To make up for Go First’s cancellations, Air India, IndiGo, and Vistara have all boosted their flight frequencies. After Go First filed for voluntary insolvency in May, the busy summer travel season was without a reliable airline. As a temporary move to reduce price hikes and avert airport losses, the Indian government distributed Go First’s arrival and departure slots among the remaining airlines. In accordance with the National Company Law Tribunal’s ruling, once Go First resumes flying operations, the slots will be returned to the airline. To reduce capacity, cost, and frequency disturbances, carriers have increased their frequency of service.
After the financially troubled Go First cancelled flights during the height of the summer travel season, other airlines such as Air India and IndiGo stepped in to fill the void. Delhi to Srinagar and Delhi to Leh are only two examples of the routes where Air India has enhanced frequency. IndiGo has begun service on the route, which departs from Mumbai. Vistara now offers more frequent service between Delhi and Mumbai.
On May 3, the Wadias family, who own Go First, voluntarily initiated insolvency procedures. As a stopgap solution until May 23, the date Go First has indicated it will suspend flights, the government has allotted the low-cost airline’s assets, including arrival and departure slots at airports.
In a statement to employees on Friday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the company planned to rapidly boost domestic flights to “fill the gap left by another airline’s curtailment of flights, (and) to minimise capacity, frequency, and airfare disruptions to the public.”
According to those familiar with the situation, the government allocated Go First’s slots after hearing claims that airports stand to lose money if they go unused. They claimed that per the National Company Law Tribunal’s directive, Go First will regain its slots once it resumes flight operations.
Slots are a scarce and precious resource that hurts both airlines and passengers when they go underutilised. Because of this, the government has assigned them. Under the condition of anonymity, a government official revealed that these would be returned to Go First whenever the company resumed service.
The government, he said, is worried that capacity loss during the summer’s busiest months could cause prices to rise even higher.
Keeping airfares from going up
As airlines are unable to operate at full capacity, summer airfares are already higher than they were last year. This is because of a bottleneck in the supply chain that has slowed the delivery of aeroplanes.
Srinagar, Leh, and Goa were some of the most frequently visited tourist spots for Go First.
According to information provided by Cirium, in the month of May Go First planned to conduct 199 flights between Delhi and Srinagar, 182 between Delhi and Leh, and 156 between Mumbai and Goa. The airline also operated five of thirteen flights between Delhi and Leh, three of ten between Delhi and Bagdogra, and six of thirty non-stop flights between Delhi and Srinagar and Mumbai and Goa. According to business leaders, every vacation spot is popular right now except Goa. We anticipate that fares will increase in the regions where Go First operated because of the current high demand for air travel due to the approaching holiday season. Jyoti Mayal, head of the Travel Agents Association of India, warned that if plane seats lie unused, rates would rise much higher.
SOURCE :- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/with-go-first-gone-rivals-are-sending-up-more-flights/articleshow/100236565.cms?from=mdr
