Page 8 - Airline Industry

Mukesh Ambani owns type of Boeing involved in Alaska Air accident

Reliance Industries added the Boeing 737-9 Max to its corporate fleet last year, according to media reports at the time

Domestic carriers inducted a total of 133 planes in 2023, says DGCA

Domestic airlines inducted a total of 133 planes in 2023, which is 51 per cent higher on an annual basis, as they continued to expand their networks to meet rising passenger demand. Out of the total, 21 aircraft were taken by the carriers on wet lease. In a release on Thursday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said that in line with the anticipated increase in aircraft inductions in 2024, it is "suitably enhancing its regulatory capacity to further speed up the regulatory approvals related to the induction of aircraft". Specific details about the measures to increase the regulatory capacity could not be immediately ascertained. "During the year 2023, the scheduled operators have inducted a total of 112 aircraft in their fleet against 81 aircraft inducted in 2022, which is an increase of 38 per cent. "Taking into account the 21 wet/damp lease aircraft, the total induction of aircraft stands at 133 as against the corresponding figure of 88 in the previous year 2022,

Air India, Airbus in talks to set up Rs 3,500 crore pilot training facility

The facility is expected to be formed under a joint venture between the two companies where each will have a 50% stake

5G near airports? DGCA to ask all airlines to upgrade radio altimeters

This precaution is due to the potential interference of 5G emissions with radio altimeters (RAs) on airplanes

Airlines can save Rs 1,000 cr annually with use of flexible airspace: Govt

Airlines will have potential savings of Rs 1,000 crore annually with the flexible use of airspace that helps in reducing flight time, fuel usage and carbon emissions, according to the civil aviation ministry. In a review of the aviation sector released on Saturday, the ministry also said that a record number of commercial pilot licences at 1,562 have been issued this year till December 18 by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). To address the issue of congestion at airports, the ministry said additional space has been created at various airports by restructuring the available terminal infrastructure to augment capacity at several passenger touch points. Meanwhile, the ministry said that earlier about 40 per cent of the airspace was unavailable for civilian use, resulting in aircraft adopting circuitous routes to reach their destinations. The Indian Air Force controls 30 per cent of the national airspace and out of that, 30 per cent has been released as upper airspace .

German airline Lufthansa orders 80 planes from Boeing, Airbus for $9 bn

The order is Lufthansa's first buy of Boeing narrow body planes in about 30 years, as well as its first purchase of the 737 MAX model

Ajay Singh's shareholding in SpiceJet down by 38.55% due to new fund raise

The airline announced it is going to raise a total of Rs 2,241.5 crore through the issuance of equity and warrants

Air India unveils new uniform collection designed by Manish Malhotra

Private carrier Air India on Tuesday unveiled its new collection of uniforms, designed by Manish Malhotra, for its cabin and cockpit crew. The new uniforms will be introduced in a phased manner over the next few months, starting with the entry of service of Air India's first Airbus A350 aircraft, the company said in a statement. "Air India's crew uniforms are amongst the world's most storied in aviation history, and we firmly believe that Manish Malhotra's innovative ensemble will script an exciting new chapter for Air India's future narrative," said Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at Air India. The crew's new uniform perfectly captures the essence of the airline's new identity, among others, he said. The female cabin crew attire features a ready-to-wear ombre saree with intricate patterns reminiscent of Indian heritage architecture (jharokha) and the Vista (new Air India logo icon), paired with a comfortable blouse and blazer, Air India said. "My ai

Scindia discusses airfares, ways to improve airlines' on-time performance

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday reviewed the self-monitoring mechanism for airfares put in place by individual airlines and emphasised keeping fares in check on select routes. During an advisory group meeting, there were discussions on airlines' on-time performance (OTP), and the minister instructed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to relook technical specifications at VFR-equipped (Visual Flight Rules) airports to help enhance OTP, according to an official release. Scindia held a meeting with the airline advisory group that was attended by representatives of various carriers, including Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan. In a post on social media platform X, Scindia said that he met the advisory group to discuss solutions to enhance on-time performance and "airfares on a few sectors, and in-house practices followed by each airline". Specific details about the discussion on airfares and the particular routes could not be immediately ascertained. There have been

SpiceJet soars 15% ahead of Q2 results, fund raising plan; up 46% in 3 days

The company's board to consider options for raising fresh capital through the issuance of equity or convertible securities on a preferential basis today; also to announce Q2 results.

Airline industry projected to record $25.7 billion net profit in 2024: IATA

The airline industry is projected to register a net profit of USD 25.7 billion in 2024 as more normal growth is expected in both passenger and cargo segments, global grouping IATA said on Wednesday. For 2023, the net profit is estimated at USD 23.3 billion, significantly higher than the USD 9.8 billion projected by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in June this year. IATA has more than 300 airlines as members. The airline industry's operating profit is expected to touch USD 49.3 billion in 2024 from USD 40.7 billion this year. In 2024, the total revenue is estimated to grow 7.6 per cent to USD 964 billion compared to 2023. "Some 4.7 billion people are expected to travel in 2024, a historic high that exceeds the pre-pandemic level of 4.5 billion recorded in 2019," IATA said. Industry passenger load factor is nearing its 2019 level, which is supporting the financial recovery of the airlines, IATA Director Policy and Economics Andrew Matters said. "The airline indus

Indian carriers' on-time performance plummets in November, shows data

AIX Connect's OTP dropped from 83.33 per cent in October to 73.63 per cent

'Can no longer sustain': Grounded airline Go First CEO Kaushik Khona quits

Khona was appointed as the CEO of the no-frills airline in 2020 after the incumbent and current Akasa Air CEO, Vinay Dube, stepped down from the position

1/4th of Indian carriers' aircraft may be grounded by March-end: CAPA

Meanwhile, domestic traffic is expected to grow by 15 per cent Y-o-Y in 2023-24 to 155 million, according to the report

Fairness to airline consumers

Systematic thinking should guide us in the use of state power

DGCA slaps Rs 10 lakh penalty on Air India for not compensating passengers

According to regulations, if a flight is delayed for 2-6 hours, passengers should receive meals and refreshments

Engine MRO in India could have saved Go First, says govt official

Go First suspended its flights and filed an insolvency application, squarely blaming engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney (PW) for its cash crunch

Airlines overcome pre-Diwali blues with jump in traffic, shows data

The previous peak was on April 30, with 456,082 domestic air passengers traveling in India

Akasa Air waives off handling charges on carriage of musical instruments

Effective since October 10, 2023, passengers will no longer incur handling fees for carrying musical equipment such as guitars, keyboards, violins, or other musical instruments

Emirates airline to build new $950 mn ultra-modern engineering facility

Phase 1 of the project will deliver 8 maintenance hangars and 1 paint hangar - all capable of handling any size of commercial aircraft up to Code F (A380)