Tag Archives: GSA

Air India appoints Rogers Aviation as GSA in Mauritius

 

Air India has announced the appointment of Rogers Aviation as its General Sales Agent (GSA) for passenger business in Mauritius. The collaboration aims to strengthen connectivity between India and Mauritius, enhancing services for travellers in the Indian Ocean archipelago. Rogers Aviation will handle reservations, ticketing, and marketing efforts, ensuring seamless passenger support.

Alexandre Faydherbe, CEO, Rogers Aviation, expressed pride in the partnership, highlighting their dedication to exceptional travel solutions. This agreement reinforces Rogers Aviation’s position as a leader in travel and aviation services across the Indian Ocean and Sub-Saharan Africa. The collaboration aligns with Air India’s goal to expand its global reach and improve passenger experience.

Currently, Air India operates five weekly flights between Mumbai and Mauritius, providing convenient connections to destinations across India and beyond. The airline’s expanding fleet and modernised services, combined with Rogers Aviation’s expertise, promise a world-class travel experience for passengers. This partnership will further boost tourism and business travel between the two regions.

As part of its transformation, Air India continues to upgrade its fleet and enhance its offerings. The airline recently confirmed the purchase of 100 Airbus aircraft, adding to its previous orders of 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. This modernisation reflects Air India’s commitment to delivering innovative and customer-focused services.

Oman Air appoints InterGlobe as GSA in India 

 

 

InterGlobe Air Transport Limited has been appointed the exclusive General Sales Agent (GSA) for Oman Air in India, marking a significant step towards strengthening Oman Air’s presence in the Indian market. This partnership will leverage InterGlobe’s extensive network and expertise to enhance customer service, sales, and operations across the country, focusing on providing a seamless experience for Indian travellers.

 

Oman Air, known for its exceptional service across the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, Asia, and Europe, operates over 90 weekly flights to 10 Indian cities from its Muscat hub. InterGlobe Air Transport will provide comprehensive support, including passenger airline management, reservations, ticketing, sales and marketing, and contact center operations. This collaboration is designed to streamline operations and boost Oman Air’s visibility and service offerings in India.

 

The partnership is expected to redefine air travel between India and Oman by combining InterGlobe’s local expertise with Oman Air’s world-class hospitality. Travellers will benefit from improved connectivity, streamlined booking processes, and exceptional customer support, enhancing the overall travel experience between the two nations.

 

Sunil V A, Oman Air’s Regional Vice President, expressed excitement about strengthening their Indian operations, while Siddhanta Sharma, CEO, InterGlobe Air Transport, highlighted their commitment to elevating the customer journey and contributing to the airline’s growth in India.

Air India appoints Airline Rep Services as its passenger GSA for New Zealand and Fiji

Air India has appointed of Airline Rep Services (a division of the CVFR Travel Group) as its General Sales Agent (GSA) for passenger business in New Zealand and Fiji.

Airline Rep Services will oversee reservations & ticketing, support marketing efforts, and provide comprehensive passenger sales support in the regions on behalf of Air India, ensuring streamlined and personalised service delivery to travel agents and customers.

The collaboration will help to strengthen passenger traffic feeding into Air India’s flights from and to Australia, Singapore and beyond.

Ram Chhabra, CEO of CVFR Travel Group, said, “We are truly honoured to represent Air India, bringing the airline’s extensive route network and fast-transforming passenger experience closer to travellers in the regions. As someone with Indian heritage, this appointment holds a special significance for me, and I am proud that Airline Rep Services will contribute to strengthening ties between these markets and India.”

Air India’s expanding fleet, enhanced services, and commitment to providing a world-class flying experience align perfectly with Airline Rep Services’ dedication to excellence. Together with Airline Rep Services, Air India aims to cater to the increasing demand for travel to and from India while global connectivity.

Air India currently operates 17x weekly flights from Australia to India, and 60x weekly from Singapore to India. The airline offers convenient connections to destinations in the UK and rest of Europe as well as in North America via its hubs in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.

‘Sharaf Travel India has seen over 35% on year growth in passengers’

Having recently taken over as Business Head-Sales for India at Sharaf Travel Group, Leena Brahme’s focus lies in promoting the MSC brand in India, and growing the of Pegasus Airlines and DrukAir Holidays Bhutan line of businesses. She spoke to Disha Shah Ghosh about her new role and the possibilities of hosting large groups on the MSC ships.

Q. Enumerate on your new role at Sharaf Travel.
My role as Business Head Sales-India entails and encourages me to increase business on MSC Cruises as the core of Sharaf Travel India. MSC offers weekend getaways to full-fledged family vacations – a world of discovery is all to experience. From 23 ships across and in the fleet of MSC sailing into 250 most sought-after ports, MSC ticks boxes for multi-generational travel. My new role also extends to Pegasus Airlines as Sharaf Travel is their exclusive GSA in India. Pegasus has been flying for 20 years and is Turkey’s most established private airline. This exclusivity adds a nice feather in the cap to have offerings for our B2B partners.

The newest product in the kitty is DrukAir Holidays Bhutan! This is exciting as well as challenging for us to foray into land-based holiday offerings featuring the most premium destination. DrukAir Holidays will offer Premium and Luxury packages which also will be customisable.

Q. Where does India rank as a source market for Sharaf Travel? What is your vision to grow this opportunity further?
Sharaf Travel India has seen over 35% year on year growth in passenger numbers. For MSC Cruises, India is fly cruise market, and we are amazed to see that guests are booking long-haul sailings for 07 nights just as we see increase in demand for 03/04 and 05 nights too.
The uptick we see is corporates looking to book at least 6 months in advance. Taking longer sailings for e.g.: Ex Copenhagen, Barcelona, Rome, Piraeus, Naples, Dubai and so many more options to board from we see this ride as our opportunity to grow. Our venues onboard are not just classy but so large for all size corporates looking to do their events. We believe in offering a venue equipped with all AV’s without charges. This has helped us in creating that space of indulgence which is not worrying on the pocket for the end guests. Only the right offers/discounts will keep us engaged with the trade to make the noise on the B2B front. On the B2C front, we will step up on creating good content for end guests to latch on enough to make the mark to ask for MSC Cruises.

Q. Which are your three areas of focus with this role?
A. Sales force strengthening, strategic clarity regarding all the three brands, and a focus to on move ahead with learning which will help Sharaf Travel to strengthen its foothold better, is my key responsibility.

Q. India is an expanding market for outbound travel, and the traveller is spoilt for choice with newer destinations, products and experiences. In that context, how are you looking at growing the fly-cruise market?
MSC’s fleet having 23 ships across is a synonym to being spoilt for a choice! Fly cruise market with partnerships of right stake holders like NTOs/airlines etc., will surely boost a better know how for fly cruise advantage.

Q. What is your strategy to engage with the travel trade in India, offline and online?
The travel trade is moving leaps and bounds with their digital footprints. We will do our best to channelise that medium, engage through posts and visuals so that they are well equipped to convince their guests that the buying they are looking to happen is a safest choice of vacation. Offline, we will continue to meet and greet our TA partners as need to showcase our ships for them to gain strength in the brand.

Q. Any plans of MSC making India as a port of call for your ships?
Never say Never! And we believe MSC will venture into Indian waters.

Q. Which are some of the popular sailings of MSC for Indians? How are you engaging with international tourism boards?
The popular choice of sailings always has remained from Mediterranean and continues to be. New sailings that are garnering the attention are from Bahamas as our newest and large ships are plying in those regions. Another popular sailing port is Copenhagen covering Norwegian Fjords. Best of what MSC is offers are Mediterranean sailings in winter. From October all the way up to January, the possibilities of sailing from Valencia, Greece, Izmir (Turkey) and newest Tunisia are popular choices. We are proud to be one-of-its-kind offering newer explorations with MSC.

Air India appoints Oscar Travel as GSA in Malaysia

 

Air India has appointed Oscar Travel Services, a subsidiary of Oscar Holidays, as its Passenger General Sales Agent (GSA) in Malaysia. This partnership will enhance Air India’s presence in the Malaysian market by supporting reservations, ticketing, marketing, and passenger sales.

Johnson Francis, Director, Oscar Travels, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, emphasising their commitment to promoting Air India’s offerings. With increasing passenger traffic between India and Malaysia, the partnership aims to provide seamless travel experiences while fostering cultural and economic exchanges between the countries.

Starting September 15, 2024, Air India will launch a daily non-stop service between Delhi and Kuala Lumpur using its Airbus A320neo aircraft. This new route will strengthen Air India’s Southeast Asian network, offering Malaysian travellers access to the airline’s global destinations through its Delhi hub.

As part of its post-privatisation transformation, Air India is undergoing extensive upgrades, including deliveries from its record-setting aircraft orders. The airline recently introduced new cabin products, including Premium Economy, and plans a full retrofit of its widebody fleet in 2025.

Royal Brunei Airlines to re-enter India with flights from Chennai to Bandar Seri Begawan

Royal Brunei Airlines will re-enter Indian skies after a gap of two decades through a direct flight service between Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, and Chennai from November 5.

A direct connection to Kolkata from Bandar Seri Begawan was terminated in 2001.

The airline, the flag carrier of the Sultanate of Brunei, was established in 1974 as an independent corporation wholly owned by the government. It provides scheduled services across Asia, the Middle East, Australia and the UK.

“Chennai calls! Get ready to immerse yourself in a city full of rich history, vibrant culture, and mouth-watering flavours. The gateway to South India is calling, and we’re ready to take you there. Follow your heart to South India and discover Chennai. Immerse yourself with India’s rich history and colourful culture,” the airline said in its social media post.

The maiden flight from the Brunei capital will leave on November 5 (Tuesdays and Thursdays) at 20.00 hours to reach Chennai at 22.50 hours. The return flight from Chennai will leave the same day at 23.50 hours to reach Brunei at 07.55 hours (+1). On Saturdays, the flight from Brunei will leave at 00.30 hours to reach Chennai at 03.20 hours and the return flight will leave Chennai at 04.20 hours to reach Brunei at 12.25 hours, according to the airline.

Isha Goyal, CEO of STIC Travel Group and General Sales Agent for Royal Brunei Airlines, said there are a large number of Indian diaspora living in Brunei. The direct connection will provide one-stop travel to Australia (leisure, student, and visiting family) for outbound leisure travellers and for corporate and business travellers to Brunei and the region.

From Chennai, between January and December 2023, a total of 1,252 passengers travelled to Brunei, she said.

From Chennai, 16,578 passengers travelled to Melbourne and 22,500 to Incheon in Korea using transit airports like Singapore or Kuala Lumpur. From November, Brunei could be an option, she added.

Chennai-Brunei-Chennai all-inclusive Economy fare will be INR 27,640, while it will cost INR 42,679 for business class. (Source: Hindu Business Line)