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

SRI LANKA: SriLankan Airlines Traffic Went Down In 2018

SriLankan Airlines commenced operations between Colombo and Melbourne on 29 October 2017, with the latter airport giving the inaugural flight a water arch salute.

Data from the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka shows that during the first 12 months of operation, the oneworld member carried 157,342 passengers on the route. This service was also the last route that was introduced to the carrier’s network, with no new routes planned for 2019 so far either.

SriLankan Airlines is the flag carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of oneworld. It currently operates a fleet of 27 aircraft, made-up of seven A320s of which two are neos, seven A321s three neos, six A330-200s and seven A330-300s.

It’s home base is Colombo’s Bandaranaike Airport, where in 2018 the carrier occupied 50% of seat capacity. According to data obtained from Sri Lanka’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the airline flew just under 1.42 million passengers during Q3 2018, with this down 3.3% versus the 1.46 million that it flew within the same quarter of 2017.

Between November 2017 and October 2018, the carrier flew just under six million passengers according to Sri Lanka’s CAA.

SriLankan Airlines’ leading route from Colombo is Chennai, with the airline having transported over half a million passengers on the route between January and October last year, accounting for 10% of the carrier’s total passengers flown within the 10-month period analysed.

The airline currently serves the 647-kilometre route four times daily, using a mixture of its narrow- and wide-body fleet.

India is the airline’s largest market, with it serving 13 destinations in India on either a seasonal or year-round basis during the time frame analysed, with six Indian cities placing in the airline’s top 15 destinations for passengers carried.

Between January and October, 33% of the airline’s passengers flew on services to/from India.

After India, the airline’s second biggest market is the Middle East, with this region accounting for 24% or 1.16 million passengers of the the carrier’s customers between January and October last year.

Presently the airline serves nine destinations in the Middle East from Colombo, with Doha, Dubai, Riyadh and Kuwait City all making it into the airline’s top 15 destinations with regards to passengers carried.

One route which just missed out on a place in the top 15 is the airline’s newest destination Melbourne, a route that the airline launched on 29 October 2017.

Placing 16th in the airline’s top routes relating to passengers carried, the link to Australia transported 129,110 passengers within the first 10 months of last year, while during its first full 12 months of operation November 2017 – October 2018, the route carried 157,342 passengers.

The airline’s other routes to carry over 100,000 passengers within a 12-month time frame Nov 2017 – Oct 2018, were Jakarta, Guangzhou, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Thiruvananthapuram, Dhaka, Shanghai Pudong, Tokyo Narita, Bahrain and Beijing.

While SriLankan Airlines added its last new route in October 2017, it has since cut three routes from Colombo, namely to Hong Kong which ended 27 October 2018, Visakhapatnam 27 October and Kunming 28 February.

The loss of these routes means that in S19, the carrier is poised to offer a network of 38 destinations, with no new routes being planned or announced by the airline for this year.

Male was the leading destination for SriLankan Airlines’ connecting traffic between July 2017 and June 2018, with it accounting for 9.0% of one-way connecting passengers during this 12-month period, while Chennai was second, responsible for 7.6% of connecting traffic.

With these routes being the airline’s top routes for total passenger numbers from Colombo, and having multi-daily frequencies, it is not surprising to see them top the list of connecting destinations as well.

What is interesting to note is that, of the airline’s leading connections, all of them, bar Jeddah, are within a distance of 4,500 kilometres of Colombo.

Of the airline’s top 15 routes for total passenger numbers, only Male, Chennai, Kochi, Riyadh, Singapore, Tiruchirappalli, Kuwait City, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Kuala Lumpur, Doha and Dubai were included in the top 15 connecting routes, with Delhi, London Heathrow, Bengaluru and Mumbai not making the connections cut.

This suggests that the latter four destinations are more dominant for O&D traffic to/from Colombo then they are for connecting services via SriLankan’s hub.

During the past decade, SriLankan Airlines had a number of routes into Europe, however these we cut as a result of cost cutting measures for the airline as it re-focused its strategy in recent years.

However, if it was to return to expansion in the long-haul market, OAG Traffic Analyser data indicates that strong destinations for the airline, regarding O&D traffic from Colombo, would be Paris CDG 70,000 one-way indirect passengers between July 2017 and June 2018, Frankfurt 58,100, Milan Malpensa 45,300, Rome Fiumicino 40,400 and Munich 35,900.


Tourism Observer

NEPAL: Nepal Based Airlines Banned From Flying In European Union Airspace

A plane crash at Nepals international airport that killed 51 people happened because the captain suffered an emotional breakdown, a leaked draft of the official investigation has found.

Investigators said the captain, Abid Sultan, wept during the flight after his skills had been questioned by a co-worker.

This mistrust and stress led him to continuously smoke in the cockpit and also suffer an emotional breakdown several times during the flight, their report said.

The 12 March flight from the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka crash landed at Kathmandu airport and skidded into a football field where it burst into flames, killing 51 people in the deadliest aviation accident in the Himalayan nation for decades.

The captains constant monologue led to the total disorientation of the co-pilot, who was flying the plane when it crashed. Prithula Rashid had only recently qualified and had never previously landed at Kathmandu airport.

The draft copy of the final investigation report concluded the US-Bangla Airlines captain was under stress and emotionally disturbed after a co-worker had questioned his reputation as a good instructor.

During the short flight, Sultan a former Bangladesh air force pilot who was also an instructor for the airline talked non-stop as he tried to impress upon the junior co-pilot his competence and proficiency.

Nepals only international airport lies in a narrow bowl-shaped valley with the Himalayas to the north, making it a notoriously challenging place to land.

As the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop approached the runway it made a last-minute change of direction, failed to sufficiently reduce its speed and necessary landing checks were not carried out, investigators said.

The report revised the final death toll up to 51, including both pilots. Twenty passengers miraculously escaped the burning wreckage but sustained serious injuries.

Conflicting reports emerged shortly after the crash suggesting confusion between the pilot and air traffic control might have caused the disaster.

The report said air traffic control did confuse the two ends of the runway referred to as Runway 02 and Runway 20 but concluded this had no impact on the flight.

A source at Nepals tourism ministry, which led the investigation into the crash, confirmed the authenticity of the draft.

The accident was Nepals deadliest since September 1992, when all 167 people aboard a Pakistan International Airlines plane were killed when it crashed as it approached Kathmandu airport.

Just two months earlier a Thai Airways aircraft had crashed near the same airport, killing 113 people.

Nepals poor air safety record is largely blamed on inadequate maintenance and sub-standard management.

Accidents are common and Nepal-based airlines are banned from flying in European Union airspace.

Rescuers pulled bodies from the charred wreckage of the plane, operated by Bangladeshi airline US-Bangla, after a raging fire was put out.

The airline has blamed air traffic control, but the airport says the plane approached from the wrong direction.

Flight BS211 veered off the runway while landing on Monday afternoon.

The exact cause of the crash remains unclear and Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli promised an immediate investigation.

However, a recording of the conversation between the pilot and air traffic control minutes before the plane crashed suggests some misunderstanding over which end of the sole runway the plane was cleared to land on.

Moments before the plane crash-landed, an air traffic controller is heard in the recording from air traffic monitor LiveATC telling the pilot: "I say again, turn!"

Twenty-two people were treated in hospital for injuries, police spokesperson Manoj Neupane said.

The plane, which was flying from the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, was a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 turboprop and was 17 years old.

The plane landed at 14:20 local time (08:35 GMT).

The aircraft was permitted to land from the southern side of the runway flying over Koteshwor, but it landed from the northern side, Sanjiv Gautam, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal said.

However, US-Bangla Airlines chief executive Imran Asif blamed Kathmandu air traffic control.

There were wrong directions from the tower. Our pilot was not at fault, he told reporters at his office in Dhaka.

Our pilot is an instructor of this Bombardier aircraft. His flight hours are over 5,000. There was a fumble from the control tower.

Airport general manager Raj Kumar Chettri said that the plane hit the airport fence before touching ground.

The plane should have come from the right direction, he said.

One of the survivors, Nepalese travel agent Basanta Bohora, described from his hospital bed what he had experienced.

After a normal take-off from Dhaka, the plane had begun to behave strangely as it approached Kathmandu, he said.

All of a sudden the plane shook violently and there was a loud bang afterwards.

I was seated near the window and was able to break out of the window, he added.

I have no recollection after I got out of the plane, someone took me to Sinamangal hospital, and from there my friends brought me to Norvic hospital. I have injuries to my head and legs, but I am fortunate that I survived.

The plane was carrying 67 passengers and four crew.

It is now known that 33 of the passengers were Nepalis, 32 were Bangladeshi, one was Chinese and one was from the Maldives.

Among the 22 people injured, some are in a critical condition.

An airline worker said he saw two or three people fall or jump from the windows of the burning plane.

Its airline companies are banned from flying within the European Union.

There have been many aviation incidents in Nepal, but this is the deadliest since a Pakistan International Airlines plane crashed on approach in September 1992, killing all 167 on board.

Earlier that same year, a Thai Airways plane crashed near the airport, leaving 113 people dead.

Pilots say that landing at Kathmandu airport can be challenging because of the mountainous landscape.

Aviation incidents in Nepal include:

February 2016: Twenty-three people were killed when a small passenger plane crashed in mountainous western Nepal

March 2015: Lucky escape for passengers after plane skids off runway in fog in Kathmandu

February 2014: Bodies of all 18 people recovered after small plane crashes in western Nepal

September 2012: Plane heading for Everest region crashes on the outskirts of Kathmandu, killing all 19 on board

May 2012: Fifteen people die when a plane carrying Indian pilgrims crashes in northern Nepal

September 2010: Sightseeing flight crashes into a hillside near Kathmandu

September 2006: All 24 people on board a WWF helicopter die when it crashes in eastern Nepal

What is US-Bangla airlines?

The carrier launched in July 2014 and its slogan is "Fly Fast, Fly Safe".

Its first international flight was in May 2016 - to Kathmandu.

It now flies to airports in South and South East Asia and the Middle East.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: IndiGo To Commence Flights To UK

IndiGo airline is likely to expand its wings into Europe with flights to Gatwick airport near London this winter, according to a source.

The airline has bagged a slot at Gatwick airport for the upcoming winter schedule and may start flights, said an aviation industry insider on the condition of anonymity.

The winter schedule starts from the last Sunday of October and continues till the last Saturday of March.

The flight to London Gatwick airport will include a stop mid-way. The move is part of the airline’s plan to expand into Europe and add at least nine destinations.

The airline will also be adding flights to China’s Hong Kong and talks to connect Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh are at an advanced stage.

IndiGo had said in a statement earlier that it would be adding flights to Male and Jeddah.

For its operations to Gatwick the airline is expected to deploy its new A321 neo, which it is likely to induct in November.

This plane will have one auxiliary fuel tank, enabling it to fly for eight to nine hours.

Currently, the airline flies to nine destinations in neighbouring countries, which include Bangkok, Colombo, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Muscat, Sharjah and Singapore.

It has already announced flights to Kuwait and Abu Dhabi, effective next month.


Tourism Observer

INDIA: IndiGo Now Flying To Jorhat And Dhaka

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: 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

NEPAL: US- Bangla Airlines Passenger Plane Crashes With 71 On Board, At Least 26 Killed

A US- Bangla Airlines passenger aircraft that was carrying 67 on board crashed on Monday at Nepal's Kathmandu airport after it became unstable while descending.

A huge cloud of smoke was seen rising from the airport, say eyewitnesses. Flights to Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) are currently holding or are being diverted.

Victims' bodies have been recovered from the wreckage of the plane.

We just pulled out dead bodies and injured from the debris, government spokesman Narayan Prasad Duwadi said.

An airport spokesperson said there are fears of casualties.

17 injured passengers, have been rescued and sent to different hospitals for treatment.

The crashed aircraft was operated by US-Bangla Airlines from Dhaka to Kathmandu.

Due to limited MLAT coverage, last position was calculated at 11,825 feet.https://t.co/AO0DBEz2DC pic.twitter.com/i5w8hNiNCE

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 12, 2018

According to TIA spokesperson Prem Nath Thakur, the aircraft caught fire after it careened off the runway during landing and crashed onto a football ground near TIA.

The aircraft with call sign S2-AGU took off from Dhaka and landed at TIA at 2:20 pm.

Rescue team of TIA and Nepal Army personnel have been engaged in rescue operation.

US-Bangla Airlines is a privately owned Bangladeshi airline headquartered in Dhaka and based at Shahjalal International Airport.

It commenced operations with domestic flights on 17 July 2014. It is a subsidiary of US-Bangla Group, a United States-Bangladesh joint venture company.

Initially, the airline launched two domestic destinations, Chittagong and Jessore from its hub in Dhaka.

Flights to Cox's Bazar from Dhaka were launched in August. In October, the airline launched flights to Saidpur.

In July 2016, the airline announced plans to phase in its first two Boeing 737-800 aircraft in September of the same year, and to subsequently launch new international routes, for example to Singapore and Dubai by the end of 2016.

US-Bangla Airlines is planning to acquire Airbus A330 or Boeing 777 to start operations to Jeddah and Riyadh.

Its headquarters are in the Baridhara Diplomatic Zone in Dhaka. Its India office is in Bowbazar, Kolkata.

Its United States offices are in Bangladesh Plaza in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City.

Its Canada offices are in East York, Toronto. Its Thailand office is in Watthana District, Bangkok.

On 4 September 2015, one of the airline's Bombardier Dash 8 Q-402s skidded off the runway at Saidpur Airport upon landing on a domestic flight. There were no personal injuries reported.

On 12 March 2018, the same model of Bombardier Dash 8 Q-400 with tail number S2-AGU, operating US Bangla Airlines Flight 211 crashed while landing at Tribhuwan International Airport, Kathmandu.

US-Bangla Airlines serves the following domestic and international destinations:

Bangladesh

Dhaka – Shahjalal International Airport

Chittagong – Shah Amanat International Airport

Jessore – Jessore Airport

Cox's Bazar – Cox's Bazar Airport

Saidpur - Saidpur Airport

Sylhet – Osmani International Airport

Rajshahi – Shah Makhdum Airport

Barisal – Barisal Airport

India

Kolkata – Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur – Kuala Lumpur International Airport

Nepal

Kathmandu – Tribhuvan International Airport

Oman

Muscat – Muscat International Airport

Qatar

Doha Hamad International Airport

Singapore

Singapore Changi Airport

Thailand

Suvarnabhumi Airport

Tourism Observer

UAE: Emirates To Increase Flights To Africa And Europe

Emirates is set to enhance its on-board experience and increase capacity on its Zambia and Zimbabwe route with the deployment of a larger Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from February 1 2016.

The Boeing 777-300ER will replace the current Airbus A340-300 and offer an additional 97 Economy Class seats per flight. The aircraft will have eight private suites in First Class, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class.

“As Emirates we are constantly seeking ways to enhance our services, and the upgauge to the Boeing 777-300ER on the Lusaka-Harare route is part of our commitment to offer Zambian and Zimbabwean travellers even more comfort and entertainment on our daily service,” said Orhan Abbas, Emirates Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Latin America, Central and Southern Africa.

EK713 departs Dubai every day at 0925hrs, arriving in Lusaka at 1440hrs. The flight then departs Lusaka at 1610hrs, arriving in Harare at 1715hrs. The return flight, EK714 leaves Harare at 1850hrs, arriving Lusaka at 1955hrs. It departs Lusaka at 2140hrs and lands in Dubai at 0650hrs the next day.

Emirates has also announced an addition of a second daily flight to the Greek capital Athens from March 1 2016. The addition of a second daily service will take the total weekly Emirates flights serving Athens to 14. The flight will be linked to the existing Dubai-Larnaca route, allowing travellers to book tickets between the Cypriot city and Athens.

The Dubai-Larnaca-Athens service will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a three-class configuration, with eight Private Suites in First Class, 42 lie flat seats in Business Class, and 310 spacious seats in Economy Class.

“Emirates started serving Athens in June 1996; since then we have carried over 2.2 million passengers on the route. Boasting a rich history and picturesque islands, Greece is a popular destination for travellers from the UAE, Australia, China and South Africa. The expanded schedule will also enable more seamless connections for business and leisure passengers travelling from Athens to key destinations like Dubai, Manila, Johannesburg, Dhaka, Melbourne, and Hong Kong,” commented Thierry Aucoc, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe and Russia.

EK 107 will depart Dubai at 0750hrs, arriving in Larnaca at 1020hrs. It will then depart Larnaca at 1150hrs, arriving in Athens at 1335hrs. The return flight, EK 108, will leave Athens at 1615hrs, arriving in Larnaca at 1800hrs. It will then depart Larnaca at 1930hrs, and land in Dubai at 0125hrs the next day.

BANGLADESH: US-Bangla Airlines Unveils Grand Expansion Plan

US-Bangla Airlines, the youngest private domestic airline of the country, has unveiled grand expansion plan of operation to regional and international routes.

This announced came at the airline's Customer Success Summit -first of its kind in the aviation history of Bangladesh--from its Managing Director Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mamun. He was welcoming guests attending the function. He said services to regional routes by Boeing B737-800 equipment will start in 2016 and to international routes by Boeing B787 in 2017 and expressed determination to make the airline one of the best international carriers in Asia.

The event was held at Ocean Paradise Hotel, Cox's Bazar.
Rashed Khan Menon, Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism, formally inaugurated the 'Customer Success Summit' as the chief guest. He also handed over nationwide Best Seller Awards of US-Bangla Airlines.

Khurshed Alam Chowdhury, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, M Sanaul Haque, Chairman, Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh, local MP Shaimum Sarwar Kamal; Christia’n Tardiff, Charge D'Affair’s, Canadian High Commission, Vice President of ATAB Mohammad Abu Jafar and General Secretary of ATAB Aslam Khan, high officials of Civil Aviation Authority and different government agencies and high officials of US-Bangla Airlines attended the event.

Inaugurating the event, Menon disclosed that Bangladesh has received more tourists this year compared to corresponding period of 2014, despite the travel alerts issued by some countries including the US.
Menon said 77,587 tourists visited Bangladesh between Oct 1 and Nov 15 in 2014. During corresponding period of this year, more than 87,000 foreigners visited the country.

"Bangladesh is safer than the US. Some people are trying to project Bangladesh as an unsafe place because of their own political interests," Menon said and added "Even after more than one hundred people were killed in terror attacks in Paris, the climate summit took place there as planned. But when three foreigners (actual number two) were killed in isolated incidents in Bangladesh, they issued [travel] alerts. This is just not acceptable."

The Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism congratulated US-Bangla Airlines for achieving various successes with a short period of 18 months and expressed the hope that the plan to extend operation to international routes would also be crowned with success.
Lauding US-Bangla Airline's on-time performance, safety record and customer satisfaction index, Menon sought the cooperation of private airlines of the country for opening of new domestic routes including service between Chittagong and Sylhet and Sylhet and Cox's Bazar for development of tourism.

These routes, he said would facilitate tourist from North-East India to visit Bangladesh in general and beach in Cox's Bazar in particular.

The minister mentioned different problems of Cox's Bazar including absence of drainage system and unplanned development and spoke of government plans to boost tourism and make the beach town more attractive.

He thanked US-Bangla Airline for selecting Cox's Bazar as the venue for the event ahead of Visit Bangladesh Year and said to draw more focus, a beach carnival will be held on December 31.
Menon also assured efforts to solve genuine problems of private airlines of the country.

Khurshed Alam Chowdhury, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism said that the ministry would examine the success of US-Bangla Airlines and try to enlarge it.
Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh Air Vice Marshal M. Sanaul Haque said that since starting operation from July 2018, US-Bangla Airlines has operated 8000 flights and transported half a million passengers with no major accident. He descried it as very good record and wished the expansion plan a success.

Local MP Shaimum Sarwar Kamal said there are 463 hotels in Cox's Bazar, but due to paucity of loan sources, room rates of these hotels are high and not always within the reach of middle class people. He suggested creation of loan fund to provide maximum of Tk 3 crore loan per hotel, to bring room rate between Tk 1200 and Taka 1400. He also suggested measures for development of tourism in the area.

Vice President of ATAB Mohammad Abu Jafar lauded effort of US-Bangla Airlines to bering 300 travel agents under one roof. He also suggested five years moratorium of landing charge for domestic private airlines.

The Customer Success Summit
Summit participants came from all corners of the country and events included-- award giving ceremony, cultural event, business meeting between US-Bangla Airlines and travel agents and corporate offices, sightseeing, enjoying 'Fanush' festival at world longest sea beach Cox's Bazar and lots of business events.

US-Bangla Airlines serves the domestic destinations in Bangladesh with three DASH-8 Q400 aircraft and operating scheduled flights on Dhaka to Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Jessore, Sylhet, Saidpur, Rajshahi and Barisal routes. This type of aircraft is safer, more reliable. The seats are more comfortable also.

The airline, committed to uphold on-time performance and superior cabin services, achieved nearly 98.7 per cent on-time performance and earned almost 100 per cent passenger satisfaction in its short journey.

The Summit events concluded with award giving ceremony. 26 travel agents one from Cox's Bazar; four from Chittagong; one from Barisal; one from Rajshahi; three from Jessore and Khulna; three from Sylhet and 10 from Dhaka areas received best sellers award.

Champion of the nationwide best seller award of US-Bangla Airlines went to Be Fresh Travels, Chittagong, first runner up to the Nationwide Seller Takeoff Travels, Jessore and second runner up to Nationwide Seller International Travel Corporation (ITC), Dhaka. They received cash award of 2 lakh, one lakh and half lakh respectively.

Logistic and management wise, the Customer Success Summit was a gigantic task, but it was well run and completed without any hitch.

OMAN: Oman Air Makes Its Way To Dhaka

Ribbon cutting in Dhaka. Oman Air will link Muscat with the Bangladeshi capital with a four times weekly link which will face direct competition from United Airways Bangladesh and Biman Bangladesh Airlines according to OAG Schedules Analyser.

Oman Air commenced services between Muscat (MCT) and Dhaka (DAC) on 25 October. The 3,261-kilometre link will be served four times weekly on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. From 1 December, a Monday and Wednesday service will also be added.

Dhaka is the airline’s second destination in Bangladesh after Chittagong, which is served daily from Muscat. Services between the two capital cities will face direct competition from United Airways Bangladesh and Biman Bangladesh Airlines, which both operate a daily service.

Oman Air will serve the city pair using a mixture of its A330-200s and A330-300s according to OAG Schedules Analyser data.

PHILIPPINES: Cebu Pacific Air Starts Flights From Manila To Kuwait

Cebu Pacific Air has become the latest airline to start services to Kuwait. On 2 September the first flight left Manila with the first return flight departing Kuwait International Airport on 3 September. The airline’s 7,600-kilometre service is the airport’s third longest after United Airlines’ service to Washington Dulles (10,580 kilometres) and Kuwait Airways’ 10,220-kilometre service to New York JFK.

The State of Kuwait only has one civil airport, Kuwait International Airport. The airport has grown steadily if unspectacularly in recent years, with the national carrier Kuwait Airways not trying to emulate some of the region’s other carriers in trying to become a global hub carrier. Even so, passenger numbers have more than doubled between 2003 and 2012, and last year traffic growth was 5.6% suggesting that the airport could break the 10-million passenger mark in 2014 for the first time.

Last week saw the arrival of the airport’s latest new airline, Cebu Pacific Air. The Philippine carrier launched thrice-weekly flights from Manila on 2 September, with the first service from Kuwait taking place the following day. At over 7,600 kilometres this is the airport’s third longest non-stop service, beaten only by United Airlines’ service from Washington Dulles (10,580 kilometres) and Kuwait Airways’ service to New York JFK (10,220 kilometres)

Kuwait Airways serves 30 destinations non-stop
Based on analysis of Innovata / Diio Mi data for September, Kuwait Airways serves around 30 destinations non-stop from its home airport. The only destination served currently that was not served last September is Lahore, to where services were launched in April. Destinations served in Europe include Frankfurt, London Heathrow and Rome Fiumicino. Asian destinations include Bangkok, Colombo, Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur, as well as the Indian airports of Chennai, Delhi, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.

Jazeera Airways is a Kuwait-based low-fare airline which started operations in October 2005 and currently serves 14 destinations non-stop from Kuwait using a fleet of A320s. During the last year the airline swopped its Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen service for flights to Istanbul Atatürk instead. It also began serving Dubai Al Maktoum, as well as maintaining multiple daily flights at Dubai’s main airport.

A total of 41 airlines currently operate scheduled services to Kuwait including all of the MEB3 carriers (Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways). Apart from Cebu Pacific, other new carriers at the airport during the last 12 months have been Pegasus Airlines (which began flights from Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen on 26 March 2014), Nile Air (which started flights from Luxor in May) and Atlasjet (which introduced flights from Istanbul Atatürk in July). Compared with last September seat capacity across all airlines is up just over 8%.
Dubai dominates destination ranking

In terms of leading cities, Dubai leads the way with 23 daily flights split across four airlines; flydubai (11 daily flights), Emirates (six), Jazeera Airways (four) and Kuwait Airways (two). Doha, Cairo and Bahrain are the next busiest routes, but with just 63, 58 and 56 weekly departures respectively. Dubai Al Maktoum and Manila are the two busiest new markets served this year that were not served in September 2013.