United Airlines will shrink its Guam hub from Nov 2017, as it shifts Boeing 737s back to the US mainland. The redeployment of 3 737s to the mainland from Micronesia will allow the carrier to increase aircraft utilisation, says Howard Attarian, senior VP of flight operations at United. United can fly the aircraft about 8 hours per day on the mainland compared to about 4 hours per day out of Guam, he says. "One of the most important initiatives underway at United is a renewed focus on growing our airline through improved fleet utilisation," says Attarian. United is in the midst of a domestic expansion primarily enabled by increased aircraft utilisation. It expects a 3.5% to 4.5% increase in domestic capacity in 2017, which CE Oscar Munoz says is driven largely by higher utilisation and completion factors. <br/>
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Air India, which finally turned a profit last year after at least 8 years of pre-tax losses, was revealed last month by the country’s auditor to have understated its operating losses by INR64.2b (US$964m) between 2012 and 2015. In a sharply worded report, India’s comptroller and auditor general said that the carrier had failed to meet targets on selling assets, forcing it to take on costly short-term loans that have “largely eroded” the benefits of a INR422b bailout in 2012. The rebuke, which came less than a year after Air India returned to profitability, has raised concerns about the airline’s future. In the face of stiff competition from no-frills airlines, high operating costs and govt pressure on routes and fares, analysts say that India’s cost-conscious airline industry will in future be dominated by budget carriers. <br/>
The US ban on large electronic devices as hand luggage on flights originating from some Gulf countries pushed up Air India's ticket sales to the US by 100% in the last week of March over the period a year ago. Air India saw bookings surge to 300 per day per flight in the period between March 25-31 this year as against a sale of 150 tickets per day per flight in the corresponding period of last year, an airline source said. The indefinite ban, which came into effect from March 25, has impacted 10 airports in the Middle East and 9 airlines. Air India flies 4 flights to 4 US airports. The increased demand has also meant a spike in ticket prices which have increased by INR10,000 (US$1,537) for a single journey and INR15,000 for a return flight. The official, however, added the number of passengers on the return leg have not increased. <br/>