With the year drawing to a close, we take a look back at all the major aviation news stories from India in 2023. From record-breaking orders and an airline ceasing operations to passengers crossing the lines of public decency on flights, here’s a roundup of the last 12 months.
Air India’s mega order
After months of speculation, Air India finally announced what was being discussed in hushed voices within aviation circles. In February, it placed what was, at the time, the biggest aircraft order in history. The carrier ordered a total of 470 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus worth $68 billion at market prices.
Photo: Boeing
Its Airbus deal comprised 70 A321neos and 140 A320neos (it swapped these figures recently), six A350-900s, and 34 A350-1000s (later tweaked to 20 for each type). With Boeing, it ordered 190 737 MAXs and 20 Boeing 787s and also became a 777X customer, ordering 10 of the type. For an airline that not too long ago couldn’t even afford to repair its grounded planes, this was quite a turnaround.
A year of records for IndiGo
IndiGo’s reign as a confident overachiever continued in 2023. The airline smashed many records this year and remained perched miles above the rest. Not used to being outdone by its competitors, IndiGo surpassed Air India’s record aircraft deal just months later, in June, at the Paris Air Show, when it placed an eye-watering order for 500 Airbus A320 family of aircraft. Combined with its previous deals, IndiGo currently sits on orders for more than 1,000 aircraft.
Photo: Lalam photography | Shutterstock
As if its grasp on the Indian market wasn’t big enough, in May, IndiGo breached the 60% mark for market share for the first time in history. This was followed by the airline becoming the first in the country to surpass 2,000 scheduled flights in a day in November and, a month later, becoming the first Indian carrier to fly 100 million passengers in a calendar year. Not a bad year at all!
Go First suspends operations
In a somber reminder that India can also be an unforgiving territory for airlines, Go First, unfortunately, became the latest carrier to suspend operations. While its finances had dwindled in recent times, and it certainly wasn’t considered a pillar of monetary success, its sudden demise took many by surprise.
Photo: Skycolors | Shutterstock
While the airline wishes to restart operations, the lack of interest from potential investors, a mass exodus of employees (including the CEO), and numerous court cases involving aircraft and engine lessors have severely dented any hopes of revival. SpiceJet has recently shown interest in the airline, but it’s too soon to tell how that will play out.
Air India’s pee-gate incident
As unfortunate as it is that the news of a man urinating on his fellow passenger makes it to the same list that includes mega aircraft orders, that is the reality of the times we’re living in. Just when we thought the level of indecent passenger behavior couldn’t dip further, the Air India pee-gate incident revealed that there were greater depths to be explored.
Photo: sockagphoto | Shutterstock
A drunk business class passenger on an Air India flight from New York to Delhi reportedly urinated on a 70-year-old woman. While the incident occurred in November 2022, the story surfaced only in January, shocking everyone. Air India was slapped with a fine for the way it handled the incident, and the accused was arrested and later released on bail. The case continues to drag on in court.
Air India gets a makeover
With a mega aircraft deal under its belt, Air India received a fresh makeover with new branding that included new color themes and design. While the airline has had a livery change before, none of its previous makeovers received such widespread media coverage.
Air India’s new colors included deep red, aubergine, and gold, and the writing featured a new ‘Air India Sans’ font, with the edge of the window designs transformed into ‘The Vista’ logo. The aircraft’s new livery featured its name in the new font along the side of the fuselage and on the belly and its tail featuring the golden window edge. Air India also did away with the Hindi translation from the side and added the belly paint.
Air India’s low-cost subsidiary Air India Express revealed its own rebranding a couple of months later. The event coincided with the big reveal of its first Boeing 737 MAX aircraft featuring a color palette that the carrier described as “Express Orange and Express Turquoise with Express Tangerine and Express Ice Blue as secondary colors.”
The sun sets on AirAsia India brand
AirAsia India’s fate was pretty much sealed once the Tata Group acquired Air India and Air India Express, but the official curtain-fall was announced by its Managing Director Aloke Singh a couple of months ago.
Photo: Airbus
AirAsia India merged operations with Air India Express fully recently but began losing its branding months before. It started with the gradual merging of various processes, moving the bookings of both airlines under one website, and the eventual business integration. With this, AirAsia India’s stint officially came to an end.
Akasa Air pilot exodus
Despite the salary hikes and optimistic projections about its future, Akasa Air couldn’t convince a large section of its pilots to stick around for long. The airline was rocked by several flight cancelations just after mid-year, resulting from several of its pilots leaving. Several reports suggested they went to the rival Air India Express, which also operates a Boeing 737 fleet like Akasa.
Photo: Yatrik Sheth | Shutterstock
The airline eventually dragged around 40 pilots to court, seeking more than $2.5 million in damages, including compensation for reputational loss, operational loss, rescheduling and cancelation of flights, and the money spent on pilot training. The airline’s CEO, Vinay Dube, later said that Akasa was recovering from the pilot issue and preparing for future growth.
Which 2023 aviation news story from India do you feel was most impactful? Please share your opinions in the comment section below.