New Delhi: The recent 'unbundling' 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 'preferred seats' on sale on each flight.
The government has been prompted to step in just days after it announced unbundling of 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 'congested' middle seat, official sources said.
They said the Civil Aviation Ministry was now looking at framing rules to cap the number of preferential seats the carriers can offer in a flight. However, a decision would be taken only after the airlines revert to the Ministry with their proposals identifying such seats in about 10 days, they said.
In 2010-11, when some Indian carriers had started pre-booking seats, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had stepped in and issued a directive asking them to withdraw the charges ranging from Rs 50 to 400....
more
12:48 PM, May 19, 2013
New Delhi: Airlines in India have agreed not to charge extra for seats after top officials of all airlines met at the Civil Aviation Ministry in New Delhi on Friday. Earlier, airlines had said they will charge extra if passengers wanted to book seats in advance. However, now they say they will only treat certain seats as privileged ones and charge extra for them. The Civil Aviation Ministry asked all...
08:58 PM, May 17, 2013
Mumbai: An Air India New Delhi-Bangalore flight had to make an unscheduled landing at Bhopal after the flight commander was locked out of the cockpit, an airline spokesperson said on Tuesday. The bizarre incident occurred on Monday when the flight commander of AI-403 went to the toilet briefly and returned to find the cockpit door locked. Despite all efforts from outside and inside by the co-pilot and a trainee pilot,...
10:21 AM, May 15, 2013
Mumbai: Jet Airways on Tuesday said it has got regulatory extension to meet the mandatory 25 per cent public shareholding norm in the private airline. In a filing to BSE, Jet said Sebi, on May 13, relaxed the requirement of 12-week cool-off period after the proposed inter se transfer of shares to enable the company to undertake the offer for sale through stock exchange mechanism to achieve the minimum level...
11:26 PM, May 14, 2013
Mumbai: Life may get a little simpler for Mumbai's millions after a fresh transport option - a seaplane that will complete a two-hour road journey in 7 minutes which will cost Rs 750 equivalent to the cab fare for the same distance. Operated by a private operator Maritime Energy Heli Air Services (MEHAIR), the first-of-its-kind service aims to be take off mid-June, with most police, aviation and governmental clearances coming...
09:55 AM, May 12, 2013
New Delhi: A move that was aimed at bringing down flying costs has taken a turn for the worse. Starting May 13, you might have to pay more to fly. Air India ,for instance, has reduced free check-in baggage to 15 kilograms from the earlier 20 kilograms. Effective from May 13, each extra kilogram above the free allowance limit will cost Rs 250. Tickets with the lowest fare will be...
09:09 AM, May 12, 2013
New Delhi: Describing the decision on 49 per cent FDI in aviation as one which will transform the sector, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Friday the government envisages investment of $12.1 billion in the sector in the 12th Plan period (2012-2016). Singh said the rapidly expanding air transport network and opening up of infrastructure to the private sector have fuelled the growth of air traffic in India. "Indian...
05:57 AM, May 04, 2013
Mumbai: An Air India pilot and two air hostesses were suspended after an airline probe found that the cabin crew overstayed in the cockpit on a Delhi-bound flight from Bangkok on April 12. The action came amidst reports that while the pilot took a nap in the business class, the air hostesses were left to operate the aircraft over 20 minutes, endangering the safety of 166 passengers on board. The...
06:58 PM, May 03, 2013
New Delhi: Jet fuel prices were on Wednesday cut by 5.3 per cent, the second steep reduction in rates in one month. Aviation Turbine Fuel, or ATF, price at Delhi was cut by Rs 3,545.94 per kilolitre (kl), or 5.35 per cent, to Rs 62,649.95 per kl, according to Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest fuel retailer. The reduction in rate, made possible due to declining international oil prices, came...
09:17 PM, May 01, 2013
New Delhi: In a move that would raise the cost of air travel, the government on Monday said it has allowed airlines to charge passengers for preferred seats on a flight, check-in baggages and meals, among other things. "Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh has decided to permit scheduled airlines to unbundle certain services and to charge fees for these services separately," an official release said. The services for which the...
08:50 PM, Apr 29, 2013
New Delhi: The Jet-Etihad deal deal might have brought hope to India's struggling aviation sector but it is rattled Air India. It is a double blow - it will have to fight the combined strength of Jet's market penetration in India and Etihad's global network. The government has also increased the traffic rights between the two countries to 36,670 seats per week from the existing 13,300. This will eat into...
07:44 AM, Apr 26, 2013
New Delhi: Describing the over Rs 2,000 crore business proposal between Jet and Etihad airlines as a win-win deal, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh today said it will be beneficial for flyers. In the first Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) deal after India opened up the aviation sector, Jet Airways will sell a 24 per cent stake to Etihad Airways in a $379 million (Rs 2,058 crore) deal. "It is a...
04:42 PM, Apr 25, 2013
Mumbai: Low cost carrier AirAsia on Sunday said that the AirAsia India board has approved and appointed a Chief Executive Officer for the Indian subsidiary. Earlier, an airlines spokesperson had said that the airline had not yet appointed a CEO for AirAsia India. "The board of Airasia India has approved and appointed a Ceo for Airasia India. He will be a revelation. Thrilled to have him on board," AirAsia Group...
11:35 PM, Apr 21, 2013
New Delhi: Passengers from Tier-II cities would no longer have to change planes at a metro, if Jet Airways gets the government nod for its plans to mount code-share flights with Gulf carrier Etihad from 23 Indian cities by 2016. According to the plans submitted to the Civil Aviation Ministry, the Naresh Goyal-owned carrier is understood to have sought to connect to 23 cities with Abu Dhabi in the long...
05:00 PM, Apr 20, 2013
New Delhi: Air India's Dreamliner Aircraft, grounded since January after incidents of battery fire, may take to the sky in the next two weeks, officials said on Saturday. US Federal officials have accepted Boeing's revamped battery system for its beleaguered 787 Dreamliners and intend to lift a three-month-old order grounding the planes, Boeing said in a statement in Washington. "A team of engineers from Boeing is being flown into India...
09:59 AM, Apr 20, 2013
Washington: Federal officials have accepted Boeing's revamped battery system for its beleaguered 787 Dreamliners and intend to lift a three-month-old order grounding the planes. The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement on Saturday that it will next week send airlines instructions and publish a notice lifting the grounding order. The lifting of the grounding order will be effective the day the notice is published. Lifting the grounding order gives...
08:29 AM, Apr 20, 2013
Mumbai: National carrier Air India has shown interest in acquiring some of the self check-in kiosks of Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) at the city's domestic airport, weeks after private carrier Jet sought to take over some of the international and domestic routes of KFA, say airport sources. "Since Kingfisher Airlines is no longer operating, Air India has evinced interest in acquiring a few of its kiosks," sources at Mumbai airport said....
11:49 AM, Apr 07, 2013
New York: With a successful flight on Friday, Boeing moved closer to proving that a revamped safety system can prevent batteries on its new 787 Dreamliner from catching fire or overheating, and getting back the plane into service. Friday's test flight concludes testing after little more than three weeks, and moves the Dreamliner closer to resuming passenger flights, restarting jet deliveries, and stemming millions of dollars in losses that have...
02:58 PM, Apr 06, 2013
New Delhi: India's plan to buy 126 fighter-jets from Dassault Aviation could be delayed as the two sides struggle to reach an agreement over the role of state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), two sources familiar with the matter said. India picked the Dassault-made Rafale jet for exclusive negotiations in January 2012 after a hotly contested bidding war with rival manufacturers, but it is still to finalise the Rs 1500 crore...
11:42 PM, Apr 05, 2013
New Delhi: Gearing up to launch services in partnership with Tatas, Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia has incorporated a company in India with the filing of all requisite documents with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. The venture, AirAsia (India) Pvt Ltd, was incorporated as an "Indian non-government company" with its registered office in Mumbai. It will be an "unlisted" company, as per the documents filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC)....
12:10 PM, Mar 31, 2013
