Indian airlines are now required to offer 60% of seats for free and ensure families sit together, as the government strengthens passenger rights and addresses concerns about high seat selection fees.
India's aviation sector is facing fresh turbulence, with rising fuel costs, the Ministry of Civil Aviation's free-seat directive, and geopolitical disruptions in West Asia clouding near-term earnings visibility.
IndiGo, Air India, and SpiceJet are opposing the government's directive to offer 60% of seats for free selection, arguing it will lead to increased airfares to compensate for lost revenue.
The Tatas have collectively increased their aggregate airlines seat capacity across domestic and international markets by an impressive 20 per cent, going from 64.03 million in calendar year (CY) 2023 to 76.72 million in the current CY, according to data shared by the group that controls Air India in which Vistara has been merged recently. The Tatas also run Air India Express in which Air Asia India has been merged.
Passengers may think they are just booking a ticket, but airlines' clever design tricks are quietly picking their pockets.
IndiGo operator InterGlobe Aviation had a mildly encouraging third quarter in financial year 2026 (Q3FY26).
Passengers traveling from Bengaluru to Kathmandu faced significant disruptions and protested at Kempegowda International Airport after their flight failed to land in Kathmandu on two consecutive days, leading to frustration and accusations of mismanagement by the airline.
'Extending 'flight duty period' and 'flight time' limits for minimum crew complement operations increases exposure to fatigue-related performance degradation'
Citizens and residents across the Gulf region are preparing for Eid amidst regional conflict, impacting festivities and daily life.
All the while, this guy kept staring at us. Non-stop. After nearly half an hour, we seemed to be at a stalemate. Everything could be done pursuant to an official complaint. I didn't want to file one.
'No civilian deserves to live in fear. No civilian deserves to be caught up in a war which is destabilising the entire region.'
Forbes Travel Guide's second annual Verified Air Travel Awards once again spotlight the aviation stars that turn every journey into something truly remarkable.
The Competition Commission of India, following its preliminary inquiry, said the airline appeared to have caused an appreciable adverse effect on competition by restricting its services.
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu and her coach were stranded at Dubai International Airport following an explosion near their location, triggered by escalating tensions in the Gulf region.
India's largest airline IndiGo on Thursday reported a 78 per cent decline in December quarter net profit at Rs 549.1 crore as flight disruptions and implementation of the new labour code took a toll on its earnings. The airline reported a net profit of Rs 549.1 crore in the October-December quarter, compared with Rs 2,448.8 crore earnings in the year-ago period, according to a company statement.
IndiGo is only behind Qatar Airways, which grew slightly faster at 10.4 per cent in the same period, according to the latest data from Official Airline Guide (OAG) based on 20 top airlines in the world.
A shortened game will be like a sprint where the risk element will be high. Who will win when emotion meets execution remains to be seen. K R Nayar reports from Colombo.
With 7.64 million seats, the Mumbai-Delhi route in 2025 was the eighth busiest route in the world.
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday said Air India's Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which faced fuel control switch glitch, took off from London on February 1 after the crew carried out a physical check of the switch and that no abnormal parameters were observed during start of the engine or thereafter.
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.
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.
The DGCA has formed two specialised teams to internally monitor IndiGo's daily operations.
'Where rostering systems are automated and duty time software interfaces directly with DGCA, the assertion that they suddenly discovered crew shortages is simply implausible.' 'If adequate crew planning hasn't materialised within 12 to 24 months from inception, how will 45 days -- from December 5 to February 12 -- suddenly resolve matters?'
'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?'
Air India announced the resumption of its non-stop flights between Delhi and Shanghai (PVG), effective from February 1, 2026, marking Air India's return to mainland China after nearly six years, an official statement by the airline stated.
The country's largest airline IndiGo on Tuesday reported a loss of Rs 2,582.10 crore in the September quarter as higher forex losses and expenses impacted the bottom line, and it expects to induct the first long range Airbus A321 XLR aircraft in December. The airline, which had a loss of Rs 986.7 crore in the year-ago period, said hedging actions and more revenues in foreign currencies from international operations will help cushion the currency movements.
'IndiGo abruptly cancelled our Kolkata-Purnea flight citing bad weather, despite clear conditions and another airline operating the same route, causing severe inconvenience.'
'If there is a big enough order, then we would bring the assembly line for the M88 engine and other critical equipment to India.'
Air India Group expects to induct 26 wide-body and narrow-body planes, and operate 81 per cent of its international flights with upgraded aircraft by the end of 2026, while overall capacity will remain almost unchanged next year.
Long queues, passengers in tears, and repeated flight cancellations created a morning of severe disruption at Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Saturday, as IndiGo continued to face nationwide operational delays.
Travel firms expect package prices to rise by 5 to 10 per cent, depending on destination and inclusions.
Comedian-actor Vir Das criticized Air India for failing to provide a wheelchair for his wife, who was recovering from a fractured foot, despite pre-booking it on the airline's Pranaam service. Air India admitted the experience fell "short of expectations" and said there was a delay, not a denial, in providing the wheelchair. Das detailed his experience on social media, highlighting a series of issues during his flight from Mumbai to Delhi, including a broken table and leg rests, a stuck seat, and difficulty in getting a wheelchair at the airport.
A child who is less than 12 years of age must be allotted a seat beside at least one parent or a guardian with whom he is travelling, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told airlines on Tuesday. The DGCA has said that the air transport circular on unbundling of services and fees by scheduled airlines is being modified. It allows airlines to charge for excess baggage, preferential seats, meals, snacks, drinks, and carriage of musical instruments.
Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday slammed Tata Group-owned Air India for allotting him a 'broken and sunk' seat, prompting his ministerial colleague K Rammohan Naidu to instruct the airline to take 'necessary action'.
More than 200 passengers on a Singapore-bound Air India plane had a harrowing time at the Delhi airport as they were first deboarded from the aircraft due to cabin temperature issue and were later flown to their destination after a delay of nearly six hours.
Air India passengers spotted small cockroaches onboard the plane flying from San Francisco to Mumbai, and the aircraft underwent deep cleaning during the scheduled stop over at Kolkata airport on Monday early morning.
The incident occurred in the flight 6E138 and after landing, the perpetrator was handed over to the security authorities at the Kolkata airport, the source said.
The perpetrator was also declared as unruly by the airline, the source added.
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.
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