IndiGo likely to start operations in smaller town

Mumbai: Airlines major, IndiGo presented a proposal to the aviation regulator seeking approval to operate 170 flights every day to the smaller towns and cities, reported a leading business daily.

In a bid to connect destinations to religious and industrial hubs, the airline plans to operate in 13 small towns including Tirupati, Gwalior, Vijayawada, Bhopal, Bhuj, Shirdi, Allahabad and Gorakhpur, through its ATR-72 planes as a part of the airlines’ regional operations.

The airline also flies to the north eastern states with its Airbus A320. While it has ordered 50 ATR - 72 planes worth USD 1.3 billion. The ATR-72 accommodates 72 seats, while the Airbus has 180 seats.

IndiGo is expected to use the ATR-72 aircrafts for shorter routes starting from November 10 of the present year, said the report.  

Oman Air Launches Third Daily Flight From Muscat to Mumbai

Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, is delighted to announce the launch of a third daily flight on its popular Muscat to Mumbai route.

Launched on 1 August this year, the two hour 50 minutes flight departs Muscat at 22.40 hrs and arrives in Mumbai at 03.00hrs. The return flight leaves Mumbai at 04.05 hrs and reaches Muscat at 05.15 hrs.

Oman Air already has two daily return flights between Muscat and Mumbai – the outgoing flights depart Muscat at 01.20hrs and 9.00 hrs, arriving in Mumbai at 05.40hrs and 13.20 hrs respectively.

Go Air plans overseas journey in October

Kolkata: Private low-cost carrier Go Air would start flying overseas from October this year, its Managing Director Heh Wadia said.

"We have plans to start overseas operations from October this year", Wadia told PTI today.

He said, initially, the airline would fly to the destinations of Asia and reviewing the destinations within the region.

In September, fly to Salem, Puducherry

Chennai: From September, flying from Chennai to Puducherry and Salem will be possible as the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) of the Civil Aviation Ministry takes off.

Both the Centre and State governments have big plans regarding the scheme. “It will revolutionise air travel as more and more people prefer to fly,” says P.W.C. Davidar, IAS, additional chief secretary, Transport Department, Government of Tamil Nadu.

Operations will first begin on the Chennai-Puducherry route, followed up by the Chennai-Salem route. “Already, the bids for Salem and Neyveli airports have been finalised. Hosur has got huge potential. It is a private airfield and the approval is awaited,” he says.

According to officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI), there are some obstructions in the approach at the Neyveli airport’s airstrip and a study has been conducted for the same.

“We plan to commence operations to Neyveli by the end of October at least,” an official says.

Fly to Dubai from Udaipur in October

Longing for that flight to Dubai from Udaipur?? Lake city is in for another good news.

Udaipurwasis can now rejoice once again. After the number of additional trains from Udaipur to Haridwar, Amritsar etc. get ready to be swept off your feet with this piece of information. Udaipur will now have that much awaited flight to Dubai. Those who wish to fly to Dubai for fun and shopping are more in for this wonderful news.

Aviation minister Jayant Sinha today announced Udaipur-Dubai flight to much surprise of all. This international flight will start from October this year. As of now the flight route is Udaipur-Jaipur-Dubai. Depending on the traffic load from Udaipur, a direct flight might be started later.

Emirates to operate global flights from Vijayawada

For the interim period, the Vijayawada Airport authorities are modifying the old terminal building to accommodate international operations. Emirates Airlines is set to launch international flights to and from the Vijayawada international airport. It is the first operator to have initiated a dialogue regarding bilateral traffic rights with the Airports Authority of India (AAI). If all goes well, the flights could be operational from the first week of September. The AAI has decided to invite tenders for the appointment of a Project Management Consultant (PMC) to prepare the detailed project report for the construction of an integrated terminal building at Vijayawada.

Dip in flyers going abroad from Pune airport in June

Pune: Pune airport witnessed a dip in passenger movements, both international and domestic, in June as compared to the previous month.
While the plunge has been more in terms of international passengers (around 5,000), it is not so much in case of domestic passengers.
An airport official, however, said figures don't show a major dip and that the airport had been growing in terms of the number of passengers and facilities.
"We cannot call it a dip. Passenger movements at airports keep on increasing and decreasing. And when it comes to Pune, the figures have always been encouraging.

How to get the best rate: Options to land the cheapest flight ticket

For years, airline travellers have had a standard strategy for planned travel. Buy tickets months in advance, and especially during sale season and get the best rate. In fact, some would simply buy tickets during the sale season even if they had no concrete plan to travel. They could, of course, cancel it later.

Entry of a number of new players and the need to hold on to market shares for existing players has queered the pitch for consumers. And, things are no longer so simple. Now, there’s a possibility that you might get a cheaper ticket 20 days or, sometimes even a week before your travel, instead of two-three months before it.

Possibility of another airport in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Reports say that the state government is planning to begin one more airport in Kerala. The state government has given orders for a feasibility study to begin an airport based at Thiruvambadi in Kozhikode. The orders were given to Kozhikode and Malppuram district collectors and airport directors.

The project is based on a petition submitted by the Malabar Development Authority. The project submitted is to begin on the land owned by the Thiruvambadi Rubber Estate.

UP to introduce new civil aviation policy

Lucknow: With a view to woo investments in the civil aviation sector in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government will introduce a new civil aviation policy, which will offer several sops to private investors.

The draft of the new policy has been prepared and circulated among all stakeholders to get feedback and accommodate necessary changes before the final announcement.

Air Odisha to operate flights in C'grah under RCS

Air Odisha has been selected to operate Centre’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) flights from unserved airports/airstrips at Bilaspur, Jagdalpur and Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh, the Central Government has informed.

 Development of airstrips / airports depends on traffic demand, commercial viability, availability of adequate land etc. In the first round bidding under RCS - UDAN,

Notably, Chhattisgarh is aggressively focussing on development of three regional airports mainly Jagdalpur, Ambikapur and Raigarh under the Regional Connectivity Scheme of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, officials informed.

Sky is the limit as airline companies go on a buying spree

Kochi: The country’s skies are all set to welcome a host of newcomers, with seven companies, including Kochi-headquartered Air India Express (AIE), placing a cumulative order for 1,329 aircrafts. It is one of the largest-ever fleet expansion in India in recent history, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.The first lot of 122 aircrafts will take off this fiscal itself. A total of 139 aircrafts will be inducted in 2018-19, 123 in 2019-20 and the rest in subsequent years in a phased manner.

Among the airline companies, Indigo has placed order for the highest number of aircrafts, 609, followed by Spice Jet (255), GoAir (164), Air India including AIE and Alliance Air (162), Jet Airways (99), Tata SIA Airlines and Zexus Air Services (20 each). Furthermore, Air Asia (India) and Turbo Megha Airways have plans to add 19 and 14 aircrafts respectively to their fleet over the next three years.

This winter, flight operations at Chandigarh may be hit

Chandigarh: The flight operations at Chandigarh International Airport in the coming winter is going to be affected badly as no runway lights would be available once work on upgrading the runway begins from October 3.
The information has been shared by the Indian Air Force (IAF) which is managing the Chandigarh International Airport and has now released notice to airmen (NOTAM) for the airport.
On Friday, the Punjab and Haryana Court was informed that the Air Force has already developed a tentative schedule for the running of the airport during the work on carpeting of the runway.

SriLankan airlines expects full capacity to Colombo in 2 mnths

Coimbatore: Sri Lankan Airlines, which recently recommenced its operations to Colombo from here, has recorded around 75 per cent capacity of passengers on its four flights a week, a senior official has said.

On an average, the Airlines has recorded 70 to 75 per cent passenger load and full capacity on Thursdays, Sri Lankan Airlines Area Manager, V Suresh told reporters here last night on the sidelines of an event.

Tirupati and Vijayawada airports soon to take the ‘go green’ route

Vijayawada: As part of the Green airports initiative taken by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, two airports in Andhra Pradesh are soon going to turn into Green Airports. Airport Authority of India (AAI) stated that the installation of 1 Mega Watt solar power plant at Tirupati and Vijayawada airports has commenced on Thursday.

However, officials of Vijayawada airport said that installation works of solar power plant have not yet commenced at the airport. Speaking to Express, G Madhusudhan Rao, Director of Gannavaram Airport said, “Till now, we have identified six acres of land for the installation of the solar power plant.

Airport gets another boarding pass kiosk

Pune: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to increase the number of boarding pass printing kiosks at the departure area in view of the rise in the number of passengers at the Pune airport.
With two kiosks already in place, a new one has been installed while more are expected to come up soon, airport officials told TOI.
"Passenger traffic at the airport has been increasing constantly and it is important that we add facilities which allow people to check-in without any hassle.

Hyderabad Airport introduces India's First Express Security Check Facility

Hyderabad: GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL), which operates Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), here in collaboration with CISF, has become the first airport in India to provide pre-embarkation security check right at the terminal’s entry gate. This will serve as ‘Express Security Check’ facility for domestic passengers travelling without any check-in baggage.

Mr OP Singh, IPS, Director General, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) inaugurated this facility on Friday. The Airport has earmarked a dedicated space at the terminal entry point of departure level for the new ‘Express Security Check’ facility. The domestic passengers, after printing their boarding pass from the newly installed ‘self-service kiosks’ located conveniently at the departures forecourt area outside the terminal building, can now enter the Express Security Check lane without getting into the check-in area and head straight towards the boarding area.

Spicejet to operate flight to Sharjah from city

Buubaneswar: In good news for the air travellers of the State, the SpiceJet is going to start its flight operations to Sharjah and New Delhi shortly from the Biju Patnaik International Airport here.

The report of a direct flight from here to Sharjah by SpiceJet has been welcomed by the air travellers as they were forced to either travel to Mumbai or Delhi to connect to international gateways. Meanwhile, the AirAsia launched its domestic flight services from Biju Patnaik International airport here to Kolkata and Bengaluru from Tuesday.

Low-cost carriers to gain from Yogi govt's tourism push in UP

Lucknow: The proposal of the Yogi Adityanath government to develop new airports and upgrade existing ones to boost air connectivity in Uttar Pradesh will unlock the untapped air travel potential in the state, especially for low-cost carriers.
“There is a lot of air travel potential in this region and development of greenfield and brownfield airports would fuel the growth of the sector and encourage more people to upgrade to air travel,” low-cost carrier Scoot country head Bharath Mahadevan told Business Standard in Lucknow.

Ticket booking begins for Air India’s Madurai-Singapore flight

Madurai: It is official now. Air India Express will start its Madurai-Singapore direct flight from September 15 with its ticket booking opening on Wednesday late evening.

“Madurai-Singapore sector has a very good traffic potential. A large number of Tamils, who have settled down in the island nation, regularly visit their ancestral home in the southern hinterland close to Madurai and for pilgrimage in southern districts,” Air India Express Chief Executive Officer K. Shyamsundar said.

Navi Mumbai airport set to take wing in 2021: Fadnavis

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the new airport at Navi Mumbai will be ready for operations in 2021.

During the Question Hour in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Mr. Fadnavis said orders for pre-development work have been issued and the project is on course for completion in 2021.

Mr. Fadnavis said his government would try to meet the demand to provide jobs to locals at the airport.

IndiGo takes its FitToFly programme to Bengaluru

Extending its ongoing flagship initiative #FitToFly under IndiGoReach - company's CSR programme IndiGo, India's largest and fastest growing carrier, today opened a fully equipped gym for the Police officials in Bengaluru. With an endeavour to infuse IndiGo's fitness belief and inspire the Police personnel to adopt a more physically active lifestyle, this gym has been set up within the office premise of the local police station near the airport in Bengaluru.

Appreciating the efforts of IndiGo, Mr. Hemant Nimbalkar, Additional Commissioner of Police said, "We welcome the FitToFly initiative and thank IndiGo for their efforts. It is not only encouraging but a positive and crucial step for us to be part of this transformational journey towards fitness.

India Tops Domestic Air Traffic Growth In June: Global Airlines Body

New Delhi: Marking the highest growth for any country, India registered a growth of 20.3 per cent in domestic air traffic in June, according to global airlines' body IATA.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said India tops the growth chart in the first half of this year. As per the data, India's domestic air traffic growth rose 20.3 per cent in June, the highest among major markets.

The demand is measured in terms of total revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs. 

Madurai to get direct flight to Singapore

Madurai is all set to get direct air link to Singapore with Air India showing keen interest to start international flight operation from September 15.

“We have cleared certain constraints at Madurai airport for operation of late night departures to Singapore from Madurai. The services will start after the headquarters of Airport Authority of India cleared the proposal,” said Madurai Airport Director, V.V. Rao.

Air India has proposed to fly to Singapore from Madurai on four days a week. The flight would leave Madurai at around 11.15 p.m. and reach Singapore at 6.15 a.m. In the return direction it would leave Singapore at 10.40 a.m. and reach Madurai at 12.10 p.m.

No Special Treatment for VIPs in Private Airlines

ew Delhi: The Government today denied any move to extend protocol for VIPs in private airlines in the country.

In written reply to a question by Harivansh in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha answered in an emphatic ``No’’ when asked whether the ministry had sent a notice to private airlines and other stakeholders regarding protocol to be extended to VIPs in private airlines.

The Civil Aviation Ministry has been under pressure from MPs and other members of the political class that private carriers roll out the red carpet for them on the lines of the State-owned Air India.
To Read the News in Full 01/08/17 Vinay Kumar/India Saga

Vistara likely to order over 100 aircraft in expansion bid

New Delhi: Full service carrier Vistara is likely to place a mega order for wide-body aircraft soon. The order The order which will be a mix of narrow and wide body  will come after fresh capital infusion from promoters may be for more than 100 aircraft. Tata Sons holds 51 per cent stake while Singapore Airlines owns the rest 49 per cent. As part of its plans,

Vistara may advance its current A320 delivery schedule from June 2018 as it is negotiating with the lessor for early delivery. A 20th aircraft will allow the airline to fly abroad but not before four to six months.

Boeing eyeing Vistara as customer for wide-body aircraft

Mumbai: The US aircraft maker Boeing is eyeing Vistara as one of the potential customers for its wide-body aircraft, amid the Tata-SIA run full service carrier's plans to go international by the winter of 2018.

Singapore Airlines, which holds 49 per cent stake in Vistara (besides Tata Sons who owns majority 51 per stake) has most of the Boeing's wide-body planes in its fleet.


"When Vistara comes into market, obviously we will make an aggressive pitch to say that we have the best planes," Dinesh Keskar, senior vice-president for Asia Pacific and India sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said.

Jet Airways to announce June quarter results in September

New Delhi: Jet Airways has informed stock exchanges that its financial results for the June quarter would be delayed since it is adopting new accounting standards from this fiscal.

The airline proposes to hold its board meeting for approval of the financial results for the June quarter on or before September 14.

"Since the company is adopting the Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) from the financial year 2017-18... the company may submit its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2017 to the stock exchanges by September 14, 2017," the filing said.

Ind AS is converged with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
To Read the News in Full 02/08/17 PTI/Asian Age

This 30-hours flight from 1943 is actually the world's longest

Much before Qatar Airways and Air India started competing over who runs world's longest non-stop flight, there was one flight years ago, that, if put to test today, could have defeated both of them.
In 1943, the World War II left Australia completely isolated from the British Empire. However, to retain communications, Qantas Airways introduced a top-secret, non-stop service between Perth and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Operating once a week, the airline maintained complete radio silence, while navigating by stars only.
This secret Qantas carrier could travel as long as 32 hours and nine minutes, which is much longer than any operating commercial flight today.

Air India's engineering arm, Boeing launch AME programme

New Delhi: Air India's engineering wing and aerospace major Boeing today jointly launched an apprenticeship programme for aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs).

The first class will commence in November at the Mumbai facility of Air India Engineering Service Limited (AIESL).

Students passing out from DGCA-approved AME institutes will be eligible to apply to the one-year programme and will have to appear for an entrance examination.

The key objective of the initiative is to improve employability of AMEs and address the huge gap between the lack of skilled workforce and their demand.

Ethiopian Airlines wins GMR-IGI Airport Business Partner Awards

Mumbai: Ethiopian Airlines, has won "GMR-IGI Airport Business Partner Awards" as ‘Airline of the year – Africa’ for the fifth consecutive year in a row at an awards ceremony held at the Kingdom of Dreams, New Delhi.

The GMR-IGI Awards have been institutionalised to recognise the achievements and inspiring entrepreneurial spirit of business partners within their respective field by "Raising the Standard of Excellence" and meeting the various demands of the increasing number of passengers the airport is attracting.

AirAsia India adds another A320 to its fleet

No-frills carrier AirAsia India today said it has added one more Airbus A320 plane in its fleet, taking the total number of aircraft to 12, and also announced the launch of services on Jaipur-Hyderabad route from next month.

The airline has also added an additional flight on Bengaluru–Bhubaneshwar and Kolkata–Bhubaneshwar routes, a release today said.

As a part of its fleet expansion plans, AirAsia India has inducted its 12th aircraft, which will be stationed in Bengaluru, the airline said.

Air India slashes fare for Riyadh passengers

India’s national carrier, Air India (AI), has slashed ticket fares from Riyadh to four major cities namely Mumbai, New Delhi, Trivandrum and Kochi. Air India will offer the slashed fare with immediate effect, and the offer will be valid until Sept. 30.
The announcement was made by Air India Manager Kundan Lal Gothwal during a press briefing on Sunday. The one-way fare to Mumbai starts from SR705 ($188), while the return fare will be SR1,291. “The slashed fare from Riyadh to New Delhi for one way is SR591, while the round-trip ticket cost will be SR1,025 in the promotion period,” said Gothwal.
He also announced the commencement of new services from Riyadh to Calicut from Oct. 29 this year. “AI will operate direct flights to Calicut daily in a week except on Tuesdays,” said Gothwal, adding that the tickets for Riyadh-Calicut direct service sector will be available soon.

Regional connectivity scheme to open new routes: Boeing

New Delhi: The regional connectivity scheme is going to allow new routes to be opened up in India, Boeing said today.

"We expect RCS to allow new routes to be opened up, which will create a market of our Boeing 737, as airlines upgrade the aircraft on routes that opens up with regional connectivity," said Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice President, Sales, Asia Pacific and India, Boeing.

Keskar said it today announcing the market outlook for India.

Boeing said that Indian carriers would require about 2100 airplanes worth $290 billion over a period of 20 years.
To Read the News in Full 31/07/17 Mihir MIshra/Economic Times

Track baggage on phone at city airport

Bengaluru: Ever lost your baggage while flying from one place to another? Well, this will no longer be a problem at least in the Kempegowda International Airport with the help of a mobile app that was launched recently.The ‘AISATS Cargo’ app is the first of its kind app that is free for download and provides real time data on the go to passengers about their cargo.


The app is one of the many initiatives between Air India and SATS Limited, a gateway services and food solutions provider. Thus the name AISATS.  The app will facilitate the cargo tracking process at the AIRSAT air freight terminal and at AISATS coolport, located at KIA.

Vistara airlines organizes an awareness programme for rights of children with disabilities

Jammu:  Team Vistara airlines of Jammu airport today organised an awareness programme for the rights of children with disabilities, Team under the leadership of Samrat Chakerborty celebrated the birthday of JRD Tata among children with different disabilities at JIGER institute Gangyaal Garden Jammu. Tata SIA Airlines Limited, operating as Vistara, is an Indian domestic airline based in Gurgaon. The Jammu team under its component of CSR donated two wheelchairs among the needy disable children and had a get together lunch party with children with disabilities enrolled in JIGER institute run under the ages of Humanity Welfare Organisation Helpline Bijbehara Kashmir. Around thirty persons with disabilities mostly children bound to wheelchairs participated in the programme

After Gaikwad-Air India row: No more single-class planes, AI to reconfigure 14 aircraft

The absence of a business class section on an all-economy aircraft was at the heart of the Air India’s high-decibel altercation with Shiv Sena’s Member of Parliament Ravindra Gaikwad in March this year. Air India, which at the time went on to ban Gaikwad from flying as proof of its resolve to penalise unruly behaviour by air passengers, has now decided to reconfigure all of its single-class narrow-body aircraft in order to introduce the business class option in each of them, a senior company official said.
To do this, the flag-carrier would convert the first three rows of the all-economy class aircraft to business class by having 12 seats in a configuration of two-by-two, compared with three-by-two in the current configuration that add up to 18 economy seats.

Jet Airways launches new offer, announces special fares to Amsterdam, Paris in first of its kind scheme

Jet Airways offer: Airline major Jet Airways has come up with an offer announcing special fares to Amsterdam and Paris. The airline has released a statement as well in this regard. According to Jet Airways, “Under this exclusive, first-of-its-kind offer, for travel effective September 15, 2017, guests can avail the special all-inclusive, one-stop ‘flat’ return fares at Rs 39,990 for economy and Rs 99,990 for premiere travel, from all domestic points across Jet Airways’ entire domestic network, for travel to Amsterdam and Paris.”
As per the release by the airline major, the offer is valid for its new and upcoming non-stop services between Chennai-Paris, Bengaluru-Amsterdam and Mumbai-London Heathrow routes.
To Read the News in Full 29/07/17 Financial Express

No plans to make Aadhaar mandatory for air tickets, Govt. tells MPs

New Delhi: The government has no plans to make Aadhaar number mandatory for booking air tickets, Parliament’s Standing Committee on Home Affairs has been told.

This was conveyed to a group of MPs by officials led by Union home secretary-designate Rajiv Gauba on Thursday.

At the meeting of the standing committee, headed by P Chidambaram, the top officials said no decision has been taken by the government in this regard, an MP, who attended the meeting, told PTI.

The parliamentarians were assured by the officials that Aadhaar data was safe and there was no chance of it falling in wrong hands as the main server was placed in a foolproof system.

Government may prefer another airline as Air India buyer

New Delhi: The government may prefer that an airline acquires Air India even if it means selling the domestic and international operations separately, senior officials said. “We also want continuity for the existing staff which could only happen if it is being taken over by another airline,” said one of them.

The government may prefer that an airline acquires Air India even if it means selling the domestic and international operations separately, senior officials said. “We also want continuity for the existing staff which could only happen if it is being taken over by another airline,” said one of them.

Ghodawat group to start air service from Belagavi

Kolhapur:  The Ghodawat group here is planning to start air services from Sambara airport in Belagavi, around 120km from here, under the name Star Service from January next year.
Initially, services will be provided to Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Tirupati. Special arrangements will be made for passengers from Kolhapur to go to Sambara airport, said city-based industrialist Sanjay Ghodawat.
"We have completed the formalities as per the guidelines of the aviation ministry. Some legal process are pending and will be completed within six months,"Ghodawat said.

Jet Airways: Power Wings

Jet Airways’s long history of over two decades of uninterrupted service and unaffected expansion despite financial turbulence and a host of other challenges have been among the key elements that have made it to the top of most respected airlines in India as per the BW Businessworld Most Respected Companies survey 2017. The survey has ranked the country’s second largest airline with a domestic market share of over 17.5 per cent as of June, at the top in the aviation sector.

“We have faced tough challenges and been tested by extraordinary circumstances in our 23-year history.

September date for UDAN flight service to Jharsuguda

Bhubaneswar: ir connectivity from Bhubaneswar to the industrial township of Jharsuguda under 'Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik' (UDAN), a regional connectivity scheme of the Centre, is likely to begin from September this year.

"We have decided to operationalise the flight route between  Bhubaneswar and Jharsuguda from September and for other routes like Bhubaneswar-Jeypore, Bhubaneswar-Rourkela and Bhubaneswar-Utkela we need some time for the preparations before they are opened up for flights," Chief Secretary A P Padhi told mediapersons.Padhi reviewed the progress of the regional air connectivity under UDAN at the first State-level monitoring-cum-coordination committee meeting here on Wednesday.

AirAsia keen to consolidate its airlines under One AirAsia

AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes has told Forbes India that he would like to integrate all of the group's operations into a single airline entity.

"I'm trying to unify AirAsia into one airline — a unique corporate structure within ASEAN," Fernandes told the news site. "What we would like to do is create one holding company that would own 100 percent of all our airline companies operating in ASEAN countries. This would allow us to invest more, reduce costs and enable us to be much more efficient."

Government has awarded 128 routes to 5 airlines under the UDAN scheme

The Government has awarded 128 routes connecting 43 unserved and under-served airports to 5 selected airlines for commencing operations under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - UDAN in the 1st round of bidding. RCS flights from six RCS airports - Shimla, Nanded, Kandla, Porbandar Gwalior & Bhatinda-  have already commenced. The 2nd round of bidding under RCS-UDAN is likely to commence soon.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation launched RCS-UDAN  scheme on 21-10-2016  to facilitate/stimulate regional air connectivity by making it affordable.

Aviation industry says bye bye to YY Fares

One of the earliest relics of the global aviation industry will soon be buried. YY Fares, the multilateral interlineable fares from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) will be rescinded from October 31, 2018. The Association, which represents 275 airlines across the world, said in early July that “the rescinding of YY fares reflects the dramatic transformation that continues to take place in the distribution of airline products.”

YY Fares were established in 1945, enabling a flier to travel anywhere in the world on a single ticket in a single currency. This facility threw open the world as a travel destination for the customer as he could now fly on different airlines and have his luggage checked through to final destination. That was the essence of multilateral interlineable fares.

'Local airlines likely to induct 384 planes by March 2020'

Domestic scheduled carriers are likely to induct as many as 384 aircraft in their fleet by March 2020, according to information available with the government.

Out of the total, budget carrier IndiGo is expected to add 136 aircraft while full service airline Vistara is likely to induct at least 5 planes during the period, as per details given by civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today.

National carrier Air India is likely to add 28 aircraft between April this year and March 2020 while full service airline Jet Airways is expected to have another 37 aircraft in its fleet.

New accounting standards likely to create turbulence for airlines

India’s aviation industry might be flying into a debt cloud when new accounting standards come into force in 2019. Carriers may see their loans liability soar by more than Rs 50,000 crore, with the latest set of rules calling time on the established practice of aircraft leasing.

The biggest impact of the switch would be on low-fare, asset-light airlines, especially IndiGo, which rely on lease-rentals for their operations. The new global accounting norms – IFRS 16 – would also affect legacy carriers such as Jet AirwaysBSE -1.86 % and Air India, which have adopted the industry best practice to lower their upfront costs. Net cash outgo for carriers, however, may not increase after the changeover.

Mocktails, wines, regional food: Air India to woo premium travelers with new menu

New Delhi: In a bid to lure more passengers, national passenger carrier Air India on Tuesday said that it will introduce a new menu for its international first and business class segments.

According to the airline's spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar, the airline will reinvent its existing menu by introducing regional dishes, more varieties of wine and mocktails


Apart from new dishes, the airline intends to give a "refresher training" in Indian cuisine to its chefs, who are stationed at various international cities.

"We will showcase new menu with regional dishes, new wines and several other changes during an exhibition which will be held in September," Kumar said.
To Read the News in Full 26/07/17 IANS/Business Standard

GoAir appoints Anand Sahai as COO ahead of international ops

Mumbai: Budget carrier GoAir has appointed Anand Sahai, the former Vodafone business head for East India, as its chief commercial officer (CCO) ahead of its plans to launch international operations later this year.
Sahai, whose appointment to the newly-created post is effective from July 24, will report to the airline's chief executive officer (CEO), GoAir said in a statement.
Prior to joining the Wadia Group-promoted carrier, Sahai was spearheading the launch of a multinational energy drink major as its country manager.

Jewar Airport: Cleared for take-off

With the government giving the nod for a greenfield airport at Jewar in Greater Noida, UP, the enormous strain on IGI Airport in Delhi will lessen. However, considerable groundwork—starting from acquiring land, inviting bids, short-listing suitable bidders and awarding contracts without favouring any contenders—will have to be completed before the project moves forward. The preparatory work before bidding begins could itself take at least five years, according to a source linked to one of the interested bidders. But the good news is that the first step has been taken. The project had faced many ups and downs with the plan being conceived in 2001 by the Rajnath Singh-BJP government in UP. Then the Mayawati and SP governments tried to revive the project but faced hurdles.

Air India SATS Airport Services launches mobile app for tracking cargo

Bengaluru:  Air India SATS Airport Services (AISATS), the airport services company, has launched a mobile app - ‘AISATS Cargo’ - to facilitate the cargo tracking process at AISATS Air Freight Terminal and at AISATS COOLPORT, located at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru.

P Anjani Kumar, Commissioner of Customs-Airport & ACC, Bengaluru, along with M R Reddy and Bipin Kumar Upadhyaya, Joint Commissioners of Customs and Harshvardhan Umre, Additional Commissioner of Customs, launched the app at the AISATS Airfreight Terminal.
To Read the News in Full 25/07/17 Business Line

Low-cost flying in for the long haul

New Delhi: Barely hours after the Union Cabinet gave an in-principle approval to national carrier Air India’s strategic disinvestment late last month, India’s biggest low-cost airline IndiGo jumped into the fray showing interest in taking over the debt-laden, loss-making airline.

However, at the heart of IndiGo’s interest lies its strategy to start long-haul international operations replicating a successful low-cost model which the airline follows on domestic routes. The airline’s promoters made it clear — the plan is to start long-haul international operations, with or without Air India.

In May, another interesting development in the aviation space unfolded when low-cost airline SpiceJet’s chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said he planned to introduce a direct Delhi-London flight at ₹30,000 for a round trip. The fare quoted by Mr. Singh was much lower than ₹40,000-₹45,000 a ticket being offered by other airlines on this popular route. He said the airline woud look at unbundling services such as food, beverage and Wi-Fi from the fare component, essentially sticking to a low-cost model on a longer duration international flight.

Air India to use software to keep record of art collection

Mumbai: In order to keep a better record of its art inventory, Air India plans to link every artefact in its possession with a Unique Identification Number (UIN). This will help the national carrier store details and whereabouts of its collection in a scientific manner, officials said. The airline will display artworks and paintings by more than 300 artists in an upcoming gallery expected to be located at its Nariman Point office in south Mumbai. The matter of protecting its collection came up after one of its paintings was reported to be missing and later retrieved from a former AI official, who couriered it to the company.
To ensure clarity in maintaining records, officials from the carrier said they have now developed an in-house software to store details of the collection.

Yatra acquires Air Travel Bureau to expand corporate travel business

Leading online travel company Yatra has acquired corporate travel service provider company Air Travel Bureau (ATB) for an undisclosed amount. Yatra said ATB is India’s ‘largest corporate travel services provider’ with gross bookings of Rs 1,500 crore and a client base of 400 companies in the country.

"This acquisition significantly strengthens our position in the large and growing corporate travel market in India.

Flight to Delhi may restart in August

Ludhiana: There is good news for residents who want to fly by air to Delhi from Ludhiana, as the flight from Sahnewal Airport might start before the end of August. In March this year, it was announced by the government that as many as 128 city pairs that were unconnected by air will get flights between April and September this year under round one of the Modi government's affordable Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).
The 48-seater ATR Air India flight used to operate on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday, before it was suspended from 1 June 2014. Airport manager at Sahnewal airport, Amardeep Nehra, said the Airport Authority of India team, and a team from the airlines had already visited the airport and taken stock of the arrangements and facilities.

GMR Academy, Rajiv Gandhi Aviation University join hands for PG course

Hyderabad: GMR Aviation Academy, the aviation/airport training arm of the GMR Group, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University for a joint Post Graduate Diploma in Aviation/Airport Operations.

P S Nair, wholetime Director, GMR Airports, and Nalin Tandon, Vice-Chancellor, RGNAU, signed the memorandum in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju.

This is the first of its kind PG diploma course in aviation/ airport operations for graduates aspiring to join the aviation industry.

The memorandum is aimed at facilitating and promoting professional aviation studies and providing in-depth knowledge of the functioning of an airport, in particular, and the aviation subsets in general.

Hand baggage stamping in all airports to be stopped by year-end

Chennai: Stamping of passengers hand baggage in all airports will be completely stopped by the year-end, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) Director General O.P. Singh has said.

The system had already been implemented in nearly 15 airports across the country to provide hassle free security checks for the passengers, Mr Singh said. He was here to review the security cover in Kalpakkam, the Chennai Airport and other vital installations.

In an exclusive interview to The Hindu, Mr. Singh said, “I had gone to Kalpakkam to review the security in the atomic power station and interacted with the management there, besides my officers and men.

Operations at international cargo terminal likely to begin soon

Visakhapatnam: Operations from the international cargo terminal at the Visakhapatnam airport are likely to commence in a couple of months if everything goes well.

The proposal has been hanging fire for over four years now.

The AP Trade Promotion Corporation (APTPC), which had bagged the contract two-and-a-half years ago, could not carry out the works as its contract was cancelled by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at that time on ‘technical grounds’.The AAI was averse to awarding the contract to the APTPC as it owed some dues for works done at the Begumpet airport in Hyderabad.

The reasons had been reported under the headline, ‘Air cargo complex caught between two agencies’, by The Hindu (February 5, 2013).

Indonesian carrier Batik Air connects Chennai with Bali

Chennai: Batik Air, a subsidiary airline of Indonesia’s Lion Air, has linked Chennai with Bali, a major tourist destination in Indonesia, via Kuala Lumpur.

The full-service airline started its first flight to Chennai on July 23 with a daily flight schedule from Ngurah Rai International Airport, Denpasar, Bali, with a transit at Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur. The flight will reach Chennai at 6.30 am and depart at 8.55 am.

From August 26, Batik Air will launch a second flight from Indonesia’s Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, to Chennai, said Ramdas Shivram, General Manager, Sales and Business Development, Batik Air.
To Read the News in Full 24/07/17 Business Line

No 'firm plan' for biometric flight boarding system: Jayant

There is "no firm plan" to introduce a biometric system for boarding planes, Union minister Jayant Sinha said in the Rajya Sabha today.

The statement comes a month after the Ministry of Civil Aviation said within three to four months, it would be mandatory for air travellers in the country to provide unique identification (UID) like Aadhaar card, passport or PAN, at the time of booking tickets.

Air India Express' 10-year plan: To expand fleet, fly to more foreign destinations

New Delhi: Profit-making Air India Express is preparing a 10-year vision document as it looks at expanding its fleet and flying to more foreign destinations, a senior airline official said.

The plan is being prepared amid the government working on a road map for disinvestment in Air India, the debt laden parent of the low-cost carrier which remains bullish on growth prospects.

While the national carrier has been in the red for long, AI Express remained in the black for second consecutive year, posting Rs 296.7 crore net profit in 2016-17.

ILS for Srinagar airport

Instrument of Landing System (ILS) is one of the crucial mechanical equipments needed for an airport particularly the one that has to operate in long foggy and snow bound winters. At present this equipment has been set up by the Airport Authority of India along the runway which, according to technical advice should be removed and separate space should be acquired for installing it. It is the visibility and the length to which visibility can work which are of importance.
The Division Bench of the State High Court has taken up a suo moto case and had called the representatives of the AAI and the IAF to appraise it of the difficulties and requirements for installation of ILS.

Intra-air services soon on 6 routes

Jaipur: Soon, the intra-air services will be extended on six new routes including direct connectivity to New Delhi and Ahmedabad. The state government gave consent to this proposal on principle and forwarded the same to the Union Civil Aviation Ministry for necessary formalities.

As per the letter shot to the civil aviation by chief secretary Ashok Jain, it has been decided to expand the intra-air services on six more routes which are Jaipur-Kota, Delhi-Sawai Madhopur,

Delhi-Kisahangarh, Delhi-Shri Ganganagar, Jodhpur-Ahmedabad and Jaipur- Jodhpur- Jaisalmer.

IndiGo's regional flights may take off by November: Report

Passengers can look forward to cheaper air travel from November this year in the southern parts of the country, thanks to plans by low-cost carrier IndiGo. The services could commence as early as November this year and are likely expand to other regions when the carrier also joins its rivals to fly under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS, also known as UDAN, which stands for Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik).

"By November, the operations should start, I think we will be flying in south India first," the Mint quoted an IndiGo executive as saying.

Airfares in India projected to increase by 8.7% in 2018

Domestic demand is increasing, particularly in China and India, putting additional pricing pressure on key markets in both, according to the 2018 Global Travel Forecast report released by travel management company Carlson Wagonlit Travel and GBTA Foundation, the research arm of Global Business Travel Association. Asia Pacific is expected to see a 2.8% rise in airfares 2018, while airfares in India are projected to increase by 8.7% in 2018 (the biggest increase across all key markets in the APAC region).

Jet Airways in massive expansion mode; adds 96 new weekly flights

Mumbai: The second largest airline Jet Airways on Tuesday has announced 96 new flights on the domestic network during the Monsoon season, including 14 new direct, non-stop flights to small towns under the regional connectivity scheme.

Smaller rival Spicejet has already announced three new routes under the RCS in the past fortnight.

This augmentation of domestic services between smaller cities is a result of the rising demand for aviation services between these fast-growing cities, reflecting their economic progress, the airline has said in a statement.

UDAN scheme: TruJet to add 10 destinations with 7 aircraft

Hyderabad-based TruJet, one of the private airlines, which has bagged travel routes under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme is planning to add 10 destinations with seven aircraft.

The airline started operations in July 2015 and is currently catering to seven destinations with 16 flights.

Antara Dey, spokesperson of the airline said that over the next two years, the airline is planning to add 10 destinations with seven aircraft. Of this, five will be under UDAN scheme, including Mysore, Bidar, Hosur, Salem and Vidya Nagar.

It’s advantage India as Emirates and flydubai join forces

New Delhi: Emirates and flydubai on Monday unveiled a partnership which will see the two Dubai-based airlines join forces to offer customers more travel options. This will allow Indians to fly to more destinations globally.

Emirates is the largest foreign airline operating into India with 174 weekly flights to nine cities while flydubai operates 29 weekly services from eight cities. The two carriers offer Indian passengers a choice of 203 weekly flights.

The latest announcement by the airlines will, for instance, allow a passenger in Lucknow to board a flydubai flight till Dubai and then fly on Emirates to Seattle.

Now, Rajasthan wants a 'VVIP terminal' at Jaipur airport

New Delhi: VIP lounges at Indian airports for our dignitaries are passe now. The Rajasthan government wants a "VVIP terminal" for its top authorities like the chief minister and governor at the Jaipur airport.
"The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has received a request from the state government of Rajasthan for construction of VVIP Terminal at Jaipur Airport. AAI has already offered 2.5 acres of land to the government of Rajasthan for this purpose," minster of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
A senior AAI official said: "The Rajasthan government has a combined fleet of three or four small aircraft and helicopter.

Jet Airways connects Silchar with daily flights to Delhi

Silchar:  In what could be called a major boost to connectivity from the remote part of the country, Silchar, the second biggest urban sprawl in the State has been connected to New Delhi with daily flights by Jet Airways.
Marking an end to the ATR flights, the airline carrier started the daily commercial Boeing flights with 9W 903 flying from Delhi on Sunday. Officials of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Jet Airways crew greeted the flight with water cannon salute after it reached the Silchar airport at 11:55 am with 159 passengers.

According to sources, the 737-800 Boeing aircraft shall fly from New Delhi to reach Silchar via Kolkata. It will carry passengers to Guwahati and will come back to Silchar to fly back to New Delhi with another halt at Kolkata every day.

Sri Lankan Airlines resumes operations from Cbe after 9 yr gap

Coimbatore: After a nine year gap, Sri Lankan Airlines today recommenced operations from this city to Colombo.

The Airline would operate the service four times a week to Coimbatore, connecting Tamil Nadu's second largest city to the World through its global network, Chief Commercial Officer Siva Ramachandran told reporters here.

He said the services were suspended in 2008 due to economic reasons and added that they decided to start operations to the city, their 14th destination in India, after evaluation and feasability.