Tag: aviation

P&W engine woes continue, one more IndiGo A320 Neo grounded

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

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Budget carrier IndiGo grounded one more A320 Neo fitted with Pratt&Whitney engine due to “oil chip issue” taking the total number of such planes on ground to seven.

IndiGo confirmed the grounding of the plane bearing registration no VT-ITK after completing its flight to New Delhi from Kochi today.

“VT-ITK (Neo) operating COK-DEL (Cochi-New Delhi) was alerted with an ‘oil chip’ message on engine no 1 post landing at Delhi. As a part of troubleshooting, aircraft was withdrawn at Delhi,” IndiGo said in a statement.

Significantly, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had grounded eight of IndiGo A320 Neo planes on March 12 along with three of GoAir due to safety issues.

“Including this aircraft, IndiGo now has seven NEOs grounded,” the airline said in a statement.

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

Expression of Interest for Air India stake sale likely in couple of weeks

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

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Various details about Air India disinvestment, including net worth criteria for the bidders, will be part of the Expression of Interest (EoI) document, which is expected to be ready in a couple of weeks, a senior official said today.

A group of ministers is in the process of finalising the contours of strategic disinvestment of loss-making Air India.

Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said the EoI is expected in a “couple of weeks”.

“I would not want to put a hard date to that (EoI) but it is imminent,” he said here.

When asked whether any decision has been taken with respect to net worth criteria for Air India, Choubey said those details will be known in the EoI.

In June 2017, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its in-principle nod to the strategic disinvestment of the airline, which has a debt burden of over Rs 50,000 crore.

Subsequent to the decision, the Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM), headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, was set up to decide on specific issues.

The national carrier is staying on taxpayers’ money under the turnaround plan approved by the previous UPA government in 2012.

Under the plan, the airline is to get Rs 30,231 crore up to 2021 subject to achieving certain milestones. So far, the government has infused Rs 26,545.21 crore into the carrier.

Speaking at an event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here, Choubey said the ministry is taking various initiatives.

Two new airports would be coming up at Navi Mumbai and near Delhi at a total cost of around Rs 15,000 crore each, he said.

About the proposed near the national capital, he said, “that airport is to be bid out by the end of the year”.

The growth rate of the country’s civil aviation sector is the “highest in the world” at more than 20 per cent, he added.

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

Air India creates history by flying to Israel over Saudi air space

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

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In what is seen as a historical moment in the annals of diplomacy and international relations, Saudi Arabia’s air space was opened for Air India flight travelling to Israel on Thursday. The decision brings end to a seven decades old ban by the monarchy against the use of their air space by flights flying to or from Israel.

As per tweets posted by Flightradar24, a popular aviation twitter site, the historical event took place yesterday when Air India’s Delhi- Tel Aviv flight AI 139 entered Saudi airspace yesterday making it the first commercial flight to do so in seventy years. “Air India’s inaugural Delhi-Tel Aviv flight has now entered Saudi Arabian airspace. #AI139 is the first commercial flight in 7 decades to fly over Saudi Arabia en route to Israel,” the tweet read along with a route map.

Air India’s inaugural Delhi-Tel Aviv flight has now entered Saudi Arabian airspace. #AI139 is the first commercial flight in 7 decades to fly over Saudi Arabia en route to Israel.⁰⁰

📡
https://t.co/x5ov2kEcJN pic.twitter.com/DkjtFYg3OR

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 22, 2018

The site later also confirmed the landing of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport later in the afternoon by tweeting that “#AI139 has landed in Tel Aviv, after being the first commercial flight to transit Saudi Arabian airspace en route to Israel in 70 years.”

#AI139 has landed in Tel Aviv, after being the first commercial flight to transit Saudi Arabian airspace en route to Israel in 70 years. https://t.co/0amEXONPpk pic.twitter.com/wwoXmOBedD

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 22, 2018

The flight is considered significant as it not only symbolizes the rising influence of India across the globe, but also shift in middle-eastern political dynamics. Saudi, which is home to two of the holiest Islamic sites have traditionally been hostile towards Israel, the Jewish nation that now controls Jerusalem, the other holy site of Islam. Like several other Arabic and Islamic nations, Saudi Arabia too does not recognize Israel and sees it as an occupier that illegally took over Palestinian lands.

However the new move comes following the shift of power in Riyadh and also the rising influence of Iran, seen as an enemy by both Israel and Saudi in the region.

Riyadh has not yet formally acknowledged the opening of the route to Air India, a news that has been lingering around aviation circles for quite a while. Yemen too has not acknowledged the use of its airspace by the flight as it too officially does not permit Israel bound flights to use its air space.

The new route will be an advantage to Air India as the route is shorter than the traditional route over the Red Sea. It will also give the carrier an advantage over Israel’s El Al that currently operates between Mumbai and Israel and is looking to expand operations to Delhi.

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

IndiGo, Qatar Airways deny reports; will not hold joint bid for Air India stake

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

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The two airlines – Qatar Airways and IndiGo  – denied media reports which stated that they will jointly bid for Air India.

“Qatar Airways firmly denies that it is involved in any talks regarding the acquisition of Air India,” the airline said in a statement.

” While IndiGo normally does not respond to rumours, in this particular instance we would like to state that there are no ongoing discussions of this nature,” IndiGo said.

On Tuesday, media reports stated that low-cost carrier IndiGo was likely to make a bid along with Qatar’s national carrier, Qatar Airways, in a consortium for Air India.  The consortium norm, according to the reports, says that interested airline bidders for Air India can have a negative net worth with at least one of the partners in the consortium having a positive one. Therefore pointing that the airlines can come together with a private equity partner or a sovereign wealth fund. Qatar Airways is owned by a sovereign fund making it easier for IndiGo to enter the bidding process.

Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker had announced plans in 2017 to start a domestic airline in India, with at least 100 planes on the runway. This move can give the airline a wider access to the fastest growing aviation market. The chief had earlier expressed that he was not interested in acquiring a stake in Air India.

IndiGo, by far is the only airline which explicitly expressed interest in acquiring Air India. The airline itself is keenly looking to expand its operations in the global market and hence said that it was more interested Air India’s international operations.

Jet Airways and Vistara, a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines, have also expressed their interest in acquiring the state-owned airline. Jet Airways has said that they are currently holding talks with their partners – Air France-KLM and Delta regarding the stake purchase. Vistara said that they are looking into the process of evaluating a bid for Air India.

Business Standard’s sources have said that the government is likely to relax the eligibility criteria for Air India disinvestment by allowing airlines with negative net worth to bid. However, non-airline companies can be asked to satisfy the minimum net worth criteria to declare their financial health. The sources added that the Air India evaluation committee had suggested that the bidders are required to fulfil the minimum net worth criterion.

The Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD), however, said that this norm will block the chances of many airlines to enter the bidding process.

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

IndiGo and Qatar likely to make a joint bid for Air India

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

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Low-cost carrier IndiGo is likely to make a bid along with Qatar’s national carrier, Qatar Airways, in a consortium for Air India, said sources to Financial Express.

Earlier, the civil aviation ministry had said that IndiGo had expressed interest in buying the carrier and it had also confirmed the same but said its first priority would be to buy the overseas flights of Air India if the government broke and sold the domestic and international flights as separate entities. However, government sources have told Financial Express that no such bifurcation would be made.

Financial Express sources also clarified that the net worth criteria that bidders must meet is likely to be fixed at Rs 1,000 crore.

So, while the airlines bidding for Air India can have a negative net worth, at least one of the partners in the consortium must have to have a positive net worth. “This means these airlines can come together and bid as a consortium with a private equity partner or a sovereign wealth fund,” said a source to Financial Express.

According to Bloomberg data, IndiGo’s net worth at the end of FY17 was Rs 3,779 crore ($583 million), while Qatar Airways had a net worth of $15.8 billion at the end of FY16. Qatar has a fleet of 200 aircraft and flies to 150 destinations. It is part of the one world global alliance which gives it access to nearly 1,000 airports across the globe.

For IndiGo, acquiring Air India will be a game changer, giving it greater market dominance in domestic flights (the two airlines together account for more than a 50% share) and a ready platform to ramp up its international services with ready slots at some of the most coveted airports across the world and an enviable fleet of 68 wide body aircraft.

Qatar Airways, owned by a sovereign fund, is facing a crisis due to a blockade by Arab nations, which have accused it of supporting terrorism. The airline is now actively looking to extend its operations outside the region by making relevant investments that will aid growth. Qatar Airways has for long been looking to get a foothold in the Indian aviation market, and it has specifically expressed an interest in Indian budget carrier IndiGo on several occasions. A bid for Air India, could just offer that opportunity.

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

Good news! Three of IndiGo’s grounded Neo VT ITF back in operation

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

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IndiGo’s three grounded Neo VT ITFs are now in operation after being grounded for at least 10 days.

IndiGo’s shares spiked, reaching a new high in the market on Wednesday after the news broke out.

However, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will review the whole process as far as grounding neos are concerned. In a relief to the airline, the aviation watchdog is not considering to cancel any of the slots given to them.

Pratt & Whitney assured the airline on Tuesday that it will replace all the faulty engines within 40 Days. India’s largest airline, IndiGo, is still bearing the brunt of the faulty engines by cancelling at least 47 flights last week with more such cases being reported regularly.

Earlier this year, The European Aviation Safety Agency issued a warning to airlines across the world pointing at safety issues with Pratt engines which could have been the reason behind the in-flight shutdowns.

With the increasing air traffic, it is almost impossible for flights to make unscheduled cancellations.  Hundreds of passengers were stranded across several Indian cities after the last-minute cancellations.

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

Delhi High Court asks DGCA to file affidavit on A320 neo planes

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

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The Delhi High Court has asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to file an affidavit under the aircraft rules assuring the safety of all A320 Neo planes.

Prime airlines – IndiGo, Jet Airways, Air India, Spicejet and Go Air – have been facing many technical glitches due to faulty engines, of which some have been declared as “serious safety issues” by the European Aviation Safety Agency.

In the last two days, as many as eight such glitches were reported by Jet Airways, Spicejet and Air India. Go Air reported technical glitches in three planes out of which two had to be cancelled.

India’s largest airline, IndiGo was the first to bear the brunt of it. The airline has been facing major issues with Pratt and Whitney engines with the replacement of 69 engines in mere 18 months. The glitches forced the airline to cancel 47 of its flights last week, and more such cases are still being reported.

Earlier this year, The European Aviation Safety Agency issued a warning to airlines across the world pointing at safety issues with Pratt engines which could have been the reason behind the in-flight shutdowns.

With the increasing air traffic, it is almost impossible for flights to make unscheduled cancellations. Passengers were stranded across these cities after the last minute cancellations following which, the airlines had tried to make arrangements for alternative flights.

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

Air Passenger Traffic grows higher, says DGCA

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

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Domestic airlines passenger traffic rose to its peak in February, as more than 10.7 million Indians chose to travel by airways, shows data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

As per DGCA data, passenger traffic grew 24 percent over a year.  Improved affordability, low penetration and favourable government policies are the key reasons for more people opting for airways. The growth was led by GoAir, Indigo, Air Asia and Vistara as their traffic rose above the industry average.

Passenger load factor, a measure of capacity utilization, increased for all major airlines in February. The passenger load factor of SpiceJet rose to 96.3% while the Jet Group companies showed a 90% capacity utilization for the first time.

Five companies reported a 90% plus average for the first time in at least four years.

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