Air Asia planning introduction of new flights to India

Air Asia is in talks with the Government of India to introduce direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to various cities in India including Chennai, Kolkata, Trivandrum, Kochi, Delhi, Mumbai and Amritsar. Moses Devanayagam, Head (Operations), AirAsia said that efforts were on to introduce a direct flight to Abu Dhabi from Kuala Lumpur from October this year. The airline is also planning to introduce direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and UK, US, Australia, China, Japan and Korea. Devanayagam mentioned that the company initially launched operations with three aircraft and in a short span this has increased to 70 aircraft. He added that during the recently concluded Air Show in Paris, the company had placed order for procuring ten new version of A350 wide bodied and long-haul aircraft, which will be delivered to them in 2015-16.

Air India Express' domestic launch delayed to November

The country’s national carrier, Air India, has been forced to delay the start of its domestic low-fare service from this month to November as it’s in the middle of reassessing fleet plans. Air India, run by National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, currently operates Air India Express as its international low-fare carrier. Its entry into the domestic low-fare aviation market, part of the carrier’s revival strategy, could further lower ticket prices. The airline, seeking to emulate a recent move by Jet Airways, wanted to convert 10 Airbus A320 aircraft to an all-economy class configuration to launch its domestic low-fare service under the Air India Express brand by the middle of this month. The plan has been delayed by about two months as the airline reassesses its fleet. "The conversion has been put on hold," said an airline executive referring to the removal of business-class seats. Most of the 10 aircraft are on lease and will require permission from the lessors for conversion. "That is one hurdle," he said. The delay may harm Air India as the peak festival season will be over by the time the carrier begins the service.

Jazeera Airways to operate extra flights to Jeddah

Jazeera Airways, the fastest growing airline in the Middle East, announced that it is adding two additional weekly flights to its schedule for the Kuwait-Jeddah route, following consistently high demand for the service. From 16th September 2009, guests can fly Jazeera to Saudi Arabia's second city five days a week, on Monday to Thursday, and Saturday. The extra flights to Jeddah also complement the airline's existing twice-weekly service to the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Jazeera Airways' CEO, Stefan Pichler said, 'The Kuwait-Jeddah non-stop route has proven to be one of the most popular in our network, and we have added additional flights in response to the overwhelming demand of our guests.'

'The extra flights will cater to the growing number of business travellers between Kuwait and Jeddah. Increasing the frequency of flights to popular destinations like Jeddah is testament to our commitment to serving our guests' needs in the region.' Jazeera Airways currently operates a fleet of ten new Airbus A320s. Each aircraft is fitted with the airline's signature leather seating, while the Jazeera Plus (J+) cabin offers business travellers the highest standards of comfort, relaxation and a range of in-flight amenities. The airline flies to destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, Iran, and the Indian subcontinent.

Etihad Airways to open new premium lounge at London

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is to open a new premium lounge at London Heathrow airport as part of the airline's flights moving from Terminal Three to Terminal Four on 30 September 2009. First and business class customers and Etihad Guest Gold and Silver card holders will have access to the new lounge, conveniently located opposite the gates most commonly used by Etihad Airways for flight departures. The lounge gives passengers an opportunity to relax in style and enjoy a range of services and facilities. These include individual treatment rooms where therapists from Six Senses Spa will offer facials, foot and leg massages. Customers can also enjoy five-star dining facilities in the lounge with a selection of foods from around the world, all cooked in an open kitchen. A modern timber panelled business centre provides individual workstations and privacy for those with laptops.

Other features include a prayer room, a relaxing seating area with Poltrona Frau leather chairs and a bathroom and shower facilities for customers to freshen up in prior to departure. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways' chief commercial officer, said, 'We are proud that we will soon be offering one of the best customer lounges available at London Heathrow. Our new premium lounge at the airport represents a major investment and demonstrates the airline's continuing commitment to deliver world-class premium products and services to its first and business class customers on the ground as well as in the air.' Etihad Airways unveiled its first new premium lounge outside the UAE in July 2009 in Frankfurt, Germany. Etihad Airways also provides a complimentary limousine service for its first and business class passengers flying in and out of London Heathrow.

First class customers flying to London Heathrow are also the first to take advantage of the airline's new first class product. The airline's highly-anticipated new first class suite entered into service between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow on Wednesday 25 August. The new private suite provides first class customers with an extra-large leather seat, upholstered by world-renowned leather company Poltrona Frau, which extends to a fully-flat bed, 80.5 inches in length. Within the cabin customers also have access to a large and luxurious changing room with a full length mirror, wash basin and leather fold-down seat to allow passengers to freshen up at any time during the flight.

Air India aircraft's engine catches fire in Mumbai

An engine of a Riyadh bound Air India plane with 213 passengers on board caught fire when it was taxiing for takeoff at Mumbai on Friday. The fire was immediately put off and all passengers were safely evacuated, a Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) spokesperson said. Passengers reported noticing sparks from the engine after which the plane was grounded and all passengers evacuated via slides through the emergency exit. Four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. The incident took place at about 1015hrs. Although the exact age of the plane could not be immediately ascertained, it is clear that the Boeing 747 belongs to an old Air India fleet. Firefighters doused the flames on Mumbai-Riyadh AI flight 829. The 213 passengers were taken back to the terminal and are being sent by another aircraft to their destination, an Air India spokesperson said.

Emirates flight diverted to Karachi due to bad weather in Delhi

An Emirates Airline aircraft flying from Dubai to New Delhi with external affairs minister SM Krishna on board was diverted to the Pakistani port city of Karachi on Thursday night due to bad weather in Indian airspace. Krishna, who was in Brazil on an official visit, had cut short his trip and was returning to New Delhi following the death of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy in a chopper crash. "The pilot of the Emirates flight sought permission from Pakistani authorities to land in Karachi after bad weather developed over New Delhi. The aircraft was granted permission and landed in Karachi at 10.35 pm," Civil Aviation Authority spokesman George Pervez said. After waiting in vain for over an hour for weather to clear over India, the pilot decided to fly back to Dubai at 11.44 pm after the aircraft was refuelled, Pervez said.

Pervez said reports in the Pakistani media that the aircraft had developed a problem with its oxygen system were not correct. The total number of passengers on the flight could not be immediately ascertained. No passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft while it was on the ground in Karachi. An Emirates spokesperson said the Delhi-bound flight EK514 with 101 passengers on board, which had left Dubai at 15:40 hours (local time), was diverted to Karachi due to bad weather and had to return to Dubai. The passengers have been allocated seats on another flight EK510 which will leave Dubai at 04:30 local time. This will "impact the 180 passengers of flight EK513 leaving Delhi at 04:00 local time with economy class passengers reallocated seats on flight EK511 which departs at 11:00 local time.

DGCA issues guidelines to regulate onboard merchandise sales

Domestic flyers will have to wait for some time before they can buy gifts items like aircraft models, pens or watches while flying to their destination. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has for "safety reasons" asked domestic airlines to stop onboard merchandise sales with immediate effect. This order does not cover food and non-alcoholic drinks and their sale will continue as usual. A common practice abroad, in India, only a few airlines like IndiGo and GoAir offer onboard merchandise sales. SpiceJet and JetLite had this practice for a while earlier. A senior DGCA official said airlines were found to be using cabin crew for the onboard sale and claimed this was eating into their other more important safety-related duties on the anyway short-flying duration domestic flights.

"DGCA has not granted approval to any (domestic) airline to sell merchandise on domestic sectors, nor are such operations documented in operations manual of the airlines. It is felt that such actions of airlines are not conducive to safety of operations as being carried out now. Physical sale of merchandise goods on board in domestic sectors shall be stopped henceforth," the letter sent by joint DG A K Chopra to airlines says, while adding that airline must take prior permission for onboard sales on domestic flights. Low cost carriers are up in arms against this order. They point out that while safety duties of cabin crew is common to both LCCs and full service carriers, their crew just sells food, drinks and merchandise. "On the other hand, cabin crew of full service carriers will first give a cold or hot towel and soft drinks to passengers immediately on boarding. After takeoff too some snacks may be given before the main course. Some domestic airlines even have the crew brew fresh coffee on aircraft. So it's wrong to say merchandise sale eats into the cabin crew's time for safety duties," said a top official of an LCC.

DGCA chief Nasim Zaidi has called a meeting with airlines on this issue on Friday. "Onboard sale has not been banned. We just want the correct procedures to be in place for this. A meeting has been called on Friday and the safety rules for this will be in place very soon. Then domestic airlines can have onboard merchandise sale on their flights," Zaidi said. Clearly, LCCs see this move as targeting them while favouring full service airlines. However, Zaidi, who has ushered in huge amount of reform in DGCA, assured that the rules would be in place shortly.