GoM on Gr Noida airport set up

New Delhi: Days after the BSP extended support to the UPA during the Opposition-sponsored cut motions in Parliament, the Centre has moved to convene a meeting of a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into the UP government’s proposal to set up an international airport at Greater Noida.
The GoM, headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram, was constituted last week, and will meet on May 5. Other members of the reconstituted GoM are Law Minister Veerappa Moily, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. The matter had been discussed by an earlier GoM set up by the previous UPA regime, but had failed to come to any conclusion.
The UP government wants the airport some 80 km from the Capital at Jewar, to be called the Taj International Aviation Hub. Chief Minister Mayawati has been pushing for it for long, and has submitted a techno-feasibility study to the Centre. UP has already identified 1,500 hectares for the project, which was then estimated to cost Rs 3,505 crore.
The GMR-led consortium that operates the Delhi airport had however, objected strongly, citing its Operations Management and Development Agreement with the AAI, which says that no airport can be built within 150 km of the existing airport at Delhi.
01/05/10 Swaraj Thapa/Indian Express

Airport operators and AAI clash on staff dues

New Delhi: Operators of Delhi and Mumbai international airports are squabbling with state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) over the compensation they need to pay to thousands of workers who did not join the airports after privatization four years ago.
Under the 2006 agreement, Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd (DIAL) and Mumbai International Airport Ltd (Mial) were responsible for compensating some 60% of the total AAI employees if they did not join the private airports by 2009. Less than 5% agreed to work for the two when the deadline ended.
DIAL, a GMR Infrastructure Ltd-led consortium, and Mial, led by GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd, were asked to pay around Rs209 crore and Rs214 crore, respectively, to AAI in April 2009.
But DIAL, which runs the Indira Gandhi International Airport, had paid only Rs80 crore by the March 2010, two AAI officials who did not want to be named said. Mial, which operates the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, had paid only Rs154 crore, they said.
Also Read Private airport operators asked to pay Rs423 crore as compensation
A Mumbai airport spokesman defended the delay. “After implementing the VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) scheme last year, AAI was to provide us with complete and final details of quantum payable based on employees’ numbers. We are still awaiting these details,” the spokesman said in reply to questions.
Mial wants to make a staggered payment, he added. “Also, a part of the VRS component is payable to its employees over a period of 10 years, which AAI wants us to pay upfront, which we have contested. We are in discussion with them on this issue.”
01/05/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

AI may again defer joining Star Alliance

New Delhi: Air India’s hope of joining the Star Alliance, the largest of the global airline networks, by December may be further delayed, till March.
The integration of its internal information technology (IT) platforms would only be completed by then. A uniform passenger scheduling system would give AI a single code, a must for entry into the Star Alliance.
“The IT integration of erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines can only happen by March next year,” said a senior AI official, who did not want to be identified.
The airline’s current deadline to join the alliance expires in December, after being extended from June this year.
Joining the Star Alliance, which has 26 carriers as members, will make AI part of a network that operates around 19,500 flights every day from as many as 1,071 airports in 171 countries.
01/05/10 Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

Low-cost airlines pull down global fares

New Delhi: Planning to fly to Kuala Lumpur from Chennai? Book yourself in an Air Asia flight and you have to fork out just Rs 4,100, compared with Rs 8,243 charged by Jet Airways. Also, for a trip to Sharjah from Delhi, Air Arabia charges just Rs 7,659, compared with Jet’s Rs 11,217.
With the percentage of seats being offered by low-cost carriers (LCC) in international routes to and from India increasing from around three per cent (in April 2009) of the total seats on offer to 10 per cent currently, there is welcome pressure on fares from the customer’s point of view.
“The low-cost capacity should increase from 10 per cent to 25 per cent in the international skies in the next few years, as many international LCCs have plans to come to India, and a few Indian LCCs will also do so (that is, fly abroad),” said Ajay Prakash, general secretary, Travel Agents Federation of India.
Various Indian LCCs are launching short-haul international routes, to Southeast Asian and West Asian countries. With fares around 50 per cent lower, the LCCs are obviously attracting customers.
“As the attraction of LCCs is the price they offer, their launch will create an impact on the existing fares and also increase competition for the legacy carriers,” said Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation’s Chief Executive Officer, Kapil Kaul.
International airlines like Air Asia, Air Arabia and Air India Express operate to various destinations in the country and FlyDubai and SpiceJet are to start operations soon.
Currently, Air Asia flies to four destinations and has announced plans to fly to five more places in the country. “Our fares are around 50 per cent cheaper than the legacy carriers operating in these sectors,” said a spokesperson for the airline.
01/05/10 Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

Wrong marking on city runway confuses pilots

Chennai: When airports the world over are upgrading safety measures because of the ever-increasing traffic, the Chennai airport has a basic ground rule wrong, one which could confuse pilots trying to land in inclement weather.
Pilots have found that the main runway of the airport has wrong marking that denotes a point as a taxi-holding point. “Misjudging the runway as a taxiway can be dangerous as it can cause last minute confusion in the cockpit when an aircraft comes in to land, especially when visibility is low. The Instrument Landing System (ILS) signals and the Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) would tell the pilot that the aircraft is approaching a runway, but in reality he will be seeing a taxiway marking,” said an Indian pilot.
The new markings that were made early this month — two horizontal lines with several shorter lines next to them — is normally drawn at the mouth of taxiways to notify pilots that they should stop the aircraft there to get further clearance before proceeding onto the runway for take-off.
“The marking should not be there. It shows the callousness of the airport authorities,” said Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a former pilot and air safety expert.
01/05/10 Times of India

GMR, GVK, L&T qualify for next stage of bids for new Kushinagar airport

Mumbai: Gammon Infrastructure Projects, GVK Developmental Projects, GMR Infrastructure and Larsen and Toubro have passed the first stage of bids to build the Kushinagar international airport. GMR was rated the highest, on financial and technical capacity. Kushinagar is about 60 km west of Gorakhpur, in eastern Uttar Pradesh.
The four are now eligible for the second stage, the deadline for applying to which ended this month.
The department of tourism, Government of UP (GoUP), had invited applications from interested bidders early this year for upgrading an existing airstrip to an international airport at Kushinagar and integrated development of a ‘Buddhist circuit’, covering the Buddhist heritage sites of UP, on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) basis. About 41,600 foreign tourists visited Kushinagar during 2008, according to the department.
After evaluating the financial and technical capacity of the bidders, Hyderabad-based GMR Infrastructure was rated the highest by the evaluating committee. GMR was awarded 387 marks on its technical capacity and had the highest weighted average net worth of Rs 12,424.3 crore in the financial capacity category. L &T came a close second in technical capacity and scored 290 marks, while GVK had the second highest weighted average net worth, of Rs 5,685.97 crore.
The marks were awarded on the basis of the experience of each company in operating, commissioning and constructing airports. The minimum net worth of the applicants had to be Rs 300 crore at the close of the preceding financial year.
01/05/10 Sneha Kupekar/Business Standard

Parliamentary panel raps Aviation Ministry for rise in land encroachment

New Delhi: A parliamentary committee has come down heavily on the Civil Aviation Ministry for a rise in encroachment of land under the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and asked it to create an institutional mechanism to address problems relating to land acquisition.
"While deprecating the lack of responsibility being displayed by the Ministry and AAI in the matter, the Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) reiterate their earlier recommendations" of setting up the mechanism, the COPU said in a report tabled in Parliament today.
"Apparent inaction on part of the Ministry and AAI has resulted in increase of land under encroachment," it said, adding the encroached land rose from 680 acres in 2006-07 to 838.22 acres in March 2008.
The COPU, headed by senior Congress MP V Kishore Chandra S Deo, said it was "dismayed to find that the action taken reply of the Ministry is conspicuously silent about the steps contemplated by them" for creating the institutional mechanism comprising senior officials of AAI and the Ministry.
30/04/10 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Jet fuel rates raised by Rs 273 per kl

New Delhi: State-owend oil retailers today raised jet fuel, or ATF prices, by Rs 273 per kilolitre, making it the fifth straight increase since March.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) rates in Delhi have been raised by Rs 272.77, or 0.6 per cent, to Rs 42,452.02 per kilolitre with effect from midnight tonight, an official of the Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest oil firm, said.
Jet fuel constitutes roughly 40 per cent of the operating cost of an airline and today's increase in fuel rates would put a nominal, but extra burden on Indian carriers.
It was, however, not immediately clear if airlines will pass this burden to passengers.
30/04/10 Press Trust of India

Airship over Surat

Surat: Diamond city will witness an American airship over its skies from May 2 for two days. The airship will shower petals on the city and lucky citizens will get to see the horizon from it.
In a first of its kind show, which also coincides with the golden jubilee of the statehood of Gujarat, a private cellphone operator has brought the airship to hover over the city skies after permission from the authorities concerned.
"The airship has landed at the city airport after obtaining permissions from DGCA, Airport Authority of India and security agencies including local police and district collectorate," Surat airport sources said.
It can attain a speed of 85 km per hour depending on wind conditions, but will fly at a maximum speed of 20 nautical miles over the city. The ship is A60 Plus type of vehicle with two propeller engines. Its tank has a capacity for 2,000 cubic metres of Helium gas. It is 40 metre long, 15 metre high and 13 metre wide and can fly four passengers apart from the pilot.
The private cellphone operator, which is running a promotional campaign, wanted to fly the airship during Swarnim Gujarat on May 1, but has been permitted only to fly over the city skies on May 2 and 3.
30/04/10 Himanshu Bhatt/Times of India

Wataniya Airways coming to India?

Mumbai: Wataniya Airways, Kuwait's premium service airline, is looking at launching operations from India.
The move may be a response to the announcement of NAS Air, a Saudi Arabia-based airline, which announced the launch of India operations today.
Around 10 airlines connect India with various countries in the Middle East including Bahrain Air, Qatar Airways, Kuwait Airlines, Air Arabia and Emirates. Even Indian carriers like Jet, Kingfisher and Air India do brisk business in the sector.
Dubai government-owned low-cost carrier FlyDubai is scheduled to begin operations between Dubai and Lucknow soon.
30/04/10 Shuchi Srivastava/Bloomberg UTV

Saudi budget airline nasair to expand Indian operations

Mumbai: Saudi budget airline nasair, which operates four flights a week between Riyadh and Mumbai, said Friday it will expand operations in the country from June.
“From June 1, nasair will connect Kochi with Riyadh with three flights a week and Kozhikode and Riyadh with four flights a week from July 1,” said Suliman A. Al-Hamdan, CEO of National Air Services (NAS Holdings), which owns nasair.
From August 1, three flights a week will connect New Delhi with Riyadh.
The no-frills airline, which launched the Mumbai-Riyadh flights on April 1, last year helped transport 5,000 Indian Haj pilgrims.
30/04/10 IANS/Thaindian.com

Action against AI crew for delay in Mumbai-Toronto flight

Mumbai: National carrier Air India said it has initiated action against some crew members of its Mumbai-Toronto flight, which was operated via Cairo on April 15, for reporting late on duty.
The airline, however, said the 16-hour delay in the flight was mainly due to certain immigration and lodging issues at the Cairo airport.
The Mumbai-Toronto flight with around 150 passengers on-board, was operated via Cairo on April 15 in view of the closure of European airspace due to volcanic eruption in Iceland.
A section of media had reported that the inordinate delay was due to its seven-member crew going out for sight-seeing in Cairo instead of reporting for duty on-time.
"Some inordinate flight delays did occur due to crew not being available at the right time to operate the flights. In view of the above, Air India has already initiated action and seeking explanation of some crew-members in this regard," an Air India statement said here.
30/04/10 PTI/Economic Times

Cleartrip.com wins 'Favourite Travel Portal' award

Paying testament to service excellence, Cleartrip (www.cleartrip.com), was adjudged the Favourite Travel Portal by the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller’s Readers’ India Travel Awards 2010. This coveted honour bears testimony to Cleartrip’s dedication in continuously innovating and providing customers with a refreshingly simple booking experience.
Condé Nast Traveller magazines’ annual Readers' Travel Awards are recognized internationally as a benchmark for excellence in the travel and tourism industry. Every year the magazine’s readers are invited to vote online for their choice of the best the travel world has to offer. This year, to celebrate the October 2010 launch of Condé Nast Traveller in India, British Condé Nast Traveller magazine, together with Vogue.com and cntraveller.
in, launched a unique digital Readers' India Travel Awards. Discerning, opinionated and well-travelled audiences were asked to determine the finest that India has to offer. With 15 categories to vote for - including favourite travel portals, cities, states, hotels, airports, airlines and more – the jury was looking for readers’ insights, interests and preferences.
Launched in July 2006, Cleartrip (www.cleartrip.com) is one of the top three online travel companies in India with 35% market share.
30/04/10 India Infoline