News Flash Saturday, May 10, 2008
AI EXPRESS TO TAKE TO THE SKIES 29 APRIL
New Delhi: Air-India’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr. V. Thulasidas announced that AI Express (Air India’s budget airline) will take to the skies 29 April. At a function held in Ashok Hotel, New Delhi the first online ticket sale was ceremonially launched by Mr. Ajay Prasad, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. It will operate its maiden flight from Trivandrum. The fares will be 25% lower than market fares with Delhi – Abu Dhabi sector ticket costing Rs 6632 (approximately US $ 152). With a fleet of three Boeing 737-800s Air India Express will start operating 35 flights per week to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Salalah in the Gulf from Cochin, Calicut, Trivandrum, Bombay and Delhi. Air-India is on a fleet expansion mode and the next 2 years will see 50 new aircraft for Air-India and 18 for AI Express. The AI Express planes will sport psychedelic colours and images of India.
CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES TO FLY MUMBAI–SHANGHAI FROM 29 MARCH 2005
New Delhi: China Eastern Airlines effective 29 th March will operate four weekly non-stop flights between Mumbai and Shanghai. These flights will go onwards to Beijing. China Eastern Airlines will offer the shortest flying time into Shanghai. Flights will operate every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday arriving in Mumbai at 0310 hrs and departing at 0410 hrs. The arrival into Shanghai will ensure that the passengers get convenient and hassle free connections to USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
BELGIAN ROYALS TO THE RESCUE OF HAMPI AND TIPU’S PALACE
New Delhi: Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium were in India recently. While in Delhi they rode the metro and took in all the sights with the Prince even putting his arms behind the iron pillar at the Qutab Minar. The Royal couple was present when the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and Janssen Pharmaceuticals signed an agreement for the maintenance, conservation and preservation of Hampi and Tipu’s Palace (Srirangapatnam) in Karnataka. Research will be jointly conducted to treat the bio-deterioration of the monuments. Janssen has world class expertise with archeological projects, having worked with China on the famous “Terracotta army” in Xian to develop a solution for mold which threatened it .
WWF DECLARES NORTHEAST FORESTS “SECOND RICHEST IN THE WORLD”
Guwahati: The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) has said in its report that the forests in the Northeast are the “second richest in the world”, especially as recently a new species of macaque and the rare rusty throated wren warbler were found in the hills of Arunachal Pradesh. About 14,000 sq.km of the Himalayan foothill north of the Brahmaputra River has been described as “extraordinary” and “a jewel in the crown of Indian forests.”
JAI SINGH’S JANTAR MANTAR TO TRACK TIME AGAIN
New Delhi: Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur built the Jantar Mantar Astronomical Observatory in Delhi in 1724 to predict eclipses, measure time, track stars etc using his 90 feet high Samrat, Misra, Jaiprakas and Ramyantra “jantras” (instruments). The ruined observatory has been restored and repaired by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Nehru Planetarium. It was opened to the public on 20 March, the day of the Spring Equinox. Visitors could track the sun’s rays, which are perpendicular at the equator and the length of day and night are equal at the time of the Vernal Equinox.
RAJASTHAN SAW 50% INCREASE IN FOREIGN VISITORS IN 2004
Jaipur: Rajasthan is bent on promoting itself as a round-the-year destination. Foreign tourists, drawn by Rajasthan’s forts, festivals, colour and heritage recorded a more than 50% increase in 2004 while domestic tourists increased by 28%. The State wants to enlarge its tourism product by adding new segments of tourism such as health, rural, adventure, pilgrim and eco-tourism.
PRINCE CHARLES TO HELP REGENERATE MILL AREAS OF BOMBAY
Mumbai: Mr. S. K. Misra, Chairman INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) visited London last year at the invitation of Prince Charles, who wanted support for his 3 initiatives in India; water, education and heritage. INTACH agreed to take up a major heritage initiative in Bombay. The Prince sent a team for a 5 day design workshop called Charette (7-12 March) to discuss the regeneration of the mill areas (derelict warehouses and mills). The team has already done wonders in Leeds and Manchester where the mill architecture is akin to Bombay. The Prince’s INTABU (International Network for Traditional Buildings Architecture and Urbanism) and INTACH jointly held the workshop to work out long term strategies. The project will be funded by the Prince of Wales Charitable Trust, the British Council and private sponsors.
“INDIONE” ROLLS OUT IN TEN CITIES
Mumbai: After the success of its first budget indiOne hotel in Bangalore, Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (IHCL) today announced the rollout of indiOne in 10 additional locations: Pune, Nasik, Mysore, Haridwar, Panjim, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Trivandrum, Jamshedpur and Durgapur. Scheduled to be unveiled within the next 10 months, the construction of these hotels will commence within two months. The identified towns are a combination of strong urban markets as also secondary and tertiary towns where an offering like indiOne holds tremendous potential. Announcing the rollout, Mr. Raymond Bickson, Managing Director, IHCL (owners of the Taj Group) said, “The launch of our first indiOne hotel in Bangalore has changed the dynamics of the entire hospitality industry and a category like the ‘Smart Basics’ Hotels has truly emerged a compelling business opportunity”. Each hotel will have 100 rooms.
YOGA ENTHUSIASTS THRONG RISHIKESH
Rishikesh: The weeklong international Yoga festival, supported by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India had 300 tourists from 34 countries, on the banks of the Ganga, taking lessons in yoga. The celebrity touch was added by the Hollywood yoga guru Gurmukh Kaur who gives lessons to a number of Hollywood stars. Meditation Reiki, pranic healing and yoga all formed part of the daily regimen. Some of the visitors came initially for the love of the Beatles who catapulted Rishikesh to fame in the West because of a duet in the early 60s between the Beatles and a yogi. Today they are returning for the peace and wellness they experience in Rishikesh on the banks of the holy river while practicing yoga.
ACCOR HOTELS RETURN TO INDIA AFTER A DECADE
New Delhi: The French hospitality major Accor which “Checked out” almost a decade ago is returning to the Indian market and setting up two joint ventures with InterGlobe for developing and managing economy hotels across India and South Asia as well. This is the first FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) by an international chain in the hospitality industry. With the travel economy in India on the upswing Accor feels it is a good time to target the middle class by entering the economy segment. The first Ibis hotel will be operational by June 2006.
INDIA CHINA ENHANCE BILATERAL AIR CONNECTIVITY
New Delhi: India and China have agreed to increase bilateral air connectivity permitting private Indian carriers also on the India–China route. A formal agreement will be signed shortly. This is bound to decrease fares and lead to increase in tourist traffic.
VERSACE TO OPEN ACCOUNT IN INDIA
Mumbai: Donatella Versace of the internationally famous fashion house was in town for the Lakme Fashion House Finale in which several young Indian designers participated. The winner will get to go to Milan and work in the Versace design room for 6 months. Versace plans to open its outlets in India by yearend.
SRI LANKAN AIR ANNOUCES ADDITIONAL 19 FLIGHTS TO INDIA
New Delhi: Sri Lankan Airlines announced adding 19 more flights per week to India. The additional weekly frequencies will be: Kochi 12 (present 6) Calicut 9 (present 6) Trichy 10 (present 7) Trivandrum 11 (present 9) and Hyderabad 7 (present 5). The Airline has also announced attractive promotional fares and packages for Indian travelers.
FOREIGN TOURISTS VISIT ANDAMANS POST TSUNAMI
Port Blair: It was a welcome sight, when as SRC Aviation charter flight brought 6 foreign tourists to Port Blair from the US and South Africa. They were interested in exploring prospects of game fishing and diving. Roger Bergen, a conservationist said, “Unlike Phuket these Islands also possesses natural beauty and beaches”. They were impressed with the return to normalcy and said what was needed was a return of more tourists to the islands.
