Cox and Kings in association with SPACE organises historical passenger eclipse flight

June 29, 2009 - PRLog -- Cox and Kings India Ltd, one of the oldest travel companies in India and Space technology and education (p) Ltd under the technical guidance of Eclipse Chasers Athenaeum (ECa), are organising a historic passenger eclipse flight on July 22nd 2009, to witness the greatest eclipse of the 21st century.

It is for the first time in India that a plane has been chartered to view the total Eclipse from above the clouds. This historic flight being undertaken during the International year of astronomy- 2009 brings a new era of science popularisation and astro-tourism to India.  A JetLite 737-700 has been especially chartered for this purpose. Speaking on this initiative, Arup Sen, executive director, Cox and Kings India Ltd said, “This is the first time we have attempted this journey and we believe that with the support of ECa, our partners in this venture, we will embark on a historic flight.”

The eclipse flight will last for three hours and it will take off from New Delhi at 4.30 am, fly towards and hold over Gaya till the eclipse time. At a precise time the totality run towards north-north-west will be initiated. The aircraft will be intercepting the middle of the eclipse shadow at 0626 IST at a height of 41,000 feet.

The aircraft window seats have been divided into two categories. The `Sun Side’ seats are the 21 window seats on the right side of the air craft. The `Earth Side’ seats are the 21 window seats on the left side of the aircraft. The officials and astronomers from SPACE have done the technical planning of the flight. There will be customised games, activities and announcements which have been specially planned on board for the benefit of Eclipse chasers.

The cost per person for the entire flight:
Sun Side Seats : Rs 79,000
Middle Seats : Rs 67,000
Aisle Seats : Rs 59,000
Earth Side Seats : Rs 29,000

Eclipse chasers sitting along the Sun Side seats of the aircraft will be able to photograph the eclipse; while the chasers sitting along the Earth Side seats will be able to photograph the Lunar Shadow moving over the Earth cloud top.

Details of the Solar Eclipse: The maximum duration of this eclipse is six minutes 38 seconds at a location in the Pacific Ocean. The eclipse is starting at sunrise near Surat in Gujarat. The shadow of the moon is so large at this eclipse that even at sunrise the duration of totality is more than three minutes. The shadow very quickly moves across the breadth of India towards Arunachal Pradesh. The shadow spans a third of the entire path in India, 900 kms out of 2,500 kms across entire India.

For more details, call now on 1800 22 1235/1800 20 9040/ 098675 65599 or email us on solareclipse@coxandkings.com or visit www.coxandkings.com

About Cox and Kings
Cox and Kings (India) Ltd. is one of the oldest and most reputed travel organisations in India, offering a one-stop shop for the travel needs of all segments of travellers. The brand of Cox and Kings has evolved over a period of 250 years.

It specializes in Destination Management, Excursions and Leisure Travel, MICE, NRI Holidays, Trade Fairs, Car/Coach/Railway Bookings, Foreign Exchange, Business Travel, Private Air charter, Hotel Bookings, Visas/Passport/Medical insurance assistance. We are an Authorised Forex Dealer - category II.

Cox and Kings has won numerous awards and recognition. It has been voted “Number One Brand in India” based on a survey conducted by research agency, TNS and co-funded by Media magazine, ranking it 152 amongst the top 1,000 brands in the Asia Pacific region - Australia, China, India, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Recently, it has won “Best Domestic Tour Operator” and “Best Visual Advertising Campaign” awarded by Galileo Express Travel World Awards (2008). Mr. Peter Kerkar, Global CEO, Cox and Kings has been honoured with the WTM Global Award 2008 for his remarkable contribution to the travel and tourism industry by the World Travel Market (WTM). Cox and Kings has been voted amongst the Top 10 Tour Operators by Conde Nast Traveller Awards 2008. It won the Best Self Drive Brochure by Tourism New Zealand Asia Awards (2008).

Cox and Kings’ registered office is situated in Mumbai, India with 13 branches across India, 25 fully operational franchisees across the country and will open 25 more franchisees stores by July 2009. The company has a network of 200 GSAs and PSAs and approximately 3,500 agents throughout the country.

Cox and Kings has subsidiaries in USA, UK, Japan, Dubai, Singapore and Australia and international branch offices in Russia and New York. It has representative offices in Spain, South Africa, Italy, France, Sweden, Germany and South America.

About Space Group
SPACE Group comprises of companies doing pioneer work in the field of astronomy and space science. It has ventured into astronomy and space sciences products, software and educational material. It is the first company to develop and implement astronomy and space science modules and activities in the schools all over India. SPACE caters to various market segments including corporate, educational institutes, universities and individuals.

SPACE has developed astronomy centers in all over India which host the various activities of the organization. Such centers have been developed in schools, tourism corporation properties of states of Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Karnataka.

ECA

ECA is a eclipse wing of SPACE its team consists of some of the most experienced eclipse chasers and have travelled worldwide chasing Eclipses (24th October, 1995, India; 11th August, 1999, India & France, 29th March, 2006, Turkey; 1st August, 2008, Russia and the coming eclipse of 2009 in India and China) . We have an active group, called the Eclipse Chasers Athenaeum, headed by Mr. Ajay Talwar (Head, Observation and Instrumentation, S.P.A.C.E.). Some of the eminent eclipse personalities from institutes like the PRL, IISc, IIA, Udaipur Solar Observatory, ARIES and foreign experts like William Sheridan, Xavier Jubier form our Scientific Advisory Committee.



For further details contact:

Thomas C Thottathil, Head - Corporate Communications
thomasct@coxandkings.com

Praneeta D’Souza, Manager - Corporate Communications
praneeta.dsouza@coxandkings.com

Ajay Talwar, President – ECA (Eclipse wing of SPACE)
ajaytalwar@space-india.org

Deepak Chopra, AGM (M&S) – STEPL
dc@space-india.org

Cox and Kings India Limited
Turner Morrison Building, 16, Bank Street, Fort, Mumbai 400001; Tel.: (022) 22709100;
Fax: (022) 22709161; Website: www.coxandkings.com