Category Archives: Aviation

flybig to connect Itanagar with Guwahati under UDAN from Jan 15 with inaugural fare of INR 1,111

In conjunction with the UDAN initiative, flybig, has become the latest airline to start operation from the Donyi Polo airport , Itanagar the capital of Arunachal Pradesh from January 15, 2023. flybig will be connecting Itanagar to Guwahati with a direct daily morning flight (except Wednesday) on its ATR aircraft with inaugural fare of INR1,111. flybig will also provide onwards connections to other three destinations on its network.

Itanagar will be the 10th destination on flybig network; while the third destination in Arunachal Pradesh alone. Flybig also flies six days a week to Tezu and seven days to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh from Guwahati.

Saanjay Mandavia, Chief Managing Director of flybig, said, “We are honoured to commence our operations from Itanagar under Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji’s flagship UDAN scheme. Right from the beginning flybig’s motto has been to provide connectivity to destinations that were hitherto not accessible by air, and operations to Itanagar is just another step in that direction.”

Welcoming flybig’s initiative, Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, said, “We are grateful to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji for fulfilling the dream of Arunachal Pradesh people to get air connectivity after 75 years of India’s Independence. We express gratitude to flybig for providing third and the most crucial connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh.”

AIX Connect to make way for “robust new LCC”: CEO

AirAsia India Pvt Ltd (AAIPL), now AIX Connect, will “sunset in India” and there will be a “robust new (low-cost carrier, or LCC) organisation” with a “formidable pan-Asia network” and “meaningful domestic presence” with “new fleet”. Aviation veteran and Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh, who took over as the head of AIX Connect on Sunday, said in his first message to erstwhile AirAsia India employees, “…with full shareholding (of AAIPL) passing to AI and post the integration with AIExpress, the brand will sunset in India. It is sad to see (AAIPL) go, but there is an opportunity to create a robust new organisation, he said, reports Saurabh Sinha for TOI.

We can leverage strengths of both (LCCs), as well as those of parent in building upon a solid foundation. ” The Tata Group is going to place an order of 150-200 Boeing 737 MAXs for the low-cost arm of AI to create a budget carrier of scale. AIX Connect will be merged into AI Express this year and Singh has been named the CEO of both the LCCs. Giving an update of the integration, Singh said the same has sped up with “over 150 colleagues from both organisations already working together. ”

AI Mumbai to Dubai flight develops snag

AN AIR India Mumbai-Dubai flight aborted takeoff after it developed a snag at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here on Tuesday evening. Owning to a suspected technical glitch in one of the engines, the aircraft was not permitted to take off, said airport sources. There were an estimated 240 plus passengers on board and they were deplaned near the regular deboarding area. Some unconfirmed reports earlier claimed that the fliers allegedly spilled onto the runway but airport sources have denied it.

Source: IANS

Airlines give lukewarm reaction to China’s border reopening amid Covid-19 surge

The world’s airlines are taking a cautious approach to China’s reopening, reluctant to immediately change up schedules and divert planes from other routes despite the internal pent-up demand for international travel.

Scheduled flights into China during January, February and March are up no more than 2.9% this week compared to last week, according to aviation data provider Cirium. That’s fewer than 100 more flights each month. Planned inbound services for the remainder of the year are little changed — a sign China’s relaxation of quarantine restrictions from Jan. 8 are yet to convince airlines to make significant changes to their timetables.

Carriers’ lukewarm reaction to China’s border reopening amid a Covid surge doesn’t chime with the intense desire for overseas travel from people living in Asia’s biggest economy. Curbs on travellers from China are also limiting any immediate ramp-up in flights as major markets, including the US, mandate negative Covid-19 tests from arriving passengers.

“I don’t think airlines will shift capacity from what they’re doing now in China,” Subhas Menon, director general of the Association for Asia Pacific Airlines, said. Most will rather wait to assess the situation, with Hong Kong, which also recently did away with many Covid restrictions, being a useful testbed, he said.

Prior to the pandemic, China had a massive outbound travel market.

Mainland residents reacted swiftly to news with bookings for outbound flights surging by 254% on Tuesday morning versus the same period the day prior, Trip.com Group Ltd. data show. The top five destinations were Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand. Flight bookings to Singapore jumped 600%, while bookings to the remaining four destinations soared around 400%.

Airlines in those countries however weren’t rushing to add capacity.

Singapore Airlines Ltd. said in a statement that it will “continue to monitor the demand for air travel and adjust capacity accordingly.” Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. welcomed the announcement and said it will “continue to communicate with relevant authorities and increase our passenger capacity to and from the Chinese mainland as much as possible.”

Korean Air Lines Co. said it plans to increase flights to China after the two nations mutually agreed to boost connectivity. Even though China has lifted quarantine rules, there’s still a travel ban on group tours to South Korea that has been in place since 2017 — retaliation from China in response to a US-led deployment of an anti-missile shield in Korea.

Korean Air currently operates nine flights a week to seven cities in mainland China and will boost that to 15 flights to nine cities starting from next month, with the two additional cities being Shenzhen and Xiamen on top of Shenyang, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dalian, Qingdao, Tianjin and Nanjing.

“There aren’t that many inquiries from Chinese, or from Koreans, for travel packages yet,” said Yook Hyun-Woo, a director at Modetour Networks, a major travel agency in Seoul. “We’re still worried a resurgence of the virus during winter may cool demand.”

Japan said this week it will require a negative Covid-19 test result for travelers coming from China after infections there exploded, and asked airlines not to increase the current number of flights. US health authorities followed on Wednesday, while Italy will test all arrivals from China after almost half the passengers on two flights to Milan tested positive for the virus.

International airlines will also be seeking clarification around aircrew and whether they are able to stay overnight in China now quarantine has been dropped. Currently, many international carriers have to fly into China, drop off passengers and then fly to Seoul for the crew to spend the night there before flying back to China the next day to pick up fresh travelers for an onward overseas flight.

The industry’s main trade body, the International Air Transport Association, also said the requirement for pre-departure Covid tests needs to be removed. (Source HT)

Akasa Air commences its maiden flight from Lucknow, the 11th destination on its network

Akasa Air, India’s newest airline, operated its first flight from Lucknow – the 11th city in its network, marking the airline’s entry into Uttar Pradesh. With this,Akasa Air will offer daily flights on the Lucknow-Bengaluru and Lucknow-Mumbai route. The first flight on the Lucknow-Mumbai route departed at 1100 hrs IST from Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow.

The airline’s entry into Uttar Pradesh was felicitated by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, in the presence of Akasa Air’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vinay Dube and his team.

Commenting on the commencement of the first flight from the state, Adityanath stated, “Uttar Pradesh is one of the leading states in domestic tourism and tourist movement in India. Our state is transforming into the most preferred investment destination in India and therefore, enabling new growth trajectories for shaping the vision of a new India. Witnessing India’s newest airline, Akasa Air, starting operations in Uttar Pradesh early in their journey, reaffirms my faith in the potential of the state in generating employment and ensuring economic prosperity for our country.”

Commenting on the commencement of the maiden flight from Lucknow, Dube, said, “We are thankful to the Honourable Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for his support on this momentous occasion as we successfully launch our inaugural flight from Lucknow, the 11th city in our fast-growing network. Lucknow is renowned for its rich culture, architecture, and cuisine while being a popular tourist destination, established textile and an emerging automobile hub. We believe, with the important work being done by the Honourable Minister to further boost tourism in the state, Lucknow will surely become an important part of our plans while we start today with connecting this key state capital with Mumbai and Bengaluru”.

“The Akasa story is aligned with the nation’s journey towards making air travel affordable through PM Modi-ji’s clarion call – Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik. This launch is another extension of our efforts to boost the country’s economy by strengthening its important transportation linkages”, he added.

Akasa Air has reaffirmed its commitment to linking metros to Tier 2 and 3 cities with the addition of Lucknow as the newest destination to its network, easing connectivity to Mumbai and Bengaluru. The airline’s operations from Lucknow will cater to the rising demand for travel from the city while offering its signature warm and reliable service to passengers on the most affordable fares.

Recently Akasa Air also announced Goa as the 12th destination on its network with three daily flights scheduled on the Goa – Bengaluru route and two on the Goa – Mumbai route in January 2023. The newly inaugurated Manohar International Airport (Mopa) will facilitate the airline’s operations in the state.

Since its launch in August this year, Akasa Air has been progressively scaling up its operations and by December end expects to cross over 500 weekly flights on a total of 18 routes across 12 cities, namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Kochi, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Guwahati, Agartala, Pune, Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, and Goa.

Goa to receive first charter flight from Kyrgyzstan on December 29

According to a PTI report, Goa will receive its first charter flight from Kyrgyzstan on December 29 and the service will continue for a month, an official said.

The coastal state currently handles maximum charter flights from Russia and the UK.

“This will be the first ever flight to arrive in Goa from Kyrgyzstan, with a plan to operate a weekly flight for the tourist season 2022-23,” said Amar Dhumatker, president, Caper Travel Company, which will be handling these flights.

The first charter flight from Kyrgyzstan by Aero Nomad Airlines with approximately 170 tourists will arrive at Dabolim airport on December 29, it was stated.

For now, one flight will be operated every eight days for approximately a month. If tourists from the central Asian country like Goa as a destination and give a positive feedback, then the service might continue till the end of March, Dhumatker said.