India deserves more non-stop overseas flights: Air India CEO

News Network
June 4, 2023

flight.jpg

New Delhi, June 5: Asserting that India deserves to have international non-stop connectivity to more destinations, Air India chief Campbell Wilson has said the country has in some respect not been able to control its own destiny as a consequence of not having a healthy domestic airline industry.

Wilson, who is piloting Air India's massive expansion plans in terms of fleet as well as routes, also said that IndiGo succeeding well and Tata airlines coming together provides a good competitor to the strength of IndiGo.

"It should hopefully allow for a market that is more sustainable, ideally profitable that will allow airlines to invest in new products, expand network and also lead India to assume its place on the world aviation stage...," he told PTI in a recent interview.

Tata Group took over Air India and Air India Express from the government in January last year.

Currently, the group has four carriers under its fold -- Air India, Air India Express, AIX Connect (earlier known as AirAsia India) and Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines.

The group is also in the process of merging Air India Express and AIX Connect, and Vistara with Air India.

Responding to a query about the crisis at Go First, Wilson said it is very unfortunate.

Cash-strapped budget carrier Go First stopped flying from May 3 and is undergoing voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings.

This is not the first time that an airline has failed in the country and "it does I think underscore the industry structure that has prevailed has not been conducive for a healthy, vibrant, profitable industry", the Air India CEO and Managing Director said.

"As a consequence of not having a healthy domestic airline industry, India has in some respects is not able to control its own destiny. Some foreign airlines coming into India have been the ones that have reaped the benefits of the growing Indian market as opposed to the Indian airlines.

"We continue to make sure that we put in the investments in aircraft, products, people and systems. We will have a significantly sized, professionally run, expansion-oriented high quality airline," Wilson said.

He also said that Air India is investing $70 billion at list price for 470 new aircraft and that is with the explicit purpose of providing more services, especially international connectivity.

As Air India flies to more places non-stop from India and also builds a hub, then hopefully, the airline will catalyse further broader development of the country's aviation industry. "That will be good for all the parties and not just the airline itself," he noted.

While travel demand is on the rise, India has relatively less direct international air connectivity and overseas traffic is catered to mostly by foreign carriers with connecting flights.

Against this backdrop, the government is working on developing an international aviation hub in the country while Air India and IndiGo are also expanding their international operations.

"Our view is that India deserves to have international non-stop connectivity to many more destinations in the world than presently is the case.

"In order to do that, it will require investments in aircraft, systems, and people by Indian carriers. That investment comes with economic incentives and other incentives. So building the environment to make such investments attractive to the people and such investments successful, at least in my view, is in the national interest," Wilson said.

When asked about India being hesitant to allow more bilateral flying rights to foreign carriers, Wilson said that for whatever reason, India did not have a strong home carrier to announce non-stop services to the points that people wanted to fly to and from.

"In the absence of that, people were served by airlines hubbing in different places around India. Now, there are two airlines in India with the capacity and ambition to expand non-stop services, it is only right that they be given time to demonstrate that the intent is matched by action," he emphasised.

India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 2,2025

cars.jpg

Mangaluru, Jan 2: The coastal city of Mangaluru witnessed yet another alarming car fire incident last evening, marking the latest in a series of similar mishaps in recent months. Fortunately, quick action by the driver and passengers prevented any injuries.

On January 1, a moving Volkswagen car caught fire on the road leading to the helipad at Maryhill. The passengers noticed flames emanating from the front of the vehicle. Acting promptly, the driver pulled over, and all four occupants exited safely.

Local residents attempted to douse the flames using water, and personnel from the Kadri fire service soon arrived to manage the situation. Despite their efforts, the car's engine was completely destroyed.

This incident adds to a growing list of car fire cases reported in Mangaluru recently:

December 16, 2024: A Hyundai car caught fire near City Centre Mall. The driver narrowly escaped.

November 15, 2024: A car was gutted within minutes near Kadri police station, though the driver escaped unharmed.

November 10, 2024: A Maruti 800 waiting at a petrol station caught fire and was completely burnt.

September 28, 2024: A parked BMW at Adyar was destroyed in a fire.

September 5, 2024: Another BMW caught fire near NITK.

In all these incidents, timely evacuation ensured that no injuries were reported. However, the frequency of such cases raises serious concerns about vehicle safety and the need for preventive measures.

Authorities and vehicle manufacturers must investigate the underlying causes of these fires to prevent future occurrences. Public awareness about vehicle maintenance and safety measures is also critical to avert such mishaps.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 4,2025

gazadest.jpg

Eight members of the Israeli Knesset (parliament) have called upon the regime’s minister of military affairs Israel Katz to instruct the occupation army to destroy all water, food and energy sources in the Gaza Strip “to achieve the war goals.”

The letter to Katz asserted “the Israeli military’s operations were failing to achieve the political objectives set for the war”, the Israeli Haaretz daily newspaper reported. 

Despite Israel’s complete siege on the Gaza Strip and the reduction in aid being allowed into the coastal territory, the legislators said the current plans to displace north Gaza residents to the south are not being implemented “properly”.

The Knesset members urged Katz to re-examine war strategies, asserting that after besieging northern Gaza and displacing its residents, the Israeli military should destroy all energy, food and water sources in the area.

They also called for the killing of anyone who moved within northern Gaza without surrendering by waving a white flag.

The measures should not be limited to northern Gaza, they said, but extended to other regions.

They made no mention of the Israeli captives being held in Gaza, Haaretz noted.

Backed by the United States and its Western allies, Israel launched the war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against the Israeli regime in response to its decades-long campaign of oppression against Palestinians.

The regime’s bloody onslaught on Gaza has so far killed at least 45,658 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 108,583 others. Thousands more are also missing and presumed dead under rubble.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 9,2025

children.jpg

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported that at least 74 children were killed in Israel’s relentless violence in the Gaza Strip during the first week of 2025, marking a grim start to the New Year for children in the besieged territory.

In a recent report released on Wednesday, UNICEF said that the fatalities occurred within just eight days, emphasizing that the lack of adequate shelter, compounded by winter weather, poses severe risks to the children in Gaza.

“For the children of Gaza, the New Year has brought more death & suffering with at least 74 children reportedly killed,” Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine Russell said, calling for an immediate ceasefire to end the violence.

She expressed deep concern over the number of children who have either been killed or have lost loved ones during the tragic beginning of the year.

Numerous fatalities have occurred during mass casualty events, including nighttime assaults in Gaza City, Khan Yunis, and al-Mawasi, which has been designated a "safe zone." The most recent attack claimed the lives of five children in al-Mawasi on Tuesday, according to UNICEF.

The situation is dire, with reports indicating that eight infants and newborns have died from hypothermia since December 26, highlighting the severe risk facing young children who are unable to regulate their body temperature amid the harsh conditions as Israel weaponizes cold against children in the Gaza strip.

“UNICEF has long warned that inadequate shelter, lack of access to nutrition and healthcare, the dire sanitary situation, and now the winter weather put the lives of all children in Gaza at risk. Newborns and children with medical conditions are especially vulnerable,” Russell emphasized.

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached alarming levels. The number of aid trucks entering the region remains grossly inadequate to meet the basic needs of families, while civil order has largely unraveled, leading to the looting of humanitarian supplies.

According to UN reports, over a million children are currently living in makeshift tents, with almost all of the 2.3 million population displaced several times over the last 15 months.

Moreover, the few operational hospitals are overwhelmed, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure has severely hampered access to essential services, including food, clean water, sanitation, and healthcare.

Kamal Adwan Hospital, previously the only functioning medical facility in northern Gaza with a pediatric unit, has ceased operations following a raid last month, exacerbating the already critical healthcare situation.

A recent report from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics noted a 6% decline in Gaza's population in 2024, indicating that Israeli forces are intentionally targeting specific demographic groups, such as children and youth, resulting in a significant “distortion of the population.”

Since the onset of the genocide, Israel has killed 45,936 Palestinians, including over 17,600 children, as reported by the Health Ministry in Gaza, indicating a tragic loss of one child approximately every hour.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.