Global aviation industry would improve its profit from $6.7 billion to an estimated $8.4 billion thanks to the two countries.
Newly-launched carrier Akasa Air is aiming for over 250 flights per week operating over nine domestic routes by the second week of October, the airline said on Friday as it announced entry in the highly-competitive Delhi market. The airline, founded by late stock market investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala along with aviation industry veteran Vinay Dube, launched its operations on August 7 with a flight to Ahmedabad from the financial capital. Since then, it has expanded the route network to Chennai, Kochi, Bengaluru.
The oral proposal to reduce the number of years of domestic flying from five to three years for airlines to qualify for international operations has been given a quiet burial.
There was no damage to the plane and no one was injured, aviation industry sources said.
Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh said the government is trying to woo industries to the eight Northeastern states so that enough jobs are created for the youths of the region.
All airlines put together flew 67,61,000 passengers in January-February this year compared to 75.56 lakh last year, the official traffic data released on Friday showed. As per the world airports report prepared by Airports Council International, the growth rate of global air traffic in January fell by six per cent year-on-year while that of air freight declined by 'a frightening 27 per cent'.
'I am seven months into the job, but it feels like seven years.'
As the global aviation sector slowly recuperates from the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attack and the SARS menace, competition between traditional rivals Airbus and Boeing is hotting up. Take the Rediff Business
SpiceJet has held "preliminary discussions" with a Gulf airline for potential investment in the Indian budget carrier, a news report has said.
Sukanya Verma looks at how the 33 year old has fared in her decade-long career.
As air travel gathered steam in financial year 2021-22 (FY22) after being restricted the previous year, fewer passengers were affected by flight cancellations. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) figures show that there were 40 per cent fewer flyers in FY22 than in FY20, but 60 per cent fewer passengers were impacted by cancellations, and 80 per cent fewer passengers were denied boarding. FY20 was the last financial year when India's booming aviation industry carried out full-scale operations before being completely grounded for a couple of months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A joint forum of Air India unions on Friday sought the labour department's 'urgent' intervention and initiation of conciliation proceedings in the matter of their passage policy and service conditions. On December 24, the forum comprising IPG, ACEU, AIEU and AICCA, in its demand notice to Air India managing director and chief executive officer Campbell Wilson, had protested against the changes in their service conditions. Tata Group took control of the then government-led Air India in January this year.
The revised structure will help to keep airfares down, when airlines already face a triple challenge of rising crude oil prices, rupee depreciation and constrained airport capacity.
Hit by soaring fuel prices, the aviation industry is mulling introduction of a "differential fuel surcharge" based on VAT rates in each state to partially offset losses suffered by the air carriers. "Airlines would not be able to survive if the cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) is so high and competition brings down the fares," V Thulasidas, chairman and managing director, Air India said.
Jet Airways has convened a board meeting on Friday, May 23, which is expected to consider the future of executive director Saroj K Datta, who, sources said, may exit the airline after May 31. Chairman Naresh Goyal, who was in Mumbai last week, reportedly discussed the issue with Datta, a veteran of over 46 years in the airline industry.
United said it would rebook flights for affected passengers without charge
In an unprecedented action, Indian aviation regulator DGCA has directed low-cost airline Spicejet to operate only 50 per cent of its flights for eight weeks. This follows an unusually high number of incidents involving the airline, raising safety concerns. The curtailment of capacity is unlikely to have any commercial impact on the airline owned by entrepreneur Ajay Singh. SpiceJet already operates less than 50 per cent of the flights it had filed for the summer schedule.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has started a preliminary enquiry looking into the Rs 950 crore (Rs 9.5 billion) alleged bad loan given by IDBI Bank to Kingfisher Airlines ignoring the company's negative credit ratings and net worth.
The market buzz is that the GoAir promoters are hoping for a valuation that is at least a little more than double its closest rival SpiceJet.
Falling demand compels domestic carriers to slash capacity by 10 per cent.
Strong passenger growth will help domestic airlines improve their top line and margins.
At present, the booming airline industry is facing a shortage of approximately 1,000 qualified pilots, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Tuesday. Patel said the government has taken various steps, including increasing the retirement age of pilots to 65 years and setting up of a training institute in Maharashtra, to reduce the demand-supply gap.
Airlines say ATF fuel prices in India are 40 per cent higher than in countries such as Singapore. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra
The outer structure of Navi Mumbai International Airport's first terminal building is almost ready. Exactly behind the under-construction building, stands a partially demolished hill. Executives from the airport company are now hopeful the hill will be flattened by mid-January, paving the way for the first commercial take-off by December next year.
An Istanbul-bound Turkish Airlines flight from Bangkok with 157 passengers and crew on board landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi under emergency conditions following a bomb scare but was cleared for take-off after the security agencies did not find any explosive.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu termed it the 'largest cooperation project in our history', one that would 'change the face of the Middle East, Israel, and impact the entire world'.
Passengers carried by all airlines in January stood at 41.41 lakhs (4.14 million), compared to 33.76 lakh (3.37 million) in 2009, registering a growth of 22.7 per cent, official air traffic figures released on Friday, said.
Forecasting a 'major shift' in performance of carriers in India and China, IATA chief Giovanni Bisignani said the airline industry in these two 'robust emerging markets' would face 'a much more substantial slowdown' in 2009 and asked the the two governments to take corrective steps to help the ailing business.
External commercial borrowings to the extent of USD 1 billion to be allowed for aviation sector for next year.
With the airline industry in recession, those training to be pilots may not find a job after spending lakhs on their airborne dreams. Is there any hope?
Some aircraft technicians at IndiGo are on sick leave since Friday demanding a revision in salaries. The protest comes days after the airline partially restored salaries of its pilots and cabin crew and made changes to its human resource (HR) policies. Some technicians in Hyderabad reported sick on Friday night while those from other bases skipped work on Sunday demanding a revision in salary, an industry source said.
As many as 128 pilots have left Air India, Indian Airlines and Alliance Airways between 2004 and 2006, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
The Federation of Indian Airlines, the group formed by various carriers, has appointed Amitabh Khosla from CII as Executive Director to head its secretariat and plans to have a Director General later.
World's fastest growing airlines passenger markets in India, China and the Middle East has come as a bonanza for British pilots and flight engineers as they are much in demand and pushed up their salaries by about a fifth, new research indicated on M
