Go First offers a 20% discount to fully vaccinated passengers

Indian airline Go First, founded as GoAir, on Tuesday, December 21 announced a 20% discount for fully-vaccinated passengers. People travelling on GoAir domestic flights will now be able to avail the discount offer by using the GOVACCI scheme.

According to the airlines, the offer is only applicable for passengers located in India and who are double vaccinated at the time of booking of domestic flight tickets. The passengers must carry their COVID-19 vaccination certificate issued by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, or show their vaccination status on the Aarogya Setu mobile app at the airport check-in counter. 

The airline is calling the new scheme ‘GOVACCI’. It is available to passengers located in India and who are double vaccinated at the time of booking domestic flight tickets. Flights must be at least two weeks ahead in time from the date of booking.

The offer is valid only on the Go First website or mobile app, the company added. The double-vaccination discount is applicable for travel dates till 15 days from the date of booking. 

Potential passengers will have to enter the promo code GOVACCI in the promo code section on the search page.  The announcement comes as India’s Omicron tally crosses 200, with Maharashtra and Delhi recording 54 each. 

Keeping in view the rising infections, the government has made it compulsory for international passengers arriving at the country from "at-risk" nations to pre-book an RT-PCR test amid a surge in COVID-19 new variant 'Omicron.'

Before the pandemic hit, GoAir operated over 330 daily flights to 36 destinations, including nine international. Go First has an all-Airbus fleet, currently consisting of 59 aircraft. Seven of these are A320-200s, and 52 are A320neos. Furthermore, the airline has outstanding orders for as many as 92 of the latter.

Air India shelled out an "avoidable" penalty of INR 43.85 crore to Boeing for non-adherence with the contractually stipulated timelines under the agreement for an aircraft component service programme, according to CAG.

The penalty amount was paid in August 2020 for the July 2016 to December 2019 period. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has mentioned the penalty in a report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, December 21 wherein it said that "avoidable payment of penalty due to delay in the return of removed components" was made by Air India.

In December 2015, the airline had entered into an agreement with Boeing for the Rotatable Exchange Programme related to servicing 787 aircraft components and the pact came into effect in July 2016.

As per the agreement, Air India was required to return the removed component along with the component information to Boeing within 10 calendar days after Boeing delivered the serviceable exchange component and in case of failure to do so, then delayed return fee is payable to the aircraft maker.

The national carrier defaulted on the concessional late return fees/ penalty for the period from July 2016 to December 2019, following which Boeing served a letter, in July 2020, intimating suspension of the programme if payment was not received by July 31, 2020.

Subsequently, Boeing served six months' notice of termination and withdrew the discounts offered earlier. During July 2016 to December 2019 period, CAG said there were several instances of delayed return of removed components by Air India over and above the stipulated time limit of 10 days.

(Image Courtesy - Ganesh Panner)

Citing audit analysis, CAG said that during the initial period (July 2016 to December 2017), there were 170 instances of delayed return and in 88 instances, the delay was more than 30 days with a maximum of 214 days. "… due to non-adherence to the timeline for return of removed parts as stipulated in the Agreement, Air India Limited paid the penalty of USD 5.87 million (INR 43.85 crore) to M/s Boeing," the report said.

The apex auditor's findings are part of the report 'Union Government (Commercial) (Compliance Audit Observations) for the year ended 31 March 2020'.

According to CAG, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) saw a revenue loss of INR 15.66 crore due to inadequate assessment and delay in the arrangement of the required electricity load at Goa airport. The top auditor also mentioned an avoidable extra expenditure of INR 6.88 crore after the unilateral increase of royalty by AAI in violation of the terms of an agreement.

Further, it flagged that non-pursuance for reimbursement of electricity charges by AAI in connection with Rajahmundry airport led to INR 6.36 crore pending with Andhra Pradesh. This is despite there being a provision for such reimbursement in the MoU signed between AAI and the state government to facilitate minimisation of losses to AAI in the initial five years of operationalisation of the Rajahmundry airport.

In September, AAI entered into a concession agreement with Travel Food Services Pvt Ltd for food and beverage outlets at Goa airport. Initially, Goa airport had sanctioned an electricity load of 4,000 KW and the unutilised load of about 1,000 KW was surrendered in June 2015.

In November 2018, AAI applied for an additional sanctioned load of 1,500 KW and the same was sanctioned by Goa Electricity Department in January 2019. This was subject to the condition that the cost of INR 5.67 crore for enhancement of contract demand would be borne by AAI, as per the report.

"However, till date, electrical work has not been completed and AAI is supplying electricity to TFS from the available load at Goa Airport through DG sets. Due to the non-availability of full load, TFS claimed a further rebate of INR 17.30 crore against the demand raised by AAI in November 2019.

"Hence, inadequate assessment and delay in the arrangement of required electricity load at Goa Airport resulted in the loss of revenue of INR 15.66 crore," the CAG report said.

The winning consortium of Jet Airways on Friday, December 17 said it wants to infuse funds in the airline and has approached the NCLT to fast-track implementation of the resolution plan approved by the insolvency court in June this year.

The consortium, in a statement, also said it plans to restart domestic operations at the earliest in 2022 as a full-service carrier.

The Murari Lal Jalan and Florian Fritsch consortium, which emerged as the winning bidder for Jet Airways after the completion of the resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, said it wants to commence payments to all stakeholders including ex-employees, workmen, ticket claimants and lenders of Jet Airways as per the approved plan.

The consortium is ready with the required capital and has applied to the NCLT for the necessary approvals to start capital infusion in Jet Airways for further implementation of the plan approved by the tribunal in June 2021, it said.

In its latest filing before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the consortium has intimated December 22, 2021, as its plan "effective date" and sought to implement the plan as approved earlier, it said.

It added that the process of revalidation of its existing Air Operator Certificate (AOC) has been fast-tracked, saying that it was initiated in August itself, within days of receiving the NCLT approval.

Besides, the consortium said it is working closely with the relevant authorities and airport coordinators on slot allocation, required airport infrastructure, and night parking and is confident to get the initial slots required to commence operations in the Summer Schedule of 2022.

"We are excited to embark on the next phase of the revival of India’s most loved Airline. We at JKC await the Hon’ble NCLT’s decision on our last filing and look forward to recommencing operations of Jet Airways at the earliest.The Consortium is ready with its investments and given the progress the team has made operationally since NCLT Approval in June 2021, we feel it is time to fund the company immediately for the revival of the business, without delay.We are aiming to start Domestic Operations at the earliest in 2022 as a full-service carrier and look forward to creating history with Jet Airways revival."Murari Lal Jalan, Proposed Promoter and Non-Executive Chairman, Jet Airways

Consortium partner Fritsch said, "I am totally aligned with Jalan and his vision for Jet Airways...the decision to invest in Jet Airways has been well thought off by me and Jalan and we both feel that now is the time that next steps of plan implementation be complied with as per orders of the NCLT."

Stating that the consortium teams are working tirelessly to ensure its revival, he said, "Jet Airways will commence its operations in 2022 with 6 narrow-body aircraft and reach over 100 aircraft fleet as a 5-year plan."

For its larger restructuring program, the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium is in conversation with both Boeing and Airbus for an order of at least 100 narrowbodies, which is said to have a budget of around USD 12 billion.

The consortium is confident of receiving the AOC in the coming months and will start operations soon thereafter, it said, adding, "We are in regular touch with the DGCA and the Ministry of Civil Aviation to have Jet's AOC revalidated and we thank the authorities for their continued support."

Jet Airways has an existing AOC valid until 2023, which was only suspended in 2019 due to the financial health of the company then.

The current process taken up is towards removing the said suspension and therefore the time required for getting the AOC revalidated will be substantially lesser in comparison to obtaining fresh AOC by a new company, it said.

It also said the company has received more than 35,000 applications across job categories and the team is shortlisting candidates as per its business requirements.

Jet Airways 2.0's new corporate office is in Gurugram and the consortium is looking for a bigger office in Delhi-NCR to house the entire team in one office.

It also said most of the senior management positions as per its approved organisation structure have been filled and the consortium will introduce the entire senior management team to all stakeholders soon.

From the Vault

The Boeing B2707 was touted to be the future of supersonic travel way back in 1958, but as fate would have it, the million-dollar ambitious project by Boeing, had to be scrapped owing to several obvious reasons- economics majorly and bad marketing.

Airline Ratings

So, what was the Boeing Supersonic Project all about?

On New Year's Eve 1966, after more than 14 years of study, design work and competition, the U.S. federal government selected Boeing to build the prototype for the country's first supersonic transport (SST).

At the time, Pan American World Airways had already ordered six Anglo / French Concordes and the Boeing B2707 was intended to be much larger and faster than its Anglo/French rival.

Tech and specs

Length318 feetCruising speed Mach 2.7AltitudeMore than 60,000 feetPower4 × General Electric GE4/J5P turbojets, 63,200 lbf (281 kN) thrust eachRange4,000 mi (6,400 km, 3,500 nmi)Wikipedia

A "swing-wing" configuration was incorporated during the initial stage of development before finally graduating to "Delta wing".

It was around this time that announcements for the Concorde were made and hence the Americans, in a bid to catch up with its European rival, hastened the production of B707, despite knowing well it wouldn't keep up with the performance standards within that brief period. Additionally, the Soviets were also working on a similar design around this very same time.

Magazine

Furthermore, the IATA released a set of "design imperatives" for an SST that was essentially impossible to meet.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) invited tenders from the US industry to build an aircraft superior to the Concorde. Giant airframe manufacturers like Lockheed, Douglas and North American and Boeing would go on to build two prototypes over the next four years for $1.44 billion in 1967 dollars which are equivalent to $35 billion today.

Why did such an ambitious project bite the dust?

Reddit

For an aircraft with speeds exceeding MACH 2, the only materials feasible for the construction of the airframe was stainless steel or titanium, working with which was considered to be daunting at the time.

Supersonic aircraft, when they cross the sound barrier, produce the iconic sonic boom, which would only add to the overall undesirable noise produced by the aircraft.

During production, the "swing-wing " configuration was found to be flawed which practically meant the B2707 could carry 0 payloads, although it did change to "delta wing" later.

Last, but not least, the "cost" factor hit the final blow on the project as the surmounting costs due to fuel and concerns from environmental activists regarding the operating noise levels of the aircraft sounded the death knell of this iconic project by the company.

COVER: Magazine

Around 1.05 crore domestic passengers travelled by air in November, 17.03% higher than the 89.85 lakh who travelled in October, the country's aviation regulator said on Friday, December 17.

While IndiGo carried 57.06 lakh passengers in November, a 54.3% share of the domestic market, SpiceJet flew 10.78 lakh passengers, accounting for a 10.3% share of the market, according to the data shared by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Air India, Go First (previously known as GoAir), Vistara, AirAsia India and Alliance Air carried 9.98 lakh, 11.56 lakh, 7.93 lakh, 6.23 lakh and 1.20 lakh passengers, respectively, in November, the data showed.

The occupancy rate for SpiceJet was 86.7% in November, the DGCA noted. The occupancy rates for IndiGo, Vistara, Go First, Air India and AirAsia India were 80.5%, 77%, 78.2%, 82% and 74.6%, respectively, in November, it added.

The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries because of the pandemic. India resumed domestic passenger flights on May 25, 2020 after a gap of two months due to coronavirus.

The DGCA data mentioned that in November 2021, Vistara had the best on-time performance of 84.4% at four metro airports -- Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. AirAsia India and IndiGo were at the second and third positions at these four airports in November with 82.4% and 80.5% on-time performance respectively, the DGCA said.

During the last two years, all airlines in India have opted for cost-reducing measures such as pay cuts, leave without pay and layoffs to tide over the coronavirus-induced crisis.

Domestic passenger numbers, which had reached its highest post-COVID in February, started to decline after the second wave hit India starting March. The return of passengers started in June and further started growing in September on the back of festive months of Durga Puja and Diwali.

Industry watchers expect passenger numbers to continue its upward trajectory as people have plans for year-end holidays. Travel analysts, however, are worried about the impact of Omicron – a new variant of the Corona Virus – on the number of cases in the country. Airlines say business travel has also improved leading to increase in passenger number on key routes like Delhi- Mumbai.

The call sign on Indian planes "VT" is not an acronym for "Viceroy Territory", Minister of State for Civil Aviation Vijay Kumar Singh told the Rajya Sabha on December 20.

Member of Parliament Harnath Singh Yadav sought a reply on whether the Government has taken cognizance of the fact that during the British Rule, aircraft in India had been assigned the 'VT' code by the International Air Transport Association. Then, it meant "Viceroy Territory".

In a written reply, Vijay Kumar Singh said the call sign 'VT' was assigned to India during the International Radiotelegraph Convention of Washington, 1927 signed in Washington on November 25.

It does not mean "Viceroy Territory" and call signs that are closer to India or Bharat such as I, IN, B, BH, BM, or HT are already assigned to other countries, he replied.

However, if the call sign is changed, all documents will have to be reissued; aircraft will have to be repainted and will not be able to fly till all markings are changed. All aircraft will remain grounded during the process which will have a huge financial implication on the airlines and the civil aviation sector, he added.

Asked whether the government has taken any action to acquire any code that displays nationalism to replace 'VT', the "symbol of slavery", Vijay Singh replied that International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has allotted three series of call signs to India - ATA-AWZ, VTA-VWZ, and 8TA-8YZ.

"Call sign could be the first one or two letters of the series. As per the provisions of Annex 7 of the Chicago Convention, our country had the options to choose its call sign from above three series for aircraft registered in India," the minister informed.

This is not the first time when the issue of Indian call sign has been raised in the parliament. Earlier BJP leader Tarun Vijay had raised the issue of changing the VT registration code of the Indian airplanes in the Rajya Sabha in 2016, stating that VT stands for "Viceroy Territory" and it is a reflection of the colonial rule.

The call sign VT was assigned to India during the International Radiotelegraph Convention of Washington, 1927 signed at Washington on 25th November 1927.