Category Archives: Aviation

Global airlines’ body IATA has sought an abated rate of GST on flight tickets, saying the tax burden on the aviation sector was already high and the GST regime should conform to global standards and principles. Maintaining that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has been ‘working closely’ with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Secretariat here to address some issues of concern to airlines, Director General of IATA, Alexandre de Juniac said, “The GST regime needs to adhere to international standards and principles.” “We have called for a zero-rating for international flights when the GST comes into effect next April. This seems unlikely. To limit its damage to the sector’s competitiveness, we would at least hope for abatement in the rate,” de Juniac said. He said the airlines in India faced “an onerous tax burden, including the imposition of service tax to services rendered abroad, including those for overflight charges, global distribution systems and international tickets.” This, he said, was “in contravention of international principles established by governments” through the UN body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). The IATA Director General and CEO, who met top officials of the government and Indian carriers during his two-day visit here, said he had shared these and other concerns with the government.

India will displace the UK as the third largest aviation market in 2026, as per the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) 20-Year Air Passenger Forecast. The report expects 7.2 billion passengers to travel in 2035, nearly double of the 3.8 billion air travellers in 2016. “People want to fly. Demand for air travel over the next two decades is set to double. Enabling people and nations to trade, explore, and share the benefits of innovation and economic prosperity makes our world a better place,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO. The forecast for passenger growth confirms that the biggest driver of demand will be the Asia-Pacific region. It is expected to be the source of more than half the new passengers over the next 20 years. China will ultimately displace the US as the world’s largest aviation market (defined by traffic to, from and within the country) around 2029. The prediction is based on a 3.7 per cent annual Compound Average Growth Rate (CAGR).

Air Canada’s inaugural flight AC 72 from Vancouver to Delhi arrived in the national capital on October 22 morning. The seasonal, three-times weekly flight features 787-9 Dreamliner service and offers the shortest elapsed flying time from Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Seattle, Portland and Los Angeles to the Indian subcontinent. Kevin Howlett, Senior Vice President, Regional Markets and Government Relations, Air Canada, says, “This flight is part of our three-pronged strategy into India, where the Delhi-Toronto flight launched last year was the first step, which would go daily on November 6, 2016. The new Delhi-Vancouver flight is the second major connection addressing a huge VFR and business market between both the countries. Finally, the Mumbai-Toronto flight starting from July 1, 2017, will be a major step in our expansion in India, as Mumbai is the business capital of India.”

Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation, has said that the civil aviation sector has the potential to create about 10 lakh direct jobs in the next 10 years. He further said that with a six-fold multiplier effect that jobs in this sector have, this can lead to the creation of about 60 lakh jobs – direct and indirect – in the next 10 years. As jobs in the civil aviation sector tend to be of high value, this would go a long way in improving the economic condition of a large number of young people. The Minister also said that the sector can reasonably be expected to grow at an average rate of about 10-12 per cent over the next ten years. However, to achieve this we first need to fill the gap between the demand for skilled manpower for a huge variety of trades in the sector, and the availability of the same. Stressing upon the need for world class training and skilling, he said that this can raise the employability of our people across the world. Sinha also flagged the issue of non-availability of land to build airports as another constraint for growth of the sector. The Minister was speaking at a workshop on Building Awareness on Aligning Skill Development in the Civil Aviation Sector with the National Skill Qualification Framework ( NSQF) in New Delhi. The event also saw the signing of an MoU between the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship for training of people in the various trades associated with the civil aviation sector.

According to the latest data released by DGCA, passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-Sept 2016 were 726.98 lakhs as against 590.21 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year, registering a growth of 23.17 per cent. SpiceJet showed the highest Passenger Load Factor (PLF) at 93.2 per cent. The overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for the month of Sept 2016 has been 0.42 %. Vistara came out the winner when it came to On Time Performance, with a success rate of 89.6 per cent.

SpiceJet has announced new additional flights for this winter with effect from November 15, 2016. The airline has inducted three Boeing 737-800s to operate the eight new flights and eight new connections. With the introduction of the new and additional flights, the airline will operate 334 flights a day. With ‘regional connectivity’ as the macro theme, SpiceJet has been rendering constant focus on the agenda while undertaking network expansions and has most recently introduced three new flights to Northeast. The new schedule also focuses on connecting the key metros with special emphasis on Bengaluru and Hyderabad catering to the seasonal demand. The airline has also increased its frequency for Ahmedabad to key metros besides Goa. Shilpa Bhatia, Sr. VP, Commercial, SpiceJet, says, “Our new winter schedule strikes the right balance with equal emphasis on metro and non-metro connectivity. The induction of three new aircraft will cater to the enhanced seasonal demand while offering flexibility to customers with more flight options to choose from. Besides, with the introduction of additional direct flights, the schedule will offer seamless connectivity to business and leisure travellers alike.”

China Southern Airlines has launched two new connections — Guangzhou-Adelaide and Guangzhou-Toronto. Starting December 7, 2016, the double daily flights would offer further connections for Indians travelling to these destinations, especially with a great frequency on the airline between Delhi and Guangzhou. Chen Yongguang, General Manager, China Southern Airlines, announced the new connections at an evening of cocktail and dinner at The Lalit, New Delhi, in the presence of representatives from the travel trade and media. He said that the new flights would be beneficial to Indians travelling to Australia and Canada, and that too at a good price.

Singapore Airlines’ sixth A350-900 is the 10,000th aircraft delivered by Airbus. The delivery milestone was celebrated at a special ceremony in Toulouse attended by Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong and Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders. “Singapore Airlines is honoured to be receiving the 10,000th aircraft that Airbus has delivered. Airbus aircraft have contributed greatly to Singapore Airlines’ successes over the decades, and we are proud to be sharing in this important milestone with our longstanding and trusted partner,” said Goh. Enders added, “We are especially proud to celebrate this milestone with Singapore Airlines – one of our longest-standing customers and a true partner. Today, the SIA Group operates aircraft from across our complete product line and with the highest levels of technical excellence. There is no better endorsement for our products and we thank the entire SIA Group for its ongoing confidence, partnership and support.” Singapore Airlines placed its first order with Airbus in 1979, for the A300B4. The SIA Group has since operated aircraft from all of Airbus’ product lines – the A300, A310, A320, A330, A340, A350 and A380 families. The SIA Group currently operates aircraft from all of Airbus’ in-production product lines. The A350-900 is the newest addition to the Singapore Airlines fleet. The Airline is the largest A350-900 customer with commitments for 67 firm orders, including seven of the ultra-long-range A350-900ULR variant. Singapore Airlines is the launch customer for the A350-900ULR, for which deliveries will begin in 2018. The aircraft will be used to re-launch non-stop flights between Singapore and the US cities of New York and Los Angeles. The A350-900 delivered has a special “10,000th Airbus Aircraft” logo and will be used to launch …

Air India is going to begin its Amritsar-Toronto operations in 2017 via Birmingham, said Pankaj Srivastava, Director-Commercial, Air India. Air India will also connect Delhi with Washington D.C. next year. Srivastava said, “We have grown substantially on the international network. In the last one year we have added 4 new networks to our operations which are operated on Dreamliners. Delhi-Madrid will begin operations from December 1 this year. Under the regional connectivity scheme, we are already planning operations to connect the Tier III and Tier II cities on Air India.” He also informed that Air India has managed to focus on its deeds and improve its services which has turned around their profits and recently the company posted a profit of RS 105 crores.

THAI Smile Airways has launched new flights to Gaya, Varanasi, Jaipur and Lucknow. The flights will gradually start operation from Bangkok to Gaya and Varanasi from October 1, Bangkok to Jaipur from November 15, and Bangkok to Lucknow from December 1, 2016. The airline has chosen Bird Group as its General Sales Agent (GSA) for the Indian market with immediate effect. The Bird Group will handle the airline’s sales development, bookings, and ticketing services within India as well as conduct direct marketing and service support to Indian travel agents. The new connections would bridge the demand of both Indians and Thais, who have been looking for seamless connections for religion, work and leisure purpose, in Thailand, India and onward destinations. Captain Woranate Laprabang, Acting Chief Executive Officer, THAI Smile Airways, said, “We consider these connecting flights as one of our strategic destinations in Indian region. THAI Smile Airways is undertaking an ambitious growth programme to develop network and ensure international connectivity. Moreover, we are committed to ensuring that our passengers have greater choice and opportunity to discover new destinations by flying with THAI Smile Airways.” He added, “THAI Smile Airways understands the immense need for passengers travelling among these 4 cities. A journey which can be covered in less than 4 hours can take up to 8 – 10 hours. We wish to make it more comfortable and affordable to Indian passengers.” “By appointing The Bird Group, THAI Smile Airways aims to generate awareness of its product and services in India by strengthening relations with existing travel partners and forging new strategic partnerships with specialized operators in a number of various segments,” said Captain Woranate. Gaurav Bhatia, Executive Director, Bird Travels, …