The owner of IndiGo saw its quarterly profit jump fivefold following the collapse of rival Jet Airways. InterGlobe Aviation’s standalone net profit rose to INR5.9b (US$84.8m) for the quarter ending March 31, compared with INR1.18b a year earlier. Following the collapse of Jet last month, fares have spiked in India. Since Jet’s collapse, competitors have seized the opportunity to secure its landing slots, staff and aircraft. IndiGo, which operates a fleet of 217 aircraft, is in the middle of an aggressive expansion programme as it works to build a budget long-haul business and plans to begin routes to Saudi Arabia and China in the coming months. “IndiGo was one of the key beneficiaries of what happened to Jet,” said one aviation analyst, “but they see the situation normalising by the end of June as airlines ramp up capacity.” <br/>
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Billionaire founders of IndiGo are debating “1 issue,” the company’s CE said, days after local media reported the owners have fallen apart. “There are absolutely no differences on strategy, no differences on international expansion, no differences on management selection,” CE Ronojoy Dutta told analysts Monday. “There is one issue that they are debating right now and we hope to resolve that in the very near future.” Dutta didn’t elaborate on what the issue is. The founders of IndiGo, Rakesh Gangwal and Rahul Bhatiahave, sparred over control of the company, local media reported this month. Gangwal said he has “no desire or interest” to take over the airline. While there are differences of opinion on certain matters between the two founders, the company has a track record of resolving issues, Dutta said earlier. <br/>
Passengers flying from Cancun, Mexico, to Toronto, Canada, on board a Sunwing Airlines aircraft were furious after they were stuck for hours in the plane with no air conditioning. According to passengers, the incident took place Friday when the jet was stranded on the tarmac in Cancun. The passengers said they complained about the heat in the cabin but there was no air conditioning running for hours, which further increased the temperature inside the plane. According to CTV News, passengers were able to leave the plane after few hours but were eventually asked to board the plane again before the flight was canceled. According to passengers, the ordeal continued for nearly 24 hours. "Since the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX, regrettably some of our regular operations have been disrupted," said the airline. <br/>
Hugel made its name in Korea as a manufacturer of Botox, and now founder Hong Sung-Bum is the flagship investor in Korean start-up Air Premia, which will receive new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in 2020 and plans to fly between Seoul and Los Angeles in 2021. Regional Asia, Europe and Australia are also target markets. “The Los Angeles route has more demand than supply,” an Air Premia spokesperson said. Besides being a popular leisure destination for visiting Koreans, Los Angeles is home to the largest community of overseas Koreans and Korean-Americans, according to the Census Bureau. Non-stop seat capacity between Los Angeles and Seoul has decreased in recent years as Korean Air deployed smaller planes while SIA and THAI ended fifth freedom flights. <br/>