Page 14 - Airlines

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

June 22 GST Council meet likely to give relief to foreign airlines

Clarification could end uncertainty around some services

Only Vistara improved on-time performance in May, shows govt data

While Akasa Air recorded a month-on-month drop in OTP, it retained its top spot on the punctuality chart with a performance of 86.43 percent in May

Priority to bring down airfares: Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu

Naidu also said that his target is to make India the biggest domestic civil aviation market in the whole world

European people coming more via India than West Asia: SriLankan Airlines

SriLankan Airlines is currently operating about 80 flights per week between Colombo and 11 cities in India

Airfares can rise further while still being affordable: Akasa Air CEO

We have lots of room for airfares to grow while still being extremely affordable for the Indian consumer, he noted

Akasa Air expects deliveries of Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft by 2027

Akasa Air had ordered 150 737 MAX narrow-body planes in January, including the MAX 10 and MAX 8-200 versions. It had not specified how many of each type were ordered

Shortage of pilots, cabin crews 'far more serious' than visible: Capa India

Indian carriers expected to add 82 planes in FY25

IndiGo looking at various options for financing fleet of wide-body plane

IndiGo is looking at various financing options for the wide-body planes that are expected to join the airline's fleet in 2027. Speaking at a session at the CAPA India Aviation Summit 2024 here, IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers on Wednesday said having a strong balance sheet is an asset. In April, IndiGo announced placing a firm order for 30 A350-900 aircraft and also the option to buy 70 more such planes. "We keep all options open...we are already (looking) at various financing options," Elbers said with respect to wide-body aircraft. At present, IndiGo has a fleet of more than 360 planes apart from two Boeing 777 aircraft leased from Turkish Airlines. The wide-body planes are expected to come in 2027 while the A321 XLR aircraft will join the fleet next year. With XLRs, IndiGo can operate more routes and destinations, Elbers said and added that its huge plane orders are part of a long term plan. IndiGo will also be introducing business class seats later this year. In June last year, In

SpiceJet aims to raise $250 mn in coming months, says CEO Ajay Singh

SpiceJet Chief Ajay Singh on Wednesday said the airline will be raising around USD 250 million in the next couple of months as the budget carrier works on boosting its operations. The airline is tackling multiple headwinds, including lessor and debt woes, with Singh saying the carrier has faced "significant black swan events". "It is difficult to kill SpiceJet....and we are trying to fix the problems," he said and asserted that the airline's balance sheet will be cleaned up over the next two quarters. Recently, the airline raised USD 150 million and is looking for more funds. The airline plans to raise USD 250 million in the next couple of months and there is a bright enough future, Singh said at the CAPA India Aviation Summit in the national capital. Currently, the carrier has wet leased some aircraft as many of its planes are grounded due to various reasons. "We will grow our own fleet," Singh, the Chairman and Managing Director of the airline, said. Singh also said it is crit

Airbus unveils concept of unmanned wingman protecting manned fighter jets

It answers increasing need to augment capabilities of manned aircraft with unmanned platforms

Killer turbulence makes global airlines turn to IATA's Big Data programme

Turbulence Aware was launched by IATA in 2018 to help airlines mitigate the impact of turbulence, the No. 1 cause of passenger and crew injuries in the air

Global airlines raise profit outlook for 2024, projects $1 trn in revenue

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it expected the worldwide industry to generate $30.5 billion of profit this year

IndiGo airlines reschedules and cancels some flights due to Cyclone Remal

According to the Kolkata Airport Authority, a total of 394 flights that were scheduled for arrival or departure including domestic and international have been suspended from Sunday noon to Monday 9 am

'Domestic airfares on northward trajectory; still among lowest globally'

Domestic airfares are sailing northwards, surging up to 40 per cent in key routes on higher traffic and capacity constraints in the last six quarters. Still, ticket prices are among the lowest in the world, according to experts. India is one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets and on average, 4.5 lakh passengers travel on domestic flights daily. While only a small percentage of the country's population travels by air, capacity constraints are a key challenge as many aircraft are grounded mainly due to supply chain issues. Aviation consultancy firm CAPA India said that average fares on the top 20 domestic routes had not moved significantly in nominal terms for the last two decades, until the last six quarters during which they have been up by close to 40 per cent. The routes include Mumbai-Delhi, Bengaluru-Delhi, Bengaluru-Mumbai and Delhi-Hyderabad. The trend has been driven by serious capacity shortages with an average of 150 aircraft on the ground due to supply

India mulls GST relief for foreign airlines; fitment committee to review

Foreign airlines with offices in India have been issued GST notices for failing to pay taxes on services imported by Indian entities from their headquarters

Singapore Airline's deadly turbulence leaves 20 people in intensive care

More than 100 people had required medical care immediately after the flight landed in Bangkok