CBI to reply on airports upgrade PIL

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today asked the CBI and two others to file replies on a PIL alleging that Rs 14,000 crore worth of land and building property belonging to Delhi and Mumbai international airports had been granted a mere annual rental lease of Rs 200 under the modernisation programme.
A Division Bench comprising justice MK Sharma and Hima Kohli asked the CBI, Airports Authority of India and the ministry of civil aviation to file their replies within four weeks and posted the matter for further hearing on July 20.
03/06/06 Financial Express

Airbus A-380 not to land in India yet

New Delhi:Most international airlines flying the A-380 might keep them away from India because the airports in the country are not ready to receive them yet. It would take the Indian airports several years to develop the infrastructure needed to handle the A-380s.
The A380 is three metres longer and 15 metres wider than the Boeing 747, the biggest plane Indian airports handle right now.
This means that the runways, parking bays, taxiways, and terminal buildings would need to be bigger and better to handle the A-380s.
Even Delhi's international airport would not be getting the A-380 before 2010.
Airports across the world have already started preparing for the A-380, even before its first flight last year. Around 60 international airports have upgraded their facilities to handle the plane.
02/05/06 Arijit Banerjee/NDTV.com

GMR group lines up Rs 1200cr IPO

The GMR group has announced plans to enter the capital market by June end to raise between Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) and Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion) through an initial public offering, IPO, to finance its all ongoing and future projects, reports Business Standard.
The power and infrastructure major has filed a draft prospectus for its IPO with the Securities Exchange Board of India, Sebi.
“We intend to go with the issue either by June-end or early July through the book-building process after obtaining the requisite Sebi clearances,” GMR chief financial officer Madhu Terdal told.
The company intends to use part of the issue proceeds for investments in GMR Hyderabad International Airport, Delhi International Airport and four expressways.
02/06/06 Moneycontrol.com

World aviation summit to kick off in Paris tomorrow

Air India CMD to attend

Kuala Lumpur: The World Air Transport Summit and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) 62nd AGM which kicks off in Paris from June 4 to 6 will discuss issues plaguing the industry, from rising jet fuel prices and e-ticketing to safety matters.
About 800 representatives from IATA member airlines, associates, associations, aviation manufacturers and suppliers are expected to turn up at this year's event, which is the platform for players in the global aviation industry to thrash out issues and network among themselves.
Safety is another pressing issue as aviation experts seek new ways of making passenger travel safe. The CEOs are also expected to discuss whether cost efficiency is a pre-requisite for profitability. The CEOs of Asian airlines who will be engaged in forums include Singapore Airline chief executive Chew Choong Seng and Air India chairman and MD, Vasudevan Thulasidas.
03/04/06 B.K. Sidhu/Malaysia Star, Malaysia

Finalise airports development plan fast: Italian Ambassador

Chennai: India must finalise its airports development and upgrade programme at the earliest to capitalise on the interest evinced by Italian companies in partnering in such projects.
This was the message Ambassador of Italy Antonio Armellini sought to drive home, while addressing members of the Tamil Nadu State council of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry here on Friday. He said Italy could share its expertise in food processing and infrastructure, two areas identified for growth by India. Many Italian companies were looking forward to the Indian plan; many of them managed intermediate airports and were interested in taking up similar projects in India.
03/06/06 The Hindu

Reliance Plea In Sc To Lay Guidelines For Tenders Allotment

Reliance Airports Developers Pvt. Ltd. pleaded before the Supreme Court that since huge national assets are going to be privatised this court must lay down strict guidelines for allotment of tenders and contracts to private players.
Senior Counsel Mukul Rohatagi appearing for the petitioner Reliance, pleaded before the vacation bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and C.K. Thakker that in order to maintain transparency and fairness in allotting such tenders this court will have to lay down the guidelines as today it is airports tomorrow it may be railway station etc.
The court was hearing arguments on a petition challenging the government decision to award contracts to M/s GMR Infrastructure Ltd. and M/s GVK Industries Ltd for development and modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports respectively.
01/06/06 Financial Express

Jet Airways Delays Share Sale as Indian Market Falls

Mumbai/New Delhi: Jet Airways (India) Ltd., whose shares have fallen by a third since its initial public offering, has delayed an additional $300 million sale after the local stock market had its biggest monthly decline in two years.
Jet Airways now plans to sell the shares to Indian investors by October after delaying the sale from the end of August, Chief Financial Officer Carl Saldanha said in a May 31 interview in Mumbai, where the nation's biggest domestic airline is based. The airliner may next month sell $500 million of overseas bonds that could be converted into stock, Saldanha said.
Overseas investors are shunning Indian stocks on concern they are expensive after four straight years of gains for the Sensex index. India's benchmark index fell 14 percent last month and Deccan Aviation Ltd., which owns India's biggest low-fare airline, could lure investors to its IPO only after cutting the sale price and extending the bidding date.
02/06/06 Netty Ismail, Anand Krishnamoorthy/Bloomberg

Great Wall Airlines to launch freighter services to India

Great Wall Airlines, a joint venture airline established by China Great Wall Industry Corporation, Singapore Airlines Cargo and Dahlia Investments (a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings) has launched six times weekly freighter services from Shanghai to Amsterdam.
Based at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport, Great Wall Airlines will initially operate with a fleet of 2 Boeing 747-400 freighters. Following the start of freighter services between Shanghai and Amsterdam Thursday, the airline will launch freighter services to India, South Korea and Singapore in the coming weeks.
Great Wall Airlines is 51% owned by China Great Wall Industry Corporation, while Singapore Airlines Cargo owns 25%. The remaining 24% is owned by Dahlia Investments. The airline has a registered capital of RMB 1 billion.
02/06/06 ASIATravelTips.com, Thailand

Jagson to sell 20-25 pct equity

New Delhi: India's Jagson Airlines Ltd. said on Thursday it planned to sell 20 to 25 percent of equity to domestic and foreign investors as it prepares to begin scheduled flights of its first Airbus aircraft.
Company officials said stake sale talks with a foreign investor were at an advanced stage.
"It would be to a foreign venture capital investor and a consortium of domestic investors," Uttam Kumar Bose, Jagson's president and CEO told Reuters in an interview."About 51 percent is currently held by the promoters. We will also have a follow-on public offer in late-2007."
New Delhi-based Jagson, which currently operates three Dornier aircraft and three helicopters on charter flights, placed a $1.3-billion order in February for 20 Airbus A321 aircraft.
The company's first Airbus will arrive in June, and the first commercial flight is scheduled to take off on the Chennai-Bangalore-Delhi sector on July 15.
01/06/06 Reuters/NDTV.com

Indian Airlines launches Airbus flight from Bhopal

Bhopal: Indian Thursday launched a daily Airbus service connecting this Madhya Pradesh capital to Delhi and Mumbai.
It would fly on the Mumbai-Indore-Bhopal-Delhi route.
The IC-133 will leave Mumbai at 5.40 a.m. reaching Bhopal at 8 a.m. via Indore where it will arrive at 6.40 a.m. and halt for 50 minutes. It will leave Bhopal at 8.40 a.m. to reach Delhi at 9.50 a.m.
On its return trip, flight IC-134 will leave Delhi at 5.15 p.m. to reach Bhopal at 6.25 p.m. It will leave Bhopal at 7.15 p.m. to arrive at Indore at 7.45 p.m. from where it will leave at 8.30 p.m. to reach Mumbai at 9.35 p.m.
01/06/06 Monsters and Critics.com

A-I receives 13 bids for merger consultants

Mumbai: Air-India (A-I) has received 13 bids from various banks, financial institutions and management consultancy firms for the appointment of consultant for the proposed merger of the company with Indian Airlines (IA).
Banks like IDBI and Deutsche Bank are said to have bid for the A-I account. According to sources in A-I, the last date for receiving the bids was May 31, 2006.
These 13 bidders will now be evaluated by the panel formed for the merger of A-I with IA. Based on the evaluation, a final decision is expected to be taken by the end of this month. The consultant would then work out the roadmap for the operational merger between the two state-run carriers.
01/06/06 Neelasri Barman/Financial Express

Following complaints, ATC manager shifted

Ahmedabad: Following a Newsline report on complaints by trolley loaders at the Ahmedabad airport on having to shell out money to the contractor to keep their jobs, a senior official, alleged to be in cahoots with the contractor, has been transferred.
Sources at the airport stated that after the story appeared on Monday, the airport authorities held a number of meetings through the day and decided to transfer senior manager (ATC) A L F Wilson to Jamnagar. Wilson will report at Jamnagar on August 15, 2006, said sources. The trolley loaders, who have levelled allegations of extortion by contractor Hitesh Patel, had claimed that Wilson too was involved and that he gave Patel a free hand.
01/06/06 Ahmedabad Newsline

AI reschedules flights to Kerala due to inclement weather

Thiruvananthapuram: Air India has rescheduled three of its flights due to inclement weather, an AI press release said here today.
The Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi-Doha-Bahrain flight scheduled to leave at 2.30 pm tomorrow has been rescheduled to leave at 4.40 am on June 3.
The departure of Thiruvananthapuram-Dubai flight has been changed from 9 am on June 3 to 8.20 pm the same day.
Thiruvananthapuram-Mumbai flight, scheduled to leave here on 7 pm on June 3, has been rescheduled to leave at 6.10 am on June 4, the release said.
01/06/06 PTI/The Hindu

Jet to include Airbus 330 in fleet

New Delhi: Jet Airways is inducting state-of-the-art Airbus A 330-200 aircraft into its fleet.
The first of its kind to be operated in India, the inclusion of the A330 will increase Jet's fleet size to 55.
Powered by two Rolls Royce Trent 772B engines, the A330 aircraft can carry 226 passengers with a maximum take-off weight of 233 tons.
It is also equipped with the Less Paper Cockpit (LPC) making Jet Airways the first operator in India to have approval to use the LPC concept.
The maiden commercial flight of this A330-200 Aircraft will be on June 13, 2006 and will thereafter operate three times per week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from Delhi to London, Heathrow. On the other four days of the week, this route will be served by the A340-300E aircraft.
01/06/06 CNN-IBN

Centre clears blueprint for Bangalore international airport

New Delhi: The Centre has given its stamp of approval for the new blueprint of the Bangalore international airport, fast coming up at Devanahalli near the Garden City.
The redesign of the airport was necessitated because of the booming traffic that the cyber city has seen of late. Thus, instead of the planned 4.5 million passengers by 2008, the airport will now handle 11.4 million when the first phase is thrown open in two years’ time – by April, 2008 (the HAL airport currently handles nearly five million passengers per annum). As per the newly approved design, the airport will have more apron area, longer taxiways, increased number of aircraft stands and a larger terminal. There will, however, be no second runway, which will come up during the next phase. The new design will see 36 aircraft stands from the earlier planned 20 while apron area will be enhanced from 1.8 lakh square metre to 2.6 lakh sq m.
01/06/06 Deccan Herald

New India bags Air-India account

Mumbai: Air-India (A-I) has finally awarded its $2 billion insurance portfolio to be managed by a consortium led by state-owned New India Assurance in 2006-07.
In a tough battle that saw the top two private sector general insurers, ICICI Lombard General Insurance and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance joining hands for the first time to bid for the account, the state-owned companies were chosen by an internal committee appointed by A-I.
The deal, to be mostly reinsured, has to be placed by July 1 so that Air India can fly internationally. The A-I account consists of aircraft (the airlines has 42 aircrafts and another 68 have been ordered) and passenger liability.
New India Assurance is also the current insurer of A-I and has almost paid Rs 100 crore to settle some claims of A-I on account of the Mumbai flood.
01/06/06 Financial Express

Jharkhand to buy planes to ferry ministers, combat Maoists

Ranchi: Jharkhand will soon purchase five helicopters and three planes for Rs.1.37 billion to ensure faster movement of ministers and bureaucrats and also combat Maoist rebels more effectively.
‘The estimated cost of choppers and planes will come to around Rs.1.37 billion,’ said an official of the department.
‘ Two choppers and one plane will be purchased for ferrying the chief minister, ministers, bureaucrats and other government officials. The rest will be purchased for launching operations against Maoists and providing training to pilots,’ he said.
The two double-engine helicopters will have two plus five seats. The rest will have two plus 12 seats that will be used for operations against Maoist rebels.
Of the three airplanes, one is a 30-seater that could be used by VIPs.
31/05/06 India eNews.com

False hijack alert at IGI airport

New Delhi: The IGI airport lived through some extremely tense moments last week when it suddenly got a hijack alert from an aircraft.
The alarming message beeped at the ATC tower and came on a frequency used by pilots to send a distress signal by silently pressing a switch without letting the hijacker know.
However, investigations revealed it was a false alarm that happened when a maintenance person had pressed that switch by mistake in the aircraft belonging to a domestic airliner.
Sources said that soon after getting the signal, the authorities started tracing from where it was being emitted and was traced to a plane parked at IGI.
"A team was immediately dispatched to the aircraft. That plane was under maintenance and some people were working there," said sources.
01/06/06 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Cathay Pacific to launch new freighter service to Chennai

Hong Kong: Cathay Pacific Airways announced Wednesday it will launch the first direct freighter service between Hong Kong and Chennai on Friday.
The addition of this southeastern port city of Chennai, formerly knowns as Madras, further expands Cathay Pacific's world cargo network and strengthens Hong Kong's position as the world's busiest international air cargo hub and gateway to the Chinese mainland.
The new freighter service, which operates via Bombay, India, will operate every Tuesday and Friday using a Boeing 747-200F freighter. It will depart Hong Kong at 2:05 p.m., arriving in Bombay at 5:25 p.m. local time the same day before continuing to Chennai later that afternoon and heading back to Hong Kong at 10: 15 p.m.
31/05/06 Xinhua/People's Daily Online, China

Spate of Thefts Hits Indian Airline's Flights

Mumbai: On Tuesday night, about a dozen Indian Airlines passengers on three flights found their checked-in bags broken into when they picked them up at the conveyor belt. The airport police registered a complaint and are investigating if the thefts were part of a single racket.
At 9 pm, when Rohit Satia (30) arrived at the domestic airport from Delhi, he found his bag had been tampered with. Satia and wife Nidhi (27) approached Indian Airlines officials, but claimed they were ignored. But soon, the Satias found 10 more passengers with similar complaints.
Bhupendra Sanghvi (49), who arrived from Chennai, said, “Our locks were broken and clothes, perfumes, watches, and sunglasses – worth around Rs 30,000 – were missing. We now want new suitcases and suitable compensation for this ordeal.”
31/05/06 Mid-Day/Daijiworld.com

Rathore not happy with efforts to locate his gun

New Delhi: Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore yesterday said he was not happy with the efforts to locate his lost Perazzi DB gun and feared it would severely hamper India's chances in next month's World Shooting Championship.
Rathore and his lawyers met Werner Heesen, the General Manager of Passenger Sales in India and South Asia, Lufthansa Airlines, to find an amicable solution to the loss of his gun.
Rathore's gun went missing when he returned from Cairo after winning an Olympic quota place in the ISSF World Cup there and the Lufthansa Airlines authorities had no clue about the loss. The airlines had also lost another Indian Trap shooter Ronjan Birendeep Singh's just days before which has made the incident all the more alarming.
01/06/06 PTI/The Hindu

Air Deccan flight rethink in funds delay

Ranchi: The inordinate delay on part of the state government in releasing the subsidy amount to Air Deccan for the proposed Ranchi-Patna-Delhi prime time flight is pushing the airlines to do a rethink.
The subsidised flight, supposed to take off on June 1, has been grounded for now by the planning department.
The result — the low-cost carrier is now thinking of extending the Patna-Delhi route (supposed to start from June 15) to Raipur instead of Ranchi.
Asked about the proposed flight, planning secretary A.K. Chug refused to comment on the issue while industry secretary Arun Kumar Singh merely assured that the flight would soon take wings. Sources, however, said the planning department wanted a few suggestions to be followed before allowing the release of funds to Air Deccan to start the subsidised flight.
31/05/06 Calcutta Telegraph

Crew crunch delays launch of AI's Amritsar-Dubai flight

Chandigarh: The Amritsar-Dubai flight of Air India Express which was scheduled to start by May 1 this year was delayed due to non-availability of trained cabin and operation crew and the focus shifting to Chennai-Kuala Lumpur and Chennai-Singapore routes.
An Air India spokesman from Mumbai, confirming this to TOI, said, "Yes, the flight has got slightly delayed and is likely to start mid July."
He said the Amritsar-Dubai flight got pushed back as the focus of AI shifted to Chennai-Kuala Lumpur and Chennai-Singapore routes, where traffic density is more. These two will be started by June 8.
Other reasons for the delay of Amritsar-Dubai flight was the time being taken in training and deploying cabin and operations crew.
31/05/06 Amit Agnihotri/Times of India

SriLankan Airlines launches 50% Discount Promotion to Skywards Members

In celebration of the fifth anniversary of SriLankan Airlines' Tokyo/Male route, the airline has launched a special promotion for its Skywards members worldwide - a 50% discount on the number of Miles needed to travel between Tokyo and Colombo or Male up to 15 July 2006.
Whereas usually a Skywards member would need to redeem 60,000 Miles to obtain an Economy Class return ticket Tokyo/Colombo or Colombo/Tokyo, Tokyo/Male or Male/Tokyo, the promotion offers such tickets for redemption at only 30,000 Miles.
This promotion is on offer to Skywards members worldwide.
01/06/06 ASIATravelTips.com, Thailand

Indian increases frequency on Chennai-Thiruvanathapuram sector

Chennai: National carrier, Indian will increase its frequency on the Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram sector from tomorrow.
More seats would be offered on the Chennai-Hyderabad sector, a press release said.
On the Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram sector, a new flight had been introduced.It would operate on Wednesdays and Sundays leaving from Chennai airport at 11.45 am and arriving at Thiruvananthapuram at one pm.In the return direction, the flight would arrive in Chennai on Mondays at 12.30 pm and on Thursdays at 12 pm. Indian would operate its evening flight to Hyderabad from Chennai airport at 6.20 pm, which would arrive at Hyderabad at 7.20 pm. Similarly, the morning flight from Hyderabad would arrive at 7 am at Chennai, the release added.
31/05/06 PTI/NewKerala.com

Jet Airways ties up with Thai, Austrian airlines for FPP

New Delhi: Jet Airways today joined hands with Austrian airlines and Thai Airways International for reciprocal frequent Flyer Programmes (FPP) effective from tomorrow.
The arrangement will offer Jet Privilege members the benefits of the frequent flyer programmes on the networks of both, Austrian Airlines and Thai and will allow Jet Privilege members to accrue and redeem JP Miles while travelling on all flights marketed and operated by the two international airlines, the company said in a release.
The relationship with both the airlines is reciprocal where Thai's royal orchid plus and Austrian Airlines 'miles and more' members will be able to earn and redeem their miles on Jet airways and jet privilege members will be able to earn and burn their JP miles on the network of the two airlines, it added.
31/05/06 Zee News

Indian to start early check-in for Dubai

Dubai: Indian (formerly Indian Airlines) has initiated an early check-in facility, supported by Sharjah and Dubai airports. The airline will offer passengers the option of checking in early during the off-peak period, thereby avoiding the peak demand period in the night.
The early check-in facility has already been made available at Sharjah airport, where counters open from 11am to 3pm for Indian flights departing later in the night or early the next morning.
At Dubai airport, the facility will be available from June 1. The counters will be open from 9am to noon, for flights departing later in the night or early morning.
Early checked-in passengers, after reaching the airport in the night, can directly proceed to immigration check.
31/05/06 Gulf News, United Arab Emirates

Finnair to start Helsinki-Delhi service from October

New Delhi: Finland's flag carrier Finnair will start a scheduled air service between capital Helsinki and here from October 31 to tap the growing business and tourism ties between India and the Scandinavian countries, an airline official said.
"Our inaugural flight will leave Helsinki on Oct 31 and reach New Delhi the next day. Likewise, the first flight out of New Delhi will leave for Helsinki on Nov 2," said Taina Tornstrom, Finnair's director for Indian subcontinent.
"The Finnair service will be the fastest between Delhi and northern Europe - it will take six hours and thirty-five minutes from Helsinki and seven hours and fifteen minutes the other way," Tornstrom told IANS.
According to the airline official, Finnair will deploy a McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft for the service that will have a frequency of thrice a week. "Next year we will use Airbus A-340 or A-350 aircraft and make it a daily service."
30/05/06 Arvind Padmanabhan/NewKerala.com

CM to pilot Nagpur charge

Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh will step in to push through the handing over of Nagpur airport to the state airport development authority. The plan, as agreed earlier, is to convert it into a cargo hub.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting convened on on Tuesday to take stock of the project’s progress. The meeting was chaired by Mr Deshmukh.
As per the agreement with the civil aviation ministry, the state government waived stamp duty and other taxes applicable to the modernisation of the Mumbai airport, and in lieu of this, it would receive Nagpur airport. Accordingly, a memorandum of understanding was signed in August ‘05.
The Maharashtra government has already cleared the Rs 2,500-crore aviation cargo hub proposed to be developed in the Nagpur aerodrome area. The project envisages developing an international passenger and cargo hub complex along with railway and road freight centres.
31/05/06 Girish Kuber/Economic Times

NTSB Releases Preliminary Report into Levelland Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has released it's preliminary report, following last week's fatal plane crash in Levelland.
Flight instructor 64-year-old Dennis Michels of Lubbock and his student, 24-year-old Anand Paul Quadros from India, were killed last Monday. The report indicates that the plane took off, climbed to about two or three hundred feet, before making a sharp 180-degree turn. That's when it lost some altitude before climbing again. It made another sharp turn toward the runway. The left wing dropped and then plunged to the ground.
A final report is expected in the next three to six months.
30/05/06 KCBD-TV, TX, US

Airport employees warn of strike

New Delhi: The umbrella body of the four Airports Authority of India unions, AAI Employees Joint Forum, has shot off a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel seeking his intervention in getting the AAI management implement the demands, which also included pension and some social security schemes, restructuring of various cadres, filling up of vacant posts and revision of allowances.
"Before our patience goes out, we would request you to kindly take necessary corrective actions or else we may be driven to the brink of another industrial unrest for which the total responsibility shall not rest on us alone", the Forum warned.
Leaders of the Forum, which had struck work for four days in February, also alleged that there was no "transparency" in the privatisation process for Delhi and Mumbai airports.
30/05/06 PTI/Economic Times

Aircraft skids, passengers escape unhurt

Kochi: At least 60 passengers and crew of a 'Go Air' flight from Mumbai had a miraculous escape when the aircraft skid from the runway while landing at the International airport at nearby Nedumbassery this evening.
Though the aircraft skid from the runway towards the wet muddy ground, the pilot managed to taxi the aircraft back on to the runway and brought it safely to the parking bay, airport sources said.
One of the nose wheels of the aircraft has been damaged.
Due to heavy rain, visibility at the airport was very poor. Airport sources said the aircraft was on the Mumbai-Kochi-Mumbai route.
30/05/06 PTI/The Hindu

From June, a team to escort you at IGI airport

New Delhi: Indira Gandhi International airport will soon have a team of ushers working round-the-clock to escort and help out passengers. They will mostly be students and trainees from the hospitality industry. The team will assist passengers at the terminal and guide them through the procedure of checking in, undergoing security checks, and verification.
‘‘There is a large number of first time visitors to the international airport, many are even uneducated or are from rural areas. They get completely disoriented at the terminal and are unable to understand how the whole process of checking, baggage checks works. ’’ said an official at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
‘‘We have already selected two institutes to help us implement the plan. While the first batch of around 25 ushers will come from Frankfinn Management Consultants, the next will be from the Air Hostess Academy. ’’ said the official.
30/05/06 Anubhuti Vishnoi/Delhi Newsline

Blue Dart introduces first Boeing 757s in India

Blue Dart, India’s largest air express, courier and package distribution company, today announced the induction of two Boeing 757-200 freighters into its air express fleet. The aircraft were acquired on lease by Blue Dart Aviation which has an agreement with Blue Dart Express Ltd. to utilise its aircraft for dedicated domestic air services.
The addition of the 757s will augment Blue Dart’s freighter fleet of five aircraft, and will increase capacity from 166 to 250 tonnes per night to service growing demand. Blue Dart’s charter capabilities within the country will also be fortified. The route network will be extended to 60 with the addition of 21 route connections to the existing 39. To further strengthen the air infrastructure, an aviation hub will be launched at Ahmedabad, and the Hyderabad outbound gateway will be connected.
30/05/06 Moneycontrol.com

Revenue of non-metro airports in full throttle

New Delhi: Rapid growth in low-cost airline business has increased 2005-06 revenue of non-metro airports like Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Cochin and Pune by more than 50%, although on a smaller base. In comparison, the revenue of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) — which manages 126 metro, non-metro and international airports — grew just 12.78% in 2005-06.
While airport-specific revenue numbers are still unavailable, growth in aircraft movement confirms the spike in revenue. Domestic aircraft movement in Hyderabad, for instance, has grown 64.9% in 2005-06, followed by Coimbatore (59.7%), Cochin (54%), Ahmedabad (52.8%) and Pune (50.6%). Aircraft movement in Delhi grew 31.4%. Hyderabad alone handled 40,875 domestic aircraft in 2005-06.
Other airports registering high growth in revenue were Jaipur, Udaipur, Srinagar, Amritsar, Ambala, Thiruvananthapuram, Visakhapatnam, Mangalore, Nagpur, Goa, Varanasi and Trichy.
30/05/06 Atreyee Dev Roy/Financial Express

Bell Helicopter to set up pilot training school in India

Fort Worth(US): US aviation major Bell Helicopter will set up a Joint Venture pilot training school in India next year, as part of its strategy to boost sales and forge linkages with companies in the country.
The facility, which will cater to 100-odd pilots in India flying only Bell helicopters, will be set up in partnership with an Indian firm, said Bob Fitzpatrick, Bell's senior vice president for business development.
"This will be a Joint Venture with someone who has facilities at an airport," he told a group of Indian journalists, who toured Bell's facilities in Texas, adding the company was in talks with Pawan Hans, Deccan Aviation and some other firms. "We will select a partner by the third or fourth quarter of this year," Fitzpatrick said. "The school will be operational by next year."
The facility will train pilots and conduct refresher courses for experienced aviators.
30/05/06 PTI/Hindu

Bell hovers over $400 mn India chopper sale

Fort Worth (US): Looking at India as a major market to drive global sales over the next two decades, US aviation major Bell Helicopter is in the race to sell 197 helicopters to the Army in a deal estimated to be worth nearly 400 million dollars.
The company, which chalked up sales of 20 million dollars in India last year, expects demand for its helicopters will be largely from sectors like emergency medical services, corporate transportation and services for offshore oil fields, said Bob Fitzpatrick, Senior Vice President of marketing and sales.
"We expect the Indian market for helicopters to grow to 4.3 billion dollars over the next 20 years, with 40 per cent of the demand from the civilian sector," Fitzpatrick told a select group of Indian journalists who toured Bell's facilities in Texas.
29/05/06 AP/Financial Express

Check mergers of airlines: Parliamentary Committee

New Delhi: Apprehending the "monopolistic situations" in the wake of the acquisition of Sahara Airlines by Jet Airways, a Parliamentary Committee has said there was a need to 'check the trend'.
"Of late there have been changes in the strategy of private airline operators by way of consolidation of their operations.....these conditions can lead to a monopolistic situation in the civil aviaton sector and there is a need to check this trend," the Committee on Tourism, Culture and Transport, chaired by Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram Yechury, said in its report tabled in the Parliament.
The committee said, while formulating the new civil aviation policy, all consequences of mergers of airlines, including the matter of reallocation of infrastructural facilities at airports should be addressed properly.
29/05/06 PTI/The Hindu

Chennai, Kolkata to get new runways

New Dehi: The Kolkata and Chennai airports will soon get fully operational second runways. This means that these airports can handle more flights as well as reduce chances of flight disruption.
Not to be left behind, the non-metro cities are also expected to join the airport modernisation bandwagon with the AAI ready with plans to upgrade 10 of them at a cost of Rs 1500 crore.
Better infrastructure will enable faster takeoffs and landings at Chennai and Kolkata at least. Chennai already has a second runway, but it intersects the first.
So the AAI will train air traffic controllers and airport staff to handle this better. And AAI has already successfully operationalised the cross runway in Mumbai.
29/05/06 NDTV.com

Losses soil Indian along with 88 PSUs

New Delhi: Unable to face competition of a liberalised environment, as many as 88 Public Sector Undertakings have eroded networth due to heavy accumulation of losses till March 2005, a report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said.
"Their (88 companies) accumulated losses were Rs 82,001 crore against investment of Rs 14,469 crore as on march, 2005, making their networth negative," the CAG said in its report tabled in Parliament recently.
Given the aggregate networth, 88 PSUs have become negative to the tune of Rs 65,800 crore and CAG has expressed doubt over the recovery of loans amounting Rs 34,295 crore given by the centre to 58 companies. The PSUs whose equity capital has eroded includes eastern coalfields, Bharat Coking Coal, Konkan Railway Corporation, Fertiliser Corporation of India, Hindustan Fertilisers Corporation and Indian airlines.
29/05/06 PTI/Financial Express

Plan to clear traffic chaos at airport hits the fast lane

New Delhi: About two years back, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, prepared a plan to regulate traffic in and around both the domestic and international airports. But it hardly took off. Now, GMR-Fraport, the private company mordernising the airport, is reviving that plan.
According to Dr Geetam Tewari, professor, Traffic Research and Injury Prevention Programme (TRIPP), IIT Delhi, the revision of the plan, originally framed for the Airports Authority of India (AAI), will take another two or three weeks. Once it is ready, GMR-Fraport plans to implement it on a fast-track basis.
‘‘GMR’s main focus is to improve parking facilities, besides re-routing arrival and departure traffic. They also want us to improve plans for a long-term parking facility, keeping in mind the traffic volume expected by 2010,’’ said Tewari.
Meanwhile, GMR has also sought the help of the traffic police to control taxis and autorickshaws around the airport, besides managing the pre-paid booth area.
29/05/06 Delhi Newsline

GE targets 8 bln usd in annual sales in India by 2010 - report

Hong Kong: General Electric Co plans a new push in India, aiming to generate 8 bln usd in annual sales in that country by 2010, the Wall Street Journal reported.
It said GE's chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Immelt is scheduled to outline the company's plans at a speech to an industry association in Bombay today.
The 8 bln usd sales target is eight times GE's revenue in India last year and also dramatically higher than GE's prior target of 5 bln usd for annual India sales by 2010.
The renewed push into India comes as Immelt looks to get 60 pct of the company's growth from developing markets by 2015, primarily in China and India.
30/05/06 XFN-ASIA/Forbes

Bangkok Air for building airport near Assam's Kaziranga National Park

Bangkok Airways is looking to India as a potential location for a new airport.
Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, the airline's founder and president, has reportedly held discussions with Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi about building an airport near Kaziranga National Park.
During the talks with Mr Gogoi in Bangkok, Dr Prasert proposed establishing infrastructure to boost tourism, such as an 'Assam Safari', as well as links to other national parks in the state and the country's northeastern region.
The minister reportedly suggested the state would provide land for the airport if a formal proposal was received from the airline, in order to boost tourism in Assam.
Bangkok Airways has also been keen to build and operate airports in neighbouring countries including Laos and Cambodia, as part of a strategy to create synergy with its fledgling flight operations in those countries, said company sources.
29/05/06 Boonsong Kositchotethana/Bangkok Post, Thailand

Non-metro airport modernisation: AAI awaits govt approval

New Delhi: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is looking to invest around Rs 1500 crore to modernise 10 non-metro airports in the country by 2008.AAI has already identified 12 cities and is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation on the final list of airports to be covered in the first phase of the non-metro airport modernisation programme.
The cities include Jaipur, Udaipur, Srinagar, Amritsar, Ambala, Thiruvananthapuram, Vishakapatnam, Mangalore, Nagpur, Goa, Varanasi and Trichy.
28/05/06 NDTV.com

Flying Sikh pens penny ride to UK

Mumbai: BanceAir, a little known British aviation company floated by an UK-based Indian Sikh who calls himself Dave Bance, is expected to join the competition for passengers travelling from some small towns of India to Britain by the end of June when the first flight takes off.
Although there has been no formal announcement on the sectors that the airline will initially fly to, BanceAir officials said they expected a huge response given the fact that their ticket would be pegged at a price lower than the current competitive ticket prices offered by Jet Airways and others on the Heathrow-bound flights.
The other advantage would be the airline’s plan to connect Heathrow with smaller Indian towns and cities which see a lot of passenger load from Britain.
Pegged at £70 million, the Bance group has business interests in manufacturing, real estate and hotel investment, IT and telecommunications, and the film and music industry.
28/05/06 Samyabrata Ray Goswami/Calcutta Telegraph

AAI green signal to Mohanbari airport revamp

Jorhat: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has given the green signal for revamping the Mohanbari airport at Dibrugarh. A Rs 51 crore plan has already been prepared in this regard and the revamping has been handed over to Calcutta’s Tantia Company.
The Mohanbari airport has become one of the busiest airports of Upper Assam owing to its proximity with leading companies like the OIL, ONGC, Coal India, and the tea gardens. However, the airport depicts a sad picture with poor maintenance and lack of infrastructure.
Senior manager of Mohanbari airport, Diganta Bora said the infrastructure upgrade is likely to be completed by end of next year.
The length of the runway will be increased from 6,000 ft to 7,500 ft, which is the required length for an Airbus to land.
29/05/06 Calcutta Telegraph

Mallya in talks with HAL, Eurocopter to buy choppers

Mumbai: The UB Group is in talks with state-owned aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics and European manufacturer Eurocopter to buy helicopters for
launching a city-to-airport charter service across India.
"We are evaluating HAL's advanced light helicopter 'Dhruv' and Eurocopter. We are analysing the parameters and thinking how to make this possible," Vijay Mallya, chairman of UB Group, told PTI.
Mallya said he planned to connect city-centres with airports, thereby reducing travel time. The service would be available only for airline passengers.The group has not yet decided on the fleet size for the new service. "That all depends on whether its viable. The studies are on and we will be deciding soon," he said.
28/05/06 Business Standard

Indian hostesses to start flying on Chinese airline's

Beijing: Fifteen Indian air hostesses will soon start serving passengers on a Chinese airline's flights from Shanghai to New Delhi, according to Chinese media reports.
The women will start working on the China Eastern Airline flights from June 1, according to the Web site of the official People's Daily newspaper.
The airline is planning to hire some Russian hostesses in June, CRI reported on its Web site.
28/05/06 Associated Press/Hindustan Times

Abacus signs Kingfisher Airlines

Kingfisher Airlines has signed up to join Abacus. Mr. Don Birch, President & CEO of Abacus International said, “We are pleased to be working with Kingfisher Airlines and welcome them onto the Abacus network of travel suppliers."
Kingfisher Airlines General Manager Sales, Mr. Manaoj Chacko said, “Abacus was a good choice to help us distribute our product, as they provide the best reach in the region at the most affordable cost. Our airline appreciates the value of distributing through a GDS as we can leverage on Abacus’ strengths to expand our customer base. We also look forward to working with their travel agents and staff in the future to develop affordable and reliable travel solutions for our customers.”
Kingfisher Airlines will be available on Abacus systems by August this year.
29/05/06 ASIATravelTips.com, Thailand

Row over food aboard AI

New Delhi: The IGI airport witnessed high drama on Sunday afternoon when over 50 passengers of an Air India (AI) flight that had landed from Kuala Lumpur refused to leave the aircraft for almost an hour. The reason - these vegetarian passengers had been offered only non-vegetarian meals on the four-and-a-half-hour long flight.
While good inflight service is supposed to make up for jet leg on international flights, these passengers went hungry for no fault of theirs. AI blamed the travel agency which did their ticketing for not marking their food preference at time of booking.
The trouble at IGI began when the flight landed at 1.54 pm. "For a long time, about 55 passengers refused to leave the plane. After great persuasion, they went to the aerobridge as the plane had to be prepared for another journey. They finally reached immigration counters about two hours after landing and filed a complaint with the airline. They were demanding that either their fare amount be repaid or they be compensated," said airport sources.
29/05/06 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Quiet work on airport plan

New Delhi: The central government is quietly working on Calcutta airport’s revamp even as ideological battles are fought over whether airports should be modernised by private parties or in the public sector.
Under the plan, costing Rs 750 crore, a two-phase modernisation will be carried out at the airport. The components of the project are a fully automated international cargo terminal, expansion and strengthening of the runways to be able to take bigger aircraft and addition of a second module to the domestic terminal.
Aeroports de Paris’s engineering and architecture arm, which had been mandated to prepare the plan, has submitted proposals for a 50-foot-high steel and glass international airport building.
Once the design is finalised, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will float tenders in two to three months.
28/05/06 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/Calcutta Telegraph

Air Sahara set to be renamed TransJet

Mumbai: In a move to phase out Air Sahara's identity, private carrier Jet Airways is planning to rename Air Sahara as TransJet. When contacted, Jet Airways chief executive officer Wolfgang Prock-Schauer refused to divulge the new name, but said, "We are definitely planning to give a new identity and corporate logo to Air Sahara for the interim period till the deal goes through. Once Air Sahara is finally merged with Jet Airways, the new name will cease to exist."
Air Sahara is already running as a subsidiary of Jet and the new entity, TransJet, will house all of Air Sahara infrastructure and assets. In a high-level meeting held last week, the top brass were asked to suggest a probable name for the new entity and 'TransJet' was decided after a consensus. However, Jet is yet to seek the mandatory permission required from the DGCA for a name change.
28/05/06 Financial Express

Brisbane to host Asia Pacific Aviation Summit in July

Brisbane has been announced as host of the 2006 Asia Pacific Aviation Summit, the region's premier aviation forum, Premier Peter Beattie announced today.
Beattie says the conference is a major coup for Queensland and an acknowledgement of the state's emergence as a key centre for defence aerospace support, research and development and aviation training and maintenance for the Asia Pacific Region.
BAC CEO Koen Rooijmans adds the conference will attract the decision-makers from full service airlines, low cost carriers and airports in Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, India, Middle East, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.
The Asia Pacific Aviation Summit 2006 will be hosted by the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from July 26-28.
29/05/06 Queensland Business Review, Australia

Finance ministry puts aviation ministry in a tailspin

New Delhi: The finance ministry has put a spoke in the civil aviation ministry’s proposal to create a non-lapsable essential services fund, akin to the road development fund, for the aviation sector.
It said the proposal to set up such a fund out of a new cess would distort the prevalent economic paradigm in the sector, without any tangible benefit. Commenting on the draft civil aviation policy, the finance ministry has also opposed a proposal to retain the foreign direct investment limit in domestic aviation at 49%.
Instead, the ministry suggested that the question of raising the FDI cap as well as removing the present ban on foreign airlines’ acquiring equity in domestic airlines should be “left open” in the policy.
29/05/06 KG Narendranath/Financial Express

Bird sucked into plane engine at Orissa airport

Bhubaneswar: A small bird brought an Indian Airlines plane to a shuddering halt as it was speeding for take-off from Orissa’s Biju Patnaik airport this afternoon, but all 121 people on board were safe.
The bird, which hit the plane’s engine and got sucked in, however took its toll on the tyres. Four of them deflated as the pilot suddenly brought the airbus to a halt.
The plane later taxied to a bay near the terminal building and the passengers got off.
The aircraft has been sent for a check and repairs.
27/05/06 Calcutta Telegraph

Birds create a flutter on runways

Mumbai: Birds on runways continue to threaten flight security at the Mumbai airport. The most recent incident involved a Dubai-Mumbai Emirates flight (EK 504), with 200 passengers on board, which had to hover overhead for nearly 20 minutes before it could land on May 21. It was put on hold as bird activity had been reported on runway 14-32 by an Air Deccan flight that had landed just two minutes earlier.
The flight, scheduled to land at 8.15 am, ultimately landed at 9 am.
An Emirates official, seeking anonymity, later told DNA, “The domestic aircraft that was on the runway had been informed by the Air Traffic Control about birds on the runway. They were not supposed to fly if birds were spotted on the runway.”
27/05/06 Neeta Kolhatkar, Bhargavi Kerur/Daily News & Analysis

Air Deccan flight to Kochi grounded

Mumbai: On Saturday, passengers of Air Deccan Flight No DN 721 from Mumbai to Kochi were stranded at the airport for more than three hours after the flight was delayed, which was subsequently cancelled.
Initially they were told that the flight, scheduled to leave at 5 pm, was delayed till 8.30 pm, but were later intimated that the flight was grounded due to technical problems.
‘‘The aircraft was grounded due to a bird hit. We had planned to deploy a spare aircraft, but could not do do. So, we delayed the flight, but later we had to cancel it,’’ said head of corporate communications, Air Deccan, Vijaya Menon
Air Deccan had recently acquired two standby aircraft for its metro route.
27/05/06 Mumbai Newsline

Bangalore International Airport on talent hunt

Bangalore: Bangalore International Airport Ltd plans to have a team of 80 personnel by this year-end, up from the current 35. The going has been a little tardy, admits the BIAL CEO, Albert Brunner.
Air transport in India is expanding at a pace that is one of the fastest in the world and there is a scarcity of experienced personnel in this field, he told Business Line.
When the Rs 1,411-crore Devanahalli airport opens as planned in April 2008, it will be handling 7 million passengers and peak hour traffic of 27 aircraft. It will need 300 personnel by then. BIAL's aim is to immediately hire about a dozen senior and middle-level managers to run the daily operations, to market the airport to airlines and various commercial users so that the retail, entertainment, hospitality and commercial units are in place in two years.
28/05/06 Business Line/Sify

Left says big 'NO' to privatisation

Kolkata: Opposing the joint venture route for modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports, veteran CPI-M leader Jyoti Basu on Saturday said that Airports Authority of India should undertake the job.
"We have objection to the joint venture route for Kolkata and Chennai airports. We want the government to accept our proposal. Our leadership is talking to them (government). Let us see what happens", Basu told reporters here.
CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechuri, who was here to attend the party politburo meeting, said that they were not against modernisation of airports, but were opposed to privatisation.
27/05/06 Press Trust of India/Expressindia.com

W Bengal clarifies Kolkata airport policy

Kolkata:The West Bengal government says it backs the governing CPI M's stand that Airports Authority of India should modernise the airport in Kolkata.
At the same time, Chief Minister Buddhdeb Bhattacharya told NDTV's Walk The Talk show his government would not oppose if the Central Government adopts the Delhi-Mumbai privatisation route. He stressed the priority was a modern airport for Kolkata.
On Saturday the CPI M politburo meeting in Kolkata said it was opposed to privatisation of the airports in Kolkata and Chennai.
28/05/06 NDTV.com

Deccan Aviation IPO subscribed 1.23 times

Deccan Aviation inital public offer, IPO has been subscribed 1.23, as per the NSE website on 26 May 2006.
Qualified Institutional Buyers, QIBs, portion has been subscribed 1.0899 times. The Non Institutional Investors has been subscribed 1.1535 times and the retail portion has been suscribed 1.4565 times.
Deccan Aviation IPO was the first Indian IPO to ever get extended. The issue opened on the doomed day of May 18, when the Sensex crashed over 800 points. It was meant to close on May 23, but the date was extended till May 26. The price band was also changed marginally, from Rs 150-175 per share to Rs 146-175 per share.
Deccan Aviation's IPO consists of 2.45 crore equity shares.
27/05/06 Moneycontrol.com