Domestic jet fuel prices are up 7%, but are still 14% lower on a y-o-y basis. While lower fuel prices have brought respite to airlines, their non-fuel costs are rising because of rupee depreciation
'The pay cuts have been very tough on those with entire families to support.'
On Thursday, all airlines (except for Air India) reduced fares on key domestic routes such as Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru, Mumbai-Bengaluru, among others.
India remained the world's fastest growing domestic aviation market with 51 straight months of doubled-digit traffic growth but the woes of passengers as well as carriers manifested in myriad forms.
Domestic airlines expect the fall in prices of aviation fuel to boost their earnings from the quarter ending December.
That such a deal can be greeted with celebration in the camps of both buyer and seller speaks volumes about the airline and its recent history, explains T N Ninan.
'IndiGo 2018 is a harsh, ultra-lean, mean, zero asset, fighting machine with aspirations of taking on the global long-haul low-cost market.'
An airline's birth is a result of passion and enterprise, often not without its challenges and ordeals. And, Tata-run airlines are no exception
Qatar has released eight jailed former Indian Navy personnel and seven of them returned home early Monday, 46 days after their death sentences handed last October were commuted to jail terms of varying duration.
IndiGo, Jet, SpiceJet and GoAir demand level playing field in aviation policy, say government can't favour only two new airlines.
Asked about a possible bailout for Air India, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said, "I think it will happen because as the owner of the airline, the government has its responsibility to put in equity, like private airlines where their promoters put in money." Asked if the government was looking at a Rs 15,000 crore bailout, Patel said: "No, Rs 15,000 crore is not the number. The number is far less than that."
Weeks after a Nicaragua-bound plane carrying Indians was grounded in France and later sent back to India, the Gujarat police have booked 14 agents on the charge of human trafficking for trying to send more than 60 persons from Gujarat to the US illegally via Mexico border, a senior official said.
The only two truly successful private airlines in India - Jet Airways and IndiGo - have been set up and run by people who knew the ins and outs of the trade well before they took to the skies.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is Air India's cost structure. If it were a private airline, Air India could apply for bankruptcy, but as a national airline that option is not on the table, says Vinay Bhaskara.
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.
The Delhi airport, the country's busiest airport, on Friday early morning witnessed the collapse of a roof at Terminal 1 amid heavy rains that killed one person, prompting the government to order a detailed probe and an inspection of the structural strength of all airports.
In 2010, Ratan Tata had spoken of how he had to abandon plans to launch an airline because he refused to pay bribes to secure the necessary approvals.
Flight services at Mumbai airport were severely impacted on Monday due to low visibility after heavy rains in the city, leading to runway operations being shut for over an hour and approximately 50 flights being cancelled, sources said.
Whether this happens because DGCA actually cares about the future of the national carrier or for other motives is not clear.
'Government shouldn't be in the business of running airlines, instead it should develop the ecosystem of civil aviation.'
Loans for Indian airlines have dried up as banks have become cautious to lend to the sector.
The national carrier's market share has declined from a near-monopoly to 16.6 per cent as of September 2014.
The unions claimed that wrong policy decisions of the previous government, poor practices, lack of accountability and general mismanagement by top administration and allowing private carriers to flourish at the cost of Air India were some of the factors for the current state-of-affairs
'As a child, I didn't even know that he was an IPS officer... It was much later when I came back to India'
The introduction of private players would mean that trains will be available on demand and that passenger waitlist will decrease.
With fewer passengers airlines bracing for a rise in operating costs due to a spike in crude prices
United India Insurance chief G Srinivasan has taken up the additional charge of CMD.
Pilots say the initiative is a waste of funds.
'The Modi government is trying hard to see if it could be sold to a private airline.' 'But it appears there are no takers.' 'If no buyer comes forward by June, the government will close down Air India,' predicts A K Bhattacharya.
Carter was in politics, but not a politician, certainly not a transactional politician, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
Let Air India - that anyway flies very limited international routes, often bleeding profusely and makes huge losses on trunk routes - do this national service, says Anjuli Bhargava.
A special court in Mumbai on Monday rejected Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal's applications seeking medical checkup by his personal doctor on regular basis and home-cooked food inside prison.
The government was also working on a package to promote connectivity and airports in the North Eastern states
Business jets and chartered flights have been an unlikely victim of the recent corruption scandals involving India Inc.
The government is keeping its options open.
The unions say they have been forced to do this because the loss-making state-owned airline's management has not taken the unions in confidence before presenting its revival plan to the government.
The government should occasionally grant thousands of crores of rupees to Air India for its functioning as withdrawal of flights from profitable routes and unresolved issues relating to its merger do not augur well for the carrier, a parliamentary committee has said.
Air India is running into losses
The association said that 25 states have laws on attacks on doctors and hospitals but these are mostly ineffective on the ground and do not serve the purpose of deterrence.
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