Snippets

TAFI convention postponed to February 9-12, 2006

On account of the unprecedented deluge that occurred in Western India especially Mumbai, Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) convention, which was to be held in August, has been postponed to February 9 to February 12, 2006 in Grand Copthorne Waterfront, Singapore. Galaxy of speakers from the industry will be present at the convention. TAFI had received over 500 registrations in the third week of July. Further details are available on www.tafionline.com

Goa witnesses surge in chartered flights arrival

Goa is expecting a rise in chartered flight arrivals this season. Dabolim airport will allow night operations from this season including later night and early morning operations.

"As against the earlier policy of allowing restricted weekend (Friday to Sunday) slots for chartered flights, the airport will allow early morning and late night slots through the week," said a highly placed sources in the Airport Authority of India (AAI).

The season has already begun with the arrival of Spain Air flights in the first week of August and the next one to arrive will be Britannia flights by month end. Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) has estimated that the number of chartered flights will cross 800 this season. According to Elvis Gomes, MD, GTDC "Particularly with flights from Russia increasing, the charter season this year too will be extended beyond the first week of May."

Air India re-launches Companion Free scheme

Air India has reintroduced its `Companion Free Scheme'. The scheme will be available to passengers travelling on full published IATA fares in all classes, namely, first, executive and economy, for outbound travel between India and the US, Canada, and Europe. The scheme is valid till March 31, 2006.

According to an official statement, Air India has in recent times upgraded its premium classes by introducing flat beds in first class and slumberettes in executive class. Its inflight service is also being upgraded.

Airlines e-ticketing yet to take off

Only 5.4 per cent of tickets sold in India are through e-ticketing while the global e-ticketing penetration is already at 33 per cent, according to a report by International Air Transport Association (IATA). The global e-ticketing penetration was targeted at 40 per cent by the end of 2005.

Commenting on the low penetration in the Indian market, Giovanni Bisignani, IATA director general and CEO, said, "It is extremely disappointing that a country as advanced in software development as India can be so far behind." Industry experts attribute the poor response in e-ticketing to poor infrastructure and state of Internet penetration in the country. The investment to implement the central reservation system is close to US $1 million per airline company.

Swiss tourism conducts road shows in India

Switzerland Tourism (ST), the national tourism board of Switzerland, kicked started its 10 years celebration in India with a four-city road show in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi, from November 28 to December 1, 2005, called the "Switzerland Travel Experience". The Swiss partners who participated in the road shows were Davos, Geneva Tourism, GoldenPass Line, Jungfrau Railways, Mount Pilatus Railways, Schilthorn, Mount Titlis & Lake Lucerne Region, Zermatt, Interlaken Tourism, Mystery Park, Zürich Airport, Zurich Tourism and Swissminiatur Melida.

Mangalore-Kochi flights by Kingfisher likely

Kingfisher Airlines is likely to begin operations on Kochi-Mangalore-Bangalore sector from next month. Though the exact date of the launch is yet to be confirmed, the operations might begin in the third or fourth week of December. The airline might use a 50-passenger capacity Bombardier aircraft for this route. According to a tentative schedule, it may operate on the Kochi-Mangalore-Bangalore route in the morning and on the Bangalore-Mangalore-Kochi route in the evening.

The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) had requested the government to permit the operation of a morning flight from Mangalore to Bangalore and it now has its first flight to Bangalore at 11.25 am. At present, the city has direct flights to Bangalore and Mumbai. While Jet Airways operates two flights on the Mumbai-Mangalore-Mumbai route, IA operates one on this route.

Qatar Airways to increase India flights

Qatar Airways is keen on expanding its operations from India. If it increased the number of its flights last year from 19 to 52 a week, this year it expanded its operations from mid-July by increasing the number of flights, linking Doha to Indian cities, to 30 a week. This took effect with the opening up of the Doha-Delhi-Doha sector with seven flights a week. Sources said that the load factor is already 70 per cent on the Doha-Delhi-Doha route. The grapevine is that the carrier is likely to link Doha with Kolkata sometime next year, though Naveen Chawla, area manager (India) Qatar Airways, denied this.

Price band aid for medical tourists

The tourism ministry and Indian Healthcare Federation (IHCF) have introduced common price bands for treatment of foreign tourists in India in oncology, cardiology, minimum invasive surgery and orthopaedics. These categories account for 80-85 per cent of medical tourists in India. The move is aimed at assuring foreign medical tourists that they will not be overcharged by Indian hospitals.

IndiGo Air postpones launch to next year

IndiGo Air, the low-cost carrier promoted by Interglobe Enterprises, has deferred the launch to February 2006 or July 2006. According to Rahul Bhatia, chairman of Interglobe Enterprises, IndiGo will initially start with a capital outlay of US$80 million, which will later be increased to US$250 million by 2008.

Indian Airlines expands operations

Indian Airlines announced its plans to expand its international operations after leasing 12 wide-bodied aircraft for long-haul purposes. According to Anil Goyal, commercial director, Indian Airlines, they are planning to lease over 17 aircraft over the next few months including 12 long haul aircraft to bridge the demand gap till the acquisition of the new fleet of 43 aircraft next year.