Tag: travel news
India & China drive air travel growth
May 8 (TravelAndy): The demand for air travel around the world in March rose by 7.4 per cent as compared to the corresponding period in 2014, said International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents the airline industry world-wide.
During this period, domestic air travel increased by 8 per cent worldwide riding on a 22 per cent growth in China, followed by 18 per cent in India.
While China’s growth is attributed to the Lunar New Year celebrations, India’s figures are a reflection of the way local carriers are driving the market, apart from a strengthening economy.
“March traffic continues the trend of healthy demand for travel. We may, however, see a softening of demand in the second quarter,” IATA CEO Tony Tyler said.
Cheap flights for Malaysia students
May 6 (TravelAndy): Over 6,50,000 students and staff of 20 public universities in Malaysia will shortly be able to travel more economically as part of an Air Asia program.
The airline recently signed a memorandum of agreement with 20 public higher learning institutions, providing access to its Waran Perjalanan Udara Awam service, which was previously limited to civil servants only.
This program allows passengers benefits such as flexible flight booking and flight change, complimentary baggage allotment up to 40kg, in-flight meals, seat selection with waived service counter fees.
With AirAsia’s wide domestic network, the programme intends to ease “travel plans for students and staff of the public universities” Aireen Omar, Air Asia’s chief executive officer was quoted as saying. He said the travellers will also be covered by Tune Insurance AirAsia Travel Protection plan.
Photographer included in package tours
May 6 (TravelAndy): An US-based travel company is offering professional photographers as part of its tours so that the tourists do not have to worry about not clicking enough pictures of themselves and explore the places they are visiting better.
All trip groups are accompanied by a photographer who will “deliver 20+ compelling images every morning that you can immediately share with your social media”, says El Camino Travel in its website.
This, the firm says, lets the tourists spend their time exploring the new place and not worry about not taking enough pictures.
At present, the company offers trips to Columbia and Nicargua.
Middle East: Online bookings set to soar
May 4 (TravelAndy): Online travel booking will climb to as much as 36 per cent of the total travel bookings made in the Middle East by 2017, suggests a research conducted by Travelport, a travel commerce platform.
Offline sales will not lag behind and will grow from USD54 billion in 2014 to USD63 billion in 2017, it adds.
“This research on the future of the Middle East travel industry coincides with the theme of this year’s Arabian Travel Market, which is technological innovation. The Middle East travel industry is buoyant and poised for growth,” Rabih Saab, the platform’s president and managing director for Africa, Middle East and South Asia, reportedly said. Continue reading Middle East: Online bookings set to soar
Australia: Jetstar popularity growing
May 2 (TravelAndy): Low-cost airline Jetstar has been consistently attracting more passengers, reports quoting Qantas said.
Jetstar is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qantas, Australia’s flag carrier airline.
Till March, Jetstar’s domestic passengers went up by 5.3 per cent and Jetstar International’s by 2.4 per cent. During the same time, Qantas domestic services witnessed a decline of passenger boarding by 1.2 per cent; Qantas International by 0.9 per cent.
“The service levels that are being provided by the likes of Jetstar are not low cost,” News.com.au quoted Neil Hansford, an aviation expert, as saying.
SpiceJet extends sale, adds seats
May 1 (TravelAndy): India-based budget airline SpiceJet has extended the sale of it’s INR999 discounted tickets till May 3 and added one lakh more seats to the 1.5 lakh already on offer.
The company has also brought more travel days under this offer. Passengers flying from June 22 to October 15 can now benefit from the offer, the airline said.
The sale with fares starting from INR999 is available for all direct and connecting domestic flights of the airline for passengers without check-in luggage.
Spicejet allows 7kg of cabin luggage per person, apart from a standard size laptop bag or women’s purse. Continue reading SpiceJet extends sale, adds seats
Maui beaches closed after ‘shark attack’
April 30 (TravelAndy): Authorities have cleared and closed the waters in south Maui after a 65-year-old woman was found dead off the shore, said reports.
The woman had wounds on her torso implying she was attacked by a shark. But, other than that, there was no other evidence or witness.
“The victim reportedly was snorkelling with two other friends and at some point separated from the others,” the fire department reportedly said. “She was alone when she was found.”
Waters from Big Beach to La Perouse Bay in south Maui have been closed.
SpiceJet offers fares from INR999
April 28 (Travelandy): India-based airline SpiceJet is offering fares from INR999 for passengers travelling without check-in luggage.
According to a statement by the airline, 150,000 seats are on sale.
This offer is applicable to bookings made till April 29 and travel dates between July 1 and October 15.
Spicejet allows 7kg of cabin luggage per person, apart from a standard size laptop bag or women’s purse.
“Those who travel light no longer have to wonder why they must pay for luggage that they do not carry,” SpiceJet CEO Sanjiv Kapoor said.
Passengers carrying additional baggage at these fares will be required to pay a flat INR750 for up to 15kg during check-in at the airport.
Japan: Land emerges from sea
April 28 (TravelAndy): At a time when the world is losing land to the advancing the seas because of the Greenhouse effect and other reasons, Japan has surprisingly gained at least 300 metres of land that has emerged from the sea in the course of a day.
The incident took place in Rausu on Hokkaido island and the stretch is as high as 10 metres or more in some parts, said reports.
“The local residents said they didn’t hear any sounds and there were no tremors (when the land appeared),” The Asahi Shimbum quoted Katsuhiro Tanaka, president of the Rausu Fisheries Cooperative Association, as saying.
Tanaka saw the expanded coastline the day it was discovered.
Geologists are of the opinion that this occurred probably due to a landslide nearby where melting ice and snow caused a part of land to drop, pivoting this particular stretch, which was under water, upwards, said The Straits Times.
Elvis Presley planes to stay at Graceland
April 27 (TravelAndy): Rock and roll icon Elvis Presley’s two airplanes — Lisa Marie and Hound Dog II — will remain at Graceland in Memphis permanently.
Graceland, which was the home of Elvis, is now among the most-visited private houses in the US with hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
Lisa Marie, Elvis’ daughter after whom one of the planes was named, said on Twitter: “The planes will remain at Graceland 4 ever!”
“The planes are ours…they will remain at Graceland,” Tweeted Elvis’ former wife Priscilla Presley.
The two custom-designed planes, which have been in Graceland since 1984, are popular with visitors to the museum.
The fate of the two planes had become uncertain last year with Elvis Presley Enterprises deciding to remove them from the site. The decision had angered fans.
Quake hits Nepal tourism
April 26 (TravelAndy): The tourism industry is already beginning to feel the impact of Saturday’s earthquake in the Himalayas that devastated large parts of Nepal, including capital Kathmandu.
Hundreds of tourists from all over India and abroad, who were scheduled to visit Nepal over the next few months, are cancelling their trips for obvious reasons.
“While customers are demanding a refund, hoteliers and agents in Nepal will not be able to return the money that tour operators here have blocked for accommodation and transport. Additionally, airlines won’t offer a full refund either. Tour operators will suffer huge financial losses,” The Hindu quoted Imtiaz Qureshi, managing committee member (national), Travel Agents’ Associations of India, as saying.
Airlines, which had suspended flights after the calamity struck on Saturday, are resuming operations now.
Nepal’s economy is largely dependent on tourism and the current scenario is expected to have an adverse effect on it.
Travel concierge app raises $1.8m
April 25 (TravelAndy): Mobile application Headout has raised USD1.8 million in seed funding to work out its expansion plans, said Tech Crunch.
Headout is a travel app that acts as a mobile concierge and helps you find activities, tour and tickets to events in select cities in the US.
It aims to connect consumers with experiences ranging from theatre tickets to dinner cruises and helicopter rides with just a few clicks. Continue reading Travel concierge app raises $1.8m