How does it Feel Travelling on the Vistara Premium Economy Class?

Vistara, a full-service airline, is a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. The company was founded in 2013, but launched operations in January 2015. By the end of 2015, it had already flown about a million passengers on domestic routes. Currently, it holds close to 2 percent of the market share in the national aviation industry. Being a luxury carrier, it offers three cabin classes. It flies to 16 cities in India, using its fleet of Airbus A320-200s.

Travellers have the option to fly in Economy, Premium Economy or Business class. On its A320-200s, it offers 36 Premium Economy seats (6 rows of 3-3 arrangement) and 16 Business seats (four 2-2 rows) out of a total of 148. The remaining 96 can be booked by those, who want to travel in the Economy Class. It is the first airline to offer the Premium Economy cabin option in the country. Most of the carriers in the country do not give this travelling option to people. So, what is it that makes this cabin type so special?

Details

Booking air tickets for this class entitles people to have 20 kg check-in baggage, which is 5 kg more than what is allowed in the lower class. The hand luggage allowance, however, remains the same at 7 kg as per the prevailing government norms. Besides increased checked luggage limit, this also provides priority baggage handling at airports during departure and arrival. This means that there are fewer chances of loss or damage of luggage and travellers can get these ahead of others after landing.

Another associated benefit of travelling in this class is the facility of dedicated check-in counters at the airport. This saves people from standing in long queues for completing the formalities, getting tired and wasting time. This privilege extends all the way to the boarding queue, where passengers do not have to stand in the standard line, but in a separate one, meant for priority boarding.

Once on board, they would find that the seats are quite comfortable and reasonably spacious; also, these recline to 4.5 inches. This allows flyers to stretch to the fullest while seated, and relax and unwind. These also come with added cushioning and height-adjustable headrests, further adding to the comfort.

By booking an air ticket for these cabins, complimentary meals can also be enjoyed. A wide range of dishes is prepared by designated Vistara chefs. Beverages are also offered on board so that flyers can stay hydrated during the journey. Special meals are also provided for babies and children, vegetarian and non-vegetarian passengers, and for those, who have a medical condition. Any special meal request can be made preferably at the time of booking or a few hours before departure.

In order to avoid boredom and catch up with some news and interesting articles, newspapers and magazines are available on the journey in addition to the regular in-flight magazine. The carrier also provides wireless streaming of content on the personal electronic devices of passengers as part of its onboard entertainment system.

Meets Demand of Passengers

This cabin meets the demand of flyers, who want to travel with more comfort and enjoy special privileges like priority check-in and boarding, and baggage handling, besides higher baggage allowances. The ticket for travelling in comfortable seats with more leg space comes for just a little more money than the lowest option.

The launch of these seats has the potential to lead the carrier to new levels of success and earn it higher revenue.

3 Airlines to Fly Lavishly on New Delhi to Frankfurt Flights

Frankfurt, on the banks of the Main River, was a free Imperial city between 1372 and 1806. Today, it is among the most preferred destination for tourists. Its landmark attractions like Goethe House, Alte Oper, Palmengarten and Naturmuseum Senckenberg draw tourists to this city. Owing to its status as the financial capital of Germany, the metropolis is thronged by corporate persons as well. People from all around the world come here for different purposes, be it leisure or business, and India is no exception to that.

New Delhi, being the capital of India, is a tourist and business hub in the country. Therefore, most travellers book flights to Frankfurt from here. Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL), which serves the city of New Delhi, is among the busiest airport in India. In 2015, it was also among the highest ranked airports by Skytrax in the Central Asia region. Around 120 flights are operated daily from DEL to the various airports in Frankfurt. These air services are carried out by many national and international airlines. Some passengers like to travel in comfort and style and nothing below the first class impresses them. So, some information on the most preferred luxury airlines is given below.

Etihad Airways   

The flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways, is also among the largest airlines in the Middle East. Established in July 2003, this Abu Dhabi-based carrier commenced its operations in November of the same year. The airline is preferred by people who like to travel in luxury.

The First Apartments and First Suites of Etihad Airways have truly revolutionised the First Class travel. In the former category, it offers a comfortable leather armchair, along with a 6 feet and 10 inch long bed. Passengers here can even enjoy small walks in the privacy of their private cabins. Its First Suites in Boeing 787 Dreamliners have a private wardrobe and a refreshment cabinet.

Etihad Airways has 3-4 flights on the New Delhi-Frankfurt route on a daily basis. These flights are usually available at 4:40 in the morning and 9 in the evening. This carrier also has a daily flight at 4:35 am, operated on codeshare basis with Jet Airways.

Emirates  

Emirates stepped into the international aviation scene in October 1985 with just two aircraft. Today, it boasts a large fleet, which includes Boeing 777-300ERs, Boeing 777-200s, Airbus A340-300s and A340-500s. It is also a proud owner of 75 double-decked A380s.

In these large wide-body aircraft, this carrier offers private suites and shower spas in First Class, while Wi-Fi access is available throughout the aircraft. Even the Economy Class seats of this aircraft have customised lighting and extra room.  

Emirates operates around 10 s every day, with the first and last one of the day available at 4:15 am and 9:50 pm, respectively.  

British Airways

British Airways has a history of more than 90 years in aviation. This carrier has a modern fleet of Boeing 777-300s, A380-800s, A320-200s, Boeing 787-9s and Boeing 787-8s.

In its First Class, this airline offers a private, spacious suite with a flatbed and a duvet. Passengers flying with BA can also enjoy access to lavish lounges and rejuvenate with spa treatments at the airport.

British Airways New Delhi to Frankfurt flights are usually scheduled at 1:50 am and 10:20 am. All these air services have a stopover at Heathrow Airport (LHR) in London.

Passengers, who fancy luxury in the air, can opt for the services of any of these carriers. 

Air India to have Modest Profits in FY 2015-16, focus on Higher Revenues

This fiscal, Air India, the Indian national carrier, is finally going to see the face of profits. As revealed by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr Mahesh Sharma, the carrier is well on its path to recovery following a situation of a financial mess. It is expected to earn modest operating profit of INR 8 crores in 2015-16. The carrier was given a bailout package of about INR 30,000 crores as equity funding from the government with a roadmap to make it profitable by 2021. Due to a series of measures aimed at rationalisation and efficiency of its operations, and helped by the dipping of aviation fuel prices globally has made the airline to turnaround.

It shall be noted that the carrier was reeling under the operating losses of 5,138.69 crores in 2011-12, which was reduced to Rs 2636.19 crore in 2014-15. This year is expected to show some profit, completely bridging the losses. Among some of the measures which helped achieve this task were reduction in reimbursable by 10 per cent, reducing posts in non-operational areas, strictures on use of 5-star hotels for staying during travel, operating 21 Dreamliners on sale-and-leaseback agreements, introducing new routes while cutting down on unprofitable ones, shutting down overseas offices where passenger traffic is negligible, and many others.

No Staff Cutting, Focus on More Revenue

Air India has emphasised that it will not be willing to cut down on staff numbers as it believes that it holds the key to its expansion to return profitable. Currently, the carrier has about 19000 employees and the staff expense is only 12 percent of the overall costs. It was spending INR 3100 crores in 2014-15 as against INR 3600 crores in 2011-12. This slashing of 500 crores was made possible by removing the incentives to employees related to productivity.

Air India is still reeling under the debt burden of massive INR 51000 crores with about 40 percent of this being due to loan payments for aircraft. Considering the amount of debt burden, the operating profit looks too minuscule. However, the silver lining is returning to profits which will infuse some confidence among the employees and give a hope of reducing this burden in years to come. This would become necessary if the government stake in it is not to be divested to private players. 

Check Jet Airways Flight Status on Apple Watch

Jet Airways is adopting latest technology with the changing trends. The development of web technologies has progressed to be compatible with the wearable devices. Now, there are eye-glasses and wrist-watches, besides the smartphones, on which web can be accessed. Jet Airways has been an early-bird to take advantage of the new Apple Watch. This has been developed in Watch OS 2 platform.

The stunning watch can now be used for accessing all information about Jet Airways flights right on the wrist. This will make a phenomenal change on how the user interacts with watches for gaining information about flights. The Jet Airways flight status information can be known on the day of departure by providing the flight number. This number can be entered using the keypad provided in the watch. This real time information would be available for any flight on its network.

Earlier, the status could be checked online using the smartphones mobile application or the website of the carrier. The users were required to select date and flight number, besides selecting whether it is sought for departure or arrival. Users can also search for the status by filtering results with parameters of flight, route or the airport. Generally, users are allowed to select flights for yesterday, today and tomorrow on its website but using the Apple Watch app, they will be restricted to finding status only for the day of travel.

Besides status updates, users can also receive the flight notification updates. These notifications keep them alerted. The alerts on upcoming trips would help travellers to prepare in advance. Similarly, alerts about special offers can also be set so that these are not missed. The travellers would also be able to scan the ticket pass using this watch application for accessing airports.

In order to access this watch application, the watch users are required to first download the Jet Airways mobile application for iPhone. If they already have it, they just have to upgrade to the latest version. Thereafter they will need to click on Apple Watch app on their iPhone and go to ‘My Watch’ tab. Within this tab, they need to click ‘Show App on Apple Watch’.

By moving to design online products that are compatible with wearable, the airline has leapfrogged to deliver a totally new user experience and make its flight information more accessible to travellers.

Jet Airways of India To Enhance Capacity Utilisation, Absorb JetLite

One of the important performance parameters in the aviation industry that also have a bearing on cost calculations is capacity utilisation. This refers to the ability of an airline to use its fleet in the most optimal way to maximise its revenues. By doing so, airlines obviate the need to invest more in the purchasing aircraft. Jet Airways of India has made a declaration to increase its capacity utilisation of Boeing 737 for the same purpose.

The carrier currently uses this model to fly on domestic and some international routes. With the domestic traffic growing at over 20 percent, it felt a need to gain new customers by increasing the frequency on the existing routes and adding new ones. The carrier currently has a fleet of 116 aircraft that includes single-aisle Boeing 737s and 777s, and Airbus A-330s. While the airline has ordered new models, these will be replacements for some of the older ones. As a result, the fleet size will not increase; hence, a need to increase their utilisation was felt. To meet this, the company is set to hire 400 pilots in the next 18 months.

JetLite Merger

JetLite, the former low-cost subsidiary of the airline, is to be merged with the parent company. The approval of equity shareholders to this effect has been granted. It is noteworthy that the board of directors of the two companies had moved to merge the two entities, way back in September, 2015. As per the terms of engagement, the equity shareholdings of the two will be cancelled without any financial gain. The flying permit of the LCC will be retained, and it will be operated as a separate division of the parent airline. As a result, by booking flight tickets with the subsidiary, passengers will be able to enjoy the same luxury as on the primary carrier.

In terms of passenger market share, the two companies together hold about 20.9 per cent, which is the second highest after IndiGo. Combined synergies are also expected to reduce costs and improve the passenger load factor, which signifies the seat occupancy rate. As JetLite is a full-service carrier now and is engaged in route planning and cross-selling with its parent company, this merger will give a higher level of efficiency.

With these strategic decisions to enhance the operational efficiency, Jet Airways of India is aiming to increase its passenger market share and revenue.