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The Ritz-Carlton, Pune is delighted to announce the appointment of Mr. Nikhil Bhaskaran as Director of Food & Beverage. Bringing over 10 years of distinguished experience in luxury hospitality, Nikhil joins the leadership team with a proven track record of elevating dining experiences and driving operational excellence. In his new role, he will oversee the hotel’s diverse food and beverage portfolio, including signature restaurants, bars, in-room dining, and banqueting operations. He will focus on curating innovative culinary concepts, enhancing guest experiences, and strengthening the hotel’s position as a leading dining destination in Pune. Prior to joining The Ritz-Carlton, Pune, Nikhil served as Food & Beverage Manager at Shangri-La Eros, New Delhi, where he led multi-outlet operations, driving revenue growth through strategic planning, menu engineering, and experiential dining initiatives. He also held key leadership roles at The Lodhi, New Delhi, where he played an instrumental role in achieving record-breaking revenues, executing successful food pop-ups, and elevating the hotel’s dining experiences. Nikhil’s expertise spans concept development, team leadership, and guest-centric innovation. His career also includes valuable experience with renowned luxury brands such as The Leela Palace and The Oberoi Amarvilas, where he honed his foundation in service excellence and hospitality leadership. At The Ritz-Carlton, Pune, he will spearhead the food and beverage operations, with a vision to refine dining concepts, optimize performance, and craft distinctive guest experiences aligned with the hotel’s commitment to luxury and exceptional service.

The MoU supports Cape Town and the Western Cape’s Growth for Jobs Strategy by identifying opportunities to promote the region in key destinations on the airline’s vast global network On the sidelines of Africa’s World Travel Market (WTM), Emirates (www.Emirates.com) and Wesgro have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to drive inbound tourism and boost visitors to Cape Town and the Western Cape. The partnership underscores the airline’s longstanding commitment to the market through attracting visitors from across its global network supporting the province’s strategy of unlocking tourism growth. The MoU was signed by Afzal Parambil, Emirates’ Regional Manager for Southern Africa and Wrenelle Stander, Wesgro’s Chief Executive Officer, at the Emirates’ stand at WTM. Under the agreement, Emirates and Wesgro will collaborate on boosting travel from key growth markets including the GCC, Far East, India, and other mutually identified source markets, to promote the destination and encourage travellers to experience the abundance of natural, cultural and historical attractions. Afzal Parambil said, “Cape Town is one of our most visited and most consistently in-demand destinations on our African network. Through this agreement with Wesgro, a longstanding and essential regional partner, we will collaborate to unlock new growth opportunities and further stimulate inbound tourism from key destinations on our global network, by showcasing the beauty and breadth of experience that Cape Town and the Western Cape have to offer. This partnership also further supports and complements our plan to introduce a third daily frequency to Cape Town, served by our newest aircraft type, the Airbus A350. This agreement is another signal of our steadfast commitment to South Africa. We look forward to playing a meaningful role in Cape Town’s tourism success story for years to come.” Wrenelle Stander said: “As the tourism, trade, and investment promotion agency for the region, Wesgro continues to focus on stimulating demand, strengthening trade relationships, and unlocking new opportunities across priority markets. Partnerships with organisations such as Emirates offer system-scale opportunities to engage global stakeholders and accelerate this momentum. Through ongoing collaboration with airlines, tourism trade and industry partners, Wesgro is positioning Cape Town and the Western Cape as a leading destination for both business and leisure – offering world-class, premium experiences, with love from the locals.” Tourism is a key pillar in Cape Town and the Western Cape’s economy, creating tens of thousands of employment opportunities and serving millions of tourists who visit the country each year. The partnership between Emirates and Wesgro supports the province’s Growth for Jobs Strategy, which aims to unlock inclusive and sustainable tourism growth. In 2025 Cape Town International Airport recorded a record-breaking 11.1 million two-way passenger traffic, accounting for both domestic and international travellers. In recent years, Emirates has seen consistently high demand for travel into Cape Town, with high volumes of passengers from the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. Emirates first launched services to Cape Town in March 2008, the airline’s second city in South Africa, after Johannesburg which began operations in 1995. Over the years, Emirates has steadily scaled operations to foster strong and reliable connectivity between Cape Town and the wider world, via Dubai. In 2025, Emirates deployed its retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft to the city and, this summer, is planning to add third daily frequency, served by its newest aircraft type, the Airbus A350. The deployment enhances travel options between South Africa and Dubai, with Emirates’ full suite of products and services available for customers to enjoy – from the iconic A380 and the fully-retrofitted Boeing 777 to the next-gen A350. South Africa remains the only African nation to be served by all three aircraft in Emirates’ fleet. Beyond passenger connectivity, Emirates SkyCargo facilitates trade to and from South Africa, further stimulating the economy and connecting South African businesses with their global customers, quickly, reliably and efficiently. From Cape Town, Emirates SkyCargo moves significant volume of fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables, chilled meats, dairy, seafood and fresh cut flowers, transporting perishables from farm to shop with turnaround times of just 24 – 48 hours.

Etihad introduces the game-changing Airbus A321LR twice daily to Mumbai and New Delhi, complementing twice daily wide-body services to each city Luxurious lie-flat Business seats, all with direct-aisle access, now on all four daily flights connecting Abu Dhabi to the two Indian metropolises Guests can now enjoy Etihad’s renowned First experience on the A321LR from both cities National, India – Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has elevated its premium travel experience across all flights connecting Abu Dhabi to Mumbai and New Delhi, both operating four times daily. The airline will introduce its game-changing Airbus A321LR twice daily to both Mumbai and New Delhi, which will complement two daily wide-body services connecting Abu Dhabi to each city. Consequently, all guests flying from the two cities in Etihad’s premium cabins will enjoy the airline’s award-winning hospitality, with lie-flat, direct aisle access luxurious seats. Arik De, Etihad’s Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer, said: “This is a major upgrade on our flights connecting Abu Dhabi to Mumbai and New Delhi, which demonstrates our commitment to the strategically important Indian market where we serve 11 gateways.” “Guests travelling to and from both cities can now enjoy a true First experience throughout their entire journey when connecting from these cities to global destinations like London, Paris, Zurich, Geneva, New York and Toronto. Likewise, our Business guests will enjoy lie-flat seats and a premium experience with luxury amenities, fine dining and hospitality on all flights connecting Mumbai and New Delhi.” First Deluxe and Business Deluxe guests will also benefit from a luxurious ground experience, with door-to-door chauffeurs, with First Deluxe guests also benefitting from the Etihad Concierge, a personal travel assistant service and Meet and Assist at the airport, making travel as effortless as possible. The A321LR experience The Airbus A321LR, which already operates all flights to Kolkata, provides elevated comfort, refined design and high-speed Wi-Fi connectivity across all cabins. The A321LR introduces a true First experience with two private First Suites, with sliding doors for privacy and an elegant space to dine, work and relax. With space for a companion, the First seats transform effortlessly to fully flat beds complete with luxurious textiles. Seats feature a 20-inch 4K screen, wireless charging and Bluetooth connectivity, and guests will enjoy Etihad’s renowned First culinary experience. In the Business cabin, there are 14 lie-flat, window-facing seats, each with direct-aisle access for enhanced privacy. Luxury amenities and fine dining elevate the service. In the Economy cabin, 144 ergonomically designed Economy seats feature 4K touchscreens with Etihad’s extensive range of entertainment including a wide-range of movies from Bollywood to Hollywood.

FLY91 commences three new routes, namely, Solapur–Hyderabad, Hubballi–Hyderabad and Hubballi–Bengaluru.  Pure play regional airline FLY91 marked yet another significant milestone in its growth journey with its inaugural operations to Hubballi on Friday (April 17), where the airline was accorded a customary ceremonial water cannon salute on arrival. The airline flagged off three routes on the same day, further strengthening its footprint across key regional corridors. FLY91 commenced operations on three new routes, Solapur–Hyderabad, Hubballi–Hyderabad and Hubballi–Bengaluru, even as the airline stays committed to Solapur increasing the frequency of its Goa–Solapur service, responding to growing passenger demand for reliable and convenient travel options in the sector. Hubballi, a prominent trade, education and industrial hub in North Karnataka, plays a critical role in driving regional economic activity. Improved air connectivity to cities such as Hyderabad and Bengaluru is expected to further support business travel, educational access and industrial linkages, while offering passengers a safe, reliable and convenient alternative to surface transport. Commenting on the expansion, Manoj Chacko, Managing Director and CEO, FLY91, highlighted that the addition of Hubballi reinforces the airline’s focus on strengthening regional connectivity. “The addition of Hubballi to our network reflects our continued commitment to building reliable, trustworthy and convenient regional air connectivity through our vision of ‘Connecting Bharat’. Hubballi is our regional airline’s 12th domestic destination after just two years of starting operations. Connecting as many as two dozen tier 2 and tier 3 destinations in central and southern India within that relatively short timespan is testimony to FLY91’s pursuit of measured growth and commitment to connecting underserved destinations in the country.” Further, addressing seasonal demand, he added, “Due to the peak demand during the summer holidays, we are introducing additional flights on the Agatti–Kochi route twice a week from April 16 to May 20, 2026. This has been a successful route for us, and the increased frequency will help us better serve rising passenger demand.” Bookings for the new sectors are now open across all channels, including the airline’s website and travel partners. In an industry-first move in Indian domestic aviation, pure play regional airline FLY91 has also introduced a disruptive, pre-booked baggage fare structure that allows passengers to select from fixed baggage slabs at the time of booking. This initiative is part of FLY91’s broader bouquet of innovations focused on building a digitally lean, customer-first airline. With the new product offering Smartbag91, FLY91 continues to innovate, bringing greater transparency, predictability and flexibility to the passengers’ journey. With these additions, FLY91 has expanded its network to 12 destinations – Goa (Manohar International Airport, Mopa), Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Solapur, Jalgaon, Sindhudurg, Kochi, Agatti, Hubballi, Vijayawada and Rajahmundry.