Tag Archives: airlines

As a result of a recent study by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), total passenger numbers are expected to reach 2.3B in 2021 and grow to 3.4B in 2022, which is comparable to 2014 levels. It is expected that airlines will offer lower prices, better seats, and longer flights by 2022.

Sharing the idea behind organizing a virtual roadshow dedicated to MICE, Anil Srinivasan, Executive Director at JTB India, says, “The feedback we received from our corporate customers is that their channel partners were not very happy about doing more virtual meetings and events. They are keen to do offline events now and resume physical travel. We had been waiting for an apt time to launch our virtual roadshow – MICE Engage 2021 – where we could bring the buyers to meet exhibitors from the travel domain such as NTOs, hotels, airlines, etc.”

According to a research and analysis conducted by CAPA India recently, all funding options need to be on the table and fully explored by the Indian airlines to identify the most appropriate and viable for implementation. It includes the element of Original Equipment Manufacturing compensation. The industry’s financial challenges will become increasingly apparent from September-October. Promoters, bankers, private equity and the government are all unwilling to provide support given demand risk and uncertainty.

SpiceJet has secured slots at London Heathrow Airport to operate flights effective September 1, 2020. This is presently under the bubble arrangement between India and UK and effective end of summer schedule i.e. October 23, 2020. It is in discussion to secure slots for winter schedule for regular operations.

According to CAPA Fleet Database, monthly aircraft deliveries are starting to recover, but remain low. Total deliveries were already falling YoY in Jan-Feb 2020. This fell further in March 2020 by 58%. Although the number doubled from May 2020 to June 2020, it was still down by 60% YoY.

A report by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for June shows that 78.5% of complaints from passengers were regarding refunds. It added that 62% flights were cancelled due to commercial reasons (low load, clubbing of flights). The most complaints in June were against Air India, followed by TruJet and SpiceJet.

Travel agents need to put forth their case before the Supreme Court to make the Bench conscious of the plight of travel agents while finally deciding the matter on issue of credit shells given by airlines instead of cash refunds, says Dheeraj Nair, Partner and Vishrutyi Sahni, Associate at J. Sagar Associates. “Every individual, including the Supreme Court judges are consumers to airlines. Thus, they understand the transaction between a consumer and an airline and relate to the impact of cancellations and refunds. However, non-members of the travel industry are not aware of the transaction between an airline and a travel agent and thus, cannot relate to the impact of cancellations and refunds on travel agents. Only by placing this information on record will the Supreme Court be able to understand the direct losses being faced by travel agents in case of non-refunds and consequentially enable them to order accordingly,” says the firm.

Riding on the success of the maiden TravTalk Digital Conclave, the second edition of the e-event is set to commence today from 10am-1:30pm and will see industry stalwarts discussing the way forward for domestic and aviation industry till. There will be three sessions of one hour each. To attend, contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 and jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com. The eminent speakers from state tourism boards, Indian tour operators’ associations, airlines, hotels, as well as visa and technology service providers among others, who will deliberate on the next steps in domestic tourism and India as a global source market. The list of speakers include Ashwani Lohani (APTDC), PP Khanna (ADTOI), Kerrie Hannaford (Accor), Arjun Sharma (Select Group), Ankur Bhatia (Bird Group), Sanjay Kumar (IndiGo), Vinay Malhotra (VFS Global), Sandeep Dwivedi (ITQ) and KD Singh (TravelBullz).

After the resounding success of its maiden Digital Conclave in early April, TravTalk is all geared up to host the conclave’s second edition tomorrow, April 21, from 10 am to 1:30 pm. Divided into three one-hour sessions, the virtual summit will have eminent speakers from state tourism boards, Indian tour operators’ associations, airlines, hotels, as well as visa and technology service providers among others, who will deliberate on the next steps in domestic tourism and India as a global source market. For more details, you can contact Jaspreet Kaur on 9650196532 and jaspreet.kaur@ddppl.com. Speakers will include Ashwani Lohani (APTDC), PP Khanna (ADTOI), Kerrie Hannaford (Accor), Arjun Sharma (Select Group), Ankur Bhatia (Bird Group), Sanjay Kumar (IndiGo), Vinay Malhotra (VFS Global), Sandeep Dwivedi (ITQ) and KD Singh (TravelBullz).

The direct contribution of travel and tourism sector — which reflects the net value of output generated by hotels, airlines, travel agents, other passenger transportation services (excluding commuter services), and restaurants and leisure industries directly supported by tourists — was expected to rise 6.9 per cent YoY in 2017, suggests a FICCI-KPMG report. This accounts for 3.3 per cent of the country’s GDP, and is expected to form 3.5 per cent of it by 2027. In accordance with its GDP contribution, the sector contributes significantly to job creation. The sector directly accounts for 5.8 per cent of the total employment in India. Further, the Indian travel and tourism sector is expected to have attracted capital investment of Rs 2,387.7 billion (USD35.2 billion) in 2017 — accounting for 5.7 per cent of the total national investment.