Category Archives: Aviation

Air India’s divestment process is finally successful with TATA Sons’ SPV – Talace Pvt Ltd, winning the bid of the national carrier for Rs 18000 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs  (CCEA) – empowered Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) comprising of Amit Shah Union Minister for Home Affairs and Cooperation; Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs; Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry and Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Civil Aviation Minister, approved the highest price bid of M/s Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of M/s Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd for sale of 100% equity shareholding of Government of India in Air India along with equity shareholding of Air India in AIXL and AISATS. The winning bid is for Rs 18,000 crore as Enterprise Value (EV) consideration for AI (100% shares of AI along with AI’s shareholding in AIXL and AISATS).  The transaction does not include non-core assets including land and building, valued at Rs 14,718 crore, which are to be transferred to GoI’s Air India Asset Holding Limited (AIAHL). The process for disinvestment of Air India and its subsidiaries commenced in June 2017 with the ‘in-principle’ approval of CCEA. The first round did not elicit any Expression of Interest. The process re-commenced on 27 January 2020 with issue of Preliminary Information Memorandum (PIM) and request for Expressions of Interest (EOI). The original construct as per the January 2020 PIM envisaged (i) pre-determined, fixed amount of debt to be retained in AI (with balance to be transferred to Air India Asset Holding Limited (AIAHL) and (ii) the sum of certain identified current and non-current liabilities (other than debt) to be retained in AI and …

German airline Lufthansa on Wednesday received an investor for 2.14 billion euro ($2.47 billion). This will help motivate travel companies looking to weather the after effects of the COVID-19 crisis. The company said that its rights issue was 98.36% subscribed by investors, and the remainder was quickly sold in the open market soon after.

Around 13 companies are sitting with approvals from (SEBI) for their Initial Public Offering (IPOs), which could result in over Rs 13,000 worth of public issues into the primary market. These companies include Go Air, Pradeep Phosphates, and Fincare Small Finance Bank, which could soon come with the public issues, revealed Axis Capital. Within this financial year, around 24 companies have successfully made their stock exchange debuts.

All flights from Pune Airport will not operate for 14 days from 16 October 2021 to 29th October 2021, owing to runway resurfacing works, revealed Airport Authority of India- Pune on its Twitter handle as per the information received from Indian Air Force (IAF).

A recent survey by International Air Transport Association (IATA), air travellers are increasingly frustrated with the COVID-19 travel restrictions. The survey within 11 markets in September showed confidence that the risks of COVID-19 can be effectively managed and that the freedom to travel should be restored. 67% of respondents felt that most country borders should be opened now, up 12 percentage-points from the June 2021 survey.

Air India will be opening Automated Refund through GDS effective 1st Oct 2021, revealed the national carrier in a recent circular shared with the travel trade. “However, there is an out-flow limit been set –the total per-week refund for your agency is limited to average one day sale of the previous week. Refund of one day sale from weekly Sale/remittance is allowed,” mentioned the official communication.

As Mauritius re-opens international borders and tourism starts to rebuild post COVID-19, the government of the Republic of Mauritius is injecting Rs12 billion (US$280million) into Air Mauritius via a loan to provide long term stability for the company. Ken Arian, CEO of Airports Holdings Limited, the parent company of Air Mauritius said: “This new financial arrangement provides Air Mauritius with the stability to rebuild and play a central role in the government’s economic development and tourism plans. It is a vote of confidence in our staff and provides them and our tourism industry with reassurance for the future. Air Mauritius is an iconic global brand and will continue to provide short and long-haul passenger and cargo connectivity to some of our most important global markets.” Passenger and cargo flights will operate between Mauritius and Paris, London, Johannesburg, Mumbai, Antananarivo and Reunion with connecting services available globally. Additional capacity and international routes will be added to meet demand. Air Mauritius expects Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Perth to be introduced later. Domestic services to and from Rodrigues will resume in November 2021. As part of the new structure, the network fleet has been consolidated from 15 aircraft to 9 aircraft – 4 x A350-900 and 2 x A330-900neo wide-bodied fleet. The remaining 3 aircraft are ATR72-500 to service domestic and regional routes. Air Mauritius now has one of the youngest widebody fleets in the world.

Etihad Airways is giving all its guests travelling into or via Abu Dhabi a complimentary ticket to Expo 2020 Dubai that will take place between 1 October, 2021 and 31, March 2022. Visitors can enjoy a visit to Expo and also explore the attractions in Abu Dhabi. The special promotion under the ‘Exponential Abu Dhabi’ campaign will run until 31 March 2022. Expo 2020 is just a 45-minute drive from Abu Dhabi. The city now welcomes fully vaccinated travellers without the need to quarantine.

The wait is finally over. South African Airways (SAA) is set to return to the skies on September 23. The South African national carrier will resume flights after 16 months of being grounded due to viability challenges, in spite of repeated government bailouts and implementation of business rescue plan. Resumption of flights comes three months after the government conceded part of its airline stake to Takatso Consortium, who are now the majority shareholders with a 51 percent stake.

Maldivian is set to start direct flights from New Delhi to Maafaru and Male’ on 21st October 2021 and will be operating A321 & A320 on this route offering both business and economy class configuration. The national carrier of Republic of Maldives, owned and operated by Island Aviation Services Limited (IAS), currently operates to Trivandrum, Cochin and to Dhaka, Bangladesh. Bird Travels, the airline management arm of Bird Group is the General Sales Agent (GSA) for Maldivian and will be managing their sales and marketing activities in New Delhi. Flights on the new route, New Delhi to Maafaru, will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Maafaru International Airport located in Noonu atoll was opened in 2019 and is also managed by Island Aviation Services Limited (IAS). With three direct weekly flights to Maafaru, another international hub of the largest source market, will connect North Maldives from India. Cocooned by some of the most sought-after luxury resorts in the destination, along with a large number of guest houses, the region is home to over 10,000 tourist beds spread across four atolls making this new route a highly lucrative leisure market. Speaking on the new route, Vijay Bhatia, President, Bird Group said “We are delighted to launch this new service connecting New Delhi with Maafaru and Male’ effective 21st Oct 2021. This direct flight will offer the fastest connection for Indian travelers looking to holiday in North Maldives luxury resorts”. Bird Travels will help Maldivian to further strengthen the airline’s sales team and provide support to the Indian travel trade.