Indians are taking more trips including to spiritual places and often on weekends as well, MakeyMyTrip has said in its new report.
Spiritual Sojourns and Weekend Escapes: A Cultural Tapestry
The number of people taking more than 3 trips per year has grown by 25% in 2023 as compared to 2019 while Tier-2 and tier-3 cities are embracing spiritual journeys, with searches for destinations with or around religious spots growing 97% in the last two years.
Searches for Ayodhya grew by 585% for the travel portal, Ujjain by 359% and Badrinath by 343% in 2023 as compared to 2022 while weekend getaways continue to curry favour with Indian travellers as searches for Jim Corbett grew by 131% in 2023 as compared to 2022; Ooty and Munnar were the other favorites.
Global Wanderlust: From Dubai to Tbilisi
Nearly 30% all international travel searches from India are for Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore while London, Toronto and New York are the most searched long-haul destinations.
Searches for emerging international destinations grew by multi-fold in 2023 – hot favorites include Hong Kong, Almaty, Paro, Baku, Da Nang and Tbilisi.
Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO, MakeMyTrip said, "Understanding the evolving travel behaviors of Indian travellers is essential to help shape the future of tourism, both domestically and globally. MakeMyTrip’s India Travel Trends Report highlights some the latest essential trends. As India emerges as a formidable force in the tourism sector, these insights can help bridge the demand and supply gaps in the travel and hospitality space. This means crafting policies, identifying destinations, and creating experiences that resonate with the traveler’s unique travel preferences and aspirations. Recognizing and catering to each traveler’s diverse behaviour will not only enhance travel experiences but also contribute significantly to the growth and development of the tourism industry.”
The report also noted that family travel bookings surged by 64% in 2023 as compared to 2022, followed by solo traveller booking growth at 23% for the same comparative period.
Nearly 50% of all domestic flyers pick flights between 9am and 6pm irrespective of destination or origin and a significant portion of travel bookings in India are made spontaneously, with 46% of domestic flights booked less than a week before the travel date. In contrast, about half of all international bookings are made at least two weeks in advance.
Only one-third of international bookings are made more than a month before the travel date, suggesting a flexible approach to international travel planning among Indian travellers.
Interestingly, women prefer to pre-book window seats, while men pick aisle seats and Tomato Cucumber Cheese Lettuce Sandwich is the most ordered in-flight meal on domestic flights.
For Hostels and Apartments, the preference is for those less than INR 2,500 per night but for Villas, it is higher and close to 20% of family travellers searched for properties with tariffs over INR 10,000 per night.
UPI was the most preferred payment method for booking travel, making close to 40% of all transaction types, followed by use of credit cards. Credit card is the most used payment mode for high value transactions such as for booking international hotels and flights. This can be attributed to the benefits associated with credit card payments.
City specific insights :
Delhi:
Rishikesh, Amritsar are some of the most searched destinations
Travelers prefer flights between 12 PM and 6PM
Travelers over-indexed on booking domestic flights less than a week ahead of travel date
Travelers showcase higher intent for pre-booking meals while traveling International
Northern states have a higher preference for Hostels
Almost half of all domestic travellers book a room with breakfast and a major meal
Mumbai:
Goa, Pune, are some of the most searched destinations
Travelers prefer flights between 12 PM and 6PM
Travelers showcase higher intent for pre-booking meals while traveling International
Maharashtra has the highest share of domestic hotel searches overall – highest preference for Villas
More than half of domestic hotel bookers book room with breakfast; internationally they prefer room only
Kolkata:
Digha, Mandarmani are some of the most searched destinations
Travelers have a higher proclivity to book flights over 3 months in advance for both international and domestic
Travelers have a higher preference for booking in-flight meals for domestic
Eastern states have a higher preference for Hotels
Approximately half of travellers prefer room only for domestic hotel bookings
60% of international hotel bookers prefer room with breakfast
Chennai:
Madurai, Pondicherry are some of the most searched destinations
Travelers prefer flights between 6PM to 12AM
Travelers over indexed when it comes to booking international flights 30 days in advance
Travelers most actively pre-select seats for domestic and international flights
Travelers have a higher preference for booking in-flight meals for domestic
Southern states have a higher preference for alternative accommodations
Maximum preference for room only bookings for international hotels
Bengaluru:
Mysore, Coorg, Mangalore are some of the most searched destinations
Travelers prefer flights between 12AM - 6AM
Travelers most actively pre-select seats for international flights
Travelers have a higher preference for booking in-flight meals for domestic
Bangalore has a higher preference for villas while traveling domestically
Hyderabad:
Vishakhapatnam, Tirupati are some of the most searched destinations
Travelers prefer flights between 6AM and 3PM
Travelers over-indexed on booking domestic flights in less than a week and international flights 30 days ahead of travel date
Travelers most actively pre-select seats for domestic flights
Southern states have a higher preference for alternative accommodations
Approximately half of domestic travellers prefer room only
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The State Bank of India has moved the Supreme Court saying the order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) upholding the transfer of grounded airline Jet Airways' ownership to Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC) is 'shocking' and 'completely unacceptable.'
"It is a shocking order and is completely unacceptable. It reverses a Supreme Court ruling on the Rs 150 crore bank guarantee. We are supposed to collect Rs 4,400 crore; they are struggling to repay Rs 300 crore now," Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Venkatraman, appearing for SBI, told the Supreme Court.
The matter will now be heard on 26th April
Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi appeared for JKC and disagreed saying, "The order cannot be called shocking. Such words cannot be used for a court order."
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had on 12 March cleared the transfer of ownership of Jet Airways to the Jalan Kalrock Consortium (JKC). The lenders have appealed against this order in the Supreme Court.
SBI told the court that the total admitted claim of the financial creditor is approximately Rs 7,800 crore. The financial package offered by the Jalans was Rs 4,783 crore, which is payable in tranches in five years. The first tranche payment of Rs 350 crore was required to be made by March 21, 2022. This amount has not been paid to date despite several extensions and exclusions granted to the SRA by the NCLT, NCLAT, and SC. according to The Economic Times.
“The Resolution Plan has failed; the same was approved by the NCLT on 22.06.2021, however, till date even the First Tranche Payment has not been received,” the appeal stated. “In fact, even the NCLAT’s order directing the SRA (to belatedly) create security by mortgaging Dubai properties within 30 days of its order, has not been complied with,” SBI stated.
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Air India and All Nippon Airways have signed a codeshare agreement connecting their networks.
The new commercial partnership will provide more travel opportunities for customers of both airlines, who will benefit from the enhanced flight selections between India and Japan.
With this agreement, effective for travel from 23 May, Air India and All Nippon Airways guests will fly to their desired destination by combining those flights between India and Japan with a single ticket. In addition, guests of both airlines flying on codeshare flights will enjoy premium services such as lounge access and priority boarding that Star Alliance offers to its premium members.
Available for sale from 23 April, Air India will add its ‘AI’ designator code on ANA’s flights between Tokyo Haneda and Delhi as well as Tokyo Narita and Mumbai, while All Nippon Airways will add its ‘NH’ designator code on Air India's flight between Tokyo Narita and Delhi. Air India and ANA are considering further expanding their cooperation on additional routes.
“This codeshare agreement with All Nippon Airways marks an important step forward in connecting India and Japan," said Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer, Air India. “This collaboration broadens our network connectivity and offers our guests seamless travel experiences and a wider choice of flights between the two countries. We look forward to a successful collaboration with ANA and exploring further avenues for cooperation in the future.”
This agreement will contribute to further consolidating the economic and commercial relations between India and Japan and will offer Indian tourists the opportunity to broadly discover the wonders of Japan and Japanese citizens the opportunity to easily travel to India, ensuring the highest standards of safety.
"We look forward to building this strategic partnership with Air India, as it is a significant step towards furthering stronger air connectivity and enhancing customer experience between Japan and India," said Katsuya Goto, Member of the Board and Executive Vice President of Alliances and International Affairs, All Nippon Airways. “This collaboration is a testament to ANA's commitment to improving the air travel experience for all of its travellers and we hope this will lead to a seamless travel environment between our two nations.”
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Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) saw over 52.8 million passengers in FY 2023-24, showcasing a 16% rise in passenger traffic when compared to the last fiscal (43.9 million).
The airport said it welcomed more than 26 million passengers on arrivals and 26.7 million passengers on departures. CSMIA accommodated 324,972 ATMs, recording a 12% year-on-year growth rate compared to FY 2022-23 (290,387 ATMs).
The total bags processed at CSMIA during FY2023-24 surpassed 40.7 million, marking a 31% upsurge compared to FY 2022-23 (31 million).
Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad retained their positions as the top 5 domestic destinations for CSMIA, while Dubai, London, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, and Doha were the preferred top 5 international destinations. IndiGo, Air India and Vistara emerged as the top players in terms of market share among airlines for both international and domestic sectors.
CSMIA expanded its international connectivity adding destinations such as Almaty, Lagos, Jakarta, Entebbe, and Melbourne during this year. Additionally, there were increased frequencies to destinations including Paris, Nairobi, Frankfurt, London, Doha, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City among others. London has seen a notable 55% increase in passenger traffic (~400k additional passengers), while Istanbul recorded a significant 68% surge, and Hong Kong experienced an extraordinary 258% growth in travel activity compared to last fiscal.
In terms of share, the Middle East leads with a robust 49% share, followed by Asia Pacific at 24%. Europe maintains a significant 18% share, while Africa and North America contribute 6% and 3%, respectively.
During this year the airport also completed its runway re-carpeting project for Runway 14/32, resulting in improved overall operational efficiency and unveiled "Taxiway Z" as part of its efforts to reduce aircraft taxi time, thereby significantly decreasing carbon emissions. The introduction of Taxiway Z marked CSMIA as the first in the Asian region to offer a flexible-use apron.
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In a significant move in the aviation industry, aftermarket aircraft broker AerSale has successfully inked a deal to purchase four Boeing 747-400 aircraft from Air India. This acquisition marks the conclusion of a protracted marketing campaign aimed at selling these iconic aircraft, which last served revenue flights for the Indian flag carrier in 2021.
The Journey to Sale and A Closer Look at the Aircraft
According to insights from ch-aviation, the process of selling these aircraft had been ongoing, with varying degrees of progress. Until recently, only one of the four aircraft had found a buyer, while agreements for the remaining three were in place but awaited finalization. Facilitating the sale was UK-based remarketing firm Skytech-AIC, which played a pivotal role in the transaction.
The four Boeing 747-400s earmarked for acquisition by AerSale are identified as VT-ESO (MSN 27165), VT-ESP (MSN 27214), VT-EVA (MSN 28094), and VT-EVB (MSN 28095). With manufacturing years spanning from 1993 to 1996, these aircraft boast a rich history within Air India's fleet. Presently, they are stored at Mumbai International, awaiting their next chapter.
The Transition Process and A Nostalgic Legacy
VMAN Aero Services has been entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing the transfer of these aircraft to AerSale. Post-transfer, the plan is to repurpose two of the aircraft into freighters, catering to the evolving demands of the cargo market. Simultaneously, the remaining two aircraft will undergo the process of being parted out, ensuring that their components find renewed utility.
Air India's association with the Boeing 747 series spans several decades, characterized by a diverse fleet that served both commercial and governmental needs. From 1971 to 2001, the airline operated a total of twenty-five B747 types, including variants like the B747-200B, B747-300M, B747-400, and B747-400M. These aircraft played a dual role, serving passengers on scheduled routes and dignitaries as VIP transports.
Looking Ahead and Final Thoughts
With this acquisition, AerSale is poised to leverage the versatility and reliability of the Boeing 747-400 series in meeting the demands of the global aviation market. The conversion of two aircraft into freighters aligns with the industry's growing emphasis on cargo transportation, while parting out the other two ensures the efficient utilization of their resources.
The sale of Air India's B747-400s to AerSale represents a significant milestone in the aviation industry, marking the conclusion of a prolonged effort to find suitable buyers for these venerable aircraft. As they embark on a new journey under new ownership, the legacy of these Boeing 747s continues to resonate, symbolizing an era of aviation excellence and innovation.
With Inputs from ch-aviation
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