After more than two decades and three attempts, the government has finally sold its flagship national carrier Air India, and it is deja vu for Maharaja as it returned home to its founding father the Tata group. Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy (JRD) Tata founded the airline in 1932 and named it Tata Airlines. In 1946, the aviation division of Tata Sons was listed as Air India, and in 1948, the Air India International was launched with flights to Europe. The international service was among the first public-private partnerships in India, with the government holding 49 per cent, the Tatas keeping 25 per cent and the public owning the rest. In 1953, Air India was nationalised and for the next over four decades it remained the prized possession for India controlling the majority of the domestic airspace.
Markets regulator Sebi has kept in abeyance the processing of Go Airlines' draft papers for an initial public offer worth Rs 3,600 crore. Go Airlines (India) Ltd, which has announced rebranding itself as 'Go First', filed preliminary papers for an initial share sale worth Rs 3,600 crore in May. The proceeds will be mainly used to repay dues. The "issuance of observations (has been) kept in abeyance", according to Sebi's latest update on processing status of Go Airlines' draft offer documents. The information was updated on June 25. In Sebi parlance, issuance of observations implies its go-ahead for the IPO.
Jet is the largest player in the Mumbai airport, with over 110 domestic slots and 30 international slots from the city.
Budget airlines SpiceJet announced that it would provide free air tickets for life to all Indian medal winners at the just-concluded London Olympics.
Tata Sons has emerged as the top bidder for the takeover of debt-laden State-run airline Air India but the bid is yet to be approved by a group of ministers headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, sources said.
The move if implemented, will be a temporary measure to protect both consumers and airlines. A section of airline executives and experts, however, warned that any intervention in pricing would be counterproductive.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your stock market queries.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
With better utilisation of slots, foreign flying rights, and greater international connections, the operator of India's largest airport feels a privatised Air India will bring commercial benefit to Delhi airport and help it revive quicker from the pandemic shock. Delhi is the largest hub for Air India, with most of its long-haul flights to the US and Europe being operated from here. The airport plans to give its most modern terminal 3 (T3) exclusively to the Tata Group.
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.
Air services to Kathmandu were hit again on Sunday as flights of Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo failed to land in the earthquake-hit Nepalese capital and returned to New Delhi as ATC personnel at Tribhuvan International Airport were evacuated following a powerful aftershock.
Virgin Atlantic plans to operate three flights a week from Delhi to London's Heathrow from September 2, while Mumbai services are planned to re-commence from September 17 with four flights per week. Both the destinations will provide connections to New York JFK and will operate on 787-9 Dreamliner.
Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways have combined hired more than 100 Indian pilots in the last six months.
Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL), the private airport operator, had earlier announced that all operations at the CSMIA will remain suspended between 2.30 pm and 7 pm as a precautionary measure in view of the cyclone Nisarga.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Though India's airlines are certainly bleeding, they haven't yet faced the ignominy of shutting down.
The car was expected to have a price tag of Rs 10 lakh and launch was slated for this June.
Auditors of Jet Airways, SpiceJet say the "appropriateness of the going concern basis" depends on their ability to meet obligations.
During the January-July period, passenger growth jumped 21.13 per cent to 455.78 lakh.
Modi's 'UDAN' project faces fund crunch as too many airlines have come on board
Domestic air traffic clocked slowest growth in 4 years on high fares and flight cancellations.
In a rare move, the DGCA has filed a police complaint against 34 pilots of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir.
When Jet Airways shut operations, the slots which were allocated to it were temporarily distributed among various airlines. And, the airlines that were called upon to immediately create infrastructure so that the public at large does not face any hardship have invested huge amounts of money to created infrastructure to utilise such slots. "In view of this, though the allocation of slots to such airlines is temporary the same can't be withdrawn from them without any legitimate basis.", the affidavit said.
On a busy corporate route like Delhi-Mumbai, hand luggage fare can be cheaper by at least Rs 500-Rs 800.
'Everyone says never waste a crisis.' 'When we went into Covid and we were in total lockdown, we were at work.' 'The planes were not flying and we wondered what to do.' 'We looked at each of our performance metrics -- what are customers complaining about, how do employees feel, how do investors feel?'
Domestic budget carriers SpiceJet, Indigo and GoAir have rolled out another sale offer with fares starting from Rs 1,699 for a limited period on domestic routes.
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.
Flight services to Kathmandu were on Saturday cancelled or put on hold following the closure of airport there after a powerful earthquake rocked central part of the Himalayan country.
A 2019 investigation of Bombay Dyeing by market regulator Sebi has put a brake on the initial public offering process of sister company Go Air. The Wadia group-owned low cost airline had earlier planned to launch the IPO to raise Rs 3,600 crore by August, but may be forced to postpone it by a month or two as Sebi completes its investigation.
Domestic air traffic in April this year consisted 10.99 million passengers as compared to 11.51 million passengers in the same month last year, signifying a fall of around 4.5 per cent,
Jet fuel prices are about 33% lower than the same period a year ago.
"The strategic divestment transaction of Air India successfully concluded today with transfer of 100 per cent shares of Air India to M/s Talace Pvt Ltd along with management control," DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a tweet. A new board, led by the strategic partner, takes charge of Air India, he added.
The watchdog has also asked the airlines to ensure various requirements are complied with by engineering and maintenance personnel with respect to 737 MAX planes.
Strong passenger growth will help domestic airlines improve their top line and margins.
Low-cost positioning is passe. Brand experts suggest ways in which the airline can differentiate itself in the minds of customers.
The airlines have instead suggested compulsory personal protective equipment-like suit, gloves and mask for flyers and crew members.
Airfares in Indian market are unsustainable, says a senior Boeing official.
They say better late than never. For the Tatas, the original owners of Air India, bringing back the airline to its fold is worth the wait even if the attempt to privatise the bleeding national carrier by successive governments has taken over two decades. While many airlines have come and gone from the Indian skies since the time when the first move was made to privatise Air India to date, the salt-to-software conglomerate has never let the love affair with aviation, more so with Air India that its former chairman Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (JRD) had, to go off the radar. It is said that Tata group executives used to complain in private that JRD -- the pioneer of the Indian aviation industry -- spent more time worrying about Air India than the Tata group when he was heading both the entities.
The Air Traffic Controller inadvertently gave instructions to one aircraft to continue taxiing through a particular taxiway mixing its location with that of another plane that led to a near collision at Delhi airport on Tuesday, according to the Airports Authority of India.
