Rescuers found 30 bodies with 5 of them still strapped to their seats as multi-national teams equipped with sophisticated equipment narrowed the search to a 5 sq km area of the choppy Java Sea where some debris of the ill-fated AirAsia jet have emerged.
After three days of intense search, debris of the missing AirAsia aircraft carrying 162 people was found on Tuesday in the Java Sea off Indonesia but only three bodies have been retrieved so far as the mystery remained over the cause of the crash.
Domestic airlines flew 1.29 crore passengers in April, a rise of more than 22 per cent compared to the year-ago period, according to official data released on Friday. However, the domestic air traffic number last month at 128.88 lakh was marginally lower than the 128.93 lakh recorded in March. In April 2022, the number of passengers carried by airlines stood at 105.47 lakh.
Navy divers on Monday resumed efforts to find more wreckage of the ill-fated AirAsia jet with no signal detected yet from the black box recorders, as rescue teams expanded search eastward to locate large objects of the plane believed to be on the ocean floor.
Divers on Thursday searched the sunken fuselage of the crashed AirAsia jet in the JavaSea to retrieve the missing bodies of the 162 people killed in the disaster, a day after the main wreck was located in the choppy waters after over two weeks of multi-national hunt.
An aviation website has evaluated AirAsia's potential network in India based on passenger market size, distance from Chennai and competition.
The 30-day visa-free entry is also currently enjoyed by eight ASEAN countries for the purpose of social visits, tourism and business.
Searchers using sonar equipment on Wednesday located the wreckage of the ill-fated AirAsia plane carrying 162 people at the bottom of the Java Sea off Indonesia, even as bad weather hampered the recovery of many bloated bodies seen floating around the crash site.
In an interview with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Aireen Omar, chief executive officer of AirAsia Bhd, talks about the company's strengths, opportunities and challenges.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board on March 6 cleared the Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia's bid to launch an airline in India by joining hands with Tata Sons.
The hotel brand goes by the 'great value, great savings' tagline.
Low-cost positioning is passe. Brand experts suggest ways in which the airline can differentiate itself in the minds of customers.
India is not an easy environment to operate in and grow because of the high cost of operations, says Neil Mills.
Divers on Tuesday retrieved the cockpit voice recorder and may have located the fuselage of the crashed AirAsia jet in the Java Sea as experts will now use data from the two crucial black box devices to determine the sequence of events that brought the flight down. The cockpit voice recorder, that possesses the last two hours of conversation between the pilots and with air traffic controllers, was found close to where the flight data recorder was recovered from the bottom of the choppy waters on Monday.
New DGCA rules stipulate airlines have to apply for permit at least 90 days before launch
Akasa Air's plane occupancy, or load factor, improved the most among all major carriers in April compared to the last month. Load factor signifies the percentage of seats that the airline has been able to fill in its planes. The Vinay Dube-led carrier, which started commercial flights in August last year, saw its load factor jump by more than 11 per cent in April, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation's data
Maverick entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, who built low-cost carrier AirAsia to be a formidable player in South-East Asia, is prepared for a price battle in the Indian skies.
CEO Mittu Chandilya said AirAsia will retain the Rs 990 fare even when the company goes for expansion of new routes.
Divers on Monday retrieved the crucial flight data recorder of the AirAsia plane from the Java Sea in a potential breakthrough to solve the mystery of the crash, as an Indonesian official said the jet 'exploded' on impact with the water due to rapid change in pressure.
Hopeful of launching flights in India in next 2-3 months, Air Asia chief Tony Fernandes says that the airline would introduce 'dramatically' low fares in the country, which would be cheapest in the market and take air travel to masses.
The AirAsia flight that went down into the Java Sea, killing all 162 people onboard, ascended too fast before coming to a halt, Indonesia's transport minister has said.
The possible change in the airline's earlier decision is apparently due to various factors, the key being its relationship with the state government. Other states are a lot more interested and excited in having it.
Air India will require more than 6,500 pilots to operate 470 aircraft that are to be supplied by Airbus and Boeing in the coming years, according to industry sources. Seeking to expand fleet as well as operations, the airline has placed orders for acquiring a total of 840 aircraft that includes an option to buy 370 planes. This is one of the largest aircraft order by any airline. Currently, Air India has around 1,600 pilots to operate its 113 aircraft fleet and in recent times, there have been instances of ultra-long haul flights getting cancelled or delayed due to shortage of crew.
Malaysia's popular no-frills airline, AirAsia, has said it will give away two million free seats to mark its fourth anniversary, a media report said in Kuala Lumpur.
Unlike Malaysia where the airline did not have competition from other LCCs, its new market in India has quite a few thriving players, making it a late entrant.
The AirAsia aircraft that went missing after taking off from Indonesia with 162 people on board may be at the bottom of the sea, a top Indonesian official said on Monday, as the multinational search for the Airbus continued amid fading hopes of finding any survivors.
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.
On July 25 and 26, the regulator's team carried out the surveillance of Air India in the areas of internal audit, accident prevention work and availability of required technical manpower.
Singapore Airlines on Tuesday said Vistara will be merged with Tata group-owned Air India. Tata group owns a 51 per cent stake in Vistara, and the remaining 49 per cent shareholding is with Singapore Airlines (SIA). As part of the transaction, SIA will also invest Rs 2,058.5 crore in Air India.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is engaged in confidential talks with Tata Sons for merging Vistara with Air India, the flagship carrier of the Republic of Singapore informed the stock exchange in the Southeast Asian nation on Thursday in a first acknowledgement of a possible integration of the two airlines. "In line with its multi-hub strategy, SIA is currently in confidential discussions with the Tatas to explore a potential transaction in relation to the securities of Vistara and Air India. "The discussions seek to deepen the existing partnership between SIA and Tatas and may include a potential integration of Vistara and Air India," SIA said in a notification to the Singapore stock exchange. SIA owns 49 per cent stake in Vistara and is among the four airlines run by Tata Group.
The airline's entry may trigger charges for every extra service such as baggage and seat selection.
The Air India Group has started vacating its offices, which are currently being operated from government-owned properties, from this month, as part of its strategy to consolidate workspaces across the country. The loss-making Air India and its international budget arm Air India Express were taken over by the Tata Group on January 27 this year, after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8, last year. Besides these two airlines, Tata Group also holds a majority 51 per cent stake in Vistara, its joint venture airline with Singapore Airlines (SIA), and a 83.67 per cent stake in budget carrier, AirAsia India.
Low cost carrier AirAsia is likely to start operations in India by year-end.
India has put on standby three ships and a maritime surveillance aircraft for assistance in the search operation after an AirAsia flight with 162 people on board on Sunday went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore after losing contact with air traffic controllers.
IndiGo's size should be compared with global carriers, and not other domestic airlines, chief executive officer Pieter Elbers said on Tuesday, adding that such benchmarking will help India transform its airports into aviation hubs. Elbers flagged the tendency to scrutinise domestic competition, assess fares on domestic routes, and determine if they are high. "But if we want to build some hubs, we should have a broader look," he said during a panel discussion at a convention organised by All India Management Association (AIMA).
Tiruchirapalli was AirAsia's first destination in India since its inception on December 1 last year.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday allowed a plea to implead DGCA as a party to a PIL seeking quashing of approvals being granted by the Centre to operationalise the $30 million deal between Tata Sons and Malaysia-based AirAsia.
Some airline sources, however, fear it will reduce overall yields
Fernandes said south India was a fantastic market and it would be the gateway for people who want to visit southeast Asia and beyond.
Crisis-hit Go First has sought various interim directions from the National Company Law Tribunal, including restraining lessors from taking back aircraft and regulator DGCA from taking any adverse action against the airline. The Wadia group-owned airline, which has liabilities worth Rs 11,463 crore, has sought voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings and the plea is set to be heard by the Delhi bench of the NCLT on Thursday. Go First has cancelled all its flights for three days starting from May 3.
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