Page 15 - Aviation

Aionos to bridge silos within aviation, hospitality using AI: Rahul Bhatia

Aionos, wherein IGE will hold the majority shareholding, was launched here on Tuesday in presence of Gurnani and Bhatia

IndiGo says it follows fair process of succession readiness amid some exits

The country's largest airline IndiGo on Monday said it follows a fair process of succession readiness amid some senior executives set to leave from their current roles. The carrier's Senior Vice President Engineering S C Gupta and Senior Vice President Inflight Services Suman Chopra will be leaving from their current positions. They have been with IndiGo since 2006 when it started operations, according to executives. Against this backdrop, IndiGo said retirement or superannuation is a natural process in any organisation, and that at senior levels, these are also personal decisions. "At IndiGo, we follow a fair process of succession readiness. Internal succession also provides opportunities for growth for individuals and the organisation. IndiGo works towards its next phase and its goal to double in size by the end of the decade," it said in a statement. IndiGo operates around 2,000 flights daily.

Boeing's safety culture to come into spotlight at US Senate hearings

Boeing has been grappling with a crisis that has undermined its reputation following the Jan. 5 mid-air panel blowout on a 737 MAX single-aisle plane

Vistara cancels flights on Thu; efforts continue to address pilots' issues

Vistara continued to cancel flights on Thursday as the Tata Group works to address pilot issues, while fares spiked in some routes due to cancellations, according to sources and travel industry executives. A day after Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan apologised to pilots about the issues and assured them of taking steps to resolve them, the airline saw cancellations of around 20 flights. The number of flight cancellations was in the double digits on Thursday but less than 26 cancellations were seen on Wednesday and the situation is improving, the sources said. Vistara, which is to operate more than 300 flights daily in the ongoing summer schedule, has decided to temporarily scale back operations. Meanwhile, two pilots' groupings on Thursday said the problems raised by Vistara pilots are not isolated but rather indicative of systemic issues across Tata Group aviation entities. In a detailed letter to Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran, the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPI) and

Boeing paid $160 mn in compensation after MAX 9 grounding, says Alaska Air

"Although we did experience some book away following the accident and 737-9 MAX grounding, February and March both finished above our original pre-grounding expectations," Alaska said

FLY91 partners with IBS Software to power its commerce operations

FLY91, the country's youngest regional airline, has partnered with IBS Software to power its commercial operations. FLY91 aims to provide an air alternative to road and rail travel across underserved routes in India. IBS Software has created a reservation experience designed to deliver a simple, efficient and cost-effective experience, to attract and retain customers, a press release from the company said on Wednesday. "By implementing IBS Software's modern omni-channel iFly Res commerce platform, FLY91 will not only create a compelling user experience powered by the platform's rich set of APIs and flexible rules engine, but also deliver dynamic pricing. "These real-time dynamic and personalised pricing capabilities are a vital tool in delivering the most cost-effective fares and ensuring pricing is competitive with alternative modes of transport," IBS Software said in the release. Additionally, access to an API-driven ecosystem gives FLY91 the ability to open its services and rou

SpiceJet to soon receive Q400 plane as part of settlement with lessor NAC

SpiceJet on Tuesday said it will soon be receiving a Q400 aircraft as part of the settlement reached with lessor Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) last year. The airline has settled all past liabilities for the Q400 planes leased from NAC, and under the settlement agreement it already has five Q400 aircraft. "The ownership of these planes has been transferred to SpiceJet," the airline said and added that the sixth Q400 plane is en route to India from Germany. The aircraft is expected to arrive in Delhi soon. The carrier, which is taking various measures to deal with multiple headwinds, recently announced four major settlements with key aircraft lessors. According to the airline, these settlements will result in substantial savings of Rs 1,252 crore.

Mahindra Aerostructures signs $100 milllion contract with Airbus Atlantic

Mahindra Aerostructures on Monday announced it has signed a multi-year contract worth around USD 100 million with Airbus Atlantic for the manufacturing and delivery of metallic components for the entire Airbus commercial aircraft family, including the A320 family planes. Under the contract, the company will supply close to 2,300 varieties of metallic components to Airbus Atlantic in France from its manufacturing base in India, Mahindra Aerostructures Pvt Ltd (MASPL) said in a statement. The contract adds to existing MASPL programmes to deliver parts directly to Airbus at their facilities in France and Germany, it said. MASPL has been a direct supplier to Airbus Group since 2015, and partners with Airbus on numerous initiatives. Developing the relationship with Mahindra Aerostructures will help the company benefit from their robustness, expertise, and high-end technology capabilities in order to strengthen the company's supply base, said Airbus Atlantic Chief Procurement Officer Jos

Need to focus more on security aspects related to air cargo: Home secy

Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla on Monday said the country's civil aviation sector is witnessing rapid growth that will also bring different kinds of challenges, and highlighted the need to look more at security aspects related to air cargo. Speaking at the function to mark the 38th Raising Day of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) in the national capital, he emphasised the need for using cutting-edge technologies in various areas, including surveillance. The country's aviation sector is seeing rapid growth and records are likely to be set in 2024. In the years to come, it will be much more, Bhalla said. However, he also said challenges of different kinds are also going to come. One area of concern is about air cargo, Bhalla said, underlining the need to look more at the security aspects in this regard, especially the "safety and security of multi-modal transport". While stressing that all have to put their efforts together, Bhalla said new technologies are creating mor

Air India Express will operate over 360 daily flights in summer schedule

Air India Express will operate more than 360 daily flights during the summer schedule, with international services set to rise by over 20 per cent. The airline is in the process of completing the merger with AIX Connect (earlier known as AirAsia India) and the schedule includes flights of both carriers. In a release on Monday, Tata Group-owned Air India Express said it will offer over 360 daily departures during the summer schedule. Compared to last year's summer schedule, there will be an increase of over 25 per cent in domestic flights and more than 20 per cent rise in overseas services. "This translates to an additional 55 domestic flights and 19 international flights, bringing the total to 259 domestic and 109 international departures," the release said. Generally, the summer schedule is from the last Sunday of March till the last Saturday of October. In 2024, the summer schedule will be from March 31 till October 26. Among others, the airline will be increasing its frequenci

Starburst Accelerator, IIT Madras join hands for €100 million startup hub

This partnership will enable export promotion and provide support for Indian ASD start-ups to explore international markets through the extensive network of Starburst

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to step down this year, board chairman to exit

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will step down from the embattled plane maker at the end of the year after a series of mishaps at one of America's most storied manufacturers. Board Chair Larry Kellner has also told the company he doesn't plan to stand for re-election. Boeing also said Monday that Stan Deal, president and CEO of its commercial airplanes unit, will retire from the company. Stephanie Pope will now lead the division. The Federal Aviation Administration has put the company under intense scrutiny and recently ordered an audit of assembly lines at a Boeing factory near Seattle, where the company builds planes like the Alaska Airlines 737 Max that suffered a door-panel blowout on Jan. 5. Investigators say bolts that help keep the panel in place were missing after repair work at the Boeing factory. The incident has raised scrutiny of Boeing to its highest level since two crashes of Boeing 737 Max jets in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Shares rose more than 2% before the mark

SpiceJet cleared all outstanding dues: Credit Suisse tells Supreme Court

Credit Suisse and SpiceJet have been entangled in a legal conflict since 2015 over outstanding debts of approximately $24 million

FLY91 starts commercial operations with maiden flight from Goa to B'luru

FLY91, the latest entrant in the country's aviation sector, on Monday commenced commercial operations with its first flight taking off for Bengaluru from here. The flight departed from Goa's Manohar International Airport at 07.55 am to Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. The regional airline also operated its maiden flight to Sindhudurg from Bengaluru on Monday, a company spokesman said. The airline also launched a special fare of Rs 1,991 (all inclusive). The inaugural offer will be valid on all flights across FLY91 sectors, he said. Commenting on the start of commercial operations, Manoj Chacko, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FLY91 said the launch of commercial flight symbolises the airline's "commitment to connecting India in a way that has never been done before. The company spokesman said that FLY91 is initially offering flights between Goa, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Sindhudurg, with plans to start operations to Agatti, Jalgaon and Pune in April. T

Several team members resigned as part of restructuring, says SpiceJet

On Monday, sources said the airline's Chief Operating Officer Arun Kashyap and Chief Commercial Officer Shilpa Bhatia have put in their papers

IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Istanbul delays due to technical issue

The IndiGo flight coming from Mumbai to Istanbul has been delayed due to a technical issue, the airline said on Saturday.According to the official statement, passengers for this flight are being accommodated on two special flights operated by A32x aircraft."IndiGo's flight 6E18 from Mumbai to Istanbul has been delayed due to a technical issue with the incoming aircraft from Istanbul. Passengers for this flight are being accommodated on 2 special flights operated by A32x aircraft and, we are currently working with the regulator to obtain the requisite clearances at the earliest," an official statement said."At this moment, ensuring passengers' comfort caused by this unforeseen situation is our top priority and we are providing alternate options, rescheduling, and refunds as per norms. IndiGo sincerely apologizes for the inconvenience resulting from this delay," it added.Earlier, a 42-year-old passenger travelling in an IndiGo flight on Tuesday was arrested by the Mumbai police for ...

SC rejects JKC's plea opposing sale of Jet Airways aircraft to Ace Aviation

The court said it did not find anything wrong with NCLAT order and JKC could benefit from aircraft sale

Airbus gets DGCA approval for new generation H160 helicopter in India

Airbus has received approval from aviation regulator DGCA for its new generation H160 helicopter in India. More than 100 helicopters of Airbus, including the single-engine H125, are being operated by various entities in the country. In a release on Thursday, Airbus said its H160 helicopter has been granted the letter of type acceptance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that will pave the way for its entry into the Indian market. A multi-role helicopter, H160 can be used for offshore transportation, emergency medical services, private and business aviation and public services, among others. Sunny Guglani, Head of Airbus Helicopters, Airbus India and South Asia, said the DGCA approval paves the way for the introduction of the world's most modern helicopter in India starting with a corporate customer followed by the potential deployment for other types of missions. "Airbus Helicopters is committed to developing a holistic helicopter ecosystem in India, including ...

American Airlines to buy 260 new planes from Airbus, Boeing and Embraer

American Airlines announced a massive order for new planes on Monday, splitting 260 new aircraft between Airbus, Boeing and Embraer in a move designed to meet growing travel demand and increase the airline's supply of premium seats. American said it placed options for up to 193 more planes over the next several years. The package of orders includes 85 A321neo planes from Europe's Airbus and an identical number of similarly sized Boeing 737 Max 10s. American converted a previous order for 30 Max 8s to the larger Max 10s. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline also ordered 90 smaller E175 aircraft from Brazil's Embraer. The planes are all single-aisle, so-called narrow-body aircraft that American will use for flights within the United States and to nearby international destinations. American CEO Robert Isom said the airline has invested heavily in the last decade more than 600 planes, including those used by its regional affiliates to modernize and simplify its fleet, which is alread

Boeing must develop plan to tackle quality issues in 90 days: FAA

Whitaker said Boeing's plan must incorporate forthcoming results of the FAA production-line audit and findings from an expert review panel report released earlier this week