Page 7 - Aviation Sector

Air India to increase global coverage in years ahead: CEO Wilson

Air India has covered a lot of ground since privatisation and its global coverage will further increase in the years ahead, the airline's chief Campbell Wilson said on Wednesday. He also said the interior refit of the single-aisle fleet, serving domestic and short-haul international destinations, is underway, and will be completed by mid-2025. Loss-making Air India was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022, and is undergoing an ambitious five-year transformation plan. In 2024, Air India completed the merger of Vistara with itself as well as integration of Air India Express and AIX Connect was also done. In his New Year message, Wilson said these mergers and new aircraft deliveries have taken Air India Group's fleet to 300 aircraft, allowing it to expand to over 100 domestic and international destinations. "Air India's global coverage will further increase in the years ahead, not least because of the recent addition of 100 aircraft to our order book, augmen

SpiceJet shareholders discuss funding and expansion plans during AGM

SpiceJet shareholders on Monday sought to know about the airline's funding and expansion plans during the annual general meeting. At the 40th Annual General Meeting (AGM), members also transacted various businesses, including adoption of audited financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2024, together with the reports of the board of directors and the statutory auditors, and increasing the company's authorised share capital, according to a regulatory filing. The budget carrier, whose Chairman is Ajay Singh, recently raised Rs 3,000 crore and since then, has been settling pending dues and various disputes. At the AGM, the airline said questions were raised by the members, inter-alia, on future expansion, raising of funds, operating expenses of the company, accounts of the company and addition of new flights. "The Chairman replied the questions of the members and also apprised about the operational highlights of the company, fund-raising efforts, future outlook etc,

Airlines to mandatorily share int'l passenger data with customs from Apr 1

Airlines will have to mandatorily share details of foreign travellers with the Indian Customs authorities from April 1, 2025, and non-compliance can attract penalties. All air transport service providers operating flights to/from India will have to register with the National Customs Targeting Centre-Passenger (NCTC-Pax) by January 10, 2025, in order to comply with the requirement, according to a communication issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Details ranging from mobile number, and payment mode to travel itinerary need to be shared with the authorities 24 hours before the departure of an international flight. On August 8, 2022, the CBIC notified the 'Passenger Name Record Information Regulations, 2022' under which airlines were required to share passenger name record (PNR) details of foreign travellers with the Customs department. This system is intended to enhance interdiction capabilities of authorities as well as risk analysis of passengers. In c

With 318 fatalities, commercial aviation suffers deadliest year since 2018

Onboard passenger plane fatalities this year jumped to 318 with the two recent crashes. That's by far the highest death toll since more than 500 people died in 2018

IndiGo expects to carry 112 million passengers in 2024: CEO Pieter Elbers

IndiGo expects to carry 112 million passengers in 2024 and is on the way to become a leading player in global aviation, its chief Pieter Elbers has said. In 2023, the country's largest airline has flown over 100 million passengers. India is one of the world's fastest-growing civil aviation markets and IndiGo, which has a domestic market share of 63.6 per cent, is also expanding its international network. In a statement to PTI on the outlook for 2025, CEO Elbers said A321 XLRs will be arriving next year. These narrow-body planes have a longer range and will help the airline to start longer-duration direct international flights. IndiGo, flying for the last 18 years, has a fleet of over 400 aircraft and also placed an order for 30 wide body A350-900 widebodies. "An airline so young expects to welcome over 112 million customers in 2024, after crossing the 100 million annual customers bar last year," Elbers said. Aligning with India's vision to establish itself as an aviation hub, he

American Airlines lifts ground stop after unspecified technical issue

A notice on the US Federal Aviation Administration website merely said the company had requested a nationwide groundstop, without giving a reason

Indian aviation set to soar in 2025 with more planes, flights, and airports

The trails of mega-mergers, tailwinds of expanding fleets, flights and airports will dot the fast-growing Indian aviation firmament in 2025, though the dark clouds of supply chain woes will persist longer. Also, new airline takeoffs, the future trajectory of revised norms to tackle pilot fatigue and efforts to reduce carbon emissions will be on the radar. And in 2024, two airlines flew into the sunset, one airline is on a liquidation taxiway, aircraft orders climbed, single-day domestic air passenger traffic soared past record 5 lakh at least twice, and airfare movements continued to raise concerns. Not to leave out 999 hoax bomb calls received by airlines till November 14 this year. The aviation sector had its share of accidents in the form of a few trainer aircraft crashes and a roof collapse incident at Terminal 1 of the Delhi airport that killed one person. For the "fascinating" Indian market, where the domestic air traffic is projected to jump to 164-170 million this fiscal ..

Korean Air completes Asiana takeover to form one of Asia's biggest airlines

Korean Air acquired a 63.88 per cent stake in Asiana on Thursday, making it a subsidiary three years later than the smaller airline had initially anticipated

IATA chief hopeful that India will provide more bilateral flying rights

Global airlines' grouping IATA's chief Willie Walsh has expressed optimism that India will provide more bilateral flying rights as Indian carriers are set to operate more wide-body planes in the coming years. India, one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets, has been taking a cautious stance on increasing bilateral flying rights as efforts are on to make the country a global aviation hub. More number of wide-body planes with Indian airlines will allow them to provide direct connectivity to various overseas destinations. IATA Director General Willie Walsh has said the bilateral flying rights situation with respect to India will improve. "It (bilateral flying rights) will improve. If you look at the aircraft orders, the wide-body aircraft orders that IndiGo and Air India have, they want to see more rights available to them. They are not going to get rights to fly unless you give them reciprocal rights. "I am optimistic that it (bilateral flying rights situation) will

Aero Dienst GmbH enters Indian aviation space, to partner with AeroSource

The Germany-based aviation firm will offer a full range of MRO services, while its Indian partner will share its corporate network and help with the regulatory environment

Air taxi startup ePlane Co raises $14 million; eyes testing in mid-2025

The global air taxi market was valued at $2.3 billion in 2023 and is projected to be worth $14 billion by end-2032, a study by Global Market Insights showed

Mergers and liquidations reshape India's turbulent aviation sector

It's an eternal mystery. Aviation is one of the world's most precarious businesses, yet it continues to attract investors

Spirit Airlines continues talks with creditors amid bankruptcy filing

The negotiations, with a supermajority of the noteholders, have remained productive, advanced materially and are resuming in the near term

AI Express to reconfigure planes with biz class seats from April 2025

Air India Express plans to start reconfiguration of planes having business class seats from April 2025, as the airline focuses on operating narrow-body planes with only economy class seats, according to a senior official. The Tata Group-owned airline that merged AIX Connect with itself on October 1, has rationalised its network and currently has an operational fleet of 90 planes, including over 30 aircraft with dual-class seats. Amid supply chain woes impacting fresh aircraft deliveries, the airline has, so far, inducted 35 white-tail Boeing 737-8 planes. Their count will rise to 50 in the coming months. Many of these white-tail aircraft have varying numbers of business-class seats. Generally, white-tail planes are those that were originally manufactured for a particular airline and later taken by another airline. The senior airline official said it will start reconfiguration of the aircraft having business class from April onwards. The carrier wants to offer only economy class s

Indian skies left with just one full-service carrier after Vistara merger

With Vistara merging into Air India, the number of full-service carriers in India will drop to just one, marking the end of a 17-year era of multiple full-service carriers in the country

Alliance Insurance Brokers plans entry into aquaculture, RE, aviation

Alliance Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd, which has completed 21 years of operation, is looking to expand into new sectors like aquaculture, renewable energy, aviation and M&A, among others. The company is also getting into the affinity insurance segment and tying up with banks, NBFCs and consumer durables to provide security on either the loans disbursed or the products purchased, Alliance Insurance Brokers said in a statement on Monday. Over the years, Alliance Insurance Brokers has increased its footprint across 14 cities in the country and is working with 14 countries globally. The company is covering around 20-22 prominent sectors, insuring more than 4,000 clients. It has insured over 3,000 international sports events up to date, which cover tournament events such as T20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup. The company enjoys a considerable 45 per cent market share in the raw and unpolished diamond insurance market in India, it said. In the media and entertainment industry, it said, ...

Boeing machinists hold contract vote that could end their 7-week strike

Unionised factory workers at Boeing are voting Monday whether to accept a contract offer or to continue their strike, which has lasted more than seven weeks and shut down production of most Boeing passenger planes. A vote to ratify the contract would clear the way for the aerospace giant to resume airplane production and bring in much-needed cash. If members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers vote for a third time to reject Boeing's offer, it would plunge the company into further financial peril and uncertainty. In its latest proposed contract, Boeing is offering pay raises of 38% over four years, as well as ratification and productivity bonuses. IAM District 751, which represents Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest, endorsed the proposal, which is slightly more generous than one the machinists voted down nearly two weeks ago. It is time for our members to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory," the union district said in schedulin

Centre issues new guidelines to handle bomb threats on flights; details

The revised guidelines from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security outline several new indicators for assessing bomb threats

Govt classifies blended ATF with 2% excise for regional flight operators

The Centre levies a 2% excise duty on blended ATF for regional flights under a new category in the Central Excise Act; aviation sector urges incentives over cost concerns for voluntary adoption

AICCA terms Air India's new room-sharing policy illegal, seeks intervention

The All India Cabin Crew Association has termed Tata Group-owned Air India's room-sharing policy for a section of cabin crew members as "illegal, bad in law, and Void ab initio on multiple fronts." The association has requested intervention from the Labour Ministry, urging it to stall the move. The association is seeking these entitlements hotel accommodation and conditions of accommodation in line with the policy on accommodation for pilots, as per the previous agreements and tribunal awards. The association has also written to Air India Chief Campbell Wilson, urging him "not to violate" the existing status quo, and respect the sanctity of the Industrial Tribunal and the pending Industrial dispute over the issue. Under the new policy effective December 1, members will be required to share rooms during layovers except for cabin executives and those operating ultra-long-haul flights ahead of the merger of Vistara with it, scheduled for November 11. Cabin crew members on ...