The average fares charged by Jet Airways and its low-cost carrier arm Jet Konnect were higher than the average industry fares on almost all routes, according to a monthly internal analysis for July by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Private airlines Jet Airways and IndiGo joined the race for low-fares, offering their customers hefty discounts, after Air India rolled out a similar offer to challenge Vistara, the latest full-service entrant in the domestic market.
Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Kochi airports have hiked their landing charges by up to 45 per cent, increasing the operating cost for airlines at a time they are facing financial constraints because of the two months of grounding and weak demand.
Ghosh, 43, will be reporting to 25-year-old Ritesh Agarwal, who founded OYO with a single hotel in 2013.
No frills airlines SpiceJet and IndiGo have merged fuel surcharge with the base fares, saying it would simplify the prevailing fare structure.
The police detained a couple after they mentioned about "a bomb in the bag" -- which turned out to be a false alarm -- during security check at Goa's Dabolim International Airport, delaying the flight they were to board by almost 90 minutes, an official said on Wednesday.
Tata Group-owned Air India, under its new chief executive officer and managing director Campbell Wilson, is optimising its domestic strategy under which the carrier is "densifying" its presence on metro-to-metro routes and exiting from unviable ones, Business Standard has learnt. Wilson took charge on July 25. Air India has increased its flights on metro-to-metro routes such as Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru, Mumbai-Chennai, Mumbai-Bengaluru, and Hyderabad-Mumbai between June and November this year.
India's Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company said on Monday it will launch a sedan version of its lone car model on Wednesday, marking its entry into the mid-size segment.
West Asian carriers are up against Air India and IndiGo in the battle for seats on lucrative international routes.
Travels to Gulf accounted for 40% of India's international air traffic in 2016.
It also asked why the data shared pertained to a period from April 2019 even though the scheme for anonymous political funding was introduced in 2017.
'I hope they all survive, but it is a tough world.' 'The carriers who are already established are already struggling.'
Finally the winter sun was streaming through the airplane's window, shining gloriously above the thick, frothy blanket of fog.
The airline pitches its product and service, keeps silent about price in a new campaign as it looks to win over young business travelers.
Days after low-cost carrier AirAsia announced it would launch its India operations by the end of the year, IndiGo Airlines President Aditya Ghosh, 38, tells Sudipto Dey in an interaction why his airline is not one that should be worried.
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.
The presence of an engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility in India could have prevented Go First airline from going "belly up", as sending engines abroad for servicing is not an efficient way to operate a carrier, Piyush Srivastava, senior economic advisor, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said in a statement on Tuesday. On May 3, Go First suspended its flights and filed for insolvency, squarely blaming engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney (PW) for its cash crunch. The airline claimed that about half of its 54 aircraft were grounded on May 3 due to a delay in the supply of engines by the US-based company. PW has denied the charges.
InterGlobe Enterprises on Thursday said it along with Archer Aviation plans to launch an all-electric air taxi service across India in 2026. Once launched, the InterGlobe-Archer flight will aim to take passengers from Connaught Place in the national capital to Gurugram in Haryana in approximately 7 minutes whereas by road, the 27-kilometre-long trip will take 60-90 minutes, according to a release. Both companies have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the goal of partnering to launch and operate an all-electric air taxi service in India, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and clearances.
At a meeting with airline chief executive officers and top officials here, the Civil Aviation Ministry also decided to amend Aircraft Act and Rules to safeguard the interests of aircraft leasing companies, many of which have started imposing stringent conditions for leasing planes to Indian carriers in the aftermath of Kingfisher Airlines shutting down.
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.
Aviation regulator DGCA is likely to take a call shortly on allowing domestic airlines to charge for check-in baggage while providing incentives for passengers who travel light.
The practice of charging for such facilities was launched in 2008.
Congress leader Pawan Khera was on Thursday arrested by Assam Police in connection with a first information report (FIR) over alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the action coming soon after he was deplaned from a flight to Raipur where he was going to attend the party's plenary session.
Domestic airlines are preparing to offer lower fares for passengers without check-in bags in a move to improve seat occupancy and market share. IndiGo chief executive officer Ronojoy Dutta indicated the airline's interest to offer zero bag fares in an interaction with Bloomberg. Regulatory caps on fares and capacity related to Covid-19 have prevented IndiGo from taking a decision and the airline is discussing the issue with the government, he said.
Unlike Air India and Jet Airways, which have revised downwards free check-in baggage allowance on domestic flights, GoAir has made provisions for pre-purchasing excess baggage limits.
As air travel gathered steam in financial year 2021-22 (FY22) after being restricted the previous year, fewer passengers were affected by flight cancellations. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) figures show that there were 40 per cent fewer flyers in FY22 than in FY20, but 60 per cent fewer passengers were impacted by cancellations, and 80 per cent fewer passengers were denied boarding. FY20 was the last financial year when India's booming aviation industry carried out full-scale operations before being completely grounded for a couple of months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The airline, which operates 24 daily flights including linking Delhi to Port Blair and Bhubaneshwar, would, however, provide free drinking water to all passengers.
'They (the Modi government) are trying to silence people who speak against this government, who speak with force and speak with conviction and want to speak the truth.'
Air India's former executive director Jitender Bhargava feels the airline should oppose the Tata-Singapore Airline plan to set up a hub in Delhi.
'Within five years, we should be achieving more on the international front than what it took most airlines 15 to 20 years back.'
Sundays are generally quiet days for air travel, but this Sunday was a tad different. There was quite an excitement at Gate 28 of Mumbai airport's Terminal 1 as Akasa Air, India's newest airline, prepared to take to the skies on Day 1. With a new fuel-efficient Boeing 737 Max aircraft and soft cushioned seats equipped with USB ports, Akasa Air hopes to bring freshness to the flying experience.
'My view hasn't changed because the silence of the Supreme Court of India on matters of other's personal liberty cannot go uncriticised'
French aerospace major Thales Group is eyeing major expansion in India. The group has started planning to set up a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) organisation in India to support Indian airlines - many of which are its customers for avionics support. "We are looking to set up an MRO, so that they don't have to travel to West Asia or Singapore. "Final decision is yet to be taken, but this is a clear intent showing the growth potential in India that we are looking to set up a sub-centre here," said Yannick Assouad, executive vice-president, avionics at Thales, who was on her maiden visit to the group's India office at Bengaluru since taking charge.
The episode has been classified as an 'accident' as it has left serious injuries on passengers and crew members, the sources mentioned.
The airlines have waived charges for transport of relief cargo to Chennai.
Jet Airways will operate flights with female cabin crew members in its start-up phase and hire male cabin crew members once it reaches a certain operational scale, the airline said on Sunday. It will be following the footsteps of Vistara, which had started hiring male cabin crew in March 2018, approximately three years after it was launched. Jet Airways, which has not flown since April 17, 2019, is currently in the process of re-launching operations under its new promoters Jalan-Kalrock Consortium. Aviation veteran Sanjiv Kapoor took charge as the chief executive officer of the airline on April 4.
Many argue that the airline could achieve its full potential if Nusli Wadia were to run it the way he does Britannia.
The issues include not getting refunds on airline and hotel bookings, getting charged a service fee even if airlines have waived cancellation charges and so on. Complaints are piling up on Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels as more and more people cancel their travel plans due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had urged citizens to observe Janta curfew by not going out of their homes from 7 am to 9 am on Sunday amid novel coronavirus pandemic.
Key stimuli of the government's relief package will be a tax break on jet fuel, waiver of parking and landing charges at airports for the next six months and deferment of payment to oil companies by three months.
