Jet Airways

IndiGo Plans To Expand Its Operations To 24 New International Destinations!

AirWhizzMay 16, 2018 No Comments

IndiGo Plans To Expand Its Operations To 24 New International Destinations!

Aviation Insider

IndiGo Airlines is all set to increase its market-leading share of 39.5% by expanding its flight operations to 24 international destinations in the next 18 months.

Here are all the details of the expansion process –

  • The Airline will order wide-bodied aircraft at the Farnborough air show which will happen in July 2018.
  • The airline will start flying to 18 new destinations in the Middle East, China and Southeast Asia.
  • They will also start 6 long haul flights which will fly to airports in Germany, United Kingdom, France, Belgium and Switzerland.
  • Between October 2018 and March 2019, the airline will start flying to countries like Germany, Iran, Maldives, Afghanistan, France, Saudi Arabia, Thailand and United Kingdom
  • Between March 2019 and October 2019, IndiGo plans to start flight operations to Italy, Myanmar, Switzerland, Belgium and China.

This move is part of IndiGo’s second phase of expansion.

According to an interview conducted by Economic Times with IndiGo’s founder, Rahul Bhatia, expansion of flight operations and fleet size is the airline’s main priority. He also said that the airline is planning to further introduce medium and Long haul flights in the coming few years and increase its fleet size to 200 by the end of 2018.

Currently, the airline boasts of a fleet size of 163 aircraft which fly to 42 domestic and 8 international destinations which include Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Nepal, Oman, Dubai and Sharjah.

Read More

Government Will Look Into Air Ticket Pricing Practices!

AirWhizzMay 12, 2018 No Comments

The Competition Commission Of India(CCI) has announced that it will asses the algorithms used by domestic airlines on the ticket pricing. This is being done to check as to why there is a sharp rise in airfares during peak demand.

CCI is the governing body which keeps a check on unfair business practices across different sectors.

They started investigating when the issue of sharp rise in air ticket pricing came to light during the Jat agitation in early 2016. Rail and road connectivity were severely affected by this incident because of which, ticket prices on Chandigarh to Delhi flights shot up sharply.

At a conference organized by The Associated Chambers Of Commerce of India(ASSOCHAM), CCI chairperson D K Sikri addressed this matter. Here’s what he had to say –

  • Secret/collusion cooperation between digital players with the help of self-learning algorithms is one of the biggest challenges the CCI faces.
  • This issue caught the CCI’s attention when there was a sudden rise in airfares for flights between Chandigarh and Delhi during the Jat agitation.
  • When they asked the airlines about this issue, the airline officials said that the algorithms were driving up the prices and they had no clue as to why this was happening.

At the conference, Mr. Sikri also highlighted the fact that algorithms are not systems that are developed on their own and that somebody has put logic into its design.

CCI is in talks with technical experts to understand the indicators & variables used and the weightage given by the algorithm used by airlines. The governing body is looking to develop its own algorithm to look into this issue but that will require a huge investment.

Read More

Passengers Can Now Bid For An Upgrade On Jet Airways!

AirWhizzApr 26, 2018 No Comments

Passengers Can Now Bid For An Upgrade On Jet Airways!

Aviation Insider

Jet Airways passengers travelling in economy and premier class will now be able to bid for an upgrade to a higher class of travel. This offer is called ‘JetUpgrade’ and is being introduced for the first time amongst airlines in India.

Here are the details about ‘JetUpgrade’ –

  • This offer allows all guests holding confirmed economy or premiere tickets of the airline to bid for an upgrade to premiere or first class, respectively.
  • To avail an upgrade, interested guests can place a bid on the Jet Airways website under the ‘manage my booking’ section, stating the amount they’re willing to bid for the upgrade.
  • The bidding will open at least seven days prior to the flight’s departure date and will close 24 hours before scheduled departure time.
  • Guests can modify, or even cancel their bids. However, they will not be able to withdraw their bid, once the bid is accepted as per the defined timelines.
  • All bidders will need to submit their credit card details during the bidding process but only the card of the winning bidder will be charged.
  • A revised e-ticket will be sent to the winning bidder. The original booking of all other guests will remain unaffected.
  • Jet Airways will notify the guests about the bids and their status via email well in advance of the flight’s departure.

The ‘JetUpgrade’ is an ‘industry first’ and with this service, Jet Airways looks to raise the industry benchmark for passenger experience by giving passengers the choice to upgrade to a better seat.

Launched in collaboration with ‘PlusGrade’, market-leading provider of upgrade solutions, ‘JetUpgrade’ has been made available across the airline’s entire network of 65 domestic and international destinations, and on all flights operated by it. The Jet Airways Group currently operates a fleet of 120 aircrafts domestically and internationally.

If you want to know more about the offer’s available to you on your airline, simply download the AirWhizz App. Get information about airline policies and offers on the app itself and plan your trip on the move.

Read More

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: Airfares Dip By 9% This Summer!

AirWhizzApr 17, 2018 No Comments

HAPPY HOLIDAYS: Airfares Dip By 9% This Summer!

Aviation Insider

If you are planning to travel by air for vacations this summer, there is some great news. Air travel fares are down by 4% to 9% for domestic flights.

Travel websites such as Yatra, Cleartrip and Ixigo show that even with demand increasing by 20%, fares will be lower than last year.

Here are the facts and figures which show how this has been possible –

  • Figures from Yatra.com show that there is a 5% drop in airfares as compared to the same period last year, except in the Delhi-Mumbai sector, where there is a 12% rise in airfares due to runway shut down.
  • Ixigo data shows that from April to June, there has been a drop of 9 % in domestic airfares compared to last year. There has been a drop of 19% in International airfares as well.

To take an advantage of the rise in demand, Airlines such as SpiceJet, GoAir and AirAsia are offering discounts, providing flight tickets under Rs 1,600 and giving offers to attract potential flyers. The most popular destinations seem to be Guwahati, Nagpur, Chennai, Imphal, Pune and Bhubaneshwar.

Apart from this being the peak travel season, the dip in airfares can be due to the following reasons-

  • Intense competition among airlines,
  • Increased capacity on airplanes
  • The ongoing discounts offered by airlines and online travel websites.
  • Oil prices remaining stable, which will keep the input costs lower for airlines.

Goomo, a renowned travel operator, is offering 20% discount on early-bird tickets and you can look forward to better discounts if you plan to travel mid-May.

With two long weekends coupled with summer vacations, airlines will look to tap into the holiday travel demand by offering such discounts. This move will definitely encourage and attract families with children and millennials to travel by air this holiday season.

So, if you are flying for your vacations this summer, Download the AirWhizz App. From real-time flight updates to information about your airline and airport, we give you all the information on the move.

Plan your summer vacations with ease and Fly Stress-Free!

Read More

Bidding War Over Air India Gets Intense As IndiGo And Jet Lead The Way!

AirWhizzApr 03, 2018 No Comments

Bidding War Over Air India Gets Intense As IndiGo And Jet Lead The Way!

Aviation Insider

In a bid to extend their flight network, India’s top 2 commercial carriers, IndiGo Airlines and Jet Airways, are ready to go into a bidding war to take control over 76% stake in Air India.

The 76% of Air India on offer is worth more than 220 billion rupees ($3.37 billion), based on an Air India valuation of above 300 billion rupees. Prospective buyers have until May 14 to voice interest. Winning bidders will be announced May 28.

Interglobe Aviation, IndiGo’s Operator, has shown a keen interest in the airline’s takeover since day one and for a long time, it was the only Indian carrier who was eligible to bid for a stake in Air India, because Interglobe is the only airline company in the country with a positive net worth. Indigo is a marketing leading airline with about 40% market share. This is because of its regular flights and a reputation for reliability.

However, most of the IndiGo flights operate domestically and purchasing Air India, with its network of international routes, will surely expand IndiGo’s reach in one move.

Jet Airways has recently entered the bidding war. It will partner with international airlines such as Air France, KLM and Delta Airlines to buy the 76% stake in Air India. Buying Air India would help Jet gain advantage over immediate rivals IndiGo in international flights. In the international segment Jet Airways has a code-sharing agreement with Air France and Delta.

Apart from these two giants of the Indian aviation industry, Singapore Airlines is looking to bid as the government has allowed foreign investors to buy up to 49% stake in Air India. Singapore Airlines have shown interest in the Indian market of late. They say that India is ‘strategic market’ based on their experience with their airline Vistara, a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Group.

According to Jayant Sinha, minister of state for civil aviation, the government’s price for the Air India stake may go up, as the government will not accept bids below the minimum value that they set.

At the end of 2017, Air India increased its domestic network to 39 cities. It is also a member of the global Star Alliance.No domestic airline can match the Air Indias international service, in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The carrier operates 137 flights a week to the Middle East, 68 to Europe and 56 to Southeast Asia. It serves popular airport hubs such as Dubai, London, and Bangkok.

The Indian government have put 150 billion rupees for three years till March 2016 to revive the national carrier. Privatisation of Air India and its subsidiaries will help ease the burden on the national budget.

India is one of the world’s most promising markets for air travel and national as well as international carriers have realized this. Once the results of the bid are announced by the end of May, whoever is fortunate enough to win the bid, is surely in for a profitable future.

Read More