Private Carrier Kingfisher Airlines Full-Services Flight with Low Fares Ticket

After exiting the low-cost segment, private carrier Kingfisher Airlines has now unveiled new ‘low’ fares on its full-service flights, which is expected to trigger off a price war among full-service carriers.

For instance, a Bangalore-Delhi economy seat on the airline can now be bought for Rs 5,191, normally sold at Rs 6,900.

Although these fares are available for a limited period, this could trigger a price war in the sector, where most full-service airlines are already making losses. “In the current scenario, most of these airlines are making losses and will continue to do so with such pricing strategies,” an aviation analyst told Business Line. It’s important for airlines to sell the first 70 per cent of their seats, and earn money, he said.

Most airlines sell a bulk of their seats in advance to big agents and consolidators, especially during the travel season (usually the third quarter of the fiscal), and a miniscule 20 per cent is what they sell at a premium. Margins take a hit with these strategies.

However, with Kingfisher Airlines deciding to exit the low-cost segment and the Government of India asking national carrier Air India to increase their fares, “a structural change is starting to happen in the industry”, he said. And if airlines discontinue such (low) pricing strategies, “they could even break even or make profits in the fourth quarter of this fiscal and the first quarter of the next fiscal”, he added.

However, Mr Mohan Kumar, another analyst and a former chief financial officer of a low-cost carrier, pointed out that if costs are low, airlines can leverage it to attract customers. But when costs are not low, whatever strategy, including low fares, might not give the desired results. With air travel growing about 15 per cent every year, the industry could witness better times ahead, but keeping costs under control is essential, he added.

Yields, which were around Rs 2,600-2,800 for a low-cost airline, have now gone up to about Rs 4,000. “In the long run, it is these low-cost carriers that can sustain in the short-haul domestic routes. Full-service carriers will play a key role in a hub-and-spoke model offering international connectivity in India as in the West,” he added.

Southwest Airlines, AirTran Airways Announce 72-hr Low Fare Sale

Southwest Airlines Co. and its subsidiary AirTran Airways Tuesday reported parallely launching low-fares in the range of $35 to $125 for a period of 72 hours. The deals are valid on travel between November 30, 2011 to December 14, 2011 and January 4, 2012 to February15, 2012.

The price of the ticket varies with the length of the journey, the company elaborated, with travel between 451 miles and 1 thousand miles costing $65 one-way. Kevin Krone, Southwest Airlines’ Vice President of Marketing, Sales, and Distribution commented “Southwest Airlines is kicking off the winter travel season by offering even lower fares. We love the excitement our Customers have for our sales, and we are proud that Southwest remains committed to providing low fares to Customers across the nation.”

Lufthansa Airlines Expand Non-stop Flight to Tokyo

Lufthansa continues to expand successfully and will soon also start offering long-haul flights to Asia from Dusseldorf. As of summer 2012, Lufthansa will be offering its passengers the first non-stop flight from North Rhine-Westphalia to the Japanese capital of Tokyo. The new route will be launched on 1 June 2012 and shall be offered six times per week with an Airbus A 340-300. The launch represents the next step as the airline continues to consistently expand the offer at its Dusseldorf hub.

“Following the introduction of intercontinental routes to the major North American cities of New York, Chicago, Miami and Toronto, we are now expanding our offer towards Asia with a direct flight to Tokyo,” commented Oliver Wagner, Senior Vice President Direct Services at Deutsche Lufthansa. “As one of the most important economic nations, Japan is of major significance to Lufthansa and at the same time, Dusseldorf’s central location in Europe’s most important conurbation makes its “Japan’s capital on the Rhine”. In addition, the integration of Tokyo will help to develop and strengthen our route network at Lufthansa’s Dusseldorf hub and will offer passengers attractive connecting flights to over 50 direct destinations in Germany and Europe.”

“A direct connection between Dusseldorf and Tokyo is the culmination of the many years of hard work that we have invested in consolidating and expanding Dusseldorf as a hub of Japanese trade and industry. It has been a long-standing wish of the Japanese community and the city itself to have a direct flight to Japan. The economic power of our region, our business relations with Japan and the many Japanese companies here, make such a connection more than worthwhile. Lufthansa has now brought Dusseldorf and Japan even closer together,” commented Dirk Elbers, Lord Mayor of Dusseldorf, the State capital of North-Rhine Westphalia.

“The new Tokyo route again shows what an important role Dusseldorf Airport plays in making North-Rhine Westphalia internationally accessible,” said Christoph Blume, Spokesperson of the Airport Management. Blume went on to add: “We are very pleased to be able to offer yet another attractive long-haul route from the Dusseldorf hub in cooperation with our partner Lufthansa. The launch of this route represents a further milestone within the framework of our strategy to establish interesting intercontinental offers, and one from which the economy and tourism shall also greatly benefit.” Dusseldorf Airport is already offering about 90 weekly departures for long-haul routes this winter.

The new connection between Dusseldorf and Tokyo will see Lufthansa open yet another chapter of its 50-year partnership with the Asian country. The first scheduled Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo already took off in 1961. From 1968 until the 1980s, with a few interruptions, Lufthansa flew from Dusseldorf to Tokyo with a technical stop in Anchorage/USA. Together with SWISS and Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa now offers 80 connections per week between Japan and Europe, making Lufthansa one of the leading European airlines in Japan.

The Dusseldorf region is the number one Japanese hub in Germany — with over 500 Japanese companies located in the region. A quarter of all Japanese citizens in living in Germany live in the North Rhine-Westphalian capital, making it the third largest Japanese community in Europe, behind London and Paris. In May 2011, the State of North Rhine-Westphalia and its capital Dusseldorf celebrated the 150-year anniversary of their trade relations with Japan. The highlight of the ‘Japanese Year’ will be the 10th edition of the ‘Japan Day’ in Dusseldorf on 15 October 2011. The ‘Japan Day’ is a German-Japanese cultural festival of encounter and one of the most popular events in North Rhine-Westphalia’s capital.

The return flight from Dusseldorf to Tokyo and back will be available from 849 euros. The price applies for Economy Class tickets booked online at www.lufthansa.com and includes all taxes, fees and the Lufthansa Ticket Service Charge. Miles & More passengers can collect up to 37.600 miles on these flights — depending on booking class and status. Information on the new direct connection and bookings are available online, through the Lufthansa Call Center at 01805 805 805 (EUR0.14 per minute), at Lufthansa travel agency partners and at the Lufthansa ticket desks in the airports.

Air France-KLM Plans Increase Promotion Flight to Darwin as Supporting Darwin International Gateway

Tourism Minister Malarndirri McCarthy met with executives from Air France-KLM in Darwin this week to increase the promotion of the Northern Territory in key European markets.

Air France-KLM’s Australia country manager Tom Reeves and NT account manager Steve Jacobsen were provided a detailed briefing on the investment activity and major projects powering the Territory economy.

Minister McCarthy said the majority of the Territory’s international visitors come from Europe.

“Air France-KLM is one of the largest global airline groups in the world, offering full service connections from their super-hubs in Paris and Amsterdam to Darwin via Singapore, Bali, Ho Chi Minh City and Manila with Jetstar,” Minister McCarthy said.

“Air France has now enabled our European visitors to book their flights from Europe to Darwin on the Air France website. Through their interline arrangements with Jetstar, customers enjoy the convenience of seamless baggage transfers, where their baggage is booked through to Darwin on check in.

“The Territory Government is also exploring more ways to promote the NT as the gateway to Australia to Air France and KLM’s significant customer base.”

Minsiter McCarthy said that improving air access and growing Darwin as an international aviation hub is part of the Government’s Territory 2030 strategy.

The meeting with Air France-KLM follows the Minister’s recent discussions with China Southern Airlines in Guangzhou regarding future direct flights from China to Darwin.

“Our strategy is to position Darwin as a significant hub for airline activity in the region. Forging strong relationships with airlines like Air France and KLM is really important for providing connecting traffic onto our direct flights into the Territory,” she said.

“Air France-KLM also has arrangements with China Southern Airlines and we are interested in how we could work with both these airlines to secure those new flights and even more options for travellers to and from the Territory.”

Air France-KLM extended an invitation to Minister McCarthy to visit their European headquarters to continue discussions.

Amritsar Launched New Route Flight from Birmingham Airport to India

Birmingham flights to the Indian holy city of Amritsar are being increased – as hundreds of West Midland families flock to the world-renowned Golden Temple.

A new route to India, launched from Birmingham Airport less than a fortnight ago, has had so much interest the airline now plans to increase the number of weekly services.

Comtel Air began flights to Amritsar from Birmingham on October 1 and planned to operate two weekly services each Saturday and Sunday.

But the airline says it has had such an overwhelming response from the region’s Indian community it will be increasing the flights from Birmingham, taking an aircraft from another European base to accommodate demand in the Midlands.

Thomas Kopetzky, Director Ground Operations for Comtel Air, said: “We knew there was demand for more flights to India from Birmingham due to the large Asian community living in the Midlands and we thought that we’d eventually have to put on more flights but we never imagined we’d have to make this decision so soon after launching the first service.

“It just goes to show that people want to use their local airport to visit their friends and relatives out in India rather than travelling to London.”

Since launching the first Birmingham flight, Comtel Air has carried 744 passengers on four flights between Birmingham and Amritsar.

Martyn Lloyd, Air Service Development Director at Birmingham Airport said: “We’re delighted that Thomas and his team have shown confidence in Birmingham Airport, and indeed the region, and that they’ve had such an enormous response from the Midlands community.

“The success, in such a short period, proves that people want to fly from Birmingham and shows the enormous potential that’s available.”

The flights, on Boeing 757-200 aircraft, have a short stop in Vienna due to Indian Government restrictions before flying onward to Amritsar in the Punjab.

Boeing Talks with Chinese Airlines to Revitalize Sales Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Boeing Co. is engaged in “very advanced discussions” with Chinese airlines to revitalize sales there of its 787 Dreamliner, according to a senior sales executive, as the U.S. plane maker competes with rival Airbus for a greater share of the growing market.

Chicago-based Boeing currently has orders for 60 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets from China Southern Airlines Co. and other Chinese customers. Those orders came in 2005, and Boeing hasn’t received any additional orders since.

In an interview on the sidelines of Aviation Expo, an air exhibition that kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday, Boeing’s top sales executive for China said that may change.

“On the 787, we are in constant discussions with airlines in China. Demand is very high,” said Ihssane Mounir, the sales executive. “We do have some very advanced discussions that could lead to more orders soon.”

Boeing’s future in part hinges on the high-profile 787 jetliner, which the company says will be more fuel-efficient and cheaper to maintain than other long-haul jets. But the plane’s rollout has been beset by delays. Boeing is scheduled to deliver the first 787 Dreamliner to Japan’s All Nippon Airways Co. later this month. That would put it more than three years behind schedule.

Boeing officials say the company needs to win more orders in China, one of the fastest-growing commercial aircraft markets, where competition from Airbus is becoming stiffer. Airbus’s China president, Laurence Barron, said in a separate interview Wednesday that it expects to account for a 50% share of China’s commercial-jet market by 2013. Also speaking on the sidelines of Aviation Expo, Mr. Barron said he expects Airbus’s market share in China to be 47% by the end of this year. Airbus is a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co.

Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing’s commercial-aircraft division, said earlier this month that the company aims at least to maintain its slightly higher than 50% share of China’s market of commercial airliners in service. But he acknowledged that Boeing’s share of new orders from China in recent years has been declining, in part because of competition from Airbus.

Earlier this month, Boeing raised its 20-year forecast for China’s spending on commercial aircraft by 25%, citing planned international expansion by airlines in what the company expects will become the world’s second-biggest aircraft market after the U.S. In that forecast, Boeing said it expects Chinese carriers and others to spend $600 billion for 5,000 new commercial airplanes from Boeing, Airbus and other manufacturers. Boeing last year estimated that China would spend $480 billion on 4,330 planes over the next 20 years.

Virgin Australia Airlines to Introduce Flights Between Asian Countries and Northern Australia

Virgin Australia plans to introduce flights between Asian countries and remote northern Australia as part of any code share deal with Singapore Airlines.

However Virgin chief executive John Borghetti would not reveal what routes he was considering.

One possibility would be Broome, in Western Australia, which is a popular tourism destination but had virtually no international inbound flights.

The airline’s proposed partnership with the Singapore carrier is awaiting regulatory approval and would be the fourth piece in an alliance deal with overseas carriers that gives Virgin access to 400 destinations.

‘It will enable us to jointly look at routes, it will be good for tourism because it may open routes,’ Mr Borghetti told a business luncheon in Melbourne about the possible partnership with Singapore Airlines.

‘There are routes in the northern part of Australia that are not connected to Asia.’

He said that Virgin had already started luring ‘thousands upon thousands’ of customers to its new Velocity frequent flyer program, including a new top tier platinum corporate status.

Mr Borghetti’s plan is to capture a 20 per cent share of the corporate travel market dominated by Qantas. This follows Virgin being re-branded Virgin Australia from Virgin Blue in May.

‘We’ve set ourselves a three-year plan … we will be the airline of choice in this country, no doubt about that,’ he said.

Virgin’s other code share partners are Delta Air Lines of the US, Etihad Airways and Air New Zealand.

In the 10 years since the Australian airline Ansett collapsed, there had been no competition at the ‘top end’, Mr Borghetti said.

‘One player has a monopoly over the top end, what we’re doing is re-dressing that,’ Mr Borghetti said.

Since Ansett stopped flying, business class prices had increased while ‘leisure’ fares were 50 to 60 per cent lower.

‘What that tells you is the competition is all down here, and someone’s making a lot of money up here … so how do we get a piece of that?’ he said.

Virgin could not stay exclusively a low-cost carrier any longer if it wanted to survive, because it left it too exposed to discretionary spending by leisure customers, Mr Borghetti said.

The airline announced last month a full year loss of $67.8 million for 2010/11, with natural disasters in Australia and abroad affecting earnings. Virgin shares were steady at 30 cents on Friday.

Emirate Airlines to become Largest Operator Wide-body Aircraft by 2015

Emirates Airlines, Dubai’s flagship carrier, is on track to become the world’s largest operator of wide-body aircraft by 2015, Boston Consulting Group said Thursday.

The largest carrier by international traffic is forecast to grow its capacity by 9 to 12 percent annually through to 2015, the research group said in its report ‘Middle Eastern Megacarriers: Gaining Altitude’.

Emirates has “nearly tripled capacity and passenger revenues over the past five years, adding 32 new destinations while improving aircraft utilisation, load factors, and yields,” analysts wrote.

“The specific growth rates will depend on how quickly the airline retires some of its older aircraft — to become the world’s largest operator of wide-body aircraft.”

With a fleet of 157 aircraft and the largest A380 operator in the world, Emirates currently flies to 114 destinations in 67 countries.

Despite Emirates’ cash margins decreasing from 28 percent to 23 percent during the past five years, BCG believes that the performance compares better than other international airlines.

Emirates is not the only carrier in the Middle East that is expected to see strong growth over the next five years. Airlines in the region are expected to triple their passenger capacity over the next 20 years, according to BCG.

Passenger flows to and from the Middle East are expected to increase by another 45 million passengers over the next five-year period, from 2010 through 2015.

“Because the Middle Eastern megacarriers have been early developers of the region as an important hub for long-haul routes—and because they enjoy significant cost advantages—they are well positioned to compete aggressively with more financially constrained carriers,” said Rend Stephan, Partner & Managing Director in BCG, Middle East.

Middle East airlines saw a 9.7 percent increase in demand in July, outstripping the 8.9 percent capacity increase, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said earlier this month.

Air Arabia Plans to Start Offering Services to Ukrainian Cities

Competition is intensifying among UAE budget airlines to open up markets in former Soviet states.
The carriers want to entice residents of those countries into the UAE’s winter sunshine.
Air Arabia plans to start offering services to the Ukrainian cities of Kharkov and Donetsk early next month.

However, the Sharjah airline has been beaten to it by flydubai, which will start operations to both cities this week.

The Dubai airline said on Monday it would also begin offering services to Tbilisi, becoming the first UAE airline to offer direct flights to the Georgian capital.

“As Georgia’s largest city as well as its industrial, social and cultural centre, Tbilisi is gaining prominence in the Middle East both as a business and leisure destination,” said flydubai’s chief executive, Ghaith Al Ghaith.

“Also, improving air links between Dubai to Central and Eastern Europe is of great strategic importance to us.”

Both routes are being launched as the winter travel season approaches.

The UAE is an attractive location for visitors from Russia and other former Soviet countries seeking respite from plunging temperatures at home.

In addition, the UAE has more than 55,000 expatriates from Eastern and Central Europe.

Air Arabia’s new routes will mean it provides eight flights a week between its base in Sharjah and Ukraine.

It already operates flights to Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. Ukraine had “strong economic and cultural ties” with the UAE and wider Gulf region, said Adel Ali, the chief executive of the airline.

Not be outdone, flydubai will start services to Kiev and Kharkov, Ukraine’s second largest city, from tomorrow. On Saturday, the airline will begin service to Donetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine.
Despite a steady flow of tourists visiting the emirates every year from Eastern Europe, the region has been relatively underserved by UAE carriers.

Emirates Airline will start flights to St Petersburg on November 1, adding to its service to Moscow.

Etihad Airways flies to Moscow and Minsk in Belarus and uses a code-share agreement to fly to Kiev.

It also flies to Astana and Almaty in Kazakhstan.

In addition to its new routes, flydubai operates five connections to cities in former Soviet states including Yerevan in Armenia, the Azeri capital of Baku, the Russian cities of Samara and Yekaterinburg, and the Turkmen capital Ashgabat.

Kiev was Air Arabia’s first destination in the region. Ukraine is a particularly attractive destination for airlines as the country will next summer co-host the Uefa Euro football championship. As many as 1.1 million spectators attended the last tournament when it was held in 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.

The increase in services to the region also reflects growing commercial links. From oil services to burgeoning financial industries, the UAE and the former Soviet bloc share similarities in business. The UAE has also been keen to assess opportunities in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan to meet its food security requirements.

“For the first time, the UAE was rated among the top 10 investors in the Russian economy last year,” said Yury Molchanov, the vice governor of St Petersburg ahead of the launch of Emirates Airline’s flights to the city.

“St Petersburg is an important gateway into Russia and a very active region for business, industry and culture. Its attractions and world heritage sites draw millions of tourists each year,” said Richard Vaughan, Emirates Airline’s divisional senior vice president for commercial operations worldwide.

Chandigarh Airport Soon Come on International Aviation

Chandigarh Airport gets Customs clearance, to get immigration nod soon.
From next month, Chandigarh may soon come on the international aviation map after getting the long-awaited Customs clearance from the Union government. The Centre is also expected to provide immigration clearance soon.

The Punjab government and the airport director received the copy of the notification issued by the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) on August 19 giving the go-ahead for the Customs facility to be set up at the Chandigarh Airport. Around 1,500 square feet of space has been provided to Customs officials.

An officer of the rank of assistant commissioner of customs along with his team will be on duty at the airport. The clearance for immigration facility is expected within a fortnight, sources said.

“The x-ray machines to screen the baggage have already been set up at the airport and now the work is on to set up a computer system for immigration. Around 30 Punjab police personnel have been trained at the Amritsar International Airport for immigration duties and these personnel will now be sent on deputation to Chandigarh Administration so that they can be posted at the Chandigarh Airport for immigration duties,’’ said an official.

According to an Airport Authority of India survey, it is estimated that by 2013 the Chandigarh Airport will see around 15 lakh passengers. At present the passenger traffic is 6 lakh. Three years ago the passenger traffic was 1.5 lakh. It is estimated that this year it will reach 8 lakh passengers.

Sources said Air Arabia has applied to the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) to start a flight from Chandigarh to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The airline operates from various cities in the country.

Fly Dubai, a low-cost airline of Emirates Airlines, had got clearance from the Union government to fly from Chandigarh to Dubai, but could not fly as the customs and immigration clearance had not come then. Other major airlines are also expected to commence operations soon.

“Besides passenger traffic from the region, the other major reason is that the fuel cost will be less. In Delhi, the Value Added Tax is 12 per cent, here it is only 4 per cent. The parking charges are also less than Delhi.” said an officer.

A special customs counter was set up at the Chandigarh Airport during the Cricket World Cup semi final match between India and Pakistan as the Pakistan prime minister along with a delegation had flown directly from Islamabad to Chandigarh.

Get You Flight Destination with Offer Big Sale Airline Ticket from Several Major Airlines

Travelzoo is offering up deals from several major airlines that will get you to destinations across the country without breaking the bank.

AirTran Airways is one of the companies joining in on the discounts, helping travelers save as much as $200 roundtrip on competing fares.

The best part? No matter where you want to visit, there’s likely a deal to get you there. The “aggressive nationwide fare sale” is available for travel from 60 departure cities with rates starting as low as $54 each way!

Looking for an escape to France? Travelzoo can help there too.

A sale from Air France is cutting up to 35 percent off peak season fares , offering up non-stop flights through October for as little as $303 each way.

Las Vegas lovers will also score big with this week’s deals, which provide major discounts on travel through December.

Flights from across the U.S. are starting at just $24 each way, offering the perfect excuse to press your luck in Sin City. New fare sales and unadvertised price reductions will help travelers save as much as $150 off regularly priced tickets.

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