<\/p>\n
Air aviation news\u00a0 – Amidst signs of resilience and revival, ICRA’s report also highlights the financial strain that some airlines are under, despite incremental improvements. The Indian aviation sector, characterized by intense competition, high operational costs, regulatory issues, and market volatility, has historically been a challenging business environment for airlines.<\/p>\n
Due to the swift rebound in\u00a0domestic passenger traffic<\/strong>, credit rating agency\u00a0ICRA<\/strong>\u00a0maintains a stable outlook for the Indian aviation industry. The agency anticipates that this recovery will persist through the latter half of the financial year.<\/p>\n ICRA predicts a reduction in the industry\u2019s net losses, estimating them to be in the range of\u00a0INR 30-50 billion<\/strong>\u00a0for fiscal year 2024. This marks a substantial improvement compared to the\u00a0INR 170-175 billion<\/strong>\u00a0net losses in the preceding fiscal year.<\/p>\n While certain airlines benefit from\u00a0solid financial backing<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0liquidity<\/strong>, thus supporting their creditworthiness, others continue to experience financial strain, albeit with some modest improvement compared to recent years,\u00a0ICRA<\/strong>\u00a0noted in its latest report.<\/p>\n The Skift India Report is your go-to newsletter for all news related to travel, tourism, airlines, and hospitality in India.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Domestic air passenger traffic<\/strong>\u00a0for\u00a0September<\/strong>\u00a0was estimated at\u00a012.3 million<\/strong>, 1.3% lower than 12.4 million the month before.<\/p>\n However, ICRA noted that this is growth of 19% from the same period last year and an increase of 7% compared to the pre-Covid levels of September 2019.<\/p>\n Domestic air passenger traffic in the first half of the fiscal year (between April-September) was 75.4 million, year-on-year growth of 20% and 7% higher than pre-Covid levels.<\/p>\n The airlines\u2019 capacity deployment in September 2023 was higher by 10% than that of September 2022 and lower by 0.5% in comparison to the pre-Covid levels.<\/p>\n Between April-July 2023, the international passenger traffic for Indian carriers stood at 9.2 million, a year-on-year growth of 32%, and higher than the pre-Covid levels of 7.2million.<\/p>\n Hospitality technology company\u00a0Oyo<\/strong>\u00a0looks to add\u00a0750 hotels<\/strong>\u00a0in the next 3 months in over\u00a035 leisure markets<\/strong>. As the country gears up for the festive and winter tourism season, Oyo is all set to strengthen its presence in the key leisure markets across India.<\/p>\n India\u2019s peak tourism season runs from October to January making it a crucial period for the tourism and hospitality industry.<\/p>\n Where?<\/strong>\u00a0The key focus markets are Goa, Jaipur, Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Katra, Puri, Shimla, Nainital, Udaipur, and Mount Abu.<\/p>\n Which Brands?<\/strong>\u00a0The new hotels will be incorporated under Oyo\u2019s premium brands such as Palette, Townhouse, Townhouse Oak, and Collection O.<\/p>\n New Developments:<\/strong>\u00a0Oyo has also launched an \u201cExcellence Network Program\u201d designed to empower prospective hotel owners in these key markets to make the most of the upcoming tourism season. \u201cThe program extends a suite of benefits to hotel owners to cater to the demand dynamics during peak season including access to Oyo\u2019s extensive network of guests, prioritization on the Oyo app, and competitive commission rates,\u201d Oyo said in a release.<\/p>\n Surge in Advance Bookings<\/strong>: Oyo has reported a\u00a028% surge\u00a0<\/strong>in advance bookings across all key leisure markets compared to same period last year.<\/p>\n Accor<\/strong>\u00a0has now expanded its portfolio in India with the signing of\u00a0Grand Mercure Amritsar Airport Road<\/strong>. Set to open in 2026, the 100-room property will include five spacious suites and two food and beverage outlets.<\/p>\n Amritsar, a city in northern India is best known for its iconic Golden Temple attracts millions of visitors round the year. The city is also popular among business travelers. The project marks the debut of the first Grand Mercure in the city.<\/p>\n The property is being developed by\u00a0RV Enterprises<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Accor\u2019s India Plans:<\/strong>\u00a0In an earlier interaction with Indian media, Accor\u2019s senior vice president operations, India and South Asia, Puneet Dhawan, had said the hotel company plans to open 30 new properties in India in the next three to five years.<\/p>\n Location:<\/strong>\u00a0Dhawan had said the new properties would come up in New Delhi, Chandigarh, Mohali, Bhubaneswar and Amritsar.<\/p>\n Air India\u00a0<\/strong>has appointed aviation services provider\u00a0Asian Aviation\u00a0<\/strong>as its\u00a0general sales agent\u00a0<\/strong>(GSA) in\u00a0Greece<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Asian Aviation will provide a full range of sales and ticketing services to help widen Air India\u2019s presence in Greece, while supporting the airline\u2019s continuing growth and expansion in Europe, the airline said in a statement.<\/p>\n Air India currently operates non-stop flights from nine points in seven countries in Europe \u2014 Amsterdam, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Milan, Paris, and Vienna to Delhi and Mumbai.<\/p>\n Thomas Cook (India)<\/strong>\u00a0has partnered with digital solutions company\u00a0LTIMindtree<\/strong>\u00a0to incorporate Greece-based insurance group\u00a0Eurolife FFH<\/strong>\u00a0to its\u00a0Green Carpet<\/strong>\u00a0platform.<\/p>\n Launched earlier this year,\u00a0Green Platform<\/strong>\u00a0aims to track carbon emissions generated by business travel and equips organisations with tools to capture, monitor, analyse, report, and ultimately reduce their carbon emissions.<\/p>\n The platform offers real-time insights into Scope 3 emissions, thereby enabling organisations to markedly reduce their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting expenses.<\/p>\n The onboarding of Eurolife onto the Green Carpet platform underscores the escalating necessity for global leaders to monitor and manage their carbon emissions while establishing ambitious sustainability targets, a release from LTIMindtree stated.<\/p>\n Thomas Cook India and LTIMindtree\u2019s Green Carpet will deliver the following benefits to Eurolife:<\/p>\n Virgin Atlantic<\/strong>\u00a0has appointed\u00a0Shivani Singh Deo<\/strong>\u00a0as its\u00a0country manager<\/strong>\u00a0for India. Deo has been associated with the airline for the past 8 years in the role of marketing and communications manager. Prior to Virgin Atlantic, Shivani\u2019s career included international market exposure across industries including retail, media, and lifestyle.<\/p>\n The airline said Deo had led Virgin Atlantic\u2019s brand presence in India considerably and has led the launch of its daily operations in Mumbai as well as the codeshare partnership with Indian low-cost carrier Indigo.<\/p>\n \u201cShivani (Deo) will lead our commercial strategy in India at an exciting time, as we grow our India network further in 2024 with the launch of a daily\u00a0London Heathrow<\/strong>\u00a0to\u00a0Bengaluru<\/strong>\u00a0service from March 31, 2024,\u201d the airline said.<\/p>\nSkift India Report<\/h3>\n
Oyo Looks to Add 750 Hotels in Next 3 Months<\/h3>\n
Accor Launches Grand Mercure in Amritsar<\/h3>\n
Air India Appoints Sales Agent in Greece<\/h3>\n
Greece\u2019s Eurolife Signs Up for Thomas Cook\u2019s Green Carpet Platform<\/h3>\n
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Virgin Atlantic Appoints New India Manager<\/h3>\n