Qantas announces direct flights between Sydney-Bengaluru, finalises codeshare with IndiGo

Australian carrier Qantas on Friday, April 8 announced it will start flights on the Sydney-Bengaluru route from September 14 onwards and is finalising a codeshare partnership with Indian carrier IndiGo. In a codeshare partnership, each carrier on its distribution system can sell seats on other's flights.

Currently, IndiGo has codeshare partnerships with Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and American Airlines. The Sydney-Bengaluru flight will operate four times a week from September 14 onwards on an A330 aircraft, a joint statement by both the airlines stated.

https://twitter.com/IndiGo6E/status/1512335793586683905

"These are the first direct flights between Australia and southern India by any airline, cutting almost three hours off the current fastest trip between Bengaluru and Sydney," it noted.

Currently, Qantas operates flights to India on only one route -- between Melbourne and Delhi -- five times per week. "Travellers are also set to benefit from improved one-stop access to Sydney from more than 50 Indian cities, as part of a proposed codeshare agreement between Qantas and IndiGo," the statement noted.

Once finalised, customers will have more convenient access from not only the major Indian cities, but many popular regional cities such as Pune and Goa, it mentioned. The proposed codeshare agreement will enable seamless connections via Bengaluru, Delhi, or Singapore to Australia's largest capital cities, it noted.

Currently, IndiGo has codeshare partnerships with Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways and American Airlines.

"As part of the proposed agreement, customers who join the Qantas Frequent Flyer program will be able to earn and redeem points on connecting IndiGo flights (QF code only) and IndiGo will recognise Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits for tiered members (Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One) including priority check-in, additional baggage allowance and priority baggage," it said.

Qantas customers travelling on IndiGo will enjoy the same baggage allowance for the entire journey as well as complimentary food and drinks, it mentioned.

Qantas announces direct flights between Sydney-Bengaluru, finalises codeshare with IndiGo

"The partnership will extend to Jetstar customers who will be able to book connecting flights on IndiGo services through its Jetstar Connect platform on jetstar.com, currently intended to start from late April," it noted.

“We are pleased to announce our proposed codeshare partnership with Australia’s flag carrier, Qantas Airways under Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. Once finalised, this new partnership will enable the Qantas customers to fly to more than 50 unique cities on IndiGo via Bengaluru, Delhi, and Singapore with the access of 41, 33, and 6 destinations per station respectively.” Ronojoy Dutta, CEO, IndiGo

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said demand for direct flights between Australia and India had grown steadily since both countries reopened their borders.

Qantas continues to offer a Fly Flexible booking policy with unlimited flight date changes available on flights booked before 30 June for travel until 31 December 2022 (fare difference may apply).

“For the first time, southern India will have a direct connection to Australia, which will make travel between the two countries more convenient and much faster for customers. The signing of the Australia-India free trade agreement will also drive travel demand as trade and investment links expand between Australia and India’s population of more than one billion people."Alan Joyce, CEO, Qantas Group

ALSO READ - IndiGo and Jetstar team up in a virtual interline agreement

Jetstar is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Qantas. "IndiGo will introduce reciprocal benefits for its customers to connect on Qantas and Jetstar in the future. Sydney-Bengaluru flights go on sale today starting from INR 78,380 return," it mentioned.

After the coronavirus-induced suspension of two years, India resumed regular international flights on March 27 this year.

The Jetstar Group and IndiGo on Friday, April 8 confirmed a new Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) interline partnership that will enable Jetstar customers to book connections and flights on IndiGo services through its Jetstar Connect platform.

Launching at the end of April, the virtual interline partnership between the two LCCs is made possible by a technology company and flight search engine, Dohop.

https://twitter.com/IndiGo6E/status/1512338192720179202

The integrated booking engine allows customers to select flights and purchase both bundled and unbundled ancillary products, with customers connecting between international flights provided with seamless passenger and baggage transfer.

“We are pleased to announce the partnership with Jetstar. This strategic agreement will enable both airlines to tap into the rising demand for international travel, especially during this summer holiday season. The partnership will enable customers to book interline flights between the two leading carriers and enjoy access to a wide variety of destinations across Asia Pacific. This partnership will help us expand our international connectivity to yet another continent through Jetstar’s network.” William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo

Jetstar’s chief customer and commercial officer, Alan McIntyre, welcomed the partnership and said as the world reopens it was great to offer Jetstar customers in Asia and Australia opportunities to travel to exciting new destinations in India through its partnership with IndiGo.

"The ability to partner with other LCCs through Dohop has opened-up a new world of possibilities, helping customers enjoy more seamless connectivity throughout the region. This new partnership enables Jetstar to offer our customers more destinations, more frequency and better connectivity, by combining our expanding network with IndiGo’s, all at the click of a button, fulfilling our vision to make more travel affordable.Jetstar Connect on jetstar.com provides more options for customers to access Jetstar’s great value fares and an expanded number of low-cost connections. This partnership opens up new services to Jetstar customers to incredible destinations such as Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi through Jetstar’s hub in Singapore."Alan McIntyre, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, Jetstar

Jetstar and IndiGo are also strategic partners of Changi Airport Group. Recognizing their joint potential,  Lim Ching Kiat, Changi Airport Group’s Managing Director for Air Hub Development said India was a key market for Changi Airport.

“In 2019, Singapore attracted over 1.4 million visitors from India to Singapore and with the relaxation of border policies, India has ranked among the top three countries at Changi in recent months,” Kiat said.

Jetstar Airways is a low-cost carrier and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Qantas Group.

Jetstar Airways is a low-cost carrier and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Qantas Group. Jetstar Airways launched Australian operations in May 2004, New Zealand trans-Tasman operations in December 2005, and New Zealand domestic operations in June 2009.

The carrier also serves short and long-haul overseas destinations. The brand also operates in a Singapore JV (as Jetstar Asia) and a Japanese JV (Jetstar Japan).

The airline operates an extensive domestic network as well as regional and international services from its main base at Melbourne Airport, using a mixed fleet of the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

In a bid to address the growing concerns of its pilots, cabin crew and commanders, IndiGo's chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta in a letter to the airline's staff said that IndiGo is constantly reviewing the salaries of its staff and will adjust salaries based on the competitive environment and IndiGo's bottomline.

The email was sent to employees by the CEO on April 8 as various media reports were saying that there are disagreements between the airline's top management and staff.

"Salaries are a difficult, thorny issue and underlying imperatives are to consider the wage structure in competitive industries," Dutta said in the email.

IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta addresses salary concerns, says will review wages regularly

He added that the aviation industry is dealing with sky-high aviation turbine fuel prices and a recovery in passenger air traffic.

"I want to assure you that the interest of our employees is our utmost priority but at the moment we have to carefully manage a balance between higher costs, higher ticket prices," Dutta said.

The letter comes a week after the airline had partially restored the salaries of its pilots from April 1. IndiGo on April 1st had increased the salaries of its pilots by 8%.

ALSO READ - IndiGo partially restores pilot salaries by 8% from April 1

IndiGo on April 1st had increased the salaries of its pilots by 8%.

The airlines had also last week suspended some of its pilots for planning protests against the continued pandemic-time pay cuts. The pilots had planned to go on mass leave from April 5 in protest against the 28% pay cuts till last month.

ALSO READ - IndiGo pilots suspended for planning a strike to protest pay cuts

The protests from the airline's pilots come after IndiGo allotted employee stock options (ESOPs) for the financial year 2021 to its top management but left out its pilots and other staff last month.

While, IndiGo had also vowed to restore another 6.5% from November 1, 2022, if operations continue to run smoothly, pilots and commanders say that the "so-called" cuts taken by the top management of the airline for the year due to the pandemic have been in effect negated by the generous allotment of stock options.

Indigo employs 23,711 personnel as of March 31, 2022.

In May 2020, Indigo has revised its pilot's pay structure to slash salaries by as much as 40%. Indigo employs 23,711 personnel as of March 31, 2022.

Many of the airline's senior pilots had received emails from the company's leave planner, asking them to choose from two options, each involving a pay cut. One includes a pay structure with 42 annual leaves and the second will have the pilots take one week off every month. They used to have a package that included 22 days of annual leave.

Before this, it revised the contract terms of pilots who were undergoing training, with new terms including up to a 50% cut in salaries and a change in rostering. This was after the carrier had cut pay in varying degrees depending on the employee group.

In May 2020, Indigo has revised its pilot's pay structure to slash salaries by as much as 40%.

In the letter, the IndiGo CEO also urged its staff to provide a wholesome service and experience to corporate customers, who were being lured by rivals Vistara and Air India.

“We have looked carefully at our product positioning and the end of the day we think IndiGo is positioned quite correctly in the sweet spot that is important for all customer segments – safe, on time, hassle-free and courteous service,” the letter said.

The combination of full-service carriers Vistara and Air India is more to target high-end customers, particularly corporate customers, while the competition in the low-cost space is also increasing with IndiGo, SpiceJet, Go First, AirAsia India and Akasa Air all vying for the same pie.

In a big leap towards the construction of Ayodhya International Airport, named Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport, the Uttar Pradesh Civil Aviation department signed a lease agreement with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Thursday, April 7 to fortify the transfer of 317.86 acres of land to the latter to give shape to the project.

The land lease agreement was signed in the presence of UP CM Yogi Adityanath. The airport is tentatively planned at a location 10 km from the Ram Janmabhoomi premises where work on the Ram Temple is going ahead on a war footing.

UP government signs lease agreement with AAI to transfer land for Ayodhya Airport

In a bid to push the temple town of Ayodhya on the global tourism map further and establish it as the global spiritual capital, CM Yogi Adityanath, who has envisioned the makeover of Ayodhya as ‘Navya Ayodhya’ with a series of ongoing development projects, emphasized on the need to get the proposed international airport operational by the time the idol of Ram Lalla is placed in the 'Garbh Griha' (Sanctum Sanctorum) of the upcoming Ram Temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi premises -- expected by the end of 2023.

“Lord Ram had returned to Ayodhya (after a 14-year exile) in Pushpak Viman. When his idol is placed and consecrated in the Sanctum Sanctorum of the upcoming temple on Janmabhoomi, we should try to see that the airport is also operational,” said the CM while exhorting the authorities concerned to complete the project at the earliest.

The proposed airport will be constructed under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of the Centre. “The state government will provide all possible assistance in ensuring timely completion of the project,” the CM said exhibiting his government’s intent to bring both the airport and the Ram temple to concrete shape before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Ayodhya airport must be operational before Ram Temple, says UP CM Yogi Adityanath

The agreement signed on Thursday, April 7 will be part of the first phase in which the state government plans to get small aircraft, essentially ATR, operational.

The second and the third phase will witness the expansion of the project to an additional 497 acres of land making the project functional for bigger aircraft. The total land which has been identified by the state government for the project is to the tune of 821 acres.

As per official sources, while the state government signed the lease agreement for 317.85 acres of land with the AAI, around 86 acres of land is yet to be acquired by it.

The agreement signed on Thursday, April 7 will be part of the first phase in which the state government plans to get small aircraft, essentially ATR, operational.

Moreover, the state government has released an amount to the tune of INR 1008.77 crores for land acquisition and development of the Ayodhya International Airport. In the first phase, the state government plans to establish air connectivity between Ayodhya and Hindon airbase.

“Air connectivity was essential as it catalysed development, even more for a place like Ayodhya which is associated with the faith of millions of people,” said CM Yogi, asserting that the state government has coordinated well with central agencies including AAI in increasing the number of operational airports in UP significantly in the last five years.

Ayodhya, one of the most important Hindutva nerve centres, had attained centre stage immediately after the BJP came to power with a landslide win in 2017. The Yogi government had subsequently sought to give a facelift to the city by coming up with a series of projects, including the airport which was formally announced in December 2018.

Ayodhya, one of the most important Hindutva nerve centres, had attained centre stage immediately after the BJP came to power with a landslide win in 2017.

The bids for the construction work were finalised a long time back and Bengaluru-based Vishal Infrastructure, which had bagged the bid for the construction of the runway, has started its work under the supervision of the AAI.

ALSO READ - AAI has begun the construction of Ayodhya airport

According to AAI officials, the first phase of the project will be completed in around one-and-a-half to two years for which INR 150 crore has been allocated. In the first phase of the project, a 2250 m runway for ATR-72 aircraft has to be constructed.

It may be pointed out that there is already an airstrip in Ayodhya. The Centre has sanctioned INR 250 crore towards the Ayodhya airport project.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Thursday, April 7 said that the government is planning to issue e-passports to its citizens, starting in 2022-23.

Mr Muraleedharan's remarks came in Rajya Sabha in reply to a question on the government's plans for the issuance of e-passports in the calendar year 2022 and its details.

The MoS informed that the e-passport will be a combined paper and electronic passport, with an embedded Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip and antenna embedded as an inlay in the back cover.

"The passport's critical information will be printed on its data page as well as stored in the chip. The characteristics of the document and the chip are specified in International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) document 9303.The e-passports will be produced by the India Security Press, Nashik, which has issued letters of intent for the procurement of 4.5 crore ICAO-compliant electronic chips along with its operating system."V Muraleedharan, Union Minister of State for External Affairs

Mr Muraleedharan further said that the Ministry of External Affairs has entrusted the National Informatics Centre (NIC) with the technical responsibilities in the context of the issuance of e-passports.

The MoS informed the upper house that sample e-passports are currently being tested and the full-scale manufacture and issue will commence with the completion of the technical eco-system and infrastructure.

India intends to begin issuing e-passports in 2022

On February 2, during the Budget session, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government will issue e-passports, which will use Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) and biometrics to verify the identity of the person, in the financial year 2022-23.

The e-passports will ensure smooth passage at immigration posts globally. As part of the advanced security features, the personal data of applicants would be digitally signed and encoded in the chip to be embedded in the passport.

What are e-passports?

A biometric passport (also known as an e-passport or a digital passport) is a traditional passport that has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip that contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of the passport holder.

It uses contactless smart card technology, including a microprocessor chip (computer chip) and antenna (for both power to the chip and communication) embedded in the front or back cover, or centre page, of the passport.

As of mid-2019, 150 counties are using e-passports

The passport's critical information is printed on the data page of the passport, repeated on the machine-readable lines and stored in the chip. Public key infrastructure (PKI) is used to authenticate the data stored electronically in the passport chip, making it expensive and difficult to forge when all security mechanisms are fully and correctly implemented.

Many countries are moving towards issuing biometric passports to their citizens. Malaysia was the first country to issue biometric passports in 1998. In December 2008, 60 countries were issuing such passports, which increased to over 150 by mid-2019.

Alliance Air said it took delivery of the first made-in-India Dornier 228 plane on Thursday, April 7 to facilitate connectivity within the north-eastern states.

Centre-run Alliance Air had in February signed an agreement with government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd to lease two 17-seater Dornier 228 aircraft.

The airline said on Twitter, "Alliance Air takes delivery of its first Made in India Dornier 228. The 17-seater non-pressurized Dornier 228 with an AC cabin capable of day and night operations."

https://twitter.com/allianceair/status/1512105867755556864

The light transport aircraft will facilitate regional connectivity in north-eastern states, it added. To date, Dornier planes were being used by the armed forces only.

ALSO READ - Alliance Air to operate HAL’s Do-228 aircraft under UDAN-RCS

Dornier 228 is a twin-turboprop short take-off and landing utility aircraft which is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Coast Guard, Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.

HAL describes Dornier 228 as “a highly versatile multi-purpose light transport aircraft.” It also notes that the aircraft has been developed to meet requirements like utility and commuter transport, third level services and air-taxi operations, coast guard duties and maritime surveillance.

Alliance Air receives the first made-in-India civilian aircraft - Dornier 228

The Hindustan-228 is a 17-seat multirole utility aircraft built for various applications such as VIP transport, passenger transport, air ambulance, flight inspection roles, cloud seeding, and recreational activities like para jumping, aerial surveillance, photography and cargo applications.

The aircraft can also be utilised for pollution prevention, troop transport, aerial survey, search and rescue, commuter transport, remote sensing applications, causality evacuation and cargo and logistics support.

The aircraft has a wingspan of 16.97 m, an overall length of 16.56 m, and an overall height of 4.86 m.  

Its cockpit is designed to accommodate two crew members and is fitted with duplicate controls and the cabin can accommodate 17 passengers. The aircraft has a wingspan of 16.97 m, an overall length of 16.56 m, and an overall height of 4.86 m.  

The first 228 made in India rolled out of the factory in 1985, and by 2014, more than 120 Dornier 228s had been produced. The latest aircraft to enter Alliance Air’s fleet (VT-KNP) was made in 2017 and is almost 5 years old.

To be allowed commercial operations, HAL made modifications to the plane and its equipment, and India’s aviation regulator, the DGCA, issued it a type certificate in 2017.

https://twitter.com/HALHQBLR/status/1512364096959967233

The Dornier 228 is an aircraft well-suited for operations in northeast India. It has the capability of short take-off and landing and can land and take-off from semi-prepared runways.

Alliance Air will soon connect five towns in the North East Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh (Pasighat, Tezu, Ziro, Mechuka, and Tuting) with the city of Dibrugarh in Assam.

The first Inaugural service in the Dibrugarh-Lilabari-Pasighat-Guwahati sector is expected to take place on April 12. India’s Civil Aviation Minister Jytiraditya Scindia and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu will be onboard the inaugural flight.