Page 16 - Airlines

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

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