Category Archives: Aviation

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.”

Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, Civil Aviation, has said that in the last few months, the ridership for domestic operations has increased from 29,000 on first day to almost 1.8 lakh, which is a jump of virtually six times. This increase validates that all the safety measures taken by airlines and airports have worked, and indicates that the second phase of operations will see us rapidly grow from 50% to almost near normal.

COVID-19 has shrunk flight booking lead times across the Asia Pacific region since March 2020, with last-minute booking trend led by India and Thailand. As per Amadeus’ first COVID-19 Travel Insights bulletin, flight bookings across the region have been made 17 days later on average compared to the same period in 2018 and 2019. Indian travellers appear to be the most last-minute in the region with an average of only 10 days before their departure date between March-July 2020. This is followed by Thai and Singaporean travellers, who have been making bookings on average 21 and 25 days prior to departure during the pandemic.

Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Civil Aviation, has said that domestic airlines may soon increase their capacity to 75 per cent and it may reach more than pre-COVID levels in the first quarter of 2021. “I had earlier said that pre-COVID domestic numbers will be achieved between Diwali and New Year. Now I am confident that by the first quarter next year, we will be able to surpass the pre-COVID number,” the civil aviation minister said. Currently, the capacity is around 65%.

Kapil Kaul, CEO, CAPA India, has suggested that leadership and governance will be essential in making structural changes in tourism. “Since tourism is going to be very dynamic going forward, we may require a specialised Tourism Administrative Service, which has policymakers on the lines of IAS. Since tourism covers so many aspects, unless we have policymakers who specialise in tourism, institutional foundations can’t be fed. There is also a need for a legally empowered tourism council on the lines of GST council, which can comprise of union minister of tourism, state tourism minister, secretaries and all other experts whose job should only be focused on policy and regulatory effectiveness, competitiveness, ease of doing business, financing, education and training,” he recommended.

Hemant Mediratta, Founder, One Rep Global, has said that Indian travellers are optimistic and are already booking charters for future trips. “There has been a surge in the number of queries in the past four weeks for flights to Europe and island destinations where guests are travelling with their family. Queries just short of half a million USD are in different stages of fruition. Savvy Indian travellers are also buying 30 to 50 flying hours valid for the next 12 months,” he says.

AirAsia is set to launch a new agent-friendly website which will allow ease of booking, easy payment options, self-managing booking allowing date change, instant refunds and other tools. The website is still under construction and might be launched within the next two months. This was announced at AirAsia India’s High Flyer Townhall conducted virtually, where the top-performing agent partners were recognised by the airline and were updated about AirAsia India’s latest initiatives, launches and future plans. Sunil Bhaskaran, CEO & MD, AirAsia India gave his keynote address and thanked the agents for their support. A recent survey conducted by Air Asia India has revealed that the daily industry passenger count for the airline is rising every day. So far in September, Air Asia India has witnessed 1.3 lakh passenger, which is 35 per cent of the capacity compared to same period last year. June-July was about returning home to small towns; Aug-Sept is about return back to metros. Travel sentiment among youth returning; business and leisure travel still to pick up. The AirAsia India Market Research on Festive Travel Intent indicates positive trends for flights, especially on safety.

Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has permitted airlines to decide baggage limitations for domestic passenger flights. An MoCA order said the “baggage limitation would be as per airlines’ policies. The matter has been reviewed based on feedback/inputs received from concerned stakeholders”. Currently, only 1 check-in baggage & 1 hand baggage per passenger is allowed.

Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, in Parliament, said Air India’s only 21 routes, including nine domestic and twelve international, are profitable. Only these routes can cover the total cost of operating flights on 100 routes on which the airline operated between April 2019 and March 2020, he further added. Puri’s response indicated that Air India operates in 56 domestic and 44 international destinations and out of those 101 domestic and 10 international routes, it does not cover variable costs. “Air India continuously monitors market developments and the performance of its flights and conducts studies with the aim of withdrawing, introducing new routes or increasing / decreasing the frequency of existing routes. Air India has withdrawn flights that did not meet fixed / variable costs,” said Puri. He said that services on loss-making routes will be analyzed based on their strategic importance before deciding whether to withdraw or continue those routes.

During the Unlock 3.0, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has helped in the facilitation of over 570 charter flights during August 2020. The airport handled over 67,500 passengers by connecting to 34 international destinations operated by 26 airlines during that period.