08.21.06
Posted in Review, News, India, airlines, Travel & Tourism at 7:32 am by Mridul
Air Sahara expanding bases to 14 more cities
Air Sahara, one of the most preferred airlines in India has announced an expansion plan to 14 cities across the country. The company must have already lost much market share because of the news of takeover by Jet airways, so this step seems to regain and show the presence into the market. The airline will add 66 new flights over the next four months, as four new aircraft, Boeing 737-800, join the fleet by the year-end. When this expansion plan falls into place, Air Sahara hopes to regain its pre-merger market share of around 12-13 % by early next year said Air Sahara President Alok Sharma. With this expansion plan, Air Sahara would be connecting Delhi to six international destinations in addition to its code-share flights with American Airlines.
“As far as pilots are concerned, 50 per cent of those who had resigned in the aftermath of the merger with Jet Airways, have resumed their duties with us and more were expected to come back,” Sharma said.
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08.20.06
Posted in airlines, Information Technology, Travel & Tourism at 7:24 am by Mridul
Spice Jet starting online hotel / reservation service
Spice Jet in collaboration with Yatra Online has launched a dedicated online web hotel reservation service for its customers. Initially, the reservation will be allowed for 13 cities only and will be extended to more cities soon. The service will offer rooms to passengers of any airline in about 100 hotels ranging from two to five star in 13 major cities. Spice Jet plans to boost its bottomline by increasing revenue from the anicillary services. Low-cost carriers in the US and Europe earn quite a chunk of their revenues from ancillary actvities like hotels, car rentals, credit cards, cancellations and re-bookings.
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08.17.06
Posted in News, India, investment, airlines at 1:02 am by Mridul
Jet Airways and Air Sahara in Talks again
Jet Airways and Air Sahara are now taking initial steps towards reviving the buyout deal originally signed between the two in January this year. Sources from both airlines, who did not wish to be identified, said there is a realisation that the current state of affairs is harming the interests of both parties. Around Rs 2,000 crore of Jet Airways is stuck due to the breakdown of talks between the airlines. Of this, Rs 1,500 crore is in an escrow account, and another Rs 500 crore that it had paid to Air Sahara as guarantee money is also held up.
Jet Airways executive director Saroj Dutta said, “There is nothing to say on the issue”, while the Sahara group spokesperson said there is nothing substantial yet. However, sources close to the developments say the channels of communication were never closed and emissaries from both sides have been talking to each other.
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