And the joke’s on… Kunal Kamra flight bans

Mumbai: Several Indian carriers banned standup comedian Kunal Kamra for heckling television anchor Arnab Goswami after aviation minister Hardeep Puri asked them to follow IndiGo’s example in a tweet.
The airlines were also acting on verbal directions from ministry officials, said people with knowledge of the matter. The minister told ET he’d called for a ban as the video evidence was clear and Kamra’s actions posed a safety threat. Under the rules, any allegation of midair misbehaviour by passengers has to be investigated by an internal committee set up by the carrier concerned. Based on the findings, the aviation regulator places a person on a no-fly list and other airlines follow suit.
 “In this incident, the guy is shooting a video of the person — Arnab in this case, but it can be anyone — and trying to instigate him and even going to the extent of using fourletter words,” the minister told ET. “The person kept quiet in this case, but if the other person got instigated and there was a case of fisticuffs inside the aircraft, it could have become a safety issue. The airline must have done their internal inquiry & took a decision.”
 He added: “As far the issue of rules is concerned, they are that airlines hold an inquiry upon the complaint of a pilot-in-command before banning anyone. That is to ensure that the airlines do not ban passengers arbitrarily. This case, however, is totally different, as there is a video proof.” After IndiGo banned Kamra for six months on Tuesday, state-owned Air India imposed an indefinite ban the same evening. Lowfare carriers SpiceJet and GoAir followed on Wednesday with indefinite bans.
Executives at AirAsia and Vistara said they would wait for a written directive from the government before taking action. Some experts said the ban was excessive for the degree of offence that may have been committed.
 The Civil Aviation Rule (CAR) on such offences “is explicit,” a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official told ET. “The airlines will have to follow procedures. IndiGo will have to form a committee and decide on Kamra.” Executives at the carriers that imposed bans said government officials had asked them to take note of the minister’s tweet and ban Kamra. “It’s the minister’s order. Even if it’s in the form of a tweet, we have to follow,” said an executive.
 31/01/20 Mihir Mishra/Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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The strange alacrity of India’s airlines to ban Kunal Kamra

Apart from the super rich at Davos, there can be few who stand in unison for a cause right now as the bosses of India’s airlines. IndiGo, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir have decided that a comedian is a danger to their passengers.

Who knew they valued safety, uprightness, good behaviour, privacy and a bunch of other things that are fast disappearing from public life. Fist bump for your courage of conviction, guys.

No doubt, Kunal Kamra should not have confronted the television anchor on board the IndiGo flight. Kamra’s boorishness made the man who makes a living from boorishness smell like roses.

Condemnable as the behaviour was, did Kamra deserve the ban? Together, these four airlines represent 86 percent of the aviation market in India. A scrum of experts has weighed in about how the airlines did not follow the rulebook on imposing such bans.

So I will not venture there. What I’d like is tell readers what the flying ban on Kamra reveals about Indian aviation.

There was no —there is still no — official communication from the aviation ministry or the regulator DGCA about keeping Kamra off planes in India.

But the four airlines jumped at the chance of putting Kamra in a no-fly list. What triggered this quick-gun response? A tweet by the aviation minister “advising” them to do so.

The head of DGCA, which is usually unmoved by most aviation incidents, agreed with the minister through a clarification to a media report. Just when some rare praise was coming the institution’s way.

Take a look at the airlines that have joined issue with IndiGo. No surprises about Air India. The government owns the airline.

SpiceJet’s action, despite the well-known political affinity of its boss Ajay Singh, is not. SpiceJet and IndiGo are the Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton of Indian aviation. In a nastier way.

I am not just referring to just pricing strategy or network planning here. They each try to undermine the other through gossip, vitriol and intense lobbying.

Ergo, SpiceJet’s expression of solidarity with IndiGo is no different from Trump singing praises of Hillary.

GoAir is not the “I stand with you, bro” type either. But its action too should not raise eyebrows given its gingerly steps in aviation, careful with expansion, cautious about ruffling feathers, least of all belonging to the mandarins at the aviation ministry.

That is the funny thing about the unanimity of these four airlines. They are actually united by their singular dependence on the government for survival.

No airline in India can stay aloft by getting into the bad books of authorities. Schedules, slots, traffic rights …there is feast of requirements that need clearance from the government.
31/01/20 Binoy Prabhakar/CNBCTV18.com

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Comedian Kunal Kamra Seeks Apology, Rs. 25 Lakh From IndiGo Over Flying Ban

Mumbai/New Delhi: Comedian Kunal Kamra has sent a legal notice to IndiGo, demanding a public apology, Rs 25 lakh for "causing mental pain and agony" and revocation of a six-month ban imposed on Wednesday for heckling a prominent TV channel editor, according to news agency PTI. Mr Kamra's lawyer asked the airline to "pay compensation... on account of mental pain and agony suffered by my client as well as losses incurred on account of cancellation of his scheduled shows and programmes".
Mr Kamra, a Mumbai-based stand-up comic known for his sharply critical views against the government and government-friendly media networks, was banned after he posted a video of his encounter with Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of Republic TV. In the video, he is seen throwing questions at Mr Goswami, who doesn't respond.

Three other airlines, including national carrier Air India, rushed to follow IndiGo's ban after Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri urged them to; the other two being SpiceJet and GoAir.

Two others - Vistara and AirAsia - are said to be considering a ban as well.

"Offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create disturbance inside an aircraft is absolutely unacceptable and endangers safety of air travellers. We are left with no option but to advise other airlines to impose similar restrictions on the person concerned," Mr Puri had tweeted.

All airlines tagged Mr Puri in their tweets announcing their compliance.

However, the ban was swiftly criticised by many, who pointed out the "hypocrisy" in banning Mr Kamra while allowing high-profile passengers - like BJP MP Pragya Thakur - to escape without punishment.
31/01/20 NDTV

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GoAir told to pay Rs 16,000 for damaged baggage

A consumer dispute redressal forum in Parel has directed GoAir to pay compensation to a flyer after his baggage was damaged on a flight to the city.
 Marazban Bharucha, a resident of Andheri, who had taken a GoAir flight from Ahmedabad in July 2019, was shocked to see the front compartment of his bag ripped open and a couple of shirts missing when he collected his luggage from the conveyor belt.
 Bharucha, who works with a marketing company, told Mirror that he was advised to send an email to the airline’s feedback system, but he kept receiving automated responses and no one got in touch. Till November 2019, Bharucha claimed that he had sent 17 emails and the airline had replied only eight times. Five of these stated that he was not eligible for compensation, he added.
The airline in their response to Bharucha’s notice, explained that the bag had “minor ordinary wear and tear” and offered him Rs 1000 in compensation as a “goodwill gesture”. Bharucha told Mirror that the airline increased its offer to Rs 7500 on October 7 when he asked the consumer forum for an exorbitant amount as compensation.
 31/01/20 David Delima/Mumbai Mirror

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Can All Indian Airlines Really Ban Kunal Kamra? Here is What the Law Says

Comedian Kunal Kamra who is known for his anti-Bharatiya Janata Party government jibes and antics, has just made it extremely difficult for himself to fly across the country on domestic airlines after he heckled journalist Arnab Goswami onboard an IndiGo flight.

Following a video of the incident that went viral on social media, IndiGo and Air India announced six-month bans on Kamra. On January 29, two more airlines, Spice Jet and Go Air also decided to ban the comedian.

But are airlines within their legal right to do that? Turns out, they are.

The 'No Fly' List

In 2017, the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation introduced the 'National No fly List' in an effort to curb and punish unruly behaviour on airplanes. The no fly list is meant "to ensure safety and check unruly and disruptive behaviour on aircraft". It is compiled by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on the basis of inputs provided by airlines.

According to the rules, any airline can report unruly behaviour onboard the aircraft. However, the complaint has to be filed by the pilot of the plane. an internal committee has to then be set up for each case by the airline which can in turn probe the incident and allegations. The committee has to furnish its report within 30 days.

While the ban in initiated by the airline that raised the complaint, other airlines can also choose to follow suit. However, they are not compelled to do so.

In case of a ban, a passenger can contest it and make an appeal but only after 60 days of the committee's decision.

What can get you blacklisted?

There are three wide categories of "unruly behaviour" that can get one on the no-fly list. These include verbal unruliness, misbehavior or harassment that is punishable by a three-month ban (Level 1), physical unruliness punishable by a six month ban (Level 2) and life-endangering unruliness or behaviour which is punishable by a two-year flying ban (Level 3)

What happens to Kamra now?

As per laws, IndiGo as well as other airlines are within their legal right to suspend Kamra's or any other passenger's flying rights in case they violate any of the offences under the 'No Fly List' rules.

So far, four domestic airlines have suspended Kamra's flying rights, Vistara has as yet not made a comment on the issue.

As per rules, IndiGo would now have to institute a special committee to prove the incident and then deliver a verdict on whether Kamra will be allowed to fly or not.

Kamra, on the other hand, has maintained his position and said in a statement that he only asked the journalist when a few polite questions and when the latter refused to answer, he started a monologue to raise his complaints. Kamra also added that he did not regret the incident and would not apologise to Goswami as he was within his right to exercise freedom of speech in doing so.

The comedian said that he approached Goswami twice when the seat-belt signs were turned off and that he went back to his seat within seconds of a stewardess asking him to move.
29/01/20 News18.com

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Hasty decision by IndiGo, Air India, GoAir, SpiceJet to ban Kunal Kamra; airlines should specify rules that stand-up comic violated

I woke up this morning to a social media uproar over stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra being banned from IndiGo for six months after he posted a video of him challenging TV news anchor and editor-in-chief of Republic TV Arnab Goswami to clarify his stance on various issues. While IndiGo banned Kamra from flying with them for six months, Air India suspended him from flying with them "until further notice" immediately after. SpiceJet and GoAir have also prohibited Kamra from flying with them without giving any reason.

In his statement, Kamra indicated that at no point in time was he disruptive and he was always following crew orders when told to. Further, he is not aware of a formal complaint against him being made by either Goswami or any another passenger or the flight crew. He goes on to state that there is no pattern that establishes him as an unruly passenger.

In this case, then, there is not much to go about to establish the reason why IndiGo banned the passenger in the first place, and how did the other three airlines, which were not even involved, determine their legal position on the ban? Activist Saket Gokhale has filed an RTI asking how can Air India decide to ban Kamra.
There are two ways a passenger can get banned from an airline. India's civil aviation regulator, DGCA notified the Civil Aviation Requirements, Section 3 — Air Transport, Series M Part VI, Issue II on 8 September, 2018, which touches on the regulations applicable in case of unruly passengers. According to the statute, unruly passengers are those who "fail to respect the rules of conduct at an airport or on board an aircraft or to follow the instructions of the airport staff or crew members and thereby disturbs the good order and discipline at an airport or on board the aircraft".

According to the regulations, unruly behaviour (such as physical gestures, verbal harassment, unruly inebriation) attract a three-month ban after the first offence. In contrast, physically abusive behaviour (pushing, kicking, hitting, grabbing or inappropriate touching or sexual harassment) attract six months ban.

The regulations determine that the cabin crew need to warn the unruly passenger verbally and then in writing, and if all else fails, physically restrain them. We still have not heard from any concerned party that Kamra was restrained. Next course of action is for the Pilot in Command to divert the flight to the nearest aerodrome, in consultation with the Control Room of the airline where the unruly person would be dropped off, and an FIR would be lodged against him/her by the airline. A review of all the flight logs of IndiGo flights between Mumbai and Lucknow on 28 January, 2020, on flight tracking website FlightRadar24, did not reveal of any such diversion, which indicates the airline did not take this matter very seriously onboard.

Even if the airline later determined something was wrong, the Pilot-in-command needs to file a complaint with the internal committee on the issue. This committee has to have a retired Judge, a representative of another airline and representative from a consumer association, all of who collectively determine if said passenger was "unruly". They have 30 days to decide on the matter, and the airline can bar the customer for 30 days pending the enquiry and the result. The affected flyer has 60 days to contest the decision in a DGCA Appellate committee and then go to the high court if required.

Once an airline follows this process above and determines that a customer is banned, then other airlines can add them to their no-fly list as well using the precedent.

Given that IndiGo has acted so quickly on this case, I went about looking for other ways an airline may ban a passenger from flying. It turns out, the Conditions of Carriage of the airlines allow them to offload customers and determine if they will be trouble. It is like a carte blanche given the contract between the passenger and the airline is one-sided. Since boilerplate language is included on all airlines contract of carriage, all airlines have a specific clause under "refusal to carry passengers", which paraphrased, states that the airline can determine not to carry a passenger if "The Customer has committed misconduct on a previous flight and there is a reasonable likelihood that such conduct may be repeated or The Customer has not observed or is likely to fail to observe, our instructions."

Airlines usually take complete care in banning passengers. For instance, nothing moved after a viral video of BJP MP Sadhvi Pragya Thakur surfaced in December onboard a SpiceJet flight for not moving from an emergency exit seat. She was not eligible to fly on that particular seat because of her wheelchair. Neither has any action come to fore against the outburst of Air India passengers where they threaten to break the cockpit door of a Boeing 747 on video after a lengthy tarmac delay.

It is still not determined how IndiGo concluded banning Kamra. Unfortunately, if he decides to challenge this in court, he will still need a Notice from IndiGo determining the regulations under which they prohibited him. And even after that happens, we don't know yet how Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir decide to ban him, which comes without an expiry date.
29/01/20 Ajay Awtaney/First Post

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GoAir announces new direct flights between Hyderabad & Pune from Feb 5

Hyderabad: GoAir, Asia's fastest growing airline on Wednesday announced its daily non-stop flights (except Saturdays) to and from Hyderabad and Pune. 
The new flights on Hyderabad – Pune – Hyderabad route will start from February 5 next month, the Airlines said in a release here. Both cities are known for their rich heritage, ever-growing business and IT industry.
 GoAir's new flights will offer the best connectivity for business and leisure travelers and the introductory return fare is priced as low as Rs 4,850. GoAir's flight G8 503 will depart from Hyderabad at 11:05 hours and reach Pune at 12:25 hours while the return flight G8 504 will depart from Pune at 13:00 hours and arrive in Hyderabad at 14:20 hours. The sales window is now open and passengers can book tickets on www.goair.in, GoAir mobile app and GoAir airport counters.
 29/01/20 UNI

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Ban on Kunal Kamra: Aviation minister says airlines must ensure ''zero tolerance'' on passenger safety

 New Delhi: Airlines must ensure ''zero tolerance'' for any activity that has the potential to jeopardize passengers'' safety, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday.
His remarks came two days after Kunal Kamra allegedly heckled journalist Arnab Goswami on an IndiGo flight that led to a flying ban on the comedian by four airlines.

"I had expressed my views with regard to the unruly behaviour of a passenger on board IndiGo flight. I reiterate that airlines must ensure ''Zero Tolerance'' for any activity which has the potential to jeopardize safety of passengers in an aircraft," Puri said on Twitter.

After Kamra posted an approximately two-minute-long video on Twitter on Wednesday in which he asked Goswami if he was a "coward or a journalist", IndiGo banned the comedian for a period of six months from flying in its flights.
30/01/20 PTI/Outlook

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Why are airlines only banning Kunal Kamra and not Sadhvi Pragya? Twitterati asks

Budget carrier GoAir became the latest to join the bandwagon of airlines that have banned political satirist Kunal Kamra from availing their services. Netizens are wondering why they didn’t adopt a similar approach for Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sadhvi Pragya Thakur.

In less than 24 hours after Kunal Kamra tweeted about the episode that unfolded inside an IndiGo flight, where he was travelling with Arnab Goswami, Editor of Republic TV, he was admonished publicly on Twitter by Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri.


Soon, one airline after the other, starting with IndiGo, suspended the comedian for heckling the journalist while he was travelling.
Twitter, however, is raising questions over the partial approach, whereby no action was taken by any regulatory authority or airlines when the BJP MP engaged in a squabble with flight attendants and delayed a flight.

Last year, Pragya Thakur had irked fellow travellers who were onboard a SpiceJet flight, by refusing to vacate an emergency row seat, which is not allotted to passengers on wheelchairs. While no action was eventually taken against her, SpiceJet was among the Indian carriers that banned the comedian from travelling.
29/01/20 Moneycontrol.com

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As 4 Airlines Ground Comedian Kunal Kamra, Twitter Flags "Hypocrisy"

New Delhi: Moments after comedian Kunal Kamra was banned by IndiGo Airlines for heckling a TV channel editor on one of its flights on Tuesday, the government announced that it was urging other airlines to do the same. On cue, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir declared they had banned Mr Kamra.

The airline ban triggered criticism from social media users who recalled how a Republic TV reporter had once similarly heckled opposition's Tejashwi Yadav, of Bihar's Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), on board a flight.

"So @republic did the same thing what @kunalkamra88 did with Arnab. But only punishment to Kunal. #hypocrisy #ArnabGoswami #kunalkamra," wrote a Twitter user Prajakat Kamat.
Others pointed out how BJP MP Pragya Thakur, who faces charges in an ongoing terror case, had held up a flight last month and argued with crew and passengers after refusing to vacate a seat next to the emergency exit despite being on a wheelchair as required under aviation rules.

Mr Kamra in a statement on Twitter said, "It's not shocking at all to me that for exercising my right to speech, which falls under Article 19 of our constitution, three airlines have given me a temporary ban from flying. Fact of the matter is that at no point was I disruptive and at no point did I not follow orders of the cabin crew or the captain. At no point did I endanger the safety of any passenger on board, the only damage I caused was to the inflated ego to the 'journalist' Arnab Goswami."

"To my limited knowledge no formal complaint has been made by the crew or Arnab or anyone else taking the flight. Whenever there was an intervention by any member of the crew I complied. If expressing myself to an important public figure, who himself points a camera day in and day out, catching people off guard is a crime, then both of us are criminals," he added.
29/01/20 Divyanshu Dutta Roy/NDTV

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Kunal Kamra Explains His ‘Side of the Story’ In New Video

On 29 January, Kunal Kamra tweeted a video that explained his “side of the story.” He wrote, “This video explains my side of the story, created by my best half @thepeeinghuman The emotions did off course get the better of me. But if I didn’t emote, I’d never be able to forgive myself...”

The video begins with footage of Arnab Goswami introducing us to one of his reporters. We then see the reporter heckling Tejashwi Yadav on a flight. The rest of the 11-minute long video is a mashup of Arnab Goswami through various stages of his life. Through the video, Kunal Kamra questions Arnab Goswami’s journalistic integrity to make his point.

This video explains my side of the story, created by my best half @thepeeinghuman

The emotions did off course get the better of me. But if I didn’t emote, I’d never be able to forgive myself...https://t.co/rXqo5CKogh

— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) January 29, 2020

GoAir is the fourth airline to suspend comedian Kunal Kamra from using its services “till further notice”. Following a confrontation with Arnab Goswami, which went viral on social media, IndiGo suspended Kamra for six months. This was followed by Air India which barred him “until further notice” to “discourage such behaviour”, as well as SpiceJet which decided to suspend Kunal Kamra on from flying with the airline till further notice on 29 January.

After IndiGo, Air India and SpiceJet decided to suspend Kunal Kamra on from flying with the airlines, the comedian issued a statement saying “it’s not shocking” that he has been banned for “exercising my right to free speech”.

“It’s not shocking at all to me that for exercising my right to speech, which falls under article 19 of our constitution, 3 airlines have given me a temporary ban from flying,” he wrote. He clarified that he was not disruptive and complied with the cabin crew.

“To my limited knowledge, no formal complaint has been made by the crew or Arnab or anyone else taking the flight. Whenever there was an intervention by any member of the crew I complied. If expressing myself to an important public figure who himself points a camera day in and day out, catching people off guard is a crime, then both of us are criminals,” he added.

Kamra also questioned why Air India and SpiceJet had “jumped the gun” and banned him despite the fact the incident didn’t occur on either airline.

On 28 January, after Kamra’s confrontation with journalist Arnab Goswami, IndiGo, in its tweet, had termed Kamra's conduct as 'unacceptable behaviour' and urged passengers "to refrain from indulging in personal slander whilst onboard".
Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who was tagged by IndiGo in the tweet along with the ministry's official handle, has urged other airlines to follow suit.

Air India, too, tweeted saying that Kamra has been suspended.

Kamra, on Tuesday, posted a video on Twitter of him speaking to Goswami in a flight. In the video, he can be seen asking the journalist a number of questions. Kamra says that Arnab had called him mentally unstable when he first approached the journalist. Further, Kamra goes on to ask him if he’s a journalist or a ‘coward’.
29/01/20 Quint

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Arnab's heckling: SpiceJet, GoAir ban Kunal Kamra; AirAsia India and Vistara 'reviewing' matter

New Delhi: After IndiGo and Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir on Wednesday suspended stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra from flying with it for allegedly heckling journalist Arnab Goswami aboard an IndiGo Mumbai-Lucknow flight.
 AirAsia India spokesperson told PTI on Wednesday that the airline's internal committee is reviewing the matter and it will take action as per due process. In a similar statement, Vistara had said on Tuesday that it will "review and follow due process in such cases".
 SpiceJet and GoAir became the third and fourth airlines, respectively, to take action against Kamra. While IndiGo suspended Kamra from flying with it for a period of six months on Tuesday itself, Air India banned him until further notice.
 After IndiGo announced its decision to ban Kamra, Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri stated on Tuesday that he had taken note of the incident and "advised" other airlines in India to impose similar restrictions on Kamra, stating "offensive behaviour designed to provoke & create disturbance inside an aircraft is absolutely unacceptable & endangers safety of air travellers".
 Kamra allegedly heckled Goswami, the editor of Republic TV, on IndiGo's MumbaiLucknow (6E5317) flight on Tuesday. In a video clip posted by Kamra on his Twitter handle on Tuesday, he is seen asking Goswami if he is a "coward or a journalist". While Goswami can be seen sitting in the plane and watching something on his laptop with his earphones plugged in, Kamra is heard as telling him, "Viewers want to know if Arnab today is a coward or a nationalist. Arnab, this is for national interest. I am part of the tukdetukde narrative. You should deflate me. You should take the enemy of the states down. You should make sure that the country is in safe hands of Narendra Modi."

I did this for my hero...
I did it for Rohit pic.twitter.com/aMSdiTanHo

— Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) January 28, 2020

 In a statement, AirAsia India spokesperson told PTI,"Our internal committee is reviewing this case and a decision will be taken soon. We will take action as per due processes."
 29/01/20 PTI/Economic Times

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Gold worth Rs 18L seized at airport

Thiruvananthapuram: Customs officers seized gold worth Rs 18 lakh from a passenger at Trivandrum International Airport on Thursday night. The passenger was identified as Rijas, a native of Kozhikode.

The passenger had arrived in Air India Express flight IX 374 around 10.30pm. The flight from Doha has a stopover at Kozhikode airport. He was intercepted by officers of AIU unit at the airport based on suspicion. On inspection, two packets of gold were recovered from the bag carried by the passenger. The gold in form of four biscuits was covered in cellophane tape. The value of the gold is 18.9 lakh.

“The passenger said he was unaware about the gold and someone might have kept it in his bag when he went to the washroom during flight. He claimed to have reached Thiruvananthapuram in search of job. As he had travelled in the domestic leg, we suspect someone might have handed over the gold when the flight reached Kozhikode. A case has been registered and investigation has been launched,” said AIU officer.
25/01/20 Times of India

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GoAir Bengaluru-Phuket flight returns to origin after door not closed warning

New Delhi: A GoAir flight with about 180 people on board returned safely to Bengaluru early on Friday morning after taking off from Phuket, Thailand, following warning that a door may not have been closed properly. The Airbus A320 Neo (VT-WGP) took off as G8-41 at 2.18 am and landed back at 3.12 am.

“The aircraft was involved in air turn back to Bengaluru due To ‘door avionics (AFT) open’ indication at 10,000 feet. Cabin rate of climb was not above 150 feet at any point of time. There was no loss of pressurisation. An overweight landing was carried out at Bengaluru. Inspection and rectification is in progress,” said a senior aviation official.

A GoAir spokesperson said: “GoAir flight G8 041 from Bengaluru to Phuket with 173 passengers on board did a precautionary air turn back in the interest of safety due to a technical glitch. After turn back, the flight landed safely at the Bengaluru airport. The aircraft has since been changed and departed with the passengers for its destination at 10.44 am. GoAir regrets the inconvenience caused to its passengers.”
24/01/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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GoAir to pay compensation for damaged baggage! Here’s what Redressal Forum said

The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum in Mumbai has directed private airline GoAir to pay compensation to a passenger due to the damage made to his baggage. The incident took place last year when Marazban Bharucha, a resident of Maharashtra’s Andheri was travelling from Gujarat’s Ahmedabad to Mumbai by a GoAir flight. After deboarding the flight in Mumbai Airport, when Bharucha visited the conveyor belt to collect his bag, he found its front side was “ripped and torn”.

After noticing the damage to his bag, Bharucha raised the issue with GoAir’s representative at the airport. He was asked to send his complaint through email. After waiting for some days, he didn’t receive any response from the airline’s side which forced Bharucha to take up the matter with the consumer forum.
However, in its reply to the Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, the GoAir stated that the baggage had a minor “wear and tear.” The airline further added that due to the minor damage, Bharucha is not authorised to receive any compensation but as a goodwill gesture, the company had offered him a compensation of Rs 1,000.

In its judgement pronounced last week, the forum instructed the airline to pay a compensation of Rs 7,500 on account of damage, Rs 5,000 towards mental agony and Rs 3,000 as a litigation cost.
23/01/20 Financial Express

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GoAir cancels 'certain flights', blames Airbus & Pratt

New Delhi: GoAir has from Thursday cancelled a number of flights from its schedule, blaming Airbus and Pratt & Whitney’s (PW) ‘inability’ to deliver aircraft and engines — including for replacement in grounded Neos — on time.

Incidentally, DGCA had earlier this month issued warning letters to over 150 pilots of GoAir and also to the low cost carrier’s head of operations for not following duty time norms for crew that indicated it may be facing a shortage of pilots as well.

The airline has ordered 144 Neos with PW engines. It currently operates 325 daily flights with fleet of over 55 aircraft — 41 A320 Neos apart from some non-Neos (Ceos). At the moment seven to eight Neos are learnt to be grounded for reasons like awaiting engine replacement; the A320 Ceos are being phased out and a mix of troubles at Airbus and PW has meant delivery of the ordered Neos is delayed. The collective shortage of planes and pilots has led to GoAir trimming its schedule.

Despite repeated attempts GoAir did not say how many flights are being axed for now. Travel industry majors also did not give numbers as they are still gauging the potential impact of the announcement.

“In the last four weeks, we have gone through unplanned grounding of aircraft, which were supporting our current operation. And now, we have been informed by our business partners Airbus and PW of their inability to deliver previously promised aircraft and engines through March 9, 2020, that are required to support our current growth. As a result, we have been forced to temporarily suspend certain flights that are part of our network, schedule and open for sale,” GoAir said in a statement.

“We have undertaken these suspensions as far ahead of time as possible in order to minimise the inconvenience to customers…. Despite our best efforts, we realise that our flight suspensions may inconvenience our customers, which we regret and profusely apologise. We expect — with the support of Airbus and Pratt & Whitney — to reinstate these flights and operate at the earliest opportunity,” the airline added.
23/01/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir seek TDS relief for expat pilots

New Delhi: Domestic carriers IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir have pitched for TDS (tax deducted at source) relief for expat pilots.

The airlines have claimed that foreign pilots insist on a tax-free salary, knowing that India faces a shortage of experienced pilots at senior level.

In their budget proposal, airline lobby group, the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), said that air carriers have to currently gross up salaries of expat pilots and bear the taxes. This results in increase of expense for airlines by 50 per cent on this account.

"It is recommended either not apply section 195A in case of payment to be made to an employee or tax paid by company on behalf of employee should be an allowable expense as business expenditure," the FIA, which represents three private carriers, said.

Section 195 of the Income Tax Act deals with TDS for the non-resident people of India.

With high traffic growth in domestic and induction of new type of aircraft in their fleet, the industry has been facing a shortage of type rated pilot-in-command.

To cover the shortage of type rated pilots-in-command, validation of foreign pilots is done as per rule 45 of Aircraft Rules, 1937. The foreign pilots are phased out by the airlines once the co-pilots inducted by them gain the mandated requirements for being designated as commander.
22/01/20 Outlook

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Chandigarh: Fly straight to Goa from March 29

Mohali: The summer flight’s schedule to get enforced from March 29 has brought good news for Tricity residents as direct connectivity to Goa has been announced from Chandigarh International Airport.
The start of 24x7 flight operations has also been declared in the schedule and the IndiGo flight to Goa will depart from the Chandigarh airport after midnight.
The summer flight’s schedule to get enforced from March 29 has brought good news for Tricity residents as direct connectivity to Goa has been announced

Besides this, Chandigarh is all set to get direct flights to other important cities like Patna, Chennai, Surat and Kolkata.

All these flights have been announced in the summer flight schedule of 2020, according to which IndiGo flight 6E-6137 from will arrive at Chandigarh from Goa at 6.40am and depart for Ahmedabad from Chandigarh at 8.10am.

Similarly, another flight, GoAir G8-814, will reach Chandigarh from Goa at 9.45am and will take off for Surat (G8-815) at 10.15am.

IndiGo flight 6E-6147 will arrive at Chandigarh from Bangalore around 11pm and the same flight (6E-6144) will depart from Chandigarh for Goa after midnight at 00:40am. This flight will operate six days a week from Monday to Saturday.

So, tourists have options to board IndiGo flight 6E-6137 and GoAir G8-814 from Goa to reach Chandigarh and those looking to fly from Chandigarh to reach Goa can take IndiGo flight (6E-6144) to the beach capital after midnight at 00:40am.

As per the summer schedule, Chandigarh will also get direct connectivity to holy city of Patna, one of the Takhts of Sikhism, starting March 30. IndiGo is going to operate two flights daily to Patna from Chandigarh. The first flight, 6E-6141, will arrive from Ahmedabad at 11.35am and then depart for Patna (6E-6148) at 12.05pm. The first flight will depart on March 30.

Second flight IndiGo 6E-6926 will arrive from Patna at 6.35pm and depart for the same from Chandigarh at 7.05pm. The flight will make its maiden journey on March 29.

22/01/20 Barinderjit Saluja/Times of India

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Discover the World ties up with GoAir to tap connecting passengers in new markets

Scottsdale:  Discover the World, a leading global travel sales and marketing specialist has partnered with GoAir, Asia’s most trusted, punctual and fastest growing airline to expand the carrier's reach into previously untapped offline territories. The initial agreement covers Australia, Canada, France, Greece, Israel, UK and USA markets.

From January, this year Discover the World will leverage its close trade relationships to promote GoAir’s offering across key target audience segments including the group travel.

Aiden Walsh, Airline Account Manager - EMEA Region at Discover the World says: “GoAir offers a reliable and great value product, which is exactly what the market wants. I know that our trade partners will welcome the choice, reassurance and quality that they will now be able to offer onwards to their travellers."

GoAir is part of the 283-years-old Indian conglomerate, The Wadia Group. The airline has received the highest approval rating of four-out-of-four star from 1.4 million passengers - certified, validated and verified by US-based APEX, a non-profit organization. Thus, GoAir is the only airline in its category to receive such an accolade in the entire Central Asia Region. The airline was also awarded ‘Asia’s Most Trusted Brand 2019’ by International Brand Consulting (IBC) Corporation, USA and voted as the number one airline in ‘Best Seat Comfort’ and ‘Best Cabin Service’ category.

The airline is seeking to capitalise on this recent success through the new partnership with Discover, which will focus on introducing its popular offering to connecting customers in new markets around the world.     
20/01/20 Travel Daily News

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Airbus 320neo Problems: DGCA Playing With Fire

The immediate issue is that the Airbus 320 family aircraft fitted with the P&W 1100G engines have had major problems the world over, and especially in India. During the three years that both these airlines (Indigo and GoAir) have operated this aircraft-engine combination, they have experienced numerous engine failures, mid-air issues requiring abrupt turnarounds back to airport of origin, and repeated groundings.
Is the civil aviation regulator’s 5-month extension to Indigo wise, given the experience of other operators? Is passenger safety being put at risk?
Read D. Raghunandan's answers for these >>

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