Tag: GoAir

Two Go First planes grounded by DGCA after engine snags

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) grounded Go First’s two A320neo aircraft, Mumbai-Leh and Srinagar-Delhi, after the planes faced engine issues on Tuesday, according to authorities.

Both planes, which have Pratt and Whitney engines, will only go to the air after receiving approval from the aviation authority, according to the authorities, who said the agency is looking into the incidents. Both aircraft reported faults in engine number 2.

According to DGCA officials, the flight from Mumbai to Leh was redirected to Delhi. After engine number 2 developed a problem mid-flight, the Srinagar-Delhi aeroplane made a turn back towards Srinagar. In the last month, there have been several instances of technical failure in aircraft operated by Indian carriers.

Also read: SpiceJet announces 26 new domestic flights under the UDAN scheme

To maintain safety supervision, Jyotiraditya Scindia, the aviation minister, has met many times over the past three days with representatives from airlines, his ministry, and the DGCA.

During spot inspections, the DGCA claimed to have discovered that not enough engineers were approving the readiness for takeoff of various carriers’ aircraft on Monday. Before every flight, an aircraft is examined and certified by an aircraft maintenance engineer (AME).

Airlines must now abide by DGCA-issued rules on the deployment of competent AME employees by July 28.

Also read: Jet Airways near deal to buy 50 Airbus A220 jets, sources say

The DGCA order observed that the AME teams of airlines were erroneously determining the “cause of a reported defect” as a result of the spot checks. On July 17, pilots noticed a problem with one engine and decided to divert IndiGo’s Sharjah-Hyderabad aircraft to Karachi as a precaution.

The Air India Express aircraft from Calicut to Dubai on the night of July 16 was diverted to Muscat after a burning odour was noticed in the cabin while in flight. On July 15, the Air India Express aircraft from Bahrain to Kochi had a live bird discovered in the cockpit.

At the moment, SpiceJet is being investigated. After at least eight incidences of mechanical issues in its aircraft since June 19, the DGCA sent SpiceJet a show-cause notice on July 6. All of these occurrences are being looked upon by the DGCA right now.

(With inputs from PTI)

Also read: Bird found mid-air in cockpit of Air India Express’ Bahrain-Kochi flight on July 15

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India sees recovery in domestic aviation, airlines to deploy more flights in summer schedule

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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There are clear indications of recovery in the domestic aviation market as airlines will deploy 10 percent more capacity in the summer schedule of 2022 as compared to the previous year.

As per the summer schedule finalised by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, airlines in India will operate 25,309 departures per week in the summer schedule, effective from March 27-October 29.

The departures per week in the summer schedule of 2022 are over 10 percent higher than the 2021 summer schedule weekly departures or 22,980 flights.

Also Read: Regular international flight operation to resume from March 27: Ministry of civil aviation

IndiGo, the largest airline in India, will operate 11,130 departures per week, while the second-highest departures will be operated by SpiceJet at 4,192 flights, followed by GoAir at 2,557 weekly flights and Air India at 2,456 flights.

The summer schedule of 2022 has included 10 airlines, namely IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir, Air India, Vistara, AirAsia India, Alliance Air, TruJet, Fly Big, and Star Air.

The departures have been finalised for 112 airports and among these, Pondicherry, Gondia, and Ziro are the new airports that are likely to be connected by domestic airlines in the summer schedule of 2022.

Also Read: Aviation ministry invites applications from drone industry for PLI scheme

TruJet, which has been facing financial issues since last year, is the only airline that will see a reduction in weekly flights as compared to 2021 at 355 departures, 18 percent down on year.

While the highest growth rate has been registered by Alliance Air at 982 departures, 17.6 percent higher on year, followed by AirAsia India at 1,601 weekly flights, 16 percent up on year and SpiceJet at 4,192 flights per week, 14.2 percent higher on year and IndiGo weekly departures at 11,130 flights are 10.4 percent up on year.

The weekly departures in the summer schedule of 2022 are around 4 percent higher than the summer schedule of 2021, where the weekly departures stood at 24,409 flights.

Also Read: View: India’s airlines and the credit conundrum

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Paytm launches special flight fares for armed forces, students, senior citizens; bookings available in IndiGo, GoAir, Spicejet, AirAsia

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Paytm, country’s digital ecosystem, on Tuesday announced special discounted fares for flight bookings for armed forces personnel, students and senior citizens. The discounts will be available for bookings in IndiGo, Go Air, Spicejet, and AirAsia, Paytm said in a statement.

“To facilitate ease of booking, the discounts are in the range of 15 percent to 50 percent and to bring further convenience, students will also be able to avail extra baggage of up to 10 kgs. The fares come at a considerable discount than the normal prices available and will be in addition to the already existing offers being offered by Paytm and banking service providers,” the company said.

Paytm users can search for flight options after entering their details and discover the applicable discount and offer.

Paytm spokesperson said, “Travel ticketing is an important segment for us and we always aim to facilitate ease of booking for our users and also plan their trip more economically. With our airline partners, we are able to do that for users from the armed forces, students and senior citizen”

Paytm app enables users to book flight, inter-city bus and train tickets. The company has partnerships with all major domestic airlines and is an International Air Transport Association (IATA) accredited travel agent. It has direct integration with over 2,000 bus operators, the company said.

The platform leverages its transactional and behavioural insights to suggest relevant travel ticketing options to users on the Paytm app. It has innovated in the travel ticketing vertical for customer convenience by launching new products such as a nearby airport feature, EMI-based loans for flight travel, PNR confirmation status and live running status for train travel as well as contactless ticket-buying on buses, it added.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India asks Pakistan to grant overflight clearance for Srinagar-Sharjah flight

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India has asked Pakistan to grant overflight clearance for Srinagar-Sharjah GoFirst flights, sources said. Pakistani authorities had granted overflight clearance to GoFirst flights to operate the Srinagar-Sharjah sector on October 23, 24, 26, and 28. However, it had later put the clearance on the hold for the period of October 31 to November 30, 2021.

“This matter was promptly taken up with Pakistan through diplomatic channels and we have requested Pakistan to grant overflight clearance for this flight in the larger interest of the common people who have booked tickets on this route,” sources added.

Go First, previously known as GoAir, had started direct flights between Srinagar and Sharjah from October 23 and the service was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to the Valley last month.

The officials said Pakistan on Tuesday did not allow the flight to pass through its airspace, and therefore, the service had to take a longer route, going over Gujarat, adding around 40 minutes to the flight time on the onward journey as well as the return journey. A longer route means higher fuel consumption, which may push the airline to increase the ticket prices or turn this non-stop service into a one-stop service.

Therefore, the officials said India has requested Pakistan to grant the overflight clearance to this flight keeping in mind the larger interest of common people who have booked the tickets on this service. The Pakistani government is yet to give any specific reason for refusing the permission to the flight, officials said.

They said the flight, which operates four times a week, did not face any issue when it used Pakistan airspace between October 23 and October 31. Go First has not issued any statement or comment on this matter as yet.

The airline’s Srinagar-Sharjah-Srinagar service is the first service between Jammu and Kashmir and the UAE after 11 years. Air India Express had started a Srinagar-Dubai flight in February 2009 but it was discontinued after some time due to low demand.

Reacting to Pakistan’s action, former J&K chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Wednesday tweeted “very unfortunate. Pakistan did the same thing with the Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai in 2009-2010. I had hoped that @GoFirstairways being permitted to overfly Pak airspace was indicative of a thaw in relations but alas that wasn’t to be.”

Blaming the Centre, PDP chief and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday tweeted, “Puzzling that GoI didn’t even bother securing permission from Pakistan to use its airspace for international flights from Srinagar. Only PR extravaganza without any groundwork.”

Inaugurating the flight, Shah had said the commencement of Srinagar-Sharjah services would boost tourism.

“There are many people from Srinagar and Jammu who are settled in the Gulf countries. There are many tourists who want to come from the Gulf countries to Jammu and Kashmir. The tourism of J-K is going to get a big boost with the commencement of Srinagar-Sharjah flights,” he added.

Officials said the Srinagar-Sharjah flight takes around 3 hours and 40 minutes, while the return flight takes approximately 3 hours to reach the capital of Jammu and Kashmir if Pakistan airspace is used.

With Islamabad refusing to allow the flight through its airspace, it adds around 40 minutes time during the onward journey as well as during the return journey, raising fuel and ticket costs, they mentioned.

The Pakistan government, however, allowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special flight to Italy to use its airspace on Friday to attend the G20 summit. His return flight from Italy was also allowed to use the Pakistan airspace on Wednesday, officials said.

With inputs from agencies

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Pakistan refuses use of its airspace for Srinagar-Sharjah flight; Omar says ‘unfortunate’, Mehbooba blames Centre

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Pakistan has denied use of its airspace to Go First’s Srinagar-Sharjah flight, the government officials said on Wednesday. According to officials, Pakistan’s refusal on Tuesday forced the flight to take a longer route and fly over Gujarat to reach its destination in the UAE.

Go First, previously known as GoAir, had started direct flights between Srinagar and Sharjah from October 23 and the service was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to the Valley last month.

According to officials, till October 31, the flight was going through Pakistan airspace. However, Pakistan on Tuesday did not allow the flight to pass through its airspace, and therefore, the service had to take a longer route, going over Gujarat, adding around 40 minutes to the flight time, they said.

There were no specific reasons given by the Pakistan government as yet for refusing the permission to the flight, officials said.

Officials said the flight, which operates four times a week, did not face any issue when it used Pakistan airspace between October 23 and October 31. There was no immediate statement or comment from Go First on the matter. This is the first service between Jammu and Kashmir and the UAE after 11 years. Air India Express had started a Srinagar-Dubai flight in February 2009 but it was discontinued after some time due to low demand.

Reacting to Pakistan’s action, former J&K chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah tweeted “very unfortunate. Pakistan did the same thing with the Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai in 2009-2010. I had hoped that @GoFirstairways being permitted to overfly Pak airspace was indicative of a thaw in relations but alas that wasn’t to be.”

Very unfortunate. Pakistan did the same thing with the Air India Express flight from Srinagar to Dubai in 2009-2010. I had hoped that @GoFirstairways being permitted to overfly Pak airspace was indicative of a thaw in relations but alas that wasn’t to be. https://t.co/WhXzLbftxf

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) November 3, 2021

Blaming the Centre, PDP chief and former J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti tweeted “Puzzling that GoI didn’t even bother securing permission from Pakistan to use its airspace for international flights from Srinagar. Only PR extravaganza without any groundwork.”

Puzzling that GOI didn’t even bother securing permission from Pakistan to use its airspace for international flights from Srinagar. Only PR extravaganza without any groundwork. https://t.co/3Cbj91C6Pb

— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) November 3, 2021

Inaugurating the flight, Shah had said the commencement of Srinagar-Sharjah services would boost tourism. “There are many people from Srinagar and Jammu who are settled in the Gulf countries. There are many tourists who want to come from the Gulf countries to Jammu and Kashmir. The tourism of J-K is going to get a big boost with the commencement of Srinagar-Sharjah flights,” he added.

The Srinagar-Sharjah flight duration is around 3 hours if the Pakistan airspace is used, however, with Islamabad refusing to allow the flight through its airspace, it will be nearly an hour longer, raising fuel and ticket costs. The Pakistan government, however, allowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s special flight to Italy to use its airspace on Friday to attend the G20 summit. His return flight from Italy was also allowed to use the Pakistan airspace on Wednesday, officials said.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Go First gets SEBI nod for its IPO: Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

GO FIRST adds Qatar to network, to operate flights from August 5

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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GO FIRST, formerly known as GoAir, has added Qatar to its network and will launch flights to Doha on August 5. The airline will operate direct flights between Mumbai, Kochi, Kannur in India and Doha in Qatar under the Air Bubble agreement between the two countries.

GO FIRST will operate direct flights four times a week between Mumbai and Doha and will fly twice a week on Kochi-Doha-Kochi and Kannur-Doha-Kannur routes.

The airline has offered inaugural fares from Rs 26,666 on Mumbai-Doha-Mumbai, Rs 37,118 on Kochi-Doha-Kochi and Rs 32,332 on Kannur-Doha-Kannur routes respectively.

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“With the introduction of flights to and from Doha, GO FIRST further consolidates its position in the Gulf. I believe that our operations in the Gulf region have received an exceptional response and the launch of the Doha sector is in line with our growth plans,” Mr. Kaushik Khona, CEO, GO FIRST said.

The airline also plans to leverage the cargo capacity available on its flights between the India-Qatar sector and has operated charter flights between India and Qatar in the past.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

SEBI halts GoAir IPO over enquiry against promoter Bombay Dyeing

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has kept the processing of draft papers of Go Airlines’ initial public offering (IPO) in “abeyance”.

The regulator’s move comes owing to a pending enquiry against Bombay Dyeing Manufacturing Company Ltd and its promoters, the Wadias.

Go Airlines, which has rebranded itself as “Go First’’, had filed preliminary papers for an initial share sale worth Rs 3,600 crore in May.

Bombay Dyeing and its promoters had received a show-cause notice earlier this month from the Corporation Finance Investigation Department (CFID) for alleged irregularities, Moneycontrol reported citing a person familiar with the matter.

CFID, a special department of SEBI, carries out preliminary and detailed investigations on fraud, diversion or siphoning of funds in listed companies.

Another person aware of the issue told Moneycontrol that Go Air had sought an exemption from SEBI and requested the regulator to process the issue. Typically, SEBI vets documents and only after its approval can an issuer announce a date for its IPO.

What happens next?

The issuance of observations by SEBI implies the IPO is approved. SEBI usually gives its observations on IPO papers in 30 days after scanning through documents submitted by companies before giving them the go-ahead for an IPO. SEBI’s queries to investment banks on an offer document are common.

An IPO issue is kept in abeyance when there is a violation of serious nature. It could take over a month for the company to address the issue before the regulator restarts the vetting process. This could delay the airline’s fundraising plans.

SEBI can keep the matter in abeyance for 30 days if it feels that there is a possible cause for investigation or investigation is already in progress, but without a show-cause notice being issued. The time period could be further extended by 30 days or till the investigation concludes.

In case a show-cause notice is issued, SEBI can keep the process in abeyance for 90 days and can extend by 45 days or till the conclusion of the proceedings.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

GoAir IPO: From COVID-19 to high debt, here are the key risks to growth

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Wadia Group-owned low-cost airline GoAir has filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for its initial public offering (IPO) to raise up to Rs 3,600 crore.

The company will offer fresh equity shares aggregating up to Rs 3,600 crore.

The company has also rebranded itself as “Go First” ahead of its IPO.

Read here: Low-cost airline GoAir files DRHP for Rs 3,600-cr IPO

In its preliminary document, the aviation company suggested ‘key risk factors’ that could lead to actual results differing from ‘suggested forward-looking statements’.

Here are the key risk factors, as mentioned by the company:

>> The COVID-19 pandemic has had an adverse impact on the business, operating results, financial condition and liquidity, and the duration and spread of the pandemic or another pandemic could result in an additional adverse impact on the business.

>> The company may be unable to successfully implement ultra-low-cost carrier (or ULCC) model, due to a number of factors outside its control, including the continuing impact of COVID-19.

>> It may be unsuccessful in implementing the growth strategy.

>> It may be unable to fulfil its lease payment commitments under the aircraft purchase agreements with Airbus. Any inability to fulfil its commitments may result in contractual claims, penalties and impact its ability to source aircraft for its fleet and impact ability to implement its ULCC strategy.

>> The firm’s levels of indebtedness could adversely affect its business. Further, it may incur a significant amount of debt in the future to finance the acquisition of aircraft and expansion plans.

>> Its business could be adversely affected if it is unable to obtain regulatory approvals in the future or maintain or renew the existing regulatory approvals.

>> The company’s in the process of re-branding the airline, and there is no assurance that the new brand will be successful or that there will not be any objections or litigation in relation to the new brand.

>> Brand ‘GoAir’ and certain related trademarks, which it will continue to use until the transition to the new brand, and thereafter, are registered in the name of Go Holdings (in which one of its promoters, Jehangir Nusli Wadia, holds 99% shareholding) and not in the name of the company.

>> The company is exposed to certain risks against which it does not insure and may have difficulty obtaining insurance on commercially acceptable terms.

>> A failure to comply with covenants contained in the aircraft and engine lease agreements or its financing agreements could have a negative impact on it.

>> The firm’s entire current and projected fleet comprises Airbus A320 family aircraft, and any real or perceived problem with the Airbus A320 aircraft or Pratt & Whitney engines could adversely affect operations.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

GoAir plans D-Street landing with Rs 3,600 crore IPO

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Wadia Group-owned GoAir has filed the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for its IPO with market regulator SEBI. The move came just ahead of the airline deciding to rebrand itself as ‘GoFirst’ from ‘GoAir’. The airline intends to raise Rs 3,600 crore through its proposed IPO.

A Draft Red Herring Prospectus is a preliminary registration document prior to a public offering. ICICI Securities, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley are bankers to GoAir’s IPO.

According to sources, the company would be issuing 25-30 percent equity into the market via the fresh issue. Since there will not be any Offer For Sale (OFS) element in the issue, all funds raised would come into the company. As per the DRHP filed, GoAir intends to use Rs 2,015 crore or prepayment or scheduled repayment of all or a portion of outstanding borrowings. The airline also intends to use Rs 279 crore for replacement of letters of credit issued to certain aircraft lessors and Rs 254 crore is for repayment of dues to the Indian Oil Corporation.

Repayment and prepayment would substantially reduce the total borrowings of the airline which stands at Rs 2,955 crore.

If one looks at financials, total income for the airline stood at Rs 1,438 crore for the nine months ending December 2020. The airline has been incurring losses which stood at Rs 470 crore for nine months ending December 2020.

GoAir in its DRHP has mentioned that the airline has placed firm orders for 144 Airbus A320 NEO aircraft as part of its growth plan. Of these, they have taken delivery of 46 Airbus A320 NEO aircraft and awaiting delivery of 98 Airbus A320 NEO aircraft. The remaining aircraft are scheduled to be delivered from 2021 onwards, subject to any delivery advancements or deferrals to be negotiated with Airbus.

Talking about risks, the DRHP mentioned that the airline has and continues to be in payment default under several aircraft lease agreements. Such defaults may lead to lessors initiating legal or enforcement proceedings or enforce bank guarantees, appropriate security deposits or repossess aircraft, which will adversely affect the business, financial condition and results of operations.

GoAir has also defaulted under one of the loan agreements (in relation to which the airline has entered into an agreement to reschedule the principal repayments).

Four lessors have issued default notices to GoAir. These notices relate to 24 aircraft and the total amount claimed under these notices is $35.75 million.

The airline commenced operations in 2005 and has just over 50 aircraft in its fleet.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow