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Reasons Why Flying Is Still The Best Way To Travel!

At times, Flying has been perceived very wrongly or unsafe which is not true!

There’s a whole new experience to discover while you’re sitting comfortably in your seat and travelling thousands of feet in the air.

Beautiful views, great service, decent food and accessibility are a few words you can associate with flying, but there’s much more to it.

Here are 9 reasons why flying is still the best way to travel.

1.Its The Fastest Way To Get Anywhere

Flying has always been faster than taking the bus, boat, or train!

For instance, if you travel via road from Delhi to Bombay it takes around 8 hours 11 minuets and whereas it takes on 1 hour 55 minuets by a flight on the same route.

Plus, when you’re to go back at the end of your trip, a flight is able to get you there in a matter of a few hours while a return trip by car or a train can seem painful.

2.Flights Are Surprisingly Affordable

It may seem like it due to inflation but airline ticket prices are actually near an all-time low. In fact they have been declining for the past 30 years, allowing more of us to fly than ever before.

More efficient airplanes, increased competition, and the amenity to bargain shop for flights online have all played a role in this trend.

And while we may frown when we see the ticket prices online, we are lucky enough to live in an era when the cost of flying is affordable.

3.It’s Safe

On a daily basis, there are more than 93,000 scheduled commercial aircraft flights across the world, and yet we can go weeks, months or even years without a fatal crash.

When you crunch the numbers, the chances of you being onboard an aircraft that crashes is really small. In fact, you are more likely to be struck by lightning than to be in an airplane crash.

But should your flight actually go down, you’re also likely to still survive. A study of all the air crashes that took place in the U.S. between 1993 and 2000 showed that more than 90% of passengers and crew survived.

Read more about “Why Flying Is The Safest Way To Travel

4.It Opens The World To You

Want to visit Paris Or have dreams of chilling on the beaches of Hawaii? Then flying is really the best option you have.

The days of taking a slow boat to anywhere else in the world are long gone.

For international travellers, flying opens up nearly an unlimited number of possibilities, allowing us to visit distant lands, experience unique destinations, and explore our planet to the fullest.

5.In-Flight Entertainment

Modern airplanes are often equipped with state-of-the-art entertainment systems that put a selection of movies, television shows, music, and games right at our fingertips.

This can help time to pass more quickly while on a flight and allow us to relax more in the process.

But even if your aircraft doesn’t have a built-in entertainment system, chances are you brought one with you. Most travellers now come equipped with smartphones and tablets, which can fill the entertainment void nicely.

6.You Can Be Productive

Carrying a laptop with you when traveling, plus having some free time aboard the aircraft while in flight, can give you the opportunity to be more productive than if you were driving to your destination.

If you have a long flight, it can be the perfect time to pull out the computer and get some work done.

7.Instagram Worthy Views

If you’re lucky enough to get a window seat, you are often treated to some great views.

There is nothing quite like soaring over the countryside while lakes, rivers, mountains, and other beautiful landscapes pass beneath.

Even at night, when darkness shrouds the sky, it is fun to look out and see the islands of light that spread across the world below.

Sure, you can get good views from other forms of transportation as well, but there is nothing that compares to the bird’s eye view you get from an airplane.

8.A Sense Of Community

Flying, particularly in economy class, can create a sense of community amongst passengers.

There is often this feeling that everyone on the aircraft is traveling together, even if just for a brief time.

This can in turn knock down barriers and create good conversations between passengers. People are generally very excited about the journey they are about to undertake and they often want to share that excitement with others.

9.Amazing Services

Beautiful airports, friendly flight attendants and the amenities they provide to ease us flyers are unparalleled as compared to other modes of transport.

Aviation industry provides its guests with the most amazing services. For instance, mostly you won’t find celebrity chef restaurants or world-class spas at train or bus stations.

Airlines and airports work hard to make our journey as comfortable as possible and in return, we have to pay a comparatively small fee for it, which is definitely worth it.

If you want to know more about these amazing services, look no further. Simply download the AirWhizz app and get information about different airport amenities, airline policies along with real-time flight updates on the move and Fly Stress-Free.

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Kolkata Airport To Soon Get Inline Baggage Scanning System!

For the convenience of flyers, an inline baggage scanning system is finally being installed in the domestic section of Kolkata Airport.

This will end a wait of more than five years for a passenger amenity that is meant to be a basic feature of any modern airport terminal.

Work on this started last week, in check-in portal C of the terminal’s domestic area and will be extended to the remaining ones over the next couple of months. Airport officials said it would take about 15 days on an average to complete the installation in each portal.

Of the eight check-in portals within the terminal, five are assigned for domestic operations.

A separate inline baggage scanning system would be set up for out-of-gauge luggage, according to officials. The international section of the terminal, which already offers inline baggage scanning, will be upgraded to the new system.

Once the inline baggage screening system becomes operational, passengers using the domestic section need not queue up separately at X-ray kiosks to get their bags scanned before check-in.

In an automated system, a bag deposited at the check-in counter goes through X-ray machines on a conveyor belt. The belts are fitted with cameras and sensors that create images of the luggage with a barcode. The luggage is screened in a control room manned by trained personnel.

The out-of-gauge belt will ease the check-in hassles of passengers carrying golf clubs or other cargo that does not fit in the conveyor belt. Currently, any such item carried by a passenger has to be scanned and then carried to the baggage make-up area before it is sent to the aircraft.

The installation was to be completed by June but a delay in the arrival of equipment imported from the US forced a change in schedule.

Domestic airlines operating to and from Kolkata requested the airport authorities to start the process after Diwali to avoid chaos during the peak of holiday traffic.

Airport officials said work started in the domestic section first because the number of passengers it handles is far more compared to the international traffic.

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Delhi Airport: Airfares Shoot Up After Runway Closes For Repair!

Fliers to and from Delhi Airport will have to shell out more as the closure of one of the three runways and high travel demand over the weekend have spiked fares by around 86 percent.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), the private aerodrome operator, had early last month announced the closure of one of the three runways for “preventive repairs” for 13 days, starting November 15. It also told the airlines to tweak their flight schedule accordingly.

On Friday evening, several travel portals showed a sharp rise in spot airfares.

There was an increase in fares from Delhi to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai and other destinations for the next one week, especially (November 16-19).

For instance, while the fare for a Delhi-Bengaluru flight on normal days stands around Rs 11,044, for travel on Saturday (November 17), it stood at Rs 13,702 on average, according to the data by travel portal Ixigo.

Here are a few reasons why there is a hike in airfare:

  • The cancellation of flights from the Delhi airport due to the closure of the runway (09/27) has led to an increase in fares for the next one week
  • Another contributing factor is the high travel demand over the upcoming weekend

Besides 09/27, the Delhi airport has two more runways, 11/29 and 10/28 which remain operational. The three runways together handle 1,300 flights per day.

Tagged as the busiest airport in the country, the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) handled 63.5 million passengers in 2017-2018.

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8 Amazing Destinations You Can Fly To From India!

There was a time when explorers and travelers spent years to reach new places and see new cultures.

Now the whole world is a global village. With airplanes being the fastest mode of travel, global connection of flights makes it possible for travellers to fly around the world in a matter of hours.

In case you are planning to travel and are looking for a place to unwind, here is a list of exciting destinations you can look forward to travelling to.

Siem Reap (Cambodia)

Nearest Airport- Siem Reap International Airport

Airlines In India That Fly To The Destination – Air India, SpiceJet, Jet Airways, Malaysian Airlines, Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines

Sunrise over the temples and ruins of Angkor Wat can leave any traveler in awe.

Cambodia recently became a free country and is now considered a safe place to travel. Travellers from around visit Siem Reap to see the 12th century Angkor Thom royal city.

You can learn about the cities history at the Cambodian Cultural Village and visit the Angkor night market to get a feel of the local culture.

Hanoi (Vietnam)

Nearest Airport – Noi Bai International Airport

Airlines In India That Fly To The Destination – Jet Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air Asia, Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Malaysian Airlines

Apart from beaches, amazing food and lively streets, Hanoi will give you a taste of South East Asia.

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam with a mix of French and Chinese culture. It is a country of a cultural mix with its own way of life.

Don’t forget to visit Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and Hoa Lo Prison which is a crowd favorite. Lakes, parks, shady boulevards and more than 600 temples add to the appeal of this city, which can be easily explored by taxi.

Istanbul (Turkey)

Nearest Airport – Istanbul Atatürk Airport

Airlines in India That Fly To The Destination –  Air India, Air Astana, Turkish Airlines and Kuwait Airways

If you haven’t traveled to Turkey, you shouldn’t wait any longer. It is a perfect combination of past and present cultures.

European and Asian cultures meet in Istanbul and is a city of turbans, spices, and progressive culture with a lot of beautiful ancient and modern architecture.

In this city you will find centuries-old mosques, churches and markets happily co-existing with modern restaurants, galleries and nightclubs.

Prague (Czech Republic)

Nearest Airport – Václav Havel Airport

Airlines In India That Fly To The Destination –  Air India, Turkish Airlines, Jet Airways, Emirates and Lufthansa

Awesome beer, great food, crazy nightlife, and a lot of sights to see makes this small town in Czech Republic an amazing destination to travel to.

In Prague, don’t forget to see ancient architecture like the rebuilt Prague Castle that has overlooked the city since the 9th century, the synagogues and cemetery of the Jewish Quarter.

Marrakech (Morocco)

Nearest Airport – Marrakesh Menara Airport

Airlines in India That Fly To The Destination –  Air France, Emirates, Etihad, Lufthansa and Qatar

This Moroccan city in North Africa offers a maze of souks, amazing gardens, plenty of beautiful mosques to travelers from around the world.

Marrakech is a colorful city but make sure you don’t travel during summer as it gets really hot. Snake charmers aren’t difficult to find in Djemaa el-Fna.

Find inner peace at the serene Jardin Majorelle or take in the beauty of one of the city’s historic mosques.

London (England)

Nearest Airport –  Heathrow Airport, London City Airport, London Biggin Hill Airport

Airlines in India That Fly To The Destination –  Jet Airways, Air India, British Airways, Emirates, Air France and KLM

Who doesn’t want to go to London? It is the world’s most visited city.

Major sights like the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace are on most visitors’ itineraries, but no matter what your interests, you’ll probably find something here.

Art lovers can visit the National Gallery and the Tate Modern. If military history’s your thing, don’t miss the Cabinet War Rooms.

Rome (Italy)

Nearest Airport –  Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport

Airlines in India That Fly To The Destination –  Alitalia, Aeroflot, Etihad, Jet Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways

This city has been nicknamed the Eternal City for a reason.

In Rome, you can drink from a street fountain fed by an ancient aqueduct Or the statue in the Capitoline Museum.

Also, you can travel to see Pope but can’t guarantee if he would to see you, maybe you’ll get lucky. Apart from that the whole architecture of Rome is mesmerizing and will leave you with an architectural beauty hangover.

Paris (France)

Nearest Airport – Charles de Gaulle Airport,Orly Airport

Airlines in India That Fly To The Destination –  Alitalia, Aeroflot, Etihad, Jet Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways

Everyone who visits Paris for the first time probably has the same list of major attractions to hit: The Louvre, Notre Dame, The Eiffel Tower, etc.

Just make sure you leave some time to wander the city’s grand boulevards and eat in as many cafes, bistros and brasseries as possible.

And don’t forget the shopping—whether your tastes run to Louis Vuitton or Les Puces (the flea market), you can find it here.

There are many other places that should be on a traveller’s list apart from the above-mentioned list, which we will cover in our future articles, however, for the time being, we would recommend you to go these places and have an amazing time.

 

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Bengaluru Airport Launches Fully Automated Self Bag Drop System!

There is some great news for passengers flying from Bengaluru Airport!

For the first time at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), automated baggage check-in facility will be open to air passengers from today. Following a three-month trial, 16 check-in counters will implement this system.

Here’s how the system will work:

  • The passenger will first have to print a boarding pass and an eezee-tag (bag tag) at a self-check-in kiosk.
  • Once Tagged, travellers need to go to these machines placed at the counters of the specific airline and place the check-in luggage on the conveyer belt near the counter
  • The weight of the luggage is digitally displayed
  • If it tallies with the luggage specifications of the airline, then a slip bearing the bar code for the luggage is printed and tagged to the luggage by the machine
  • Then the passenger has to feed in the PNR number from the ticket or mobile into the boarding pass kiosk, which automatically issues the boarding pass
  • The baggage will automatically head to the cargo hold

With this system, passengers will be able to check-in their luggage within an estimated time of 45 seconds.

This automated system will help airlines reduce its staff strength in the long run as presently two individuals are deployed by every airline to complete the check-in system. A person seated at the counter issues a boarding pass after verifying the ticket and another staffer tags the baggage to be checked in.

The fully-automated Self Bag Drop machines would initially be available for passengers flying with Air Asia and Spice Jet. This facility would be expanded to more airlines in the near future.

After terminal 1 of Mumbai airport got this facility in June 2018, KIA will be the second airport in India to have this system

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Tata Looks To Reclaim The Skies With Jet Airways Merger!

Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group of companies, is in advanced talks to acquire a significant stake in the troubled airline, Jet Airways

The airline, promoted by entrepreneur Naresh Goyal, has been scouting for investors to tide over its financial difficulties.

According to news reports , The Tata group and Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways are inching towards a two-step transaction the first leg of which could see the merger of Jet with Tata Singapore Airlines. The second step of the deal could involve the purchase of the Goyal family’s stake in the combined entity by Singapore Airlines

The talks between representatives of Tata group, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the Jet Airways management gathered pace after US private equity giant TPG Capital opted to go slow on its talks to buy a stake in Jet. As per the terms under discussion, Jet Airways will first merge with Tata SIA through a share swap.

The Naresh Goyal family, Etihad, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines will all become partners in the new company. In the second stage, Singapore Airlines will buy out the shares of the Goyal family, giving them a complete exit. Goyal’s partner Etihad may continue with the venture as minority shareholder.

Buying Jet, with its fleet of 124 aircraft, would return Tata to the forefront of Indian aviation in terms of size, almost 70 years after its first airline was nationalised, and six years after it re-entered the market with two joint ventures, Vistara & Air Asia.

Should a deal with Jet succeed, Tata would gain access to hard-to-get parking slots at Mumbai’s congested airport, most of which are occupied by the 25-year-old airline.

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Flight Operations At Delhi Airport May Get Affected Starting This Week!

If you are planning to fly from Delhi Airport anytime soon, be prepared for flight delays.

Due to runway repairs at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, flight operations at the airport are likely to be affected for a week i.e., from November 16 to November 23, 2018.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said that runway 27/09 will be closed for preventive repairs and maintenance for a week from Friday onwards.

According to a DIAL official, the closing of the runway during this period could reduce the capacity of the airport by 50 arrivals as well as 50 departures per day.

The official also said that the work being carried out had been planned in advance and is a routine activity to ensure safe aircraft operations.

Initially, a 13-day runway closure was announced by the airport in October. However, the airport operator said that the period has been reduced in order to ensure minimal disturbances take place in the functioning of the airport.

Different Airlines have said that flight have been adjusted and cancelled in advance following this so that passengers don’t face any inconvenience however, they have also said that there may be slight flight delays.

According to RK Jenamani, Meteorological Head at the IGI airport, the national capital is witnessing a shallow fog during the day, however, flight operations are unlikely to be affected by fog during this period.

He said that the airport is only likely to see dense fog next month and cancellations start occurring around December 15.

Interestingly, a fourth runway is being introduced at the Delhi Airport. The runway is likely to be completed by 2022, making the airport, the first one in the country with four runways.

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India’s Fastest-Built Airport Terminal To Open In Prayagraj!

Allahabad, now known as Prayagraj, is all set to get India’s fastest-built airport terminal building.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), while aiming to complete the terminal in a record time of 11 months, has also expanded its plans for the airport by deciding to construct more aircraft parking bays than earlier planned.

The airport terminal is being built in this record time because Kumbh Mela will start from January 15 and will end on March 4, 2019. The state of Uttar Pradesh is expecting lakhs of devotees to visit the holy city that time.

In case you didn’t know, Prayagraj Airport is, in fact, an Indian Air Force Station with a civil terminal the size of a bungalow. The two rooms of that bungalow serve as the arrival and departure hall.

According to AAI Chairman, Mr Guruprasad Mohapatra, AAI is building a new terminal and more aircraft parking bays than originally planned since there is a huge demand for connecting Prayagraj city to other parts of the nation.

Unlike earlier, when just one parking bay was planned to allow one plane to be parked at a time, now AAI is coming up with three to four more parking bays, he added.

The initial estimated cost to build the terminal was around Rs 126 crore. However, the amount has now gone up by Rs 40 crore.

Since the city in Uttar Pradesh has a bench of the High Court, it is an important center for learning as well as a major pilgrimage. Hence, the demand for improved air connectivity has been increasing now.

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