India Airlines & Airways

The major international airports in India are located at Mumbai and Delhi which receive about 75 per cent of the visitors to India. Chennai and Kolkata are the other major international airports in India. These four international airports are well served by over 50 international airlines. Besides these there are various small airports as well like Jaipur, Varanasi, Patna, Hyderabad, Dabolim (Goa), Cochin and Thiruvananthapuram. Many long hour flights often land in India at midnight or after to suit the regulations on landings and take-offs in Europe and the Far East. The facilities at these airports are adequate and are being constantly improved. Porters and licensed metered taxis are available.

In Delhi and Mumbai, the authorities have arranged what is called the “prepaid” taxi system. The visitors can pay the airfare in advance to the agent or directly to the airlines office and which is also quiet reasonable. The airlines offers a variety of special fares that encourage the tourist travel within the country. There are various duty-free shops at the airport from where the visitors can buy duty-free goods before going through the customs.

About 50 international carriers fly to and through India like Aeroflot, Air Canada, Air Lanka, Air France, Alitalia, Bangladesh Biman, British Airways, Delta Airlines, Ethopian Airlines, Emirates, Gulf Air, Iraqi Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Lufthansa, Malaysian Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Royal Nepal Airlines, Saudia, Singapore Airlines, Swiss Air, South African Airlines and Thai Airways International. Air India is the national carrier and it shares about 30% of inbound and outbound traffic. It ranks 23rd among the IATA airlines in the world. This carrier was founded in 1932 as a private pioneering venture by Mr. J.R.D. Tata to improve communications within India and now it flies to all the five continents. Over the years, Air India has built its reputation as a superior airlines in terms of service, efficiency and cuisine. It is known for its well trained air-hostesses and warm hospitality. While Air India normally flies on international routes, Indian Airlines connects points within India and in the neighboring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, Oman, Malaysia and Kuwait, etc. The Indian Airlines is a much bigger carrier that carries about 7.7 million passengers every year. Indian airlines has the most modern fleet of Airbuses A-320, Boeing 737 etc. The flights of Indian Airlines take off or land in some part of India in every 2 minutes. Recently, the name of the Indian Airlines has changed to "Indian" and is also a member of the IATA. There is Computer Reservation System and the travel agents and airlines have direct and instant access to these CRSs like Sabre, Galileo, Amadeus, Abacus, etc. To facilitate the group tourists in obtaining the reservations, the Indian Airlines guarantees the confirmed seats to all foreign tour groups of 10 or more passengers, provided booking is requested more than 60 days, in advance on all sectors except to and from Leh, Port Blair and the North East. The visitors also have a choice of various private airlines to important cities in the country.  They operate between metro cities and also to various tourist destinations.