About 1.2 crore passengers flew in November compared to 1.1 crore in October. While the industry opinion is divided over the sustainability of unprofitable growth, which is primarily led by low fare, some described it as the resilience of air travel against the economic slump.
Air India pilot unions IPG and ICPA on Monday sought Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's intervention on the wage cut issue and also requested for an "urgent" meeting with him on several other issues. "In our meetings in September, you had given us an assurance to look into our grievances positively. "While other airlines are rolling back the austerity pay cuts for their pilots, the wage cut for Air India pilots further increased from October.
The industry is hoping the Tatas deepen their dive and offer two stable airlines -- a Vistara merged into Air India servicing the international routes, and an AirAsia India merged with Air India Express that competes with the low fare airlines in India and offers destinations within five hours, says Anjuli Bhargava.
Vistara has filed for slots at the Delhi airport and is also training pilots as it prepares for operations. The Delhi-London flight is being planned from mid-August, while services to Paris and Franfkurt would be launched later.
Online travel portals and airlines say the demand from companies is being led by essential services sectors like pharmaceutical, oil and gas, and power.
Banks do extensive investigation before declaring an account fraud; they owe it to us as they deal with our money. Why would they try to fix an innocent borrower? asks Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Airlines flew 2.1 mn passengers in July, against 1.9 mn in June.
Indian and global airlines such as SpiceJet, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic among others too are marketing Covid-19 insurance products to attract passengers.
Passenger fares and freight rates were left untouched
The world of aviation is so fascinating that it has developed a sense of heritage. There are museums dedicated to their history and the famous people who have made a name for themselves in aviation history. Further, this industry continues to play up its part as millions around the world make their way through the terminals of both International and domestic airports on a daily basis.
There are no Jet flights to and from Kolkata, Patna, Guwahati and other airports in the region. It also cancelled flights to London, Amsterdam and Paris from Mumbai, New Delhi and Bengaluru scheduled for April 12.
Airlines say that they are keeping their fingers crossed for December - another peak period - when, based on current bookings, the air fares for those who buy early are more or less in line with last year.
In an hour-long chat on rediff.com, Neelu Singh, chief operations officer, Ezeego1.com, explains how the travel industry will be affected.
However, while the capacity void in the domestic market has been filled, a vacuum still remains in international connectivity, especially on the India-Europe and onwards route, which was well connected by Jet Airways via the Boeing 777, Airbus A330 aircraft and its hubs in Paris and Amsterdam.
'Earlier, when they were selling tickets at Rs 1,000, a family of five could travel by flight.' 'When it comes to realistic pricing and the price becomes Rs 5,000, a family of five will have shell out Rs 25,000.' 'How many will be able to afford that?' 'You will see people switching back to train travel which is more realistic.'
People in the know said the move would impact around 110 engines, virtually putting a spanner on the expansion plans of IndiGo - counted among the fastest growing airlines in the world.
Several companies and technology heavyweights including Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce are working to create a digital vaccination passport or health passport app in the hope that governments and airlines will require travellers to upload details of their Covid-19 tests and immunisation. The vaccine passport will effectively create digital credentials that could be the key to attending crowded events or even visiting countries.
Maran challenged reports that he and another company official have been summoned as accused by a Delhi court in two tax evasion cases
'It is very clear that Air India cannot be managed by the government.' 'Air India should be run as a separate profit entity.'
Tata Neu, the super app from the Tata group, has been downloaded by over 7 million users within seven weeks of its launch. And, the company wants to ramp this up to 150 million users in the next two years, said senior executives of Tata Digital in an internal magazine of the Tata group. According to data from App Annie, a mobile app tracking platform, the Tata Neu app has been downloaded by over 11 million users.
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Former Air India Executive Director Jitender Bhargava filed the appeal challenging the decision of the Competition Commission of India to clear the Jet-Etihad deal without carrying out a detailed assessment.
After 18 months of closure, what really could be salvaged? And the answer sadly is, precious little, Patience, perseverance and plenty of moolah is the way forward even assuming intent is in place, says Anjuli Bhargava.
Railway employees including station masters, engine drivers, ticket checkers, etc too have been selected for vaccination and their list is being compiled for the exercise.
The country needs 100 million jobs in the formal sector in the next decade to take advantage of its demographic dividend. Also, it should get into the global supply chain to generate many of those by negotiating trade deals effectively, industry players and experts have said. "We need something like 100 million jobs in the next 10 years, which means that the non-agriculture sector has to generate 14 per cent job growth every year," said Aditya Ghosh, co-founder of Akasa Airlines, at the Global Economic Policy Summit organised by the CII.
While we navigate the challenges posed by the current industry environment, our focus and attention remains on safety and operational reliability, said chief executive Vinay Dube.
'Working from home is a privilege for many, while showing up every day to serve others is a measure of devoted service to fellow humans required of many jobs in service to each other that create a civil society,' a CEO responds to Sree Sreenivasan's Work Remotely Forever Pledge.
Former Air India Executive Director Jitendra Bhargava had filed the appeal questioning the decision of CCI to approve the Jet-Etihad deal without carrying out a detailed assessment.
IndiGo's ascent is not without its risks, however.
Industries with the highest number of top-rated companies at risk were hospitality/travel, media and entertainment, retail, financial services and consumer goods/manufacturing
To maintain smooth flight operations and avert a staff crisis, India's airlines will require an additional 2,000 pilots. Unfortunately, the number of additional commanders being recruited is slowing down.
While airlines are seeing improved demand and industry-wide seat occupancy has increased to over 60%, it is road trips which are generating higher traction. Booking trends show that customers are also choosing homestays or four- star and five-star accommodations, as hygiene and safety is a priority now.
The airline informed the ministry that it would operate 75 planes by April-end.
The collapse of Jet Airways has everything to do with the falling number of wide-bodied aircraft.
For debt-laden Jet Airways, bitter foe Tata may turn into timely saviour.
Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy on Thursday sought suspension of the new bilateral air services agreement between India and Abu Dhabi, saying prima facie it appeared to be linked with Jet-Etihad deal.
Airlines such as IndiGo, Air India, Vistara and AirAsia India have decided to go with the new attire to ensure safety of cabin crew members as they are in close proximity to passengers during flights
For the AI bid, Interups has joined hands with a few employees of the airline, and plans to raise funds by splitting some of its infrastructure-related assets into an aviation InvIT, which will have underlying assets such as air routes, ground handling, repairs, and training etc.
Jet Airways' cabin crew and ground staff have challenged the Jalan Kalrock consortium's resolution plan, which was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June, flagging concerns about pending salaries and retirement benefits. In their petition filed before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), the Jet Airways Cabin Crew Association and Bhartiya Kamgar Sena have submitted that dues of all workmen of the airline were not included as part of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) cost. In June, NCLT approved Jalan Kalrock Consortium's resolution plan for Jet Airways, which remains grounded for more than two years now.
