Start-up leisure carrier Canada Jetlines has pushed back its launch date, less than two weeks before it was due to operate its inaugural flight. The Vancouver-based company said on 4 August it has “tentatively rescheduled” its first passenger revenue flights to 29 August, from 15 August, “subject to licensing approval” from Canadian aviation authorities. The carrier had expected to receive final certification from Transport Canada by July, but that approval has not yet arrived. “We’ve made the difficult decision to change our launch date as we continue to work with the regulatory authorities in Canada to secure our [air operator certificate],” says Canada Jetlines chief executive Eddy Doyle. “We will continue to build strategic partnerships with destinations, travel agencies, and airports as we build out our five-year strategy.” The carrier, which currently has just one used A320 aircraft in its fleet, had said at the end of last month that its first revenue passenger flight would be a Toronto-to-Winnipeg leg, on 15 August. “Canada Jetlines is working closely with Transport Canada and Canadian Transportation Association, who are currently evaluating all completed documentation required for this application,” Jetlines adds. The carrier says it still plans to fly its first customers ”before the end of the summer season”.<br/>
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India will allow SpiceJet Ltd (SPJT.NS) to reinstate flights in a "graded manner" once the airline shows it has sufficient engineering strength and the financial ability to stock up on spares, the country's air safety watchdog told Reuters. Last week, in an unprecedented move, India slashed SpiceJet's approved departures by 50% for a period of eight weeks after an audit revealed the airline's inability to establish "a safe, efficient and reliable" service. While placing SpiceJet under "enhanced surveillance", the regulator stated in its notice there was "poor internal safety oversight" at the airline, and that financial issues at the carrier were leading to "frequent shortage of spares". The chief of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Arun Kumar, said SpiceJet will be permitted to reinstate its capacity but in a gradual manner and once it demonstrates it has fixed the manpower and spare part shortages.<br/>
India's biggest airline IndiGo will add a third ramp for passengers disembarking from most of its planes, a top executive said on Thursday, as it looks to improve turnaround times and increase efficiency in the face of growing competition. A third ramp would help the budget airline improve turnaround times by three to five minutes for flights arriving at remote stands at Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru airports initially, and will be progressively deployed across the network, IndiGo's Executive Vice President Sanjeev Ramdas told reporters on Thursday.<br/>"Adding a third ramp for disembarkation is a simple yet effective way to complete a smooth travel experience for our customers," Ramdas said. The new ramps at the remote stands, which involve busing passengers to and from the terminal, will eventually be rolled out to 70% of operations nationwide, he added. Achieving a faster turnaround is critical for low-cost carriers, such as IndiGo, given that the business model involves flying planes for as many hours during the day as possible. The usual turnaround time, which is the time the plan spends on the tarmac between landing and taking off again, is anywhere between 30-35 minutes for IndiGo at the moment, Ramdas said.<br/>