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Lead Story
TAAI,
TAFI push for lower premium on bank guarantee insurance
As the general insurance scheme covering bank guarantees completes
a year, TAAI is negotiating a lesser premium for its members
with three bidders on the basis of its zero default record
while TAFI has already clinched an attractive deal with Oriental
Insurance, reports Bhisham Mansukhani.
30 Minute Interview
‘Airline
commissions still muddying Indian business travel’
The COO looks after an incredible portfolio of 25 countries.
Yet India is on top of his mind, finds Bhisham Mansukhani.
‘Air
India must retain its status as a sophisticated legacy carrier’
Amidst revamping the brand, overseeing the carrier's biggest
fleet acquisition and ramping up operations of AI's low cost
subsidiary, he still has the time to tell Bhisham Mansukhani
all about it.
Air Waves
FAST
stresses on aviation infrastructure development
The boom in the Indian aviation sector is evoking a lot of
concern due to inadequate infrastructure.
Austrian
Airlines’ strategy focuses on specific client segment
Aviation in India is booming, giving rise to competition across
segments, whether domestic or international. Airlines are
increasing frequency from India into Europe giving rise to
increased seat capacity.
Continental
launches India-USA non-stop
Continental Airlines became the first airline to fly non-stop
between India and the USA thereby reducing travel time by
over two and a half hours.
SriLankan
Airlines targets Goa to drive Indian inbound
Building further on its schedule of frequencies into India,
SriLankan Airlines is now targeting Goa (four times a week)
to bring in European traffic. It is also considering a fleet
of small aircraft to fly into the Indian hinterland.
Registry
of mobile assets to save air costs
Aviareto, a joint-venture between SITA SC and the Irish government,
announced that the registry will go live on March 1, 2006.
Air
Italy to start operations from Amritsar
Air Italy has launched its North India operations from Amritsar
to Verona, Italy, from November 30. The Boeing 757 with a
capacity of 220 seats will fly every Wednesday.
GoAir
to up frequencies from December
Latest low cost airline GoAir is poised to increase its route
network in December when its second A320 aircraft it recently
inducted, takes off.
AI
Express targets domestic services
Air India Express is on track for its mandate to launch domestic
operations following a successful launch of Middle East frequencies
and the pending launch of Southeast Asian frequencies.
bmi
offers seven per cent commission to agents
Taking the unconventional route, British Mid-lands (bmi),
UK's second largest full service scheduled airline, has gone
ahead offering seven per cent commission to travel agents
instead of the current five percent.
Air
Italy to start operations from Amritsar
Air Italy has launched its North India operations from Amritsar
to Verona, Italy, from November 30. The Boeing 757 with a
capacity of 220 seats will fly every Wednesday.
Trade Bytes
Raj
Travels to ramp up National Express fleet to 100
Raj Travels plans to ramp up its fleet of luxury buses belonging
to its surface transport brand, Raj National Express, to 50
by January. The objective, according to Raj Travels CMD Lalit
Seth, is to add to the fleet every month, which will eventually
number a 100.
Carlson
WagonLit looking to franchise
Business travel major Carlson Wagonlit (CWT), is now looking
to build a network of franchisees to tap the Indian hinterland
citing a catchment of SMEs keen to manage their travel costs.
Macro View
ATOAI
to focus on newer frontiers at forth coming convention
Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) is scheduled
to conduct its annual convention titled 'Adventure Tourism
- Exploring New Frontiers' to be held in New Delhi from December
21 to 22, 2005.
‘Zero
commission regime is best’
The president of the Association of South African Travel Agents
(ASATA), Amanda Harrod, has a story to tell the Indian travel
agents, only this is a real one. She talks to Bhisham Mansukhani
about how her association steered South Africa's once commission-bred
agents towards a zero commission regime.
Channel Chat
IATA
accreditation on their minds
To be or not to be is the question that most sub-agents ask
themselves. While IATA accreditation brings a plethora of
advantages to the sub-agents, they fear that it might translate
to loss of freedom of operations. They talk to S Nithya Kamakshi
about their dilemma.
View Point
'Air
travel is no longer regarded as elitist'
I have watched with fascination (and to a limited extent participated
in) the progressive liberalisation of the Indian economy and
with it, that of the Indian civil aviation industry since
the early 1990s.
Up Link
Reliance
Infocomm, IA ink agreement for m-ticketing
Taking airline ticketing to a new dimension, Indian Airlines
and Reliance Infocomm have tied-up to offer mobile booking
for domestic airline tickets for the first time in India.
The ticket booking facility is available on R World.
Look In
Himachal
pumps up adventure tourism with mountain biking
As part of the action to grab a slice of the potential Rs
300 crore adventure tourism pie, Himachal Tourism is training
its sights on mountain biking as the most scenic way to enjoy
the state with a landmark international event which concluded
recently.
Northern
states jump in tourist figures
The tourism sector in India is showing a continuous upward
trend. North Indian states like Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal together
will reportedly register more than 230 million tourists this
year.
Tea
tourism a viable option for estates
Amidst various types of tourism that is coming up in India,
tea tourism is making its presence felt.
Dalai
Lama, India's new tourism ambassador
What's common between his highness the Dalai Lama, an Air-India
pilgrim package and champa flowers?
Nandita
Das is Orissa's brand ambassador
Orissa Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) has roped in
actress Nandita Das as its brand ambassador.
Look Out
Silversea
Cruises to launch Indian itinerary, 2006
European luxury cruise company, Silversea Cruises is planning
to launch an India itinerary in 2006, following the appointment
of an Indian representative, Tirun Marketing.
Spain
Tourism will say `Hola' to India by 2007
Declaring India as its most prominent market in the Asian
region, Spain Tourism has revealed its plans of entering the
Indian market by 2007.
Scotland
to target India, China
Scotland will now look at setting up necessary infrastructure
to exploit the expected surge in tourist traffic from India
and China.
Dubai
joins hands with Kesari Tours to launch campaign
Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM),
in association with Kesari Tours and The Medicine Shoppe,
a franchisee chain of pharmacies in India, has launched a
nationwide joint campaign to promote the destination.
Hotel Talk
IHCL
eyes hotels in China, Europe, US, Australia
The Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, part of the Tata-owned
Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) and the largest hotel chain
in the country, has plans to acquire five-star properties
in China, Australia, United States, Europe, West Asia and
Africa.
Host
Marriott to buy Starwood hotels for US $4 billion
Host Marriott Corp, which owns hotels operated under the Hyatt,
Hilton Westin names, agreed to buy 38 properties from Starwood
Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc for US $4.04 billion.
There
is a lot of work to be done to promote India: LHW
The rise in air travel and purchasing power of the younger
generation has proved to be a boom for countries like China
and India, but the Indian government needs to invest in the
airport infrastructure to sustain that boom, according to
Mark Greedy, Asia Pacific vice president, the Leading Hotels
of the World Ltd (LHW).
Bangalore
hotels third costliest in the world: BTI UK survey
Globally, hotels are witnessing the best of times and India
features prominently at the top. Riding on its high ARRs,
Bangalore figures as the third costliest according to a BTI
UK survey. Express TravelWorld takes an indepth look
Misc
Upfront
Movements
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