Air India to withdraw profitable flights

Chennai: All airlines gear up for roaring business for the holiday season between October and January each year. But not Air India.
The Maharaja slept like a log last winter after withdrawing some of its profit making flights citing ‘poor load and viability’.
Ditto this year, starting November, but for a different reason: ‘shortage of cabin crew’. Blame it on the management for not planning in advance or the political manipulations that Air India is regularly subjected to.
Five out of the six flights that have been withdrawn from the southern region have shown an average seat occupancy rate of over 85 per cent throughout the year.
Take for instance the Chennai-Colombo IC573/574. One of the oldest and most strategic linkages between the island nation and India, this flight has been operational for over 30 years. The flight, airline insiders say, has always been full or shown not less than 80 per cent seat occupancy. However, it is to be discontinued from mid- November. The other flights that are to be discontinued are the Hyderabad-Sharjah sector, Trivandrum-Bangalore-Chennai sector, Bangalore-Singapore sector and Chennai- Kuala Lumpur sector.
Last year, after nine profitable flights were withdrawn citing ‘poor load and viability’, Express crosschecked their fact sheets and found that they had a seat occupancy rate of over 80 per cent.
01/11/10 Mamta Todi/ExpressBuzz

Air India seeks debt recast nod

Mumbai: National carrier Air India has sought approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to convert a major portion of its Rs18,000 crore of working capital loans into term loans with a moratorium of two to three years on principal repayments as part of a financial restructuring plan.
Air India and SBI Capital Markets Ltd, or SBICaps, an arm of State Bank of India representing a consortium of banks, have approached RBI with the proposal, according to two persons familiar with the development. One of them is a senior banker and the other a senior official at the ministry of civil aviation.
The bank consortium has approached RBI to restructure the debt of Air India, after they have done so for Kingfisher (Airlines Ltd). Options they are evaluating to carry out the plan include extending the term of the loan and permitting a moratorium,” a senior SBICaps official, who did not want to be named, said.
Air India has accumulated losses of Rs14,000 crore in the last four fiscals and has total debt of Rs40,000 crore, including the Rs18,000 crore of working capital loans. If RBI agrees to the proposal, Air India will be able to reduce the interest rate on its working capital loans to 6-6.5% from 12%, reducing its debt servicing burden.
“Conversion of working capital loans to term loans will make it easier for the airline to repay its debts,” said Hatim Broachwala, a research analyst at Mumbai-based Khandwala Securities Ltd. “The restructuring exercise will be positive for banks as it improves the chances of (loan) recovery.”
31/10/10 P.R. Sanjai & Dinesh Unnikrishnan/Live Mint

Tatas to deliver 1st chopper cabin next week

Hyderabad: The first helicopter cabin manufactured by Tata Advanced Systems in the aerospace SEZ in Ranga Reddy district will be delivered next week.
Tatas had set up a helicopter manufacturing facility at the aerospace SEZ to manufacture cabins for the Sikorsky-92 helicopters which would be exported to the Sikorsky's assembly unit in the US on November 23 with two more scheduled to be delivered by the year-end.
According to the chief minister's office, Tata group chairman Ratan Tata would be meeting the chief minister K Rosaiah on November 7 to discuss further investments planned by the group in the state.
Meanwhile, automobile giant Mahindra also proposes to set up yet another aerospace project at the aerospace SEZ envisaging an investment of around Rs 300 crore. The functioning and progress of the country's first Aerospace and Precision Engineering Special Economic Zone set up on a 500-acre site at Nadargul and Adibhatla villages in Ranga Reddy district was reviewed by the chief minister on Sunday.
01/11/10 Times of India

Deccan Charters finds North Bengal a difficult place to land

North Bengal is turning out to be a difficult place to land for Deccan Charters.
The non-scheduled passenger service started by Air Deccan founder GR Gopinath, after he sold out his stake in the low-cost airline to Kingfisher's Mallya had planned to start operating flights from Kolkata to Coochbehar in August, when it also started flying from Kolkata to Jamshedpur.
However, over a month and a half after services commenced to the Steel City, Deccan is yet to get all approvals from authorities to land at Coochbehar airport, which has been lying idle for almost two decades but underwent renovation more recently.
"The BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) has given its report to the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), which had cleared us for landing in Coochbehar. However, the DGCA is yet to inform the AAI (Airports Authority of India), which has to give us the final clearance," a Deccan Charters official said.
While the DGCA is the primary civil aviation sector regulator in the country, the main responsibility of the BCAS is to lay down standards and measures for security of civil flights across airports in India.
01/11/10 Business Standard/Sify

Airlines flying high on rebound in financial fortunes

Paris: Commercial airlines in the United States, Europe and Asia are at last relishing a rebound in their financial fortunes, announcing profit spurts after two very lean years.
The civil aviation sector in recent months has enjoyed a pronounced pick-up in both passenger and freight demand, with airlines welcoming the return of high-end travellers with deep pockets.
US carriers United, Continental, American Airlines and Delta Airlines earlier this month reported solid net earnings, followed this past week by upbeat announcements from airlines in Europe and Asia.
“Airlines are experiencing a growth in traffic volumes and — most importantly — a price context that is extremely favourable,” said analyst Pierre Boucheny of Kepler Capital.
In the face of a brutal plunge in demand during the finance crisis, airlines undertook drastic capacity cuts and cost reduction initiatives. Now, as demand firms, carriers have some margin to raise prices. On Friday, British Airways and Iberia of Spain posted healthy profits, mirroring European peers Alitalia and Lufthansa taking advantage of the global economic recovery.
01/11/10 Times of India

Domestic air traffic perks up

New Delhi: The festive season is working out to be a bonanza for some domestic airlines.
Air India (Domestic) has seen a more than 16 per cent increase in the daily number of passengers being flown at 6,400, up from 5,500 previously from Delhi alone.
“Almost all flights from and to major metros are full to capacity till November 8,” a senior airline official told Business Line. To meet the increase in demand the state-owned carrier is not only operating more flights but is also operating larger aircraft from the national capital to Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
31/10/10 Business Line

Paramount Air may soon take to the skies, again

New Delhi: Chennai-based Paramount Airways could soon take to the skies again.
The Aircraft Acquisition Committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation is likely to take up the airline's proposal to import 13 aircraft at its next meeting scheduled for the first fortnight of November.
Sources told Business Line that the airline plans to import five Airbus A-320 and eight Bombardier Q400 aircraft.
“The aircraft in the Paramount colours are ready. Once the Acquisition Committee nod comes, the aircraft will be flown in,” sources said. The airline plans to induct the aircraft in a phased manner so as to scale up its fleet to 13 aircraft by February-March next year.
Recently, the Madras High Court stayed a DGCA order suspending the scheduled operators' licence of the airline. Earlier, Paramount operated Embraer aircraft but the operations were suspended after the aircraft were taken back following a dispute.
Paramount's scheduled operator licence was suspended due to the downgrading of requirements of a scheduled airline as it did not have the required number of aircraft in its fleet.
31/10/10 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

Safety, security top concerns for Asia Pacific aviation

A joint statement has been issued by the 47th Conference of Directors General of Civil Aviation, Asia and Pacific Regions (DGCA) in the territory, emphasising that safety and security will remain the highest priorities of the aviation industry.
Hosted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Macau (AACM), the five-day conference which concluded last Friday was attended by more than 260 attendees from 34 member states and regions and also eight international organisations from the Asia Pacific.
The conference, themed “Through the Turbulence, Working Together for the Recovery and Enhanced Development of Aviation”, aimed to produce a productive discussion in face of the “unprecedented growth” of air transportation in the Asia-Pacific Region, according to an AACM press statement.
In the statement, it is agreed that the member states and regions will further enhance cooperation in aviation safety and aviation security, as well as efficiency and sustainability which will be the “essential elements” in the course of development.
The statement also indicates that the member states and regions recognise the importance of establishing a coordination mechanism to enhance the regional safety performance based on the Global Aviation Safety Plan of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO); and are committed to strictly monitoring the implementation of aviation security measures so as to ensure compliance with international standards.
01/11/10 Macau Daily Times

Main runway at Mumbai airport to close partially

Mumbai: An already overburdened Mumbai Airport, which is the second busiest in the country, is headed for a troubled run.
Starting from Monday (November 1), its main runway (0927) will be closed for eight hours everyday - six days a week - from 9 am to 5 pm. And this will go on for the next seven months.
Authorities say runway 0927 needs urgent renovation.
While this runway is closed, Mumbai air traffic will be handled by the short runway. But this has its own problems. The length of the short runway is only 9,600 feet as against the 11,300 feet main runway.
Being short it has load restrictions: A big plane with a full load of passengers or cargo cannot take-off or land. In the past, airlines like Singapore and Continental have refused to use it.
01/11/10 NDTV.com

Indo-US flights not lucrative

New Delhi: Over ten per cent growth in air traffic between India and US does not seem to be lucrative enough for airlines to start new nonstop flights on this route.
Three carriers – Air India (AI), Continental Airlines and American Airlines – that have nonstop services from India to US do not have any immediate plans to add more flights to this route.
This is despite the high seat factor that hovers around over 80 per cent and claim to be quite happy with their performances.
“For the next 10-12 months, there is no plan to add new non-stop flight from India. This is for purely business reasons.
Not many people want to fly 15-hour or longer flight.
There is bigger risk and therefore it takes quite some time before a decision to add such flights is taken,” Charles M Duncan, vice president (Transatlantic, Middle East and India), United – Continental Airlines said.
At present, there are limited numbers of direct flights on India-US route.
The national carrier AI has two direct daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai to New York. While Continental too has two daily flights from Mumbai and Delhi to New York, American Airlines has only one daily flight from New Delhi to Chicago.
According to industry experts, the carriers are cautious to fly direct flights on India-US as the sector already has sufficient capacity.
01/11/10 Parul Chhaparia/mydigitalfc.com

PMO summons full AI board meeting

New Delhi: In an unusual move, both the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and cabinet secretary have summoned the full board of Air India to separate meetings on Monday to take stock of the progress made in implementing the company's turnaround plan. The full board of AI led by chairman and managing director
Arvind Jadhav is expected to attend the meetings. All independent directors — Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director, Mahindra and Mahindra Group; Harsh Neotia, chairman, Ambuja Realty; Air Chief Marshal (retd) Fali H Major and Amit Mitra, secretary general, FICCI — are likely to be present.
01/11/10 Gaurav Choudhury/Hindustan Times

Only causing death should fetch noose for hijackers: Panel

New Delhi: Will the death penalty for plane hijackers act as a deterrent or shut all doors for negotiation with them? And what if the hijackers are on a suicide mission? Keeping all this in mind, a lawmakers' panel has approved the death penalty for hijackers, but only if they are directly responsible for the death of passengers.
The recommendation has been made by a parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture in its report after examining the Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2010.
The report was submitted to the Rajya Sabha Oct 18.
'The committee feels that the proposed amendment (for death penalty to hijackers) is the need of the hour and unavoidable in the heightened threat for such a daring crime,' said the panel, headed by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechuri, in its report.
While approving the provision of death penalty in the Anti-Hijacking Bill 1982, the panel kept in mind whether making capital punishment mandatory for all hijackers would not end all avenues of negotiation with them to save the lives of passengers.
31/10/10 IANS/Sify.com

Rains make runway slippery, flights delayed

Mumbai: Within five months of suspending workers for boycotting work, national air-carrier Air India, has reinstated a few employees following political intervention.
"The management has reinstated 25 employees of the 32 workers suspended for striking work against a gag order. Of these, 24 are engineers who belong to the All India Aircraft Engineers Association (AIAEA) while one employee is from the Air Corporation Employees Union (ACEU)," the source said.
When contacted, an Air India spokesperson confirmed that the suspension of some employees was revoked but declined to give the number.
"Suspensions (are) being revoked on a case-to-case basis. The total number is not known," spokesperson told PTI in response to a text message.
The Air India management in May had terminated services of 55 employees besides suspending 32 others after a section of the now derecognised AIAEA and ACEU went on a two-day flash strike amidst relief work in the aftermath of the Mangalore plane crash that claimed 158 lives.
It also withdrew the recognition granted to these unions.
The employees had struck work against a management's "gag order", banning them from interacting with the media.
31/10/10 PTI/Economic Times

Hike in user fee at Hyderabad airport

Hyderabad: The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad has increased the user development fee for all outbound passengers.
According to airport operator GMR Hyderabad International Airport, the fee has been hiked 26 per cent to Rs 430 for a domestic traveller and 87 per cent to Rs 1,700 for a foreign passenger, from November.
Earlier, domestic and international passengers paid Rs 340 and Rs 907, respectively, as fees, excluding service tax.
The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India approved the hike after a stakeholders’ meet last month.
The levy will mop up an additional Rs 650 crore for the airport operator over three years.
31/10/10 The Telegraph

ATF prices to be hiked by Rs 299/KL in Delhi

New Delhi: State-owned oil firms on Sunday hiked jet fuel prices marginally by less than 1 per cent, in sync with a rise in global rates.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) rates were hiked by Rs 299 per kilo-litre to Rs 42,235 per kl in Delhi, with effect from midnight on Sunday, an official of Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest fuel retailer.
The hike comes on the back of a near 3 per cent increase in rates effected on October 16.
ATF, or jet fuel, will cost Rs 43,553 per kl in Mumbai, home to the nation's busiest airport, as against Rs 43,242 per kl previously.
31/10/10 PTI/Times of India

Mahindras to set up yet another aerospace project in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: Chief Minister Dr K Rosaiah today said that an all out drive has been launched to make Andhra Pradesh the choicest destination for global investors in manufacturing and aviation industry.
The Chief Minister reviewed the progress of the country’s first Aerospace and Precision engineering Special Economic Zone set up on a 500 acre site at Nadargul and Adibhatla villages in Ranga Reddy district with top officials and the Company Executives. Dr.Rosaiah said he was glad that the Tata Advanced Systems has set up a Helicopter Manufacturing facility in the Aerospace SEZ to manufacture cabins for the Sikorsky-92 helicopters on schedule and that the first cabin from the manufacturing line, would be exported to the Sikorsky's assembly unit in the US on November 23 with two more scheduled to be delivered by the year-end.
Mr Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group of Industries and leading industrialist is likely to meet the Chief Minister on November 7 at Hyderabad in this regard. He is likely to discuss about further investments the group planned in Andhra Pradesh with the Chief Minister. In yet another major development, Mahindras offered to set up a major Aerospace Project envisaging an investment of around Rs. 300 crores. The Chief Minister expressed happiness over the proposal of automobile giant Mahindras. Dr. Rosaiah said the unique achievement of the TASL speaks volumes of the availability of world-class infrastructure and environment in Andhra Pradesh particularly in Hyderabad making it a hub for promotion of aviation industry with focus on Maintenance, Repair and Overhauling (MRO) at the Aerospace SEZ developed by APIIC-led consortia with an investment of Rs. 250 crore. He said Andhra Pradesh was planning to overtake Gujarat and Maharastra in the investment and industrialization sector in the coming years.
31/10/10 Orissa Diary.com

International airports only in Male, Gan, Hanimaadhoo: leaked agreement

Male: The government is authorised to operate international airports only at Male International Airport, Seenu Gan airport and Haa Dhaal Hanimaadhoo airport, according to the leaked copy of Male International Airport management agreement between the government and India’s GMR Infrastructure.
An anti-government website leaked a scanned copy of the 196-page agreement made between the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) and the consortium between GMR and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).
Article 11.20 Other International Airports section states that the government represents that there will be no more than three international airports (Male, Gan and Hanimaadhoo) in Maldives.
Privatisation Committee Chair Mahmood Razee said the government will not license another international airport except the three, but added that the agreement does not restrict charter flight operations at airports that meet civil aviation regulations.
31/10/10 haveeru online

Sudden fog at IGI Airport catches airlines off guard

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport witnessed sudden fog on Sunday morning and safeguard measures had to be implemented at the new runway 29/11 for over three hours.
However, Met department officials said that this fall in visibility was not a trend indicating that there is likelihood of a fog situation setting in early this year. They added that this was due to the passing of western disturbance in the northwest part of the country in the past two days. The fog also caught many of the airlines off guard as even though the winter schedule has started many flights were not prepared for low-visibility operation and they preferred to use the main runway.
01/11/10 Times of India