10 Feb 2020

India Aviation Industry Newsletter 10 February

Domestic air passenger traffic rose by 5.1% in 2019 after 4 years of double-digit growth: IATA After four years of double-digit growth, the Indian domestic passenger traffic rose by just 5.1 per cent in 2019, down from 18.9 per cent in 2018 stated IATA . "2019 was challenging for air travel in the domestic India market. After more than four years of double digit expansion, the market''s RPK growth slowed sharply (5.1 per cent in 2019 vs 18.9 per cent in 2018) amidst the Jet Airways bankruptcy and weakening economic activity," said International Air Transport Association (IATA). HAL gets modification document from DGCA for upgraded Dornier-228 civil aircraft HAL received the modification document from the Director General of Civil Aviation for its Dornier-228 civil aircraft after reducing its gross weight below 5,700 kg. The document was handed over to the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd by Joint DG of the DGCA, G Rajshekhar, during the ongoing DefExpo-2020 in Lucknow. Indian carriers may launch dedicated agri cargo services to Gulf region SpiceJet is considering commencing cargo flights for agri products to Dubai and other major cities in the Middle East under a new scheme – ‘Krishi Udaan (farm flights) – proposed in the Indian Union Budget 2020. Under the proposed ‘Krishi Udaan’ scheme, India’s civil aviation ministry is to introduce a subsidized scheme for farmers to export their produce internationally. India's plan to build 100 new airports set to spur Gulf passenger, cargo growth India has unveiled plans to construct 100 greenfield airports by 2024 to expand its air connectivity network within the country, aimed at boosting air passenger and cargo traffic on the international and domestic routes in the coming years. India has seen five years of double digit growth in air passenger traffic till FY19. The growth rate, however, is expected to come down to about 4.5 percent in FY20, according to projections made by rating agency ICRA. Trujet Continues to Develop its UDAN Services BIDAR is the Latest in its Network Trujet announced the addition of BIDAR to its network of UDAN services.The chief minister of Karnataka, Mr Yeddyurappa inaugurated the service. After the launching of a new service, the chief minister travelled in the same flight to Bidar. The ministers and other legislatures accompanied him. "We reached in Bidar in just one hour 40 minutes, instead of 12 hour travel by bus. With this Trujet service travel time considerably came down. This service will help to the development of 'Kalyana Karnataka' in Bidar area," he said. BIDAR will be the 24th station in Trujet's network. Vietjet opens three more direct routes linking Vietnam with India, further boosting the regional connection To meet rising demand for air travel between Vietnam and India as well as across the region, Vietjet has announced three new direct routes connecting Vietnam’s three largest hubs, Da Nang, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with two of India’s largest economic, political and cultural centres, New Delhi and Mumbai. Vietjet will become the operator with the most direct routes between the two countries, offering five direct routes from and to India. The airline currently operates the HCMC/Hanoi – New Delhi services at a frequency of four weekly flights and three weekly flights, respectively. Vistara CEO assures that carrier is not changing its business model In Indian aviation, business flexibility is the order of the day. Case in point: full-service operator Vistara, which offers three classes of service, expects to unlock value by entering smaller markets and discovering a new category of customer with all-economy Airbus A320neo operations. But having a few all-economy configured aircraft “Does not mean a change in business model, as we are not creating [a] sub-brand”, Vistara CEO Leslie Thng stressed to Runway Girl Network. Acumen Aviation © 3 February 2020 All Rights Reserved.