Category Archives: Aviation

The focus on LCC model is expected to only get sharper in the coming years, according to a report on Indian aviation commissioned by FICCI and Deloitte. It is expected that few airlines would even try out the newer Ultra-Low Cost Carrier (ULCC) model that has seen some traction in USA, the biggest domestic market of the world. They could offer absolute stripped-down travel, itemising ticket prices to the services included. Industry experts are even talking about Hybrid and Low-Cost Long-Haul (LCLH) business models. With lower cost of operations due to the waiving off of most airport charges on RCS (Regional Connectivity Scheme) routes, the ULCC model may be the newest paradigm for the industry in India. This would indeed help make air travel more affordable to the country’s millions.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed an MoU with the Uttar Pradesh government for taking over the development and operation of Kushinagar Airport. The MoU was signed by Surya Pal Gangwar, Special Secretary, Civil Aviation, Government of Uttar Pradesh and GD Gupta, ED (Planning), AAI in New Delhi in the presence of Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, AAI and senior officials of AAI. Kushinagar Airport is located at a distance of 50 Kms from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. It is an important destination on the Buddhist Circuit for devotees visiting from all over the world. AAI has agreed to take over the existing non-operational airport at Kushinagar spread over an area of 589 acres along with existing infrastructure like the runway, apron etc. for its development and operationalisation to enhance air connectivity in the region. Bids have been received for the operation of flights to Lucknow and Gaya from Kushinagar under UDAN-3.

The Indian civil aviation industry is set to attract an additional $250 billion by 2040, according to a latest report by CAPA India. The industry has attracted cumulative investments of $48 billion during the last 15 years. Over 90 per cent of incremental investments are expected on aircraft acquisition and airport development. By FY2040, India is expected to see its fleet increase by around 2500 aircraft and the construction of more than 50 new airports. Combined with investment in ancillary services such as ground handling, MRO and training, Indian aviation will require up over USD250 billion of capital expenditure over this period.

The GVK-led Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) has been awarded the Best Airport by size and region in over 40 million passenger category by the Airport Council International (ACI) World. The accolade was in recognition of excellence in customer experience in the Asia-Pacific region. The award ceremony will be held at the second ASQ Forum & ACI Customer Experience Global Summit that will take place from September 2 – 5 in Bali, Indonesia. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA)has been a pioneer in introducing technological advancements for passengers by launching fully-automated check-in process, generating boarding pass and baggage tag through ‘Common Use Self Service (CUSS)’ kiosks. It also introduced the Surface Awareness and Guidance at Airport (SAGA) and implemented paperless boarding for all domestic airlines operating via T2 amongst many other firsts, making it a smart-digital airport for the convenience of its air travellers. CSMIA is also the first of the airports in the country to release the sustainability report on activities undertaken by the airport.

SpiceJet has partnered with Amadeus to sell services and fares on its extensive global travel agency network. This is the first time that SpiceJet is working with a distribution partner. By connecting to travellers through the world’s largest community of travel sellers and buyers, the airline will be able to showcase its products on a global scale, access new markets and partners, and grow its customer base. This partnership offers travellers the opportunity to choose how, where and when to buy travel, which is a basic travel need today and such a distribution deal allows them to compare value instead of just price in the shopping process. Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “I am delighted to announce our new partnership with Amadeus which will help SpiceJet reach new customers both within and outside India. SpiceJet is in the midst of its most exciting growth phase and I am sure that this new distribution network will enable a large number of customers to connect with our huge domestic and growing international network.” Cyril Tetaz, Executive Vice President, Airlines, Amadeus, Asia Pacific said, “With our partnership including distribution and IT solutions, we are very proud to support SpiceJet in its growth in India and beyond. SpiceJet will be able to differentiate its offers and empower travelers with the transparency and customization they need through our global travel network.”

SpiceJet has announced that it will be connecting Hyderabad with Colombo along with the launch of 11 other new direct flights on domestic routes from March 31 onwards. The Hyderabad-Colombo route, the first by any domestic carrier, will commence from April 15 and operate on all days except Tuesdays and Wednesdays, said the budget carrier in a statement. “Our new flight to Colombo reinforces our commitment to strengthening the network between India and Sri Lanka. We see tremendous potential in this sector for both leisure and business travelers,” said Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Sales and Revenue Officer, SpiceJet. Expanding its footprint on the UDAN routes, SpiceJet will launch services on six new flights on the Kishangarh-Ahmedabad, Lakhimpur-Guwahati and Jaipur-Amritsar routes. With this announcement, the budget carrier became the first operate to fly between Hyderabad and Colombo and between Chennai and Patna. With the launch of its services between Hyderabad and Colombo, SpiceJet will connect the Sri Lankan capital with three direct flights from India, the release said. It currently connects the city with single daily frequencies from Chennai and Madurai each.

Ratnagiri Airport, a defence airport as on date, is all set to start civil air operations soon. An MoU is being signed between Airport Authority of India and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) on March 5, 2019, which will facilitate in activating Ratnagiri Airport for Regional Connectivity Scheme operations under UDAN scheme of Ministry of Civil Aviation. The MoU stipulates AAI to provide all support for activation of the airport including CNS/ATM services, and MIDC to provide infrastructure for handling of aircrafts and passengers such as building passenger terminal, apron and taxiway for commencing RCS operations. Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu has been speaking with all stakeholders such as the Ministry of Defence, the Maharashtra State Government and the Airport Authority of India to make Ratnagiri airport a civilian airport. Speaking on the MoU, the Minister said: “We are fully committed to start air operations from Ratnagiri at the earliest. Bids under UDAN 3.1 have already been invited for operations for Ratnagiri-Mumbai-Ratnagiri sector. In order to speed up the work of construction of civil terminal and establishing navigation facilities, AAI is ready to work with MIDC and an MoU is being signed between AAI and MIDC in this regard on 5th March, 2019. We fully support and are committed to early operationalization of both Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri airports to boost tourism and economy of the Konkan Region”.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has given its approval for development of new greenfield airport at Hirasar in Gujarat at an estimated cost of Rs.1405 crore. The existing airport at Rajkot is severely land constrained having only 236 acres (approx.) of land and situated in the heart of city. This Airport suffers from considerable capacity restraints due to presence of residential & commercial buildings around it. Railway line and State Highway located around the airport on eastern side also prohibits the extension of runway. Thus there is no feasibility to expand the airport on city or airside, hence possibility of operating wide bodied aircrafts at the existing airport location is ruled out. Rajkot is the fourth largest city in the state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara. The city is the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat and the 35thlargest urban agglomeration in India with a population more than 1.2 million as of 2015. It is also the 22nd fastest growing city in the world. Considering the constraints and compulsions with respect to existing airport, State Government desires to develop a new Greenfield Airport in Rajkot. Government of Gujarat has identified required land for the new airport and requested Airports Authority of India to develop, operate and maintain the new airport

Vistara has announced the addition of 16 new flights to its schedule including recent new destination announcements. The new daily flights include flights to newly announced destinations Raipur and Dibrugarh, new route Delhi – Jammu, and additional frequencies on existing routes. With these additions, Delhi – Chandigarh and Delhi – Srinagar will now operate 2x daily, Delhi – Bhubaneshwar 3x daily, and Delhi – Kolkata 4x daily. While some of the additions are seasonal, the majority are for year-round operations. Sanjiv Kapoor, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Vistara, said, “Vistara is pleased to announce new destinations, flights, and frequencies in response to high demand from customers and corporates alike. We continue to carefully evaluate new route and destination possibilities, and will be adding more flights as we add aircraft to the fleet over the next fiscal year.One of the things we hear most from our customers is that they wish we had a larger network and more frequencies, and we are working hard to achieve that step by step as demand for our flights grow and we get new aircraft. We are also pleased that in recent weeks we have increased Delhi – Bangalore service to 6x daily as well.”

Jet Airways passengers, whose flight is cancelled, will not be able to travel with Air India and Vistara, as the full-service carriers have cut cordial agreements with the airline. Both Air India and Vistara have cancelled the Flight Interruption Manifest (FIM) agreement and Interline Ticketing Agreement Facility with Jet Airways. This move comes after 15 of Jet Airways’ flights were grounded because of non-payment to lessors, and the airline had to cancel many flights for the same reason. Under an FIM agreement between two airlines, when any schedule change happens in any of the airline in the alliance, the other airline accommodates those stranded passengers on their airline. The FIM, in such a situation, acts like a substitute ticket for the stranded passenger. As a result, the affected airline reimburses the said amount of the ticket to the other airline. Even Vistara has reportedly ended its interline ticketing agreement facility with Jet Airways. Because of this facility, Jet Airways could book their passengers on a Vistara flight at a pre-determined price.