Category Archives: Aviation

AirAsia India inducts a new aircraft to its fleet as it expects sustained pax growth in the coming quarter. The airline will go ahead with its planned induction of five fully-owned A320 Neo aircraft with CFM engines in the next few months. It had firmed up these orders before the pandemic. This will bring down the average fleet age to around three years. The airline has opened new direct routes such as Mumbai-Ranchi, Mumbai-Bhubaneswar, Mumbai-Guwahati.

IATA is working with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to put in place scalable, affordable and fast testing systems, revealed Conrad Clifford, Regional Vice-President Asia Pacific, IATA. Alexandre De Juniac, Director General & CEO, IATA had also said last week, “We have a solution to open borders while mitigating the risk of importing COVID-19 through air travel. That is universal testing. There is testing technology that aligns with our requirements for speed, accuracy, affordability, scalability and ease of use in the travel process. And we are seeing momentum towards implementation.”

A total of 39.43 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in September this year, 66 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year, the country’s aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday. As many as 21.07 lakh and 28.32 lakh people travelled by air domestically this July and August, respectively, the regulator had said last month.

In its second innings, Jet Airways, which was grounded in April last year, will not only retain its original brand name, livery and logo, but will also remain a full-service carrier with business and economy class divisions, according to reports. While initially, the airline will start with domestic routes with a single plane type, in the second stage they will have international flights with suitable aircraft, revealed Manoj N Madnani, Board Member, Kalrock Capital. Source: Times of India

Air India has decided to reduce the frequency of its Kolkata-London flight from twice-a-week to now only once-a-week, owing to poor load factor. An AI official has reportedly revealed that after Navami, October 25, the flight will arrive in Kolkata and take off for London only on Sundays. The flight that operated on Thursdays has ben withdrawn as it isn’t sustainable to continue with the present load.

Malaysia Airlines might have to shut down if its lessors decide not to back its latest restructuring plan, said Izham Ismail, Group CEO, Malaysia Airlines. According to reports, a group of leasing companies have turned down the airline’s restructuring plan, which has brought the state carrier closer to a showdown over its future. Ismail said that the group would have “no choice but to shut it down” if lessors decide against backing the restructuring plan. “There are creditors who have agreed already. There are others still resisting, and another group still 50:50. I need to get the 50:50 ones (on board) with those who have agreed. I understand quite a sizeable amount of creditors have agreed.” He revealed that the plan was to restructure the airline’s balance sheet over five years, achieving break-even in 2023 on the assumption that demand in the domestic and Southeast Asian markets returns to 2019 levels by the second and third quarters of 2022. Under this plan, a fresh cash injection will be required from its major shareholder, the state fund Khazanah Nasional, which will be user to aid the airline for the next 18 months. According to a report, lessors who claim to represent 70% of the airplanes and engines leased to the group, have called the plan ‘inappropriate and fatally flawed’ and pledged to challenge it. Izham has revealed that the lessors will need to come to a decision by Sunday, so that the airline can decide whether to proceed with its restructuring plan or “execute Plan B”, which could involve shifting Malaysia Airlines’ Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) to a new airline under a different name, or using the certificates of sister airlines …

The Pune airport will remain shut during night for a year due to recarpeting work of runway which starts from October 26 and will be on for around one year. Flight operations will remain suspended between 8 pm  and 8 am. All the night flight services, including take-offs as well as landings, have been spread out in the day time.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) will develop a greenfield airport at Arunachal Pradesh’s Hollongi, near Itanagar. This airport is expected to be completed by November 2022. With an area of 4100 sqm and estimated cost of Rs 650 crore, the new domestic terminal building of the airport will be able to handle 200 passengers during peak hours. Equipped with eight check-in counters, the terminal building will have all modern passenger facilities. The terminal will be an energy-efficient building provisioned with a Rain Water Harvesting system and sustainable landscape.

British Airways has announced it is replacing its chief executive Alex Cruz as the airline navigates “the worst crisis” facing its industry. Cruz, who has been with BA since 2016, will be immediately replaced by Aer Lingus boss Sean Doyle. Cruz will stay on as non-executive chairman for a transition period before Doyle takes on the role.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation, has said that the extension of travel bubble arrangement till March is only under the realm of speculation. However, he adds, “I would like to plan as we go towards the end of the year, but whether it happens till March depends on whether there is a readily available vaccine, as countries will feel more confident when frontline warriors or other people have access to the vaccine.”