MRO in Nagpur: Boeing makes the announcement

Nagpur: International aircraft manufacturing company has announced that its management has in principle decided to build a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility here.
Boeing Vice President Dinesh Keshkar made the announcement to this effect here last night.
Keshkar said about 100 million dollars would be spent on the training for pilots.
15/04/06 Sify

Snags leave A-I passengers stranded

New Delhi: Timely detection of major snags in two ageing aircraft of Air-India that were scheduled to take off from here for Singapore and London-New York sectors on Friday morning averted what could have been major disasters.
A cockpit window of the Singapore-bound Airbus (A-I 480) on the co-pilot's side was found to be shattered, said the airline. The window was replaced and the flight that was scheduled to take off at 7.20 am finally left at 2.20 pm with 66 passengers.
The NY-bound Boeing 747 was found to have a problem in its cabin pressuring system. "At 35,000 feet, having the right cabin pressure is a must. This plane is being repaired," admitted an airline spokesperson.
This flight was to leave at 6.45 am on Friday but now another aircraft will take the stranded passengers at 2 am on Saturday.
The twin snags came days after an A-I Jumbo burst its tyres twice within a fortnight while taking off from Delhi for Frankfurt.
15/04/06 Times of India

Delayed flights: Indian told to compensate four passengers

New Delhi: The Delhi Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered Indian Airlines to compensate four passengers who were stranded at Indore, holding the airlines guilty of ‘‘deficiency of service.’’
As per the complaint, on September 2002, R L Gupta, Manoj, Renu and Murti Devi reached Indore airport to catch a flight to Delhi, only to be informed that it was seven hours behind schedule. The passengers alleged that the they were not informed about the delay.
At a district consumer forum, where the matter came up, the airlines had placed the blame on its Delhi-based agents, BPL and Lords Travels Pvt Ltd.
The district forum had awarded the compensation to the complainants, which was appealed by the airlines with the state commission. However, the Commission, awarding Rs 24,000 as compensation to the four passengers, rejected this argument.
15/04/06 Express News Service/Delhi Newsline

Indian to launch Nagpur-Bangkok flight

Nagpur: Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel will flag off Indian's Nagpur-Bangkok bi-weekly flight on Saturday.
Indian's direct flight from Dr Ambedkar International Airport to Bangkok will be the second direct international flight from the city, first being Air Arabia's Nagpur-Sharjah flight.
The flight would depart at 1010 hours IST and arrive in Bangkok at 1455 hours (local time), a spokesman of Indian said on Friday.
The return flight would take off at 1545 hours (local time) and would arrive here at 1750 hours IST, he said, adding the flight would operate on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
14/04/06 PTI/Economic Times

Jet may get Air Sahara’s code deal with American Airlines

Mumbai: After turning the government’s asset transfer guidelines on takeovers in its favour, it appears Jet Airways may also succeed in swinging Air Sahara’s code-sharing pact with American Airlines (AA) in its favour.
Of course, that would happen after some tinkering with the current AA-Air Sahara agreement.
“We are evaluating the possibility of such a movement of the code-sharing pact. We are in talks with Jet, and are open to it. But we will have to start all over again to work out the best way to partner with our new partner,” said Nisha Maharaj, regional manager, Indian Subcontinent- AA. Jet expects to gain a certain edge over its rivals with the Air Sahara deal. If AA decides to transfer Air Sahara’s code-sharing agreement to it, Jet would be able to fly AA’s flyers to 25 or more cities of India.
14/04/06 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

Code-sharing: American Air in talks with Indian carriers

New Delhi: American Airlines is in talks with several domestic airlines, including Jet Airways, for having a code-share agreement to expand its reach in the Indian market.
"It is possible that we do not enter into a complete code-share agreement as exists at present with Air Sahara," said the airlines' Regional Manager, Indian Subcontinent, Ms Nisha Maharaj.
The current code-share agreement provides a host of benefits for the passengers including a fully reciprocal frequent flyer agreement and access to 52 airport lounges in India and many more around the globe.
The code share agreement is likely to end by the end of the year, when the buy out of Air Sahara by Jet Airways is completed.
Asked whether the airline would tie-up with Jet Airways, in view of the trouble that the Indian carrier was facing in launching flights to the US, Ms Maharaj said: "We are very open to having discussions with Jet Airways."
14/04/06 Hindu Business Line

Chennai, Kolkata airport revamp to cost Rs 7,000 cr

New Delhi: Despite a demand from the Left parties and a section of the employees of the Airport Authority of India (AAI), the modernisation of Chennai and Kolkata airports may be out of the reach of the AAI.
Official sources told Business Line that despite having reserves and surplus to the tune of Rs 3,352 crore (provisional) as of April 1 this year, the Authority would not be able to touch the special reserves as that is earmarked for specified expenditure.
"Consequently, AAI may be able to spare about Rs 600 crore from the general reserves and this would be inadequate to undertake the modernisation of Chennai and Kolkata airports, which is estimated to cost Rs 7,000 crore," the sources said.
The modernisation process at Chennai and Kolkata airports is expected to start soon after the Assembly elections in the two States are completed. The Tamil Nadu Government has already given several hundred acres of land free of encumbrances for the airport modernisation process to start.
15/04/06 Sify

Dale Moss Jet COO

Jet Airways has appointed Dale Moss, formerly of British Airways as its new chief operating officer. The COO post at Jet Airways had fallen vacant following the exit of Peter Luethi at the end of his contract in March.
Dale Moss has been head of sales at British Airways till recently. The high-profile Moss was heading sales at BA when the aviation market was impacted by 9/11 tremors.
Following the exit of Peter Luethi and entry of Garry Kingshott as chief commercial officer, it was expected that Kingshott will be allowed to continue as operational head of Jet Airways. Now, it seems he will be the head of sales, reporting to Dale Moss.
The 55-year old Dale Moss has been with British Airways for 30 years, where he had a successful stint.
14/04/06 Talking Tarmac

Mumbai Airport gears up to water down monsoon effect

Mumbai: Airports Authority of India (AAI) is gearing up to ensure smooth functioning of Mumbai airport during this year’s rains by replacing old equipment with latest, high-tech ones.
The greatest cause of concern last year - the Instrument Landing System (ILS) set up - will be the first to be overhauled, as precaution to avoid accident on the runway during monsoon. Three old and worn-out ILS will be replaced on a priority basis.
“The installing process is on, and we expect it to be complete before monsoon,” AAI Executive Director (Western Region) SRR Rao said.
The ILS equipment on both sides of the primary runway and the 14-side of the secondary runway were being replaced, he said.
In Mumbai airports, the CAT 1 type of ILS is employed.
During last year’s deluge, the failure of the ILS had forced the closure of the runway for two days.
14/04/06 Bhargavi Kerur/Daily News & Analysis

Low traffic blamed for airport losses

New Delhi: Despite the travel boom, the airports at Jaipur, Srinagar, Khajuraho, Agra, Port Blair, Jaisalmer, Varanasi and Agatti are in the red.
Varanasi airport located at the city of Taj, Agra, lost Rs 4.6 crore during the year. Jaipur, the other point linking the tourist triangle anchored by Delhi, fared far worse with losses of Rs 12.7 crore. The airports at Kullu, Dehradun and Kangra are also in the red.
The Patna airport lost nearly Rs 11.9 crore in ’04-05, while the Bhopal airport lost Rs 8.8 crore.
The Guwahati airport is among the list of non-profitable airports with losses of Rs 51 crore, followed by Bhubaneshwar with Rs 14.7 crore, Lucknow (Rs 10.8 crore), Thiruvananthapuram (Rs 4.3 crore), Chandigarh (Rs 2.7 crore) Shimla (Rs 2.6 crore) and Ahmedabad (Rs 1.9 crore).
The Safdarjung airport at Delhi, where all flying activity has been banned due to security reasons, lost Rs 7 crore during ’04-05.
The airport at Gaya made losses of Rs 6.4 crore while the Khajuraho airport lost Rs 6.7 crore in ’04-05. The Port Blair airport lost Rs 3.5 crore during the year, while the Jammu airport made a loss of Rs 5.5 crore.
The Nagpur airport lost Rs 29 crore during ’04-05. The Agatti airport made losses to the tune of Rs 13 crore.
The 116 loss-making airports of AAI are sustained through the earnings to 10 profitable airports, which include Delhi and Mumbai that are being shifted to private managements now.
The ministry cites ‘very low traffic’ as the reason for consistent losses at these airports.
15/04/06 G Ganapathy Subramaniam/Economic Times

New Civil Aviation Policy prefers big players only

Planning to start your own airline, well think again. The proposed Civil Aviation Policy hopes to bring in safeguards to avoid a low cost airline bust. The government intends to make fleet expansion contingent on equity infusion. CNBC-TV18 reports that carriers like Air Deccan and Indigo could take a hit.
Taking a lesson from the low cost airline bust in the early 1990's, the government now wants only serious players with deep pockets to fly into the sector. According to the draft policy new entrants will have to cough up additional capital to start an airline. If your fleet consists of aircrafts like Boeing 737's or A-320's the minimum capital needed will be Rs 50 crore instead of the present Rs 30 crore. For airlines flying smaller planes like Turboprops, the minimum capital requirement has been doubled.For every five big aircrafts an airline acquires, it will have to infuse additional capital of Rs 20 crore. Operators of smaller aircrafts will be required to up their capital by Rs 10 crore on induction of additional five aircrafts.
14/04/06 Moneycontrol.com

Jagson Airlines sells stake to foreign investor

Low cost carrier Jagson Airlines, which is to launch operations from May, on Thursday said it has sold about 15.99 per cent stake to a foreign investor and could go in for public issue next year.
"We have given less than 15.99 per cent stake to the foreign investor and we may go public next year," U K Bose, president and CEO, Jagson said.
He, however, refused to disclose the investor's name or the value of the initial public offer it was looking at.
Under the present rules, no foreign airline is allowed to pick a stake in Indian carriers but foreign institutional investors can do so up to 15.99 per cent of the total.
Bose said Jagson Airlines would get two Airbus A-321 aircraft by that time and have a fleet of six of these planes by the year-end.With the first two A-321s, Jagson would launch services to nine cities, with the inaugural flight covering the Delhi- Bangalore sector. It would add another seven aircraft by the end of 2007 and eight more in 2008.
13/04/06 PTI/Rediff

Paramount to launch Hyd operations on April 19

Hyderabad: Paramount Airways today announced the launch of its operations in Hyderabad from April 19. The airline plans to connect the city to Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai within the next six months.
The Chennai-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Kochi routes will be made operational on April 19. "We plan to go national by 2007-08 and will be launching operations in metros like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore soon,"Ajay Grover, marketing and sales head of Paramount Airways, said.
The airline also plans to set up a 24-hour call centre in Chennai. Frequent flier programmes and valet service for baggage screening are the other services that it plans to launch shortly.
13/04/06 Business Standard

Maharashtra plans airport at Shirdi

Mumbai: If the Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation's (MADC) plan materialises, by 2008 you could reach the Shirdi shrine in just 30 minutes from Mumbai.
MADC is firming up plans to develop an airport at Shirdi and various airlines have started queuing up to start their services in the sector. First off the block is Air Deccan, which is keen to start daily flights from Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Jet and Indian have also evinced interest in servicing the sector, said MADC Chairman R C Sinha. Sinha said some NRI businessmen had shown interest in operating daily charters between Dubai and Shirdi.
"We have appointed L&T as consultant to prepare a plan for developing the airport. Acording to the preliminary estimates, the project will cost around Rs 48 crore." Sinha said.
"The Airport will require around 400 hectares of land, out of which nearly 300 hectares is in our possession. Though currently the land is with different government corporations, the state government has decided to transfer the land to us. This means we have to acquire only 100 hectares," he said.
14/04/06 Makarand Gadgil/Business Standard

Sri Lanka invites Cochin for airport development

Mumbai: Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has received an invitation from the Sri Lankan government to build an airport in the island country.
CIAL will not only manage and operate the airport, but will also pick up a stake in the venture. "It is early days, though. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has to concur it," said VJ Kurian, managing director of CIAL.
CIAL landed the opportunity by sheer chance. The president of Sri Lanka, on his recent visit to the religious shrine in Kerala - Guruvayoor - stopped over at the Nedumbassery airport and was impressed by the cost at which it was built as well as its low operational costs. Not to mention, the airport's architecture and construction.
Sri Lanka is planning to have a second airport, 80 miles away from Colombo.
Sri Lankan government would hold stake in lieu of providing the land and CIAL will invest in building the airport.
According to sources, an international firm quoted around Rs 850-1,000 crore to build the airport. The Nedumbassery airport is spread across over 1,000 acres of land and it has been built at cost of around Rs 303 crore.
14/04/06 Reeba Zachariah/Times of India

MRO sector braces up for consolidation

Mumbai: The MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) segment in the Indian aviation sector is revving up for significant consolidation in the months to come, fuelled by a surge in demand.
The estimated $800-million MRO market within the aviation sector is, indeed, set to balloon, with independent foreign MRO companies eyeing India as a potential destination.
After Boeing's proposed Rs 450-crore MRO facility in India, other companies such as Singapore Airlines, ST Aerospace, Lufthansa Technik of Germany and El Al Israel Airlines Ltd are also looking seriously at the growing MRO market in the country, industry sources say. Even engine manufacturers, such as GE, Rolls Royce, Snecma and Pratt & Whitney, are considering setting up MRO facilities in India, according to the sources.
Normally, about 20 to 30 per cent of the cost of operating an aircraft is spent on MRO services. The surge in air traffic in India, fuelled by the emergence of low-cost carriers, has perked up fleet utilisation. "The Indian MRO market is growing at about 8 per cent annually. In fact, the entire Asia-Pacific aircraft and engine MRO market totalled $8.71 billion in 2005 and is estimated to touch $12.90 billion in 2011 ", says Mr Subhranshu Sekhar Das, Frost & Sullivan's Industry Manager and a MRO analyst.
13/04/06 Amit Mitra/Hindu Business Line

Civil aviation growth in Asia provides CAE with opportunity

A massive upsurge in civil aviation in China and India is opening up big opportunities for Montreal's CAE Inc., the global leader in flight simulators, as Asian airlines struggle to overcome a shortage of pilots.
But CAE's high-tech rivals in the simulation products and training field are quickly adding muscle and preparing to exploit the Asian airlines' urgent need for pilots.
China's airlines alone will need to train nearly 12,000 new pilots by 2010 to keep the aircraft they have ordered in the air and meet international safety standards.
India, with a fast-growing economy and almost as many people as China's 1.3 billion, is following behind and adding pressure to the pilot shortage.
CAE, hit hard by the post 9/11 civil aviation slump and restructured during the past 18 months by CEO Robert Brown, has dominated the Asian commercial simulator and flight training market for 25 years or more.
13/04/06 Robert Gibbens/Montreal Gazette, Canada

Air Sahara flight delayed over pilot 'discontent'

New Delhi: A Hyderabad-bound Air Sahara flight was delayed by around two hours at the Delhi airport on Thursday morning after one of its pilots failed to turn up in an expression of "dissatisfaction" over the takeover bid by Jet Airways, said an official.
Passengers travelling by the airline often face the brunt of discontent among Air Sahara staff over Jet's $500 million takeover bid, said an official.
The company spokesman, however, attributed the delay to a "technical snag".
The Air Sahara flight (S 2145) to Hyderabad, which was to take off around 10 am took off after 12 pm when a substitute pilot was taken in.
Air Sahara pilots are displeased as they are unclear about their fate once Jet Airways and the their airline are merged together. Apart from uncertainty over their seniority status, the pilots are also worried about their pay packets. Sahara pilots have been drawing salaries significantly higher than that paid to Jet pilots.
13/04/06 Times of India

Alliance Air to be phased out soon

Mumbai: Alliance Air (A-A), the decade-old subsidiary of Indian Airlines (I-A), operating 357 weekly flights to 44 domestic destinations, is likely to be phased out soon. The airline, which operates mainly in Tier II cities like Rajkot, Agartala, Shillong, Visakhapatnam and Raipur, has been plagued by an ageing fleet causing safety concerns and frequent delays. I-A will service all A-A routes after the phaseout.
A-A has a fleet of 13 aircraft, including 9 Boeing 737-200, 3 ATR 42-320 and one ATR 42-300. The average age of these aircraft is 20 years, compared to the domestic industry average of 10, making maintenance of these aircraft costly.
The board of I-A, therefore decided to convert 5 of these aircraft into freight carriers under I-A’s freight service.
A-A incurred a loss of Rs 82.48 crore in 2002-03, and managed a profit of Rs 2.05 crore the following year.
14/04/06 Neelasri Barman & Emanuel L Joute/Financial Express

Jet to offer consultancy service to Sahara

Taking a step forward in its $500 million deal to snap up Air Sahara, Jet Airways on Thursday announced it had reached an understanding with the other airline to provide consultancy support to improve its performance in various fields.
Jet Airways informed Bombay Stock Exchange that it had "reached a mutual understanding with Sahara Airlines Ltd for providing consultancy support to them."
In a statement to the BSE, the airline said "this consultancy support will be provided by the company with the objective of enhancing Sahara Ailines' product, improve their on-time performance and service levels as also to improve their bottom line".
Sources said Jet was planning to operate Sahara as a wholly-owned subsidiary till regulatory and other clearances are granted to the acquisition process.
13/04/06 Rediff

Spicejet adds new flight in Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai route

New Delhi: Budget airline Spicejet on Thursday announced its second flight in the Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai sector.
In addition to this flight, the airline also said it would have a daily flight between Hyderabad and Mumbai.
14/04/06 PTI/The Hindu

SpiceJet starts addl flight to Srinagar

New Delhi: SpiceJet the low cost, no frills airline today announced its additional flights to Srinagar. Flights on the DEL- SRINAGAR - DEL route will operate daily with effect from May 10, 2006. The bookings for the flight open today.
SpiceJet is India’s preferred low cost carrier offering low “everyday spicey fares” and friendly services to its travelers. SpiceJet operates its services in the 11 destinations of Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Goa, Pune, Bangalore, Kolkata, Jammu, Srinagar, Chennai & Hyderabad utilizing modern B737-800 new generation aircraft with an all economy configuration of 189 seats.
13/04/06 GreaterKashmir.com

Kingfisher Airlines bets on co-branding promos

Mumbai: Co-branding partnerships with like-minded brands and an aggressive strategy to promote its guest loyalty programme, King Club, would be the major focus of UB Group's Kingfisher Airlines this year. The company is planning to spend close to Rs 40 crore on various media and below-the-line marketing activities for the year.
The company has just launched Kingfisher First, which is a print campaign to promote its first class service.
Girish Shah, General Manager (Marketing), says that the company has lined up a series of promotions for its guest loyalty programme. "We are tying up with a number of restaurants, the traffic into which we are going to drive through a gourmet guide. We are also in talks with Goa Tourism to boost domestic traffic during monsoon."
Strategic partnerships are going to be the focus of our marketing strategy. We have already done promos with Malaysia Tourism to organise a golf tournament for CEOs in Delhi," he adds.
The company is also planning a series of online promos to boost traffic in certain sectors such as Mumbai-Kolkata.
14/04/06 Sify

Private risk firms eye A-I account

Mumbai: Private insurance companies are gearing to enter the race for the Air-India (A-I) account once it is up for bidding. Last year A-I paid a premium of $14 million to the New India Assurance-led consortium. The account will expire on June 30.
As the competition hots up, all interested parties are expected to offer hefty discounts.
Last year, the consortium had offered hefty discount of 28 per cent to bag the account.
When contacted, a senior A-I executive said: “We will shortly invite bids for aviation insurance for this year,” he said. Other than PSU companies, eight private insurance companies are also readying for the race. The private players are ICICI Lombard, Tata AIG, Bajaj Allianz, Iffco-Tokyo, Cholamandalam, Royal Sundaram, Reliance General Insurance and HDFC.
14/04/06 P R Sanjai/Business Standard

Ramco Systems launches Aviation & MRO Software

Ramco Systems Ltd has launched the immediate availability of its software designed specifically for low cost and start up Airlines. Developed and delivered on the company`s virtual works platform, the company`s Aviation & MRO Software is purely web and component centric, satisfying true business process alignment.
For start-up & low cost airlines, optimum functionality and satisfying regulatory requirements is compulsory, while effectively managing the ongoing costs is vital to continued performance, growth & viability.
The company`s Aviation & MRO Software is bundled with the scaled methodology for rapid implementation, enabling `Best and Next Business Practices` for maintenance and engineering and MRO Software requirements. The software also creates, incorporates and maintains any new business processes that help airlines change, adapt and run more efficiently.
The Aviation & MRO Software is also available through its global partner Sabre Airline Solutions, who has very recently signed contracts with JeJu Air Co. in Seoul, South Korea for the company`s Aviation & MRO Suite.
13/04/06 Myiris.com

KLM - Northwest launches fourth weekly flight between Hyderabad and Amsterdam

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines today launched its fourth weekly flight between Amsterdam and Hyderabad following the encouraging response to its thrice weekly service between the two cities. The new flight will further strengthen KLM’s presence in India and help the airline meet the increasing demand for international travel from the region.
With the new flight, KLM in cooperation with its alliance partner Northwest Airlines now offers 18 weekly roundtrip flights between India and Amsterdam. In addition to the Hyderabad – Amsterdam service, KLM operates a daily flight between Delhi and Amsterdam while Northwest Airlines operates a daily flight between Mumbai and Amsterdam. From their hub in Amsterdam KLM – Northwest offer excellent connecting flights to over 400 destinations around the world including daily flights to all major cities in Europe and North America.
13/04/06 Moneycontrol.com

Boeing to invest $1.5 bn in India as part of A-I order

New Delhi: Funds to be spent on setting up facilities, R&D and sourcing software and other equipment.
The Boeing Company will invest $1.5 billion, directly and indirectly, in India as part of its $6-billion deal with Air-India for 68 aircraft.
The money will be spent on setting up facilities, research and development and sourcing software and other equipment.
Boeing will also set up an aircraft maintenance facility, which will be for $185 million, in association with Air-India.
“We are very bullish on the Indian market. We already have relationships with a variety of companies in the areas of aviation-related software development and back office,” said Boeing Chairman and Chief Executive James McNerney here today.
The government is in the process of finalising orders for 126 multi-purpose fighters and maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters. Both Boeing and its European rival, EADS, are in the fray. McNerney said he expected more orders from Indian airline companies.
13/04/06 Business Standard

US keen to rope in India on its Rs 4-bn Boeing project

New Delhi: A high-level team from Boeing will give the Navy a classified briefing this week on the P-8A Maritime Multimission Aircraft (MMA), a futuristic reconnaisance and oceanic warfare jet to be rolled out by 2013 for the US Navy.
This afternoon, Boeing president & CEO James McNerney paid a 10-minute courtesy call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his office.
Both Boeing and the Pentagon are keen to engage the Indian Navy as a technical partner in the $3.89 billion P-8A programme — an unprecedented proposal that would have remained a pipedream if it wasn’t for the new strategic relationship between the two countries.
Last year, the firm landed a $6 billion deal with Air India for civil jets and is in the country for more business opportunities, which include a full-fledged maintenance and overhaul facility in Nagpur and a training school.
The Boeing president was hosted for lunch by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today. President George W Bush himself, in his initial meetings with the Prime Minister, had pushed for more business with Boeing.
12/04/06 Shiv Aroor/Indian Express

'Delhi, Mumbai to get second airport soon'

New Delhi: There will be a second airport soon in every metro city which will dramatically ease the growing congestion.
The policy for this, the civil aviation ministry hopes, will be cleared within a month. Disclosing the plan to TOI , civil aviation minister Praful Patel said the second airport will only be a domestic airport.
He added that the second airport would be built through the private participation route as AAI would focus on non-metro airports. Once cleared, the first moves are likely in Delhi and Mumbai.
13/04/06 Saurabh Sinha

IGI Airport pulled up for poor medical facilities

New Delhi: The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered the International Airports Authority of India to immediately upgrade the medical facilities at Delhi's IGI airport observing that it was ill-equipped to handle emergency cases like heart attacks.
The court gave the directions while disposing off a case in which a Reader at the Hans Raj College, Prashant Vedalankar, collapsed at the departure lounge of the IGI airport following a heart attack and died while being taken to the AIIMS, 30 km away.
Holding that absence of medical facilities at the airport for passengers who need emergency treatment was one of the reasons for Vedalankar's death, the court asked the IAAI to pay a compensation of Rs 35,000 to his family.
Vedalankar was to board the Air India flight to Mauritius on December 1, 1993 when he suffered a heart attack.
The duty doctor reached the spot after some time and gave two injections and also rubbed the chest of the deceased as a result of which he was revived. However, he died in the ambulance on way to AIIMS.
13/04/06 Harish V Nair/Hindustan Times

GoAir select CFM56-5B Engines for A320

GoAir, India's newest low cost carrier, today announced it has selected CFM56-5B engines to power its new fleet of 10 firm, 10 option Airbus A320 family aircraft. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in mid-2007 and the firm engine order valued at $120 million at list price.
CFM56-5 engines are produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma and General Electric Company, and are the world's leading jet engine supplier.
GoAir began operations in late 2005 with two leased A320s and now has three aircrafts in operation on 28 flights covering 14 cities. The new A320 order is part of the airline's planned expansion plan and it anticipates operating a fleet of 33 aircraft within the next three years.
The high reliability, long on-wing life, and low maintenance costs of the CFM56-5B makes it extremely popular with leasing companies, low-cost carriers, and major airlines worldwide.
12/04/06 Moneycontrol.com

Busy airports may cost airlines more

New Delhi: The government plans to encourage airlines to fly on non-viable routes by lowering user charges at those airports using a system of subsidy funded by the proposed aviation cess on passengers and carriers.
There is also a proposal to increase the charges paid by airlines on busy airports to decongest them. At present, airlines have to deploy a certain percentage of their fleet on smaller routes to be able to fly the lucrative ones.
Civil aviation ministry officials say the proposed model is likely to be a part of the forthcoming civil aviation policy. It is expected to reduce the burden on private airlines considerably.
It will not be mandatory for carriers to operate routes with low occupancy, which will free aircraft for more lucrative routes.
According to domestic aviation companies, the occupancy on non-metro routes is usually less than 50 per cent, against the break-even occupancy of 65 per cent.
13/04/06 Bipin Chandran/Business Standard

Peak-hour use of runways to make touchdown faster

New Delhi: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is planning to make the two runways at IGI operational simultaneously during the peak hours and drastically cut down the long hovering periods of aircraft before landing within the next seven to 10 days.
Since April 1, the runways are being operated together on a trial basis from 10 am to noon and 4 to 6 pm. "The trial run has been encouraging. The response from the ATCs and airlines has been good and now we want to shift the timing to peak hours so that the real benefit of this system can be felt,"said airport sources.
The worst delays happen between 8-11 am and 5-9 pm as there is a long line of aircraft waiting to land and take-off.
However, airlines warn that passengers may not have to wait in air, but their ground troubles won't disappear. The domestic arrival terminal, I-B and international terminals are so cramped that they just won't be able to clear passengers at the same pace at which planes would be able to land or take-off.
13/04/06 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Paramount to construct hangar at Chennai airport

Chennai: Paramount Airways today said the Airports Authority of India has allotted 1,00,000 sq.ft of land to the airline at the Chennai airport for construction of a hangar.
"The company has been given 1,00,000 sq.ft of land at the airport by the Airports Authority of India, for the construction of the hangar," M Thiagarajan, Managing Director, Paramount Airways, told reporters here.
Construction of the hangar, which would cost about $40 million and would take about 14 to 20 months to be completed. Regulatory approvals have been sought for the project, he said.
Paramount would also be acquiring eight aircraft and press them in service by October and expand the fleet to 20 aircraft in as many months.
The MD announced the launch of services between Chennai and Hyderabad and Chennai and Bangalore from April 19. .
He also said the fares on the new routes would be Rs 1,299 on the Chennai-Bangalore service and Rs 1,999 on the Chennai-Hyderabad sector.
12/04/06 Economic Times

Paramount sops for physically challenged

Mumbai: Paramount Airways has decided to offer 50 per cent concession on tickets to physically challenged passengers.
The airline is offering travel free of cost for physically challenged children below 12 years. Such children have to just bear the passenger service fee of Rs 221, levied by the airport. Paramount Airways Managing Director M Thiagarajan said this was the highest concession the physically challenged passengers are getting from any domestic airline company in the country.
The handicapped are getting concessions ranging between 10 and 15 per cent from certain other airlines.
13/04/06 P R Sanjai/Business Standard

A single Initial Public Offer (IPO) for the merged entity of Air India and Indian Airlines

With the government deciding to go ahead with the merger of national carriers Indian Airlines and Air India, various options to raise resources for them are being considered including issuing a single Initial Public Offer (IPO) for the merged entity.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has started receiving reports from merchant bankers, including on the issuance of a single IPO against the separate IPOs contemplated earlier.
However, no final decision has been taken on the matter yet, senior officials said here, adding that the reports and recommendations were being studied.
Replying to questions on the issue, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel reiterated that the government has decided to merge the two airlines in 2006 but said no decision has been taken on a single IPO for the merged entity.
12/04/06 India Daily, NJ

Top names join Kingfisher Airlines' advisory board

New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines has appointed an advisory board, comprising top names in the global aviation business, to guide the carrier on various aspects, including aircraft acquisition.
The board would initially comprise former Rolls Royce Chairman Sir Ralph Robins, former Chief Engineer of Royal Air Force Sir Colin Terry, former Cathay Pacific Engineering Director Stewart John, former Swiss International Airlines COO Karel H Ledeboer and former Cathay Pacific Chairman David Turnbull, a company release said.
Kingfisher Airlines currently operates 11 Airbus aircraft with over 70 flights daily connecting 15 major cities.
12/04/06 PTI/Economic Times

Calicut to have aviation refuelling station

Kozhikode: Close on the heels of its acquiring international status, Karipur Airport is set to have the third aviation refuelling station, with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) entering the scene after IOC (Indian Oil Corporation) and HPCL.
The ‘bhoomi puja’ of the Rs 2-crore project was held at the airport on Tuesday. “The station would have a fuel capacity of 400 kilo litre and it would be commissioned by the end of September, 2006,” BPCL’s aviation business head S.P.Mathur said at a press conference held later.
This would be the third such facility being set up in the state by the BPCL after the state of the art hydrant refuelling station at Nedumbassery, where it holds equity stake, and the one at Thiruvananthapuram.
12/04/06 Newindpress

Boeing MRO unit in Nagpur to create 3,000 jobs

Mumbai: The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has zeroed in on Nagpur as the site for its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) base in Asia. An announcement is likely to be made by the month-end.
In mid-April, James McNerney Jr, chairman, Boeing, is expected to visit India to choose a site for the project, in which, the company may invest $100 million.
Besides Nagpur, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and even Gwalior had thrown their hats in the ring for the project.
But with the civil aviation minister Praful Patel as well as the Boeing vice-president Dinesh Keskar favouring Nagpur, it is most likely that the decision maybe in favour of the orange city.
Sources added that despite being approached by other states, the company has been negotiating with the Maharashtra government alone and the only site that they have visited is Nagpur.
Sources say that the Boeing MRO may create around 3,000 highly paid jobs in the immediate vicinity and generate another 30,000 jobs indirectly.
13/04/06 Makarand Gadgil/Rediff

CIT Aerospace International Leases New Aircraft To Indian Airlines

Representatives with CIT Aerospace International, one of the world’s largest aerospace financing and leasing companies, have announced the delivery of three new Airbus A319 aircraft to Indian Airlines. CIT reports the three aircraft are the first new planes delivered to the state-owned airline in a generation.
The three A319s delivered by CIT are also the first to carry Indian’s new livery, the "Sun Chariot," inspired by the famous Konark Sun Temple in eastern India -- which represents a chariot that carries the Sun.
13/04/06 Aero-News Network, Florida, US

Immigration officials inspects facilities at Bajpe airport

Mangalore: A team of officials of the Immigration Department visited Bajpe airport here on Wednesday to assess and project the requirements of immigration facilities to start flight services to international destinations from Bajpe airport.
Official sources told that the team inspected the facilities at the airport, availability of space and other aspects related to immigration.
Members of the team also visited the new runway, which is nearing completion.
They held discussion with officials of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and the State police authorities at the airport.
Members of the team represented the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, National Informatics Centre, State Intelligence Wing, Department of Immigration and other departments.
The team visited the airport after the Air India Express, the low-cost airline of Air India, evinced interest in starting flight services between Thiruvananthapuram and Dubai via Mangalore. If this service is to start, immigration and customs facilities should be ready at Bajpe airport.
13/04/06 The Hindu/Bellevision

Blue Dart mulls on expansion plans

Chennai: Courier and integrated air express package distribution company, Blue Dart plans to add two new Boeing freighter aircraft to its fleet and set up facilities in 45 more cities as part of its aggressive expansion plan in the country.
Managing director of Blue Dart Express Ltd, Malcolm Monteiro told reporters that the company is all set to take on lease two Boeing 757-200s. The company already has five Boeing 737s freighter aircraft.
By the addition of the two Boeing 757s in June the carrying capacity would increase by 250 tonnes and route connections by 60.
Blue Dart is also going to add a seventh aviation centre at Hyderabad, which will be be completed by June.
12/04/06 Economic Times

Air Arabia to Fly to More Destinations in India

Air Arabia announced today that it will connect the UAE to more destinations in India with the addition of Jaipur and Kochi to its ever expanding list of routes. Flights to Kochi will commence from 1st May 06 and Jaipur 12th May.
Air Arabia will fly daily to Jaipur and 4 times a week to Kochi until 11th May and then daily to Kochi from 12th May.
With the addition of these two destinations, Air Arabia now connects the UAE to 4 key Indian cities in the North, Central and the South, taking the total number of flights per week into India to 26. Air Arabia flies daily to Mumbai and 5 times a week to Nagpur, offering value for money fares starting from AED 300 to Mumbai and AED 199 to Nagpur, exclusive of taxes and surcharges.
12/04/06 Al Bawaba Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge/TMCnet

Edelweiss sees SpiceJet break-even by Feb next

Mumbai: A report brought out by equity research firm Edelweiss Capital says SpiceJet Ltd will achieve a break-even at the net level by the third quarter of the next fiscal. The budget carrier, which launched its operations under the new management in May last year, has already achieved a break-even at the EBIDTAR level in the nine months of operations ended February. During this period, the company has posted a 62% quarter-on-quarter jump in sales to Rs 132 crore from Rs 81.5 crore during the same period last year.
But, even as analyst Nikhil Garg, who has authored the report, pats the budget carrier’s back on its current financial performance, he puts out a word of caution. In his performance sheet of SpiceJet, Garg warns that his predictions may go awry if the carrier does not stick to its schedule of scaling up operations (involving aircraft acquisition). Edelweiss has based its forecast of an early break-even on the assumption of a fleet size of 6, 15 and 23 by the end financial years 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively.
12/04/06 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

Bar on foreign investment in domestic carriers may go

Foreign airlines may now be able to invest in domestic Indian carriers. That's if the government approves the new aviation policy.
CNBC-TV18 has learnt that the policy proposal will now go to the cabinet for its approval. There is a proposal for allowing 100% FDI in aviation design and manufacturing. The new policy proposes to hive off AAI activities into subsidiaries to allow it to tap the equity market.
The AAI employees will be given ESOPs in new subsidiaries. Every airport will have at least two ground handling SVC providers and DGCA will regulate air navigation services. The government also plans to dismantle PSU hold on Jet fuel supply.
Jet fuel will be notified as Declared Goods. There is also a proposal to create an Essential Air Services Fund with cess on travel.
11/04/06 Moneycontrol.com

Govt looking to revitalise 400 airfields

New Delhi: The proposed civil aviation policy is asking for private participation for modernising more airports. The Government wants to revive 400 airfields in the country under the ownership of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Ministry of Defence and various state governments.
Currently, no greenfield airport is allowed within an aerial distance of 150 kms of an existing airport. The policy proposes to relax this restriction to encourage development of more airports. The Ministry also wants multiple airports in metropolitan regions to meet requirements of different areas.
The policy also proposes restructuring the activities of AAI. AAI will be hived off into five subsidiaries separately handling consultancy, architectural, construction, cargo and ground handling services.
12/04/06 moneycontrol.com/CNN-IBN

Air Deccan's South American pilot grounded for drinking

Air Deccan has suspended the pilot who was caught drunk on Monday morning, its spokesperson told DNA on Tuesday.
A breath-analyser test by the air safety team of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on the wee hours of Monday revealed that Captain N Ronaldo (48), a South American, had consumed alcohol.
Ronaldo was scheduled to fly the DN-641 with 180 passengers to Kolkata on Monday at 5:35am. “This is the first instance that a pilot from our airlines has been found drunk on duty,” said the Air Deccan spokesperson.
“He has been barred from flying till the inquiry into the matter is over,” the spokesperson added. According to air safety norms, pilots and crew members of domestic and international flights cannot consume liquor while on duty.
12/04/06 Bhargavi Kerur/Daily News & Analysis

Fly to Madurai by Paramount

Chennai: Paramount Airways today started service in Chennai- Madurai route . Governor Surjith Singh Barnala inaugurated the check-in and later flagged off the flight from Madurai airport at 7 pm.
Lakshmi Murugesan, chairperson, Paramount Airways welcomed the gathering followed by a presentation of the airline by M Thiagarajan, managing director, Paramount Airways. Flight Number 17403 will take off from Chennai at 12.25 pm and arrive Madurai at 1.20 pm and flight number 17404 will leave Madurai at 1.55 pm and arrive Chennai at 2.50 pm.
The other routes operated by the airline include, Chennai, Coimbatore and Kochi. The flight will soon be connecting Hyderabad and Bangalore. By connecting these cities, Paramount is all set to have a strong southern presence,' he added.
11/04/06 News Today

Govt yet to decide on single IPO for Air India, IA

New Delhi: The Government is yet to take a decision on whether Air India and Indian Airlines should have a simultaneous initial public offering (IPO).
"The merchant bankers working on the IPO for the two airlines have sent various interim reports to the Government. They have suggested many things, including looking at postponing the initial offering till such time as both airlines have new aircraft. This, the merchant bankers feel, will help get a better valuation. The Government, however, is yet to take a decision on the various reports received," a senior Government official said.
When contacted, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, refused to comment on which route the Government felt the airlines should adopt. "The merger is on the cards and will happen this year itself," he said. The two airline boards have already cleared the proposal for tapping the market with an IPO. The two airlines are likely to divest 20-25 per cent of the stake.
11/04/06 Hindu Business Line

Air-India Express to trigger fare war in SE Asian routes

Mumbai: State-owned Air-India's low-cost arm Air-India Express is planning to offer fares below Rs 10,000 for a round trip to these destinations.
The move is expected to trigger a rate war in this segment, which is one of the busiest routes for air traffic from India after the Gulf region. At present, the rates offered by full service carriers in these routes, including India's Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines, are about Rs 20,000 for a return trip.
The Air India Express flights to these destinations will take off from Chennai on May 16. An Air-India spokesperson said, "The fares to south-east Asian destinations are likely to be 50% less than the current fares offered by full service carriers."
With Air-India Express offering low fares, other airlines will also be forced to slash their fares by at least 10%, according to SOTC (a Kuoni Travel Group company) senior vice president Frederick Divecha.
12/04/06 Neelasri Barman/Financial Express

AI to Install Face Biometric Passenger Identification System

New Delhi: Passengers catching Air-India flights from Delhi will soon have to undergo biometric identification before they board their planes.
The Face Biometric Passenger Identification System (FBPIS) will be installed at 12 of the international airports in India and abroad from where Air-India operates. The system records physical features and matches it with stored data.
It takes seconds to scan through a data bank of millions and suggests likely matches and crosscheck the passenger’s antecedents at various stages of his travel. The system will help keep a tab on terror suspects and help Air-India keep out those travelling on another’s boarding pass as well as stowaways.
Biometric viewers at Air-India counters will scan the passenger’s travel documents, including his passport, visa page, tickets, boarding pass, and even his baggage tags. The actual picture taken will be matched with the picture on the passport. Biometric viewers will again record the passenger’s picture at the boarding gate and match the details on the boarding pass with those shown at the check-in counter to ensure the same person is boarding the plane. The passenger would again be checked when he gets off the flight.
12/04/06 Pratul Sharma/Delhi Newsline

Cochin Intl Airport to raise Rs 200 cr via rights issue

Chennai/ Kochi: Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) will enhance its capital base by Rs 200 crore through a rights issue, taking the total capital of the first-ever public-private partnership airport company of India to Rs 400 crore.
An extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the shareholders of the company held here on Saturday approved the rights issue in a ratio of 1:1.
Official sources said CIAL would issue 20 crore shares of Rs 10 each. The increase in capital base was part of its mega expansion plans and was in line with the proposals submitted by Ernst and Young, the consultants appointed by the company. The rights issue will open on May 1 and closes on May 31.
Through the rights issue, the holding of the state government, which is the largest shareholder of the company, will increase to Rs 104 crore from the present Rs 52 crore. The state government will have a 34 per cent stake in the company after the rights issue.
11/04/06 Business Standard

`No change in foreign airlines stake policy'

New Delhi: The Government is not in favour of allowing foreign airlines to pick up a stake in domestic airlines.
"There has been no change in the Government's thinking on not allowing foreign airlines to pick up a stake in the domestic aviation sector," said the Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, when asked whether the civil aviation policy would allow foreign airlines to pick up a stake in domestic carriers. Last year the Planning Commission, in its mid-term appraisal of the Tenth Five plan, had suggested a review of the current rules that debar foreign airlines from picking up an equity stake in domestic air transport operations.
The Government earlier allowed foreign airlines to pick up a stake in domestic airlines. However, the policy was reversed in 1996 and some foreign airlines, including Kuwait Airways, which had a share in Jet Airways, sold their stake.
12/04/06 Sify

Nagpur to be India's first national air cargo hub

New Delhi: Nagpur airport will soon be declared India's first national air cargo hub with attractive tax holidays for those ready to boost the long untapped sector.
"A policy is being prepared that will promote Nagpur. It is likely to be ready by June," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on the margins of a business conference here on growing air cargo traffic in India."Business sops and tax holidays will be given to attract freight companies, national and international courier companies, airlines and allied sectors to set up business there," Patel said.
Nagpur airport is already linked to the Middle East and Southeast Asia besides several stations in India. It will support 365 days of all weather cargo operations with facilities like cold storages."Indian Airlines has already chosen Nagpur to make it its national freight operation hub," said Patel, whose constituency Gondia is 170 km from Nagpur.
11/04/06 Daily News & Analysis

Now, A-I Express can fly to Kuwait

New Delhi: The government has decided to allow Air India Express — the low-cost subsidiary of national carrier Air India — to start services to Kuwait. In 2004, the government had reserved the Gulf sector for the state-run Indian and Air-India for three years, even as AI Express was flying it to utilise A-I’s unutilised rights.
AI Express has now been designated as a scheduled airline to operate flights to Kuwait. According to civil aviation ministry officials, the Indian government has entered into an understanding with Kuwait to allow AI Express to operate services to the country. They said other routes on the India-Gulf sector could soon be opened to AI Express.
12/04/06 Bipin Chandran/Business Standard

B'lore airport: Singapore wins deal

Singapore: One of two contracts to build and operate a cargo terminal at India's IT hub Bangalore's new international airport opening in 2008 has been bagged by a consortium of Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) and Air India, news reports said on Wednesday. The agreement, the first cargo contract for the Singapore Airlines subsidiary, is expected to be signed before the end of the month.
The SATS-Air India team is also competing in the ground-handling category for the new airport, The Straits Times reported. SATS provides in-flight catering at four other Indian airports - Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi and Kolkata - through its two joint ventures, Taj-SATS Air Catering and Taj Madras Flight Kitchen.
12/04/06 Times of India

BIAL approves redesign of international airport

Chennai/ Bangalore: The board of the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) on Monday in-principle approved the redesign of the new international airport.
However, the board has sought certain clarifications from the equity holders and the final decision is expected in the next few weeks. According to a BIAL press release, the redesign of the airport project is based on the revision of traffic forecast done in June 2005. The study has estimated the traffic flows for the new airport on the “airport opening year” (2008) at 6.7 million passengers from the 4.5 million passengers estimated earlier.
Subsequently, the figure is expected to climb to 8.5 million passengers in year 2010, the release said. The redesign will see an increase in the size of the passenger terminal building, number of aircraft stands, more taxiways, passenger boarding bridges and the main access road enabling the airport to match the expected traffic in the coming years, the release added.
11/04/06 Business Standard

Air Sahara loses altitude in domestic, int’l markets

Mumbai: The market share of the Lucknow-based Air Sahara is falling steadily on its domestic as well as international routes, even as it waits for its takeover by Jet Airways to be completed. Air Sahara has lost a lot of goodwill over the period as little is being done to reassure nervous employees and passengers, says an airline source.
Not surprisingly, passengers are moving to rival carriers. Though DGCA (directorate general of civil aviation) market share figures for January-March period are not yet available, sources say Air Sahara’s share of the domestic pie is slipping and has gone down to 8-9% from 13% at the end of ’05.
The airline has already ceded the third position (after Jet and Indian) to low-cost carrier Air Deccan. Sources say one overriding reason for the fall in Air Sahara sales is that travel agents have stopped pushing the airline’s tickets.
12/04/06 Economic Times

Kashmir gains as GoAir goes cherry-picking to Srinagar

Srinagar: Luscious cherries from Kashmir may not be a distant dream for Mumbaikars anymore. The Kashmir government is pinning hopes on GoAir, which launched a twice-a-week Mumbai-Srinagar flight on April 6, to solve the problem of transporting the fruit.“Shipping cherries to the rest of the country has been a huge problem.
I hope GoAir takes care of our cargo as well,” said Muzaffar Hussain Beig, deputy chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir, while welcoming the managing director of GoAir, Jeh Wadia to Srinagar. GoAir became the first airline ever to start a direct flight from Mumbai to Srinagar.
It also hopes to start operations to Srinagar from Delhi, which will give a major boost to the tourism industry that is likely to attract 12 lakh tourists this year.
11/04/06 Sanat Vallikappen /Daily News & Analysis

Hyderabad Greenfield Airport to Be Ready by Early 2008

Operational trials at the new international airport in Shamshabad near the capital city of Andhra Pradesh will begin by next year-end.
''There has been substantial progress in the past one year and the first flight could take off in first quarter of 2008,'' said Mr T. Srinagesh, chief operating officer of the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL).The foundation stone for Rs 17.6 billion project spread over 5,500 acres was laid on March 16 last year by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
About 11.77 million cubic metres of area has been cut of which 8.08 million cubic metres has been filled.The initial phase of new airport will be capable of handling seven million passengers and more than 100,000 tonnes of cargo per year.
''The ultimate capacity is over 50 million passengers and one million tonnes of cargo,'' said Mr Srinagesh.The GHIAL is a joint venture company promoted by GMR group with 63 per cent equity stake, Malaysia Airports Holding Berhard (11 per cent), the Andhra Pradesh state government (13 per cent) and the Airports Authority of India (13 per cent).
11/04/06 M.M.Khanna, Services India, Chandigarh/TravelVideo.tv

Amausi air cargo facility, a bad take-off!

The air cargo facility at the Amausi has become a laughing stock for city exporters and importers. The quantum of import went up from barely 10 during April to December 2003 to a paltry 13 during the similar period in 2005-06.
This resulted in zero import during April, May and September 2005-06.Likewise, the magnitude of exports between April and December 2003 jumped from 38 to 125 during April-December (2005-06) period.
The basic reason has been high air cargo rates which keep small exporters away.While the total revenue collection during 2005-06 stood at Rs 1.29 crore, which included collection of import duty (Rs 80.99 lakhs), unaccompanied baggage ( Rs 44.79 lakhs), export cess (Rs 357), education cess ( Rs 34,340) and other collections ( Rs 1,020), the central governmentt’s “duty drawback” scheme brought a revenue deficit of Rs 15.89 lakhs during 2005-06, sources said.
The air cargo facility at the Amausi got operational on July 27, 2000. Since then it completely depended on the air cargo lifted and brought by the Air India flights to and from Jeddah, Sharjah and Dubai.
11/04/06 Santosh Chowdhury/Hindustan Times

Yediyurappa inspects work on new runway at Mangalore

Mangalore: Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who arrived at Bajpe airport here on Tuesday on his way from Honnavar to Bangalore, inspected ongoing work on the new runway at the airport.
M.R. Vasudeva, director, Airports Authority of India, Bajpe airport, briefed Mr. Yediyurappa about the work and plans of AAI in developing the airport. Mr. Yediyurappa was accompanied by N. Yogish Bhat, MLA. Mr. Bhat told that he requested Mr. Yediyurappa, who also holds the Finance portfolio, to release Rs. 3.2 crore for land acquisition and rehabilitation for the proposed terminal building at the airport.
Concreting work on the new runway had been completed, he added. Installation of lights and other allied works had to be completed before commission the runway. However, according to international standards, the new runway is short by 300 metres to enable landing and taking off of large aircraft.
12/04/06 The Hindu/Udayavani

Govt considering withdrawal of excise duty exemption on ATF

New Delhi: Air travel could soon become expensive, with the finance ministry considering withdrawal of excise duty exemption on aviation turbine fuel.
It also wants to the same with excise and customs exemptions enjoyed by a host of products ranging from pressure cookers to high-value pens and bicycle components. The finance ministry has identified 21 customs duty and 54 excise duty exemptions, where it has sought the industry and the public's comments for phasing them out.
The ministry has also asked for a list of other items on which the exemptions could be removed. ATF was one of the major items on which excise concessions are proposed to be withdrawn. At present, the excise duty paid on ATF is refunded to the airlines, helping them reduce costs.
11/04/06 Times of India

Air Deccan pilot caught drunk while on duty

Mumbai: In a surprise check last morning, an Air Deccan pilot was caught drunk when he reported for duty.
A Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) safety team held Captain N Ronaldo (48), a South American, guilty for coming drunk to work. The DGCA carried out a check on 350 cabin and cockpit crew of 40 flights (both domestic and international) leaving Mumbai between 3 am and 8.30 am.
Ronaldo has been barred from flying till an official inquiry is conducted.“Captain Ronaldo was scheduled to pilot flight DN 641 to Kolkata, carrying 180 passengers. But he arrived drunk and our breath analyser results tested positive for alcohol,” said a senior DGCA official.
The pilot, however, claimed he had a drink more than 24 hours before the tests were conducted.
11/04/06 Kashif Khusro/Mid-Day Mumbai

New aviation policy by May

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Monday the government will unveil a new policy by May which could give a boost to the country's nascent air travel industry.He also said state-run international carrier Air India was free to raise debt for new planes. The airline had placed a firm order for 68 aircraft with Boeing Co. in January.
Earlier this month the government took its first step towards merging its domestic-focussed Indian Airlines Ltd. and Air India Ltd. as part of a wider strategy to take on nimble private players.
Patel said the government plans to make the central Indian city of Nagpur a hub for the country's air cargo traffic.The minister said incentives for setting up facilities at Nagpur would include cheaper aviation fuel, tax holidays and land and infrastructure support.
10/04/06 Reuters

Residents protest land acquisition for Chennai airport

Tambaram: The Struggle Committee of the Federation of Residents Association of Pozhichalur and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday organised a human chain as part of the series of protests against land acquisition for the proposed modernisation programme of the Chennai airport.
Several hundred residents from Pozhichalur, Anakaputhur, Gowl Bazaar and Pammal and CPI(M) activists formed a human chain, that started at the Pallavaram bus stand and extended to Tirusulam for a distance of about two kilometres. A cross section of society, including senior citizens, women, office-goers, activists, school students, youth and auto drivers, formed part of the human chain.
The police stopped the protestors near the Army Camp, saying that permission was granted only to hold a demonstration near the Ambedkar Statue, Pallavaram. Police shoved aside those protestors who insisted on extending the human chain until the airport.
11/04/06 The Hindu

AI-Singapore team wins B’lore airport cargo bid

Bangalore: The Air India-Singapore Airport Terminal Services consortium has bagged one of the two bids for cargo operations at the new Bangalore international airport. The second one will be picked from the Bobba Group-Menzies Aviation consortium and the Swissport-Cargo Service Center consortium.
The holding company, Bangalore International Airport Ltd, said it would finalise the second cargo operator by this month-end. BIAL said it has asked the second team to commercially match the SATS-AI bid. "The second ranked consortium will be requested to commercially match with the first ranked consortium.
In case the second ranked consortium confirms to do so, BIAL will finalise the appendices with the two parties and sign the agreements as proposed.
11/04/06 Sify

Cargo airline: AI, IA may get various options

New Delhi: The Government is open to the two state-owned airlines - Air India and Indian Airlines - examining various options for setting up separate cargo airlines including tying up with the private sector, the Secretary, Civil Aviation, Ajay Prasad, said.
"The airlines can look at leasing aircraft, forming joint venture companies or running the cargo airline as a separate unit," said Prasad on the sidelines of the `India cargo summit' that had been organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry Indian Airlines plans to convert its fleet of Boeing 737-200 aircraft that are currently being operated by the 100 per cent subsidiary, Alliance Air into freighter aircraft. Similarly, AI is to convert the Airbus A-310 into freighter aircraft.
11/04/06 Sify

India can be global air cargo hub, say experts

New Delhi: India has the potential to be a global hub for air cargo but it would need to improve upon its infrastructure and cost efficiency for it to make a mark in international market, experts have opined.
“Considering its geographical location, India, especially Delhi, has the potential to become a gobal hub for air cargo,” Singapore Airlines Cargo Pte Ltd President Hwang Teng Aun said addressing the ‘India Cargo Summit’ under the aegis of Confederation of Indian Industry here. Not only its geographical location but also the amount of international trade that the country is engaged in now makes India a good location for such a hub, he said.
“Even a place like Dubai, where there is not much of manufacturing or exports, is a succesful destination,” Mr Aun said. Echoing similar sentiments, Mckinsey & Co Associate Partner Kaushik Das said “India for most part of the last decade has been building infrastructure and the country has started making big strides.”
11/04/06 PTI/Deccan Herald

Frankfinn plans 100 centres

New Delhi/Amritsar: The Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training, a division of Frankfinn Aviation Services Pvt Ltd, is planning to have over 100 centres by the end of this year, besides expanding in West Asia.
The company will open branches in Dubai, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, South Africa (Johannesburg), and Bahrain, and is also planning to venture into films. This was stated by Franfinn Chairman K S Kohli, who was in the city at the inaugural function of 60th training centre, inaugurated by Punjab Minister for Excise and Taxation Sardul Singh Bandala.
Talking to Business Standard, Frankfinn Chairman K S Kohli said, “ Frankfinn is making efforts in providing students of Punjab with quality training and grooming.” By the end of this month, the number of centres will touch 68, as “we are opening centres in Jamshedpur, Patiala, Jaipur, Shimla, Pune etc,” according to him.
11/04/06 Vijay C Roy/Business Standard

HAL pilots team for Airbus deal

Bangalore: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will lead a consortium of service providers like Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and Infotech Enterprises to implement a $400 million outsourcing contract for European aircraft maker Airbus Industrie.
HAL is getting the $400 million deal as an offset order from Airbus for nearly $2.5 billion contract it bagged from Indian Airlines for 43 passenger aircraft. Indian has signed a deal for 19 A319s, four A320s and 20 A321s as a part of a five-year fleet renewal programme. It had set a 30% offset clause, making it mandatory for Airbus to source aerospace work from India.
The outsourcing deal would involve design, analysis, services, repair, documentation and training, besides manufacturing systems and components for the European aircraft maker. The private firms declined to comment on the new outsourcing deal with HAL citing silence period before their fourth quarter results.
TCS had signed a pact with public sector HAL last June to offer end-to-end engineering services to its customers. Its clients include Boeing, EADS, GE Aircraft Engines, Dunlop Aerospace and Pratt and Whitney.
10/04/06 Daily News & Analysis

Air Sahara loses 20% staff post-deal

Mumbai: Close to 800 employees of Air Sahara, which was recently acquired by Naresh Goyal-owned Jet Airways, have deserted the company ever since the mega deal was struck in January this year.
Air Sahara had more than 4, 000 employees, including pilots, skilled engineers and operations staff, at the time of acquisition. According to sources, the employees have left Air Sahara due to mounting apprehensions on job security arising out of the integration of the work force of the two carriers.
When contacted, an Air Sahara spokesperson refused to comment. At the time of announcement of the merger, the Jet chairman had said that all "suitable" employees of Air Sahara would be absorbed into the merged entity on a merit basis, a statement which he later amended to "no Air Sahara employee would lose job" in the new scenario. Employees who have now left the company are from various departments like operations, commercial, reservation and marketing, sources said.
10/04/06 Financial Express

AAI preparing reports on development of non-metro airports

Tiruchirapalli: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has commissioned two consultancy firms, including a US-based company, to prepare a technical and economic feasibility report for the development of non-metro airports.
Washington-based Louis Beger Group Inc and Delhi- headquartered Intercontinental Consultancy and Technocrats Pvt Ltd have already submitted their reports on Goa, Lucknow, Madurai, Mangalore and Thiruvananthapuram airports, AAI Advisor (Airport Operations and Management) A V Anand told PTI here.
They would now prepare preliminary reports for Tiruchirapalli, Indore, Bhopal, Nagpur, and Visakhapatnam and submit them in the next 45 days. The final report would be prepared by incorporating corrections and suggestions of AAI. The reports covered areas of airport operations, facilities at the airport and connectivity for both domestic and international.
09/04/06 PTI/Hindu

Snag-hit Indian flight lands at NSC Bose

Kolkata: Indian’s Airbus-320 flight from Delhi to Singapore, IC-859, made a precautionary landing at 3.25 a.m. on Sunday at NSC Bose airport because of a problem in the aircraft’s generator.
The flight with 105 passengers and eight crew on board had left Delhi at 1.15 a.m. Around 3 a.m., the pilot noticed the snag and informed the Airport Authority of India officials in Kolkata that he wanted to land here because of a problem in the aircraft.
Necessary support arrangements had been kept ready and the flight landed safely. The passengers were taken to the transit lounge. A different aircraft eventually took off at 7.05 a.m. for Singapore.
09/04/06 The Statesman

IA plane makes emergency landing in Singapore

New Delhi: Indian Airlines plane carrying 80 passengers from Singapore to New Delhi made an emergency landing at the Changi airport of the city state following engine trouble half an hour after its take off, sources in the airlines said in New Delhi on Sunday.
The pilot of the plane noticed some problem in the aircraft’s engine and did not take any risk deciding to return to the airport in Singapore at around on Sunday evening. After attending to the fault, the plane would leave for Delhi on Sunday night, the sources said.
09/04/06 PTI/Sify

IA increases Dubai-Chennai, Dubai-Calicut flights

Dubai: Following the recent launch of Indian Airlines’ daily flights on Dubai-Mumbai route, the airline is increasing services out of Dubai effective June 1 to Chennai and Calicut. There will be daily non-stop flights from Dubai to Chennai and Calicut.
With these, services will increase to 75 flights a week from the UAE.The flight to Chennai will depart Dubai at 1345hrs reaching Chennai at 1900hrs, and in the return direction, depart Chennai at 1200hrs reaching Dubai at 2230hrs.The flight to Calicut will depart Dubai at 0200hrs reaching Calicut at 0700hrs, and in the return direction depart Calicut at 1015hrs reaching Dubai at 1245hrs.
10/04/06 Khaleej Times

Qatar: Airlines gear up for mad rush for tickets

Doha: In view of the reported directives issued by the Ministry of Education to the private schools to curtail their summer vacations, airlines have geared up to cope with the possible rush of expats during June-end and mid-August. With private schools forced to curtail their summer holidays by more than half a month, the airlines expect a real scramble for tickets.
"We normally experience a rush during the summer holidays. This time we expect an added incoming rush. But we have adequate flights to cope with the situation", said Debashish Golder, manager, Air-India, Qatar. Indian Airlines is also toying with the idea of operating additional flights. " It's too premature to say whether the curtailment of the holiday would lead to a rush. But we are prepared to cope up with the situation. But it is for the headquarters to decide what kind of arrangements are to be made," said Vinodkumar, manager, Indian Airlines, Qatar. 10/04/06 Peninsula On-line, Qatar

Boeing MRO deal by month-end

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is expecting to finalise by April end, the Rs450-crore ($100 million) deal for setting up the Maintenance, Repairs and Overhauling (MRO) facility of The Boeing Company in Nagpur.
A senior government official, on condition of anonymity, said, “The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Boeing, Alan Mullaly, is likely to arrive in Mumbai between April 13 and 15. But, the final announcement will be made in Seattle.”
The government has allotted 120 acres of land adjoining the airport and the special economic zone (SEZ) for what will be the first Boeing unit in India.The other states vying for the project are Madhya Pradesh (Gwalior)—which is willing to give land free to Boeing—Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala (Kochi).
10/04/06 Daily News & Analysis/Shubhangi Khapre

Dabolim Airport:new panel to fight for cause

Panjim: Frustrated with the on going fight led by South Goa MP Churchill Alemao under the banner of “Dabolim Airport Action Committee”, various Pro Dabolim Airport supporters have decided to start a genuine agitation by forming a new outfit comprising of youth in the name of `Save Dabolim Airport Action Committee’.
The decision was taken today at a meeting held at Cortalim under the leadership of Adv Greg de Barros.Adv Barros said that they have been supporting the Alemao’s agitation to save Dabolim Airport, but he said that DAAC has been hijacked by Alemao for his personal motives and selfish political gains.
He said that initially the people of Goa thought that Alemao and his team was genuinely fighting to retain Dabolim Airport, but the people have now realised that DAAC has become a political survival platform.
09/04/06 Herald Publications

Airline sector set to gain from new policy decision

New Delhi: Indian carriers with international operations can now look forward to picking up fuel at competitive rates from India for their outbound long-distance flights, thanks to the Annual Supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy (2004-09).
"The announcement made on Friday would also be applicable to Indian carriers in respect of their outbound operations, but not for domestic operations," Mr K.T. Chacko, Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), told Business Line on the sidelines of an industry gathering.
This clarification should come as a boost to not only Air India and Indian Airlines but private sector airlines such as Jet Airways and Air Sahara as well, all of which operate international flights from India.
"Technically speaking, flights operated by airlines from India will not be going in for refuelling. Therefore, one will have to look at the fine print before it becomes clear as to whether we also benefit," said a senior official of airline of India that has international flights. Mr Kamal Nath had said that supplies of stores (food, beverages and other supplies) and refuelling of long-distance flights had emerged as a big business opportunity.
The policy announcement is likely to benefit oil companies in terms of increased sales to more airlines.
09/04/06 Ashwini Phadnis, K.R. Srivats/Hindu Business Line

A-I to raise $1.1 bn loan for fleet acquisition

Mumbai: National flag carrier Air-India would shortly tap the debt market for raising $1.1 billion to part-finance the purchase of 68 aircraft from the US-based aircraft manufacturer, Boeing. The total acquisition cost is pegged at $7 billion.
The company had earlier taken a loan of $429 million from an IDBI-led consortium. The US Exim Bank would offer guarantee for this loan and a sovereign guarantee is expected to follow suit soon.
The airline is in the process of preparing a detailed application to the US Exim Bank for a preliminary commitment for the guarantee, which would be later converted into a final commitment.
10/04/06 P R Sanjai/Business Standard

Now for the Ramayana trail in Sri Lanka

Chennai: Mythological events and images from the Ramayana epic will now provide the backdrop for an innovative package for visiting tourists offered by the Sri Lanka Tourist Board and SriLankan Airlines.
"Ramayana creates a lot of interest in India and Sri Lanka. Hence, SriLankan Airlines thought it fit to use it as a marketing strategy to woo tourists from India," says N. Prabaharan, its regional manager for Sri Lanka and India Sub-Continent.
Starting with Colombo, the Ramayana tourist circuit will initially cover Avissawlla, Bandarawela, Ella, Welimada, Hakga, Nuwara Eliya, Sita Eliya, Pussellawa, and Kandy. The second phase will touch Kurunegala, Wariapola, Anuradhapura, Trincomalee, Mannar and Talaimannar. The third will lead to the Great Southern Road to Weligama and the Great and Little Basses islets. From a fibre glass boat , tourists can see the remains of what is believed to be Rama's Bridge, spanning 22 miles from Palk Strait to Talaimannar.
09/04/06 T.S. Shankar/The Hindu

Finnair to start operations to Delhi this November

Kuala Lumpur: The national carrier of Finland, Finnair, will start services to India (Dehli) in November this year. Its flights to Nagoya, Japan would begin in June.Finnair, will commence its operation in Kuala Lumpur, its 11th destination in Asia, from May 2007.
Its flights from Helsinki to Kuala Lumpur will be operated three times a week via Bangkok and will utilise the MD 11 aircraft with a 296-seat configuration.Finnair, which was established on November 1, 1923, flies to Bangkok, Guangzhou, Osaka, Singapore, Beijing, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong in Asia.
09/04/06 Malaysia Star, Malaysia

Air Arabia to operate services from Kochi

Kochi : Air Arabia, the Sharjah-based United Arab Emirates' national budget carrier, will launch services from the Cochin International Airport on May 5, said CIAL managing director V.J. Kurian.
The airline will start with daily service between Kochi and Sharjah. A 183-seater Airbus-320 will be deployed to operate the service. The flight is scheduled to arrive here at 6.25 p.m. and return to Sharjah at 7.10 p.m. Discussions regarding the commencement of services have been held between the airlines' Operations head, Shabeer Kambartta, and the airport authorities, it is learnt.
The fares offered by Air Arabia are expected to be lower than that offered by Air India Express, the no-frills subsidiary of Air-India, which already operates services in this sector.
08/04/06 The Hindu

Gulf Air Company fined for refusing entry to confirmed ticket holders

New Delhi: A foreign airliner - Gulf Air Company - has been asked by a consumer court here to cough up Rs 26,000 as damages and also refund airfares to two city passengers for forcing them to travel in a separate airliner despite having valid tickets.
The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission headed by Justice J D Kapoor and Member Rumnita Mittal asked the airliner to pay the amount within 45 days to complainants who, on their way to Delhi from London, were denied entry into the GAC plane.
The Commission rejected the airliner's contention that the entry was denied because the passengers did not possess visas of different countries where the plane stopped during the journey. As per the complainants, Santosh and Kanwar Singh purchased confirmed return tickets from the GAC.
09/04/06 PTI/The Hindu

Kaw panel draws new flight path for pilots

New Delhi: The dawn of a new horizon beckons pilots if far-reaching recommendations of an aviation panel are okayed. The basic requirement for a commercial pilots license (CPL), 10+2 with physics and maths, has been diluted.
The Kaw committee report on restructuring DGCA has suggested these two subjects not be made mandatory. Also, to churn out pilots faster, the panel suggests that to begin with, exams should be conducted on-line on a fortnightly basis as is done by the FAA and results declared the same day. "Later, ODE — Exam on Demand — should be conducted.
The student goes to a specified computer centre, generates the question paper he wants, completes it and gives it in," says Kaw. It wants those appearing for CPL exams to have at least 50 flying hours.
Presently, there's no such stipulation. Medical examination of pilots, presently done at IAF medical centres, has got a shot too. "We suggest DGCA also approve reputed hospitals for this purpose," says Kaw. The panel also wants flying training organisations with inadequate planes, instructors, etc, to have approvals suspended.
09/04/06 Shobha John/Times of India

Two groups selected for cargo operations at Bangalore International Airport

Bangalore: The Air India-Singapore Airport Terminal Services consortium and the Menzies Aviation-Bobba Group joint venture are set to win separate contracts to provide cargo operations at the upcoming Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli.
"The Board of Bangalore International Airport Ltd. cleared the technical and financial bids submitted by the Air India consortium and the Menzies consortium at a meeting held on Friday," officials aware of the decision told The Hindu .
A total of six consortiums had submitted technical and financial proposals to provide cargo facilities at the airport. The BIAL Board deferred a decision on selecting two service providers for ground handling facilities for which nine companies/consortiums had submitted their technical and financial bids, the official said.
09/04/06 P. Manoj/The Hindu

Air India hedge fuel price exposure

Singapore: Expensive oil is leading savvy energy consumers such as airlines to use more complex tools to manage their fuel price risk, but Asian manufacturers are lagging and face spikes that could hit profits.
In a symbol of the region’s growing hedging business, Air India became the first airline in the country to hedge some of its fuel price exposure in the first quarter, using options and collars as well as jet fuel swaps, through US bank Citigroup.
Now major carriers such as Japan Airlines and Qantas Airways who already have substantial hedging programmes may be looking to take a more dynamic role.
09/04/06 Daily Times, Pakistan

Mopa airport must go: Faleiro

Panjim: Minister for Industries, Luizinho Faleiro has put forth his views to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi about the airport controversy saying that “Mopa airport proposal should be shelved.”
Following his return from Delhi today, Faleiro addressed the press in Panjim where he said that he met the Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the Civil Aviation Minister, Defence Minister and the Finance Minister and appraised them of the airport controversy and given them his views in writing.
Faleiro said “I have categorically told the Congress President to drop Mopa and that the decision taken by the erstwhile NDA should be reversed.” Further in an attempt to clarify his stand on the airport controversy, Faleiro said “somehow there is an impression created that I am in favour of Mopa airport, which is wrong. For whatever short tenure I have been Chief Minister I have had five meetings and all these meetings were for the upgradation of the existing Dabolim airport.”
08/04/07 Herald Publications