Page 5 - Airline Industry

DGCA suspends approval of Bhopal-based International Aircraft Sales

Aviation regulator DGCA has suspended the approval for Bhopal-based aircraft maintenance organisation International Aircraft Sales Pvt Ltd following concerns over its compliance with regulatory standards. The decision follows an audit of the entity that was done after an aircraft crashed due to engine failure at Guna in Madhya Pradesh on August 11. The Cessna 152 aircraft VT-BBB of Belagavi Aviation and Sport Enterprises that had crashed was powered by the engine whose overhaul was done at the International Aircraft Sales, according to a release. It was also the first flight operated with the overhauled engine. Following the crash, DGCA conducted a special audit. "The findings of the audit have raised serious concerns on the maintenance standards being followed by the organisation," DGCA said in the release on Thursday. In view of the significant safety concerns, the regulator said the maintenance organisation approval of International Aircraft Sales has been suspended with immed

IndiGo to challenge order imposing penalties related to input tax credit

Leading airline IndiGo on Wednesday said it will contest two orders imposing penalties totalling Rs 3,50,299 on the company in relation to input tax credit. In Odisha, a penalty of Rs 1,77,046 was imposed on the company related to Goods and Services Tax (GST). "The appellate authority has rejected the appeal filed by the company and upheld demand on account of availment of input tax credit for FY 2017-18," InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of IndiGo, said in a regulatory filing. According to the filing, IndiGo is in the process of contesting the appeal order before the appellate tribunal. Separately, in Kerala, the company is facing a penalty of Rs 1,73,253, with the filing saying "the tax officer has denied input tax credit availed and has raised a demand on the company". In this case, the company said it is in the process of contesting the orders before the appropriate appellate authority.

Alaska Air clears big hurdle in its proposed merger with Hawaiian Airlines

Alaska Air is one step closer to acquiring Hawaiian Airlines after the US Department of Justice chose not to challenge the USD 1.9 billion deal that the carriers say will create a company better able to serve travellers. Alaska Air announced in December that it would pay USD 18 in cash for each share of Hawaiian. The deal includes USD 900 million in debt held by Hawaiian Airlines. The brands of both airlines would be preserved after the merger, which is unique in an industry where decades of acquisitions have left only four big carriers dominating the US market. Alaska and Hawaiian say they have few overlapping routes and the intent of a tie-up is to allow the new airline to better compete with the nation's Big Four: American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines. Alaska Air and Hawaiian Holdings, the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, said in regulatory filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday that the review period for the Justice

Airfares increase up to 25% for Diwali, Onam festival season travel

Airfares are heading northwards for the festival season, with the average one-way ticket price on key domestic routes being 10-15 per cent more for Diwali and 20-25 per cent higher for certain flights to Kerala cities for Onam, according to an analysis. An analysis done by travel portal ixigo for PTI showed that the average one-way economy class fare for non-stop flight on Delhi-Chennai route during October 30-November 5 period is 25 per cent higher at Rs 7,618. This is in comparison to the fare during November 10-16 period last year. For the given comparison period, the ticket price is 21 per cent more at Rs 5,162 on Mumbai-Hyderabad route and 19 per cent higher at Rs 5,999 and at Rs 4,930 on Delhi-Goa and Delhi-Ahmedabad routes, respectively. On certain other routes, fares are higher in the range of 1-16 per cent, as per the analysis. ixigo's Group Co-CEO Rajnish Kumar said travel demand for Diwali is on the rise with airfares higher than last year. "Popular routes like ...

Domestic air traffic rises 7.3% to 12.9 mn on annual basis in July

Indian carriers flew more than 1.29 crore passengers in July, an increase of more than 7.3 per cent compared to the year-ago period, official data released on Monday showed. However, the air traffic in July was lower compared to 1.32 crore people carried by the domestic airlines in June this year. IndiGo continued to dominate domestic air traffic with its market share rising to 62 per cent in July while that of Air India dropped to 14.3 per cent. Last month, the domestic market share of Vistara climbed to 10 per cent while that of AIX Connect and SpiceJet declined to 4.5 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively, as per the data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Also, Akasa Air and Alliance Air's share slipped to 4.7 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively. "Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-July 2024 were 923.35 lakh as against 881.94 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year thereby registering an annual growth of 4.

Air India cabin crew assaulted at London hotel, airline begins probe

A female cabin crew member of Air India was allegedly assaulted by an intruder at a London hotel earlier this week, according to sources. The airline is pursuing the matter with the local police. In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said it was "deeply anguished by an unlawful incident of intrusion at a hotel, operated by a major international chain, that affected one of our crew members". Sources in the know said a homeless man barged into the room at the hotel where the female cabin crew was staying and assaulted her. As she shouted, others staying nearby came and rescued her and the person was caught, they added. One of the sources said the cabin crew was allegedly sexually assaulted at the hotel while two other sources claimed it was a physical assault. The incident happened at a star hotel near the London Heathrow airport, the sources added. The airline in the statement said it is providing all possible support to the colleague and their broader team, including profess

JetBlue Airways to raise over $3 bn through debt offerings, shares fall

The New York-based airline intends to raise $1.5 billion through a private offering of senior secured notes and an additional $1.25 billion via a term loan, secured by TrueBlue

Successful trajectory towards profitability: Akasa Air on 2 years of flying

Completing two years of flying, Akasa Air on Wednesday said it is on a "successful trajectory" towards profitability and expects seat capacity to rise 50 per cent on an annual basis. Akasa Air, which commenced operations on the same day two years ago, flies to 22 domestic and five international cities, and has carried over 11 million passengers in India since its inception. It operates more than 900 weekly flights. Airline's CEO Vinay Dube said it has registered a triple-digit growth and continues to be the fastest-growing airline in the global aviation history. In a release, Akasa Air said its "unwavering commitment to cost leadership, supported by operational and financial discipline, has set the airline on a successful trajectory toward profitability". Last fiscal, the airline recorded a 300 per cent growth in Available Seat Kilometres (ASKM), a measure of a flight's seat capacity. "With the strong financial foundation the airline has built, it anticipates a year-on-year increa

Foreign airlines receive Rs 10,000 crore tax evasion notices from DGGI

The show cause notices, sent over the last three days, pertain to unpaid taxes on services imported by Indian branches from their respective head offices

Travel tales: Airlines line up flights as Saudi woos Indian tourists

India has added 443,000 seats in CY2024, according to OAG, an aviation research agency

SpiceJet passengers stranded at Dubai airport due to flight cancellations

Hundreds of SpiceJet passengers were stranded at the Dubai airport on Wednesday after some flights were cancelled due to to non-payment of dues by the airline to the Dubai airport authorities, according to a source. A SpiceJet spokesperson on Thursday said few flights from Dubai to India were cancelled due to operational reasons on Wednesday but did not elaborate. The source in the know said around 10 SpiceJet flights, which were to be operated to various Indian cities from Dubai, were cancelled due to non-payment of dues. Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Dubai airport as a result of this, the source said. "On July 31, 2024, a few flights from Dubai to India were cancelled due to operational reasons. "The airline took immediate steps to mitigate the impact by rebooking affected passengers on subsequent flights and providing hotel accommodations," the airline spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that all its scheduled flights from Dubai are now operating as planned. A

Air France-KLM carrier appoints Stefan Gumuseli as GM for India-ME markets

European air carrier Air France-KLM on Thursday said it has appointed Stefan Gumuseli as the new General Manager for the India-Middle East markets from August 1. Gumuseli will oversee the passenger business for India and the Middle East, which includes a range of diverse and multicultural countries such as India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Egypt as well as additional offline countries, Air France-KLM said in a statement. He will be based at the regional office in Dubai, it said, adding that Claude Sarre will continue to lead India and the Sub-continent as Country Manager based in New Delhi, ensuring continuity and focused leadership in this key market. Gumuseli will be responsible for further strengthening the overall presence of Air France-KLM in the region, focusing on enhancing customer proximity, upholding the commitment towards sustainability, it said. "For the Air France-KLM Group, this (India-Middle East) region is a strategic market with innumerable opportunities and .

After months' search Boeing names Kelly Ortberg as President, CEO

Ortberg will face pressure to help revive production of the company's strong-selling 737 jets from about 25 in June and July to 38 by year's end

Domestic airlines reported 427 technical faults in aircraft this year: Govt

Eight scheduled passenger airlines witnessed 427 incidents of technical faults in their planes this year till July 19, according to official data. During the period from January 2024 till July 19, as many as 268 flights of scheduled passenger airlines were cancelled. The data was provided by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol as part of a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Monday. In 2024 till July 19, IndiGo saw 46 incidents of technical faults in its aircraft while the count stood at 51 in the case of Alliance Air. SpiceJet and Vistara had 23 and 44 such incidents, respectively. Air India's Fleet A saw 152 such incidents while Fleet B witnessed 101 such incidents during the January-July 19, 2024 period, as per the data. Fleet A refers to Airbus planes and Fleet B refers to Boeing aircraft. Fly Big and Akasa Air had 6 and 4 such incidents during the given period. Together, the total number of incidents of technical faults in planes of these carriers touched

United Airlines forecast low profits; announces plans to cut capacity

United expects an adjusted profit in the range of $2.75 to $3.25 per share in the quarter ending September 30

Panasonic Avionics opens new software design & development facility in Pune

In-flight Engagement and Connectivity (IFEC) solutions provider Panasonic Avionics on Wednesday opened a new software design and development facility in Pune. The new facility, inaugurated by the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol, is the first in the country by Panasonic Avionics Corporation dedicated to supporting the development and delivery of IFEC solutions. The facility employs over 200 skilled engineers in the beginning with growth plans in place to scale it up further to support the increasing demand from airlines for these solutions, the company said. Panasonic Avionics said the new facility will accelerate its software development capabilities and help improve the time-to-market for robust, next-generation IFEC and digital solutions. "With its huge number of skilled engineers, and fast-growing aviation sector, India is a natural location for us to invest in for the future of our business, and we look forward to accelerating our software innovation and .

'Cabin crew issues are now well resolved', says Air India Express CCO

Airline to add 24 planes in the next 6 months, he added

Global ambition takes wing, but challenges ahead for new aviation minister

The new minister must navigate conflicting demands while considering potential geopolitical ramifications

Plan to double international transit traffic in 5-10 years: Air India exec

Says 'out-of-the-box thinking' needed to develop Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru as transit hubs

SpiceJet plans to raise $250 million by mid-August, says Ajay Singh

The airline's shareholders had earlier this year approved the issuance of equity and warrants for raising Rs 2,241 crore, out of which the airline has raised Rs 1,060 crore to date