... changing seats and in-flight entertainment on its older aircraft.
Full service carrier Air India on Thursday announced a new multi-year global distribution services partnership with US-based Sabre Corporation. The collaboration enables travel agents and corporations around the world to access Air India fares and seats through Sabre's extensive global travel marketplace, Air India said in a statement. In addition to the distribution services, Air India said it is utilising Sabre's consultancy expertise to help determine optimal routes for its existing and new fleet.
SpiceJet to add 7 planes; another Rs 500 cr infusion in April.
The safety and security of citizens is primary for the government, he said.
BBAM seeks $100 million, return of 6 Boeing 737s.
New airline Akasa Air on Friday said it will launch commercial flight operations on August 7 by operating its first service on Mumbai-Ahmedabad route using Boeing 737 Max aircraft. In a statement, the carrier said it has opened ticket sales on 28 weekly flights it will be operating on Mumbai-Ahmedabad route from August 7, as well as on 28 weekly flights it will operating on Bengaluru-Kochi route from August 13. The carrier will launch commercial operations with two 737 Max aircraft. Boeing has delivered one Max plane and the second one's delivery is scheduled to take place later this month.
Jet Airways is in discussions with aircraft manufacturers and lessors to lease 6-8 planes, including some of those which were to be delivered to Russian carriers prior to the Ukraine war, as it gets ready for the relaunch, according to sources. Moreover, the airline is also negotiating with airport operators to secure slots with "good" timings, they said. Once a major player in the Indian aviation space, the carrier has not flown since April 17, 2019 and is being revived under the ownership of the Jalan-Kalrock consortium.
Aviation regulator DGCA has allowed IndiGo to wet lease wide-body Boeing planes from Turkish Airlines for up to six months and has rejected the domestic carrier's request for leasing the aircraft for up to two years, according to sources. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) turned down the request of the country's largest airline to wet lease the aircraft for a longer period, citing that the move could become diversion of traffic rights in collusion with a strong foreign carrier that will mainly feed the latter's hub abroad with more passengers from India, the sources said. IndiGo, which currently has only narrow-body planes in its fleet, decided to lease wide-body aircraft to operate more flights on international routes to meet rising demand.
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.
Two pilot unions at Air India have claimed that there is a shortage of pilots to operate the airline's long-haul and ultra-long haul flights. The concerns raised by the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) and Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) also come against the backdrop of the Tatas-owned airline recently cancelling and rescheduling certain flights to and from the North American region due to crew shortage. In a joint letter written to Air India's chief human resources officer Suresh Dutt Tripathi on December 13, the unions said, "...we cannot maintain the printed planned roster due to a shortage of pilots, as CMS (crew management system) does not have standby pilots."
SpiceJet is looking for investments from external parties, including airlines, and also plans to add seven more Boeing planes to its fleet, the carrier's chief Ajay Singh said on Tuesday. In recent times, SpiceJet has faced turbulence -- especially with many of its flights suffering technical snags -- and subsequently, the airline has faced actions from aviation regulator DGCA. SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said it is doing the utmost to work through the stress that it has faced and the strategy is to raise resources.
Air India significantly altered the composition of the aircraft order it placed earlier this year with Airbus, the European plane manufacturer has said. In February, Air India had placed the world's second-largest single-tranche aircraft order for 470 planes: 250 with Airbus and 220 with Boeing. In July, Airbus disclosed an order comprising 70 A321neo, 140 A320neo, 34 A350-1000, and six A350-900 aircraft for Air India.
The Indian Navy has inducted two more Poseidon 8I maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft, in a boost to its surveillance capabilities in the Indian Ocean in the face of China's increasing forays into the region.
Indian aviation regulator DGCA has barred 90 SpiceJet pilots from operating the Boeing 737 Max aircraft after finding them not properly trained. "For the moment, we have barred these pilots from flying the Max and they have to retrain successfully for flying the aircraft," DGCA chief Arun Kumar said in a statement. He also said that the regulator will take "strict action against those found responsible for the lapse."
Its association with India is over 70 years old and spans both civil and military aviation. The Douglas DC-3 transport aircraft used by the air force beginning the 1940s and the iconic Boeing 747 aircraft flown by Air India, both had Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines. The Indian Air Force's present-day, heavy-lift C-17 Globemaster III and the yet-to-be-inducted C-295 planes, too, have P&W power plants.
The P-8I, which is widely acknowledged to be the world's most deadly LRMR-ASW aircraft, is a derivative of the Boeing 737-800 airliner, onto which a plethora of sensors and weaponry has been fitted.
Air India's flying crew, ground and security staff will soon sport new uniforms designed by fashion designer Manish Malhotra as the Tata Group-owned airline embraces a new global brand identity. As Air India pursues a revival and modernisation plan, the new uniforms are expected to be introduced for the frontline staff by the end of this year and are likely to coincide with the induction of the airline's first wide-body A350 aircraft into its fleet. Malhotra -- whose career spans more than 30 years as a couturier, costume stylist, and entrepreneur -- and his team have started meeting Air India's frontline staff, conducting discussions and fitting sessions with them to better understand their specialised needs, the airline said in a release on Thursday.
Akasa Air has reduced its service on 10 routes and stopped operating flights on eight others since the exodus of pilots began in early July. The airline's flights per week reduced from 945 in June to 754 in October, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium's data, which has been reviewed by Business Standard. The airline currently operates flights on 34 routes. Between June and October, Akasa Air ceased operations on the following: Ahmedabad-Kochi, Ahmedabad-Hyderabad, Ahmedabad-Pune, Bengaluru-Hyderabad, Bengaluru-Chennai, Kochi-Hyderabad, Goa-Lucknow, and Goa-Hyderabad.
Brokerages lowered their earnings estimates following muted results in Q1FY24. While analysts remain optimistic about the stock's medium-term prospects, they highlight near-term concerns stemming from lower realisations due to changes in the product mix and margin pressures resulting from new plane additions.
The country's new scheduled airline Akasa Air is "well capitalised" and will allow carrying of domesticated dogs and cats onboard along with passengers from November, according to its senior executives. The airline, which began operations on August 7, also plans to launch international operations in the second half of next year. Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube said the airline is well capitalised and is not looking to have new investors.
Akasa Air said on Thursday said it has received the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from aviation regulator DGCA and will start commercial operations later this month.
Foreign carriers to pick up staff from cash-strapped SpiceJet.
Seeking to further democratise air travel with dependable and affordable services, airline Akasa Air is aiming to start flights in late May or early June after getting its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in April. Bullish on the long term growth potential of the country's civil aviation sector, ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed carrier is looking to have 18 planes in its fleet by the end of March 2023. Despite COVID clouds continuing to cast a shadow on the airlines, Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube is more than optimistic as he asserted that "if you look at the long term future of commercial aviation in India, it is as exciting as anywhere in the world".
At the recently concluded Dubai airshow, Akasa, Rakesh Radheyshyam Jhunjhunwala's new airline, signed a $9 billion deal with American aircraft maker Boeing to buy its 737 MAX planes and a $4 billion one for engines with CFM, a joint venture between GE of the US and Safran of France. Unlike his financial doppelganger Warren Buffett, who divested billions from his airline stock portfolio at the start of the pandemic, Jhunjhunwala is wagering his billions in a brand new airline. The legendary investor bought a roughly 40 per cent stake in SNV Aviation in September, Akasa's holding company, started in March by three former Jet Airways colleagues. With aviation still to recover from its pandemic slump, the big question around his foray into domestic aviation, due to take off in summer 2022, is whether it is another pie in the sky.
Given the long distance from the closest land, the Indian Navy has deployed its state-of-the-art Boeing P-8I Poseidon long range maritime reconnaissance aircraft, which have the endurance to reach the location of the incident.
The government has cleared the lone bid of Airbus-TATA consortium for replacing Indian Air Force's fleet of ageing Avro transport aircraft for Rs 11,930 crore besides approving Russia's offer to build Kamov Ka-226T helicopters under 'Make in India' initiative.
Last week, the carrier had asked about 60 pilots who had resigned to leave after serving only half the six-month notice period.
The IAF has just 33 squadrons, 9 short of the 42 squadrons needed to tackle China and Pakistan together, says Ajai Shukla.
United States aerospace major Boeing has handed over first of the 22 Apache Guardian attack helicopters to the Indian Air Force, nearly three-and-half years after a multi-billion dollar deal for the choppers was sealed.
Boeing said the first batch of the Apaches arrived in India and an additional four choppers will be delivered to the IAF next week.
If all 102 grounded planes could fly, there will theoretically be 400 more Delhi-Mumbai flights every day.
West Asian carriers are up against Air India and IndiGo in the battle for seats on lucrative international routes.
India's aviation industry could return to profitability in 2023-24 for the first time since the pandemic. The industry may pare aggregated net loss by 75-80 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to between Rs 3,500 crore and Rs 4,500 crore in 2022-23 (FY23), compared with Rs 17,500 crore of net losses in 2021-22 (FY22). A combination of recovery in passenger volumes and easing cost pressures due to stable fuel and foreign exchange (forex) costs could spark a turnaround. CRISIL says domestic and international passenger traffic recovered to 90 per cent and 98 per cent, respectively, of pre-pandemic traffic (2019-20, or FY20), in April-December 2022, compared with April-December 2019.
'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.'
No-frills airline IndiGo on Monday announced placing a firm order for 500 A320 family planes with European aviation major Airbus at the Paris Air Show. This is the largest ever aircraft order placed by any airline with Airbus, IndiGo said in a statement. Financial details of the order were not disclosed.
The AH-64E Apache is one of the world's most advanced multi-role combat helicopters, and is flown by the US army.
Jet Airways is looking to lease around 20 Airbus A320 aircraft from lessors by 2024 as it aims to restart operations and fly international routes in the next one-and-a-half years. Jet's A320 aircraft fleet, according to sources, will be a mix of the Ceo and the more fuel-efficient Neo variants. These planes were originally intended for Russian airlines but could not be delivered following western sanctions on Russia over its Ukraine invasion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday went from Delhi to Dhaka on a new custom-made VVIP aircraft, using it for the first time on a foreign journey.
Jet Airways is seeing a churn in its senior management ahead of its planned take-off this year. Sudhir Gaur, accountable manager and acting chief executive officer, is the latest to quit the company. Finance head M Shivakumar and head of management information system (MIS) Farazad Patrawalla moved out a few weeks earlier. Gaur had been part of the initial team selected by the Kalrock-Jalan consortium, which secured approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) last June to revive the airline.
Or else customers will face capacity shortages and high fares.
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