Pax traffic continues solid growth; SpiceJet most punctual airline

India’s air passenger traffic crew by 25.13% in January 2017 with domestic airlines carrying 95.79 lakh passengers as against 76.55 lakh during the corresponding period last year.

Ajay Singh-led SpiceJet continued with its impressive performance emerging as the country’s most punctual airline yet again.

January was the fourth month-in-a-row that the SpiceJet recorded the best On-Time Performance (OTP) among all Indian carriers.

Air India leaves Tiruchy skies open for private operators

Tiruchy: At a time when private players are gearing up to tap the potential of the Tiruchy-Chennai sector, the decision by State-owned operator Air India Express to wind up operations to the State capital has left fliers flummoxed. Having operated in the sector for over eight years, Air India Express announced last week that it was winding up the domestic service and cited operational restraints as the reason.

Indian DGCA okays AirAsia India brand agreement

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has rejected a plea by the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) to cancel the Air Operator's Permit (AOP) of AirAsia India (I5, Chennai), finding it had not violated foreign ownership and control criteria, according to DGCA documents seen by ch-aviation.

The FIA is a member body comprised of legacy Indian carriers Jet Airways (9W, Mumbai Int'l), GoAir (G8, Mumbai Int'l), IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi Int'l) and SpiceJet (SG, Delhi Int'l).

Air India needs a sell-off plan; make it fast

Air India is barely flying. Ironical as it may sound, it has managed to just afloat on the back of a massive Rs 30,000 crore bailout package from the central government. As reported earlier, Air India has been hit severely by a Rs 46,570 crore debt including aircraft related loans of about Rs 15,900 crore. Earlier, the Economic Survey 2017 had also spoken about the mess AI was in and had given indications to privatise the airline. Now, while it has been opposed in the parliament on earlier occasions, it must be remembered that the bailout packages the government has been providing have gone in vain. In the year 2013, Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre (JACDEC) had said that AI was placed third last in a list of 60 airlines which it evaluated. This is a big blow to the national carrier and its global image.

New airport to provide a window into scenic beauty

Navi Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai international airport (NMIA) will present an environment-friendly aerial view with two rivers on the north side flanking the two east-west parallel runways. A mangrove park on the north side and plantation of non-fruit bearing trees along the rivers to divert the birds will cheer up the passengers.
Expanding city's second airport with domestic and international flights will be different from the Mumbai airport with vast acres of greenery and nature view unlike the concrete swell and slums in Santa Cruz.
Both the rivers are seasonal. Ghadi river on the north is a spill from Dehrang dam from the rain water from Matheran hills that flows into the Panvel creek and Ulwe river is on the south, which originates from another hill further south of the airport.

India’s first business aviation magazine launched

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has lauded the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for conceptualising India’s first business magazine entirely dedicated to the sector.
“Civil aviation is not only one of the fastest growing sectors of the Indian economy but one of the most strategic ones too as it plays a crucial role in improving transport linkages to facilitate faster and smoother movement of people and goods,” he said at the launch of the Airports India Business Magazine (AIBM) here on Thursday evening.

‘UDAN scheme to increase number of airports by 50’

Ranchi:  The implementation of the regional air-connectivity scheme, UDAN, will see the number of operational airports in the country shoot up by over 50, while the cost of travelling will come down to as low as ₹2,500 for up to an hour of air journey, said Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation.

According Sinha, there are 75 small operational airports in the country, and this number will increase to over 125 with the successful implementation of UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) — the new scheme through which the government hopes to make flying viable to Tier II and III cities.

“We are building new airports, adding new terminals and improving the efficiency of existing terminals,” the Minister, told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the summit.

Amritsar becomes IndiGo’s 44th destination

New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest carrier in terms of market share, today announced Amritsar as its 44th destination.

“Effective March 16, IndiGo will operate a daily non-stop flight between Amritsar and Delhi and Amritsar and Mumbai. In line with company’s growth strategy, the airline has also inducted two brand new Airbus A320 NEO aircraft into its existing fleet this month,” the airline said in a release.
“As one of the significant pilgrimage spots in Punjab, Amritsar draws visitors from across the globe for its fine blend of tradition and culture.

Air India to add six new international destinations in 2017

New Delhi: In a major expansion drive, national passenger carrier Air India on Wednesday said it plans to add six new international destinations to its network in 2017.

"We are going to add six more international spots this year," said Ashwani Lohani, Chairman and Managing Director, Air India.

"This year we are going to connect Delhi with Tel Aviv and Delhi with Washington," Lohani said at the travel trade show — SATTE 2017 — which is being organised by UBM India at Pragati Maidan here from February 15 to 17.

Air India to inaugurate A320 neo with Delhi-Chennai route

New Delhi: The Delhi-Chennai route will be the first route on which Air India will deploy the first Airbus A320 New Engine Option (NEO) which joined its fleet on Thursday.

The first flight on the Delhi-Chennai route is expected towards the end of March and the airline plans to utilise the new aircraft to operate at least two daily flights on the route, senior airline officials said.

The delivery on Thursday was the first of the 14 Airbus A-320 NEO aircraft which AI will lease from Kuwait headquartered ALAFCO Aviation Lease And Finance Company. The new aircraft landed here on Thursday morning.
To Read the News in Full 16/02/17 Business Line
 

India's new private airline to make travel to Tier II and III cities easier

If you are yet to book air tickets for summer vacations this year, there is an interesting surprise waiting for you.
India will now add a new domestic carrier to its list of private airlines, adding new destinations to the connectivity map.
A full-service private-scheduled airline, Zoom Air, is all set to begin its operations on February 15, connecting the Delhi-Kolkata-Durgapur-Delhi sector via a 50-seater CRJ-200LR Jet.
The new service aims at connecting metro airports to Tier II and Tier III cities that had been under-served earlier.

Air India Express defers Tehran flight launch

Air India Express will postpone its plan to commence flights to Tehran Imam Khomeini blaming uncertainty under Trump's administration, reports the Press Trust of India, citing a 'highly placed' source.

The low cost subsidiary of Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l) had considered launching 3x weekly direct flights from Delhi Int'l to the Iranian capital after sanctions were relaxed in late 2016.

Lufthansa's international budget airline to fly to India, Goa may be first stop

New Delhi: Europe will soon be a budget flight away from India. German mega airline Lufthansa's newly-launched low cost international airline is going to begin flights to India.
Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa Group's chairman of the executive board and CEO, said here on Wednesday: "Germans love to go to Goa. There is no direct service. So we can look at these kinds of destinations." He, however, did not give any date when this service will start.
Lufthansa, which has for now ruled out investing in an Indian airline, is deploying the latest long haul aircraft - Airbus A-350 on India routes. While this aircraft has been deployed on Munich-Delhi route, Mumbai is also going to get this equipment on Munich flights.

Flights from Shimla to resume next month

Shimla: Flights could finally be resumed from Jubbarhatti airport near here after a span of over four-and-a-half years with the Director General, Civil Aviation, indicating start of two flights daily under the Domestic Summer Schedule from March 26, 2017.
As per the latest schedule issued by the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) for regions with poor connectivity, there is a proposal to start two ATR-42 flights from Shimla from March 26 to October 28, 2017 which is the main tourist season for Himachal. The other cities which will get these special flights during this period include Shillong, Silchar and Srinagar.

IGI terminal impasse to end by next week, says government

The 'pain' of peak-hour flying at IGI Airport's Terminal 1 could show signs of reducing from next week.
With talks between low cost carriers and Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) over shifting of some domestic flights from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 reaching an impasse, aviation secretary R N Choubey on Tuesday told TOI that the ministry will find a solution within a week.
"We will take a call on what the solution should be within a week.