Im flying out to Leh in January next year Has anyone here ever been there in January ? And Is it colder than Toronto there during winters ?

Also its gona be my first time there and have read many medical cautionaries pertaining the climatisation thing So do you guys think its safe for someone who is going through blood related treatment ?

VT-TGH has joined, the ex VT-JFT.
I am expecting the ex VT-JFS to join too - these two are HGW planes.

Meanwhile, VT-TGE flew in from Hosur yesterday (August 7th) and is back in service under the Vistara livery.

blrsea wrote:

Looks like they have actually not closed any routes as clarified by Pakistani CAA. I don't think they are in a position to reject any revenue coming in.

Pakistan airspace remains open for Indian flights

LAHORE: Pakistan on Thursday clarified that it has neither closed its airspace for India nor re-routed any route for the Indian flights.

"There has been no change to the notice to airmen (NOTAM) and all flights are being operated as per schedule issued earlier," Civil Aviation Authority Pakistan spokesperson Mujtaba Baig told PTI.

"Pakistan has neither closed its airspace for India nor re-routed or closed down any route for the Indian flights," he said.

Responding to a question about re-routing of a few routes as reported by the media, he said: "Not a single route has been re-routed after the latest tension between the two countries."

Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal also said that Pakistan had not banned its airspace for India. "We have not banned our airspace for India. It is open for Indian flights," he told reporters in Islamabad.

I wonder if US or EU or even the UAE played a role. Disrupting flights in the region affects much more than India/Pak. Add to it the tension with Iran affecting flights (which the world will see as much more of an issue than Kashmir).

Some ex-Jet Airways planes now operating with SpiceJet under SG's full livery:
VT-SYE ex JBE
VT-SYH ex JFW
VT-SYN ex JFY
All are HGW planes, and yet they keep sending hybrid 9W planes on their intl flights to HKG....

VT-SXD has had some strange activity lately, so maybe it went in & out of the paint shop.
VT-SXA hasn't flown in a while, neither has VT-SYK but that's the one that went off the runway at BOM.

^^ speaking of SpiceJet, for some reason they are not repainting these ex-Jet aircraft in their latest livery. Compare these aircraft with their new 90 seat Q400s (VT-SQ* series) and spot the differences.

CollegeAviator wrote:

VT-TGH has joined, the ex VT-JFT.
I am expecting the ex VT-JFS to join too - these two are HGW planes.

Meanwhile, VT-TGE flew in from Hosur yesterday (August 7th) and is back in service under the Vistara livery.

1. Does Hosur airport receive several commercial flights?

2. Who manages the MRO facility at Hosur?

3. How long does it take to repaint an aircraft at Hosur.

India’s air traffic rose by almost 8 percent in June

Growth is back on with a bang. WOW!

https://zeenews.india.com/economy/india ... 25870.html

What Vistara is up against in its first three foreign routes

Call it by choice or the lack of it, the airline has launched its two flights to Singapore and would be followed by Mumbai-Dubai and Delhi-Bangkok flights.
The current schedule of Vistara is not catering to connections at India end effectively.

As UK115 took to the skies on August 6, it marked the maiden foray of Vistara – the Tata-SIA joint venture — into the international markets. The flight connected its hub New Delhi with Singapore – the hub of its equity partner Singapore Airlines.

That the airline will launch flights to Singapore as its maiden destination to get traffic and feed traffic to its equity partner was predictable. However, things were not as simple as they seemed. Jet Airways kept up the pressure and added frequencies from across the country to create a mini hub at Singapore, leaving any other airline with limited seats to launch flights and wait for the amendment to Air Services Agreement.

As fate would have it, Jet Airways shut operations in April, and Vistara decided to take up the B737s which flew with Jet Airways, along with the crew and it was this very B737 which is helping them start flights to Singapore – since its current A320s would complete the mission with load penalty, unlike the High Gross Weight (HGW) Boeing B737s currently operating the flights to Singapore from New Delhi and Mumbai.

Apparently hours after Spicejet's known overshooting had happened last month at BOM, another aircraft of theirs also had overshot the other secondary runway in use then. But that quickly got off the end and didn't get stuck like the other one.
Hope there's slot reallocation at BOM and airlines with certain operational parameters are given preference.

https://m.timesofindia.com/business/ind ... ssion=true

The 27 "ghost" airports of India

https://theprint.in/india/india-spent-r ... ff/271703/

edealinfo wrote:

The 27 "ghost" airports of India

https://theprint.in/india/india-spent-r ... ff/271703/

On the positive side, if major destination/hub capacity could be increased, airlines have ready expansion.

The reality is, Airlines will not waste valuable slots at marginal airports. The only viable solution is a dramatic increase in slots at the largest metropolitan centers.

Lightsaber

Jet Airways stake sale: Etihad skips bidding; lenders get 3 others

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... 623337.cms

https://www.cnbctv18.com/aviation/jet-a ... 153561.htm

Key Points:

1) Of the 3 bidders; 2 are financial players and 1 is a player in the global aviation space. (Panama-based fund Avantulo Group is one of the three entities)

2) Etihad and the Hinduja Group did not bid.

3) Jet Airways is facing claims of Rs 24,887 crores from various creditors.

Has anyone heard of the Avantulo Group? My feeling on this is a revival of Jet as an airline is pretty much over at this point. Etihad was the only group for which a purchase of Jet could have been strategic in some manner and the fact that they decided against it, despite asking for extra time, is clear indication, that even they think its a goner.

Your thoughts?

The Hindu Business Line (an excellent India newspaper by the way, with quality standards far exceeding that of the Times Group and the Indian Express Group) has correctly analyzed the information put out by Vistara and named the first 2 long haul destinations for Vistara. [Separately, in terms of newspapers, I think LiveMint.com and Hindu Business Line have good quality standards.]

Vistara to have London, Tokyo on itinerary after Boeing 787-9’s entry

https://www.thehindu.com/business/vista ... 977835.ece

edealinfo wrote:

CollegeAviator wrote:

VT-TGH has joined, the ex VT-JFT.
I am expecting the ex VT-JFS to join too - these two are HGW planes.

Meanwhile, VT-TGE flew in from Hosur yesterday (August 7th) and is back in service under the Vistara livery.

1. Does Hosur airport receive several commercial flights?

2. Who manages the MRO facility at Hosur?

3. How long does it take to repaint an aircraft at Hosur.

1. Hosur is a VFR private airport - no commercial flights whatsoever

2. Taneja Aerospace & Aviation Ltd own the airfield; Air Works India own the MRO

3. I would guesstimate a week, if not less.

CollegeAviator wrote:

edealinfo wrote:

CollegeAviator wrote:

VT-TGH has joined, the ex VT-JFT.
I am expecting the ex VT-JFS to join too - these two are HGW planes.

Meanwhile, VT-TGE flew in from Hosur yesterday (August 7th) and is back in service under the Vistara livery.

1. Does Hosur airport receive several commercial flights?

2. Who manages the MRO facility at Hosur?

3. How long does it take to repaint an aircraft at Hosur.

1. Hosur is a VFR private airport - no commercial flights whatsoever

2. Taneja Aerospace & Aviation Ltd own the airfield; Air Works India own the MRO

3. I would guesstimate a week, if not less.

Excellent response. Interesting information and thank you for taking the time to research and respond.

The turnaround by SpiceJet. 80 percent capacity growth in a year; deftly capturing slots and aircraft leases, etc.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.newindia ... 017073.amp

Double-digit growth in India aviation to soon commence again:

https://www.business-standard.com/artic ... 065_1.html

The three firms that submitted an Expression of Interest for Jet Airways:

1. Panama-based investment firm Avantulo Group
2. The Russian Fund Treasury RA Creator
3. Volcan Investment, investment company for Anil Agarwal. Volcan is Agarwal’s family trust. Volcan and Vedanta Resources are the parent companies of Vedanta Ltd which holds Cairn India Holdings

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... 631870.cms

edealinfo wrote:

The turnaround by SpiceJet. 80 percent capacity growth in a year; deftly capturing slots and aircraft leases, etc.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.newindia ... 017073.amp

Just think how much more the might have grown if they could have flown the more efficient MAX.

The constraint for future growth is hub slots.

Lightsaber

edealinfo wrote:

The three firms that submitted an Expression of Interest for Jet Airways:

1. Panama-based investment firm Avantulo Group
2. The Russian Fund Treasury RA Creator
3. Volcan Investment, investment company for Anil Agarwal. Volcan is Agarwal’s family trust. Volcan and Vedanta Resources are the parent companies of Vedanta Ltd which holds Cairn India Holdings

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... 631870.cms

How close are the Agarwals to the BJP or Moody? Do they have as much clout with the Administration as Ajay Singh or Adani? If not, there isn't a rat's chance they would submit a final bid on a defunct airline given the risks involved in investing in the aviation business, all the legal baggage and pitfalls, and nasty competitors.

Indian arrivals to Serbia keep on growing and the other day I was at BEG and it was full of Indians mostly flying on Qatar or flydubai. I hope IndiGo considers BEG at least on a summer seasonal basis.

Blerg wrote:

Indian arrivals to Serbia keep on growing and the other day I was at BEG and it was full of Indians mostly flying on Qatar or flydubai. I hope IndiGo considers BEG at least on a summer seasonal basis.

Do you have any latest source for the tourist arrivals data?

unrave wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Indian arrivals to Serbia keep on growing and the other day I was at BEG and it was full of Indians mostly flying on Qatar or flydubai. I hope IndiGo considers BEG at least on a summer seasonal basis.

Do you have any latest source for the tourist arrivals data?

Numbers come from the Serbian statistical department. In July a total of 1.072 Indians visited Serbia which is an increase of 26%. So far this year there were 3.784 tourists that is 19% more. Of course, numbers are tiny especially compared to the Chinese arrivals (16.698/ 57.286) which only goes to show what a potential there is. Then again there is zero promotion so it's a surprise numbers are this high. I think even with these numbers they could run two weekly flights.

Indians don't need visas for Serbia so I think for many Indians it would be an appealing destination.

Blerg wrote:

Indian arrivals to Serbia keep on growing and the other day I was at BEG and it was full of Indians mostly flying on Qatar or flydubai. I hope IndiGo considers BEG at least on a summer seasonal basis.

Imagine if Air Serbia still flew to AUH, and 9W existed: a plethora of India-AUH-BEG combinations without actually having to fly EY.

That being said, with the slew of new destinations coming in thanks to SG and 6E, I wouldn't be surprised if BEG became a NEO or MAX route, assuming the latter's ban is lifted.

edealinfo wrote:

edealinfo wrote:

The three firms that submitted an Expression of Interest for Jet Airways:

1. Panama-based investment firm Avantulo Group
2. The Russian Fund Treasury RA Creator
3. Volcan Investment, investment company for Anil Agarwal. Volcan is Agarwal’s family trust. Volcan and Vedanta Resources are the parent companies of Vedanta Ltd which holds Cairn India Holdings

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... 631870.cms

How close are the Agarwals to the BJP or Moody? Do they have as much clout with the Administration as Ajay Singh or Adani? If not, there isn't a rat's chance they would submit a final bid on a defunct airline given the risks involved in investing in the aviation business, all the legal baggage and pitfalls, and nasty competitors.

Volcan has excused itself from the race within 24 hours

avier wrote:

Apparently hours after Spicejet's known overshooting had happened last month at BOM, another aircraft of theirs also had overshot the other secondary runway in use then. But that quickly got off the end and didn't get stuck like the other one.
Hope there's slot reallocation at BOM and airlines with certain operational parameters are given preference.

https://m.timesofindia.com/business/ind ... ssion=true

And also lets hope new destinations are given more preference than existing ones. Also let a part of it be kept for future long haul flights . I'd love to see Vistara base 789s here.

CollegeAviator wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Indian arrivals to Serbia keep on growing and the other day I was at BEG and it was full of Indians mostly flying on Qatar or flydubai. I hope IndiGo considers BEG at least on a summer seasonal basis.

Imagine if Air Serbia still flew to AUH, and 9W existed: a plethora of India-AUH-BEG combinations without actually having to fly EY.

That being said, with the slew of new destinations coming in thanks to SG and 6E, I wouldn't be surprised if BEG became a NEO or MAX route, assuming the latter's ban is lifted.

Air Serbia's A332 is only flying three times a week to JFK in winter, maybe they could squeeze in two weekly to somewhere in India. After all it's not so far away, between six and seven hours depending on the final destination. If this growth continues then I am sure someone will be smart enough to step in, at the moment QR is carrying most of the passengers, they even increased BEG from 7 to 10 weekly this summer.

unnayan wrote:

Volcan has excused itself from the race within 24 hours

I wonder who made the call to Volcan, ha ha.

At this point the game’s truly out for Jet. Rest In Peace (RIP)

SpiceJet allocated additional slots at Mumbai Airport and Delhi Airport in Q1FY2019/2020

This is called CLOUT. Announcement of 9 Aug, 2019, of 63 (48 + 15) ADDITIONAL slots at BOM and DEL airport commencing Q1FY2019/2020

SpiceJet stated (09-Aug-2019) it was allocated 48 additional international and domestic departure slots at Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Q1FY2019/2020, following the suspension of operations by Jet Airways in Apr-2019. The LCC was allocated 15 additional departure slots at Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport.

https://centreforaviation.com/news/spic ... 020-928674

https://centreforaviation.com/members/d ... ore-487324

VietJet launches Delhi from HCMH (4x weekly) and Hanoi (3x weekly) wef 6 December

unrave wrote:

VietJet launches Delhi from HCMH (4x weekly) and Hanoi (3x weekly) wef 6 December

Any comments on whether their strategy of 4x and 3X split between 2 cities is better than 7X to one city in Vietnam?

Separately, Viet starting service to India is presumably to counter potential entry into Vietnam by Indigo........isn't Indigo starting from Calcutta?

Rumors that AA is looking at restarting nonstop services to India again, possibly DFW-DEL. Just curious what do you all think? Is there anyone AA could realistically tie up with to provide onward feed from DEL? AI is out due to being in Star. Not sure if 6E/SG have a "full service" enough product. Maybe UK? I see they codeshare with BA and JL already, so why not AA?

9w748capt wrote:

Maybe UK? I see they codeshare with BA and JL already, so why not AA?

UA inked a codeshare agreement with UK before suspending operations to India.

9w748capt wrote:

Rumors that AA is looking at restarting nonstop services to India again, possibly DFW-DEL. Just curious what do you all think? Is there anyone AA could realistically tie up with to provide onward feed from DEL? AI is out due to being in Star. Not sure if 6E/SG have a "full service" enough product. Maybe UK? I see they codeshare with BA and JL already, so why not AA?

I think they can handle the route without an Indian partner. DFW would have very strong Texas connections plus Southern California (not to mention close by states). They will probably be fine with just that. A lot of people land in DEL and then drive to their home towns. Also AI seems to codeshare with anyone. So they can at least sell onward flights to business travelers (fares are cheap in India so you don't really need a discounted through fare just a combinable fare which will probably add $100 each way in coach).

CaliguyNYC wrote:

9w748capt wrote:

Rumors that AA is looking at restarting nonstop services to India again, possibly DFW-DEL. Just curious what do you all think? Is there anyone AA could realistically tie up with to provide onward feed from DEL? AI is out due to being in Star. Not sure if 6E/SG have a "full service" enough product. Maybe UK? I see they codeshare with BA and JL already, so why not AA?

I think they can handle the route without an Indian partner. DFW would have very strong Texas connections plus Southern California (not to mention close by states). They will probably be fine with just that. A lot of people land in DEL and then drive to their home towns. Also AI seems to codeshare with anyone. So they can at least sell onward flights to business travelers (fares are cheap in India so you don't really need a discounted through fare just a combinable fare which will probably add $100 each way in coach).

That's true - AA probably doesn't NEED an Indian partner. But it does help in terms of checking baggage and baggage allowance. While Indian domestic flights are cheap, extra baggage most certainly is not cheap! But yeah I'm sure AA will do fine on this route regardless (assuming it comes to fruition).

9w748capt wrote:

Rumors that AA is looking at restarting nonstop services to India again, possibly DFW-DEL. Just curious what do you all think? Is there anyone AA could realistically tie up with to provide onward feed from DEL? AI is out due to being in Star. Not sure if 6E/SG have a "full service" enough product. Maybe UK? I see they codeshare with BA and JL already, so why not AA?

UK already codeshares with UA . So I don't think they'll do with AA . They'll have to interline with AI .
Any rumor on the equipment on DFW-DEL?

binayak wrote:

9w748capt wrote:

Rumors that AA is looking at restarting nonstop services to India again, possibly DFW-DEL. Just curious what do you all think? Is there anyone AA could realistically tie up with to provide onward feed from DEL? AI is out due to being in Star. Not sure if 6E/SG have a "full service" enough product. Maybe UK? I see they codeshare with BA and JL already, so why not AA?

UK already codeshares with UA . So I don't think they'll do with AA . They'll have to interline with AI .
Any rumor on the equipment on DFW-DEL?

Interesting that UK is tied up with UA. You'd think UA-AI would be the natural pairing.

The twitter user Jonnyc (AA leaker) didn't hint at equipment. I'd guess 789, but that's purely a guess. 77W would be great but that's probably not realistic.

9w748capt wrote:

binayak wrote:

9w748capt wrote:

The twitter user Jonnyc (AA leaker) didn't hint at equipment. I'd guess 789, but that's purely a guess. 77W would be great but that's probably not realistic.

Why not? not sufficient range or too much capacity or both? What is the estimated flying time?

9w748capt wrote:

CaliguyNYC wrote:

9w748capt wrote:

Rumors that AA is looking at restarting nonstop services to India again, possibly DFW-DEL. Just curious what do you all think? Is there anyone AA could realistically tie up with to provide onward feed from DEL? AI is out due to being in Star. Not sure if 6E/SG have a "full service" enough product. Maybe UK? I see they codeshare with BA and JL already, so why not AA?

I think they can handle the route without an Indian partner. DFW would have very strong Texas connections plus Southern California (not to mention close by states). They will probably be fine with just that. A lot of people land in DEL and then drive to their home towns. Also AI seems to codeshare with anyone. So they can at least sell onward flights to business travelers (fares are cheap in India so you don't really need a discounted through fare just a combinable fare which will probably add $100 each way in coach).

That's true - AA probably doesn't NEED an Indian partner. But it does help in terms of checking baggage and baggage allowance. While Indian domestic flights are cheap, extra baggage most certainly is not cheap! But yeah I'm sure AA will do fine on this route regardless (assuming it comes to fruition).

That is what I meant by combinable fare. AA can sell DFW-DEL as a AA flight and then on the same ticket a AI or UK flight with a AI or UK code. You will get the baggage checked straight through.

I think UK will partner with AA, UA and DL just like 9W did until DL and 9W really partnered. UK is already with BA and their UA deal is just an interline or codeshare deal not some type of virtual JV

CollegeAviator wrote:

9w748capt wrote:

Maybe UK? I see they codeshare with BA and JL already, so why not AA?

UA inked a codeshare agreement with UK before suspending operations to India.

If the deal between UK and UA is non exclusive for an American carrier partnering with UK, why couldn’t Vistara sign on AA as well?

Separately, how useful are these codeshares? American flights to India arrive in the dead of the night. What time are the earliest UK flights out of DEL and BOM airports to other airports in India?

edealinfo wrote:

9w748capt wrote:

binayak wrote:

Why not? not sufficient range or too much capacity or both? What is the estimated flying time?

AA's 77W is probably way too premium heavy (8F, 52J). The 789 is a much better balance if I had to guess. Per the great circle DFW-DEL is 8186 miles so I'd estimate 14‐15 hours in the air. AA uses the 77W on DFW-HKG (8123 miles) so range shouldn't be an issue. I don't know how the Himalayas factor in though. I don't know if the 77E could operate this route economically? Though it seemed to do fine on when AA used it on ORD-DEL.

Some of my own thoughts on the AA starting to plan for a flight to India. I will give a backdrop to this and then come to my points.

1. AA has been generating lot of buzz about starting a direct non-stop flight to India for a very long time. Lot of planning has gone into this. In 2015 and 2016 they hired an Indian American chef for revamping menus (though nothing special came out for India flights out of that but this was done).
2. After Delta announced that they are starting a direct flight to Mumbai post the settlement with ME3, AA bosses announced that they will do the same but aircraft, location, pricing power are all being needed to be looked into. They promised to announce a route to India with bookings as soon as that exercise is completed.
3. AA had recently put out a teaser in the online travel world that there is going to be a big announcement coming from them which led to the flying community (aviation geeks and frequent flyers) into a berserk mode. Seems the twitter handle is simply reporting on the imminent internal moves from that front.
4. Texas Governor had led a long business trip to India (around 2010-2011) to secure a direct non-stop route to India and Air India had indeed put their best foot forward but then story about Air India is less said the better. Amongst incentives offered was substantial reduction in airport charges. AA being a contender for that is or cannot be ruled out ( whether that alone helps to start a direct Dallas-Fort Worth to Delhi flight is another issue for another day).
5. Air India used to have an interline agreement with AA for its ORD-DEL flights and i have seen many India Airlines (IC) and Air India passengers connecting at Terminal 2 in 2008-2009 time period. No question that if Air India lives to see AA landing from Texas that arrangement will not be present again(ticking clock on the now almost impending sale in October 2019). In any case Air India needs strong US partners and AA fulfills that role in entire southern US and big chunk of US midwest ( west of mississippi atleast){ east of it can and does connect through DTW, BOS, JFK, ORD, IAD through ME3 or Sky Team, Star Alliance}. Similar is the case for AA in Delhi (connecting) to Assam, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka. High capacity A-321NEO and A-320NEO could be deployed to uplift connecting cargo and passenger to the AA flight. In any case DEL has turned out to be a good hub and is nice efficient airport too.

Now my views on this new but 'interesting route planning'

I recently travelled from Bay Area to Southern Connecticut via PHL. While PHL is building up to be an important hub for AA but it cannot be a substitute hub in place of NYC airports. There is no lounge of AA which is fully complete. Terminal transfer is clumsy. Space is constrained there. Weather related issues is something affects majorly (yes it affects NYC airports too but there the network has a good foundation). AA has started to climb down from NYC airports specially Kennedy Intl. for a long time over a decade despite being a major player over there. Major international flights in east coast are all from PHL and not NYC airports. Domestic connections have also gone down(some reports say that it is usually seasonal but for AA NYC should not be seasonal at all). And the major catchment areas for USA to India in the east coast would not like to travel to PHL to fly to India specially to south. Instead they prefer ME3 as one stop. Overall airport experience is a sore point. TSA is also not so good over in PHL. Yes as a hub AA has done well but it is not going to be self sustainable for a direct India flight when a family of five or six travel with multiple bags.

Coming to DFW, so on my way back i flew in from LaGuardia to DFW and then to Bay Area. LaGuardia is another recent graveyard of AA and now an omnipresent Delta fortress hub( no point lamenting in detail about it here since this is India focussed forum). DFW location wise is well connected to all the major markets that has good Indian population ( Whole of California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, New Mexico, North Texas, Florida, Illinois, Missouri) and apart from the ones listed here. The airport is numero uno hub for AA, which allows for better management of flight disruptions, better TSA, better accommodation facilities than PHL, biggest pilot base and it operates all of its aircraft types from here. Ground staff is generally very well responsive. If the economics work out i dont see why this flight cannot be a roaring success.

unrave wrote:

VietJet launches Delhi from HCMH (4x weekly) and Hanoi (3x weekly) wef 6 December

Lets hope this time they actually start flights. Previously they announced but never went whole hog on that. Indigo needs to ramp up Vietnam from BOM or BLR big time. Loads of potential in Vietnam. VietJet is quite a name out of that country. Not to speak of its quirky image (though they seemed to have toned down a bit on that).

FligtReporter wrote:

Im flying out to Leh in January next year Has anyone here ever been there in January ? And Is it colder than Toronto there during winters ?

Also its gona be my first time there and have read many medical cautionaries pertaining the climatisation thing So do you guys think its safe for someone who is going through blood related treatment ?

It is as cold as Toronto if it is snowing. It can be biting cold at times. Unless you are in mood of trekking or hiking then serious medical issues like frost bites are not a big deal. If you have hiked in Edmonton or Alberta this should not restrict you there in Leh. Climatisation is an issue when someone is totally out of clue here. If you keep going higher towards the northern most areas like Khardung La then it is an issue. But some of the areas are restricted due to military restrictions.

Happy journey !!

Blerg wrote:

Indian arrivals to Serbia keep on growing and the other day I was at BEG and it was full of Indians mostly flying on Qatar or flydubai. I hope IndiGo considers BEG at least on a summer seasonal basis.

Whole of Balkans is an untapped gold mine. Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo are all unexplored locations. Countries like Poland, Malta, Monaco, Cyprus are all waiting for indian tourists. Any airline smart enough to work out the best mode is going to be a king here.

srkSJC wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Indian arrivals to Serbia keep on growing and the other day I was at BEG and it was full of Indians mostly flying on Qatar or flydubai. I hope IndiGo considers BEG at least on a summer seasonal basis.

Whole of Balkans is an untapped gold mine. Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo are all unexplored locations. Countries like Poland, Malta, Monaco, Cyprus are all waiting for indian tourists. Any airline smart enough to work out the best mode is going to be a king here.

Well Kosovo is part of Serbia so they can profit from Belgrade's rise of Indian tourism. They chose not to. I think Serbia has a massive potential because there is no visa regime.

srkSJC wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Indian arrivals to Serbia keep on growing and the other day I was at BEG and it was full of Indians mostly flying on Qatar or flydubai. I hope IndiGo considers BEG at least on a summer seasonal basis.

Whole of Balkans is an untapped gold mine. Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo are all unexplored locations. Countries like Poland, Malta, Monaco, Cyprus are all waiting for indian tourists. Any airline smart enough to work out the best mode is going to be a king here.

Well I wouldn’t say those countries are unexplored. But unlike Serbia, those countries require visas to enter. That’s why Indian tourism to Serbia is increasing.

Jet headed to liquidation as there are “no serious bidders.” Finally.

What I don’t get is that even this was so obvious, the Indian bureaucracy nevertheless went through the process of inviting bids and lost time in that process.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dnaind ... 781576/amp

srkSJC wrote:

Some of my own thoughts on the AA starting to plan for a flight to India. I will give a backdrop to this and then come to my points.

1. AA has been generating lot of buzz about starting a direct non-stop flight to India for a very long time. Lot of planning has gone into this. In 2015 and 2016 they hired an Indian American chef for revamping menus (though nothing special came out for India flights out of that but this was done).
2. After Delta announced that they are starting a direct flight to Mumbai post the settlement with ME3, AA bosses announced that they will do the same but aircraft, location, pricing power are all being needed to be looked into. They promised to announce a route to India with bookings as soon as that exercise is completed.
3. AA had recently put out a teaser in the online travel world that there is going to be a big announcement coming from them which led to the flying community (aviation geeks and frequent flyers) into a berserk mode. Seems the twitter handle is simply reporting on the imminent internal moves from that front.
4. Texas Governor had led a long business trip to India (around 2010-2011) to secure a direct non-stop route to India and Air India had indeed put their best foot forward but then story about Air India is less said the better. Amongst incentives offered was substantial reduction in airport charges. AA being a contender for that is or cannot be ruled out ( whether that alone helps to start a direct Dallas-Fort Worth to Delhi flight is another issue for another day).
5. Air India used to have an interline agreement with AA for its ORD-DEL flights and i have seen many India Airlines (IC) and Air India passengers connecting at Terminal 2 in 2008-2009 time period. No question that if Air India lives to see AA landing from Texas that arrangement will not be present again(ticking clock on the now almost impending sale in October 2019). In any case Air India needs strong US partners and AA fulfills that role in entire southern US and big chunk of US midwest ( west of mississippi atleast){ east of it can and does connect through DTW, BOS, JFK, ORD, IAD through ME3 or Sky Team, Star Alliance}. Similar is the case for AA in Delhi (connecting) to Assam, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka. High capacity A-321NEO and A-320NEO could be deployed to uplift connecting cargo and passenger to the AA flight. In any case DEL has turned out to be a good hub and is nice efficient airport too.

Now my views on this new but 'interesting route planning'

I recently travelled from Bay Area to Southern Connecticut via PHL. While PHL is building up to be an important hub for AA but it cannot be a substitute hub in place of NYC airports. There is no lounge of AA which is fully complete. Terminal transfer is clumsy. Space is constrained there. Weather related issues is something affects majorly (yes it affects NYC airports too but there the network has a good foundation). AA has started to climb down from NYC airports specially Kennedy Intl. for a long time over a decade despite being a major player over there. Major international flights in east coast are all from PHL and not NYC airports. Domestic connections have also gone down(some reports say that it is usually seasonal but for AA NYC should not be seasonal at all). And the major catchment areas for USA to India in the east coast would not like to travel to PHL to fly to India specially to south. Instead they prefer ME3 as one stop. Overall airport experience is a sore point. TSA is also not so good over in PHL. Yes as a hub AA has done well but it is not going to be self sustainable for a direct India flight when a family of five or six travel with multiple bags.

Coming to DFW, so on my way back i flew in from LaGuardia to DFW and then to Bay Area. LaGuardia is another recent graveyard of AA and now an omnipresent Delta fortress hub( no point lamenting in detail about it here since this is India focussed forum). DFW location wise is well connected to all the major markets that has good Indian population ( Whole of California, Oregon, Washington, Utah, New Mexico, North Texas, Florida, Illinois, Missouri) and apart from the ones listed here. The airport is numero uno hub for AA, which allows for better management of flight disruptions, better TSA, better accommodation facilities than PHL, biggest pilot base and it operates all of its aircraft types from here. Ground staff is generally very well responsive. If the economics work out i dont see why this flight cannot be a roaring success.

About a year or two ago, I read in this forum that HYD is the No. 1 Indian city from DFW in traffic. Obviously AA cannot fly to HYD as connecting traffic at DFW would be higher to DEL than HYD. But if they can offer a smooth 1 stop service to HYD, they can capture a good amount of traffic which currently goes through EK, QR. BA does have 1 stop connection to HYD, so I don't know how this will impact their planning. AI offers the most connections out of DEL and AI may be more than willing to code share with AA as compared to UA. UK has limited service from DEL, but does connect all the major metros including HYD quite well.

Malayil wrote:

srkSJC wrote:

Blerg wrote:

Indian arrivals to Serbia keep on growing and the other day I was at BEG and it was full of Indians mostly flying on Qatar or flydubai. I hope IndiGo considers BEG at least on a summer seasonal basis.

Whole of Balkans is an untapped gold mine. Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo are all unexplored locations. Countries like Poland, Malta, Monaco, Cyprus are all waiting for indian tourists. Any airline smart enough to work out the best mode is going to be a king here.

Well I wouldn’t say those countries are unexplored. But unlike Serbia, those countries require visas to enter. That’s why Indian tourism to Serbia is increasing.

I've been to Serbia. I actually think it is a great place for Indians to visit if they do not have a EU visa. You get that European feel there. I actually think Indigo should be all over flights there. Too bad Indians can't visit Montenegro without a visa. That would be a great addition to a Serbian trip and let people see the beautiful coast.