Asserting that the government can't remain a mute spectator to the move by the air carriers, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said there can be 'no justification' for airlines to hike fares in an 'arbitrary manner'.
Kingfisher Airlines Executive Vice-President Hitesh Patel said Kingfisher was interested in flying Gulf and south-eastern destinations, if the government permitted.
Aviation regulator DGCA has allowed IndiGo to wet lease wide-body Boeing planes from Turkish Airlines for up to six months and has rejected the domestic carrier's request for leasing the aircraft for up to two years, according to sources. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) turned down the request of the country's largest airline to wet lease the aircraft for a longer period, citing that the move could become diversion of traffic rights in collusion with a strong foreign carrier that will mainly feed the latter's hub abroad with more passengers from India, the sources said. IndiGo, which currently has only narrow-body planes in its fleet, decided to lease wide-body aircraft to operate more flights on international routes to meet rising demand.
IndiGo on Wednesday said it was exploring an earlier introduction of wide-body planes in its fleet to meet the growing demand for international travel. Industry sources said the airline was in talks with Norse Atlantic Airways to wet-lease six B787 planes in its fleet.
The Mumbai police have registered a case against an unidentified person after three airlines received bomb threats on their X handle, an official said on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is looking at granting permission to domestic airlines wanting to go international on a "case-by-case" basis.
The air carriers' liability and insurance draft bill has proposed a five-fold increase in compensation in case of death or injury, the report said.
Regulator in action after grounding pilots for allowing passengers into the cockpit.
Propelled by strong demand and lower costs, the country's largest airline, InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo), reported solid operational performance in the 2024-25 (FY25) October-December quarter (Q3). While demand was driven by the festival season, year-end increase, and higher consumer spending, lower fuel and rental costs helped deliver a beat at the operating profit level.
National carriers stood second-last among eight of the scheduled domestic airlines in percentage terms of on-time performance in departures during 2008, government said on Tuesday.
Indigo, Air India, Spicejet, GoAir, Jet Airways and Vistara put Diwakar Reddy under no fly list.
Domestic airlines may soon be able to hedge their risk of jet fuel prices. The government is considering a proposal to allow Indian carriers to hedge the price risk of aviation turbine fuel purchased from oil marketing companies in the country.
India must do away a pointless policy that mandates that a domestic airline must have been in operation for five years and have 20 aircraft before flying.
Govt moots new regional connectivity policy; plans to offer subsidy on non-viable destinations.
An executive of a private airline said even though volume picked up, it will be difficult for airlines to make money as fares have remained low even during festive season.
'Even if India is attractive, FPIs currently lack the funds to invest, as money is being redirected to the US.'
More than five years ago on an April evening, cash-starved Jet Airways announced temporary grounding of operations after flying as a full service airline for 25 years. Since then, more than 20,000 jobs and money worth thousands of crores owed to lenders, vendors and passengers evaporated while awaiting an insolvency resolution. And today, the Supreme Court ordered the airline's liquidation, marking the formal completion of a turbulent journey into the sunset and shattering lean revival hopes.
'The past few quarters have seen prohibitive fares for advance bookings, only to dip closer to departure.'
Some of the proposed policies have been welcomed by pilots and cabin crew, while others have sparked criticism.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation will examine issues relating to domestic airlines tying up with foreign carriers and setting up companies abroad to start international operations.
IndiGo's size should be compared with global carriers, and not other domestic airlines, chief executive officer Pieter Elbers said on Tuesday, adding that such benchmarking will help India transform its airports into aviation hubs. Elbers flagged the tendency to scrutinise domestic competition, assess fares on domestic routes, and determine if they are high. "But if we want to build some hubs, we should have a broader look," he said during a panel discussion at a convention organised by All India Management Association (AIMA).
In a December 2012 interview, Ratan Tata, then preparing to step down as chairman of Tata Sons, expressed doubts about the Tata group re-entering the aviation sector, calling it a space plagued by "destructive competition". But beneath that frustration lay nearly two decades of failed attempts to conquer the Indian skies. In 1994, Tata, along with Singapore Airlines, had plans to launch a joint venture (JV) airline in India.
If all 102 grounded planes could fly, there will theoretically be 400 more Delhi-Mumbai flights every day.
India's domestic air passenger traffic nearly doubled to 1.25 crore in January compared to 64.08 lakh recorded in the year-ago period, according to official data released on Monday. In January, IndiGo saw its domestic market share decline for the fifth consecutive month at 54.6 per cent. It carried 68.47 lakh passengers last month.
Vistara on Thursday said it is resuming hot vegetarian meals for its domestic economy class passengers replacing the pre-packaged snacks that were being served since May last year due to the COVID-related guidelines. The airline also announced new sets of in-flight meals for all classes - economy, premium economy, and business - on its domestic network. Aviation regulator DGCA had permitted airlines in August last year to serve or sell pre-packed snacks, beverages, and meals on all domestic flights.
Aircraft lease rentals are fixed costs and account for around 15 per cent of an airline's expense and since these are paid in dollars are also subject to currency fluctuations.
Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet have suspended flights to China and Hong Kong.
Dense fog enveloped Delhi for a second consecutive morning, leading to disruptions in air and rail traffic. Visibility dropped to zero in several areas, causing delays for 81 trains and diversions for 15 flights. The Met office attributed the fog to calm surface winds, and predicted continued dense to very dense fog throughout the day. Meanwhile, the national capital's air quality remained in the 'very poor' category, with an AQI reading of 380 at 9 am.
More than 30 flights of various Indian airlines, including Vistara, Air India and IndiGo, received bomb threats on Saturday, according to sources.
Companies across the sector are restructuring payrolls of crew, cutting allowances, and extending leave without pay duration as they realise they will have more aircraft and employees compared to customers.
The passenger traffic carried by scheduled domestic airlines in the past five years has grown at an increasing rate annually -- from 5.4 per cent in 1999-2000 to 11.7 in 2003-04, according to official figures.
The sources in the know said around 7 flights each of IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet got the threats while 6 flights of Air India received the threats.
From highways connecting once-remote regions to aviation networks carrying millions, India's infrastructure story is one of transformation.
We live in hope that India and its airlines might finally grow up, notes Anuli Bhargava.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is engaged in confidential talks with Tata Sons for merging Vistara with Air India, the flagship carrier of the Republic of Singapore informed the stock exchange in the Southeast Asian nation on Thursday in a first acknowledgement of a possible integration of the two airlines. "In line with its multi-hub strategy, SIA is currently in confidential discussions with the Tatas to explore a potential transaction in relation to the securities of Vistara and Air India. "The discussions seek to deepen the existing partnership between SIA and Tatas and may include a potential integration of Vistara and Air India," SIA said in a notification to the Singapore stock exchange. SIA owns 49 per cent stake in Vistara and is among the four airlines run by Tata Group.
