SpiceJet

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.

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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.

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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!

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