Page 22 - Airlines

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.

Financiers grapple with plane shortage issue amid Boeing MAX crisis

For months, aviation has been struggling to keep pace with a post-pandemic travel boom amid labour and parts shortages

Boeing one incident away from airplane 737 production halt, says lessor

Investigators are probing whether bolts were missing or wrongly fitted when the airplane was delivered just eight weeks before the Jan. 5 blowout that led to a partial grounding

Alaska Airlines begins flying Boeing Max 9 jetliners again after accident

Alaska Airlines has begun flying Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners again for the first time since they were grounded after a panel blew out of the side of one of the airline's planes. The airline said in a statement that it has completed its final inspection of their group of the aircraft. They said they resumed flying the Max 9 with a flight from Seattle to San Diego on Friday afternoon. On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the inspection and maintenance process to return the planes to flying. Technicians at Alaska began inspections that night, the airline said. The airline said they expect inspections to be completed by the end of next week, allowing the airline to operate a full flight schedule. Inspections are expected to take up to 12 hours per aircraft. Each of our 737-9 MAX will return to service only after the rigorous inspections are completed and each plane is deemed airworthy according to FAA requirements, the airline said in a written statement ...

Digi Yatra voluntary, data can be collected only after consent: Scindia

Digi Yatra is purely voluntary for air passengers and personnel at airports have been directed to collect data for the application only with the consent of passengers, according to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. There have been complaints that biometric data for Digi Yatra were being gathered from passengers without their consent and the issue was flagged to the minister by Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale. Digi Yatra, which provides for contactless, seamless movement of passengers at various check points at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), is currently available at a minimum 13 airports for domestic passengers. In response to the member, Scindia has said that the issue was examined and "airport operators have been advised to sensitise Digi buddies on consent taking process and keeping use of Digi Yatra completely voluntary". To support passengers with the use of Digi Yatra, services of individuals called Digi buddies have been made available at

Akasa Air orders over 300 CFM engines for its new B737 MAX aircraft

The deal is valued at around $4.5 billion and includes spare engines and a services contract

Alaska Air Q4 results: $150 million loss reported due to rise in expenses

Alaska executives are set to address investors and analysts later in the day. The airline placed orders for 42 737-10 and 10 737-9 jets in 2022, as part of a plan to sunset Airbus aircraft by 2023

Here's what airlines, regulators are doing about Boeing 737 MAX 9 jets

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s move comes after the aircraft had been grounded since a mid-air blowout on an Alaska Airlines jet on Jan. 5

Boeing installed piece that blew off Alaska Airlines MAX 9 jet: Report

Boeing declined to comment on details that are under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board

'We have a problem': Boeing 757 passenger jet loses wheel during take-off

An FAA notice filed on Monday said the aircraft was lining up and waiting for takeoff at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when the "nose wheel came off and rolled down the hill."

Passenger traffic rose 35% to 51.58 million at Mumbai airport in 2023

Air passenger traffic at the city's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) jumped 35 per cent year-on-year to 51.58 million in 2023. The airport, promoted by Adani Group and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), handled a total of 38.33 million passengers in 2022. Compared to the pre-pandemic level (2019), the growth in total traffic was 110 per cent, airport operator Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) said in a statement. Out of the 51.58 million passengers seen last year, over 25.4 million passengers arrived and 26.1 million passengers departed from the airport, MIAL said in a release on Tuesday. In 2023, MIAL said it handled 20 per cent more Air Traffic Movements (ATMs) at 3,34,391 arrivals and departures compared to 2,77,052 ATMs recorded a year earlier. According to the release, 2023 has been a fruitful year for the domestic aviation industry, especially in the months of November and December. The highest passenger traffic movement in a single day fo

Uncomfortable reality of global air travel as airlines race to decarbonize

The five airlines in the world that emit the fewest pollutants per passenger are all low-cost carriers, according to data from carbon-reduction advisory firm Envest Global

Lufthansa's ITA Airways deal may reduce competition, EU regulators warn

Lufthansa wants to acquire a 41% stake in ITA for 325 million euros ($353.2 million) as part of a capital increase

Ready to invest in India to accelerate, push SAF production: Airbus

Qantas Airways, Airbus, and the Queensland government had in March 2023 announced a collaboration to invest in a biofuel production facility, which is being developed by Jet Zero Australia, LanzaJet

Boeing sees no delays to plane deliveries to India because of MAX 9 issues

Boeing earlier this week named Kirkland Donald to advise the planemaker's CEO on improving quality control after the incident

Alaska Air passengers sue airline over 737 Max 9 door blowout incident

"Alaska Airlines breached its duty to its passengers by failing to ground" the plane before the flight, lawyers for the passengers said in the new complaint

Don't park planes in remote bays during flight delays: MoCA to airlines

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has told airlines that they should not park their aircraft in remote bays and also not allow passengers to disembark at the apron in case there are long delays in flights, according to officials. The directive comes against the backdrop of the incident at the Mumbai airport on Sunday when passengers of a diverted Goa-Delhi IndiGo flight had food on the tarmac. Regulators BCAS has slapped penalties on IndiGo and Mumbai airport operator MIAL for the incident while DGCA has also penalised MIAL. Against this backdrop, the officials on Thursday said that airlines have been directed to ensure that in case of flight diversion and long delays, the aircraft should be parked on contact stand so that passengers can be shifted to terminal building for disembarkation if required. The ministry has also said that under no circumstances, the aircraft should be parked on remote bay and passengers be allowed to disembark at the apron in case there is a flight del