02 May 2017

India Aviation industry newsletter 2 May

AirAsia expands India air links AirAsia marked another milestone, last week, as the first international airline to operate direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Bhubaneswar, India. The airline’s latest new route offers four weekly direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to the capital city of India’s Odisha state. A ceremony was held at Biju Patnaik International Airport to celebrate the arrival of flight AK31 which flew in on an Airbus A320 into Bhubaneswar, India. AirAsia India's passenger traffic up by 57% in Jan-March AirAsia India flew 8.4 lakh passengers in the January-March quarter of the current year, up 57% from 5.38 lakh in the same period of 2016, aided by new routes and higher capacity. The number of passengers carried increased by 57% year-on-year to 0.84 million, with 50% increase in capacity. Bagdogra airport sees 40% jump in footfall  The Bagdogra Airport that is the gateway to North Bengal, Sikkim, as well as the north-eastern states, Nepal, and Bhutan, has crossed the benchmark for “major airport” by carrying more than 15 lakh passengers in the financial year 2016-17. The airport witnessed a phenomenal 40 per cent increase in passengers in 2016-17, becoming the 27th busiest airport in the country.   Bagdogra airport has shown a phenomenal growth in passenger traffic, thanks to the state government's tax exemptions and upsurge in tourism in the Hills and Dooars. It has recorded a 40% surge in passenger traffic in 2016-17 compared to the figure in 2015-16. In the last fiscal, the passenger traffic at the airport stood at 15,24,516. Bagdogra airport has shown a phenomenal growth in passenger traffic, thanks to the state government's tax exemptions and upsurge in tourism in the Hills and Dooars. It has recorded a 40% surge in passenger traffic in 2016-17 compared to the figure in 2015-16. In the last fiscal, the passenger traffic at the airport stood at 15,24,516. DAE signs long-term lease for 10 ATR72-600 aircraft with India’s Alliance Air Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) announced 1 May the signing of long-term lease agreements for 10 ATR 72-600 aircraft with Alliance Air, a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India Limited. The aircraft are scheduled to deliver throughout 2017 and will be used to grow Alliance’s network and to serve underserved or unserved airports throughout India as part of the Indian Government’s focus on regional air access through the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). Alliance Air is one of five airlines selected to serve routes under this scheme. India's Regional Connectivity Scheme hampered by slot crunch The operators of Mumbai Int'l and Delhi Int'l airports may not be able to provide enough slot capacity to carriers under the government's Regional Connectivity Scheme which launched this week. The Economic Times of India reports that twenty-four slots at Delhi and twenty slots at Mumbai are needed for the RCS flights, but both airports are struggling with capacity. In mid-March, The Times of India reported that Delhi airport will not be able to add any additional flights between 0700L and 2200L this summer, while Mumbai does not have any available domestic slots at all SpiceJet to offer visa services for Dubai-bound passengers SpiceJet will provide visa services for Indian passengers travelling to Dubai on its flights. All Indian passport holders travelling to Dubai on SpiceJet and holding valid round trip tickets can avail the visa service. It would be available for 14 days as well as 30 days tourist visas. The airline operates 10 daily flights to Dubai. The airline in association with Cozmo Travel World Pvt Ltd would help passengers with their UAE visa application. Trujet launches flights on 3 new routes under `UDAN’ scheme Trujet announced the launch of services on three new routes starting from Thursday under the regional connectivity scheme ‘UDAN’. The city-based carrier will launch flights on Hyderabad-Cuddapah, Hyderabad-Nanded and Nanded-Mumbai routes, the airline said in a statement here. Trujet is one of the five operators who has been awarded 128 routes under the UDAN ((Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme of the government. Under the scheme, fares have been capped at Rs 2,500 for one hour flight and the government has also extended subsidy in the form of viability gap funding to the operators flying on these routes. Acumen Aviation © 2 May All Rights Reserved.