Domestic flights carried 117 million in India last year

India’s aviation sector achieved a new milestone in 2017 with the number of domestic flyers topping 100 million.

All up, 117 million flew within the country last year, up 17% from 99 million in 2016, Times of India reported.

Market leader IndiGo continued its dominance with a 39.6% market share followed by Jet Airways (17.8%), Air India (13.3%) and SpiceJet (13.2%).

Wi-Fi on flights may be too pricey for most passengers

While much has been made of India allowing Wi-Fi on flights, the service will probably be out of the reach of the average passenger, as it is likely to cost 20-30 per cent of the fare, or Rs500 for 30 minutes, to use in-flight data connectivity.

Airlines are considering options to introduce the facility after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India issued an order permitting in-flight voice and data connectivity.

The move may help airlines add value to their international business class travellers but may not be an option for low-cost carriers or for short domestic flights, as the charges levied by service providers for slots on satellites are expensive. Airlines have to pay service providers like Inmarsat and others a hefty sum to activate in-flight net connectivity.

An airline official told The Times of India that Trai’s order permitting in-flight net connection would be an advantage for flights that traverse the peninsula on intercontinental routes. These flights will no longer have to switch off the Wi-Fi when in Indian airspace.

Domestic air traffic up by 17.69 percent in December

Domestic air traffic registered a growth of over 17 percent in December last year as compared the same month the previous year, a government data stated.

Domestic airlines carried 11.24 million passengers in December 2017 as compared to 9.55 million compared to the year-ago period, registering a growth of 17.69 percent.

According to the monthly traffic data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the passenger load factor (PLF), which is a measure of number of seats occupied in a plane, was the highest for SpiceJet with 95.6 percent of its seats being sold.

GoAir was at the second spot with 92 percent of seats occupied, followed by IndiGo (90.8 percent), Jet Airways (88.5 percent), Vistara (87.7 percent) and Air India (81.8 percent).

Domestic air passenger traffic records 18% growth in Dec

New Delhi: Domestic airlines flew 1.12 crore passengers in December last year, registering a growth of 17.69 per cent over the 95.52 lakh passengers flown during the same period the previous year.

The latest data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows that IndiGo remained the market leader, having flown 44.30 lakh passengers in December 2017 while Jet Airways took the second spot with 16.37 lakh passengers. Air India managed to edge out SpiceJet from the third spot by flying 14.72 lakh passengers against 14.27 lakh passengers flown by the Gurugram-headquartered low-cost SpiceJet. Among the other airlines, GoAir carried 10.80 lakh passengers, AirAsia (4.93 lakh) and Vistara (4.13 lakh).

Passengers give big thumb-up to Customs, other facilities at Mangaluru airport

Mangaluru: The customer service at Mangaluru International Airport was at the receiving end a few years ago, especially after the introduction and strict implementation of the 'export certificate' declaration rule. One may recall, passengers from the Gulf who arrived at Mangaluru airport were uncomfortable about facing the customs officials as they were hardly aware about limits on duty-free items allowed at the airport. Daijiworld.com had carried a series of articles on this issue based on the experieince and concerns of NRIs who travelled once a year or once in two years. 'Harassment' was the common word used by many passengers, and to add to the troubles, many prefered to travel via Mumbai or Bengaluru.

Tasmac to open premium outlet at airport domestic terminal

Travellers landing at Chennai airport will soon be able to pick up a liquor bottle as they exit from the domestic terminalwhere Tasmac is planning to open its elite shops at the arrival terminal .
There is also a move to have similar shops at Trichy, Madurai and Coimbatore airports. The move comes after liquor outlets at Mumbai and Delhi airports were found to be popular among travellers.
Sources said Tasmac officials held discussions with Airports Authority of India (AAI) officials regarding the space and the fee that needs to be paid for setting up the facility.
A senior official of AAI said the outlet was being planned as it would primarily facilitate arriving passengers who were new to the city .

Smog pollution: Over 66% of flights cancelled in December due to bad weather

A total of 66.8% of flights were cancelled in December, reason being bad weather.

The month of December began with some unpredictable weather patterns. Storm and rain were witnessed along the west coast of India on account of Cyclone Ockhi.

India also witnessed a rise in the smog pollution during the month of December. This may have led to higher flight cancellations during the month, a report by DGCA pointed out on Tuesday.

In the midst of tourist and festive season domestic airlines carried 1.12 crore passengers.

Jet Airways marks 10 years of operations in Gulf

Muscat: Jet Airways, India’s premier, full service international airline, on Monday completed ten years of operations to the Gulf region. The airline connects ten destinations in the Gulf with nine metros and emerging cities in India.

The first Jet Airways flight 9W 592 landed in Bahrain in 2008, marking an important milestone for the airline, as it was the first privately owned Indian carrier to provide direct air connectivity between the Gulf region and India.

SpiceJet flight to Sikkim

Calcutta: Low-cost airline SpiceJet has been granted permission to fly to Pakyong in Sikkim from Calcutta under the civil aviation ministry's regional connectivity scheme. Flights can start once the airport is cleared for operations.

"We have been selected to operate on the Calcutta-Pakyong-Guwahati and Delhi-Pakyong routes," a SpiceJet official said on Monday.

For in-flight Wi-Fi, airlines likely to charge 30% of fare

Chennai: Travellers could soon be able to post a selfie on social media while on board a plane, but may have to shell out at least 20-30% of the fare to avail of in-flight data connectivity.
Airlines are considering options to introduce the facility following a Trai order permitting in-flight voice and data connectivity+ . The move may help airlines add value to services for business class travellers on domestic and international routes. It may not be an option for low-cost carriers.
Officials said the charges for in-flight net connectivity would range from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for thirty minutes to an hour, according to international standards and taking into account the charges levied by service providers for slots on satellites. Airlines have to pay service providers like Inmarsat and others a hefty sum to activate inflight net connectivity.

Taking the world under their wings

It was not just Dubai-based Emirates Airlines that was keenly awaiting the arrival of its 98th Airbus A380 test flight on October 9 last year – those with the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in the city were hoping that the aircraft would reach sooner as they were awaiting the 1,020 tarpaulins and ropes that the aircraft was carrying.

These goods, which are among the 10 most-needed immediate humanitarian aid items, were meant to create temporary shelters for 500 displaced families in crisis-hit areas.
This was not just a one-off goodwill or delivery flight – since 2013, 125 tonnes of goods have been transported as humanitarian aid as. part of a cooperation between Emirates Airlines and Airbus Foundation to utilise A380 Emirates deliveries for transporting humanitarian aid to UNHRD.

Airbus organised the first goodwill flight in November 2008, with an A330, for Avianca, and the aircraft manufacturer organised its first relief flight using an Airbus-owned test aircraft in November 2009, with an A380, to Dubai Humanitarian City.

Domestic air traffic up by 17.69 percent in December

Domestic air traffic registered a growth of over 17 percent in December last year as compared the same month the previous year, a government data stated.

Domestic airlines carried 11.24 million passengers in December 2017 as compared to 9.55 million compared to the year-ago period, registering a growth of 17.69 percent.

According to the monthly traffic data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the passenger load factor (PLF), which is a measure of number of seats occupied in a plane, was the highest for SpiceJet with 95.6 percent of its seats being sold.

GoAir was at the second spot with 92 percent of seats occupied, followed by IndiGo (90.8 percent), Jet Airways (88.5 percent), Vistara (87.7 percent) and Air India (81.8 percent).

Domestic air passenger traffic records 18% growth in Dec

New Delhi: Domestic airlines flew 1.12 crore passengers in December last year, registering a growth of 17.69 per cent over the 95.52 lakh passengers flown during the same period the previous year.

The latest data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows that IndiGo remained the market leader, having flown 44.30 lakh passengers in December 2017 while Jet Airways took the second spot with 16.37 lakh passengers. Air India managed to edge out SpiceJet from the third spot by flying 14.72 lakh passengers against 14.27 lakh passengers flown by the Gurugram-headquartered low-cost SpiceJet. Among the other airlines, GoAir carried 10.80 lakh passengers, AirAsia (4.93 lakh) and Vistara (4.13 lakh).

Air Deccan: Back in the skies

On December 23, 2017, Captain Gorur R Iyengar Gopinath re-entered India’s commercial aviation market, a decade after he had exited from it. With the launch of three flights from Mumbai—to Nashik, Pune and Jalgaon—Gopinath, fondly known as Captain or Gopi, and his airline entity Air Deccan, which made budget air travel in India a reality back in 2003, were back in the game.

Budget airlines or low-cost carriers (LCCs), which charge for traditional services such as food and seat allocation and offer low fares, function on a different revenue model as compared to traditional airlines. In 2003, when Gopinath had launched Air Deccan, there were only four airlines—Jet Airways, Air Sahara (which was bought by the former), Air India and Indian Airlines (the latter two have merged since then)—and all were, and continue to be, traditional full-service airlines. Today, LCCs command a 65 percent share of India’s domestic air passenger traffic.

Smog pollution: Over 66% of flights cancelled in December due to bad weather

A total of 66.8% of flights were cancelled in December, reason being bad weather.

The month of December began with some unpredictable weather patterns. Storm and rain were witnessed along the west coast of India on account of Cyclone Ockhi.

India also witnessed a rise in the smog pollution during the month of December. This may have led to higher flight cancellations during the month, a report by DGCA pointed out on Tuesday.

In the midst of tourist and festive season domestic airlines carried 1.12 crore passengers.