Thrifty offers special deals for Khareef season in Salalah

In recognition of Salalah's increased tourism, Thrifty Car Rental, one of Oman's most popular car rental companies, is offering tourists a special deal, giving them the seventh day free when hiring a car for a period of six days. For years, Salalah has been an oasis for GCC residents to escape to during the scorching summer months, in particular during the Khareef festival, named after the monsoon winds that sweep across Dhofar from July to September, resulting in a lush, green landscape. During the festival, Oman experiences a higher visitor influx from across the Middle East. Salalah, also recognized as the perfume capital of Arabia for its Frankincense Trail, has been a haven for travel and tourism operators since the government began promoting it as a tourist destination 10 years ago. Apart from its scenic attractions, Salalah has a rich, natural history, with many areas listed as World Heritage sites by UNESCO.

In light of Salalah's recent development, Mehdi Jaffer, Deputy Managing Director, Thrifty Car Rental, believes that the city will attract an increased number of business travelers in addition to the large number of tourists: "Previously, Salalah was busy during the Khareef festival, but then quiet throughout the rest of the year. However, thanks to the numerous government backed developments, we have seen an increased interest in the city from oversees investors, many of whom rent cars from us during their visits," explained Jaffer. "This is an ideal time for people to take a look at Salalah's industrial potential, for example, the ongoing development and expansion of the Salalah port will double its capacity over the next four years and facilitate the berthing and handling of large container vessels," continued Jaffer. The Port of Salalah has reported an increase in handling capacity from 2.5 million TEU in 2006 to 4.5 million TEU Containers in 2008 and is ideally located for accessing the Middle East, the Indian Subcontinent, East Africa and the Indian Ocean, reaching out to over 2.5 billion consumers.

The port's natural depth, which ranges from 16 -18 meters, makes it a popular attraction for investors with large liners. The Salalah Free ZoneSalalah Free Zone, situated beside the port, is emerging as a center for heavy industries in the Middle East. The expansion of Salalah airport, targeting a capacity of 10 million passengers, is scheduled for completion in 2011. There is an enormous potential for real estate development with demand currently exceeding supply. "We are confident in the government-supported development plans, and have adopted our business strategy in order to accommodate leisure and business travelers," continued Jaffer. "Last month, Thrifty Oman was awarded 'Best Growth in the Middle East' from the Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group MENA & Asia Pacific. This accolade is something we have achieved not only through our work with tourists, but also by working closely with start-up businesses and potential investors visiting Salalah and the rest of Oman. We are gearing up for exponential growth in the foreseeable future."

Raytheon to provide GPS-Aided Indian Air Navigation System

The Indian Space Research Organization has awarded an $82 million contract to Raytheon Company to modernize the Indian air navigation system. Raytheon will build the ground stations for the GPS-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation System, and ISRO will provide the space segment and additional ground equipment. GAGAN will provide satellite-based navigation for civil aviation over Indian airspace and adjoining areas in South and East Asia. "GAGAN will be the world's most advanced air navigation system and further reinforces India's leadership in the forefront of air navigation," said Andy Zogg, Raytheon Network Centric Systems vice president of Command and Control Systems. "GAGAN will greatly improve safety, reduce congestion and enhance communications to meet India's growing air traffic management needs.

"Raytheon plays a major role in designing innovative solutions for air traffic management. The company offers a broad range of automation and surveillance systems in use today in more than 50 countries around the world. GAGAN will be the newest addition to the ATM portfolio. Raytheon is the only company that has delivered satellite-based augmentation systems that have been certified for safety-of-flight operations. The company developed the Federal Aviation Administration's Wide Area Augmentation System and was engaged in the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau's Multi-Function Transport Satellite Augmentation System. Raytheon will continue the work it began several years ago and expects to have the GAGAN system fully functional by 2013.

Air India Express to start Mumbai-Pune flights

With a view to save Mumbai-Pune travellers from the traffic snarls due to rains, the Air India Express of the National Aviation Company of India Ltd has announced flights thrice a week between these two cities at Rs 999. These flights will operate between Mumbai-Pune-Dubai route and vice versa. "Monsoon has set in and more and more passengers prefer flying rather than traveling by road between Mumbai and Pune in order to avoid the monsoon traffic snarls. Therefore, Air India Express flights will provide services at Rs 999 for the ease of passengers," said station manager of Air India Dhairyashil Vandekar.

Flight number IX 211 will take off from Mumbai at 2.30 pm, which will arrive Pune at 3 pm. It will operate on are Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. From Pune, it will leave for Dubai at 4.50 pm which will reach Dubai at 5.30 pm. Another flight, IX 212, will depart from Dubai at 6.30 pm and arrive Pune at 11.40 pm. It will leave for Mumbai at 12.35 am and reach Mumbai at 1.05 am. This flight will operate on Thursday, Saturday and Monday.

Boeing cuts aircraft sales forecasts for India

Boeing Wednesday cut its commercial aircraft sales forecast for India saying it expects the country's carriers to buy up to 1,000 planes by 2029 for as much as $100 billion. The U.S. based aircraft manufacturer previously forecast India would need 1, 001 aircraft worth $105 billion by 2027. "India is economically better than the rest of the world but the aviation industry here is equally affected as companies globally," Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar said. He said last year's forecast was that large airplanes' share in the overall market would reach 11% but it now expects it to be 8%. The company now expects higher orders for small planes, so it has scaled down its forecast for India by $9 billion.

Keskar said air travel has started recovering and he expects the local aviation market to turn around in nine to 12 months. Higher operating costs, the global economic downturn and lower consumer spending has hurt air travel in India. Air passenger traffic fell about 5% in 2008. Air traffic declined 8.06% to 21.09 million passengers during the first six months of 2009. Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Air India have cut capacity and deferred and cancelled deliveries of new planes from Boeing and its rival Airbus due to the decline in passenger numbers. Boeing's customers in India include Jet Airways, Air India and low-fare carrier SpiceJet.

Jet Airways to launch Kochi-Sharjah sector in September

Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, will launch services to the Gulf emirate of Sharjah, with the launch of its daily service from Kochi, effective September 1, 2009. The airline will launch services to Sharjah aboard a state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft. This will be Jet Airways’ fourth daily service to the Gulf from Kochi, complementing the airline’s existing daily services on the Kochi- Doha, Kuwait and Muscat sectors. Effective September 1, 2009 to October 24, 2009 and from March 28, 2010 to October 30, 2010, flight 9W 562 will depart Kochi at 1045 hrs, arriving in Sharjah at 1305 hrs.

Flight 9W 561 will then depart Sharjah at 1415 hrs, arriving in Kochi at 1945 hrs. However, effective October 25, 2009 to March 27, 2010, flight 9W 562 will depart Kochi at 1045 hrs, arriving in Sharjah at 1325 hrs. Flight 9W 561 will then depart Sharjah at 1425 hrs, arriving in Kochi at 1945 hrs. Jet Airways currently flies to seven destinations in the Gulf including Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Jeddah from several Indian cities. The airline will also launch services to Riyadh, its second service to Saudi Arabia, on August 6, 2009.

Air India offers low cost fares on select sectors

Beleaguered national carrier Air India, struggling to stay afloat after accumulating Rs 7,200 crore loss, has announced special fares on select domestic sectors in an attempt to attract passengers during the lean season. Announcing the special fares, Air India said that the tickets can be bought up to three days before flying and would be valid till September 20. The all inclusive fares come in two categories. Under the first category, a Mumbai-Hyderabad flight would cost only Rs 2,079. Similarly, a Mumbai-Kochi travel would cost Rs 3,279 and Mumbai-Bangalore Rs 2,779.

The second category of special fares offers would be applicable on 70 select domestic routes and exclusive of all taxes and passenger service fee, Air India said. However, a passenger would have to pay user development fee at airports where it is applicable. In a related development, civil aviation minister Praful Patel on Wednesday asked India’s flag carrier to streamline its operation and change its work culture. Mr Patel said that the government was looking for acclaimed professionals to constitute a national advisory board for the carrier. The company is expected to get several independent directors on its board within a month.

Hijack threat on Indigo Airlines flight

A passenger on board an IndiGo Airlines flight from Delhi to Mumbai created a scare on Thursday when he falsely claimed there was a bomb in the aircraft and asked the crew to divert the plane to Pakistan. According to a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) official, the passenger, later identified as Sanjay Malik, created panic at around 11.45am when the flight 6E 181 was on its final approach to the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The captain of the aircraft alerted the air traffic control of Mumbai airport. A Quick Response Team of the CISF, a paramilitary force that guards airports and important industrial installations across the country, was deployed at the airport. The team took over the aircraft as soon as it landed at around 11.45am and checked it but could not find any bomb.

The CISF detained the passenger and later handed him over to Mumbai Police who were in the process of questioning him to find out his motive. The CISF official said the passenger seemed mentally disturbed. For the IndiGo airlines, this was the second instance of panic midair. On Feb 2, its flight 6E 664 made an emergency landing at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport as three passengers created a hijack scare during the flight. After landing, the plane was taken to an isolation bay and passengers were asked to remain seated as commandos checked the aircraft. The three passengers were later detained for unruly behaviour.