Category Archives: Aviation

AirAsia India has said it will commence flight operations to Mumbai from January 2019. Sunil Bhaskaran, MD and CEO, AirAsia India, said, “We are pleased to make the much-awaited announcement of adding Mumbai to our network. This is a great way to end 2018, and is in line with our ultimate vision to focus on revolutionising air travel in the markets that we operate in. We’re also happy to welcome our 20th Airbus A320 aircraft to our fleet.” Source: IANS

IndiGo and Turkish Airlines have signed codeshare and mutual cooperation agreement enabling both carriers to provide more flexibility of choice to their respective customers to fly on sectors between India and Istanbul, and beyond. As part of its international expansion strategy, this is the first codeshare agreement for IndiGo. Through this cooperation, Turkish Airlines will be offering new destinations in India as Marketing Carrier on IndiGo operated flights, while IndiGo customers will be able to reach many European destinations through Turkish Airlines’ extensive network. This reciprocal arrangement will allow TK and 6E to provide seamless connections to their customers, besides enabling them to use through check-in and many other facilities. IndiGo will place its code “6E” on 20 points beyond Istanbul operated by Turkish Airlines. Similarly, Turkish Airlines will use its code “TK” on IndiGo-operated flights within India. Rahul Bhatia, Director and Interim Chief Executive Officer, IndiGo, said, “We are excited to be launching our first codeshare with Turkish Airlines. Apart from supporting our upcoming direct services to Istanbul, this strategic partnership will expand the choices available to our customers for journeys beyond Istanbul, using Turkish Airlines’ extensive network. It will become possible for our customers to book itineraries into many cities in Europe on IndiGo, using Turkish Airlines and experiencing their renowned inflight service.” Bilal Ekşi, CEO and Deputy Chairman of the Board, Turkish Airlines, said, “We are happy to host new operators in our main hub Istanbul, and IndiGo will be the first Indian carrier starting flights to Turkey. We believe that it would be a great opportunity to improve our cooperation with our new codeshare partner IndiGo, which will provide new services and destinations for our passengers …

Domestic air traffic has grown by 19.21 per cent from January-November YOY, according to a latest report by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-November 2018 were 1262.83 lakhs as against 1059.34 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year. The passenger load factor in the month of November 2018 is almost equal compared to previous month primarily due to the ongoing tourist season.

Women in Aviation International, India Chapter and Lockheed Martin India, in association with Airports Authority of India (AAI), celebrated ‘Girls in Aviation Day’ on the ocassion of International Civil Aviation Day. With the vision to encourage girls to take up STEM subjects and explore career opportunities in related industries, Girls in Aviation Day is aimed at showcasing opportunities in the aviation and aerospace sectors. This initiative also aligns with the Government of India’s ‘Skill India’ initiative. As part of the programme, Women in Aviation International (India Chapter) invited 90 students from various schools for an informative session in New Delhi. Visiting students were given an opportunity to hear industry experts speak on the ‘Future of STEM in India’. The session stressed upon the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics and how these subjects can lead to fulfilling careers in aviation. Additionally, Women in Aviation gave out 10 IATA-sponsored course kits to underprivileged girls to empower them to kick start a career in aviation. Speaking on the occasion, Radha Bhatia, President, Women in Aviation International, India Chapter, shared,” This is the third year that the WAI India Chapter is celebrating ‘Girls in Aviation Day’ and we are delighted to host the same in the capital. This day is celebrated for the young girls to encourage them to choose aviation as a viable career opportunity. World over, India has the maximum number of female pilots, but there are many other avenues that are still unknown. With this celebration, our aim is to see girls from New Delhi explore exciting careers available to them as engineers, air traffic controllers and dozens of other jobs within the aviation.” Speaking about Lockheed Martin’s commitment …

India will need 2300 new airplanes by 2037, specially single-aisles as there is a huge growth in low cost carriers as well as domestic traffic, informed Dr Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice President – Sales, Asia Pacific & India, Boeing Commercial Airplanes while presenting a forecast for the aviation industry – globally and for India – in New Delhi and in Mumbai recently. Outlining some highlights of the report, he said, “In the last 50 months, India has seen double-digit growth in the aviation sector. Clearly, it’s a country of single aisles.” He added that there has been a significant growth in the domestic market with more than 11.8 million passengers flying in 2018 till September.

Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Government of India, has launched the official mobile application ‘GAS 2019’, for Global Aviation Summit 2019, to be held on January 15-16, 2019 at Grand Hyatt Mumbai.  The application was launched in the presence of Rajiv Nayan Choubey, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA); Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra, Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI); Dr Shefali Juneja, Joint Secretary, MoCA and other officials of the AAI. Available on play store and iOS, GAS 2019 provides a holistic glimpse of the summit and can be used to access latest updates about the mega event. The application enables users to interact with the co-delegates and speakers. It would be an excellent platform for networking through personal and group chats. With the who’s who of the global aviation fraternity set to grace the event, the summit is a promising platform for constructive discussions, collaborations and meeting of minds to explore the future of global aviation. The esteemed guest-list for the summit includes Transport & Civil Aviation ministers from Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal and Jamaica, Civil Aviation authorities and Directorate Generals of Civil Aviation (DGCAs) from 22 countries. The future of aviation – drones and seaplanes, airport privatisation, digital travel and holistic development of global aviation ecosystem are the key areas to push the envelope both on regulations and on industry structure. This platform will enable the industry leaders to prepare a policy roadmap that will certainly provide a strong impetus to all players in the aviation ecosystem. The summit will entail B2G, B2B and G2G meetings.    

According to the recent safety audit of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) conducted by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), DGCA’s rating remains as Category 1, revealed Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, at a press conference in Delhi. Accompanying him were Jayant Sinha, Minister of State, Civil Aviation; RN Choubey, Secretary, Civil Aviation and BS Bhullar, Director General, Civil Aviation. In 2014, India was downgraded to Category 2 in a similar audit. However, after the FAA audit of DGCA in July 2018, the administration has appreciated the commitment of the Indian government in ensuring effective safety oversight on India’s aviation system.

IndiGo is all set to operate daily direct flights connecting Kannur to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Hubli and Chennai with effect from January 2019. The introduction of these flights will further strengthen the airline’s operations, and will provide connectivity between Kannur and other key cities with all-inclusive fares starting from Rs 1799. William Boulter, Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo, said, “We are pleased to have the opportunity to fly out of the new airport in Kannur starting January 2019. Kannur will be the 67th destination on our growing network and starting operations will further strengthen the air connectivity from Northern Kerala. IndiGo will operate daily non-stop return flights from Kannur to Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Hubli. These new services will benefit our customers with more flying options and will also boost tourism stemming from nearby regional destinations, including Kasaragod and Wayanad in Kerala, and Coorg in Karnataka.”

Thailand-based NokScoot has launched its non-stop flight from New Delhi to Bangkok at inaugural fare of Rs 7200 one way (inclusive of taxes). It is a joint venture between Scoot, which is 100 per cent owned by Singapore Airlines and Thailand’s Nok Air. Giam Ming Toh, Deputy CEO, NokScoot; HE Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassdor of Thailand to India and Isra Stapanaseth, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), addressed the media and shared how the new airline would offer new connection to Bangkok at very competitive fares.

GoAir has announced the launch of flight operations from Kannur with the launch of the newly commissioned international airport at Kannur. The Kannur schedule introduces direct daily flights connecting Bengaluru six times weekly,  Hyderabad four times weekly and Chennai thrice weekly. With this launch, GoAir will now operate more than 1600 weekly flights by the end of December. The airline plans to also commence its international operations from Kannur shortly post regulatory approvals. On the occasion of the launch, the airline is also operating a special flight between Delhi to Kannur to facilitate guest movement of Kannur International Airport. Cornelis Vrieswijk, CEO, GoAir said “Kannur is a key market and a significant base for business and tourism in the region. Adding Kannur with its ideal geographical location, we reinforce our commitment towards enhancing connectivity across the country. It is our constant endeavor to provide flexibility of choice to our customers along with on time, convenient and affordable flying experience.” Tickets for the new flights can be booked through the company website or online travel portals, GoAir Call Centre, airport ticketing offices, through travel agents and the GoAir mobile app that is available on both Apple iOS and Google Android. Passengers will be required to download the latest version of the App to be able to make the bookings.