Rains disrupt train service on Howrah-Kharagpur section

The snapping of OHE between Haur and Baliachak stations in Kharagpur division forced SER to cancel/suspend/short-terminate and control many mails and express trains betweeen 0735 hrs and 1315 hrs.

Besides these, seven long distance trains--the 12821 Howrah-Bhubaneswar-Puri Dhauli Express, 12021 Howrah-Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express, 22861 Shalimar-Bankura Rajyarani Express, 12871 Howrah-Titlagarh Ispat Express, 12703 Howrah-Secunderabad Falaknuma Express, 12885 Howrah-Santaldih Aranyak Express and 12262 Howah-Mumbai CSTM Duronto Express were delayed by an average of three hours.

The down trains of 12809 Mumbai-Howrah Mail, 18029 LTT-Shalimar Express, 12859 Mumbai?Howrah Gitanjali Express, 12074 Bhubaneswar-Howrah Jan Shatabdi Express, 12129 Pune?Howrah Azad Hind Express were also delayed by about ninety minutes.

The SER also short-terminated the 12021 Howrah-Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express, which left Howrah this morning, at Tatanagar and will run back as 12022 from Tatanagar to Howrah.

As a result, services of 12021/12022 Howrah-Barbil Jan Shatabdi Express will remain cancelled between Tatanagar-Barbil-Tatanagar.

Besides, 3 passenger trains have been short terminated at different stations--Mecheda, Uluberia and Panskura and some local trains were cancelled.

Train services resumed at 1315 hours after the OHE was repaired. (UNI)

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Qatar Airways to Increase Flights to Iran; Launch Isfahan Service

Qatar Airways is to increase capacity across its network in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will launch daily scheduled flights to a fourth city ? the central Iranian city of Isfahan.

An additional 31 flights each week will be operated by the Doha-based airline between the State of Qatar and Iran, representing an 150% increase in overall frequency.

The capacity rise to 52 services a week, up from the current 21, will be phased in over a four-month period, starting 1 December 2011.

The capital Tehran will be served with an additional daily flight; Iran?s second largest city of Mashhad is to get nine extra flights; Shiraz, the economic centre of southern Iran, will be given eight new flights; and, starting 11 January 2012, services will begin to Isfahan in central Iran.

 Shiraz: 8 new flights ? currently twice-weekly, rising to daily, effective December 1, and a further three flights introduced each week from March 2012.

 Isfahan: new route ? daily flights from 11 January 2012.

 Mashhad: 9 new flights ? from the current five flights-a-week to 14 services (double daily), beginning March 2012.

 Tehran: 7 new flights ?.from the current 14 flights each week (double daily) to 21 services (thrice-daily), beginning March 2012.

All flights will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy.

Qatar Airways began flying to Iran in 2004 with the launch of services to Tehran. Flights to Mashhad started the following year, with Shiraz introduced to the network almost five months ago.

Isfahan, home to textile and steel mills and located on the country?s main north-south and east-west crossroads, is the heartbeat of central Iran?s economy. With fine historic Islamic architecture, palaces and tree-lined wide boulevards, the city is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the Middle East.

 ?Almost five months ago, Qatar Airways introduced the Iranian city of Shiraz to our network. We have been working with the authorities in Iran for increased capacity across the country and delighted to have reached agreement to make this announcement,? said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker. ?Additional flights will ultimately benefit passengers travelling to and from Iran and with our large international network of destinations, we facilitate travel with more ease, more flexibility and more choice, particularly for the large Iranian expatriate community around the world.?

So far this year, Qatar Airways has launched flights to 12 cities worldwide ? Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Stuttgart (Germany), Aleppo (Syria), Shiraz (Iran), Venice (Italy), Montreal (Canada), Medina (Saudi Arabia), Kolkata (India), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Oslo (Norway).

Three further routes are planned during November alone ? to the Libyan port city of Benghazi from 1 November 2011; Ugandan city of Entebbe effective 2 November 2011; and the central Chinese city of Chongqing on 28 November 2011.

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Qatar Airways to Increase Flights to Iran; Launch Isfahan Service

Qatar Airways is to increase capacity across its network in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and will launch daily scheduled flights to a fourth city ? the central Iranian city of Isfahan.

An additional 31 flights each week will be operated by the Doha-based airline between the State of Qatar and Iran, representing an 150% increase in overall frequency.

The capacity rise to 52 services a week, up from the current 21, will be phased in over a four-month period, starting 1 December 2011.

The capital Tehran will be served with an additional daily flight; Iran?s second largest city of Mashhad is to get nine extra flights; Shiraz, the economic centre of southern Iran, will be given eight new flights; and, starting 11 January 2012, services will begin to Isfahan in central Iran.

 Shiraz: 8 new flights ? currently twice-weekly, rising to daily, effective December 1, and a further three flights introduced each week from March 2012.

 Isfahan: new route ? daily flights from 11 January 2012.

 Mashhad: 9 new flights ? from the current five flights-a-week to 14 services (double daily), beginning March 2012.

 Tehran: 7 new flights ?.from the current 14 flights each week (double daily) to 21 services (thrice-daily), beginning March 2012.

All flights will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration of 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy.

Qatar Airways began flying to Iran in 2004 with the launch of services to Tehran. Flights to Mashhad started the following year, with Shiraz introduced to the network almost five months ago.

Isfahan, home to textile and steel mills and located on the country?s main north-south and east-west crossroads, is the heartbeat of central Iran?s economy. With fine historic Islamic architecture, palaces and tree-lined wide boulevards, the city is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the Middle East.

 ?Almost five months ago, Qatar Airways introduced the Iranian city of Shiraz to our network. We have been working with the authorities in Iran for increased capacity across the country and delighted to have reached agreement to make this announcement,? said Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, Akbar Al Baker. ?Additional flights will ultimately benefit passengers travelling to and from Iran and with our large international network of destinations, we facilitate travel with more ease, more flexibility and more choice, particularly for the large Iranian expatriate community around the world.?

So far this year, Qatar Airways has launched flights to 12 cities worldwide ? Bucharest (Romania), Budapest (Hungary), Brussels (Belgium), Stuttgart (Germany), Aleppo (Syria), Shiraz (Iran), Venice (Italy), Montreal (Canada), Medina (Saudi Arabia), Kolkata (India), Sofia (Bulgaria) and Oslo (Norway).

Three further routes are planned during November alone ? to the Libyan port city of Benghazi from 1 November 2011; Ugandan city of Entebbe effective 2 November 2011; and the central Chinese city of Chongqing on 28 November 2011.

Strong Demand for Self Service Systems @ Abu Dhabi Airport

Passengers at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) have the highest demand for Self Service options of all six major airport hubs included in this year?s SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self Service Survey, which also found high rates of smartphone adoption among premium travelers. It is the first time that AUH has featured in the survey.
The demand for Self Service is partly fuelled by smartphone adoption rates of 78% for frequent flyers (over ten trips per year) and 35% among business/first class travelers. The survey reveals a clear opportunity for airlines to increase the use of mobile check-in, which had only been used by 12% of survey respondents compared to 38% who had used online check-in.
In AUH, 33% of the passengers surveyed had a smartphone and a further 50% had ordinary mobile phones. The Blackberry was the most popular with 41% of smartphone holders having one, followed by 26% having an iPhone. Globally, 35% of respondents preferred the iPhone compared to 28% who used the Blackberry.
The rising influence of the smartphone globally is a key finding from the 6th annual SITA/Air Transport World Passenger Self Service Survey carried out with a representative sample of the 283.5 million passengers who pass through six of the world?s leading airport hubs: Abu Dhabi International Airport, Beijing International Airport; Frankfurt International Airport; Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta; Mumbai International; and Sao Paulo Guarulhos.
Interest in mobile applications is high at AUH where 30% of respondents would be willing to pay for information updates sent directly to their mobile phones. Interest is highest in flight-related information such as gate changes, flight delays, and boarding status, which 80% of survey respondents would use if available. This is followed by wait time at security, 50%; time to reach departure gate, 42%; information on airport parking, 35%; and location of closest lounge, 33%.
And 73% of AUH smartphone users would access a free Wi-Fi network compared to 66% globally. At AUH 15% would be willing to pay for Wi-Fi access compared to 10% globally.
AUH passenger interest in Self Service is underlined by the fact that it has the highest success rate in the survey when it comes to encouraging passengers to use remote bag-drop facilities, which was an option used by 13% of passengers with a bag to check-in compared with a rate of just 1% in the survey overall.
On the other hand, only 4% reported using a bag-drop counter compared to a global rate of 42%. A higher proportion of passengers had a bag to check-in than at any other airport in the survey, 81% compared to an overall survey rate of 67%.
The appetite for Self Service options is high at AUH. Self-bag tag (81%), Self Service bag drop (76%), and self-boarding (74%) were the three most popular Self Service options sought by AUH survey respondents, followed by tracking of bag location from a mobile device (67%), transfer kiosks (63%), and reporting missing bag from kiosks (63%).
Retail travel agencies are still more popular with AUH travelers than elsewhere with 44% of respondents using them for bookings compared to 17% overall but, interestingly, the overwhelming majority, a massive 99% of those who choose to book their flights online did so through an airline website compared to the global survey figure of 52%.
There is a clear opportunity here for airlines to target AUH passengers with improved non-air offers on their websites as actual usage rates for modifying reservations on-line and purchasing other services are 32% or lower.
Hani El Assaad, SITA Regional Vice-President, Middle East and North Africa, said, ?It is exciting to see Abu Dhabi International Airport feature in the Passenger Self Service Survey for the first time and to be able to provide the airport and airlines with this unprecedented insight into the behaviors and attitudes of their customers. The survey reveals many opportunities to provide services to passengers which will generate revenue, increase efficiency and improve passenger satisfaction.?

Cebu Pacific Launched Online Check-In Service

Cebu Pacific has launched a web check-in service with free seat selection, in anticipation of high passenger traffic at the airport this November and December travel peak.

Passengers automatically get assigned a seat for free during the web check-in process. The airline also added flights and seat capacity in the last quarter of 2011 to cope with demand.

?Passengers on Airbus flights can check-in online from 48 hours up to 4 hours before their flight, and get assigned a seat for free. We hope this added service will help minimize lines at the airport and provide added convenience to our guests,? said CEB VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog.

Passengers on international flights with no check-in luggage need to drop by the web check-in counter for verification of travel documents at least 45 minutes before departure time.

Those on domestic flights with no check-in luggage can go straight to the boarding gate at least 30 minutes before departure time.

Passengers with check-in luggage have to drop their bags off at the web check-in counter at least 45 minutes before the flight.

CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 17 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. By the end of 2011, CEB will be operating a fleet of 37 aircraft with an average age of less than 3.5 years. Between 2012 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 23 Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders, and 2 Airbus A320 aircraft on operating lease agreements.

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