Planes

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

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

Taiwan detects 11 PLA military aircraft crossing median line in its ADIZ

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that it detected 13 Chinese military aircraft and 10 naval vessels between 6 am (local time) on Thursday to 6 am (local time) on Friday.According to the MND, of the 13 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, 11 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the country's northern, central, southwestern, and eastern air defence identification zone (ADIZ),In response, Taiwan sent aircraft and naval ships and deployed coastal-based missile systems to monitor PLA activity.In a post on X, Taiwan's MND said, "13 PLA aircraft and 10 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 11 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, central, southwestern, and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly."On Thursday, MND detected 6 Chinese military aircraft and 11 naval vessels.Further, Six Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) crossed the median line of the Taiwan ...

Taiwan reports increased activity of Chinese aircrafts near territory

On Sunday, Taiwanese MND said that eight Chinese military aircraft and eight naval vessels were operating from 6 am (local time) on Saturday to 6 am (local time) on Sunday

Go First planes need parts; lessors to take longer to fly them out of India

Lessors are likely to take a longer time to fly the Go First's deregistered 54 planes out of the country as the majority of the planes require engine and spare parts, according to industry experts. Out of the 54 planes, around 24 that were in a flying condition when the airline stopped operations last May have not undergone continued maintenance while 30 are without engines and spare parts. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has deregistered all the 54 remaining aircraft of Go First after a Delhi High Court ruling on April 26 that allowed lessors to take back the leased planes. While the insolvency resolution process is on, sources said the airline's revival looks an uphill task, considering that there are not many assets left after the deregistration of the planes. Regarding these aircraft, one of the sources said lessors are likely to take more time to ferry the 54 planes out of the country as at least 30 of them will require replacement of engines. Besides, the pl

IndiGo places $5 billion order for 30 A350-900 widebody aircraft

To mark foray into long-haul routes, taking the fight to A-I, foreign carriers

Adani Group may shift grounded planes to smaller airports for parking space

MoCA informed Lok Sabha last year that 164 aircraft were grounded across 15 airports

Air India Express looking to operate 40% more flights next fiscal

Low-cost carrier Air India Express is looking to operate 40 per cent more flights next fiscal on the back of fleet expansion, sources said on Wednesday. At the same time, the airline will focus more on consolidating on the domestic routes and will not be adding many destinations, while the international network may see some marginal increase, said the sources aware of the developments. Air India Express currently operates 350 daily flights and has a fleet of 69 planes. It has some 1,300 pilots, including 400 of AirAsia India and another 400 on training. Express will commence flights to Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the forthcoming summer schedule, as per the sources. They also said that Air India Express will complete acquisition of its 50 white tail Boeing 737 Max plane order by December this year, of which it has already inducted 13-14 planes so far. Sources also say that the airline is expected to complete the merger of AirAsia India with it by the second quarter if t

Indian carriers may order 380 more planes by March next yr: Capa India

The additional aircraft will cater to the high air traffic demand domestically and internationally, aviation consultancy firm CAPA India said on Friday

Don't park planes in remote bays during flight delays: MoCA to airlines

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has told airlines that they should not park their aircraft in remote bays and also not allow passengers to disembark at the apron in case there are long delays in flights, according to officials. The directive comes against the backdrop of the incident at the Mumbai airport on Sunday when passengers of a diverted Goa-Delhi IndiGo flight had food on the tarmac. Regulators BCAS has slapped penalties on IndiGo and Mumbai airport operator MIAL for the incident while DGCA has also penalised MIAL. Against this backdrop, the officials on Thursday said that airlines have been directed to ensure that in case of flight diversion and long delays, the aircraft should be parked on contact stand so that passengers can be shifted to terminal building for disembarkation if required. The ministry has also said that under no circumstances, the aircraft should be parked on remote bay and passengers be allowed to disembark at the apron in case there is a flight del

Like trains, planes, buses; TV and OTT will co-exist: Tata Play chief

Like trains didn't go out of fashion even after a hundred years of airlines in operation, television is here to stay and co-exist with OTT, according to Tata Play MD and CEO Harit Nagpal. Commenting on the debate on whether streaming services on devices could sound the death knell for television, Nagpal, in an interview to PTI, said there will always be a segment of customers opting for TV in India. "There are people who own private planes, have commercial airlines gone out of business? No! Airlines business has been around... have trains and buses gone out of fashion? No! "Of the 300 million Indian homes, 140 million are yet to buy their first TV... So, it doesn't mean that if OTT has come, TV will go. They will co-exist," said Nagpal, who is out with his debut book, 'Adapt: To Thrive, Not Just Survive'. Admitting that there is a segment of people who have moved from TV to OTT, the 62-year-old here talked about recognising the other available segments, like those who till now coul

Japan Airlines estimates operating loss of about $105 mn from collision

The loss of the aircraft will be covered by insurance, the company said, adding it was assessing the impact on its earnings forecast for the financial year ending March 31

5 dead, hundreds evacuated safely after planes catch fire at Haneda airport

A large passenger plane and a Japanese coast guard aircraft collided on the runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday and burst into flames, killing five people aboard the coast guard plane, officials said. All 379 people on Japan Airlines flight JAL-516 got out safely before the Airbus A350 was fully engulfed in flames, Transport Minister Tetsuo Saito confirmed. The pilot of the coast guard's Bombardier Dash-8 plane escaped but the five crew members died, Saito said. The aircraft was preparing to take off to deliver aid to an area affected by a major earthquake on Monday, officials said. Television footage showed an orange fireball erupting from the Japan Airlines plane as it collided while landing, and the airliner then spewed smoke from its side as it continued down the runway. Within 20 minutes, all passengers and crew members slid down emergency chutes to get away. As firefighters tried to put out the blaze with streams of water, the area around the passenger plane's wing ..

Air cargo business flies home as carriers recover after pandemic

Indian airlines have carried more domestic freight in recent months but are losing ground to foreign rivals

New bill could give aircraft leasing firms more power to repossess planes

The Cape Town Convention Bill will make it compulsory for the resolution professional to return the aircraft to the lessor within two months from the beginning of the bankruptcy process

Grounded Go Air can fly in a week if planes not seized: CEO Kaushik Khona

Go Air - now re-branded as Go First - filed for insolvency protection on Tuesday after half of its Airbus SE A320neo fleet were grounded with engine snags

IndiGo gets aviation ministry's nod to wet lease planes for US, Canada ops

The country's largest airline IndiGo, which is focusing on internationalisation, has received approval from the civil aviation ministry to wet lease up to two planes for operating flights to the United States and Canada, according to a senior official. For the first time, IndiGo started operating wide-body Boeing 777 on Delhi-Istanbul route in February. The plane has been taken on wet lease from Turkish Airlines. The airline has received nod from the ministry to wet lease two aircraft that can be utilised on this route. The official, on the condition of anonymity, said on Friday the ministry has also given approval for IndiGo to wet lease up to two wide-body aircraft which can be used for flying to the US and Canada. Queries sent to IndiGo on this issue remained unanswered. It could not be immediately ascertained whether IndiGo has firmed up plans on operating flights to the US and Canada. Indian carriers require approval from the ministry to wet lease aircraft. Under the wet le

Air India order for 840 planes, with 370 as options: Airline executive

Order of 840 aircraft a culmination of a fascinating two-year journey: CCTO

Hyderabad incident: DGCA orders engine inspection of SpiceJet 14 Q400 plane

On October 12, a SpiceJet Q400 plane with 86 passengers on board conducted an emergency landing in Hyderabad as smoke was detected in the cabin when it was mid-air

Air Canada buys 30 electric-hybrid planes to combat climate change effects

Air Canada announced a purchase agreement for 30 ES-30 electric-hybrid aircraft to lower aircraft emissions and combat climate change's effects.The largest airline in Canada on Thursday announced a purchase agreement for 30 electric-hybrid planes under development by Heart Aerospace of Sweden, read an Air Canada press release.The revolutionary regional aircraft, expected to enter service in 2028, will generate zero emissions flying on battery power and yield significant operational savings and benefits. Under the agreement, Air Canada has also acquired a USD 5 million equity stake in Heart Aerospace.This brings Air Canada a step closer to its goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. The ES-30 will allow Air Canada to serve regional and commuter routes more sustainably, providing low-emission connectivity to local communities over the medium-to-long term.It will be capable of carrying 30 passengers seated three across (in a 2X1 configuration), with a galley and lavatory. Air Canada