Page 19 - Airlines

A-I to upgrade Boeing 777, 787 fleet with Thales entertainment system

Air India's existing fleet of 40 Boeing 777s and 787s will be upgraded with Thales' inflight entertainment system. The fleet will be upgraded with AVANT Up inflight entertainment solution, according to a release on Monday. "Thales will upgrade and retrofit Air India's current fleet of 40 Boeing 777s and 787s with its state-of-the-art AVANT Up system, starting in 2024 and continuing through 2025," it said. Further, Thales will install the system on Air India's 11 new Airbus and Boeing aircraft with deliveries to commence in 2025. Thales is into developing advanced technologies within three domains -- defence & security, aeronautics & space, and digital identity & security.

With 11.9 mn arrivals, India tops list for number of passengers in Dubai

India emerged at the top spot for the highest number of passengers flying through the Dubai International Airport, the world's busiest for international travel, with traffic totalling 11.9 million guests, the airport announced on Monday. According to a statement, the Dubai airport, known as DXB, surpassed not only its own yearly forecast but also pre-pandemic levels of traffic. In 2023, DXB witnessed a surge in passenger numbers, reaching 86.9 million passengers (86,994,365), an impressive year-on-year increase of 31.7 per cent. It was just under a per cent higher than the passenger numbers recorded in 2019 (86.4 million), the numbers were driven by robust growth in the second half of the year during which the airport recorded a total of 45.4 million guests. With 7.8 million guests, December was the busiest month in the fourth quarter during which the airport welcomed a total of 22.4 million guests, a year-on-year growth of 13.8 per cent compared to Q4 of last year. Q3 remained the

Singapore to impose green fuel levy on flights, passengers to bear costs

Under the European model, the carrier pays for the blended fuel and decides whether the cost will be passed on to passengers in ticket prices

DGGI summons officials of foreign airlines over tax evasion: Report

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) was seeking clarification over payment of crew salaries and staff expenses at the offices of the international airlines, the report said

Ola sets up cab zone at Chennai int'l airport for airline passengers

Ride-hailing platform Ola Mobility has set up Ola Zone at the Chennai International Airport here, aimed at serving the passengers who need a ride for their local journeys, the company said on Wednesday. The launch of service at the airport comes in the backdrop of the memorandum of understanding signed between the Airports Authority of India and OLA Cabs with an intent to provide and ensure the presence of multiple facilities of ground transportation for the convenience of passengers traveling through the airports. The Ola Zone, similar to the cab services currently available at the airport, allows customers to book a ride at the Ola Zone to take up their local journey, instead of availing the services through the Ola mobile application. Booking assistance would be provided at the dedicated kiosks for the travelers who would receive all charges in a single bill, while the drivers would be able to benefit from a cashless checkout system, eliminating payments at entry and exits of the

Passenger finds screw in food, IndiGo says not reported during journey

An IndiGo passenger has claimed that he found a screw in a sandwich served by the airline, which on Tuesday said the issue was not reported to it during the journey. The passenger shared his experience on social media along with a picture of the sandwich that he had after deboarding the aircraft. "We are aware of the image circulating on social media with reference to a customer sharing their experience on flight 6E-904 operating between Bengaluru- Chennai on February 1, 2024. The issue was not reported by the passenger during the journey," IndiGo said in a statement. The airline said it regretted the inconvenience caused to the passenger but did not specify details about the image that was being circulated. "Our in-flight meals are sourced from reputable and highly regarded caterers to maintain the highest standards of quality and hygiene. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passenger and remain committed to providing the best possible in-flight experience and ensuring ...

DGCA issues guidelines to prevent runway incursions, calls for training

Aviation regulator issues circular after Jan 2 accident at Haneda Airport in Tokyo

Airlines record lowest on-time figures in 11 months in Jan amid fog issues

DGCA and aviation security regulator Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on January 17 came down heavily on three airlines namely IndiGo, SpiceJet and Air India

Boeing 'undoubtedly' making progress on quality issues: Avolon CEO

Boeing has been under fire from regulators and airlines over a succession of quality issues that have snagged production and development timelines

Lufthansa cancels hundreds of flights as ground staff strike for a day

Ground staff for Lufthansa walked off the job at five major German airports on Wednesday, causing the airline to cancel hundreds of flights. The Ver.di union called on ground staff at Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa's two main hubs, as well as Berlin, Duesseldorf and Hamburg, to strike for 27 hours starting at 4 am Wednesday. Lufthansa said ahead of the strike that it expected to be able to operate around 10-20 per cent of all planned flights. It said tickets could be re-booked free of charge, and tickets for German domestic flights could be converted to rail vouchers. In Frankfurt, the company canceled 80-90 per cent of the planned 600 departures and arrivals by Lufthansa itself and subsidiary Air Dolomiti ahead of the strike, German news agency dpa reported. More than 400 departures and arrivals at Munich Airport also were canceled. All Lufthansa departures from Berlin and Hamburg were canceled, as were most domestic flights from Duesseldorf. Lufthansa anticipated that, in all, m

Airlines cancel 7,427 flights in 2023 for various reasons: VK Singh

Indian commercial airline operators cancelled 7,427 flights in 2023 due to various reasons, including weather and technical, Parliament was informed on Monday. Eleven domestic airlines, including the now grounded Go First, cancelled a total of 7,427 flights, including 3,210 flights cancelled on account of weather and 2,109 due to technical reasons, Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. In another reply, the minister said there were 157 aircraft grounded due to engine or other issues. He also said that "there are no Indian carrier's aircraft seized by lessors or creditors abroad".

IndiGo issues apology after para-athlete alleges mistreatment by crew

The airlines reaffirmed their commitment to inclusivity and pledged to address the matter swiftly and transparently

IndiGo's Q3 results: Profit doubles to Rs 2,998 cr on strong demand, fares

IndiGo, a low-cost carrier, has India's largest airline fleet of 358 aircraft and commands a market share of over 62%

Laser strikes against aircrafts have surged to new record, says FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it received 13,304 reports from pilots about laser strikes last year, erasing a record set in 2021

Around 100 flights delayed, 5 diverted due to bad weather at Delhi airport

Flight operations were significantly impacted at the Delhi airport on Wednesday as around 100 flights were delayed, at least five were diverted and many were cancelled due to bad weather. As dense fog persisted from early morning hours, at least five flights, including an international flight, were diverted to various cities, an official said. According to the official, four flights were diverted to Jaipur, one each to Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. The six flights were diverted between 9.30 pm on Tuesday and 9 am on Wednesday. Also, around 100 flights were delayed and many were cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital, the official said.

IndiGo asks flyers not to share PNR on social media after techie conned

Budget carrier IndiGo on Wednesday cautioned flyers against sharing their PNR number on social media or to unauthorised people in light of an incident in which flight tickets of eight passengers were cancelled without consent. The Noida-based software engineer had reportedly shared ticket details, including the PNR, on social media platform X and the airline believes that is when cyber thugs took him for a ride. The techie was travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi on January 7 and had booked eight tickets at around Rs 72,000. He reportedly shared on X a purported screenshot of the web check-in process, and tagged IndiGo to ask "Why forced to web check in? If it is mandatory, why should I pay additional charges?" "If auto-assignment stopped and I have 8 passengers on my PNR, why is the portal forcing me to pay an additional amount for all eight seats?" he added. Later, a conversation took place between the techie and an IndiGo representative over direct messages (DM), whose .

Flag coercive call from management to extend duty: Unions ask A-I pilots

Tata Group-owned Air India's two pilot unions on Wednesday asked their members to flag any "coercive call" from the management for extending flight duty timings beyond the stipulated limits. In a joint communication to their members, Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) also said that they are in the process of compiling the records of recent instances (of such calls). The communication comes in the backdrop of the two unions writing to Air India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson, alleging that the airline management is "intimidating and coercing" some of their members to extend flight duty timings beyond the prescribed limits. The letter to Campbell was also marked to Tata Group and Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran, among others. "We wish to bring to your attention a matter of utmost importance concerning potential coercive calls related to the extension of Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL)," the pilots unions s

Boeing postpones 2024 outlook, CEO says company has 'much to prove'

The 787 production rate was at five per month, Boeing said, adding that it had also resumed 777X production during the fourth quarter

SpiceJet to launch eight flights to Ayodhya on Feb 1, Scindia to inaugurate

SpiceJet will launch eight new flights to Ayodhya from different places on February 1, according to an official. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will inaugurate the flights. The flights will connect Ayodhya with Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Patna, Darbhanga, Mumbai and Bengaluru, the official said. The official said that more people are visiting Ayodhya after the consecration ceremony at the Ram Temple. The Maharishi Valmiki International Airport at Ayodhya Dham was inaugurated earlier this month.

NCLT rejects Wilmington Trust's insolvency petition against SpiceJet

In a relief to low-cost carrier SpiceJet, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday dismissed an insolvency petition filed against the company by aircraft lessor Wilmington Trust SP Services. A Delhi-based bench of NCLT comprising members Mahendra Khandelwal and Rahul Prasad Bhatnagar dismissed the petition of the aircraft lessor based in Dublin, Ireland. Wilmington moved the insolvency plea against SpiceJet in June 2023 over unpaid dues. Last month NCLT had dismissed an insolvency petition by another aircraft lessor, Willis Lease Finance Corporation, which was also claiming dues. SpiceJet faced insolvency pleas filed by its aircraft lessors, including Willis Lease, Aircastle Ireland Ltd, Wilmington, and Celestial Aviation. However, NCLT has issued notice only on the petition filed by Aircastle so far. Earlier, the Delhi High Court directed SpiceJet to pay USD 4 million to its two engine lessors, Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS, by February 15.