Airlines Financial News

G20 Summit 2023. For the first time in history, India has become the host the the Group of 20 Nations (popularly known as G20).

Qantas’ major superannuation investors have put the airline’s board on notice over the “significant damage to reputation” it has sustained in the past 12 months, saying they are scrutinising executive bonuses this year.

Planes operated by Qantas and its budget subsidiary, Jetstar, accounted for almost two-thirds of the flight cancellations that were not caused by bad weather or air traffic control issues on the busy Sydney-Melbourne route in June, new data from Sydney Airport has revealed.

Jet Airways promoter Naresh Goyal diverted Rs 9.46 crores out of a loan granted by Canara Bank to the airline to his wife, son and daughter, from 2011-12 till 2018-19, a remand application filed by the Enforcement Directorate said. Another Rs 1,152 crore was siphoned off as consultancy expense during those five years and salary expense of Goyal’s residential staff at Delhi and Mumbai was being borne by Jet Airways. ED also said that Goyal diverted Rs 2,547 crore showing a payment to its subsidiary JetLite and then wrote off the amount. The central agency on Friday night arrested Goyal and today produced him before a PMLA court in Mumbai. Amit Agarwal, then Chief Financial Officer of the company told ED during interrogations that these payments were directly approved by Goyal himself. “On being asked by the CFO, Naresh Goyal authoritatively replied that these payments were critical for the functioning of the company and there was no point in asking further questions,” the ED said. “As per the CFO, the finance department had no say about these payments and it was directly approved by Goyal through his secretary,” the agency added. A consortium led by State Bank of India of which Canara Bank is part owes Rs 6,000 crore to the airline which has now been marked as Non-Performing Asset (NPA) after the airline shut business in 2019. Lenders will lose 95% haircut on the recovery of the amount if a consortium manages to restart the airline.

Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal, in an alleged money laundering case after having questioned him in Mumbai through the day. Goyal will be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Saturday. In July, the agency had registered a fresh money laundering case against Goyal, his wife Anita and others based on the first information report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly defrauding the state-owned Canara Bank of ₹538.62 crore. After the enforcement case information report (ECIR), the ED also conducted searches in Mumbai and Delhi including at premises of those linked to the Goyals and the erstwhile auditor of the airline. Earlier in February, the division bench of Justice Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan of the Bombay High Court had quashed the ED's money laundering case against the couple. The Bench had, however, observed that if any fresh case is registered against the couple by any law enforcement agency, the ED could probe them. According to sources, the fresh money laundering case is based on the recent FIR filed by the CBI against Goyal in which Canara Bank is the complainant.

By Susanna Twidale and Sarah McFarlane

₹1 lakh per kilolitre mark. In the national capital, jet fuel was priced at ₹1,12,419.33 per kilolitre, 14.12% higher from ₹98,508.26 in August. Similarly, in Kolkata and Chennai, ATF prices rose 12.74% and 13.85% to ₹1,21,063.83 per kilolitre on Friday.

Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. acquiring some shares in the merged entity Air India subject to compliance of voluntary commitments offered by the parties.

By Priyamvada C

By Farah Master, Joyce Zhou and David Kirton

On Friday, the Competition Commission granted its approval for the proposed merger between Air India and Vistara, subject to specific conditions. This development represents a significant stride for the Tata Group as it solidifies its position in the aviation industry.

₹100 crore into the airline and to be able to service its insurance and other statutory obligations. Go First, owned by the Wadia Group, filed for insolvency attributing financial troubles to Pratt and Whitney's faulty engines.

Tata Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) Airlines with Air India on Friday, September 1, according to a post by the antitrust body on social media platform X. The regulator added that the acquisition of certain shareholding by Singapore Airlines in Air India subject to compliance of voluntary commitments offered by the parties.

Tata SIA Airlines into Air India, subject to certain conditions. The long pending merger of fully owned Tata airline Air India and sister airline Vistara, came through weeks after the watchdog raised concerns about market power. The CCI was scrutinising the planned merger of Air India, which Tata Group took over last year, with Vistara, a 51: 49 joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines. The merged airline may pose a challenge to local rival and market leader, IndiGo. The said consolidation will make Air India, India’s leading domestic and international carrier with a combined fleet of 218 aircraft, making it India’s largest international carrier and second largest domestic carrier, the airline said in an announcement relating to the merger. «As part of the merger transaction, SIA shall also invest Rs 2,059 crore in Air India.

IndiGo has announced the launch of a direct flight between Delhi and Itanagar from October 2. The airline will operate four flights a week between New Delhi and the Arunachal capital on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the airline said in a statement on Friday. Flight 6E 5927 will depart from New Delhi at 9.10am and reach Donyi Polo airport in Itanagar at noon.

R Praggnanandhaa, has returned to the country after a remarkable journey at the FIDE World Cup 2023 in Azerbaijan. His extraordinary performance has not only earned him accolades but also a warm hero's welcome upon his homecoming. As Praggnanandhaa embarked on his journey back to India, he received a heartfelt note from the cabin crew and captain of his Indigo flight from Doha to Chennai. The airline shared a touching photograph capturing this heartwarming moment, featuring Praggnanandhaa and his mother, Nagalakshmi, alongside a flight attendant. The note, signed by the captain and crew members of Indigo flight 6E: 1322, read, «Dear Praggnanandhaa, it is truly an honour and our pleasure to fly you on board with us today. You are our Pride of the Nation. You have made our country so proud. We wish and pray that you achieve many more like this. You are truly an inspiration for all of us. Keep your game up and keep inspiring.»

Australia’s consumer watchdog has called for Qantas Airways to be punished with a record fine for allegedly selling tickets on thousands of flights that had already been canceled

Neil Pharaoh is a loyal Qantas Platinum frequent flyer who has flown with the airline since he was born. But he’s considering switching to Virgin after half his flights were cancelled or delayed in the past year.

G20 Summit weekend: The national capital is gearing to prepare for the upcoming G20 Summit which will be held from 8-10 September. From traffic restrictions, schools closed to shops, commercial and business establishment closed, people in Delhi are looking for nearby short getaways.

In an exclusive interview with ET, Rajeev Menon, President, Asia Pacific (excluding China) at Marriott International said the chain has seen a RevPar (revenue per available room) growth of 35% in India in the first six months of this year compared to 2019. He said the country is a ‘decades long’ growth story.The major hospitality players have seen both demand and margins grow. That doesn’t happen often. Right now, all around the world including India, people are willing to pay more for travel experiences.

Labor Day weekend. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that this will be the third busiest holiday weekend of the year so far, behind only the Juneteenth weekend, which included Father's Day, and the Presidents Day break. Hurricane Idalia weakened and headed out to sea Thursday. While the storm left damage and power outages, its impact on travel eased. Airlines canceled several dozen flights in Florida and Georgia on Thursday but expected to operate at full strength Friday. Travelers can check conditions where they are going on the FAA website. Thursday figured to be the busiest day in U.S. airspace, with 52,203 flights scheduled, followed by 49,111 flights on Friday, according to the FAA. After a lull on Saturday and Sunday, flights are scheduled to pick back up Monday and Tuesday. The numbers include airline, military and some private flights. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen more than 14 million passengers from Friday through Wednesday, up nearly 11% over the same weekend last year.