IATA recommends doing away with all Covid protocol(s) for fully vaccinated travellers - How feasible is it?

In what could be termed as a bold move by the  International Air Transport Association (IATA), the organization is pushing governments worldwide to ease restrictions on air travel, even as the virus seems to mutate on a seemingly never-ending spree globally.

Airport World

IATA, which represents most of the airlines around the world, believes the virus is here to stay and the only way forward is to evolve and live along with the virus.

The organisation, in its statement, has categorically pushed for:

The removal of all travel barriers (including quarantine and testing) for those fully vaccinated with a WHO-approved vaccineQuarantine-free travel for non-vaccinated travellers with a negative pre-departure antigen test resultTake cognizance of the fact that that travellers pose no greater risk for COVID-19 spread than already exists in the general population

The bigger question, however though, is have we really moved on from the pandemic to the endemic stage?

Are we really approaching the pandemic-endgame?

With the experience of the Omicron variant, there is mounting scientific evidence and opinion opposing the targeting of travellers with restrictions and country bans to control the spread of COVID-19. The measures have not worked. Today Omicron is present in all parts of the world. That’s why travel, with very few exceptions, does not increase the risk to general populations. The billions spent testing travellers would be far more effective if allocated to vaccine distribution or strengthening health care systemssaid IATA Director General Willie Walsh

IATA Director General Willie Walsh | Travel Daily

But what comes next? Obviously, the virus, like any other virus, will mutate and is here to stay. What's changing is our immunity. The new coronavirus first emerged two years ago in Wuhan, China, and we were vulnerable. It was a completely new virus that our immune systems weren't exposed to before and we had no drugs or vaccines to help.

Should a new variant or old variant come along, for most of us, like any other common cold coronavirus, we'll get the sniffles and a bit of a headache and then we're OKProf Hiscox - who sits on the government's New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group

This is not to say the entire population would be immune to the virus as a large section of the population, especially the old and senior citizens, would still be possibly prone to the endemic Covid.

The near certainty is there will be booster vaccines for the vulnerable, coupled with the possibility that Lockdowns and restrictions on mass gatherings might not come back, might pave the way for mass covid testings to end this year- said, Prof Hiscox.

The UK, France and Switzerland have recognized this and are among the first to begin removing travel measures. More governments need to follow their lead. Accelerating the removal of travel restrictions will be a major step towards living with the virusIATA’s Walsh

What the future may hold in store for aviation?

Testing for Covid-19 will soon become history, and the governments should stop interfering with the ‘common sense health regulationssaid a senior official of Dubai Airports

Dubai Airport DXB | Representative | The National

According to Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA), DXB received 24 million international passengers during the first 11 months of 2021, including 3.88 million in November alone, thereby maintaining its status as the world’s busiest international airport, despite the pandemic.

I think we have got to get to live with it we got to be able to travel as part of that normalisation of the approach to the virus in the future. That’s when the people will get their lives back and that’s when they will become mobile againsaid Paul Griffiths, chief executive officer of Dubai Airports

Here's what Roderico H Ofrin, WHO's India representative, had to say:

WHO does not recommend a blanket travel ban, nor a complete restriction of people's movement. In many ways, such blanket approaches can be counterproductive. India, with its diversity in population distribution and geographic spread, the risk-based approach remains the wiser public health practise to counter a pandemicRoderico H Ofrin

Roderico H Ofrin | UHC partnership

If all the do(s) and don't(s) are followed, there is no need for lockdown- stated by Roderico.

So, is a new Covid-era truly imminent?

Do let us know your views in the comments below.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

The Supreme Court on Friday, January 28 stayed for three weeks the order of winding up SpiceJet after the airline claimed that it is looking to settle the dispute over its outstanding dues with Swiss company 'Credit Suisse'.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justices AS Bopanna and Hima Kohli stayed the winding-up order for three weeks to await the measures taken by the airlines' management to resolve the dispute.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for SpiceJet, told the Bench that the airline will attempt to resolve the issues with Credit Suisse in three weeks.

Supreme Court of India

However, senior advocate KV Vishwanathan, representing Credit Suisse, said that the offer put forth by SpiceJet is not worth even mentioning.

To this, the Bench cautioned SpiceJet and said if it does not want to pay its dues to Credit Suisse and others, then it will be declared insolvent.

"You want to run the airlines or close it? Why don't you produce your financial status? This is not the way you can run your airlines. What is your contribution? It's a serious matter, if they (SpiceJet) don't want to run airlines we will declare insolvent and go for liquidation," said CJI to Salve.

SpiceJet Limited has approached the apex court against the Madras High Court order of winding up the company.

As per Switzerland-based company Credit Suisse AG, SpiceJet had failed to honour its commitment to pay the bills for over INR 180 crore or USD 24 million raised by the Swiss company towards maintenance, repairing, and overhauling of the aircraft engines and components.

Recently, the division bench of the Madras High Court had upheld the December 6, 2021, verdict of a single judge ordering the winding up of SpiceJet Limited and directing the official liquidator attached to the High Court to take over the assets of the company.

The single judge had suspended the operation of his order for a limited period with a direction to the company to remit 5 million dollars, as a condition precedent to avail the interim relief.

The division bench, by its order on January 11, however, extended the operation of the interim stay granted by the single judge, till January 28 to enable the airliner to prefer an appeal before the Supreme Court. SpiceJet had moved the division bench against single judge order.

The winding-up petition before High Court's single judge was moved by a Credit Suisse AG claiming that SpiceJet was indebted to it for more than 24 million dollars and alleged that private carrier is unable to pay the debts owed to the firm.

SR Technics

According to Credit Suisse AG, a stock corporation registered under the laws of Switzerland, SpiceJet had availed services of SR Technics, Switzerland, for maintenance, repair, and overhauling of aircraft engines, modules, components, assemblies, and parts which are mandatory for its operations.

On November 24, 2011, a ten-year contract was signed between SR Technica and SpiceJet.

Meanwhile, SR Technics entered into a financing agreement with Credit Suisse AG on September 26, 2012, and assigned all its present and future rights to receive payments to Credit Swiss.

Credit Suisse AG

Credit Swiss said it made repeated requests to SpiceJet to make payments under the various invoices and since SpiceJet did not honour its commitment, the Swiss company issued a statutory notice under the Companies Act.

As the notice did not evoke any response, Credit Swiss said it moved the plea for liquidation and winding up of SpiceJet.

The company had prayed before the single judge for winding up of SpiceJet under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 and appoint the Official Liquidator of the High Court as the Liquidator of SpiceJet with all powers under Section 448 of the Companies Act to take charge of its assets, properties, stock in trade and books of accounts.

Being the hub of business and finance, Ahmedabad is a key destination for non-scheduled and private flights. The commencement of domestic and International flight operations from the GA terminal is a significant step for SVPI airport in the endeavour to cater to the needs of the growing bespoke travel schedules.

The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport managed by the Adani Group is now equipped with a general aviation terminal to welcome passengers from private flights and non-scheduled operators (NSOP).

Private Lounge

The 12000 sq ft GA terminal at Ahmedabad Airport is aesthetically designed with the terminal building of 4500 sq ft area which has a dedicated entrance to the GA terminal that is secured for controllable access and has an operation Control Center manned 24 hours of the day.

The new facility will enable faster turnaround time for business jets and chartered aircraft, saving passengers the trouble of competing for taxing slots with commercial flights in general passenger terminals.

This new terminal at Ahmedabad Airport is a modern space with an enjoyable range of facilities like a spacious passenger lounge, Duty-Free, 24x7 personal concierge services common processing area with Customs and Immigration and immediate access to private jet aircraft stands from the Terminal.

Besides, it also has an access control system, Wi-Fi enabled services, IT system integrated with overall Ahmedabad Airport's platform, perimeter security control system, to provide a safe and secure experience to all passengers.

The welcome experience includes the latest COVID-19 protocol-equipped measures such as thermal scanners for temperature checking. The terminal offers the service of a COVID-19 test sampling Lab suitable for 10 samples at a time and a waiting area equipped with washrooms.

The ‘Dedicated Meet and Greet services’, trained team to cater to VVIP guests round the clock. Passengers on business can avail themselves of office and conferencing facilities for added convenience. For passengers, an exquisite Art Gallery showcasing exclusive artworks of Indian artists and sale from GALLERIE NVYA ARTWALK is a must-visit for art connoisseurs.

Following Air India's take over by Tata group, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia on January 28 said that it is a win-win situation for all stakeholders concerned for the government, Air India had to be sold because the debt had been piling up to a point where it could no longer be sustained by the government.

The sale of Air India to Tata group was an "extremely difficult and challenging transaction", he said. "This has been a landmark transaction under which all the debt has been taken care of and is a truly win-win transaction where everyone is a winner. It was an extremely difficult and challenging transaction from an accountancy point of view," Mr Scindia said.

He Mentioned that a 69-year-old mistake that started through the wrong step of nationalization of an airline that belonged to the private sector has been corrected. On completion of the Air India disinvestment process, Scindia said that the credit of the entire process of disinvestment goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "It was only possible because of his dedication, resolution, and willpower of PM Modi.

"Several legal processes also cropped up and all those had to be met under a certain deadline, so that was a big challenge, but we managed to do it all. I thank all the officials on both sides who worked so hard in the process and ensuring that this transaction is closed successfully. The credit goes to them.Tata Group, which pretty much gave birth to Air India, will do its utmost to ensure that Air India regains its rightful place, to use an analogy, in the skies - not only domestic but also in the international skies. Together with their HR capabilities, strategic game plan, financial muscle and marketing capabilities, (they) will make a success of this initiative, which JRD Tata himself pioneered."Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation

Replying to a question on where does the government see Air India in a few years in terms of revenue generation, passenger traffic, he replied that it completely depends upon the private sector.

On August 31, 2021, Air India had a total debt of INR 61,562 crores. Of this, INR 46,262 crores are being transferred to a special purpose vehicle or SPV. The balance debt has been cleared by Tata.

Tata's winning bid for Air India was INR 18,000 crores, higher by INR 2,900 crore from the bid made by a consortium led by SpiceJet chief Ajay Singh. Tata has paid INR 2,700 crores in cash and taken over a debt of INR 15,300 crores.

Currently, Air India is the largest among Indian carriers in the international skies. However, foreign airlines have a larger market share and carried more passengers than Air India till regular international flights were allowed before Covid-19.

With an opportunistic mindset, ModAir Aviation IFSC Pvt. Ltd (Modair), at a time of surging demand for airborne shipping, is rapidly adding aircraft to its fleet to expand its air cargo business. Moving ahead at a great pace Modair also launched India’s first tech-enabled air logistics company ‘Modair Express’. 

Catering to customers’ needs throughout India, Modair Express will be enhancing the cargo experience by offering large varieties of products and best solutions mainly for cargo operation between Tier 1 to Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities.

Aiming to offer daily scheduled services linking many Indian cities to the main Indian cities, Modair Express with its special small freighter aircraft will offer flexibility in loading cargo, medicines, time-sensitive and any other type of cargo that requires special handling or care.

Modair Express planned to add aircraft quickly to grow its share of the Indian air cargo market. No mention was made of the types of aircraft in the fleet, except that ModAir operates an "extensive fleet of helicopters and private jets". The company website pictured various Cessna (twin piston) and Tecnam P2006T aircraft.

“With plans to emerge as an air cargo behemoth within the country, we aim to connect all the remote locations with Modair Express. The country’s air cargo business is poised to take off in a big way with the fast-emerging need of transporting imported goods and medical equipment from one region to another as quickly as possible. In particular, the growth of ‘value buying’ segment is quite encouraging for the air cargo segment. However, the segment faces a huge shortage of dependable services providers."Atul Jain, Chairman, Modair

Modair aims to take advantage of the rapidly growing demand for express delivery of imported products and medical equipment and to provide connectivity at export hubs and sub-hubs. It proposed to revolutionize the way air cargo business was being done in India and aimed at expanding globally in time.

About Modair

MODAIR, part of the Modish Tradex Pvt. Ltd. has been in the business for over 30 years. They are providing a wide range of luxury services to suit every need from unparalleled chopper rides, helicopter rides, private jet bookings, air ambulance services in India.

According to the Delhi Registrar of Companies, Modair Express Private Limited was incorporated on December 14, 2021, with an authorised share capital of INR 5,00,00,000 (USD 664,732) and a paid-up capital of INR 1,00,000 (USD 1,329). Its directors are listed as Neeraj Jain, Anand Kumar Jain, and Atul Jain.

They are operational across India, we also provide helicopter services for religious pilgrimages they have the service of ChardhamYatra in the helicopter, service for Vaishnodevi in a helicopter, all at a budget-friendly cost. People can also conduct online bookings for Vaishnodevi helicopters, and ChardhamYatra by helicopter through our Portal.

Ever since the Covid pandemic lockdown was initiated, travel and travel planning have taken a toss. With the emergence of new viral variants now and then, uncertainties loom profoundly now more than ever.

The Economic Times

It's a beautiful sunny day and let's say Mr. Kim is surfing the internet to book a flight to fly from point A to point B. Much to his surprise, Mr Kim finds out that the fares which were earlier priced at 130,000, had dropped to, let's say-30,000 now- a massive decrease of about 75-77%.

Super elated by the drop in prices, Mr Kim goes on to purchase another 5 round-trips starting later on, to Point C. He paid 95$ a piece for flights which would otherwise have cost him upwards of 160$. Additionally, he also booked a safari vacation for about $700 round trip to Point D-probably about half of what he might have paid for the trip to the same destination years back.

Wondering what's going on?! As it turns out, Mr Kim is engaging in, what can be termed as "flight arbitrage".

Airfare arbitrage

In economics and finance, arbitrage is the practice of taking advantage of a difference in prices in two or more markets, the profit being the difference between the market prices at which the unit is traded.

Over the last 20 years, customers have been made to bear a huge risk of airlines-which is why refundable tickets were thrice as expensive as non-refundable tickets. However, with a barrage of Inexpensive airfare deals now available online, coupled with newly relaxed airline change and cancellation policies, travellers are now optimistic that things will have improved enough to travel, and if they won't, they can roll their money forward into an even later trip.

Differential pricing of seats | Representative | ABC News- Walt Disney

There’s an arbitrage opportunity that has never really existed in modern air travel. Not only are fares super low, but to be able to cancel if you decide not to take the trip is rare. And there are absolutely people taking advantage of it — not in a pejorative sense, but literally by booking flights for when hopefully, fingers crossed, things are safer.Scott Keyes, founder of Scott's Cheap Flights-an online alert service with more than two million members

TripSavvy

Sometimes, it is possible to call an agent in another country and pay for your ticket in a foreign currency. Although the savings could be substantial, perhaps £500 to £1,000 in premium economy or business class, they far outweigh any credit card’s foreign exchange fees- much like arbitrage in finance.

The comparison of real prices today versus reference prices that consumers have in their memories — ones they may even be unaware that they hold — is leading to this kind of purchase behaviorPriya Raghubir - a New York University Stern School of Business professor who studies consumer psychology and spending

Basically, it all boils down to taking advantage of favourable exchange rates and getting cheaper fares than you would with traditional search engines. That begs the question- where would you save the most?

It’s not so much which destinations will save you the most money, but which airlines. For instance, Norwegian Air is almost always significantly cheaper if you pay in Norwegian kroner. The key is to pay in the national currency of wherever that airline is based. For example, a round-trip ticket from New York to Barcelona on Norwegian Air from March 23-30 is $891 if you pay in dollars, and $809 if you pay in kroner.

That said, flying to the airline's country of origin will produce even bigger savings.

Do you really need to fly to those countries to earn the savings?

Here's the kicker- Although it works for some countries, nations with a currency pegged to the dollar probably won’t save you anything. Additionally, most countries that operate on the euro won't either.

Nevertheless, that really shouldn't deter one from at least trying to grab a deal on their next vacation flight.

Point of sale Vs Point of origin

When an airline offers a seat under traditional revenue management, the optimisation system decides which price to charge based on how likely a seat is to sell at each fare. Oftentimes, a choice between point-of-sale and point-of-origin logic can lead to a dilemma in product pricing.

Advantages of Point of Sale

Passengers who are not as tech-savvy, might not grab their phones and make a call to make an overseas booking, although they could save a lot of money this way. Airlines in this case make more money from the high-demand market.Offering seats cheaply in markets where demand is low might help the airline pick up one or two sales that would otherwise go to competitors.

Advantages of Point of origin

Everyone pays the same price – no “arbitrage” opportunities.Easy to manage – one flight is one price, whether outbound, return or connecting.

That said, when it comes to dynamic pricing of travel packages,  IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC), speaks about offering a specific price to a specific customer.

IATA'S new NDC | Thomalex

Selling cheaper tickets for future travel is a good way for airlines to generate sales activity and also start restoring consumer confidence for future travel, which gets shaken badly in events like thisKhalid Usman, senior vice president at Oliver Wyman- a management consulting firm.

According to IATA, having customers on the books, even if they eventually cancel, is a strategic move- especially when airlines are poised to burn through a major of their cash reserves during these uncertain times.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: The Times of India