9.5 million fliers travelled across India in Dec, the highest for 2016
According to a travel portal’s traffic analysis report, India’s domestic carriers ferried 9.5 million fliers — the highest recorded in a month last year. The report by Ixigo.com also stated that traffic between October and December accounted for one-third the total fliers’ volumes in the year. “On the whole, 2016 was a great year for the Indian aviation industry with most of the year seeing a high traffic of both domestic and international bookings. As per our projection the number of domestic fliers in the month were about 9.5 million, 23% higher than the same period last year,” said Aloke Bajpai, chief executive officer and co-founder, Ixigo. He added that holidays and bulk discounts were the primary baits. Tracy McGrady Womens Jersey
Vistara goes all out to cut costs, enhance revenue
Almost three decades ago, an American airlines saved $40,000 annually by removing just one olive from each salad plate. Giving the same attention to cost reduction, Vistara, the full service JV airline of Tata-Singapore Airlines, will now increasingly source catering for passengers from the city it is flying out of. The logic: Taking catering trays, say on a Delhi-Kochi-Delhi flight, for the return flight from Delhi adds to the weight of the plane on the Delhi-Kochi sector and increases fuel burn. “It is not just about savings. When we uplift food from other destinations, our passengers will get to savour the local flavours. We are now uplifting catering from Kochi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru. We will do so in whichever city we can uplift catering from without compromising on our high standards of passenger service,” Vistara CEO Phee Teik Yeoh told TOI, just ahead of the airline turning two. Vistara, which is yet to break even, is looking at several areas of cost reduction and revenue augmentation. However, Phee Teik emphasies all this will be done without compromising the onboard passenger service which the airline prides itself on. “We are open to course correction and did that in the first year itself by deciding to alter the number of seats in business, premium economy and economy cabins of our planes. In many of our cities we fly to, the check-in process was outsourced. Now to reduce expense on that front, we have made that an in-house function in seven of the 18 cities we currently fly to,” he said. Cooper Kupp Authentic Jersey
Disagree with FlightStats report, says Air India after being ranked third worst in punctuality
National passenger carrier Air India on Monday said that it disagrees with a report published by data services company FlightStats which has ranked the airline as the third worst global performer in terms of on-time operations in 2016. “We totally disagree with the report published by FlightStats about AI,” Air India’s spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar was quoted as saying in a statement. “Initially it seems that the report is fabricated, so AI management will investigate the report till the end.” The development comes after an international media report cited that the data services company has ranked Air India as the third worst performer airline in terms of its on-time performance (OTP) in 2016. “As a leader in flight data services FlightStats, part of FlightGlobal, is in a unique position to be able to provide an in-depth view into how airlines are performing globally,” the data services company’s website said. “For the past eight years we have been recognizing airlines with our On-time Performance Services (OPS) Awards acknowledging the ‘Best of the Best’.” According to the website, the FlightStats OPS Awards recognises airlines around the world that deliver the highest percentage of flights to their arrival gates within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time. John Kelly Womens Jersey
Air Pegasus gets lifeline as FlyEasy picks up majority stake for Rs 70 cr
Air Pegasus has received a lifeline with another Bengaluru-based airline, FlyEasy, picking up a majority stake for around Rs. 70 crore. Sources close to the airline said FlyEasy has bought slightly over 60 per cent stake in Air Pegasus. Air Pegasus, whose operator licence has been suspended, will now start operations in a month’s time, a senior airline official told BusinessLine. The official said it expects to take on lease a single ATR soon and plans to get back its licence in a fortnight. As part of revamping its operations, Air Pegasus will induct 24 aircraft in the next four years, of which six will be inducted this year. “Air Pegasus will continue as a regional airline, operating in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, while FlyEasy Airlines will operate as a pan-India operator with an all-Airbus fleet and will have a commercial launch on May 2017,” said Shyson Thomas, Managing Director, Air Pegasus. ?”We intend to build a strong network with Flyeasy operating into long, thin routes and Air Pegasus connecting to tier-2 and 3 cities, concentrating on the South initially?,” s?aid Rajesh Ebrahim, the Managing Director of Flyeasy. “S?trategic partnerships and code-shares will be the future of Indian aviation and I feel that we have moved in the right direction,” he added. ?Sources said Zulfikar Ahmed Khan will be the group Chairman; Misbaudeen, the Managing Director of Air Pegasus; and Suhail Sheriff, the Managing Director of Flyeasy. Shyson Thomas will continue on the board as Vice-Chairman and Mr Rajesh Ebrahim will act as the Group CEO?. Kevon Looney Authentic Jersey
Exclusive – Airbus may post 8 percent rise in 2016 deliveries, narrow gap with Boeing
Airbus (AIR.PA) is set to post an 8 percent rise in deliveries for 2016, beating expectations, after a sprint to the finish line that narrowed the gap with arch-rival Boeing, according to industry experts and records of aircraft movements. The European planemaker was forced to accelerate deliveries sharply in December to meet its target after production problems earlier in the year. It delivered over 100 jets last month, a Reuters analysis of flight-tracking data supplied by FlightRadar24, unofficial airport data and plane-watcher reports suggests, lifting its 2016 tally well above 680 including 60 of the delayed A320neo. One industry expert estimated the total as high as 688, well above the company’s informal target of more than 670. Airbus remains in second place behind Boeing (BA.N), but its growth contrasts with a 2 percent drop in 2016 deliveries reported by its U.S. nemesis last week, to 748 planes. The higher-than-expected Airbus performance, up from 635 in 2015, is the latest evidence that planemakers are racing to whittle down big order backlogs and hoard cash as they face a potentially worsening slowdown in orders that began in 2015. Boeing temporarily eased output last year to make way for a new model but, like Airbus, plans to increase production of its best-selling aircraft. An Airbus spokesman declined to comment. Shares in Europe’s largest aerospace company clawed back losses to end up 0.2 percent in a weaker Paris market. The European planemaker is keeping operational data tightly under wraps ahead of its annual news conference on Wednesday. Airbus’s December deliveries would set a monthly record for the company, beating the previous peak by more than a quarter. The gap between Christmas and New Year, traditionally a groggy period for European industry, saw a record burst of activity at Airbus plants in France and Germany and included one of its busiest ever days with eight jets flying away on Dec. 29. “I was amazed,” said a veteran of such operations. Aiming to stay ahead of Boeing in the race for new orders, rather than deliveries where it lags, Airbus may book for December at least part of a recent order for 100 jets from Iran and tie up loose ends including completing a deal for 72 jets with India’s GoAir. It may announce a $6.4 billion order for 60 jets from Saudi carrier flynas, two sources said. Airbus needs to announce at least 259 orders for December to beat Boeing’s 2016 total of 668. With outspoken sales chief John Leahy expected to retire in the second half of this year, Airbus is looking to end 2016 with a flourish, though analysts say prices could suffer due to weakening global economies. CASH GENERATION Airbus delivered at least 70 A320-family narrow-body jets in December, according to the sources and data, also a record. These included at least 17 of the new A320neo, whose ramp-up had been disrupted by delays in receiving new fuel-saving engines from Pratt & Whitney (UTX.N). That brought 2016 deliveries of narrow-body jets – the most cash-generating models – to over 540. It also delivered more than 140 wide-bodies. Airbus expected to deliver more than 670 aircraft in 2016, unofficially revised up from 650 in October. It is accelerating deliveries of the existing A320 to keep cash pouring in from airlines while it adopts a more conservative timeframe for the switchover to the A320neo. Narrow-body deliveries generate cash for other developments and are increasingly vital as demand for larger wide-body aircraft suffers from a looming capacity glut. Experts say the delays in A320neo deliveries have masked some pressure on demand for those models too, caused by low oil prices that can make earlier versions just as attractive. On its other main profit-driver, Airbus delivered over 62 long-haul A330s in 2016, according to the estimates. But it was forced to step up customer financing to maintain that pace as major customer Turkey faced turmoil after a failed coup and as European states withheld export credits in a row over Airbus payments to sales agents. Airbus itself provided the financing for all seven new Turkish Airlines A330s in 2016, industry sources say. Despite separate delays due to shortages of cabin equipment, Airbus unexpectedly hit a target for at least 50 deliveries of the newer A350 after 16 in December, sources said last week. That includes one or two jets paid for but not yet in operation. The rush to get planes away extended to the mammoth A380 as Airbus delivered seven in December, including three in two days to dominant customer Emirates. That brought the annual total to 28, up one from the previous year and enough to keep Europe’s troubled superjumbo project at breakeven in 2016. However, it plans to cut A380 output from next year after demand sagged for the world’s largest four-engined jets. The programme took another blow in late December when Dubai-based Emirates, under pressure from the impact of low oil prices on Gulf economies, delayed some 2017 deliveries. That could put the iconic double-decker plane back into loss in 2017, marring celebrations for its 10 years in service. Sam Martin Authentic Jersey
India to discuss aviation assistance with Nepal tohelp build three airports
India is scrambling to offer assistance to Nepal in developing its aviation sector, an attempt to counter China’s initiative to help the Himalayan country build three international airports. The government has invited Nepalese officials to discuss issues including reviving an old plan of the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) to build and operate airports in the neighbouring country, officials told ET. “Authorities from Nepal are coming to India soon to discuss issues related to AAI,” said a senior aviation ministry official, who did not want to be identified. Nepal had surprised Indian officials at the International Civil Aviation Negotiations (ICAN), held in the first week of December 2016, by informing them that China is providing soft loans and expertise for three international airports in places including Pokhara and Janakpur, which shares its border with Bihar in India. Another official said that the issues to be discussed with Nepal include Air Traffic Control along with the AAI’s old plan. While the AAI renders ATC services to Nepal, it had earlier planned to build and operate Nepal’s second airport in Kathmandu. At the bilateral meeting held between the two nations during ICAN, India had offered open skies to Nepal, something that Nepal declined. At the same meeting, Sri Lanka agreed to open skies with India, allowing its carriers to add as many flights as they sought from six key cities in India, including four metros. ET’s query sent to external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup did not elicit any response till late evening on Monday. China’s moves to invest in infrastructure in countries neighbouring India, such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh, have been a concern for India for a while now. While Sri Lanka has been the recipient of Chinese investments in two ports and related projects, China has offered Bangladesh and Pakistan $24 billion and $46 billion in loans and private investments respectively. India and Nepal enjoyed close bilateral ties till 2015, before Nepal announced a new constitution which discriminated against Madhesis of Indian origin. Protests by Madhesis led to cessation of trade across the India-Nepal border as agitation grew increasingly intense in southern Nepal, depriving the country of much-needed fuel and other supplies. Nepalese authorities accused India of imposing an undeclared blockade, a charge India strongly denied. Niklas Kronwall Authentic Jersey
Performance data row: Jet, SpiceJet to take on Indigo
Airlines have got into a battle over on-time performance data, with SpiceJet and Jet Airways expected to fire the first salvo this week. Officials of both these airlines plan to meet the director-general of civil aviation on Tuesday to question the merit in IndiGo’s recent complaint about the veracity of on-time performance (OTP) data collected by the Mumbai airport. On-time performance is a measure of an airline’s ability to operate its flight schedule with punctuality. Airports monitor the arrival and departure time of each and every airline flight to deduce the OTP of each carrier and send a monthly data to the aviation regulator. No airlines had questioned the veracity of the data sent by airports till last month when IndiGo accused Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) of monitoring OTP in a way that shows some “competing airlines” as more punctual than they may be in reality . TOI had reported the issue on December 28, following which the the DGCA chief B S Bhullar had formed a panel to investigate IndiGo’s allegations. Last week, the panel found some discrepancies in the computation of OTP data, following which the DGCA constituted a committee to look into the matter and a publish fresh OTP data from March or April. Emmanuel Lamur Jersey
Air India Ranked Third-Worst Performing Airline In The World
For those who insist that traveling is all about the journey, we say this: It really depends on which carrier you’re flying. Aside from variations in cabins and service quality, there’s the major concern of how likely you are to get delayed. Fly on the wrong airline and your odds of a delay are as high as 55 percent; choose the right one and that number shrinks way down to just 11 percent. That’s enough to make or break a vacation’s spell, no matter where you’re sitting on the plane. But how do you know which airlines to steer clear of, and which ones to prioritize? Every year, the aviation insights company FlightStats puts together a list of the international airlines with the best on-time performance records. It’s the capstone to the company’s year-round efforts to track delay and cancellation patterns for airlines across the globe. We’ve asked them to share all of their annual findings so we can point out the losers, too. Without further ado, here are the full results, along with your likelihood of getting delayed on each carrier: The Worst 10 International Airlines of 2016 10. Hainan Airlines – 30.3 percent 9. Korean Air – 31.74 percent 8. Air China – 32.73 percent 7. Hong Kong Airlines – 33.42 percent 6. China Eastern Airlines – 35.8 percent 5. Asiana Airlines – 37.46 percent 4. Philippine Airlines – 38.33 percent 3. Air India – 38.71 percent 2. Icelandair – 41.05 percent 1. El Al – 56 percent The Best 10 International Airlines of 2016 10. Qantas – 15.7 percent 9. TAM Linhas Aéreas – 14.93 percent 8. Delta Air Lines – 14.83 percent 7. Singapore Airlines – 14.55 percent 6. ANA – 14.46 percent 5. Austrian – 14.26 percent 4. Qatar Airways – 13.66 percent 3. JAL – 12.2 percent 2. Iberia – 11.82 percent 1. KLM – 11.47 percent According to Jim Hetzel, vice president of aviation and distribution at FlightStats, compiling the list is no small feat. The only comparable resource is the monthly report (PDF) that the U.S. Department of Transportation puts out on major domestic carriers, relying uniquely on self-reported data from the biggest carriers in the United States; it doesn’t factor in any of those airlines’ international flights. Paul Krause Womens Jersey
DGCA panel to check airlines’ OTP claims after IndiGo complains of irregularities
Your airline may not be sharing the correct on-time performance (OTP) figures, believes the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which has constituted a panel to look into the fudging of OTP data by airlines. “In view of some discrepancy observed in computation of OTP data, the DGCA has constituted a committee to look into the matter so as to ensure the correctness by end of February ,” DG of DGCA BS Bhullar told ET on Thursday. Bhullar said the OTP data, in the meantime, for December 2016 will be published as per practice. The committee will be headed by joint director general Lalit Gupta. The panel was formed after IndiGo complained to the DGCA that there are discrepancies in the way airline data is collated by airlines and airport operators. IndiGo had, in a letter to the DGCA, complained that the procedure to compute OTP data has irregularities and need to be corrected. IndiGo had pointed out irregularities in OTP calculation at airports and had sought a probe into the data collection at that airport and other places too. In its letter, IndiGo’s EVP (operations control) Sanjeev Ramdas had said that irregularities are a matter of grave concern for IndiGo. “OTP is a very important indicator of performance of any airline including In diGo. Any inaccurate data in public domain is bound to affect general perception and goodwill of any airline including IndiGo, which will hamper the level playing field in the aviation industry. It is a matter of grave concern for IndiGo that there is more variance in favour of competing airlines,” Ramdas had said in his missive. A source alleged that irregularities in collating data happen, while it is compiled manually adding that the error percentage in reportage of data by airlines could be as high as 14%. “The arrival time of an aircraft is registered when it gets attached to an aerobridge and then that time is sent by a computer to airport operators. Irregularity in data happens when this data is transferred manually to an excel sheet.Same is the case with takeoffs. A lot of new-age aircraft (like A320 Neo) are equipped with a system that automatically sends the information to air traffic control and the airline and airport official.But carriers, which operate oldgeneration aircraft, report the takeoff time verbally , where they could report wrong data,” said an airline executive. Another airline executive said one airline suddenly does not trust the data, which had kept it number one all these years. “Any airline, which does not have new-age aircraft and reports data manually, can only gain one to two minutes by fudging the data, in case it is doing it,” said another executive. Kevan Miller Jersey
AirAsia comes under CBI lens
A month after Enforcement Directorate registered a case of foreign exchange violations against AirAsia India, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday claimed that it is also examining the matter in which there are allegations of fraudulent transactions of Rs 22 crore involving non-existent entities in India and Singapore. Sources in the CBI said that they have not registered a preliminary enquiry or regular case (FIR) in the matter but they are looking into the matter to see if it calls for registering a criminal case. “We are scrutinising the AirAsia documents right now,“ said the CBI officer. When contacted, an AirAsia India spokesperson said, “AirAsia India has not heard from the CBI. Should we receive a call from CBI, AirAsia India will furnish all information that they seek.As you are aware, the airline has already put it in the public domain that it is pursuing the ongoing investigation. AirAsia India subsequently filed a private complaint with the Bangalore police in this regard.“ The issue was flagged by ousted chairman of Tata Sons Cyrus Mistry soon after he was replaced on October 24. He wrote in his let ter to Tata Sons board and trustees of Tata Trusts that, “Board members and trustees are also aware that in the case of AirAsia, ethical concerns have been raised with respect to certain transactions as well as the overall prevailing culture in the organization. A recent forensics investigation revealed fraudulent transactions of Rs 22 crore involving non-existent parties in India and Singapore.“ Presently , ED is probing the matter under FEMA (foreign exchange management act) and has already sought documents from the company. It is looking into a specific transaction of over Rs 12 crore, out of Rs 22 crore, made to a Singaporean firm. Mistry had alleged that “executive trustee Mr Venkataraman, who is on the board of Air Asia and also a shareholder in the company , considered these transactions as non-material and did not encourage further study“. It was only at the insistence of the independent directors, one of whom immediately submitted his resignation, that the board decided to belatedly file a FIR, Mistry had said in his letter. He claimed it was Tata who had completed negotiations with AirAsia, but early in his tenure as the chairman of Tata Sons he (Mistry) was asked to table a proposal for the JV with AirAsia at a Tata Sons board meeting. In 2013, Tata Sons had joined hands with Malaysian carrier AirAsia and Arun Bhatia’s Telestra Tradeplace to start low cost carrier AirAsia India. The carrier had to wait for nine months before taking off. Antwaun Woods Womens Jersey