Aviation Sector

IATA chief hopeful that India will provide more bilateral flying rights

Global airlines' grouping IATA's chief Willie Walsh has expressed optimism that India will provide more bilateral flying rights as Indian carriers are set to operate more wide-body planes in the coming years. India, one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets, has been taking a cautious stance on increasing bilateral flying rights as efforts are on to make the country a global aviation hub. More number of wide-body planes with Indian airlines will allow them to provide direct connectivity to various overseas destinations. IATA Director General Willie Walsh has said the bilateral flying rights situation with respect to India will improve. "It (bilateral flying rights) will improve. If you look at the aircraft orders, the wide-body aircraft orders that IndiGo and Air India have, they want to see more rights available to them. They are not going to get rights to fly unless you give them reciprocal rights. "I am optimistic that it (bilateral flying rights situation) will

Aero Dienst GmbH enters Indian aviation space, to partner with AeroSource

The Germany-based aviation firm will offer a full range of MRO services, while its Indian partner will share its corporate network and help with the regulatory environment

Air taxi startup ePlane Co raises $14 million; eyes testing in mid-2025

The global air taxi market was valued at $2.3 billion in 2023 and is projected to be worth $14 billion by end-2032, a study by Global Market Insights showed

Mergers and liquidations reshape India's turbulent aviation sector

It's an eternal mystery. Aviation is one of the world's most precarious businesses, yet it continues to attract investors

Spirit Airlines continues talks with creditors amid bankruptcy filing

The negotiations, with a supermajority of the noteholders, have remained productive, advanced materially and are resuming in the near term

AI Express to reconfigure planes with biz class seats from April 2025

Air India Express plans to start reconfiguration of planes having business class seats from April 2025, as the airline focuses on operating narrow-body planes with only economy class seats, according to a senior official. The Tata Group-owned airline that merged AIX Connect with itself on October 1, has rationalised its network and currently has an operational fleet of 90 planes, including over 30 aircraft with dual-class seats. Amid supply chain woes impacting fresh aircraft deliveries, the airline has, so far, inducted 35 white-tail Boeing 737-8 planes. Their count will rise to 50 in the coming months. Many of these white-tail aircraft have varying numbers of business-class seats. Generally, white-tail planes are those that were originally manufactured for a particular airline and later taken by another airline. The senior airline official said it will start reconfiguration of the aircraft having business class from April onwards. The carrier wants to offer only economy class s

Indian skies left with just one full-service carrier after Vistara merger

With Vistara merging into Air India, the number of full-service carriers in India will drop to just one, marking the end of a 17-year era of multiple full-service carriers in the country

Alliance Insurance Brokers plans entry into aquaculture, RE, aviation

Alliance Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd, which has completed 21 years of operation, is looking to expand into new sectors like aquaculture, renewable energy, aviation and M&A, among others. The company is also getting into the affinity insurance segment and tying up with banks, NBFCs and consumer durables to provide security on either the loans disbursed or the products purchased, Alliance Insurance Brokers said in a statement on Monday. Over the years, Alliance Insurance Brokers has increased its footprint across 14 cities in the country and is working with 14 countries globally. The company is covering around 20-22 prominent sectors, insuring more than 4,000 clients. It has insured over 3,000 international sports events up to date, which cover tournament events such as T20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup. The company enjoys a considerable 45 per cent market share in the raw and unpolished diamond insurance market in India, it said. In the media and entertainment industry, it said, ...

Boeing machinists hold contract vote that could end their 7-week strike

Unionised factory workers at Boeing are voting Monday whether to accept a contract offer or to continue their strike, which has lasted more than seven weeks and shut down production of most Boeing passenger planes. A vote to ratify the contract would clear the way for the aerospace giant to resume airplane production and bring in much-needed cash. If members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers vote for a third time to reject Boeing's offer, it would plunge the company into further financial peril and uncertainty. In its latest proposed contract, Boeing is offering pay raises of 38% over four years, as well as ratification and productivity bonuses. IAM District 751, which represents Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest, endorsed the proposal, which is slightly more generous than one the machinists voted down nearly two weeks ago. It is time for our members to lock in these gains and confidently declare victory," the union district said in schedulin

Centre issues new guidelines to handle bomb threats on flights; details

The revised guidelines from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security outline several new indicators for assessing bomb threats

Govt classifies blended ATF with 2% excise for regional flight operators

The Centre levies a 2% excise duty on blended ATF for regional flights under a new category in the Central Excise Act; aviation sector urges incentives over cost concerns for voluntary adoption

AICCA terms Air India's new room-sharing policy illegal, seeks intervention

The All India Cabin Crew Association has termed Tata Group-owned Air India's room-sharing policy for a section of cabin crew members as "illegal, bad in law, and Void ab initio on multiple fronts." The association has requested intervention from the Labour Ministry, urging it to stall the move. The association is seeking these entitlements hotel accommodation and conditions of accommodation in line with the policy on accommodation for pilots, as per the previous agreements and tribunal awards. The association has also written to Air India Chief Campbell Wilson, urging him "not to violate" the existing status quo, and respect the sanctity of the Industrial Tribunal and the pending Industrial dispute over the issue. Under the new policy effective December 1, members will be required to share rooms during layovers except for cabin executives and those operating ultra-long-haul flights ahead of the merger of Vistara with it, scheduled for November 11. Cabin crew members on ...

Centre taking steps to ban hoax bomb perpetrators from flying: Minister

Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Sunday said the Centre is mulling to take steps to ban perpetrators who resort to hoax bomb threats from flying. Speaking to mediapersons here after formally inaugurating two flights Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada, the minister also said besides taking support from international agencies, law enforcement wings and the Intelligence Bureau to prevent these fake threats, the union government is also mulling to amend two Civil Aviation Laws. "We are also taking the support of international agencies, law enforcement agencies, the Intelligence Bureau to prevent these. We are planning to bring changes to two civil aviation laws. Those who resort to these kinds of activities will be punished severely and imposed a penalty. We are also taking steps to ban such persons from flying. We will announce them in the coming days," he said. As of Saturday, in 13 days, more than 300 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received hoax bomb threats. Mos

Air India, SIA expand codeshare agreement; add 40 int'l, 11 Indian cities

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

All security protocols followed when flights receive bomb threats: Airlines

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

Vistara's Delhi-London flight diverted to Frankfurt after bomb threat

A London-bound Vistara flight from Delhi was diverted to Frankfurt on Friday following a bomb threat. In a statement early Saturday morning, an airline spokesperson said the flight landed safely at the Frankfurt airport and mandatory checks are being conducted. The flight will continue to its destination once cleared by the security agencies. "Vistara flight UK17 operating from Delhi to London on October 18, 2024 received a security threat on social media. In line with the protocol, all relevant authorities were immediately informed and as a precautionary measure, the pilots decided to divert the flight to Frankfurt," the spokesperson said. According to an official in the know, the flight had received a bomb threat. Meanwhile, Akasa Air said its flight QP 1366 scheduled to fly from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Friday received a security alert shortly before departure. "Hence as per safety and security procedures, all passengers had to be deplaned as the local authorities followed necess

Vistara in-flight experience will continue post-merger: Air India

Air India on Friday said Vistara routes and schedule as well as the in-flight experience will continue and the flights operated with Vistara planes will have the code 'AI2' post-merger. The merger of the two full service carriers is scheduled to be completed on November 12, following which Singapore Airlines will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India. Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines. Post the merger, the vintage 'Maharaja' will be retained through the frequent flyer programme of the integrated entity. "The existing members of Club Vistara will be seamlessly transferred to Air India's Flying Returns program. With this merger, Flying Returns will also evolve into an all-new avatar 'Maharaja Club'," Air India said in the statement. Reiterating that the experience offered by Vistara will continue for customers post-merger, Air India said Vistara will be identified by a special four-digit Air India code beginning with the digit '2'. "For instance

India needs over $170 bn to fund aviation expansion: S&P Global Ratings

India is one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets and domestic passenger traffic is expected to double to 300 million by 2030

Boeing prepares layoff notices for thousands of workers as turmoil deepens

While Su has previously spoken with Boeing and the striking West Coast factory workers' union, it is her first time in Seattle meeting both sides in person

Boeing fine-tunes job reductions as major buyer slams 777X jet delay

The planemaker plans a series of internal meetings this week to lay out the jobs plan