BUSINESS
3 Big Factors That Will Decide If Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s Akasa Airlines Will Succeed
The airline’s ambitions are sky-high, but a number of factors will decide how high it soars in the Indian aviation market, which has laid low many an airline and tycoon in the past. The kind of planes it flies and the hub it chooses will play a role in determining success or failure. Moreover, it may have a dream team in the cockpit, but profitability will still depend on how Akasa Air performs, how IndiGo responds, and how Spicejet and GoFirst fare
BUSINESS
IndiGo’s 15th anniversary—an exemplar of endurance in the graveyard of airlines
IndiGo launched its first flight 15 years ago. It has survived, even thrived, in all these years when more fancied competitors have collapsed. What is the secret of its longevity?
BUSINESS
Indian aviation gets a glimpse of what withdrawal of airline fare caps can do
For passenger numbers to return pre-COVID-19 levels, the government must stop tinkering with market dynamics.
BUSINESS
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s airline Akasa will have to differentiate. You can’t be an IndiGo to beat IndiGo
Akasa can nibble the market share from Spicejet and GoFirst, but fleet decision will be critical.
BUSINESS
IndiGo has no good news to buffer Q1 loss this time, takes things in its stride
India’s biggest airline typically shares good news with bad. But so far, it hasn’t offered anything to eclipse its record quarterly loss.
BUSINESS
Pune airport was most profitable in FY21; Mumbai, Delhi biggest lossmakers
The pandemic curtailed flight operations across the country, widening the combined losses of 138 airports to Rs 2,882.74 crore. Still, the airports at Kandla and Chandigarh did better than the year before
BUSINESS
A veteran pilot answers questions on air travel and safety during the monsoon
Monsoon is also one of the most challenging times for air operations and with the help of Hamish Maxwell, Sr Vice President, flight operations at Vistara, Moneycontrol decodes how safe air operations are during the monsoon season
BUSINESS
Air India, Vistara market share up in May-June, but low-cost carriers likely to bounce back
Full-service carriers have expanded their market share to nearly 25 percent in May and June as other airlines contracted, possibly to conserve cash but low-cost carriers can again lure more passengers with more flights.
BUSINESS
Rising oil prices upset long-haul plans of airlines, delay recovery
A fast-paced vaccination and possibility of opening up offered hope for airlines. But the rise in fuel prices coupled with higher inflation and higher airport charges could not have come at a worse time for the industry.
BUSINESS
The reason IndiGo is such a dreaded competitor
On 194 of the 531 routes that IndiGo operates, the airline had an absolute monopoly. On several routes, it muscles out competitors by increasing frequency of flights or through better fares.
BUSINESS
What SpiceJet’s launch of 42 ‘new’ flights really means
Time will tell how many of these routes sustain or are withdrawn but any airline expanding is a good sign in the current times and an indicator that travel is making a comeback.
POLITICS
7 immediate challenges for Jyotiraditya Scindia, the new Civil Aviation Minister
Jyotiraditya Scindia occupies the post which his late father Madhavrao Scindia once occupied, from 1991 until 1993 in the PV Narasimha Rao cabinet.
BUSINESS
Spicejet is flying on cargo and a prayer
Spicejet’s finances are worse than they were six years ago, when its balance sheet seemed about to crashland. Its income is propped up by assumptions of hefty compensation from Boeing for grounding of aircraft, and it is operating in a tough, pandemic-hit environment, but its small and rapidly growing, cargo business offers a ray of hope
BUSINESS
Go Air IPO delay may force airline to borrow more, seek funds from promoters
Prospects appear dim for the airline as it competes with two rivals to raise funds and its market share shrinks ahead of the leanest quarter for air travel.
BUSINESS
Where have all IndiGo’s ‘CEOs’ gone?
IndiGo had an active fleet of 130 A320ceo at the end of March 2017 -- its highest-ever active count. Overall, India’s larget airline operated 158 A320ceo in its fleet. Now, it has only 59 of them active.
BUSINESS
IndiGo’s discounted airfare deal: What’s the offer and what it means for the airline and its passengers
Airline becomes first carrier in India to do so. Scheme applicable with immediate effect across its network, comprising 67 domestic stations. However, it also raises the question whether airlines can offer discounts when fare caps are in place.
BUSINESS
Airline fleet status check in India: Grounded in reality
Less than a quarter of planes operated by Indian carriers were idled by the pandemic on June 11, in contrast with airlines in other countries that placed their aircraft in long-term storage
BUSINESS
Once-impossible aviation feat: Bengaluru set to overtake Mumbai in domestic air traffic
Two parallel runways mean Bengaluru could increase air traffic movement to over 60 per hour compared to around 45 in Mumbai. This could translate into over 2,000 additional seats per hour. The final result could be Bengaluru overtaking Mumbai.
TRENDS
Aviation badly needs clear, transparent rules to accelerate return to normalcy
Predictability in relaxing curbs is the need of the hour for airlines and airports already grappling with a downturn.
BUSINESS
Bright spots in IndiGo’s earnings: Airline adds more aircraft, looks to extend cost advantage
India’s largest airline may have posted a loss of Rs 5,806.4 crore in FY21, but took delivery of a staggering 46 new aircraft in the 52 weeks between April 2020 and March 2021. At the end of March 2021, IndiGo had 285 aircraft in its fleet.
BUSINESS
Flights at one-fourth of pre-COVID levels, but govt caps airline capacity at 50% level
Also, starting June 1, the base fare will increase across the country. The argument for it is that there are very few passengers across the country and there is no need to increase the ceiling price since flights aren’t full. Also, since discretionary travel is not around, the increase in fare won’t impact demand directly.
BUSINESS
A year after airlines came out of the 2020 lockdown, aviation looks wobbly again
Air traffic has fallen back close to the level seen a year ago, when airlines resumed operations after a two-month halt. Airlines now face much higher regulation and uncertainty about when their business will return to pre-COVID levels
BUSINESS
Second wave of COVID-19 rattles civil aviation; Mumbai-Delhi and leisure flights worst hit
The aviation sector tumbled in April, in line with rising COVID-19 infections, and has shrunk further in May, with traffic at 15 percent of the pre-pandemic level. Airlines have taken a beating but market leader IndiGo maintained its dominance.
BUSINESS
GoAir IPO: What investors should know about the airline’s core operations
GoAir finds itself in a unique position as it filed its DRHP with Sebi on May 14. But that has more to do with what its competitors IndiGo and SpiceJet did than anything by the airline.
