Page 2 - Airline Sector

IndiGo to start non-stop flights to 10 int'l destinations in FY26: CEO

IndiGo will launch non-stop flights to 10 global cities including London, Amsterdam and four in Central Asia by FY26, backed by Boeing 787s and A321XLR aircraft

Airbus' annual sourcing from India to touch $2 bn before 2030: CEO Faury

Aircraft maker Airbus' annual sourcing of components and services from India will be ramped up significantly to touch USD 2 billion before 2030, its CEO Guillaume Faury has said as he emphasised that the country should play on its strengths rather than replicate what others have done in the past. For Airbus, currently the sourcing of components and services annually is to the tune of USD 1.4 billion from India, which is also one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets. Describing India as one of the most important markets for Airbus in terms of growth, Faury said the challenge for the aircraft maker is to support the speed of the growth of the aviation industry in India. The Airbus order book has more than 1,300 aircraft to be delivered to Indian carriers and IndiGo alone has more than 900 planes on order, including wide body A350s. Among them, there are firm orders for 50 A350s from Air India and 30 from IndiGo. Currently, there are around 700 Airbus planes in opera

IndiGo has great opportunity to address long haul market: CEO Pieter Elbers

With internationalisation as a key focus area, IndiGo chief Pieter Elbers on Tuesday said the airline has a great opportunity to address the long haul flight services market from India. IndiGo, which has more than 400 planes in its fleet, is taking wide-body Boeing 787 aircraft on damp lease and is set to start services to Amsterdam and Manchester later this year. "International air travel in India probably for quite a long time was very much taken care of by non Indian airlines... there is a great opportunity to address that market (long haul) with our planes," Elbers said. Generally, long haul flights are those having a duration of more than nine hours. The airline expects to take delivery of long range A321 XLR planes this year and wide-body A350 aircraft in 2027. Speaking at the Skift India Forum, he also said that its order book for aircraft is an "incredible asset". The airline has more than 900 planes on order. Elbers also asserted that the airline wants to have the cost

Riyadh Air plans to expand, eyes partnership with Air India and IndiGo

Riyadh Air is set to begin operations with a fleet of 60 Airbus A321neos and 72 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, and aims to connect Saudi Arabia to over 100 international destinations by 2030

Air India flight forced to return to Chicago due to clogged toilets

A video surfaced on social media, showing the commotion in the Air India flight with passengers on-board crowding one section of the plane

IBS Software to explore more biz opportunities in India's airline industry

IBS Software, a leading SaaS solutions provider to the global travel industry, will look at more business opportunities in the airlines industry as well as the loyalty programmes segment in India, which is also a "price sensitive market", according to a top company official. Sounding optimistic about the prospects for the global travel industry, the company's Founder and Executive Chairman V K Mathews said the Indian market has huge growth potential. The Singapore-headquartered Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions provider has around 5,000 staff and has about 200 clients spread across aviation, travel and cruise, hospitality, and energy and resource segments. Emirates, British Airways, China Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, Hyatt, Hilton, Chevron, ADNOC and Royal Caribbean International are among its clients, as per the company's website. In India, IBS is implementing software solutions for air cargo operations, and also the staff

SolitAir to invest $25 mn in India's air cargo market this year: CEO

Dubai-based cargo operator SolitAir Holding is looking to invest USD 25 million in the domestic market in the first year of operations, its founder and Chief Executive Officer Hamdi Osman has said. Osman, a logistics industry veteran who served a 30-year stint with the American multinational conglomerate FedEx till 2011, also said that India is very "critical" to global trade and SolitAir places it at the top of its 50-city mission and vision that it is looking at in the long-term. The UAE's only dedicated cargo-agnostic airline operating express daily scheduled services between Dubai and high-yield key trade routes across the Global South, started operations last year with a Boeing 737 freighter plans to connect and service 50 cities within a six-hour flight radius of the UAE through its air cargo network. "Based on cost and investment coming into India, we are talking anywhere between USD 20-25-million investment in the Indian market in the first year," Osman told PTI. The compan

SpiceJet in trouble as 3 aircraft lessors, ex-pilot file insolvency pleas

SpiceJet is facing fresh round of troubles as three Ireland-based aircraft lessors and a former pilot have filed insolvency pleas in NCLT against the budget carrier, claiming defaults. Three lessors - NGF Alpha, NGF Genesis and NGF Charlie- have filed petitions under Section 9 of IBC, seeking initiation of insolvency proceedings against SpiceJet claiming dues totalling USD 12.68 million (about Rs 110 crore). SpiceJet, during the proceedings of the National Company Law Tribunal, earlier this week, sought some time to resolve the matter as settlement talks were going on. "Counsel on behalf of the Operational Creditor (SpiceJet) is present and sought time to seek instructions on the future course of action to be taken in the matter," NCLT said in an order. The insolvency tribunal directed to list all three petitions on April 7, 2025, for the next hearing. The lessors had earlier leased five Boeing 737 to SpiceJet. They had served legal notice to SpiceJet wherein they alleged theft o

Air India expands key international routes for summer 2025 - Check details

The airline will bolster its operations across the United Kingdom, Europe, Far East Asia, and Africa to enhance connectivity for travellers

A-I, Kenya Airways enter into codeshare partnership as part of expansion

Air India has entered into a codeshare partnership with Kenya Airways as the Tata Group-owned airline seeks to expand as well as provide more travel choices for passengers. Both airlines will also continue to have their interline partnership. As part of the codeshare pact, Air India will place its 'AI' designator code on twice daily flights between Nairobi and Mumbai operated by Kenya Airways. This will allow passengers to take Air India flights via Mumbai to or from Bangkok (Thailand), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Mal (The Maldives), Melbourne (Australia), and Singapore, according to a release on Thursday. The codeshare partnership will also enable Kenya Airways to place its 'KQ' designator code on Air India-operated flights between Delhi and Nairobi. Both airlines plan to progressively add other destinations in their networks to the codeshare pact, Air India said in the release. Currently, Air India has 16 codeshare and around 100 interline agreements with various ..

Boeing CEO Ortberg signals portfolio review following $14 bn cash drain

The company has made progress in its turnaround, adjusting its factories and supplier base for higher production levels going forward, and addressing money-losing defense programs, Ortberg said

Indian aircraft MRO sector to grow 50% in topline by FY26, says Crisil

The Indian aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO)industry is expected to see a 50 per cent topline growth to Rs 4,500 crore in FY26 amid fresh demand triggered by airline operators' expanding fleet size, ratings agency Crisill said on Monday. The rating agency's study based on three MRO operators, which account for 90 per cent of the industry's revenue, also pointed out that reduction in GST on aircraft components and services not only positions domestic MRO players more competitively with their overseas competitors but also ease their working capital blockage. Indian MRO players typically provide three types of services -- line checks (undertaken before every take off), air frame checks (every 12-18 months which involves grounding the aircraft for 3-4 weeks) and redelivery checks (at the time of expiry of lease period of 6-7 years). "Revenue of the domestic aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul industry will surpass Rs 4,500 crore in fiscal 2026, clocking an impressive

NCLT approves liquidation of Go First Airways amid insolvency crisis

The NCLT has ordered the liquidation of Go First on a plea filed by the airline's Committee of Creditors; airline faced insolvency proceedings since May 2023 with no revival options

Bird feathers, blood likely found in engines of South Korea's crashed jet

About four minutes before the fatal crash, one of the pilots had reported a bird strike and declared an emergency before initiating a go-around and attempting to land on the opposite end of the runway

Azul, Gol draw closer to potential partnership to form major Brazil airline

Azul Chief Executive John Rodgerson said in an interview that the combined carrier, which would continue operating two separate brands despite the combined ownership, would be 'a national champion'

Air India flight returns to Bengaluru airport after midair engine failure

Delhi bound flight, returned to Bengaluru for an emergency landing after one its engines failed mid-air

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

Akasa Air expects to add more planes to its fleet by March 2025: CEO

Akasa Air is in continuous discussions with Boeing on aircraft deliveries and expects to add a few more planes to its fleet in the current fiscal ending March 2025, the airline's chief Vinay Dube has said. The carrier, which started flying in August 2022, currently has a fleet of 26 Boeing 737 MAX planes and 200 aircraft are on order. In a recent interview to PTI, Dube said that 2024 has been a good year for the airline and will continue to build on it in 2025. "On the service excellence we have provided, I think consumers look at Akasa as being a kind and gentler airline, little more empathetic. We will continue to treat our travellers in a kind, gentle manner," he said and added that the airline also continues to make sure its employees feel loved and respected. Earlier this month, some pilots flagged concerns about alleged training and safety issues, and the airline had rejected them as baseless and untrue. This year, the carrier has inducted 4 planes into its fleet. When aske

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