Tag Archives: Directorate General of Civil Aviation

In its statistical analysis for last month, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) informed that  the number of passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-December, 2016, were 998.88 lakh as against 810.91 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year, thereby registering a growth of 23.18 per cent. According to the data, domestic air passenger traffic increased by 23.91 per cent during December to 95.52 lakh from 77.09 lakh reported during the corresponding month of last year. In November 2016, the passenger traffic had risen by 22.45 per cent to 89.66 lakh. SpiceJet registered the highest passenger load factor (PLF) during the month under review at 93.7 per cent followed by Indigo at 91.4 per cent and GoAir at 90.7 per cent. “Not only have we scored a hat-trick with the best on-time performance (OTP) for the third consecutive month in a row, we have also recorded over 90 per cent passenger load factor for 21 successive months,” said G.P. Gupta, Chief Administrative Officer, SpiceJet. The data showed that SpiceJet led the industry with 70 per cent punctuality rate at four major airports of Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. It was followed by Jet Airways and JetLite (64.3), Vistara (64.2), GoAir (63.6), IndiGo (61.6), and Air India (59). The data also highlighted that IndiGo led the industry with the highest market share of 41.6 per cent, followed by Jet Airways (15), Air India (13.3), SpiceJet (12.8), and GoAir (8.00). Vistara reported a market share of 3.2 per cent, followed by AirAsia India (2.8), JetLite (2.5), Air Costa (0.6), Trujet (0.4) and Air Carnival (0.1). (Source: Hindustan Times)

Vistara has received the Category III Bravo (CAT III-B) certification from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Permitting its CAT IIIB compliant fleet and crew to safely take-off and touch-down with a Runway Visibility Range (RVR) of as low as 75 meters, the approval is a milestone achievement as it is the highest level of low-visibility rating awarded in India currently. The certification will enable Vistara to safely operate under low visibility conditions due to fog or any other poor weather conditions, which is anticipated in north east and northern parts of the country, typically during year-end and the beginning of the year. Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara said “Although a bad weather condition is beyond our control, we always endeavor to minimise the inconvenience faced by our customers during a flight delay or diversion arising from inclement weather. We value the trust and faith our customers repose in us when they make Vistara their choice of travel. We are therefore committed to offer a seamless flying experience to them – be it in terms of deploying the most advanced technologies and systems for our aircraft, adequately training our crew or providing a memorable on-board experience. I am proud of my team’s relentless efforts in the past months to secure the regulatory approval for Cat 3B well in time before the fog season sets in. This certification will allow us to provide a seamless flying experience to our valued customers.” Vistara’s current fleet of 13 brand new A320s come with the integrated CAT IIIB auto land system, and its crew is given rigorous training to ensure the safety of its customers and providing a world class travel experience. Vistara …

Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-June, 2016, were 475.79 lakhs as against 388.33 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering a growth of 22.52 per cent, according to the statistics released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). SpiceJet ruled with the highest Passenger Load Factor (PLF) of 93 per cent. However, overall the PLF in the month of June 2016 has slightly decreased compared to previous month primarily due to the end of tourist season. The overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for the month of June 2016 has been 0.96 per cent. During June 2016, a total of 788 passenger related complaints had been received by the scheduled domestic airlines. In terms of On Time Performance (OTP), Vistara emerged as a clear winner with a score of 86.5 per cent.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has reportedly told airlines that ticket cancellation fees cannot exceed base fares. Every other charge collected apart from the base fare should be refunded to the customer since airfares have components like service tax and other airport charges in them, a senior aviation ministry official said. Any booking site charges will also need to be included within the new limit. The DGCA has already held discussions with airlines on the new rules, which will be announced soon, he said. This move comes into action after air fares skyrocketed during the Chennai floods last year and the Jat agitation in Haryana in February for which the government stepped in to cap ticket prices.