Air India (AI)'s rise could be at the expense of three "super-connector" hubs - Doha in Qatar, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE - as the Indian passenger would any day prefer direct flights of their national airline that is providing excellent on-time service, Arved von zur Muehlen, chief commercial officer of Saudia Airlines, said on Thursday.
Except GoAir, all other Indian airlines have opened bookings for their domestic flights that will start operating from May 25. GoAir will open bookings on domestic flights from June 1 onwards.
Indian carrier Vistara on Monday announced voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and voluntary separation scheme (VSS) for its permanent ground staff ahead of its merger with Air India, which had announced similar plans for its non-flying permanent staff two weeks ago.
The threats via microblogging platform X came a day after three international flights originating from Mumbai received bomb threats, causing trouble to hundreds of passengers and airline crew.
A Nepalese private plane crashed and caught fire shortly after taking off from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on Wednesday, killing 18 people aboard, including a child, and seriously injuring the pilot -- the only survivor.
IndiGo will introduce business class seats in select flights on 12 domestic routes starting from November 14 and also launch a customer loyalty programme, as the 18-year-old airline seeks to expand business and strengthen global presence. The announcements, made at an event in the national capital on Monday to mark 18 years of operations, also highlights a pivotal trajectory for the airline.
Tata Group-owned Air India has informed the Centre that aircraft lessors wish to set up their special purpose vehicles (SPVs) outside India since they aren't enthused about the Indian 'legal structure' and are loath to take risks. Indian airlines have a combined fleet of about 700 planes; over 85 per cent are on lease. A majority of lessors are based in Ireland due to its attractive tax policy, light-touch regulations, and swift legal system.
'You don't need massive industry or huge energy resources.' 'You could start with just 3 or 4 people in a coffee shop and invent the world.'
The Boeing 737 took off from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa at 8.38 am.
MRTPC has suspected cartelisation amongst low-cost fliers over fixing of air fairs. It has called for a probe into the matter.
From CEOs to RBI governors, cricket's rich imagery and strategy resonate deeply with leadership, uncertainty, and decision-making across industries and global diplomacy, points out Suveen Sinha.
Four French judges earlier in the day began questioning the passengers detained by the French authorities at Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, since Thursday over suspected "human trafficking".
The government on Thursday reappointed former IPS officer Ajit Doval as the National Security Adviser (NSA), according to an official order.
Shares of low-cost airline IndiGo hit record high on the bourses soon after reports of pilot crisis at Vistara emerged. The development also saw airfares surge by around 25 per cent on select routes. Shares of IndiGo hit a lifetime high of ~3,68.5 on April 2, 2024, and has gained 2.4 per cent on the bourses in April.
Budget carriers say no to full cost airlines' proposal to up rates.
Pilots' bodies at Tata Group-owned Air India have accused the airline management of making unilaterally "rapid" and "regressive" changes in the service conditions of pilots. In a letter to Air India Chief Human Resources Officer Suresh Dutt Tripathi on Tuesday, Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) and Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) also stated that "all unilateral violations of their rights and service agreements are creating industrial unrest and shattering employee confidence in the current management". The communication comes amid Air India reducing drastically the annual limit of privilege leave accumulation to 60 days from 300 days earlier, as per a source.
Indian airline Go First is considering legal action against Pratt and Whitney (PW) for failing to provide compensation after March 2020 for planes grounded due to engine supply delays, sources said on Thursday. About 90 per cent of the airline's fleet of aircraft uses PW engines. About 24 of the airline's 55 planes are grounded due to delays in engine supply by PW.
Markets regulator Sebi has kept in abeyance the processing of Go Airlines' draft papers for an initial public offer worth Rs 3,600 crore. Go Airlines (India) Ltd, which has announced rebranding itself as 'Go First', filed preliminary papers for an initial share sale worth Rs 3,600 crore in May. The proceeds will be mainly used to repay dues. The "issuance of observations (has been) kept in abeyance", according to Sebi's latest update on processing status of Go Airlines' draft offer documents. The information was updated on June 25. In Sebi parlance, issuance of observations implies its go-ahead for the IPO.
Several passengers have been complaining on social media as domestic airlines have decided not to give refunds in cash for cancelled flights due to the lockdown and instead issue credit for future travel.
Indian airlines flew over 4.5 per cent more passengers in the 11 months of this year compared to the same period last year, with IndiGo retaining its top position in market share.
'Our focus is not going to be metro to metro routes.' 'We will begin by focusing on metro to non-metro (routes).' 'Metro to tier-2 cities or tier-3 cities is where there is a lot of space for affordable, efficient carriers.'
Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said the air carriers had sought a meeting with the prime minister.
Aviation Working Group (AWG), a global aviation leasing body comprising major planemakers and lessors, on Monday further downgraded India as lessors have not been able to repossess their planes from Go First more than four months after the airline filed for insolvency. The leasing cost stands as a prominent expense for Indian airlines. With AWG's downgrade, it is likely that lessors will increase the aircraft leasing rates for Indian carriers.
The regulator has warned airlines and in an email on May 2 asked all Indian carriers to give compensation and facilities to passengers affected by such denial of boarding, failing which it would will impose financial penalties on them.
The Cochin International Airport (CIAL), the first international airport in the country outside the ambit of the union government, is planning to launch a dedicated international cargo airline service.
In a statement, the DGCA said it will be conducting "random checks" in aircraft across the country to see if the COVID-19 protocol is being enforced or not.
Poaching engineers in the domestic airline industry will no more be easy.
'My one recommendation would be to first quell the violence and then encourage dialogue and build the trust among the different communities.' 'This is not easy but necessary, for violence cannot be the way forward.'
There is a high possibility that one or two Indian airlines might not survive the rough weather.
On Indian routes, Air France, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are offering premium economy seating
Police in Maharashtra's Nagpur have identified a 35-year-old man from Gondia in the state as the person behind a spate of hoax bomb threats that triggered panic, caused flight delays and led to increased security at airports and other establishments, an official said.
Domestic air passenger traffic grew 5.1 per cent year-on-year to an estimated 138.9 million in May and was significantly higher by around 14 per cent than pre-Covid levels, credit ratings agency Icra said on Thursday. Icra also said the outlook on the Indian aviation industry is stable amid the continued recovery in domestic and international air passenger traffic with a relatively stable cost environment and expectations of the trend continuing in FY2025.
Long-term macro trends indicate growth in demand for air travel. Trends from the ticketing website MakeMyTrip indicate a likely annual growth of between 11-17 per cent in Indian air travel demand over FY24-30. Through that period, InterGlobe Aviation or IndiGo may continue to make gains in market share in both domestic and international travel, aided by large fleet additions. IndiGo is the largest global customer of Airbus by far with 950 aircraft orders outstanding.
Personal information such as name, gender, email address and phone numbers of some Akasa Air passengers has been leaked to "unauthorised individuals", the airline stated on Sunday. India's newest carrier said it self-reported this incident to Indian Computer Emergency Response Team CERT-In, which is the government-authorised nodal agency tasked to deal with matters of this nature. However, Akasa Air asserted that there was no "intentional hacking attempt, but that the situation was reported by a research expert through a journalist for which we are grateful".
