Category Archives: Aviation

As per an ICRA study, though restricted recommencement of domestic air traffic has begun, this will in no case help the industry to recover lost ground in FY2021. Overall, FY2021 is expected to witness 41-46% de-growth in domestic passenger traffic. However, H2 FY2021 will witness some recovery.

Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Spicejet, has said that we need to use this opportunity to try and collect the imbalances in the industry like the structural problems, get aviation turbine fuel under GST and make this crisis into an opportunity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Singh also lauded the government on resumption of flight operations and putting in place a contactless digital experience for travellers. He shared that there is a need to build confidence among the masses which can be done with the dissemination of information.

In an hour-long discussion in a webinar titled ‘Flying Through Covid-19’ under the TravTalk Agent Connect series, Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi Tourism explained to the travel agents joining in about the readiness of both the airline as well as the destination in receiving not just visitors but also transit passengers. Duncan Bureau, Senior VP, Global Sales & Distribution, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “We have introduced a range of waivers to help ease the burden of travel and provide maximum flexibility. We want our trade partners to book with us with full confidence.” He added, “We will be looking at travel insurance and we are working with our travel insurance partners to make sure people are covered.” The panel also included Neerja Bhatia, Vice President (Indian Sub-continent), Etihad Airways, and Saeed Al Saeed, Destination Marketing Director, Department of Culture & Tourism (DCT), Abu Dhabi. The webinar saw more than 1,700 participants in attendance.

TravTalk and Etihad Airways are set to host an ‘Agent Connect’ webinar, a live journey of flying through COVID-19, today from 11 am onwards. Travel agents will get the chance to learn about Etihad Airways and UAE’s capital city – Abu Dhabi. To register, please email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

India’s first aviation terminal for private jets and charter flights is expected to open up at the Indira Gandhi International Airport of New Delhi by end of July. According to officials familiar to the matter, the new facility will provide faster turn-around to business jets & charters, shielding them from the clutter of general passenger terminals.  

A customer survey conducted by Vistara has revealed preference and perceptions of about air travel in the near future. On the topic of top international destinations flyers would prefer to travel in the next one year, the survey revealed that respondents prefer Singapore followed by the United Kingdom and Dubai.

The latest key findings from CAPA India’s exclusive ‘Traveller Sentiment Tracker’ indicate that the second quarter is increasingly looking like a washout. The outlook for Q3 will depend upon how fast the infection curve can be flattened so that consumer confidence is restored. But at this stage, the public does not appear to be in any rush to return to the skies, especially when it comes to international travel.

Airlines in the Lufthansa Group are switching from short-term to longer-term flight planning and are now completing their flight schedules by the end of October. The new summer timetable is valid until 24 October, which means that the airlines will offer in the upcoming month over 40 percent of their originally planned flight program. A total of over 380 aircraft by the Lufthansa Group carriers will be used for this purpose until October. This means that half of the Lufthansa Group’s fleet is in the air again, 200 aircraft more than in June. “Little by little, the borders open again. Demand is increasing, in the short term but also in the long term. We are therefore consistently expanding our flight schedule and our global network and pushing ahead with our restart. I am pleased that we can now offer our guests even more connections to all parts of the world with all Lufthansa Group Airlines via all hubs,” said Harry Hohmeister, Member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. By the end of October, over 90 percent of all originally planned short- and medium-haul destinations and over 70 percent of the Group’s long-haul destinations will be served again.

Etihad Airways and TravTalk are all geared up to host an ‘Agent Connect’ webinar, a live journey of flying through COVID, on Thursday, 9th July, 11 am onwards. Agents will get the chance to learn about Etihad Airways and UAE’s capital city – Abu Dhabi. To register, please email to jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com or call +91 9650196532.

Addressing a webinar organised by CAPA India on ‘Reinventing the Airline Business Model in India’, Kapil Kaul, CEO, South Asia, CAPA, said that there is a need to structurally reshape the Indian airline industry – both internally and externally. He also said that post-COVID, the industry may see another round of market exits, this time inflicting more permanent damage on the industry and economy. In the past, the system was largely aware that Kingfisher and Jet Airways were likely to fail, but there was no visible course of correction or action.