Air India to introduce ‘AI’ instead of two separate codes from next month

Air India, India’s national carrier is planning to introduce a single code “AI” from the next month. Instead of using two separate codes, AI and IC for both International and domestic flights respectively, the national flagship carrier will use “AI”. Arvind Jadhav, chairman and managing director announced this code and bade fair to provide enjoyable and hassle-free travel for passengers.

Bomb explosion at the Moscow Airport killed dozens

More than 35 people, including two Britons, killed in a bomb explosion at Moscow’s busiest airport. A suspected suicide bomber entered the ground floor of Domededovo airport’s terminal building apparently unchallenged and he blew himself at 4:32pm local time. It is reported the suspect had probably hidden explosive device in a suitcase that caused a blast equivalent to 7Kg of TNT.

Domestic airlines get record 50 lakh flyers in December

Indian domestic carriers carried record 50 lakh flyers in December last year. It happened for the first time in the history of Indian civil aviation industry. The data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation shows airlines carried 52.13 lakh passengers in December is up from 44.87 lakh in the same period of the previous year. The latest figure posts a growth of almost 16 percent.

The industry paid 1.26 crore as compensation to passengers of which almost 1.10 crore was on account of providing facilities and compensation to those affected by delays and cancellation of flights. More than 1.5 lakh passengers were affected by delay in December only, while 31, 000 passengers had to put up with flight cancellation. Reasons for getting more delays than cancellation of flights are with inclement weather condition in December.

However, analysts predict that Indian civil aviation industry expects robust growth in the next three to five years. The Indian market is well positioned for growth and the air traffic demand is likely to get strong with the growth in the Indian economy.

Virgin Atlantic announces to share codes with Air NewZeland

Virgin Atlantic and Air New Zealand have signed a code-share agreement for a number of domestic and international routes. As a result of this pact, the airlines will be able to sell connecting flights on each other’s services. The accord will also be applicable to two of Virgin Atlantic’s long-haul Asia-Pacific routes.

Air New Zealand is the national air carrier of New Zealand. The national flagship carrier operates daily scheduled flights, connecting more than 53 destinations, including 27 domestic and 26 international, in 14 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceana. Auckland Airport is the main base of Air NewZeland.

On the other hand, Virgin Atlantic is a British air carrier owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines. London Heathrow Airport is the main base of Virgin Atlantic.

The airlines expect the code share to come into force on February 28th, 2011.

Now, passengers will be able to book with Virgin Atlantic to travel on connecting journeys on the following Air NewZealand routes:
Los Angels – Rarotonga
San Francisco – Auckland
Sydney – Auckland
Sydney – Christchurch
Sydney – Wellington
Auckland – Christchurch
Auckland – Wellington
Auckland – Queenstown
Auckland – Rarotonga

Indian air market to grow even more

IndiGo Airlines indicates better market prospects despite huge losses, poor yield and overcapacity posted by major countries’ carriers. Its latest agreement for the new aircraft appears to illustrate confidence in the Indian Market. While Airbus and Boeing affirm by saying that India is still among the strongest of air traffic expansion over the next two decades.

IndiGo is a low-cost Indian carrier, operating domestic air service with linking more than 25 destinations across the country. Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport is the main base of IndiGo. The airline began services in 2006 with Delhi-Imphal flight.

The airline also stays outside the spell of carrier-consolidation, including Jet Airways and Air Sahara, Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan and Air India and Indian Airlines, as sought to counter economic pressures.

Now, India’s low-cost carrier,IndiGo, is among the carriers set to take advantage of Indian threshold. The airline is also planning to fly on international routes.

Airbus predicts domestic Indian traffic volume at 9.2% a year. The overall figure is expected to exceed 250 trillion revenue passenger-kilometres by 2029, and is further added that from India to China, South-east Asia and North America would be the fastest-growing flows.

IndiGo to buy 180 A320s

India’s low-cost carrier, IndiGo Airlines, has placed an order for 180 A320 aircraft at an estimated cost of $15.6 billion. This is the single largest order for jets in terms of volume to be ever placed by any commercial airline in the civil aviation industry. IndiGo Airlines is planning to receive 100 of the A320 Airbus by 2016.

IndiGo is a Gurgaon-based carrier with its main base at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. The airline operates domestic service that connects more than 14 destinations, including Agartala, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur, Nagpur, Pune and Vadodara. IndiGo Airlines started operations with Delhi-Imphal flight on August 4th, 2006.

IranAir crashed in Orumiyeh, north-western Iran

IranAir crashed in north-western Iran, killing at least 72. The Boeing 727, a passenger plane of Iran’s national air carrier, with more than 100 people on board was flying from Tehran when it came down and broke into pieces near the city of Orumiyeh, 700km north-west of Tehran.

World’s first flight attendant found

Heinrich Kubis was the world’s first flight attendant in March 1912. He began caring for passengers and serving food onboard DELAG zeppelin LZ-10 Schwaben.

Expedia stops serving American Airlines, reports CNN

Expedia stops serving American Airlines with constant legal squabble between travel website and airline, according to a CNN report. The travel website has stop displaying fares and flight schedules of the American national flagship carrier.

Expedia.com, a North American travel portal, delivers everything from researching, planning to purchasing for a whole trip to travelers. The online travel portal provides direct access to one of the broadest selection of travel products and services to different traveler segments

Travel Leader Group acquires Vacation.com

Travel Leader Group is acquiring Vacation.com from Amadeus, reports Travelweekly.com. The chief executive officer of Travel Leader Group, Barry Liben, confirmed the acquisition by saying that Vacation.com would continue to operate as an individual division led by Steve Tracas, the president of Vacation.com.

Amadeus, the firmly IT service provider, owned Vacation.com in 2000.

Vacation.com provides a record volume of high-end travellers. There is over USD300 million in annual luxury sales volume alone. Vacation.com has joined Travel Leader Group along with several other leading brands, including Travel Leaders, Tzell, Results Travel, Nexion, Cruise Holidays and Cruise Specialists.

The latest acquisition, of Vacation.com by Travel Leader Group, will improve operations and boost profitability of traditional travel agencies and agents.

JetBlue wins the best domestic airline of 2010

JetBlue wins Jaunted Travel Award for the best domestic airline in 2010. The American low-cost carrier has been rewarded for three consecutive years for its unwavering commitment to serve its passengers best. Celebrated their 10th anniversary in 2010, JetBlue provided their passengers to afford flying at $10 throughout the year. That was the best airfare deal ever given by any other American airliners.

High airfare shows low in Goa goers

High airfare is hitting the Goa tourism badly, says a PTI report. There is a low in Goa travel business, except in Christmas and New Year. Gaurish Dhond, the president of Goa Travel & Tourism Association, raised concerns over the soaring airfares in festive seasons. He further added that there could have been much better tourist inflow this year, had the government not increased the fare. Travellers are now finding it difficult to travel to Goa while fare is swelling for both bus and air.