Chennai: Flyers seeking refund continue to face hard times

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

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

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

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

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

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

31/10/20 Times of India

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Kerala: Firms give free air tickets to migrants

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

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

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

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

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

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

31/10/20 Jaikrishnan Nair/Times of India

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

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

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

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

29/10/20 PTI/Outlook

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Modi admn has erred on madly expensive Air India One

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

29/10/20 Biswaraj Patnaik/Pioneer

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

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

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

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

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

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

29/10/20 Anjali Thakur/India.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

27/10/20 DNA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25/10/20 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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DGCA approves 12,983 weekly domestic flights in winter schedule

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

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

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

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

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

25/10/20 PTI/Indian Express

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

24/10/20 Free Press Journal

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

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

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

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

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

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

24/10/20 IANS/News18.com

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

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

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

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

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

24/10/20 Muskaan Tekwani/Knock Sense

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

24/10/20 Northeast Today

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

23/10/20 Rohit Vaid/IANS/Daijiworld

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

22/10/20 Simran Kashyap/One India

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A radically different Diwali this year for airlines in India

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

22/10/20 Ameya Joshi/Moneycontrol

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

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

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

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

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

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

19/10/20 ANI/Times of India

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

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

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

See which are they >>

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

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

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

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

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

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

19/10/20 Yuvan Kumar/Helicopter Investor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

19/10/20 Lakshman Roy/Moneycontrol.com

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FinMin green signal for aircraft lease financing activities in GIFT City

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

18/10/20 KR Srivats/Business Line

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