Not good news: FAA downgrades DGCA ratings

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has downgraded India's aviation safety ranking from Category 1 to Category 2. This means a lot of things, including 
  • Indian carriers cannot increase flights to the US
  • Indian carriers are likely to undergo additional checks for existing flights to the US.
The Indian carriers we're talking about here, as of now, are Jet Airways and Air India. 


Both of these limitations are significant. Air India is looking to join Star Alliance soon, and while that may only help Star Alliance increase its India footprint, there is likely to be collateral effect of the FAA's downgrade of the DGCA, on the timing of AI's joining Star Alliance. As to additional checks - these can be undertaken at any time that an Indian carrier's aircraft is in the US. This could have huge effects on airline schedules, making their flight timings unreliable.

The Indian authorities tried both carrots and sticks over the last few months to avoid the downgrade, but clearly, those tactics haven't paid off (and, if you ask me, haven't been appreciated).

I'd like to see how the DGCA and the Indian government respond to this situation now, especially given the upcoming elections.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Free Marriott Silver status...

Image
I think in today's times, it helps to be an Accenture employee. I'm only talking from a miles and points perspective, of course!!! A few days back, I had written about complimentary Hilton HHonors Silver status (with upgrade to Gold in 4 stays) , which was intended for Accenture employees - not that employment was ever verified by Hilton. Now (and I'm not sure if it is just a case of following suit in the spirit of competition), Marriott is also offering complimentary Silver status for Accenture employees. Normally, Silver requires 10 qualifying stays. Here's the link to the sign up page . So, what does Silver with Marriott get you? You can see the benefits for Silver here , and the entire set of benefits for the Marriott Rewards program here , but to summarize the key ones: 20% bonus points free internet access at participating properties in Asia-Pacific late checkout (YMMV) weekend discount of 10% at specific brands / properties access to elite-only rewards some level
Read more

50% off at Marriott in Thailand, for one night

Image
Marriott is offering a 50% off for a single night, till 31 July 2014, in exchange for registering for / subscribing to their eNewsletter. I'm not sure what the connection is, but I think the fact that it is for a single night's stay may well be suggestive of promoting Thai tourism, if you know my meaning... But well...its there to be had. I know this isn't exactly an India-focussed deal, but I'm looking at another trip to BKK soon, and I think there could be others who might benefit from this. The 50% off is on the highest available rate. Bookings cannot be done online. Instead, it will have to be done by emailing bookmarriott@marriotthotels.com or by calling the hotel and quoting your cluster code (which is D58) and the voucher number (see steps below for getting the voucher). Do remember to carry a print of the voucher and present it upon check in. Participating hotels are: BANGKOK Renaissance Bangkok Ratchaprasong Hotel Bangkok Marriott Hotel Sukhumvit Marriott Exe
Read more

Qatar, Etihad and Gulf Air fare sales - ending soon

Image
Three of the Middle-East based airlines are currently running fare sales. While Qatar's and Etihad's sales end on 5 and 6 September 2016 respectively (yeah, in a couple of days), Gulf Air's sale has only just begun. Here is more info on these sales, from an ex-India perspective. Qatar's Travel Festival Qatar's running a Travel Festival sale , offering up to 50% discounts on various routes, in business and economy classes. What's more, sales during this period will also earn 3x Qmiles, on Qatar's Privilege Club frequent flyer program. Book by 5 September, travel between 15 September 2016 and 30 June 2017. The sale offers discounts for one-person travel, and special fares when you travel in groups of 2 or 3 persons. Children under 12 travel for free when accompanied by an adult, but this additional offer is only for economy class travel. There are blackout dates between 15 December 2016 and 10 January 2017. Additional blackout dates apply in some countries. He
Read more