'The background for the Saudi-Pakistan agreement is the fact that the regional security order has collapsed due to the Israeli attack on Doha.' 'The Americans have largely abandoned their security guarantee for West Asia and the region has no choice but to look at alternatives.'
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.
Discontent has been brewing among a section of the cabin crew at the low-cost carrier for some time now, especially after the start of the process of merger of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself.
'I wasn't just racing, I was paving the way for others.'
A major escalation unfolded in West Asia on Monday after Iran reportedly launched multiple missiles targeting United States military installations in Qatar and Iraq, including Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar -- the largest US military installation in the region, according to a CNN report.
With better utilisation of slots, foreign flying rights, and greater international connections, the operator of India's largest airport feels a privatised Air India will bring commercial benefit to Delhi airport and help it revive quicker from the pandemic shock. Delhi is the largest hub for Air India, with most of its long-haul flights to the US and Europe being operated from here. The airport plans to give its most modern terminal 3 (T3) exclusively to the Tata Group.
'After tobacco, the next most common cause for oral cancer is alcohol.'
Indian carriers transported 12.8 million domestic passengers in March 2023, a year-on-year growth of 21.41 per cent. India's largest carrier IndiGo shored up its domestic market share from 53.8 per cent in Q4 of FY22 to 55.7 per cent in Q4 of FY23, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data released on Monday.
The country's largest airline IndiGo on Wednesday reported a 20 per cent decline in profit after tax at Rs 2,176.3 crore for the June quarter as airspace curbs and overall challenging operating environment crimped its bottom line even as the carrier flew 12 per cent more passengers during the period.
'New Delhi is not naive about its foreign policy choices.'
It offers a real opportunity for the flag carrier to compete on the world stage, backed by a leading conglomerate with deep pockets like the Tatas, observes Indrajit Gupta.
Amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, US President Donald Trump on Monday urged civilians to 'immediately evacuate Tehran', shortly after which the White House announced he would be departing the G7 summit early to 'attend to many important matters'.
'The devastating Indian Air Force strikes on the night of May 9-10 exposed Pakistan's vulnerabilities.' 'If these had continued, it would have further degraded Pakistan's ability to continue with air operations.'
Embraer sees a lot of opportunities in India in the commercial and business jets as well as military aircraft and eVTOL segments, its CEO Francisco Gomes Neto has said as the Brazilian seeks to strengthen its foot print in the fast growing Indian market. Besides, the company is in talks with IndiGo and Air India to explore the possibility of selling its E-2 aircraft, which can have up to 146 seats.
The Tatas have collectively increased their aggregate airlines seat capacity across domestic and international markets by an impressive 20 per cent, going from 64.03 million in calendar year (CY) 2023 to 76.72 million in the current CY, according to data shared by the group that controls Air India in which Vistara has been merged recently. The Tatas also run Air India Express in which Air Asia India has been merged.
IndiGo will start direct flights to a total of 10 international destinations, including London and Athens, in the current financial year, its CEO Pieter Elbers said on Friday. Other destinations include Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Manchester (the UK), Copenhagen (Denmark) Siem Reap (Cambodia) and four places in Central Asia.
'However, we must implement a tit-for-tat approach -- reciprocating their conduct with precision.' 'If they demonstrate respect, we respond accordingly. If they adopt hostile positions, we mirror that hostility with equal intensity.'
Trump couldn't care less anymore about the Israeli demand for Iran's 'de-nuclearisation' and 'de-militarisation.' Trump pins hopes on a grand bargain with Iran as a partner in America First, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The acquisition will give the Tatas a firm footing on international routes and generate economies of scale.
Tharoor, who is leading the all-party delegation to the Americas during his Bogota visit, had expressed dismay over the South American country's stance during a press conference on Thursday.
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.
Tata Group-owned Air India, under its new chief executive officer and managing director Campbell Wilson, is optimising its domestic strategy under which the carrier is "densifying" its presence on metro-to-metro routes and exiting from unviable ones, Business Standard has learnt. Wilson took charge on July 25. Air India has increased its flights on metro-to-metro routes such as Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru, Mumbai-Chennai, Mumbai-Bengaluru, and Hyderabad-Mumbai between June and November this year.
Management and leadership changes, in addition to synchronising operations between all its airlines, are showing visible results for Air India. Data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) show that there has been a marked improvement in key operational parameters of Air India after the Tata group took complete control of the national airline in January. One of the most dramatic improvements has been noticed in Air India's passenger load factor (PLF) - a crucial metric of capacity utilisation of an airline's fleet that shows how many seats it has been able to fill on every flight.
Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group was among "multiple" entities who on Monday put in preliminary bids for buying the government's stake in loss-making carrier Air India.
Even those who are the supporters of India's 'cultural nationalism' seems to be unaware of the footprint of Shri Ram in South East Asia, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The primary drivers: Geopolitical disruptions inflating fuel and operational costs, and a surge in travel demand.
The aviation regulator slapped fines amounting to Rs 2.75 crore on Indian airlines in 2023, marking a 39 per cent rise in financial penalties from Rs 1.97 crore in 2022. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it imposed fines on domestic carriers such as Air India, IndiGo, AirAsia India and SpiceJet for issues related to non-compliance in 2023. The regulator also carried out a record number of 5,745 surveillance activities in the year to ensure compliance by airlines, aerodrome operators, and aviation personnel among others.
India and the US have collaborated through the past one month on launching a powerful satellite; are commencing joint production of GE Aerospace's F414 jet engines in India; India is participating in a massive three week-long military exercise in the Western Pacific, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
While IndiGo carried 16.82 lakh passengers, a 59.4 per cent share of the total domestic market, SpiceJet flew 3.91 lakh passengers, which is 13.8 per cent share of the total market, the DGCA data noted.
Lightning claims more lives in India annually than any other extreme weather event. Between April and July this year alone, 1,621 people died due to lightning strikes.
Under the direction of the ministry of external affairs, the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts are being progressed in conjunction with Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force, the defence ministry stated.
Watch the splendour of the Sukhoi Su-30 MKI as it soars gracefully through the skies, showcasing its power and precision at Aero India 2025.
'Operation Sindoor is still ongoing. The Prime Minister himself said that blood and water cannot flow together, that talks and terrorism cannot go together. So how can we have a cricket match with a country that indulges in terrorism?'
Malaysia Airlines, the operator of Flight MH370 that went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on Saturday, has established a record as one of the Asia-Pacific's best full-service carriers in terms of safety and service.
'I played five different versions of Woh Subah Kabhie Toh Aayegi for Raj Kapoor, only to be greeted with a totally blank reaction.' 'Thereafter, for 40 minutes, he disappeared, leaving us baffled.' 'But when he emerged, he couldn't stop appreciating our efforts!' 'He said Sahir Ludhianvi's writing was sheer poetry and since all my five tunes were equally wonderful, he would leave it to my discretion to chose the final tune.' 'What could be greater appreciation for an artiste?'
The trails of mega-mergers, tailwinds of expanding fleets, flights and airports will dot the fast-growing Indian aviation firmament in 2025, though the dark clouds of supply chain woes will persist longer. Also, new airline takeoffs, the future trajectory of revised norms to tackle pilot fatigue and efforts to reduce carbon emissions will be on the radar.
Air India on Monday announced a new compensation structure for its pilots and cabin crew, with a guaranteed flying allowance of 40 hours per month for both categories of staff. While the flying allowance has been doubled for pilots, it has been introduced for flight attendants as part of the new compensation structure. Pilots will earn an additional amount as a reward based on the number of years of service with the airline and get an allowance while undergoing training for command or conversion to another aircraft type.
Will Russia's entry deter Trump on his warpath?, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Consumer durable companies in India have begun early-stage talks with US importers at a time when the tariffs levied on Indian products are lower than those on competitors such as China. While the discussions started some time ago, many believe that the Donald Trump administration's tariff measures will help Indian companies expand their presence in the US market.
Indigo continued its market leadership ferrying 5.77 million passengers in the month, followed by rival Spicejet with 1.86 million, and Air India carrying 1.55 million passengers. Goair, AirAsia India and Vistara transported 1.33 million, 7.72 lakh and 6.48 lakh passengers, respectively.
