AirAsia

"The strike call for January 30 and 31 stands. At the conciliation meeting held by Deputy Chief Labour Commissioner in Mumbai on Tuesday, no concrete assurance on resolution of our demands emerged. On the other hand, the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) said it was ready to hold discussion with the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) within 15 days," C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) told IANS.

SpiceJet and AirAsia India have launched special offers. Domestic airlines on Monday launched attractive sales offers to lure passengers during the holiday season, even as rising Covid infections have caused apprehensions amongst the general public.

In a conversation with IANS, Ankur Garg, Chief Commercial Officer, AirAsia India cited that overall airline industry is operating at 83 per cent pre-Covid levels and the traffic has been recovering at a fast rate. "Festive period beginning October saw a significant bounce back in passenger traffic which is continuing till the year-end."

The move, it said was is in line with relaxations in the regulatory guidelines issued on November 16, which had restricted meal service on flights less than 2 hours. "Guests can choose to pre-book their meals from a wide range of veg, non-veg and vegan hot meals and sandwiches or purchase light bites, hot and cold beverages and ready-to-eat meals inflight on flights above 75 minutes."

At present, only Vistara operates on international routes. The development assumes significance since Tata Sons' subsidiary Talace is expected to soon acquire Air India and Air India Express after conclusion of the share purchase agreement (SPA) with the Centre. Both Air India and Air India Express operate international flights.

"In partial modification of circular dated June 26, 2020, the competent authority has further extended the validity of circular issued on the above subject... regarding scheduled international commercial passenger services to or from India till 2359 hrs IST of August 3, 2021," the circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. The circular said that the restriction shall not apply to international all-cargo operations.

Market insiders have cited that the commencement of the inoculation drive has raised travellers' optimism, which will not only boost air travel, but also the entire hospitality value chain. Consequently, industry players like ixigo have seen a surge in demand and search queries.