Category Archives: Aviation

AAI has issued a notice informing Delhi International Airport will be closed daily from 19 January to 26 January, 2024 between 10.20 am to 12.45 pm in view of Republic Day celebrations. The closure of Delhi’s airspace on these days will impact the flight operations of all airlines.

DGCA has issued revised flight duty time rules, under which weekly rest periods have been increased from 36 hours to 48 hours for flight crew. As per new guidelines, night duty will now cover the period from midnight to 6 am in the morning as compared to five am earlier.

To attract more tourists, Andaman and Nicobar administration has taken initiatives, including granting access to uninhabited islands, allowing beaches to stay open till late night, development of a 5-star property at Megapode in Port Blair under PPP, and reaching out to more airlines.

AirAsia kicks off 2024 with a bang, launching the first of its new routes for the year to Kuala Lumpur from the iconic pink city of Jaipur in Rajasthan, commencing 21 April 2024. This marks AirAsia Malaysia’s (airline code AK) first venture from Jaipur to Kuala Lumpur. As Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur is a favourite travel destination for many Indian travellers for business, leisure and temple visits. Malaysia is also famed for scrumptious local food, its deeply rooted heritage stemming from a melting pot of cultures and its shopping havens. Additionally, this route will also serve to enhance connectivity for travellers from Malaysia heading to Jaipur to explore the city’s wondrous charm, vintage forts, majestic infrastructure and much more. To commemorate this new beginning, AirAsia is offering promotional fares from the city to Kuala Lumpur from just INR 7,999* all-in-one way, and from only RM209* from Kuala Lumpur to Jaipur. Book from 9 January to 23 January 2024 on the airasia Superapp or www.airasia.com and fly between 21 April 2024  and 19 March 2025.  

Vistara has announced a direct, 5x weekly flights between Mumbai and Paris (CDG), starting 28 March 2024. This new long-haul route is in addition to Vistara’s 5x weekly service between Delhi and Paris, which has been receiving a favourable response since its launch in November 2021. This will be Vistara’s third long-haul route from Mumbai after London and Frankfurt as the airline aimed to further enhance connectivity between India and Europe. Vistara will deploy its state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, featuring a three-class configuration, on the route. Bookings for the flights are being progressively opened on all channels, including Vistara’s website, mobile app, and through travel agents.

Vietjet, Vietnam’s leading new-age carrier, has once again been listed among the world’s safest airlines for 2024 by Airline Ratings, the renowned airline safety and product rating website. Additionally, Vietjet has consistently held a seven-star rating, the highest level for aviation safety globally, since 2018. In its annual evaluation, Airline Ratings monitored 385 global airlines, considering the airlines’ incident records in recent years, fleet age, results of audits conducted by the governing body of aviation, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and other aviation authorities. Vietjet, along with other notable low-cost peers worldwide such as Ryanair, easyJet, Frontier, etc., has been honoured in the top 10 for many consecutive years, recognizing their excellent performance in flight safety for both flight crews and passengers. Geoffrey Thomas, Editor-in-Chief of AirlineRatings.com, said, “Vietjet’s dedication to maintaining a culture of safety across all aspects of operations is commendable, especially as it actively expands its flight network. The implementation of a robust safety management system and strict compliance with international regulations have contributed to the airline’s excellent technical reliability indicators, ensuring the highest level of safety in its operations for many years.” Vietjet continues to add new aircraft to its modern and fuel-efficient fleet, boasting a technical reliability rate of 99.72% among top operators in the region and the world. The airline invests continuously in training, aircraft engineering, and MRO services to ensure the highest standard in terms of safety and quality. In recent developments, Vietjet Aviation Academy (VJAA) has officially become a training partner of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to ensure a high-quality aviation workforce.

Oman Air has been named the most punctual airline in the Middle East and Africa for 2023, scoring an outstanding 92.50/o On-Time Performance (OTP), the highest among all carriers across all categories. The rankings, published in the 2023 On-Time Performance Review by global aviation analytics leader, Cirium, measured performance data collected from more than 600 sources of real-time flight information. It’s the second consecutive time the Muscat-based airline has taken the top spot, having scored 91 TO/o during 2022. In aviation, on-time performance represents a pivotal cornerstone shaping the passenger experience. Flights that are on time mean smoother, less stressful journeys, making it a key differentiator for guest satisfaction. By committing itself to achieving exemplary on-time performance, Oman Air continues to prove its reliability, reduce travel uncertainties, and increase passenger confidence, underscoring its dedication to elevating the overall travel experience.

Ryanair confirmed  a number of online travel agents (OTA), including Booking.com, Kiwi.com and Kayak, removed Ryanair‘s flights from sale on their websites in early Dec-2023. Ryanair stated the removals “may be the result of pressure from Consumer Protection Agencies”, or a response to the recent Irish High Court ruling which granted the LCC a permanent injunction against Flightbox. Ryanair expects the removal of flights from the OTA websites to reduce short term load factors by 1% or 2% in Dec-2023 and Jan-2024, and to soften short term yields. The LCC does not expect the removals will materially affect FY2024 traffic or profit after tax guidance. Ryanair noted it will aim to lower fares “where necessary” to encourage passengers to book directly on its website. 

The guidance for overall airline industry financials remains unchanged as per CAPA India’s latest report. However, full-service carriers are expected to see a relative deterioration in performance compared with earlier results. Softer yields are expected to result in higher losses for the FSCs.

Nearly eight out of ten surveyed passengers have faced one or more issues while flying with Indian carriers over the past two years, a survey by LocalCircles reveals. Major challenges identified include issues with in-flight services, boarding, check-in, baggage procedures, and poor aircraft interiors, including seats.