India Aviation

Aviation ministry permits Akasa Air to launch international flights

The young airline, which is facing pilot exits, is yet to announce its first international destination

Air India introduces Premium Economy experience on select int'l routes

The class will be initially available to customers travelling on select routes operated by its fleet of Boeing 777-200LR aircraft: Bengaluru-San Francisco, Mumbai-San Francisco, and Mumbai-New York

Assam Govt signs MoU with Flybig to start flight in non-Udaan sector

In a bid to promote intra-state air connectivity, Assam government on Saturday signed a MoU with Big Charter Private Limited (Flybig) to facilitate air services in the non-Udaan sector. Flybig will operate flights between Guwahati-Dibrugarh-Guwahati and Guwahati-Silchar-Guwahati routes on a daily basis, an official of the company said. Assam Tourism Development Corporation managing director Kumar Padma Pani Bora and Flybig director Sanjay Natavarlal Mandavia signed the agreement in the presence of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. According to the terms of the MoU, the flight operations will be started in line with the Centre's Udan scheme with the state government operating the flights under viability gap funding. Speaking at the programme Sarma said the number of daily flight services will be enhanced and will add a new dimension to intra-state air connectivity. The services will give assured connectivity and price as it has been decided to keep a tab on the pricing with the

Akasa Air to hire nearly 1,000 people by March 2024: CEO Vinay Dube

Akasa Air plans to hire nearly 1,000 people and take the total staff strength to more than 3,000 by the end of March 2024 as the airline continues to expand its fleet as well as routes, according to its chief Vinay Dube. The airline, which took to the skies a little over seven months ago, also plans to start international operations by the end of this year, and the possible overseas destinations are still in the process of being finalised. In an interview with PTI, Dube, the founder and CEO of Akasa Air, said the airline will place a "three-digit aircraft order" by the end of this year. It has placed an order for 72 Boeing 737 Max aircraft, and 19 of them are already in its fleet. The 20th aircraft will be inducted in April, following which it will also be eligible to fly overseas. In the next financial year, the carrier aims to add another 9 planes to its fleet, taking the total size to 28. Currently, it operates 110 flights every day. "We have more than 2,000 employees today, an

Go First penalised for violation, receives two-hour operation ban

Order will be in effect between 12-2 p.m on April 1

Air India resumes Delhi-Copenhagen non-stop flight after three years

Passengers can now conveniently fly non-stop to Copenhagen, a popular tourism and business centre and an educational hub of Europe

SpiceJet introduces direct flight service from Delhi to Shillong

SpiceJet has launched a direct flight service from Delhi from the Shillong, officials said on Saturday. The airline said the Delhi-Shillong flight would operate on Monday and Friday. "The inaugural flight landed from Delhi at the airport here with 18 passengers on Friday. The same flight took off with 12 outbound passengers," an Airport official told PTI. He said senior government officials including transport department secretary H Kharmalki and MTC MD KL Nongbri were present. SpiceJet is the third airline to start scheduled flights from Shillong after Indigo and Alliance Air. SpiceJet had entered into an MoU with the Meghalaya government in January to connect the Meghalaya capital with the national capital. Earlier, Fly Big airlines had operated the ShillongDelhi route but an MoU with them was withdrawn last year.

Domestic aviation traffic continues growth, Jan records 12.5 mn passengers

SpiceJet recorded the highest occupancy of 91 per cent, while Indigo witnessed 82 per cent. Air India and Go First followed with 87.5 per cent and 90.9 per cent of occupancy, respectively

Indian aviation market promising but taxation always an issue: IATA chief

The Indian civil aviation market has exciting and significant opportunities but taxation has always been an issue which also makes the industry less competitive, according to IATA chief Willie Walsh. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is a global grouping that represents around 300 airlines, including those from India, and its members account for nearly 83 per cent of the global air traffic. India is seeing a "much stronger recovery" than the Asia Pacific region in general but there could be challenges in terms of getting new aircraft and spare parts, as per IATA. "The market in India... The opportunity in India has to be considered to be very very significant. There are issues in India not unique to aviation but the regulatory regime and bureaucracy can hinder the pace (of growth)," Walsh said during an interaction with reporters from the Asia Pacific region earlier this week here. While the Indian market has not seen the pace of growth that was seen in China, the

India jumps to 48th place in ICAO aviation safety ranking: DGCA officials

India has jumped to the 48th position in the global aviation safety ranking by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), according to DGCA officials. Four years ago, the country was ranked at the 102nd position. In the ranking, Singapore is at the top, followed by the UAE and South Korea at the second and third positions, respectively, the officials said. China is at the 49th place, they added. Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken from November 9 to 16. On Saturday, DGCA chief Arun Kumar told PTI that the regulator has worked tirelessly to upgrade India's safety ranking and the results are there. "Hopefully, we continue to remain vigilant and improve further". The country's score in terms of effective implementation of key safety elements has improved to 85.49 per cent, the officials said. On November 16, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA

DGCA asks SpiceJet to get engine oil samples of entire Q400 fleet examined

Following a recent incident of smoke in a SpiceJet plane cabin, the aviation regulator DGCA has directed the airline to send the engine oil samples of the entire Q400 fleet consisting of 14 operational aircraft to Pratt & Whitney Canada to ascertain the presence of metal and carbon seat particles.

Financial status of Indian airlines likely to remain under pressure: ICRA

The financial performance of Indian airlines is likely to remain under pressure in the near term, even as recovery in domestic passenger traffic has been healthy, said Corporate Rating firm ICRA

Air India mulls working with private ground handlers after flight delays

AIASL serves Air India at all airports except Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mangalore, and Thiruvananthapuram

Air India unions file pleas against proposed eviction of employees

The unions argue that the airline's letter asking employees to vacate office accommodation by July 26 amounts to a change in service condition.

Airline staff shortages threaten to ruin millions of summer holidays

From Sydney, where passengers are waiting for hours to check in, to chaotic scenes in India and Europe, the aviation industry doesn't have nearly enough people to run operations smoothly

Jet Airways gets certificate to resume commercial flight operations

The airline intends to recommence commercial operations in July-September quarter.

Indian airlines plan to add 110-120 planes a year: Jyotiraditya Scindia

At present, Indian airlines have a combined fleet of 710 aircraft, up from 400 eight years ago

Will resumption of overseas flights revive fortunes of aviation sector?

After two years, regular international flights will resume beginning March 27. It will replace India's air-bubble arrangement with 37 countries. What does it mean for aviation and tourism industry?

Jet Airways appoints SriLankan Airlines ex-CEO Vipula Gunatilleka as CFO

Jalan-Kalrock consortium-owned Jet Airways on Tuesday announced the appointment of former SriLankan Airlines' CEO, Vipula Gunatilleka as the Chief Financial Officer. "We are excited to welcome Vipula Gunatilleka to our young and energetic team. Vipula is an aviation expert and regarded as a turnaround specialist in the industry. "He has been shortlisted after a rigorous process run by our Executive Team over the last several months," said Ankit Jalan, Member of the Monitoring Committee of Jet Airways and part of Jalan-Kalrock Consortium. Gunatilleka, who served as the CEO of the SriLankan Airlines till January this year, was brought to restructure the carrier in 2018, as per a release. "I am certain Vipula will be an asset to the organization and will provide the necessary vision to revive the operations of Jet Airways as per the plans of the Consortium," Jalan added. Prior to joining SriLankan Airlines, he was the CFO & Board Member of TAAG Angola Airlines from November 2015 to

The third wave in Indian aviation: A game changer for the sector globally

After soaring in its 'second wave', the sector is likely to come down to earth with saner growth, rational air fares and more professionalism