06 Jul 2020
India Aviation Industry Newsletter 6 July
Etihad Airways to add 15 more destinations including 7 Indian cities
Etihad Airways will add 15 more destinations which will include some major cities in India. The carrier will be adding the Indian cities of Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kozhikode and Mumbai effective 16th July. The carrier said on its website “Throughout July, we’re planning to operate flights to more than 40 worldwide destinations. We continue to work closely with the UAE Government and global aviation authorities to increase our network in the future.”
India extends ban on international flights till 31st July
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday extended the suspension of international flights in the country till 31st July, adding that some international scheduled services on selected routes may be permitted on a case-by-case basis. The only flights operating on international routes right now are those by Air India and other private airlines, under the Vande Bharat Mission.
India in talks with US, Canada, European and Gulf countries on establishing air travel bubbles: AAI
India is in talks with the US and Canada and countries in the European and Gulf regions to establish individual bilateral bubbles which will allow airlines of each country in the pact to operate international flights. Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri said "I took a brief from the key point person (from the MOCA) who is negotiating with the countries, and he said that we are in constant touch. We are working on a consensus to restart the international flights. This is going to be through air bubbles." "Talks are mainly going on between India and the US, India and Canada, India and Europe and India and the Gulf countries to start flights in these bubbles.
IndiGo Expects Air Traffic to Return to Normal in 5 Months, Says There is 'Sustained Demand'
A senior executive of IndiGo estimates a rebound in domestic passenger traffic within the next 5 months. Accordingly, the airline's Chief Commercial Officer, William Boulter is encouraged by the fact that demand has sustained since the restart of operations on 25th May. The airline offers close to 350 commercial flights daily, due to the capped capacity norms.
SpiceJet to expand cargo operations
SpiceJet is now evaluating converting more passenger planes into freighters. It is also adding new international destinations and rapidly expanding its network in Africa and CIS countries. SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh told Telangana Today, “We have a dedicated fleet of eight freighter aircraft, which include five Boeing 737s and three Q400s. Besides our dedicated fleet of cargo jets, we have been actively using our passenger aircraft for cargo-on-seat operations. In fact, SpiceJet is India’s first airline to operate a cargo-on-seat flight, carrying cargo in both passenger cabin and belly space on April 7. Since then, we have been regularly deploying both our B737 and Q400 passenger aircraft to carry cargo in the passenger cabin.”
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