Aneesh Phadnis &Amp; Sharmistha Mukherjee

Stories by Aneesh Phadnis &Amp; Sharmistha Mukherjee

Privatised Air India loses priority in international traffic rights

Privatised Air India loses priority in international traffic rights

Rediff.com   25 Apr 2022

Air India will no longer enjoy a priority in allocation of international traffic rights. This follows its takeover by Tata Sons in January. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has dropped a clause which gave Air India an advantage over other private airlines in the amended rules issued on April 19.

Tatas bring in talent from group companies to revive Air India

Tatas bring in talent from group companies to revive Air India

Rediff.com   16 Apr 2022

Due to the group's presence across multiple businesses, it is in a unique position in the aviation industry to bring the best of talents.

'If demand happens, fares will correct themselves'

'If demand happens, fares will correct themselves'

Rediff.com   6 Apr 2022

'I don't think there will be a direct reaction to the fuel price hike on air ticket prices.'

Indians defer travel plans as Sri Lanka imposes curfew

Indians defer travel plans as Sri Lanka imposes curfew

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2022

For Indians, Sri Lanka is one of the favourite venues for destination weddings. But last month, when a family from Delhi chartered a Vistara Airbus A320 to Colombo, it packed much more than the standard paraphernalia of clothes, gifts and jewellery. The family ferried meals from Delhi for all the guests and to cover their entire stay in Colombo due to the food and fuel shortages in the island nation.

Kalrock seeks 2 months more to get Jet's operations certificate

Kalrock seeks 2 months more to get Jet's operations certificate

Rediff.com   18 Mar 2022

Sources said the process has taken time because of a delay in leasing of aircraft. As per the original plan the aircraft were to be leased through GIFT City, Gujarat, but this is proving costlier than doing it offshore.

Ukraine Returned Students Seek Secure Future

Ukraine Returned Students Seek Secure Future

Rediff.com   14 Mar 2022

National Medical Commission regulations prohibit Indian medical students overseas to transfer programmes from one university to another mid-way.

Airlines line up new flights as govt allows regular international ops

Airlines line up new flights as govt allows regular international ops

Rediff.com   10 Mar 2022

Indian customers will have wider travel options as airlines introduce new flights from the end of March. While Malaysian Airlines and Turkish Airlines are resuming passenger flights to India after a gap of two years, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa Group will scale up their existing service in a graded manner in the summer schedule. Emirates, the largest foreign airline operating in India, too, is looking to restore its pre-Covid-19 schedule of 172 flights per week.

How the Tatas finally brought Maharaja home

How the Tatas finally brought Maharaja home

Rediff.com   7 Feb 2022

The Tatas have the know-how to quickly close deals which can otherwise get caught in legal wrangle. In 2018, on the day the National Company Law Tribunal declared Tata Steel as the winner of the bid for bankrupt Bhushan Steel, Bhushan promoter Neeraj Singhal was planning to file for a stay order. He did get the case listed for the following day, but the judge did not admit it, deferring it until the following week. The Tatas used the narrow window of 48 hours to close the deal and take control of the company.

Will the new management manage to revive Jet Airways ahead of March deadline?

Will the new management manage to revive Jet Airways ahead of March deadline?

Rediff.com   4 Feb 2022

The consortium of UAE-based businessman Murari Lal Jalan and UK-based private equity fund Kalrock Capital is rushing to restart Jet Airways' operations, even though differences have emerged over who will fund expenses before operations commence, sources said. The airline applied to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for recertification of its air operator certificate in the last week of January. The regulator is likely to inspect the airline's preparedness to operate a flight in the middle of this month, after which it will be asked to operate a proving flight to demonstrate its ability to conduct flights safely and in accordance with rules.

Air India set to enhance in-flight service in first and business class

Air India set to enhance in-flight service in first and business class

Rediff.com   28 Jan 2022

Air India is set to enhance its in-flight service with a change in ownership from Thursday. This will include more variety in on-board meals, improved in-flight service procedures, and reintroduction of amenities. Non-vegetarian meals are being introduced in the economy class of domestic flights after a gap of nearly four years. Air India is set to enhance its in-flight service with a change in ownership from Thursday. This will include more variety in on-board meals, improved in-flight service procedures, and reintroduction of amenities.

Jhunjhunwala the biggest draw as investors line up to board Akasa

Jhunjhunwala the biggest draw as investors line up to board Akasa

Rediff.com   25 Jan 2022

Veterans in the travel industry, a well-known corporate lawyer, and a marquee US-based hedge fund have backed the upcoming low-cost airline Akasa Air. Founded by former Jet Airways chief executive officer (CEO) Vinay Dube, the venture counts ace stock trader and investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala as its biggest financial backer with an investment of around Rs 300 crore. A person with knowledge of the development said most of the people were well known to Jhunjhunwala and Dube, who approached them during the conception stage.

'Everybody wants to travel on an airline where they feel respected'

'Everybody wants to travel on an airline where they feel respected'

Rediff.com   21 Jan 2022

'Our focus is not going to be metro to metro routes.' 'We will begin by focusing on metro to non-metro (routes).' 'Metro to tier-2 cities or tier-3 cities is where there is a lot of space for affordable, efficient carriers.'

After brisk Dec, hotels face biz loss as Omicron drives cancellations

After brisk Dec, hotels face biz loss as Omicron drives cancellations

Rediff.com   13 Jan 2022

In a bad start to the new year, hotels are counting their losses again. Weddings and corporate events for this month have either been called off or postponed. The blow has throttled the nascent recovery which had kicked in around August. It is primarily hurting the banquet-driven hotel chains, some of which are seeing cancellations running into lakhs for a single day.

Problems continue to plague Jet Airways ahead of planned 2022 takeoff

Problems continue to plague Jet Airways ahead of planned 2022 takeoff

Rediff.com   13 Jan 2022

Jet Airways is seeing a churn in its senior management ahead of its planned take-off this year. Sudhir Gaur, accountable manager and acting chief executive officer, is the latest to quit the company. Finance head M Shivakumar and head of management information system (MIS) Farazad Patrawalla moved out a few weeks earlier. Gaur had been part of the initial team selected by the Kalrock-Jalan consortium, which secured approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) last June to revive the airline.

Airlines forced to cancel flights as omicron hits demand and frontline crew

Airlines forced to cancel flights as omicron hits demand and frontline crew

Rediff.com   10 Jan 2022

India's largest carrier IndiGo will cut 20 per cent of its flights due to lower demand as a rapidly spreading coronavirus upends the recovery of air travel. The airline was operating around 1,200 flights as on Saturday. Other airlines are being forced to cancel flights as states tighten restrictions to combat the spread of the virus, and people are dropping last-minute travel plans. Airlines carried 2,518 passengers on 260,251 flights on Saturday, compared to 2,794 passengers on 358,856 flights the day before.

Canada court orders seizure of Air India, AAI assets over dues

Canada court orders seizure of Air India, AAI assets over dues

Rediff.com   4 Jan 2022

A court in Canada has ordered the seizure of amounts collected by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on behalf of Air India and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Separate orders were passed on November 24 and December 21 on pleas by shareholders of Devas Multimedia Private Limited who have filed multiple petitions to enforce arbitration awards against the Indian government. According to a Devas spokesperson, more than $30 million has been seized to date under the IATA action.

Indians Want Offbeat Travel Choices

Indians Want Offbeat Travel Choices

Rediff.com   1 Jan 2022

On the itinerary: Luxury camping, tribal homestays, heritage cities.

Commercial 5G services will be rolled out in 13 cities in 2022: DoT

Commercial 5G services will be rolled out in 13 cities in 2022: DoT

Rediff.com   28 Dec 2021

Commercial 5G services will be rolled out in 13 cities in India, including the metropolises, in 2022, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said in a statement on Monday. These cities are Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Jamnagar. "These metros and big cities would be the first places for the launch of 5G services in the country next year," the DoT said.

Omicron Cancels Christmas, New Year Parties

Omicron Cancels Christmas, New Year Parties

Rediff.com   22 Dec 2021

'We are not organising any large celebrations on New Year's Eve to avoid last-minute changes in guidelines.'

Expect flight delays as winter schedule kicks in

Expect flight delays as winter schedule kicks in

Rediff.com   11 Dec 2021

The issue of fog and low visibility primarily impacts airports in northern India and Bengaluru.