WhatsApp on Wednesday announced the expansion of its payments service in India to make it easier for people transacting with businesses to pay for purchases directly in the chat, with a choice of UPI apps, including rival digital payment options, as well as credit and debit cards. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg asserted that India is leading the world in people and businesses embracing messaging. WhatsApp said it is working with partners Razorpay and PayU "to make paying for something as simple as sending a message", as the Meta-owned platform unveiled a host of new features to woo businesses in India's booming commerce market.
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.
Companies across the sector are restructuring payrolls of crew, cutting allowances, and extending leave without pay duration as they realise they will have more aircraft and employees compared to customers.
The pilot-turned-airline owner and his partner Biraja Jena plan to launch FlyBig, which has secured 16 routes under the fourth phase of UDAN, the government's regional connectivity programme.
The CBI today registered three FIRs and a preliminary enquiry to probe alleged irregularities in Indian Airlines-Air India merger and purchase of 111 aircraft, leasing of planes and giving up of profit-making routes by Air India, causing a loss of thousands of crore of rupees.
Budget carrier Go Airlines, which has rebranded itself as 'Go First', has filed preliminary papers for an initial share sale worth Rs 3,600 crore.
In India, domestic airlines have not secured any relief from the government and are reporting 50-55 per cent loads as domestic air travel resumed on May 25 after two-month suspension.
For the first time in 13 years, since Jet Airways' A330 planes exited the airline's fleet in around 2010, an Indian wide-body aircraft will have a Rolls-Royce-powered engine, with Air India ordering 40 Airbus A350 planes. On Tuesday, Air India announced its mega aircraft order for 470 aircraft, including A350 planes. The A350 aircraft, which will come in two variants, are powered solely by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines and the local team has begun work to assist Air India with its aircraft-induction plans.
Air Turbine Fuel cost in India constitutes nearly 40 per cent of the ticket cost against 25 per cent in other countries.
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said there needs to be anchor airlines at particular airports, more wide body aircraft as well as synergy between domestic and international departures to have an international aviation hub in India. The country's civil aviation sector is on the recovery path after being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and is projected to have 400 million air travellers in the coming years. "We are in the growth phase and there are tremendous opportunities on the airlines and airports side," Scindia said.
With low-visibility conditions significantly disrupting flight operations at the Delhi airport, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday said all stakeholders are working round-the-clock to minimise fog-related impact as well as passenger inconvenience, and asserted that unruly passenger behaviour is unacceptable.
The airline will lease an aircraft from France to re-launch these operations and will fly daily to Dubai, Trichy and Trivandram with the resumption of the flight, the state owned Daily News quoted an official as saying. It is expected that the government would once again come out to fund the airline, the newspaper reported.
Air India will provide 26 weeks of maternity leave to women employees as well as daycare support under its revamped policies. Besides, the airline will give women pilots the choice to opt for quicker turnaround flights till the child reaches the age of one year. The option will be subject to request and availability, according to an internal communication.
Last year, Air India replaced veg and non-veg sandwiches with veg hot meals on flights
The airline has been trying to gain additional flying rights in India.
The company said it has suspended the staffers and that it was part of the operation to unearth this crime.
Air India and Singapore Airlines have signed a bilateral agreement that would enable passengers of either carrier to earn and redeem miles on flights operated by the other.
The average load factor has been 78-80 per cent from flights originating from Delhi whereas it is 75-85 per cent in flights originating from Mumbai which is really good in the current scenario
The incident came to the notice of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) only on January 4 and the latest actions are for violations of various norms.
AIBEA has decided to write to the government and RBI against infusing money into Jet Airways. State-owned banks, including SBI and PNB, are the main lenders to Jet.
Flight AI173 from Delhi was diverted to Magadan in Russia on Tuesday owing to an engine glitch, the Tata Group-owned private carrier said in a statement.
Air India will put in place new systems to proactively alert fliers about changes or delays in flight schedules and also set up a coordination team to address airport-specific issues, according to an internal communication. After reviewing block times, airport connecting times and aircraft as well as crew rotations, Tatas-owned Air India has identified various improvement areas for bettering overall performance. In the internal communication on Friday, Air India CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson said the airline would seek airport slots to carry out the improvements.
Aiming to strengthen its business in south India, Singapore Airlines announced on Wednesday a slew of measures that include additional flights, special discounts and a revamped menu.
The inactivity of Go First may help other airlines in India's competitive market as it had a 7.8 per cent market share.
Tata Group-owned Air India on Wednesday announced the launch of new flights connecting Mumbai with New York, Paris and Frankfurt, starting February next year. Besides, the full-service carrier also announced the resumption of non-stop flights connecting Delhi with Copenhagen, Milan and Vienna. The Mumbai-New York (JFK International Airport) daily service will commence from February 14 next year, Air India said.
'This kind of a last minute order creates immense problems for airlines.'
The mother of a six-year-old boy who fled to India from the US in March this year has been indicted by a grand jury on several new charges including capital murder.
Various airlines, including the defunct Kingfisher, owed Rs 3,030 crore (Rs 30.30 billion) to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at the end of December last year.
Airline stocks have been soaring following a steep decline in crude oil prices and sustained passenger traffic. Analysts have particularly turned bullish on the stocks of InterGlobe Aviation and SpiceJet. On December 20, shares of InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) hit a record high of Rs 3,009 on the BSE, having surged 43.24 per cent year-to-date (YTD).
IndiGo, Vistara, Air India, SpiceJet have cancelled their flights, while GoAir and AirAsia India announced waiving date change/ cancellation fee.
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.
'I was stunned when he started crying and profusely apologising to me, begging me not to lodge a complaint against him because he is a family man and did not want his wife and child to be affected by this incident'
According to the latest figures released by the DGCA, IndiGo, with 27 per cent market share in July this year, has edged past Jet, which managed 26.6 per cent share.
In a written reply, Singh said the 5G C-band spectrum has the likelihood of interfering with the current radio altimeters installed on the aircraft.
An India-bound Malaysia Airlines flight was on Sunday forced to turn back due to an auto-pilot defect, landing safely here, said the loss-making carrier already hit by the twin tragedies this year.
Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet have suspended flights to China and Hong Kong.
Air India will no longer enjoy a priority in allocation of international traffic rights. This follows its takeover by Tata Sons in January. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has dropped a clause which gave Air India an advantage over other private airlines in the amended rules issued on April 19.
Air India on Monday said it has introduced refreshed inflight food and beverages menus across cabins on all international flights. "The refresh of the menus is based on guest feedback and is designed to offer travellers an assortment of gourmet meals, trendy appetizers, decadent desserts, and showcase India's locally sourced culinary influence while keeping in line with the healthy eating trend," the airline said in a release.
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