US tourists take flights to India

New figures show that India saw strong visitor numbers from the US, UK and Bangladesh during 2009.

Data from the Tourism Ministry shows that a total of 803,021 people travelled from the US to the country, while 748,765 travelled from the UK and 458,063 came from Bangladesh.

The same three countries lead the visitor numbers in 2008 and reflect the continuing popularity of India. Overall, there were a total of 510,000 foreign visitors in 2008 - an increase of 3.3 per cent compared to 2008 visitor levels.

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Five Reasons to Buy Tickets to Adelaide

The scenic holiday destination of Adelaide has some of the best of nature’s bounty. There are numerous reasons for buying tickets to Adelaide. Some of the popular attractions here are Adelaide Botanic Gardens, Bradman Collection, and Kangaroo Island.

Adelaide, with its scores of natural as well as man made wonders bowls over the most jaded traveller. Verdant parks and manicured gardens, jagged mountain peaks, lush forests, and pristine beaches all vie for attention. Similarly, Adelaide also leaves nothing to be desired in terms of shopping, accommodation, nightlife, food, and entertainment. It is pretty impossible to list down every attraction of this heavenly destination. It is no surprise that with so many attractions, Adelaide is well served by a number of airlines. Here is just a small sampling of some of the most popular places prompting thousands of travellers to stake out tickets for cheap flights to Adelaide amongst other Australian destinations year after year.

Adelaide Botanic Gardens

The verdant stretches of Adelaide Botanic Gardens are perfect for catching blissful serene moments. The garden also has some endearing attractions such as the Bicentennial Conservatory, where the ambiance of tropical rainforest has been realistically simulated, the Museum of Economic Botany with its stencilled ceiling, and a distinct prefabricated palm house. The Wittunga Botanic Gardens and the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden are part of the Botanic Gardens as well. The Wittunga Gardens are a popular picnicking spot, while Mount Lofty treats one to delightful plants that flourish there but can’t survive in the warmer climate of the planes below. Usually, all travellers who book flights to Adelaide keep Adelaide Botanic Gardens amongst the top attractions to be explored in the city.

Art Gallery of South Australia

The Art Gallery of South Africa happens to be a major highlight of numerous visitors’ holidays in Adelaide. The works of most of the Australian masters as well as foreign artists adorn the Art Gallery of South Australia. Rodin sculptures are displayed as well. The Elder wing is full of Australia Federation Landscapes as well as Colonial State collections. Overall, the Art Gallery of South Australia is stocked with some 38,000 works of art. One can join either the free audio tour of the Australian section or one of the free guided tours. The art gallery is also known for culinary delights served in its café.

Kangaroo Island

The Kangaroo Island is an excellent excuse to mull buying flight tickets to Adelaide. Kangaroos are an inseparable part of the Australian identity and Kangaroo Island is definitely one of the best if not the best place to feel this experience. Besides an abundance of Kangaroos, the island is also home to koalas, pelicans, sea lions, and various species of native Australian animals and birds. The Kangaroo Island is a treat to the eye as well with rugged cliffs, golden beaches, and deep jungles. One can also indulge in the swimming with dolphins experience. A number of spa and massage parlours and art galleries also take care of hedonistic indulgences. Similarly, gourmets have a field day sampling local wines, goats’ cheese, and honey.

Migration Museum

One of the absolutely not to be missed attractions in Adelaide is the Migration Museum. A visit here is like a walk down memory lane, where one is privy to the long ago tales of migrants who flooded into South Australia and made it their home. Besides touching personal stories, one also gets access to information concerning more than 90 different ethnicities.

Bradman Collection

No cricketing enthusiast heads back from holidays in Adelaide without paying tribute to the Bradman Collection at the South Australian Institute building, part of the State Library of SA precinct. The personal memorabilia of the legendary batsman Sir Donald Bradman seems to bring the ‘Don’ back to life. One can also gain an excellent insight into the feats of this legend, which have been lucidly chronicled here.

Event leads to strong Indian hotel demand

The forthcoming Aero India 2011 has lead to many of Bangalore's main hotels being fully booked out. Starting in February 9th, the event is a major international aerospace and defence exhibition that attracts visitors from around the world.

According to the Times of India, the ITC Gardenia, The Leela Palace Kempinski, Vivanta by Taj, The Oberoi and The Taj West End have all been fully booked by visitors for the duration of the exhibition.

In total, those taking flights to India and visitors from within India could rent out around 1,500 rooms over the four days that the event is being held.

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Finnair announces daily flights to Delhi

Finnair has confirmed that it will increase its flights to Delhi as it expands its Asian services.

The carrier will start offering travellers a total of seven direct flights to the Indian city from January 6th.

"Growth is excellent in our main strategy area, namely Asia-Europe traffic. We have gradually increased flights to a number of Asian destinations, the latest being Delhi," explained Finnair's senior vice-president of commercial division Mika Perho.

Finnair recently increased its services to a number of major cities in Asia including Osaka, Nagoya and Seoul. In addition, the carrier is to offer flights to Singapore from May and to Hong Kong in June.

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Top 5 Preferred Airlines to New York

New York is a top holiday destination and this has made sure that heaps of airlines start operating to the ‘world’s capital.’ While different airlines have different specialities, it is not wrong to say that some stand out from the rest in terms of preference of UK travellers for flights to USA.

Undoubtedly the most famous part of the world, New York is one place where everyone wants to be. The city is the world’s epicentre when it comes to fashion, commerce, art, media, research, technology and just about everything else. Heaps of tourists visit this incredible place every year. Even among Britons, New York remains one of the most desired holiday destinations.

Being such a magnetic tourist attraction, there is a plethora of airlines that operate flights to New York from a number of UK airports. Different travelers have different preference as far as airlines are concerned. Some go for cheap air tickets, while some get enamoured by better in-flight services and still others find entertainment to be the biggest priority while deciding their flights to USA. Each airline has their own set of selling points that might influence New York-bound UK travellers. However, there are certain airlines that are most popular and most preferred by tourists while planning holidays to New York.

Kuwait Airways

Kuwait Airways is one of the preferred airlines among Britons who look for cheap airline tickets to New York. The airline operates some of the cheapest flights to the USA from the UK. Apart from offering cheap flights from UK to JFK, Kuwait Airways has also been applauded for its air safety programs over the years. It is certified by the American Federal Control Board for meeting the safety conditions. Kuwait Airways additionally received the Air Safety Award 2000 for its outstanding record of air safety.

Kuwait Airways is also a preferred option for individuals looking for a sumptuous array of menus of varied cuisines on-board. The airline even features special menus for passengers with diabetes or high blood pressure.

Continental Airlines

Continental Airlines is a major American airline based in Downtown Houston, Texas. A wholly-owned subsidiary of United Continental Holdings, Continental Airlines is one of the most admired airlines around the world. Preferred by many when it comes to booking flights to USA from London, Continental Airlines has received the award of the Most Admired Global Airline by Fortune Magazine form 2004 to 2009. Being a part of the Star Alliance, Continental Airlines offers a number of the additional perks to its passengers.

Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic is the choice of those who seek luxury while they travel. One of the most luxurious airlines operating around the globe, Virgin Atlantic features the finest Upper Class cabin that combines traditional First and Business Classes.

Each Upper Class seat has a multi-directional television screen with video-on-demand measuring 10.4 inches across. The airline also offers eyeshades, earplugs, toothpaste, moisturiser, razors, sewing kits and collar stiffeners for Upper Class passengers. For those feel like getting pampered, an in-flight beauty therapy service available on flights from LHR to JFK.

Virgin Atlantic won the award for Best Business/First Class along with other awards at 2010 British Travel Awards.

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines is an American-based airline that is headquartered in Atlanta and is one of the largest in the world. Delta Air Lines serves approximately 160 million travellers each year and has an extensive global network that incorporates over 350 destinations in nearly 70 countries.

Delta is the official airline and a partner of Madison Square Garden and its properties, such as the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers, Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre (New York City).

Several UK travellers looking for cheap flights, better in-flight services and overall quality book with Delta Air Lines which is also a founding member of SkyTeam.

American Airlines

American Airlines is a major American airline that offers daily flights from London Heathrow to JFK. The airline also operates flights from LHR to LaGuardia Airport. American Airlines is world's second-largest airline in terms of passenger miles transported as well as operating revenues.

Being a part of the Oneworld airline alliance, the passengers of American Airlines have access to various perks and amenities.

South East England Airports may get Costlier

London Heathrow Airport as well as other South-East England airports may well become costlier for travellers. The government is planning to study proposals for hiking airport taxes for passengers buying their tickets with these airports and a lower tax on travel from other regions like Northern England airports. Plans are being considered for using Birmingham as a London overspill airport. The objective behind these plans is to relieve the overburdened South East England airports off some of the flight traffic. Presently, London Heathrow and other South East England airports popular for the availability of cheap flights to various destinations serve almost eighty per cent of the UK flights.

Reactions from Different Quarters

Different sections have put forth different reactions to the proposed hike. Read on for what everyone has to say.

Passengers and Regional Operators

Passengers already feel that they are being overtaxed on their tickets, especially in view of the facilities being offered at these airports. This was all the more evident when Heathrow recently failed to handle the snow situation. According to certain regional operators, uniform tax hike will prompt bigger airlines to pull out from their airports in favour of the South East England airports. Some of these big airlines are well known for their cheap flight operations.

British Airports Authority (BAA)

Since 2006, the Airport Passenger Duty (APD) has seen a more than four fold rise on air tickets. According to a BAA spokesman ‘We already have the highest aviation tax in the world in the UK and if we are looking at increasing taxes on Heathrow - the UK's only hub airport - we will simply make the country less competitive’.

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Latest UK Airports and Flights Information

A slight improvement in the weather conditions of Europe has resulted in the resumption of flights from different airports. So far, hundreds of passengers have faced inconveniences, especially at London Heathrow Airport.

In what spells as a tremendous relief for air ticket holders in the UK, airlines are slowly but steadily on the way to resume services. Normal operations have been reported at Manchester, Stansted, Luton and London City airports. The last week led to the grounding of hundreds of flights to and from the UK owing to immense snowfalls. However, a let up in the situation facilitated different airports as well as other transport hubs in clearing up part of the accumulated backlog of passengers. Here is a little detailed information on the latest developments.

London Heathrow Airport

The British Airports Authority announced that London Heathrow would now operate to its full capacity. A number of flights that had been diverted earlier have now been rescheduled to fly from Heathrow as planned earlier. To cite an example, the Etihad flights EY017 and EY018, will take off from Heathrow as per initial schedule and will not be diverted to Manchester. Etihad also announced a refund of travel expenditure for passengers who had fixed travel plans to Manchester. The refund would be according to the terms and conditions of the airline. However, like other airports, London Heathrow has also advised passengers to travel to the airport only if their flights are confirmed by their airlines.

The Heathrow Airport is known for serving not only numerous international and regional full service airlines, but also a high volume of budget carriers offering cheap flights to different parts of the world.

Gatwick Airport

Thanks to the laborious efforts of the cleaning crew, the Gatwick Airport also resumed services from Tuesday. However, passengers have been warned of knock-on delays due to heavy snowfall covering many parts of Northern Europe.

Scotland

As per reports trickling in, the snow has been cleared away from the Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. However, passengers need to be prepared for inevitable cancellations and delays. These delays are plaguing Aberdeen as well.

British Airways’ Loss

British Airways is perhaps the hardest hit airline due to the snow. According to analysts, the airline has been suffering losses to the tune of £8m to £10m. However, the airline announced the confirmation of its schedules for today, 22nd December and that the schedules for 23rd and 24th December will be confirmed as soon as they are finalised. This means, people who had booked advance tickets with British Airways in the hopes of netting cheap flights, still stand the chance of utilising their tickets.

British Airports Authority (BAA) faces criticism

British Airports Authority has been under fire for failing to handle the snowfall at London Heathrow Airport. In fact, many quarters have demanded a probe into BAA’s response to the situation. The call for probe has also been backed by the Association of British Travel Agents.