SpiceJet will now be 'doubly careful' and strengthen inspection of aircraft before they leave to operate flights, airline's Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said on Wednesday.
The secret behind Singh's success was that he mostly set about undoing all the mistakes made by the Marans, points out Anjuli Bhargava.
In March 2020, soon after the cessation of airline operations globally and domestic flights within India, many in the aviation sector had written Delhi-headquartered low-fare airline SpiceJet's obituary well before that of most of its rivals. Unlike IndiGo, GoAir (now rechristened Go First), Vistara and even AirAsia India, SpiceJet did not have founders or backers with deep pockets. Although it is the only other listed carrier in India besides IndiGo, it was considered the weakest and the least likely to survive the pandemic. But chairman and managing director Ajay Singh surprised everyone by not only surviving but taking the lead on many fronts. Within a few weeks of the scheduled flight stoppage, SpiceJet was doing as many charter flights as it could get hold of.
SpiceJet will induct more Boeing 737 Max aircraft over the next few months and it hopes to start broadband internet service on its planes soon, its chairman and managing director (CMD) Ajay Singh said on Monday. The airline has a fleet of 91 aircraft, out of which 13 are Max planes and 46 are older versions of Boeing 737 aircraft, according to its website. In his email to employees on the 17th anniversary of the airline, Singh said the carrier continues to fly with the highest loads month after month and expects to soar even higher in the coming months.
'CORSIA has set impossible targets. It tries to limit countries to the emission levels of the number of aircraft that they had in 2020. That has to be opposed.'
As per the current policy, 100 per cent foreign investment is allowed in scheduled air transport service, domestic scheduled passenger airlines and regional air transport
This is the third consecutive profitable quarter for SpiceJet.
Seaplanes are fixed-wing aircraft that can take off and land on both water and airfields.
Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday flew on SpiceJet's special flight between Delhi and Gwalior using Boeing's 737 Max plane that has been allowed to return to service after two and half years. All Max planes were grounded in India by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on March 13, 2019, three days after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max plane near Addis Ababa, which had left 157 people, including four Indians, dead. Along with Scindia, SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh and Boeing India president Salil Gupte were also present on the special flight on Tuesday.
Two issues dog the sale of the national carrier. One is the $2 billion bank guarantee the winning bidder will need to furnish. The other is the nearly 5000 lawsuits filed against Air India, many of them overseas. Anjuli Bhargava reports.
The market, however, reacted negatively to SpiceJet's announcement and the company's stock dropped by 0.87 per cent as analysts became wary of diversion into a new business during a high fuel price environment.
To mark the completion of administering of 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses, the largest khadi tricolour in the country, weighing around 1,400 kg, will be displayed at the Red Fort on Thursday, official sources said.
The Air India board met on Monday afternoon to consider the candidature of Ilker Ayci and after due deliberations approved the appointment of Ayci as the CEO & MD of Air India, Tata Sons said in a statement.
The Air India board met on Monday afternoon to consider the candidature of Ilker Ayci and after due deliberations approved the appointment of Ayci as the CEO & MD of Air India, Tata Sons said in a statement.
The airline is not convinced that it will have a sizeable passenger traffic to make wide body operations profitable
The decision was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the lockdown across the country will be extended till May 3 to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Indian captain Anand Amritraj hinted that Saketh Myneni partner Leander Paes for the doubles rubber in the World Group Davis Cup play-off tie and he believes the hosts have a "good chance" of earning a point against the formidable Spain.
The fare will be cheaper as it will be capped at Rs 2,500 per passenger.
The 21-day coronavirus lockdown in force since Wednesday has triggered a mass exodus of migrant workers across the country since the last few days.
The disappointment of the year is government's failure in finalising the re-drafted aviation policy.