Indian Airlines

Belson Coutinho, a key member of Akasa Air's leadership since 2022, previously served as chief marketing and experience officer before being appointed Chief Operating Officer (COO)

Air India has covered a lot of ground since privatisation and its global coverage will further increase in the years ahead, the airline's chief Campbell Wilson said on Wednesday. He also said the interior refit of the single-aisle fleet, serving domestic and short-haul international destinations, is underway, and will be completed by mid-2025. Loss-making Air India was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022, and is undergoing an ambitious five-year transformation plan. In 2024, Air India completed the merger of Vistara with itself as well as integration of Air India Express and AIX Connect was also done. In his New Year message, Wilson said these mergers and new aircraft deliveries have taken Air India Group's fleet to 300 aircraft, allowing it to expand to over 100 domestic and international destinations. "Air India's global coverage will further increase in the years ahead, not least because of the recent addition of 100 aircraft to our order book, augmen

Indian airlines carried 1.42 crore passengers on domestic routes in November, nearly 12 per cent more compared to the year-ago period, amid rising air traffic demand. In terms of domestic market share, IndiGo topped the list with a 63.6 per cent pie, followed by Air India (24.4 per cent), Akasa Air (4.7 per cent) and SpiceJet (3.1 per cent). While all these carriers saw their share rise, the share of Alliance Air was unchanged at 0.7 per cent in November, according to the latest data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). "Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-November 2024 were 1,464.02 lakh as against 1,382.34 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year thereby registering an annual growth of 5.91 per cent and monthly growth of 11.90 per cent," the watchdog said in its monthly report. Domestic air passenger traffic was at 142.52 lakh in November compared to 127.36 lakh in the same period a year ago. In October this year, domestic ...

Hoax bomb threats on airlines now attract fines up to Rs 1 crore under revised Aircraft Security Rules as the Centre aims to curb disruptions, and enhance safety

The section of Akasa Air pilots wrote to Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu and highlighted alleged unfair practices, harassment and safety concerns.

Bullish on the aviation growth prospects in the "fascinating" Indian market, IATA chief Willie Walsh on Tuesday said somebody with an ambition to be a pilot should be looking at India, considering the large number of aircraft orders placed by the domestic airlines. The Director General of the global airlines' grouping, which has been flagging issues about high airport charges in India, also mentioned that Indian regulators seem to be more open to listening to the voices of airlines with respect to airport charges. "(We are seeing) some good economic regulations," Walsh said in response to a query from PTI related to airport charges. India is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets and airlines are expanding their operations, with Air India and IndiGo placing significant orders for aircraft, including wide body A350s. Noting that India is going to see significant growth in the domestic market, Walsh said that aircraft orders have been announced by the local carriers, wit

Aviation watchdog DGCA will soon come out with streamlined regulations for wet-leasing of planes by Indian airlines that will also entail enhanced oversight of the aircraft, amid airlines looking to operate more planes to meet rising travel demand. With persisting supply chain woes, there is a delay in aircraft deliveries and to meet the near-term needs, carriers are opting for planes on dry and wet leases. A senior official in the know told PTI that the efforts are on to streamline the regulations for wet-leasing of planes to assist in the growth of the aviation. "Realities of the engine problems cannot be wished away suddenly and on the other side, the possible routes are also increasing all the time," the official said. Many planes of IndiGo are on the ground due to Pratt & Whitney engine issues and the number of such aircraft is slowly coming down. Generally, wet-leasing of an aircraft involves the leasing of foreign aircraft, along with crew, maintenance and insurance. The ..

Despite soaring passenger numbers, Indian airlines can't raise fares due to fierce competition, rising costs, and price sensitivity, leaving them struggling to stay profitable

Earlier in November, the airline had announced the resolution of a $23.39 million dispute involving Aircastle (Ireland) Designated Activity Company and Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Ltd

Indian skies set a new record with 505,000 domestic flyers in a day, driven by post-Diwali demand, festive travel, and a steady rise in passenger numbers over recent weeks

This growth will boost Indian airlines' share of the Asia-Pacific passenger fleet from the current 8 per cent to 18 per cent by 2043, according to a Cirium report

Vistara operates its final flight on Monday before its planned merger with Air India kicks in the following day

Says Jalan-Kalrock Consortium, successful bidder for the airline, failed to implement the resolution plan five years since its approval

According to CAAN officials, a search is underway in the Indian Airlines flight that was scheduled to take off for Delhi from Kathmandu

A message claiming a bomb had been placed on Air India's flight from Delhi to Mumbai via Indore was posted on a social media platform which later turned out to be a hoax, police said on Wednesday. The Indore police in Madhya Pradesh have registered a case in this connection against an unidentified person, they said. The "threatening message" that a pipe bomb was placed in Air India's flight AI 636 was posted on an X social media account at 5.08 pm on Tuesday, an Aerodrome police station officer said quoting a complaint by a local official of the airline. The flight, arriving from Delhi, had already left for Mumbai from Indore at 4.38 pm, he said. "The message about a pipe bomb being placed in the Air India flight was proved to be fake in our investigation," Deputy Commissioner of Police Vinod Kumar Meena told PTI. A case was registered against the unidentified person who posted the threatening message on social media under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 351 (4) (criminal intimida

"We've turned the corner," Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Tuesday

Joint Secretary Sanket S Bhondve demanded clarification from X on what measures it is taking to curb the spread of such rumours

Air India and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have agreed to expand their codeshare agreement, adding 11 Indian cities and another 40 international destinations to their network. This marks the first extensive expansion of codeshare arrangements between the airlines since 2010, offering customers enhanced travel options between Singapore and India, as well as beyond. A codeshare pact allows two airlines to offer their customers services on each other's flights. From October 27 this year, Air India and SIA will codeshare on each other's flights between Singapore and the Indian cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, increasing their total weekly scheduled codeshare services between the countries to 56 from 14. SIA will codeshare on Air India's domestic flights between Delhi and Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Lucknow, and Varanasi, between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Goa, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Thiruvananthapuram, as well as between Kolkata and Guwahati. Air In

Major US and European airlines have approached Air India for developing generative AI chatbots similar to that of the Indian carrier's AI.g, which currently handles around 97 per cent of customer queries it receives without the help of contact centre agents. Besides, the Tata Group-owned Air India has filed for its first patent which is for the upcoming feature 'one click booking' of tickets on its website and mobile app. Air India's Chief Digital & Technology Officer Satya Ramaswamy on Tuesday said a lot of innovations are being done so that AI.g stands apart. "We are sharing the knowledge (about the chatbot) also but nobody has been able to come up with something like this yet," he said. At a select media briefing, Ramaswamy also said some US and European airlines have contacted Air India for help on building generative AI chatbots. "It is about thought leadership... we will help them with development," he said. Without naming the airlines that have approached it, he mentioned

Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) is continuously in touch with the Ministry of Home Affairs on the situation of bomb threats to flights