Page 2 - Air Travel

Rising airfares put a damper on Dussehra and Diwali travel plans this year

The cost of flights during Diwali week in 2024 has surged compared to the same period last year, even for bookings made three months in advance, according to media reports

Israel-Iran tensions: Air India suspends Tel Aviv flights till August 8

The Israeli government has remained silent on Haniyeh's death in Iran's capital, though Palestinian militant group Hamas points the finger at Israel

UK couple heads to Milan for sandwiches, says costlier to travel to London

As per a report, the UK couple booked a trip to Milan just to eat sandwiches. Rather than making a trip from their home to London, they concluded it was less expensive to travel to Italy

Air travel demand normalises after Covid boom, customers back to basics

Ryanair reported earlier on Monday a bigger than expected drop in quarterly profit as fares plunged 15 per cent, with management saying that ticket prices were continuing to deteriorate

June 22 GST Council meet likely to give relief to foreign airlines

Clarification could end uncertainty around some services

TDP MP Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu takes charge of civil aviation ministry

Telugu Desam Party MP Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu on Thursday assumed the charge of Civil Aviation Minister, succeeding Jyotiraditya Scindia in the new Narendra Modi-led NDA government. The 36-year-old three-time MP is the youngest Cabinet Minister in the Modi 3.0 government. "I am feeling extremely happy to be given this responsibility of leading a very important ministry, not only in the country but also in the entire world. First of all, I would like to thank TDP (Telugu Desam Party) chief and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu for giving me the opportunity to join the Cabinet and PM Modi for assigning me this ministry," he said. Naidu further said that one of the most important priorities will be to create an "ease of flying" scenario in civil aviation as air travel is becoming more and more approachable to the common man, and that has always been the motto of this government. "...we will make civil aviation or the air travel in this country more approachable to the common man of

10.5 mn flights scheduled to crisscross skies, jets burn fuel like its 2019

The International Air Transport Association is anticipating record passenger numbers this year, and planes that will be about as full as they were before the virus using record amounts of fuel

Domestic air traffic expected to rise 6-8% to 164 mn in FY25: Report

India's domestic air traffic is expected to rise 6 to 8 per cent to 161 to 164 million in the current financial year, according to a report. Aviation advisory firm CAPA India in a report on Wednesday said international air traffic is projected to jump 9-11 per cent to 75 to 78 million in the fiscal ending March 2025. The domestic carriers are projected to report consolidated losses in the range of USD 0.4 to 0.6 billion this financial year. The losses are estimated at USD 1.3 to 1.5 billion, excluding IndiGo, which is profitable. One of the reasons for the losses would be on account of capacity shortage due to the grounding of aircraft. At present, around 130 planes are grounded due to various reasons, and the number would be about 180, including the aircraft of Go First, it said. Go First stopped flying last year. In terms of the total fleet, CAPA India said net inductions are expected to be 84, taking the total number of planes with domestic carriers to 812 at the end of March

Here's why revenge travel is finally losing its appeal after three years

Travel demand is far from falling off a cliff. But there are signs that our wanderlust is downshifting from never-ending to a more normal pattern

Increasing turbulence: Why flights are facing more bumps in the sky

Fasten your seat belts: Experts believe that climate change is expected to make air travel bumpier than ever for air travellers. Learn about turbulence and safety precautions

Summer travel rises 40% this year, travel sector see buoyant demand

As Indian travellers pack their bags to escape the scorching heat, there has been a 40 per cent on-year increase in summer travel this year, with hospitality and travel services providers noticing buoyant demand. Although the ongoing general elections have had a minor impact on corporate and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) business, hotels are finding increased retail business with beach destinations still fighting it out with hill stations for the favoured holiday site. "Those in the Northern part of the country head to the hills to escape the heat. There is also movement from the cities to nearby tourist or leisure destinations. Industry sources estimate a 30 to 40 per cent increase in the summer travel this year as compared to last year," Hotel Association of India, President and Radisson Hotel Group Chairman-South Asia, KB Kachru told PTI. MakeMyTrip Co-Founder & Group CEO Rajesh Magow said, "Summer is always one of the biggest quarters of the year in

April domestic air travel growth slows to 13-month low; Air India grows

Modest growth attributed to multiple factors plaguing the aviation industry

Akasa Air now allows carriage of pets weighing up to 10 kg in cabin

Akasa Air passengers can now carry pets that weigh up to 10 kilograms in the cabin of domestic flights, with the airline on Wednesday saying the enhancement to its pet travel service has been done after taking customer feedback into consideration. In November 2022, the airline introduced the service wherein passengers have been allowed to travel on domestic flights with their cats and dogs in the cabin or cargo, based on their weight. "As part of the enhancements, Akasa Air now allows customers to travel with pets weighing up to 10 kg (including the weight of the container) in the cabin -- an increase from the previous limit of 7 kg. This change has been introduced keeping customer feedback in mind, reflecting the airline's commitment to continuously enhance its services to meet the evolving travel needs of its customers," the airline said in a release. In the cargo, pets weighing up to 32 kg are allowed by Akasa Air. According to the release, the airline has carried more than 3,20

Passenger tries to smuggle anacondas in flight baggage in B'luru; gets held

Customs officials at Kempegowda International Airport here on Monday said that a passenger was arrested for his alleged attempt to smuggle yellow anacondas concealed in his check-in baggage. Posting on social media platform X, Bengaluru Customs said they intercepted an attempt to smuggle 10 yellow anacondas concealed in the check-in bag of a passenger arriving from Bangkok. "Passenger arrested and investigation is underway. Wildlife trafficking will not be tolerated," it added. It is illegal to trade in wildlife as per Indian laws, and the Customs Act, 1962 has many sections on combatting wildlife trafficking.

AAI to post highest ever pre-tax profit of Rs 5,000 crore in FY24

Airports Authority of India (AAI) is expected to report the highest-ever profit of Rs 5,000 crore in the financial year 2023-24, a senior official said on Monday. In recent years, the number of airports has gone up, especially with the regional air connectivity scheme, amid rising domestic air traffic. AAI Chairman Sanjeev Kumar said the organisation surpassed the capital expenditure target at around Rs 5,250 crore in the fiscal ended March 2024. In 2023-24, the turnover is expected to be around Rs 15,000 crore and the profit before tax at Rs 5,000 crore, which will be the "highest ever in our history," Kumar said. He was speaking at the 29th annual day of the AAI. At the function, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the number of airports, heliports and waterdromes has increased to 157 from 74 in the last 10 years. Efforts are on to increase the number to 200, he added.

Over 44% passengers paid extra charges on booking flight tickets: Survey

As much as 44 per cent respondents in a survey complained that they had to pay extra charges to get a seat at the time of purchase of a flight ticket. Many of the respondents also reported paying between Rs 200 and Rs 2,000 as seat allocation fee, which can amount to 5-40 per cent of the air fare, LocalCircles, which carried out the survey, said in a statement. It also said there has been a very marginal improvement in the last 12 months in the ability of consumers to get a free seat when booking their flight. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs and consumer regulator CCPA late last year convened a meeting of the airlines on the issue and questioned them about the alleged unfair trade practices and misleading claims of "free" web check-in, it said. The new survey, which received over 41,000 responses from consumers across 339 districts of the country, has focused on fliers' problems when booking for travel with family members, particularly young children, LocalCircles said. According

TMSEp634:Air travel safety, online gaming, CPSE stocks, bereavement policy

How can air travellers fly safely in Indian skies? What's next for online gaming after SRO failure? Is it time to be cautious in CPSE stocks? What is Air Canada's bereavement policy? All answers here

With 11.9 mn arrivals, India tops list for number of passengers in Dubai

India emerged at the top spot for the highest number of passengers flying through the Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, with traffic totalling 11.9 million guests, the airport announced on Monday. According to a statement, the Dubai airport, known as DXB, surpassed not only its own yearly forecast but also pre-pandemic levels of traffic. In 2023, DXB witnessed a surge in passenger numbers, reaching 86.9 million passengers (86,994,365), an impressive year-on-year increase of 31.7 per cent. It was just under a per cent higher than the passenger numbers recorded in 2019 (86.4 million), the numbers were driven by robust growth in the second half of the year during which the airport recorded a total of 45.4 million guests. With 7.8 million guests, December was the busiest month in the fourth quarter during which the airport welcomed a total of 22.4 million guests, a year-on-year growth of 13.8 per cent compared to Q4 of last year. Q3 remained the

Man walks on parked plane's wing in Mexico, passengers hail him. Here's why

At least 77 passengers aboard the AeroMexico flight to Guatemala extended their support to the man for his actions over the more than four-hour plane delay at the Mexico airport

JetBlue's buyout of Spirit Airlines blocked over threat to competition

A federal judge is siding with the Biden administration and blocking JetBlue Airways from buying Spirit Airlines, saying the $3.8 billion deal would reduce competition. The Justice Department sued to block the merger, saying it would drive up fares by eliminating Spirit, the nation's biggest low-cost airline. JetBlue said it disagreed with the ruling and was considering whether to appeal. The New York carrier argued that it needs the deal to compete better against bigger rivals that dominate the US air-travel market. We continue to believe that our combination is the best opportunity to increase much needed competition and choice by bringing low fares and great service to more customers in more markets," JetBlue said in a statement. The ruling was a victory for the Biden administration, which has moved aggressively to block consolidation in several industries, arguing that it hurts consumers. In the airline case, the Justice Department said if JetBlue were allowed to buy Spirit, i