As part of its cost-cutting measures in the State-owned carrier Air India, the Union Government on May 27 appointed five experts from different fields as part-time Directors on the Air India Board, including IIM-Ahmedabad professor Ravindra H Dholakia. Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh appointed them to utilise their specialised skills to help Air India achieve the targets set by the government through its Turnaround and Financial Restructuring Plans, an official release said.
Category: Aviation & Airports
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Govt to put checks on airfare pricing
On its policy of unbundling airfares, the Union government is planning to prescribe dos and don'ts to the airlines, which allows separate charges for preferred seats, extra baggage, meals-on-board and other such services. In its present shape, the policy has left both airlines and passengers dissatisfied. While airlines, which were hopeful of an additional revenue stream with unbundled fares, are complaining of government interference, passengers, on the other hand, think it is just a way of fle
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Centre commences work on 6 greenfield airports
The Government of India has granted 'in principle' approval for setting up of 15 greenfield airports across the country out of which, physical work at 6 airports namely, Gulbarga, Hassan, Shimoga in Karnataka, Durgapur in West Bengal, Pakyong in Sikkim and Shirdi in Maharashtra, has already commenced, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, KC Venugopal told the Lok Sabha last week. Construction at various airports in the country including Aranmula airport project has not stopped, he added.
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Govt may regulate preferred seats in flights
In India, the recent ĂâunbundlingĂâ of some services such as seat preferences or meals on board might be helping airlines to earn a lot of ancillary revenue, but the government is considering whether it could limit the number of Ăâpreferred seatsĂâ on sale on each flight. The government has been prompted to step in just days after it unbundled these services, following reports that some airlines were charging for a very large number of seats, with one of them even imposing fees for the ĂâcongestedĂâ m
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Govt to levy tax to increase air connectivity to small towns
The government is mulling to impose a new cess on flyers to help increase connectivity to smaller towns. An Essential Services Fund could be created with the money collected through the new tax that would help provide subsidy to airlines operating to smaller cities and areas like the north-east.
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Govt scraps airports charges for smaller cities
To boost connectivity to remote areas in the country, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry has decided to scrap most airport charges at tier II and tier III cities for scheduled airlines. Airlines will be exempted from landing charges, parking charges and navigation charges. The government has also decided to do away with the passenger service fee, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has said.
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IndiGo becomes India’s lead carrier with 30% market share
As per the data of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), budget airline IndiGo has widened its lead over rivals. IndiGo touched a 29.8 per cent market share, the highest since its 2006 launch. Jet Airways (India), which used to be market leader for many years together with subsidiary Jet Konnect, was second at 22.6 per cent.
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AAI set to get land for two airport expansion projects
According to media reports, the Tamil Nadu government is set to handover land for the expansion of Madurai and Tuticorin airports to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). For the Madurai airport project, the state government is set to issue acquisition notification, while for the Tuticorin project, the process of issuing acquisition notification would be completed soon, reports indic
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GoAir to add business class seats in key routes
GoAir is considering changing its business model by adding business class seats to its all-economy planes in the backdrop of Kingfisher Airlines exiting the Indian airline market, Italian-born Chief Executive Giorgio De Roni has said. GoAir is considering the change even as the airline examines proposals to sell a stake to a foreign airline after appointing JPMorgan as its adviser.
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India opposes EU aviation norms
Even as the European Commission said it might fine Air India and Jet Airways for not sharing emission data, the two Indian airlines remain opposed to the European Union (EU)Ăâs emission norms for airlines. EUĂâs emission trading scheme (ETS) requires airlines to report emission data (for flights within and to/from Europe) and purchase credits in case the emission exceeds capped limits.