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Air India to launch
budget flights to
Gulf from April 29
New
Delhi: India's national carrier Air India has
announced plans to introduce budget flights from April
29, providing connections to the Gulf region from
five Indian cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Kozhikode
and Thiruvananthapuram. Waking up to the fact that
it is likely to face stiff competition in the international
segment following a decision by the Indian Government
to allow private airliners- Air Sahara and Jet Airways
-- to roll out their international services (Air Sahara
will launch services to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore
in May), and faced with the potential prospect of
losing Rs.400 crore per annum due to the cancellation
of commercial agreements with several foreign carriers,
Air India has decided to begin its budget flight operations
first to the Middle East, and then to Singapore and
Kuala Lumpur at a later stage.
According
to V.Thulasidas, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of
Air India, the budget flights called Air India Express
will commence operations with three leased Boeing
737-800 aircraft, each of which will have 181 economy
seats. Plans are also afoot to purchase 18 new 737-800
aircraft in a bid to offer more regional connections,
including stops in Kuwait, Bahrain and Doha. Singapore
and Kuala Lumpur will be connected via Chennai and
Kolkata respectively at affordable rates. The worry
among the Air India brass is primarily that of losing
its monoply over flights to popular destinations like
London and New York. The management has, therefore,
issued instructions to its employees to "pull up their
socks" and meet the " intensifying" competition head-on.
It is even considering sharp cost cuts. 'The natural
choice of Indian nationals in India and abroad and
of foreigners wanting to have a feel of Indian hospitality
will no longer be exclusive to us.
Jet
Airways and Air Sahara will offer all that we give,"
Thulasidas said in a recent communique to airline
employees. According to Air India's top brass, the
budget flights will be 25 to 50 percent cheaper compared
to normal air fares to the above mentioned destinations,
with the cheapest international ticket available for
as low an amount as Rs.2,500. Air-India at present
operates direct flights with its own aircraft between
Kochi and seven other stations in the Gulf -- Abu
Dhabi, Bahrain, Damman, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait and Muscat.
Air-India will also continue to operate flights between
Chennai/Thiruvananthapuram and Kuwait on a code share
basis with Kuwait Airways. An air fare war is definitely
in the offing over the next couple of months, as Air
Sahara has already introduced a round-trip introductory
fare of Rs.10,000 for Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
The first Singapore-Delhi fare will start on May 11
and the Chennai-Kuala Lumpur service will be launched
on May 14. Both return services will be daytime flights.
At present, the lowest available market fares to both
of these destinations is Rs.16,000.
- March
19, 2005
Sahara
to launch international flights (Go
To Top)
New
Delhi: Air Sahara will launch its flights to Kuala
Lumpur and Singapore from May with an introductory
round-trip fare of only Rs 10,000, which is even lower
than domestic fares on major trunk routes. "While
the first Singapore-Delhi flight would start on May
11, the Chennai-Kuala Lumpur service would be launched
on May 14. Both return services would be daylight
flights," informed the Air Sahara CEO, Rono J.Dutta.
The introductory return fares for both sectors have
been fixed at Rs 10,000, he said, adding that the
flights to Singapore and the Malaysian capital would
be operated by Boeing 737-800s and Boeing 737-700s
respectively. At present, thelowest available market
fares on both these destinations is Rs 16,000. The
sale of the tickets start on March 30 and these would
be sold through the general sales agents in foreign
markets also, informed the CEO. Sahara is planning
to get six new aircraft between April and June, taking
its total fleet strength to 19 Boeings and seven Canadian
Regional Jets.
- March 18, 2005
UP
airport federation up in arms against privatisation
(Go
To Top)
Lucknow:
Employees of the UP Airports Authority of India
are on a demonstration till March 23, 2005, to protest
against the government's decision to privatise the
major airports in the country. The government of India
is planning to privatise 22 airports, among which
Delhi, Mumbai and Lucknow are at the top of the list.
UP airport employees state this decision baseless
and say that there is no need for the privatisation,
as they are providing world-class facilities and moreover
the sector is earning profit, hence government should
take back the decision. " We are holding this demonstration
because we have instructions from our regional headquarters.
This will continue till March 23. And after that if
government does not take any step we will go on hunger
strike", said G N Pandey, Secretary, UP Airport employees
association. "Most of the airports on the top of the
list for privatisation are earning profits, there
is no reason that government should privatise them.
We are well established organisation, and provide
world class facilities, same as the standard of America,
England or France, except for the fact that they have
better runway facilities", he added. The demonstration,
a part of the protest by the UP Airport Employees'
Union against the privatisation move, would continue
till March 23, informed the union sources. "The UPA
government said that all those sectors which are making
profits will not be made privatised, but the government
and minister Praful Patel are selling these profit
making sectors. We are going to protest against the
decision till March 23, and if till March 23 government
does not take any decision, we will hold a meeting
and go on strike, if that also does not effect, we
will stop the air services," said R N Gupta, CITU,
secretary.
- March 18, 2005
Sonia
lays foundation for Hyderabad airport project (Go
To Top)
Hyderabad:
Sonia Gandhi, chief of Congress party laid the
foundation stone of a multi-million dollar international
airport project in Shamsabad, on the outskirts of
main city Hyderabad, on Wednesday (March 16). The
14 billion rupees project that is coming up on 5,400
acres of land area is expected to be operational by
2008. The development of the state-of-the-art airport
is seen as a major venture attracting global investors,
giving a big boost to the state's economy. "There
are so many places in Andhra Pradesh which are viable
for a flourishing tourism. So many places are very
important, culturally and traditionally. It is very
important to connect these places. This will not only
provide foreign exchange but also employment to millions,"
said Gandhi at the plaque unveiling ceremony. The
airport with a passenger capacity of more than three
million is being built by a private consortium after
the project was given a green signal by the provincial
authorities in 2003. The airport which would boast
of one of the longest runways of 4,260 metres, would
include several unique features including shopping
malls for both domestic and foreign travellers and
facilities for the disabled. Once complete, the terminal
would act as a major transit hub for the Middle East
and South East Asian countries. Officials say that
the Indian aviation market which is worth around 17
or 18 million rupees is expected to grow to 70 to
80 million in the next couple of years. The number
of passengers are expected to boost to about five
million by 2012 and around 20 million passengers per
year by 2029. Even as the ceremony for the airport
was being conducted, the state's main opposition party
continued with their portests over the naming of the
airport after Rajiv Gandhi. Chandrababu Naidu, former
chief of Andhra Pradesh state, courted arrest in Hyberabad,
amidst protesters shouting slogans demanding the airport
be named after former state chief N.T. Rama Rao.
- March 16, 2005
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