Air India Express to start new flights from Muscat

Air India Express announced the launch of a new flight which will connect Muscat with Amritsar-New Delhi (via Abu Dhabi). The airline is also exploring two additional flights a week between Muscat and Kochi (via Mangalore) on Wednesdays and Fridays. The state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which is a 185-seater, will fly on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with effect from September 4. The announcement was made at a press conference in Muscat, chaired by Indian Ambassador to the Sultanate, Anil Wadhwa, and Air India Express manager for Oman, Mohit Sain. These flights will depart Muscat at 20.35 hrs and arrive at Amritsar at 03.25 hrs the following day. John, airport manager, was also present at the press meet.

Welcoming the introduction of additional flights, Wadhwa said, "These flights will allow connections to places which were hitherto difficult to reach." Sain, who has recently taken over as manager, assured that the airline would explore direct flights to Ahmedabad and Goa. Air India Express in the Oman sector has not suffered any losses, Sain informed. Air India Express, the low-cost subsidiary of Air India, commenced its operations to Oman in May 2005, coinciding with the 50th year of diplomatic ties between the Sultanate and India. Air India Express currently operates four flights a week to Kozhikode, three to Thiruvananthapuram, two to Kochi and three to Mangalore from Muscat. As the only carrier operating international flights between Salalah and Kerala, Air India Express has three flights a week to Kochi, two to Kozhikode and one to Thiruvananthapuram from Salalah.

In addition to Air India Express operations, Air India also provides connectivity with daily non-stop flights to Delhi, Ahmedabad via Mumbai, Chennai via Kochi and Kozhikode and three weekly flights to Hyderabad via Bangalore. Air India Express flies 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, namely Kozhikode, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Amritsar, Srinagar, Lucknow, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mangalore and Tiruchirapally.

Oman invites bids for development of Sohar International Airport

Oman's government has invited bids for Sohar Airport's key airfield infrastructure project. This phase includes building a 4,000-metre runway with turning loops at the ends, in addition to a full-length taxiway with high speed exits. With a width of 75 metres, the runway will be designed to handle some of the largest aircraft in operation today, including Airbus' Superjumbo A380. Other works envisaged in this package are airside roads, power and water networks, fuel fire fighting systems, and navigation aids. Sohar Airport, which is designed to handle 500,000 passengers and 100,000 tonnes of air cargo per year, will also serve as an emergency alternative to Muscat International Airport.

Flydubai still committed to starting flights to India

Low cost airline Flydubai remains committed to its Indian hubs, despite postponing three of its routes this month, its CEO said. "India will be operational. We are committed to operating to India," Ghaith Al Ghaith said. Last month the Dubai based carrier was forced to postpone all three of its routes to Lucknow, Coimbatore and Chandigarh due to operational issues. Passengers affected by the cancellation were given a full refund and a free voucher for travel on any of the airline’s routes until the end of November. With more than one million Indians residing in the UAE, India is an important route for the budget carrier.

Regional budget airlines could grow by up to 10 percent in the next two years, Al Ghaith added. Flydubai launched in June amid the global economic downturn, which has seen a slump in passenger traffic. The no frills airline, which is wholly owned by the government of Dubai, has already launched five routes to Beirut, Amman, Damascus, Aleppo and Alexandria, and is due to launch its sixth route to Djibouti in September. Flydubai is competing with other low cost airlines including Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways and Sharjah based Air Arabia.

Jey Airways to post profits on London sector this winter

The London operations of Jet Airways will become profitable this winter schedule, which lasts October through March, a top company official said. The company will also introduce a larger aircraft on that route in October. "Jet Airways claims a market share of 37% in the India-UK market. We are expecting our India-UK operations to be profitable in winter season," Anita Goyal, executive vice president, network planning and revenue management, said on the sidelines of its 17th annual general meeting.

Air India offers special fares on Hyderabad-Mumbai sector

Air India has announced a short term special fare on its flight AI-601 from Hyderabad to Mumbai. The flight AI-601 departs from Hyderabad at 0410 hrs and arrives in Mumbai 0520 hrs. The special fare on the sector is Rs 1929 and for three days before departure it will be Rs 1829, an AI release said. These fares which will be available till September 17 and the travel is to be completed by September 20. User Development Fee as applicable will be payable separately.

IBS Software signs up with S7 Airlines Cargo

IBS Software announced that S7 Cargo acting on behalf of S7 Airlines and GLOBUS airline, based in Russia, has signed up for iCargo, its new-generation cargo management solution. Leading IT solutions provider to the global travel, transportation and logistics industry, IBS Software announced that S7 Cargo acting on behalf of S7 Airlines and GLOBUS airline, based in Russia, has signed up for iCargo, its new-generation cargo management solution. The S7 Cargo has chosen iCargoNet, the SaaS offering of iCargo, that will be hosted from IBS’ state-of-the-art data centres. With this the total number of cargo customers for IBS has grown to 19 in a very short time.

iCargo, developed in association with a Core Group of Influencers comprising 6 leading airlines in the world, has, within a span of a few years grown to be an industry leading air cargo management solution globally. The IBS solution (www.ibsplc.com) was selected by S7 Cargo for its strong customer service and proven ability to help cargo carriers in significantly increasing operational effectivity and cost efficiency. iCargoNet, the hosted version of iCargo lowers the total cost of ownership and facilitates transaction-based pricing, whilst bringing new benefits such as ease of global distribution and ability to add new modules and system features as the business needs of the airlines grow and change.

SITA awarded CUPPS certification

A new standard in passenger processing has arrived with the announcement today that SITA is the first platform provider to achieve CUPPS (Common Use Passenger Processing System) compliance certification and to successfully complete its CUPPS Pilot program. The SITA CUPPS Pilot started in January 2009 at Orlando International Airport with the check-in and boarding of WestJet passengers, followed recently by Continental Airlines passengers. The culmination comes today with the certification demonstrating that SITA's platform is fully compliant with the pre-released version of the IATA (International Air Transport Association) CUPPS Technical Specification. Catherine Mayer, SITA's Vice-President for Airport Services, said, "This is a great day for the air transport community as it brings common use passenger processing to a more efficient level. It is also another milestone in SITA's long history of community leadership in the common use arena."

"SITA first developed CUTE (common user terminal equipment) with the airlines in 1984 and is now the first to receive certification for our platform using the new industry adopted CUPPS Recommended Practice. This certification demonstrates that our systems can run multiple applications according to the CUPPS standards. In fact, SITA's AirportConnect Open is the only fully-integrated common use platform supporting CUPPS, CUTE, and web-based applications, as well as CUSS kiosk applications." SITA's AirportConnect Open is a proven, stable platform that has been in operation since 2004. It provides a low-risk migration path to CUPPS compared with both new platforms that may be introduced by other companies and with existing platforms where CUPPS, CUTE, and CUSS Kiosk capabilities are not integrated as a single system. SITA is the world's leading specialist in air transport communication and IT solutions.

SITA delivers and manages business solutions for airline, airport, GDS, government and other customers over the world’s most extensive network, which forms the communications backbone of the global air transport industry. SITA's portfolio includes managed global communications, infrastructure and outsourcing services, as well as services for airline commercial management and passenger operations, flight operations, aircraft operations and air-to-ground communications, airport management and operations, baggage operations, transportation security and border management, cargo operations and more. With a customer service team of over 1,600 staff around the world, SITA invests significantly in achieving best-in-class customer service, providing integrated local and global support for both its communications and IT application services.

SITA has two main subsidiaries, OnAir, which is the leading provider of in-flight connectivity, and CHAMP Cargosystems, the world's only IT company dedicated solely to air cargo. SITA also operates two joint ventures providing services to the air transport community, Aviareto for aircraft asset management and CertiPath for secure electronic identity management. SITA is one of the world's most international companies. Its global reach is based on local presence, with services for around 550 air transport industry members and 3,200 customers in over 200 countries and territories. In 2009, the company celebrates 60 years in business. Set up in 1949 with 11 member airlines, SITA today employs people of more than 140 nationalities, speaking over 70 different languages. SITA had consolidated revenues of over US$1.47 billion in 2008.

Travelocity Global acquires Travelguru India

Travelocity Global, the US based online travel firm, has acquired Travelguru, one of India's largest online hotel distribution networks, for an undisclosed sum. Industry sources, who termed the deal as a distressed sale, pegged the acquisition size at between Rs 45 crore and Rs 50 crore. Travelocity Global said that the Travelguru will remain a separate entity with co-founder and CEO Ashwin Damera continuing to head its operations. Travelguru between its three offices in Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore employs close to 150 people. Roshan Mendis, regional vice-president of Travelocity Asia Pacific, said the acquisition will complement the company's online business and help it access more than 4,000 hotels in India.

Industry sources said that Travelguru has been in the red for quite sometime and Damera had been trying hard to find a buyer for over a year now, reaching out to the likes of expedia.com, makemytrip.com and Cox & Kings. Travelguru since its inception in 2005 has received two rounds of venture capital funding. It raised $25 million in 2006 -- $10 million from Sequoia Capital India, which the latter followed up with a $15 million co-investment with Battery Venture. In 2007, Travelguru acquired travel portal, desiya.com, reportedly for $25 million in 2007.