Page 22 - Aviation

Go First's lenders approve $55 mn fund infusion to revive carrier: Reports

Go First was granted bankruptcy protection on May 10. Reuters reported last week that the airline has sought Rs 400 cr- Rs 600 cr in additional funds from banks

'Boeing supports Make in India initiative, to play a key role in expansion'

Boeing CEO David L Calhoun has said his company supports Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Make in India' initiative and will play a key role in the rapid expansion of the country's commercial aviation market. Calhoun met Modi and discussed the importance of Boeing's eight decades of aerospace partnership with India during the prime minister's state visit to the US. Boeing is proud to be playing a key role in the rapid expansion of India's commercial aviation market, and in the mission readiness and modernisation of the nation's defence forces, said Calhoun on Sunday. We support Prime Minister Modi's Make in India initiative, with more than 5,000 people in India pursuing high-quality careers doing innovative work on the Boeing team, he said. Calhoun said Boeing's growing investments in India underscore not only the strength of the company's partnership with the country but also the positive trajectory of the broader US-India economic relationship. At the Paris Air Show last week, Boe

DGCA suspends AI pilot for allowing unauthorised person in cockpit

DGCA has suspended the licence of an Air India pilot by one year for allowing an authorised person in the cockpit of the Chandigarh-Leh flight earlier this month, an official statement said on Thursday. The licence of the Pilot-in-command has been suspended for one year while licence of the First Officer has been suspended for a period of one month, the DGCA said. Following the incident that took place on June 3, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ordered grounding of both pilots pending investigation. As per DGCA safety norms, unauthorised people are not allowed to enter the cockpit, and any such entry could violate norms. On 03.06.2023, the Pilot in Command of M/s Air India flight AI-458 (Chandigarh Leh) allowed an unauthorized person into the cockpit during departure and the person remained in the cockpit throughout the flight, the DGCA said in the statement. The first officer did not raise any concern for the unauthorized entry of the person into the cockpit or

Largest single aircraft order placed by any airline with Airbus: IndiGo

IndiGo says it is largest ever single aircraft order placed by any airline with Airbus.

Record plane orders raise stakes in India's aviation boom: Report

Indian budget airline IndiGo announced at the Paris Airshow on Monday the biggest ever plane order by number of aircraft with a deal for 500 Airbus narrowbody jets

Domestic carrier Akasa Air places order for four Boeing 737 Max jets

Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube told Reuters earlier this year that it would place a "substantially" large order for new narrowbody jets this year

IndiGo stock may rally to Rs 2,800, SpiceJet remains sluggish on charts

Technical chart of InterGlobe Aviation appears promising, with price action heading towards Rs 2,800. SpiceJet remains underperformer.

Search underway for submersible with five crew on Titanic-wreck expedition

Trips consist of eight days at sea to survey the wreckage and document the sunken vessel's condition, as well as flora and fauna inhabiting the wreck site

Akasa Air in talks for follow-on order for 737 Max single-aisle boeing jets

The US planemaker is working to finalize negotiations as soon as this week at the Paris Air Show, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are confidential

Domestic airlines witness 36.10% increase in passenger count from Jan-May

In May 2019, scheduled domestic airlines received a total of 746 passenger-related complaints, whereas in May 2023, they received 556 such complaints

NCLT approves appointment of Ajmera as Resolution Professional of Go First

The Insolvency Tribunal NCLT on Thursday approved the decision of lenders of Go First to appoint Shailendra Ajmera as the Resolution Professional of the company. The tribunal also directed him to file a reply within a week over the lessors' plea seeking their aircraft and engine back in their possession from crisis hit air carrier. Earlier, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had appointed Abhilash Lal as the Interim Resolution Professional on May 10, 2023, while admitting the plea of Go First to initiate voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings after suspending the board of the company. The NCLT direction came over a plea moved by the Central Bank of India, which was also approved by other members of the Committee of Creditors of Go First. "We approve the appointment of Shailendra Ajmera as RP of the Corporate Debtor," said a two-member NCLT bench. It also directed the RP to file a reply within a week over the lessors seeking possession of their aircraft and engines back

Go First hopes to resume ops by month-end and restore 94% of daily flights

The carrier is also waiting for creditors to approve additional funding, the person said, declining to specify the amount of investment needed

NCLT issues notice to Go First resolution professional on Delhivery plea

Insolvency tribunal NCLT on Thursday issued a notice to the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) of crisis-hit airlines Go First over a plea filed by supply chain company Delhivery. In its plea, Delhivery had alleged Go First's insolvency process as a sham and said the airline took payments of Rs 57 lakh from Delhivery on May 2, the day it filed for insolvency. The airline took payments despite knowing that it was filing for voluntary insolvency before NCLT, Delhivery said. A two-member bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed the IRP to file a reply within two weeks and listed the matter on July 24 for the next hearing. Go First is presently going through Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). The NCLT on May 10 admitted the plea of Go First to initiate voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings and appointed Abhilash Lal of Alvarez & Marsal as IRP of the airline. Delhivery has requested the tribunal to allow it as an intervener in the company ...

India to have 200-220 more airports, heliports in next 5 years: Scindia

He added that eight airports have been built in the northeast part of the country

India has one of the best airfare, no need for 'gouging': Akasa Air CEO

India has one of the best airfare regimes in the world, but there should not be "gouging" in terms of ticket prices to take advantage of a particular situation, according to Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube. His comments come against the backdrop of concerns about a steep rise in airfares in certain routes amid capacity reduction due to the Go First crisis and higher travel demand, and the government asking airlines to devise a mechanism to ensure a reasonable ticket pricing system. India is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets, and domestic air traffic is recovering strongly after the coronavirus pandemic. Dube, also the founder of Akasa Air, said the civil aviation ministry has an excellent point in terms of gouging and is not talking about average fares in India, like equivalent to USD 45 or 50, which is too high. "Gouging is what the government is worried about... as an airline fraternity, we should ensure that there is no gouging," Dube told PTI in an interview in ...

India is a fantastic potential market but taxation higher: IATA chief

India is a fantastic potential market for aviation but not a cheap market to operate as taxation is higher in the country than in many other places, international airlines' grouping IATA's chief Willie Walsh said on Tuesday. During a media briefing here, Walsh also highlighted the scale of the economy and investments going into airports in India. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is a grouping of more than 300 airlines, including Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet. While responding to a query about a possible duopoly in the Indian airline market, Walsh said there is "plenty of scope for others (airlines) to compete in the market". "What you have in India is a fantastic potential market. You look at the scale of the economy, investments going into airports... (but) India is not a cheap market to operate. "Taxation in India is higher than most places in the world. I think there is a lot of potential in India," he said. India is one of the fastest-growing aviation marke

US-bound Air India flight diverted to Magadan in Russia after engine glitch

The airplane faced the problem mid-flight, making the pilot to take immediate action to ensure the safety of all onboard

India hugely growing aviation market but underserved: Air India CEO

India is a hugely growing aviation market but also underserved, especially on international routes, Air India chief Campbell Wilson said on Monday. The Air India CEO and Managing Director was speaking at a session at the IATA World Air Transport Summit. While India is a "hugely growing market", it is also an underserved market, as there are less than 50 wide-body aircraft (with domestic carriers), he said. Earlier this year, Air India placed an order for 470 planes with Boeing and Airbus. In the context of the aircraft order, Wilson said there is a significant imbalance that the airline is trying to address. He was referring to the shortage of wide-body planes in India. Wilson also said that a few years ago, 13 Boeing 787 planes were grounded as Air India did not have funds and there was also a requirement for "30,000 spare parts". He was responding to a query related to supply-chain issues. The Tata Group took over the loss-making Air India from the government in January last

Airlines must devise mechanism for reasonable pricing of air tickets: Govt

The government on Monday asked airlines to devise a mechanism to ensure reasonable airfares amid a surge in air ticket prices, particularly on certain routes that were earlier served by Go First. During an hour-long meeting of the airlines advisory group, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia shared his concerns about the steep rise in airfares on certain routes. Airlines have been asked to self-monitor airfares on routes that have seen considerable rise in ticket prices, particularly those that were served by Go First earlier. Go First stopped flying from May 3 and the reduction of capacity due to the crisis at the budget airline has come at a time when peak domestic air travel period is round the corner. A mechanism should be devised by airlines to ensure reasonable pricing within the high RBDs (Reservation Booking Designator) and the same would be monitored by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the ministry said in a statement. Airfares are deregulated und

Lufthansa seeks deeper partnership with Air India, plans to expand flights

Lufthansa's CEO, Carsten Spohr speaks about the expansion plans of the airline and partnership with Air India that could make it the largest airline group connecting India and Europe