Finnair starts Delhi-Helsinki direct flight

Finnair Monday started its first direct flight between Helsinki and Delhi. The six-and-a-half hour flight will initially run three times a week, using MD-11 wide-bodied aircraft. "By next spring, the frequency of the flight will be boosted to five times a week," said deputy CEO, Finnair, Henrik Arle.

"Helsinki-New Delhi is the shortest route between the European Union and India, so it is of genuine interest to travellers between the destinations," he added. "Advance demand for this route has been great, even though we are only just starting the flights. We have also seen a big increase in demand for air cargo from India to Europe."

The flights from Helsinki will reach here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and the return flights will be available on the following days. The Delhi route is Finnair's 10th Asian destination and a continuation of the company's strategy to focus on Asia.

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Passengers inconvenienced due to flight delay at Chennai

Passengers of a Gulf Air Boeing flight to Muscat were left stranded at the airport, after the departure of their flight was delayed by about eight hours this morning, airport sources said. The flight was scheduled to leave at 7.30am today, but now it is expected to leave around 3.30pm, the sources said adding that the delay had been caused because the flight from Muscat arrived late.

However, all the 191 passengers, who had reported at 5am to board the flight, were not even provided breakfast which led them to complain to the Airports Authority of India Duty Manager, the sources said. The airlines representatives were not available for comments.

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Air India Express flights to Singapore, Dubai

Low cost airline Air India Express tonight announced the launch of flights from Chennai to Singapore and Dubai. Air India Regional Director P K Gupta said Tamil Nadu Governor Surjit Singh Barnala will flag off the inaugural flight to Singapore from here on October 29.

The flight from Chennai to Singapore will operate five times a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from October 29. The flight will depart at 11.55 am and return from Singapore at 8.50 pm the same day, he said. The Air India Express flight from Dubai will arrive at Chennai at 8.40 pm and depart for Dubai at 9.40 pm. It will operate three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from October 30, he said.

Air India Express will serve passengers free standard meals and limited entertainment facilities will be available on flights, Gupta said. Travel agents had been approved to sell "dynamic fare" tickets, which would also be available at Air India's booking offices, he said. There will also be a facility to book tickets online. The fare details are posted on Air India's website, he said.


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Air Arabia to start flights to Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram

Air Arabia, the first low-fare airline in the Middle East and North Africa, will start flights to Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram from Sharjah next week. "The demand for services to these cities has been overwhelming and we are confident that we will be able to cater to the huge mass of travellers on these sectors," Adel Ali, CEO of Air Arabia, said.

While the inaugural flight to Chennai is scheduled for Thursday November 2nd, services to Thiruvananthapuram will start on Sunday, November 5th. In India, the low-cost carrier already flies to Mumbai, Jaipur, Kochi and Nagpur. "We are also going to start services to Kathmandu soon", Ali added.


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Railways plans to link state capitals through 'Garib Raths'

Maintaining that the success of 'Garib Raths', the maiden scheme to provide plush rail services to the poor at affordable rates, would change its economics, the railway ministry plans to link all state capitals with such express trains. "The success of the four Garib Raths will dramatically change the whole economics of the Indian Railways. We plan to introduce 24-coach trains with 2,200-passenger capacity in place of those with 16 coaches seating 1,700," a top railway ministry official said.

Introduction of 24-coach trains with increased capacity will increase the economic health of the railways, with each Garib Rath earning a profit of Rs 20 lakh per trip, he said. The success of the Garib Raths, one already operating between Saharsa (Bihar) and Amritsar (Punjab), will also result in linking state capitals with these trains and enhance capital generation for the railways to the tune of at least 1,000 crore a year, he said.

"According to reports available, the Garib Rath is a superhit. It is going full during the festival season. We hope this trend will continue and, accordingly, we plan to link state capitals with these trains to attract lower middle class passengers," the official said. "Our strategy is to increase load per train per coach from 62 to 81 in AC classes and from 72 to 90 in general coaches," he said. To simplify the safety norms for launching or introducing new trains, railways is considering one-time sanctions for running 24-coach trains instead of the "train-specific permissions that exist today".

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Online travel going places, but at cautious pace

Online travel is back in vogue after the late 90's dot com bust, but travel agencies are treading with caution as there is not enough room for too many players. "Online travel market in India is around 700 to 750 million dollar, of which online travel agencies (OTAs) have around 30 to 35 per cent of it. This is just tip of the iceberg," said Yatra Online Private Limited co-founder Dhruv Shringi said.

But he tempered the optimism, saying the field has become very competitive and only four to five OTAs were likely to earn profits from this business. "It will be very difficult for the new entrants." While very few travel portals like Traveljini.Com survived the 1990's crash, the last couple of years has seen more start-up OTAs entering the space.

In fact, market players today feel that the shakeout was more due to lack of penetration of credit cards, high-speed connectivity, even as they look at the OTA concept as ahead of its times. "In 1990s, the situation was much different. There was not enough money to invest in the business, venture capital backing was not available either. Besides, management team has changed, well travelled people with experience of working abroad are coming into the sector," Travelguru founder and CEO Ashwin Damera said.

This time around, OTAs are betting big on India's comfortably-off middle-class, which is estimated to grow to 400 million by 2009, with surplus income - a considerable amount of which the industry hopes would be spent on travel.


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Audio guide concept for Tamil Nadu's heritage sites

Foreign tourists who visit four of the five heritage sites in Tamil Nadu can soon be free from the nagging of "unreliable" tourist guides and access authentic information about their history independently. Tamil Nadu Tourism plans to introduce the "audio guide concept" in these sites, in line with a similar facility existing in the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai and the National Museum in Delhi, said officials in the tourism department.

The heritage sites are Mahabalipuram, a testimony to the exquisite Chola and Pallava architecture, Thanjavur's Brihadeeswara temples, Gangaikondachozapuram, and the Airavateeswara Temple at Darasuram, all of which are exemplary 11th and 12th century temples. The sites will soon be equipped with audio cassettes that will provide information in a sequential order on each spot. These "audio guides" can be rented with hi-tech audio gadgets plus headphones, a tourism official said.

A sum of Rs.151 lakh has been sanctioned for the project, of which a major chunk - Rs.88 lakh - will be allocated for Mahabalipuram alone, considering the large number of foreign tourists visiting the temples there. The tourism department plans to entrust the technicalities of the project to the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ElCoT) and is seeking the Archaeological Survey of India's approval for preparing a "script" on the sites.


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Train services in two sections to be cancelled from Dec 1

Train services in the Villupuram-Mayiladuthurai and Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur sections will be cancelled with effect from December 1, consequent to the closure of the metre gauge sections for gauge conversion. Among the trains which will be cancelled are fast passenger, slip coach service and Cholan Express operating between Tambaram and Mayiladuthurai. Nagore-Tambaram Express, Karaikkudi-Tambaram Express, passengers between Villupuram and Mayiladuthurai would also be cancelled, a Southern Railway press release said today.

Passenger trains between Tirunelveli and Tiruchendur would be cancelled fully, the release said. Passenger trains between Tirunelveli-Quilon, Senkottai-Tirunelveli and Tirunelveli-Quilon Expresses would also be cancelled, the release added.

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Indian announces Bangalore-Male flights

National carrier Indian today announced introduction of a direct flight from Bangalore to Male from 2nd November. The flight would be operated five a days a week, barring Tuesdays and Fridays, an Indian release said. The carrier would ply an Airbus A 320 aircraft on the sector and would offer 20 business class and 125 economy class seats. At present, Indian operates a daily service between Thiruvananthapuram and Male.

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Technical fault forces cancellation of Lufthansa flight

Passengers of a Lufthansa Airlines Boeing 747 flight were offloaded, after the plane, which was ready to leave for Frankfurt, developed a technical fault, early this morning. All the 185 passengers were later put up in various hotels in the city, airport sources said.

The passengers had boarded the flight that was to leave at 1.45 am, but soon the pilot reported a technical fault. The passengers were then asked to alight. The sources said after the fault was rectified, the passengers would be flown to Frankfurt tomorrow.

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Air Deccan to operate daily Delhi-Bhubaneswar flight

No-frills airline Air Deccan today announced its plan to introduce a daily flight between Bhubaneswar and New Delhi via Raipur from November 20 next. An Airbus A-320 (180 seater) aircraft would be deployed on the route for the daily service, Samyukth Sridharan, principal marketing and sales officer of Air Deccan said.

While the flight would take the Delhi-Raipur-Bhubaneswar- Delhi route on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it would fly on the Delhi-Bhubaneswar-Raipur-Delhi route on the other four days of the week, he said. The carrier, at present, operates two daily flights between Bhubaneswar and Kolkata.

Sridharan said that Air Deccan was the fastest growing airline in the country with a market share of 21.2 per cent as of June last. It operated 270 flights every day. Commencing operations with a lone aircraft when it was launched three years ago, the airline presently owned 41 airplanes with five more aircraft likely to be inducted into its fleet within the next six months, he said.

Asked about its low-priced tickets, he said quick turnaround time, lower distribution costs, all economy seating configuration and absence of free catering on board were some of the reasons which enabled the airline to keep its price low.

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Aircraft returns to airport following bird hit, all safe

A Delhi-bound Indian flight with 90 people on board returned to the Vadodra airport this morning shortly after take off following a bird hit, the Airlines sources said. All the 83 passengers and seven crew on board the A-319 aircraft, were safe, the sources said.

Flight number 817 was hit by a bird after it took off for Delhi in the morning, they said. Engineers were being flown to carry out repairs, the sources said. All the passengers were later flown to Delhi by a Mumbai-Delhi flight, which was diverted here to accommodate them.

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Indian online travel market booming, hotels come into focus

Netizens in small towns are as savvy as their urban cousins in using the web for purchasing goods and services, with 74 per cent of all online transactions traced back to non-metros. Far from the popular perception that only people from big cities use the Internet to plan their travel, including book tickets, it has come to light that web users hailing from small cities like Surat and Bhubaneswar are second to none in using the net for e-commerce, travel portal makemytrip.Com's founder and CEO Deep Kalra said at the Travel Distribution Summit 2006.

Given the high credit card usage in India, where industry estimates suggest 70 per cent of all online purchases are made with plastic money, the web marketplace is emerging as a convenient and cheaper alternative for shopping -- be it clothes or airline tickets. Kalra said there were around 30 million credit card users and 40 million Internet users in the country. However, the future of this market heavily depends on Online Travel Agents diversifying their service basket like offering hotel bookings in addition to e-ticket sales.

Making travel arrangements online is becoming a habit with the emerging middle class, who would grow to become 400 million-strong by 2009, and would generate an income of around 420 billion dollars, travel portal Yatra's co-founder Dhruv Shringi said, adding travelling for business is still the most frequent bookings online as leisure travel is still a fairly small but fast growing segment.

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Railways likely to link Delhi, state capitals with Garib Rath

Seeing the overwhelming response of passengers to 'Garib Rath', a dream project of Union Railways Minister Lalu Prasad for providing low-cost air-conditioned rail services to the poor, the ministry is now planning to introduce such trains from all the state headquarters to the national capital from next year.

The proposal is being considered by higher authorities, said Mr.S K Suri, who recently took over as the General Manager of the Rail Coach Factory. He said the initial response to the 'Garib Rath', running on the Amritsar-Saharsa route, was "lukewarm" but now the passengers' response was very good. Railways has hence decided to increase the number of coaches from 16 to 24 in the Graib Rath express, Suri said.

The railways also plans to run the trains in the Nizammudin-Patna, Nizamuddin-Bandra and Nizammudin-Chennai route during the current financial year, he said. The next rake of 16 coaches would be rolled out of the factory by the end of November this year and factory would turn out 68 coaches including 56 sleeper chances and 12 power generation cars by the end of March next year.

Claiming that RCF has the capability to manufacture coaches for metro trains, Suri said RCF would participate in the global bidding. He also claimed that RCF would also achieve its production target of 1,268 coaches fixed by the Railways board during this financial year and the present rate of production is about five coaches a day.

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Air Deccan to launch direct flight between Madurai and Bangalore

Low cost carrier Air Deccan today said it will launch a direct non-stop flight between this city and Bangalore from October 30. The direct service would help meet the growing demand for low-cost connectivity between towns and cities in South India, Air Deccan Chief of Corporate Planning Krishnaswamy told reporters.

He said apart from the recently introduced Tuticorin-Chennai flight, an additional flight could be operated to Tuticorin provided improved lighting facility is available at the airport for night landing. The airline also has plans to operate flights to Salem from November.

Claiming that Air Deccan flew three million passengers in 2005-06, Krishnaswamy said in the first half of 2006-07, the airline had carried 30 lakh passengers. It has doubled capacity and this year it hopes to carry sixty lakh passengers, he added.

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Indian plans major capacity expansion

India's government-owned domestic air carrier Indian Monday reiterated its resolve to go for a major expansion by acquiring additional aircraft in the near future to meet the requirements of a buoyant market.

"The enhanced capacity is planned to be met through leasing of five Airbus A320 aircraft and six smaller jets at the earliest," an Indian spokesperson said after the company's board meeting. "Indian hopes to induct these 11 aircraft by the spring of 2007. In addition to this, an expansion of its international network will happen when the two already leased wide-body A330 aircraft arrive in June and October next year," he added.

With the planned leasing and the arrival of its own Airbus aircraft, Indian's total strength of the A320 family would go up to 64 by the end of 2007. "The plan to have a mixed fleet of varying capacities is primarily to provide more non-stop flights, more frequency, greater convenience to passengers and more daily operations," said a senior official of Indian, earlier known as Indian Airlines. "This would be possible with smaller aircraft, leaving the larger capacity aircraft to be utilised for high-density routes," he added.

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Thai Airways adds three more Indian destinations

Thai Airways today announced the commencement of air services to three new Indian cities - Varanasi, Gaya and Hyderabad - to Bangkok from October 30, taking its total number of Indian destinations to eight. Thai airlines will fly to the new destinations as part of the expansion of its services between the two countries, Thai Airways general manager (India) Viroj Sirihorachai told reporters here.

The flights from Gaya and Varanasi to Bangkok and its return journey would operate on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday, while those between Hyderabad and Bangkok would operate on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, he said. Referring to the impact of the military coup in that country on tourism, Viroj said the political development has had no impact, whatsoever, as flights from various destinations abroad continued to log 100 per cent booking.

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Mumbai to have Rs.1 bn passenger terminal

In a bid to boost cruise liner operations along India's western coast and expand the scope of leisure-cum-business tourism, the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) is all set to develop a Rs.100 billion ($2.2 billion) state-of-the-art dedicated passenger terminal for the island city. The terminal would be located off the Radio Club in south Mumbai. "We have identified the site and various studies are being carried out for development of the dedicated passenger terminal," MPT's Manager-Traffic V. Ranganath said. "The Maharashtra government is very keen on the early completion of this project," he added.

The terminal, if it goes as per present plan, would be ready in the next two to three years, Ranganath told here Friday. He was accompanied by advisor to the ministry of surface transport, shipping and highways D.T. Joseph and Star Cruises' Chief Operating Officer Chong Chee Tut on board the SuperStar Libra cruise liner during a trip around the Mumbai harbour. Besides the passenger terminal, several ancillary facilities will also be developed, he said. "It will be a big state-of-the-art terminal that would be able to handle two cruise liners at a time," he said giving details of the new project.

Star Cruises, which has completed its first successful year of operation on India's western coast, plans to market its leisure-cum-business packages more aggressively. "With the huge potential of marketing the packages in the region we want to offer more services here. During our operations in the last one year, we have catered to a wide segment - from families, corporate groups to honeymooners and youths," said Tut.

"Two weddings were held last year on board the ship and this season too we have been booked for another two," he said, adding that nearly 130 cabins were booked during the weddings last year. Maintaining that India remains a very important market for Star Cruises, Tut said: "The homecoming and homeporting of SuperStar Libra in India for a second season clearly reflects our commitment towards developing a cruise industry in India." "We look forward to the cooperation and support of the tourism and transport authorities in Maharashtra to achieve our common objectives. "We are also keen to consider the proposal of linking the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) operated 'Deccan Odyssey' luxury train package with the SuperStar Libra."

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Thar express to resume service from Dec 23

The 'Thar Express' train connecting Munabao in Rajastan and Khokhrapar in Pakistan's Sindh province, which was suspended due to floods, would resume service from December 23.

Officials of the Pakistan Railways said their Indian counterparts have informed that the running of Thar Express would remain suspended till December 16 as restoration work is still being carried out on Munabao-Jodhpur section. However, train operation would restart from

December 23.

Arrangements have been made to ensure that Samjhota Express running between Lahore-Wagah-Attari cater to any extra rush of passengers due to suspension of the Thar Express. Thar express was suspended due to floods in Monabao, Barmer and Jodhpur which submerged rail tracks.

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Train traffic on Kanpur-Delhi route resumes

Train traffic on Kanpur-Delhi route was resumed after tracks were cleared of three derailed wagons of a goods train.

Ahmedabad-bound Gorakhpur-Ahmedabad Express train had rammed into an empty goods train near Govindpuri station at around 12.40 pm, leading to the derailment, deputy chief traffic manager of kanpur central railway station, J R Meena said here today.
The express train driver received minor injuries and was admitted in railway hospital for treatment. No passenger was injured.

The Gorakhpur-Ahmedabad express was flagged of for its onward journey at around 4 pm, official sources said. Nearly a dozen up and down trains on Delhi-Howrah routes were affected due to the drailment. Normal movement of trains was expected by this evening, sources said.

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Qantas to outsource IT jobs to India

Australia's national carrier Qantas will outsource its IT jobs to Satyam Computer Services Ltd and Tata Consulting Services.

The move will result in the loss of 340 jobs in Australia, but will lead to cost saving, according to reports.

"We will outsource our IT applications support and maintenance operations to Satyam Computer Services Ltd and Tata Consulting Services," Qantas chief executive, Geoff Dixon said. "The transition to Satyam and Tata would take place over a period of 15 months starting from November," Dixon said.

"Satyam and Tata have established operations in Australia, with a third of the positions undertaking Qantas work to remain onshore," he said.

Dixon argued that Australia was itself importing workers due to a nationwide skills shortage while thousands of Australians were living and working overseas, reports the Australian.
Presently, the airlines has more than 37,000 staff on its payroll.

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First Indian aircraft arrives at New Delhi

The first mint-fresh aircraft of the state-owned carrier, Indian, which has ordered 43 aircraft from the European manufacturer Airbus Industrie, arrived at the IGI airport this morning. The 122 seater Airbus A-319 was received by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Indian CMD Vishwapati Trivedi and senior officials of the ministry and other agencies.

The airline had ordered 19 A-319, 20 A-321 and 4 A-320 at an estimated cost of two billion US dollars.

Deliveries of these aircraft would be stepped up from June 2007 with six aircraft to be delivered that year, 12 in 2008, 18 in 2009 and the last six in 2010.

All these planes would come in two class configuration with the A-319 having 122 seats, A-321 with 172 seats and A-320 having 140 seats.

Barring the aircraft which landed today, the remaining 42 planes joining the fleet next year would have in-flight audio-visual entertainment systems on the seatbacks.

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Kashmir most preferred domestic tourist destination: Surveys

Notwithstanding the violence unleashed by militants in the state, Kashmir continues to be the most preferred domestic tourist destination, two surveys conducted by international travel agencies have found.

The surveys, conducted by CNBC and Thomas Cook travel agencies of international repute, have placed Kashmir at the number one spot in dream destinations and most preferred destination for Indian travellers, Tourism Minister Mohammad Dilawar Mir said today.

During a meeting with members of Kashmir Hotels and Restaurants Owners Federation at Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Complex here, Mir said the findings of surveys were encouraging for the state's tourism industry and expressed optimism about a big tourism boom in J&K.

Mir said the hotel industry in Kashmir Valley and tours and travel sector should play a complementary role to revive tourism, which is very vital for state's economy.

Without referring to terror attacks on tourists in Srinagar that forced holiday-makers to shun Kashmir, the minister said joint effort were needed to offset damages caused to tourism sector by negative media reports about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

Mir said an intensive and vigorous campaign would be launched in the country and abroad to attract maximum tourists to the state. Services of cable and electronic media, including Prasar Bharti, would be availed of to showcase tourism potential of the state. Also, some new initiatives to promote winter and adventure tourism were being taken.

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Flights diverted from Delhi airport

A heavy congestion over the Delhi airport tonight led to the diversion of a few flights to neighbouring cities, according to airport sources.

Airport sources said the congestion led to the diversion of some domestic flights to Jaipur and Lucknow, therby delaying their arrival at the Delhi airport.

The diverted flights included two Jet Airways services from Mumbai and Raipur, they said.
The sources said efforts were being made to allow landing of international flights first.

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Representative body of airlines set up

With the Civil Aviation Ministry warning airlines to avoid losses and maintain their financial strength, major carriers have set up a representative body to take up common issues with the government and also sort out problems among themselves.

The industry body, Federation of Indian Airlines, was formally set up at a meeting of CEOs of major carriers earlier this week in Mumbai where several issues including those concerning the fare structure came up for discussion.

At this meeting, the full-service carriers sought a check on fare reductions announced by the low-cost carriers (LCCs), but there were major differences of opinion on the matter, industry sources said.

The full-service legacy carriers also wanted a hike in the fuel surcharge of Rs 750 per passenger being charged now, which was stoutly opposed by the LCCs whose representatives said the surcharge could not be hiked further as the global crude prices were coming down. The FIA, headed by Air India CMD V Thulasidas, finally concluded that since there was no consensus on the fare structure, the issue could not be taken up by the airlines body, the sources said.

However, the meeting witnessed unanimity on issues relating to aviation infrastructure and taxes, especially those levied on the Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), and decided to take it up with the government and other agencies concerned.

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Dial 24 hour call centre for new AC taxis in Mumbai

Mumbaikars have finally got an option to say good-bye to the age old Black and Yellow Taxis as they can now avail the services of new air-conditioned Maruti-Esteem, Tata Indigo cars fitted with GPS/GPRS system which can be booked by just dialling the 24 hrs call-centre. Mumbai based Fulora Foundation would manage this fleet service with 100 plus vehicles hitting the road in next two days.

Mumbai Taxi Company Pvt Ltd and Mumbai Gold Cabs Pvt Ltd have joined this Foundation with 100 vehicles each.

The prices in this new Fleet of Taxis would be Rs 15 for initial one kilometer and Rs 13 for every subsequent kilometer and 25 per cent extra would be charged for any travel between midnight 12 and five in the morning.

"To begin with we would start with a fleet size of around 100 plus vehicles in the next two days and aim to bring 5,000 vehicles under this service in next one years time," Fulora Foundation Managing Trustee, Arun Sabnis said here today.

The company has made an investment of Rs 650 crore to begin with and this was supported by ICICI and State Bank of India in this public-private partnership, he added.

The drivers of the vehicles would be the equity holders in the scheme. Any person coming with his old vehicle would be given Rs 30-35,000 which would be redeployed as equity in the company. The new vehicles would then be leased to them, said Sabnis.

This new fleet service was today inaugurated by Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh who also handed over the permit to the first few drivers of the fleet service. "The start of this service is another step in the direction of making Mumbai a world class city," he said.

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Mountain rail cancelled between Mettupalayam and Coonoor

The Mettupalayam-udhagamandalam- Mettupalayam passenger train has been partially cancelled between Mettupalayam and Coonoor on October 19 and 20, due to landslips between Kallar and Hillgrove stations.

Landslips have occured on the Mettupalayam-Coonoor section of Nilgiri Mountain Railway, due to heavy rains in the last two days, a Southern Railway press release said today. The services between Coonoor and Udhagamandalam would run as usual, it said.

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Delhi homes to open doors for foreign tourists

Tourists visiting India would now be able to stay with families in the capital as the government Wednesday launched a novel scheme that offers them cheaper accommodation along with a chance to experience the Indian culture from close quarters.

Launching the Incredible India Bed & Breakfast scheme, Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said the government would recognise spare rooms available with house-owners in the national capital and make them available at an "affordable cost for the common tourists who wish to experience the Indian culture".

"This will be a unique opportunity for the house-owners, especially the housewives, because once their spare rooms are recognised under the scheme they will get an opportunity to earn that extra income while being at home," Soni told reporters.

The scheme is expected to provide 10,000 budget rooms in the country in four years - just in time for the Commonwealth Games to be hosted here in 2010.

Pointing out that the capital would require about 40,000-50,000 rooms in the budget category for the tourists visiting Delhi during the 2010 games, Soni said the rooms would be categorised as "gold" and "silver".

Under the scheme, which will also be introduced at other tourist destinations, the house-owners can offer up to five rooms or 10 beds with working space, air-conditioning facilities as well as attached western toilets.

The house-owners will also be required to provide Indian or continental breakfast to the guests and display the rates to be charged for rooms as well as breakfast.

"The interested house-owners can apply in a prescribed form to India tourism offices. They may also need a clearance certificate from the local police station," the minister said.

Soni, who also launched an integrated publicity campaign to facilitate and motivate house-owners to take benefit of the scheme, said the drive would support the ministry's effort to convert India into a 365-day destination.

Soni explained the ministry's new programmes to promote India as a tourist destination for MICE (Meeting, incentives, conventions and events), wellness, health, food and adventures.
Tourism Joint Secretary Amitabh Kant said: "The Incredible India campaign that was launched in 2004 has led to a 45 percent growth in terms of tourist arrivals and 60 percent growth in terms of business. We are continuing the campaign with more zeal targeting $5.8 billion from the tourism industry in two-and-a-half years."

Soni said the ministry was also working hard to ensure that visitors are provided visas on arrival. She said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had held a meeting last month with her and other ministers and it was decided to give long-term, five-ten-year tourist visas with multiple entries for the tourists.

"To make availability of visa easier, it has been decided that the external affairs ministry and our embassies will outsource staff during peak tourist seasons so that those wanting visas need not have to wait for more than 36 to 48 hours," Soni said.

India witnessed a boom year for tourism in 2005 with a double-digit growth in foreign arrivals that hit a record 3.92 million tourists, compared 3,46 million the previous year.

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'Bunty and Babli' to help preserve heritage

Buoyed by the response to the Atithi Devo Bhava (guest is god) campaign, the central tourism ministry is all set to unveil another campaign 'Bunty and Babli', a take on a Bollywood flick, for preserving heritage monuments.

The 'Atithi Devo Bhava' campaign was launched in January 2005 to boost tourism by orienting key people to make the tourists feel welcomed in India.

"Adding on to our Atithi Devo Bhava campaign, which sensitised taxi drivers and airport employees, we are now launching another campaign to create awareness against garbage droppings and scribbling of graffiti on monuments," Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said here Wednesday.

Launching the campaign - both in the print and audio-visual media -- Soni said it would help "initiate a sense of pride about India".

The minute-long advertisement shows a couple - Bunty and Babli - freaking out at various tourist spots. They throw garbage and write graffiti on historical monuments through the day. When they return home they see their house messed up by someone else. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan then comes on the screen in a white shirt and asks people to take care of their towns as they would of their homes.

"We want all major players in the tourism sector to tie-up with the ministry to create awareness. We want the NGOs to use our new logo for the campaign and take it as a citizens' campaign," the minister told reporters at a press conference.

"I felt it was essential to imbibe in people a sense of belonging and pride about where they live. This will be a nationwide campaign."

Narrating an incident, she said she once saw a person who was travelling in a luxury car throw his hamburger wrapper on the road. "Even educated people in metros do not follow basic civic rules. So I think this campaign will open their eyes too," Soni added.

The Atithi Devo Bhava campaign also sensitised guides, immigration officers, tourist police and other personnel directly who interact with tourists.

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Residential quarters for pilgrims at Kheer Bhawani temple

In a bid to boost religious tourism, the Jammu and Kashmir government has constructed residential quarters for pilgrims with all basic facilities in the premises of the famous Kheer Bawani temple at Ganderbal.

The complex includes four one-room tenement buildings, shops, pooja halls, hawan shalla, reception centre, and dormitories, Minister for Roads and Buildings Gulchain Singh Charak said today.

Charak who visited the shrine and paid obeisance there said the complex is under execution at an estimated cost of Rs 17.50 crore and is likely to be completed by December.

The minister instructed the concerned executing agencies to complete the complex within stipulated period adding that landscaping around the temple shall also be taken up soon.
Officials said a number of local deputations met the minister and projected various problems particularly improvement and upgradation of roads at Tulmulla-Barsooa, Balpora, Sehpora and Numbal road.

Charak gave patient hearing to the deputationists and assured them that the government has already drafted various road connectively programme to facilitate the people, particularly in rural and far-flung areas.

Air India to drive long haul direct, 2006-07

Air India is intent on enhancing its long haul strategy with a particular focus on direct flights on key routes to North America, Africa and Europe. The imminent merger with Indian will translate into a fleet re-allocation that will enable Air India to ramp up its existing long haul routes and add new ones significantly to Mauritius, Australia and Eastern Europe besides the possibility of direct flights to New York on the ultra long haul Boeing aircraft that should be delivered next year. Air India has appointed a consortium led by Accenture as consultant for its proposed merger with Indian.

Shedding more light on the fleet re-allocation post merger, Air India CMD, V Thulasidas, says, "As the two airlines are merged and begin inducting new aircraft, the new entity will have the critical mass to be a serious international player. A larger network with an enhanced regional and national hub strategy will also help the new entity take advantage of the fact that we can operate direct flights to all long haul destinations. In the case of competition, not all of them have the rights to do so."

Potential regions for direct services include Mauritius and Australia while more flights to New York and more European destinations in Eastern Europe are a distinct possibility.

Air India has medium to long haul while Indian has short haul. The A320 family ordered by Indian, 737-800 of AIE will be short haul and 747, 777 and 787 will be long haul. The airline has not ruled out the possibility of joining an airline alliance which, Thulasidas says, is essential from the point of view of global reach. It has to compliment the growth of the airline. The merger is a pre-cursor to joining an alliance and would only then make sense from a leverage perspective. The new entity could also have a formidable status in store for its low-cost Air India Express which may also be named differently, following the integration of its operations with Indian subsidiary Alliance. Air India Express is currently the only Indian low-cost carrier that operates overseas, to the Middle East.

A company for MRO and ground handling has been set up and will become more active as the merger fructifies. The new entity could potentially be a Rs 130-billion airline with a fleet size of 130 aircraft.

Kingfisher Airlines Introduces World-class innovations Focused on Enhanced Guest Convenience

Kingfisher Airlines India's fastest growing airline and India's first carrier to introduce First class premium cabins onboard its flights- Kingfisher First, announced the launch of two world-class technological innovations to enhance guest convenience.

No more waiting at the Check-in counter; Guests with hand baggage can directly proceed towards security check-in where the Kingfisher Airlines' Roving Agent will print their boarding passes.Now you can choose your seat and print your own Kingfisher Airlines Boarding Pass at your Home or Office.

The first cutting-edge innovation is the introduction of the Roving Agent at the airport. Now guests with hand baggage need not wait at the check-in counter to collect their boarding pass. They can directly approach the security check-in counters. Deployed outside the Security check-in area will be Kingfisher Airlines' Roving Agent who will attend to these guests personally and book them on their choice of seats. Specially trained Roving Agents will reach out to guests and check them in using a mobile digital device and printer. Kingfisher Airlines is the first airline in India to launch this unique service.

Also launched is the facility of Web Check-in. Now Kingfisher Airlines guests can sit in the comfort of their homes or offices and print their boarding passes. All a guest has to do is log onto the official website of Kingfisher Airlines, www.flykingfisher.com and click on the link, web check-in. Fill in your reservation details and the screen will display the choice of seats available onboard that particular flight. Once booked the guest can conveniently print out the Boarding Pass and carry it along with him/her on the day of the flight and proceed straight to the security check counter at the airport.

Stated Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman & CEO, Kingfisher Airlines Limited, "At Kingfisher Airlines we have always emphasized upon the importance of service and hospitality. In the past 16 months we have introduced several world-class initiatives to add to the convenience of our guests. The 2 new services- Web Check-In and The Roving Agent are two highly innovative steps to make our guests' journey with us even more delightful. In the times to come, many more such innovative initiatives will be undertaken by Kingfisher Airlines."

Commented Mr. Girish Shah, "The Roving Agent is like a check-in counter on the move. You no longer need to go to the check-in counter; we have ensured that the check-in counter comes to you. So you will be serviced on priority if you are a guest with only hand baggage. At Kingfisher Airlines we constantly innovate when it comes to providing added convenience to our guests. And when we say we want them to enjoy the Good Times with us, we do everything possible to ensure that. There are several more such path-breaking initiatives in the pipeline."

SpiceJet Consolidates its Network with introduction of 9th Aircraft

With induction of new new-generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft to its fleet of eight, SpiceJet today announced consolidation plan of its existing network. SpiceJet will launch six new direct daily flights (Delhi-Hyderabad, Hyderabad - Bangalore, Bangalore - Delhi, Delhi - Bangalore, Bangalore - Hyderabad and Hyderabad - Delhi). On Delhi – Hyderabad sector this will be the third flight and on Delhi – Bangalore sector this will be second flight.

Announcing the expansion plan, Mr. Siddhanta Sharma, CEO SpiceJet said, “SpiceJet strictly follows international and proven model of low-cost airline. Instead of opening more routes, we believe in introducing more flights on existing routes." "Not only did this allow us to strictly follow the proven low cost model of airlines like SouthWest and EasyJet, it also gave us space to put in place on-time performance and continued reliability of our operations."

The above routing will provide us with a morning DEL-HYD, HYD-BLR service, and evening return service on BLR-HYD and HYD-DEL sectors. In addition, we will also a daily direct flight between DEL-BLR-DEL sectors. All the new sectors will start with the Red Hot Special Fares of Rs. 799 to Rs 1799, available for booking with effect from 18th November, 2006 and will be sold through SpiceJet’s website www.spicejet.com

GoAir ties up with Goa Tourism

GoAir - India’s premier smart cost airline, today announced its tie-up with the Goa Tourism Development Corporation Limited - GTDC - to promote tourism to Goa and to develop a common brand ‘GoGoa’. GoAir also announced the commencement of its new flights to and from Goa. The airline had announced the commencement of its Delhi - Goa flights earlier this month and is also looking at increasing the frequency of flights daily to and from Goa from Mumbai.

In addition to the afternoon flight from Mumbai which was one of GoAir’s first routes, it has launched an early morning flight as well as a New Delhi – Goa flight.

Through this tie-up, GoAir passengers will get special rates at prime GTDC hotels and winners of promotions on GoAir will win free stays in GTDC properties across Goa. GTDC will market the brand through its national and international networks, website, brochures, etc. and GoAir will do so through its vast clientele, corporate, etc. GoAir will promote GoGoa packages through special counters at Goa Tourism hotels and innovative in-flight promotions.

Commenting on the tie-up and new sectors Mr. Jeh Wadia Managing Director, GoAir said, “I believe that a key driver for growth in the aviation industry is the leisure travel sector in addition to the business travellers. Currently the demand for low cost travel is at an all time high, complemented with huge state-run tourism awareness campaigns, which is a perfect platform for the aviation industry to provide a high value product to the consumer. To this end, GoAir has taken this initiative and tied up with GTDC, in addition to Kerala Tourism Development Corporation (KTDC), as its preferred airline and is in the process of finalising the same with other states. Our country is blessed with abundant natural beauty and it is our endeavour to make access to these states a reality to our passengers.” GoAir has been consistently growing its loads on all sectors since beginning operations in November 2005; this has been due to its extreme commitment to providing its passengers a high quality, reliable service at low costs.

In addition to the expansion of its fleet and new sectors GoAir has always been at the forefront of innovations to give the passenger a better deal. Some of these innovations focused at giving customers’ a better experience have been;Go Air was the first airline to offer 10,000 Free tickets, to offer home delivery of tickets, to allow 30 kgs check in baggage allowance for international travellers, to offer a 10% discount to armed forces personnel, Govt employees, Students and Senior Citizens, provide OnBoard shopping, and special celebrations like Flowers on Women’s Day, Offers on Mothers Day, Family Day, Akshaya Tritiya, etc.

GoAir now operates a fleet of 4 aircraft servicing 13 cities with 193 flights operating weekly.

GHIAL to create more facilities for passengers

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) will create additional facilities to cater to 12 million passengers.

A release from the company today said the setting up of new facilities would scale the project cost to Rs 22,813.18 crore. The new facilities would be ready by the time of commencement of its first phase operations in March 2008.

For meeting the additional expenditure, GHIAL had decided to put in an additional investment of Rs 523 crore, including investing in fuel farm facilities.

A decision to this effect was taken at GHIAL Board meeting held in Hyderabad on October 16, 2006, the statement said.

''The additional capital would be raised by way of 100 per cent debt from leading banks. The new facilities would not cause any delay in the project work, which was progressing at a brisk pace'', the statement quoting a company official said.

The additional facilities include increasing aircraft parking bays to 42 from the current 30, setting up two rapid exit taxiways and full length parallel taxiways for enabling quick turn around for aircraft.

Apart from these new facilities, an additional office space for airlines, extra cargo terminal space, additional car parking for passengers and public would be constructed.

For safety and security of the passengers, the company would add additional security equipments, the statement added.

Japan for developing Buddhist circuit

Japan will invest in the development of the Buddhist circuit in Bihar so as to create facilities of international standards.

Japan's Ambassador to India, Yasukuni Enoki, said this here Tuesday. He is on a visit to go to Bodh Gaya, Nalanda and Rajgrih, all of which are key destinations for Buddhists.

Before leaving for the holy spots, Enoki said Japan was eager to develop the area. "It is our priority," he said. "The main purpose of our visit is to find ways and means of developing the Buddhist circuit."

Jet Airways continues to be in red

India's leading private carrier Jet Airways failed to fly out of losses for the second consecutive quarter this fiscal, posting a loss of Rs 55 crore in the three-month period ended September 30. While domestic operations resulted in a pre-tax loss of Rs 122.6 crore, the international operations suffered a pre-tax loss of Rs 111.4 crore -- the reasons for this being high fuel costs, discounted fares and increase in staff strength among others.

However, the overall revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 1,820 crore, up 38 per cent compared with the same quarter last year. Jet Airways said it planned to induct six more aircraft in its fleet by March next year to take the total to 63 planes.

Besides fuel costs, fares and staff numbers, other reasons for the losses were a combination of lean season, capacity induction by its competitors in key routes and addition of new global frequencies, including Amritsar-London, Delhi-Singapore and a second daily between Mumbai and London, it said.

The fuel bill for the quarter was higher by Rs 172.6 crore than it was in the same quarter last fiscal. This included Rs 27 crore extra fuel losses incurred by the airline due to traffic congestion over major airports like Mumbai and Delhi.

In the first quarter, the airline had reported a net loss of Rs 45 crore owing to rising fuel bills and international operations incurring negative account.

Air Deccan starts Delhi-Kullu flights

India's low-cost carrier Air Deccan started daily flights connecting New Delhi and Kullu in Himachal Pradesh Tuesday.

The air service targets high-end tourists travelling to the scenic hill stations of Kullu and Manali. "We are flying a 48-seater aircraft for the benefit of high-end foreign and Indian tourists who wish to visit Kullu and Manali," said G.R. Gopinath, an Air Deccan official.

Until now, only Jagson Airlines operated flights thrice a week from New Delhi. Deccan's tariffs are considerably low at Rs.2700 one way. But Jagson too has lowered their fare to Rs.1,000 one way for all incoming flights from New Delhi, though the outgoing flights continue to be high-priced.

"During the peak tourist season, we intend to fly three daily flights to Kullu from New Delhi," added Gopinath. The first Air Deccan trial flight was inaugurated by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh Monday in Kullu.

Air Deccan also plans flights to Dharamsala, a resort town visited by a large number of Buddhists, especially followers of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

International airport at Agra

The decks have been cleared for an international airport at Agra, the city of the Taj Mahal, it was officially disclosed here.

"In principle, the union government has accepted our proposal for an international airport at Agra," Uttar Pradesh Tourism Minister Kaukab Hameed told IANS. "A team of experts is shortly being sent from New Delhi to prepare a techno-feasibility report," he added.

Despite being India's most sought after tourist destination, Agra was without a civilian airport and tourists were required to drive down all the way from New Delhi.

According to a study carried out by the union tourism ministry, about 35 percent of foreign tourists visit India only to see the Taj Mahal, that is not only Agra's number one landmark but also India's top heritage site.

Besides, Agra has two other world heritage monuments - the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri. Hameed, who is all excited about the project, has already got the state machinery to complete the necessary groundwork.

"A large chunk of 1,700 acres of land has already been earmarked on the Agra-Mathura road for the international airport; we hope to commence work on it by the end of December, the need for an international airport at Agra was overdue as the existing airport there essentially belongs to the Indian Air Force and was therefore not freely accessible" he pointed out.

The proposed airport is expected to be built with joint participation of the public and private sector. "Leading private players have already evinced great interest in the project" he said.

No fare cut despite low fuel costs

There is no fare respite in sight for air passengers following the 8% drop in jet fuel price this month. Not only that, with peak travel season kicking in, less number of low-fare tickets would be on offer by each airline, upping the travel costs by at least 10% in the October-December period, as compared to the previous quarter, say travel agents.

Most airlines hope to improve their yield per seat by 10-15% with higher load factors. However, what queers the pitch for the airlines is the additional capacity entering the domestic market over the next three months. Domestic carriers are slated to add 30,000 additional seats each month in the October-December period with at least half a dozen new aircraft entering the fleet of different airlines.

Carriers, meanwhile, have decided to adopt a wait-and-watch approach, while taking a call on reducing fuel surcharge. “We would like to see how the jet fuel rates move over the next two-three months, before taking a call,” said a senior airline executive from a full-service carrier. Similar is the sentiment among low-cost carriers.

Fuel surcharge have been doubled more than from Rs 220-level to touch Rs 750 per ticket over the past one year. With demand picking up in the winter months, typically most airlines cut the number of tickets in the low-fare basket by around 10%.

However, most in the industry find it difficult to predict the movement of fares in this season as additional seat capacity will put pressure on airlines to keep fares competitive. According to Jeh Wadia of Go Airways, the yield for airlines is more in higher fare baskets. “With higher load factors, our yields will also improve,” said Mr Wadia.

Ankur Bhatia of Amadeus India said the additional capacity would keep the pressure on the airlines to continue with their low fares. “Fares may remain the same or even drop,” he added. Airline executives confide in private that as demand peaks in the coming months, the number of seats available in the low fare baskets will be less.

Jet Airways bags India’s best airline award

Jet Airways has bagged another prestigious award for third consecutive year and fourth time in the past five years by being voted India's best airline at 17th annual Travel Awards 2006 function of TTG Travel Asia (Travel Trade Gazette) at Pattaya in Thailand.


This is the fifth award in different international and national categories that Jet Airways has been conferred with in the last two months. The airline was voted India's leading airline at the world travel awards and won two avion awards for its in-flight entertainment last month.


The annual TTG Travel Asia Awards honours Asia-Pacific's most outstanding organisations in the travel industry for its achievements and contribution in shaping the region's travel and tourism into what it is today. The award, based on a survey among the readers of TTG Asia and voting by peers in travel and tourism industry, honours the most distinguished travel organisations among 14 countries in the Asia Pacific region, including China.

Tourist Season kicks off in Goa

The much awaited-first two charter flights of the tourist season, carrying 345 and 200 passengers from United Kingdom arrived at Dabolim airport by Monarch Airlines today.

The first flight landed at 11.30 a.m, while the other one landed at 4.30 p.m. Monarch Airlines flights will arrive at Dabolim airport only on Sundays and by the end of this month there are more than 1,500 tourists are expected to arrive in Goa.

The station manager of Monarch Airlines, Mr Subhash Phegade informed that this year about 4 lakh tourist are expected to arrive in Goa by charter flights. He further said that last year around 3 lakh tourists had come.

Mr Phegade further stated that there are about 800 charter flights from various airlines all over the world including Monarch Airlines, First Choice Airways, Finn Air, Nova Air, My Travels Airlines, Thomson Airlines, Condore Airlines, Transvia Airlines, Trans Airlines, Vim Air besides others will make its regular trips to Goa during this tourist season.

Mr Phegade also stated that in all 17 tour operators are involved in the service of the charter tourists arriving in Goa. He also stated, “As the charter tourists flow in Goa would be higher than last year, they have deployed additional 100 loaders and 50 commercial staff to give better service to the tourists.”

He also informed that the tourist season would actually begin from November 1 with other charter flights arriving in Goa. The charter tourist season (arrival of charter flights) would conclude on May 2, 2007.

The airport authorities have made suitable arrangements at Dabolim airport from the security point of view. Arrangements for 100 per cent search operations by hand, incase the X-ray machines failure at international terminal due to technical snag, have also been made.

Mr Phegade lamented that with the outbreak of dengue cases in India some tourists were hesitating to visit in India and as such the flow of tourists may get affected.

Indigo to start operations from Mumbai

Indigo, India's newest low cost, no frills airlines announced new routes from Mumbai to Baroda, New Delhi, Nagpur and Kolkata, 18/10/2006 onwards. Bookings have already started, watch for discounted fares.

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Welcome to Silk Route Holidays, Goa

Welcome to the official blog of Silk Route Holidays, Goa. We are a tours
and travel agent based in Goa, India. We will be reporting on the travel
scene in Goa and India in particular. So, do check back for regular
updates. Also, find the latest news including national, world and sports
on our blog.

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