Category Archives: Aviation

Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, has said that the civil aviation sector has the potential to create about 10 lakh direct jobs in the next 10 years. He further said that with a six-fold multiplier effect that jobs in this sector have, this can lead to the creation of about 60 lakh jobs – direct and indirect – in the next 10 years. As jobs in the civil aviation sector tend to be of high value, this would go a long way in improving the economic condition of a large number of young people. The Minister also said that the sector can reasonably be expected to grow at an average rate of about 10-12 per cent over the next ten years. However, to achieve this we first need to fill the gap between the demand for skilled manpower for a huge variety of trades in the sector, and the availability of the same. Stressing upon the need for world class training and skilling, he said that this can raise the employability of our people across the world. Sinha also flagged the issue of non-availability of land to build airports as another constraint for growth of the sector. The Minister was speaking at a workshop on Building Awareness on Aligning Skill Development in the Civil Aviation Sector with the National Skill Qualification Framework ( NSQF) in New Delhi. The event also saw the signing of an MoU between the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship for training of people in the various trades associated with the civil aviation sector.

According to the latest data released by DGCA, passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-Sept 2016 were 726.98 lakhs as against 590.21 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year, registering a growth of 23.17 per cent. SpiceJet showed the highest Passenger Load Factor (PLF) at 93.2 per cent. The overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for the month of Sept 2016 has been 0.42 %. Vistara came out the winner when it came to On Time Performance, with a success rate of 89.6 per cent.

SpiceJet has announced new additional flights for this winter with effect from November 15, 2016. The airline has inducted three Boeing 737-800s to operate the eight new flights and eight new connections. With the introduction of the new and additional flights, the airline will operate 334 flights a day. With ‘regional connectivity’ as the macro theme, SpiceJet has been rendering constant focus on the agenda while undertaking network expansions and has most recently introduced three new flights to Northeast. The new schedule also focuses on connecting the key metros with special emphasis on Bengaluru and Hyderabad catering to the seasonal demand. The airline has also increased its frequency for Ahmedabad to key metros besides Goa. Shilpa Bhatia, Sr. VP, Commercial, SpiceJet, says, “Our new winter schedule strikes the right balance with equal emphasis on metro and non-metro connectivity. The induction of three new aircraft will cater to the enhanced seasonal demand while offering flexibility to customers with more flight options to choose from. Besides, with the introduction of additional direct flights, the schedule will offer seamless connectivity to business and leisure travellers alike.”

China Southern Airlines has launched two new connections — Guangzhou-Adelaide and Guangzhou-Toronto. Starting December 7, 2016, the double daily flights would offer further connections for Indians travelling to these destinations, especially with a great frequency on the airline between Delhi and Guangzhou. Chen Yongguang, General Manager, China Southern Airlines, announced the new connections at an evening of cocktail and dinner at The Lalit, New Delhi, in the presence of representatives from the travel trade and media. He said that the new flights would be beneficial to Indians travelling to Australia and Canada, and that too at a good price.

Singapore Airlines’ sixth A350-900 is the 10,000th aircraft delivered by Airbus. The delivery milestone was celebrated at a special ceremony in Toulouse attended by Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong and Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders. “Singapore Airlines is honoured to be receiving the 10,000th aircraft that Airbus has delivered. Airbus aircraft have contributed greatly to Singapore Airlines’ successes over the decades, and we are proud to be sharing in this important milestone with our longstanding and trusted partner,” said Goh. Enders added, “We are especially proud to celebrate this milestone with Singapore Airlines – one of our longest-standing customers and a true partner. Today, the SIA Group operates aircraft from across our complete product line and with the highest levels of technical excellence. There is no better endorsement for our products and we thank the entire SIA Group for its ongoing confidence, partnership and support.” Singapore Airlines placed its first order with Airbus in 1979, for the A300B4. The SIA Group has since operated aircraft from all of Airbus’ product lines – the A300, A310, A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380 families. The SIA Group currently operates aircraft from all of Airbus’ in-production product lines. The A350-900 is the newest addition to the Singapore Airlines fleet. The Airline is the largest A350-900 customer with commitments for 67 firm orders, including seven of the ultra-long-range A350-900ULR variant. Singapore Airlines is the launch customer for the A350-900ULR, for which deliveries will begin in 2018. The aircraft will be used to re-launch non-stop flights between Singapore and the US cities of New York and Los Angeles. The A350-900 delivered has a special “10,000th Airbus Aircraft” logo and will be used to launch …

Air India is going to begin its Amritsar-Toronto operations in 2017 via Birmingham, said Pankaj Srivastava, Director-Commercial, Air India. Air India will also connect Delhi with Washington D.C. next year. Srivastava said, “We have grown substantially on the international network. In the last one year we have added 4 new networks to our operations which are operated on Dreamliners. Delhi-Madrid will begin operations from December 1 this year. Under the regional connectivity scheme, we are already planning operations to connect the Tier III and Tier II cities on Air India.” He also informed that Air India has managed to focus on its deeds and improve its services which has turned around their profits and recently the company posted a profit of RS 105 crores.

THAI Smile Airways has launched new flights to Gaya, Varanasi, Jaipur and Lucknow. The flights will gradually start operation from Bangkok to Gaya and Varanasi from October 1, Bangkok to Jaipur from November 15, and Bangkok to Lucknow from December 1, 2016. The airline has chosen Bird Group as its General Sales Agent (GSA) for the Indian market with immediate effect. The Bird Group will handle the airline’s sales development, bookings, and ticketing services within India as well as conduct direct marketing and service support to Indian travel agents. The new connections would bridge the demand of both Indians and Thais, who have been looking for seamless connections for religion, work and leisure purpose, in Thailand, India and onward destinations. Captain Woranate Laprabang, Acting Chief Executive Officer, THAI Smile Airways, said, “We consider these connecting flights as one of our strategic destinations in Indian region. THAI Smile Airways is undertaking an ambitious growth programme to develop network and ensure international connectivity. Moreover, we are committed to ensuring that our passengers have greater choice and opportunity to discover new destinations by flying with THAI Smile Airways.” He added, “THAI Smile Airways understands the immense need for passengers travelling among these 4 cities. A journey which can be covered in less than 4 hours can take up to 8 – 10 hours. We wish to make it more comfortable and affordable to Indian passengers.” “By appointing The Bird Group, THAI Smile Airways aims to generate awareness of its product and services in India by strengthening relations with existing travel partners and forging new strategic partnerships with specialized operators in a number of various segments,” said Captain Woranate. Gaurav Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Travels, …

Tajik Air announces that it will be flying twice a week from November 1 between Delhi and Dushanbe. Mirzosharif A. Jalolov, Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan said, “We used to have one flight from New Delhi to Dushanbe earlier. Starting from next month, we are starting a new flight which will operate every Tuesday between the two capitals. The flying time is 2 hours and 15 minutes which makes it a convenient destination for the Indians.”

Vistara has received the Category III Bravo (CAT III-B) certification from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Permitting its CAT IIIB compliant fleet and crew to safely take-off and touch-down with a Runway Visibility Range (RVR) of as low as 75 meters, the approval is a milestone achievement as it is the highest level of low-visibility rating awarded in India currently. The certification will enable Vistara to safely operate under low visibility conditions due to fog or any other poor weather conditions, which is anticipated in north east and northern parts of the country, typically during year-end and the beginning of the year. Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara said “Although a bad weather condition is beyond our control, we always endeavor to minimise the inconvenience faced by our customers during a flight delay or diversion arising from inclement weather. We value the trust and faith our customers repose in us when they make Vistara their choice of travel. We are therefore committed to offer a seamless flying experience to them – be it in terms of deploying the most advanced technologies and systems for our aircraft, adequately training our crew or providing a memorable on-board experience. I am proud of my team’s relentless efforts in the past months to secure the regulatory approval for Cat 3B well in time before the fog season sets in. This certification will allow us to provide a seamless flying experience to our valued customers.” Vistara’s current fleet of 13 brand new A320s come with the integrated CAT IIIB auto land system, and its crew is given rigorous training to ensure the safety of its customers and providing a world class travel experience. Vistara …

Senior delegates from Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), Economic Development Board and Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority recently held productive discussions with a number of potential airlines from India, as it looks forward to seeing Bahrain added to their expanding network. The delegation was attending the 22nd World Routes Development Forum held in Chengdu, China from 24–27 September 2016. Last year, The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) supported the ‘Little India in Bahrain’ initiative to celebrate and document the contribution of the Indian community to the history and progress of Bahrain and to boost cultural tourism in the kingdom. BAC is building a new passenger terminal at the Bahrain airport scheduled to be completed by 2020. The expansion is expected to increase the airport’s capacity to 14 million passengers a year from the current nine million passengers a year.