Comair downs flights as South Africa battles new COVID wave
02.07.2021 – 13:08 UTC
Comair (South Africa) (MN, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) is temporarily suspending all scheduled Kulula Air and British Airways franchise flights for three weeks following plunging travel demand as South Africa battles a third wave of COVID-19.
The airline announced on July 2 that it would suspend all flights from Monday, July 5, 2021, and aims to recommence services on July 30, subject to the easing of restrictions and the containment of infections, particularly in Gauteng, the worst affected province which contains Johannesburg and Pretoria.
“This was a difficult decision, but we believe that under the circumstances it is the right course of action,” said Chief Executive Officer Glenn Orsmond.
The airline’s administrator, Richard Ferguson, said it was the responsible thing to do to ensure the safety of passengers and staff. It was also motivated by the current ban on all leisure travel to/ from Gauteng, little demand for business and leisure travel elsewhere in the country, and no connecting traffic from international carriers, he said.
Comair’s move comes hard on the…
Listing of India’s GoAir on hold
02.07.2021 – 00:54 UTC
Plans by GoAir (G8, Mumbai Int’l) to raise INR36 billion rupees (USD482.6 million) via an initial public offering (IPO) have been put on hold by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
In a market filing earlier this week, the SEBI noted that GoAir’s share sale documents would be “kept in abeyance”. No further explanation was given, except that observations had been issued and that further explanations had been sought in a communication dated June 11, 2021.
According to The New Indian Express newspaper, the delay was due to “the regulator investigating irregularities with GoAir owner Wadia Group’s other holdings”. As per the rule, SEBI was “obligated to keep issuance of observations in abeyance for a period of 30 days or 45 days or 90 days or more, as the case may be,” the newspaper reported.
The airline was not immediately available for comment.
GoAir, which is rebranding as Go First (G8, Mumbai Int’l), planned to use the net proceeds of the IPO to repay outstanding borrowings and debt to…
India’s Go First mulls suit against Go Holdings over brands
27.05.2021 – 06:49 UTC
Go First (G8, Mumbai Int’l) may pursue legal proceedings against Jeh Wadia, the airline’s former managing director who stepped down in March, over a tussle for the registration of trademarks associated with the company.
GoAir (G8, Mumbai Int’l) announced two weeks ago that it was rebranding itself as Go First and adopting an ultra-low-cost model. It is now considering turning to the courts to solidify its ownership of all the trademarks and domain names used by the company, the Hindu Business Line newspaper reported.
Jeh, the younger son of Wadia Group conglomerate patriarch Nusli Wadia, had headed GoAir since its inception in 2005. Go Holdings, in which Jeh holds a 99% stake, made two applications to the Registrar of Trade Marks in March for the registration of the brands ‘Go Airlines’ and ‘www.goair.in’. In April, he applied to the National Internet Exchange of India to transfer 115 Go-associated domain names from one domain registrar, Net4India Ltd, to another, Network Solutions.
The airline mentioned the dispute under “risk factors” in its draft…
India’s GoAir rebrands, shifts to ULCC model
16.05.2021 – 21:22 UTC
As it prepares for its Initial Public Offering (IPO), GoAir (G8, Mumbai Int’l) has taken the step of shifting to what it called an ultra-low-cost model while rebranding itself as Go First (G8, Mumbai Int’l), the company announced on May 13.
The carrier said it was “transitioning all its operations under this new brand,” aimed at younger travellers, as it prepared for its “next phase of growth.”
“India is a fast-developing airline market. Consumers in India are hugely value conscious but are quite demanding when it comes to the flying experience,” the company’s vice chairman and former Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale Int’l) CEO Ben Baldanza explained.
The following day, on May 14 – a month later than planned – the Wadia Group-owned carrier filed its draft red herring prospectus, or offer document, ahead of the planned IPO, which will be managed by ICICI Securities, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley. According to the prospectus, it wants to raise INR3.6 billion rupees (USD49 million) via a fresh issue of shares.
The…
