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Smart
Mudiripoyina Bewarse
Username: Smart
Post Number: 4201
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 207.199.2.34
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Votes: 0(Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 6:38 pm: |    |
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Esscuseme
Kurra Bewarse
Username: Esscuseme
Post Number: 548
Registered: 03-2005
Posted From: 208.51.197.126
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Votes: 0(Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 6:33 pm: | |
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp? cu_no=2&item_no=41550&version=1&template_id=40&par ent_id=22 |
Smart
Mudiripoyina Bewarse
Username: Smart
Post Number: 4197
Registered: 03-2004
Posted From: 207.199.2.34
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Votes: 0(Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 6:20 pm: | |
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Esscuseme
Kurra Bewarse
Username: Esscuseme
Post Number: 547
Registered: 03-2005
Posted From: 208.51.197.126
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Votes: 0(Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2005 - 6:13 pm: | |
US airlines expand access to India
Published: Wednesday, 22 June, 2005, 01:05 PM Doha Time
NEW YORK: After 50 years of poor connections and long layovers, air service between the United States and India is getting an upgrade.
Continental is planning the first-ever non-stop flight between the countries. Delta and Northwest are planning new connecting flights, and at least three India-based carriers are expected to add service, USA Today reported yesterday.
A US-Indian agreement signed in April eased rules that hampered service. Now, airlines have “maximum flexibility to serve wherever they want, whenever they want and charge whatever prices they want,” says Karan Bhatia at the US Department of Transportation. Ailing US carriers are banking on international expansion for profits. The airlines see big possibilities from the increase in high-end business travellers related to the outsourcing of service-sector jobs from the United States.
Business travel to India is growing so much that it’s helping to even out a seasonal market defined by vacationers and students, says airline consultant Vijay Bathija at Sabre Airline Solutions. About 504,000 people travelled by air last year between the two countries, up 20% from 2003, Sabre says.
At corporate travel firm Carlson Wagonlit, which counts 60 of the Fortune 100 as clients, travel from North America to India grew 13% in the first quarter.
“That’s the one growth market, aside from China, that is exploding and exceeding expectations,” account manager Diane Fabiani says.
For travellers, the new air links can cut hours off a very long trip. Sridhar Mitta, an executive of business services company E4E in Bangalore, says he often books three weeks in advance with Korean Air connecting in Seoul. Flying to company headquarters in Santa Clara, California, can take about 27 hours, depending on his connection, he says.
Beginning on October 31, Continental’s non-stop will link Newark, New Jersey, and New Delhi. The flight will take about 13 hours, saving passengers at least three hours.
In May, Delta launched service from New York John F Kennedy to Chennai, via Paris. Delta also has direct flights between JFK to Mumbai, connecting in Europe.
Northwest on October 30 will launch a daily flight between Seattle and Bangalore, via Amsterdam. It already flies from Minneapolis to Mumbai, via Amsterdam.
Air-India, India’s national airline, is considering expanding into cities such as San Francisco and Houston or Dallas. It now flies into New York, Newark, Chicago and Los Angeles. Private carriers Jet Airways and Air Sahara also are planning service.
“It’s a hot market,” says Mark Treadaway, air service development chief for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
His goal: Attract daily, non-stop service from Washington Dulles to New Delhi to accommodate demand from businesses, government and the capital region’s Indian population. – Agencies |
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