Full service carrier Vistara will hike salaries of its pilots and cabin crew by up to 8 per cent from April amid deployment of higher capacities to meet rising travel demand, according to a source. The source also claimed that some 30 pilots have quit the airline in the last six months and are serving notice period after getting job offers mainly from the Gulf carriers. On Thursday, a senior Vistara official confirmed the salary hike for the pilots and cabin crew but denied that 30 pilots have left the airline.
Much of the death toll has been concentrated in and around Buffalo, located on the shores of Lake Erie in western New York state, where biting cold and heavy 'lake-effect' snow all through the Christmas weekend.
From now on, ministers will be able to take 'any number of companions or relatives' along by air for free, with the Parliament giving nod to a bill providing for such facilities to them. The Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Bill was on Tuesday approved by the Rajya Sabha without discussion. It was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 18, also without discussion. The bill entitles ministers to take along 'any number of companions or relatives'.
Novak Djokovic, one of the most high-profile unvaccinated athletes in the world, has applied for special permission to enter the United States to play at the Indian Wells and Miami Open.
Passengers would be provided accurate information about flights through Flight Information Display System at the airport terminal.
According to sector experts, UDF charges are likely to go up in the absence of ADF.
For the first time, the country's largest airline IndiGo will soon lease up to four wide-body Boeing 777 planes to cover the shortfall in its international operations, according to officials. The airline said the wet-leasing of "certain aircraft" will be done as an interim measure. IndiGo, which has so far only been operating narrow-body Airbus planes, ATRs and freighters, will now be having wide-body aircraft in its fleet.
'People will say a lot of things -- ignore the noise.'
The proposal is awaiting final policy sanction from the home ministry.
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh will be taking some senior citizens in the state on free pilgrimages by air under its existing scheme and the exercise will start from May 21, months before the assembly polls in the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state.
That decision opened a path for him to target a 10th title at the Grand Slam and tie Rafael Nadal's mark of 22 majors.
'Rather than visiting famous monuments, travellers now prefer "experiential activities" such as biking, trekking/hiking, camping, river rafting, yachting, parasailing and zip lining; safaris and jungle adventures; and wellness holidays to rejuvenate themselves.'
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has applied for special permission to enter the United States to participate in the ATP Masters 1000 events.
The US on Monday announced a new international travel system under which fully vaccinated individuals would be allowed to enter the country beginning in November.
Indian Airlines will introduce a new flight daily between Mumbai and Kolkata from December 16.
The high court said the investigation has shown the crime proceeds were used for air travel and purchase of high-end branded gifts for Bollywood celebrities.
There will be a lot to repair and rejuvenate -- if that opportunity even presents itself, warns Rathin Roy.
Domestic and international airfares are set to rise by 5 per cent beginning October as the travel agents prepare ground to recover 5 per cent commission on the base fare: Amount parted to them by airlines for booking tickets on their distribution systems from consumers.
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 hike in aviation turbine fuel prices is likely to lead to a 10-14 per cent increase in fares on metro routes and long-haul flights. The oil companies hiked ATF prices by 14 per cent as a result of global rise in crude oil prices over the last few months. Now, most airlines, including Jet Airways and SpiceJet, are looking at imposing a differential surcharge - a smaller increase on shorter routes than longer routes.
Domestic air passenger traffic plunged around 43 per cent month-on-month at 64 lakh in January 2022 as the third wave of the pandemic and the resultant restrictions by state governments kept flyers away from air travel, Icra said on Tuesday. The domestic passenger volume in December 2021 was recorded at 112 lakh. The rating agency said it is expecting the recovery process to remain subdued during March quarter and that the jet fuel prices continue to be a drag on the sector. The passenger traffic declined 17 per cent last month over 77 lakh passengers transported by domestic airlines on local routes in January 2021, Icra said.
'While we do some metro-to-metro flying, we have got a lot of metro-to-non-metro cities like Bengaluru-Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru-Bhubaneswar, Bengaluru-Guwahati and Bengaluru-Kochi.'
The extreme circumstances in western New York were caused by numbing cold, howling winds, and heavy 'lake-effect' snow, which was picked up by freezing air flowing over warmer lake waters.
With the launch of Tata AirAsia and Tata-SIA, the added capacity will bring down fares considerably, say observers.
Mayank Goyal, founder and CEO, moneyHOP, will answer queries related to how to best manage your money while travelling internationally.
The carriers have been operating 85 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic services since September 18, according to the ministry's order.
Goa's second airport began operations last week and if all goes according to plans, the state will be the base for a new regional airline, Fly91. Promoted by the ex-executive vice-president of now grounded Kingfisher Airlines, Manoj Chacko, and Fairfax India's former head, Harsha Raghavan, the airline will offer no-frills buy on board product and serve unconnected routes with two ATR 72 aircraft. An application for the initial no-objection clearance was filed with the civil aviation ministry last week.
The 2010-11 Finance Bill, tabled in Parliament, proposed to expand the scope of air transport services 'to include domestic journeys and international journeys in any class' for a 10 per cent service tax.
The SET's findings have now been taken on record by the Central Bureau of Investigation which recently raided the 2008-batch Indian Revenue Service officer after it filed an FIR against him for corruption and alleged violation of rules in the raids that took place at the Cordelia cruise berthed at the Mumbai coast on October 2, 2021.
From croissants to Galouti kebabs and Medu vada, Indian carriers, both low-cost and full-service, are revising their in-flight menus to offer passengers a differentiated fare as competition is heating up amid the boom in air travel with the waning of Covid-19. On Monday, Air India, which was taken over by the Tata Group on January 27, unveiled its new domestic in-flight menu comprising gourmet meals, new appetizers, desserts, and local dishes. Air India's economy class passengers would now be served dishes such as Mushroom cheese omelette, Dry jeera aloo wedges, and Garlic tossed spinach and corn for breakfast, and Vegetable biryani, Malabar chicken curry, and mixed vegetable poriyal for lunch.
The three high-flying objects which were shot down over the American and Canadian airspace this month were not related to the Chinese balloon programme, but most likely tied to private companies, recreation, or research institutions, United States President Joe Biden said Thursday.
Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-promoted Akasa Air's first aircraft Boeing 737 MAX arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday, bringing it closer to securing the mandatory Air Operator Permit to start operations. The airline had received the ceremonial keys for the aircraft in Seattle, the US, on June 15, Akasa Air said in a statement. This is the first delivery out of the 72 Boeing 737 Max planes that Akasa Air placed an order with Boeing last November.
Already plagued by internal dissensions, Team Anna plunged into yet another controversy on Thursday with allegations against Kiran Bedi that she charged her hosts full fare on air tickets while availing discounts but the activist claimed there was 'no personal' gain.
Limits imposed on domestic airfares will be removed from August 31, after a span of approximately 27 months, the Union aviation ministry said on Wednesday. "The decision to remove air fare caps has been taken after careful analysis of daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel (ATF). "Stabilisation has set in and we are certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future," Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Twitter.
All existing visas granted to foreigners -- except those belonging to diplomatic, official, United Nations international organisations, employment and project categories -- shall remain suspended till prohibition on international air travel of passengers from and to India is lifted by the government, the order said.
Domestic air passenger traffic remained 44 per cent lower in the April-December 2021 against the corresponding period of FY20, but saw a jump of 52 per cent year-on-year to 111 lakh in December 2021, according to rating agency ICRA. The total domestic passenger traffic had stood at 73 lakh in December 2020, according to a report by the rating agency. It also said that the emergence of new coronavirus variant and reactionary restrictions impacting air travel remain near term-challenges for the airline industry.
Petrol and diesel sales in India jumped in September as economic activity picked up with the nearing festival season and the ending of the monsoon raised the demand, preliminary industry data showed. Petrol sales soared 13.2 per cent to 2.65 million tonnes in September when compared to 2.34 million tonnes of consumption in the same month last year. Sales were 20.7 per cent higher than Covid-marred September 2020 and 23.3 per cent more than pre-pandemic September 2019.
With the Maharashtra government on Thursday amending its air travel rules in view of global concerns over the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation cancelled its previous guidelines issued to the city airport authorities and asked them to follow the revised ones as issued by the state.
Delhi Capitals still reported COVID-19 cases in their camp but the tournament chugged along.
The guidelines come in the wake of back-to-back two urination incidents on Air India flights last year.