Category Archives: Aviation

Oman Air and SalamAir leadership met recently to mark the launch of the airlines latest codeshare partnership, which offers passengers an expanded range of travel options within the Sultanate of Oman and beyond. During the meeting, the airlines discussed their future prospects as national carriers and their common commitment to supporting the country’s tourism goals as part of Oman’s 2040 Vison. Con Korfiatis, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Air, said, “We are excited about this expanded codeshare partnership between Oman Air and SalamAir and the strengthening of our collaboration. This latest development enables us to jointly offer even more choice and schedule options, which both benefits our customers and serves the broader tourism ambitions of the country.” “We are thrilled to further strengthen our partnership with Oman Air,” said Adrian Hamilton-Manns, Chief Executive Officer of SalamAir. “This extended codeshare agreement reflects our shared commitment to providing passengers with unparalleled travel options and superior service. Together, we eagerly antici[1]pate aligning ourselves with the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technology’s sentiments and the overarching vision of Oman 2040, thus, reinforcing our commitment to driving excel[1]lence in the aviation sector and promoting Omati as a premier travel destination” During the first phase, effective 4 July 2024, passengers can book their travel on a selection of SalamAir’s routes connecting to Oman Air’s network, with more destinations to be added post successful implementation.

Pitching for increased bilateral flying rights between Dubai and India, Adnan Kazim, Deputy President and CCO, Emirates Airline, said, “Indian aviation market’s pace of growth needs to be matched with capacity, and increased competition will provide more choices for consumers. Currently, India is a top-tier market, with more demand than the offered capacity.”

IndiGo will host the 81st IATA AGM and World Air Transport Summit in Delhi, India, in June 2025. Pieter Elbers, CEO, IndiGo, said, “IndiGo will be the host airline, and this is an important moment for us to showcase how India has changed and the developments in its aviation sector. We will closely collaborate with the government and policymakers to address all relevant issues and highlight India’s transition from a predominantly domestic market to a global aviation giant.”

First-time MP from Pune and BJP leader Murlidhar Mohol has been inducted as Minister of State for Civil Aviation in the Narendra Modi government. He is an MP from Pune Lok Sabha constituency and was elected Mayor of Pune in November 2019 replacing Mukta Tilak.

At the CAPA India Aviation Summit 2024, Arun Bansal, CEO, Adani Airport Holding, said, “We are preparing NMIA to meet travellers aspirations from day one. The Navi Mumbai airport will be the most digitised airport from day one. We are actively working with airlines for slot allocation between CSMIA and NMIA for fair play.”

Campbell Wilson, CEO, Air India said they have finalised the start of their retrofit program for new aircraft. “More than 100 aircraft will be refitted with new interiors, including more than 40 wide-body aircraft. We have purchased more than 25,000 seats to support this refit program which will be installed in the coming months,” he added.

Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Operating Officer, Bengaluru Airport said, “Bengaluru airport has been successful in attracting long-haul traffic in the last five to seven years and connected seven and eight important long-haul markets in last 5 years.” He suggested that airlines should try to connect more long-haul and ultra-long-haul points from the Bengaluru airport.

Vumlunmang Vualnam, Secretary of Civil Aviation, Government of India said, “While we have 157 airstrips already, which are functional, which we are proud of, we have already started looking at the 453 full list of airstrips that exist in our country. We are considering to develop these as brownfield projects. We also look at the defense airfields to expand joint user concept.”

Kapil Kaul, CEO & Director, CAPA India, addressing the CAPA India Aviation Summit said, “India’s airline fleet is set to double by FY2030. It took the Indian industry around 90 years from the time of the first commercial flight to reach a fleet size of 700 aircraft. But the rate of growth is so strong that carriers could add a further 600-700 aircraft in just the next 5-7 years.”

Airlines must stay vigilant about governments “going rogue” on globally agreed aviation standards, as the Dutch government did when it moved to cut Amsterdam Schiphol Airport’s capacity without consultation, Willie Walsh, Director General IATA, said. Such actions had the potential to create a retaliatory mess, he warned.