Page 18 - Aviation Industry

Domestic air traffic hits new single-day high; crosses 471,000 passengers

Domestic air traffic touched a new single-day high of 4,71,751 passengers on Sunday, according to official data. The traffic on Sunday was more than 14 per cent higher than the average pre-Covid count of 3,98,579. On April 21, the total number of domestic air passengers stood at 4,71,751 and the number of flights was 6,128, as per the data from the civil aviation ministry. This is higher than the domestic air traffic of 4,28,389 passengers and 5,899 flights recorded on April 21, 2023. In a post on X, the ministry said India's domestic aviation is "everyday at a new high". "Domestic aviation in India is witnessing unprecedented growth, driven by factors such as concrete policies, economic development, and expansion of low-cost carriers. As more people gain access to air travel, the sector is expected to continue its upward trajectory," it said. Last week, aviation regulator DGCA said passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-March 2024 were 391.46 lakhs as against 375

India averts travel chaos as plane technicians call off Tuesday strike

Travel plans were thrown into disarray earlier this month after Vistara, jointly owned by Air India's owner Tata Group and Singapore Airlines Ltd., was forced to cancel more than 100 flights

Test flights for aircraft navigation begin at Noida International Airport

With a maiden turboprop aircraft flight, the Noida International Airport this week started calibrating the ground-based radio navigation system at the greenfield facility. The airport, which is scheduled to start commercial operations by the end of this year, is located at Jewar, around 75 km from Delhi. "A bright and sunny day at #NIAirport set the perfect stage for a DVOR calibration flight, the first of many. The Beechcraft King Air B300 took to the skies, to ensure all @aai_official navigation equipment works flawlessly. #FromTheGroundUp," the airport posted on X on Thursday. A calibration flight is an aviation operation conducted to verify and fine-tune the accuracy of navigation equipment used at airports, according to officials. During a calibration flight, specialized aircraft equipped with precise measurement instruments fly predefined patterns around the airport's airspace. These instruments collect data on the performance of various navigation aids, such as instrument .

InterGlobe, Archer Aviation plan electric air taxis from CP to Gurugram

Archer Aviation will supply 200 electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft that can carry four passengers besides a pilot

Three aircraft lessors take SpiceJet to court over unpaid dues of Rs 77 cr

Celestial Aviation, Willis Lease Finance, Aircastle, and Wilmington had also filed applications against SpiceJet in 2023 for outstanding dues

Air India saves costs by taking insurance cover for merged entity

The insurance cover has been provided by a consortium of Indian insurance companies including Tata AIG General Insurance

Boeing plane's mid-air blowout result of ignorance to safety: FAA panelist

The company is preparing a 90-day plan to overhaul its quality and safety practices in response to the panel's findings

Air India operationalises five new contact centres to assist customers

Air India has operationalised five new contact centres, including in Cairo and Kuala Lumpur, to provide assistance to its customers worldwide. The Tata Group-owned airline has partnered with Concentrix, a California-headquartered customer engagement firm, to manage premium services from centres in Mumbai, Cairo, and Kuala Lumpur. Besides, the carrier has signed up iEnergizer to operate contact centres in Noida and Bengaluru, focusing on domestic inquiries, a release said on Friday. Recently, Air India introduced a premium desk for its premium frequent flyer members as well as business and first-class guests. In the release, the airline said it has implemented a comprehensive back-office insourcing strategy to manage emails, social media, and chat support internally to assist the customers. "A 24/7 grievance management desk promptly addresses all customer queries, escalations and provides round-the-clock support," it added.

US airlines ask govt not to approve additional flights between US, China

Large U.S. airlines and some of their unions are asking the Biden administration to stop approving any more flights between the United States and China because of what they call anti-competitive policies that China imposes on U.S. carriers. The airlines and unions said Thursday that China closed its market to U.S. carriers at the outbreak of the pandemic and imposed rules that still affect American operations and airline crews. These actions demonstrated the clear need for the U.S. government to establish a policy that protects U.S. aviation workers, industry and air travelers, they said in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The letter was signed by the CEO of the Airlines for America trade group and the presidents of the Air Line Pilots Association, the Allied Pilots Association, which represents crews at American Airlines, and the Association of Flight Attendants. The number of flights between China and the U.S. has been ...

Vistara working on flight plans beyond May 24, worst is over: CEO

'Challenging start to new financial year', says Vinod Kannan after airline had to cancel 150 flights between March 31 and April 4

IndiGo pips Southwest to become world's 3rd most valuable airline by mcap

IndiGo's share price jumped by 4.73 per cent to Rs 3,806 on Wednesday, thereby elevating its market capitalisation to $17.605 billion

Boeing took shortcuts for faster production of its 787s: Whistleblower

Salehpour, who according to his attorneys worked on the 787 from 2020 through early 2022, told reporters on Tuesday that the issues he described "may dramatically reduce the life of the plane"

Sky-high demand: Politicians drive helicopter rates up 15-20%

BJP, Congress dominate advance bookings, helicopter charter firms say

Air India's aircraft technicians planning strike amid mounting woes

Its staff are upset over lack of career advancement opportunities because they haven't been promoted in the past seven years, according to the letter

Virgin Atlantic jet collides with another plane at Heathrow; no injuries

A Virgin Atlantic jet collided with another plane while it was being towed at Heathrow Airport on Saturday, aviation authorities said. There were no reports of injuries. Virgin said its Boeing 787-9 had completed a flight and had no passengers aboard when its wingtip clipped a stationary British Airways jet while being towed from a stand at the airport's Terminal 3. Images posted on social media showed several fire trucks surrounding the two planes, whose wings were touching. We've commenced a full and thorough investigation and our engineering teams are performing maintenance checks on the aircraft, which for now has been taken out of service, Virgin said in a statement. BA said engineers were also looking at its plane. Heathrow said that no passenger injuries have been reported and we do not anticipate there to be any ongoing impact to airport operations.

Boeing's CEO David Calhoun got compensation worth $33 mn last year

Boeing CEO David Calhoun received compensation valued at $33 million last year, nearly all of it in stock awards, but his stock payout for this year will be cut by nearly one-fourth because of the drop in Boeing's share price since the January blowout of a panel on one of its planes in midflight. The company said Friday that after the accident on the Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max, Calhoun declined a bonus for 2023 that was targeted at nearly $3 million. Calhoun announced this month that he will step down at the end of the year as Boeing deals with multiple investigations into the quality and safety of its manufacturing. The company said in a regulatory filing that Calhoun got a salary of $1.4 million last year and stock awards valued at $30.2 million. Including other items, his compensation totalled $32.8 million, up from $22.6 million in 2022. Boeing stock has dropped since Jan 5, when a door-plug panel blew off an Alaska Airlines Max jetliner flying 16,000 (4,800 metres) feet ab

Tata group's Vistara could cut flights amid pilot shortage: Report

The cancellations and delays forced India's civil aviation ministry to intervene and monitor the situation, while the aviation regulator has sought daily information on flight disruptions

Flight schedule to normalise in 2-3 days: Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan

According to sources, he thanked the pilots for accepting the new salary structure proposed as part of Vistara's ongoing merger with Air India

Virgin Atlantic eyes Indian skies, aims to touch 1 million seats by 2025

It launched a new daily direct flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru on March 31 and will launch its second daily direct service from London Heathrow to Mumbai from October 2024

Domestic and international air traffic cross pre-pandemic peak in FY24

International air traffic in India saw faster growth than domestic air traffic in 2023-24