Alarmed at regular snags in Airbus 320 Neos, DGCA orders probe

New Delhi: Alarmed at the frequent and unending snags, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday ordered detailed examination of all Pratt & Whitney (PW) engines fitted on the Airbus A-320 new engine option (Neo).
DGCA chief B S Bhullar has ordered that all PW engines on the A-320 Neo that have operated for over 1,000 hours should immediately undergo thorough 'boroscopic' tests.
Bhullar's decision came a day after the P&W engine on the A-320 Neo - a combination used by IndiGo and GoAir - reported their at least fifth snag with an IndiGo plane returning to Delhi soon after taking off for Bhubaneswar due to this issue.
Since the start of this year, IndiGo and GoAir - that use A-320 neo with PW engine - have seen at least five snags on these engines. The most common issue is getting warning of "engine oil chip detected" message for these engines.
This is the second step taken by DGCA on these snag-prone engines. It had last week made it mandatory for airlines to ground these planes immediately for repairs after getting the "engine chip oil" warning for the PW engines on the Neos.
28/02/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Snag forces flight to return after takeoff

An IndiGo Airbus A-320 new engine option (Neo) with 130 passengers on board had to return to Delhi soon after taking off for Bhubaneswar on Monday after the Pratt & Whitney (PW) engine of this aircraft developed a snag. This is the fifth reported snag in PW engines used by budget carriers IndiGo and GoAir on their brand new A-320 Neos in just over a month.
"The IndiGo plane (VT-ITE) got an 'engine oil chip detected' message for engine number one soon after takeoff and had to return to Delhi," said a senior official. Similar "engine oil chip" warning had come in three of the five problems reported in the PW engines of A-320 Neo in the last month.
IndiGo did not comment on the latest engine trouble till the time of going to press. Given the frequency of snags in PW engines, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has now made it mandatory for airlines to ground these planes immediately for repairs.
"Earlier, airlines were allowed to fly an aircraft for 10 hours under minimum equipment list (MEL) after getting this warning on the PW engine of a Neo. This meant that they could attend to the problem within 10 hours of getting the warning. But on February 8, a GoAir A-320 Neo engine which got this warning developed the second issue in eight hours and then people in Dwarka (a township next to airport in Delhi) saw its engine on 'fire' after taking off from IGI Airport. After that we have removed the 10-hour MEL and made it mandatory to attend to this issue without any delay," said a senior DGCA official.
28/02/17 Saurabh Sinha/The Times Of India

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Passengers stranded as IndiGo cancels flight to Bengaluru

More than 100 passengers were left stranded at the Lohegaon airport here after the Bengaluru-bound IndiGo flight, which earlier failed to arrive from Bengaluru due to bad weather condition there, was cancelled at the last moment on Monday morning.
The incoming flight was scheduled to reach Pune from Bengaluru at 6.50am and later leave for Bengaluru at 7.30am.
Amit Pathak, who was waiting at the Pune airport for the flight, tweeted to IndiGo's twitter handle (@IndiGo6E), "Stranded. 6e391 cancelled."
Another flier who was coming to Pune from Bengaluru, tweeted "IndiGo6E flight delayed due to bad weather and cancelled as Pune airport won't give permission to land in Pune as it's a defence base."
IndiGo airlines claimed that prompt steps were taken to assist passengers both in Pune and Bengaluru, but sources said several passengers were inconvenienced due to the cancellation of the flights.
In Pune, passengers were told about the cancellation of the flight after the check-in process was completed and boarding passes were handed over.
28/02/17 Joy Sengupta/The Times Of India

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Rabbits to blame for another near miss

A major accident between two planes, an IndiGo and a SpiceJet aircraft was averted at Ahmedabad airport due to the presence of rabbits on the airstrip, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has reported.

The incident occurred on Friday evening when a SpiceJet flight had to abort take-off at the last minute as an IndiGo plane could not clear the runway due to the presence of rabbits on the airstrip at the airport.

The SpiceJet aircraft was ferrying at least 400 passengers between them at Ahmedabad airport.

The incident occurred late on Friday evening just before a SpiceJet flight was about to take-off when the alert ATC personnel noticed that the IndiGo plane which had landed sometime back had still not cleared the runway.

The ATC controller than proceeded swiftly to instruct the SpiceJet aircraft to perform a rejected take-off (RTO). The RTO is as a maneuvre performed by the flight commander to discontinue a take-off after the engines thrust have been initiated and the aircraft starts rolling for the take-off. “On 24th February 2017, Spicejet Boeing 737-700 ,aircraft VT-SLB was scheduled to operate SG-912, sector AMD-DEL,” a SpiceJet spokesperson was quoted as saying in a statement.

“The aircraft backtracked and lined up on the runway and was cleared by ATC for take-off. However the ATC, noticed that the previous flight of another airline, which had landed had still had not vacated the runway.”
26/02/17 The Free Press Journal

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Collision between aircraft averted at Ahmedabad airport

New Delhi:  In yet another case of an air miss, an incident between IndiGo and a SpiceJet aircraft was averted at Ahmedabad airport.

According to official sources, the incident occurred on Friday evening when a SpiceJet flight had to abort take-off at the last minute as an IndiGo plane could not clear the runway due to the presence of rabbits on the airstrip at the airport.

The matter has been reported the aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

According to sources, the SpiceJet pilot saw Indigo flight was still on the runway whereas it was supposed to be off the runway by then. They were asked to enter backtrack and wait departure clearance.

However, a moment later air traffic control at Ahmedabad intervened. The pilot of Indigo reported that there were some rabbits on the runway and this required the ATC to advise SpiceJet to hold position, forcing the pilot to abort take-off at the last minute.

As the IndiGo pilot stopped the aircraft, the nose of the aircraft was still on taxiway and tail of aircraft still on the runway. While SpiceJet pilots maintain in their report that the IndiGo aircraft wasn’t cleared off the runway when SpiceJet was ready to take off.

Both the pilots reported ATC about the incident to the DGCA.
25/02/17 New Indian Express

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Man shares photo of air-hostess making fun of her English, airline gives fitting reply

How do we rate a flying experience with any airlines? Usually, people take to social media to share their experience about food, assistance, quality of services among other things. Some may be filled with criticism too, with a dash of sarcasm, but to take a dig at a flight attended for verbal skills? Well, yes someone did that got a fitting reply from the carrier.
A passenger recently travelled by domestic carrier, Indigo Airlines and shared a picture of an air-hostess taking a dig at her. The man, Shubho Sengupta wrote, “‘Are you comfortable with the English?,’ @IndiGo6E girl asked. ‘Not at all, are they coming back?’ I replied (was near Exits).”
How do we rate a flying experience with any airlines? Usually, people take to social media to share their experience about food, assistance, quality of services among other things. Some may be filled with criticism too, with a dash of sarcasm, but to take a dig at a flight attended for verbal skills? Well, yes someone did that got a fitting reply from the carrier.
A passenger recently travelled by domestic carrier, Indigo Airlines and shared a picture of an air-hostess taking a dig at her. The man, Shubho Sengupta wrote, “‘Are you comfortable with the English?,’ @IndiGo6E girl asked. ‘Not at all, are they coming back?’ I replied (was near Exits).”
How do we rate a flying experience with any airlines? Usually, people take to social media to share their experience about food, assistance, quality of services among other things. Some may be filled with criticism too, with a dash of sarcasm, but to take a dig at a flight attended for verbal skills? Well, yes someone did that got a fitting reply from the carrier.
A passenger recently travelled by domestic carrier, Indigo Airlines and shared a picture of an air-hostess taking a dig at her. The man, Shubho Sengupta wrote, “‘Are you comfortable with the English?,’ @IndiGo6E girl asked. ‘Not at all, are they coming back?’ I replied (was near Exits).”
While Sengupta shared his ‘joke’ online, the airlines took a stand for its staff. It acknowledged the “humour” but and hoped that he had asked permission from the lady before posting her picture online. The airlines further sternly added, “And oh, photography of our staff & inside an airplane are really not allowed.”
Oddly, after hearing the warning, the passenger expressed his admiration for the airlines. However, that did not deter Twitterati from savagely criticising him.
Many users even asked him to take down the photo of the flight attendant and slammed him for poking fun at a “self-made woman”.
25/02/17 Indian Express

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Flight from Coimbatore to Mumbai takes 6 hours

A trip from Coimbatore to Mumbai usually lasts no longer than two hours by air. But on Thursday, more than a hundred passengers on board Indigo flight 6E 453 were livid when the same journey took them six hours.
The flight, which took off from Coimbatore airport at 8 am, was expected to land at 9:55 am. But according to passengers who were on board the plane, while it was descending into Mumbai and about to land, the captain took it back up. "He made an announcement saying that because there was congestion on the runway, the flight had been delayed," said Chikita Kukreja, a Mumbaikar who was on board the flight. "My husband was worried as to why I hadn't landed, and was frantically trying to get in touch with Indigo to find what the hold up was about."
Harshit Shah, an employee of CEAT in Mumbai who was also on the same flight, said, "After hovering above Mumbai for nearly 45 minutes, he tried to land, but again pulled out. This time an announcement was made saying visibility conditions were low, but when we looked out, we could not see any impaired conditions. After pulling out, a third announcement was made stating that the flight was being taken to Ahmedabad for an emergency landing, as it was low on fuel."
At Ahmedabad, the flight was stalled for nearly two hours. Cabin crew and staff tried to appease angry passengers by giving them free food. Finally, after two hours, the flight took off for Mumbai, and landed in the city a little after 2 pm. According to the passengers, no proper explanation was given by the captain, as to why the flight had been delayed.
25/02/17 Gaurav Sarkar/Mid Day

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IndiGo too starts self-service kiosks for check-in

Low cost airline IndiGo on Thursday became the twelfth airline to introduce a self-service check-in facility for its passengers at Mumbai airport.
IndiGo passengers who have not done a web check-in, but who want to skip the check-in queue at the airport can print their boarding passes using CUSS (common-use self-service) kiosks. "Currently, only IndiGo passengers who don't have bags to check-in can use the kiosk. They can print their boarding pass and proceed directly for a security check. Later, IndiGo passengers with check-in bags too will be able to use the facility by printing baggage tags and dropping check-in bags at the dedicated area, like other airline passengers," said a Mumbai airport official.
The kiosks have been gaining popularity, the official said, adding that 23% domestic passengers use them. The airport handles an average of 41,000 domestic passengers a day, out of which over 9,000 use self-service kiosks to print their boarding pass and check-in baggage tags," said the airport official.
25/02/17 The Times Of India

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IndiGo brings on board ex-United Airlines exec Szadokierski

New Delhi: Budget carrier IndiGo has roped in former United Airlines executive Cindy Szadokierski as a consultant for its airport operations.
Szadokierski would be the third executive from United Airlines to be on board with IndiGo after Greg Taylor and Rohit Philip in the recent past.
One of the promoters of InterGlobe Aviation — the parent of IndiGo — Rakesh Gangwal has also served at United Airlines.
Sources said Szadokierski has been roped in by IndiGo as a consultant for airport operations.
When contacted, an IndiGo spokesperson declined to comment, while queries sent to the airline’s President Aditya Ghosh remained unanswered.
Szadokierski is being brought in at a time when the carrier is grappling with multiple issues, including those related to on-time performance and engine troubles in its A320 neo planes.
24/02/17 India.com

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IndiGo to induct 25-30 A-320 Neo aircraft over a year

New Delhi: IndiGo plans to induct 25-30 aircraft into its fleet in the next 400 days. Most of these will be Airbus A-320 New Engine Option, or Neo version.

The latest additions will see the total fleet strength of the 11-year-old, Delhi head-quartered low-cost airline touch 158 aircraft, sources indicated.

Incidentally, after starting its first flight in 2006, it was only in 2009 that IndiGo took delivery of its 25th aircraft. Now, it plans to induct 25-30 aircraft in a span of just over a year.

When contacted, IndiGo declined to offer comment on its induction plan.

The airline has not disclosed the latest induction programme beyond company President Aditya Ghosh.

At its third-quarter FY17 financial results conference call on January 31, it had said it expects to end the current fiscal with 20 Neo aircraft in its fleet.

IndiGo had ordered 430 Neo aircraft, the first of which landed in Delhi in March 2016 after a non-stop flight from the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France.
24/02/17 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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After Spicejet, Indigo launches Rs 777 offer

New Delhi: After SpiceJet on Wednesday announced flat fares of Rs 777 on the domestic sector to woo more flyers in the lean season, Indigo too came out with a similar offer.

Indigo, the country's biggest airline, has announced 'See something new at Rs 777' offer. The all-inclusive fare of Rs 777 is applicable for booking tickets till 25 February for travel till 27 April.

This offer is valid on select sectors and select flights only. The lowest fare is available on Agartala-Guwahati and Srinagar-Chandigarh flights. Another low-fare offer is for Chennai-Hyderabad flight at Rs 999.

The offer is valid on bookings made 19 days prior to travel.
23/02/17 Economic Times

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Two flights at same level, scanner on airport near-miss

An air controller's split second delay in assessing a situation and giving clear instructions to pilots of three aircraft put passengers of two flights in peril this December.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is investigating the "serious incident" that took place this winter. Pending the report, the controller in question has been shunted out of the air traffic control (ATC) tower.
On the morning of December 11, the controller at the tower in Kolkata airport had three aircraft on his hands. An Emirates flight to Dubai and an IndiGo Airlines flight to Hyderabad were taxiing for take-off from the main runway while a SilkAir flight from Singapore was approaching to land at the airport.
A routine affair at that time of the day, the controller asked the Emirates aircraft to line up from Taxiway K and gave it clearance for take-off. The IndiGo flight was asked to queue up and was next in sequence to hit the runway and take off. The SilkAir flight was around 6 nautical miles from touch down and approaching the landing strip at 320 kmph.
For some reason that is cur rently being looked into, the Emirates flight stood at the Madhyamgram end of the runway for one minute and 15 seconds before starting its take-off run. The rapidly approaching SilkAir aircraft was now 2 nautical miles of touchdown.
23/02/17 Subhro Niyogi/The Times Of India

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IndiGo airlines to transport life-saving drugs to the state

Manipur: Budget passenger carrier IndiGo said that it will deliver medical aid, including insulin, vaccines, serum and hormones, on a priority basis to Manipur.

According to the low-cost carrier, the initiative will help those affected by an 80-day-old highway blockade imposed by the United Naga Council (UNC) on NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur) and NH-37 (Imphal-Jiribam) that serve as lifelines for the landlocked state of Manipur.

Under the initiative, IndiGo will deliver the medicines “free of cost” for a month. The airline will also help the state government in logistical support and facilitation of drugs and other supplies.
22/02/17 North East Today

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IndiGo and SpiceJet square off in the OTP war

The past month has seen a war of words between IndiGo and SpiceJet on the issue of on-time performance, or OTP. On January 31, Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo said in an analysts conference call that “we suspect that the OTP statistics of some of our competitors in India is not quite correct.” He added that the airline had submitted evidence to industry regulator DGCA and had asked for a detailed investigation.

SpiceJet officials had earlier wondered why IndiGo had no problem with the methodology of data collection when it was on the top of the table.

DGCA’s data shows that in December last year, SpiceJet recorded a OTP of 70 per cent at the four metro airports while Jet Airways and JetLite reported an OTP of 64.3 per cent, Vistara 64.2 per cent, GoAir63.6 per cent, IndiGo 61.6 per cent and Air India brought in the rear with a performance of 59 per cent in its domestic flights.

While neither of the airlines has named each other and haven’t talked to the media, the DGCA too has kept mum. But the statements have continued.

Earlier this month, SpiceJet issued a statement quoting Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, saying “the airline had emerged as the most punctual airline for the fourth successive month.” Not everyone was amused.
21/02/17 Ashwini Phadnis/The Hindu Businessline

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Hitting an air-pocket

The paradox is striking. On the one hand, more and more Indians are taking to the skies. But on the other, airlines’ bottom-lines are shrinking.

In the recent December quarter, domestic air passenger traffic grew 23 per cent y-o- y to 2.72 crore. But all the three listed carriers — IndiGo Airlines, Jet Airways and SpiceJet — saw their earnings dip in what is considered a seasonally strong quarter. The profit of IndiGo and SpiceJet fell about 25 per cent y-o- y, while that of Jet Airways saw a much steeper fall of about 70 per cent. What gives?

Two factors — rising costs, especially that of fuel, and lower ticket prices — took a toll. With crude oil staging a comeback the past few months, the cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) headed north. As a percentage of sales, the carriers spent about 4-7 percentage points more on fuel in the recent December quarter, compared with the year-ago period. But rather than increasing ticket prices to offset the impact, the carriers took sharp cuts. Yields in the quarter fell about 16 per cent y-o- y for IndiGo, 10 per cent for SpiceJet and 3 per cent for Jet Airways. Blame this on price wars in the intensely competitive Indian skies.

The problem got compounded by demonetisation during the quarter with airlines slashing fares to offset the impact of the high-value note ban on passenger traffic. So, despite high passenger numbers, airlines’ revenue growth lagged far behind costs.
21/02/17 Anand Kalyanaraman/The Hindu Business Line

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Super six chooses the best eight

When IndiGo Airlines took wing in 2006, it redefined Indian aviation in many ways. In its decade of existence, the airline has proved that it is possible to make profits in the aviation business. IndiGo told Indians that there really was something called “on-time performance” and that flying can indeed be made a pleasurable experience. Interglobe Aviation, the company that flies IndiGo Airlines, came out with its initial public offering (IPO) in October 2015, and commands a market capitalisation of Rs 30,000 crore.

Eicher Motors Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Siddhartha Lal, after having taken the iconic Royal Enfield motorcycle to great heights in India, has moved to London as he wants to make a mark globally. At the age of 26, Lal became CEO of Royal Enfield in 2000, which was a struggling product.

Four years later, as chief operating officer of the company, Lal decided to divest 13 of the 15 businesses that Eicher was in and decided to put all the money and focus behind Royal Enfield and trucks, two businesses where he believed the group had a genuine shot at leadership. Lal’s bet paid off big time with Eicher becoming a grand success. Today, it has a market capitalisation of Rs 68,000 crore.
21/02/17 Defence Aviation India

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Near collision of IndiGo, Silk Air planes, govt launches probe

New Delhi: Two IndiGo and SilkAir planes were involved in a near-miss over Kolkata airspace last December, it has emerged, prompting the government to launch a probe.
The IndiGo plane from Kolkata to Hyderabad (VT-IEM) and the Kolkata-bound SilkAir aircraft from Singapore (9VMGH) were involved in the incident that happened on December 11.
Together, there were more than 200 people in the two planes. Both the airlines did not provide the number of passengers who were on board their respective flights when the incident happened.
Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has started a formal inquiry into the “serious incident”, according to a recent notification issued by the Civil Aviation Ministry.
Citing preliminary data from Indian authorities, French aviation watchdog BEA said vertical separation between the two aircraft “was zero feet” while the least horizontal separation between the two planes was reduced to just 0.6 NM.
About the incident, an IndiGo spokesperson said there was a reduction in horizontal separation between the two aircraft but “no error has been found on part of the IndiGo flight crew”.
The airline also said the situation could have been avoided had the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) not cleared its plane for take-off and made SilkAir discontinue the approach.
When contacted, a SilkAir spokesperson said the airline has provided AAIB with all the information and reports for the flight to aid them in their investigation.
21/02/17 PTI/India.com

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Vistara counters IndiGo's most-loved airline claim

New Delhi: Vistara has responded on the micro-blog countering claims made in full page advertisements by IndiGo, that the low-cost carrier attracts fewer complaints than its peers. Vistara contested this IndiGo claim on Twitter, arguing that they are the ‘most loved airline’ in the country, with the fewest number of complaints per 10,000 passengers flown.

As a matter of fact, the data by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the month of January shows that Vistara is the lowest in terms of passenger complaints at 0.1 per 10,000 passengers flown followed by IndiGo at 0.3 per 10,000 passengers flown.
The full page advertisements in newspaper have not shown Vistara’s and AirAsia India’s passenger complaint data.
The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), which constitutes all private airlines in India barring Vistara and AirAsia, does not recognise these two carriers on legal grounds.
20/02/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Pilot spots drone at 18,000ft after take-off

The pilot of a New Delhi-bound IndiGo flight spotted a red drone at an altitude of around 18,000 feet, soon after take-off from the domestic airport on Sunday afternoon.

With the drone was flying at an altitude of around three nautical miles near the airport. The pilot immediately alerted the Air Traffic Control (ATC) of the domestic airport around 2.24pm. The ATC later informed the police control room for probe.
20/02/17 The Times Of India

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Come March, airport to get ninth flight to Delhi, second to Mumbai

Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport in Amritsar is all set to get the ninth daily flight to Delhi and second to Mumbai in March.
IndiGo will operate a daily non-stop flight between Amritsar and Delhi, besides the holy city and Mumbai from March 16. Aditya Ghosh, president and whole time director, IndiGo, said, both corporate and leisure customers travelling from Amritsar would now have an opportunity to experience hassle-free and on-time services of the airlines. IndiGo has also inducted two brand new Airbus A320 NEO aircraft into its existing fleet this month.
The popularity of Amritsar-Delhi route can be gauged from the fact that already three airlines are collectively operating eight flights daily on this route.
The national carrier, Air India and Jet Airways operate three flights each daily, besides SpiceJet is flying two daily flights on the route. An industrialist, Kamal Dalmia, said, “There is invariably high traffic between Amritsar and Delhi as all branches of trades deal with their peers in Delhi.” Besides, a huge Sikh and Punjabi population with ties in Amritsar is settled in Delhi, he added.
Traders dealing in dry fruits, cereals, food, FMCG, readymade garments, spices and other products travel between Amritsar and Delhi frequently.
19/02/17 The Tribune

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Now, IndiGo Airbus 320 Neo faces engine snag

New Delhi: Engine trouble on the Airbus A-320 new engine option (Neo) shows no signs of abating.
On Saturday, an IndiGo A-320 Neo developed a snag in one of the engines, manufactured by aircraft engine makers Pratt and Whitney. "The aircraft (VT-ITC) got a 'oil chip detected' warning for one engine at Vadodara. It had to be flown back as a ferry (without passengers) to Delhi on Sunday for engine change," said a source.
IndiGo did not comment on this latest trouble with this engine. Till the time of filing this story, it could not be ascertained at what stage of flight the latest engine trouble with A-320 Neo happened.
Saturday's trouble is the fourth in less than a month with both IndiGo and GoAir - that use A-320 Neos with P&W engines - reporting two engine issues each. IndiGo A-320 neo on Saturday reportedly got an "oil chip" warning similar to the one that was witnessed by a GoAir A-320 Neo which had taken off from Delhi for Bangalore on February 8 and had to return to Delhi after a fire scare on an engine.
19/02/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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IndiGo Continues To Rule Indian Skies Even As January Market Share Dips Slightly

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.-promoted low-cost airline IndiGo began the new year with yet another month of superior market share in the domestic aviation industry.
IndiGo's market share in January 2017 stood at 39.8 percent, slightly lower than the revised 40.3 percent share it had captured in December 2016, according to data released by the regulatory body Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Jet Airways Ltd. saw its market share improve 50 basis points to 15.5 percent, while low-cost rival SpiceJet Ltd. held 12.8 percent.
The passenger load factor, used to measure the capacity utilisation of airlines, was largely unchanged from December for most major operators.
The number of passengers carried by domestic airlines during January grew 25.1 percent to 95.8 lakh from 76.6 lakh in the corresponding month of the previous year.
On a monthly basis, the number passengers carried in January was slightly higher than the 95.2 lakh passengers carried in December 2016.
17/02/17 Azman Usmani/Bloomberg Quint

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4 flights resume operations from Patna airport

Patna: With improvement in visibility conditions, four — one Air India and three IndiGo — flights resumed operations from the city's Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport after a gap of nearly three months on Thursday.
While IndiGo has resumed three morning flights — 6E-494 on Delhi-Patna route, 6E-634 on Patna-Calcutta-Goa route and 6E-339 on Patna-Lucknow-Mumbai route, Air India has resumed the operation of an evening flight (AI- 415/416) that operates on Patna-Delhi route.
Flights are not allowed to land at the airport unless the visibility is at least 1,200 metres. Accordingly, all four airlines operating from the city airport — Air India, IndiGo, GoAir and Jet Airways — had cancelled or rescheduled their morning flights and added flights in the afternoon under their winter schedule from the first week of November. Changes in timings were also made for the evening flights.
17/02/17 Times of India

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Amritsar becomes IndiGo’s 44th destination

New Delhi: IndiGo, India’s largest carrier in terms of market share, today announced Amritsar as its 44th destination.

“Effective March 16, IndiGo will operate a daily non-stop flight between Amritsar and Delhi and Amritsar and Mumbai. In line with company’s growth strategy, the airline has also inducted two brand new Airbus A320 NEO aircraft into its existing fleet this month,” the airline said in a release.
“As one of the significant pilgrimage spots in Punjab, Amritsar draws visitors from across the globe for its fine blend of tradition and culture. We are happy to add Amritsar as part of our growing network and are confident of supporting increasing demand from non-metros. We are looking at providing affordable fares on these new routes for 6E travellers. It is our constant endeavour to provide more flexibility of choice to our customers as IndiGo continues to offer them on time, hassle free and  an affordable flying experience,” IndiGo President and Whole Time Director Aditya Ghosh was quoted in the release.
17/02/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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IndiGo adds three flights from Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Budget carrier IndiGo will soon add 20 new flights to its network, including three from Hyderabad. The flights connecting Hyderabad to Chennai, Chandigarh and Cochin will commence operations from Feb 20, the airlines announced in a release on Sunday.

IndiGo will also add a second daily flight on the Chennai-Singapore route beginning March 5, 2017. On the Eastern India frontier, IndiGo will enhance operations from Delhi and Kolkata to Bagdogra with four additional flights to strengthen connectivity between the two metro cities and remote areas. IndiGo recently launched two non-stop daily flights to Sharjah and additional flight to Muscat.
13/02/17 Times of India

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Passenger who opened emergency chute released on surety

Mumbai: A passenger onboard an IndiGo flight who was taken into custody for opening the emergency chute of the Chandigarh-bound aircraft resulting in an injury to a co-passenger, was today released on surety, police said.
Akshay Rameshkumar Mohan (31) was released on surety of Rs 15,000 by Airport Police as it was a bailable offence, Alka Mandave, Senior Police Inspector of Airport Police Station said. The incident happened Friday when the flight was getting ready to depart for Chandigarh.
According to the airline, just after boarding was completed, a passenger seated on seat number 12C suddenly opened the emergency exit door and inflated the slide resulting in injury to a co-passenger. Akshay was booked under relevant section of the IPC and for violation of Aircraft Rules, 1937.
11/02/17 PTI/Indian Express

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IndiGo flier opens emergency chute

Mumbai: A 31-year-old city resident was arrested on Friday after he allegedly opened the emergency exit of the Chandigarh-bound Indigo flight (6E 4134) while it was stationary at the Mumbai airport, sparking off a security scare.

Akshay Mohan (31), a professional movie editor and a resident of Juhu Tara Road, was supposed to fly to his hometown Chandigarh with his brother Ashish Mohan.

Mr Ashish claims that Mohan had been behaving “weird” since Friday morning but could not possibly be a security threat. Officials of the airport police station are interrogating the brothers. This is the second such incident in the last three years.

The incident took place on Friday morning shortly after boarding was complete on flight 6E 4134. While the aircraft was stationary and before it could push back for taxiing, Akshay, who was seated on 12C, suddenly opened the emergency exit door, which automatically inflated the evacuation slide. As soon as the cabin crew on board saw this, the Captain-in-Command was alerted. In this process, a co-passenger seated on 12A received bruises.

“Taking a precautionary measure, the Captain immediately informed the ground staff of the situation on board and instructed the team to arrange for medical assistance and other necessary action. Simultaneously, the Captain informed all 176 passengers on board via in-flight announcement, and switched off the aircraft engine,” said the IndiGo’s spokesperson.
Akshay was handed over to the security staff and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) deployed at Mumbai airport. The IndiGo spokesperson said that the airline had filed a first information report (FIR) against Akshay at the airport police station.
11/02/17 Neha LM Tripathi/Asian Age

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Civic body charges Rs 1000 penalty from Indigo Airlines for garbage dump

Indore: Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has realised a spot fine of Rs 1000 from a private carrier for dumping garbage outside Devi Ahilyabai Airport campus here. “We have realised Rs 1000 as spot fine from the local officer of Indigo Airlines for throwing garbage in IMC limits. The garbage also includes the food waste,” municipal commissioner Manish Singh said today.
The penalty was realised as per the provisions under the Centre’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ and Indigo officers were told to dispose of the waste only at the places marked by the civic body.
Singh said IMC officials also spoke with the airport authorities about the solid waste management on their campus.
According to Airport Director Manoj Chansoriya, around 400 kg waste is generated on the campus and its processing was handed over to a private contractor.
09/02/17 PTI/Indian Express

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Delays in new aircraft addition to hit IndiGo's expansion plan

New Delhi: Delays in adding new aircraft to its fleet have led IndiGo to push back plans of more flights to Gulf countries and Southeast Asia, marking the first such deferment in the expansion of its overseas network by India's biggest commercial airline by market share.

The Gurgaon-based airline, which is seeking to add Qatar and Sharjah to its list of destinations, has told the Civil Aviation Ministry in a letter last month that proposed route additions will be deferred by at least a month. Delays in inducting new aircraft have led the company to postpone the plans, according to the letter seen by ET.

“IndiGo is, however, unable to commence operations to Sharjah and Doha and on the Kozhikode-Muscat route in the month of March 2017 as delivery of four aircraft scheduled for the month of March 2017 is now falling toward end-March 2017early April 2017, such that these aircraft will be able to enter into service progressively only by mid-April 2017. As such, IndiGo will be in a position to commence flights on India-Sharjah and India-Doha routes... and KozhikodeMuscat route progressively only be tween 1st April and 15th April 2017,“ IndiGo's letter dated January 24 says.
09/02/17 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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IndiGo announces new flights to Sharjah

In a bid to consolidate its position in the Middle-East market, IndiGo airlines has announced Sharjah as its 6th international and 43rd overall destination in its schedule. The new daily non-stop flights on Sharjah-Kozhikode, Muscat-Kozhikode route would come to into effect from March 20 while Sharjah-Thiruvnanthapuram from April 8, a company release said here today.
These new flights will further consolidate IndiGo’s position as the fastest growing airline in India, the release said.
With 126 Airbus A320 aircraft, the company will operate 857 daily flights, connecting 43 destinations with effect from March 2017.
08/02/17 PTI/The Financial Express

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IndiGo expands operations from Muscat

Muscat: To boost travel and trade between India and Oman, Indian budget carrier IndiGo will operate a non-stop daily flight between Muscat and Calicut in India starting from March 20, 2017.

Calicut, also known as Kozhikode, is a city in the state of Kerala in southern India on the Malabar Coast.

The budget carrier of India will be offering introductory fares of OMR 39.900 all-inclusive one way from Muscat.

“IndiGo is currently operating daily flights to Mumbai, Cochin and Chennai from Muscat and from March 20 they will be adding Calicut in Kerala,” an official of a travel agency said.

The introduction of the new daily service will further strengthen IndiGo’s presence in the Oman as it will be operating four daily flights from Muscat International Airport.
07/02/17 Times of Oman

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IndiGo hold talks with BCAS over security training licence

With licence of the aviation security training centre getting suspended for lapses, budget carrier IndiGo's executives have met officials of BCAS in an effort to sort out the issues.

During the meeting with BCAS officials, which took place here yesterday, IndiGo executives assured that it would take all steps to address the lapses at the security training centre that led to suspension of licence last week, sources said.

According to sources, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) told the airline that it would inspect the facility again before taking any call on revoking the suspension.

Finding lapses in its examination system as the same set of question papers were repeated for many months, BCAS has barred the airline from conducting security training programme for its employees any further.

"We are hopeful that the suspension order pertaining to aviation security training shall stand revoked very soon," IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Aviation said in a filing to the BSE.

In response to a clarification sought by the exchange in the matter, the company said it is in contact with BCAS and confident of demonstrating sufficient compliance to the satisfaction of the regulator.
07/02/17 PTI/DNA

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Airlines initially refused to carry ‘serial killer’

Raipur: The transfer of alleged serial-killer Udyan Das from Raipur to Kolkata became an issue in itself with Indigo Airlines refusing to carry him, stating that they require a formal clearance from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
At Swami Vivekananda Airport, Indigo Airlines officials refused to carry Udyan stating that the accused, being a self-confessed murderer, may create a "dangerous situation" for other passengers. They sought permissions from BCAS as also a medical certificate issued by a competent doctor. The airlines did not heed to the West Bengal police's argument they were taking Udyan "at their own risk" and that the accused had to be produced before a court in Bankura district before completion of the transit remand period.
07/02/17 Times of India

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IndiGo security training centre on hold for ‘cheating’

Mumbai:  The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has suspended the licence of IndiGo airline's aviation security training centre (ASTC) after finding rampant malpractice in training and exams the airline conducted for its flight attendants. The security regulator found that for 7-8 months, all IndiGo cabin crew members had been securing 96-98% in the aviation security exams conducted in-house.
The licence of IndiGo's Gurgaon-based ASTC was suspended on Friday after an inspection by BCAS officials in Januaryend. "They were making a mockery of exams," said BCAS chief Kumar Rajesh Chandra. "For now, the airline will have to stop security training it imparts at its centre till corrective measures are put in place."
The issue began when about eight months ago, Indi-Go changed the exam format for cabin crew security training from online exams to penand-paper without informing the security regulator. "Our suspicions were aroused when we found that IndiGo cabin crew members consistently scored high," said Chandra. The inspection revealed: the question paper for cabin crew security exam hadn't changed for eight months.
Even the sequence of questions in the multiple-choice paper was the same as was that of answer choices. "We found that IndiGo flight attendants were just mugging up the question numbers with the relevant answer choices," the official said. An IndiGo spokesperson said, "We are confident of demonstrating sufficient compliance to the satisfaction of the BCAS. We would like to clarify that this discussion only pertains to aviation security training.
All other trainings are continuing, as scheduled, and there has been no change in our operations." The training academy is run by IndiGo's parent company InterGlobe Aviation.
06/02/17 Manju V/Times of India

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BCAS suspends IndiGo’s security training centre licence

New Delhi: Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has suspended the licence of budget carrier IndiGo’s aviation security training facility for alleged lapses in the examination system conducted by it. The orders issued by the apex aviation security agency BCAS last week bar the Gurgaon-based airline from conducting security training programme for its employees any further, sources said. The training academy is run by IndiGo’s parent company, InterGlobe Aviation. BCAS has suspended the licence of IndiGo’s aviation security training centre on Friday after several lapses were detected in the examination procedure that it was following. This is a serious issue, the sources said. Following the suspension of licence, IndiGo would have to outsource the training programme, which would result in additional cost for the carrier, they said.
When contacted, an IndiGo spokesperson said the airline was in discussions with BCAS to resolve the issue. “Any lapse on the security front can have major ramifications for the country’s aviation sector. At sensitive airports like Srinagar, a secondary ladder point check of passengers is carried by airline security staff,” sources said. “This major responsibility is entrusted on the airline security staff on the premise and assurance that they would execute this duty in a responsible manner,” the sources said. “If security training is being compromised, it raises serious questions,” they added. The move comes at a time when the airline is already facing frequent glitches in its aircraft, resulting in delay in its flights and inconvenience to the passengers.
Regulations make it mandatory for all scheduled airlines to impart aviation security training to its security staff, cockpit and cabin crew either through their own BCAS approved facility or any other similar authorised centre. Besides, BCAS also conducts such training programmes for airlines and other stakeholders at all its regional offices. While cockpit and cabin crew are imparted a one week training in various aspects of airline and airport security, for those deployed in other jobs it runs for more than a week.
05/02/17 PTI/Indian Express

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DGCA suspends two Delhi airport engineers for keeping lights on of wrong taxiway

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has suspended two electrical engineers of Delhi Airport for keeping lights of a taxiway that was not in use, due to which an aircraft wrongly entered that bay while it was not supposed to. The regulator found this as a major cause of the February 1 incident at IGI Airport when an IndiGo aircraft wrongly entered a taxiway where a Jet Airways aircraft was already parked and then an alarmed air traffic control had to tell the IndiGo pilots to screech the brakes to avoid colliding with the other plane.
"The distance between the IndiGo and Jet aircraft was much less than 30 metres. The IndiGo pilots and electrical engineers of Delhi Airport were found responsible for this episode. The electrical engineers kept lights on of a taxiway that was not supposed to be used due to which the pilots entered the wrong taxiway. But the pilots by doing so entered the runway and they should have looked to their left and right also to see what they were doing," said a senior DGCA official.
04/02/17 Saurabh Sinha/The Times Of India

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DGCA calls pilots, 2 DIAL electricians for questioning in the Indigo-SpiceJet flight face off at IGI

On Friday, Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) called Indigo airlines off-duty pilot and two DIAL electricians for questioning. Earlier, an Indigo flight had overshot in front of SpiceJet. A mishap was turned away at the Indira Gandhi International airport in the national capital after an Indigo flight and Spicejet flight had come face to face.
The incident took place on December 27, 206. The IndiGo flight had just arrived from Lucknow with 160 passengers and Spicejet flight with 187 on board was about to take off for Hyderabad when the two aircraft came close.
SpiceJet flight SG 123 operating Delhi-Hyderabad was following instructions of Air Traffic Control (ATC). While taxiing (going to runway for take off), the SpiceJet pilots observed another aircraft on the same taxiway in the opposite direction and immediately the SpiceJet pilots stopped the aircraft and informed ATC.
03/02/17 Shubhang Chauhan/India

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Two planes in same taxiway in IGI, disaster averted

A ground collision was averted at IGI airport on Wednesday morning when a Visakhapatnam-bound IndiGo flight, taxiing in low visibility, mistakenly entered a taxiway where a Jet Airways flight was already stationed before it was halted by an air traffic controller.
While the IndiGo aircraft was towed back, the whole operation took more than an hour by when a number of flights had to be diverted and over 25 delayed. ATC also held back 10 flights at the holding point till the main runway was made operational again.

The two pilots of the IndiGo aircraft were promptly derostered—taken off duty—and would not be given any flying assignment until DGCA and the airline inquire into the incident, an IndiGo spokesperson said.

The incident took place around 5.45am on the main runway when IndiGo's flight 6E-719 sought permission to take off, moving from Taxiway C for runway 28. However, due to low visibility, the flight missed the main runway and ended up on Taxiway W where a Jet Airways aircraft was stationed, the spokesperson said.

The main runway was closed for operation due to this runway incursion and flights resumed there only at 6.55am.
02/02/2017 The Times Of India

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Poor visibility leads to flight cancellations at Bagdogra

Low cost airline Indigo today cancelled all its flights to and from Bagdogra Airport citing poor visibility and inclement weather.
A senior official at the airport said, “The current visibility is 1200m whereas the required visibility for landing is 2100m. Airlines will be forced to divert or cancel flights to and from Bagdogra today due to poor visibility.”
Indigo operates four flights from Bagdogra, to Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati.
A Jet Airways and a Vistara flight have been trying to land since the last 45 minutes, said the official.
01/02/17 Prashant Acharya/The Echo Of India

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‘Makes sense for IndiGo to shift to T2’

SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said on Monday that it would make “some sense” for low-cost airline IndiGo to shift its domestic operations to Terminal-2 (T2) of the Delhi airport.

“There are news report that IndiGo wants to shift [to T2]. They have the size and scale to be able to do it. If they operate large number of flights, it makes some sense for them. For us, it doesn’t fit. We have just recovered from a pretty bad situation and to undergo this shift would make it difficult for us,” Mr. Singh said at the sidelines of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Budget AajTak event here.

The GMR-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) recently asked low-cost airlines IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir to shift their flight operations, serving Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, from Terminal-1D to T2.

DIAL wants the airlines to split their operations beginning February 15 so that expansion work of Terminal-1D can begin.

Mr. Singh, said that the airline is ready to share the burden of shifting to another terminal with all the other airlines, but will not go it alone.
01/02/17 The Hindu

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Air passenger traffic in India to grow 21-23% in 2016-17: CRISIL

Crisil Research estimates domestic passenger traffic in India to grow 21-23 percent on-year in 2016-17, primarily on account of lower air fares following decline in fuel prices and high competition. In 2017-18, growth in domestic passenger traffic is expected to moderate to 15-17 percent on-year, on account of relatively flat fares – projected to rise 0-2 percent. Economic growth, low fares and better connectivity to tier-II and -III cities would be the key growth drivers. During the year, domestic passenger load factor (PLF), though, is expected to decline 100–200 bps to 81-82 percent because of fleet expansion.
International passenger traffic is estimated to grow 9-10 percent on-year in 2016-17 due to increase in trade, tourism and the Indian expatriate population. During the year, fares, though, are estimated to decline 1-2 percent on account on high competition on short haul routes. In 2017-18, international passenger traffic is projected to rise a further 10-11 percent on-year as the government focusses on widening the air services agreement. Among international routes, UAE routes will dominate.
31/01/17 Money Control

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'Zoom' to Delhi from Kolkata via Durgapur soon

A little over six months after Air India withdrew its operation in the Kolkata-Durgapur-Delhi route, Zoom Air, a Delhi-based airlines, starts its operation in the same routes seven days a week from Sunday. Kaji Nazrul Islam Airport (Andal) will also act as the regional hub of the company.

Interestingly, GoAir and In diGo have proposed to operate flights from KNIA, but the proposals are yet to take final shape. Bhutan and Bangladesh Airlines are also interested as reported earlier. Air India has withdrawn its services but talks are going on to resolve the issues, said officials in Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Limited (BAPL), the developer and operator of the Greenfield project.

Koustav Mohan Dhar, executive director and CEO of Zoom Air, told TOI: "We will be running scheduled 50-seater full-service flight daily from KNIA. We are keeping the introductory fare rather low.From Kolkata to Durgapur, the fare will be Rs 1,000 and from Durgapur to Delhi, the fare will be Rs 3,000."
01/02/17 The Times Of India

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After Indigo, Vistara airlines comes to the aid of needy Northeast Indians!

After IndiGo, domestic airline Vistara today announced that it would carry the mortal remains of economically disadvantaged people of the Northeast living in New Delhi back to their homes free of cost.

Officials of Vistara today informed Robin Hibu, nodal officer of Delhi police’s special unit for people from the Northeast, about their decision. Earlier this month, IndiGo had made this decision while Jet Airways has agreed to provide the service at a 50 per cent concession.

Vistara has its services in Guwahati and Bagdogra (used by people in Sikkim).
30/01/17 The North East Today

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Mishap averted as IndiGo plane misses allotted runway at IGI airport

A mishap was averted at the IGI Airport here this morning when a Visakhapatnam bound IndiGo aircraft entered a wrong taxiway where a Jet Airways aircraft was already stationed but was timely alerted by the Air Traffic Controller.
Regulator DGCA has initiated a probe into the incident which took place around 0540 hours and impacted operations at the Indira Gandhi International airport. IndiGo attributed the incident to “low visibility.”
Many flights were delayed while some incoming aircraft were diverted due to the non-availability of runway 28 for over an hour, sources said.
01/02/17 PTI/The Indian Express

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