Domestic airlines are preparing to offer lower fares for passengers without check-in bags in a move to improve seat occupancy and market share. IndiGo chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta indicated the airline's interest to offer zero bag fares in an interaction with Bloomberg. Regulatory caps on fares and capacity related to Covid-19 have prevented IndiGo from taking a decision and the airline is discussing the issue with the government, he said.
Budget carrier SpiceJet on Wednesday said it has amicably settled a $132-million dispute with aircraft leasing firm Babcock & Brown Aircraft Management (BBAM). The dispute, valued at $131.85 million (Rs 1,107 crore) with the lessors -- Horizon Aviation 1 Ltd, Horizon II Aviation 3 Ltd, and Horizon III Aviation 2 Ltd -- has been resolved for $22.5 million, SpiceJet said in a statement.
Passenger traffic to Lakshadweep more than doubled from April to June this year.
Two more insolvency petitions were filed by Sabarmati Aviation and JetAir 17 against budget carrier Spicejet at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday. The NCLT issued a notice to the airline over the plea by operational creditor Sabarmati Aviation while asking another complainant, JetAir 17, to file additional documents in support of its claims of $27 million.
Out of the 14 flights, 13 were diverted to Jaipur and 1 to Dehradun, the official said and added that the diversions happened between 8.30 am and 3 pm.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
'After the plane collided with the wall, passengers were thrown out of the aircraft.'
On February 19, India's largest private low-fare airline IndiGo announced the resignation of one of the two founders, Rakesh Gangwal, from the airline's board and his intentions of offloading his stake in the airline over the next five years. The announcement came on a Friday, giving the stock markets the weekend to absorb the news but the markets registered a tepid response on Monday's opening. In contrast, in July 2019, when the fight between the two founders and erstwhile friends first became public, the markets reacted savagely. The IndiGo scrip at the time fell 19 per cent, wiping out millions of rupees of shareholder wealth before bouncing back. For readers who may be hazy on the details of the dispute, here is the context.
Vistara's aircraft, having better interiors, will replace Air India's planes on major metro-to-metro routes between Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru after merger of both the carriers next month, sources privy to the development said on Thursday. "Air India aircraft are being refurbished one by one. Until that process is complete, it makes sense to deploy Vistara planes on our high-revenue metro-to-metro routes between Delhi, Mumbai and Benglauru," a source said.
The issue of hoax bomb threats to more than 400 schools in the capital triggered a political storm ahead of the Delhi assembly polls on Tuesday, with the Bharatiya Janata Party raising questions about the possible links between those involved and the Aam Aadmi Party, prompting the latter to strongly rebuke the claims.
Loans for Indian airlines have dried up as banks have become cautious to lend to the sector.
The Air India Express Employees Union, which is affiliated with the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, has written a letter to the chief labour commissioner (central) in this regard.
The new visa-free regime allows travellers to stay for up to 60 days instead of only 15 earlier.
Air India Express on Thursday cancelled 85 flights or around 23 per cent of the total daily capacity as the disruptions due to the cabin crew shortage continue and said Air India will operate services on 20 of its routes to minimise inconvenience to passengers.
'My one recommendation would be to first quell the violence and then encourage dialogue and build the trust among the different communities.' 'This is not easy but necessary, for violence cannot be the way forward.'
Pakistan's national flag carrier on Thursday suspended flight operations to Afghanistan due to what it called "security concerns", hours after the Taliban government threatened to ban the airline unless it reduced the fare on the Kabul-Islamabad route to previous levels.
Air India on Friday announced suspending flights to Tel Aviv till August 8, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.
