Falling rupee puts pressure on Air India’s cost structure and profitability but the airline has some natural hedge as it can charge more for international flights where tickets are priced in foreign currencies, according to a senior company official. In recent weeks, Indian rupee has been on a decline and touched a record low of 86.04 against the US dollar on January 10. A weak rupee results in higher operational expenses for airlines as most of their costs are in dollars. Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial Officer, Air India, said the declining rupee definitely poses a challenge to the industry and…
Author: Disha Ghosh
The Bihar Cabinet has approved acquisition of an additional 89.75 acres of land for expansion and development of the Darbhanga airport into an international one. The Council of Ministers also gave its nod for acquisition of 139 acres of land worth Rs 207 crore for the expansion of Raxaul airport in the state, an official said. These decisions were taken in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna. Talking to reporters soon after the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary S Siddharth said, “The cabinet approved a proposal for the acquisition of 89.75 acres of land worth Rs…
In a major development, Air India has announced plans to launch flights from the upcoming international airport in Ludhiana. As the entire civil work and also the majority part inside the Indian Air Force (IAF) premises where the airport is coming up are almost complete, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is in the process of issuing a tentative operational date and the airport code, which is mandatory for the operations. Besides, the bidding process for the operations of the airlines is also being launched, which will take a couple of months before commercial flights begin operations. In a communication…
Oman’s Minister of Heritage and Tourism, Salim bin Mohammed Al Mahrouqi, expressed that India and Oman continue to work together in the tourism sector, facilitating easier movement and exchanges between the two nations. He also emphasised eagerness to see the ties growing between Oman and India in the tourism sector. Speaking with ANI, Mahrouqi noted that Indians are number two in terms of tourism influx to Oman. He added that Oman is particularly well-known in the Indian market as a popular wedding destination. On the India-Oman relationship, he said, “Well, relations between India and Oman are very good. Oman is…
The Mahakumbh, held every 12 years, will take place from January 13 to February 26, 2025 in Prayagraj. An ‘Incredible India Pavillion’ showcasing cultural heritage and significance of the Kumbh Mela, luxury tents and enhanced air connectivity, the Ministry of Tourism is beckoning people to visit Prayagraj and explore the mega cultural congregation that begins from today. Expected to host over 40 crore devotees from across the globe, this 45-day festival from January 13 to February 26 is also expected to draw a large number of tourists and cultural aficionados aiming to explore what is billed as one of the…
Seeking to tap the “huge growth opportunities”, Air India will increase the number of premium economy and business class seats in its aircraft, realign flight timings to carry more connecting traffic and rationalise network to deploy optimum capacity. Tata Group, which has been steering the loss-making Air India since January 2022, has consolidated its airline business and Air India Group’s revenues have jumped around 10 times to nearly USD 10 billion now compared to less than USD 1 billion in FY20, according to a senior company official. Air India Group operates 1,168 daily flights, including 313 services to international destinations.…
With an aim to drive visitors to Almaty, Kazakhstan, Visit Almaty has appointed Salvia Promoters as their official Representative in India. As part of this partnership, a series of campaigns will be unveiled to create awareness about destination Almaty. “We are excited to expand our tourism outreach in India.Through this collaboration with Salvia Promoters headed by Prashant Chaudhary, we aim to showcase the beauty of Almaty and encourage more travellers from India to discover our city.” She also noted that Almaty presents itself as a great short-haul destination with visa-free travel and direct flight offers for Indian travellers,” said Kamila…
The Airport Authority Hong Kong raised USD7 billion this week by issuing bonds in three currencies – the largest ever public offering of bonds by a Hong Kong company. Most of that was done in a three-tranche dollar bond deal which garnered USD 4.15 billion, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Thursday. It raised USD 1.3 billion in a 3.5-year bond, USD 1.85 billion in a 5.5-year deal and USD 1 billion in a 10-year tranche. The firm also raised the equivalent of USD 2.8 billion in Hong Kong dollar and Chinese yuan bonds this week, term…
Honeywell and NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced at CES 2025 an expanded partnership that will accelerate aviation product development and chart the path for autonomous flight. This builds on the companies’ existing relationship, which is focused on helping optimise how building management systems sense and securely control energy consumption, announced at CES 2024. The ground-breaking aviation collaboration will combine Honeywell’s deep aerospace expertise, the proven capabilities of Honeywell Anthem avionics and NXP’s high-performance computing architecture, enabling AI-driven aerospace technology that helps improve operational efficiency for planning and managing flights. The work will also support faster transitions to new chipsets and technologies.…
The government is planning to make it mandatory for domestic airlines to share weather data captured by aircraft during take offs and landings with the weather office, which could lead to significantly better forecasts. Currently, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) launches weather balloons from 50-60 stations to collect critical data on temperature, humidity and wind speed at various altitudes, which form crucial inputs for weather forecasting models. These inputs could increase exponentially as the country records more than 6,000 take offs and landings by domestic airlines at various airports every day. M Ravichandran, Secretary in the Union Ministry of Earth…