'aris can be boiling hot in July. The choice of viscose over cotton was deliberate. Cotton would have crushed badly. We used viscose because it is a wood pulp fibre and lets you breathe. It is cooler than silk. We had to consider breathability because the athletes would be on a barge, in the heat, for up to five hours.'
The new airline has begun recruiting pilots and is close to confirming its top executives, including a Singapore Airlines executive as its chief executive officer.
Ahead of the finalisation of the new civil aviation policy, Centre on Thursday said there was no proposal for allowing foreign airlines to pick up stake in domestic airlines.
British Airways, Lufthansa, Etihad and Singapore Airlines are scouting for an Indian partner that meets the net worth criterion
Gulf carrier Etihad Airways on Thursday entered into an agreement with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to become its official sponsor.
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.
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.
The presence of an engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in India could have prevented Go First airline from going "belly up", as sending engines abroad for servicing is not an efficient way to operate a carrier, Piyush Srivastava, senior economic advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said in a statement on Tuesday. On May 3, Go First suspended its flights and filed for insolvency, squarely blaming engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney (PW) for its cash crunch. The airline claimed that about half of its 54 aircraft were grounded on May 3 due to a delay in the supply of engines by the US-based company. PW has denied the charges.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has supported Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh's suggestion on doing away with a rule that bars Indian carriers from flying abroad unless they complete five years of service and own a 20-aircraft fleet.
The government is keeping its options open.
Among the five Indian nationals, four had just arrived in Kathmandu from India on Friday.
Dispute arose as Indian carriers objected to Emirates flying passengers beyond Dubai, and Dubai authorities complained that Indian airlines have been flying more flights than allocated to its carriers.
Government to ask airlines to educate flyers. 'It will be an exhaustive charter which will tell the passenger about all their rights, like whether they are eligible for a refund when there is a delay in flight, what to do in case of a flight delay and other in-flight etiquette.'
A Romanian aircraft carrying 275 passengers, mostly Indians, on Monday left for India four days after they were detained by the French authorities at an airport near Paris over suspected 'human trafficking'.
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'IndiGo 2018 is a harsh, ultra-lean, mean, zero asset, fighting machine with aspirations of taking on the global long-haul low-cost market.'
India has evacuated at least 670 Indian nationals from Sudan and is looking to rescue more of its citizens from the strife-torn African nation before the end of a tenuous ceasefire between the regular army and a paramilitary force.
Agra, Shimla, Nanded, Kanpur and Jamshedpur are among the many airports that would see connectivity under Udan.
The DGCA advised airlines to remain ready to operate additional flights from the Srinagar airport if the need arises.
Leading air carrier Emirates Airline registered a staggering 94 per cent increase in profits at $247 million during the last fiscal and aims to tap more destinations in the Indian subcontinent.
The Indian Airlines board on Wednesday cleared an attractive voluntary retirement scheme for its 500-odd cabin crew.
The biggest let down for India's aviation sector has been the failure of the government to privatise Air India, says Anjuli Bhargava.
However, if a flyer has been allotted the middle seat due to a high passenger load, 'then additional protective equipment like wrap-around gown of the Ministry of Textile approved standards' must be provided to him or her in addition to a three-layered face mask and face shield, a DGCA order, accessed by PTI, said.
Stressful work schedules and limited growth opportunities are taking a toll on a large number of senior professionals in airlines.
Full-service airline Tata-SIA, submitted its application for the grant of Air Operator's Permit (AOP or flying license) in April.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday agreed with the contention of Akasa Air that the DGCA is not completely barred from taking action against pilots who violate the terms of their employment agreements. However, the court did not grant any immediate relief to Akasa Air which sought direction to the DGCA and Union Ministry of Civil Aviation to take action against its pilots who have resigned without serving the notice period, saying it will first decide the issue of jurisdiction raised by the aviation sector regulator. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said since the Directorate General of Aviation (DGCA) has contended it has no jurisdiction to consider a representation made by the airline against the defaulting pilots under the extant law as it was a contractual dispute, the court will have to first decide the issue of jurisdiction before passing any other direction.
Airfares in the country are set to rise, with IndiGo on Thursday introducing a fuel charge of up to Rs 1,000 based on a flight's distance, in response to the significant rise in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices in the last three months. The Indian aviation sector experiences its peak travel season between October and December. The inclusion of a fuel charge component in airfares is anticipated to have a sizable impact on IndiGo's passengers, according to experts.
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).
He claims that his offer to pay back the debt owed by his now-defunct airline had been rebuffed by the banks and the Indian government.
The building of the metro in south Bangalore has represented, to borrow a line, not the building of a city, but the sacking of a city.
Some airlines, says Anjuli Bhargava, are convinced there's a conspiracy to malign them.
Air India has ordered 470 aircraft to serve the Indian economy and is set to receive a new aircraft every six days over the next 18 months, CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said on Friday. He was speaking at the 67th Assembly of Presidents of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines here. "We have new aircraft, we are recruiting many, many new crew and staff, improving the training regime and there is more work to do and we are making good progress," he said.
Divestment-bound Air India is looking to sell securities of its two provident trusts AIEPF and IAEPF, and has sought applications for transaction advisors to help with the proposed sale of the securities. The Air India Employees Provident Fund (AIEPF) trust and Indian Airlines Employees Provident Fund (IAEPF) trust are governed by the Provident Fund Trust Act, 1925. The two trusts' investments together amounted to Rs 4,500 crore as of August 31, 2021, according to the tender document, seeking RFPs for the appointment of the transaction advisors.
This is the first time that AirAsia chief has raised concerns about the dual airline strategy of the Tata group, his partner.
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.
19 per cent of all travel in India (by bus, train or air) was pilgrimage or religious travel (possibly the single largest after business and family-related travel), discovers Ambi Parameswaran.
Domestic air traffic logged 14.35 per cent growth in November as compared to the corresponding period last year propelled by the festive season rush.
IndiGo was the only airline to have reported profits during this period, barring 2011-12 when it made a loss of about Rs 88 crore (Rs 880 million.
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