An airlines industry body has sought reduction in customs and excise duties on aviation turbine fuel and allowing private firms to supply it to bring down prices.
We live in hope that India and its airlines might finally grow up, notes Anuli Bhargava.
'You don't need massive industry or huge energy resources.' 'You could start with just 3 or 4 people in a coffee shop and invent the world.'
Facing headwinds due to pilot exits, Akasa Air on Friday said it had approached the Delhi high court seeking interpretation and clarification with respect to mandatory notice period requirements for pilots and that the move was not against the DGCA or the civil aviation ministry. Akasa Air, which started flying in August last year, has initiated legal action against a "small set of pilots" who left the carrier without serving their notice periods that led to cancellation of many flights. In a statement, the airline said it sought relief from the Delhi high court to stop the unethical and illegal practice by this set of pilots.
Protocols for the Bomb Threat Assessment Committee (BTAC), convened in the event of a bomb threat call to an aircraft or airport, have been tweaked to better tackle the spate of the ongoing 'random' Internet-based threats being made to various Indian airlines, official sources said Tuesday.
Indigo has zero competition on 61.2 per cent of its 838 domestic routes.
'This case is not a good example of intellectual property strategy for either sector.'
Some of the proposed policies have been welcomed by pilots and cabin crew, while others have sparked criticism.
Singapore Airlines' deal with Tata Sons (Tata) will inject a further SGD 360 million ($267 million) into Air India. It will give SIA a 25.1 per cent stake in the enlarged Air India group following its takeover by Tata and merger with Vistara Airlines. The November 2022 deal between Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons to further inject $267 million into Air India is one of the key strategic initiatives for future growth mentioned in the quarterly financial report. This agreement is still subject to regulatory approval. SIA in the statement said, "The merged entity will be four to five times larger in scale compared to Vistara, with a strong presence in all key airline segments in India.
Asra Hussain Raza, a 26-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants, was among the 67 people killed in a tragic midair collision between an Army helicopter and a jetliner at Ronald Reagan National Airport in the US. The collision, the deadliest aviation disaster in the US since 2001, happened when American Airlines Flight 5342 collided with the Army helicopter as it approached the airport on Wednesday night. Raza, a consultant, graduated with honors from Indiana University and married her college sweetheart in August 2023.
The airlines' losses globally are expected to be down from $52 billion in 2021 to $9.7 billion this year and industry-wide profit should be on the horizon in 2023, Director General of IATA Willie Walsh said in Doha on Monday. International Air Transport Association (IATA) represents some 290 airlines comprising 83 per cent of global air traffic. Walsh, in his inaugural speech at the 78th annual general meeting of IATA here, said that while the outlook for airlines globally is positive, the business environment remains challenging.
Domestic air passenger traffic grew 5.1 per cent year-on-year to an estimated 138.9 million in May and was significantly higher by around 14 per cent than pre-Covid levels, credit ratings agency Icra said on Thursday. Icra also said the outlook on the Indian aviation industry is stable amid the continued recovery in domestic and international air passenger traffic with a relatively stable cost environment and expectations of the trend continuing in FY2025.
Tata Sons on Thursday announced the appointment of Campbell Wilson as chief executive officer and managing director of Air India. Wilson is the founding CEO of low-cost airline Scoot.
Akasa Air has reduced its service on 10 routes and stopped operating flights on eight others since the exodus of pilots began in early July. The airline's flights per week reduced from 945 in June to 754 in October, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium's data, which has been reviewed by Business Standard. The airline currently operates flights on 34 routes. Between June and October, Akasa Air ceased operations on the following: Ahmedabad-Kochi, Ahmedabad-Hyderabad, Ahmedabad-Pune, Bengaluru-Hyderabad, Bengaluru-Chennai, Kochi-Hyderabad, Goa-Lucknow, and Goa-Hyderabad.
"Heartbroken by the loss of Shri @RNTata2000 Ji, whose visionary leadership not only transformed India's industry but also played a pivotal role in shaping our aviation sector," Naidu said in a post on X.
Air France-KLM is planning to invest directly in the US airline industry for the first time by taking a minority stake in the group expected to be formed from a merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the number three and five US carriers.
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.
Pilots' bodies at Tata Group-owned Air India have accused the airline management of making unilaterally "rapid" and "regressive" changes in the service conditions of pilots. In a letter to Air India Chief Human Resources Officer Suresh Dutt Tripathi on Tuesday, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) and Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) also stated that "all unilateral violations of their rights and service agreements are creating industrial unrest and shattering employee confidence in the current management". The communication comes amid Air India reducing drastically the annual limit of privilege leave accumulation to 60 days from 300 days earlier, as per a source.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Friday said the airline industry in India has grown by 400 per cent in a short span of about six-and-a-half years.
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.
Earlier in the day, an IndiGo A320 passenger aircraft landed successfully at 1.32 pm at runway 08/26 of the under-construction Navi Mumbai International Airport, paving the way for the Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL) to seek an aerodrome licence from the aviation safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to start commercial flight services.
Qatar Airways is recruiting Female Cabin Crew.
So should airlines play the keening, trance-like Siddi folk music from the Kutch peninsula? The Sufiana Kalam of Kashmir? Carnatic music? Rabindra Sangeet? Bihu melodies? Classical music from the Hindustani gharanas? Ghazals? Bhajans? Bollywood hits?... asks Kanika Datta.
Given all the risks in the world today, including the political instability, economic uncertainty, public health emergence and terrorism, there is not much buffer to absorb a significant change for the worse in the operating environment
The airline industry will suffer a $2.5bn net loss next year despite the big fall in the oil price, as carriers are overtaken by falling demand for air travel amid the deepening recession in several leading economies.
Days after saying that there is no need for subsidies to achieve greater penetration of electric vehicles (EVs), Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Monday clarified that the view is his own, but any official call on EV subsidies is not one that he can take.
Out of 24,230 IIT and NIT grads, about 8,000 students didn't find any takers during campus placement drives this year.
Jaipur airport SHO Ral Lal said the ASI called for a female colleague for the security check, but the argument escalated and the SpiceJet employee slapped him.
InterGlobe Enterprises Ltd on Thursday announced its plans to launch IndiGo, its nation-wide low-cost airline venture.
From CEOs to RBI governors, cricket's rich imagery and strategy resonate deeply with leadership, uncertainty, and decision-making across industries and global diplomacy, points out Suveen Sinha.
Carter was in politics, but not a politician, certainly not a transactional politician, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
Airbus will increase sourcing of components from India, which offers plenty of opportunities, according to the aircraft maker's CEO Guillaume Faury. The European major, which has bagged huge aircraft orders from IndiGo and Air India, doubled its sourcing of components and services from India to 1 billion euros during the period from 2019-2023, he said.
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.
Air India will restore salaries that were cut in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic from September 1, according to a communication. The loss-making airline, which was taken over by Tatas in January this year, has also decided to revise crew layover allowances and meal arrangements from September 1. In the communication to the employees, Air India CEO and managing director Campbell Wilson said the airline "will be restoring the salary reduction for all employees with effect from September 1, 2022."
Long-term macro trends indicate growth in demand for air travel. Trends from the ticketing website MakeMyTrip indicate a likely annual growth of between 11-17 per cent in Indian air travel demand over FY24-30. Through that period, InterGlobe Aviation or IndiGo may continue to make gains in market share in both domestic and international travel, aided by large fleet additions. IndiGo is the largest global customer of Airbus by far with 950 aircraft orders outstanding.
A total of 406 aircraft are in the fleet of eight scheduled airlines in the country, most of which were suffering losses, Lok Sabha was informed.
The regulator has warned airlines and in an email on May 2 asked all Indian carriers to give compensation and facilities to passengers affected by such denial of boarding, failing which it would will impose financial penalties on them.
