The on-time performance (OTP) of Indian carriers took a major dip in January as dense fog foiled their flight schedules. According to data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation reviewed by Business Standard, five out of six major Indian carriers - IndiGo, Air India, AIX Connect, Akasa Air, and Vistara - recorded their lowest OTPs in at least the last 11 months. In response to queries, an Air India spokesperson said that during this winter, northern India experienced unusually prolonged periods of dense fog affecting traffic at the airline's two largest hubs -- Delhi and Mumbai.
Jet Airways on followed its smaller rival SpiceJet and hiked fares by a steep 25 per cent to mitigate the impact of the sharp fall in the rupee value and a near 15 per cent spike in oil prices of late.
Amid a massive global outage that hit operations of airlines, banks and businesses across the globe, Microsoft on Friday said that it is aware of the issue affecting Windows devices due to an update from a third-party software platform.
SpiceJet, Air India Express and IndiGo will operate special flights from Hungarian capital Budapest and Romania's Bucharest on Monday and Tuesday to evacuate Indians stranded in Ukraine due to the Russian military offensive.
Joining the low-fare war triggered by budget carrier SpiceJet last month, full service carrier Jet Airways on Tuesday announced special fares as low as Rs 2,250 for a single journey across its domestic network.
The Tatas have collectively increased their aggregate airlines seat capacity across domestic and international markets by an impressive 20 per cent, going from 64.03 million in calendar year (CY) 2023 to 76.72 million in the current CY, according to data shared by the group that controls Air India in which Vistara has been merged recently. The Tatas also run Air India Express in which Air Asia India has been merged.
Mallya's airline is the second domestic carrier to have received DGFT approval for ATF import after budget carrier SpiceJet.
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.
SpiceJet is the first Indian low fare airline to establish such an arrangement with a foreign airline.
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has once again found himself at the center of a controversy, this time for his comments about Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Kamra has been a controversial figure for years, with his comedy often targeting politicians and other public figures. This latest incident has led to a backlash from Shinde's supporters, who have vandalized the venue of Kamra's show. Kamra has a history of making controversial remarks, including heckling a TV anchor on a flight and making comments about the judiciary.
Flight occupancy and fresh bookings have dropped over ten per cent in last few days as individuals and corporates defer trips. International travel is already hit due to a series of visa restrictions.
Miscommunication with the ATC is said to have caused the near-miss. DGCA probe underway.
Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Vistara also operated all women crew flights, though on their domestic network.
Airfares have nearly doubled in a matter of days on routes hit by the cancellation of 200 weekly flights linking Mumbai airport to 12 cities. The fares have soared as high as 193 per cent following a recent government order to cancel flights to ease "persistent congestion" that was causing delays. Aside from the reduction in flights on 12 routes, two destinations - Hubli and Jabalpur - have lost connectivity with Mumbai since last week, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium's data reviewed
The pilot-in-command has been sacked for violating aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation's safety norms after following due process, SpiceJet said in a statement.
'Boeing has returned some cash to the airline which will help it improve the current liquidity crisis.'
Rival airlines expect Jet Airways to restore some "sanity" in the pricing of tickets after the acquisition of Air Sahara.
A resurgent SpiceJet is spreading its wings and Vistara is set to challenge Jet on long-haul routes in the coming years.
The sale launched on Tuesday will be open till October 29.
Asian Games gold-winning boxer Dingko Singh was on Saturday airlifted from Imphal to New Delhi for his cancer treatment. Dingko's transfer to Delhi by a SpiceJet air ambulance was facilitated by the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) after he missed a scheduled radiation therapy session due to the ongoing coronavirus-forced national lockdown.
Premier no-frills carrier IndiGo on Monday said there is no truth in reports that its competitor Spicejet is acquiring 7.5 per cent stake in it.
Aviation regulator DGCA has asked Tata Group-owned Air India to repair its aircraft after a passenger complained on social media on Monday about the plane's shabby interiors, including a broken armrest, officials said. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had last Wednesday grounded a SpiceJet aircraft over a passenger's complaint of dirty seats and malfunctioning cabin panels. The SpiceJet plane took to the skies a day later after all the suggested repairs were effected.
No-frills carrier SpiceJet has put ten lakh seats on the block with base fares starting as low as Rs 999, which are lower than a 3-AC train ticket, for a one-way journey under a limited period offer.
Loans for Indian airlines have dried up as banks have become cautious to lend to the sector.
More than 30 flights of various Indian airlines, including Vistara, Air India and IndiGo, received bomb threats on Saturday, according to sources.
The market buzz is that the GoAir promoters are hoping for a valuation that is at least a little more than double its closest rival SpiceJet.
Panic gripped the international airport in Amritsar on Thursday after an unclaimed piece of baggage arrived on a SpiceJet flight from Dubai.
The airport operator removed the SpiceJet aircraft which had skidded after landing amid heavy rains on Tuesday.
SpiceJet says tickets in three day sale will be 75 per cent lower than last minute purchase fares.
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala on Friday picked up 1.05 per cent stake in Jet Airways for Rs 50.5 crore.
Made from Jatropha crop, the fuel has been developed by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun.
Aircraft lease rentals are fixed costs and account for around 15 per cent of an airline's expense and since these are paid in dollars are also subject to currency fluctuations.
The trails of mega-mergers, tailwinds of expanding fleets, flights and airports will dot the fast-growing Indian aviation firmament in 2025, though the dark clouds of supply chain woes will persist longer. Also, new airline takeoffs, the future trajectory of revised norms to tackle pilot fatigue and efforts to reduce carbon emissions will be on the radar.
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
Budget airlines SpiceJet announced that it would provide free air tickets for life to all Indian medal winners at the just-concluded London Olympics.
If that happens, Jet Airways will be the first bankrupt airline which will be revived under the Insolvency process.
He, however, cited the sensitivity of information due to the ongoing probe into the matter to decline to share more details, sources said.
Many argue that the airline could achieve its full potential if Nusli Wadia were to run it the way he does Britannia.
Domestic air traffic rose 20.81 per cent in June on the back of low fares and peak season demand.
Air India operates six flights each week, SpiceJet flies on three days to Kabul.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances