The decision comes hours after an A320 neo aircraft of IndiGo suffered engine failure mid-air and made an emergency landing at Ahmedabad airport.
At present, six A320 Neo of IndiGo & GoAir are grounded waiting for engine replacement
The airline is currently working to normalise its operations with the support of its pilots and cabin crew and expects to be on track by the end of this week, it said.
IndiGo has confirmed the delivery of the next set of 25 ATR-72 jets and will be inducting around 10 planes by the end of this calendar year, making it the largest regional fleet operator in the country.
However, according to some social media reports, the Civil Aviation Administration of China has allowed IndiGo to operate seven flights a week to Chengdu and Guangzhou from New Delhi and Kolkata, respectively
The budget carrier has reported a series of incidents involving engine glitches, mainly in its A320 Neo planes, which has resulted in non-availability of some of such planes for operations.
In the season of aviation action, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed Akasa Air has secured the crucial no-objection certificate (NoC) from the civil aviation ministry. It expects to start operations next summer. The airline will now have to apply for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for operations permit. Aviation sector has been in the limelight with the Tata Group winning the Air India bid last week.
The presence of the private sector at a prestigious military training institution is an important acknowledgement of its growing capabilities in designing and manufacturing cutting edge aerospace and defence equipment, reports Ajai Shukla.
Tata Sons will increase its stake in budget carrier AirAsia India (AAI) to 83.67 per cent by acquiring an additional 32.67 per cent for $37.66 million from AirAsia Investment Ltd (AAIL), according to a regulatory filing. Currently, AAIL, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia-based AirAsia, holds 49 per cent stake in the Bengaluru-based AirAsia India. In a regulatory filing to stock exchange Bursa Malaysia, AirAsia said, "The board of directors of AirAsia wishes to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary AAIL and Tata Sons Pvt Ltd, India, on December 29, entered into a share purchase agreement."
The DGCA cracked the whip after an IndiGo flight bound for Lucknow returned to Ahmedabad within 40 minutes of its getting airborne due to a mid-air engine failure.
IndiGo confirmed the incident but said the aircraft did not face any technical issue in the past.
This is the largest single dose of equity infusion into the joint venture since its launch in January 2015.
Lessor market sources said with the fuel prices remaining high, IndiGo would get better rates for the fuel-efficient A320neos.
Because of strong headwinds on Delhi-Istanbul route for the last two days, the low-cost carrier has been unable to take most of the check-in luggage in the same aircraft along with passengers, said an airline spokesperson.
IndiGo, which has grown rapidly to become India's biggest airline by market share, has now ordered 530 A320 family planes from Airbus, the planemaker said in a statement.
Aviation turbine fuel accounts for 35-40 per cent of the total operating cost of an Indian airline.
People in the know said the move would impact around 110 engines, virtually putting a spanner on the expansion plans of IndiGo - counted among the fastest growing airlines in the world.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has released a draft procedure that calls for testing pilots, other aviation personnel and crew members for psychoactive substances before they take to the skies. The Indian civil aviation regulator has sought comments from stakeholders over the next 30 days before issuing a regulation to this effect. Asking airlines and airports to do random checks on crew and air traffic controllers, DGCA proposed that violators be suspended for a minimum of three years or their licence be permanently cancelled as maximum punishment.
"When the A320 plane, which did not have any passengers as it was heading to Moscow to bring back stranded Indians under Vande Bharat Mission, had reached Uzbekistan's airspace, our team on ground realised that one of the pilots had tested COVID-positive," senior Air India officials said.
The Delhi-based airline currently has 13 Airbus A320 aircraft in the fleet and it plans to take another seven (A320 Neo) planes by June 2018.
Airline to deploy around 50 planes in the next seven months
Currently, Vistara has more than 22 planes and operates around 850 flights every week.
Of the 48 flights, which are not being operated as part of the curtailed schedule, 42 are of IndiGo and six of GoAir.
AirAsia India, which started operations on June 12 2014, had a market share of 6.2 per cent of the domestic traffic in April.
Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com brings you amazing gadgets and mobile devices from CES 2022.
IndiGo and GoAir, which have Pratt & Whitney-powered Airbus A320 Neo planes, have been facing problems with these engines, manufactured by the US firm, since their induction three years ago.
Executives of Indian airlines said that the drop is primarily for flights to major metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, which are the prime revenue generators on the domestic front.
IndiGo's president Aditya Ghosh shares the growth plan.
With IndiGo executing its long haul low-cost plans the airline will certainly need a lot of cash going forward.
Dispute arose as Indian carriers objected to Emirates flying passengers beyond Dubai, and Dubai authorities complained that Indian airlines have been flying more flights than allocated to its carriers.
A shortage of pilots and cabin crew is one reason for flight delays.
In 2011, the Gurgaon-based airline placed an order of 180 narrow-body Airbus aircraft, including 150 fuel efficient A320neo and 30 A320s.
At the recently concluded Dubai airshow, Akasa, Rakesh Radheyshyam Jhunjhunwala's new airline, signed a $9 billion deal with American aircraft maker Boeing to buy its 737 MAX planes and a $4 billion one for engines with CFM, a joint venture between GE of the US and Safran of France. Unlike his financial doppelganger Warren Buffett, who divested billions from his airline stock portfolio at the start of the pandemic, Jhunjhunwala is wagering his billions in a brand new airline. The legendary investor bought a roughly 40 per cent stake in SNV Aviation in September, Akasa's holding company, started in March by three former Jet Airways colleagues. With aviation still to recover from its pandemic slump, the big question around his foray into domestic aviation, due to take off in summer 2022, is whether it is another pie in the sky.
It's too big to digest as one whole airline.'
Air India plans to induct all these 19 aircraft between this fiscal to March 2018.
Some 30-odd co-pilots were being "forced to work overtime" without any remuneration.
Vistara will operate from its base Delhi and fly to Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Goa, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Jammu and Patna in the first year as per its plan submitted to DGCA while applying for the AOP.
IndiGo's co-founder and interim CEO Rahul Bhatia said profitability was significantly impacted by costs pressure from the increases in fuel price and the depreciation of rupee as well as competitive fare environment.
GoAir has 19 Airbus A320 planes and operates around 140 daily flights.
The first Airbus A-320 aircraft of Tata-SIA joint venture Vistara airline, painted with its logo and livery, landed at the IGI Airport in New Delhi on Wednesday, taking the carrier a step closer to its launch.
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