INDIA: SpiceJet To Commence New Direct Flights From Mumbai to Colombo, Dhaka, Riyadh, Hong Kong and Kathmandu

SpiceJet on Monday announced the launch of non-stop flights from Mumbai to Colombo, Dhaka, Riyadh, Hong Kong and Kathmandu.

The no-frills airline would start the services from the end of May.

In a release, the carrier said it would be the first Indian budget carrier to launch daily direct flights on the Mumbai-Colombo, Mumbai-Dhaka, Mumbai-Riyadh, Mumbai-Hong Kong and Mumbai-Kathmandu sectors.

Boeing 737 NG aircraft would be deployed in the new routes.

We are delighted to connect a large number of popular international destinations from Mumbai, a city that has always been a key and integral part of our network, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said.

Riyadh and Kathmandu are two upcoming international destinations for the airline.

The airline already operates flights to Colombo from Chennai and Madurai, Dhaka from Kolkata, Dubai from Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangalore, Amritsar, Jaipur and Madurai, Hong Kong from Delhi and Jeddah from Hyderabad; besides an upcoming flight from Kozhikode, the release said.

SpiceJet is a low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, India. It is the fourth largest airline in the country by number of domestic passengers carried, with a market share of 13.3% as of October 2017.

The airline operates 312 daily flights to 55 destinations, including 47 Indian and 7 international destinations from its hubs at Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad.

Established as air taxi provider ModiLuft in 1994, the company was acquired by Indian entrepreneur Ajay Singh in 2004 and re-christened as SpiceJet.

The airline operated its first flight in May 2005. Indian media baron Kalanidhi Maran acquired a controlling stake in SpiceJet in June 2010 through Sun Group which was sold back to Ajay Singh in January 2015. The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 737 and Bombardier Dash aircraft.

The origins of SpiceJet can be tracked back to March 1984 when the company was established by Indian industrialist S. K. Modi to provide private air taxi services.

On 17 February 1993, the company was named as MG Express and entered into technical partnership with the German flag carrier Lufthansa. The airline provided passenger and cargo services under the name of Modiluft before ceasing operations in 1996.

SpiceJet is headquartered in Gurgaon, India. Ajay Singh serves as the Managing Director of the airline since January 2015.

The airline's logo consists of 15 dots arranged in three rows of five each in the order of their reducing sizes on a red background.

In June 2015, the airline unveiled its current logo with a new tagline Red. Hot. Spicy. SpiceJet names all its aircraft with the name of an Indian spice.

SpiceJet is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange

As of April 2019, SpiceJet operates 306 flights daily to 35 Indian and 6 international destinations. It operates hubs at Delhi and Hyderabad, which is the primary base for its fleet of Bombardier Q400 aircraft.

After completing five years of flying, SpiceJet was allowed to commence international flights by Directorate General of Civil Aviation on 7 September 2010.

SpiceJet launched flights from Delhi to Kathmandu and Chennai to Colombo and the first international flight took off on 7 October 2010 from Delhi.

SpiceJet operates the following aircraft:

28 - Boeing 737-800

03 - Boeing 737-700

04 - Boeing 737-900ER

13 - Boeing 737 MAX 8

22 - Bombardier Dash 8 Q400

05 - Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 NG

01 - Boeing 737-700BCF/BDSF

76 Total Operating Aircrafts

SpiceJet has pending orders for the following aircraft:

193 - Boeing 737 MAX 8

045 - Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 NG

019 - Boeing 737-700BCF/BDSF (Cargo Plane)

257 - Total Pending Orders

SpiceJet placed its first firm order for 20 Next-Generation Boeing 737-800s in March 2005, with deliveries scheduled up to 2010.

In November 2010, the airline ordered 30 Boeing 737-800s. On 9 December 2010, Bombardier Aerospace announced that SpiceJet had placed a firm order for fifteen Q400 NextGen turboprop airliners with options for another fifteen. SpiceJet used its fleet of Q400s for short-haul operations.

In March 2014, the airline signed a US$4.4 billion deal with Boeing for the procurement of 42 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

In 2015, SpiceJet was in talks with both Boeing and Airbus for a possible order of more than 100 single aisle aircraft, either Airbus A320neo or the Boeing 737 MAX with the same being confirmed by Managing Director, Ajay Singh, in a conference in Dubai.

In January 2017, the airline placed a firm order for 100 737 MAX 8 aircraft, and revealed itself as the airline behind the 13 MAX 8 aircraft previously attributed to an unidentified customer, taking its total order to 155 MAX 8 aircraft with purchase rights for 50 additional MAX 8 and wide-body aircraft.

The budget carrier plans to grow its operational fleet to 200 airplanes by the end of the decade and expand regionally with the new 737 MAX family of airplanes.

In June 2017, the airline signed a letter of intent with Bombardier at the 2017 Paris Air Show, to purchase up to 50 Q400 aircraft, catering to growth in passenger traffic arising from its participation in the Indian government's UDAN regional connectivity scheme.

It is announced to induct 16 737-800 NG in response to fulfil demands in local and international expansion. It was ordered due to the fleet of 737 max being currently banned and the downfall of Jet Airways.

SpiceJet has moved away from the typical low-cost carrier service model of economy class-only seating.

The airline offers premium services under the name SpiceMax, whereby passengers can obtain additional benefits including pre-assigned seats with extra legroom; meals on board; priority check-in and boarding; and priority baggage handling; at a higher fare.

Otherwise SpiceJet does not provide complimentary meals in any of its flights. It does sell full in-flight meals on some flights. SpiceJet does not operate any frequent-flyer programme and does not provide any in-flight entertainment options.

SpiceJet has partnered with Tripfactory for selling holiday packages on its platform.

SpiceXpress is the air cargo division of SpiceJet. The cargo airline was launched in September 2018 and commenced services on the Delhi-Bengaluru-Delhi route with a Boeing 737-700.

SpiceXpress began services between Guwahati and Hong Kong on 19 January 2019 becoming the first airline to operate freight services between Northeast India and Southeast Asia.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: IndiGo Starts Flights To Lucknow,Goa And Pune

Marking a milestone of being the first airline to launch Lucknow-Goa and Lucknow-Pune sectors to its network, IndiGo has announced the introduction of its maiden flights effective July 2018.

IndiGo will operate a daily non-stop flight between Lucknow-Goa-Lucknow and Lucknow-Pune-Lucknow respectively. Continuing the low-cost carrier’s expansion in the domestic skies, IndiGo’s average daily departures will now be 25 flights out of Lucknow to 13 destinations.

The new flights are designed to cater to business and leisure travelers who are constantly on the lookout for new and affordable flying options.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar, IndiGo’s Chief Commercial Officer, said:

We are pleased to announce the launch of these two sectors from Lucknow, which will further provide more flexibility of choice to our customers.

Lucknow continues to hold immense potential for IndiGo and we are indeed happy to be the first airline to operate maiden flights between Lucknow-Goa-Lucknow and Lucknow-Pune-Lucknow.

We are providing affordable fares on these new routes for our travelers.

It is our constant endeavor to provide the best travel experience to our customers, as IndiGo continues to offer them on-time, courteous and hassle-free service and an affordable flying experience always.

IndiGo is further enhancing its customer experience with the launch of Jorhat and Dhaka as its new destinations.

Under the UDAN scheme, Jorhat will be the 54th destination on IndiGo’s network. Furthermore, Dhaka will be the 55th destination. Both new services start on August 01, 2018.

To provide more enhanced connectivity across India, IndiGo has announced the addition of 16 new flights to its network.

Effective August 2018, the Indian airline will operate its first daily flight between Bengaluru and Raipur.

Additionally, the airline will operate a second daily flight between Kolkata-Nagpur, a third daily flight between Bengaluru and Nagpur, and fourth daily flight between Bengaluru and Jaipur, and Bengaluru and Vizag respectively.

IndiGo will also operate its fourth daily flight between Kolkata and Patna.

Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo said:

It gives us immense pleasure to add Dhaka, Bangladesh to our ever-expanding route network, and we are equally pleased to announce Jorhat as our new UDAN destination after Tiruchirappalli and Tuticorin.

With the addition of sixteen new flights connecting various cities within India, we will now be able to extend our on-time, courteous and hassle-free service, and low fares to everyone, that IndiGo is synonymous with.

IndiGo will continue to expand its network to meet the requirements of both business and leisure travelers wherever they demand it.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: Gujarat Targets Young Travellers

Gujarat is eyeing over six crore tourist footfalls in the state by 2020 on the back of promotions and is mainly targeting the youth looking at short vacations.

The western state is looking at a whole range of tourist activities to achieve the ambitious target.

Last year, we received 4.2 crore tourists in Gujarat.

We have set a target of six crore footfalls by 2020 for which we are promoting our festivals and developing new destinations.

Our main focus segment is the young people with spending power who go for short vacations, Jenu Devan, MD of Tourism Corporation of Gujarat said.

He said for the youth Gujarat offers a host of attractions, including adventure, eco, beach, festivals, heritage and border tourism.

Foreign tourists comprises only 2 per cent of the overall visitor footfalls in Gujarat, he said.

Gujarat is getting marketed on the international platform, including Italy, east Europe, Japan and South Korea among others.

An increase in the inbound tourist footfalls to 5 per cent by end of 2020,the state will continue to strengthen its top source markets, the US and the UK.

Gujarat has attracted over Rs 9,000-crore investments for 220 tourism-related projects, the official said.

Gujarat received investment commitments of over Rs 9,000 crore for developing and creating infrastructure for 220 projects for the period 2015-2020.

The government spends Rs 200 core every year for promotion and branding of Gujarat tourism at various domestic and global platforms, Devan said.

Devan said Gujarat tourism is targeting metro cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad besides tier II places like Pune and Indore, where there is a high level of young working population with good spending power.

Devan said they are looking at a mix of tier I and II cities, which have a good young population with spending power.

Devan also said Gujarat is developing two new circuits heritage and Buddhist to add to the existing offers for holiday-makers.

To attract travellers to visit Gujarat again and again,they keep developing new tourism products. Thy are developing two new circuits - heritage and Buddhist circuits.

Besides they are also mulling over creating several other circuits like Jain, Sufi and tribal, Devan added.

The state is also bullish on medical tourism and Bollywood, for which the tourism department will facilitate support in terms of incentives, including single clearance window and transport, among others, Devan said.​



Tourism Observer

INDIA: Air India, IndiGo Cancel Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's Ticket

Moments after Shiv Sena MP from Osmanabad Ravindra Gaikwad refused to apologise for thrashing an Air India staff, the airline cancelled his return ticket from Delhi to Pune.

Shiv Sena Member of Parliament, Ravindra Gaikwad, in the news for slapping an Air India employee with his slippers, may be permanently barred from flying on the country's national carrier.

The Osmanabad MP has refused to apologise for his behaviour. According to latest reports, Air India has cancelled Gaikwad's return ticket from Delhi to Pune.

Following this, IndiGo too canceled Gaikwad's ticket.

The MP was booked on a 5pm flight, but the airline, which along with other private carriers has barred Gaikwad from flying with them, had cancelled the ticket.

The Federation of Indian Airlines, an industry body representing India's scheduled airline carriers, has blacklisted Gaikwad.

The FIA counts Jet Airways, IndiGo, Go Air, SpiceJet and JetLite as its members.

"Air India and FIA member airlines have decided to ban this Member of Parliament from flying on all our flights with immediate effect," FIA Director Ujjwal Dey, said in a statement.

Air India, meanwhile, has been mulling establishing a no-fly list of passengers with a history of bad behaviour while flying on the airline.

Once implemented, Gaikwad, who has remained defiant about the incident while admitting to assaulting the AI employee, would be on the list.

IndiGo and SpiceJet, meanwhile, have lent support to the idea of forming a nationwide no-fly list. "SpiceJet supports a no-fly list to bar unruly flyers who are a safety hazard for not just the crew but even the traveling public.

The government needs to act on this soon," SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said.

"In the interest of the safety and security of our colleagues and other customers we also propose the promulgation of a "no fly" list which shall include the names of all unruly passengers," Dey said in the FIA statement.

Gaikwad, in an interview remained unapologetic about the incident, saying he is not in the wrong. "I do not regret (beating up the employee) and I will not apologise," Gaikwad said.

He went on to dare Air India to blacklist from flying on the airline, adding that if AI employees misbehaved with him again in the future, he will repeat his actions.

The Shiv Sena, meanwhile, has asked Gaikwad to explain his actions.

The incident took place Thursday at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport on Air India flight AI 852 after it reached the national capital from Pune.

Gaikwad got into an argument with the flight's staff over not being given a business class seat, despite having a ticket for the same.

The MP refused to leave the aircraft, which was on the tarmac and which had to leave for Goa, until senior airline officials met him.

Finally, after intervention from the ground staff, Gaikwad agreed to deboard the plane. He, however, got into an argument 61-year-old Surendra Kundu, an Air India customer services officer, at the arrival gate.

On being told by Kundu that Gaikwad, being an elected representative, should not behave in this manner, the MP got agitated and started slapping Kundu with his slippers.

Later in the day, when questioned by the media, the unrepentant Gaikwad boasted about how he knows how to 'fix' people's ego and said that he had hit Kundu not once, but "25 times".

Meanwhile, a new video has surfaced showing Gaikwad scolding DSP of Osmnabad, the MP's constituency, over a case involving missing Shiv Sena workers.

The MP can be heard shouting at the DSP, Chandrakant Khandvi, in Marathi, asking him to explain why the case is unsolved and questioning the need for a written complaint.

The video depicts events from March 21, just two days before Gaikwad got into the scuffle with the AI

INDIA: MP Hits Air India Flight Attendant 25 Times On Pune To Delhi Flight

Shiv Sena MP admitted to beating an Air India flight attendant with a slipper following an argument over being moved to economy from business class.

"He was arrogant," Ravindra Gaikwad later said, expressing no regret. "I hit him 25 times with my sandal."

The incident took place on Thursday morning after the Air India flight from Pune landed in Delhi at around 10.30am.

Gaikwad refused to get off the plane as he was forced to travel economy despite carrying a business class ticket and did not accept the airline's explanation that there were only economy seats on the flight.

Gaikwad claimed an airline employee tried to make him exit the plane and told him not to give him "BP" (blood pressure).

"I said I am an MP, don't raise your voice. He said 'what MP? I will talk to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi', so I hit him. I am not here to take abuse,I am not from the BJP," the MP said.

The Air India steward has alleged that he was "humiliated in front of the entire crew and his spectacles were broken".

The Shiv Sena has sought an explanation from the MP on the issue. "The Sena does not condone violence of any kind," Harshal Pradhan, media adviser to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.

His high-handedness drew flak online including from a leader of ally BJP.

"Elected representatives need to respect people who are doing their job, irrespective of whether the Air India man was rude," said Shaina NC, BJP leader Shaina NC.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Thursday said that no political party will encourage such an act.

"It is a question of human behaviour. Any citizen hitting an airline staffer doesn't make any sense. If there is anything, it can always be taken up. No citizen will behave like this," Raju told said.

A Shiv Sena parliamentarian has been named in two FIRs or police complaints by Air India after he thrashed a 60-year-old airline employee with his slipper during an argument over a business class seat this morning. An unrepentant Ravindra Gaikwad bragged, "I hit him 25 times with my sandal."

The national carrier has decided to prepare a "no-fly" list of unruly passengers, say sources.

When Mr Gaikwad's flight from Pune landed in Delhi around 10.30 am, he refused to get off the plane for nearly an hour.

The lawmaker was reportedly upset about travelling economy when he has an open business class ticket that he is entitled to as a member of Parliament.

The morning flight he took was all-economy, but that failed to mollify him.

As he refused to budge or let the staff prepare the plane for its next flight, Customer Relations Manager Shiv kumar was called in. "I told him you are a senior person and asked him to sit down and BP mat badao (control your blood pressure). I said I am an MP, don't raise your voice. He said 'what MP? I will talk to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi', so I hit him. I am not here to take abuse...I am not from the BJP," the lawmaker shrugged.

Mr Shivkumar has alleged that he was "humiliated in front of the entire crew, his shirt was torn and spectacle broken" by the MP.

The airline has filed complaints accusing Mr Gaikwad of assaulting its staff as well as delaying the next flight.

Mr Gaikwad, 57, is a first-time lawmaker from Maharashtra and no stranger to controversy. In 2014, he was among a group of Sena members who tried to force-feed a Muslim employee of Maharashtra Sadan during Ramzan, complaining about bad food.

The MP has been skewered on social media and by various parties including ally BJP.

"Elected representatives need to respect people who are doing their job, irrespective of whether the Air India man was rude," said BJP leader Shaina NC.

MALDIVES: Maldives Attracts Indian Tourists

The Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation has organised a series of trade road shows in Lucknow, Chandigarh, Pune and Hyderabad, India keeping in line with its Visit Maldives 2016 year activities.

The road shows are a follow-up to the road shows held in 2015 in the cities of tier-one cities of India: New Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai which were met with resounding success.

Organised by the Maldives Marketing and PR Corporation, five representative partners from the tourism industry of Maldives participated at the road show.

They were Dusit Thani, Sun Siyam Resorts, Adaaran Resorts, Lily Beach Resort and Spa and Travelers Street.

The road show consisted of B2B sessions between the travel agents and the partners who attended the show.

Fathimath Raheel, deputy director, MMPRC said: “We are very excited to be conducting these road shows in Lucknow and other cities.

“This underlines MMPRC’s commitment to the Indian market and the importance of India to Maldives tourism numbers.”

These road shows are also a part of the overall strategy of MMPRC specifically for the India market in the year 2016.

From January to December 2015, 52,368 Indians visited Maldives which is an increase of almost 15 per cent compared to the year 2014.

Maldives offers free visa on arrival for all nationalities which is a further boost for the Indian traveller.

OMAN: Oman’s Al Bustan Palace Expects 10% Growth

Muscat-based Al Bustan Palace, A Ritz Carlton Hotel is expecting an increase of 10% from the Indian market in 2016, said Rami Farhat, Director of Sales & Marketing, Palace, during his recent visit to Mumbai. Sharing insights about the property, he said that it hosts many of MICE activities for Indian guests and has also hosted a big Indian destination wedding. He added that India is a big market for the luxury hotel.

Throwing light on markets, Farhat said that for luxury, India is amongst the property's top ten market, whereas, for MICE, India ranks third after London and Dubai. In India, Delhi is number one market for the property, followed by Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune and Ahmedabad.

The property can accommodate a maximum of 500 guests in its 250 rooms - of these 50 are suites. The hotel has 16 meeting rooms spread across 44,000 sq ft including 1,204 sq m Majan Ballroom. Al Bustan Palace got a Six Senses Spa in October 2015. "It is spread across 3,300 sq m with 17 treatment rooms, making it the biggest in the Middle East," he added.

INDIA: Mumbai Tops Highest Average Hotel Rates Paid In India In 2015

According to the latest Hotel Price Index (HPI) report by Hotels.com, among the Indian cities, Mumbai registered the highest average hotel rate paid by travellers for a night’s stay in 2015. As per the study, at INR 8,160, Mumbai topped with a 3% change over 2014. However, the highest percentage change of 5% in average hotel rates was by hotels in Jaipur at INR 5,563.

As per the report, Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru topped the charts where travellers paid the most for hotel accommodation in India in 2015. Delhi, which for two consecutive years witnessed an increase in tariff prices, this time marginally, fell by 1% to INR 6,807.

In spite of being affected by flash floods in the second half of 2015, hotel prices in Chennai increased by 3% to INR 5,899 per night. The beach destination of Goa, which is promoted as a tourist destination round the clock, witnessed an increase of the hotel room price by 3% to INR 6,361.

Bengaluru, the ‘IT capital of India’ , saw an increase of 4% in hotel room price to INR 6,553in 2015 as five new international airlines expanded operations there, making the city a preferred transit destination amongst international traveleINR visiting India.

Meanwhile, Pune retained its tag of being the ‘best value’ destination with no fluctuations in the hotel room price in 2015. Cochin a popular tourist destination down South, recorded the highest fall by 9% to INR 5,194 followed by Kolkata and Hyderabad with a 5% fall to INR 6,141and INR 5,323 respectively, the report notes.

INDIA: After San Francisco, Air India Plans Direct Flights To Washington

Air India is considering starting a direct flight to Washington as well as serving new cities in the US soon after it launches its services to San Francisco next month. The national carrier already operates non-stop flights to three US cities -- New York, Newark and Chicago.

"I have been informed by Air India that it is considering a direct flight to Washington," Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has said. He was speaking at a function in New Delhi on Friday organised by Air India prior to the launch of its direct flight to San Francisco from December 2.

According to a senior official at Air India, apart from direct services to Washington, the carrier would be looking at the feasibility of connecting more number of cities in the US from various places in India. The official said the launch flight, both to and from San Francisco in California, has already been sold out and the demand was "tremendous".

Air India used to serve Washington via New York, but the service was discontinued a few years ago. The carrier also had flights to Los Angeles in California, which was discontinued before the merger of Indian Airlines with Air India in 2011. The non-stop Delhi-San Francisco flight, starting services from December 2, will be one of the longest with duration of close to 17 hours. Air India will operate B77-200LR plane to San Francisco -- the Silicon Valley hub.

"This new flight will be a boon for the Indian diaspora in the US West Coast, making travel easy and convenient for students," the carrier said in a release.

The flight to San Francisco will leave Delhi on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday while the return service will be on Thursday, Saturday and Monday. With a three-cabin configuration, the flight will have eight seats in first class, 35 in business and 195 in economy.

Passengers from IT hubs of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Pune will have seamless connection to the flight from Delhi, Air India said.

"The return flight from San Francisco will provide onward connections to cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Pune and Bhubaneswar," the release said.

Air India has flights to 34 international destinations spread across the US, Europe, Far-East and South-East, and the Gulf.

INDIA: As PM Modi Visits Silicon Valley, Air India's Gift For Techies

Air India today announced the launch of a non-stop flight to San Francisco from December 2, fulfilling a long-pending demand of Indian IT professionals on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the Silicon Valley.

"We are launching a direct non-stop flight to the San Francisco on December 2 as there was a demand for it," Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani announced at an event to celebrate the World Tourism Day in Delhi.

San Francisco will be the national carrier's fourth destination in the United States after New York, Newark and Chicago where it operates daily non-stop flights.

The Boeing 777-200 LR (Long Range) flight, to be operated on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, will have a convenient early morning departure and arrival. Similarly, the return flight would depart early morning departure from San Francisco and arrive in Delhi in the afternoon.

Air India officials said the flight will be a boon to the Indian diaspora on the US West Coast as it will make travel easy and convenient for students, NRIs and business travelers looking for direct options to connect with India.

The new flight would connect passengers from Indian cities of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Pune and Bhubaneswar.

Referring to Air India's Discover India scheme, Mr Lohani also said there was a deep connect between tourism and civil aviation sectors and the airline was in discussion with Tourism Ministry to launching various schemes in this regard.

Effective today, Air India announced the Discover India scheme under which customers will have an option of buying a maximum of 5 or 10 coupons on its economy class.

The scheme for 5 coupons will cost Rs. 32,500 and can be availed within validity of 15 days, while the second scheme for 10 coupons would be available for Rs. 60,000 and valid for 30 days.

Mr Lohani said Air India will launch Incredible Air India Holiday packages from December 1, in association with the State Tourism Development Corporations.

The packages are being worked out it will be competitive and inclusive with the objective to help the tourists savour the sights and sounds of India in a comfortable, economical and enjoyable manner.