Industry sources and certain airline executives revealed this was done after the LCCs hammered out their differences with full-service carriers on certain contentious issues related to pricing. Industry source said the fares had been lowered as a protest against the full-service carriers' sale of coupons worth Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) and valid for six months to travel agents across the country at prices that were 20-30 per cent less than those available on their websites.
Rising fuel prices, intense competition and inability to pass on spiralling expenses have been negatively impacting the domestic airlines.
InterGlobe Aviation, the operator of India's leading airline IndiGo, delivered a better than expected performance across most parameters in Q2FY24. The company posted its fourth consecutive quarter of net profit of Rs 188 crore. It had reported a loss of Rs 1,583 crore in the same quarter a year ago.
In a shocker, the US Food and Drug Administration has discovered the presence of mice, ants and cockroaches in food served on airlines in the country.
IndiGo was set up in 2006 by businessman Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal, a former CEO for US Airways Group.
In the months to come, the skies above promise to be a captivating theatre of action, where helicopters play starring roles, ferrying leaders, and echoing the pulse of democracy.
Whatever the final outcome of this unhappy episode, one thing is clear: a glass once cracked cannot be fixed. The trust is gone forever and the relationship between two old friends lies in tatters. For now, IndiGo, the airline, will have to learn to soar with two angry and distracted commanders, says Anjuli Bhargava.
For the first time, the country's largest airline IndiGo will soon lease up to four wide-body Boeing 777 planes to cover the shortfall in its international operations, according to officials. The airline said the wet-leasing of "certain aircraft" will be done as an interim measure. IndiGo, which has so far only been operating narrow-body Airbus planes, ATRs and freighters, will now be having wide-body aircraft in its fleet.
Domestic air passenger traffic remained 44 per cent lower in the April-December 2021 against the corresponding period of FY20, but saw a jump of 52 per cent year-on-year to 111 lakh in December 2021, according to rating agency ICRA. The total domestic passenger traffic had stood at 73 lakh in December 2020, according to a report by the rating agency. It also said that the emergence of new coronavirus variant and reactionary restrictions impacting air travel remain near term-challenges for the airline industry.
Airline companies under the Federation of Indian Airlines plan to make a presentation to the civil aviation ministry saying they will be forced to axe 8,000 employees if the government implements the new ground handling policy from January 1, 2009. About 29 per cent of the 28,000-odd employees working in the private carriers are involved in ground handling.
The representative body of the global airline industry has asked governments of countries like India, which have huge unrealised potential in aviation, to use the sector as a strategic asset and devise policies that spur competitiveness.
'The levy proposed to be charged on air tickets for regional connectivity fund would marginally increase cost.'
Air India's handling of an incident in which an inebriated male flier allegedly urinated on a woman co-passenger suggests an urgent need for stricter rules to deal with unruly passengers, according to legal and aviation experts.
Insolvency tribunal NCLT on Wednesday rejected Go First lessors' petitions to take back the planes leased to the grounded airline, and said the aircraft are available for resumption of operations since aviation regulator DGCA has not deregistered them. A two-member bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) held that physical possession of the aircraft/engines would be "indisputably" with Go First and lessors cannot claim possession during the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the carrier. According to the tribunal, aircraft and its engines are the sole essence of Go First's business and if taken away, it would result in its "corporate death" leaving no scope for its resolution.
This incident was also not reported to the DGCA, for which the regulator pulled up the full-service carrier, stating its conduct was unprofessional and issued show cause notices to the airline, its director of flight safety and the crew that operated the New York-Delhi flight, asking them to explain within two weeks why action should not be taken against them.
Airlines in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to corner the maximum profits this year, with the aviation industry's umbrella body IATA projecting a global profit of $8.9 billion in 2010.
Two unions representing Air India pilots have asked members not to accept the revised compensation and employment offer, calling the company's proposals "unfair labour practices." They said any coercion on pilots to sign the offer would lead to industrial unrest. The Tata group airline announced on Monday a new salary structure for pilots and cabin crew.
Jet's air operator certificate will lapse on May 19.
Jet Airways said on Tuesday the domestic aviation industry would soon witness a shakeout, but hoped the country's largest private airline would come out of it unscathed.
The incident took place in flight number 6E 308 from IGI Airport at around 7:56 am on Friday.
With recession eroding profits of the global airline industry, Indian national carrier Air India on Monday said it is taking a "hard look" at its operations and would submit a paper to the government for the revival of the airline.
Here's why you should care.
Hundreds of pilots are staring at a long wait to get the job of their dreams after completing the course, the cost of which runs to Rs 1 crore.
Its association with India is over 70 years old and spans both civil and military aviation. The Douglas DC-3 transport aircraft used by the air force beginning the 1940s and the iconic Boeing 747 aircraft flown by Air India, both had Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines. The Indian Air Force's present-day, heavy-lift C-17 Globemaster III and the yet-to-be-inducted C-295 planes, too, have P&W power plants.
The airline industry was impacted last year by the global economic slowdown but the growing Indian and Chinese markets are expected to help boost the sector, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said.
Airlines worldwide will continue to be in the 'red' because of the global meltdown and may take more than three years to recover, an international aviation group said warning that the epicentre of the crisis is now in Asia.
SpiceJet is looking for investments from external parties, including airlines, and also plans to add seven more Boeing planes to its fleet, the carrier's chief Ajay Singh said on Tuesday. In recent times, SpiceJet has faced turbulence -- especially with many of its flights suffering technical snags -- and subsequently, the airline has faced actions from aviation regulator DGCA. SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said it is doing the utmost to work through the stress that it has faced and the strategy is to raise resources.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar yesterday said the state has already slashed Value Added Tax on Air Turbine Fuel refuelled in the state from 22 percent to mere 12.5 per cent.
Air travel penetration in India remains small in global terms, with 0.04 annual trips per capita against 0.3 in China and more than two in the United States.
Capa lauded govt's efforts in rescuing SpiceJet.
Interview with Virgin Group owner.
The government has recently decided to infuse equity worth Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion) in the first tranche into Air India, which has a paid-up equity base of just Rs 145 crore but has ordered aircraft worth Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion).
Airlines will report losses in FY16 but 35% less Y-o-Y
In 2010, Ratan Tata had spoken of how he had to abandon plans to launch an airline because he refused to pay bribes to secure the necessary approvals.
A pilots' grouping of Tata group-owned Air India has approached the labour department to initiate conciliation proceedings with the airline's management to sort out various issues, including concerns over possible changes in service conditions of its members. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), which claims to represent around 900 pilots flying narrow-body planes of Air India, has written to the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) as well as Deputy CLC and Assistant Labour Commissioner in New Delhi earlier this week. Apart from service condition issues, the association has flagged that the airline's plans to hire captains for its A320 fleet on a fixed-term contract may result in an anomalous situation for the existing pilots at Air India.
The company, owned by the UB Group, had been relying on internal group reserves and debt to manage its operations over the past two years and this infusion is expected to fuel its sustained growth.
Early estimates by Assocham claim that the Olympic torch relay caused financial losses to industry such as airlines, railways and BPO centres. It caused trouble for long-distance travellers and patients in hospitals. The railway platforms remained heavily overcrowded as incoming passengers had no option but to stay on to railway stations due to shrinkage in exit facilities. Hospitality and industry staff night shift staff reported atleast 5 hours late because of traffic jams.
