Ratan Tata readies plan to enter aviation business

Mumabi: Ratan Tata may have given up plans to get into civil aviation but the chairman of the $72 billion Tata Group is putting pieces together to be a major player in the general aviation space. Tata, a trained pilot, is working out deals with international players for business jets, helicopters as well as for aircraft management and maintenance services. Investments in this space are being driven by the group's two main holding companies, Tata Sons and Tata Industries.
The group is in talks with Florida-based Avantair to establish a partnership in India, where use of private planes by companies is on the rise. Avantair's business model is of fractional ownership, giving individuals and businesses the benefits of whole aircraft ownership at a fraction of the cost. The firm intends to emulate its US programme here, said sources familiar with the plans. "Discussions including the equity structure of the venture are at an early stage," they added. If things work out as planned, it will be the salt-tosoftware conglomerate's second investment in a fractional jet operator after Singapore's BJETS in February 2008.
01/09/11 Reeba Zachariah & Boby Kurian/Times of India

India registers highest domestic air passenger growth: IATA

New Delhi: The country recorded the highest domestic passenger growth this July at over 20 per cent, followed by Brazil at about 18 per cent, though the growth was slower for international air traffic.
"Brazil and India recorded the highest growth rates of 17.8 per cent and 20.6 per cent respectively. Both were stronger than June's performance," the International Air Transport Association announced in its traffic results which showed that the global passenger travel was up 5.9 per cent over the same period last year.
However, in most other countries, domestic air travel demand remained "much more sluggish than that for international travel", the latest IATA figures showed.
American domestic market, which represents half the world market, grew 2.1 per cent compared to July 2010, while China, with the second biggest domestic market (18 per cent of the world), "slowed abruptly" to just a 5.1 per cent rise.
In the international market, Asia-Pacific carriers had a capacity increase of 5.8 per cent which exceeded the demand growth of 4.9 per cent.
01/09/11 PTI/Economic Times

Air India seeks equity infusion of Rs. 6,600 crore

New Delhi: A proposal for equity infusion of Rs. 6,600 crore for Air India has been mooted by the Civil Aviation Ministry to enable the airline clear its massive dues.
A Group of Ministers (GoM), which is expected to meet later this month, may take a view on the plan which also includes restructuring of loans of Rs. 43,200 crore and vendor dues amounting to Rs. 4,600 crore, official sources said.
After an ad hoc payment of Rs. 500 crore to partly clear its dues to Air India on account of VVIP travel and evacuation flights, government would soon release another tranche of Rs. 705 crore to it.
Air India sought Rs. 6,600 crore as part of a "big dose" of equity infusion to clear its dues, saying most of the equity infusion it has received so far has gone to pay off staff salaries and part of interests on loans, besides daily bills of jet fuel.
The ailing national carrier has a working capital loan of Rs. 21,200 crore, long-term loan on fleet acquisition of Rs. 22,000 crore, vendor dues and accumulated losses worth Rs. 20,320 crore, as per the latest figures.
01/09/11 NDTV.com

Air India launches two daily budget services from Kozhikode

Kozhikode: Two daily budget flight services of Air India connecting the city with Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Agatti in Lakshadweep islands were today inaugurated by Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi.
Alliance Air, a subsidiary of Air India, would operate the flights with 48-seater ATR42 aircraft on all days except Sundays, airport sources said.
The Kozhikode-Thiruvananthapuram-Kozhikode and Kozhikode- Kochi-Agatti-Kozhikode flights, being resumed after a gap of two years, would be a boon to passengers, especially to politicians and those travelling to the state capital for medical treatment.
01/09/11 PTI/Economic Times

Surprise round by CMD, aviation secy

New Delhi: Passengers flying Air India from Delhi's terminal 3 on Sunday morning were surprised to find two gentlemen quizzing them about their experience and difficulties with the airline and the new airport . Junior AI staffers manning check-in and security counters were even more puzzled when the two asked them about the way they treat passengers. Clearly, the employees thought, the two can't be passengers waiting to board a flight as they have been going round the airport for almost five hours.
It finally turned out that the two were aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi and AI's new chairman Rohit Nandan , who were reviewing where all the AI and T3 experience needs improvement . The two decided to take a surprise round of the airport, which happens to be AI hub, without informing anyone. "A comprehensive list of to-dos has been given to both AI and airport management for changes. Within days, passengers will feel the difference. Some directives for enhancing passenger comfort have been given," Zaidi said.
01/09/11 Times of India

AI to operate intl. flight from Visakhapatnam airport

Visakhapatnam: The port city is all set to get the international airport status in September as a new service to Dubai will be introduced. Sources said Air India (AI) would operate the flight to Dubai from Visakhapatnam via Hyderabad from third week of September.
The daily flight of AI would take-off at 8 am for its onward journey to Hyderabad and Dubai, sources said. Plans are afoot to introduce flights to Chicago and New York, if the patronage for international flights increases.
Sources said four lakh passengers travel from Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, East Godavari and some parts of West Godavari, besides Orissa to various destinations from Vizag airport. Air Travellers Association of India (ATAI) Visakha branch president D Varada Reddy said they are trying to convince the authorities to operate AI flights to Chicago and New York also.
01/09/11 Times of India

Tab on flight duty hours

New Delhi: The directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) has decided to keep a tab on the duty hours of pilots and other crew members.
The regulator has asked all airlines to maintain an online record of the duty hours which they can regularly monitor.
The DGCA’s “Flight and Duty Time Limitation” rules specify the maximum flying hours for domestic and international pilots.
According to DGCA officials, they recently got a number of complaints from pilots of various airlines. “A number of them are not getting adequate rest between flights and this was affecting their work. Rules will be improved and finetuned so that all airlines follow suit,” said a DGCA official.
The officials said the improved system would have a provision of audit trail so that any change in data related to working hours could be tracked to its source.
“It will be fully in place by February 2012,” added the official.
01/09/11 The Telegraph

Pay Rs25,000 to passenger for damaged luggage: Consumer forum to Air India

Air India has been ordered by a consumer forum to pay Rs25,000 as compensation to one of its passengers for damaging his luggage containing gifts for his Chicago-based friend during his 2008 trip to the US.
A Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, headed by its President CK Chaturvedi, asked the state carrier to compensate city resident Rakesh Kumar Gupta, rejecting its plea that as per the 1929 Warsaw Convention, it had only limited liability for damaged luggage.
The court rejected Air India's contention and said the airlines did not bother to pay even "that limited liability in time."
"Why Air India had not disposed off that liability within the time period? The complainant took the journey in June 2008 and the case was filed in 2009 and till today the airlines has not come out with that limited liability. They should have offered some amount to fulfill its limited liability," the bench said.
The consumer forum directed Air India to pay Rs20,000 compensation for damaged baggage and harassment and mental agony along with Rs 5,000 as cost of litigation to Gupta. Gupta had moved the consumer court saying he took a flight from Delhi to Chicago via London in June 2008.
31/08/11 PTI/Daily News & Analysis