Page 33 - Airlines

Asia-Pacific airlines saw air cargo volumes dip 18.6% in Nov 2022: IATA

As per the International Air Transport Association (IATA), this was the worst performance of all regions and a decline in performance compared to October (minus 14.7 per cent)

2 Russian passengers offloaded in Goa for 'misbehaving' with Go First crew

According to the spokesperson, the two foreign nationals abused the crew, and were "teasing the crew, passing remarks on her"

Airlines in India to add 100 aircraft per year to fly 412 mn passengers

As Indigo Airline has expanded its fleet to 300 aircraft, the countrys airlines' fleet is likely to add over 100 aircraft every year till the next few years

LIVE: CBI files chargesheet against SEL Textiles Ltd in bank fraud case

Catch all the live updates from around the world here

305 enforcement actions against airlines, individuals taken by DGCA in 2022

Aviation safety regulator DGCA took 305 enforcement actions, including imposing financial penalties against various operators and individuals, among others for non-compliance of various norms during 2022, an official statement said on Sunday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has the mandate to enforce civil air regulations, air safety and airworthiness standards. There were 305 enforcement actions taken by the regulator during the year, the DGCA said in the statement. These enforcement actions were taken against various airlines, including scheduled as well as non-scheduled operators, airport operators and flying training organisations for failing to adhere to laid down safety standards and norms and compromising safety of aircraft operations, the DGCA said. Actions were also taken against erring pilots, cabin crew, air traffic controllers (ATCOs), aircraft maintenance engineers and various post holders for non-compliance to laid down regulations and SOPs, it ...

Airlines worldwide keep capacity tight despite boom in Chinese demand

Bookings for outbound flights from China surged by 254% on Tuesday morning versus the same period the day prior, data shows

DGCA to issue norms to compensate for tickets downgraded involuntarily

Aviation regulator DGCA will put in place norms to compensate a passenger whose ticket for a particular class has been involuntarily downgraded by an airline. The move comes against the backdrop of rising complaints about airlines involuntarily downgrading tickets issued to passengers. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is in the process of amending the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) pertaining to 'facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights. to protect the rights of air travellers affected by downgrading of their ticket. "The amendment will allow the passenger, who is downgraded involuntarily from his booked class of ticket, to receive the full value of ticket including taxes as refund from the airline and the airline will carry the passenger free of cost in the next available class," DGCA said in a statement on Friday. After stakeholder consultations, final regulations will be issued by

Best of BS Opinion: Realities of aviation, biodiversity targets, and more

Here is the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

The airlines we deserve

Two stories this week showed what's wrong with the attitudes of airlines and passengers

Quicker licences likely as airlines implement DGCA's digital initiative

Integrating eGCA with their internal software, will help minimise the time taken to fill pilots' e-log books, and eliminate manual intervention as well

From the cockpit: Meet Vinay Dube, co-founder and CEO of Akasa Air

Avid golfer and tea aficionado, Dube speaks to Aneesh Phadnis about food, family and flights

Etihad Airways expands in India; Kolkata-Abu Dhabi service to begin in 2023

Etihad Airways plans to expand its flight network in India with additional services to Ahmedabad, Chennai, Cochin and Delhi starting from early next year. The Gulf carrier on Thursday also announced plans to launch a daily flight service to Kolkata from Abu Dhabi from March 26, 2023 providing a total of seven weekly non-stop services to the City of Joy. The flights will be operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, offering 8 seats in business class and 150 in economy class, according to a release. "In parallel with re-establishing air links to Kolkata, Etihad will boost its network with additional services to Ahmedabad (bringing it up to 2 daily flights) and Chennai (twice daily)," an Etihad Airways spokesperson told PTI. Besides, Cochin will have an additional 6 flights per week, bringing it to a total of 13 flights per week, starting from March 26, 2023. An additional daily service will also be started to Delhi and Mumbai from April 24 next year. The re-introduction of flights to

Need wide-body planes for capturing long-haul segment: Jyotiraditya Scindia

India's civil aviation market is poised for a double-digit growth in the next decade and the country's carriers should have more wide-body planes to capture the long haul segment, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday. At the event for inaugurating Air India's direct flight from Mumbai to San Francisco, he also said that discussions have happened with airlines and the effort is to make Delhi the country's first international hub. "We have 86 international carriers coming into India and only 5 national carriers taking people to international destinations outside India. However, these 5 carriers that fly overseas hold 36 per cent market share. We have to look at increasing international to international traffic. That is why I have been urging all our carriers that we need to have more wide-body aircraft so that we can capture the long haul route market," he said here. He also said that Indian carriers' share of international to international traffic is only ...

Very tough path ahead for new entrants like Akasa, Jet 2.0: GMR official

Julian Carr, the firm's CMO, says it will be "fascinating" to see how IndiGo's desire to grow further progresses when Air India aims to become a big full-service domestic and international carrier

Unmanned check-in counters causing congestion at airports, says govt

Airlines ask passengers to arrive early to ensure 'smooth' security check

Arrive early, carry just 1 hand bag: Airlines to passengers amid congestion

With passengers continuing to experience long waiting hours at Delhi and other airports, airlines have asked them to reach early, do web check-in and carry only one piece of hand baggage for faster movement. The country's largest airline IndiGo has asked passengers to reach Delhi airport at least 3.5 hours prior to domestic departures. In recent weeks, the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in the national capital has been witnessing long queues and crowds amid rising air traffic. Authorities have put in place an action plan, including reducing the number of flights during peak hours, to deal with the situation. Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also inspected the arrangements at the airport here on Monday. Amid congestion, Vistara is asking its passengers to arrive at the airport at least three hours prior to domestic as well as international flights. Delhi airport is experiencing high footfalls and the check-in and boarding time is expected to be longer

Vistara inaugurates daily, non-stop flights from Mumbai to Muscat

Full service carrier Vistara on Monday launched daily, non-stop flights from Mumbai to Muscat, a move that will see the airline expand its footprint in the lucrative Middle East region. The inaugural flight departed from Mumbai at 2000 hours (IST) and arrived in Muscat at 2135 hours. Muscat is the fourth destination in the Gulf region for Vistara, which is a joint venture between the Tatas and Singapore Airlines. The airline said there has been a consistent rise in passenger volumes and demand from the Gulf countries, paving way for the airline to bolster its presence in the region. Muscat is the third Gulf city (Abu Dhabi and Jeddah being the other two) that Vistara has added to its network in the last four months. Vistara also operates daily flights to Dubai to/from Mumbai. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said the launch of operations to Muscat is in line with the airline's goal to steadily enhance its footprint in the Middle East. The firm bilateral relationsh

SpiceJet expects improvement in operations in December quarter: Ajay Singh

SpiceJet, which is looking to raise USD 200 million, expects to see improvement in operations and restructuring benefits in the current quarter of this financial year. The budget carrier's chief Ajay Singh has told shareholders that it has also completed a series of settlements with most of the major partners, including manufacturers and lessors. Hit by high fuel prices and rupee depreciation, SpiceJet saw its net loss widen to Rs 789 crore in the June quarter. The airline is also facing other headwinds, including some of its aircraft having technical snags in recent times, and quite a few of its Boeing 737 planes were deregistered due to non-payment of dues to lessors. In his message in the airline's annual report for 2021-22 fiscal, Singh, who is the Chairman and Managing Director, said the airline industry worldwide continues to undergo a transformation. "The sky-high fuel prices, depreciating rupee, erratic passenger demand and disrupted supply chains have deferred growth plans

Go First inducts 55th A320 neo; to receive engines from P&W soon

Go First, which is facing multiple headwinds, has received an additional Rs 400 crore under a government scheme and expects to operate more planes once it gets 16 new P&W engines in the coming weeks, according to officials. The no-frills carrier has at least 25 planes on the ground, mainly due to the non-availability of Pratt & Whitney (P&W) engines that power its A320 fleet. With many aircraft remaining non-operational, the airline is also grappling with flight delays and rescheduling of departure timings. Further, its On-Time Performance (OTP) has taken a beating. A government official said the airline availed an additional Rs 400 crore under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) this month. Go First, which can take up to Rs 1,500 crore under the scheme, has so far availed at least a total of Rs 800 crore. A Go First spokesperson said that 25-26 planes are on the ground and currently, 32 aircraft are operational. The airline is in active discussions with ...

Domestic airlines flew 409,831 passengers on Sunday, highest since May 2020

Air traffic touches nearly 96 per cent of pre-Covid level