Page 10 - Airlines

DGCA to streamline norms for Indian airlines' wet-leased plane operations

Aviation watchdog DGCA will soon come out with streamlined regulations for wet-leasing of planes by Indian airlines that will also entail enhanced oversight of the aircraft, amid airlines looking to operate more planes to meet rising travel demand. With persisting supply chain woes, there is a delay in aircraft deliveries and to meet the near-term needs, carriers are opting for planes on dry and wet leases. A senior official in the know told PTI that the efforts are on to streamline the regulations for wet-leasing of planes to assist in the growth of the aviation. "Realities of the engine problems cannot be wished away suddenly and on the other side, the possible routes are also increasing all the time," the official said. Many planes of IndiGo are on the ground due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues and the number of such aircraft is slowly coming down. Generally, wet-leasing of an aircraft involves the leasing of foreign aircraft, along with crew, maintenance and insurance. The ..

IndiGo named one of the worst airlines as global rankings are unveiled

The airline rankings methodology takes into account customer claims processed worldwide, as well as outside data tracking on-time arrival and departure performance for every plane

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

Chennai Airport resumes operations after cyclone Fengal crosses TN coast

According to IMD, Cyclone Fengal, which had been stationary over north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, was classified as a cyclonic storm with wind speeds of 65-70 km/hr

India will have more than two major airlines: Air India CEO Campbell Wilson

Tata group's airlines to add 100 planes to fleet by 2027, says Campbell Wilson

IndiGo, Japan Airlines set to commence codeshare partnership next month

Japan Airlines and domestic budget carrier IndiGo are all set to commence their codeshare partnership from December 16, which will allow the Japanese carrier access to 18 destinations in India, a statement said on Monday. Currently, Japan Airlines (JAL) operates daily services between Tokyo (Haneda Airport) and Delhi, and five times weekly services between Tokyo (Narita Airport) and Bengaluru. Through this new partnership with IndiGo, JAL will be able to establish a comprehensive network across India, connecting to numerous major cities via JAL-operated flights, the statement said. IndiGo and Japan Airlines will begin codesharing on domestic routes within India that connect to Japan Airlines'-operated flights to/from Delhi and Bengaluru, it stated. Codesharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to various destinations. "This codeshare agreement will further strengthen business, trade and tourism-related travel between Indi

SriLankan Airlines eyes more Indian tourists with Ramayana Trail package

Seeing India as a place that offers "enormous growth" opportunities, SriLankan Airlines aims to increase flights to the country as well as attract more tourists, including with the Ramayana Trail package, according to a top airline official. The Ramayana Trail will help people connect with 20 significant locations in Sri Lanka that are linked to the Ramayana story. SriLankan Airlines CEO Richard Nuttall said growth in the number of tourists from India has been stellar this year but still below the pre-Covid numbers. He was speaking at a function in the national capital for the launch of the Ramayana Trail package on Saturday evening. High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Kshenuka Senewiratne was also present. Till the end of October this year, around 20 per cent of the tourists who came to Sri Lanka were from India. "We have been looking at how to lift and rejuvenate tourism from India to Sri Lanka to the next level," he said while mentioning the Ramayana Trail and added that it

Air India to offer integrated aircraft maintenance engineering programme

Air India on Friday said it will set up a Basic Maintenance Training Organisation (BMTO) that will offer an integrated aircraft maintenance engineering programme and the facility will be operational in mid-2026. The BMTO will be housed close to Air India's new 12-bay Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Bengaluru that will be operational in early 2026. The Tata Group-owned airline has inked an agreement with Bengaluru Airport City Ltd (BACL), a subsidiary of Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), to develop a build-to-suit facility for the programme. "The purpose-built campus, spread over 86,000 square feet at Bengaluru Airport City, is expected to be operational by mid-2026," a release said. The programme will include two years of in-classroom academic course work followed by two years of practical on the job training at the MRO. According to the release, the programme is designed to meet Air India's growing fleet maintenance requirements and provides specialis

Ensure ample staff at check-in counters, govt tells airlines as fog sets in

The meeting was called on Wednesday to assess readiness of the aviation ecosystem amid the "early onset of fog/smog" in Delhi

Airline exodus leaves Israelis and companies isolated amid Hamas war

Direct routes to dozens of major cities - Washington D.C., San Francisco, Toronto, Hong Kong, New Delhi - have been suspended, reducing face-to-face business meetings

Spirit Aero talks going well, industrial challenges lie ahead: Airbus CEO

Airbus plans to take over the running of four Spirit plants associated with its A350 and A220 jetliner programmes

Singapore Airlines continues to be our strategic partner: N Chandrasekaran

Vistara was a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and SIA, while Air India was completely owned by Tata Sons

Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy amid mounting losses and debt woes

Airlines Writer Spirit Airlines said Monday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will attempt to reboot as it struggles to recover from the pandemic-caused swoon in travel and a failed attempt to sell the airline to JetBlue. Spirit, the biggest US budget airline, has lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020 and faces looming debt payments totaling more than $1 billion over the next year. Spirit said it expects to operate as normal as it works its way through a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy process and that customers can continue to book and fly without interruption. Shares of Miramar, Florida-based Spirit dropped 25% on Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the airline was discussing terms of a possible bankruptcy filing with its bondholders. It was just the latest in a series of blows that have sent the stock crashing down by 97% since late 2018 - when Spirit was still making money. CEO Ted Christie confirmed in August that Spirit was talkin

Spirit Airlines files for bankruptcy after long run of quarterly losses

The airline listed its estimated assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion each, according to a court filing on Monday

Sirius India Airlines looks to raise $100 million for services expansion

Air charter services operator Sirius India Airlines has said it looks to raise USD 100 million through debt and other instruments for fleet and services expansion as it sees demand soaring from across segments. The company said it is aiming to have a fleet of 50 private jets by financial year 2027 and spread its wings to other markets such as the Far East, Southeast Asia and East Africa as part of the long-term business plan. The proposed funds are expected to be tied-up by March next year so that the plan starts getting implemented from FY26, Sirius India Airlines founder and promoter Arun Kashyap said. The Gurugram-based aviation venture launched its air charter services in collaboration with Dubai-based Transworld Group in August this year. "We are aiming to secure USD 100 million capital by this fiscal and have already started the process to do so. We are looking at these funds both by way of debt as well as from strategic investors and are in discussions with a bunch of lender

Spirit Airlines continues talks with creditors amid bankruptcy filing

The negotiations, with a supermajority of the noteholders, have remained productive, advanced materially and are resuming in the near term

AI Express to reconfigure planes with biz class seats from April 2025

Air India Express plans to start reconfiguration of planes having business class seats from April 2025, as the airline focuses on operating narrow-body planes with only economy class seats, according to a senior official. The Tata Group-owned airline that merged AIX Connect with itself on October 1, has rationalised its network and currently has an operational fleet of 90 planes, including over 30 aircraft with dual-class seats. Amid supply chain woes impacting fresh aircraft deliveries, the airline has, so far, inducted 35 white-tail Boeing 737-8 planes. Their count will rise to 50 in the coming months. Many of these white-tail aircraft have varying numbers of business-class seats. Generally, white-tail planes are those that were originally manufactured for a particular airline and later taken by another airline. The senior airline official said it will start reconfiguration of the aircraft having business class from April onwards. The carrier wants to offer only economy class s

Indian airlines' shakeup intensifies competition, expands business seats

Vistara operates its final flight on Monday before its planned merger with Air India kicks in the following day

SIA to invest additional Rs 3,195 cr in Air India after Vistara merger

Singapore Airlines will make an additional investment of Rs 3,194.5 crore in Tata Group-owned Air India post-merger of Vistara in November. The merger, announced on November 29, 2022, and set to be completed on November 11, 2024, will result in Singapore Airlines having a 25.1 per cent stake in the enlarged Air India. Full-service carrier Vistara, which started flying on January 9, 2015, is a joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines, where the latter holds a 49 per cent shareholding. Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group on Friday said its consideration for the merger comprises the 49 per cent interest in Vistara and Rs 20,585 million (Rs 2,058.5 crore) in cash in exchange for a 25.1 per cent equity interest in the enlarged Air India. Post-merger, SIA expects to recognise a non-cash accounting gain of around 1.1 billion Singapore dollars and also start equity accounting for its share of Air India's financial results. According to a release on Friday, the merger includes an ...

With Vistara merging, Air India is now the only full-service Indian carrier

When Vistara folds up into the Air India Group on Monday, the number of full service carriers in the fast-growing Indian aviation space will come down to just one from five in a span of over 17 years. Also, the merger -- that will see Vistara's 49 per cent owner Singapore Airlines holding 25.1 per cent stake in Air India post the merger-- will mark the sunset of another Indian airline jointly owned by an overseas carrier after the liberalisation of foreign direct investment norms. In 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led UPA government allowed foreign airlines to buy up to 49 per cent in a domestic carrier, which later resulted in the now defunct Jet Airways securing 24 per cent stake from Gulf carrier Etihad besides the birth of AirAsia India and Vistara. Vistara is also the only full-service carrier to start operations in the last 10 years. Since the merger of full-service carrier (FSC) Indian Airlines with Air India in 2007, at least five FSCs dotted the Indian skies. As year