28 Aug 2017

India Aviation Industry Newsletter 28 August

Airbnb announces its first airline partnership in India with Jet Airways Community-driven hospitality company Airbnb announced its first airline partnership in India with Jet Airways. Airbnb said the announcement adds momentum to the growth of Airbnb's footprint in the Indian market by focusing on establishing a deeper connect with the new age Indian travellers who seek unique travel experiences. Air India's Los Angeles flight likely in next three months Government-owned passenger airline Air India is all set to launch its sixth destination in the United States with three-times-a-week services to Los Angeles from New Delhi from the forthcoming winters. The new flight, AI-105/AI-106, will be operated with a Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, the dates for which are expected to be announced soon, a senior Air India official said. Govt dilutes UDAN scheme norms to boost regional connectivity The civil aviation ministry said it has relaxed the norms for its flagship regional flying scheme called UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) to allow for greater connectivity. The relaxations include dilution of the exclusivity clause mandating that only one airline may fly on one route in the initial years.“Airlines have ordered 100 regional planes so second round will be even more interesting,” aviation secretary R.N. Choubey said at a press conference, adding that the North-East and Jammu and Kashmir will be in focus in the second round. Higher airport charges, taxation shackle India aviation industry: Jet Airways chairman Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal, in the carrier's Annual Report for 2016/2017, stated increasing airport charges and levies along with high taxation continue to "shackle" the airline industry in India. Mr Goyal also said the existing airport infrastructure has not been able to match with the rapid growth in passenger volumes and aircraft movement. He however maintained that the domestic aviation sector remains robust and holds out significant opportunities to the players in the space. "For aviation to truly realise its potential, several areas must be addressed. Escalating airport levies, surcharges and high taxation continue to shackle the industry". Indian Aviation Sector Will Continue To Thrive In Price Conscious Market the recent economic progress and gradual change in the policy framework have started transforming the market, say industry analysts and experts. International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts that India will have 6 million aircraft movements and 300 million passenger departures by 2030, based on a Goldman Sachs economic projection for the country. However, India as a strongly price conscious market and a high-cost operational region for aviation, needs to develop a unique model to achieve the expected growth. India Braces for Next ICAO Audit As the International Civil Aviation Organization prepares to start its latest audit of India under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program on November 6, the country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is working hard to resolve copious anomalies in its systems and processes. The 10-day proactive audit includes analysis of flight safety, training and licensing and flight- and duty-time limitations of the DGCA, airports, and airlines. The DGCA has completed the first step, which includes submission of protocol questions (PQ) to ICAO for compliance timelines. ICAO will also check Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) to ensure India exercises good practices. The DGCA meanwhile, has revised all CARs to incorporate the latest ICAO amendments. Malaysia-India air capacity surges as AirAsia, Malindo Air/Lion Group circumvent bilateral limits The AirAsia and Lion groups are pursuing significant expansion in the Malaysia-India market by taking advantage of available fifth freedom rights for Indonesian airlines. Malaysian carriers are currently not able to expand to Indian metros due to bilateral constraints, but two competitors have cleverly seized the opportunity to add flights to three Indian metros using sister airlines in Indonesia. Qatar Airways in interline partnership with India's Vistara Qatar Airways has entered into an interline partnership with growing and full-service Indian airline Vistara, as the national carrier marks more than 20 successful years of flights to India, it was announced. The new agreement, which took effect last Tuesday, allows QA passengers to travel seamlessly to and from a wide range of cities within India across Vistara’s network via the airline’s existing 13 Indian gateways, and under a single ticket with QA’s generous baggage allowance throughout the journey. Acumen Aviation © 28 August All Rights Reserved.