Category Archives: Aviation

At a recent press conference, addressing the issue of travel agent commission and the reason it was discontinued post lockdown, Rajiv Bansal, CMD, Air India, said, “We are trying to move to a more web-sale oriented approach, instead of an agent-based sales model. Initially, during the Vande Bharat Mission, all tickets were sold on the website, owing to imbalance in demand and supply. Now, demand and supply are largely matched, and all forms of sale are open, including agents, on-counter and web sale. Our objective is to increase the web sales.”

AirAsia India Credit Card Policy has been changed with immediate effect. The credit card upload policy of the airline, which was in effect since 1st Feb 2021, will no longer be valid. The airline has sent a new circular which details the new policy in detail. Ajay Wadhawan, Chief of Sales, AirAsia India shared this on social media. In the previous circular

In an unprecedented airline-citizen partnership, the travel trade and the hotel industry in Jaisalmer came together and helped reinstate SpiceJet flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad to the Golden City starting 12 February, 2021. Ritika Modi, Regional President, UNIGLOBE Travel South Asia and Manvendra Singh Shekhawat, MD, Suryagarh and Founder of I Love Jaisalmer, played a key role. They reached out to Shilpa Bhatia, CCO, SpiceJet, and proposed that the stakeholders share airline losses on the routes. After the agreement for the same, SpiceJet and the Government have now reinstated the flight.

Etihad Airways has become the first airline in the world with all its operating pilots and cabin crew vaccinated to help curb the spread of COVID-19 and give its passengers peace of mind. In January 2021, Etihad was awarded Diamond status for ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness and sanitisation in the inaugural ‘APEX Health Safety, powered by SimpliFlying’ audit. The airline’s vaccination initiative has consolidated Etihad’s position as an industry leader in its response to the pandemic and in keeping its employees and travellers safe. Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “We proactively made the vaccine available to all our employees to not only help combat the effects of COVID-19 but to make travellers feel confident and reassured the next time they fly with us. We are the only airline in the world to make COVID-19 testing mandatory for every passenger and crew member before every flight and now, we’re the first airline in the world with 100% vaccinated crew on board. “I chose very early on to be vaccinated to demonstrate my own support of the national vaccination programme and to encourage everyone at Etihad who was eligible for the vaccine, to receive it as soon as possible. I would like to thank the entire Etihad family for everything they have done to help us reach this milestone – I am truly humbled.” This achievement was made possible through Etihad’s ‘Protected Together’ employee vaccination initiative which was formally launched in January this year. Building on the UAE’s Choose to Vaccinate campaign, Protected Together is about helping staff take proactive, personal steps towards protecting themselves against COVID-19.

Interglobe Aviation, that runs IndiGo, has paid SEBI Rs 2.10 cr under the consent mechanism of the regulator in the case of alleged violations of listing norms and lapses of corporate governance. The company however, SEBI said, has not admitted or denied any violation on its part. Indigo came under the scanner after the regulator received a complaint from Rakesh Gangwal, co-promoter of firm in 2019, alleging corporate governance lapses against his partner Rahul Bhatia.

In a recent Tweet, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Hardeep Singh Puri, has said that “domestic aviation operations in the country are slowly reaching towards the pre-COVID numbers.” He adds, “With 2,77,235 passengers on 2,235 flights, 4,469 total movements & 5,51,506 footfalls at airports, we are almost at a touching distance.”

Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL), the flagship holding company of Adani Group for its airports business, has acquired 23.5% equity stake in Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) from ACSA Global Limited and Bid Services Division (Mauritius) Limited. This makes AAHL’s total stake in MIAL touch 74%, having earlier acquired the entire 50.5% cent stake of the GVK group in Mumbai Airport.

Beginning February 11, Indian low-cost carrier GoAir will fly direct between Hyderabad and Malé (in Maldives). The flight will be operated four times a week – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The new route will be serviced by the Airbus A320 neo aircraft, and will further strengthen the airline’s network in the region.

MoCA is in talks with various others ministries – Home Affairs, Health, and External Affairs – for restarting the tourist visa. It has also revealed that AAI will privatise 6-10 more airports April onwards. Pradeep Singh Kharola, Secretary, MoCA, says that the government will look to club profitable airports with loss-making ones during the sale process.

Air travel can get expensive as the prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) have increased by 3 per cent in a recent revision. This is the 5th increase in ATF prices in the last two months amid rising international crude oil prices. The price of ATF in Delhi has increased by Rs 1304.2 per kl to Rs 53795.41 per kl.