Singapore Airlines, Tata Come Together To Start an Airline in India

Singapore Airlines and India’s Tata Sons have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and have sought the approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to set up a new airline in India. The development has brought cheer to the Indian aviation industry as it is believed that the new venture will increase demand for air travel and encourage more people to seek air tickets on flights.

Subject to mandatory regulatory approvals, the carrier will be based in India’s capital, New Delhi and will operate flights under the full-service model. Tata Sons will own 51% and Singapore Airlines will own 49% in the project. 

The move is seen as a big boost to the loss-making aviation business in India. It is hoped that more people in India as well as Singapore will seek air tickets to fly between the two countries. Experts are hoping that that the new venture will push the traffic flow between Singapore and India, by offering more opportunities to book flights tickets. 

India and Singapore are hugely popular holiday destinations, with each attracting millions of travellers every year. While it is given that the new airline will offer more option for locals who wish to travel between the two countries, even foreign travellers will be keen to book flights tickets with the an airline has major promoters backing it. 

It is estimated that 75 per cent of Indian travellers book air tickets to Singapore for leisure, whereas 25 per cent hop aboard flights for business concerns.

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Singapore Airlines to Boost Bali Services from July

International holiday makers who are often to be seen in a look out for tickets on direct flights to travel between the popular Far East destinations of Singapore and Bali in Indonesia are certainly a happy lot. Popular full service airline, Singapore Airlines (SIA) is all set up to offer tickets on its fourth direct flights to its daily schedule between Singapore and Bali.

Singapore’s flag carrier, SIA is all geared up to offer tickets for additional daily flights between Singapore and Bali’s popular resort island of Denpasar with effect from 26 July, 2013. With its new services, the budget carrier is all set to offer tickets aboard four daily services instead of the earlier three daily flights on the route. 

Industry insiders believe that the airline has announced to offer tickets on additional flights in order to tap the ever increasing travel demand on the popular route.

At present, SIA offers tickets for 21 weekly flights on the route. Additionally, the airline plans to ply its swanky B777-200 airliner on the route and will offer tickets for 323 seats its flights.

From 26 July 2013, flight SQ940 will depart Singapore at 0700 hours arriving in Denpasar (Bali) at 0935 hours. Return flight SQ949 will depart Bali at 2145 hours arriving in Singapore at 0015 hours, the next day.

The development is sure to catch the fancy of increasingly higher number of travellers who prefer full service carriers over cheap airlines to savour superb in-flight services while travelling between Singapore and Bali.

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Singapore Airlines Likely to Boost India Flights

Business and leisure vacationers who regularly seek air tickets for travelling between India and Singapore will be delighted to know of the strong possibility of rise in the number of flights operating between the two Asian destinations. Singapore Airlines and its subsidiaries are hoping to enhance the frequency of flights to Indian destinations. There will be more alternatives for those seeking tickets on India-Singapore route, once SIA amps up its services to India. Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai are three cities for where flights will be boosted by the carrier. All this will happen, once Singaporean government works out allotment of India seats.

As of now, SIA operates three flights from India’s capital Delhi and two each from Hyderabad and Chennai per week. The services are expected to be augmented and more number of seats will be available for travellers looking to buy tickets to Indian cities. However, there will be no increase in the number of flight services to Mumbai as the airline is “already utilising maximum permitted seats from the city.”

SIA together with its subsidiary SilkAir and low-cost affiliate Tiger Airways use more than 70 per cent of capacity between India and Singapore. Together, the three operators offer tickets for about 29,000 one-way weekly seats to India. In contrast, Indian carriers are providing air tickets for about 11,000 one-way weekly seats to Singapore.

SIA and SilkAir sell tickets for 98 weekly flights to 11 destinations in India. Tiger Airways, partially owned by SIA, offers tickets for 39 weekly flights to six destinations in India. 

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Singapore Airlines Ultimately Finds the Way to Scoot Around

Singapore Airlines has added yet another laurel to its flagship brand by launching a new long-haul budget carrier, Scoot. The airline has joined the bandwagon of Asia's growing no-frills air travel to lure budget travellers.

Singapore Airlines has launched a new long-haul budget carrier, Scoot. On Tuesday, the newly launched airline’s CEO Campbell Wilson put across information that ‘Scoot’ will start operating its flights by June 2012. Additionally he informed reporters that the airline contrives to operate four Boeing 777-200 jets by the end of next year.

As per the online sources, the airline plans to start serving destinations as far as five to ten hours from Singapore, the operational base for Scoot. To begin with, the airline may start flights to four or more cities in China and Australia.

Campbell Wilson said, “This new market segment is growing fast”. He hopes to tap on the emerging market. “We aim to bring new business to the SIA group.” he said.

Singapore Airlines has been long relying on its top-notch onboard services to lead the long-haul first and business class market in the Asia to Europe routes and now the carrier has finally decided to plunge in the developing no-frills air travel market.

However, Singapore Airlines is likely to be rivalled by Air Asia X, under the flagship of Malaysia's AirAsia and JetStar, a unit of Qantas in the region's long-haul budget market. Online sources report analysts of believing that Scoot might introduce extra frills to outperform the opposition.

Scoot Strategies

Campbell Wilson said that Scoot will offer two cabin classes, with economy tickets approximately 40 percent cheaper than air tickets offered by other premium carriers. Additionally, customers will be able to put forth their preference for seats, meals and baggage options.

"We'll offer many other options so people can customize their experience," Wilson said.

Acquiring several Boeing 777-200ER aircraft, which can make a journey of up to 13 hours, is primary on the list of Scoot’s plan in order to start offering cheap flights to European and African destinations. Additionally, the airline plans to hire about 52 pilots, 250 flight attendants and 40 ground staff sometime next year.

Industry Outlook

It has been reported that Singapore Airlines spent approximately 283 million SGD to kick-start Scoot. While this wholly owned subsidiary is the latest addition under the well-regarded flagship brand of Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, a mid-cost regional carrier for popular Asian destinations, is already being operated by the group. SIA also possesses one third stakes of Tiger Airways, a budget carrier that offers cheap tickets.

As per online sources, Shukor Yusof, an aviation analyst with Standard and Poor’s informed that Scoot has joined this bandwagon to bring home the bacon from the lucrative low cost airline market. He further added that budget and cheap flights perked up Changi Airport’s traffic by approximately 25 percent this year.

"Budget airlines are not a fad. They're here to stay. The market certainly has shifted from legacy carriers to discount carriers," he was quoted.

Singapore Airlines Extends A380 Charm to Los Angeles

Passengers of Singapore Airlines will now be able to enjoy the charm of Airbus A380 while travelling to the North American destination of Los Angeles. The major Asian airline launched its inaugural A380 flight to Los Angeles via Tokyo on Friday with around 400 passengers on-board.

Singapore Airlines will offer a daily flight to Los Angeles airport on the superjumbo. Being the world's largest passenger jetliner, A380 aircraft is easily the most popular aircraft all across the aviation industry. The popularity of this massive aircraft has meant great business for the Singapore Airlines in the past as it has been recorded that almost every travel route that is being served by A380 witnesses huge passenger traffic.

Bigger aircraft means more economy class seats and more economy class seat means better chance for people to land up with cheap flight tickets. Indeed, the launch of A380 operations on a popular Singapore Airlines route is set to benefit travellers who are on restricted budget and who look for cheap tickets on flight. Furthermore, the better design of A380’s economy class seats ensures better comfort level for the travellers.

In another development, it has been announced that the Singapore Airlines will be expanding its fleet size by leasing 15 new Airbus 330-300 aircrafts. These aircrafts are scheduled to be delivered to the airlines between 2013 and 2015. Singapore Airlines announced that these new aircrafts will be operated in Asia, as well as to some Australian and Middle Eastern destinations.

Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia Enter Partnership

Effective August 2011, frequent travellers on Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia are going to benefit immensely with the partnership agreement that the two airlines entered into. The alliance is subject to the approval from relevant authorities.

Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia entered into a long term alliance with each other by signing an agreement today. The alliance which aims at combining the network of Singapore Airlines’ international destinations and Virgin Australia’s routes within Australia and pacific will not only result in mutual benefits for the two carriers but it will also benefit their customers in a big way. From throwing open a number of new destinations to these customers, the alliance will allow them to use the resources and facilities of these airlines in a reciprocal way.

News Release

As per a news release published by Singapore Airlines jointly with Virgin Australia, with effect from 1st August when the alliance takes effect,

• Singapore Airlines customers will be able to interline on Virgin Australia’s domestic network, allowing them to travel through to a range of destinations with one ticket, through-checked baggage, terminal transfers and inclusive meals; and

• Virgin Australia Velocity Gold members and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Gold members will have reciprocal access to each airline’s airport lounges.

The alliance is subject to approval from the relevant regulatory authorities and the airlines say that the customers will be able to get the full advantage of the partnership from late 2011.

Passenger's Benefits

As a result of the alliance, both the airlines will be able to sell tickets and seats on each other’s international and domestic flights. The codeshare arrangement has always spelled added advantages for the passengers when it comes to the facilities, benefits and the resources of any airlines. Although, the two carriers may not show up amongst airlines selling cheap flight tickets, the valuation of the benefits resulting from their alliance may cheer a number of cheap flight lovers.

Frequent Flyer Programme: The members of Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer will be able to earn and redeem miles when they book on flights operated by Virgin Australia. Conversely, the members of Virgin Australia’s frequent flyer program ‘Velocity’ will be able to earn and redeem the points for miles flown on the flights operated by Singapore Airline.

New Destinations: Through the joining of the networks of two airlines, a number of new destinations have become accessible for the passengers of both the airlines. The network of Singapore Airline has added 70 more destinations in the route map of Virgin Australia and 30 new routes have fallen in the kitty of Singapore Airlines using the network of Virgin Australia. Not just this, the passengers will be able to take up their travel to these destinations on a single ticket while benefiting from through-checked baggage, terminal transfers and inclusive meals.

Reciprocal Lounge Access: The passengers of both the airlines will be able to access each other’s airport lounges.

Singapore Airlines and Jetstar Cut Flights to Tokyo after Demand Falls

As nuclear crisis deepens in Japan, Singapore Airlines and Jetstar Airways cut down its services to the Japanese capital of Tokyo. Both airlines blame the reduced demand for flights to the stricken-Tokyo as the cause of the slash.

Singapore Airlines, which is one of the largest airlines in the world, has decided to do away with one of its two daily flights to the Tokyo’s Haneda Airport from March 27th. The airline is witnessing a steep decline in the demand for tickets on Tokyo-bound flights after the massive earthquake hit Japan and initiated the resultant tsunami and a major nuclear crisis. However, the airline has announced that it will continue to run four daily flights to Narita Airport, one of Japan’s major gateways. Singapore Airlines’ website also announced that the company is going to postpone its plans of introducing the Airbus A380 superjumbo between Singapore and Los Angeles via Narita airport.
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Jetstar Airways, a low-cost offshoot of Qantas Airways, also announced that it is slashing its services to Tokyo by half. Jetstar is a massively popular airline among travellers who are in a constant lookout for tickets on cheap flights. However, in the current scenario that budget airline is finding it difficult to sell tickets even on its cheap flights to Tokyo. Majority of passengers who travel with Jetstar are Japanese citizens who do not seem to be keen on Australia tour anymore after the unfortunate natural calamity in their country.

Indeed, the times are trying for airlines around the world as a sharp decline in the demand for flights to Japan is witnessed.

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Quick Tips for Slick New Zealand Travel

New Zealand remains one of the most familiar names in the sector of travel and tourism. The country has managed to retain its virginal beauty despite being a hot bed for tourism. However, an ignorance of certain rules can ruin one’s holidays to the country. Here are some travel tips on New Zealand.

Booking Flights

• Booking tickets for flights departing for Christchurch or Auckland from Heathrow can be a good bet for bagging cheap flights to New Zealand. Tickets on these itineraries often prove to be cheap.

• Popular airlines for flights to New Zealand include Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Malaysian Airlines, and Singapore Airlines.

• The months of May and June offer better prospects of cheap flights to New Zealand as business slows down during these two months. Visitors can also expect to find cheap hotel deals during these months.

Entry Requirements

• British passport holders without a visa can go ahead and book their flights to New Zealand as they can enter the country on arrival as visitors. They are allowed to stay without visa for six months subject to certain conditions.

• There are strict immigration laws in New Zealand, especially regarding employment. Travellers planning to book their flights to New Zealand in search of employment need to be sure that they have a visa, which allows this.

• The New Zealand High Commission in London is the right place for detailed information on immigration for anyone planning to buy tickets to the destination.

Singapore Airline

Singapore Airlines was incepted in the year 1937 and since then the airlines has come a long way to reach to the heights it has today. This airlines was also the first customer of the huge Airbus 380.

Official Website: The website www.singaporeair.com is a useful guide for searching booking information, airfares and the different cheap airfare offers put up by the airline at frequent intervals.

Find cheap flights offers of Singapore Airline from UK Airports.

Airline award winners announced

Singapore Airlines was the biggest winner at the Official Airline Guide (OAG) annual awards this week.

The Asian-based carrier picked up four gongs, including the title of best international first class airline.

Additionally, Singapore Changi was voted the best airport in the world by the registered OAG members and frequent fliers who took part in the ballot.

Media Source: http://www.southalltravel.co.uk/news/
News Reference: http://tinyurl.com/airline-award