India will approve plans by two state-owned airlines to buy new planes only after it decides whether or not to sell part of its stakes in the carriers, the civil aviation minister said on Tuesday.
In a relief to fliers, the civil aviation regulator DGCA has rejected the plea of some airlines to allow them to charge for the check-in baggage saying such a fee would be applicable only on baggage which exceeds the free limit of 15 kgs.
This announcement comes a day after the DGCA asked IndiGo to take 'appropriate action' after it found alleged violation of safety and social distancing protocols by mediapersons in the airline's Chandigarh-Mumbai flight that had actor Kangana Ranaut as a passenger.
A senior DGCA official said 23,403 departures per week have been finalised, covering 103 airports, which is 1.2 per cent higher than the 23,117 operated during the previous winter schedule.
India's affluent middle class is rekindling its affair with long-distance train travel, as sharp jumps in domestic airline ticket prices push many former frequent fliers back to the railways.
Five months after the world's sixth-largest airport terminal (Terminal 3 or T3) at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport was inaugurated, it is all set to miss its deadline to host domestic carriers for the third time.
India's private airliner Jet Airways will begin its five-day a week flight to Toronto from Delhi, via Brussels, from September 5, a company release said.
Jet Airways on Friday became the first private airliner to land at Thoise in Siachen
Else customers will face capacity shortages and high fares.
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.
Tata group-owned Air India plans to hire expat pilots for its Boeing 777 planes as the airline is facing a shortage of pilots amid plans to expand its fleet as well as international operations, according to sources. The carrier is looking to rope in around 100 pilots for the wide-body Boeing 777 fleet and has approached various agencies that provide expat flight crew to airlines, the sources told PTI. The loss-making Air India, which was under government ownership for nearly seven decades till the Tata group took over in January 2022, had stopped hiring expat pilots many years ago to save costs.
Jet's air operator certificate will lapse on May 19.
From April 1 all domestic airlines except Air India have increased fee for cancellations and date change by Rs 200 to Rs 950.
Major travel agents have threatened to stop selling domestic and international air tickets until airlines agreed to restore commissions that they had said they would scrap starting October 1, citing higher costs and slower growth.
Domestic airlines and the railways have not effected any change in their schedules due to the blasts. "All flights to and from Mumbai will operate as per schedule," said a spokesperson for Indian Airlines.
IndiGo, the country's latest low-fare domestic airline, is planning to fly to 30 cities across the country with a fleet of 40 A-320s by 2010.
To bring about synergy between the two airlines, Air-India and Indian Airlines have signed an agreement under which the domestic carrier will handle all security-related functions for all international flights.
A source said Mills was leaving the airline as he was not getting operational freedom to run the organisation.
Full service carrier Air India on Thursday announced a new multi-year global distribution services partnership with US-based Sabre Corporation. The collaboration enables travel agents and corporations around the world to access Air India fares and seats through Sabre's extensive global travel marketplace, Air India said in a statement. In addition to the distribution services, Air India said it is utilising Sabre's consultancy expertise to help determine optimal routes for its existing and new fleet.
GoAir, run by the Wadia Group, has come out with an innovative way to attract passengers and reduce distribution cost. The smallest of all domestic airlines by market share, GoAir has rolled out a loyalty programme making it the first low-cost carrier to launch such a scheme.
The airline, which operates 24 daily flights including linking Delhi to Port Blair and Bhubaneshwar, would, however, provide free drinking water to all passengers.
The Delhi high court on Friday called for strict action against those found violating masking and hand hygiene norms at airports and in aircraft, observing that the Covid-19 pandemic has not abated and keeps rearing its ugly head.
Deccan Aviation, a new entry in the domestic airlines sector, failed to take-off as its stocks experienced brisk profit selling and plunged 34 percent on the first day of trading on Monday.
Air India on Monday said it will progressively induct 30 new aircraft, including 5 wide-body Boeing planes, from December this year, as the Tatas-owned airline looks to boost its domestic and international services. The airline has signed leases and letters of intent for inducting 5 wide-body Boeing and 25 Airbus narrow-body planes over the next 15 months. "These new aircraft, which will enter service from late 2022, will increase the airline's fleet by over 25 per cent.
On Wednesday, Air India had carried out a test flight landing at the naval base.
Normal life was hit on Monday in several parts of Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai where stone-pelting BJP and Shiv Sena activists tried to disrupt road and rail traffic during the 12-hour bandh called by the opposition to protest price rise.
The oral proposal to reduce the number of years of domestic flying from five to three years for airlines to qualify for international operations has been given a quiet burial.
The airline is trying to save on wage costs by cutting the normal notice period of six months by about half for pilots who have already resigned.
The Naresh Chandra committee on civil aviation has recommended allowing upto 49 per cent foreign direct investment in the country's airlines.
... changing seats and in-flight entertainment on its older aircraft.
'Domestic will remain very much the core of what IndiGo is.' 'But the emphasis in our next growth phase is going to be on the international side.'
