Tag: Airline

AirAsia changes name to Capital A as it grows beyond an airline

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Malaysia’s AirAsia Group Bhd said on Friday it had finalised the name change of its listed holding company to Capital A Bhd as it seeks market recognition of its growing portfolio of businesses beyond the core budget airline.

The company’s airline business has been hard-hit during the pandemic due to strict travel rules in Asia, leading Malaysia’s stock exchange to this month classify the firm as financially distressed though it has been raising funds to bolster its balance sheet.

Capital A has been investing heavily in payments business BigPay, logistics arm Teleport and its mobile Super App to gain other sources of revenue, though they remain in growth phases and were loss-making in the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2021.

“Over the past two years we have spent the downturn in flying building a solid foundation for a viable and successful future, which is not solely reliant on airfares alone,” Capital A Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said in a statement.

The airline business will retain the AirAsia brand, which is well known in Asia, he added.

The carrier on Thursday reported it filled 80% of seats on offer in the fourth quarter of 2021 and had the highest number of passengers since the start of the pandemic as travel rules began to ease.

“Domestic travel has already started to rebound in our key markets,” Fernandes said. “I am hopeful borders will reopen gradually throughout 2022 and we will see a return to normal capacity for our international services by the middle to third quarter of this year.”

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

Major US airline CEOs warn 5G could ground some planes, wreak havoc

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The chief executives of major U.S. passenger and cargo carriers on Monday warned of an impending “catastrophic” aviation crisis in less than 36 hours, when AT&T and Verizon are set to deploy new 5G service.

The airlines warned the new C-Band 5G service set to begin on Wednesday could render a significant number of widebody aircraft unusable, “could potentially strand tens of thousands of Americans overseas” and cause “chaos” for U.S. flights.

“Unless our major hubs are cleared to fly, the vast majority of the traveling and shipping public will essentially be grounded,” wrote the chief executives of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines and others in a letter first reported by Reuters.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has warned that potential interference could affect sensitive airplane instruments such as altimeters and significantly hamper low-visibility operations.

“This means that on a day like yesterday, more than 1,100 flights and 100,000 passengers would be subjected to cancellations, diversions or delays,” the letter https://twitter.com/davidshepardson/status/1483148794690740224?s=20 cautioned.

Airlines late on Monday were considering whether to begin canceling some international flights that are scheduled to arrive in the United States on Wednesday.

“With the proposed restrictions at selected airports, the transportation industry is preparing for some service disruption. We are optimistic that we can work across industries and with government to finalize solutions that safely mitigate as many schedule impacts as possible,” plane maker Boeing said on Monday.

Action is urgent, the airlines added in the letter also signed by UPS Airlines, Alaska Air, Atlas Air, JetBlue Airways and FedEx Express. “To be blunt, the nation’s commerce will grind to a halt.”

The letter went to White House National Economic Council director Brian Deese, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, FAA Administrator Steve Dickson and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

Airlines for America, the group that organized the letter, declined to comment. The government agencies did not immediately comment.

‘INTERVENTION IS NEEDED’

AT&T and Verizon, which won nearly all of the C-Band spectrum in an $80 billion auction last year, on Jan. 3 agreed to buffer zones around 50 airports to reduce interference risks and take other steps to cut potential interference for six months. They also agreed to delay deployment for two weeks until Wednesday, temporarily averting an aviation safety standoff, after previously delaying service by 30 days.

Verizon and AT&T declined comment on Monday.

The CEOs of major airlines and Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun held a lengthy call with Buttigieg and Dickson on Sunday to warn of the looming crisis, officials told Reuters.

The airlines ask “that 5G be implemented everywhere in the country except within the approximate 2 miles (3.2 km) of airport runways” at some key airports.

“Immediate intervention is needed to avoid significant operational disruption to air passengers, shippers, supply chain and delivery of needed medical supplies,” they said.

The airlines added that flight restrictions will not be limited to poor weather operations.

“Multiple modern safety systems on aircraft will be deemed unusable causing a much larger problem than what we knew… Airplane manufacturers have informed us that there are huge swaths of the operating fleet that may need to be indefinitely grounded.”

One area of concern is whether some Boeing 777s will be unable to land at some key U.S. airports after 5G service starts, as well as some Boeing cargo planes, airline officials told Reuters.

The airlines urged action to ensure “5G is deployed except when towers are too close to airport runways until the FAA can determine how that can be safely accomplished without catastrophic disruption.”

The FAA said on Sunday it had cleared an estimated 45% of the U.S. commercial airplane fleet to perform low-visibility landings at many airports where 5G C-band will be deployed and they expect to issue more approvals before Wednesday. The airlines noted on Monday that the list did not include many large airports.

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

Go Airlines puts IPO plan on hold as COVID-19 cases swell again: Report

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Go Airlines has put its Rs 3,600-crore initial public offering (IPO) on hold in view of the resurgence of COVID-19 infections in the country.

The company has been discussing the plan with its bankers who have advised the group to wait for now, an official close to the group told The Economic Times.

The Nusli Wadia-backed airline, which was all set for public listing, has put off plans for the time being to settle some of the issues within, the official said. “Also, with the latest wave of COVID, people travel only for essential things, which will further dampen demand for an airline company IPO.”

Go Airlines, which operates the Go First brand, had initially planned to launch the share sale on December 8, Business Standard had reported. Market regulator SEBI had approved the IPO in August after it filed the papers in May last year. Apart from raising Rs 3,600 crore from the IPO, Go Airlines plans to raise an additional Rs 1,500 crore through a pre-IPO placement. The airlines had planned to use the proceeds to retire debt and pay oil companies and lessors.

The aviation industry was witnessing a recovery in passenger load on a monthly basis, driven by a faster pace of vaccinations and relaxation of travel restrictions. However, the recent spike in COVID-19 cases led by the Omicron variant has again impacted travel.

At present, top investors are weighing the impact of Omicron on consumers’ travel plans before pumping capital into the aviation sector, ET quoted sources as saying.

The group has, therefore, put its fund-raising plans on hold and is likely to infuse additional capital into the budget airline to meet operational expenses, the sources said.

The Wadia Group refrained from commenting on the IPO delay.

Meanwhile, experts said that the airline will not put the IPO plans in abeyance for long. Although states have imposed restrictions impacting travel business, “everyone is hopeful that there is no long-term impact (of the Omicron) on business,” a fund manager told ET, adding that the aviation sector is bullish in the medium to long term.

Read Also | Omicron impact: Govt officials say domestic air traffic has softened but broadly stable

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

SpiceJet says Madras High Court has stayed its earlier order of winding up the airline

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

New Delhi: The Madras High Court has stayed its earlier order of winding up SpiceJet and the airline will soon initiate “appropriate remedial steps including preferring an appeal” against the order before a higher bench, the company said on Tuesday.

In a filing to BSE, the budget carrier said the Madras High Court had on Monday issued an order of “winding up SpiceJet and appointment of official liquidator” in a case filed by Credit Suisse claiming non-payment of $24.01 million dues to engine maintenance services firm SRT Technics.

“The Madras HC despite holding that SRT did not have a valid authorisation from DGCA to carry out engine maintenance during the currency of the agreement rejected the company’s defence and ordered winding up of the company and directed the official liquidator to take over the assets of the company,” SpiceJet noted.

However, on the same day, the Madras High Court issued another order wherein it stayed its previous order and gave SpiceJet “a period of three weeks, subject to the condition that the company deposits the amount equivalent to $5 million within a period of two weeks.”

“The Company is examining the order and shall initiate appropriate remedial steps including preferring an appeal before the appellate jurisdiction within the time frame allowed by the Madras High Court,” SpiceJet noted.

The carrier further said it has a good case on merits and was hopeful of having a favourable outcome in the appeal.

SpiceJet reported a net loss of Rs 934.8 crore and Rs 998.3 crore in 2019-20 and 2020-21, respectively. It had reported a net loss of Rs 729 crore for the quarter ending June 2021 as its flight operations were affected due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

Go First begins direct flights from Srinagar to Sharjah

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Go First, the Wadia group-operated airline, on Saturday, kicked off direct passenger flights from Srinagar to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Go First thus, became the first domestic carrier to provide direct international connectivity between Srinagar and UAE.

Operated by an Airbus A320neo, the maiden flight G8 1595, took off from Srinagar’s Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport at around 6.30 pm on Saturday, a release said. Go First will operate four flights every week between Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), and Sharjah.

The direct flight is expected to boost trade and tourism between Srinagar and the UAE, besides meeting the demand for convenient travel options between the two cities, which are popular tourist destinations as well, Go First said. The new flights will also give a fillip to investment links between the two cities, it added.

Besides Srinagar, the direct flights from Sharjah will offer seamless connections to Chandigarh, Delhi, Jammu, Leh and Mumbai, and vice-versa, the airline said.

“Having been in operations here for over 15 years, the airline shares a special relationship with the region and is committed to its growth. We are delighted to be the first airline to connect Jammu & Kashmir with the UAE, and it bears testimony to our commitment to the region,” said Kaushik Khona, Chief Executive Officer, Go First.

The airline said it is the only airline appointed for the movement of perishable horticultural and agricultural produce of state-owned company J&K Horticulture Products.

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

Indian Hotels sees uptick in leisure travel; surge in advance bookings for Diwali, Christmas

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Puneet Chhatwal, MD & CEO of Indian Hotels Company, on Monday, said that most leisure destinations are seeing revenue above pre-COVID levels.

The just ended 3-day long weekend of October 15-17, gave anecdotal evidence of a huge spike in holidaying. Unnamed sources said airline bookings went up 60 percent this weekend as airlines were allowed to book full capacity. Media reports also claim that hotel chains like Oberoi, ITC, Taj and Lemon Tree Hotels were fully booked out in certain locations. The traffic on expressways for people going out of Mumbai on Friday was also a testimony to revenge holidaying. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Chhatwal spoke at length about whether normalcy is returning and about the remainder of Q3 and Q4 looks like for the hotel industry.

Also Read: Lemon Tree Hotels expects pre-COVID level occupancies by Q4; says consumers preferring branded hotels

“Leisure travel has been leading the charge and it is expected to lead the charge with most of the properties. I would say majority of the properties are above the pre-COVID level in terms of revenue. However, the industry is waiting for corporate and business travel to come back, which we are expecting post-Diwali,” Chhatwal said.

On Diwali and Christmas bookings, he said, “As the pricing power increases, as the number of opportunities available decreases in leisure destinations, the booking window has started increasing. However, retail rates are still at the highest level and that’s because international travel is shut and even that configuration will slowly start changing post-November 15 when we open up and if international travel starts coming back in the last quarter of this year.”

Also Read: Mad About Markets: Opportunities for Indian hotel industry post pandemic

Chhatwal said Indian Hotels will see Q4 (FY22) going back to pre-COVID levels. He further said that the bounce-back has been a lot stronger than anticipated.

For the entire interview, watch the video

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

Troubled Chinese airline group proposes paying 40% of debts

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

HNA Group, a Chinese airline operator that ran into financial trouble after a global acquisition spree, has proposed a plan to settle $61 billion in debts owed to thousands of creditors by paying 40% of the total.

The conglomerate warned in a statement Tuesday that it faces possible liquidation due to mismanagement and investment disorder. HNA Group said Friday its chairman and CEO were detained by police on suspicion of unspecified crimes.

HNA Group, which operates Hainan Airlines and other carriers, bought hotels, a stake in Deutschebank AG and other assets abroad starting in 2014, financed by bank loans and bond sales. The company was struggling to pay its debts when last years global travel shutdown to fight the coronavirus devastated its aviation business. The government of the southern province of Hainan took control in February 2020.

The repayment plan, released Tuesday by HNA’s publicly traded Hainan Airlines Holding Co. subsidiary, said an administrator has asked a court to confirm the company is obligated to pay 161.2 billion yuan ($25 billion), or about 40% of the 397.2 billion yuan ($61 billion) claimed by 4,915 creditors.

Creditors would receive shares in Hainan Airlines and no more than 100,000 yuan ($15,500) in cash to settle one-third of the debt, the plan said. It said HNA Group and related companies will be responsible for two-thirds of the remaining debt.

HNA Group said Friday its chairman, Chen Feng, and CEO, Tan Xiangdong, were taken under compulsory measures by police due to suspicion of crime. It gave no details but said operations are not affected.

HNA attracted attention in Washington in 2017 when it agreed to buy a hedge fund from Anthony Scaramucci, who was due to take a White House post as then-President Donald Trumps liaison to Wall Street. The two sides called off the deal in 2018.

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

Jet Airways’ worries far from over; why airline won’t be taking off soon

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

More than two years after it was grounded, Jet Airways is eyeing a relaunch in early 2022. However, the revival of the airline, which flew for more than two decades, may take longer than expected.

Last week, Punjab National Bank, which had approved the airline’s resolution plan in 2020, urged the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to quash the rescue plan for the debt-laden Jet Airways, alleging financial irregularities in it.

PNB argued that Ashish Chhawchharia,the court-appointed rescue official of Jet Airways, had initially accepted its claim of nearly Rs 10 billion from airline backers but then reduced it to Rs 2 billion which the lender claimed is ‘arbitrary and illegal’, according to its tribunal filing seen by Reuters.

Chhawchharia has not issued a statement on the matter so far.

Also Read: Exclusive: Jet Airways to take-off in first quarter of 2022; 140-150 former staff re-hired, hunt for CEO on

The PNB has sought a stay over the execution of the resolution plan. After hearing PNB’s arguments, the NCLAT issued a notice directing the resolution professional of Jet Airways along with other parties, including the Committee of Creditors, to file a reply within two weeks and rejoinder, if by PNB, within one week. The matter will be next heard on September 21.

The NCLAT has also agreed to hear two Jet Airways employee unions — Jet Airways Cabin Crew Association and Bhartiya Kamgar Sena — that raised concerns over pending dues and retirement benefits under the airline’s revival plan.

In April 2019, Jet Airways was forced to ground all flights due to piling losses and debt — to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore — as it attempted to compete with low-cost airlines. Since then, the airline has been undergoing a resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

A consortium of UAE-based entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan and London-based Kalrock Capital agreed to pump in Rs 1,000 crore as working capital and give funds to creditors of defunct Jet Airways after it (the consortium) was selected by a committee of creditors last October with over 99 per cent vote to restart the airline.

In June, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) cleared the Kalrock-Jalan plan to revive Jet Airways. Jalan is a Dubai-based NRI businessman and Kalrock Capital is a financial advisory and asset management company.

The airline promoters are struggling at securing slots at the country’s busiest airports of New Delhi and Mumbai. If things don’t work out soon, Jet Airways may end up losing business travellers who bring high revenue.

Meanwhile, shares of the airline have lost more than half of their value since its suspension.

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

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala to invest $35 mn for 40% stake as new airline with 70 planes to take off

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, India’s billionaire investor, is working on launching a budget airline with a fleet of 70 aircraft. The proposed airline, named Akasa Air, will be acquiring its fleet of aircraft over the next four years, reported Bloomberg. Jhunjhunwala’s move into aviation comes at a time when international and domestic carriers have been beset with financial uncertainty because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jhunjhunwala, however, will be hoping for an uptick over the next four years, with more people travelling again.

Jhunjhunwala will invest $35 million in the new project and he will hold a 40 percent stake in the airline. The Big Bull has approached the Aviation Ministry to obtain a no-objection certificate (NoC).

CNBC-TV18 has confirmed the story independently.

“For the culture of a company to be frugal you’ve to start off fresh,” said Jhunjhunwala in an interview with Bloomberg TV. He then went on to add, “I’m very, very bullish on India’s aviation sector in terms of demand.”

Akasa Air is intended to be a budget airline, comprising planes with a capacity of 180 passengers.

Jhunjhunwala’s entry will be one of the biggest moves in the Indian aviation sector this year. Earlier in the year, Jet Airways was finally cleared to fly again after the Murari-Kalrock consortium bought the airline out of insolvency proceedings.

But India’s aviation sector has not had a smooth ride even before the pandemic. Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways were the two largest domestic players and both collapsed due to price pressures. After the pandemic, major players like Vistara, owned by Tata Group and Singapore Airlines; IndiGo, and Spicejet have struggled due to unprecedented losses following the global lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jhunjhunwala, for his part, remains optimistic about his new venture, even though he does not see all of the competition pulling through. “I think some of the increment players may not recover,” he told Bloomberg Quint. He then added, “I’ve got some of the best airline people in the world as my partners.”

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

Saudi Arabia plans new national airline as it diversifies from oil

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced plans on Tuesday to launch a second national airline as part of a broader strategy to turn the kingdom into a global logistics hub as it seeks to diversify from oil.

The creation of another flag carrier would catapult Saudi Arabia into the 5th rank globally in terms of air transit traffic, official state media reported, without giving details on when and how the airline would be created.

Prince Mohammad has been spearheading a push for Saudi Arabia, the biggest Arab economy and the largest country in the Gulf geographically, to boost non-oil revenues to about 45 billion riyals (USD 12.00 billion) by 2030.

Making the kingdom a global logistics hub, which includes the development of ports, rail and road networks, would increase the transport and logistics sector’s contribution to gross domestic product to 10 percent from 6 percent, state news agency SPA said.

“The comprehensive strategy aims to position Saudi Arabia as a global logistics hub connecting the three continents,” Prince Mohammed was quoted as saying in the SPA report.

“This will help other sectors like tourism, haj and umrah to achieve their national targets.”

The addition of another airline would increase the number of international destinations from Saudi Arabia to more than 250 and double air cargo capacity to more than 4.5 million tonne, the SPA report said.

With the current flag bearer Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), the kingdom has one of the smallest airline networks in the region relative to its size. Saudia has struggled with losses for years and like global peers, has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Local media reported earlier this year that the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, (PIF), planned to build a new airport in Riyadh as part of the new airline launch, without giving further details.

The fund is the main vehicle for boosting Saudi Arabian investments at home and abroad as the young prince, known in the West as MbS, seeks to diversify the kingdom’s oil-heavy economy through his Vision 2030 strategy.

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