>> February 2009    >> Newsletter Archive  

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In this Edition.....

• Creative News - Creative Travel awarded as "India's Best Meetings & Incentives Operator" by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Creative India: Few know how to handle a recession

• Special Offer from Creative Travel and Taj Safari Lodges

• Summer Special Offer....

• Special Feature of the month - Eclipse chasers - mark your calendars - July 22nd, 2009 Total Solar Eclipse visible over India

• Where you can find us next - ITB 2009, LTM 2009, MITT 2009

• Festival Alert - Holi (Festival of colors)

• Guest Comment of the Month - Find out what our clients have to say about us in this section

• Destination News - Slumdog Millionaire - Wins Eight Oscars, It's travel time again, Elephant Festival - Jaipur 10th March, Exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic in March, 06 March 2009 - 16 March 2009, Mumbai pagoda for global peace, Maldives is competing in the “New 7 Wonders of Nature” Campaign......all this and more Destination news

• Hotel News - Taj Lake Palace is winner of Gallivanters Guild Editor’s Choice Award 2008, Aman New Delhi to open in March, Hotel Sigiriya wins the Silver in the Asia category at the Green Apple awards, Conrad Maldives to Host Yoga and Nutrition Retreat 10 - 30 March.......all this and more update on hotels

• Aviation News - Introduction of India User Development Fee at Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad Airport, Spice Jet adds new flights, Kingfisher Airlines teams up with Hilton Honors, Turkish Airlines to starts daily operation from Delhi and Mumbai, Emirates increases services to Dhaka........and more

• Indian Recipe of the month - Samosa

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Creative News.....

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Creative Travel awarded as "India's Best Meetings & Incentives Operator"
by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India

Media Contact - Priya Saighal

Below are some images of the evening ! Click to enlarge....

       
# 1 & # 2 - Rajeev & Rohit Kohli receiving the award from the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Mrs Ambika Soni
and the Hon. Home Minister, Mr P.Chidambaram; # 3 - Ram Kohli, Rajeev & Rohit with the MICE Team @ Creative
 

Our team works hard and as they say hard work pays off !! This past Tuesday, at a glittering award ceremony, Creative Travel was named as "India's Best Operator of MICE" (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events). We are naturally very very excited, honored and thrilled about this.

The award was presented by the Hon. Minister of Tourism, Mrs Ambika Soni and the Chief Guest, the Hon. Home Minister, Mr P.Chidambaram, who is the second most important member of the Indian Govt. after the Prime Minister. This was a very high powered event. In the audience were many other senior members of the government and the industry, including the heads of all leading hotels and airlines. Special awards were given to Taj Hotels and Oberoi Hotels for the exemplary sacrifices of their staff during the Mumbai attacks in November. We at Creative stand up in salute to their teams and their families.

The two specialist teams in the company, the Incentives team and Plan it ! Meetings & Conferences have worked hard over the past few years to make their mark both within Creative and in the industry in General. Over the years we have understood the importance of specializations and unlike a lot of other inbound companies in our destination, we made a conscious decision to bifurcate the skill set within the company. The Plan it ! Meetings team has its own set of dedicated professionals who do nothing but PCO related work. Our incentive team has skilled people who do nothing but incentives. This way, we have achieved a level of perfection that truly does justice to our claim of being the most awarded Meetings & Incentives team in South Asia.

We want to thank all our partners in India and overseas for all the support they have shown us to make this possible.

Creative India: Few know how to handle a recession
“Business looks bleak over the next few months,” says Rajeev Kohli, director of marketing at Creative Travel India, but he urges caution in reducing tour and hotel rates. Click here to read more....

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Special Offer from Creative Travel and Taj Safari Lodges....

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Summer Special Offer....

There is a lot of misconception as to why India cannot be visited during summer. Not all are true. There is a lot one can do in summer and the best part is that we can leverage our volumes from the season into some great deals into the off season.

Some reasons to visit India in the Summer are-

• The best value possible - you get to stay in some of the finest hotels in the world at prices that you would pay for a 4 star hotel in the winter.

• For wildlife lovers, late April and May are the best time of the year to see the famous Indian tiger. This elusive animal stays closer to the water during this time, and is more easily seen.  

• It's cooler than you think! Particularly in the desert regions of Rajasthan, the peak heat is between 11:30 am and 4:30 pm, when you could relax and enjoy the hotel. Sightseeing can be done in relative comfort in the early mornings and the evenings. The Indian summer is not hotter than many other destinations that you would consider visiting in the summer months - Dubai, Spain, Miami, etc.  

• Enjoy the monuments without the crowds - you have the luxury of visiting the monuments in the cities you visit, without having hundreds of tour buses present at the same time.  

• Enjoy the hotels - with lower summer occupancies, you can enjoy the hotels to their fullest. Use the spa without having to book it in advance, step into the restaurants without a reservation, have the pool to yourself.....

Discover India this summer with Creative Travel and stay at the Trident Hotels. Five or Seven days package tour visiting Delhi, Agra, Jaipur & Udaipur. Click here to ask us for more........

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Special Feature of the month......

Eclipse chasers - mark your calendars - July 22nd, 2009 Total Solar Eclipse visible over India
Join our "Golden Triangle Eclipse chasers group" and view this celestial phenomenon from Bhopal Madhya Pradesh. Click here to read more....

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Where you can find us next.....

To meet us at ITB, Berlin, click here and email us your details   

To meet us at LTM, Moscow, click here and email us your details   

To meet us at MITT, Moscow, click here and email us your details   

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Festival Alert.....

Holi (Festival of colors)
Holi is undoubtedly the most fun- filled boisterous of Hindu festivals. The colorful festival of Holi is celebrated during the spring season either late February or in early March. Holi festival has an ancient origin and celebrates the triumph of 'good' over 'bad'. The colorful festival bridges the social gap and renews sweet relationships. On this day, people hug and wish each other 'Happy Holi'. Holi is the festival of young hearts. Spraying colors, dancing on traditional Holi songs, musical drum beats and wild processions are the common scenes that one comes across during this festival

Holi celebration begins with lighting up of bonfire on the Holi eve. Numerous legends & stories associated with Holi celebration makes the festival more exuberant and vivid. It is the second most important festival of India after Diwali. Holi in India is a festival of fun and frolic and has been associated with the immortal love of Lord Krishna and Radha. The exuberance and the festivity of the season are remarkable.

Creative Travel will be closed on 11th March 2009 for Holi.

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Guest Comment of the Month.....

We at Creative track guest feedback very carefully. Each evaluation form gives us an insight on our operations and allows us to constantly refine our service delivery process. Now and then we get a few letters that brighten up our days. These are some of them :

Tuesday, February 10, 2009
From -  Darcy Dennett
To - Creative Travel

Sanjay,

I'm back to an insane week of work, catching up after having been away for three weeks...

But I wanted to take a minute to say THANK YOU.
I had an INCREDIBLE trip.
My only criticism: you did TOO GOOD OF A JOB taking care of me.

I plan on taking the time to write a much longer note, thanking you, this coming weekend, but in the meantime, I wanted you to know how much I appreciated all the care and effort that went into the planning of my trip.

I loved India, and surely, my positive experience had a lot to do with you!

THANK YOU SO MUCH

Darcy Dennett
New York

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Destination News.....

It's travel time again
The travel bug has bitten industry operators such as travel agencies, airlines and hotels, as they are all coming together to woo the tourist. They are also passing on full benefits of all rate cuts to the tourist, making travel cheaper by a huge 30%. Click here to read more.....

India propose Jantar Mantar nomination for UNESCO World Heritage status
The 18th-century Jantar Mantar monuments could soon give Delhi its fourth world heritage site and Rajasthan its first. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has nominated the Jantar Mantar monuments for world heritage inscription in 2010 for cultural sites, with the first priority being the Jaipur site. In the natural sites category, India has nominated the Western Ghats for a serial nomination, leading with Anaimalai hills in south India. Delhi has three world heritage sites - Qutab Minar, Humayun's Tomb and the latest being Red Fort. If Jantar Mantar follows, then this would make the Capital the only Indian city with four world heritage site to its credit.

Mumbai pagoda for global peace
President of India Mrs. Pratibha Patil has inaugurated the Global Vipassana Pagoda at Gorai in Mumbai. The 325 feet tall pagoda structure has been established by the Global Pagoda Foundation to promote the practice of Vipassana. Vipasana in the Buddhist tradition means insight into the nature of reality. The centre of the Global Pagoda boasts of the world's largest stone dome built without any supporting pillars. The Pagoda is hollow from inside, and this portion serves as a very large meditation hall for over 8000 people enabling them to practice Vipassana meditation as taught by Acharya Goenka. Lord Buddha's bone relics have been enshrined in the central locking stone of the dome.The grand size and the architectural style of the pagoda is aimed at reinforce India's global image on spiritual tourism map.

Elephant Festival, Jaipur 10th March
The Elephant Festival is an inimitable event held annually in Jaipur. Groomed flawlessly, rows of elephants do a catwalk before an enthralled audience and finally participate in the spring festival of Holi. It is festival time with elephants, typically celebrated one day before Holi, the Indian festival of colors. Staged at Chaugan Stadium, Jaipur, elephants put up a variety of programs and the arena is brought alive with musicians and dancers. The crowd, which includes sizable presences of foreign and Indian tourist, electrifies the atmosphere. The festival starts with an impressive procession of the majestic animals lovingly painted and tastefully attired with glittering ornaments and embroidered velvets. A ceremonial procession is recreated with caparisoned elephants, lancers on horses, chariots, camels, cannons and palanquins. Elephant is the centre of attraction in the many races and beauty pageants. Finally, some lucky tourists are invited to mount the elephants and play Holi.

This festival will be held on 28th Feb in 2010.

Thrill of “Zipping” Comes to Neemrana Fort
The serene Neemrana in Rajasthan, only two hours from Delhi, just got a new dimension: Adventure sports! Tourists can now enjoy the thrill of zipping with the brand new zipping course - apparently the country's first set up by a foreign firm. A zip tour involves flying from one high point to another along zip lines made of ultra-strong steel cables securely anchored to the ground. The zip tour comprises five zip wires which are connected by short walks. A journey can last two-and-a-half to three hours. The activity is popular in North America and Europe but until now has not been available in South Asia. Securely attached to the zip wires via climbing harness and pulley, participants can glide fast enough to feel exhilarated, but slow enough to enjoy the breath-taking views of the Aravalli Hills and Neemrana Fort Palace.

Britney Spears in India to make Music Video pitches for India Tourism
It’s the romance of Rajasthan that lured Britney Spears. On a high with “Womanizer” steadily climbing the pop charts, Britney was all set to release its video on December 2, till it got leaked on the internet. Now, having decided to re-shoot it with choreographer Sandip Soparrkar, Britney’s India fascination is evident. “Yes, this trip is mainly to spend a lot of time doing exclusive rehearsals without any disturbance with my choreographer Sandip”. Talking about the recent terror strikes that Bombay had witnessed, she said, “It is sad what happened in India. But, the way Indians have taken action against terror is very commendable. I salute the Indian spirit.” And doing her bit for Indian tourism, she added, “And I really would like to tell the people of the world that India and its people are indeed very beautiful, so they must not stop coming here. What happened in India can happen in any part of the world, it was just unfortunate. I am here and so can you be.”

Maldives is competing in the “New 7 Wonders of Nature” Campaign
The Maldives archipelago has been nominated for the New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign. This campaign is a process in which seven natural wonders of the world are chosen by people through a global poll which will be declared in the year 2011. The campaign is being organized by the Swiss based New7Wonders Foundation after their success in organizing the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007. 261 qualified national and multinational nominees are now competing to make it to the top 77. Voting on the site continues from January 7th until July 7th 2009 to determine the top 77 in each of the seven competing categories. The New7Wonders Panel of Experts will select the 21 finalists from the top 77 nominees.

Excavation & discovery
An archaeological site dating back about 5,500 years and believed to be older than Mohenjodaro has been found in Sindh province. Mohenjo Daro, or “Mound of the Dead” is an ancient Indus Valley Civilization city that flourished between 2600 and 1900 BCE. It was one of the first world and ancient Indian cities. The site lies in Pakistan’s Sindh province. It was the most developed and advanced city in South Asia, and perhaps the world, during its peak. A team of 22 archaeologists found some semi-precious and precious stones and utensils made of clay, copper and other metals during an excavation at the site.

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Hotel News.....

Taj Lake Palace is winner of Gallivanters Guild Editor’s Choice Award 2008
Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur, has been voted winner of the Editor’s Choice Award 2008 for Gallivanter’s Guide. The second most photographed property in India after The Taj Mahal, Taj Lake Palace, which rises ethereally from the waters of Lake Pichola, is arguably one of the most romantic hotels in the world. This four-acre marble vision has 83 rooms and suites. It is the former summer pleasure palace of the Maharana of Udaipur, with each room distinct in design. The Jiva Spa Boat was launched at Taj Lake Palace in Autumn 2008 to offer a unique spa experience. The boat recreates the splendour of the hotel, offering royal traditions of the House of Mewar and the rejuvenating experiences of the Jiva Spa. The Gallivanter’s Guide is a privately published subscription based monthly newsletter with the aim of unearthing idyllic places for the dedicated traveller. Editor Lyn Middlehurst personally reviews the best hotels and resorts in the world. 

Fortune Select JP Cosmos Bengaluru opens
Situated in the heart of Bengaluru city, behind the famous Sigma Mall, Fortune Select JP Cosmos is just 2 kms from MG Road, 500 meters from Cantonment Railway station with easy access to the new International Airport at Devanhalli. The hotel has a selection of 134 well appointed rooms including 88 Standard Rooms, 41 Fortune Club Rooms, 3 Suites, 1 Presidential Suite and 1 Room for the Physically Disabled. The rooms are spacious, contemporary, smart and boast of a carefully crafted blend of aesthetics and modern amenities, viz. mini bar, electronic safe, Wi-Fi and LAN connectivity, tea / coffee making facilities, hair dryer, electronic weighing measure, ironing board and much more. The hotel offers a choice of Food & Beverages outlets: Zodiac (The 24 hrs coffee shop), The Bar, Nakshatra (An Indian interactive fine dining restaurant). The hotel has a conveniently located banquet hall and a board room with state-of-the-art conferencing facilities. The banquet hall has been designed to accommodate upto 100 guests.

WelcomHeritage Koolwal Kothi, Nawalgarh opens
Nawalgarh is one of the Heritage cities of Rajasthan. It is situated in the geographically well-defined region of Shekhawati known as open gallery museum of India and lies as a triangle between Delhi, Jaipur and Bikaner. It lies about 280 kms from Delhi and 175 kms from Jaipur. The city of Nawalgarh has some of the finest artifacts of the Shekhawati region. The town with the largest number of Havelis from the Shekhawati region emanates the charm of ancient Rajasthani culture. The Havelis at the town are the mansions that boast of the beautifully engraved wooden gates and the painted walls. The walls of these Havelis cover a lot of stories in the shape of paintings. The most famous among them are the life sketches of Lord Krishna. The Koolwal Kothi was built by the late Shri Anandilal Hemraj Koolwal in the year 1934. The Kothi has 10 individually designed rooms where one can witness and live like how the Maharajas used to. The Kothi is filled with antique furniture and there is a lot of importance given to detail to recreate life as it was almost 80-100 years ago.

Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives Opens Summer 2009
Scheduled to open in May 2009, Centara Grand Island Resort & Spa Maldives is located on South Ari Atoll (Alifu Atoll) and will deliver a unique premium 4 star resort experience. Featuring 112 suites & villas the hotel offers diving enthusiasts outstanding diving opportunities including an excellent house reef complete with a dedicated sunken ship wreck, and is within easy reach of the top dive spots in the Maldives. The 7 categories of beach front and over water accommodation ranges from 76 sq m Beach Suites complete with separate living room, large terrace and indoor and outdoor showers, up to 146 sq m Luxury Beachfront Pool Villas which include membership of the exclusive Island Club, which offers guests in selected categories of accommodation a “resort within a resort” experience including use of the exclusive Club Lounge, daily servings of complimentary meals, snack and drinks and complimentary evening cocktail and canapes. The hotel features a variety of dining options, pools, recreation activities, Sports and Fitness facilities, bar and lounges with nightly entertainment, SPA Cenvaree, and a Kids Club. The resort is relatively close to Male International Airport with an air transfer time of just 25 minutes or speed boat services (night transfer available) in 85 minutes.

Conrad Maldives to Host Yoga and Nutrition Retreat 10 - 30 March
The Conrad Maldives Rangali Island will host its second transformational Path to Balance Retreat from 10-30 March, offering guests a comprehensive lifestyle and wellness makeover. The Path to Balance Retreat will be held at the resort’s Spa Retreat, a destination spa comprising 21 water villas with private treatment rooms surrounding a central spa, together with gourmet spa restaurant, juice bar and relaxation areas. During the Retreat, the resort’s international spa specialists will create bespoke programmes combining daily spa treatments with a range of healing techniques and yoga tuition. Cheryl Davison, the resort’s resident naturopath is a specialist in achieving inner balance and optimal health. Her knowledge of naturopathy, herbal medicine, nutrition, iridology, energy healing and flower essences will be tapped on to develop tailor-made programmes to meet individual needs and targets, from weight-loss to stress relief. To compliment the programme, resident Yoga specialist Zhenya Gerson will provide morning and evening Yoga sessions to renew body and mind. Zhenya effortlessly blends dynamic free flowing vinyasa "power" yoga style with calming hatha yoga along with relaxing yoga nidra and meditation practices to balance, heal and nurture the spirit within.

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Aviation News......

Domestic

Introduction of India User Development Fee at Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad Airport
Delhi International Airport Authority has been allowed to levy development fee on all passengers flying out of Delhi airport. The charges are INR 200 per person for domestic sectors and INR 1300 for international sectors. A similar development fee is already being charged by Bangalore and Hyderabad Airports (INR 1070 and INR 1000 for International sectors at both airports). Passengers in the following categories are exempted from this additional fee.

• Infants (children under 2)

• Airline crew on duty

• Involuntary rerouting, e.g. due to technical problems or weather conditions

• Diplomats

• No stopover - Transit/Transfer passengers (6 hours)

• Military flights

This fee for airport DEL is applicable until (and including) 28 February 2012. User Development Fee is applicable with HYD & BLR airports too. Click here to read more......

Spice Jet adds new flights
Spice Jet has added new routes & flights as per the following details: 
Kolkata / Jaipur / Kolkata
Goa / Kolkata / Goa
Mumbai / Sri Nagar / Mumbai
Bangalore / Sri Nagar / Bangalore
Guwahati / Mumbai / Guwahati
Click here for the flight schedule......

Kingfisher Airlines to revive its air connectivity to Srinagar to promote tourism in the state
At a press conference held recently in Srinagar, Vijay Mallya, Chairman, Kingfisher Airlines while addressing the media said that the tourism industry in Kashmir has been suffering immensely, therefore in order to promote tourism in the state the airline is reviving back its air connectivity to Srinagar with places like Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and other metropolis. “Now that the fresh government has been formed, we will also like to increase the air connectivity within the state by offering more flights between Leh and Srinagar, Srinagar and Jammu, and Jammu and Srinagar,” added Mallya. Click here for the flight schedule......

Jet Airways Increases Services to Chennai
Effective February 15, 2009, Jet Airways will launch a new daily service on the Coimbatore / Kochi - Chennai sectors, enhancing the airline’s existing services to Tamil Nadu’s capital from the two southern cities. The new services will be daily, same-day return flights on the Coimbatore / Kochi - Chennai sectors, aboard Jet Airways’ brand new, all-economy ATR 72-500 aircraft. Click here for the flight schedule......
 

International

Kingfisher Airlines teams up with Hilton Honors
Kingfisher Airlines  announced its alliance with Hilton HHonors the guest rewards program for the more than 3,000 Hilton Family Hotels worldwide.   The new alliance allows members of King Club, frequent flyer programme of Kingfisher Airlines, to earn both King Miles and HHonors points when they stay at Hilton Family of hotels. Hilton HHonors is the only guest rewards programme in the world that lets members earn both hotel points and airline miles for the same stay and redeem points for free nights with No Blackout Dates. King Club and Hilton HHonors members can earn Points and Miles in either of the following ways:

• Points & Variable Miles: Earn 10 HHonors points and 1 King Mile for every eligible dollar charged to room at all Hilton Family hotels.

• Points & Fixed Miles:  Members regularly earn 10 HHonors points for every eligible dollar charged to room and 500 King Miles per stay (100 miles at Hampton and Homewood).

Malaysia Airlines and Jet Airways sign Codeshare and Frequent Flyer Partnership
India’s Jet Airways and Malaysia Airlines have signed a code share and network-wide reciprocal Frequent Flyer partnership to provide customers with enhanced travel connectivity and privileges. Customers will benefit from a wider choice of flights, convenient onward connections in India and Malaysia with seamless transfers and through check-in, and the perks of frequent flyer membership.Jet Airways will place its “9W” flight code on Malaysia Airlines’ flights operating between Kuala Lumpur and 5 major Indian cities, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru (Bangalore) and Hyderabad. In return, Malaysia Airlines will place its “MH” code on Jet Airways’ daily services between Chennai and Kuala Lumpur. Tickets will be available for purchase from 25 February 2009 for travel commencing 3 March 2009. In addition, customers will be able to earn and redeem miles when they travel with the respective airlines.

Kashmir gets first Direct International flight with Air India Express Srinagar Dubai Service
Kashmir has its first direct international flight when Air India Express started its service from Srinagar to Dubai. The aircraft would have a capacity of 180 passengers and the airline seems to be getting good response. Initially, the flight will operate once a week on Saturday. The airline hopes to increase this service in future. The flight IX 197 will depart Srinagar at 1420 hrs arriving Dubai at 1650 hrs. The flight IX 198 will depart Dubai at 0830 hrs arriving Srinagar at 1315 hrs.

Air France suspends Chennai
AIR France, which currently operates thrice-weekly on the Paris–Chennai route, has announced its plan to suspend service on the route with effect from March 28. Following the suspension of this route, Air France will be left with daily services from Paris to Delhi (using A340-300), Paris to Mumbai (using B777-200ER) and from Paris to Bengaluru (using A330-200).

SIA further changes route network
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has released specifics on its route network redesign for the rest of the northern winter schedule that will end in March.

• Hyderabad-Singapore services (SQ439 and SQ438) will be reduced from four to three times weekly, with the suspension of the Saturday service from February 21.

• New Delhi-Singapore services (SQ405 and SQ406) will be reduced from six times weekly to five times weekly from March 10 to 24, and Tuesday flights will be suspended.

• Mumbai-Singapore services (SQ421 and SQ422) will be progressively reduced from five to four times weekly, starting February 27. Friday flights will be suspended.

Turkish Airlines to starts daily operation from Delhi and Mumbai
Turkish Airlines has started daily operations from both the existing destinations in India – Delhi and Mumba. The airline has been flying four-days-a-week from Delhi and three-days-a-week from Mumbai so far. The airline has also replaced its earlier fleet A-310 with A-330 adding more capacity per flight from India. While the former had 210-seat capacity, the latter will offer 250 seats with independent entertainment screens. Apart from revamping the in-flight services, the airline also guarantees its passengers ‘a restaurant above the clouds’ with offerings of tastier Indian dishes on board these flights.

Kingfisher plans big foray into Asian skies as Chairman Mallya feels worst is over for airlines
Many carriers are cutting back on routes Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines is starting more flights. Its first flight in South Asia, connecting Madras and Bangalore with Colombo, took off on 19 January. The airline plans to launch a Bangalore-Dubai flight on 7th March followed by Bombay-Bangkok and Bangalore-Bangkok flights on 12 February and a Calcutta-Dhaka flight on 16 February. Meanwhile, Kingfisher Red the budget carrier (formerly Deccan Air) is also planning to foray into the Madras-Kuala Lumpur route and is said to be evaluating several sectors connecting India to South-East Asia and Middle-East. Click here for the flight schedule......

Qatar Airways to start one-stop flights from nine Indian cities to Houston from March 30, 2009
Qatar Airways recently unveiled details of its new one-stop flights from nine Indian cities (currently operating from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad and Kozhikode and twice weekly operations from Nagpur) to Houston – the third US gateway (Washington DC and New York) of the carrier. The service will be introduced from March 30, 2009. With a flying time of 17 hours, the Doha – Houston route will be one of the world's longest non-stop flights and the longest for Qatar Airways' global network. The airline is going to deploy a 259-seat Boeing 777-200LR (Long Range) aircraft on the route with a seating capacity of 42 in Business-Class and 217 in Economy.

Emirates increases services to Dhaka
Emirates Airline has expanded its presence in Bangladesh with the introduction of three additional flights per week to Dhaka. EK586 will depart Dubai at 10:15 hrs every Monday, Wednesday and Sunday and reach Zia International Airport at 16:30 hrs. While the return flight EK587 will take off from Dhaka at 18:30 hrs on the same day and arrive at the airline’s new home – Emirates Terminal 3, Dubai International Airport - at 21:50 hrs. Click here for the flight schedule......

Jet Airways launches flights to Kuwait & Bahrain
Jet Airways is the India’s first private sector carrier to launch its daily direct flights to Kuwait and Bahrain, thus expanding its international network.  Jet Airways’ marks its initial launch with a daily direct flight on the Kochi-Kuwait-Kochi and Kochi-Bahrain-Kochi sectors.  With these flights Jet Airways makes its first international foray out of Kerala.  The airline also commences daily direct flights on the Mumbai-Bahrain-Mumbai and Delhi-Kuwait-Delhi sectors. Click here for the flight schedule......

Austrian pulls out of Mumbai
Vienna-based Austrian Airlines nears the end of its Mumbai operations on March 1, 2009. The Boeing 767 aircraft used on the Mumbai route will be diverted to the Vienna-Tel Aviv route from May 2009. The airline will continue flying to Delhi.

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Indian Recipe of the month......

Samosa
Samosa is the most popular snack in Northern India, especially at tea time. Samosas are available everywhere and yet the samosa varies wherever it is found. That’s the beauty. Click here to read the recipe.......

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Newsletters from the past.....

January09, December 08, November 2008, October 2008, September 2008, August 2008, July 2008, June 2008, May 2008, April 2008, March 2008, February 2008, January 2008, November 2007, October 2007, August 2007, July 2007, June 2007, May 2007, March 2007, February 2007, January 2007, December 2006, November 2006, October 2006, September 2006, August 2006, June 2006, May 2006, April 2006, March 2006, February 2006, January 2006, November 2005, October 2005, September 2005.

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Contact Us......

Creative Travel Pvt. Ltd.
Creative Plaza, Nanakpura, Moti Bagh, New Delhi 110021. India.
Tel : 24679192, 26872257-58-59, 26114281     Fax : ++91-11-26885886 / 26889764     Email : creative@travel2india.com
USA Fax: +1-646-349-1614       EUROPE Fax : ++44-20-7681-1242      www.travel2india.com

24 Hours International Emergency Contact Number : +91 - 99 11 266 277
(prefix a "0" before the number if dialing from outside New Delhi but from within India)

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