Flyers faced a double blow as air fares on Air India flights out of Delhi and those of SpiceJet soared past Rs 1 lakh one-way on some routes, and even those showed 'sold out' despite the airlines adding capacity.
Indian equities declined on Friday, with the benchmark Nifty posting its worst weekly fall since September, as foreign investor sentiment remained weak amid tepid earnings growth and little progress on the India-US trade front.
DGCA provided temporary relief to IndiGo, which is partially owned by Rahul Bhatia, by rolling back the night duty definition to 12 am-5 am from 12 am-6 am earlier, and allowing its pilots to do six night-landings from two earlier, besides other relaxations.
The civil aviation ministry on Friday asked airlines to ensure that there is no abnormal surge in airfares for flights to and from the national capital amid suspension of operations at Delhi airport's Terminal 1 following the roof collapse incident.
With IndiGo cancelling over 1,000 flights on Friday owing to crew shortage as the second phase of the pilots flight duty and rest period norms kicked in, huge capacity was out of the market, leading to airfares tripling and quadrupling from over the normal range, a travel industry executive said.
The initial public offering (IPO) market in India last year was hot, with companies raising over $22 billion in 2025. But half of the 350-plus companies that listed on the stock exchange last year traded below their offer price, according to a new research report released by HSBC Global Investment Research - a sobering fact despite what otherwise looked like a rush of companies eager to list on the bourses.
Fair trade watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) is examining whether the country's largest airline, IndiGo, violated competition norms, a senior official said on Friday amid the carrier facing regulatory scrutiny over significant flight disruptions.
Travel firms expect package prices to rise by 5 to 10 per cent, depending on destination and inclusions.
With winter holidays approaching, some Indian travellers will venture abroad. Many will be underprepared for medical and other travel-related risks. Trip disruptions, missed connections, and steep medical costs in developed countries can leave travellers exposed if they underestimate the coverage they need.
'Given that India underperformed emerging markets by 28 per cent in 2025, the worst performance in over 30 years, the timing of the sharp STT hike could have been better.'
'If there is a big enough order, then we would bring the assembly line for the M88 engine and other critical equipment to India.'
Gandhi said it is ordinary Indians who pay the price in delays, cancellations and helplessness.
'They are saying that there is a pilot shortage which is not correct, but if it was true, did they suddenly come to know this on December 5?' 'If they didn't have crew, why did they seek approval for a winter schedule? To get the approval, the operator has to show crew strength and also a buffer of crew available.' 'If they had a crew crunch, why did they ask for extra flights? Or was it something else that made them so sure that they would get away with this exemption and bans?'
'It has got to be the biggest error in aviation. If it is the biggest error, then all those individuals in positions of power should be removed because they have caused the biggest meltdown in Indian aviation history.'
The cost of any flight from Delhi and Mumbai could rise by up to Rs 3,000 soon unless the airport regulator is able to reverse a court order.
'IndiGo will receive a sharp rap on the knuckles -- a punishment, a huge penalty. 'I look towards them creating a compensation fund.' 'I would like to think they would do that for all the passengers who are affected on every single day since cancellations began.'
'This festival season, advance airfares for major metros are up 20 to 25 per cent from last year.'
Baghaei also alleged that recent unrest in Iran was fuelled by foreign interference, claiming riots were triggered by "very evident" interventionist remarks by US and Israeli officials.
In a culture where children take up the profession of their father, her becoming a politician was seen as natural and acceptable.
The Indian stock market in the October-November period sees high trading activity due to increased consumer spending, festive demand, upbeat sentiment, renewed investor confidence, and the auspicious Muhurat trading session. This impacts many stocks and sectors in the festive season.
Financial services giant HDFC Bank, carrying a brand value of $44.9 billion, has surged past IT consulting behemoth Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to reclaim its crown as the country's most valued brand, according to the 2025 Kantar BrandZ Most Valuable Indian Brands report.
IndiGo promoter Rakesh Gangwal's family trust on Thursday sold a 1.3 per cent stake in the country's largest airline for Rs 2,933 crore through open market transactions, cumulatively offloading shares worth Rs 14,497 crore so far this year. With the latest sale, the cumulative divestment by Rakesh Gangwal, along with his wife Shobha Gangwal and their family trust -- the Chinkerpoo Family Trust -- stood at Rs 39,532.79 crore, translating to around $4.51 billion.
Brent crude oil price surged 4 per cent on Friday, following tension between Iran and the US. Airlines, however, have been unable to pass on the price increase to customers due to the soft demand.
Those who have binged on credit must spend less, cut discretionary expenses, and focus on repayment.
Aviation regulator DGCA plans to implement measures to control excessive air ticket price increases, following concerns raised during a parliamentary panel meeting. The meeting also addressed air safety issues in light of the Ahmedabad plane crash.
A ministry's internal note proposes caps on minimum and maximum fares airlines can charge, keeping in mind their cost structure, profit margin and ensuring the last minute fares are not out of bounds of passengers.
Airlines waive cancellation and rescheduling fees and boost flight capacity from Srinagar.
InterGlobe Aviation promoter Rakesh Gangwal and his family trust on Tuesday sold a 5.7 per cent stake in the airline for about Rs 11,385 crore ($1.33 billion) through a block deal, according to sources. Apart from Gangwal, the Chinkerpoo Family Trust, whose trustees are Shobha Gangwal and JP Morgan Trust Company of Delaware, has also participated in the transaction for divesting its stake in IndiGo, the country's largest airline, the sources said.
Despite air turbine fuel prices which rose for the third time this month, some airlines are dropping their base fares to a rupee, if booked 30 days before travel. They have also offered various other cut-price offers. These summer special fares are also 20 to 30 percent less than last summer's offer. The reason is slumping passenger load. Travel agents estimate the number of air travellers has dropped by around a tenth from last year.
IndiGo has delivered impressive operating performance in the past six quarters as it navigated cost and capacity challenges. It has managed to mitigate the impact of faulty engine-related groundings. The airline has also managed costs related to grounding, expensive secondary leasing, increasing airport charges, and pilot compensation inflation and delivered stronger yields and spreads.
IndiGo share price today: IndiGo share price fell as much as 4.8 per cent to a low of Rs 4,275 per share on the BSE in Monday's intraday trade as investors booked profit in the stock post a its April-June quarter (Q1) results for financial year 2024-25 (FY25). The stock ended 1.36 per cent lower at Rs 4,430 as against a 23-points gain in the benchmark BSE Sensex. The selling also got exacerbated as the management commentary, post Q1FY25 results, highlighted that inflationary pressure could likely dent July-September (Q2FY25) performance.
'Airlines are aware that during peak times like Diwali, demand will be high, so prices remain steep even for tickets purchased 90 days ahead.'
'The past few quarters have seen prohibitive fares for advance bookings, only to dip closer to departure.'
The primary drivers: Geopolitical disruptions inflating fuel and operational costs, and a surge in travel demand.
Air India has cancelled eight flights, including four international services, on Friday due to enhanced maintenance and operational reasons, the airline said.
Loans for Indian airlines have dried up as banks have become cautious to lend to the sector.
The routes, for which ticket pricing information has been sought, include those connecting Jammu and Kashmir, Leh and Port Blair.
Domestic jet fuel prices are up 7%, but are still 14% lower on a y-o-y basis. While lower fuel prices have brought respite to airlines, their non-fuel costs are rising because of rupee depreciation
As many as 94 per cent of travel and tourism industry leaders consider AI to be critical to their business.
FIA is a body of four established domestic private airlines -- Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir.
