Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok Airport on Wednesday. Mr. Ravi Nedungadi, Director, Kingfisher Airlines Limited said, "A growing number of travellers from India to Hong Kong and the South East Asia are demanding more choice, greater luxury and better value for money when choosing flights for business and leisure trips to India. There is tremendous potential for this route which Kingfisher Airlines is committed to develop with its new aircraft and superior service." Earlier in the day, the maiden flight of Kingfisher Airlines was welcomed by Howard Eng, executive director, Airport Operations, Hong Kong International Airport.

JetLite aircraft makes emergency landing in Kolkata

A JetLite plane with 47 passengers landed under emergency conditions at Kolkata's NSC Bose International Airport shortly after taking off for Patna due to malfunctioning of a wheel. Airport sources said the flight took off but one of its wheels did not retract during the ascent forcing the pilot to ask the Air Traffic Controller for permission for emergency landing. All the arrangements for emergency landing were made and the plane landed safely.

Indigo Airlines to launch Hyderabad-Patna flight

Indigo airlines will start thrice weekly services from Hyderabad to Patna via Delhi from September 17. The new flight will leave Hyderabad at 0935 and reach Patna at 1415 via Delhi, where it will land at 1145. The return flight will leave Patna at 1445 and reach Hyderabad at 1905. It will halt at Delhi at 1615. The flight will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

SAS Scandinavian Airlines plans more flights to Middle East

The multinational airline of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, SAS Scandinavian Airlines plans to expand in the Middle East and to South Asia by using Dubai as its regional hub. The carrier plans to increase the frequency on its current Dubai flights because 'Dubai is a good and increasing market and the region is becoming more and more important for us,' according to Albert Henschel, the airline's UAE manager.

Royal Jordanian and Siberian Airlines sign codeshare agreement

Royal Jordanian has signed a unilateral Free Sale codeshare Agreement with the largest Russian domestic carrier, Siberia airlines, where S7 will place its code on RJ flights operated on Amman-Domodedovo-Amman route. The agreement will enable RJ to operate three flights a week, which will run on on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The carriers plan to expand the agreement to be bilateral once the necessary approvals for the Moscow, St Petersburg sectors are ready.

Emirates and V Australia sign code share agreement

Dubai based Emirates and Virgin Blue Group's new international airline, V Australia, have announced a code share partnership on the trans-Tasman route, effective 25th October 2009. The code share agreement; Emirates' first with an Australian carrier will provide V Australia guests seamless connections when travelling between New Zealand and the USA.

Oman Air takes delivery of its first Airbus A330 aircraft

Oman Air has taken delivery of the first of seven ordered Airbus A330-200s, as part of the airline's international network expansion. The new aircraft, which was acquired through a lease agreement with Dublin based AWAS, is powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines and is configured with 20 business class and 196 economy class seats. By the end of this year, the Sultanate's national carrier's fleet will feature two A330-200s and two A330-300s. During 2010-11, the airline will take an extra three A330-300s.

Air Arabia Egypt to start flights by year end

The recently announced low-cost airline formed by Egypt's Travco Group and UAE-based Air Arabia may launch operations by the end of 2009 from as many as five Egyptian airports, Travco's chief executive has said. The new airline, Air Arabia Egypt, will seek Egyptian government permission to use airports at Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. The company will lease aircraft from Air Arabia or other sources, he said.

Kingfisher Airlines flight lands in Mumbai with technical snag

A Bangalore bound Kingfisher flight with 96 passengers on board today returned to Mumbai after being airborne for 12 minutes following a technical snag in the aircraft's landing gear, an airport official said. The Kingfisher flight, IT 103 Mumbai-Bangalore, made a normal landing and all passengers are safe, MIAL spokesperson Maneesh Kalghatgi said. "The flight took off at 0905 hours for Bangalore and returned at 0917 hours due to its landing gear not retracting," he said.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) signs outsourcing deal with Wipro

Wipro Ltd, India's No. 3 outsourcing firm, said that it has won a three-year outsourcing contract from All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan's No.2 carrier. The company did not provide financial details of the contract. ANA, with its fleet of 209 aircraft, is the first airline in the world to procure the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It is embarking on transforming its legacy materials management system to support the new fleet, in line with the expansion of its business at Tokyo`s Haneda Airport with its upcoming fourth runway in 2010. Wipro will deliver materials management system to ANA that will help proactively manage the parts life cycle. The system will strengthen regulatory compliance, predict parts demand better and help manage inventory levels. The new Materials Management system will be built in a scalable, flexible platform. The state of the art system will help ANA increase its cost competitiveness, improve the quality of its aircraft part maintenance business and improve asset management.

Wipro will manage the complete program, delivering services such as Application Development, Program Management and Vendor management thereby enabling ANA to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Commenting on selecting Wipro as a strategic partner, Takanori Yukishige, SVP ANA Information Technology Services said, "We are starting a new journey and this program will set a benchmark for our future way of doing business. We look forward to further leveraging our partnership with Wipro to gain competitive advantage." Hiroshi Alley, President & Representative Director, Wipro Japan said, "It is a significant engagement for us and will be a driver for increased penetration in the growing Japan outsourcing market."

Jet Airways offers 50% discounted fares for limited period

Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, and Jet Airways Konnect, Jet Airways’ all economy no-frills service, will offer a promotional fare that reflects a 50% discount on its total fare in Economy class across all domestic flights. With limited seats under this offer, the sale of these special fares will be between September 14 and September 16, 2009. Travel needs to be completed by September 18, 2009. These bookings can be made through any travel agent, our call centre or on www.jetairways.com. JetPrivilege members will earn 1000 Bonus JPMiles for all bookings made on jetairways.com during the offer period. According to Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways, "With these new low, limited-time fares, we hope to welcome travellers back aboard Jet Airways' and Jet Airways Konnect's extensive domestic services, which cover the length and breadth of the country between them."

Jet Airways to go low cost soon

In one months’ time, Jet Airways is scheduled to morph into a largely no-frills airline with over two thirds of its seating capacity on its 86 planes transferred to a new service called Jet Konnect. The Rs 11,450-crore airline is hoping that the makeover will change its fortunes after racking up a post-tax loss of Rs 225 crore on its domestic and overseas operations in the first quarter ended June 30. The Jet Konnect service was introduced in May with nine of the airline’s 48 Boeing 737s the workhorse in the Jet fleet and 10 ATR planes and accounted for one-third of the airline’s seating capacity. By October, the airline plans to have 16 B-737s and 10 ATRs operating under the Jet Konnect service which effectively means two-thirds of the airline will be a no-frills service.

As part of the changeover, Jet has been ripping out the business class seats from its planes and moving to a single class configuration, thereby raising the seating capacity on these planes by 20 to 25 per cent. Jet has 33,000 seats on offer every day on its domestic flights which will go up to 38,000 seats once all the 16 B-737s convert to a single configuration for the Jet Konnect service. It isn’t only the full service airline that has started concentrating on low-yield passengers. Air India is also looking to enter aggressively into this space which means loads of competition for budget carriers such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir.

Air India' reschedules Thiruvananthapuram-Mumbai flight timing

Air India has rescheduled the flight between Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai to provide convenient connections to international passengers taking onward journey from Mumbai. Flight IC-162, which is now departing at 6.45 pm has been rescheduled to depart at 5.20 pm. The flight, which departs from Thiruvananthapuram at 5.20 pm will reach Kochi at 6.05 pm. It will depart from Kochi at 6.45 pm and will arrive Mumbai at 8.40 pm.

India Post Cargo all set to start flying

The Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, and the Minister for Communications and Information and Technology, Mr A. Raja, are together making an Indian dream come true, parcels being delivered any where in the country within 24 hours of posting. This will happen with the official launch in Chennai on Sunday of India Post’s country-wide services using Air India Cargo aircraft. India Post has been given Air India Cargo’s three Boeing 737-200 aircraft of the 1970s vintage to cover the North-East. The three planes, which earlier used to fly for Alliance Air, can together carry 40 tonnes of mail which will be sorted at the hub in Nagpur before being airlifted on an AI cargo freighter to the airport closest to the ultimate destination of a parcel. Mr Patel and Mr Raja hope that with this move, India Post will be able to take on the global express industry players (DHL, TNT, UPS and FedEx) that are seeking to expand in India.

Singapore Airlines & Air India sign frequent flier partnership

Air India and Singapore Airlines have signed a bilateral agreement that would enable passengers of either carrier to earn and redeem miles on flights operated by the other. Under the new agreement, effective from tomorrow, frequent flyers on Singapore Airlines and Air India would be able to earn and redeem miles on flights operated by either carrier. The agreement comes in the wake of efforts by the national carrier to fulfil the conditions of joining the Star Alliance, of which SIA is a founder member. Air India has already been invited to join the global alliance, which was formed in 1997 and has a membership of 26. The agreement means that members of SIA's KrisFlyer programme would be able to earn KrisFlyer miles when they fly with Air India, or choose to redeem their miles for flights with the Indian carrier, an SIA statement said.

Likewise, members of Air India's Flying Returns programme would enjoy greater choice by having the option of using their miles on the Singaporean carrier or earning miles when they fly on it, it said. "Singapore Airlines is pleased to welcome Air India on board. The addition of Air India as a KrisFlyer partner boosts the number of carriers we have such agreements with to 28. "Those who fly frequently with Singapore Airlines and Air India now have more opportunity to increase their frequent flyer miles, and more choice in deciding how best to use their miles," Huang Cheng Eng, Singapore Airlines' Executive Vice President Marketing and the Regions, said. SIA operates 42 times a week to six destinations in India. With the inclusion of subsidiary carrier SilkAir, the Singapore Airlines route network covers 93 destinations in 38 countries.

Jet Airways stir ends, flight operations limping back to normalcy

Jet Airways pilots and management reached an agreement late Saturday night, ending the five day old stir. The breakthrough in the impasse between the pilots, who had begun their agitation on Tuesday protesting the sacking of their colleagues, came after a marathon meeting here lasting more than ten hours. Jet Airways Executive Director Saroj Dutta said flight operations of the airline on international routes would resume immediately while the domestic services would normalize by noon on Sunday. Announcing the settlement at a news conference, the pilots’ union National Aviators Guild leader Sam Thomas, flanked by Jet Airways Executive Director Saroj Dutta and NAG President Girish Kaushik, said it has been agreed that the four sacked pilots would be reinstated with immediate effect.

A consultative group would be set up comprising the Jet CEO Hafiz Ali, two directors of the airlines, two representatives of flight operations and five pilots to continue the process of dialogue on all outstanding issues as well those which will come up. Asked about losses suffered by the airline during the five days of the agitation, Dutta no estimates have been done as yet. However, Jet's daily revenue of eight million dollars "had dropped dramatically" and the number of passengers came down from 23,000 per day to 7,500. On the contentious issue of the pilots' right to form a union, Kaushik said in reply to a question that there was no question of dissolving the NAG which is already a registered body.

The Registrar of Trade Unions is reviewing the NAG's registration and if the decision goes against the pilots, they would not pursue it. "If there is discrepancy, it is left to the Registrar or the law of the land", Kaushik said and Thomas added "we will not pursue the matter afresh." The problems between the two sides would be resolve through the consultative group while the Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots, formed about a decade ago, would address the welfare issues, the two NAG leaders said. While all the four dismissed pilots would be taken back, no punitive action against any one who participated in the agitation.

Flights remain cancelled as Jet Airways strike continues

As many as 150 Jet Airways flights, including 15 international, remained cancelled on Friday, the fourth day of the ongoing strike by the airline pilots. A spokesperson said early on Friday that the airline has announced plans to cancel around 30 flights on certain sectors which will either be combined or re-booked. These include services on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Mumbai-Vadodra, Mumbai-Mangalore, Mumbai-Bengaluru, Mumbai-Kochi, Mumbai-Chennai and Mumbai-Bhopal sectors in the western region. In the eastern region, the airline will operate services on the Kolkata-Jorhat, and Kolkata-Agartala sectors. In the northern region, it plans to operate services on the Delhi-Amritsar, Delhi-Udaipur sectors. In the southern region, services shall be operated on the Chennai-Coimbatore sectors.

However, important metro sectors like the Mumbai-Delhi, Chennai-Delhi, Kolkata-Delhi and Mumbai-Kolkata remained crippled for the fourth day, inconveniencing passengers. The airline on Thursday had cancelled nearly 240 services across the network as over 500 pilots reported 'sick.' However, the National Aviators Guild (NAG) expressed its willingness to resume duties if the four pilots sacked by the airline management are re-instated. The striking pilots are to hold talks with the chief labour commissioner and the management in New Delhi Friday. So far, the four-day strike has led to the cancellation of nearly 700 flights, causing hardship to over 28,000 passengers.

Jet Airways ground staff appeals to pilots to end strike

Extending support to Jet Airways management, ground staff of the airline on Thursday issued an emotional appeal to the protesting pilots asking them to return to work. "We want this strike to be withdrawn because it is affecting not only the airline but us also. The future of families depend on this as the company is losing revenue as well as passengers' trust," Surender Sharma, a representative of the ground staff said. Jagjeet Kaur, another ground staff, said, "We want this agitation to come to an end today itself. We have been working as a team and now after two days of the strike, the future of 13,000 non-pilot employees is at stake."

"600 pilots are withdrawing salary which amounts to 40% of the company's revenue. But they are forgetting the rest of us." The ground staff also asked the pilots to put forward their grievances in the right manner. Ashwini, a customer-care supervisor, said earlier they were operating 47 flights out of Delhi but today they had operated just one. "We have landed in such a situation due to 600 pilots. Nobody is thinking about the company," he said.

Indian Air Force MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashes in Punjab

A MiG-21 fighter aircraft of IAF on Thursday crashed in Muktsar district of Punjab, killing the pilot. The war plane was on a routine sortie and had taken off from Bhatinda airbase, Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said. The crash occurred at Bhaliana village on Muktsar-Bhatinda road killing the pilot, Flt Lt Manu Akhori on the spot, he said. Senior officials of IAF, police and from the Muktsar civil administration have rushed to the spot. A court of inquiry has been ordered into the mishap, an IAF spokesman said in New Delhi.

Air India's Tokyo-New Delhi flight makes emergency landing

An Air India flight from Tokyo with 122 people on board on Thursday landed at Delhi's IGI International airport under emergency conditions after its pilot detected a technical fault. The Tokyo-Delhi flight landed safely at the airport and all the 111 passengers and 11 crew members were safe, an airline official said. The flight AI-3307 was to arrive at 4:55 pm but the pilot asked the Air Traffic Control for a precautionary landing at around 5:07 pm as he got faulty readings of the hydraulics of the plane. The plane landed safely at around 5:21 pm and reached the parking bay, the official said.

JetLite aircraft lands with tail scrape at Kolkata

A JetLite flight, with 135 passengers on board, flew in from Mumbai with a damaged tail but landed safely at Kolkata airport. The Boeing 737 aircraft, which touched down at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 3.40pm, was grounded after a maintenance check revealed "minor cracks" in the tail. An airline spokesperson "confirmed" that the aircraft had suffered "what is defined as tail scrape". Sources said the cracks had developed while the plane was taking off from Mumbai. Jet Airways officials said the tail had not suffered any "major damage" while taking off. An independent aviation expert said an aircraft could suffer tail scrape when part of the tail grazes the ground during take-off or landing because of a lack of wheel balance. "The flight, after landing, taxied off the runway on its own, the damage was detected during a routine check by flight engineers," said a senior airport official.

Kingfisher Airlines to launch flights to Hong Kong & Singapore

Expanding its network of destinations in South-East Asia, Kingfisher Airlines will commence daily non-stop flights from Mumbai to Hong Kong and Mumbai to Singapore from September 15 and 16 respectively. "Given the strong linkages between India and South East Asia, we believe that there is untapped potential and these new routes promise to serve the unmet needs of discerning corporate and leisure fliers," Kingfisher Airlines Vice-President (Global Sales) Siva Ramachandran said in a statement. The airline will deploy Airbus A330 aircraft for both the services.

Air India helps passengers stranded due to Jet Airways strike

National carrier Air India came to the rescue of a large number of stranded Jet Airways passengers by accommodating them on their flights after the pilots of the private airline went on a flash strike. A total of 427 passengers of Jet Airways and Jet Konnect were accommodated by Air India and Air India Express on their domestic and international routes. Over 300 pilots of Jet Airways today went on mass sick leave in protest against sacking of two senior pilots for forming a union, National Aviator's Guild. An airlines spokesperson said that 105 other passengers will fly to Dubai at night. Air India officials at various domestic airports were directed to help the passengers so that they were are not left stranded and inconvenienced. In Delhi, a separate counter has been opened at terminal 1D, from where Jet Airways operates, so that passengers could take tickets and boarding passes of Air India flights, the official said.

Jet Airways cancels 198 flights as strike continues

Jet Airways on Thursday cancelled nearly 200 domestic and international flights as its pilots continued their agitation to protest sacking of two of their colleagues. "The situation continues, there are no talks so far. We have not got any invite from the management side showing their willingness to talk to us," Capt Sam Thomas, Joint General Secretary of National Aviators Guild, which is spearheading the agitation, said. He claimed that overall 500 pilots have reported sick. A spokesperson of the airlines said it has cancelled 163 domestic and 35 international flights as 400 of its over 1000 pilots did not report for duty.

To deal with the situation, the airlines has set up a crisis management centre which is continuously monitoring the situation. At the crisis centre, a team of 15 personnel from planning, revenue management and PR is working round-the-clock to reschedule various flights and monitor the situation, the airline said. The airline operates 75 international flights and 300 domestic flights on a normal day.

Dubai Metro starts operations

The Dubai Metro, billed as the world's longest fully-automated driverless metro system, was launched last night by United Arab Emirates vice-president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The much-anticipated launch of the first metro system in the Gulf region took place at 9.09pm at the Mall of the Emirates here as fireworks lit up the Dubai skyline to mark the historic event. Joined by other dignitaries and guests, a beaming and visibly excited Sheikh Mohammed boarded a train at the Mall of the Emirates station for the inaugural ride aboard the state of the art transport system. Several television stations made a live broadcast of the launch of the 28 billion dirham Dubai Metro, providing aerial footage of the train as it glided silently on its journey across the city.

Only 10 of the 29 stations along the 52km Red Line are operational for now, with the rest expected to open in stages over the next few months. The Dubai Metro also incorporates the Green Line which is expected to be up and running next year. When completed, the Dubai Metro lines that run both underground and on an elevated track will extend 76km with 47 stations. In expressing his gratitude to everyone who was involved in the ambitious Metro project, Sheikh Mohammed said it was a source of pride for the people of the UAE. Up to 30,000 workers, engineers and railway specialists had been working feverishly to complete the job. "The smile that we saw on the face of Sheikh Mohammed gives us a lot of enthusiasm and energy to continue with the same momentum," Dubai Roads and Transport Authority chairman of the board and executive director Mattar Al Tayer said. City planners anticipate the Metro project to facilitate movement as well as enhance economic and tourism activities, among others.