Vistara takes delivery of its first Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft

The new aircraft is the first of the six that Vistara has purchased from Boeing.

Vistara took the delivery of its first wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner plane on Friday, making it the first Indian airline to fly this aircraft.

The plane, which has the registration number VT-TSD, will depart from the Boeing facility here at 2 pm (local time) on Friday and land in Delhi at 2 pm (local time) on Saturday, Vistara officials said here.

The new aircraft is the first of the six that Vistara has purchased from Boeing.

The second Dreamliner aircraft is currently on the production line and will be delivered soon.

Vistara's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft comes with 299 seats in a three-class cabin configuration, giving customers a choice of business, premium economy and economy cabins.

The aircraft features lie-flat business class seats in a 1-2-1 configuration that gives a direct aisle access to each business class passenger and a separate premium economy cabin that offers seats in a 2-3-2 configuration.

The aircraft has in-seat televisions in all three cabins with a high-definition (HD) display, powered by Panasonic as well as in-flight WiFi internet connectivity onboard long-haul international flights, officials stated.

It would make Vistara the first airline to offer WiFi service in India.

SpiceJet to launch 20 new flights for daily services on domestic routes

The new flights, starting from March 29, include services to Patna from Amritsar, Varanasi and Guwaha.

No-frills carrier SpiceJet on Wednesday said it will launch 20 new flights on its domestic routes, including some services under the government's regional connectivity scheme, Udan, from late next month as part of the airline's summer schedule.

The new flights, starting from March 29, include services to Patna from Amritsar, Varanasi and Guwahati. Besides, it will also launch flights on Hyderabad-Mangaluru, Bengaluru-Jabalpur and Mumbai-Aurangabad routes, all under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), for the first time on its network, the airline said in a release.

The new services will fly daily and will be operated by a mix of Boeing 737-800 and Bombardier Q400 aircraft, it stated.

These services will enhance connectivity between key metros and smaller cities, it said.

With the commencement of these new flights, the airline will have a total of 52 flights connecting 12 cities under the RCS scheme, SpiceJet said.

"We are excited to announce the launch of 20 new domestic flights. As we add newer cities and flights to our network, our focus remains firmly on connecting the unconnected parts of the country besides enhancing connectivity between metros and non-metros," 

SpiceJet Chief Commercial Officer Shilpa Bhatia was quoted as saying in the release.

SpiceJet said it will also enhance its operations with additional frequencies on the Mumbai-Bagdogra and Mumbai-Chennai routes with the addition of a second and fifth flight, respectively..

The Hyderabad-Mangaluru and Guwahati-Delhi sectors would also have an additional flight in the summer schedule.

India plays crucial role in Etihad's growth strategy, says airline official

Etihad Airways' Vice President, Indian Sub-continent, reiterated the airline's unwavering commitment to the country over the last 15 years.

India plays a crucial role in Etihad Airways' growth strategy, contributing significantly to the airline's global operations, a top company official said.

Marking the Abu Dhabi-based carrier's 15-years of flying to India, Neerja Bhatia, Etihad Airways' Vice President, Indian Sub-continent, reiterated the airline's unwavering commitment to the country over the last 15 years, which she said, has resulted in Etihad Airways becoming one of the most preferred airlines for travellers from India.

Etihad began operations in India in September 2004.

A statement released by the airline said Mumbai was the first route in the country to be served by Etihad and today the city ranks highest in terms of total passengers the airline has carried over the years, with the number exceeding 3.5 million.

Owing to passenger demand on this route, Etihad introduced a fourth daily service to Mumbai last year. Delhi and Cochin rank second and third, with the airline carrying over 3.2 million and 2.3 million passengers on these routes, respectively over the years. Etihad has also added a fourth daily frequency on its Delhi - Abu Dhabi route.

As a result of its optimized schedule of non-stop flights between the UAE and India, appealing to greater numbers of point-to-point business and leisure passengers, Abu Dhabi is now the most popular destination for Indian travellers on the Etihad network, said the statement.

Etihad operates 161 return flights per week between Abu Dhabi and 10 key Indian gateways of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram, connecting each of these gateways to international destinations.

Etihad Airways remains committed to its largest and busiest market, India. The UAE and India have shared strong commercial, cultural and historic relations and we will continue to honour these excellent trade and tourism ties through closer partnership with our friends in the Indian travel trade," Danny Barranger, Etihad Airways' Senior Vice President Global Sales, said.

Indian aviation startups to pitch for support at Singapore Air Show 2020

More than 60 startups from 10 countries, including India, are scheduled to make presentations on a wide range of domains during the show.

Startups from India with innovative technologies in the aerospace, civil aviation and air services are expected to pitch for support to industry heavyweights such as Airbus and Boeing at the Singapore Air Show 2020 next month, the organisers said.

The Singapore Air Show would be organised from February 11-16 and will witness the participation of some 65 top aerospace and defence companies.

The show, which is being organised by Experia Events Pte Ltd, will also be joined by 1,000 industry exhibitors from 50 countries and 55,000 trade visitors from 150 countries.

"We all know that there is a lot of technologies that these companies hold. We are looking forward to see these startups during pitching sessions," said Leck Chet Lam, the managing director of Experia Events Pte Ltd during the pre-show press conference on Monday.

More than 60 startups from 10 countries, including India, are scheduled to make presentations on a wide range of domains during the show.

The presentations will cover sustainability, smart transport, automation, smart manufacturing, digital solutions, artificial intelligence and cyber security apart from other vital subjects.

"The startups are to pitch for investors and industry support from the global aviation industries, which would include chief executives of industry heavyweights such as Airbus and Boeing," said Leck.

The Indians have been long-term participants as they value participating in the Singapore Air Show, he added.

Also, planned along the show is the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leader Summit to be attended by more than 300 aviation experts.

The summit is to be held from February 9-10 and will be addressed by industry experts, including Ajay Singh, chief executive of SpiceJet, the organisers said.

Business Standard

SpiceJet mulls buying 100 Airbus jets after Boeing 737 MAX fallout

The Max has been grounded worldwide since March after a pair of crashes killed 346 people.

India’s SpiceJet Ltd. is weighing an order for at least 100 Airbus SE planes as Boeing Co. grapples with the fallout over its grounded 737 Max.

The budget carrier, a major global customer for the Max, may buy a “sizable” number of Airbus A321LR and XLR jets to accommodate a planned expansion, SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh said Tuesday.

No decision has been made, he said, and the airline would consider a competing midrange jetliner if Boeing decides to build one.

Airbus has “pushed us hard since the day we started flying Boeing aircraft, and of course with the current problems, they’ve pushed us harder,” Singh said in an interview at Bloomberg’s headquarters in New York. “They have made us a commercial offer and we are evaluating it.”

The discussions with Airbus threaten Boeing with a high-profile defection at a time when the U.S. planemaker is enmeshed in one of the biggest crises in its 103-year history. SpiceJet, India’s second-largest airline, has 13 Max jets already in its fleet and has committed to buy as many as 205 of the single-aisle workhorses as it expands capacity to handle the nation’s fast-growing demand for air travel.

While Singh didn’t specify the exact size of a potential transaction, he said “any aircraft order that SpiceJet places would at least be 100 aircraft.” That would value the deal in excess of $13 billion, based on 2018 list prices before customary discounts for the A321neo. The LR and XLR variants are longer-range variants of the plane.

The Max has been grounded worldwide since March after a pair of crashes killed 346 people. More than six months later, the timing of the return to service remains unclear as regulators worldwide conduct independent assessments of the jet’s airworthiness.

Business Standard

Vistara to launch international flights in the second half of 2019

A joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines, Vistara might also look at starting medium and long-haul flights, depending on approvals, amid the grounding of Jet Airways.

Business Standard : Full service carrier Vistara, which has been serving the Indian skies for more than four years, plans to launch international services in the second half of this year.

A joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines, Vistara might also look at starting medium and long-haul flights, depending on approvals, amid the grounding of Jet Airways.

"We see India as a growing market. We are here for the long term," Vistara CEO Leslie Thng said on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of airlines' grouping IATA on Sunday.

Without providing specific details, he said the airline plans to start international operations in the second half of 2019.

It had planned to launch overseas flights in the first half of this year.

Currently, Vistara has more than 22 planes and operates around 850 flights every week.

Last month, the carrier announced it would take on lease four Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft and two A320 neo planes.

In 2018, Vistara placed its order for purchased and leased aircraft totalling 50 from the Airbus A320neo family, including A321neos.

These would be for domestic as well as short and medium-haul international operations, with deliveries scheduled between 2019 and 2023.

Further, the carrier has bought six Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that are scheduled to be delivered between 2020 and 2021. These would operate long-haul international operations.

Thng said, Vistara can start short-haul flights but would need more time for long-haul ones.

"If we do get the necessary rights, we do have a plan in place on how do we plan to operationalise it but I will not be able to share too much detail...," he said.

According to him, the airline would look at options to deploy the right type of aircraft provided it gets the necessary flying rights.

Booked a Jet Airways flight? Things to know about alternate flight, refund

Business Standard examines passenger options regarding alternate flights, loyalty miles and refunds.

Jet Airways' suspension of services last week has left thousands of passengers in lurch. Ticket refunds are delayed and alternate flights have become costlier.

Domestic airlines are taking over Jet's routes while partner airlines including Air France and Etihad are operating additional flights and accommodating Jet's passengers. But every one will not get a free seat.

Business Standard examines passenger options regarding alternate flights, loyalty miles and refunds.

Who is protected and who is not?

A lot will depend on which carrier issued the ticket. Globally, airlines sign interline and code share agreements which allow them to sell tickets on each others' networks.

a) Ticket issued by Jet's partners (Air France-KLM, Etihad or Virgin Atlantic) on a Jet Airways operated flight - Passengers are being rebooked on an alternate flight without any fee.

Refund option - Yes

b) Ticket issued by Jet Airways on a flight operated by other airlines - Partner airlines (except Air France KLM) are not accepting Jet Airways issued tickets. This means such passengers will not be rebooked on alternate flights free of charge.

Refund option - Yes

c) Ticket issued by Jet Airways on its own flights - Such passengers will only get a refund and are not being accommodated on other airlines free of charge.

Jet Airways did not respond to a query.

More flight options for Jet loyalty miles holders

Jet Airways loyalty programme miles remain intact and members have option of redeeming it on airline of their choice.

Jet Privilege Private Limited, the company managing the programme is directly purchasing redemption tickets from other airlines from its members. It is purchasing them as other airlines are not accepting Jet Airways issued tickets.

Extra flights for stranded passengers

Air France and Eithad are operating additional flights to India to transport passengers impacted by Jet's grounding. KLM is flying higher capacity aircraft to Mumbai and Delhi.

Airlines get a flying start in 2019 as jet fuel price is slashed by 14%

This is the second consecutive drop in jet fuel price and the sharpest cut since November 2008.

The new year began on a positive note for domestic airlines as state oil marketing companies slashed aviation turbine fuel (ATF) price by 14.7 per cent. This is the second consecutive drop in jet fuel price and the sharpest cut since November 2008.

A kilolitre of ATF will now cost Rs 58,060 in Delhi compared to Rs 68,050.

The revision brings relief to domestic airlines which have been struggling to make profit because of a rise in operating costs. Fuel accounts for around 40 per cent of the expenses of domestic airlines. High fuel and depreciating rupee resulted in big losses for the three major airlines in the second quarter of FY19. Collectively, IndiGo, Jet Airways and SpiceJet posted loss of Rs 2,338 crore in the preceding quarter as crude oil price surged 50 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

In fact, in the first half of FY19, the listed airlines together lost around Rs 20 crore per day collectively registering a loss of Rs 3,640 crore, ICRA’s vice-president Kinjal Shah noted in a report last month

Crude oil prices, however, are on a decline over the last few weeks over concerns of a supply glut. Boeing expects crude price to remain around $60 per barrel in 2019.

Inability to pass on high costs has been another bane for domestic carriers. While domestic air traffic grew 19 per cent between January and November on a year-on-year basis, much of it has come on the back of low fares. Airlines have been discounting fares throughout the year to fill up seats or raise cash. Industry experts say fares are holding up now but could come under pressure due to capacity induction and seasonal weakness in February-March.

In its latest India market outlook released in December, Boeing said domestic airlines lost around Rs 1,120 per passengers in the April-June quarter of 2018 due to their inability to charge higher fares. In the same period in 2017, airlines had made a gain of Rs 199 per passenger flown. Airfares in the fast-growing Indian market are 10-15 per cent lower than break-even levels for airlines, Boeing’s senior vice-president, Asia-Pacific, Dinesh Keskar said.

ALSO READ: Aviation sector saw high passenger growth, battled oil shocks in 2018

He raised the long-term jet order forecast for the nation to a record high despite market challenges.

“The 14 per cent cut in fuel price is a positive step. However, typically, we have seen fares drop as a result of over capacity,” a senior executive of a private airline said.

Alongside IndiGo, which has planned a 30 per cent increase in seat capacity in the next two quarters, SpiceJet will join the race of capacity induction with the airline inducting 26 aircraft by the end of this financial year which includes 18 Boeing 737 Max and eight 90-seater Q400.

In an investor note last week, brokerage IIFL said, “Industry capacity continues to grow at 18-19 per cent.

Business Standard