Page 23 - Aviation Industry

American Airlines raises bag fees, changing how customers earn flyer points

American Airlines is pushing customers to buy tickets directly from the airline if they want to earn frequent-flyer points, and it is raising the cost of checking bags. American announced on Tuesday that most customers will have to buy tickets directly from the airline or its partner carriers if they want to earn points in its AAdvantage loyalty programme. Corporate travellers won't be affected by the change. The airline said checking a bag will rise from USD 30 now to USD 35 online and USD 40 if purchased at the airport. The fee for a second checked bag will rise from USD 40 to USD 45 both online and at the airport. American says it last raised bag fees in 2018. The changes affect flights booked on or after Tuesday for travel within the United States and to nearby international destinations including Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. The airline will generally allow customers to check at least one bag free if they hold status in American's loyalty programme, buy a premium-class

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

Budget carrier SpiceJet's MD Ajay Singh submits bid for bankrupt Go First

SpiceJet shares closed 11.3% higher on Friday

SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and Busy Bee Airways jointly bid for Go First

Sharjah-Based Sky One Also Bids for the Insolvent Airline

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal seeks interim bail to treat cancer

Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, an accused in a money laundering case, has moved a plea before a special court here seeking interim bail for treatment of malignancy, which was revealed during tests conducted by private doctors. The court passed an initial order for setting up a medical board to examine Goyal's medical reports as ED sought time to respond to his interim bail plea. Last month, special judge for cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) M G Deshpande had allowed Goyal (74) to undergo medical tests by private doctors. In the plea moved on Thursday for interim bail, Jet Airways founder Goyal said malignancy was revealed during the tests undertaken by the private doctors. As per his medical records, Goyal has small tumours in his intestine (common location for small tumours), called 'Neuro Endocrine Tumours' (slow growing cancer). He also has a hiatus hernia of about 35 cm to 40 cm with severe reflux oesophagitis, which is a medical condition that occu

Airlines cancel 30 flights per day due to Mumbai airport's congestion

Akasa Air on Tuesday announced it was cancelling 90 Mumbai flights till the end of next month

NCLT extends deadline for Go First's insolvency for another 60 days

The National Company Law Tribunal on Tuesday extended the deadline for another 60 days to complete the resolution process of grounded airline Go First. A two-member bench of the Delhi-based NCLT admitted the plea filed by the resolution professional (RP) of Go First seeking an extension of the timeline to complete the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP). Diwakar Maheshwari, appearing for RP, argued that so far three parties have submitted their expression of interest for Go First and deposited the earnest money. These firms are expected to submit resolution plans for Go First which has been undergoing CIRP since May 10, 2023. This is the second such extension granted by the NCLT. The tribunal had on November 23 last year granted an extension of 90 days, which ended on February 4. The three firms, including budget carrier Spicejet, Sharjah-based Sky One, and African continent-focused firm Safrik Investments, have shown interest in buying Go First. The Insolvency & ...

Mumbai-bound flight returned to Delhi due to 'momentary foul smell': IndiGo

A Mumbai-bound IndiGo aircraft returned to the national capital on Friday morning, with the airline saying the plane came back as a precaution due to a "momentary foul smell". The flight 6E 449 returned to the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) sometime after take off. In a statement, IndiGo said there was a "momentary foul smell" and the pilot following standard operating procedures landed back in Delhi as a precaution. Specific details could not be immediately ascertained. "An alternate aircraft was arranged for the passengers. We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to all the passengers," the airline said.

Dynamatic Tech inks deal with Airbus to make all A220 door variants

Dynamatic's shares jumped as much as 10.7% after the deal announcement to a record high of 7,780 rupees

FAA head pledges to hold Boeing accountable for safety violations

FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker is expected to face a barrage of questions Tuesday about FAA oversight of the company since a door panel blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner over Oregon last month

Delhi High Court tells SpiceJet to pay Rs 50 crore to Kalanithi Maran

The court said the payment shall be made subject to the outcome of SpiceJet's appeal challenging the interest amount awarded by the arbitral tribunal

Jet Airways case: Supreme Court dismisses JKC plea on new payment plan

"The question of adjustment of Rs150 crore (through bank guarantee), we will keep it with the NCLAT. You (JKC) have to (pay)," the apex court had said

Zooom Airlines resumes services with inaugural Delhi-Ayodhya flight

After a hiatus in 2020, Zooom Airlines on Thursday resumed its operations with an inaugural flight connecting Delhi to Ayodhya, the domestic airline said

India's aviation sector needs to clarify insolvency laws, says ACG

India amended its insolvency laws last October to exclude leased aircraft from assets that can be frozen in a bid to address discrepancies between local and global rules

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