Airliners-India.com

karatecatman · Guest

http://tinyurl.com/yvquc7
TRAVEL BIZ MONITOR

Finnair to add one more flight on Mumbai-Helsinki route from June 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008 (20:00 IST)
By Krupa Vora | Mumbai

Finnair, which started operations in June, last year will add one more flight on the Mumbai-Helsinki route from June 2, 2008. Currently the airline has five flights a week on the route. Also, with this additional flight, the airline plans to offer onward connections to New York (JFK Airport). "At the Vantaa Helsinki Airport the minimum transit time for onward connections to USA for Mumbai bound passengers is 35 minutes, which is very beneficial for the passengers," says Ambarish Mukherjee, Sales Manager India (West and South India), Finnair. "Finnair being a One World member, passengers can further take connections with American Airlines to any city in USA," he added. The airline has witnessed an average load factor of 70 percent on the Indian route.

Further more, the airline plans to introduce flat beds by refurbishing the A340 aircraft which is used on the Mumbai-Helsinki route. The refurbishing will start from August 2008 and the airline will also add more seats in the Business Class on the route. The airline will add 42 business seats while the Economy Class configuration will be 227 seats. Currently the airline has 30 business seats and 265 economy seats. "Our focus has been to make the airline one of the sought after carriers for business travel," adds Mukherjee. Finnair plans to tap the MICE segment for destinations like Rovaiemi, Ivalo and Turku in Finland, as well as Flam in Norway. For the corporate traveller, the airline plans to promote the Finnair Corporate Programme, which allows corporate firms to directly book tickets and avail discounts on the website.

***

www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/02/02/stories/2008020250350700.htm

JetLite plans Amristar-Bangkok flights from March 28

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Feb 1 Low cost airline JetLite plans to launch its first international operations with flights between Amritsar and Bangkok on March 28.

***

http://tinyurl.com/2qb3xy
TRAVEL BIZ MONITOR

Dragonair to launch India operations with daily flights on Hong Kong - Bangalore route

Cathay Pacific to start Chennai service; increase flights to Mumbai, Delhi

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 (19:30 IST)
By TBM staff | Mumbai

Dragonair, the sister airline of Cathay Pacific Airways, is scheduled to launch its India operations, with daily flights to Bangalore, starting May 1, 2008. Cathay Pacific is also keen to strengthen its presence in the Indian market by launching services to Chennai, as well as additional flights to Delhi and Mumbai. The Hong Kong-based company has got the requisite permission to operate 30 flights to India, including 23 by Cathay Pacific and the rest by Dragonair.

Speaking at a press conference here today, Tom Wright, General Manager - India, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan, Cathay Pacific Airways, said that for the daily Bangalore service, Dragonair will operate A330-300 aircraft with a two-class configuration. "With the daily service on the Hong Kong - Bangalore route, the airline will connect travellers onto Dragon Air's network of 34 regional destinations, including 21 cities in mainland China, as well as the international network of Cathay Pacific," said Wright. Dragonair became part of the Cathay Pacific Group in September, 2006.

Cathay Pacific's Chennai services will commence from June 1, 2008. It will operate the A330-300 aircraft four times a week on the Chennai route. In terms of the airline's services to Mumbai and Delhi, they will both become a daily operation, starting February 29, 2008, with the addition of three more flights a week to each city.

The extra flights to Mumbai will continue on to Dubai, making it a daily flight from Mumbai to Dubai. Further, starting March 30, 2008, the airline plans to add three more flights a week to Mumbai, as well as another daily flight to Delhi. The airline will deploy B777-300 (385 seats) on the Mumbai route and A330-300 (311 seats) on the Delhi route. "We have witnessed a load factor of approximately 90 per cent on the Delhi route and 90 to 95 per cent on the Mumbai route, stated Wright.