Top Travel Destinations from Dubai

Dubai is fast gaining reputation as a financial and business hub for the Middle East region and most importantly it is also emerging as a travel destination for the Asia pacific region. Incidentally Dubai is also having some of the biggest Airlines such as Emirates airlines serving it and connecting it to all international destinations. Here in i list the top destinations having not only flight connectivity to Dubai but also important from the Travel perspective.

Athens                                                                                 

The capital City of Greece is Known for its traditional Architectural splendor ranging fro Greco Roma, Neo Classical to Modern and has a multitude of tourist attractions. Connected with major international destinations through flights the City is also connected through rail network with major European cities. Dubai Athens flights are offered by all major Middle East airlines such as Emirates airlines and Etihad airways as well as united airlines, British airways and Delta Airways

Cairo

 The large city in the entire Muslim world and the capital city of Egypt is one of the top travel destinations across the globe and always leave the visitor demanding for more. Apart from Local Cuisine one can find all type of artifacts to buy in various local markets.

Places to Visit in Cairo:  Muizz Street, Ibrahim Pasha's Statue, The streets of Islamic Cairo, The Cairo Citadel, Downtown Cairo; top right: Ibn Tulun Mosque

How to reach there: Cairo is well connected with international cities as well as UAE. Dubai Cairo flights are offered by Emirates, Egypt Air , Middle East airlines and others.

Durban

The third largest city in South Africa, Durban has emerged as a top tourist and business center.  The city wide beaches makes it one of the most vouched after leisure spot and coupled with Cape Town forms the dual city of attractions a must for any foreign visitor.

Places to Visit in Durban: The Golden Mile, Victoria Embankment, Gateway Theatre of Shopping, Umgeni River Bird Park, Princes' Islands

How to reach there from UAE: All UAE cities such as Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi are well connected by flights to Durban. Dubai Durban Flights are offered by Etihad Airways, Middle East Airlines and Emirates Airlines besides South Africa Airways.

 Istanbul

The Turkish Mega city  is the Economic, Cultural and Administrative epicenter of Turkey and also one of the largest cities in Eurasia.  There is much to offer for the visitors in terms of Civilizational remains and architecture, both traditional and modern dating back to Greek and Byzantine influence.

Places to Visit: Anadoluhisarı and Rumelihisarı fortresses, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Dolmabahçe Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace

How to Reach There: There exist many direct flights from UAE cites to Istanbul. Dubai Istanbul flights are available on Emirates airlines, Turkish airlines, Etihad Airways and Gulf Air.

Shanghai

Shanghai is synonymous with the Chinese growth story though it has been the cradle of Chinese tradition, culture and administration from the time immemorial. The city is located in the Yangtze River basin in eastern China and due to its proximity with ports it has emerged as a popular trading and commerce center. Of late its importance as a travel destination has also increased.

Places to Visit: The Bund, City God Temple and Yuyuan Garden,  Pudong, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Grand Theatre in the People's Square precinct and Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Shanghai World Financial Center.

How to Reach Shanghai: There are numerous direct flights to Shanghai from most international cities and that is true for UAE also. Dubai Shanghai Flights are available on airlines such as South China airlines, Hainan airlines, Emirates airlines, Etihad airways and Gulf air.

Riyadh

The capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia is also one of the holiest religious places  of the Muslim faith. Situated at the center of Arabian plateau the city besides being administratively important is also most frequented by travelers. The city also boasts of considerable immigrant population particularly from South Asia, and Asia Pacific countries.

Places to Visit: Al Faisaliyah Center, Burj Al Mamlakah, Al Masmak Castle, Royal Saudi Air Force Museum, Kingdom Centre

How to Reach There: There exist robust international connectivity with the rest of the world. Dubai Riyadh Flights are offered by Emirates airlines, Saudi air, Etihad Airways and Gulf Air and many other airlines. King Khalid International Airport is the major airport.

Hong Kong

The city of Hong Kong is special administrative region of the People Republic of China and one of the most important commercial centres in Asia Pacific region.  Hong Kong is enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea and is famous for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour, facilitating development of ports. The city is frequently described as a place where "East meets West", indicating the deep Chinese influence being   intermingled with the British  culture of which it is a former colony.

What to See: Hong Kong Coliseum and McPherson Stadium, West Kowloon, Kowloon Walled City, International Finance Centre

How to Reach there From UAE: All cities in UAE are well connected by flights to the city of Hong Kong. Dubai Hong Kong Flights are offered by Emirates airlines, Hainan airlines, Air India, Etihad Airways and Gulf Air besides many others.

Air India Express to Launch Additional Abu Dhabi Chennai Flights

Air India Express

Keeping in with rising demand fro Abu Dhabi and return Flights to Chennai, Air India Express has announced of augmenting its Abu Dhabi Chennai Flights and thus increasing the total number of flights between the Indian and UAE city to three per week. With this move the total number of flights from UAE to India operated by Air India Express comes to around 32 on weekly basis. Next to Dubai, Abu Dhabi is the most expanding air destinations in United Arab Emirates and Indian Expatriates forms a sizeable number of people visiting to that city. Besides Chennai, Mangalore and Kochi are other popular destinations from South India which attracts Air Traveller to the Emirates.

Top Airlines Operating From India to UAE

All Major airlines operating between India and UAE have been on an expanding spree and have thereby started operations on New Routes or have increased their frequency. Most popular have been the low cost airlines that include Air India and Air India Express from India and Air Arabia from United Arab Emirates. Besides this Kingfisher airlines and Emirates airlines also operates between Indian and UAE cities particularly on high density routes. Recently Indigo also announced its international launch with flights operating between India and UAE.  Dubai Flights and Abu Dhabi Flights have thus emerged as  high demand sectors.

Flights Mishap Averted at Cochin Airport

A major flights accident was averted at Cochin airport when the Gulf Air flights from Bahrain landed outside the Kochi airport Runway. The Gulf Air plane (GF 270), Airbus 320 make, was to land at around 3.50 am when it skidded off the runway and went to a nearby muddy area. According to the Aircraft Pilot, the mishap occurred due to Poor visibility and heavy rain. Due to heavy rain and sand, which made it impossible to turn the aircraft on either side of the runway? Even before the accident the runways was declared close due to poor conditions and as many as 12 international flights were diverted to other airports, and it was emergency landing by the gulf air plane.

Many Etihad, Emirates and Gulf air international Flights to Kochi were cancelled or rescheduled and the disaster management process was also in question as the passengers were left to fend for themselves. On the contrary the airport officials tried to shift the blame on the Airlines themselves by declaring that it is the responsibility of the airlines to arrange the food and lodging of the Passengers. As per the latest news the damaged aircraft has been removed from the site so that the runway is usable again.

Find the Related Video Here : Kochi Gulf Air Mishap Averted

Indigo to Launch International Low Cost Flights

Indigo Airlines

The Gurgaon based Indian domestic carrier Indigo will be launching its first International flights on Dubai Delhi routes from First of September, 2011.
Indigo has been in an expanding mode and recently it entered into aircraft buying deals with Airbus for 180 Aircraft, some of which are meant for international flight routes as well.

The low cost flights as present constitutes only 5% of the total international flights and it is widely perceived by the airlines experts that the sector has much scope for growth given low international demand for air travel and losses of many larger airlines. As regarding India, from where the Indigo belongs, there have been strong growth in domestic air travel and Indigo has emerged as  one of the largest domestic carrier. Many Middle East cities such as Dubai and Sharjah are sought after routes mainly by the Indian residents and it do make good sense to launch low cost short distance flights on these routes. Further cities in South East Asia such as Bangkok also are sought after mainly by the outbound air travelers in India.

Indigo will fly aircraft with 180 seats the seat as it uses in the domestic flights, with a no frill model which means no in-flight entertainment,  Food or beverages. Though the competition from other entrenched players cannot be underestimated. Emirates, Tiger Airways, Air Arabia, Singapore Airlines, Air Asia and even Air India have operations on these routes and they may further decrease the tickets prices. The incentive for International flights, as per the sector analyst is not father to locate. Air fuel taxes for domestic flights are around 30 % while for the international flights it is just 4%. So the same no frills aircraft if used for short distance international flights, will save fuel cost and may actually lead to more profits.

Etihad on First Green Flight

The green flights have finally attracted the fancy of Etihad airways with the first one recently flying from Abu Dhabi to Sydney. The concept of Green flight basically relates to choosing those flight routes between two cities that leads to maximum fuel efficiency, which is sometimes not possible due to various air traffic control centers of jurisdictions in the countries. Etihad flights are under the aegis of INSPIRE or Indian ocean Strategic Partnership to Reduce Emissions so that the flights can utilize technologies to help them reduce their fuel use and Hydrocarbons emissions. The Etihad flight was officially inaugurated by the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport (DoT) in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Airports company.

The green flights have been made possible largely through the advanced navigation technologies wherein the aircraft no longer relies solely on the Ground base navigation systems. The aircraft can then use the shortest routes or use the prevailing air systems to their advantage for reducing emission levels.

Qatar Airways Tops Skytrax Best Airlines Award - 2011



Top AIlines of the Year-2011-SkyTrax Awards


The annual Skytrax airlines awards for ranking best airlines in terms of passengers opinion, In-flight entertainment and services provided across different class have been Announced. Qatar airways has been Named the best Airlines of the year 2011. The best airlines award reflects "reflects opinions of passengers around the world, and is based on every customer type across all cabins - be they business or leisure, frequent or first-time flyers" as per th Skytrax statement. The Doha based Qatar Airways was followed by Singapore Airlines ( which was 2008 Airlines award winner) in second place, with last year's winner, South Korea's Asiana  Airlines in third position. The Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific Airways retained fourth place. Thailand based state airlines Thai Airways shown a big improvement rising from 9th position last year to that of Fifth position this year. Asiana Airlines won for the best cabin crew award, while  Dubai based Emirates Airlines won the best in-flight entertainment award. The annual awards by Skytrax are based on surveys with more than 18 million passengers, carried out over 10 months.

The awards were announced at the French Air and Space Museum at the Paris Air Show.

Here is the Comprehensive award list of  World’s best airlines: 2011

1. Qatar Airways

2. Singapore Airlines

3. Asiana Airlines

4. Cathay Pacific Airways

5. Thai Airways International

6. Etihad Airways

7. Air New Zealand

8. Qantas Airways

9. Turkish Airlines.

World's Best First Class Airline Seat

1. Cathay Pacific Airways

2. Etihad Airways

3. Singapore Airlines

Best Airline In- flight Entertainment

1. Emirates

2. Singapore Airlines

3. Cathay Pacific Airways

World's Best Business Class Airline Seat

1. Oman Air

2. Singapore Airlines

3. Qatar Airways

Best Premium Economy Class Airline

1. Air New Zealand

2. Turkish Airlines

3. Qantas Airways

World's Most Improved Airline

1. China Southern Airlines

2. Air China

3. Aeroflot Russian Airlines

Global Airlines Sector Outlook : Reduced margin, Asia Pacific To Perfrom Well, Fuel Prices Plays Spoilsport



Flights Sector Outlook

 The global airlines sector outlook is showing a little dimmer picture with profit margin forecasts being slashed. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) further downgraded its 2011 airline industry profit forecast to just $4 billion which is significantly lower than the last years stats. This would be around 54% fall in profit as compared with the $8.6 billion profit forecast in March 2011 and a 78% drop compared with the $18 billion net profit (revised from $16 billion) recorded in the year ending 2010. The total expected revenues is $598 billion, a $4 billion profit equates to jus 0.7% margin. The operating profit margin is seeing many pressures with rising fuel costs and increasing competition being some of them. Also there have been external constraints such as the Japenese Tsunami and various political upheavals.
The Airlines Industry Forecast Highlights:

Fuel Costs: The cost of fuel is held as the primary cause of reduced profitability for the airlines sector. The average oil price for 2011 is now expected to be $110 per barrel (Brent price), a 15% increase over the previous forecast of $96 per barrel. For each dollar increase in the average annual oil price, airlines face an additional $1.6 billion in costs. With estimates that 50% of the industry’s fuel requirement is hedged at 2010 price levels, the industry 2011 fuel bill will rise by $10 billion to $176 billion. Fuel is now estimated to comprise 30% of airline costs—more than double the 13% of 2001.


Demand for airlines not increasing very fast: Despite high energy prices, world trade and corporate earnings continued to improve. As a result, global GDP projections increased by 0.1 percentage points to 3.2%, which is supporting continued growth in demand for air transport. However, growth rates for both cargo and passenger markets have been revised downward because of higher fuel costs. Passenger demand is now expected to grow 4.4% over the year, a full 1.2 percentage points below the 5.6% previously forecast in March. Similarly, cargo demand is expected to increase 5.5% and not 6.1% as predicted earlier.

The number of price-sensitive leisure travelers has fallen 3–4% over the past five months, as travel costs were forced higher by fuel prices and, in Europe, by new passenger taxes. Less price-sensitive premium travel demand has been more robust in the face of rising prices and continues to be driven by growing world trade and business investment. Premium passenger growth has dipped from the 9% of 2010, but is expected to be close to the historical trend this year at a 5–6% rate.

Capacity Enhancement: Overall capacity (combined passenger and cargo) is expected to expand 5.8%, which is above the 4.7% anticipated increase in demand. The gap between capacity and demand growth has widened to 1.1 percentage points from 0.3 percentage points in the previous forecast. Due to schedule commitments and fixed costs, capacity adjustments are expected to continue lagging behind the fall in demand, driving load factors down. By April, passenger load factors were hovering around 77%. This is more than a full percentage point below the 78.4% achieved for international traffic in 2010. Aircraft utilization is also falling. This decline in asset utilization, represented by lower load factors and average hours flown per aircraft, is the most significant downward pressure on airline profitability.

Yields: Robust economic conditions have given airlines some scope to partially recover higher fuel prices. This is reflected in an increased yield growth forecast of 3% for passenger traffic (double the previously forecast 1.5%) and 4% for cargo (up from the previously forecast 1.9%). The problem is that higher travel costs are now weakening price-sensitive demand and airlines are not expected to be able to offset higher costs with increased revenues.

Risks: The key risk to this outlook is a weakening of global economic growth. High energy prices will certainly have a slowing impact on economic growth. However, the impact will be mitigated by two factors. First, while high oil prices previously triggered recessions, today’s economies (which generate a unit of GDP using just half the energy required in the mid-1970s) are less sensitive. Second, the corporate sector is cash-rich, business confidence is high, and world trade continues to expand at around 9% annually. The International Monetary Fund and others have raised global growth projections, which would indicate a recovery in demand growth to the historical 5.6% level for the second half of 2011. IATA’s forecast for continued, albeit lower, airline profits despite $110 a barrel oil prices, is dependant on a strong economy to generate sufficient revenues to partially offset higher fuel costs.

Regional Highlights

Asia-Pacific Airlines

Asia Pacific airlines carriers are expected to earn around $2.1 billion and it is the largest profit earning group among all the regions. But still it has been impacted by the same forces that affects other region but two developments are in its favor. First very High demand for Airlines Tickets and second the cargo market is also on the rise. Though the forecasts is dramatically down from the $10 billion profit that the region achieved in 2010. Airlines in this region are more exposed than others to cargo markets and fuel price fluctuations. Asia-Pacific airlines carry 40% of all air freight volumes, while low labor costs and relatively low hedging means fuel accounts for a bigger proportion of total costs. In addition, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami are expected to dent the region’s prospects for the remainder of the year. However, this will be more than offset by robust growth in both China and India. The continued dynamism of these economies means that Asia-Pacific is the only region where demand increases (6.4%) are expected to outpace capacity growth (5.9%). Here again India and China are the driving force with the Emergence of major airlines such as Jet Airways, Kingfisher airlines, Cathay Pacific, Hainan airlines and others such as Air India. Tourists demands are also rising in India and China.

North America

North American Airlines carriers will see the $4.1 billion profit of 2010 fall to $1.2 billion. The region’s carriers are being hit on the cost side by rising fuel prices, exacerbated by an older, less fuel-efficient aircraft fleet. The region is also taking a hit on the demand side with 12% of international revenues linked to the Japan market. This is being offset somewhat by a stronger than expected US economy and stronger inbound demand and exports fueled by the weak US dollar. Careful capacity management is expected to see an overall demand increase of 4% balanced by an equal increase in capacity.

Europ Airlines Outlook

European Airlines carriers will deliver a $500 million profit, down from $1.9 billion in 2010. The sovereign debt crisis is dampening demand from the peripheral European economies. Core economies are benefiting from strong exports, but new and increased taxation of passengers is damaging price-sensitive demand. Much of the profit forecast for this year is expected to be generated on more buoyant long-haul markets. A capacity increase of 4.8% is expected to outstrip demand growth of 3.9%.

Middle east Airlines
Middle East carriers will deliver a $100 million profit, down from $900 million in 2010. Political unrest in parts of the middle easy region is hurting the airlines booking demand. The major airlines in the region such as Emirates airlines, Etihad airlines, Air Arabia and Middle East airlines are expected to continue to win market share on long-haul markets, flying passengers via Middle Eastern hubs. However, high fuel costs will weaken demand from key passenger segments and asset utilization will be under downward pressure. Capacity growth of 15.5% is expected to outstrip demand expansion of 14.6%.


Latin  American Airlines
Latin American carriers will be the only region to deliver a third consecutive year of profits. The regional economies continue to show good growth, and trade links with the United States and Asia in particular are boosting traffic. Innovative business models and consolidation have combined to generate reasonable profits from these growing markets. But a $100 million profit is down considerably on the $900 million profit of 2010. Capacity growth of 6.9% will outstrip the 6% increase growth in demand. African carriers are forecast to be the only region to post a loss, $100 million, in 2011. Political unrest across Northern Africa is dampening demand, particularly in Egypt and Tunisia, which have proportionately large tourism industries. Economies and air transport demand in many African countries have grown strongly but the local industry has struggled to turn this into profitable growth, hampered by poor infrastructure and restrictive government regulation. To compound the problem, capacity growth of 7.4% will outstrip demand growth of 6.5%.

Airline Sector Broad Trends: Analysis

The forecast point to the following Broad Trends
1. The airlines in future will continue to operate on lower profit margins

2. Alliances: The airlines will continue to form groups or enter into alliances to reduce the expenditure on various sectors

3. The Asia pacific will be the region for airlines expansion and it remains to be seen how the competition plays out in the long run.

4. The corporate and tourist sector will see the most Growth over time

Hong Kong Taiwan Flights to get a Boost

After China and Taiwan agreed in principle to allow Chinese travelers to visit Taiwan, Taiwan and Hong Kong have agreed to increase the number of their weekly flights by 28 for each side, effective from June 2011.The pact will allow more airlines from each side t benefit and among many airlines Hainan airlines is the major beneficiary. Besides the 28 flights, both Taiwan and Hong Kong will also add seven extra flights from the summer, thereby boosting the total number of flights for Taiwan-Hong Kong route to 410 a week, up from 340 now.

Under the agreement Hong Kong Express Airways, a subsidiary of Hainan Airlines, will be able to provide regular flight service between Hong Kong and Taiwan, as it has the experience of undertaking Hong Kong-Taichung charter flights for many years now.

Emirates to Resume Flights to Abidjan

Emirates Airlines

Emirates airlines have confirmed that they are resuming the flights service to Abidjan in coming days. At present Emirates will operate daily flights to Abidjan via Accra Flights , the capital of Ghana. Emirates Flights to Abidjan will be served by an Airbus A340-300 aircraft which offers 12 First, 42 Business and 213 Economy Class seats.The Aircraft to Abidjan, EK 787 will depart Dubai at 0730hrs, arriving Abidjan at 1400hrs. EK788 departs Abidjan at 1520hrs, arriving Dubai at 0550hrs the following day. Emirates Airlines at present servers  around 19 passenger destinations and  many other cargo destinations  in various cities of the African continent. The major Cities In African Continent Includes Nairobi Flights , Shram -al- sheikh Flights,

About Emirates airlines Emirates are one of the largest airlines in the world and the biggest air carrier of the Middle east.The airlines has the largest expanding fleet and it operates on maximum number of routes. The airlines have flight service to most of the Important International cities such as Beijing, Basra, Bangkok, Jakarta, Jeddah, Kuwait City, Tehran, Dhaka and others.

Easy Jet Denied Flight Rights in Egypt

The Egyptian airlines have refused the LCC access to the services of Cairo Airport unless they renovate their No Frills Model and offered various other services to the Passengers.U.K. and Egypt had a bilateral agreement June 2010, offering landing rights for Easy Jet to three flights per week. The agreement between the two nations also raised the number of weekly slots on the London to Cairo Flights or Alexandria routes to 14 slots from 11, but also capped seating at 4,500 per week in each direction.

The bilateral agreement permits only scheduled U.K. airlines to land at Cairo or Alexandria and were previously split between British Airways and Deutsche Lufthansa AG's British Midland International. BMI also borrows three weekly slots from Star Alliance partner Egyptair.Easy Jet application for certain time slots was rejected because of its low-cost model. In order to gain approval, they said Easy Jet has been asked to change its no-frills strategy, including having two classes of service instead of one at present, halting the sale of food on board and introducing a member of staff to collect taxes.

About Easy JetEasy Jet is a low cost carrier based in UK With London as its major base. The airlines offer no frills services from many European countries and cities such as Paris, Amsterdam and Amman Flights . Emirates Airline confirmed that it will resume its flights to and from Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire, effective 12 May.

Spice Jet Aircraft Lands In Jaipur Instead of Delhi

Delhi Bound Spice jet passengers had a harrowing experience when the Flights originating from Guahati to Delhi Landed in Jaipur Instead of Delhi. This is not all. The flights were finally canceled in Jaipur after being diverted, without being offered valid reasons. The passengers were not even refunded the money.
According to the Spice jet management, the plane was diverted to Jaipur due to bad weather in Delhi. It was scheduled to take off once weather gets cleared in Delhi, but it was cancelled. Though AAI officers have said that an enquiry would be setup and report sent to the Director General Civil Aviation's ( DGCA).It is also a fact that five other Delhi-bound flights which were also diverted to Jaipur later but they took off after the weather cleared.

Air Asia to Make Bangkok its Hub for South operations

Air Asia

The Malaysia based Air Asia airlines have decided to make Bangkok its Hub For all its South India Operations and to facilitate Indian tourist to Visit South East Asia in trouble free manner. To this end the airlines has also Launched Direct flights between Coimbatore and Kovai. The airlines which operates from South India to Kuala Lumpur, also plans to add more originating points in India such as Chennai and Tiruchy to South East Asian countries. Malaysia has been one of the most Favored destinations for the South Indian travelers, other being Thailand and Bangkok flights have always been in demand , the other being  Manila Flights.

About Air Asia The Malaysian based  Low cost airline carrier, Air Asia is one of the largest Airlines in the Asia Pacific region and having Flights services to most of the Asian Countries capital and Cities. no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. Air Asia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to over 400 destinations spanning 25 countries. The major Destinations Include Jeddah,  New York, Los Angeles, Riyadh, Toronto and others.

Air india starts Mobile check in service

Air India become one of the few airlines in India to extend Mobilecheck In facility for the passengers. But the Facility will initially be extended to only six metros in India and that too for only domestic travelers. The facility to be started from April 7 will be available to Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. This is expected to cover Flights to Manila, Hongkong and others as well in near future.

The mobile check in facilities enables the passengers to check-in for their flights from their web enabled mobile handsets anytime they wish.The air India URL for accessing the service is  http://flyai.mobi/ users have to follow the sequnce of instrauctions aftehr accessing the URL. Air India hopes to reduce the need for enhancing cutomer ticketing and flying experience.

Emirates Named Top Middle East Brand

Emirates Airlines

Emirates Airlines is in the new again wiht the airlines being named the Top brand in the Middle East region. The airlines featured in top 500 Global Brand report borught by Brand Finance and the value of the Emirates brand was pegged at US$3.6 billion.

Emirates airlines is already the biggest airlines in the Middle Easta and largest in the world in termsof passengers carried. Further the airlines is in an expansion mode and is on aircraft buying spree with billions of orders placed with AirBus. The Emirates Airlines was founded in Dubai in the UAE in 1985. It is one of the fastest-growing airlines in the world. The aviation firm made headlines by ordering 90 new A380 Airbus planes in 201 eventhough its fleet currently consists of 146 planes. Emirates has more than 36,000 employees.

The airlines is putting uip toughest competition for its rivals woldwide and has virtually forced a number of airlines to eneter into coalition, such as Unted airlines and Continental airlines have now merged operations. The airlines has its main hub in the Dubai airrport and from there it connects virtually all imkportant cities of the world such as Beijing, Abidjan, Accra, Amsterdam and Bangkok.

Jet Airways Invited to Join Delta, Air France and Alitalia Alliance

The largest Airlines in India, Jet Airways has been requested by the alliance of Air France, Delta Airlines and Alitalia to join their cross Atlantic Joint venture towards better and closer cooperation among the four airlines. All the Atlantic airlines have seen a reduced market both internationally and in their home turf, thereby forcing a rethink on strategy on their part. Jet Airways at present remains non-committal about any such plans though the cooperation can go a long way in collaboration among the airlines in terms of Code shares, common Customer reward programs as well as using each other facilities in different countries.

Jet Airways is in an expansion mode and any such alliance would help cost effective toward the expansion strategy. This also becomes relevant as Jet Airways is seeking inclusion in the SkyTeam Alliance even as its rivals such as Air India plan to Join Star alliance and Kingfisher to the Oneworld alliance. Jet Airways is the largest airlines in India in terms of market cap and is also in expansion mode offering flights to cities such as  Cairo, Dhaka, Jakarta, Manila and others.

Tsunami Hits Japan: Airlines Connectivity Hit

A Tsunami triggered by Earthquake measuring 8.9 Ricter scale in Japan proved very disastrous for the North Eastern Japanese regions with many casualties reported. "the whole world are with the Japanese people" is the common sentiments echoed by most nations and heads of stated cutting accorss boundaries. also Google has issued warning on its home page regarding fallout of the Japanese tsunami in other areas such as Indonesia, Australia, new Papua guinea and other north pacific nations.connectivity of many Japanese airlines were also hit with many airlines such as British airlines temporarily suspending many flight to some areas in Japan. other airlines may also adopt such measures.
More at: Airlines Operations Hit

Air Bus to Now Focus on Asian Market

It is not for nothing that Air Bus is having grand plans for Asia. Almost one third of its business is going to come from the Booming Asian aviation market as predicted by the firm based on its market demands.The two of the fastest growing economies India and China contrasts starkly  to the declining economies in the western sphere and hence an enhanced demand for Air Bus is all but expected. This is provided the Air Bus is able t meet the invincible competition from the bigger player Boeing and many regional jets such as Brazil Embardier.

The reason for the Air Bus optimism are many Fold:

• All the major Air lines in Asia such as Emirates airlines, Jet airways and Kingfisher are on an expansion spree and some are Air Bus customers as well. In India Kingfisher is one of the largest Air Bus customer and Air India is also among them. Emirates Airline is one of the biggest customers of Air Bus and in fact the  for the Airbus Dream liner series they are the first ones also.

• The demand will also be high as the airlines in Developing countries of Asia Pacific are seeking to expand Internationally backed by enhanced Airlines Booking demands due to greater outflow of Tourists, Corporates and Travelers .

• The spurt in Mid Size carriers: The is predictably more demand for Mid sized carriers as sooner or later all airlines will have to offer the Low cost carrier model and also fly to suburban domestic destination where need for larger aircraft are non existent.

As per Air Bus Predictions the market for the asia pacific is expected at $1.2 trillions or more than 8000 aircrafts over  next 20 years.

Air India to Focus on the Gulf Region for Profit

Air India

The Air India may soon see resumption of flight to many flights destinations in the Middle East and Gulf region. With the appointment of a New CEO of Air India and various reports suggesting that Air India actually withdrew services from 32 most profitable routes that are now capitalized by Air India competitors, the decks may now be cleared for this strategic move by the airlines.The national carrier of India is also facing many internal crisis such as manpower unrest and pilot protests.



Flights to West Asia account for one-fourth of total revenue and covers all cash costs for the airline, except for a few routes. Recently Air India  Express shifted its base to Kochi and it is almost certain that Air India may follow suit as Kerala is one of the Top destinations for Air Travelers to the Gulf region. But the Air India's competitors  such as Kingfisher airlines and Jet Airways are not worried as they have already been on an aggressive marketing and route expansion spree pushing air India to the Fourth largest airlines position in India.Hefty Government Funding is also expected besides clearing away of Outstanding dues by the Government of India. The major Flights to the gulf region includes Air routes through  Kuwait city, Riyadh, Teheran, Muscat and others.

Kingfisher Airlines Regains the Second Largest Carrier Tag

Kingfisher Airlines Booking

Kingfisher airlines is on the move with the January aviation figures pointing towards the fact that Kingfisher has again captured the Second largest carrier tag. Indigo airlines has climbed the graph pretty well in recent time and has pipped Air India from the third position recently and even Kingfisher from the second slot with a robust enhancement in domestic passengers growth.

 As per the data of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation the aviation market  witnessed an increase of 20.7 per cent in passenger traffic during this period on Y-O-Y basis.The total market share of Kingfisher Airlines stood at 19.5 per cent for the month of January followed by IndiGo Airlines at 19.2 per cent. Also both the airlines carried 18.6 per cent of the total passengers each in December 2011.

At the same time the Air India is on market losing curve with declining route operations and passengers flown. The market share of Air India stood at just 15.8 per cent of the total domestic passengers while in December 2011 it stood at 17.1 per cent of the total.

The January share for other airlines in India Stood as: Spice Jet at 14.3 per cent and GoAir 6.4 per cent

 In keeping with the past year trends, Jet airways retained the Top slot with overall market share 24.8 per cent. This figure include its subsidiaries Jet airways and Jet lite (The LCC model) — The former accounting for 17.3 per  and  the latter 7.5 per cent.

Top Asian Airlines to watch for in 2011

With the balance of the Airlines Booking  industry growth shifted in favor of the Asia Pacific region, there is renewed interest in keeping track of the best airlines that have performed in the past and holds promising 2011 financial year ahead. Here is the list of top 15 airlines in the Asia Pacific region that are worth to watch for in terms of Fleet growth, Passengers Flown besides strong financial prospects.

Air China

Air China

With a market cap exceeding $ 20 billions Air China has emerged as the largest airlines financially upstaging Delta air from the much Vouched after position.

This coupled with the fact that Hong Kong is destined to be the fastest rising Air Cargo market will assist Air China in scaling the Cargo sector as well. And further help will obviously come from the growing number of Chinese international passengers.


China Southern Airlines

China Southern Airlines

The next big thing in the Asian Aviation market China Southern airlines together with Air China will be the major growth factors in Global aviation as predicted by the IATA.

The lone Chinese carrier that will soon operate and Airbus380, but surging oil prices and the airlines next steps remains to be watched.



Kingfisher airlines

Kingfisher Airlines

One of the largest private players in India and also the fastest growing, Kingfisher remains the only listed airlines that has not broken even though  the airlines forecast remains promising give its top of the lines Customer service , addition of ever growing number of Fleets and most importantly  venturing into new Flights to India routes. But Rising oil prices and growing competition from the fellow airlines Jet Airways and Indigo may play spoilsport.


 Virgin Atlantic airlines

Virgin Atlantic Airlines

Gone are the day when its every move made news but the airlines is seeking suitors aggressively and in future this airlines may be merged with some other or enters into a partnership. But the market responses of Virgin Atlantic need to be watched.

Emirates airlines

Emirates airlines

The biggest airlines in the Middle East and largest in the world in terms of passengers carried the airlines is the hallmark of on flight customer satisfaction innovation and its flights safety standards are vouched for. Having presence in 110 international cities spread across 66 countries the airlines is on an expansion spree both interms of fleet growth and operating on new routes. The biggest growth factor for Emirates remains the Indian, Chinese and South Eat Asia market and how the Airlines handles its growth with financial stability needs to be watched. Flights by the airlines Include Torunto, Amman, Addis Ababa Flights.




Air India

Air India

The Troubled national carrier of India is undergoing both Financial and manpower crisis and ever shrinking routes on which it operates. Also some Indian government bailout package may be eminent. The most important thing to watch for is how the Airlines reorients itself to catch up with other airlines regarding the lucrative Middle east sector and South  East Asia emerging market where its private competitors  such as Jet Airways have fared rather better regarding Flights opeartions.




Gulf Air

Gulf Air

The national carrier of Bahrain is well placed to emerge as the prime Middle east airlines with growing air traffic from the country. Add to it the large expatriate population from South Asian countries the airlines has emerged clear winner in some market and routes for example Cochin Bahrain route. How the airlines further expand is a matter of debate in 2011.






Thai Airways

Thai Airways

 The much sought after airlines and often synonymous with customer satisfaction the airlines has a promising road ahead with ever growing south Asia economy and tourists flowing to various countries in the region and Thailand in particular.  Tourist Traffic from India and China will be important factors in Thai Airways Growth and so will be the fact that how the airlines compete with other airlines in those competitive routes besides exploring the new ones.



Air Arabia

Air Arabia

 Based out of Sharjah in Dubai, Air Arabia is in expansion mode with ever increasing open sky agreements, codes shares and direct flight agreements.

The airlines are growing in revenue but have also registered 37% loss in profit in Q4 2011 and it remains to be seen how the airlines tend to enhance its profit margins.






 Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways

Based out of Abu Dhabi the airlines is single handedly responsible for 70% traffic to the Abu Dhabi airport. Having Flights to almost all Middle East Countries the airlines has expanded to many routes most importantly in India and China.

It operates on most  UAE  India flight routes. According to some news it is even courting Virgin airlines for a possible takeover and outreach its current market.

Kinfisher Drops AirBus 380 Acquisition Plans

Owing to changes market priorities and compulsions the Kingfisher Airlines has decided to change its Aircraft acquisition plan with emphasis now on less bigger aircraft. Due to changed market circumstances the Airlines has decided to double its fleet size from 66 to 137 aircraft by the year 2015-16 but this has to be implemented sans the much publicized Airbus 380s induction.During the 2011-12 financial year the Kingfisher airlines  plans to add nine aircraft - six A320s, two A330s and one ATR. Of these Aircraft, the airline will take eight directly from the market. It plans to add 14 aircraft in 2012-13, 20 in 2013-14, 16 in 2014-15 and 13 in 2015-16.

At present the Kingfsiher Airlines is the the second-largest airline in India in terms of passengers carried and operates around 375 flights a day to 71 destinations in India and worldwide. But it is the lone listed carrier that has not turned even with reporting a net loss of around Rs 1,647 crore year ended March 2009.Hence the airlines is on damage control mode by phasing out Food Options In LCC model Kingfisher Red and also aims to phase out highly paid foreign pilots in the  coming financial year. and operate leased aircraft besides outsourcing maintenance functions.

Air India Pushed to Fourth Position in Number of Flights Operared

Air India-Now Fourth Largest

The national carrier of India, Air India has been pushed to the fourth position in terms of numbers of  total number of flights operated. As per the latest aviation  data Air India has operated less number of domestic and international flights last year than its competitors, with  figures showing that its market share has dwindled to 17.1 per cent of the total flights.As per the latest data Air India and its subsidiaries put together  stands at the fourth position in terms of its market share ans ranks after  the airlines Jet Airways, Kingfisher and IndiGo Airlines.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also indicated the reasons for dismal performance of  Air India is also due to the declining route network. As to the overall data, all Indian carriers jointly operated a total of 5,25,504 flights on the domestic network during the year 2010, Jet Airways and its subsidiary JetLite flew 1,42,101 flights and Kingfisher Airlines operated 1,20,362 flights, leaving AI at the third spot with only 1,01,352 flights.

 As per the latest data,  Air India withdrew Airlines Booking services from at least 32 "profitable routes"  since 2009 late 2009 and thereby giving a competitive advantage to its private competitors, both domestic, international and  foreign airlines. Incidentally most of the lucrative routes were  promising Gulf and Middle East sector.  As for its competitors, Of the total 32 routes from which the national carrier withdrew its services in over  the year, Jet Airways was operating on 11 routes and Kingfisher on 6 and further IndiGo and SpiceJet had also launched their services on these routes.Many Gulf based airlines are also operating profitably on these 32 routes and they are Emirates Airlines , Etihad Airways,Air Arabia, Qatar Airways, Oman Air and Bahrain Air.

Airlines Booking: Steps to Cheap Airlines Tickets Booking

Airlines

With the proliferation of various airlines the air travelers are spoilt for best bargains on cheap airlines booking. Though seemingly easy it may be the airlines travelers have to be on constantly lookout for picking up the best airlines booking deals. Here are the steps for picking the best bargains every time you travel by air to any place in the world.

1. Online airlines booking portals: the numerous online booking travel portals in some way or the other are always the first choice for getting discount tickets booked for flights. The reason is that they offer last minute deals and discounts, Airlines seasonal offers as well as offers hefty discounts on tickets purchased well in advance.

2. Travel alerts: Getting some travel alerts in place always helps to know exactly what is happening in the airlines tickets market and grab the opportunity once good Airlines Booking deals comes your ways. This is important as on many occasions airlines give seasonal or special offer for frequent flyers or to popularize some low traffic routes as well as last minute deals.

3. Know your airlines: Knowing the airlines offering cheapest tickets is a must for frequent flyers. Airline offers services depending on their business model. For example they may be Low cost carrier model or otherwise. Then some airlines may always be offering cheap airlines booking for some particular destination when either there is intense competition or when the rout is not too busy. For Example Emirates online Booking and Air India Express Booking are at two differently branded carriers and hence varying travel experience.

4. Airlines Booking Engines: Getting acquainted with one or two Airlines Booking engines search engines. For example Expedia or Kayak are two good search engines with presence across all continents and offers ticket information for a large number of airlines. They also release daily quota for discount airlines tickets which can be available for cheap prices.

5. Choosing the traveling date: Choosing on starting weekdays or Holidays itself i always cheap as found by market reports. For example traveling on the day of Eid is always cheaper than the day before.

But at the same time the customers should not try to wait for last minute airlines Booking Deals as airlines data reveals that for last minute flight booking deals the prices are the highest from 14 days before departure date. The point here is to plan well before in advance and get last minute tickets before departure only if you know pretty well that the flight will be empty.

Emirates airlines, the national Airlines of Dubai came into being in 1985 primarily to connect Dubai with rest of the world as well as enhancing domestic air connectivity. Having Airlines operations spread over 66 countries and connecting more than 110 international cities and destinations, emirates is the largest Airlines in the Middle East and largest growing airlines of the world. The airlines is one of examples of how with growing customer care, Flight innovations and safety standards even traditional big players can be overtaken and new routes can be made profitable.

Due to the astounding success of the airlines in terms of passengers growth and  resulting revenue, the airlines has put one of the largest orders for 120 Airbus carriers to increase its fleet size. In 2010 the airline was the sixth-largest airline in the world in terms of international passengers carried, largest in the world in terms of scheduled international passenger-kilometers flown and seventh largest in terms of scheduled freight tonne-kilometres flown. With ever expanding routing and services the airlines now operates in most of the continents and countries of the world. As recognition of the contribution of Emirates airlines in Dubai Aviation, Dubai International Airport's Terminal 3 was built exclusively for the use of Emirates.

The airlines are ever ready to make the journey memorable and easy for its flyers. Hence the airlines has entered into codeshare with many other airlines such as Jet Airways of India, Oman Air, V Australia, Royal Air Maroc, Continental Airlines, Air Mauritius, Thai Airways International and many others.

Emirates Booking

Emirates airlines Booking is available either through the Emirates own website or even though many online travel Flights booking portals. Further seasonal offers and discount tickets are also available from time to time. Those who fly with the airlines should know that Emirates became the first airline in the world to introduce a personal entertainment system on a commercial aircraft after introducing the world’s first seat-back screens way back in 1992 to make the in flight experience truly memorable.

Emirates Presence in South Asia

Emirates booking are available for most of the South and South East Asian countries such as India, Thailand, Bangladesh, Philippines, Korea and Malaysia. The Destinations covered in India by Emirates Includes without being exhaustive includes Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Bangalore, Khozikode and Kochi. Other destinations in other countries include Dhaka, Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Many Others.

Emirates Airlines Awarded " Best Airlines of the Year Award" By Air Transport World

Emirates Booking

Dubai Based Emirates Airlines has been awarded the much sought after ‘Airline of the Year’ award for 2011 by the leading Air Transport World. The award is conferred every year in recognition of exemplary safety standards, customer satisfaction and on flight experience.As per the Awards citation Emirates was conferred the award in recognition of the Dubai-based carrier’s “strong commitment to safety and operational excellence, trendsetting customer service and superb financial performance”.

Emirates is the leading airlines of the world and is one of the sought after among the 125 airlines which serves Dubai. The airlines has made its mark on the international Flight destinations and has seen constant rise in the passengers outside Middle East as well most remarkably EU and USA.

As per the airlines statements the cornerstone of Emirates success has been a relentless drive for cabin innovation not just in premium class but in economy, strong commitment to safety and operational excellence, its trendsetting customer service and its superb financial performance including a 22-year consecutive annual profit streak. Emirates launched its services in 1985, and since then it has has grown into one of the largest and most dynamic airlines in the world, transforming Dubai into a world-class hub for global air travel. The airline is a leader in developing flexible air routing that save fuel and reduce CO2 emissions.

Emirates was one of the earliest airlines too introduce individual seat back videos and to enable passengers to make authorized on board mobile phone calls. Emirates' flagship A380s are the only commercial aircraft flying in the world that features on board Shower Spas for First Class passengers. These first class on flights services together with financial strength that has allowed the airlines to experience rapid and consistent growth, above 20 per cent a year on average. Financially self-sustained and unprotected, Emirates carried 27.5 million passengers in the 2009-10 financial year – almost 4.7 million more than the previous 12 months.

Currently Emirates Airlines serves more than 110 international flights destinations spread over 66 countries across various continents such as Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Asia-Pacific.