Recent News

India, 12 June, 2021: On its 7th year anniversary,AirAsia India announced ‘Seventastic Sale’ on routes across India. Special sale fares will be on offer for advance booking from 12th June till 14th June for travel from 1st August 2021 onwards. The sale fares are bookable across all channels, with a special #BookFastFlyFree contest exclusively on the airline’s new website, airasia.co.in. AirAsia’s #BookFastFlyFree contest builds on the proposition of their new website airasia.co.in – fast bookings, fab value and fantastic deals. The contest challenges anyone to share a video of how fast they can navigate from the homepage (www.airasia.co.in/home) to the payment page while booking a flight on airasia.co.in. To win prizes, including free return flights for a couple and aircraft models, participants must upload the video on using #BookFastFlyFree and tagging @airasiaindia on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Anyone booking on airasia.co.in during the 7th anniversary celebrations can also help offset their carbon footprint and have a tree planted for free by AirAsia as one of their initiatives during Tata Sustainability Month.

New Delhi, 7th June 2021 Thales India as appointed Ashish Saraf as Vice-President and Country Director with effect from 1 June 2021. Ashish will lead the company’s India business and will be responsible for the strategic growth of Thales in the country across all of its markets, further strengthening local teams, collaborations and innovation. He succeeds Emmanuel de Roquefeuil who takes up a new role as the VP and head for Thales in the Middle East. Prior to joining Thales, Ashish served as the President and Head of Region for Airbus Helicopters – India and South Asia.He has also served as the Vice-President and Make in India Officer for Airbus, has headed the Tata–Sikorsky joint venture in Hyderabad and also worked with Deloitte Consulting and Dassault Systemes, mainly in the United States and Europe. “I am pleased to welcome on board Ashish Saraf to the Thales Group, who joins us in extremely challenging COVID situation.Under his leadership, Thales will continue its decades-long partnership with our Indian stakeholders to support the country in this time of need, and once the pandemic behind us, contribute to India’s longer-term vision of building an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat.” Pascale Sourisse, Senior Executive Vice-President, Thales. “I thank Pascale for her confidence and I am very pleased to join Thales where I will apply all my experience and energy to serve our activities and staff in India.I would like to express our solidarity as the country bravely battles the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.We stand united with our employees, their families, our customers and the people at large, and look forward to overcoming this pandemic together, said Ashish Saraf.

New Delhi 03rd June 2021: As India fights the 2nd wave of COVID-19 pandemic, AAI Airports across the country are contributing by ensuring seamless transport & shipment of vaccines and other essential medical supplies across the length and breadth of the country. AAI’s Pune Airport has been playing its role dedicatedly as the hub for the distribution of Serum Institute’s Covidshield vaccine across India. More than 10 crore doses of CovidVaccinefrom 12th January 2021 till 27th May 2021,approximately 9052 Pieces (approx. 2,89,465 wgt. in kgs) have been transported through various airlines fromPune Airport to different destinations such as Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Goa, Jaipur, Port Blair, Vijayawada, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Leh, Karnal, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Ranchi, Jammu, Cochin, Dehradun, Srinagar and Trivandrum. The entire team at Pune Airport including AAI and all stakeholders are ensuring seamless and smooth dispatch of Covishield vaccine.There is a dedicated team of AAI, AAICLAS, CISF, Serum Institute, Airlines and IAF which ensures coordination & priority handling of flights carrying vaccines out of Pune Airport. Also,the airport has also been transporting the vaccines internationally. Around 2,16,000 doses (570 kgs) of Covid Vaccine have beentransported Suriname, Saint Kitts, St. Vincent and Gernadines, Antigua and Barbuda,St. Lucia from Pune Airport by Chartered flight in February 2021.PVC Vaccine approx. 161 pieces (3670 kgs) was transported to Kolkata andCovid 19 Testing Kit were transported from Pune Airport to Delhi. Apart from this, PuneAirport is also following all the COVID19 related guidelines and protocols as per the instructions of Central and State Governments to ensure a safe journey for passengers.The airport staff makes continuous requests to all the passengers, stakeholders, visitors, employees etc. to always follow COVID appropriate behaviour and maintain staggered timing to minimise crowding. To create awareness regarding COVID appropriate behaviour, ensuring safety of passengers, theairport is also displaying instructions through severalelectronic and permanent displays at the terminal. AAI Airports are trying and joining every battle they can. PuneAirport has also organised Covid vaccination camp for employees of AAI and other stakeholders in collaboration and support from Govt. of Maharashtra,Indian Air Force, Pune Municipal Corporation and various hospitals in Pune taking all safety measures into consideration. (News Issued by Corporate Communications Directorate, AAI)

Delhi, 29 May 2021: Vistara today welcomed its first purchased Airbus A320neo powered by CFM LEAP engines at IGI Airport, New Delhi.The aircraft registered VT-TQE arrived from Airbus production facility in Toulouse, France. It is one of the 13 Airbus A320neo that Vistara had purchased in 2018 as part of a larger order totaling 50 aircraft from Airbus, including the Airbus A321neo aircraft as well.The new set of A320neo aircraft that Vistara has been adding to its fleet come with higher range capability (77 tonnes of maximum take-off weight), enabling the airline to fly longer regional international routes without payload restrictions. This addition to Vistara’s fleet takes the total count of the airline’s owned aircraft to three.Vistara had also purchased six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft for long-haul international operations, two of which are already in service. Vistara’s A320neo aircraft come with enhanced operational performance and cabin features that include in-seat AC Power Outlet, USB Charging Ports and PED (Personal Electronic Device) holders. It has a total of 164 seats in athree-class cabin configuration, including 8 seats in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy and 132 in Economy..Vistaranow has 46 aircraft in its fleet, including 36 Airbus A320, 2 Airbus A321neo, 2 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and 6 Boeing 737-800NG aircraft.

Cathay Pacific Cargo has made a further contribution to pandemic relief efforts in India with an airlift of 300,000 COVID-19 testing kits, which were a gift from the State of Oregon. The shipment departed Portland for Mumbai via Hong Kong on one of Cathay Pacific Cargo’s Boeing 747 freighters. Cathay Pacific Cargo, forwarder Expeditors and logistics company Davis Trucking partnered with the Oregon Health Authority and Department of Administrative Services, offering their services free of charge for the shipment. Cathay Pacific’s Regional General Manager, South Asia, Middle East and Africa, Mark Sutch said: “I would like to thank our team in the Americas and our local partners for organising this shipment. As one of the leading cargo providers operating into India, we stand united with citizens of the country and further our efforts in bringing essential humanitarian and medical aid to India. ” The shipment’s BinaxNOW rapid COVID-19 test kits will be delivered to the Desai Foundation, an organisation that serves rural communities with health and livelihood programmes focussed on women and children in several states in India. The Foundation will distribute the testing kits, which produce results in 15 minutes, to COVID care and isolation centres, hospitals and local health workers. Oregon Governor Kate Brown said: “It’s simply devastating what is happening in India as COVID-19 variants exact an enormous toll on human lives.In Oregon, we step up to help those in need by offering any help we can give.” Port of Portland Chief Trade and Equitable Development Officer Keith Leavitt added: “We’re so grateful to the state, Cathay Pacific and the other local partners which stepped up to make this flight happen.” The flight marks the second occasion during the pandemic that Cathay Pacific Cargo has adjusted its air cargo operations to ship essential COVID-19 supplies at no cost to Portland or to Oregon, following a flight last year when Cathay Pacific Cargo carried 1 million surgical masks into the state when they were urgently needed by frontline healthcare workers.

The Navy Disaster Relief Team was deployed on 27 May 21 at Sadar block of Balasore district for carrying out relief activities in the area around Parikhi village which is worst affected due to water logging. The HADR Naval team have set up and operationalised a Community Kitchen at the Multipurpose Cyclone Shelter of Parikhi Village, Sadar block. Meals were prepared and distributed at fisherman colonies of Budhigadiya, Nandachak, Boulbeni at Parikhi village for over 700 personnel. The community kitchen has been a big success and has provided much-needed succour to the affected people and they expressed gratitude for the timely service provided during the disaster. Another Naval Relief team is scheduled to proceed for Talasari (Northmost fishing village of Odisha) to distribute relief material in affected areas of Talasari, Bhograi, Chandramani and Inchundi villages on 28 May 21. The team has also carried out tree cutting/ clearance of certain roads at Balasore. Four naval ships with relief material have already reached Dhamra anchorage to provide relief to the people of the Bhadrak district. The helicopters from the ships were launched to augment the efforts at Balasore district. They supplied 100 prepared food material packets and 300 dry provision packets to the relief team for distribution. https://twitter.com/indiannavy https://aviationworld.in/www.facebook.com/IndianNavy https://www.instagram.com/indiannavy/ News Source: PRO Indian Navy/PIB

Tampa, Florida, 27th May 2021: Breeze Airways, a new US carrier from JetBlue founder David Neeleman, launches today with a planned fleet of 13 Embraer jets. The first flights operate between Charleston, SC, Tampa, FL and Hartford, CT, starting May 27, with remaining destinations to be added each week through July 2021. Breeze will take delivery of all 13 leased jets through the summer, to reach an initial fleet of 10 E190s, and 3 E195s. With plans to grow the fleet further before the end of the year. As the founder of both JetBlue and Azul airlines, Mr Neeleman’s experience of growing airlines and routes using Embraer E-Jets is legendary. Breeze is creating an airline that offers a ‘Seriously Nice’ experience, with low fares and high flexibility, serving destinations from four main airports – Tampa, FL; Charleston, SC; New Orleans, LA; and Norfolk, VA. David Neeleman, CEO and Founder of Breeze Airways, said, “Embraer’s E-Jets are phenomenal at building out new airlines, and growing and supporting new routes. They are the masters at doing this, as proven by my previous airline ventures – and, no middle seats! The flexibility the family of aircraft provides, allows us to meet fluctuating demand profitably – exactly what all airlines need right now. Having the E-Jets as a core part of our team gives me enormous confidence.” Mark Neely, Vice President Sales, Americas, said, “It’s great to be part of another Neeleman airline project. Launching Breeze with an Embraer fleet is an endorsement of the value these aircraft bring, allowing Breeze to establish new point-to-point routes in underserved markets, bringing much needed connectivity, protecting yields, managing demand, and doing so profitably.” The E190 jets will be configured to seat 108 guests while the E195 aircraft will have 118 seats. Earlier this month Breeze signed a long-term Pool Program Agreement Embraer to support a wide range of repairable components for the airline’s E190s and E195s fleet. The agreement included full repair coverage for components and parts, as well as access to a large stock of components at Embraer’s distribution center, which will support the start of the airline’s operation.