Reduction in fuel price was supposed to bring back good luck for Indian airlines. But with the global spread of coronavirus, airlines are being forced to rejig their network, cut flights, and delay launches.
Rising fuel costs have grounded the high-flying ambitions of India's carriers and have sent their stocks into a tailspin.
The airline operates nearly 950 weekly flights on 28 destinations within and outside of Saudi Arabia.
Kingfisher Airlines will be the Official Umpire Partner for the Indian Premier League and will also sponsor all third umpire decisions during the 59 action packed games in the Twenty20 tournament beginning next month.
In a bid to incentivise its staff and improve their performance, Air India may soon offer them employee stock options (ESOPs). The erstwhile national carrier, which was acquired by the salt-to-steel conglomerate Tata Group last year, will be the second company in the Group to have an ESOP policy. Tata Motors is the other Group company with an ESOP policy, which was implemented in 2018.
Though there have been no cancellations of contracts by invoking the force majeure clause, a number of clients - especially in the worst-affected sectors like travel and hospitality, oil and gas, as well as manufacturing - have started asking for reducing level of IT support.
Even if you assume a higher return fare of Rs 40,000, the yield will still be lower than the costs.
Airlines in the UAE are expecting a huge rush since nearly a million amnesty seekers, including many Indians, are likely to leave the country before the September two deadline.
A day after notifying a policy measure to allow foreign airlines pick up 49 per cent stake in Indian carriers, the government today said the aviation industry was in an upbeat mood as it was expecting a positive response to the move.
Malaysia Airlines flies to Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kochi.
A day after FIPB cleared the Tata-Singapore Airlines' (SIA) airline venture, Tata group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata and SIA chief Goh Choon Phong on Friday met Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh exuding confidence of launching flights by May-June next year.
IndiGo was set up in 2006 by businessman Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, a former CEO for US Airways Group.
A key defence to disprove a prima facie case of fraud and misrepresentation on Mallya's part has revolved around the fact that Kingfisher Airlines was the victim of economic misfortune alongside other Indian airlines.
The year gone by has also forced all airlines to turn the lens sharply on their own costs, workings and internal dynamics, opening their eyes to their vulnerabilities. Fewer, leaner, nimbler players will emerge from the carnage.
Or else customers will face capacity shortages and high fares.
American Airlines on Wednesday launched its new telephonic ticket reservation facility - Del Express Service - for passengers flying from India.
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.
The airline said it has filed a police complaint about the incident, but did not specify when the 30-day ban came into effect.
The government on Monday signed the share purchase agreement with Tata Sons for the sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18,000 crore. Earlier this month, the government had accepted an offer by Talace Pvt Ltd, a unit of the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate, to pay Rs 2,700 crore cash and take over Rs 15,300 crore of the airline's debt. Following that, on October 11 a Letter of Intenet (LoI) was issued to the Tata Group confirming the government's willingness to sell its 100 per cent stake in the airline.
Malaysia Airlines today began shifting relatives of missing Chinese and Indian passengers to Kuala Lumpur for "better care and comfort" while China pressed more ships and aircraft to locate the plane that went missing four days ago.
Tata group-owned Air India plans to hire expat pilots for its Boeing 777 planes as the airline is facing a shortage of pilots amid plans to expand its fleet as well as international operations, according to sources. The carrier is looking to rope in around 100 pilots for the wide-body Boeing 777 fleet and has approached various agencies that provide expat flight crew to airlines, the sources told PTI. The loss-making Air India, which was under government ownership for nearly seven decades till the Tata group took over in January 2022, had stopped hiring expat pilots many years ago to save costs.
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."
A Dubai-based NRI businessman is planning to start a new airline in India. Aniyan Kutty, managing director of Dubai-based Clarion Shipping Services, said initially the airline will connect smaller cities, followed by operations all over India.
Malaysian Airlines will be launching its operations in the Kochi-Kuala Lumpur sector from November this year. \n
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances