Page 4 - India Aviation

Go First resolution professional, lessors in talks to maintain aircraft

Advocate Diwakar Maheshwari, appearing for the RP, told the court that they are in talks with the lessors, one of which is SMBC Aviation Capital, to maintain the aircraft

DGCA suspends Anil Gill; Scindia says 'zero tolerance to malpractices'

It has been alleged that Anil Gill, as Director of the Flying and Training Division at the DGCA, misused his authority to obtain three aircraft as bribes from flying schools

Average daily domestic traffic increased by 1.65%, Oct upswing anticipated

Overall domestic demand remained high, with four out of six major carriers reporting load factors of over 90 per cent in September

DGCA fills 27% of newly created positions amid expansion of airlines: MoCA

The expansion comes in response to the rapidly growing fleets of airlines such as IndiGo and Air India

Akasa Air in the middle of crisis: How bad could the pilot shortage be?

With Indian aviation staring at a potential scramble for pilots, airlines such as Akasa can feel deflated

Amid pilot turmoil, Akasa Air mulling raising up to $400 million

The fundraising plan could involve fresh equity issuances of $75-100 million each and is set to be carried out over the next 12-18 months

Delhi HC raps Go First's RP for not complying with inspection order

The judge referred to photographs submitted by a lessor that allegedly showed critical parts of the aircraft missing

Air India to deploy additional cabin crew on narrow body planes: CEO

An official from Air India clarified that narrowbody planes require more cabin crew members to deliver premium service

Charticle: Air India reaches bottom of punctuality chart in July

Air India saw its average daily OTP drop from 91.63 per cent in April to 69.31 per cent in July

After a string of tail strike incidents, IndiGo modifies procedures

IndiGo saw four incidents from January to June when the tail of an aircraft hit the ground during the landing or take-off

Reduce commercial area at airports to boost security checkpoints: BCAS

The BCAS earlier this month extended the deadline for using full-body scanners at major Indian airports from March 31 to December 31, 2023

AAI revamping 23 airports across the country to boost traffic handling

Indian airlines are expected to add 132 aircraft in 2023-24 (FY24) to tap into the surging passenger demand, according to CAPA India

Largest Indian order: Indigo likely to place an order for 500 planes today

The value of IndiGo's order, at the list price of the A320Neo family aircraft, will be around $500 billion

Our aircraft fleet doubled in past nine years, says Aviation Minister

He also highlighted the positive transformations observed in Air India following its acquisition by the Tata Group, signifying a positive shift in the airline's performance and operations

Go First lessors' plea for plane delisting shown as rejected due to glitch

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Wednesday told the Delhi High Court it was due to a technical glitch on its portal that the applications of several aircraft lessors of Go First for deregistration of their planes were shown as rejected'. The aviation regulator said it was not processing such requests following a moratorium on financial obligations and transfer of assets of the crisis-hit airline in the wake of insolvency resolution proceedings. The lessors are unable to deregister and take back the aircraft leased to the carrier because of the moratorium. Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju asked the counsel for DGCA as to why different responses were sent to different lessors on repossession requests. Why is there a distinction? There are 7-8 petitions and each one of them has a different response. Why so? the court asked. The court asked the DGCA counsel to produce the documents in relation to each petitioner lessor on Thursday when it will hear further arguments on beha

Government has massive game plan for civil aviation sector: Scindia

The government has a "massive game plan" and a three-pronged strategy for the country's fast-growing aviation market, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday. Mentioning the aviation market's potential, he said domestic passenger numbers rose to 144 million in 2019 from 60 million in 2014, a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of about 14.5 per cent. He was speaking at the curtain raiser event here for the 'Wing India 2024' conference to be held next year in Hyderabad. According to the minister, under the three-pronged strategy, the focus is to create capacity, ensure there are no bottlenecks for aviation industry players and have simplified processes and procedures. The efforts are to increase the number of airports, heliports and waterdromes from 148 currently to more than 200 in the next three to four years, he said. Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said there is huge potential to increase international air connectivity for India.

Industry hopes govt to align domestic laws with int'l: Airbus India chief

Amid concerns of lessors in the wake of Go First insolvency proceedings, aircraft maker Airbus on Thursday said the industry hopes the government will expedite the alignment of domestic laws with international conventions and treaties. With the initiation of insolvency resolution proceedings for Go First following the crisis-hit airline's plea and subsequent moratorium, lessors are unable to take back their aircraft leased to the carrier. Against this backdrop, President and Managing Director of Airbus India and South Asia Remi Maillard mentioned the alignment of domestic laws with international conventions. "The industry hopes the government will expedite the alignment of domestic laws with international conventions and treaties...," Maillard said. He is also the Chairman of industry body Ficci's civil aviation committee. So far this month, lessors have approached the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the deregistration of 45 Go First planes and five SpiceJet plane

Go First: Aircraft lessor moves Delhi HC to take back its leased plane

As Go First undergoes insolvency resolution proceedings, an aircraft lessor moved the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the authorities to release the plane leased to the crisis-hit airline. Besides, two more aircraft lessors have moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) opposing the airline's insolvency proceedings. Accipiter Invesments Aircraft 2 Ltd has filed a writ petition before the Delhi High Court against the Union government and others, according to a lawyer. It has requested the high court to direct DGCA to deregister its aircraft which is currently on lease with Go First. Besides, Accipiter Invesments Aircraft has moved the NCLAT. Another aircraft lessor Eos Aviation 12 (Ireland) Ltd has also filed a petition before the NCLAT against Go First. Both the petitions are listed before the appellate tribunal for Wednesday. With moratorium on financial obligations and transfer of assets of Go First in the wake of the insolvency resolution proceedings, les

Engine Leasing Finance moves to NCLAT against Go First's insolvency

After three aircraft lessors, Engine Leasing Finance BV has moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), opposing the insolvency resolution proceedings initiated against Go First. Ireland-based Engine Leasing Finance is a leading engine financing and leasing company. It is a group entity of Japan-based Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc. A two-member NCLAT bench on Tuesday heard the plea of Engine Leasing Finance and reserved its order. The appellate tribunal said it will pass the order on May 22 along with the other three petitions. "Orders on 22.05.2023. Short written notes may be filed within two days by both the parties," it said. Three aircraft lessors -- SMBC Aviation Capital Ltd, GY Aviation and SFV Aircraft Holdings -- have moved the NCLAT against Go First's insolvency resolution proceedings. These lessors have leased out around 21 aircraft to Go First. On May 10, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) allowed the voluntary insolvency resolution plea by Go First.

Termination of aircraft leases would have no consequence: Go First

Termination of leases for aircraft by their lessors would not have any consequence as the moratorium has been imposed under insolvency resolution proceedings, Wadia group air carrier Go First on Friday argued before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT). While aircraft lessors on the other side raised doubts over the revival of Go First through the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), citing the amount required to make it fly again. Senior advocate Arun Kathpalia representing SMBC Aviation said the average lease rent of per aircraft is around USD 2 lakh for a month and with more than 50 aircraft the monthly bill would be USD 10 million. "Cost of this misadventure is enormous," he said. For SMBC Aviation only, Go First has to pay USD 4.2 million per month, which includes maintenance and lease. SMBC Aviation Capital Ltd submitted that they have legal possession of their aircraft before the insolvency process started and as of today, Go First has no right for