Page 2 - Airline Industry

FedEx cargo plane makes emergency landing after bird strike, engine fire

A FedEx cargo plane made an emergency landing at a busy New Jersey airport on Saturday after a bird strike caused an engine fire that could be seen in the morning sky. The plane landed at Newark Liberty International Airport during the emergency, said Lenis Valens, a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. There were no reported injuries, and fire on the cargo plane was contained to the engine, Valens said. The emergency landing caused air traffic to be briefly halted as a precaution, and operations resumed shortly after, Valen said. The emergency landing happened just after 8 am. A spokesperson for FedEx said the plane was headed for Indianapolis. "Our crew declared an emergency and returned safely to Newark. We are thankful for the quick actions of our crew and first responders, said the spokesperson, Austin Kemker. The emergency landing comes at a time of heightened awareness of flight problems. In the past month, there have been four major aviation ...

American Airlines flight to Delhi grounded in Rome for 15 hrs after threat

The aircraft was just two hours from its destination when it made an abrupt U-turn over the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan due to a "possible security issue"

Premji Invest, Ranjan Pai family office seek nod for stakes in Akasa Air

Tech tycoon Azim Premji's global investment arm, Manipal Group Chief Ranjan Pai's family office and 360 ONE Asset have sought approval from fair trade regulator CCI to acquire stakes in domestic carrier Akasa Air's parent company SNV Aviation. "The proposed transaction involves the acquisition of certain shareholding by each of PIOF, Claypond and 360 Fund (through its various schemes and affiliates) in Akasa Air," said a notice filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday. PIOF is a Sebi-registered alternative investment fund owned and controlled by Premji Invest, while Claypond is an arm of the Pai family group. The 360 fund is a Sebi-registered AIF. The fund is managed by leading asset management firm 360 ONE Asset. SNV Aviation Pvt Ltd, which operates Akasa Air, is engaged in domestic, international scheduled air passenger transport services and air cargo transport services. In its submission to the CCI for the assessment of the proposed transaction, PIOF,

Air India, Lufthansa expand codeshare, add 60 routes across India, Europe

Private carrier Air India on Thursday announced the expansion of its codeshare partnership with Lufthansa Group to offer 60 additional routes across 12 cities in India and 26 in Europe. Air India, in a statement, said that as part of this expansion, it has entered into a new codeshare agreement with Austrian Airlines and expanded its existing codeshare agreements with Lufthansa, and Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS). The Tata Group-owned Air India said it will now offer its customers a total of 26 destinations across Europe and three destinations in the Americas beyond its gateways in Europe (Frankfurt, Vienna, and Zurich), with the 'AI' designator code placed on certain services operated by airlines in the Lufthansa Group, including Austrian Airlines for the first time. Air India and the three Lufthansa Group carriers are members of Star Alliance. The expanded agreements increase the total number of codeshare routes between Air India, Lufthansa, and SWISS from 55 to nearly 100

Private airlines report 268 snag instances in 13 months till Jan 2025

As many as 268 instances of aircraft malfunctioning were reported by private airlines in the 13 months ended January this year, according to official data. Data presented to the Lok Sabha as part of a written reply by the civil aviation ministry on Thursday showed that in 2023, the number of such instances stood at 384. During the period, including 2024 and till January 2025, there were 268 instances of aircraft malfunctioning. The total number of flights operated by private carriers in the given period was 10,42,593. The ministry said the percentage of faults per flights was 0.025 compared to 0.033 in 2023. IndiGo reported 118 aircraft technical faults while Air India had 66 such faults. The data also showed that SpiceJet planes had 23 technical faults and that of Air India Express stood at 26 during the given period. While Akasa Air had 5 aircraft snags, that of FlyBig and Blue Dart Aviation were at 3 and 1, respectively. The snags reported by erstwhile Vistara and AirAsia sto

Rising airfares, strong consumer demand boost profit outlook for airlines

The rising fares have bolstered the outlook for carriers on both sides of the Atlantic. Major US airlines including Delta , Alaska and United have forecast bumper profits this year

Akasa Air well-capitalised, set to expand with new destinations: CEO

Akasa Air, India's youngest airline, is well-capitalized and plans to add 5-10 new destinations, including international routes, next year as it aims to maintain its position as the country's fastest-growing airline, CEO Vinay Dube said. Dube, in an interaction with PTI, also projected an "incredibly bright" outlook for the next 30 years and said the delay in the delivery of one or two aircraft does not change the fundamentals of the airline's business or growth trajectory as it has built an extremely "strong and stable" platform. The nearly two-and-a-half-year-old Rakesh Jhunjhunwala family-backed Akasa Air currently has a fleet of 27 Boeing 737 Max planes and commanded a 4.6 per cent market share in CY2024. "It is no secret that Boeing has been delayed in its delivery stream. No secret about that, either from us or Boeing or any other airline whether one or two aircraft were late or not, is not something that changes the fundamentals of our business. It does not change the growth

Star Air to venture into aircraft MRO business with joint venture

Regional carrier Star Air on Monday said it is looking to enter into the aircraft MRO business in a joint venture for line and major maintenance to cater to the regional and business jets fleet. The Bangalore-based airline, which this month completed six years of its operations, also said it is aiming to have 14 aircraft in its fleet by March this year besides expanding the network to over 100 flights. Founded in 2019 by the Kolhapur-headquartered diversified group Sanjay Ghodawat Group with business interest in sectors such as energy, aviation, consumer products, retail, real estate and textiles, among others, Star Air has a fleet of nine Embraer aircraft, operating 44 flights per day to 23 domestic destinations. The proposed MRO facility, the land for which is being identified, will run under a subsidiary engineering company, Star Air said, adding it will support line and major maintenance dedicated to regional aircraft and business jets. The company, however, did not share speci

South Korea orders air safety probe after country's worst crash kills 179

Top priority for now is identifying the victims, supporting their families and treating the two survivors, Choi told a disaster management meeting in Seoul

IndiGo share takes off 3% as Elara Capital upgrades to 'Buy', lifts target

The rally in IndiGo's share price followed a rating upgrade from domestic brokerage Elara Capital. The brokerage upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Sell' and raised the target price to Rs 5,309

Delhi-bound Air India intl flight's passengers fight over armrest space

Two passengers on board a Delhi-bound Air India flight from Copenhagen (Denmark) came to blows over armrest space just when the aircraft was about to land at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Sunday, a source said. The flight landed at around 7.35 am. An Air India official said that the passengers had an argument over some issue at its Copenhagen-Delhi flight of Saturday which was later sorted out "amicably". According to the source, "The two passengers started an argument over the armrest space in economy class when the cabin crew was serving food and beverages, which turned into a heated exchange. The cabin crew pacified them by giving one of the passengers another seat. "However, when the aircraft was about to land in Delhi, the passenger came to collect his baggage from the seat he was sitting earlier, they again started the fight and came to blows." The number of passengers on board the Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating AI 158 (Copenhagen-Delhi) could not be known. T

Airlines seek more time for implementation of revised flight duty norms

IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and Air India Express have sought more time for the phased implementation of the revised flight duty norms as they flagged increased crew requirements and emphasised the need to put in place fatigue risk management system to monitor fatigue among the pilots. Sources said the airlines have informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that the norms can be operationalised in a phased manner starting from June 2025 at the earliest. However, with the implementation horizon still not clear for the norms, which were initially to come into effect from June this year, three pilots' bodies have told aviation watchdog DGCA to ensure that the new regulations be fully implemented from February 15 at the earliest, the sources said. By mid-February, fog season, which generally causes flight disruptions due to low visibility conditions, will be ending. The sources also said that pilots' associations are of the view that the CAR under which norms have been

Global airline industry to record net profit of $36.6 bn in 2025: IATA

The global airline industry is projected to report a net profit of USD 36.6 billion in 2025, slightly higher than expected this year, helped by lower oil prices and cost control, IATA said on Tuesday. Passenger numbers are expected to rise 6.7 per cent to 5.2 billion next year compared to 2024. In 2025, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects the industry's revenue to cross the USD 1 trillion mark for the first time to USD 1.007 trillion, which will be an increase of 4.4 per cent compared to 2024. While the operating profit is estimated at USD 67.5 billion, expenses are anticipated to reach USD 940 billion next year. At a briefing here, IATA Director General Willie Walsh said India is witnessing significant growth and that there is a clear recognition that growth is also dependent on air connectivity. China and India are among the fastest-growing domestic aviation markets, he added. "Net profit is expected to be USD 36.6 billion in 2025 for a 3.6 per cent net pr

Boeing likely to restart 737 MAX production a month after strike ended

Getting the 737 MAX production line moving again is essential to the heavily debt-burdened planemaker's recovery, and Boeing has about 4,200 orders for the jetliner from airlines

Expressing regret, IndiGo refunds ticket to passenger who fell on ramp

IndiGo on Thursday expressed deep regret to a passenger who complained that he was hurt after falling on the ramp while getting down from an aircraft at the Delhi airport in August. Full refund of the ticket has also been given to the passenger. The passenger, in a series of posts on X, said on August 14, half way down the ramp, his right foot suddenly slipped on a moist patch and he fell down. Later, he was taken to hospital. Post the incident, the passenger, who came to Delhi from Chennai, said, "I have been unable to walk since mid Aug, with potential full recovery at least a year away." IndiGo said the airline deeply regrets the inconvenience experienced by the passenger during his travel last August. "Our ground staff offered immediate support and helped the customer with medical attention. Both the airport and the IndiGo teams checked right away the equipment and found the ramp dry and in perfect working condition, being used by numerous other passengers without any issue ..

Consistently scored high on punctuality, says IndiGo; refutes survey result

IndiGo on Wednesday said it has consistently scored high on punctuality, and refuted a survey that claimed the airline is among the worst on the basis of certain parameters, including punctuality. The survey was done by by AirHelp, an EU claim processing agency. It compared the world's biggest and most popular airlines and rated them according to their punctuality, quality of service, and how well they handle claims for compensation. In a statement, IndiGo said the data published in the survey does not report the sample size from India, and neither takes into account the methodology or compensation guidelines used by the global aviation industry "casting a doubt on its credibility". According to the statement, the airline has consistently scored high on punctuality and has the lowest customer complaint ratio for an airline of its size and scale of operations. "As India's most preferred airline, IndiGo refutes the findings of this survey and reiterates its promise of on-time, ...

Most airlines not switching quickly enough to sustainable jet fuel: Study

A lack of investment by major oil players, who have the capital to build SAF processing facilities, is hampering the market's growth, the study says

Aviation minister Naidu bats for more women pilots into helicopter industry

Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Monday said more women pilots should come into the helicopter industry as helicopters are critical in connecting unserved areas where building an airport or operating an aircraft is difficult. Highlighting that 15 per cent of pilots in India are women compared to the global average of 5 per cent, the minister said efforts are continuing to empower women in the aviation sector. "I would encourage more people, especially women, to become not only commercial aviation pilots but also helicopter pilots... More women pilots should come into the helicopter industry," he said at an event in the national capital. India is one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets and the civil aviation ministry is taking various initiatives to boost the helicopter industry also. Naidu said the helicopter industry has a critical role in expanding air connectivity network to unserved areas where building an airport or taking a commercial plane is ver

Singapore Airlines' A380 plane rolls back after parking at Delhi airport

Singapore Airlines' jumbo A380 aircraft rolled back at the Delhi airport after parking on Monday, an incident in which a cabin crew suffered a minor bruise, and later, the plane was towed back safely to its designated parking bay. The aircraft was operating flight SQ406 from Singapore to the national capital on November 25. In a statement on Wednesday, an airline spokesperson said the plane "experienced a rollback after parking" at the airport, and the pilot immediately applied the brakes to halt the aircraft. Generally, after a plane lands and reaches the parking bay, the pilot first applies the toe brakes and then the parking brakes before switching off the engine. Later, the ground staff keep chocks on the front and back sides of the aircraft wheels. Once that process is complete, it is communicated to the pilot, who then releases the parking brakes. Chocks are broadly wedges that are used to ensure there is no movement of wheels. Also, some parking bays might have a slight slo

994 hoax bomb threats to airlines till Nov 13 this year, says govt in RS

Airlines received 994 hoax bomb threats this year till November 13 and robust protocols are in place to handle such threats, the government has said. To deal with the menace of hoax calls in a comprehensive manner, the civil aviation ministry plans to amend the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act, 1982, and Aircraft (Security) Rules, 2023. A total of 1,143 hoax bomb threat messages/calls were received from August 2022 till November 13, 2024, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Muralidhar Mohol informed Rajya Sabha on November 25. During the period from August 2022 to December 2022, there were 27 threats and the number rose to 122 last year. From January to November 13, 2024, the total threats received stood at 994, as per the data shared by the minister in a written reply to the Upper House. "The recent threats were hoax and no actual threat was detected at any of the airports/aircraft in India. As per assessment of BTAC, operations of some of the ..