Overseas air travel to cost more from May 1

Mumbai: International air fares for first and business class will now be dearer, with the ministry of finance issuing a notification to all carriers operating flights from India to overseas that a service fee of 12.24% would be levied on air tickets for these categories effective May 1 this year. This, combined with the proposed fuel surcharges announced by carriers on Thursday, will make air travel much more expensive.
A top official in the airline industry told FE , "The notification from the ministry has reached us yesterday. We will be implementing the revised fares from May 1." While the decision to introduce the service fee was discussed in the latest Union Budget, it did not go down well with many. In fact, civil aviation minister Praful Patel had taken up the issue with the finance minister. Centre for Asia Pacific CEO Kapil Kaul said, "The airlines will now have no other option but to implement this." The announcement to raise fares has already taken its toll on international bookings.
28/04/06 Neelasri Braman & Rouhan Sharma/Financial Express

GoAir to tie up with Singapore Airlines

Mumbai: GoAir expects to finalise its proposed partnership with Singapore Airlines to set up a chain of MRO (maintenance, repair and overhauling) facilities in India in the next two months.
Jeh Wadia, Managing Director of the company, told presspersons that the joint venture will set up between eight and 12 MRO facilities. These facilities will be able to cater to the maintenance requirements of both Airbus and Boeing aircraft, apart from all wide-bodied aircraft.
The idea is to leverage the low cost of engineering services in India by setting up an engineering facility under Go Engineering. After the restructuring, the Wadia family has created a common holding company, Go Holdings.
29/04/06 Business Line/Sify

Sri Lankan Airlines hikes airfares on Indian routes

Colombo: SriLankan Airlines will raise its fuel surcharge on all Indian routes by $10 from May 5, to partially offset galloping energy prices, the airline said on Friday.
Ticket prices for other destinations will go up by $30 for European routes and $20 for Middle East and Far East, its Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Barry Brown said.
The fee will not be applicable on tickets bought before April 30, the airline said.
SriLankan is the largest foreign carrier operating into India, and now serves nine destinations - New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Trichy, Trivandrum, Calicut, Bangalore, Hyd erabad, and Kochi.
28/04/06 Hindu Business Line

Govt officials can now fly private airlines

The monopoly of public sector airlines on government business has ended with officials being allowed to fly with private airlines and advised to make bookings in advance to take advantage of discounted fares.
"The air travel on official account would now be permissible on airlines, other than Indian airlines and Air India, provided the criteria of selection of alternative airline is based on better and more competitive prices," an order issued by Department of Expenditure said.
Apart from official business, this order is also applicable to Leave Travel Concession. The decision to end the monopoly of state-owned airlines in domestic and international travel has been taken to bring down the government expenditure.
The order said the officers should also try to make their bookings in advance to the extent possible so that benefits of discounted fares can be obtained.
28/04/06 PTI/Rediff

Sops likely for airlines linking metros, small towns

Mumbai: The Ministry of Civil Aviation is planning to come out with a five-year incentive package for airline operators that link metros with regional centres, as part of its attempts to create a National Aviation Grid connecting smaller towns with big cities.
Delivering the keynote address at the Aviation Investors Summit here on Thursday, Mr Praful Patel, the Minister for Civil Aviation, said the incentives would be in the form of waiver of certain airport user charges, parking charges, route navigation charges and landing charges.
Admitting that the aviation sector faced infrastructure constraints, he, however, said even with the existing infrastructure, air connectivity could be improved.
"I am asking all the State Governments to identify airstrips that are not in use and develop them through public-private participation," he said.
29/04/06 Hindu Business Line

ViaSat selected for India project

The Airports Authority of India has selected ViaSat to provide a broadband satellite communications network to connect 80 airports in a single network.
ViaSat, which maintains a Norcross location, produces satellite and communication products, including satellite ground equipment and information security devices, for government and commercial use.
Recently released quarterly financial updates from ViaSat showed year-to-date new business orders of $296.7 million and revenues of $255 million.
Gwinnett Business Journal, GA

Land acquired for Mopa could be used for other project, says Alemao

Margao: The South Goa MP, Mr Churchill Alemao today said that he had requested the chairman of the civil aviation ministry, Mr Ramalingam to follow up the proposal by the defence ministry to transfer the eight acres of land to Airport Authority of India in the interest of Dabolim upgradation.
Mr Alemao speaking to the reporters said that he had received a note from the joint secretary, ministry of civil aviation, Government of India.
This, and other notes and letters were discussed during the meeting held on April 24 of five-member committee, constituted to study the Mopa airport.
Mr Alemao further said lengthy discussions were held on the issue and it was later agreed as per the suggestions made by the committee members to appoint experts for better results.
29/04/06 Navhind Times

Indian Navy offers land for Dabolim Airport expansion

Panaji: Indian Navy has offered eight acres of land within its premises for the expansion of Goa's Dabolim Airport, said Flag Officer-Commanding Goa Area (Foga), Rear Admiral S M Vadgaonkar.
"The land can be used to construct six to eight parking bays for civilian aircraft and will take care of their requirements", Admiral Vadgaonkar told reporters during the launch of two coast guard ships at Vasco today.
"We will hand over this land to the Airport Authority of India and it is for them to decide about its utilisation," he said.
Speaking about Goa government's decision to seek the Centre's intervention in expanding the Dabolim Airport, Vadgaonkar said that till date he had not received any written communication about it, though there were verbal requests and dialogue was on.
28/04/06 Zee News

Air services to be hit again?

New Delhi: Air passengers may be again at the receiving end. First there was the strike by AAI employees, which paralyzed air services for four days. Now the Air Corporations Employees Union (ACEU) has threatened to go on strike if their demands on wage revision are not met.
Employees of ACEU held a demonstration outside the civil aviation ministry headquarters here and declared they would go on protest from May 1. If their demands are still ignored, they have threatened to go on strike from May 8.
And if the unions are to be believed, the strike would not only affect flights of the national carrier, but the spill over will also hit other domestic and international airlines as well. The reason: Indian manages the ground-handling services for several airlines.
ACEU General Secretary Arun Kumar said that on the domestic front, Indian is responsible for the ground handling duties of Kingfisher Airlines. "On the international sector it looks after ground handling for Malaysia Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, Tajikistan Airlines, Uzbekistan Airways, Sri Lankan Airlines, Qatar Airways, KLM and Ariana Air."
28/04/06 Nandini R Iyer/Hindustan Times

Sonari airport: Flights, probe take off

Jamshedpur: Flight services resumed at the Sonari airport today, about 36 hours after a six-seater Tata Steel aircraft, carrying top Tata officials back from Calcutta, skidded off the runway late Wednesday evening.
Six passengers were on board. Five of them had sustained minor injures and were admitted to the Tata Main Hospital.
The airport became operational and a flight from Delhi landed in the evening after the damaged aircraft, which was stationed near the runway, was carried away with a crane,
Earlier in the morning, a team from the director general of civil aviation’s regional office, in Calcutta, (DGCA) inspected the aircraft. According to sources, another team from the DGCA will arrive at the steel city tomorrow morning to conduct a final inspection and ascertain the cause behind the incident.
Meanwhile, the police have begun a probe and have lodged two separate cases in the incident.
28/04/06 Calcutta Telegraph

New tactics played out in battle for the skies

Mumbai: The battle for the skies is increasingly being fought on the ground with low cost carriers (LCCs) aiming to commoditise air travel. LCCs have managed to grab a substantial 23% of the market share over the last one year while legacy carriers have lost 18% of the share in the same period.
However, here is a caveat. “We are witnessing some suicidal tricks in the market with freebies being offered. The fun and games have just begun. The LCCs are taking one other head-on in their early stages of growth,” said Air Deccan chief operating officer Warwick Brady. He was addressing the Second Annual India & Middle East Aviation & Tourism Investor Summit organised by CAPA here on Friday.
Spicejet Director Ajay Singh said, “Tariff stimulation will be the key to increase in volumes for LCCs just as in the case of Indian mobile telephony.” However, glaring issues like high landing charges, ground overheads and government taxation need to be addressed first.
29/04/06 Financial Express

Air India and Indian Airlines merger will create shareholder value

The Indian Government will succeed in creating an internationally competitive carrier by merging Air India and Indian Airlines if it can overcome the challenges that lie ahead, according to Mr Andrew Miller, the Chief Executive of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
Mr Miller, a former Chief Operating Officer of Air New Zealand and the architect of several successful airline turnaround projects, told the Centre’s Middle East & Indian Subcontinent Aviation & Tourism Investor Summit in Mumbai that the Government is in a position to capitalise on previous experience with airline mergers in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
“The ideal outcome for any merger is that revenue is maximised through built-in synergies and costs lowered through economies of scale,” Mr Miller says. “However, many airlines don’t manage to achieve this. The Indian Government’s advantage is that it can learn from previous mistakes in other countries.”
28/04/06 Travel Daily News International, Greece

Runway depression: Landings delayed at Mumbai

Mumbai: Passengers from Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata were kept hovering above Mumbai airport for an hour due to problems on the runway on Friday afternoon.
It also led to around 15 flights of Jet Airways, Indian, Air Deccan and Spice Jet being delayed, leaving passengers stranded on the ground.
“A circle of depression (damage due to broken tar) was found at the beginning point (aircraft touch-down spot) on the runway 14-side (secondary runway), which led to the closure for 30 minutes,” airport sources said.
The main runway, 9-27, was closed from 1.15 pm to 1.45 pm due to refurbishment of the Instrument Landing System; during the closure period, the secondary runway was opened to avoid delays, Air Traffic Control sources added.
After detecting the depression on the runway, which was caused by a sharp turn of an aircraft on secondary runway 14-side, the main runway was opened again after sometime.
28/04/06 Bhargavi Kerur /Daily News & Analysis

Indian withdraws some flights temporarily

Chennai: Indian today said some city-bound flights would be temporarily withdrawn from May 1 to 31 due to operational reasons.
Evening flights 802/801 on Chennai-Delhi-Chennai sectors have been withdrawn.
In the Chennai-Mumbai-Chennai sector, the evening flights IC 571/572 have been withdrawn. Similarly, flight IC 970 flying Mumbai-Chennai - leaving Mumbai at 11.45 a.m. and arriving here at 1.30 p.m. - will not operate till May 31, it said.
Flight IC 969 on the Chennai-Mumbai sector will operate in its existing timings leaving Chennai at 9.15 a.m.. Flight IC 672 will operate between Madurai and Chennai, leaving Madurai at 1.20 p.m. and arriving here at 2.15 p.m. Flight IC 671 on the Mumbai – Chennai - Madurai sector will operate as per scheduled timings, it said.
The Chennai – Hyderabad - Chennai sector IC 947 operating on Fridays, will leave Chennai at 2.15 p.m. instead of 2.40 p.m. In the return direction, IC 948 will leave Hyderabad at 5.00 p.m.
On all other days, flight IC 947/948 will operate according to the existing timings, the release added.
28/04/06 Chennai Online

Domestic airfares set to turn costlier

New Delhi: The rise in global oil prices is beginning to impact on domestic air travel. While Jet Airways today announced that it would levy a fuel surcharge of Rs 300 on all domestic faresfrom May 1, the other airlines, including the low-cost airline Air Deccan, hinted at either in increase in fares or the applicable fuel surcharge soon.
Jet Airways decision to increase fuel surcharge would apply to both business and economy tickets, the airline said in a statement. The surcharge will also apply to the local leg of an international journey being undertaken by the passenger.
Delhi-Mumbai-Thiruvananthapuram sector without a break in journey then the fuel surcharge payable would be Rs 300.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kingfisher Airlines, Mr Vijay Mallya also hinted at a fare hike.
The Air Deccan Managing Director, Captain G.R. Gopinath said although the airline planned to increase fares a decision was yet to be taken on whether the airline should levy a surcharge or increase the basic fare. The airline is said to be looking at levying a surcharge of between Rs 275-325, sources said.
The low cost airline Spice Jet that earlier in the day announced a fuel surcharge of Rs 50-100 decided to defer a final decision till the first week of May.
Indian was yet to firm up its plans.
28/04/06 The Hindu Business Line

Bombardier Says India May Buy $8 Bln of Regional Planes by 2025

Bombardier Inc., the world's third- biggest planemaker, expects Indian carriers to buy as many as 400 small planes valued at $8 billion in the next two decades as demand for air travel gains in India's small towns.
Bombardier is in talks with Jet Airways (India) Ltd., the nation's biggest domestic airline, and low-fare carriers such as SpiceJet Ltd., which are seeking orders for planes that can seat between 50 and 100 people, Trung Ngo, Bombardier vice president for marketing and communications, said in an interview in Mumbai today. The Montreal-based company aims to win a 55 percent share of the market for such planes in India by 2025, he said.
Bombardier, which hasn't sold any of its regional aircraft in India, is counting on traffic growth in small towns in the world's seventh-biggest country by area to generate demand for its planes after missing out last year on the nation's record orders. Indian carriers have been buying bigger aircraft to cut costs, and now want smaller planes to feed into their hubs.
27/04/06 Bloomberg

Airlines mandated to give advance information on passengers

New Delhi: The government has made it mandatory for all airlines to supply information about passengers arriving in India so that 'potential threats' can be identified in advance.
The home ministry has decided to enforce the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) from May 1.
'The objective is to allow airport authorities to identify passengers who could be potential threats,' said a ministry official.
The information, transmitted electronically, will include personal information of the passenger like passport details, nationality, visa details and information on duration of stay and address.
The exponential increase in passenger traffic over the last year has also made it necessary to implement APIS, which is aimed to reduce delays at immigration counters in airports.
The scheme has been operational in the US from October last year, allowing authorities to make checks to identify anyone who could be a potential threat.
27/04/06 Indo Asian News Service/DailyIndia.com

Sical consortium to build Nagpur airport rail terminal

Chennai: The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has picked Chennai-based Sical Logistics-led consortium to set up a rail terminal as part of the proposed multi-modal international hub airport at Nagpur. A letter of intent has already been issued by MADC to the Sical-led team. The other member of the consortium is Nagpur-based Gupta Coal India Ltd.
The rail terminal will be developed on the build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis on a 24-hectare plot on lease for 66 years. It will have a capacity to handle 150,000 TEU (twenty equivalent units) a year. The proposed rail terminal will consist of a container freight station with neutral rail siding and will have handling infrastructure for export-import, domestic bulk and containerised cargo. These will be built in phases in line with client's needs and Sical's own container train requirements.
The terminal is expected to go operational in the first quarter of 2008-09.
28/04/06 The Hindu

Pvt equity for pilot training schools

Mumbai: Government is planning to allow investors to buy into state-owned pilot training schools.
The move, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said, is aimed at scaling up the operations of the government-controlled pilot training institutions and meet the growing demand of trained manpower in the civil aviation industry.
Though the quantum of government equity to be diluted is yet to be finalised, Patel said dilution would be in line with current norms in the aviation industry which restricts FDI at 49%. "It will be within sectoral caps."
Government today owns a dedicated pilot training institute Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udan Academy in Rai Barreily, UP, in addition to a host of flying clubs across the country. Besides, it is planning to set up a new pilot training academy in Gondia, Maharashtra. Government has started work on identifying JV partners and is hopeful of finalising it by this year-end.
28/04/06 Byas Anand/Times of India

Team probes heavy landing at Sonari airport

Jamshedpur: A two-member Air Safety team from the director-general of civil aviation (DGCA) today inspected the Air King C-90 that suffered a heavy landing here at the Sonari airport last evening.
The aircraft, which was coming from Calcutta, skidded off the runway allegedly due to inclement weather.
According to sources, the team members inspected the six-seater aircraft and the probable reasons that could have resulted in its heavy landing, which left five of its occupants with minor injuries.
Vice-president (flat products) of Tata Steel, Anand Sen, and managing director of Tinplate Company of India Limited, B.L. Raina, were also in the aircraft.
Sources said security was beefed up at the airport but because of the debris on the runway, no flight could take off or land there today.
27/04/06 Calcutta Telegraph

Non-metro airports to get facelift by ’08, says Patel

Mumbai: The upgradation of 35 non-metro airports in the country is likely to be completed by 2008, said civil aviation minister Praful Patel. “Technical advisors and global design consultants have already been appointed to create world class airports in true aesthetic sense. The upgrading of these airports is expected to be completed by 2008,” the minister said on the sidelines of second annual India & Middle East Aviation & Tourism Investor Summit on Thursday.
The Planning Commission had given its approval to the modernisation proposal of 10 non-metro airports earlier, while the approval for the remaining 25 non-metro airports is expected shortly. The ministry of civil aviation had earlier given the final nod for Rs 8,000 crore modernisation plan for 35 non-metro airports .
The roadmap for civil aviation is to combine over 400 airports, including those which are used by air force, state and Centre . This new initiative will create an aviation grid in the country, similar to the ones in countries like the US.
Mr. Patel said the carriers which gain a first mover advantage would be given incentives in the form of waivers in landing charges, aeronautical and parking charges.
28/04/06 Financial Express

Low-cost airlines grab 1/3rd market

New Delhi: Small hikes aside; there is increasing demand for popular low cost airlines that are eating up aviation market share. Growing at almost 41 per cent annually, they have captured one third of the total market. CNN-IBN reports that in many of these airlines about half of the passengers are first time fliers.
The crumbling infrastructure and frequent flight delays have not deterred people from taking to the skies. Last year about 19 million domestic airline tickets were sold.
This year that number has grown by about 25 per cent to nearly 24 million. And who is driving this growth? It is the cheap tickets from the new low cost airlines.
Low cost carriers including the high frills Kingfisher, now control almost 30 per cent of the market.
The biggest loser has been Indian Airlines with its trendy make over called Indian. It has been left with a market share of only 23.88 per cent while the Jet-Sahara combine controls 45 per cent.
Kapil Kaul, CEO, CAPA India says, “Low cost airlines are expected to take almost 50 per cent market share before 2010. “
28/04/06 Arijit Banerjee/CNN-IBN

Air Deccan opens seventh base in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: Air Deccan on Thursday launched its airbus A-320 service from here to Delhi and Mumbai.
The city was the seventh base for Air Deccan after Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, Air Deccan Chief Revenue Officer John K Kurivilla told reporters on Thursday.
The Delhi flight leaves from here at 6.50 am and reaches Chennai at 7.55 am and leaves Chennai at 8.25 am and reaches Delhi at 11.05 am.
The departure of the return flight from Delhi is at 12 pm and it arrives at Chennai at 2.30 pm. Leaving Chennai at 3.05 pm, the flight will arrive at 4.10 pm.
The Mumbai flight leaves here at 4.50 pm, reaches Kochi at 5.20 pm and reaches Mumbai at 7.35 pm.
The company was now operating 235 daily flights from 55 centres with 31 aircrafts, including 12 airbuses.
28/04/06 The Hindu

GoAir & AVA Merchandising launch inflight shopping

GoAir today announced the launch of its in flight shopping in association with AVA Merchandising. GoAir in flight shopping is a special promotion which aims to provide world class shopping services to its passengers. GoAir through this limited special offer gives an opportunity to its passengers to purchase top of the line brands at some of the lowest prices in India.
This scheme includes top of the line brands in home, office and personal products like LG phones, Calvin Klien and Police perfumes, Reebok casual and swim wear, Provogue clothing etc. The products listed can only be purchased only on board GoAir flights. With no hidden cost on the discounted prices and a quality assurance all products ordered are delivered free of charge to every passengers doorstep. A passenger can purchase as many products as he/she desires.
AVA Merchandising is part of the Indian arm of the global Merchandising Group Merchandising, having a group turnover of over 20 Million US Dollar.
27/04/06 Moneycontrol.com

Cabinet approves air services agreement between India, NZ

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet approved the signing of air services agreement between India and New Zealand.
Under the proposed pact, both sides would be able to designate more than one airline for the purpose of operating flights between the two countries, an official spokesperson told reporters after a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Both parties could consult each other regarding the safety standards maintained by the designated carriers or by the air crew, aeronautical facilities or other operations.
28/04/06 Zee News

Kingfisher may go in for an IPO soon

New Delhi: The UB Group has not arrived at a final decision on infusing fresh capital to expand the operations of Kingfisher airline. The Group has plans to infuse $200m to back the airline’s rapid expansion.
UB Group chairman Vijay Mallya said on Thursday that various options were under consideration and the airline may go for an IPO this year.
“The UB Group could pump in more investments into the airline or we can go in for debt. We can also do deals with private equity funds or opt for an IPO,” Mr Mallya said. “Various options are open but Kingfisher’s equity will not be sold cheap,” he added.
The company is expanding rapidly and the airline’s marketshare now stands close to 9%, the UB Group chief said while speaking to reporters after an aviation seminar organised by the Aeronautical Society of India here.
28/04/06 Economic Times

Govt should allow outsourcing for pvt airlines: Jeh Wadia

Mumbai: The Government should allow private airlines to outsource services like security, ground handling and engineering to enable them to become cost effective, Go Air Managing Director Jeh Wadia said here today.
"The three areas of outsourcing that the government should allow are security, ground handling and engineering. They should also allow fuel hedging," Wadia told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of Go Air's in-flight shopping.
"These would make the services more efficient and also help in bringing down the costs incurred by the airlines currently," Wadia said.
27/04/06 NewKerala.com

‘IA-AI merger may not be smooth’

Mumbai: The merger of Indian Airlines with Air-India may not be as smooth as the Jet-Sahara merger due to issues related to the companies’ workforce. Speaking on the sidelines of the 2nd Annual India & Middle East Aviation & Tourism Investor Summit in Mumbai, Centre for Aviation Pacific (CAPA) executive chairman Peter Harbison told FE, “The merger of the two state-owned carriers pose many challenges. The two carriers have strong trade unions. They have to be tackled very carefully. They have to be made to understand that the merger is for the benefit of the carriers.”
Citing examples of airline mergers across the world, he said, “The merger of Qantas with Australian Airlines was very successful. But Air Canada and Canadian Airlines merger was not very successful.” It is too early for experts to comment if the Air-India and Indian Airlines merger will be a success. “They have no other option but to merge with each other,” he added.
28/04/06 Financial Express

Bajpe-Dubai Flight Likely by May 21

Mangalore: The first international flight services from Bajpe airport may start on May 21 if everything goes as discussed at a high-level meeting held at the airport on Thursday.
N Yogish Bhat, MLA, who attended the meeting, told the reporter that it was "very positive". The meeting discussed aspects related to setting up of immigration and customs facilities at the airport. "If everything goes as planned, the first international flight from Bajpe airport will take off on May 21," he said. The Government would cooperate and provide facilities, he said.
The meeting also discussed the need to set up a Police Commissionerate in Mangalore and upgrade the Bajpe police station.
Addressing presspersons before the meeting, Sudhakar Rao, Principal Secretary, to Government, said that the Department of Home Affairs would provide immigration facilities if other basic requirements were met at the airport.
28/04/06 The Hindu/Daijiworld.com

Jetstar Asia to suspend Kolkata Flights

Jetstar Asia is to suspend flights to the Indian city of Kolkata from 1 May 2006. Flights to Jetstar Asia's other destinations, including Bangalore, will operate on schedule.
"We're focused on strengthening our two airlines and as a result we've decided to suspend flights to Kolkata. Affected passengers will be contacted and offered a full refund, or a change in itinerary and date suitable to the passenger on the higher value Bangalore-Singapore sector," said Ms Chong Phit Lian, CEO of Jetstar Asia and Valuair.
28/04/06 ASIATravelTips.com, Thailand

Low-cost fly: 2 more airlines queue up

New Delhi: NRIs from the US and Dubai are cruising into India with plans to float two new low-cost airline ventures - Easy Air and Star Air - in a bid to ride the ongoing boom in domestic air travel. The airlines, government sources said, have sought nod for their take-off by year-end. These two airlines will join four other start-ups - IndiGo, Indus, AirOne and MagicAir - which are preparing to fly this year.
While Easy Air - based in Chennai - plans to start a pan-Indian service using either an Airbus A320 or a Boeing 737 fleet, Star Air - promoted by Dubai's ETA group - plans to start operations as a feeder service.
"It will be a $60-million project, of which $20 million will be pumped in by the promoters,"said Umapathy Pinghapani, the US-based co-founder of Premier Airways Ltd, which owns the Easy Air brand. "It will be genuine low-cost carrier, providing a cheap air travel option in the domestic market. It is modelled on the lines of SouthWest Airways,"Pinghapani added.
27/04/06 Byas Anand/Times of India

Jagson, IndiGo defer take-off

Mumbai: After announcing the takeoff of its budget carrier in April, feeder airline operator Jagson will now begin services only by the first week of June. The high profile launch of IndiGo Airlines, which was slated some time in the first quarter of 2006, has also been moved to July.
Speaking to DNA Money, Jagson chief executive officer (CEO) Uttam Kumar Bose said “We are all ready to begin our operations after we get the government approvals. We have yet to be allotted the Delhi and Hyderabad parking bays that we have applied for.”
Bose informed the company’s budget services would take wing with two leased Airbus A320, which would operate around eight flights daily. The airline will deploy its aircraft on Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Goa, Delhi-Bangalore-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bangalore, Bangalore-Delhi, Delhi-Kolkata, Kolkata-Guwahati and Guwahati-Kolkata-Delhi routes daily.
The airline, which already has a small hangar space at the Delhi airport, is looking for bigger hangar space.
26/04/06 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

Turboprops Gaining height

Turboprop manufacturers are increasingly looking to the emerging markets of India and China for new business. Indian infant low-cost carrier Kingfisher recently took delivery of its first ATR 72, part of an order for 35 aircraft with 20 options.
Between them orders from India’s Air Deccan and Kingfisher accounted for more than half of the orders ATR secured last year. The revival in fortunes of the turboprop industry that began over a year ago shows no sign of losing altitude. Regional turboprop services grew by 8% in 2005, says ATR, driven largely by soaring fuel prices that are rendering regional jets of comparative size increasingly uneconomic.
According to ATR chief executive Filippo Bagnato, in 2005 the manufacturer enjoyed its best year since 1989, with 90 orders and 26 options. “I am convinced last year’s turboprop sales were not a peak,” he says. “I believe 2005 was the beginning of a cycle.”
Barry McKinnon, vice-president of marketing and airline analysis at Bombardier, says that last year a large share of orders came from Asia, but warns that the US market should never be underestimated.
26/04/06 Airline Business/Flight International

Indian to compensate for flight delay

Chennai: Indian has been made to pay compensation in the form of mileage points for "inordinate delay" of one its flights on April nine, causing hardship to its passengers, Air Passengers Association of India said today.
APAI said passengers of an Indian flight on Hyderabad-Chennai sector was made to sweat it out for nearly seven hours due to delay of the flight and no explanation was offered to the passengers.
APAI President D Sudhakara Reddy wrote to Civil Aviation Minister, Civil Aviation secretary and the Director of Public Grievances, demanding compensation for the affected passengers.
"Ultimately, APAI, on April 25, received a communication from Indian that 2500 mileage points were being given to each of the passengers, who travelled by the flight..."
26/04/06 Chennai Online

International carriers slashes fare up to 60%

New Delhi: Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines, have launched a price war by slashing fares by as much as 60 per cent in an effort to tap the summer vacation tourist rush.
Singapore Airlines today slashed fares on Delhi-Singapore sector by over 60 per cent under a special offer. Under the 'Sweet Deal' offer, which will be effective between May 1 and May 30, a single return economy class ticket to Singapore from Delhi will be available for Rs 8,888, which is 60 per cent of the ongoing fare, a statement by the airlines said.
Apart from this, Singapore Airlines is also offering a return economy airfare to Kuala Lumpur or Penang at a special price of Rs 10,888.
Malaysian Airlines (MA), on the other hand, announced a return airfare on the Kuala Lumpur or Singapore route at Rs 8,000. The return airfare is valid from New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad but would be applicable for travel before May 15, it said, adding the booking for the special fare would be open till April 30.
26/04/06 PTI/Economic Times

Can’t rest, won’t fly

This one time the hour-and-a-half delay of an Air-India flight between Kolkata and London could not be blamed on the usual reasons - technical snag or traffic on the runway.
The aircraft did not take off on time, interestingly, because its commander insisted that rules laid down by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) be followed, sources said.
Captain Richard J Phillips, who is from the United Kingdom, refused to overlook the fact that the aircraft had only one curtained resting area for the crew instead of the mandatory two even after higher-ups told him to ignore the oversight, sources said.
“He said he wanted a co-pilot and not a tired pilot,” the source said. Phillips did not agree to the suggestion by a senior official, who called him, that he could use the curtained area while the Indian pilot slept in an open seat.
Finally, it was only after the only two passengers in the first class area were put on another flight and the area was converted into a section for the crew that the flight took off, the source said.
27/04/06 Naveeta S/Mumbai Mirror

SBI, Union Bank introduce online bookings for Indian flights

New Delhi: Customers of State Bank of India and Union Bank of India will now be able to book tickets on Indian Airlines' flights using the Internet under an agreement between their banks and the national carrier.
From today, customers of these two banks having net banking accounts would have the option of directly making payment for their Indian 'net ticket' through the web, the airline said in a statement.
Cancellations and refunds can also be done through the Internet.
Other banks that are expected to sign similar agreements with the airline are Punjab National Bank, HDFC, Citibank and ABN Amro, it said.
27/04/06 Zee News

IA employees threaten indefinite strike

New Delhi: Employees of Indian Airlines on Wednesday threatened to go on an indefinite strike throughout the country from May 8 in support of their charter of demands which included wage revision.
Air Corporations Employees Union (ACEU) general secretary Arun Kumar said in a statement that the ongoing demonstrations by the employees would continue till May five.
Besides wage revision, the charters of demands include career progression and an inquiry into pension fund.
27/04/06 PTI/Sify

Passenger data plan runs into trouble

The Home Ministry’s plan to activate the Advanced Passenger Information System has run into turbulence. The system -- by which an India-bound flight would have to provide Indian authorities with data on all its passengers within 15 minutes of take-off -- would have made life easier for customs and immigration officials. But airline operators say it will only lead to a big mess, even hit Indian tourism in a big way.
With the operators up in arms, the ministry has been forced to alter its plans and will activate APIS only on Air-India flights on May 1 as a pilot project. Within a month, other airlines will be asked to do the same. On July 1, APIS will be formally implemented at IGI and then at other international airports in India.
The ministry's original notification required airlines to be responsible for providing information like “complete name, date of birth, nationality, sex, passport number, country of issue, country of permanent residence, visa number and date and place of issue”. But following protests, it has settled for the first five categories of information for the first six months of APIS.
27/04/06 Nandini R Iyer/Hindustan Times

Airlines to hike fuel surcharge from May 5

New Delhi: The global increase in oil prices has led to airlines hiking their fuel surcharge yet again.
From May 5, the fuel surcharge on a return flight from India to Colombo, Maldives and Pakistan on Srilankan airlines would go up by $10 while the fuel surcharge on a return ticket to Europe, Canada, US and Australia would increase by $30, the airlines, Area Manager, Northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh, Mr Sharuka Wickrama-Adittiya, said.
The airline currently charges a fuel surcharge of $70 on flights to Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Maldives, while the current fuel surcharge on flights to Europe, US and Canada is $110. The German airline, Lufthansa has also announced that it was increasing its fuel charge for long-haul flights by € 10. Singapore Airlines has said that it will increase by $10 the fuel surcharge on a return ticket between India and Singapore for tickets issued on or after May 15. Earlier this week, British Airways increased by £10 the fuel surcharge on a return ticket between India and the UK. The price of oil has risen above $70 a barrel and experts anticipate it staying at this level for some time.
26/04/06 Ashwini Phadnis/Hindu Business Line

New Flight to Dubai: Onus on State Government

Mangalore: All eyes are on the State Government which has been requested to provide an immigration counter at the Bajpe airport to facilitate the launch of the Air-India Express flight to Dubai. Air India Express is a low-cost airline of Air India.
Any delay in setting up an immigration counter will come in the way of starting the service. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) cannot permit the service if the counter is not set up as per BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) guidelines.
A three-member team of senior officials of Air India, which arrived here on Monday, has reportedly told the AAI that after the State Government assures that it will set up immigration facilities at the airport, Air India will require two weeks to finalise preparations for introducing the flight. The team inspected facilities at the airport.
Air-India Express has proposed that its flight from Dubai will arrive at the Bajpe airport at 8.20 pm and leave for Dubai at 9.20 pm.
27/04/06 The Hindu/Daijiworld.com

Jet Airways bags awards for growth, popularity

Panaji: Jet Airways was honoured with two awards at the concluding celebration Dinner of SATTE 2006 (South Asia Travel and Tourism Exchange) on April 23, 2006 at the Maurya Sheraton Hotel, New Delhi.
The SATTE 2006 Awards presented by Samsung to Jet Airways were for being the ‘Indian Domestic Airline with Spectacular Growth’ and ‘India’s Most Popular Domestic Airline’. Ms Nandini Verma, vice-president, Corporate Affairs and PR, receive these awards on behalf of the Airline.
The awards were the result of a first ever opinion poll among the most productive players in the business of travel and tourism. Respondents were asked to exercise pure professional logic which were collated together on a grading system with marks being accorded to every shade of opinion.
26/04/06 Navhind Times

Star keen to cover China and India

As South African Airways (SAA) and Swiss were formally welcomed into Star, the alliance says it is poised to announce its first recruits in China.
“Star has been looking at adding more carriers located in so-called ‘white spots’ where alliance penetration is poor,” says its chief executive Jaan Albrecht, with the focus on adding members in China, India and Russia. According to Albrecht, an announcement is imminent naming two Chinese carriers that want to join the alliance.
Star has been confident that it can secure Air China as a member.
India is another geographic white spot that the alliances are keen to cover. “The Indian market is one with two major groups – Jet Airways and Air India,” says Albrecht, with Jet Airways seeking to merge with Air Sahara and a merger proposal also on the table for Air India and Indian Airlines. “We are focusing on these two groups and I expect an announcement of an Indian member in 2006,” he says.
26/04/06 Airline Business/Flight International

Shortage of pilots hits safety

Mumbai: Inexperienced and overworked pilots have become the order of the day as government-run as well as private airlines are splurging on new aircraft in addition to nearly a dozen private airlines having been launched in the last two years.
The shortfall has even compelled the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to permit pilots holding a professional licence to operate commercial flights till the age of 65 though subject to medical conditions.
"There are around 2,500-2,600 pilots flying in India," and in the next five years, India would require 5,000 pilots, he says.
Right now, most of the flying schools have become defunct because all the instructors have joined airline companies for lucrative pay packets.
An IA pilot, speaking on condition of anonymity, says: "No one ever contemplated such a situation in the Indian aviation sector and how to go about it but the truth of the matter is safety is going to be compromised across the country."
He wonders "why there has been 44 air misses in the last two years in the Indian air space and why no one has revealed the reasons for these occurrences".
26/04/06 Pamela Raghunath/Gulf News

French aerospace firm explores new areas in India

Paris: Sofema, a French aerospace company, is looking at the Indian market with renewed interest to not only supply sophisticated equipment and hardware, but also establish joint ventures with Indian entities. The company is particularly keen to ffer its wares in areas like homeland security, railway signalling and joint development of frontline technologies, Sofema officials said.
'Among our other plans, we're keen to partner with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) to jointly develop equipment like electronic equipment, complete oxygen solutions, cockpit systems and avionics,' said Jacques Reboul, chief operating officer of the company.
'We believe the Indian government wants to purchase some 180 such helicopters,' Reboul told a media delegation from India on a visit to the facilities of some members of GIFAS, the French aerospace association.
26/04/06 Arvind Padmanabhan/Indo-Asian News Service/DailyIndia.com

Indian Airlines extends fare discounts

New Delhi: With competition in the domestic skies intensifying, the state-owned Indian Airlines has decided to extend its discounted fare scheme Unchecked Fares by another five months to cover even the peak summer travel season.
The scheme, which offers tickets on an up to 70% discount over the regular fares, will now be available till September-end, airline officials said.
These special fares are available for travel in economy class on 146 sectors.
The offer will, however, be available only on limited seats, and will be valid for travel till April 30. Under this scheme, a Delhi-Mumbai one-way ticket will be offered for as low as Rs 2,700 as against a normal fare of around Rs 8,000.
26/04/06 Times of India

Proposal for shifting Nashik civil flight base gathering dust

Mumbai/Nashik: The Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation’s (MIDC) proposal for shifting the current civilian airport from Ozhar to the Gandhinagar airbase is gathering dust at the defence ministry since the last nine months.
After two meetings with MIDC, the defence establishment in Pune has reportedly forwarded the proposal to Delhi but without any response from the ministry, said a MIDC official.
Air Deccan which is operating a daily Mumbai-Nashik service is also putting pressure on MIDC to shift the location of the airport. Consenting to the long-standing demand by local industrialists, business groups and trade lobbies, MIDC had proposed that the Gandhinagar airbase should be made the hub for Nashik-Mumbai air services instead of Ozhar.
“Only 15 to 18 passengers are using the Nashik-Mumbai air service daily. Operating from Ozhar is not viable for us” an Air Deccan official said.
The airline has started a 48-seater flight between Nashik-Mumbai from Ozhar last year.
26/04/06 Tushar Pawar/Business Standard

Domestic airlines slip on red ink

New Delhi: Despite the ongoing boom in passenger as well as cargo traffic, India’s airline companies are facing a tough time in containing the red ink spreading far and wide on their balance sheets.
Conservative estimates indicate that Indian airlines lost over Rs 1,000 crore during ‘05-06 and the trend is unlikely to be reversed in ‘06-07.
The situation is expected to worsen for smaller players once the government merges Air-India and Indian and Jet Airways and Air Sahara pool together their resources. The industry lost nearly Rs 1,125 crore ($250m) in ‘05-06, said an industry analyst tracking Indian aviation.
Due to rising input costs (high aviation turbine fuel prices and increasing salaries) and low yield, the industry’s losses will be around Rs 1,350 crore ($300m) during ‘06-07, it is estimated. That the new airlines are having a tough time does not mean that established players are on a roll.
Jet, Indian and Air Sahara are losing marketshare to new players like Air Deccan, Kingfisher, SpiceJet and GoAir. The entire industry is basking in the glory of the booming market, but talk about bottomlines and everyone goes into a whisper.
26/04/06 G Ganapathy Subramaniam/Economic Times

China Eastern Airlines employs Indian stewardesses

Shanghai: Some stewardesses from India will serve on the flights operated by China Eastern Airlines between Shanghai and New Delhi in the coming week-long holiday from May 1 to 7, company sources said on Wednesday.
The Shanghai-based airline company has recruited 500 foreign flight attendants from Japan, the Republic of Korea, France, the United States, Germany, Spain and India since 1993, the source said.
As one of the three largest state-owned aviation groups, China Eastern Airlines operates more than 400 international and domestic routes.
26/04/06 Xinhua

Singapore Airlines cuts fares on select routes

Singapore Airlines on Tuesday slashed fares by 28 to 50 per cent on online booking of tickets from eight Indian cities to five key destinations in Australia.
The limited promotional fare would be start from Rs 20,000 for a return economy class ticket, for which bookings should only be done online through singaporeair.com using passenger's credit card either directly or through travel agents, the airline said in a release.
The offer, Midnight Escapades, is being made for economy class return tickets between Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide in Australia on one hand and Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Amritsar and Ahmedabad on the other.
25/04/06 PTI/Rediff

Academy for comprehensive grounding in aviation

Kolkata: FAME, the Training Academy simultaneously launched in various parts of the country will provide a comprehensive grounding to its students with respect to all aviation and hospitality services on water, in the air and on land.
Announcing the launch of FAME Service Training Academy and new skill based educational courses of School of Fashion Technology (SOFT), Indrani Das Gupta, a famous model said, “The ongoing boom in the global fashion, lifestyle and airlines and hospitality services oriented industries has led to an increased demand for skill based educational courses in the country. This has in turn forced us to launch the FAME Service Training Academy.”
The launch of FAME in Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi and new educational modules of SOFT in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore will be followed by other cities from where there is an ever growing inflow of aspiring candidates for these skill based courses in aviation, fashion, modelling and hairstyling, Das Gupta added.
25/04/06 Kolkata Newsline

Mangalore Airport: Home Secretary to Study Immigration Feasibility

Mangalore: State's principal home secretary Sudhakar Rao will be visiting the Mangalore airport on Thursday, April 27 to study the facilities available to set up an immigration counter for international flights.
This is considered a major step in facilitating the handling of international flights at Bajpe airport. He is expected to take a final decision after making a study.
The maiden flight by Air India Express between Dubai and Mangalore was to land and take off on May 7.
However, reports from the state capital said the home department had raised objections about the facilities availabe there. As a result, serious doubts were being raised about the maiden flight in fact taking place on May 7.
26/04/06 Daijiworld News Network

Book air tickets from ATMs soon

New Delhi: ATMs may soon be used to buy airline tickets with technology firm NCR Corporation developing a software that enables users to make bookings by accessing flight schedules, select destinations and dates of travel.
Automated Teller Machines may well be used for airline bookings and both cash- and cheque-deposit transactions with NYSE-listed NCR Corporation scouting for Indian banks to sell its new technology.
"NCR is the first ATM manufacturer in the world to launch real-time airline booking services through ATMs, enabling customers to access flight schedules, select destinations and dates of travel," Geet Lulla, NCR country manager (sales) said while demonstrating the technologies developed by NCR at a roadshow organised in New Delhi.
IDBI became the first bank to use NCR's technology to offer online airline bookings to its customers for national carrier Indian.
25/04/06 PTI/Rediff

GVK seals finance for Mumbai airport

Hyderabad: A consortium of banks has agreed in principle to lend up to Rs 5,000 crore to the Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAPL), which won the bid for modernising and expanding the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
However, the company is unlikely to avail the entire funding, given its limited requirements in the initial phase.
MIAPL will spend about Rs 3,000 crore to bring the airport to international standards within the next three years, its new chairman G V Krishna Reddy told DNA. The company will invest an additional Rs 5,000 crore in the second phase.
MIAPL is a joint venture company that recently became a majority stakeholder in the Mumbai airport.
The consortium comprises the Hyderabad based GVK group (with an equity of 37%) and South African companies Airports Company South Africa Ltd (with 10%) and The Bidvest Group Ltd (27% equity participation). The Airport Authority of India will retain 26% holding in the company.
26/04/06 C Chitti Pantulu/Daily News & Analysis

IPO for Airports Authority on cards

New Delhi: Even as the proposed IPOs for Air-India and Indian have been put on the backburner, the civil aviation ministry is now looking at an IPO for the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
The move is significant since it contains a proposal for Esops to employees of AAI, who have been protesting against corporatisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports. In case, the stock options plan is attractive, it will go a long way in mollifying AAI employees, who recently went on strike against handing over of Delhi and Mumbai airports to joint ventures controlled by private sector players. According to rough estimates, AAI’s assets are worth Rs 5,265 crore. The actual value unlocked by an IPO will be far higher as the market goes by the earnings potential rather than the `gross block’ valuation. As on April 1 this year, the `gross block’ of Delhi and Mumbai airports, respectively, is estimated to be around Rs 847 crore and Rs 911 crore.
The ministry feels that AAI should tap the capital market to raise funds to develop non-metro airports, which require huge investments to meet the ongoing boom in passenger as well as cargo traffic. The details of the IPO for AAI will be worked out once the civil aviation ministry obtains Union Cabinet’s approval for the public issue.
25/04/06 G Ganapathy Subramaniam & MK Venu/Economic Times

Kingfisher order five Airbus A340-500

Mumbai: In a deal worth roughly a billion dollars, the UB group promoted Kingfisher Airlines on Monday ordered five Airbus A340-500 aircraft, with an option to take five more.
The first of the ultra-long range aircraft is scheduled for delivery in ‘08. The agreement was signed by the airline chairman Vijay Mallya and the Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert at a special ceremony in Hannover, attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Though the list-price for the aircraft is roughly $198m per plane, airline industry sources said airlines are frequently able to obtain 30 to 40% discount on this price. All five A340s will be powered by four Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines, which burn up to 20% less fuel than older generation engines.
Most airlines have chosen the competing Boeing 777-200 LR, which notched 36 orders during the year. Two Indian carriers Air-India and Jet Airways, have ordered Boeing 777s, for their long-haul operations. The A340 is a four engine aircraft versus two engines for the Boeing 777.
Kingfisher has 30 more single aisle aircraft on order from Airbus. These include firm orders for five A380s, five A330s and five A350s for use on long-range international and regional services.
25/04/06 Economic Times

Kingfisher Airlines eyeing US operations

Kingfisher Airlines is reportedly in talks with a US-based carrier for a strategic tie-up, whereby the UB Group promoted company can explore the possibility of kicking off its international operations. US airlines are allowed to fly into India under the Open Skies policy signed between the two countries.
The US-based carrier will fly into India under the Kingfisher brand if Kingfisher Airlines does not get the requisite regulatory approval from the Indian Government to start global operations. As per current rules, only those Indian airlines with more than five years of domestic operations are allowed to start international operations.
Among the first cities to be connected by Kingfisher Airlines' deal with the unnamed US carrier will be Bangalore and San Francisco.
25/04/06 India Infoline.com

Italian Freight start-up Cargoitalia takes road to Delhi

Italian-based freight airline start-up Cargoitalia is this week due to launch flights from its Milan Malpensa base to Chennai and Delhi in India using a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 freighter.
The Indian route will be operated twice-weekly and the aircraft will also fly three weekly frequencies to New York and Chicago.
“Our second aircraft, a Boeing MD-11, is expected mid-May and with its arrival we will be adding other destinations on the same routes,” says Cargoitalia sales vice-president Europe, Middle East and Asia, Massimo Roccasecca.
The fleet will rise to four aircraft by November, using a mix of finance and wet leases and direct ownership.
25/04/06 Flight International

Mopa airport panel seeks extension

Panaji: The Pratapsing Rane committee, constituted to review the proposed Mopa international airport project, today sought an extension of three months to six months as the term granted to it expires on April 29. The committee has also sought the help of technical experts to guide it.
The committee met at the official residence of the Chief Minister, Mr Pratapsing Rane. The meeting was attended by two MPs, Mr Shripad Naik (North Goa), Mr Churchill Alemao (South Goa), the Director of the Airport Authority of India at Dabolim airport, Mr Anuj Agarwal and the Chief Secretary, Mr J P Singh.
The joint secretary (civil aviation ministry), Mr Sanjay Narayan, who has been appointed as convenor of the committee could not attend the meeting. Besides, the Rajya Sabha MP, Mr Shantaram Naik, who is in Kerala as party observer, also could not attend the same.
The Chief Secretary told reporters that the committee has requested the civil aviation ministry to extend the term of the committee for either three months or six months as the period granted to the committee expires on April 29.
25/04/06 Navhind Times

Indian joins price war with 10-35% fare cut

Mumbai: Domestic carriers are fighting to capture a higher market share with aggressive fares at the lower end. The latest to join the fray is the national carrier Indian, which has introduced a new category with fares that are 10-35% lower than the earlier lowest fare. Bookings for this category are open for travel between May 1 and June 15.
The new category is called the x-ray class. This class offers fares that are lower than the existing lowest category called the India class. For example, the lowest one-way fare on the Mumbai-Delhi route was Rs 3,969. This has been cut by about Rs 1,065 to a new low x-ray class fare of Rs 2,904. Passengers should be warned however, that not all tickets will be sold at this fare. Supply and demand dictate air fares in the country. This means that seats on any flight are sold at a number of fare levels. If a flight is filling up fast, the yield management system ensures that the supply of low-priced seats (like the x-ray class) fares is closed.
Fares on the much-in-demand Mumbai-Goa route have been cut to Rs 1,704 compared to the previous low of Rs 2,209. On the Mumbai-Bangalore route, the new low is Rs 2,404 compared to Rs 3,969 previously.
25/04/06 Cuckoo Paul/Economic Times

GoAir announces expansion plans

Hyderabad: Announcing its expansion plan to claim the number one slot in the low-cost carrier space in India, GoAir on Monday said that it has recently ordered twenty A320 aircraft.
"Shortly, we plan to connect Hyderabad with the metros Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata," Mr Jeh Wadia, Managing Director, GoAir, said here.
GoAir will have five additional aircraft in operation by the year-end and 33 aircraft by 2008-end. The airline covers 13 cities including Delhi, Srinagar and Jammu with 28 daily flights. -
25/04/06 PTI/Hindu Business Line

Bangalore airport can't take more flights: HAL

Bangalore: Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) A.K. Saxena said here on Monday that airlines had been informed that the airport could not handle any more flights.
"We have reached a saturation stage and our own test flights are getting hampered. We are already operating at more than twice our capacity and are over stretched," Mr. Saxena said.
Regional Director of Airport Authority of India (AAI) A. Krishnamurthy said the ongoing airport improvement work was scheduled to be completed by April 30 and the installation of additional conveyor belts for baggage handling was also being completed. "We are constantly trying to upgrade facilities for travellers," he said.
HAL and AAI recently worked out a Rs. 50-crore project to improve the airport infrastructure and modernise the Air Traffic Control (ATC).
The terminal expansion is scheduled to be completed by the month-end and will have up to 20 check-in counters for passengers.
In terms of passenger traffic, the airport has emerged as the third busiest in the country, but the facilities have not kept in pace.
25/04/06 The Hindu

No-frills carriers bag 30% share

New Delhi: The four low-cost domestic airlines - Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines, SpiceJet and GoAir - are now close to capturing almost a third of the domestic aviation market pie, having cornered nearly 30% share in February 2006 - a 3% growth in market share over January.
According to the latest passenger carriage figures with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), barring Indian Airlines and Air Sahara, every other airline reported a growth in market share during February.
While Jet continues to dominate the skies with a 36% share of the market (a growth of its January share of 34.7%), Indian Airlines ended February with just over 23% share of the pie.
Air Deccan emerged as the most significant gainer, strengthened its position as the third largest airline with an over 14% share.
Air Sahara is now in the fourth slot with a near 10% share of the market, but the other new-entrants are already closing the gap fast. Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher grew its share marginally to 7.8%, while SpiceJet followed with a 6.12% share. Jehangir Wadia's GoAir closed February with a near 2% share.
The 33-month-old Air Deccan, has emerged as the airline with the largest network in India, covering 55 airports - higher than established rivals like Indian Airlines (which touches around 43 airports) and Jet Airways (around 44 airports).
24/04/06 Byas Anand/Times of India

Years to change Draft Aviation Policy?

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel says that current policy on not allowing foreign airlines to pick up stake in domestic carriers could change in the next five years.
CNBC-TV18 had reported earlier that the Draft Aviation Policy recommends a review on foreign airlines picking up a stake in domestic carriers. Patel says the government will first give time to domestic carriers to find their feet before allowing foreigners in.
The draft policy also recommended merging Air India and Indian. Patel says the merger will happen before the end of this financial year. The IPO would also be floated around the same time. Patel says the government is debating whether to go ahead with the merger first or the IPO. To get Left parties on board, the minister also says that employees would not be retrenched.
Patel also says that the modernisation of non-metro airports will happen in partnership with private players. Airports Authority of India will play the lead role.
24/04/06 Moneycontrol.com

Rolls-Royce wins Kingfisher engine deal

London: Engine maker Rolls-Royce said on Monday it had sold 20 engines to Indian airline Kingfisher in a deal worth $500 million (279 million pounds) at list prices including maintenance contracts.
A spokesman confirmed the details after the airline on Monday announced it had signed a contract for 5 Airbus A340-500 High Gross Weight planes and taken options on 5 more.
Kingfisher was started by tycoon Vijay Mallya whose UB Group makes Kingfisher beer, India's top-selling brand, and a host of lifestyle goods.
24/04/06 Reuters/Scotsman, UK

Reliance moves SC on airport privatisation

New Delhi: Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Airport Developers on Monday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court’s verdict upholding the government’s decision to allot Delhi and Mumbai airports’ modernisation work to rival bidders – GMR and GVK led consortia.
Sources said that a Special Leave Petition (SLP) has been filed against the HC’s April 21 verdict holding that the government’s action was in no way “discriminatory, illogical or illegal”.
While upholding the technical parameters adopted in awarding the contracts, the High Court had said that the government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) had “...absolute discretion to vary the tender requirements or amend the term of RFP (Request for Proposal)” as per the requirements.
Reliance had challenged the award of the contracts to the GMR-Fraport consortium and GVK Industries for the Delhi and Mumbai airports on the ground that the government and the AAI had deliberately amended the tender norms to favour rival bidders.
25/04/06 PTI/Mumbai Mirror

Fire at IGI airport, terminal shut for over an hour

New Delhi: IGI Airport’s main domestic terminal was evacuated and several flights delayed after a fire broke out in a first- floor office on Monday night.
No injuries were reported and the fire — which officials said was caused by a short- circuit in an air-conditioner — was quickly extinguished. But passengers had to wait for over an hour for their flights as Terminal 1B was sealed off.
According to senior airport officials, the fire broke out around 8.30 pm in the first floor office belonging to Air Sahara. Thick smoke soon engulfed the terminal, causing panic among the passengers, who were evacuated. They would only be let back in after 10 pm.
While the Delhi fire service rushed over a dozen engines to the spot, officials said the blaze was controlled locally by the Airport fire service. Meanwhile, chaos prevailed outside the building as passengers tried to obtain information on the status of their flights.
24/04/06 Express News Service/Expressindia.com

EasyAir Launch in November

EasyAir, a new Indian budget airline is getting ready for launch in November this year. The airline will be launched by the Chennai-based Premier Airways Ltd, a startup company funded by some NRIs in the US. Premier Airways has applied for the necessary governmental clearances and is hopeful of a launch in 2006.
Premier Airways is chaired by the US-based Umapathy Pinaghapani. In India, EasyAir will be headquartered in Chennai.
EasyAir is negotiating for leasing aircraft. It is expected that Premier Airways, which will be started with a capital of $60 million, will select either the Airbus SAS A320 or Boeing 737. EasyAir will be launched with a leased aircraft fleet of five planes, which will be expanded to 40 planes in five years. According to EasyAir founders, the airline will be modeled after the discount carrier Southwest Airlines in US. EasyAir will be pitted against other low-budget airlines in India including market leader Air Deccan and GoAir.
Umapathy Pinaghapani currently runs a software business in the US. He will be investing $20 million into the EasyAir launch, along with other partners. EasyAir will also be looking for private equity investment to power up the airline launch.
24/04/06 Talking Tarmac

Pilots are deserting IAF to join private airliners: Air Chief

New Delhi: Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi has said the IAF is approaching the government to find ways to overcome the problem of pilots leaving the force to join private airliners.
"Yes, I am sure young people get attracted by fat pay scales that the commercial world has to offer. The commercial world always offers more salary than government service," Tyagi said in an interview to a private news channel.
The Air Chief said this phenonmenon of higher pay scales was not new but this time "perhaps the differential has increased, which is new."
"The first thing is they have to serve the IAF. That`s the contract for as long as I need them," he said, adding "now this is not a threat."
"I want them to earn money. If they want to go, I don`t have a problem. My problem is that I did not recruit sufficient pilots to take are of the boom in civil market. I recruited enough pilots that I needed.
He said the IAF was looking for some way out to overcome this problem. "We are approaching the government. We will try and look how will our conditions get better."
24/04/06 NewKerala.com

‘Why can’t IAF pilots ask for retirement?’

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre asking it to explain why an Indian Air Force pilot should not be permitted to take premature retirement on full reimbursement of the money spent by the government on his training.
The notice was issued by a bench of Justice B N Srikrishna and Justice Tarun Chatterjee on a petition by Sqn Ldr Shakul Tyagi challenging the January 14 order of the Delhi High Court declining his plea for premature retirement.
The HC had held that the IAF pilot, on whose training the state spent crores of rupees, could not seek premature retirement on the ground that the job was affecting his marital life.
A decorated officer of Kargil War, Tyagi has challenged the HC verdict on the ground that the present policy of premature retirement has, due to its selective application, resulted into discrimination and hence was violative of Article 14 (right to equality) of the Constitution.
23/04/06 PTI/Mumbai Mirror

India assists Seychelle with air safety

Indian air safety experts have helped Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) staff raise their game in the fields of air traffic control, fire safety and flight security, ahead of forthcoming international safety audits.
Under the India Technical Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, three Indian air safety officials have lent their advice to the local air authorities, currently gearing up for a safety audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The ICAO audit comes as the SCAA and other African air traffic controllers prepare to introduce a Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM), bringing the region’s air space into line with global norms.
Indian air space has already switched to the RVSM system and S.V. Satish, deputy general manager of Air Traffic Management in the Airports Authority of India, has been on hand for the last four months to offer guidance on the changes.
Seychelles’ senior air traffic controllers have already undergone RVSM training in South Africa, but Mr Satish has bolstered their expertise with advice and a newly drawn up national safety plan, operational manual and letters of agreement between adjacent flight information regions.
To make the change to RVSM Indian air traffic controls invested heavily in expensive technical upgrades.
24/04/06 Seychelles Nation

During Bush's Pakistan visit, standby aircraft remained in Delhi

During Bush's Pakistan visit, standby aircraft remained in Delhi New Delhi: The US Secret Service was so scared of terror attacks during President George W. Bush's visit to Pakistan last month that it declined to park the president's standby aircraft, a second Jumbo 747, in Islamabad.
According to a report in the current issue of India Strategic magazine, while Bush landed in his Boeing 747 Air Force One at the Chaklala air force base in the dark with window shades drawn, the standby Air Force One-B returned to New Delhi for its overnight halt.
Apparently, the US Secret Service did not want to keep both the aircraft in the Pakistani capital.India Strategic said that it is not known if the Air Force One-B actually landed in Islamabad or not after Bush left New Delhi on the evening of March 3, which was a Friday, a day that terrorists usually use to instigate violence after weekly Islamic religious prayers.It is also not known if only two or more aircraft were deployed for the presidential fleet, but the standby aircraft parked in Delhi left the next day to join the presidential fleet for its journey way back home.
24/04/06 Indo-Asian News Service/DailyIndia.com

India out of jet project

Bangalore: India has backed out of a multinational project to build a family of regional jets after it was told that it should not expect any work to be outsourced to the country against its minority stake.
The state-run aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) had initially proposed to invest $100 million for 10 per cent of the total equity in the Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) project.
Sukhoi design bureau has designed the aircraft. Engines will be jointly developed by the French firm Snecma and Russia’s Saturn. Avionics will be provided by Thales and design certification will be done by Boeing. It will be built in Russia.
US firm Honeywell is also a partner in the aircraft project whose first flight test is expected this year and the maiden aircraft would be delivered by 2007 after certification.
“The financial investment was huge but it would not have benefited us in building components and systems for the project,” defence ministry sources told DNA.
The Russians have indicated that the $100 million investment entailed only equity stake, but the aircraft would not have any components and systems made in India.
K Raghu/Daily News & Analysis

High employee per aircraft ratio hits Indian Airlines

Mumbai: Excess staff and low utilisation of aircraft are taking a toll on the revenues of Indian Airlines.
The airline's cost per available seat kilometer (ASKM) is the highest among all full service carriers operating in domestic routes in India.
According to data available for the fiscal ending 2005, the cost per ASKM of Indian Airlines stood at Rs 5.20, while the revenues per ASKM stood at Rs 5.30, indicating that Indian Airlines earns a paltry 10 paise per ASKM.
Interestingly, Jet Airways' cost per ASKM is Rs 3.40 as against its revenue of Rs 3.80 thereby earning 40 paise per ASKM. Even the recently acquired Air Sahara is ahead with a cost per ASKM of Rs 3.30 and revenue of Rs 3.60.
Industry experts feel that high number of employees per aircraft is directly affecting Indian Airlines' operating profit. With 67 aircraft in the current fleet of Indian Airlines, its aircraft-employee ratio is pegged at 1:276, much higher than Jet Airways' 1:215. The ideal ratio should be anywhere between 1:130-170, experts added.
24/04/06 Neelasri Barman & Sagar Malviya/Financial Express

A-I pilots live in fear, stress and fatigue’

Days after Mumbai Mirror reported how a harried young bride managed to expose the manner in which the country’s premier national carrier has been fooling its pilots into working overtime, we have come into possession of a letter sent to the Air-India (A-I) management by a pilot, expressing his concern over the disregard for safety norms.
Sanjay Sharma (name changed to protect identity) is currently employed as a pilot with A-I.
_________________________
Mumbai Mirror obtains a letter
written by an Air-India pilot to the
airline management and to the
Ministry of Civil Aviation
________________________
Here are excerpts from his letter dated April 4, 2006:
“A few months after my joining, Air-India increased the number of flights by leasing more airplanes without increasing the number of pilots in proportion. Therefore, as a result, a shortage of pilots developed and flight time and duty time limitations were increased by you arbitrarily, illegally and in utter breach of contract entered, by means of a (now seemingly dubious) circular issued to pilots in the year 2003 stating that the company had obtained an approval from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for such an extension.... You unilaterally reduced our rest time at base without due consultation with us and today we pilots in Air-India live in fear, stress and a perpetual state of fatigue.”
In a circular dated April 29, 2003, A-I, quoting the approval of the DGCA, increased the flight time of all pilots from nine to ten hours and flight duty time from 12 to 14 hours.
Frustrated by a lack of response on the part of his employers, Sharma also wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on April 12, 2006, informing them about the safety violation.
When contacted, an A-I spokesperson said that the airline would be able to comment only if they knew the letter-writer’s identity.
24/04/06 Naveeta S/Mumbai Mirror

CM Promises Discussion on Mangalore airport

Beltangady: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaaraswamy, who visited Dharamasthala on Saturday, April 22, said that the government is considering the proposal of upgrading the Mangalore Airport to international standards. Discussions are on he said adding that a meeting will be called soon with the union minister for aviation.
Earlier District in-charge Minister B. Nagaraj Shetty has promised to sort out modalities pertaining to immigration facilities at the Bajpe airport here to facilitate Air India Express to operate its international flights from May 7. He has instructed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Police Department to work in tandem in this regard.
Admitting that security concerns over proper immigration facilities are germane, he said the same could be sorted out in a manner acceptable to all concerned.
Superintendent of Police B. Dayananda said the officials from Department of Immigration, Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the State Intelligence wing were particular that all facilities should be up to date before international flights can commence operations from Bajpe.
23/04/06 SahilOnline, United Arab Emirates

Plea to Set up Immigration Counter at Bajpe Airport

Mangalore: Various organisations including the Karnataka NRI Forum, UAE, have expressed concern over the delay in setting up of an immigration counter at Bajpe airport.
They have urged the State Government to take steps to set up the counter before May 7 to coincide with the inaugural flight of Air India to Dubai.
A Srinivasa Rao, president, Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the chamber has written to the Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and other higher officials concerned urging them to take steps to solve this problem.
The Dakshina Kannada District Youth Congress Committee in a letter to the Chief Minister urged him to direct the officials of the Department of Home Affairs to set up immigration unit by utilising the existing facilities at the airport.
24/04/06 The Hindu/Daijiworld.com

Air-India reports rise in passengers flying into Doha

Doha: Despite an intense competition in the India route, that saw additional capacity by direct and indirect carriers, Air India results for Qatar in the financial year 2005-06 have been remarkable.
The station carried over 23000 passengers ex Doha registering a growth of 12 per cent over the previous year. The carriage India-Doha however witnessed a much higher increase of almost 22 per cent mainly because of huge inflow of workers from India that are being engaged in various infrastructural and energy field projects, said Debashis Golder, Manager, Air India, Qatar.
While the overall growth in the passenger carriage on the route was a whopping 18 per cent over same period last year, the load factor improved from 68 per cent to 76 per cent.
The revenue generated by the station correspondingly jumped by 10 per cent during the same period.
Regarding Air India Express flights, Golder informed that with the expected arrival of own B737-800 aircraft that have been recently ordered, the budget carrier operations were scheduled from end November 2006.
24/04/06 The Peninsula

A-I adopts new rating system to select insurer

Mumbai: Air-India has further revamped its eligibility criteria for selecting its insurer for 2006-07. The account, comprising 38 aircraft (the airline has ordered another 62 aircraft) is due for renewal on July 1.
The sum assured consists of over $1.5 billion liability and $250 million worth hull cover. New India Assurance, the largest domestic general insurer, is the current insurer of A-I and has paid Rs 100 crore to settle some claims arising out of the Mumbai floods last year.
The carrier has now introduced a rating system for screening the bids, a move that has raised eyebrows in the industry.
The rating system takes into account different aspects of the insurer’s operations including net worth and growth in premiums.“An insurer needs to score minimum 60% to be selected,” said the A-I paper inviting general insurers.
Sources, however, pointed out that an insurance company covering a high risk company like A-I should have much more qualifying points.
24/04/06 Sitanshu Swain/Financial Express

bmi Heathrow - Mumbai flights go daily

The number of international passengers jetting out of Heathrow with bmi is set to increase following the launch of additional services to India.
Starting Saturday 22 April, bmi, officially the UK's most punctual airline at Heathrow, increases its popular four times weekly direct service to Mumbai to daily. This follows a successful start to route, which celebrates its first anniversary in May.
The additional services will add more flexibility and choice for passengers travelling to Mumbai and those connecting for travel to onward points in the sub continent.
Flights are operated by a bmi A330 aircraft, featuring the award winning three class cabin product, including 'the business' which features bmi's dedicated onboard chefs.
24/04/06 e-Travel Blackboard (press release), Australia

Indian’s fare hike angers passengers

Doha: Indian Airlines has come under fire from passengers for its “unseasonal” hike in fares from Doha to Kozhikode and Kochi.
The airline raised the fare by QR100 on a one-way ticket and QR150 on a return journey, from Thursday. The hike is in effect until May 31.
Travel agencies were told of the increase just three days before it was to be implemented, they said.
Passengers called the fare hike “unexpected and unusual”. The airline is exploiting its near monopoly on the route, an incensed passenger alleged yesterday.
Indian Airlines is the only carrier with a daily service from Doha to Kozhikode.
A one-way economy ticket is now sold for QR900 and a return ticket for QR1,750, sources said. This could go further up to QR2,500 by the time schools close, they added.
23/04/06 Gulf Times, Qatar

Nepal Tourism Board triggers panic about Indian Airlines

Kathmandu: Nepal Tourism Board, Nepal's nodal agency for promoting tourism in the country, triggered panic about India's national carrier Indian Airlines (IA) when its circular failed to mention the airline, raising fears that it had suspended its Delhi-Kathmandu flights.
On Saturday, the NTB issued a circular about the number of passengers arriving in Kathmandu on different airlines by 5 p.m.
However, though it gave the names of seven airlines operating international flights, including Pakistan International Airlines, there was no mention of IA, which operates a daily flight on the New Delhi-Kathmandu-New Delhi sector.
The omission triggered panic since Kathmandu valley has been under curfew from Wednesday night and mobile telephones were disconnected by the Nepal government Saturday.
Indian Airlines officials said they were surprised at the grave omission.
Also absent from the list was private Indian airline Air Sahara, which too runs daily flights on the sector.
The only Indian airline mentioned was private carrier Jet Airways, which brought 68 passengers from the Indian capital.
23/04/06 Indo Asian News Service/DailyIndia.com

Private role in non-metro airport modernisation

New Delhi: The government has decided to involve private companies in developing hotels, retail spaces at 35 non-metro airports, which will soon be modernised.
The government will entrust the job of air-side developments to the state-run Airports Authority of India and take on partners from among private bidders to develop city- side facilities like retail malls and hotels.
AAI has asked Washington-based Louis Beger Group Inc and Delhi-headquartered Intercontinental Consultancy and Technocrats to prepare a technical and economic feasibility report for the development of non-metro airports.
AAI has also asked consultant Capital Fortune to study the cargo and passenger potential of these airports.
Reports are being prepared for Tiruchirapalli, Indore, Bhopal, Nagpur, and Visakhapatnam too.
22/04/06 Calcutta Telegraph

E-ticketing catches fancy of airlines, travellers in India

New Delhi: A recent study done by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that during the second half of March this year, more than 20 per cent of tickets sold by airlines that are members of the global association were e-tickets, up from about 5 per cent during the same period in the previous year.
Data complied by IATA shows that close to 95 per cent of the tickets sold by the US carrier, Continental, were e-tickets, while in the case of German airline Lufthansa, close to 83 per cent of the tickets sold were e-tickets.
Similarly, in the case of British Airways close to 92 per cent of tickets sold were e-tickets while more than 65 per cent of the tickets sold by Air France were e-tickets.
Among Indian carriers, while Jet Airways sold more than 37 per cent of its tickets as e-tickets, Air Sahara sold close to 28 per cent of its tickets as e-tickets.
22/04/06 Hindu Business Line/Ashwini Phadnis

Singapore sees signs of growth in biz travel from India

Coimbatore: Singapore Tourism Board sees signs of growing volume of business travellers from corporate India and businesses in interior secondary cities that may like to take advantage of Singapore's positioning as the regional headquarters and business networking hub.
Though right now leisure travellers constitute 50 per cent of about six lakh Indian travellers who visit to Singapore annually, the board feels the Indian business travellers segment which makes up 25 per cent of the total travellers from the sub-continent visiting Singapore, is likely to swell because of the changing profile of Indian companies which are turning global and seeking to expand their activities in the overseas markets.
"Top companies from India prefer to go to Singapore where they can conduct business as per the needs of the day. It is also the place for business networking and it will give the learning experience as well," said Ms Bridget Goh, Area Director (Southern India), Singapore Tourism Board's Chennai office.
23/04/06 G. Gurumurthy/Hindu Business Line

Dunlop in talks for aero-tyre manufacturing

Kolkata: Even as it opened its Shahaganj plant today, Dunlop India is in the midst of negotiations with UK’s Dunlop Aircraft Tyres Ltd, to restart manufacturing of aero-tyres.
‘‘We were approached by Dunlop Aircraft as they are keen to make inroads into the subcontinent,’’ Pawan Ruia, chairman of Ruia Group, told The Indian Express.
Ruia has also started dialogue with the Sumitomo Corporation of Japan, which holds Dunlop brand worldwide.
Dunlop India, which was the sole aviation tyre manufacturer in the country, stopped production in 2001. Today, other players in the industry such as MRF are talking of courting the segment. But Ruia is confident of signing the deal with Dunlop Aircraft soon. ‘‘This should pave the way for starting aero-tyre production in a few months’ time,’’ he says.
Any plans to export aero-tyres will require tying up with Sumitomo which owns the international brand, Ruia informs.
22/04/06 Sanchita Das/Financial Express