Category Archives: Top Stories

GO2UK & Europe Travels appoints Renuka Natu Travel Relations as Market Advisor & Consultant for India, Sri Lanka & the UAE

London based GO2UK & Europe Travels Limited, a leading destination management company for the UK and Europe has announced the appointment of Renuka Natu Travel Relations as Market Advisor & Consultant for India, Sri Lanka & the UAE.

Commenting on the announcement, Khushboo Shah, Founder and Managing Director of GO2 UK & Europe Travels, said, “In a post Covid world as we look to accelerate private tours for UK and Europe, we are delighted to partner with Renuka to expand our footprint in India, Sri Lanka & the UAE. Renuka brings with her over 25 years of travel trade experience along with in depth knowledge of the travel pattern in India.We are confident that with Renuka’s expertise we can strategically position our products and have the required business growth in this dynamic market.”

Go2UK&Europe Travels (registered company name GO2UK Travels Ltd), headquartered in London is a destination management company offering exclusive and customised private travel
experiences to the UK and Europe. The company specialises in providing private luxury tours to FITs (VIPs, celebrities and HNI clientele) and small groups of up to 20 individuals for both leisure and
corporate travel. The company works with many of the large travel organizations based in India.

Following this appointment Renuka Natu commented, ”I’m excited to partner with a seasoned & experienced team at GO2UK & Europe Travels. Moreover for the commencement of this new association to coincide with the re-opening of the UK for travellers Ex India, is indeed a great sign!”
She will be working very closely with GO2 UK & Europe Travels’ team based in the UK and India in supporting new sales of products and services to new travel agents across India, Sri Lanka & the UAE
in the luxury private tours segment.

IndiGo to start daily flights connecting Gwalior with Indore, Delhi from September 1: Jyotiraditya Scindia

IndiGo will start daily flights connecting Gwalior with Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Delhi from September 1 onwards, said Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Civil Aviation Minister on August 13.
“IndiGo will start daily flights from Madhya Pradesh from September 1: Delhi-Gwalior-Delhi; Gwalior-Indore-Gwalior; Indore-Gwalior-Indore; Gwalior-Delhi-Gwalior,” he said on Twitter.

Scindia on August 13 flagged off IndiGo’s Bareilly-Mumbai flight that would operate under regional connectivity scheme UDAN.

“Under the guidance of our visionary Prime Minister, the Ministry of Civil Aviation is determined to facilitate the movement of citizens across the country and give wings to their development,” the minister tweeted.

Domestic air travel witnesses record surge since 2nd Covid wave, 50L flew in July

Domestic flight travel registered a monthly surge of 61 per cent in July with nearly 50.07 lakh passengers travelling by plane. The number was 31.13 lakh in June, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on August 13.

In May and April, as many as 21.15 lakh and 57.25 lakh people travelled by flights in India, respectively. Air passenger numbers had taken a tumble during April and May when the second wave of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) hit the country.

According to data shared by the national aviation regulator, IndiGo carried 29.32 lakh passengers, accounting for 58.6 per cent of the domestic market share, while SpiceJet flew 4.56 lakh travellers, constituting a 9.1 per cent market share.

Other airlines who carried passengers include GoFirst (earlier known as GoAir), Vistara, AirAsia and Air India. While Air India flew 6.7 lakh passengers, it was closely followed by Vistara that carried 4.07 lakh people. GoFirst and AirAsia flew 3.42 lakh and 1.65 lakh passengers, respectively.

The data further noted these six major airlines shared an occupancy rate or load factor between 53.6 per cent and 74.6 percent in July. In this matter, SpieceJet registered the highest occupancy rate in July with 74.6 per cent, followed by Vistara (69.2 per cent), GoFirst (67.1 per cent), IndiGo (66.2 per cent), Air India (64.3 per cent), and AirAsia (53.6 per cent).

The DGCA data also pointed out that IndiGo reported the best on-time performance in July of 97.3 per cent at four metro airports – Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. AirAsia and Vistara were at the second and third positions at these airports with 96.8 per cent and 95.1 per cent on-time performance, respectively.

Meanwhile, the civil aviation ministry has for the fourth time this year revised the domestic air fares. The prices have been increased by nine to 12 per cent. According to the latest order, flights under 40 minutes of duration will now cost INR2,900, up from the earlier INR2,600. On the other hand, flights between 40-60 minutes of duration will cost at least INR3,700, up from the earlier INR3,300, and a maximum of INR11,000 as against INR9,800.

The aviation ministry has also increased the flight capacity to 72.5 per cent from 65 per cent with immediate effect. After the nationwide lockdown due to Covid-19 was imposed in March last year, flight services were discontinued, only to be resumed on May 25 of the same year. Since then, it was operating with 50 per cent capacity and it was only increased to 65 per cent last month. (Source The HT)

Air travel becomes costlier, govt raises caps on domestic airfares by 9.83-12.82 per cent

Domestic air travel is set to become costlier as the Civil Aviation Ministry has raised the lower as well as upper caps on fares by 9.83 to 12.82 percent, according to an official order. India had imposed lower and upper limits on airfares based on flight duration when services were resumed on May 25, 2020, after a two-month lockdown due to coronavirus.

The lower caps were imposed to help the airlines that have been struggling financially due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions. The upper caps were imposed so that passengers are not charged huge amounts when the demand for seats is high.

In an order dated August 12, 2021, the ministry increased the lower limit for flights under 40 minutes of duration from Rs 2,600 to Rs 2,900 — an increase of 11.53 percent. The upper cap for flights under 40 minutes of duration was increased by 12.82 percent to Rs 8,800. Similarly, flights with duration between 40-60 minutes have a lower limit of Rs 3,700 instead of Rs 3,300 now, the order said. The upper cap on these flights was increased by 12.24 percent to Rs 11,000 on August 12.

The flights with duration between 60-90 minutes have a lower limit of Rs 4,500 — an increase of 12.5 percent. The upper cap on these flights was increased by 12.82 percent to Rs 13,200 on August 12. Now, domestic flights of duration between 90-120, 120-150, 150-180 and 180-210 minutes have lower caps of Rs Rs 5,300, Rs 6,700, Rs 8,300 and Rs 9,800, respectively, as per the ministry’s order.

Till date, domestic flights of duration between 90-120, 120-150, 150-180 and 180-210 minutes had the lower limits of Rs 4,700, Rs 6,100, Rs 7,400 and Rs 8,700, respectively.

The lower cap on flights between 120-150 minutes duration was increased by 9.83 percent to Rs 6,700, as per the new order. On Thursday, the upper caps on domestic flights of duration between 90-120, 120-150, 150-180 and 180-210 minutes were increased by 12.3 percent, 12.42 percent, 12.74 percent and 12.39 percent, respectively, as per the order.

The caps mentioned by the government in its order does not include the passenger security fee, user development fee for the airports and the GST. These charges are added on top when the ticket is being booked by the passenger. The ministry’s order on August 12 stated that the government has taken this decision of increasing the lower limits as well as the upper limits keeping in mind the “prevailing situation of COVID-19” in the country. (Source The FE)

Thomas Cook & SOTC launch Diwali Mahotsav Holiday Sale Offer

In order to accelerate demand, Thomas Cook India and its Group Company, SOTC Travel, have launched a unique Diwali Mahotsav-Holiday sale with attractive pricing and special Gujarati Tours accompanied by a Gujarati tour manager with a unique Diwali celebration night on tour.

The Diwali Mahotsav invites Gujaratis to celebrate the festival of lights with family and friends, while exploring a new destination and building close bonds. According to the press release, Gujaratis are displaying penchant for travel in 2021 and also during the upcoming Diwali festive season.

The Holiday Sale offers a wide range of destinations -Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal, Andamans, Goa, and Kerala (Domestic) and Dubai, Egypt, Maldives, Switzerland, Europe (France, Germany, Switzerland).

Commenting on this, Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Limited. said, “Diwali brings with it very special festive joy and cheer. With our research indicating that Gujaratis are looking forward to travel and celebrate with family and friends, we have designed special India and international holidays with attractive offers like Buy One Get One and special family discounts. To make it extra special, our Gujarati Tours include a Gujarati speaking tour manager, a special Diwali night celebration and all meals included – a complete package to celebrate the festival with loved ones.”

Daniel D’souza President & Country Head, SOTC Travel said, “Diwali this year falls on a Thursday, a perfect opportunity to indulge in an extended weekend holiday with family/friends, while exploring exciting destinations in India and overseas. With borders opening up and vaccinated travellers being welcomed, travel demand from our Gujarati customers has been seeing strong growth. Our ‘Diwali Mahotsav’ packed with special deals and discounts, intends to benefit our Gujarat based consumers and help them enjoy a perfect Diwali holiday.”

He added, “Our Diwali Mahotsav comes with our unique TravShield – Travel Safety Commitment to build confidence and reassure our customers.”

Diwali Mahotsav – Special Offers
Buy 1 Get 1 Free – Companion free offer to Dubai, Maldives, Andamans, Himachal, Kashmir
Dubai Diwali Special – fully loaded tour includes a special Gujarati dinner
Up to Rs. 50,000.00 off per family on International tours to Egypt, Switzerland, Swiss & Paris
Up to Rs. 20,000.00 off per family on India holidays to Andamans, Himachal, Kashmir

  • Gujarati Special – All-Inclusive Tour
    All meals (including Gujarati Snacks)
    Special Diwali Celebration Night
    Gujarati speaking tour manager
    Ex-Ahmedabad departures*

Aviation ministry increases cap on India-UK flights to 60 services per week from August 16

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has increased the cap on special flights that operate between India and the UK from 30 to 60 flights per week from August 16 onwards. The ministry’s decision has come five days after Sanjeev Gupta, Secretary, Inter-State Council Secretariat, Union home ministry, had complained on Twitter that an economy-class ticket on Delhi-London flights of British Airways, Air India and Vistara for August 26 was priced between INR 1.2 lakh and INR 3.95 lakh.

After Gupta’s post, Vistara had said that pricing is always a function of supply and demand. “There are only 15 flights a week allowed currently on India-UK route for Indian carriers and when there is relaxation and more capacity allowed, it will automatically bring down prices,” the carrier had said.

Currently, the two groups of airlines — Indian carriers and British carriers — are each allowed to operate 15 flights per week on the India-UK route. This will be doubled from August 16 onwards. On August 12, the MoCA said the increase in the cap “will be effective from August 16, 2021, and will remain valid till further orders or till the resumption of scheduled international commercial passenger services, whichever is earlier”.

“Out of the 30 frequencies per week available to Indian carriers, 26 frequencies have been allotted to Air India and the remaining 4 frequencies have been allotted to Vistara Airlines,” it mentioned. Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.