Air India to offer customised holiday packages

NEW DELHI: National carrier Air India is set to enter the select league of airlines offering exclusive holiday tours to passengers. Air India will start a specialised tour division, similar to that of Malaysia Airlines, Emirates, Thai Airways, Sri Lankan Airlines and Singapore Airlines, later this year to offer customised tour packages to all class of passengers.

The airline will also offer tours to international locations while the core emphasis will be on domestic tourist hot spots in Goa, Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir. Looking at optimising its revenue streams after merger with the domestic wing (the erstwhile Indian), it will be the first Indian airline to foray into the holiday touring business.

An Air India official confirmed that plans were underway to launch the service in the next few months, adding, “We are yet to decide the name of the service. We have a large number of new aircraft; we are expecting 12 new aircraft to join our fleet this year and will take another 12-14 aircraft on fresh lease.

It is part of the airline’s mission to promote India as a tourist destination. The holiday packages are being worked out with various tourism departments and hotel chains so as to offer a wide choice for recreation, pilgrimage and for leisure in over 100 destinations in India.”

Currently, the airline is working on various customer services which have been started on a pilot basis. It has introduced limousine service for its first-class and business-class passengers flying the non-stop Delhi-New York and Mumbai-New York legs.“We will be working on possible synergies with our Star Alliance airlines too.

We have 19 international airlines and three regional carriers in that team, which will also enjoy the exclusive benefits of our tours in a large number of destinations covered by the Air India holiday package,” the official added.