MAM
Air Deccan associates with Indiatimes Dot Com for ticket sales
| BANGALORE: India‘s first low cost airline Air Deccan has made available its tickets on Indiatimes.com, a news and entertainment, auction portal of Times Internet Limited ((TIL)) owned by media giants Bennett Coleman & Co. This is a first time that Air Deccan is selling their tickets through another web site. |
| The entire inventory of tickets (around 10,000 daily) available on the Air Deccan website would be available to TIL subscribers. Times Internet MD and CEO Mahendra Swarup revealed that on off-peak days, TIL sold around 1000 air tickets daily as against 1500 on peak days, 60-70 per cent of which are by foreigners and Indians settled abroad, especially in the Middle East. TIL claim to be the only portal in India to auction airline tickets using proprietary auctioning technology. |
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| Air Deccan‘s Gopinath is looking at the large TIL subscription base, including those settled abroad, and is quite keen to grab a piece of the foreign sector through this initiative, Currently Air Deccan retails about 6-7 per cent of their tickets outside India through agents, without any advertising spends in foreign countries at all. Swarup while speaking to Indiantelevision.com on the sidelines of a press conference also revealed that TIL spends around Rs.200 million annually towards advertising, mainly web based, of which around Rs.40 million is spent towards the travel section advertising. |
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This initiative follows Air Deccan‘s recent announcement of their tie-up with HPCL in Kolkatta for selling Air Tickets to Club HP customers of HPCL petrol stations. |
Brands
Samsung India elevates Aditya Babbar to lead mobile business
Exec takes charge of MX sales and marketing after Raju Pullan’s exit
NEW DELHI: Samsung India has elevated Aditya Babbar to lead its mobile phone business, following the exit of Raju Antony Pullan.
Babbar, who previously served as vice president within the mobile division, has been appointed head of sales and marketing for the MX (mobile experience) business, effective May 1. In his new role, he will oversee the company’s sales and marketing operations for smartphones and related categories in India, reporting to the executive vice president of the MX business.
A long-time Samsung executive, Babbar brings over a decade of experience within the organisation, having held multiple leadership roles across product, marketing and category management. Most recently, he led product marketing and e-commerce for the mobile division, following earlier stints as head of product and marketing and senior director roles.
His career within Samsung Electronics and its India operations has also included responsibilities for flagship devices, tablets and wearables, giving him a broad view of the company’s premium and mass-market portfolio.
Babbar succeeds Pullan, who stepped down from the role, marking a leadership transition at a time when India remains a key battleground for global smartphone makers.
The appointment signals continuity within Samsung’s leadership bench, with an internal candidate stepping up to steer one of its most critical business units in a highly competitive market.
