Page 14 - Airlines

Airlines avoid Mideast airspace, cancel Israel flights as tensions rise

Singapore Airlines on Friday appeared to no longer be using Iranian airspace for any of its routes

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

Lufthansa forecasts lower earnings in Q3 as yields slump, costs rise

Lufthansa shares are down around 25 per cent over the last six months as it continues to struggle to recover its balance sheet

Amid US scrutiny Alaska extends period for Hawaiian Airlines acquisition

Shortages of new planes, jet engines and pilots have spurred US airlines to pursue growth through acquisitions, putting them in the crosshairs of anti-trust regulators

Airlines sensitised to exercise moderation in pricing of air tickets: Govt

Airlines have been advised to self-regulate as well as sensitised to exercise moderation in pricing of air tickets, the civil aviation ministry told the Rajya Sabha on Monday. There have been persisting concerns over high airfares, especially during peak and festival seasons. Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said the ministry holds consultation with airlines and the representatives are advised to self-regulate and keep passengers' interest in mind while fixing the airfares. "Airlines have also been sensitised to exercise moderation in pricing and to keep passengers' interest in mind. The airlines have committed to ensure that airfares do not surge during events such as natural disasters, calamities, etc," he said in a written reply. Under current regulations, airfares are neither established nor regulated by the government after the repeal of the Air Corporation Act in March 1994. "Globally, most countries have deregulated their aviation sector, i.e., removing

After Air India, Vistara announces VRS scheme for permanent ground staff

In a message sent to employees on Monday, Vistara stated that all permanent ground staff -- who had worked at the airline for five continuous years -- can take part in the VRS scheme

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

Singapore Airlines recycled more in-flight waste than previously reported

Recycling and a broader focus on the environment, including sustainable aviation fuel, has become a much bigger focus for airlines

IndiGo Q1 FY25 results: Net profit declines 11.7% on higher expenses

India's largest airline by market share posted a profit of Rs 2,727 crore ($326 million) for the three months ending June 30, compared with Rs 3,087 crore a year earlier

Airlines add 51 new passengers to no-fly list for unruly behaviour in 2024

The civil aviation ministry on Monday said 51 passengers have been placed under the no-fly list of airlines for unruly behaviour this year till July 1. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has norms in place for handling unruly/disruptive passengers, including procedures for placing unruly passengers on the no-fly list. A total of 300 passengers have been placed on the no-fly list in the last five years, including 51 people this year till July 1, according to data provided by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol to the Rajya Sabha. In 2023, as many as 110 passengers were placed on the no-fly list while the count stood at 63 and 66 in 2022 and 2021, respectively. As per the data, 10 passengers were placed on the list in 2020. Adequate regulatory frameworks are in place to ensure safety of the aircraft/ persons/ property/ good order and discipline on board the aircraft and to handle the unlawful/disruptive behaviour on-board the aircraft, the minister sai

Indian carriers should be strengthened for long-haul flights: Eco Survey

"A large proportion of Indian international traffic for the long haul goes through connectivity hubs in the Middle East and Southeast Asia"

Manual check-ins, flight delays: Chaos reigns supreme at Indian airports

Hundreds of flights delayed at Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru airports after issue with Microsoft's Azure Could platform

Microsoft outage: IndiGo cancels 93 flights; systems limp back to recovery

Air India, on the other hand, said its systems have been working just fine but a few of its flights have been delayed due to the outage of airport systems

Microsoft resolves cloud outage that led US airlines to ground flights

US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said the department was monitoring the flight cancellation and delay issues

SpiceJet posts net loss for sixth consecutive year amid ongoing cash crunch

SpiceJet said that due to its operational and financial position, it has deferred payments to various parties, including lessors, vendors, and statutory authorities

DGCA issues safety rules for ground handling service providers at airports

Aviation watchdog DGCA has come out with safety standards for ground handling service providers at airports, including the compulsory safety clearance requirement, as part of efforts to ensure safe ground operations amid rising air traffic. The norms also come against the backdrop of ground incidents at some airports that have resulted in damage to aircraft. The new Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), prepared after detailed consultations, will strengthen the oversight mechanism, DGCA said in a release on Wednesday. It also specifies the training and competency requirements of ground personnel who are part of ground operations at the airports. Ground Handling Service Providers (GHSPs) are required to obtain safety clearance within six months from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The six-month time period is from July 8, when the CAR was issued by the regulator. "The robust safety mechanism to be implemented prospectively by GHSPs would help in prevention and mitig

Sky high: Premium airfares increase much faster than economy class

Premium economy fares have skyrocketed by up to 128.6 percent on major domestic routes such as Delhi-Mumbai and Mumbai-Bengaluru since 2019

Jet Airways' Naresh Goyal moves HC, seeks extension of interim medical bail

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal has moved the Bombay High Court seeking extension of the two-month interim medical bail granted to him earlier. On May 6, the high court had granted interim bail for two months on medical grounds to Goyal, arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Goyal, 75, has now filed an application seeking extension of the same. The plea said his medical condition continues to remain poor and that he has also lost his wife to cancer on May 16. The application came up for hearing on Tuesday before a single bench of Justice Manish Pitale. The court referred to a circular issued by the high court in February, stating that the applications where earlier pleas were considered and decided by a particular judge shall be placed before the same bench. Justice Pitale directed the high court's registry department to place Goyal's application before the single bench of Justice N J Jamadar, who had granted him interim bail in May for two ...

WestJet to resume normal operations as mechanics rescind strike notice

Canadian airline WestJet has begun cancelling some flights in anticipation of a strike by aircraft maintenance technicians, saying it wants to avoid having passengers and planes stranded if there is a walkout. WestJet said it expected to cancel about 40 flights from Tuesday through Wednesday, affecting 6,500 passengers. By Wednesday afternoon Eastern time, the airline had cancelled 20 flights, or 4 per cent of its schedule, after cancelling five flights Tuesday, according to tracking service FlightAware. The low-fare airline said it was trying to find alternate arrangements for customers whose flights were dropped. WestJet and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association are locked in negotiations for an initial collective-bargaining agreement covering about 680 mechanics. Earlier this week, WestJet asked the Canadian Industrial Relations Board to order both sides into binding arbitration. The union responded by notifying the airline of its intention to strike as soon as Thursday .

Emirates fined $1.5 million by US for operating in prohibited airspace

Emirates was ordered to pay $200,000 under the 2020 order and another $200,000 if it violated the order within a year