AVIATION

Qantas launches direct flight between Bengaluru and Sydeny

News Desk

Australia’s national airline Qantas has launched a new route from Bengaluru to Sydney (BLR-SYD), providing the first direct connection between Southern India and Australia by any airline. QF68 will cut nearly three hours off the current fastest travel time between the two cities and significantly boost connectivity between India and New South Wales.

The new services will provide new tourism opportunities for Bengaluru and India, with a direct gateway for Australian tourists to experience all that India has to offer. For people living in Bengaluru and Southern India, it’s a convenient non-stop flight to Sydney for a dream holiday or to visit friends and family. Qantas Domestic and International CEO, Andrew David said the flights will boost tourism and economic relations and opportunities between Australia and India. “The addition of Bengaluru to our route map deepens ourties with India and follows the launch of direct services from Australia to Delhi last year which has also proven popular. Qantas is now the only airline offering direct flights between Australia’s two largest cities and the north and south of India,” said David. Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) Chief Strategy and Development Officer, Satyaki Raghunath said the start of the new Qantas Bengaluru – Sydney route was a historic moment for BLR Airport. “The flights will reduce travel time over existing options and will make access to Australia and points beyond, including New Zealand and the Pacific Islands easy, particularly for leisure travellers, corporates, sports enthusiasts and students who go there for higher studies.” “This connection is even more special because it is the eighth oneworld carrier to begin operations from BLR Airport. The addition of this flight also puts the focus back on BLR Airport’s commitment to introducing new routes and opportunities for tourism and trade between South India and Australia.”

Azerbaijan Airlines to operate direct flights from Mumbai to Baku

News Desk

Zeal Global Group- the exclusive partner of the airline in India has confirmed this expansion of Azerbaijan Airlines from November onwards. The airline has started ticket sales for twice-a-week flights between Mumbai and Baku. The airline has already been operating flights from Delhi to Baku twice-a-week since August and is now delighted to start direct flights from Mumbai too. Mumbai travellers can now reach Baku in just four hours to witness the picturesque beauty of Azerbaijan. Flight tickets for these flights can be booked on the official website of the Airline, as well as at the air carrier’s accredited agencies. The ticket price includes free baggage allowance (up to 23 kg in economy class and up to 32 kg in business class), as well as a full range of cold and hot meals. Passengers who meet the indicated conditions of carriage and who are allowed to fly under the current epidemiological restrictions will be accepted for transportation on these flights. Azerbaijan is a beautiful country, which is also known as the land of fire and Baku, the capital, is a city of winds, being one of the best stops on a trip to Europe. With a beautiful 20 km (65,616 ft) long coastline, this unique city has so much to offer to travelers; from beaches and volcanoes to a cityscape where the ancient meets the new.

LOT Polish Airlines signs interline agreement with Jetblue Airways

LOT Polish Airlines has signed an interline agreement with US carrier JetBlue Airways. Passengers travelling with LOT Polish Airlines from Warsaw to the United States can now fly on to more than 100 destinations from the JetBlue Airways network. “We are excited about this new interline agreement with JetBlue Airways as it allows us to offer our passengers much more flight options in North America,” says Michal Fijol, Chief Commercial Officer at LOT Polish Airlines. “They can book through-fares to their final destination; they also only need one ticket, and they can check through their baggage to their final destination.” From its global hub at the Polish capital Warsaw, LOT Polish Airlines currently flies up to 35 times a week to big US cities such as New York (Newark and JFK airports), Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles. The airline also plans to resume its US flights from Budapest by summer 2023. Thru JetBlue Airways, LOT passengers can now seamlessly reach many other popular destinations in the US such as Boston, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Francisco and Seattle, as well as in Latin America, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Elaborating more on this, Fijol said, “We have been flying from Warsaw to the United States for 50 years and see a continuously high demand from Poland as well as from numerous other European countries and now even from India for these services. In addition to tourists, many business travellers book our flights to the US, as well as a large number of people who want to visit their families or friends on the other side of the Atlantic.”

Experience the inimitable Malaysian hospitality & seamless connections; Amit Mehta

We are continuously reviewing the opportunities in the Indian market and will gradually add new routes, increase frequencies, says Amit Mehta, Country Manager- South Asia Malaysia Airlines India

Rajesh Tiwari

To start with, would you like to elaborate on the latest development or initiatives of Malaysia Airlines?

Malaysia Airlines was recently named Asia’s Leading Airline for Business Class at the 29th World Travel Awards. The award is a testament to our successful efforts to maintain the highest service level and safety assurance through our #FlyConfidently commitment. We also introduced MHPay, an alternative payment method for consumers to seamlessly purchase air tickets, ancillary products, and services via malaysiaairlines.com. MHPay, developed in partnership with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) through IATApay and powered by 2C2P, the full-suite payments platform, is intended to complement the airline’s entire range of digitalised payment methods by facilitating greater access to all payment options through a single integration point.

What are your plans for customer, marketing activities of Malaysia Airlines?

Malaysia Airlines offers something for everyone. We continuously enhance and devise our products and offerings to ensure a seamless, end-to-end travel experience for our customers – be it for leisure or business travel. As travellers look for more flexibility in their itinerary, we have also introduced various fare families and products that offer highly flexible and convenient perks, including free flight changes. Our Horizontal Fare Family (HFF) offers customers a flexible fare based on their travel needs, preferences, priorities and purchasing capabilities consisting of Lite, Basic and Flex where each fare family has different benefits such as baggage allowance, seat selections, priority services. We also introduced the MHflypass ASEAN travel pass which provides convenience and flexibility, allowing for three return trips within 12 cities at a fixed rate within a one-year period. Passengers can also make the most out of their itinerary with our ‘Bonus Side Trip’ programme by adding an extra leg to their journey to explore the cultural gems Malaysia has to offer at minimal costs. Travellers can also plan their getaway fuss-free through the airline’s tour operating arm, MHholidays, which provides a single platform for customers to choose and tailor-make their holidays according to their destination, budget and length of stay–this includes flights, accommodation, ground transfer services, as well as holiday packages. With business travel steadily picking up, our MHbiz Pro and MHbiz Plus programmes are designed for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporates that wish to self-manage their corporate travel. We have also introduced MHbiz Events, a customised travel solution for events such as corporate incentive trips to large-scale events, be it domestic or international, with a wide range of services and connections across our expansive networks. Both organisers and delegates can get exclusive benefits, such as flight discounts, complimentary tickets and more.

How many destinations/cities are being covered by Malaysia Airlines across India? Kindly elaborate on the load factor/flight occupancy to/from India especially after the pandemic effect?

We are continuously reviewing the opportunities in the Indian market and will gradually add new routes, increase frequencies or upgrade aircraft wherever needed to meet these demands especially during peak travel periods. Malaysia Airlines has reinstated its scheduled commercial services from India with 31 weekly flights from five (5) major cities, namely New Delhi (DEL), Bangalore (BLR), Mumbai (BOM), Chennai (MAA), and Hyderabad (HYD). Current load factor for the market has been encouraging with up to 70% load factor on these flights and forecasted forward load factor of up to 80% by the end of 2022. Beginning December 2022, we will ramp up frequencies on the existing routes and also reinstate weekly flights from Kochi (COK), increasing the overall weekly flights to 52 which will provide greater convenience and flexibility for travel between the two countries.

Any comment on travel-trade engagement and future traffic?

We sincerely appreciate the great efforts made by our travel agents, who play a crucial role in aiding the sector’s recovery, especially given the rising demand for travel. We have an excellent relationship with our trade partners, and I firmly believe that their support has enabled us to successfully compete in this industry. As travel restrictions continue to ease, we remain bullish that the demand for travel will continue to improve. This is not without its challenges, of course, with the pressure on fuel prices which we continue to pro-actively monitor in managing our capacity to mitigate unprofitable routes. We invite travellers to experience the inimitable Malaysian Hospitality and seamless connections with Malaysia Airlines, together with its sister airlines under the Malaysia Aviation Group.

Akasa Air partners with RateGain

News Desk

Akasa Air, the newest airline of India has selected RateGain’s AirGain product to make air travel affordable for its customers by leveraging accurate and real-time airfare data. AirGain’s AI-powered platform empowers airline revenue and pricing teams with the most accurate and reliable market insights to build a competitive pricing strategy. Through an easy-to-use UI that allows faster decision making, AirGain allows the airlines to get notified whenever there is a change in the market. Additionally, the intelligence provides the user with real-time competitor insights across channels to reduce disparity and revenue losses. Elaborating on this partnership, Praveen Iyer, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer, Akasa Air, said, “At Akasa Air we are developing techenabled strategies and building a data-driven organization that will aid us in providing our customers the most affordable fares along with a customer centric flying experience.” “AirGain’s nimble solution delivering real-time air travel information across channels will help us achieve a dynamic allocation of fares furthering our mission to make air travelaccessible to everyone in India,” he added. Praveen Iyer

Speaking on the same lines, Bhanu Chopra, Chairman and Managing Director, RateGain said, “A new airline like Akasa Air, comes to the market with the mindset to adopt the latest technology, and we are delighted that the team decided to choose AirGain to power their growth journey.” “As Akasa grows, our product AirGain will help in maximizing revenues by providing accurate and real-time competitive intelligence. AirGain was selected based on data accuracy and delivery, easy-to-use UI, and the extensive support available to Akasa through our dedicated teams -and we are committed to deliver on this promise,” he further informed.

Srilankan Holidays inks deal with Linkin Reps

News Desk

At a time when Sri Lanka’s tourism officials, conscious of the dire need to shore up their country’s economy also plan to woo a greater number of Indian tourists this partnership will be a remarkable step in the growth of tourism in Sri Lanka. This new development will assist Srilankan Holidays in strengthening its presence and outreach to potential customers in the Indian market and will feed into Srilankan Airlines flights from nine states in India i.e., Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin, Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirappalli. Ravindran, Regional Manager (India & Bangladesh), Srilankan Airlines, said, “Srilankan Holidays continues to strive for excellence in all areas of the business and we seek partners that share similar aspirations. We believe we have found such a partner in Linkin Reps, a leading representative company to help us expand our footprint in India.” “We are pleased that Srilankan Holidays has partnered with Linkin Reps to assist them in these markets and hope this will lead to further success for this new partnership,” said Komal Seth, Founder & Director, Linkin Reps. “Linkin has the experience, industry knowledge and personnel to generate strong growth for this carrier,” she added. The partnership between Srilankan Holidays and Linkin reps includes providing complete tour packages with set itineraries through marketing, and overall sales support services to agencies.

Jazeera Airways launches new routes to Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru

News Desk

With the launch of two new routes to the cities of Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru, Jazeera Airways now operates from total eight destinations across India. Both of the cities are well potential destinations as Thiruvananthapuram is the capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala, whereas Bengaluru is the capital of India’s southern Karnataka state and is the centre of India’s high-tech industry. Speaking of the new flights, Jazeera Chief Executive Officer, Rohit Ramachandran, said, “We are pleased to be extending our reach into India by the addition of these two new services, catering to the high demand from the expat and business communities in Kuwait and from other connecting GCC countries for flights.” Starting from October 30th, Kuwait – Thiruvananthapuram route will be served on Tuesdays and Sundays, with return flights from Trivandrum leaving in the early morning of the next days. Flights scheduled from November 3rd, the Kuwait-Bengaluru route will be served on Thursdays and Sundays, with return flights from Bengaluru leaving in the early morning of the next day. Jazeera Airways operates commercial and cargo flights out of its Jazeera Terminal T5 at Kuwait International Airport. The airline flies to 50 popular destinations across the Middle East, Central and South Asia, Africa and Europe comprising high-demand business, leisure and weekend destinations.

VFS Global rolls out first-ever Indonesia fast-track Visa on Arrival

News Desk

VFS Global has entered into an exclusive agreement with TLP, the Immigration Department for Republic of Indonesia and Bank Mandiri, to provide online pre-payment of fees, fasttrack access and concierge services to international passengers upon arrival in Jakarta. Travellers to Indonesia eligible for Visa on Arrival can now enjoy a quicker, smoother visa application journey by completing the process online, predeparture, through VFS Global. Nationals of the 75 eligible countries can apply for their Indonesia Visa on Arrival through VFS Global by submitting their documents and paying the fees online at www.indonesiavoa.vfsevisa.id prior to their travel. A confirmation will be sent to their registered email ID and the visa processed in advance to be stamped upon arrival. With the payment having been made online, the on-arrival process reduces to just the stamping of the visa, which can be done at the designated fasttrack Visa on Arrival immigration lanes. Jiten Vyas, Chief Commercial Officer, VFS Global said, “Indonesia is a popular destination for travellers across the globe, and we are excited to unveil a service that will make their visa application journey quicker and simpler. With tech-led Do It Yourself solutions becoming increasingly popular, this firstever fast-track Visa on Arrival service is sure to offer applicants a more relaxed on-arrival experience.” Indonesia received over 15 million foreign tourists in 2019 before the pandemic. Between January and July 2022, the destination has welcomed around 1 million international travellers. From India alone, over 657,000 tourists arrived in Indonesia in 2019, before the pandemic.

CRUISE

Cordelia Cruises aims to acquire three cruise ships after completing one year in India

News Desk

14th September 2022, Mumbai: After having successfully completed 100+ sailings along both the east and the west coast of India, covering 7 ports in total, doing 300 plus shows and serving more than 100,000 guests in the last 12 months of operation, Cordelia Cruises has positioned itself as one of the most preferred cruises in the country. Bullish on the potential of cruising in India, Cordelia Cruises aims to acquire at least three cruise ships by 2025 and thus encourage the cruising economy in India. Jurgen Bailom, President & CEO, Cordelia Cruises says, “Our goal with the Indian market was to create change and make cruising a top priority on every traveler’s wishlist and looking at the numbers, we can certainly confirm that we have been successful. We are overjoyed and humbled in equal measure with the response we have received since our launch.” “Families come in large numbers, weddings and important events are being hosted on board and guests are making memories of a lifetime through the stellar food, entertainment and destination experiences being offered by Cordelia Cruises. We’re onto a great journey in the Indian market and we will continue to working towards curating top notch experiences for our guests,” he added. In the midst of the pandemic, Cordelia Cruises dared to venture in India as the first ever and exclusive domestic cruising experience. Today the cruise sails across the western coast covering Mumbai, Goa, Kochi, and Lakshadweep along with the eastern coast covering Chennai and Visakhapatnam. Aiming to meet their customer’s expectation of a perfect cruise, Cordelia Cruises provide them with an experience that is all about comfort, exclusivity and novelty. From dishes that are curated by the top chefs of India to providing entertainment facilities that beautifully incorporate the Indian culture such as classic Indian melodies along with the Bollywood Bash onboard that makes the overall experience the best of both worlds, Cordelia Cruises unlocks a whole new experience for travel and hospitality.

Time to go beyond much obvious, explore the unexplored

Encalm Hospitality launches Spa at Delhi Airport

By Harjinder Singh Saluja Managing Director Cosmo Cottages

When you think about the vacation at a ‘Hill Station’ the first thing that comes in your mind is tranquility in nature followed by snow capped mountains, deep valleys, walking through clouds and a cup of coffee etc. away from the bustling of the cities. Do we really get all or even most of that? Not really, what exactly happens when you reach there (hill stations near Delhi NCR), especially around the weekends, its just opposite. You find crowded hotels, restaurants, massive traffic, noise pollution etc and all your excitement takes a back seat and you start thinking, what the hell am I doing here? Since weekends attracts a huge chunk of travellers from nearby destinations, and when it comes to Delhi and NCR only a couple of widely known hill stations tops the list. Since everyone reaches at the same time, they face heavy crowd, no parking space, unavailability of hotel rooms etc. Consequently, you spend most of your time on the roads, fighting in traffic jam and finding hotels, etc. So what should we do? What could be the potential solution to this problem? Have you ever thought, its not the destination spoiling your vacation, but your unawareness which is limited to a couple of popular but much obvious hill stations. To avoid such circumstances, you must explore new destinations. And it will not be exaggerated if I say that you will find a number of unknown beautiful destinations only in the vicinity of these popular hill stations, which has not been explored yet and has the ability to offer all that you desire. Such destinations may not have a chain of branded hotels, fancy markets; but definitely a peaceful environment, cool breeze, valleys and all of that required to make your vacation the perfect one. While travelling to little remote areas, you will get more personalised hospitality, better oxygen, fresh air, more vegetarian food, fresh fruits and most importantly peace of mind. So, instead of following the crowd, be the first one to discover new places, bring them in public domain and facilitate an opportunity to the future travellers to see the unseen and experience the latest one. Now the choice is yours!

News Desk

Enclam Hospitality - well known for its airport meet and assist services, has launched Spa at the Delhi Airport. According to the company, the Spa is manned by highly trained therapists who are experts at various forms of massage treatments. They use time-honored techniques and use only the finest natural ingredients, known for their calming and healing properties, such as lavender and cedarwood among others. While speaking at the launch, Vikas Sharma, CEO, Encalm Hospitality said, “At Encalm Spa, we have thoughtfully conceptualised a bespoke menu of treatments that provide premium, relaxing experience to travellers who are hustling between destinations. We have devised special treatments keeping in mind the requirements of weary travellers.” Talking about the facilities at the Spa, he further informed that there is the Signature Encalm Massage with special kneading and effleurage techniques and there is also an equally effective Synchronised Massage where two therapists work in tandem. Not to forget the Jet Lag Therapy or Traveller’s Massage. “There are traditional massages like Thai Massage, Foot Massage, Head Massage and a lot more. So, one can experience our spa services while in transit and make your journey memorable with Encalm,” he added. Founded in 2021, Encalm Hospitality focuses on creating and delivering exceptional airport meet and greet experiences. It offers a range of non-aviation-related services, such as lounges, buggy services, porter help, and many more. Encalm aims to be a progressive, adaptable organization, leading change.