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....
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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
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
The Civil Aviation Ministry on Thursday abolished the Aircraft Acquisition Committee (AAC), which used to permit import of planes by airlines and other operators, thus doing away with time-consuming procedures that affected the companies. ...
06:13 PM, Mar 21, 2013
ith the government withdrawing Kingfisher Airlines' international flying rights and domestic slots, the Jet Airways has approached the Aviation Ministry to acquire six of the vacant slots, according to sources. ...
01:57 PM, Mar 03, 2013
Taking cognisance of an online music video of a pilot in uniform singing a song laced with expletives, Air India management on Tuesday said it is looking into the matter and will take action only after "verifying" facts. "We have seen the video. We are verifying the facts, that whether he is a pilot with the airlines or not. And also if the video is doctored or morphed. Management will...
09:52 PM, Feb 19, 2013
The civil aviation ministry will try to convince the country's petroleum ministry next week to declare jet fuel as a "notified good," which would lead to exemption from high state taxes, providing some relief to battered local carriers. ...
06:14 PM, Nov 29, 2012
New Delhi: India is open to further reforms to lure overseas investors into its airlines, a government source said, after a dearth of interest following changes to investment rules left Kingfisher and others still short of much-needed funds. The aviation ministry will meet local carriers soon to ask what changes were needed in the policy, added the source, with direct knowledge of policy developments. India changed its Foreign Direct Investment...
09:03 PM, Nov 15, 2012
New Delhi: Crisis hit Kingfisher Airlines Chairperson Vijay Mallya met Civil Aviation Secretary KN Srivastav to brief him about Kingfisher's revival plans. Mallya said the revival plan would be a comprehensive one and the cash strapped airline would cross all the hurdles. "I have briefed the secretary on revival, restart plan. It would be a comprehensive plan. All hurdles will be crossed," Mallya said. Mallya was also expected to meet...
01:27 PM, Oct 30, 2012
The Centre on Monday refuted speculation about an Air India strike. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said that he had not received any letter from Air India pilots over the delay in salary payments. Reports are rife that a section of Air India pilots have sought Ajit Singh's intervention in resolving their grievances related to due salaries and allowances. ...
12:54 PM, Oct 08, 2012
New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry has termed as "erroneous" the CAG's observations that "undue benefits" were given to operator of the Delhi International Airport. In a point-by-point rebuttal of the auditor's observations on Delhi International Airport (DIAL), the Ministry has told Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that the process of selection of joint venture partners was completed as per laid-down procedure by observing all relevant guidelines and in accordance...
12:59 PM, Oct 07, 2012
New Delhi: Several airports in Tier-II cities are likely to be designated international if a Civil Aviation Ministry proposal on the issue is approved by the Union Cabinet on Thursday. According to sources, the airports likely to be in the list are those in Lucknow, Varanasi, Tiruchirapalli, Mangalore and Coimbatore. Conversion of a domestic airport into an international one primarily entails creation of immigration facilities and deploying manpower to carry...
07:08 PM, Oct 03, 2012
New Delhi: Sources in the Aviation Ministry said on Monday that the CEO of the Kingfisher Airlines had been summoned by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after all of its flights were grounded after pilots refused to work over non-payment of salaries. The meeting will be held on Tuesday. The sources added that the Aviation Ministry will soon take a call on shutting down the airline that is...
03:10 PM, Oct 01, 2012
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Centre after a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a probe against the Aviation Ministry was filed. The PIL sought a CBI probe into the functioning of the Ministry during the tenure of Praful Patel as the Civil Aviation Minister in UPA-I government. The PIL raised questions about the purchase of aircraft by the Ministry during Praful's tenure, alleging...
11:52 AM, Sep 21, 2012
New Delhi: Air India pilots have agreed to end their 57-day long strike on Tuesday. The pilots have given the decision to join back to work in writing to the Air India management. "We will decide on calling off the strike after consulting our lawyers. We are happy with the High Court order," Indian pilots' Guild (IPG) said in a press release. A total of 434 pilots were on strike...
01:41 PM, Jul 03, 2012
Mumbai/New Delhi: After posting a loss of Rs 298 crore in the last quarter, Jet Airways has sought government clearance to scale down its flights to the northeastern region by about half to stem the losses. The airline, which currently operates around 38 daily services in several northeastern destinations, has written to the Civil Aviation Ministry to allow it bring these operations down by nearly 50 per cent, sources said,...
12:30 PM, Jun 24, 2012
New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday said that it wanted the Civil Aviation Ministry to sort out the ongoing crisis at Air India "amicably" and that it was not in favour of sacking the striking pilots. Sources of the PMO said, "The PMO wants the Civil Aviation Ministry to come to a solution as soon as possible. The issue should be sorted amicably." They added, "The PMO is...
05:39 PM, Jun 12, 2012
New Delhi: With no resolution in sight to the Air India pilots strike, the Civil Aviation Ministry seems ready to crack the whip. Do 300 pilots of the erstwhile Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) stand to loose their jobs? And what would that mean for the airline? Nearly 440 Air India pilots have been on agitation for over 35 days, of which 101 have been sacked already, and the remaining still...
08:48 PM, Jun 11, 2012
New Delhi: It has been more than a month since a section of pilots of Air India went on a strike. Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has said it is up to the Airline management to take strict action now. Sources in the Aviation Ministry say that sacking all 440 pilots affiliated to the Indian Pilots Guild is inevitable. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said it was up to the management...
10:21 AM, Jun 11, 2012
New Delhi: A further crackdown on the striking Air India pilots is being contemplated by the management and that 300 pilots could be dismissed with the 35-day-old strike on Sunday showing no signs of being called off. Around 400 Air India pilots owing allegiance to Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) are on strike since May 7 and the services of 101 pilots have already been terminated. Sources in the state-owned airline...
11:19 PM, Jun 10, 2012
