06 Jun 2017

India Aviation industry newsletter 6 June

Afghan-Indian air cargo to fly from mid-June India is planning to operate an “strategic air corridor” as of June 15, 2017 that will apparently facilitate Indian businessmen and traders. The Indo-Afghan corridor plan was finalized on May 31, 2017 and it was decided that the first flight would resume from June 15th 2017. India, Russia strengthen bilateral cooperation in aviation India and Russia agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the aviation sector by setting up joint ventures in the field of manufacturing, as India is set to become the third largest global aviation market by 2020. The move is aimed to cater to increasing exports and demands of India's regional air connectivity scheme. Jet Airways Group announced its second successive profitable year Jet Airways Group announced its second successive profitable year for the year ended Mar. 31, 2017. The Group reported a consolidated profit of INR 438 crores for the year. For Q4 of FY17, the group reported a net profit of INR 23 crores. Despite the challenges posed by the recent increase in Brent price, coupled with continuing low airfares and increased capacity, the airline reported a profit during FY17. Jet Airways became the first Indian airline to successfully integrate and offer the Govt. of India’s ‘Unified Payment Interface’ (UPI) as a digital payment mechanism for guests, as part of its philosophy of adopting ahead of curve technology to enhance guest experience. Jet Airways Said to Mull Boeing Max 10 as It Nears 50-Jet Order Jet Airways India Ltd. is in talks to buy 50 single-aisle jets worth at least $5.6 billion, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said, pitting the largest Boeing Co. 737 Max against Airbus SE’s A321neo according to Bloomberg. The carrier, India’s biggest full-service airline, operates an all-Boeing narrow-body fleet and already has an order for the Max 8, the most popular of the planemaker’s revamped 737 models. Soon, budget flights from India to North America Norwegian, is now considering adding flight routes between North America and India. Its connecting flights between India and Oslo, Norway will allow travelers from the country to connect to Norwegian’s flight network from the Norway hub to the US and Caribbean. A Norwegian spokesperson, while establishing no immediate plan to launch flights serving India, said that the country is indeed a market that the company is interested in entering in the future with possible new routes. SpiceJet Q4 Profit More Than Halves On Higher Fuel Costs SpiceJet Ltd reported a 61 percent drop in profit for the fourth-quarter after fuel costs increased. The company’s profit for the three-month ended March 31 declined to Rs 41.64 crore from Rs 107.88 crore a year ago, the Gurgaon-based airline said in a stock exchange filing on Saturday. Revenue grew 11.4 percent to Rs 1,613.8 crore. SpiceJet Ltd., the country’s third largest airline by passengers carried, reported a 61 percent drop in profit for the fourth-quarter after fuel costs increased. The company’s profit for the three-month ended March 31 declined to Rs 41.64 crore from Rs 107.88 crore a year ago, the Gurgaon-based airline said in a stock exchange filing on Saturday. Revenue grew 11.4 percent to Rs 1,613.8 crore. UDAN Still Waiting To Take Off Three Months After Launch Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s UDAN scheme to boost regional air connectivity has seen only “five to six” of the 33 airports granted routes commencing flights in the first three months, according to Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha. So far, two of the five airlines that won routes in the first phase of bidding have started operations. To make flying affordable, UDAN caps fares at Rs 2,500 per hour of flight time to un-served and under-served airports for half the seats. As for the operational losses incurred by operators on those routes due to discounted prices, the government promises viability gap funding (VGF). Wirecard Takes on International Payment Processing for TATA SIA Joint Venture Vistara Airlines Global technology group Wirecard and India's finest full service carrier Vistara, a joint-venture of Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (TATA SIA), entered into a strategic partnership. From now on, Wirecard will enable payment processing for all ticket bookings made by credit card via BSP (Billing and Settlement Plan) for Vistara. The partnership will help Vistara process international bookings quickly with a robust backend solutions framework, while keeping pace with the latest trends in technology that will help boost tourism in India. With 1,080 aircraft orders, India to be 3rd largest buyer of passenger planesWith 1,080 aircraft orders, India to be 3rd largest buyer of passenger planes With over 1,000 aircraft set to be on order, India is poised to become the third-largest buyer of commercial passenger planes in the world, with only the US and China ahead of it. The aircraft order book of the Indian airline industry will soon touch 1,080, which would mean that for every aircraft in service, there will be 2.2 aircraft on order, said a report released by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA)   Acumen Aviation © 6 June All Rights Reserved.