News Analysis India

Tag: GoAir

  • Air travel becomes costlier, caps raised on domestic airfares by 9.83-12.82 per cent

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Domestic air travel is set to become costlier as the Civil Aviation Ministry has raised the lower as well as upper caps on fares by 9.83 to 12.82 percent, according to an official order.

    India had imposed lower and upper limits on airfares based on flight duration when services were resumed on May 25, 2020, after a two-month lockdown due to coronavirus.

    The lower caps were imposed to help the airlines that have been struggling financially due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions.

    The upper caps were imposed so that passengers are not charged huge amounts when the demand for seats is high.

    In an order dated August 12, 2021, the ministry increased the lower limit for flights under 40 minutes of duration from Rs 2,600 to Rs 2,900 — an increase of 11.53 percent.

    The upper cap for flights under 40 minutes of duration was increased by 12.82 percent to Rs 8,800.

    Similarly, flights with duration between 40-60 minutes have a lower limit of Rs 3,700 instead of Rs 3,300 now, the order said.

    The upper cap on these flights was increased by 12.24 percent to Rs 11,000 on Thursday.

    The flights with duration between 60-90 minutes have a lower limit of Rs 4,500 — an increase of 12.5 percent.

    The upper cap on these flights was increased by 12.82 percent to Rs 13,200 on Thursday.

    Now, domestic flights of duration between 90-120, 120-150, 150-180 and 180-210 minutes have lower caps of Rs Rs 5,300, Rs 6,700, Rs 8,300 and Rs 9,800, respectively, as per the ministry’s order.

    Till date, domestic flights of duration between 90-120, 120-150, 150-180 and 180-210 minutes had the lower limits of Rs 4,700, Rs 6,100, Rs 7,400 and Rs 8,700, respectively.

    The lower cap on flights between 120-150 minutes duration was increased by 9.83 percent to Rs 6,700, as per the new order.

    On Thursday, the upper caps on domestic flights of duration between 90-120, 120-150, 150-180 and 180-210 minutes were increased by 12.3 percent, 12.42 percent, 12.74 percent and 12.39 percent, respectively, as per the order.

    The caps mentioned by the government in its order does not include the passenger security fee, user development fee for the airports and the GST.

    These charges are added on top when the ticket is being booked by the passenger.

    The ministry’s order on Thursday stated that the government has taken this decision of increasing the lower limits as well as the upper limits keeping in mind the “prevailing situation of COVID-19” in the country.

  • 57.25 lakh domestic air passengers in April, 26.8 per cent lower than March: DGCA

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Around 57.25 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in April, which is 26.8 per cent lower than 78.22 lakh who travelled in March, Indian aviation regulator DGCA said on Tuesday.

    According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 78.27 lakh people travelled by air within the country in February.

    The drop in domestic air traffic in April is due to the second wave of the pandemic that has badly hit India and its aviation sector.

    While IndiGo carried 30.83 lakh passengers in April, a 53.9 per cent share of the total domestic market, SpiceJet flew 7.05 lakh passengers, which is 12.3 per cent share of the market, according to data shared by the DGCA.

    Air India, GoAir, Vistara and AirAsia India carried 6.85 lakh, 5.47 lakh, 3.11 lakh and 3.55 lakh passengers, respectively in April, it showed.

    The occupancy rate or load factor of the six major Indian airlines was between 52 per cent and 70.8 per cent in April, it stated.

    “The passenger load factor in the month of April 2021 has shown decreasing trend compared to previous month due to end of vacation period,” the DGCA said.

    The occupancy rate at SpiceJet was 70.8 per cent in April, the regulator noted.

    The occupancy rates for IndiGo, Vistara, GoAir, Air India and AirAsia India were 58.7 per cent, 54.6 per cent, 65.7 per cent, 52 per cent and 64 per cent, respectively, according to the DGCA.

    India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25 last year after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

    Indian airlines are allowed to operate a maximum of 80 per cent of their pre-pandemic domestic flights.

    The DGCA data mentioned that in April, GoAir had the best on-time performance of 98.1 per cent at four metro airports — Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

    IndiGo and Vistara were at number two and three positions at these four airports in April with 97.4 per cent and 95.3 per cent on-time performance, respectively, the regulator said.

    The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

    All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, leaves without pay and layoffs in order to tide over the crisis.

  • GoAir sacks senior pilot for making derogatory remarks about PM Narendra Modi on Twitter

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: GoAir has sacked a senior pilot who made derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter on Thursday.

    “GoAir has terminated the services of the Captain with immediate effect,” the airline’s spokesperson said on Saturday when asked about the objectionable tweets by pilot Miki Malik.

    Captain Malik, who made the remarks about the prime minister on Thursday, has deleted the offensive tweets and locked his account on Twitter.

    GoAir spokesperson said the airline has a zero-tolerance policy on such matters and it is mandatory for its employees to comply with the company’s employment rules, regulations and policies, including social media behaviour.

    “The airline does not associate itself with personal views expressed by any individual or an employee,” the spokesperson noted.