Chennai: Flyers seeking refund continue to face hard times

Chennai: Passengers and travel agents continue to face difficulties in getting refunds for air tickets from airlines even though the Supreme Court has ordered that either cash refunds or credit shells with a deadline should be given.

The Twitter handles of airlines have many comments from passengers complaining about lack of refunds or delay in refunds.

Travel agents say that major international carriers affiliated to IATA have started to issue refunds in cash while many domestic carriers here are either taking their time or are framing their own rules delaying refunds. Most of the airlines continue to issue credit shells to passengers that can be redeemed on any route till March 31, as per the Supreme Court's order.

However, things are not smooth for those who had booked their tickets via travel agents or online travel portals because airlines are crediting the money into the ID of the agents which cannot be accessed in cash. The agents have to sell fresh tickets to redeem the credit from their IDs. This means they have to spend from their pockets to issue cash refunds to customers. As all agents are not able to do this immediately, several passengers are not able to get back their money.

A majority of the complaints posted by passengers on the Twitter handles of GoAir, SpiceJet, Air India and AirAsia talks about delay in refunds and also a difficulty in getting through to executives in the call centres.

An airline official said that refunds have begun. "Passengers who have booked tickets through travel agents will have to approach them for refunds as money has been refunded to the agents' ID," he added.

31/10/20 Times of India

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Kerala: Firms give free air tickets to migrants

Kottayam: Guest workers have become so indispensable to the state that they are being provided free air tickets to return from work after lockdown. The industrial units in the state have been facing a crisis due to the severe shortage of workers after the lockdown was lifted.

Majority of the workers who left for their respective states are yet to return for work. The industrial estate in Poovanthuruth in the district is totally dependent on guest workers. This was one of the earliest industrial estates in the state where the guest workers had arrived for work.

T C Joseph, who is into the rubber mat industry, has already flown down around 50 workers from Assam, Odisha and UP. The workers who land in Kochi from Kolkata, Bhubaneswar or Lucknow airports are taken in special vans to the quarantine centres taken for rent by Joseph.

“They are taken care of there for 14 days and they will be ready for work after a Covid test,” said Joseph. Like Joseph many have found it worth to fly down the workers instead of waiting for the rail traffic to fully resume.

Johnson P Thomas, vice-president of the industrial association here, said that the industrial units are facing a crisis as only 50% of work is being held. At least 10 workers are needed to run one shift, he said. “Those who can afford to provide air tickets and quarantine facilities are doing that to get going. A minimum of Rs 20,000 is required for each person for that,” he said.

Most of the workers who deal with machinery in the industrial units are from Assam, Odisha and UP. Joseph said Air India, Air Asia and Indigo are operating flights from the airports like Guwahati and Bhubanewsar. The ticket fare is around Rs 10,000.

31/10/20 Jaikrishnan Nair/Times of India

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663 Army aviation squadron in J-K wins annual flight safety trophy

New Delhi: Army Chief General M M Naravane on Thursday awarded the annual flight safety trophy for the year 2019-20 to the 663 Army aviation squadron deployed in Jammu and Kashmir, an official press statement said.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) flight safety trophy has been instituted to promote the efforts towards flight safety among Indian Army aviation units, said the statement.

"For the year 2019-20, 663 Army aviation squadron deployed in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been adjudged first," the Indian Army''s statement said. 

29/10/20 PTI/Outlook

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Modi admn has erred on madly expensive Air India One

During the unprecedented Covid pandemic when leading world scientists are focussed on looking for a preventive or a cure, the news of the second astronomically priced VVIP Boeing plane arriving in India for the Prime Minister et al caused kind of a shock. Most conscious people raised eyebrows in utter disapproval of the 84,000 million-rupee flying machines. First of all, India is a relatively poorer country than the very wealthy USA.

More significantly, the members of the political executive of India have absolutely no ‘threat perception’ as per surveys although there could be some kind of terror attack apprehensions on land as insurgent groups are constantly on the prowl  to cause damage to life and property only if the security arrangements are lax. But for sure, there is hardly any likelihood of danger being posed to airborne political dignitaries.The pandemic has pushed the country behind by twenty-odd years on the economic front. Everything economic that sustains a developing country has been destroyed due to lockdown situations over nine long months.

So a 8,400 crore-rupee plane for political guys around this critical times is bound to hurt the people of India. This is the second of the two special Boeing 777 aircrafts, part of the fancifully named ‘Air India One’ fleet for VVIPs including the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister.

 The first Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft had arrived in India earlier in 2018. This highly-customised super special aircraft has meeting rooms, office space as well as missile defence systems. It will be used by President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and PM Narendra Modi, all three virtually without any threat perception while in air. The two planes will be flown by Indian Air Force pilots.

The super class modified Boeing 777-300ER will replace the older 747-400 for VVIP duties. The ‘Air India One’ has its own missile defence system called the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS).

The plane is capable of countering missile threats from any enemy based on land or flying in pursuit. Most sensitive citizens wonder if politicians of India deserve such luxury.

Apart from sophisticated antimissile gadgetry, the aircrafts are equipped with an advanced and secured communication system that allows availing audio and video communication functions midair without any worries of hacking or being taped.  The aircraft has a big suite for the VVIP and a mini medical facility with emergency operation theatre. It also has a special space for the media people accompanying the so-called VVIPs. Except a few economy class rear seats, all seats are Business class.

 The B777 aircraft can fly over 17 hours at a single stretch.The USA is a wealthy country and its head of state is a dignitary of colossal status. He of course runs risk of being targeted by various international adversaries and enemies for remaining at war with many rogue states at any given point in time.

 Besides, the US has the resources and the skills to spend on personal safety of its head of state. India has nothing in comparison with the Americans. Yet, the Modi-headed Government, which screams ‘austerity’ at all levels, jumped for the madly-priced aircraft for the safety of people who will never have any danger while in air.

29/10/20 Biswaraj Patnaik/Pioneer

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Can Kids Travel Without Mask? Here’s What Indigo, Air Vistara And Other Airlines Say

With the surge in COVID-19 cases in India and the world, the guidelines to curb the virus have become stricter. With unlock happening and the travel industry trying to get back on its feet, the airline industry has implemented stricter COVID-19 safety measures. 

The face mask has become that accessory which is unavoidable and is mandatory. While people are elated to travel again with family, there is still a lack of awareness about the safety measures that parents with kids need to abide by. Are kids supposed to wear a mask while travelling? For people with kids, they will understand how difficult it is for parents to keep their kids in one place because of how restless and energetic kids are. While traveling with a kid under 2 years, there are concerns that what if the kids refuse to wear a mask and what if the airlines refused to let them board in case if the kid doesn’t wear a mask.

In the recent past, there have been many instances when kids and their parents are de-boarded in the US only because their kids refused to wear a mask. One of the incidents which went viral on social media was when Chaya Bruck was traveling with her six children in August and they were all kicked off from JetBlue Airways flight after her 2-year-old daughter who refused to wear a mask.”Should I tie her hands, what should I do?” the mother asked the JetBlue flight attendant.

Nitin Sarin, the aviation lawyer asked a question on Twitter, tagging IndiGo, Air Vistara, And Go Airlines. He asked, “My daughter is 1.9 years old, does she have to wear a mask?”

To which Indigo replied, “Sir, while we’ve employed stringent cleaning and safety procedures to ensure the well-being of our customers, it is advisable that children/infants not to travel. We’d request you to get in touch with your pediatrician for better care of your lil one.”

29/10/20 Anjali Thakur/India.com

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What is the citizenship of a baby born on an airplane?

Have you ever wondered if a baby is born on a flight, what will be his/her nationality?

First of all, to make it clear, in India, a woman pregnant for 7 months or more is not allowed to travel by air, but in some special cases, it is allowed.

In such a situation, if a woman in a plane flying from India to America gives birth to a child, what will be the birthplace in the child'ss birth certificate and what will be his/her citizenship? This is the biggest question.

In such cases, it has to be seen that at the time of the birth of the child, the aircraft is flying above the border of which country. After landing, documents related to the birth certificate of the child can be obtained from the airport authority of that country.

However, the child also has the right to get the nationality of his parents.

For example, if an aircraft flying from Pakistan to America is passing over the Indian border and at the same time if a child is born on the plane, the place of birth of the child will be considered as India and that child can get citizenship of his parent's country as well as the citizenship of India. However, there is no provision of dual citizenship in India.

A few years ago a similar case came up in America. A plane flew to the US from Amsterdam. When the plane reached the Atlantic Ocean, a woman started having labour pains and gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

However, the mother and child were later taken to Massachusetts General Hospital in the US. The girl was born in the US border, so she got citizenship of both US and the Netherland.

Every country has different rules regarding the citizenship of children born on the plane.

27/10/20 DNA

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Winter 2020 to begin with 44% fewer domestic flights than last year

 New Delhi: The winter schedule for flights, which comes into effect Sunday, will begin with 44% less domestic connectivity than last winter.

The government has currently capped domestic flights at 60% of the originally approved summer schedule in the pandemic. Accordingly, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has cleared a schedule for 12,983 weekly domestic flights covering 95 airports in winter 2020-21 — down 44.3% from 23,307 in winter 2019-20.

The cap on flights is likely to be raised to 75% shortly as air travel is showing signs of revival. As that happens, the domestic schedule will keep getting enhanced, meaning there will be more flights.

The schedule, approved with the current cap of 60%, has seen maximum drop in weekly domestic flights of SpiceJet — 1,957, down 55% from 4,316 last winter. This is followed by Air India — 1,126, down 50% from last winter’s 2,254; GoAir — 1,203, down 48% from 2,308; IndiGo — 6,006, down 42% from 10,310.

A senior DGCA official said, “The schedule has been approved for Indian scheduled operators at 60% of the capacity as directed by the aviation ministry.”

The current pecking order for top 3 airlines in terms of weekly flights is: IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India group (AI plus Alliance Air together at 1,736). The two Tata Group airlines — Vistara (852) and AirAsia India (885) — together are neck-to-neck with AI group with 1,737 weekly flights.

The Tata Group is likely to fully acquire AirAsia India by buying out the 49% stake of its Malaysian JV partner. Whether it keeps this airline as a standalone budget carrier or merges it with Vistara remains to be seen.

25/10/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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DGCA approves 12,983 weekly domestic flights in winter schedule

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said it has approved 12,983 weekly domestic flights of airlines for the winter schedule that begins on Sunday and ends on March 27 next year.

In last year’s winter schedule, the aviation regulator had approved 23,307 weekly domestic flights. The DGCA said on Sunday it has approved 6,006 weekly domestic flights of IndiGo for this year’s winter schedule. IndiGo is India’s largest airline.

SpiceJet and GoAir have got 1,957 weekly domestic flights and 1,203 weekly domestic flights approved, the regulator said.

Currently, airlines in India are allowed to operate a maximum 60 per cent of pre-COVID weekly domestic flights. In comparison to last year’s winter schedule, when 23,307 weekly domestic services were approved by the DGCA, this year’s winter schedule has got just 55.7 per cent (12,983 flights) of those flights approved, according to the aviation regulator.

These 55.7 per cent flights will be operating from 95 Indian airports between October 25 and March 27, 2021, the DGCA said.

25/10/20 PTI/Indian Express

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Second VVIP plane for President, PM to arrive in Delhi today

The second customised Boeing-777 plane for the VVIP travel of Prime Minister and President is set to land in Delhi on Saturday.

The first of the two custom-made B777 aircraft arrived from the US in India earlier this month. The two jets will be used to fly the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister.

Both the aircraft are equipped with missile defence systems, as efficient as that of the US President's Air Force One. The two aircraft have can fly directly from India to the US without having to stop. These are India's first two aircraft designated for VVIP travel.

It was expected that the delivery of these two planes would be done by July. However, due to COVID-19, their delivery has been delayed by a few months.

During the travel of the VVIPs, the two B777 aircraft will be operated by pilots of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and not of Air India.

Currently, the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister fly on Air India's B747 planes, which have the call sign Air India One. Air India pilots fly these B747 aircraft for the dignitaries and the Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) maintains them.

When these B747 aircraft are not flying the dignitaries, they are used by the Indian national carrier for commercial operations.

The new planes will be used for travel of the dignitaries only.

24/10/20 Free Press Journal

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Hopeful for a Quick Revival of Indian Aviation Sector: Airbus South Asia President

Strong local fundamentals will aide the revival of India's aviation sector, believes Airbus South Asia President, Remi Maillard.

In a conversation with IANS, Remi Maillard, President and Managing Director, Airbus India and South Asia, expressed confidence in the industry's potential along with its revival prospects on the back of strong fundamentals.

"I remain confident about the future of the Indian aviation industry because of the strong local fundamentals," Maillard said. "That is why, in parallel to our efforts of catalysing a safe traffic recovery, we need to work on further strengthening the foundations for India to become a world leader in the civil aviation industry. This implies further developing the domestic market, turning India into an international hub, growing the MRO and training eco-systems as well as stimulating the helicopter business," he added.

Notably, the sector has been heavily battered by the coronavirus outbreak and its cascading impact on the overall travel industry. Maillard termed the pandemic as the 'gravest crisis' that industry has ever faced.

"There is not one single player in the market that is immune to the crisis, be it an airline, a lessor, an MRO, a training centre, an airport, an equipment supplier or an aircraft manufacturer. It is a long-term crisis," he elaborated. "Given how deep the crisis is, a full recovery in aviation will take years specifically when it comes to international flights," he added.

24/10/20 IANS/News18.com

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In a first for Indore, new regional airline turns the city airport as its domicile base

The Devi Ahilyabai Holkar Airport in the city of Indore becomes the base operating centre of new regional airlines that is to kickstart services from November 15. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has provided the new venture with a clearance after inspection, and the airlines has already started to work on the set up and maintenance for the same at the airport premises. The maiden aircraft, imported from Australia, will reach Indore in a week.

For the first time, a regional airline kickstarting operations has picked Indore as its centre operating station, unlike other enterprises that prefer the metro cities of Mumbai and Delhi. The new airline has been allotted with night parking space, at the Indore Airport, which can accommodate up to 2 aircraft units. Besides this, Indigo airline aircraft also hold the night parking at the Ahilyabai Holkar Airport.

The addition of this new venture to the already existing 6 flights to and fro from Indore will assist the city in creating greater connectivity, running on expected new routes.

The Officials at the Indore Airport are also incubating the launch of direct flights to Bhopal and Jabalpur, within the state, and then to Ahmedabad as well. The final schedule regarding the same will be declared by the Airport Authorities post the clearance of required formalities and permissions.

24/10/20 Muskaan Tekwani/Knock Sense

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Deep in Love, Teenagers Secretly Fly to Chennai from Tripura for ‘Sightseeing’, Recused by Childline

A 17-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl secretly flew from Tripura to Chennai, Tamil Nadu for “sightseeing”.

Thanks to alert cops at the Chennai airport and swift action by Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) in both states the teenagers will soon be reunited with their parents.

A CWC member said the duo landed in Chennai on Monday afternoon. A friend was supposed to receive them but he didn’t turn up; so, the two spent the night at the airport. Later, when cops at the airport noticed them wandering there, they informed Childline.

“They had taken a flight from Agartala to Kolkata and then to Chennai as the boy has a friend here. Initially, they were giving contradictory explanations but later said they were in love and had come to Chennai for sightseeing. The girl also wanted to go on a flight,” a CWC member told The Times of India.

The official further stated that they obtained Aadhar Card details of the children’s parents from their mobile phones and contacted them. They also reached out to their counterparts in Tripura.

The Tripura CWC officials verified that the two were missing from their home. Following this, they deputed two officials, accompanied by a relative of the teenage girl, to Chennai to bring them back to Tripura.

24/10/20 Northeast Today

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Hopeful of quick revival of India's aviation sector: Airbus South Asia President

New Delhi: Strong local fundamentals will aide the revival of India's aviation sector, believes Airbus South Asia President, Remi Maillard.

In a conversation with IANS, Remi Maillard, President and Managing Director, Airbus India and South Asia, expressed confidence in the industry's potential along with its revival prospects on the back of strong fundamentals.

"I remain confident about the future of the Indian aviation industry because of the strong local fundamentals," Maillard said.

"That is why, in parallel to our efforts of catalysing a safe traffic recovery, we need to work on further strengthening the foundations for India to become a world leader in the civil aviation industry. This implies further developing the domestic market, turning India into an international hub, growing the MRO and training eco-systems as well as stimulating the helicopter business," he added.

Notably, the sector has been heavily battered by the coronavirus outbreak and its cascading impact on the overall travel industry.

Maillard termed the pandemic as the 'gravest crisis' that industry has ever faced.

"There is not one single player in the market that is immune to the crisis, be it an airline, a lessor, an MRO, a training center, an airport, an equipment supplier or an aircraft manufacturer. It is a long-term crisis," he elaborated.

"Given how deep the crisis is, a full recovery in aviation will take years specifically when it comes to international flights," he added.

23/10/20 Rohit Vaid/IANS/Daijiworld

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Indian Navy's first batch of three women pilots ready for maritime reconnaissance

Kochi: Scripting a new chapter, the Indian Navy has got ready its first batch of three women pilots for Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) missions on Dornier aircraft.

Lieutenant Divya Sharma, Lt Shubhangi Swaroop and Lt Shivangi are now ready to take on all MR missions on Dornier aircraft, a Defence spokesman said on Thursday. They have been "operationalised on Dornier aircraft" by the Southern Naval Command (SNC) here today, he said.

The spokesman said the three women pilots were part of the six pilots of the 27th Dornier Operational Flying Training (DOFT) Course, who graduated as Fully operational Maritime Reconnaissance (MR) Pilots at a passing out ceremony held at INS Garuda on Thursday.

Rear Admiral Antony George, Chief Staff Officer (Training) of SNC was the chief guest of the event and presented awards to the pilots who are now fully qualified to fly Dornier aircraft for all operational missions.

While Lieutenant Divya Sharma hails from Malviya Nagar, New Delhi, Lieutenant Shubhangi Swaroop belongs to Tilhar, Uttar Pradesh. Lieutenant Shivangi hails from Muzaffarpur, Bihar. These officers had initially undergone basic flying training partly with Indian Air Force and partly with the Navy prior to (DOFT) Course. Among the three women pilots operationalised for MR Pilots flying, Lt Shivangi was the first to qualify as a naval pilot on December 2, 2019.

After 15 days, the two others--Lieutenant Divya Sharma and Lieutenant Shubhangi Swaroop--also became pilots. Later, they were made one batch and became part of the six pilots of the 27th DOFT course, which is the second and most important phase of training for becoming mission ready pilots, the spokesman said.

22/10/20 Simran Kashyap/One India

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A radically different Diwali this year for airlines in India

For years, airfares in the days leading up to Diwali have risen sharply. Air travel in India typically sees a big spike in the run-up to Diwali and fares consequently rise in tandem. Diwali has also long been the rare occasion when the booking and pricing curves in India move hand in hand.

However, 2020 is different in many ways. Irrespective of the booking curve, there is a limit to how much the airfares can increase, stifling the ability of airlines to make money.

That is because air travel in India has been regulated since the restart of flights after the outbreak of the pandemic. Now there exists a lower and upper cap on airfares across routes.

Fare caps are in place until November 24. Airlines have a mandate to sell 40 percent of the seats at median fares.

The cap is not just on fares but also capacity, with airlines allowed only 60 percent of their fleet/flights to be deployed. Remember, the capacity limit was relaxed — initially, when the rules were formed, airlines were asked to operate at 33 percent capacity so as to maintain social distancing at airports. The problem is this capacity restrictions do not apply to airports, leading to a few of them operating at near normal levels in August.

Aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri has hinted at increasing the capacity limit to 75 percent, but the industry is waiting for clarity. On October 19, there were 1,660 domestic departures, the highest in recent months, but just 53 percent of the daily departures in January 2020, before the impact of COVID19 was felt in Indian skies.

In terms of departures, airlines are fast approaching the 60 percent limit. The highest passenger numbers since restart of flights were recorded on October 18. At 180,838, the passenger numbers are still only 44 percent of the per day levels of January.

While airlines have traded barbs in the past for capacity dumping and the country has seen traffic follow capacity, a chart plotted for the last few days of passengers and capacity does not show the same trend. The passengers who took flights initially were attracted by cheaper fares. That is not the case now.

Puri had expected the air traffic to be normal by Diwali. He later changed tack to say it will happen the end of the year. Global body IATA expects air traffic to be back to pre-COVID19 levels only by 2024.

22/10/20 Ameya Joshi/Moneycontrol

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Nearly 1.39 crore domestic fliers since May 25: Hardeep Singh Puri

New Delhi: Over 1.8 lakh passengers have flown within the country on October 18, taking the total count of domestic fliers to 1.39 crore since May 25 amid the Covid-19 outbreak, Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday.

The Minister, in a tweet, said that the airports across the country received a footfall of 3,63,757.

"New High! 1581 flights. 3168 total flight movements. 3,63,757 total footfalls at airport. 1,80,838 domestic passengers on 18 October. Nearly 1.39 crore domestic fliers since 25 May 2020. Steady growth trajectory," he tweeted.

Speaking about the Vande Bharat Mission, he said: "No citizen will be left behind. Reaching out to stranded and distressed Indians around the world. More than 2.2 million people have been repatriated and flown out so far. Vande Bharat Mission continues..."

The Vande Bharat Mission was a repatriation exercise by way of which the Government of India facilitated the movement of stranded Indian nationals back to their home amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

19/10/20 ANI/Times of India

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Aviation Industry Flies Past Covid Turbulence, But Airlines Continue To Collapse

As the current government is encouraging the citizens for air travel, several schemes were also introduced to ease the deal. From the construction of airports to increase regional connectivity to subsidising the fare and fuel, the government is doing it all to boost the industry. Centre has even introduced the “UDAAN” scheme with an aim to increase regional connectivity. The scheme came with a slogan “Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik” ( The common man of the country should fly) in which the government subsidised around 1 crore seats, making air travel more affordable for the passengers. While the industry is witnessing the passenger surge, it also saw collapse of some big carriers in the past one decade.

 From scheduled to regional, around 7 airlines got defunct and several are on the verge of closure.

See which are they >>

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Air Safa launches aircraft leasing business in India with Airbus H125 helicopter

Air Safa Pte. Ltd., a Singapore based aircraft leasing company, has signed a purchase agreement with Airbus Helicopters for one H-125 helicopter with the option to add another one in the future. The H-125 will be placed its first dry lease to Indian operators for multirole missions, including passenger transportation.

K Murugan, director, Air Safa, said: “We are a staunch Airbus customer and have chosen the H125 as the first product because it has an impressive performance and is known for its power, versatility, low maintenance cost and safety features.”

Ashish Saraf, head of Airbus Helicopters, Airbus India & South Asia said: “The H-125 outclasses all other products in its category and is the helicopter of choice for multirole missions.”  

The H-125 – which according to Airbus – has completed 35m flight hours worldwide, is a common sight at the pilgrimage areas in India. It is also being used to develop new helicopter market segments in the country, mainly geophysical surveys, power grid maintenance and emergency medical services.

Murugan told Helicopter Investor that Air Safa set up its business last year and revealed the lessor has also signed a wet lease operation deal with Delhi-based company Skyport Multiservices. The deal includes five Airbus H-125s (with one more to follow) and one H-130 helicopter.

19/10/20 Yuvan Kumar/Helicopter Investor

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Airlines to get more airspace, cutting flying time; fuel costs, airfares could head south

In a move that could save money for both airlines and their passengers, the Indian Air Force has released 10 percent of its reserved air space for civil carriers.

This will shorten flying time on a few routes, reducing the fuel burn of an aircraft, helping airlines save money, and in turn, pass on some of the benefits to customers.

Sources said the cost of operating a flight may go down by up to Rs 40,000 on more than one a dozen domestic routes, including Lucknow-Jaipur and Mumbai Srinagar.

At present, passenger airlines use only about 60 percent of India’s airspace. The rest is taken up for strategic use. On some of the sectors, airlines are forced to take a longer route to avoid key defence airspace.

Sources said 13 routes in total will benefit. As per the initial estimates of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, an airline operating on the Mumbai-Srinagar route will save Rs 40,000 a flight. Similarly, on the Durgapur-Chennai, a carrier could save about Rs 36,000 a flight, and about Rs 34,000 on Lucknow-Jaipur route. The saving on the Delhi-Srinagar route could be about Rs 8,000 per flight.

Flying time, depending on the route will reduce by up to 20 minutes.

The step was part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier this year. The government has estimated that airlines will save Rs 1,000 crore annually, by having more airspace.

19/10/20 Lakshman Roy/Moneycontrol.com

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FinMin green signal for aircraft lease financing activities in GIFT City

New Delhi: Regulatory decks have now largely been cleared for making India a hub for financing aircraft purchases and leasing activities with the Finance Ministry notifying “aircraft lease” as a financial product that could be transacted in Gujarat’s GIFT City, which is the country’s sole international financial services centre (IFSC).

The move is expected to pave the way for “onshoring” aircraft leasing and financing, which is the most profitable segment of the aviation value chain, and support local carriers, that had placed orders for more than 1,000 aircraft, making it the third largest order book in the world behind the US and China, say finance industry experts.

“This is a big game changer as we should now be able to take back (aircraft leasing) what we should have been doing in our country. This will give enormous advantage to us as we can onshore what is being done abroad to India,” Tapan Ray, Managing Director & CEO, GIFT City, told BusinessLine.

Ray said the move would encourage foreign providers of aircraft leasing services to set up shop in GIFT city and enable domestic carriers to enter into aircraft financing and leasing activities from Indian shores.

Currently, aircraft leasing transactions are not happening in India, which is a growing market for aircraft. Despite the high demand for leased aircraft, there are no lessors based here.

The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) has now notified that operating lease and financial lease and any hybrid of operating and financial lease of aircraft or helicopter and engines of aircraft or helicopter or any other parts will be treated as “financial product” under the existing legal framework for IFSs in the country.

The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), the sole regulator for economic activities in the IFSCs, is now expected to frame regulations on aircraft leasing and spell out criteria for the players who would be allowed for undertaking aircraft lease financing.

18/10/20 KR Srivats/Business Line

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Covid cancellations: Refund money to flyers as soon as you get same from airlines, DGCA warns travel agents

New Delhi: The government on Friday warned travel agents not to delay giving refunds to passengers in cases where the money has been paid back by airlines to them. Also in such cases, agents have been directed not to give travel vouchers for future use to passengers.

If agents still resort to these malpractices, then the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will initiate action against them for violation of the Supreme Court’s October 1, 2020, judgment on refunds for flights cancelled during the pandemic, say officials.

The regulator on Friday issued an order saying that as per the SC directives, “it is the obligation of travel agents to immediately transfer refund to passenger once the same is received by such travel agent from airlines. Withholding of such refunded amount, by travel agents, in any manner whatsoever, would amount to gross and blatant violation SC directions.”

The DGCA notes that “in certain cases airlines have already refunded fare amount to travel agent(s) but travel agents(s) are withholding the said refund amount and are not refunding the same to the passengers…. certain travel agents though have received the refund from airline but instead of refunding it to passengers, are issuing vouchers to such passengers on their own and thus indirectly withholding the refund amount with them.”

16/10/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Air travellers call for stringent enforcement of Covid safety norms during festive season

Madurai: Air travel is not the safest mode of transport now as passengers flout rules of Covid-19 prevention, especially social distancing, and airline staff also do not give much importance to it, say frequent travellers. 

They point out that this should be given extra care in the festive season. Professor Dr V Nagarajaan of Madurai, who is chairman and head, Neurosciences Research and Translational task force, ICMR, New Delhi, said that as a medical professional, it required him to travel to different destinations in the country, after domestic travel was allowed. 

``Initially, booking counters followed the no-touch rule, but no one followed it now. When passengers are taken to the plane in buses, more than 40 of them are crowded in them. With no physical distancing, they were kept in the bus for a good 17 minutes, which is sufficient for Covid-19 to spread from an infected person to non-infected person due to the proximity,’’ he said. 

 He said the PPE provided to the passenger sitting in the centre seat does not provide proper protection as it does not have a proper cover and the aircraft employees do not ensure if he or she is wearing it properly. Though masks and shields are provided to passengers, most of them do not wear it properly, he said.

18/10/20 Times of India

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Air India facing a very challenging financial situation: Hardeep Puri

The COVID pandemic has left national carrier Air India in a deepening financial crisis, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a recent letter to Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Vishwam. "Air India is also facing a very challenging financial situation," Puri said adding the airline has taken recourse to several initiatives with a view to ensuring continuance of its operations.

He pointed out that Air India has not laid off a single employee even as international and domestic carriers have resorted to cost cutting through layoffs. The Union minister added that Air India's leave without pay (LWP) scheme was a "win-win for employees and management" as it enabled employees to take a break from their office responsibilities for a defined period of time with the approval of the Air India management while retaining their employment with the company.

"The Covid-19 outbreak has very seriously impacted the airline sector and currently the airline operations of the company have taken a serious hit," he said.

The pandemic has also significantly delayed Air India's disinvestment plans. Airline industry worldwide is facing an unprecedented financial crisis due to COVID-19 and hence, it remains to be seen if a buyer would be ready to acquire Air India along with its debts. 

15/10/20 The Week

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Green shoots in sky: 40% rise in domestic flyers in September

New Delhi: Domestic flyers are slowly, but surely, returning to the skies after flights within the country were allowed to resume from May-end. Last month saw 39.4 lakh domestic air travellers. While this is almost two-third or 66% less than 1.1 crore flyers in September, 2019, it was nearly 40% higher than the 28.3 domestic air travellers in August 2020 (with figure of last August being 1.2 crore).

According to DGCA data released on Wednesday, January-September 2020 has seen 4.4 crore domestic flyers — down 58% from 10.6 crore in same period last year.

Last Thursday, aviation minister H S Puri had said: “Domestic airlines will soon be allowed to increase their capacity to 75%, from 65% at present as we are seeing a healthy revival in air travel. When domestic flights resumed on May 25, we saw 30,000 passengers that day and this number crossed 1.7 lakh on October 3. Given this revival, we will soon allow 75% of originally approved schedule of domestic flights to be mounted by airlines,” adding he expected to return to the pre-Covid level of over 3 lakh daily domestic passengers between Diwali (November 14) and the year-end.

The issue of refunds for tickets remains the biggest pain for travellers who found their flights cancelled. The regulator’s data shows September saw 450 passenger complaints and 82% of them were about refunds. 

14/10/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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39.43 lakh domestic air passengers in Sept, 66% lower than 2019: DGCA

New Delhi: A total of 39.43 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in September this year, 66 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year, the country’s aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday.

As many as 21.07 lakh and 28.32 lakh people travelled by air domestically this July and August, respectively, the regulator had said last month. While IndiGo carried 22.66 lakh passengers in September, a 57.5 per cent share of the total domestic market, SpiceJet flew 5.3 lakh passengers, which is 13.4 per cent share of the total market, according to data shared by the DGCA.

Air India, AirAsia India, Vistara and GoAir carried 3.72 lakh, 2.35 lakh, 2.58 lakh and 2.64 lakh passengers respectively in September, the data showed. The occupancy rate or load factor of six major Indian airlines was between 57 and 73 per cent in September, it said Wednesday.

“The passenger load factor in the month of September 2020 has shown some recovery due to increased demand after the opening of lockdown,” said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The occupancy rate in SpiceJet was 73 per cent in September, the regulator noted.

Meanwhile, the occupancy rate for other major airlines Vistara, IndiGo, AirAsia India, Air India and GoAir stood at 66.7 per cent, 65.4 per cent, 58.4 per cent, 57.9 per cent and 57.6 per cent, respectively, according to the DGCA. India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Indian airlines are allowed to operate a maximum of 60 per cent of their pre-COVID-19 domestic flights.

A total of 19.84 lakh passengers travelled domestically in June this year. Between May 25 and May 31, 2.81 lakh air passengers had travelled domestically, the DGCA noted.

14/10/20 PTI/Telangana Today

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Airlines caught in turbulence

Hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic that forced people to abort their travel plans, the aviation industry is looking at darker days ahead. The impact has been particularly disastrous for the Indian aviation sector, so much so that the country’s largest airport operator, state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI), has been forced to borrow Rs 1,500 crore for working capital requirements this year as it stares at a rare net loss. Though the situation is grim for airlines and airport operators, the government has done little to assuage the concerns of the industry. The aggregate revenue of Indian carriers came down 85% from Rs 25,517 crore in June quarter of last year to Rs 3,651 crore during April-June 2020. Air India’s revenue fell to Rs 1,531 crore from Rs 7,066 crore in the same quarter last year. The revenue of airport operators was only a fraction of last year, down by nearly 85% to just Rs 894 crore against Rs 5,745 crore earlier. The pandemic cost nearly 18,000 people their jobs between March and July. The lockdown reduced air traffic to a fraction of what it was prior to the pandemic. Regulatory restrictions on flight operations by domestic and international sectors have led to a severe curtailment of operations and sub-optimal aircraft utilisation. International traffic reduced by 87% from 93.45 lakh to 11.55 lakh during the same period. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates that the global aviation industry is staring at a loss of $84.3 billion, with the financial viability of many airlines coming into question.

Though some international airlines have resumed operations in India and are part of the air travel arrangements that have been signed with countries like the UK, the US and France, these are only temporary bilateral arrangements aimed at restarting commercial passenger services. Given the alarming rise in the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths across the country, the aviation industry is far from being out of the woods. Even if air traffic increases in near future, paying the debts will be a challenge and airlines might have to increase fares, driving away passengers at a time when they are supposed to be lured to avail services.

15/10/20 Telangana Today

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Here’s how COVID-19 has hurt the Indian aviation industry

The global outbreak of COVID-19 led to the freezing of flight operations —  both domestic and international—  in India by the end of March, to restrict passenger movement and to prevent further spread of the virus. This has inflicted a dent —  in terms of revenue and job losses —  on the already struggling Indian civil aviation sector, government data show. Though limited operations have started, experts suggest that it will take some time for the industry to bounce back to the pre-COVID levels.

See how Covid has affected the industry >>

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Next batch of Rafale combat jets to arrive in India in Nov

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force is making preparation to receive the second lot of Rafale combat aircraft built by French company Dassault Aviation by next month.

The force has sent a team of experts led by the Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Projects) to coordinate the logistical issues. The air force pilots are being trained in batches at the Saint-Dizier air base in France.

India received the first batch of five Rafale aircraft on July 29 which were inducted to the 17 Squadron at the Ambala Air Base on September 10.

India had signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to procure 36 of these aircraft at a cost of Rs 59,000 crore.

After the induction of the first batch of Rafale aircraft, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had termed the Rafale deal as a game-changer. "I am confident that our air force has acquired a technological edge with Rafale," Rajnath Singh had said.

15/10/20 IANS/Daijiworld

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Air travel picks up, but so do passenger complaints. Refunds the biggest source of ire

Air passenger traffic may have jumped in September, going by the data shared by industry regulator DGCA. But then so have customer complaints, which rose to a six-month high in September. More importantly, the incidence of complaints - measured for every 10,000 passengers - also increased after a dip in August.

See the details >>

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39.43 lakh domestic air passengers in Sept, 66% lower than last year: DGCA

New Delhi: A total of 39.43 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in September this year, 66 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year, the country''s aviation regulator DGCA said on Wednesday.

As many as 21.07 lakh and 28.32 lakh people travelled by air domestically this July and August, respectively, the regulator had said last month.

While IndiGo carried 22.66 lakh passengers in September, a 57.5 per cent share of the total domestic market, SpiceJet flew 5.3 lakh passengers, which is 13.4 per cent share of the total market, according to data shared by the DGCA.

Air India, AirAsia India, Vistara and GoAir carried 3.72 lakh, 2.35 lakh, 2.58 lakh and 2.64 lakh passengers respectively in September, the data showed.

The occupancy rate or load factor of six major Indian airlines was between 57 and 73 per cent in September, it said Wednesday.

"The passenger load factor in the month of September 2020 has shown some recovery due to increased demand after the opening of lockdown," said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The occupancy rate in SpiceJet was 73 per cent in September, the regulator noted.

Meanwhile, the occupancy rate for other major airlines Vistara, IndiGo, AirAsia India, Air India and GoAir stood at 66.7 per cent, 65.4 per cent, 58.4 per cent, 57.9 per cent and 57.6 per cent, respectively, according to the DGCA.

India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Indian airlines are allowed to operate a maximum of 60 per cent of their pre-COVID-19 domestic flights.

A total of 19.84 lakh passengers travelled domestically in June this year. Between May 25 and May 31, 2.81 lakh air passengers had travelled domestically, the DGCA noted.

The DGCA data mentioned that in September, AirAsia India had the best on-time performance of 98.4 per cent at four metro airports -- Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

IndiGo and Vistara were at number two and three at these four airports in September with 98.2 per cent and 95.5 per cent on-time performance, respectively, the regulator said.

14/10/20 PTI/Outlook

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Flights are Coming Back, Albeit a bit Slowly

India’s domestic aviation companies are gradually restarting flights to the relief of business and leisure travellers. Although restrictions by individual states may still impose some difficulties, starting October, there has been a rise in the number of operational flights.

For example, Air India has resumed its Mumbai-Mangalore-Mumbai flights, operating four days a week.

Its subsidiary Alliance Air has started Bengaluru-Madurai-Coimbatore-Bengaluru four days a week flights with same day return. The airline has started operations between Jagdalpur and Hyderabad as well as between Jagdalpur and Raipur, recently.

Among the private operators, Spice Jet has started its Delhi-Kangra-Delhi flight since October 12. With Himachal Pradesh ready to allow tourists without any medical certificate, the flight is a welcome option for those who might want to visit the region during Dussehra and Diwali. The airlines also said that from November 8, it will operate daily return flights between Darbhanga (in Bihar) and Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

However, before embarking on the domestic flights, it is advisable to check the quarantine rules as they may differ from state to state.

Also, do note, the days of flights may change subject to availability of aircraft and other operational requirements. It is always best to check with the airlines before planning or buying tickets.

Although India has been running air bubbles with several countries, according to media reports, international flights are likely to remain suspended till March-April 2021.

According to the guidelines issued for the Unlock 5 phase (October 1 to 31), the central government said international flights will not be resumed during this period, except for all-cargo operations and for flights specifically approved by the DGCA.

In a recent press conference in Delhi, India’s civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that Government of India has formalised air bubble arrangements with 16 countries: USA, Canada, France, Germany, UK, Maldives, UAE, Qatar, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Japan, Nigeria, Kenya, Iraq, Bhutan and Oman.

14/10/20 Outlook

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'Domestic Civil Aviation On Steady Growth Trajectory': Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri

As the domestic civil operations continue to function smoothly and the number of domestic travellers is moving towards pre-COVID figures, Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that so far over 12.8 million passengers have availled flight services. The domestic flight operations had resumed on May 25. The minister also added that over 1.74 lakh passengers flew on October 12. 

While speaking further, Hardeep Singh Puri said that the total number of flyers on October 12 was 1,74,138. As per the official release, on October 12, over 1.74 lakh passengers took to the skies; nearly 1.76 lakh passenger departures took place; 1,605 flight departures took place; 1.76 lakh passenger arrivals took place. A total of 3,214 flight moments took place across the country on Tuesday. 

14/10/20 Gargi Rohatgi/Republic World

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Post coronavirus pandemic, flight operations limping back to normal; know what AAI and latest figures reveal

One of the worst-hit sectors during the Coronavirus pandemic, Indian aviation, has started to limping back to normal flight operations. Latest figures for October 12 traffic from Airport Authority of India (AAI) were out on Tuesday. AAI in multiple tweets presented the number of passengers, flight movements and footfalls. In one of the tweets, AAI said 3,50,264 footfalls were recorded at airports across the country on October 12. “Aviation operations continue to soar,” it tweeted.  

Talking about flight operations, it said a total of 3,214 flight movements took place across the country, while 174,138 passengers took to the skies on October 12.  

About footfall at Chandigarh airport, AAI said, "Staff at Chandigarh airport is working continuously due to which the footfall has seen an uptick since the resumption of domestic flight operations. From 5.6k in April to Over 63.5k last month. We thank passengers for having faith in us during Covid 19."

In a tweet, it said more than 37.7k passengers have travelled through AAI airports in the Northern region of India in 371 flights. “We are proud to have regained the trust of passengers post lockdown, ”it added.

​“Domestic civil aviation on a steady growth trajectory with 1,74, 138 passengers on 12 October. More than 12.8 million passengers have now flown on 135K flights since operations recommenced on 25 May 2020. Moving fast towards pre-COVID numbers.(sic),” tweeted Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday.

13/10/20 ZeeBiz

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Blade's India unit starts personalised air charter service Blade Anywhere

Mumbai: US-based helicopter transport services provider Blade's Indian subsidiary on Tuesday announced the launch of an end-to-end personalised air charter service 'Blade Anywhere', offering customers a host of facilities such as a dedicated relationship manager, pick-up and drop-off, customised menus of food and beverages, among others.

The service has initially been launched in Maharashtra only, and the bookings can be made through its website, mobile app as well as a flier relations team, the company said in a release.

In a release, the company also announced the resumption of its fly-by-seat services from next month.

The digitally powered aviation company Blade is the largest arranger of helicopter flights for civilian travel in the US.

Blade had launched its helicopter services, in a joint venture with equity investment firm Hunch Ventures, under a fly-by-seat model in the country, connecting Mumbai with Pune and temple town Shirdi late last year. However, these services were later suspended for unspecified reasons.

Blade India has introduced the 'Blade Anywhere', a programme for its personalised charter services. Blade Anywhere is an extension of its short-haul flights, connecting any destination with more value additions for its customers, the company said in the release.

"Travel today must be about more than just the transportation of it. Blade Anywhere is about the safety, convenience and the full experience of private travel," said Karanpal Singh, founder of Hunch Ventures and Blade India.

A spokesperson for Blade India told PTI that though most service requests are Intra-city, it accommodates requests for other sectors as well.

13/10/20 PTI/Business Standard

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It’s flying time for netas as poll dates inch closer

Patna: The wheezing flying machine has started piercing the silence as some BJP leaders on Monday used helicopters to reach different destinations in the poll-bound Bihar.

However, not many helicopters would be seen flying this election because of restrictions on the traditional mode of electioneering due to coronavirus. But several parties have hired helicopters after the Election Commission (EC) allowed small rallies and gatherings for campaigning.

As electioneering gains momentum, political parties are in talks with the private aviation companies to hire choppers for the star campaigners. Use of flying machine in elections is convenient for the politicians to cover several constituencies in rural areas per day.

Devendra Kumar, Patna incharge of Aurea Aviation Pvt Ltd, said on Monday that BJP has hired six helicopters while Congress and RJD one each. “On Monday, three helicopters hired by the BJP took off for Jamui, Jhanjharpur and Bettiah. Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi along with other leaders such as Samrat Choudhary and Shailendra Prasad, left for Jhanjharpur on the twin-engined MD 900 helicopter around 11am,” he said.

According to the officials at Patna airport, BJP state president Sanjay Jaiswal, along with MP Radha Mohan Singh, former MP Janak Ram and Yuvraj Singh, left Patna on the Augusta 109 chopper to cover Bettiah constituencies. BJP senior Bhupender Yadav flew to Jamui with his close aides on Augusta 109 for electioneering.

Devendra said the other parties would also book the helicopter for electioneering in the next few days. “VIP and JAP-L have contacted the private aviation companies to hire helicopters,” he added.

13/10/20 Times of India

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Reopening lifts up air traffic, number of flyers

New Delhi: With the gradual re-opening of the economy, the number of air passengers has witnessed continuous growth. The number grew by nearly 43 per cent between June and August, while aircraft movement has recorded a growth of nearly 28 per cent. 

However, there was still an average gap of nearly 76% in the movement of passengers and 64% gap in aircraft movements in August this year compared to the same month last year, domestic air traffic data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India revealed.

Smaller cities like Patna, Lucknow, Kozhikode, Jaipur, Coimbatore etc. have seen larger growth in aircraft movements in last three months —from 1,148 to 1,676 in Patna, 111 to 202 in Kozhikode and from 860 to 1,288 in Lucknow between June and August.

While the government believes that domestic traffic is likely to reach pre-COVID level by the year-end, industry analysts say the recovery is only marginal.

Harsh Vardhan, aviation expert and former CEO of Vayudoot, said while the recovery is a good sign, it may take till end of 2022 for the aviation sector to return to last year’s levels. “Almost 60-70% fleet is still on the ground. I don’t see anything before 24 months when reasonable operations are stablised...There are restrictions. There is very limited international operation,” he said.

12/10/20 Kumar Vikram/New Indian Express

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India Revival Mission: Is aviation industry India's biggest Covid-19 casualty?

New Delhi: On India Revival Mission Council on Saturday, Heena Gambhir discussed the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the Civil Aviation Industry. This sector was one of the worst-hit sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic wave, however, now it is gradually limping back to normalcy. The pandemic has claimed over 18000 jobs in the aviation sector. The revenue of airlines fell down by 85.7% between April to June 2020.

A report suggests that domestic traffic may reach pre-COVID level by the end of 2020. The government will allow 75% of flight operations soon. Even if the sector is re-building now there are still many concerns revolving around.

How will the Centre rebuild confidence in the sector? Is there worst hiding behind the aviation industry? Will Domestic Aviation Sector revive?

11/10/20 ETNowNews.com

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The worst is yet to come for the world’s airlines

If you say your summer holidays were lacklustre in an era of pandemic-induced staycations, spare a thought for the world’s airlines.

The industry typically earns about 40% of its profits in the third calendar quarter alone, as the surge in travel gives carriers the chance to finally fill up aircraft at prices that can pay off their wage, fuel and debt bills.

There were aspirations a while back that there might be enough of a recovery from coronavirus lockdowns in the three months to September to keep airlines’ heads above water. The 18% improvement in a Bloomberg index of world airline stocks in August was the best performance for the benchmark since it was first compiled 20 years ago.

Some hope. As the first chills of winter arrive, it’s increasingly clear that the industry is as deep in the hole as it ever was.

EasyJet was one of the carriers better placed to survive thanks to its low cost structure and strong balance sheet. Nonetheless, it’s in talks with the British government about a second slug of state support after a £600m state-guaranteed loan earlier in the year, a person familiar with the matter said. Philippines-based Cebu Air is raising $500m in bonds and preferred shares after the government ruled out taking over troubled airlines.

Malaysian-based discount rival AirAsia Group announced a restructuring of its long-haul affiliate AirAsia X last week while ceasing operations on its Japanese carrier. It also ended funding for AirAsia India, people familiar with the matter said. Its domestic competitor, state-owned Malaysia Airlines, is talking to creditors about a restructuring and one or other Malaysian carrier may fail by the end of the year, according to the country’s aviation regulator.

11/10/20 Business Live

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Cash shortage, rising costs trouble aviation sector

New Delhi: Despite the civil aviation market in India picking up slightly in terms of passenger traffic, the industry is worried over their future due to massive cash shortages and increasing operating costs.

A senior official of one of India’s leading low-cost carriers (LCC) told The Sunday Guardian that the aviation sector in India is on a ventilator and that if operations are not started in full-scale, many would have to shut their shops. 

 “Aviation sector is a cost intensive sector, each flight that takes off has a huge amount of money spent on it–in terms of its parking fees, operation cost, staff salaries, fuel prices etc, but on the other hand, the ticket prices are very low and, in such circumstances, it is becoming very difficult for airlines to keep themselves afloat. The pandemic has hit the aviation sector the hardest and there should not be a doubt about that,” the airline official quoted above said.

“We don’t have money to pay salaries, the sector is operating with just 60% of its capacity compared to the pre-Covid era. The passengers are still not confident of flying and we don’t see this recovering to pre-Covid situation any time soon. We are having to cancel flights because seats are going empty and we cannot fly planes which have like just 10 to 15 passengers,” the airline official said.

Another airline officer told this correspondent that they have been in talks with the government and have asked the government to step in to help them. “The aviation sector is burning money; the industry is cash-strapped. The government has done very little for the industry in terms of providing benefits and help to this industry. Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices in India are one of the highest in the world; operation costs in India are also one of the highest in the world. Aircraft maintenance cost is also one of the highest and when passenger traffic is not seeing the growth it was expected, how can airlines keep their business running with such high costs. The government, on the other hand, says that they have nothing much to do and they can do only so much,” another official from a scheduled carrier told this correspondent. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the revenue for the civil aviation industry in India has reduced by 85%, from Rs 25,517 crore in the first quarter of 2019 financial year (April-June) to just Rs 3,651 crores during the same period this year.

The pandemic has also left one of India’s low-cost carriers Air Asia on the brink. Air Asia, which is a joint venture between Tata and the Malaysia operated AirAsia group, is trying to raise money to keep themselves afloat. In India, they are hoping that Tata, which holds 51% stake in the airline, would infuse some money into the airlines to keep it flying.

There has also been a sharp fall in the passenger traffic in India between March and July this year compared to the same period last year. As against 5,85,30,038 domestic passengers carried by Indian air carriers between March to July last year, the India carriers flew just 1,20,84952 domestic carriers this year in the same period.

10/10/20 Dibyendu Mondal/Sunday Guardian Live

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RBI to SC: Freedom given for different treatment for aviation, automobile, roads

New Delhi: Citing Kamath Committee recommendations, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has informed the Supreme Court that it has accepted the recommendation for different treatment for sectors namely aviation, automobile manufacturing, roads and wholesale trading.

In an affidavit, the RBI said: "Wherever the Committee felt that certain ratios were not relevant or not applicable based on the specific nature of the sector, the Committee itself had recommended a different treatment, for eg, aviation, automobile manufacturing, roads and wholesale trading, which has also been accepted by the Reserve Bank."

Citing the September 7 special window notification, the RBI insisted that banks have sufficient flexibility to accommodate the impact of Covid-19 while specifying specific ratios for determining eligibility of loan resolution.

The RBI said lending institutions are required to consider five key ratios while preparing the financial assumptions in respect of resolution plans under the "Resolution Framework".

"The specific thresholds to be met for these ratios in respect of borrowers in 26 sectors have been prescribed, as recommended by the Expert Committee. As regards all other sectors, the lending institutions may make their own internal assessments with regard to the values of the five ratios to be considered", said the affidavit.

In the second affidavit, the RBI said a long moratorium exceeding six months can also impact credit behaviour of borrowers and increase the risks of delinquencies post resumption of scheduled payments.

"It may result in vitiating the overall credit discipline which will have a debilitating impact on the process of credit creation in the economy. It will be the small borrowers which may end up bearing the brunt of the impact as their access to formal lending channels is critically dependent on the credit culture", added the affidavit.

10/10/20 IANS/Times of India

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Flying Privately, Safely

From a small holiday getaway destination to that ‘must do’ business meeting, more CXOs and anyone with deep pockets are opting for the ‘safe and secure’ private flying options. Flying on a private jet was always a luxury; it still is today. But something has changed, it seems. Post pandemic ‘safety’ has been prefixed on everything including ‘luxury’. Why is that? Simply, because now flying privately comes loaded with a host of benefits that keeps you virtually in a safety bubble thereby protecting you from coronavirus. “It is secure, safe, and customized. And there is virtually zero physical contact with any one. Every step is customized to make one travel safely and securely,” says Ishiqa Jain (name changed on request), CEO and founder of a technology firm who had to meet her American investor friend on March 28 in Bengaluru, three days after the nationwide lockdown. “ My CFO and I flew on a private plane from Delhi and came back the same night. It was something we had to do because of which we got the next round of funding,” says Jain. 

On June 6, Mumbai-based Harsh (28 years) and Chaya (27 years), engaged to be married four days before the lockdown, approached a private air charter firm and worked out an intimate getaway (with three more friends) to Udaipur. With hotels shut, they managed a private villa and booked a one-way flight. “We drove back in a friends SUV. It was an amazing experience of flying with our close friends. The entire aircraft was for us, there was food too. We reached 30-minutes before departure and boarded the aircraft in 10-minutes with all mandatory safety precautions included. The money was well spent. It worked out to be a couple of lakhs per person. The experience was well worth the money considering the lockdown, the rising Covid-19 cases, the restrictions etc.,” says Chaya. 

Luxury of flying on a private airplane has taken a new meaning post pandemic, it seems. “In the early days, there was a sudden demand for evacuation flights. We were able to fly 17 evacuation flights with all the required approvals across cities like Udaipur-Delhi, Vizag-Bangalore, Bangalore-Delhi, Bangalore-Doha, Mumbai-Dubai, and Ahmedabad- Delhi. People were reaching out to us knowing that charters were the safest option available. Due to which we saw 70 per cent of our requests coming in from first-time flyers overall,” says Kanika Tekriwal, CEO and Founder, JetSetGo Aviation. Then there were requests from business travelers including the CXO’s, adds Tekriwal. “We flew 384 flights  for both domestic and international sectors upon request from CEO’s & CXO’s,” she says. 

10/10/20 Ashish Sinha/Business World

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Nepal, India discuss opening new air routes

Kathmandu: The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) and Indian Embassy held a meeting today regarding new air entry points.

Nepal and India have been discussing about new entry routes for aircraft to enter Nepal via third country.

However, no fixed decision has been taken so far. Regarding this issue, Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai again held a discussion with Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

According to the ministry’s secretariat, Minister Bhattarai spoke with Ambassador Kwatra about air route via Bhairahawa checkpoint.

The minister also requested Ambassador Kwatra to finalise permitting aircraft to enter Nepal via Nepalgunj and Mahendranagar routes.

On June 17, 2018 India had provided new air entry routes for Nepal over Biratnagar and Janakpur. With the permission, international flights coming to Nepal can take the eastern air entry routes over Biratnagar and Janakpur.

Before that, international flights coming to Nepal were permitted to come via air entry route over Simara only.

However, no decision has been taken yet about entry routes from western Nepal.

10/10/20 Himalayan Times

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Bihar Elections may be a no-show for private air charters, but overall demand back at pre-COVID-19 levels

A helicopter lands in a cloud of dust in the middle of a big ground, even as thousands of people wait expectantly for their leader to get out and address them.

It is a scene out of any 'mega rally' that dot elections in India. In 2020, though, this drama is missing in Bihar, which elects a new assembly later within a month. One of those who are suffering from the missed opportunity are the providers of chartered helicopters and jets that otherwise fly politicians from one rally to the other.

"The demand normally soars during any elections but this time around there has been a highly reduced demand because of the pandemic," says Rajan Mehra, CEO of Club One Air, a charter provider with a fleet of 10 aircraft.

The Centre has eased the cap on gathering for poll-bound states. But still, only up to 200 people - from earlier 100 - are allowed to attend a gathering. The Centre has allowed state governments to take a call on rallies. But given the emphasis on social distancing, as Bihar has nearly two lakh COVID-19 cases, rallies that see lakhs of people, will be absent this time.

This has changed things for the charter providers.

"We would normally have seen a considerable demand for Delhi-Patna movements but this year there have only been a trickle of requests," added Mehra, who earlier was the India head of Qatar Airways.

This is in stark contrast to what happened last year during the General Elections, when supply dried up and charter rates doubled to nearly Rs 4 lakh an hour. "There was not enough capacity to cater to the demand," recalls Harsh Vardhan Sharma, co-founder of Himalayan Heli Services Ltd. The company has a fleet of six helicopters.

While state elections are much smaller in scale, these do help charter service providers to utilise their capacity.

Bihar goes to elections on October 28, with the last phase getting over on November 7.

"Bihar is a large state. There would have been a good demand," Kanika Tekriwal, founder of private charter provider JetSetGo. "At the same time," she adds, "it is not to say that general aviation hasn't picked up after the lockdown. In fact, it is doing better than the commercial schedule aviation."

Both Mehra and Tekriwal said that their operations are back to pre-COVID-19 levels, thanks to a pick-up in business and leisure travel.

"Demand in general for charter aircraft has been increasing because of the obvious safety, security and social distancing that small private jets allow.

You travel with known people and crew. The crew are tested and the planes are sanitized," says Mehra.

It also helps, points out Tekriwal, that there are fewer touch points at a terminal of general aviation than the ones in the larger airports that operate scheduled flights.

JetSetGo, says Tekriwal, did higher business in September, compared to the same month last year.

The demand has picked up both for business and leisure and again both for domestic and international travel. While Goa and Udaipur are favoured destinations in India, Dubai, the UK and Germany are the most sought out overseas. Maldives, though, is the hot favourite of the season.

"We see demand also for UAE, where IPL is being held. Though spectators are not allowed, team owners and their friends and relatives have been traveling," said Mehra. He expects international travel to further open up once more countries permit visitors.

09/10/20 Prince Mathews Thomas/moneycontrol.com

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Using electric planes and UAVs, this startup wants to redefine urban mobility in India

Increasing population, encroachments, traffic problems, and infrastructure problems are major concerns for Indian roadways. In a bid to solve issues related to inadequate road infrastructure, Chennai-based The ePlane Company is looking to take the aerial route. Ubifly Technologies Private Limited, better known as The ePlane Company (TEC), was founded in 2016 by Pranjal Mehta and Satyanarayanan Chakravarthy to provide aerial delivery services. The startup ideated out from the National Centre for Combustion Research & Development Lab (NCCRD).

Speaking with YourStory, Satyanarayanan, Co-founder and CTO, explains that the startup is building electric planes and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for short-range intracity travels and is aimed at redefining urban mobility. He adds that the products developed by the startup are unique in nature because they are a hybrid mix of drone and electric aeroplane technology. 

Satyanarayanan has been teaching Aerospace Engineering at IIT Madras since 1998. He is also the head of the National Centre for Combustion Research & Development Lab (NCCRD) and the Centre of Propulsion Technology at IIT Madras.

His study on propulsion was one of the reasons that led to the launch of TEC. On the other hand, Pranjal, an alumnus of IIT Madras, was previously involved in building short distance daily flying vehicles. “Electric cars are now more expensive than traditional combustive vehicles and the major reason for this is the cost of the battery. Users expect similar mileage from both the vehicles and thus, EV cars need to pack up batteries to match the mileage of an ICE car, thereby increasing the cost of the vehicles. However, that will not be the case for aeroplanes as it is not possible to pack up batteries on planes because it will not be able to take a flight. This brings down the cost of electric aeroplanes to that of a conventional aircraft,” says Satyanarayan.

09/10/20 Shreya Ganguly/YourStory

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Uttarakhand allows resumption of helipad service for devotees going to Kedarnath

Uttarakhand Tourism has allowed the resumption of helipad service for devotees going to Kedarnath Dham. The Helipad service, which had been stalled for a long time due to the Covid 19 pandemic, has now started at three places which are Gupt Kashi, Sirsi and Fata helipad for Kedarnath Dham.

Earlier, all the three helipads were inspected by the DGCA team in which the security arrangements and facilities made for the passengers were reviewed.

Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Authority (Yucada) has started online booking of heli tickets. Seven aviation companies are operating helipad services from Sirsi, Phata, Gupt Kashi in which Aero Air Craft from Guptkashi to Kedarnath, Pawan Hans for Fata to Kedarnath, Thambi Aviation, Pinnacle Air, Chipson Aviation and Ketral Aviation to Kedarnath from Sirsi, Himalayan Heli and Arrow Air Craft are being served.

The fare per passenger is Rs. 7750 from Guptkashi, Rs. 4720 from FATA and Rs. 4680 from Sirsi. Tourism Secretary Dilip Javalkar said, "After Unlock 5, pilgrims' enthusiasm for Chardham Yatra is steadily increasing. The number of tourists in the state has increased considerably due to the exemption given in the Covid Report and Quarantine to tourists in Unlock 5.

08/10/20 Hotelier India

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Rahul attacks PM over VVIP aircraft acquisition

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi again attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday over the acquisition of VVIP aircraft and wondered how many things could have been bought for the soldiers stationed in Siachen-Ladakh border in the amount spent.

During his campaign in Punjab against the farm reform laws, the Congress leader on Tuesday had accused the prime minister of "wasting" thousands of crores of rupees on the aircraft.

Tagging a media report which claimed that the Public Accounts Committee has asked for permission from the Lok Sabha Speaker to go to Ladakh over delay in procuring clothing and equipment for jawans stationed at the Siachen, Ladakh border, Gandhi renewed his attack on the prime minister over the aircraft acquisition.

"PM bought a plane worth Rs 8,400 crore for himself. In this amount, how many things could be purchased for our soldiers posted on the Siachen-Ladakh border. Warm clothes: 30,00,000. Jacket, gloves: 60,00,000. Shoes: 67,20,000 Oxygen cylinder: 16,80,000," he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Gandhi alleged that the PM is "only concerned about his image and not soldiers".

When he was asked about the BJP''s criticism of him for using a cushion to sit in a tractor, Gandhi had said in Punjab that the prime minister''s ''Air India One'' did not just have a cushion but a whole lot of luxury beds for his comfort.

Government sources had said that the process for procuring two VVIP aircraft had begun under the UPA government, and the current dispensation has only brought it to a logical conclusion.

08/10/20 PTI/Outlook

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Hardeep Singh Puri mulls allowing domestic airlines to operate at 75% capacity

ddressing a press conference, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, on Thursday, mentioned that he expected domestic aviation to reach pre-Covid-19 levels by the year-end and the government would soon allow airlines to operate at 75% of their pre-Covid capacity in the country. From 30,000 passengers on May 25, the day the government re-started domestic flights, the number of passengers opting for air travel has grown to 1.76 lakh daily as of October 3, Puri added.

He also made it clear that it would seek parity in the operation of international flights and foreign airlines would not be allowed at the cost of homegrown air carriers. The unequivocal message from the government came after German airline Lufthansa suspended operations to India over a disagreement on the number of flights. “We are all for foreign carriers operating here. But I think the time has come for the message to go out loud and clear that it will not be at the cost of Indian carriers,” Puri told reporters here. He said that under the regulated arrangements of travel bubbles, India was insisting on near parity, if not total parity.

Under the travel bubble initiative, Lufthansa was operating 20 flights per week to India, while Air India could run only three per week, putting it at a disadvantage commercially. When Lufthansa submitted its October schedule for approval to the civil aviation regulator, the German airline was granted permission to operate seven flights a week. 

Most Indian travelers prefer to travel to hub airports in Europe and proceed to their destinations in the US, Canada, and other countries, under the sixth freedom rights.

“If the (bubble) arrangement is being carried out only for six freedom rights, then obviously we would want parity,” Puri said. He noted that Air India was operating 30 flights per week to the US as against 23 flights by American airlines to India.

08/10/20 Sagar Kulkarni/Deccan Herald

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Foreign airline flights will not be allowed at expense of Indian ones: Puri

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said the time has come to send a loud and clear message that foreign airlines' flights will not be allowed at the expense of Indian airlines.

On September 28, Lufthansa had to cancel its flights between India and Germany from September 30 to October 20 as the DGCA withdrew permission for them saying there are restriction on Indians who want to travel to Germany and this puts "Indian carriers at a significant disadvantage resulting in inequitable distribution of traffic in favour of Lufthansa".

During a press conference, Puri said, "The issue is not about allowing foreign carriers in or not. We are all for foreign carriers operating here. Make no mistake. But I think the time has come for the message to go out loud and clear that it will not be done at the expense of the Indian carriers."

"Under the regulated (air bubble) arrangements, we are not insisting on total parity. Even near parity will do," the minister added.

After the aforementioned Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA)decision that led to cancellation of Lufthansa's flights, Air India was forced to cancel all Frankfurt flights till October 14 as Germany withdrew permission for them.

Scheduled international passenger flights have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, special international flights have been allowed since July under the bilateral air bubble pacts formed by India with around 16 countries, including Germany.

Puri said, "There is an opportunity in India for all foreign economic entities. But equally, where the commercial advantage is concerned, we also expect our carriers - when they go there (to those countries) - to also get those facilities."

08/10/20 PTI/Business Standard

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New, unusual routes pop up in airline networks due to pandemic realities

Airlines in India have been on a roller coaster ride since domestic aviation re-started on May 25. From the outset, multiple conditions hit the airlines — the cap on capacity, lower and higher ranges in air fares, and slots at airports being scattered to ensure physical distancing. As if this was not enough, individual states came up with an additional set of rules.

This has led to a challenging time for passenger-facing staff of airlines — cockpit and cabin crew as well as those on the frontlines at airports. Frontline staff members interacting with passengers have their own set of challenges, Meanwhile, another battle is playing out in the backroom with Network Planning and Revenue Management teams, among others, on their toes processing inputs from the ground to start a route that can help fill up planes, garner additional revenue and ensure cash flow.

The result has been a change in the pecking order at airports as those away from the public glare try every trick in the book and invent new ones to ensure money keeps rolling in.

When the government allowed the restart of services, it laid down a condition that an airline can start one third of its approved summer schedule while spacing slots to ensure physical distancing within the airport.

While the initial days saw spacing of flights, airports as well as airlines bettered their processes with each passing day. The government, too, relaxed the capacity norms, allowing additional flights, and airports started accommodating more flights in the same time band.

While the initial days saw traffic move from metros to Tier II and Tier III cities, as things stabilised and the economy began reviving, the flow was in the reverse direction. A favourite pastime on twitter for many was to map passengers per flight, whereas in reality most flights were going choc-a-block one way and almost empty the other way

08/10/20 Ameya Joshi/Moneycontrol.com

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New flying schools at Belgavi, Kalaburgi soon; AAI to invite bids

New Delhi: The Centre has cleared plans to set up six flying schools at less utilised airports, including at Belagavi and Kalaburagi, to meet the growing demand for pilots in the country. Addressing a press conference here, Airports Authority of India Chairman Arvind Singh said the government has approved a policy to set up flying training organisations at six airports – Belagavi, Jalgaon, Khajuraho, Kalaburagi, Lilabari and Salem.

Over the next five years, India would require an estimated 9,488 pilots to meet the growing demand of its burgeoning civil aviation sector. Currently, India’s scheduled airlines employ over 9,000 pilots.

The civil aviation regulator DGCA issues about 700-800 commercial pilot licenses every year, of which 30% are given to pilots who have undergone training in a foreign country.

Singh said the new flying schools would help meet the growing demand for pilots and the government would offer incentives to them to set up shop here.

The flying school operators would be selected through a competitive bidding process and international players too would be allowed to participate.

08/10/20 Sagar Kulkarni/Deccan Herald

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From Sukhoi to Rafale: On Indian Air Force Day, Read About the Sophisticated IAF Aircraft

It is the 88th anniversary of the Indian Air Force today. Established on October 8, 1932, this force is considered to have some of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world. High-end fighter planes are purchased for the protection of the country borders. 

Let us take a look at some of our fighter aircraft that help our officers dominate in a combat situation >>

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Aviation enthusiasts are in for a special treat soon

When the Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team performs at the Air Force Day celebrations in Hindon on Thursday, the audience will be in for a surprise as the nineaircraft formation team will be performing their special smoke trails with smoke winder pods.

The Surya Kiran teams in the past had the smoke pods on when they used to perform with the Kiran Mark II aircraft. However, after the team upgraded to the

Hawk-Mk2 AJT aircraft, the famous smoke trails were missing during their performances in airshows and special occasions like Aero India and Air Force Day.

Smoke winders are used during aircraft testing and also by display flights in air shows as they help the audience see the aircraft clearly when they are

performing their manoeuvres. During their recent displays, though the Surya Kiran team was performing their signature manoeuvres like delta loops, barrel

rolls and bomb bursts, the trademark trail of smoke was missing.

“The smoke winder pods will be on display at the Air Force Day. The team has done extensive trails,” a source told Bangalore Mirror. During their display, the

team is expected to release colours of the Tricolour and also perform the heart and arrow maneuver.

08/10/20 Hemanth CS/Bangalore Mirror

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IAF plans to have 125 advanced combat jets

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is considering more numbers of the next generation stealt featured Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). The plan is to have at least 125 planes of the AMCA with two versions powered by separate engines.

During a press conference on Monday, Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said the force was looking for seven squadrons (some 125 jets) with two separate engines.

Sources said the first two squadrons of the fighters would be powered by an imported engine, the General Electric 414 with 90 KN thrust, same as the one used by US-made fighter jets made by Boeing.

The remaining five squadrons are likely to get an indigenous power plant with a greater thrust of 125 KN. A joint venture is being worked out with a foreign engine maker to jointly develop a new engine. A powerful engine will allow greater weapons carrying capacity and faster speed.

According to the existing plan, the AMCA’s first flight will be in 2027 and full production by 2029. The IAF, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are working on the AMCA.

The DRDO has tasked various labs for doing R&D on material, paint and structure. Separate studies are under way on flight control, avionics, aerodynamics, composite structure and general systems like brakes, hydraulics and fuel systems.

06/10/20 Tribune

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Amid COVID-19, 42% of early air travellers in India ready to go again: Report

At least 42 per cent of the air travellers in the past three months had a comfortable and safe in-flight experience and are ready to travel again, a report said on Wednesday.

The survey was conducted by online travel aggregator ixigo, with a sample of 5000 users also known as `Early travellers` - a group of flyers who have travelled in July-August-September and are ready to travel again in the next three months.

The survey results show that as travellers return to the skies, the confidence in air travel is rising.

According to the report, the likelihood of the respondents to take another domestic trip during the next three months (42 per cent) is the highest it has been as compared to an earlier sentiment survey done in May (16 per cent).

"As travel demand recovers, we want our users to feel confident and safe and give them a flexible, stress-free booking experience," Rajnish Kumar, Co-Founder & CTO, ixigo, said in a statement.

The report revealed that safety and hygiene measures being adopted by airlines and various properties is the most important aspect for travellers during Covid-19.

07/10/20 IANS/WION

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Covid cancellations: After SC order, DGCA issues detailed refund rules

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Wednesday issued detailed guidelines for refund of fares for flights cancelled during Covid-19 lockdown after the Supreme Court recently decided on the issue. The regulator, based on SC directives, has categorised refund seekers into three categories and issued different directives for them.

Category 1 - Passenger who booked tickets during lockdown for travel during lockdown from 25 March 25,2020, to May 24: If an airline has received payment from such a passenger for either domestic or international travel, it “shall refund the full amount collected without any cancellation charges … within three weeks from the date of cancellation,” the DGCA order says.

If tickets have been booked through a travel agent, “full refund shall be given by airlines immediately to the respective travel agent (who in turn) shall immediately pass on (the same) to passengers.”

Airlines, both Indian and foreign, will need to refund full fares to category 1 passengers who booked ex-India tickets for international travel.

Category 2 - Passengers who booked tickets any time prior to lockdown for journey up to May 24, 2020, and flight cancelled due Covid-19: “Airlines shall make all endeavours to refund the collected amount to the passenger within 15 days from October 7, 2020. If on account of financial distress, any airline/airlines are not able to do so, they shall provide credit shell, equal to the amount of fare collected, in the name of passenger when the booking is done either directly by the passenger or through travel agent so as to consume (utilise) the same on or before March 31, 2021,… on any route of (their) choice or the passenger can transfer the credit shell to any person including the travel agent through whom he / she has booked the ticket and the airlines shall honour such a transfer,” the order says.

07/10/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Covid fallout: Global airline industry will burn through $77 billion cash in second half of 2020

The global airline industry will burn through USD 77 billion in cash during the second half of 2020 despite the resumption of flight services amid the coronavirus pandemic, said airlines body IATA on Tuesday. “The slow recovery in air travel will see the airline industry continuing to burn through cash at an average rate of USD 5 to USD 6 billion per month in 2021,” said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in a press release.

The IATA has around 290 airlines as its members comprising 82 per cent of global air traffic. “The cash drain continued during the summer months, with airlines expected to go through an additional USD 77 billion of their cash during the second half of this year and a further USD 60-70 billion in 2021. The industry is not expected to turn cash positive until 2022,” the release noted.

The aviation sector in India has also been significantly impacted due to the pandemic. For example, in July, the country’s largest airline IndiGo declared a net loss of Rs 2,884.3 crore for the first quarter of 2020-21.

All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, leave-without-pay and firing employees in order to conserve cash. India resumed domestic passenger flights from May 25 after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The airlines have been allowed to operate only a maximum of 60 per cent of their pre-COVID domestic flights. Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since March 23 due to the pandemic. However, special international flights have been permitted since May this year.

06/10/20 PTI/Financial Express

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No takers for crowd-pulling helicopters in Bihar elections

 

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Patna: The usual whirring of helicopters carrying politicians is missing at election time in Bihar this year after the Election Commission banned big rallies in view of the COVID-19 outbreak. Bihar is one of the Indian states badly affected by the coronavirus that has claimed 924 lives and infected close to 200,000 people so far.

In order to check the spread of the virus, India’s poll body has initiated a host of measures to keep voters safe. More than 72.92 million voters will be exercising their franchise in the election.

Although the poll body has allowed election rallies, it has made clear that not more than 100 people could participate in each rally. Also, the people attending the rallies will have to strictly maintain social distancing and other COVID-19 guidelines. These restrictions have forced the leaders to focus on digital campaigning and door-to-door campaigns to reach out to the masses instead of holding rallies. Social media such as Facebook and WhatsApp are platforms that are being extensively used by political parties to convey their messages to the voters.

The result is that this time, there is no demand for helicopters that used to attract crowds of villagers at rallies. “This election time, we have received only a few inquiries but no bookings have been done so far. The politicians don’t seem to be interested in addressing the election rallies due to the pandemic,” said Anshu Aman, whose company has been providing choppers to the political parties during elections.

Another aviation company in-charge Devendra Kumar said: “The situation is very bad this time. No-one has even enquired about the rate of choppers let aside hiring them,” Kumar said. Aviation company officials said they have been charging between Rs80,000 to Rs100,000 for hiring a single-engine chopper, while booking of multi-engine choppers costs between Rs180,000 to Rs400,000 depending upon the company and the engine model.

06/10/20 Lata Rani/Gulf News

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IAF to induct 450 different aircraft in the next decade, says Air Chief

With plans to induct almost 400 different aircraft in the next decade, the Indian Air Force is all set to finalise a deal with the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 83 LCA Mk 1A and additional 12 Su 30 MKI from Russia. Also, order will be placed for more MiG-29 fighter aircraft from Russia. Outlining the modernisation plans and focus on indigenisation efforts of the IAF, on the eve of the 89th anniversary celebrations of the IAF, the IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria said, “Around 400-450 indigenous aircraft of various types are to be inducted in the IAF in the next 10-15 years. By the end of the decade, the target is to have around 37-39 squadrons.”

Batting for indigenous fighters, the chief said “the immediate focus is on signing the contract for 83 LCA-Mk1A than the tender for 114 fighter aircraft. The mainstay of the IAF in the next decade would be the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).”

In line with `Atmanirbhar Bharat’ “We have placed our trust in the LCA and in the next five years the induction of 83 LCA Mk1A will start. Also, the IAF will soon be signing a contract for 106 HTT-40 and the LCH with HAL,” the chief added. The deal for the 83 LCA-Mk1A is expected to be firmed up by the year-end.

In June, the DAC headed by the defence Minister Rajnath Singh, had put its approval on the IAF’s wish list of 12 Su-30 MKI aircraft from HAL, 21 MiG-29, and the up-gradation of existing 59 Mig-29 aircraft.

The approval given would help in further help in taking up the numbers of IAF’s dwindling fighter squadrons. As was reported by the Financial Express Online in July this year “The MiG-29, the upgrade of the existing MiG-29 which are already in service are going to cost around Rs 7418 crore, and the plans to buy new Su-30MKI (for approx Rs 10,730 crore).”

The procurement of the MiG-29 fighters and Su-30MKI has been under consideration for almost two years and the decision to sign the deal for these aircraft has been taken on priority bases in view of the ongoing tensions between India and China along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh.

07/10/20 Huma Siddiqui/Financial Express

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UPA's Air India One Proposal For Its VVIPs Renders Rahul's 'PM Wants Since Trump Has' Void

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Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hit back at Prime Minister Modi and the BJP after the Wayanad MP was mocked for sitting on cushioned seats on a tractor during anti-farm laws tractor rally in Punjab. Gandhi quipped that the Prime Minister's 'Air India One' did not just have a cushion but a whole lot of luxury beds for his comfort and accused him of "wasting" thousands of crores of rupees on the plane just because "his friend Donald Trump has one."

However, sources told Republic that the process of procuring these aircraft began around a decade ago under the UPA Government. Taking a jibe at Rahul Gandhi, the source said that perhaps like most other initiatives of the UPA government, "Rahul Gandhi wants to disown this procurement too?" Rahul Gandhi is entitled to his disregard for the UPA government, but not entitled to his own facts, they added. 

Sources said that the two aircraft are not the Prime Minister's aircraft as Gandhi dubbed them and but they will be used for other VVIPs. These aircraft belong to the Indian Air Force and not the Prime Minister, the sources said. The Modi government has only brought that process to its logical conclusion, they added.

The process of acquisition of two new aircraft for the travel of VVIPs commenced in 2011 when upon the direction of Group of Ministers (GOM), a meeting of Committee of Secretaries (CoS) was held wherein it was decided that an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) would examine the available options for long term arrangement of VVIP aircraft.

In the same year, an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) coordinated by Cabinet Secretariat was set up to consider all the options, including acquisition, management and utilization of aircraft for VVIP operations. IMG met around ten times and submitted recommendations in 2012. Two options were recommended- convert an existing B777 ER or use one of the new ones that were ordered by Air India but yet to be delivered.

Further, Cabinet Secretariat recommended the transfer of the aircraft to the Indian Air Force in August 2013. Thereafter, the process was just brought to its logical conclusion. It may be noted that the aircraft used for VVIP travel till now, the famed Air India Jumbo Jets are more than 25 years old. Not only are they incapable of long, trans-Atlantic flights, forcing halt enroute for refuelling and replenishment purposes, they are also fuel guzzlers of epic proportions, sources said.

07/10/20 Republic World

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Domestic air passenger traffic continues to recover: Icra

Mumbai: The Indian aviation industry witnessed continued recovery in domestic passenger traffic in September, with a sequential growth (over August) of about 37% as it transported over 39 lakh passengers.

The capacity deployment in September at about 46%, vis-a-vis September 2019, is a significant increase over the roughly 33% capacity deployed in August 2020. But year-on-year, domestic passenger traffic declined by about 66%, said the monthly analysis by credit rating agency Icra.

The number of departing flights has also gradually increased from 416 on Day 1 (May 25) to 1,488 on Day 128 (September 28), said Icra. For September 2020, the average daily departures were about 1,311, significantly lower than the average daily departures of 2,874 in September 2019, though much better than about 930 in August 2020. The average number of passengers per flight during September 2020 was 98, as against an average of 133 passengers per flight in September 2019.

"Thus, it is expected that the domestic aviation industry operated at a passenger load factor (PLF) of about 63% in September 2020, as against 85.5% in September 2019, that too on a low capacity. The PLF for September 2020 was similar to August 2020 despite the increase in capacity deployment by about 37%. Overall, from May 25, 2020 till September 30, 2020, the domestic passenger traffic has been ~11 million,” said Kinjal Shah of ICRA.

While the scheduled international operations are yet to start, the ongoing international operations are under the Vande Bharat Mission (VBM) and Air Transport Bubbles (ATB). Under the VBM for evacuation of Indian citizens from foreign shores, which started from May 07, the international passenger traffic (inbound and outbound) has been 8,41,634 for the period May 07 to September 30.

"For September, the number of international passenger traffic was 208,893, a Y-o-Y decline of about 89%," said ICRA.

06/10/20 Manju V/Times of India

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