AirAsia is exploring means to tap fifth freedom rights to further expand connectivity between Singapore and India beyond the current 12 points in India. Speaking at a 19 February media event in Singapore, Logan Velaitham, AirAsia Singapore’s chief executive says the push comes as the group is set to commence four new routes from its Kuala Lumpur hub, taking over routes previously operated by its former affiliate AirAsia India. Flights to Trivandrum will launch on 21 February, to Jaipur and Visakhapatnam on 21 and 26 April, respectively, and to Ahmedabad on 1 May. The airline already flies to eight other cities from the hub, including Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Kochi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, New Delhi and Amritsar. The group’s Thai unit Thai AirAsia operates 10 routes to India from its Bangkok Don Mueang hub, largely overlapping on most key cities apart from several northernmost points such as Lucknow, Gaya and Guwahati. “The expansion of the Indian market stands as one of our core focuses as a group this year, driven by popular demand,” says Velaitham. The group is eyeing further expansion to India via its “virtual hub” in Singapore, given it does not have an air operator certificate in the country. It is currently “exploring” means to tap on fifth freedom rights to expand the network from Singapore, subject to government-to-government approval and slots allocations, although Velaitham admits that “Asian carriers have very limited fifth freedom rights”. “From [our] initial information gathering, we found that there are some rights… And [these] have to be onward rights,” he explains. Velaitham also highlights the group’s pending consolidation of its short-haul airline units and longer-haul group AirAsia as an “icing on the cake” in enabling opportunities to tap on existing widebody capacity rather than looking for more aircraft or deliveries of its A321XLRs on order. The widebodies could be used to upgauge from the existing A320-family jets on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore segment as well as to deploy the type to cities such as Chennai.

Singapore will require all departing flights to use at least 1% sustainable aviation fuel from 2026 and up to 5% by 2030 and is proposing to place a levy on tickets to fund the purchase of SAF. The SAF initiatives are part of a wider Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint launched at an industry conference by the country's transport minister Chee Hong Tat that will be submitted to the International Civil Aviation Organization this month as its solution to help meet the goal of a net zero emissions aviation industry by 2050. "Singapore’s approach is to enable the aviation sector to achieve both growth and environmental sustainability, so that future generations can continue to enjoy the benefits of flying," says Chee. "The Singapore Sustainable Air Hub Blueprint demonstrates this balanced approach. The measures were developed after careful study and close consultation with domestic and international stakeholders, and we hope that they will help to catalyse the development of sustainable aviation in the region and around the world." The proposed levy, which will be developed in consultation with stakeholders, will be set at a fixed level and aimed at driving SAF uptake to meet the 1% target in 2026, and will vary based on ticket class and distance travelled. "As an indication, we estimate that the levy to support a 1% SAF uplift in 2026 could increase ticket price for an economy class passenger on a direct flight from Singapore to Bangkok, Tokyo and London by around S$3, S$6 and S$16 respectively. Passengers in premium classes will pay higher levies," states the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. CAAS will also target air navigation enhancements to drive a 10% reduction in additional fuel burns and emissions, using performance-based navigation, demand-capacity balancing and gate-to-gate trajectory optimisation. The blueprint also calls for the adoption of renewable energy at Singapore's airports, enhancing building efficiency and pursuing electrification of ground vehicles to contribute to a goal of reducing emissions on the ground by 20% over 2019 levels in 2030.

SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh and UAE-based aviation services company Sky One have confirmed that they have submitted bids to buy grounded Indian carrier Go First. Singh and Busy Bee Airways submitted their joint bid on 16 February to the resolution professional (RP) managing the sale process for Go First. SpiceJet says in a statement that Singh's bid is "in his personal capacity", but if successful will seek synergies between the two companies by acting as Go First's "operating partner". "I firmly believe that GoFirst holds immense potential and can be revitalized to work in close synergy with SpiceJet, benefiting both carriers," Singh says. "Apart from coveted slots at domestic and international airports, international traffic rights, and an order for over 100 Airbus [A320]Neo planes, GoFirst is a trusted and valued brand among flyers." Singh's partner in the bid, Busy Bee Airways, is reportedly controlled by the chief executive of online travel agency EaseMyTrip, Nishant Pitti. Separately, Sky One chairman Jaideep Mirchandani confirmed that it has submitted its bid for qualification by the committee of creditors. "The prospects of growth in India are a big reason for exploring the acquisition," says Mirchandani. "GoFirst comes with coveted slots at domestic and international airports, international traffic rights and a substantial user base, which makes it a reliable bet for us." Headquartered in Sharjah, Sky One offers fixed-wing and helicopter charter services, asset management and aviation consultancy, while it also has a six-bay MRO facility in Fujairah. The surfacing of the two bids are the first tangible sign in months that the dormant airline, which entered into insolvency in May 2023, may end up being rescued by external investors. If either bid succeeds, however, it appears that the airline may struggle to acquire aircraft, with most of the lessors that leased aircraft to Go First seeking to repossess their jets. Photographs from previous court action by those lessors have shown some Go First aircraft missing significant parts and in a generally poor state, despite court orders on the RP ordering it to keep up maintenance and allow lessors to periodically inspect their aircraft.