India Airlines

Pilot aspirants should look at fascinating Indian market: IATA chief

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

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

Vistara flight denied Afghan airspace after bomb scare, returns to Delhi

When Afghan airspace officials were notified of the 'non-specific' bomb threat, they refused permission for the Vistara flight to pass through

IC814 row: Netflix India revises disclaimer to show real names of hijackers

Disclaimer for 'IC814: The Kandahar Hijack' was revised after the vice president of content at Netflix India met the information and broadcasting secretary

Airline lost your baggage? Know your rights and compensation claim

If you're concerned that airlines might lose your baggage, it's important to know your rights, insurance options, and DGCA rules

IndiGo to soon offer gender-neutral option 'Mx' during ticket booking

IndiGo will be soon introducing the gender-neutral option of honorific 'Mx' for passengers at the time of booking tickets, as part of larger efforts to boost inclusivity. Besides, the country's largest carrier, which has a domestic market share of 62 per cent, aims to increase by two-fold the number of individuals with disabilities employed by it. The airline will be introducing the 'Mx' option at the time of booking for passengers and that will provide a choice for transgenders who do not want to identify themselves, Sukhjit S Pasricha, Group Chief Human Resources Officer at IndiGo, told PTI. Currently, 'male' and 'female' are the options available on the airline's website during the booking process. Air India Express and Vistara already offer the 'Mx' option for passengers at the time of booking tickets. Pasricha said IndiGo has implemented various initiatives for the LGBTQ+ community, including employee referral programmes specifically designed to encourage hiring of LGBTQ+ ...

Drip pricing to basket sneaking: Survey busts shocking airline tactics

62% of consumers surveyed say they have frequently experienced hidden charges associated with flight ticket booking that are not presented upfront

Airlines operations return to normal after systems restored from IT outage

Airlines operations across airports, which were impacted due to a global IT outage on Friday, returned to normalcy on Saturday with all services from ticket bookings to reservations and issuing of boarding passes going back completely to the online mode, sources said. Earlier in the day, Union Minister for Civil Aviation K Ram Mohan Naidu said that the airline systems have started working normally, and all issues were likely to be resolved by noon on Saturday. All operations are back to normal. All our services including bookings and reservations are online since Friday late evening, said an airline executive. System is restored and there is no disruption in our services. It is getting back to normalcy, said a senior executive from a budget airline. Nevertheless, as many as six to eight flights in the domestic sector were cancelled at Chennai Airport on Saturday, airport authorities said. "About six flights in the domestic sector, including those airlines operating in Coimbatore,

Chargesheets to cabin crew can be detrimental: Air India Express Union

The Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU) has termed the alleged issuance of charge-sheet by the airline's management to around 200-odd cabin crew members for reporting sick during last month's strike as unfortunate and unfair labour practice. In a letter to Air India Express chief Alok Singh on Sunday, the Union also warned the Tata Group-run airline's management that such actions could be detrimental to the interests of the company and its passengers. According to Union sources, the charge-sheet was issued to around 200 cabin crew members on June 5, with a deadline of 72 hours to file a response. Around 200 cabin crew members of Air India Express went on strike on May 7, to protest against the alleged mismanagement in the airline, resulting in cancellation of hundreds of flights. Consequently, the airline management terminated the services of 25 cabin crew members and warned the others to join work or else face the same action. Three days later, the strike was called off aft

Air India utilising group airlines' engineering skills for maintenance work

Tata Group-owned Air India is utilising the engineering skills available with group airlines to carry out more maintenance work of the aircraft under its own quality control amid multiple instances of its legacy planes facing operational issues, according to a senior company official. The official also said the airline is keen to lease aircraft but the market is very tight, especially for wide-body planes. After the takeover by the Tata Group in 2022, loss-making Air India has been making efforts for improvement and has embarked on a five-year transformation plan. To address the engineering issues more effectively, the official told PTI that Air India is bringing the work of line maintenance component in-house as well as using the licensing and skills of the group airlines to do some things in certain types of aircraft. Such an approach will help Air India in doing more "maintenance work under our own quality control", the official said on condition of anonymity. Air India is sett

Air India extends suspension of flights to Tel Aviv in Israel till May 15

Air India on Tuesday said it has extended the suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv till May 15 amid tensions in the Middle East. On April 19, the airline said Tel Aviv flights will remain suspended till April 30. It operates four weekly flights between the national capital and the Israeli city. In view of the ongoing situation in parts of the Middle East, Air India said it has extended the temporary suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv to May 15. "We are continuously monitoring the situation and are extending support to our passengers who have confirmed bookings for travel to and from Tel Aviv during this period, with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges," the airline said in a statement. Tensions remain high in the Middle East due to the conflict between Israel and the Hamas group. After nearly five months, the Tata group-owned carrier had recommenced the services to the Israeli city on March 3. Air India had suspended flights to and from Tel Av

Air India-Vistara merger: Tata Sons moves up deadline to year-end

Air India and Vistara have reached out to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and initiated the process of merging their operational manuals

Go First revival chance fades as HC allows lessors to reclaim 54 aircraft

The Delhi High Court instructed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to proceed with deregistering and surrendering all 54 aircraft to the lessors

Women pre-book window seats, men prefer aisle in domestic flights: MMT

MakeMyTrip's 'India Travel Trends Report' showed that 50% of all domestic flyers pick flights between 9 am and 6 pm, irrespective of the destination or the origin

IndiGo aims to double in size by 2030 with new routes: CEO Pieter Elbers

IndiGo aims to double in size by 2030 with new domestic and international routes as well as destinations, its chief Pieter Elbers said as the airline pursues soaring global ambitions to match India's economic growth potential. The country's largest airline with a domestic market share of little over 60 per cent is also betting big on A321 XLR aircraft that are expected to be part of its fleet "somewhere in 2025", to further expand its overseas presence. Seeking to consolidate as well as expand its position on the global scale, Elbers told PTI in an interview that the next big jump for IndiGo will be to double its size by the end of the decade. For the next financial year starting April 2024, the IndiGo chief said the capacity guidance in terms of seat capacity is "early double digits" and one plane is coming in every week. Amid supply chain as well as Pratt & Whitney engine woes, Elbers also emphasised that the airline is taking a lot of mitigating measures that are bearing ...

DGCA defers June 1 deadline for new pilot rest norms; airlines relieved

The regulator on Tue said airlines can continue to comply with the old FDTL norms, issued in 2019, 'till approval of their respective scheme in compliance with this CAR (civil aviation requirement)'

TMS Ep622: Go First acquisition, Canada's restriction, Paytm, Rabbit r1

Can SpiceJet's Ajay Singh make Go First fly again? Who will gain from Canada's restrictions on overseas students? Is there more pain ahead for Paytm stock? What is Rabbit r1? Answers here

Air India appoints Ravindra Kumar as chief human resources officer

Air India on Friday said Ravindra Kumar G P will take over as the airline's Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) from April 1. Kumar, who is currently with Tata Motors, will replace Suresh Dutt Tripathi who is retiring from the airline. "Following a long career with General Electric Company, the last four years of which as CHRO for South Asia, Ravi joins from Tata Motors Ltd where he has held the role of President & CHRO since 2018," the airline said in a release. Kumar will report to Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson. "At the same time as welcoming Ravi, we acknowledge the outstanding contribution of Suresh who, upon Air India's privatization, answered the call and has played a vital role over the last two years," Wilson said. Tata group took over the reins of loss-making Air India in January 2022.

India needs over 2,500 new aircraft deliveries by 2042: Boeing outlook

Backed by high traffic growth, India will need more than 2,500 new aircraft deliveries by 2042, Darren Hulst, Boeing vice-president of Commercial Marketing said on Friday. Addressing a press conference, Hulst said to meet rising passenger and cargo demand, South Asian carriers are projected to quadruple the size of their fleets over the next two decades and they will require more than 2,705 new airplanes to address growth and fleet replacement. "Over 92 per cent of that (2,705) or over 2,500 (aircraft India will need) by 2042. It is based on the (forecast given in) middle of the last year," he told reporters. "We project that carriers here (South Asia including India) will need more than 2,700 aircraft deliveries by the year 2042," he said, adding a similar composition of the fleet with more than 2,300 single aisle, nearly 400 wide body aircraft for long haul. According to Boeing, India is the only large economy, a large market in Asia that has evolved to pre-pandemic levels both .

Airlines, plane makers set to unveil new orders at Indian aviation event

The activity comes despite the financial struggles of two budget carriers GoFirst and SpiceJet, in the wake of the collapse of two other Indian airlines since 2011