Earlier this week, senior executives of Go First discussed the revival plans with senior officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Apart from the uncertainty staring at more than 7,000 Go First staff, a significant fallout is the spike in air ticket prices on certain routes that used to be serviced by the airline, which was operating around 170-180 flights daily.

The crisis at Go First, having its roots in non-availability of Pratt & Whitney engines resulting in grounding of more than half of its operational A320 neo fleet, reached a flash point as the promoters of the carrier decided to suspend flights and sought voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings on May 2. The airline has not flown since May 3 and its petition for the insolvency proceedings was admitted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on May 10.

Also, many lessors who have leased planes to the no-frills carrier have challenged the insolvency proceedings as they seek to exercise their rights to take back the aircraft despite the moratorium on the carrier’s financial obligations and transfer of assets.

Travel portal Cleartrip’s Vice President – Air Category – Gaurav Patwari said the significant capacity reduction due to Go First being non-operational has contributed to the spike in airfares.

“There is a sharp spike in fares especially for travel within D15 which can be attributed to the ongoing Go First issue. The fares within D15 travel have increased by 22 per cent and at the aggregate level up by more than 20 per cent over April for domestic travel,” he said. Generally, D15 refers to booking 15 days before travel.

“The spot fares in May have risen significantly versus April primarily due to peak season demand and a reduction in capacity due to the grounding of Go First, thereby creating an imbalance in demand and supply. The fares in D0 to 1 window are up by 40 per cent. We expect the current scenario to continue till mid of June,” he said.

Amid a spike in airfares on certain routes, the civil aviation ministry is doing an analysis of the routes that have been affected by the suspension of flights by Go First. On Thursday, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said there is an unusual situation due to the Go First crisis and an excess demand on routes that the airline had been operating.

In a reflection of the imbalance between demand and supply, airfares on certain domestic routes are much higher than flights to destinations like Maldives and Dubai.

“Fares for Leh and Dehradun are currently 30 per cent higher compared to the fares for destinations like Maldives and Dubai. Average fares for Maldives and Dubai are Rs 11,000 whereas for Leh/Dehradun have gone up to Rs 14,200,” Patwari said.

Meanwhile, with many pilots at the now grounded Go First looking for other opportunities, the airline, in May, offered its captains Rs 1 lakh per month as “retention allowance”, in addition to their salary. First officers will get a retention allowance of Rs 50,000.

On May 30, Go First announced extending the cancellation of flights till June 4 due to operational reasons. Initially, the flights were suspended for three days till May 5 and subsequently, the suspension has been extended multiple times.

According to Patwari, the domestic demand has been robust this summer with daily flown passenger consistently hitting above 4.20 lakh. Consumer sentiment is strong and leisure & VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) travel are at an all-time high. Go First had been flying for more than 17 years.

Source: PTI

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As for the current announcement, the airline will embark on “massive” international expansion plans and the carrier will connect Nairobi in Kenya and Jakarta in Indonesia, with direct flights from Mumbai in late July or early August. The expansion also comes at a time when there is a rising demand for international travel from, to and via India, as well as the government’s efforts to develop an international aviation hub in the country.

Later, IndiGo will also add flights from Delhi to Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzebkistan, Kazakhstan and restart flight to Hong Kong. “Delhi will get connected in August to Tbilisi, Georgia & Baku, Azerbaijan and in September to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Almaty, Kazakhstan,” IndiGo said in a release on Friday.

IndiGo said it will also be resuming daily services from Delhi to Hong Kong in August. This flight was suspended three years ago during the coronavirus pandemic. While noting that it is taking a “massive step in its international expansion strategy,” IndiGo said it will be adding an “impressive 174 new weekly international flights between June and September 2023, including new destinations, routes, and frequencies”.

“The addition of these exciting new destinations, new direct flight routes, enhanced flight frequencies, and strategic codeshare partnerships, will help us expand our footprint across four continents with Africa and Central Asia being penetrated for the first time. With this expansion in our network, we will now be directly touching 32 international destinations (up from 26), next to our 78 domestic destinations,” IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers said.

Meanwhile, IndiGo is strengthening its connectivity to Europe through the codeshare connections with Turkish Airlines. Currently, it offers connectivity to 33 destinations in Europe via Istanbul. “As part of the codeshare partnership with Turkish Airlines, IndiGo will soon be offering connectivity to North America, closing final regulatory approvals,” the release said.

IndiGo, the country’s largest airline with a domestic market share of more than 57 per cent, has a fleet of over 300 planes and operates more than 1,800 daily flights, reported PTI.

Source: Bureau

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“… I have put together a group in the last couple of days and we are doing an analysis of a lot of those routes… That have been affected by this unusual event (Go First crisis). One is Srinagar, Pune, slightly Ahmedabad, we are doing a full analysis on that… We will speak to airlines to make sure fares are within a certain level… It is an issue created by an unforeseen demand-supply imbalance,” he said in response to a query related to high airfares on certain routes.

He also said that civil aviation is a deregulated sector. On lessors seeking to take back planes leased to Go First and legal proceedings in this regard, Scindia said, “We are doing the work from the regulatory side in terms of putting together the international framework to make sure that lessors are also well protected”.

While speaking about the growth potential of the country’s civil aviation sector, the minister also said that during the festive season, daily domestic air passenger traffic could touch 5 lakh. On whether he is in the race for the chief minister post in Madhya Pradesh, which will be going for polls later this year, Scindia said his race is not for a chair, post or position.

“I am ambitious for my people, development, progress… My pursuit is not politics,” he emphasised.

Source: PTI

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