Helicopters in Mumbai fly half the recommended altitude

Mumbai: Helicopters in Mumbai fly too close to the surface for comfort. Against a recommended altitude of 1,000 ft above the tallest building in an area (obstruction level), they fly at 500-700 ft from obstruction level and sometimes come as low as the height of the buildings.
The risk of flying low, say pilots, is that when there is total engine failure, a helicopter cannot be manoeuvred to open spots and risks crashing on populated areas. The 1,000-ft altitude, a recommendation of the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO), is for allowing helicopters a better chance of being manoeuvred to open spaces like parks or even the sea to minimise casualties on the ground.
Pilots say flying altitudes are determined by air-traffic control (ATC), which follows rules set by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). AAI officials say the 1,000-ft altitude cannot be permitted for helicopters because they will then come in the flight path of aeroplanes ascending from or descending to the airport.
How then is the ICAO's recommendation followed in cities like New York and London? "There, all flight operations are under radar monitoring . But in Mumbai, non-scheduled flights (for example, helicopters) are not covered by radar. This makes it impossible to coordinate the movement of helicopters and aeroplanes at the same altitude," said an AAI official.
01/11/11 Chinmayi Shalya/Economic Times

With mounting debt, Kingfisher knocks at govt’s door again

New Delhi: Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines, which recently announced the closure of its low-cost arm Kingfisher Red, has knocked the government’s door asking for its help in securing loans from bankers, official sources said.
The airlines’ chairman Vijay Mallya sought government’s intervention to secure loans from banker’s consortium in a meeting with the civil aviation minister Vayalar Ravi last week. The airline has run into financial difficulties, facing high interest rate on nearly Rs 6,000 crore debt.
When contacted, Ravi confirmed the meeting and said, “The aviation industry is facing crisis. These carriers may be privately owned but are Indian carriers, and the ministry will have to watch out for them,” he told The Indian Express.
He said that he has instructed his ministry to look into the matter and asked the airline to submit a detailed proposal. Mallya, who also met the civil aviation secretary Nasim Zaidi, refused to elaborate on the meeting, but said that the meeting was to seek ministry’s nod for an overseas route.
01/11/11 Smita Aggarwal/Indian Express

AI crisis: Management calls for pilots' meet

New Delhi: The Air India Management on Tuesday called pilots for a meeting to resolve the crisis.
Bombay High Court will hear the plea against AI management's discriminatory practices on Wednesday. Pilots had filed the petition in court.
23 pilots are reported sick and over 100 have threatened to quit. 10 AI flights have also been cancelled this past week. Their complaint is that some of them have not been given a chance to fly the Boeing Dreamliner aircraft.
101 pilots have written to the management threatening to resign and seeking no Objection Certificates to start looking for jobs.
Jitendra Avhad, a AI pilot, said, "We have not declared a strike but we have conveyed our intentions to go on strike if there is no solutions."
Earlier, over 100 pilots threatened to quit the airlines, charging the management with adopting discriminatory attitude against them and stalling their career progression.
The development comes four days ahead of the launch of a training programme for pilots to fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the first of which is expected to join the airline by December.
In a letter to Air India CMD Rohit Nandan, over 100 pilots, owing allegiance to the Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG), said they were "compelled to seek a No Objection Certificate so that we may consider seeking employment elsewhere".
01/11/11 CNN-IBN/IBN Live

Air India pilots allege discrimination, threaten to quit

New Delhi: In a move that could hit Air India's international operations, over 100 pilots have threatened to quit the airline, charging the management with adopting discriminatory attitude against them and stalling their career progression.
The development comes four days ahead of the launch of a training programme for pilots to fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, the first of which is expected to join the airline by December.
In a letter to Air India CMD Rohit Nandan, over 100 pilots, owing allegiance to the Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG), said they were "compelled to seek a No Objection Certificate so that we may consider seeking employment elsewhere".
Copies of the letter were also sent to Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi and other officials, besides the Regional Labour Commissioner, Mumbai.
When contacted, Air India officials, requesting anonymity, said the IPG office-bearers were currently holding negotiations with the management and "we are hopeful of sorting out their issues".
31/10/11 PTI/Times of India

September passenger traffic rises but freight declines: IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said traffic results for September showing diverging trends for cargo and passenger traffic. ``Passenger traffic was 5.6% higher than the same month last year and stronger than the 4.6% year-on-year growth recorded in August. Air freight on the other hand posted a 2.7% contraction for September compared to September 2010. This is a further deterioration from the 2.4% decline recorded in August.``
``September`s strength in passenger demand was a pleasant surprise. Freight demand contracted for a fifth consecutive month and this trend is in line with falling business and consumer confidence. We are still expecting a general weakening in passenger traffic as we head towards the year-end,`` said, Tony Tyler, IATA`s director general and CEO.
International air travel volumes rebounded to levels reached in July, following a dip in August. The sharp decline in business confidence in most economies, and the weakness in US and European consumer confidence, suggest reluctance for both business and leisure travel. Continuing strong air travel markets may reflect the robust conditions in emerging markets and travel booked earlier in the year when there was more economic optimism.
01/11/11 my iris.com

New MRO facility at Hyderabad Intl Airport to take off tmrw

Hyderabad: The Airframe Maintenance Repair and Overhaul facility at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here is slated to commence operations tomorrow and has in- principle commitments from airlines to be its first customers, a senior MAS-GMR Aerospace Engineering official said today.
The new MRO facility was set up by MAS-GMR Aerospace Engineering Co Ltd (MGAE), a 50:50 joint venture between GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited and Malaysian Aerospace Engineering Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines System Bhd (MAS).
R V Seshan, the CEO of MGAE and GMR Group Executive Vice-President (Corporate Strategy and Planning), said the company has received statutory clearances from all regulatory bodies, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), to operationalise the facility from November 1.
"We have got all the statutory clearances from all the regulatory bodies including DGCA. We are ready to take off from November 1," Seshan told PTI.
However, while the company has in-principle commitments from key potential customers at this point of time, there were still formalities left to be completed, he said, declining to name the companies.
31/10/11 PTI/msn.com

GMR likely to set up MRO unit without Jet Airways

Hyderabad: Infrastructure major GMR is all set to go ahead with its aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in the vicinity of the Hyderabad international airport, but without one of its earlier key stakeholders - Jet Airways.
GMR has been working on setting up the MRO jointly with Malaysian Aerospace Engineering, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines System (MAS) and Jet Airways.
Through this deal, Jet Airways was also seen to become the anchor client to make use of the MRO facility to maintain its over 100 aircraft fleet. However, the MRO facility will now start functioning without Jet Airways participating in it.
“It is not that the doors are completely closed for Jet. For now, their participation in the project as a stakeholder is on hold,” a source said.
GMR and MAS are jointly setting up the MRO facility with an outlay of over Rs300 crore including an equity component of about Rs77 crore.
With Jet, which was to acquire about 26% equity, not coming forward, the project is being executed as a 50:50 joint venture between GMR and MAS.
01/11/11 KV Ramana/Daily News & Analysis

AI crew’s airport passes expire, operations hit

New Delhi: The shortage of cabin crew affected the operations of Air India flights at Delhi airport yet again, with several flights being delayed over the past three days. The problem started as the renewal of the airport entry passes (AEP) of over 50 contractual crew members by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has been delayed.
According to officials, 10 flights were combined on Sunday, while seven flights had to be combined on Monday.
Air India’s regional subsidiary, Alliance Air, has a fleet of 11 small aircraft with a capacity to seat not more than 70 passengers. On Monday, a flight each to Dubai, Bhubaneswar Kolkata, Bangalore and Patna and two flights to Mumbai had to be combined with other flights operating on wide-bodied aircraft.
An Air India spokesperson said the renewal of the AEPs was delayed “because of Diwali holidays”. Airline sources said the issuance of the BCAS passes was delayed because the contracts of these employees had expired.
01/11/10 Geeta Gupta/Indian Express

Oil companies hike jet fuel prices

New Delhi: After a one-off reduction, state-owned oil companies on Monday hiked jet fuel prices by a steep 3.8 percent in line.
The price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or jet fuel, at Delhi's T3 airport was raised by Rs 2,845 per kilolitre (kl), or 3.8 percent, to Rs 61,115 per kl with effect from midnight tonight, an official of Indian Oil Corp (IOC), said.
The hike comes on back of a marginally 0.5 percent cut in rates to Rs 58,271 per kl effected from October 16.
Prior to that, the nation's largest fuel retailer, IOC, and other state retailers, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum, had on October 1 and September 16 and raised jet fuel prices by 2.5 percent and 1.5 percent respectively, mainly because imports had become costlier due to fall in rupee against the US dollar.
ATF in Mumbai, home to the nation's busiest airport, will cost Rs 2,950 per kl more at Rs 61,984 per kl from Tuesday as against the old price of Rs 59,021 per kl.
31/10/11 ZeeNews

Air India leaves passengers in the cold

Thiruvananthapuram : Air India Express' passengers are bracing for a tough season with many of the AIE flights either being rescheduled or cancelled with short notice to passengers.
IX 537 flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Abu Dhabi which was to depart from Trivandrum International Airport on October 31 at 7.50 pm has been cancelled.
Air India PRO Abey said passengers have been given other options to travel to Abu Dhabi. "The fight had to be cancelled because of unavailability of crew. It was not booked fully, with only 83 passengers. They have been given the option of flying from Kochi to Abu Dhabi at 9:25 pm (IX 419) or in the Trivandrum - Sharjah flight tomorrow at 8.45 am (IX 535), coaches will be arranged for passengers to travel by road from Sharjah to Abu Dhabi."
Sources with the IAE said a dramatic drop in flights to the Gulf and sudden cancellations by Air India Express are likely to fuel an increase in ticket fares. "Around 176 passengers have made a booking on the IX 535 to Sharjah but shortage of crew is likely to continue. It is not known whether this flight will take off tomorrow," said the source.
Abey, however, said no official communication has been received regarding any further cancellations.
01/11/10 Times of India

Jet, Kingfisher margins likely to crash on falling rupee

A falling rupee against the dollar has proved to be a double edged sword for ailing airlines struggling to fly in the black.
The aviation sector has already seen its operating cost go up significantly for the three months to September quarter as airline companies incur 30% expenses in dollar denomination. Secondly, the weak rupee could compress EBITDA margins to 3% from 12.3% Y-o-Y due to the weak rupee, say analysts
After falling to Rs 50 to a greenback few days back, the rupee is now at Rs 48.86 sending shockwaves to airline operators who are already reeling under losses for the past two quarters. While country’s largest private carrier Jet Airways had posted a net loss of Rs 123 crore for Q1, Kingfisher too posted a net loss of RS 263 crore on high fuel bills.
Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines officials with whom moneycontrol.com talked to have said that their Q2 topline has been dented as the rupee started to depreciate against the greenback by almost 12% when compared with the three months to June quarter.
"A sharp fall in the value of the rupee pushed up our external borrowing cost, lease rentals and salaries to expat staff. A falling rupee has bloated out operational cost by around 10% for the September quarter," says an official from a full service carrier.
31/10/11 Riken Mehta & Shaheen Mansuri/Moneycontrol.com

Traffic missing, business gone; Jaipur international airport just on paper

Jaipur: On December 29, 2005, the Sanganer Airport in Jaipur was granted international status. Nearly six years later, Jaipur airport hardly seems to fit the bill for a converging point of international flights.
According to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) traffic statistics, the Jaipur airport hasn't fared well in terms of international passenger traffic, aircraft movement and international freight.
As per AAI data, Jaipur airport reported a decline of 11.8 per cent in international passengers during August 2011 compared to the same period last year.
A 7.3 per cent decline was reported in international passengers during the five month period between April and August 2011 compared to corresponding period in 2010.
Against 18,524 international passengers during August 2010, 16,339 international passengers were reported at the airport in August 2011. International passengers catered by it during April to August 2011 fell to 92,416 from 99,730 during the same period last year.
01/11/11 Anuraag Singh/DNA/daily bhaskar.com

Recruitment, reform drive on in civil aviation regulator

New Delhi: In its bid to provide more safety for air passengers, India's civil aviation watchdog, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Monday said it has started a recruitment and reform drive.
"We have started many initiatives. The government has approved creation of 500 new jobs (at DGCA), the first batch will join soon," DGCA Director General E.K. Bharat Bhushan said in his address at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event here.
According to Bhushan, the process to fill all the vacancies will take time as other government agencies like the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) are involved.
"It will take time, but it is happening. Agencies like UPSC are also involved and we are working with them," Bhushan told reporters after the event.
Currently, the DGCA - which is the prime aviation safety, regulation and inspection authority in the country - has about 130 staff.
31/10/11 IANS/Economic Times

Sky is... only the beginning’

Bangalore: A colourful fly past, guard of honour and oath-taking by cadets of the Air Wing of the NCC marked the start of the 10-day National-Level Camp at the Jakkur Air Field on Monday.
Air Marshal D Kukreja, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Headquarters Training Command, Indian Air Force (IAF), who inaugurated the camp, exhorted cadets to emulate great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela and to acquire qualities and characteristic traits exhibited by them during their life.
“Sky is not the limit but only the beginning,” he said and expressed confidence that NCC cadets would provide leadership in all professions taking the nation to greater heights in the future.
Nearly 600 cadets, including 180 girl cadets from the 15 directorates of the NCC across the country, are participating in the All-India Vayu Sainik Camp, which will see a number of aviation-related activities like gliding, microlight flying, aero modelling (which includes static model display and control line flying of models), skeet shooting, drill and many other activities.
01/11/11 Daily News & Analysis

Flying schools get bad grades, DGCA warning

New Delhi: Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has found fault with almost all the 40 flying schools in the country, issued notices to over 20 of them giving them a 30-day deadline to comply with regulations.
One school in Bermi, Rajasthan has been asked to shut down due to gross non-compliance. One of the country’s oldest flying clubs, the Bombay Flying Club, has been allowed to conditionally restart operations even as the DGCA continues to keep it under strict watch.
“None of the 40 flying schools in India were following rules. They would be either logging false flying hours or they lacked adequate infrastructure to train pilots. We have given each school 30 days to fall in line otherwise their licenses would be suspended,” DGCA EK Bharatbhushan said on Monday.
During the audit of these schools, DGCA took the help of ATC concerned on whether a particular club really allowed candidates some real flying experience and the results were then matched with log book of candidates.
01/11/11 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

One hundred years of flying high

An undated Tata Airlines route map reveals a wide network — Karachi, Bhuj, Ahmedabad, Bombay, Goa, Cannanore, Trivandrum, Trichinopoly, Colombo, Madras, Hyderabad, Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Delhi. Much later, an Air India timetable, of 1947, quotes among many fares a Bombay-Madras return ticket fare at Rs.256, and a Cochin-Trivandrum return ticket at Rs.57.
It's sometimes hard to believe that India is one of the cradles of world aviation, yet the fact is that we are in the 100th year of civil aviation in our nation. The achievements reveal an absorbing mix — of some world firsts, pioneer flights, the arrival of women aviators and aero clubs, all a part of the fascinating world of man and the ‘flying machine'.
It all began on February 18, 1911. On that day the first commercial civil aviation flight took place between Allahabad and Naini Junction, a distance of six miles, when Henri Piquet carried 6,500 pieces of mail on a Humber biplane. It quickly grabbed the spot of a “world first” in the process, as it is considered to be the world's first airmail service.
The next year, in December, Indian State Air Services, along with Imperial Airways of the U.K., began a London-Karachi-Delhi flight, it becoming the first international flight to and from India.
In between 1915 and 1929, there was a flurry of activity — Tata Sons Ltd. (1915), and the Royal Air Force (1920) started regular air mail services between Karachi and Madras and Karachi and Bombay, and airports were constructed (1924) at Calcutta, Allahabad and at Bombay.
31/10/11 Murali N. Krishnaswamy/The Hindu

Landed Across

An Army Aviation Corps chopper was forced to land by Pakistan in Skardu on the other side of the LoC after it strayed to other side (Olding Sector of Skardu) owing to the bad weather conditions in Kargil. The Cheetah was on its way to Bhimbhat from Leh and was carrying an engineering officer, one JCO and two pilots. All the four of its personnel were taken into custody, politely interrogated as the data (the government later denied that) loaded on their flying machine was washed away. The two government’s, however, discussed the issue quickly that led to the return take off of the chopper the same day after being refuelled.
Military pilots straying across LoC is nothing new for rival armies of India and Pakistan. The contiguity of the terrain and an un-marked LoC, unlike International Border, is a major factor. Possibility of straying increases in bad weather.
During the 2005 earthquake that flattened a vast belt on either side of the LoC, Pakistani choppers and relief aircrafts flew into J&K countless times. In November 2005, a US army Black Hawk was forced to land in Keran as it failed to locate the LoC. After preliminary investigations it was permitted to fly back. An UN chopper also strayed into J&K without prior intimation.
Between August 2005 and July 2007, the IAF had recorded 73 incidents of violations of Indian airspace by Pakistani aircrafts. Briefing the Lok Sabha on the issue in December 2010, Defence Minister A K Antony said between 2007 and 2010, Indian airspace was violated 29 times by pilots of neighbouring countries that included 23 violations by PAF alone. It included two violations by US, three by China and one by Bangladesh.
31/10/11 kashmir Life

India releases Israeli held on arms charges

An Israeli woman detained in India after airport security officers discovered bullets in her luggage, has been released on bail.
The Foreign Ministry stated on Monday that Nurit Toker, 23, will remain in Mumbai until authorities complete their investigation. Ministry officials expressed hope that Tocker will be able to return to Israel soon.
On Sunday, the Indian media reported that the Mumbai police are investigating why the bullets were not detected when Tocker entered the country.
Tocker, a former IDF officer, was arrested during a security check before boarding a flight to Katmandu. The court remanded her by three days and she was taken in for questioning.
According to the India-based newspaper Mumbai Mirror, Tocker told investigators that she had kept the bullets as a souvenir from her military service, and forgot they were in her bag.
31/10/11 Ronen Medzini/Ynetnews