Air India discusses modalities of its holiday packages

NEW DELHI: Moving a step further in rolling out its holiday packages, slated for launch in December, Air India today discussed the modalities of the new offering with some of the partner states.

Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani had late last month announced the launch of "Incredible Air India Holiday" packages from December 1, in association with the State Tourism Development corporations.

Airlines globally take the holiday packages route to attract fliers in the highly competitive aviation market.

Lohani today held a meeting with the senior officials of tourism department of some states to work out the modalities of the "Incredible Air India Holiday" packages, which would be of the interest for a customer, Air India said in a statement.

According to Air India, the two nights/three day packages will be attractively priced and available for direct purchase from the airline's website.

Among the states represented at the meeting were Sikkim, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir, it said.

As part of these offerings, tourists will have the option of choosing from 3-4 packages in each state, covering a wide range of interests like wildlife reserves, religious places, adventure sports and forts and various museums.

At the same time, the national carrier also plans to enhance intra-state connectivity on regional routes, which are currently served by its subsidiary Alliance Air, to provide tourists seamless transportation within states, Air India said.

Alliance Air, AI's regional arm, currently operates ATR-72 planes under the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) arrangement in the North-Eastern states, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep Islands, Karnataka and Puducherry.