Category: Aviation

Full-service carrier Vistara has announced a set of safety measures for its customers as part of its safe-flying initiative. The “FlyerCode” initiative comes following a survey conducted by the airline recently in which as many as 55% of the respondents expressed fear of exposure while travelling and apprehension about fellow passengers not following health and safety protocols, Vistara said in a release. The airline has urged the customers to follow the set of measures for safe-flying and remain careful, observant, distanced and empathetic, whenever they fly. As part of the FlyerCode, Vistara has urged its customers to provide all their ... Read more

German flag carrier Lufthansa has announced that it will cut 20% of its leadership positions and 1,000 administrative jobs, in a restructuring plan to cope with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.  After downsizing the executive board of the Lufthansa parent company, the corporation is now also planning similar actions at its subsidiaries, with Lufthansa Cargo AG, LSG Group, and Lufthansa Aviation Training set to lose one board position each.  The airline said that it would also halve its investment in new aircraft, although it could still add up to 80 new planes by 2023. According to a statement, ... Read more

United Airlines has warned that 36,000 employees, nearly half its US staff, could be furloughed in October in a clear indication of how deeply the virus pandemic is hurting the airline industry. The outlook for a recovery in the airline industry has dimmed in just the past two weeks, as infection rates rise in the US and some states impose new quarantine requirements on travellers, according to a PTI report. Airlines say they must shrink to match falling travel demand. American Airlines executives have said they could have 20,000 more employees than the airline will need this fall. United told ... Read more

Air France has announced that it would be increasing its flight schedule for summer 2020 and gradually building up its destination-offering and flight-frequencies over the next few months, through to October. Thus, by September, it hopes to achieve 50% of its flight schedule, pushing it to 60% in October. Additionally, the airline says that its domestic network will be restored to nearly full capacity flying out of Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. However, medium and long-haul routes and frequencies will slowly build over the coming weeks and months. Earlier, Air France-KLM had announced plans to cut more than 7,500 jobs at its French ... Read more

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has announced a codeshare agreement with Abu Dhabi’s first low-cost airline, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi. Etihad has placed its ‘EY’ code on Air Arabia Abu Dhabi’s inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi to the Egyptian city of Alexandria July 14, followed by the Nile city of Sohag the next day. The new agreement enables guests to book Etihad flights in conjunction with Air Arabia Abu Dhabi services, connecting its global route network beyond the UAE capital to new airline’s routes. Etihad plans to add further codeshare destinations to the partnership scope ... Read more

The Boris Johnson government is under pressure to strip British Airways of valuable landing slots at UK airports amid concern about the airline’s plan to cut 12,000 jobs, according to a report in the Daily Mail. More than 100 British members of parliament from various political parties are asking the prime minister to reconsider British Airways’ right to slots at airports such as Heathrow, the newspaper said. The mounting political pressure comes after British Airways revealed it would cut about 28% of its 42,000 workers as it struggles to survive amid the coronavirus pandemic. The airline holds more than half ... Read more

Air India has withdrawn job offers sent out to around 180 trainee cabin crew members amid the economic slowdown in the aviation sector due to the coronavirus pandemic, news agency PTI has reported. “The airline has taken a decision to withdraw job offers for about 180 trainees who were to join as cabin crew after completing their training as the aviation sector has been hit hard due to the coronavirus pandemic,” said an airline official. In a letter sent to one such trainee cabin crew member on July 6, the airline said, “In view of the current aviation scenario, it ... Read more

Air India on Sunday announced that it will operate 14 more flights under the Vande Bharat Mission for the evacuation of Indians stranded in the United Kingdom. The flights will be scheduled between July 15 to 24. Bookings will open today from 2 pm on the Air India website. Passengers may also visit the airport or city booking offices, the airlines tweeted. Air India flights to London are scheduled from several cities in India such as Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Cochin, Hyderabad, Goa, Kolkata, Vijayawada and Amritsar. Anurag Srivastava, an external affairs ministry spokesperson, announced that 637 international flights ... Read more

India’s national carrier Air India will connect Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai with Singapore, Canada and Germany. Bookings for the same will open later today. Here are the details: Air India will operate four additional flights from July 19 to July 22 connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai with Singapore. Bookings will open today at 12 noon. Schedule: Bengaluru-Singapore-Bengaluru: July 19Mumbai-Singapore-Mumbai: July 20Chennai-Singapore-Chennai: July 21Delhi-Singapore-Delhi: July 22 India-Germany Air India will operate two additional flights on July 21 and July 23 connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi with Frankfurt, Germany. Bookings will open today from 2 pm. Schedule ... Read more

Emirates, the leading Dubai-based carrier, is set to cut as many as 9,000 jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the crisis, Emirates had 60,000 staff members. In a conversation with the BBC, Emirates president Tim Clark said the airline had already cut a tenth of its staff but said: “We will probably have to let go of a few more, probably up to 15%.” The global airline industry has been severely impacted by coronavirus, with activity all but grinding to a halt. Tim told the BBC that the airline was “not as badly off as others”. But its ... Read more

Japan Airlines and Malaysia Airlines are looking to launch a joint business partnership on July 25, through which the two national carriers will co-operate commercially on flights between the two countries. Malaysia Airlines is resuming flights to Japan this month, and the two airlines combined will then offer four weekly services between Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo Narita in July and August, says Japan Airlines (JAL). JAL says the airlines will “take on new challenges to further enhance convenience between Japan and Malaysia and allow customers to benefit from more flight choices”. “This initiative will enable Malaysian Airlines and JAL to enhance their capabilities, and leverage on each other’s ... Read more

Dubai-based carrier Emirates has scheduled several repatriation flights to assist stranded Indians in the UAE after receiving the green light from the civil aviation authorities in India and the UAE. Repatriation flights to five Indian cities – Bengaluru, Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram – are on track from July 12 to 26. The flights to Bengaluru and Mumbai are subject to state government approval. Frequency of flights between July 12 and 26 Bengaluru: Two daily flights Delhi: Two daily flights Kochi: Two daily flights Mumbai: Three daily flights Thiruvananthapuram: One daily flight Flights from India to Dubai These repatriation flights ... Read more

With Covid-19 throwing a spanner in the works of the international aviation industry, the well-heeled traveller is looking to engage private jets and chartered flights even more regularly. A chartered flight is an unscheduled flight that is not part of a regular airline’s routing. A chartered flight is any aircraft, whether an 8-seater private jet or a 180-seater airliner, exclusively rented for an itinerary.  They are usually classified into group charters or individual client flights.  With a group charter flight, the flying experience is determined by whomever is chartering the plane, whether it be for a special tour, or group travel or a ... Read more

Demand for charter flights from tier-2 cities is encouraging, IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta has said. At present, the country’s largest airline is operating at 30% of its capacity, as restrictions by state governments on travel is hurting traffic. “The demand shows that we will reach 80% of our capacity by early next year,” Dutta said while addressing a webinar. “Our charter flights from the Middle East are good. And there is growth in smaller cities,” Dutta said. He said the airline’s passenger loads are decent, but added that in a route like Delhi-Ranchi, one leg may have 15 passengers, and ... Read more

Emirates plans to restore services to six more destinations from July 15 to August 15, bringing the carrier’s network to 58 cities. The Dubai-based carrier plans to resume flights to Geneva from July 15, Los Angeles from July 22, Dar es Salaam from August 1, Prague and Sao Paulo from August 2 and Boston from August 15. “We’ve seen an uptick in customer interest and demand since the announcement of Dubai’s re-opening, and also with the increased travel options that we offer as we gradually re-establish our network connectivity,” says chief commercial officer Adnan Kazim. “We continue to work closely with ... Read more