SHARING INTELLIGENT NEWS
Kingfisher Airlines goes international with London route
Economic Times on 08/25/2008 at 05:18am | | | Kingfisher Airlines has announced it will launch its first international flight from the high-tech southern city of Bangalore to London next month.
The daily non-stop Airbus A330-220 service to Heathrow airport by Kingfisher, owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, will take to the skies September 3, a statement received here Saturday said.
"We will set new standards in international travel," Kingfisher chairman Mallya said.
The privately-owned airline last year bought out low-cost Indian carrier Deccan Aviation giving it the right to fly aboard.
Under Indian rules, carriers less than five years old cannot fly internationally. Kingfisher was founded three years ago while Deccan is five years old.
On its own, Kingfisher would only have been eligible to fly abroad in 2010.
The decision to add overseas destinations is expected to heat up rivalry with India's largest airline Jet Airways.
All India's major airlines have posted big losses due to soaring fuel costs that have driven up fares, reducing passenger traffic. The sector has been hit by a wave of mergers as airlines have sought to cut costs.
Currently only state-owned Air India and Jet Airways fly overseas. | | | |
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Jet flies to 14 new overseas destinations in Aug
Press Trust Of India on 08/25/2008 at 05:16am | | | Taking giant strides in its global expansion plans, Jet Airways has added 14 international flights since the beginning of this month taking the total number of foreign destinations it currently serves to 20.
"Since August five, we have added 14 international routes. We have 20 wide-body aircraft in our fleet now and will add another two soon. With this, we will further expand our network and add more flights," Jet CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer told reporters after launching the daily Delhi-Dubai service at the IGI Airport here.
On the domestic side, he said there was a "conscious decision" to stabilise the network, unlike plans on the global market. He said Jet Airways currently enjoyed almost 50 per cent of the domestic market share, which it wanted to consolidate.
The airline today launched direct services from Delhi and Mumbai to Dubai, making it the sixth destination in the Gulf region after Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Kuwait, Bahrain and Doha.
However, he said the premier private carrier had "temporarily" cut services to San Fransisco via Shanghai till November.
Regarding its fleet acquisition plans, the Jet CEO said of the ten wide-bodied Airbus A 330-200s ordered initially, eight have been delivered. Two more would be delivered in September and October.
He said the deliveries of other types of aircraft would continue till 2013.
"We have not cancelled any order (for aircraft)," he said, adding that talks with Boeing company were on to defer the delivery of two Boeing 777 (Extended Range) from 2009 to 2010. | | | |
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Jet Airways extends India - Australia Promotional Fares
Asia Travel on 07/17/2008 at 15:18pm | | | Jet Airways has extended its current fares promotion from Australia to a range of destinations in India, now enabling bookings to be made until 31 July.
Travel agents also have a new option to upsell into higher classes on connecting Qantas flights from Australia to key Asian hubs, from where passengers can connect with onward flights to India with Jet Airways.
Prices start from just A$1190, plus taxes, for departures from Sydney to the gateways of Mumbai, Delhi or Madras, via South-East Asia. Special fares are also available from Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
Connections from Australia are available through Jet Airways’ code-share agreement with partner airline Qantas Airways, and other partner airlines.
The special fares are now available for sale until 31 July, 2008, for departures until 17 November, 2008. Some conditions apply. Taxes are not included and vary according to routes flown and date of departure.
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Alitalia launches Flights between Rome and Los Angeles; European Airpass
Asia Travel on 07/17/2008 at 15:16pm | | | Alitalia has expanded its international network, introducing five weekly flights between its hub in Rome and Los Angeles. The new service utilizes Boeing 777 aircraft.
In Europe, Alitalia passengers can now also take advantage of the airline’s 2008 European Airpass, enabling them to access Italy and Europe’s most sought after destinations with convenience and flexibility.
Starting at EUR144 net plus taxes for one coupon, up to five coupons can be purchased from just EUR483, with taxes varying depending on destinations and flights.
The Airpass enables passengers to travel to up to five of 24 destinations in Italy and 40 European destinations on the Alitalia network.
Alitalia’s hub at Rome Fiumicino Airport is centrally located for travel throughout Europe and the Mediterranean.
Beyond Italy, passengers can fly as far west as Lisbon in Portugal, south to Malta, north to Copenhagen and east to Poland or Romania.
The Airpass is available for sale until 31 October 2008, for travel until further notice.
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Egyptair becomes 21st member of Star Alliance
Asia Travel on 07/12/2008 at 11:33am | | | At a ceremony in Cairo today, Egyptair officially became the 21st member of Star Alliance, adding 1,624 weekly flights to 69 destinations around the world to the global airline alliance. Egyptair is the nation’s flag carrier, and will strengthen the alliance’s network throughout Africa and the Middle East.
This marks the end of a nine-month integration project in which the airline adapted its reservation, ticketing, frequent flyer and other customer-oriented programmes to work more closely with the infrastructure of the other members of the alliance.
“Star Alliance was Egyptair’s choice of alliances mainly because it is the biggest, strongest and most dynamic of the alliances, focusing on rendering high quality services to passengers while minimising costs – a concept that Egyptair wholeheartedly agrees with,” said Capt. Tawfik Assy, CEO, Egyptair Holding Company. “Egyptair’s strategic regional location will enable Cairo Airport to become a major hub for the Star Alliance family and a gateway for the Middle East and North Africa.”
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India's Bird Academy launches Globally-Accredited Courses for Travel and Tourism Industry
Asia Travel on 07/09/2008 at 09:12am | | | Bird Group, one of India’s largest diversified groups in the aviation, travel and information technology arena, has launched specialized aviation and hospitality courses at the Bird Academy. The courses offered by the academy are accredited by global bodies thus ensuring high standards of education at par with world-renowned training institutions.
The academy has also entered into collaboration with Miranda House (Delhi University) to impart training in CRS, Air Fares, Ticketing and Tour Operations to the students of the Certificate Course in Travel & Tourism which is also UGC approved.
The courses are conducted by trainers at the state-of-the-art facility at Manesar and Connaught Place. All courses are accredited and the affiliations include IATA (International Air Transport Association), UFTAA (United Federation of Travel Agents’ Associations), FIATA (Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
A total of 13 courses have been introduced which include the prestigious Diploma in Aviation & Travel Industry with IATA Certification, IATA/UFTAA Consultant Course and IATA International GDS fares and Ticketing Course. Other courses include IATA/FIATA Cargo Introductory Course, IATA/FIATA Cargo Rating Course, IATA/UFTAA Foundation Course, Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGCA & IATA approved, Certificate course in travel and tourism, CRS training, Cargo Operations, Airport Handling and Operations, Travel Agency and Tour Operations, Tally Financial Accounting Program, Customer Service & Personality Development and Computer Application & Internet Basics.
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