Royal Aeronautical Society to open office in Bangalore

Bangalore: The Royal Aeronautical Society, U.K., will set up its first Indian branch in Bangalore, according to a top official of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI).
After signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between AeSI and the Royal Society here on Saturday, AeSI president and National Aviation Company of India chairman and managing director V. Thulasidas said the Royal Society branch office would come up soon and AeSI would extend it all support. Mr. Thulasidas said the society planned to open branches throughout India.
David Marshall, president of the Royal Aeronautical Society, said with this pact, AeSI had become a corporate partner of RAS and vice-versa.
With 25 specialist groups in all spheres of aeronautical and space sciences, the Royal Society was geared for greater exchange of technical and other aeronautics-related expertise between the two organisations, he said.
02/09/07 The Hindu

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Carriers want to firm up yields on robust demand

Mumbai/Bangalore: In the past fortnight, two leading airlines have announced fare hikes. Legacy carrier Jet Airways is looking at raising its average fares by Rs 200 to Rs 500.
Budget airline Air Deccan, which is seeped in losses (Rs 213 crore in the March quarter), wants to increase it by Rs 500 to Rs 1,000.
Many industry observers are viewing this as an outcome of consolidation that is taking place in the industry. Is that really what it is?
Analysts and industry players do not think so. They say the rise in the average fare is a peak season (mid-September to December) phenomenon.
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd executive chairman and CEO Siddhanta Sharma is also emphatic that fares would be flying in the coming months only because of seasonal spurt in demand.
"Airlines are trying to strengthen their yields on peak season demand. Since they have moved from fixed fares to dynamic fares, they will be reducing capacity in the lower fare bucket." said Sharma.
31/08/07 Tanvi Shukla & Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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The streaks of red will be far thicker this year

Bangalore: If consolidation in the aviation industry was supposed to stop airlines from bleeding, it's not happening.The current performance of the industry is only signalling a further deterioration in its financial health.
Ankur Bhatia, executive director of travel conglomerate Bird group, estimates that the losses for this fiscal year could be closer to Rs 3037.50 crore ($750 million), 50% higher than last year's Rs 2,025 crore ($500 million).
According to him, one of the primary reasons for this is the rampant capacity addition on already over-served, metro to metro routes.
Bhatia said budget airlines like SpiceJet, IndigGo and GoAir, which are independent players, continue to dictate the direction of price in the industry.
Bhatia does not see a turnaround for the industry in the foreseeable future.Bhatia, who is planning to start his own airline by the end of 2009, is currently evaluating various business models.
He is considering a regional airline in the North and is in the process of deciding the aircraft type.
31/08/07 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Kerala may book air seats

Mumbai: In order to enhance air connectivity within the state, the Kerala government may underwrite a portion of seats of domestic carriers as part of its new civil aviation policy.
Top sources said the government would buy a small portion of seats of the airlines that were willing to operate within the southern state. This would help senior government employees travel within the state, they added.
Kerala, which has three profitable international airports, is also planning to offer sales tax concessions on aviation turbine fuel (ATF). The tax is as high as 34 per cent.
Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan has called a meeting of all domestic airlines, including Air India, tomorrow. Senior executives of all major Indian carriers are expected to attend. Government sources confirmed the development but refused to divulge the possible concessions that may be offered. While Air India Chairman and MD Vasudevan Thulasidas said senior executives of the airline would attend the meeting, Paramount Airways MD M Thiagarajan said he too would be there.
30/08/07 P R Sanjai/Business Standard

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'After skies, time to open up land'

New Delhi: It is not enough to open up the skies without also opening up the land and creating more hotels and resorts for the heavy inflow of tourists, according to participants at the India Summit of Aviation and Tourism.
The Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA), a body with members from 70 countries that promotes tourism and is supported by the United Nations World Travel Organisation (UNWTO), Monday invited prominent members of the industry from India to discuss various matters related to the issue.
Subhash Goyal, president of the Indian Association of Travel Operators (IATO), said that the advent of more airlines is a very good thing but without as many hotels to cater to all tourists and visitors, it does not hold much meaning.
Among the other topics discussed was the safety provided by the airlines and the service provided by them.
This is the third time that PATWA, a decade-old organisation, has organised its seminar in India.
28/08/07 IANS/Economic Times

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Amadeus eyes Indian growth potential

A survey commissioned by Amadeus has revealed that Indian corporations and travel management companies are ready to step up technology adoption to manage the escalating costs and inefficiencies in the booming corporate travel sector, which is an industry now worth US$3 billion.
According to the research, there is growing demand for technology solutions in India by both corporations and travel management companies (TMC), particularly in relation to online travel management, or Self Booking Tools (SBT).
The survey, carried out among corporations and TMCs in India, revealed that while Indian corporations have yet to embrace SBTs, 57% of the corporations surveyed recognise the benefits that SBTs could offer their corporation.
One key benefit for corporations using SBT is access to Low Cost Carrier (LCC) content. While many companies globally do not use LCCs for corporate travel, India is somewhat of an exception, with 60% of respondents indicating their company does use LCCs.
TMCs surveyed also recognised the benefits of offering an online corporate solution in their portfolio, viewing it as a competitive advantage in the notoriously tight Indian travel market. 75% of TMCs surveyed indicated they felt that the Indian market is ready for SBTs.
28/08/07 Internet Travel News (press release), UK

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E-ticketing yet to catch on with A-I, Kingfisher scores a perfect 100%

New Delhi: Air-India (A-I) comes last among Indian full-service carriers in selling tickets through the Internet. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the carrier sells 7 per cent of its tickets through the Internet.
The IATA, which has more than 270 members in 140 countries, aims to make every member switch to 100 per cent e-ticketing by May next year as part of its “simplifying the business” (StB) programme. Indian Airlines is, however, far ahead of A-I and sells 64 per cent of its tickets through the Internet.
Among the private carriers, Kingfisher has achieved 100 per cent e-ticketing, while Jet Airways sells 84 per cent of its tickets through the Internet. Cumulative figure for airlines in India is 78 per cent.
E-ticketing is a process through which the ticketing agents (or travel portals) have access to the central reservation system of the airlines. This helps a carrier save on printing charges, transportation and storage charges, and costs of setting up an establishment.
Globally, e-ticketing operations have seen a growth from 16 per cent in June 2004 to 84 per cent in August 2007.
28/08/07 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

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Indians fly less than Chinese, Americans and even Sri Lankans

New Delhi: About 1000 Indians accustomed to air travel, perform nearly 20 trips in a year as against 60 in China and 2300 in United States. This comparison clearly reveals that aviation has not made much penetration amongst Indians, if you look at global flying trends. This was brought out in the latest study jointly carried out by Assocham and Ernst & Young.
The study points out that India is one of the least penetrated markets for air travel as it is among the most expensive in the world with air penetration levels lower than even its neighbours like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and countries with poorer GDP like Ethiopia and Nigeria.
Some of the reasons for lower aviation penetration
* Absence of proper infrastructure including international airports, domestic aerodrome conveniences, air control and navigational facilities.
* Top five airports in India account for over 70% traffic and the top 25 account for almost 95% of air traffic in India. These airports have limited facilities leading to high traffic congestion at the airports.
* The feeder routes segment in Indian aviation still remains highly under served.
* The regional market has been treated as an adjunct to the trunk routes with the result that convenient flights are not available on a large majority of such routes leaving a significant potential market in tier-II cities.
27/08/07 livemint.com

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Ran Air to invest Rs 150 crore to double its fleet size

Ranbaxy group-promoted Ran Air has announced their plans to invest around Rs. 150 crores on fleet expansion.
They aim to have a fleet size of 20 aircrafts as they are going to operate as regional scheduled carrier. The company is also planning to provide helicopter services.
Ran Air CEO and MD Sanjay Godhwani said in a statement on their plans for the Indian market: “ We are considering to invest around Rs 150 crore. Almost 80% of our fleet mix is currently 6-8 seater aircraft. Post-March 2008, we intend to double the fleet size.”
MDLR Airlines and Jagson Airlines are two other companies which aims to become a major player in the regional carrier services.
27/08/07 Sukhdeep/TechWhack

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Ministry tightens screws on delayed flights

New Delhi: Strict vigil by the civil aviation ministry on domestic airlines over delayed flight schedule seems to be showing results. After Delhi airport last month reported an improved 16% delay by all airlines on all flights taking off between 6 am and 8 am, now Mumbai has shown better results this month at 10.5%. Leading the pack for delayed flights is Indian with 23.7%, followed by Air Deccan at 16.7% and Kingfisher Airlines at 15%. Jet Lite reported 12.5% delays in its flights, while Jet Airways scored better at 2.6%. Go Air had a 5.9% delay, while Spicejet and IndiGo reported no delays in their flights.
The monitoring team from the ministry conducted the study at the Mumbai airport between 6 am and 8 am from August 7 to 12. The schedules of altogether 224 flights were surveyed, of which only 219 operated. There were 23 flight delays during this time, which translates to 10.5%.
Interestingly, following its tiff with the airlines on levying a congestion surcharge, the aviation ministry recently started a daily monitoring of actual flight movements in major metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. The ministry has only now realised what the fliers have been complaining about for long — most flights don’t stick to schedules.
26/08/07 Raja Awasthi/Economic Times

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North-East set to have dedicated airlines

New Delhi: The Seven Sisters will soon get a gift of wings. The north-eastern region is set to have dedicated airlines which will operate passenger services in the seven states. The North Eastern Council had solicited bids, in response to which 12 airlines had submitted expressions of interest to launch new airlines. Kingfisher, Pawan Hans Helicopters and Alliance Air are among the carriers which have shown interest.
According to sources in the civil aviation ministry: ”All the carriers which have shown interest will be given bid documents, after which they will be allowed to formally bid. The carrier which will qualify would have to give assurance to the NEC that it will carry out all the services that are required. After the bidding, minimum required subsidy will be given to the selected carrier.”
At present, NEC has a contract with Alliance Air to operate flights which expires in December 2007. This has been extended for another year till the end of 2008, as it will take another six to eight months before the new airlines can start operating. NEC pays Rs 35 cr per year to Alliance Air to operate ATR services in the North-East.
26/08/07 Raja Awasthi/Economic Times

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Insurers put premium on flyer's woes

Air passengers, who often have to fork out substantial sums due to cancellations, are now in for a pleasant surprise. Insurance companies, which have found new business opportunities in flight delays and cancellations, are now offering low-premium travel insurance policies covering cancellations, baggage loss, delay in flights, etc.
Tata AIG, for example, offers a travel insurance called Domestic TravInsure for between Rs 100-150 per ticket to online SpiceJet customers. The company is in the process of brokering similar arrangements with other airlines.
With airports under strain to accommodate thousands of passengers every day, loss of baggage and flight delays are events that can be insured. The idea is to address the inconveniences experienced during travel, Mr Sohail said. The policy is valid for 30 days from the time a passenger takes the flight and covers travel by all modes of transportation during this period.
The insurance policy can be bought seamlessly at the click of a mouse in a single transaction after a customer buys the ticket online.
25/08/07 Economic Times/Moneycontrol.com

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Fare war in the air

Mumbai: Travel to the Big Apple just got cheaper, with a fare war breaking out among airlines flying the Mumbai-New York route. US carrier Delta rocked the boat on Friday with a new basic economy class fare of Rs 26,050 for a Mum-NY-Mum ticket.
Continental Airlines, which starts operations on October 2, will also offer the same fare on the Mum-Newark-Mum sector. Both carriers offer non-stop flights on the route. Other players like Air India, Jet Airways, British Airways and Lufthansa are likely to follow suit with new fares to compete with the US carriers, travel industry sources said.
The offer is valid for outbound travel from October to November 15, though the return leg of leg of the journey can be completed up to a year later.
The current offer is for tickets to be booked before the end of the month, but travel agents here said this is likely to be extended with more offers from competition. The basic fares have a build up of fuel surcharge and assorted taxes, added to them. These range between Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 depending on the airline chosen (see chart).
The fare-war has been triggered by the new capacity introduced by Air India, Jet Airways and Continental from August. The fall in fares mirrors a similar situation two years ago on the India-London route, when new airlines like Jet Airways and bmi started operations on the route.
25/08/07 Cuckoo Paul/Economic Times

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Smaller foreign airlines to be exempted from mandated commercial agreement

Lok Sabha: It has been decided by the Government that smaller airlines having 7 services or less to India may be exempted from the Mandated Commercial Agreement, w.e.f. 1st January 2008. This information was given by Shri Praful Patel, Minister for Civil Aviation in a written reply to a question in the Parliament today.
In December, 2004 it was decided that all existing Government Mandated Commercial Agreements would be reviewed and phased out over the next five years and all new operations by foreign carriers, both on new destinations as well as on existing routes would be free from the obligations of Mandated Commercial Agreement. The decision for smaller airlines was taken subsequently. This new system is expected to bring about a level playing field between the national carriers and the foreign carriers on the international operations.
23/08/07 Indlaw.com

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Desi airlines join advertising warfare

Bangalore/New Delhi: In a bid to grab the attention of travellers in the crowded skies, domestic airlines are upping their advertising and marketing spends while adopting innovative measures to stand out.
Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines top the charts with spends of over Rs 100-125 crore each. Among low-cost carriers (LCC), Air Deccan leads the way with ad and marketing spends in the range of Rs 30-32 crore, followed by SpiceJet at Rs 18-20 crore. Premier carrier Paramount Airways, which plans to enter the western market next year, claims to have earmarked total ad and marketing communications spend of Rs 50 crore for 2007-08.
Even Air India, which spent mere a Rs 5 crore for advertising last year, has set aside around Rs 20 crore this year, with major chunk being directed towards its new international destinations. IndiGo, the ad spend for the year remains at modest Rs 10 crore.
Jet Airways for the first time is organising road shows in the country and abroad to showcase its new first class and business class product offerings. SpiceJet, a low cost carrier, is also looking at reaching out to travellers through the TV. Others like Paramount Airways are looking at using the internet extensively to target corporate clients.
Air India is planning to tap radio and internet for advertising internationally.
24/08/07 Urvashi Jha & Sudipto Dey/Economic Times

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Indian carriers yet to catch up on ancillary revenues

One can fly for a dollar plus taxes, but on board, you could pay between three and five dollars for a snack. That's how most international low cost carriers make money. But in India, a Rs 100 ticket does not earn much more, reports CNBC-TV18.
Rarely would you see a flying hoarding in India. That's because airlines are not keen to sport another brand on their aircraft.
But here, besides food sales, Indian carriers have hardly been able to generate revenues from ancillary sources like car rentals, hotel bookings, travel insurance and on-board sales. That's partly because they are still trying to stabilise their operations and partly because there aren't enough partners to tie up with.
Ancillary revenues for most Indian carriers are between 3-7%. But for international carriers, they contribute twice as much, that's 15-18%. Even though Indian low-cost carriers make money selling food on board or charging exhorbitantly for excess baggage, it's an insignificant contribution to revenues. International carriers charge extra for booking pre-assigned seats, SMS alerts and flight information on the mobile.
24/08/07 Moneycontrol.com

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Govt plans to do away with ECR system

New Delhi: The government is planning to do away with emigration clearance to spare lakhs of workers going overseas to earn a livelihood from harassment at the hand of emigration authorities.
This was stated by the minister of overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi at the launch of www.pioTV.com, a digital integrated media platform aimed at connecting people of Indian origin living across the world.
“We are planning to do away with Emigration Check Required (ECR) system because lakhs of poor workers were facing harassment at the hands of authorities,” Mr Ravi said.
“Of course the worker reaching the airport should have all proper work documents in order,” the minister said.
The ECR is required for workers travelling to United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malaysia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, Sudan, Brunei, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Syria, Lebanon, and Thailand. For Iraq, emigration continues to be banned after the beheading incident of a worker there.
The ministry already had liberalised the emigration system by extending the ‘Emigration Check not Required’ (ECNR) status to 173 countries in December last.
24/08/07 PTI/Economic Times

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Chronicles of the flying machine

On Bangalore’s busy Airport Road is a 10-acre oasis of calm that children of all ages and their parents are sure to find interesting, educational and fun. Welcome to the HAL Heritage Centre and Aerospace Museum, one of India’s few public museums on aviation.
Opened six years ago on August 30, this unique museum was the brainchild of the then chairperson of HAL, Dr. Krishnadas Nair. Through its exhibits, it showcases the growth of the Indian aviation industry and of HAL in particular. The museum’s biggest attraction is its aircraft collection exhibited outdoors, where aircraft designed, developed and built by HAL are on display, as well as those produced under license for the Indian Air Force. Some of the romance and excitement of flying seems to come alive merely by peering into the cockpit of the Marut, India’s first transonic aircraft, used from the 1960s up until the early 1980s. Among the other planes displayed are the transport plane Devon, the NAL developed small plane Hansa, a mock-up of the Light Combat Aircraft and HAL’s trainer aircraft Pushpak and Kiran, both of which are still used by flying clubs and by the IAF.
There are also some exhibits on the aerospace industry, among them scaled down models of polar satellite launch vehicle (PSLV) and the geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV).
Hall 2 gives visitors an idea about the technologies involved in aircraft manufacture and the changes that have taken place over the years.
24/08/07 Meera Iyer/The Hindu

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Pawan Hans to build country’s first heliport

New Delhi: Rs 15,000 is all it would take for Delhiites to make a return trip to Agra in a helicopter in just four hours. This package, which would also include pick and drop in taxis from your home or hotel and the Taj Mahal, is offered by Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd who plan to build the country’s first heliport on the eastern banks of Yamuna in Delhi.
Apart from Agra, Pawan Hans also wants to connect Delhi to areas like Dehradun, Saharanpur, Jalandhar and Muzaffarnagar. The heliport is planned near the Akshardham temple and will start operations before the 2010 Commonwealth Games. It has also identified another plot on the other side of the Nizamuddin Bridge.
“ There are only 167 civilian helicopters in India, most of them being used in oil exploration,” said RK Tyagi, Chairman and Managing Director of Pawan Hans.
Tyagi said the heliport could start operations in six months of getting all the required clearances. With a runway, a hangar and a departure/arrival terminal, the heliport needs 40 acres of land. The proposal has been forwarded from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to the Delhi Development Authority.
23/08/07 Sidhartha Roy & Avishek G Dastidar/ Hindustan Times

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Scramble for seats

New Delhi: All direct flights on the India-US sector are going choc-a-bloc - be it business or economy class - and there appears to be no respite in sight. Add to this, is the pressure from the growing student traffic as sessions at most US universities begin in September.
Confirms Nisha Maharaj, regional manager, Indian subcontinent, American Airlines, "American Airlines is pretty much booked till September-end and it would be difficult to get seats even on business class."
Ankush Nijhawan, MD, Nijhawan Group, however, begs to differ. According to him, tickets are definitely available on this route, but the fares tend to be on the higher side at this point in time. This, he says, is partly due to the student rush, a trend that repeats during December-January months.
The direct carriers between India and the US include Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines and Air India, apart from American Airlines. Air India recently started its non-stop service between Mumbai and New York and quite a few dates on Continental
are going full.
22/08/07 Ravi Teja Sharma/Business Standard

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DGCA nod for rooftop helipad

New Delhi: The first rooftop helipad in the National Capital Region of Delhi (NCR) is set to be constructed at Dr Naresh Trehan’s Medicity in Gurgaon. “We have lined up an investment of Rs 200- Rs 250 crore for air services, including a helipad on the rooftop, which would be the first of its kind in India. It would allow rapid transport of critical patients, through domestic and international air operations...,” Dr Trehan told ET.
The air-service investment will be separate from the $250 million (over Rs 1,000 crore) investment envisaged for Medicity. Sources said that Medicity has already engaged a French company to construct the helipad, and meet the civil and structural requirements in the building as per the mandatory ‘operational manuals’ of the director general of civil aviation (DGCA).
Meanwhile, the company has already got all regulatory approvals to make the rooftop helipad from DGCA. The proposed air service fleet will initially operate through two Augustus-119 helicopters, one turbojet and a small private jet.
22/08/07 Chanchal Pal Chauhan & Khomba Singh/Economic Times

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India to be recognized as a global aviation hub

The Government is committed to create a network of world-class airports in the country with a view to establishing India as a global aviation hub. Measures have been taken to augment capacity as a result of which additional capacity to handle 601.05 lakh passengers per annum on the domestic sector and 301.80 lakh passengers per annum on international sector is under construction and is likely to be commissioned within the next two – three years. This information was given by Shri Praful Patel in a written reply to a question.
The Government has undertaken a number of major projects in pursuance of the above objective; to develop, expand, modernize the airports which include
* Restructuring of Delhi and Mumbai airport, through Joint Venture Route, for upgradation and modernization, at an estimated cost of Rs. 8900 crores and Rs. 7000 crores respectively;
* Modernizing and expansion of Kolkata and Chennai airports by the Airports Authority of India (AAI);
* Construction of new Greenfield airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore at a cost of Rs. 2480 and Rs. 1930 crores respectively. Operation of these airports is expected to be commenced by mid 2008. Greenfield airport at Pekyong, Sikkim at an estimated cost of Rs. 320 crores has been approved. In principle approval has also been accorded to a new international airport at Navi Mumbai through Public Private Partnership (PPP). Greenfield airport is also being envisaged at Mopa (Goa);
* Modernizing of select 35 non-metro airports at an estimated cost of about Rs. 5000 crores. The modernization process of these 35 non-metro airports is expected to be completed by March 2010.
# There are a large number of non-operational and unused airports in the country belonging to the AAI, defence, state governments and private licensees. The Government is keen to promote development of such airports and make them operational to meet the growing need of airport infrastructure in the country. The airstrips at Pant Nagar, Kamalpur, Kailash Ahar, Passighat, Tezu, Along, Daparizo, Tura and Zero are being upgraded;
# In coordination with the State Governments, the AAI has decided to take up development works at the non-operational airports at Akola, Cooch Behar, Kuddapah, Kolhapur, Mysore, Sholapur, Warangal, Surat and Gondia – on the request of airlines and the State Governments.
21/08/07 Press Information Bureau (press release)

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Open access may not lead to reduced ATF rates

New Delhi: The end of the monopoly of oil PSUs on selling jet fuel at Delhi and Mumbai airports is expected to bring competition and more transparent pricing.
However, increased throughput as well as operation and maintenance charges after the airport developers add new facilities may cancel out these advantages.
ATF supply facilities at Mumbai and Delhi airports are owned and operated by oil PSUs while the land is owned by the developers.
The airport authorities levy land lease and throughput charges on oil PSUs. A large part of the throughput fee, besides operation and maintenance (O&M) charges, are included in the final fuel price.
In time, the airport developers will take over the supply infrastructure, set up more more hydrants and go for an open access system where both public and private firms can sell fuel. This will lead to higher charges on the suppliers. "We will give a break-up of the prices, including O&M and throughput charges, which will bring transparency to the system," said a Delhi airport official.
But with more infrastructure and hydrant facilities, O&M charges may be hiked.
22/08/07 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

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Boeing India Appoints Gillian Sourcing Director

New Delhi : The Boeing Company announced today that Daniel Gillian has been named director of enterprise sourcing for India. He will be based out of Boeing's India headquarters in New Delhi.
"We are strengthening our enterprise presence in India and Dan will play a central role in establishing strategic business relationships with Indian industry." said Ian Thomas, president of Boeing India. "Dan will help develop our network of Indian partners and will pursue mutually beneficial growth and productivity opportunities."
Gillian has held several positions during a seven-year Boeing career including assignments in program management and engineering functions. He most recently served as program manager for avionics on critical platforms for Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.
Gillian holds a master's in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
21/08/07 Online-Magazin Business Traveler.eu, Germany

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Airlines may have to pay for take-off delay

Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is planning to implement “slotting” of flights by January 2008. This means any flight that fails to take off on time will be grounded for several hours.
"A delay of 10-15 minutes is permissible but any flight delayed beyond that will be allowed to fly only in the subsequent lean period," said AK Chopra, joint deputy general, DGCA. “For instance, if a flight scheduled to take off at 8 am gets delayed by an hour, it will be allowed to fly only after the peak hour. The idea is to improve on-time performance and lessen air congestion."
What happens to passengers who are stuck in a punished flight? “Passengers will begin to avoid such carriers. That would simply force airlines to improve their on-time performance,” said Chopra.
According to directorate records, national carriers Air India and Indian and low-cost carrier Air Deccan have the most worst on-time performance. In the last year, the three managed to take off on time only on 40-50 per cent of occasions. Other domestic carriers like Kingfisher, Jet Airways, GoAir, SpiceJet and Indigo did much better with 80 per cent on-time performance.
21/08/07 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Frequent fliers get foreign trips

New Delhi: Indian air carriers are now offering one foreign travel to their frequent flyers every year, a clear departure from annual multiple domestic travel options.
And alongside, the passenger profile using frequent flyer miles is undergoing a sea change. With Air India set to become a Star Alliance member, the passengers can earn and redeem miles on all 17-member airlines of the alliance at the same level.
Kingfisher and Continental Airlines recently partnered for frequent flyer programme reciprocity. Jet Airways, too, is offering frequent flyer programme across international routes. To borrow from telecom jargon, limited mobility (flying to one international destination instead of multiple domestic locations in a year) is soaring the frequent flyer mile curve.
Take the case of members of JetPrivilege programme, the frequent flyer programme of Jet Airways. Members can now use their miles earned for free flights not just on Jet Airways and Jet Lite (Jet’s value carrier) but on any of the 12 partner airlines of Jet Airways, such as Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, NorthWest, Qantas, Thai, South African, British Airways, SwissAir, Austria and Gulfair. Kingfisher Airlines has tied up with Continental Airlines and Qatar Airways for reciprocity of the frequent flyer programme. So the miles that ones earns on the domestic carrier can be used to fly on international routes of these carriers.
21/08/07 Vishakha Talreja & Moinak Mitra/Economic Times

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Smaller aircraft can continue to enjoy free run

New Delhi: Private airport operators like GMR-led Delhi International Airport (DIAL) and GVK-led Mumbai International Airport (MIAL) may need to alter their plans. The civil aviation ministry is set to oppose their proposal to restrict entry of smaller aircraft at Delhi and Mumbai airports.
Smaller aircraft are exempted from paying any landing charge leading to huge revenue loss to airport operators. It is believed that this was one of the triggers for the move by the new airport companies to restrict these aircraft. However, this move is likely to be thwarted by the government. While this segment constitutes almost 10% of Delhi airport’s entire traffic volume, at Mumbai it’s less than 10%.
“Private operators can not stop entry of smaller aircraft at metro airports merely on the grounds of congestion and unavailability of slots. Their unilateral decisions are not accepted,” an official in the civil aviation ministry said. Experts say that the real reason behind such demand by private operators is the revenue loss. As per the existing guidelines, aircraft with a take-off mass of less than 40,000 kg are not required to pay landing charges to the airports.
20/08/07 Nirbhay Kumar/Times of India

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Foreign airlines find ally

New Delhi: The Planning Commission is supporting the finance ministry in allowing foreign airlines pick up stakes in domestic aviation companies.
The finance ministry favours a higher foreign direct investment limit in aviation than the present 49 per cent.
It also wants equity investments by foreign airlines, at least as minority partners.
North Block feels foreign airlines can bring not only the much-needed funds but also technical expertise in the aviation sector.
A group of ministers has been formed on the proposed civil aviation policy after differences arose over foreign investments and other issues.
Planning Commission officials said the body was expected to support the finance ministry on the issue and had already prepared internal policy papers.
However, the civil aviation ministry, backed by established players such as Jet Airways and Air India, feels foreign airlines are interested in India merely to feed global routes.
Support for foreign airlines has come from smaller players such as SpiceJet which are facing mounting pressure on their bottomlines.
19/08/07 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/The Telegraph

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Smaller airlines rework plans to remain in race

New Delhi: The new private sector airport operators in Delhi and Mumbai have said they will not be able to accommodate smaller aircraft, forcing regional airlines to rework their business strategies.
Companies such as Star Air, Megha Airways, Air Dravida, Easy Air and Trans India Air, which are awaiting permits to operate air services, have either put their plans on hold or are heading to southern or eastern India under the regional airlines category licence notified last week.
According to an industry source, Delhi International Airport (DIAL) in a recent letter to the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) has said: “Due to congestion at the airport, it will not be possible for us to accommodate any additional smaller aircraft like ATRs/CRJs during the rest of summer 2007 and winter 2007-08.” DIAL, which manages and operates the Delhi airport, is a GMR group-led consortium.
Some of the airlines that have decided to operate as regional airlines in the south and eastern India are Star Air, Megha Airways, Air Dravida, Easy Air and Trans India Air. These airlines had earlier applied to the civil aviation ministry to operate as national schedule carriers.
According to the notification on the regional airlines, companies will have to undertake operations primarily between airports of any of the four regions — north, south, west, east and north-east.
20/08/07 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Around the world in 80 days, IAF duo sets new record

New Delhi: A Microlight aircraft expedition team of the Indian Air Force (IAF) made a perfect touchdown at the rain soaked Hindon airfield on Sunday afternoon after creating a new world record for the fastest round-the-world trip.
Piloted by Wing Commanders Rahul Monga and Anil Kumar, the aircraft flew over 19 countries and circumnavigated the globe in 80 days — breaking the earlier world record set by a British pilot by a margin of 19 days.
The team was received at Hindon by top IAF brass, including Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major. The expedition entered the Indian air space near Bhuj on Saturday night after a historic stopover at Karachi for refuelling.
The 300-kg microlight plane covered a distance of 40, 497 kilometres over varied terrain ranging from plains, dense forests, deserts and seas and achieved a speed of 21 kmph to better the earlier record of 16.53 kmph set by UK aviator Colin Bodil in 2001.
The gutsy IAF duo experienced their share of bad weather during the expedition that set them back by almost 16 days from the original plan.
20/08/07 Delhi Newsline

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Air Travel in India may get Heavy on Pocket

Bangalore: Air Deccan's Bangalore-Hubli route, which witnessed the low-cost carrier's inaugural flight four years ago, is proposed to be terminated. Reason: Kingfisher Airlines has proven to be more profitable on this sector, and is seen as a better bet on the route.
In other words, what many customers feared is beginning to happen. The recent marriages between low-cost and full-fare airlines- Kingfisher-Air Deccan and Jet-Sahara- are leading to some serious rescheduling of flights to improve the profitability of the airlines. For customers, it implies the withdrawal of low-cost options that they have enjoyed for some years.
A team from both sides (Air Deccan and Kingfisher) are looking at how best we can service various routes profitably, by drawing on each other's strengths, says Capt G R Gopinath, executive chairman of Deccan Aviation.
Garry Kingshott, acting CEO of JetLite (formerly Air Sahara and now a low-cost airline), says the new schedule for JetLite, which will come into effect from September 1, has been developed with Jet Airways to ensure that there is no cannibalisation.
19/08/07 Times of India/Daijiworld.com

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Domestic travel segment clocks 38% growth

New Delhi: It could never have been better than this for the civil aviation industry. There has been a growth of more than 38% in domestic travellers in the first seven months of the current year. This year, between January and July, more than 248.52 lakh passengers travelled as against 180.34 lakh in the same period last year.
According to sources in the civil aviation ministry, the marketshare of full service airlines has also seen an increase. In fact, this has come at a time when more and more players are coming into the airlines business. Leading the pack is Indian Airlines which has seen an increase in its marketshare from 19.8% to 20.5% in the first seven months of the current year.
Jet Airways saw a jump from 22% to 22.7%, Jet Lite from 6.7% to 7%, while Kingfisher registered a growth in marketshare of 13% from 12.8%. However, the marketshare of low-cost carriers (LCC) dropped, with Air Deccan, which had a marketshare of 18.1%, witnessing a drop to 16.1%, while Spice Jet dropped from 8.3% to 7.7% in the same period.
19/08/07 Raja Awasthi/Economic Times

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Airlines rationalise routes to trim losses

Mumbai/New Delhi: India's airlines are trimming the frequency of services on crammed routes and withdrawing from unprofitable ones in a bid to reclaim pricing power and turn profitable, industry players and analysts said.
Airlines are also renting freed aircraft to foreign carriers or returning planes to leasing firms to stem losses.
Deccan Aviation Ltd., which runs budget carrier Air Deccan, kicked off the exercise about a year ago by pulling out of Nashik and Agra after the two routes continued to make losses, a spokeswoman said.
Rival budget carriers SpiceJet Ltd. and GoAir have also scaled back. While Go flies to 11 cities from 14, SpiceJet has cut frequency on the Mumbai and Goa routes.
Go flew seven planes in March but has since sent three back to leasing firms.
SpiceJet has leased its aircraft to a European carrier to offset low demand and earn leased income at the same time.
State-run Indian has withdrawn its Mumbai-Pune and Kolkata-Dhaka service citing losses, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said in a written reply to Parliament on Thursday.
Consolidation in the industry is also changing schedules. JetLite, formerly Air Sahara, is reworking its route network after Jet Airways Ltd. acquired it in April.
16/08/07 Narayanan Somasundaram & Rakesh Sharma/Reuters

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Policy for regional airlines

The recently announced aviation policy for regional airlines is a repackaging of what was already available along with several new riders. In fact, the targeted policy perhaps makes regional play less attractive than what was possible under a general aviation licence.
The scramble to launch regional airlines has more to do with acquiring the difficult to get aviation licence, even a restricted one, than any improvement in the prospects of regional carriers. The policy creates a separate category of permit for regional airlines — scheduled operator permit for regional airlines.
These regional airlines would operate primarily between the airports of the selected region. The policy seeks to promote a hub-and-spoke model. The regional airlines would aggregate traffic from smaller centres to a metro airport.
This is a working blueprint in other countries that can be easily adapted in India with a bit of policy support. India has huge unmet demand for travel between non-metro cities that is best serviced through regional carriers.
16/08/07 Economic Times

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Airlines’ leftovers are hot bargains

Mumbai: One often hears people complaining about airline food. But, it turns out, outside there is a big market for it.
A fortnight-long investigation carried out by an undercover reporter of Mumbai Mirror has revealed that in-flight food — pickles, pastries, milk, chocolates, toffees, soft drinks — is routinely smuggled out of both domestic and international airports in Mumbai and sold at throw-away prices. Even little things like head phones, sleep masks, kiddy drawing kits and socks that some airlines provide their passengers find their way out into the market.
The reporter visited two of the three godowns in Saki Naka’s Yadav Nagar that are known to sell such ‘chori ka maal’ and bought a bagful of stuff for just Rs 300.
Here is a laundry list of what she got:
• Tropicana (1 litre) — Rs 20 • Real juice (1 litre) — Rs 20 • Fruitfree juice (1 litre) — Rs 20 • Safa juice (1 litre) — Rs 20 • Fresh n squeeze juice (1 litre) Rs 20 • 1-litre carton milk — Rs 20 • Alpenliebe (250 gm) — Rs 30 • Kinley water (1 litre) — Rs 5 • Pair of socks — Rs 25 • Sleep mask — Rs 10 • Two napkins — Rs 3 • 100 jelly toffees — Rs 40 • Mango pickle (100 pieces) — Rs 20 • 5 drawing kits — Rs 50
A back-of-the bill calculation tells us the same stuff in the open market would have cost her not less than Rs 1050.
There was a lot more stuff available — medicines, first-aid kits, electronic items, toys. All smuggled out of commercial airliners.
12/08/07 Rashmi Rajput/Mumbai Mirror

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DGCA issues civil aviation requirements for disabled passengers

Chennai: The Office of the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued new civil aviation requirements for disabled passengers that are scheduled to come into effect from Wednesday.
According to the new requirements, “no airline shall refuse to carry physically challenged or incapacitated persons or persons with disabilities,” as long as they “do not pose a threat” to the safety of other passengers or the evacuation procedure for the aircraft.
Airlines will also not be permitted to limit the “number or types” of disabled passengers on a particular flight, except “where required for operational reasons.” The procedure for limiting disabled passengers will also be documented. Airlines will now also have to run “sensitisation and developing awareness” training programmes for staff.
There have been increasing calls from rights groups for clearer guidelines on the transportation requirements of disabled passengers following the prevention of Rajeev Rajan — a cerebral palsy patient and activist with Vidyasagar, a non-governmental organisation for the disabled — from boarding an Air Sahara flight in Chennai on June 18 for failing to produce a medical certificate.
In an effort to clarify aviation requirements for disabled passengers, the DGCA issued a draft on July 25 on its website, specifying the new guidelines for airlines and “inviting comments” on the new recommendations. The DGCA said the new recommendations were to come into effect on August 15.
16/08/07 Ananth Krishnan/The Hindu

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Aviation policy meet `inconclusive`

New Delhi: The Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to clear the new civil aviation policy has decided to meet again in this session of Parliament as its short meeting today remained ?inconclusive.
The 10-member GoM chaired by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee attended a presentation on the key features of the proposed policy by Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla, which among other things seeks lowering the eligibility criteria for Indian carriers to fly on international routes, from the existing five years to three years. The move would allow many Indian private carriers, including Air Deccan, Kingfisher and SpiceJet, to fly abroad. In the June 15 Cabinet meeting, at least eight Cabinet ministers opposed the policy.
15/08/07 Business Standard

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Airlines dragging their feet on fleet expansion

Bangalore: After scaling up aggressively last year, airlines in India are going easy on fleet expansions. Most airlines will be adding fewer aircraft this fiscal, compared with the last, as they try to wipe out the red on their balance sheets. Some are even retiring old aircraft as new ones join the fleet to improve operational efficiency.
Jet Airways, which grew its seat capacity by just 38% in the June quarter, as compared to 48% last year, will stick to the trend through the year.
Other airlines are also exercising restraint in swelling capacity. Kingfisher Airlines, Jet’s rival, will induct 12 aircraft as against 15 last year.
IndiGo, which had ordered 100 A320s, has also planned a slower capacity growth.
SpiceJet’s fleet expansion will be at six aircraft like last year. It will also be returning two of its aircraft.
As Air Deccan brings in 10 new aircraft, it will be getting rid of eight of its old ATR 42-320 and ATR 42-500. This, the airline says, will improve its on-time performance.
So, what is it that is driving carriers to trim their capacity?
Analysts say one of the main reasons is their desire to improve profitability.
Last year, as airlines indulged in cut-throat competition, Indian aviation industry lost Rs 1,620 crore ($400 million). The industry lost heavily despite robust demand growth because supply outstripped it.
15/08/07 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Delhi airport slams doors on small planes

Mumbai: Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), now controlled by the GMR Group as a part of the government’s airport modernisation programme, has expressed its inability to accommodate additional smaller aircraft, which are widely used for regional connectivity.
Delhi Airport will not allow additional smaller planes from the winter of 2007-08. Small aircraft used for regional connections include ATRs, Bombardiers, Embraers and the Sukhoi Superjet 100.
DIAL’s decision might be followed by GVK group-controlled Mumbai International Airport (MIAL), the country’s busiest airport.
Confirming the development, a DIAL spokesperson said small aircraft movements (take-offs and landings) account for 10 per cent of the 650 aircraft movements a day. The industry estimates that with the regional airlines policy, at least 150 movements of small aircraft will be added in the next 12 months.
The decision is being taken to enhance revenues. As part of the government’s policy to encourage regional connectivity, most of these aircraft (below 40,000 kg) do not pay landing charges to the airports.
The move is expected to act as a dampener for the government’s recently announced policy to encourage regional airlines. That apart, even scheduled carriers, especially low-cost operators, have been adding in capacity to connect smaller cities with the major ones.
14/08/07 PR Sanjai/Business Standard

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Regional airlines look for a slice of the sky

Mumbai/New Delhi: The rush for ‘regionals’ or commuter airlines has begun. A string of new carriers is awaiting specific details on fiscal benefits, before they begin providing small and medium-haul air services connecting smaller communities with larger cities and hub airports. The Bird group, a Delhi-based travel and IT firm which markets travel booking software Amadeus in India, could be among the first to take off in North India, after the new policy was announced by the minister for civil aviation Praful Patel last Thursday. Four unnamed South Indian airlines are also waiting in the wings for takeoff.
In all, at least half a dozen start-ups including Premier Airways’ airline brand Easy Air and Air Dravida in the south, Mega Airlines from the North-East and North Star in the west are planning to seek licence under the new category. Most are awaiting details on the fiscal benefits for regional airlines, say industry experts.
The Union civil aviation minister last week announced the policy that creates a new category of airlines which will operate primarily between airports of any of the four regions classified as North, South, West and East/North-East.
The policy, announced with much fanfare, does not offer any sops to the carriers for the moment. Incentives like exemption from navigation and airport charges and a lower 4% sales tax on ATF are available to both regional as well as pan-India carriers, as long as the weight of the aircraft is below 40,000 kg.
14/08/07 Cuckoo Paul & Sudipto Dey/Economic Times

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GoM to review civil aviation policy

New Delhi: The group of ministers (GoM) headed by the external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee would meet on Tuesday to review the new civil aviation policy, also called Vision 2020. The GoM would discuss many contentious issues such as allowing start-up domestic carriers having uninterrupted operational experience of three years to fly abroad, corporatisation of air traffic control (ATC) procedures and creation of private airports.
At present, the eligibility for airlines flying abroad is to maintain a fleet of 20 aircraft. The airlines are also required to have a minimum five years of experience of providing continuous air service in the domestic market.
In the wake objections raised by various departments and ministries on the new civil aviation policy the same was referred to the GoM. The civil aviation ministry, however, maintains that referring the policy to the GoM was intended to incorporate suggestions of other ministries and make it more broader.
Among many issues the proposal to open Gulf route for private carriers and allowing 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in private or merchant airports are likely to be discussed. At present only public sector carriers Air India and Indian are allowed to operate to the Gulf region.
14/08/07 Economic Times

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It's Jet vs rest in battle for skies

New Delhi: India’s aviation sector is locked in an intense battle for the skies. The dogfight, this time around, is over flying international.
Sources tell CNN-IBN that domestic airlines, lobbying hard to be allowed to fly out of India, have come together to fight efforts by Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal to stop newer entrants from operating on international sectors.
The Group of Ministers, which meets on Tuesday, is expected to discuss lowering norms for airlines that want to go international.
Currently, the new entrants need to have a five-year flying record and 20 aircraft. The only two private airlines that meet these norms are Jet Airways and Jetlite, both owned by Naresh Goyal.
Sources tell CNN-IBN that Goyal is lobbying to introduce a profitability criterion, which will effectively keep out the newer airlines out of picture.
But analysts say that shouldn't be the case.
The five-year flying norm was introduced by the Government citing security fears. But domestic carriers argue that airlines like Etihad and al-Jazeera, which are less than two years old, are allowed to fly into India and that the same norms should be applied to outbound flights.
13/08/07 Karma Paljor/CNN-IBN

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Wipro set to enter JV with Boeing for MRO pie

New Delhi: Wipro Technologies is shoring up opportunities in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) business with the US-based Aviation major Boeing.
Wipro Technologies will be providing software tools and technological support to carry out an array of aircraft checks and maintenance programs in Boeings MRO facility, which is slated to come up in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Boeing has already signed an MOU with the national carrier Air India to develop an airframe MRO. The JV of Air India and Boeing is also on a lookout for another partner with hardcore with MRO experience.
Boeing has announced to invest 100 million dollar into the Nagpur MRO facility in India. "25 per cent of 100 million dollar will go in setting up IT services applications. That's the piece we are looking at," says Partha Sarthi Guha Patra, Vice President Strategic Initiatives and Offset Programs.
13/08/07 Archana Khatri/Hindustan Times

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Arzoo.com offers Mega Airfare Sale

Arzoo.com, India’s leading travel portal, today announced a Mega Airfare Sale where customers can avail guaranteed 10% discount on domestic airfare bookings on Spicejet, Indigo, Indian, Sahara Airlines & Go Air anywhere within India. Similarly customers can also avail guaranteed 6% discount on international airline bookings to US, Europe and Gulf.
Commenting on this special offer Mr. Sameer Patil, Head-Marketing of Arzoo.com said, “Providing new and excellent offers constantly to the customers has always been a top priority for us at Arzoo.com and therefore we have announced this offer to provide an excellent value for money deal to our customers even further”. This offer is valid till July 31, 2007.
12/08/07 ClickPress (press release), UK

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India's own 70-seater aircraft could fly by 2015

New Delhi: India might fly its own indigenously built 70-seater civilian aircraft in another seven to eight years, the programme director of the country's first self-built aircraft SARAS has said.
'We are already in the planning stages for a 70-seater aircraft. In another seven to eight years, we should be flying our own big aircraft,' SARAS programme director M.S. Chidananda told IANS from Mumbai.
The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), Banaglore, has already come up with two 14-seater SARAS planes built with Indian technology.
'The first SARAS prototype has already undertaken over 120 test flights, while the second prototype developed in April this year has gone for 12 test flights,' Chidananda said.
'We are working hard on the third aircraft now. It is expected to be ready by December 2008. The third plane will be equipped with a more powerful engine and will be more light,' he said.
Chidananda said India could start production of these planes on a commercial scale after 2009.
'We are discussing the commercial prospects with many companies in the private sector. We will zero in on a production agency soon,' he said.
12/08/07 Tomojit Bhattacharjee/India PRwire (Press Release)

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Improved & better medicare on flights soon

New Delhi: The civil Aviation ministry is going to ask all domestic carriers to bring in all necessary equipment to give passengers international medical facilities on board soon.
According to sources in civil aviation ministry:”Though most medical emergencies in the air happen unexpectedly it should be possible to avoid many by careful screening of passengers with pre-existing medical conditions. Unfortunately these often come to attention only when a passenger requests some extra facility (a stretcher or medical escort) or makes a medical declaration for holiday insurance.Now we will ask all the carriers to develop and install all the modern medical facilities on board.”
In fact with nearly no medical facilities on board in all our domestic carrier many airlines are forced either to divert or do an emergency landing if some passengers need fast medical facility.According to industry estimates with the growth of passenger travel there has been more and more cases reported of such urgent medical facilities.
Says a senior official of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA):” ...The challenge to professional emergency medical facility has been felt both by the ministry and all the domestic carriers. Now we have to look at other international airlines as to what equipment and facilities they are using and what is relevant here.”
12/07/08 Raja Awasthi/Times of India

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A new route likely for flyers

Mumbai: The city may finally get dedicated helicharter services — the company which manages the Mumbai airport has initiated plans to connect it with the Mahalaxmi racecourse. Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) is "exploring the possibility of starting helicopter services between the city and South Mumbai as there is a clear demand for such a service," confirmed a spokesperson.
Currently, the helipad in the racecourse is used privately by top corporate houses who own their own aircraft or by a few helicharter operators who operate on demand. Now MIAL is keen to establish facilities to ferry busy travellers hoping to cut down commuting time between south Mumbai and the airport.
"A few locations in South Mumbai were identified for the purpose. The first choice was Sassoon Dock, but it did not work out. Now we have written to the Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC) for the Mahalaxmi race course,’’ said the MIAL spokesperson.
MIAL will be applying for a non-scheduled operators permit (NSOP), the licence needed to start aircraft charter services.
11/08/07 Manju V/Times of India

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City Airlines gets DGCA nod for charter services

New Delhi: City Airlines Pvt Ltd, a non-scheduled airline, has acquired two Cessna aircraft for Rs 25 crore to launch charter flights. The Mumbai-based company bought a Cessna Citation Bravo and a Beechcraft C90, industry sources said. Both are double-engine turboprop aircraft and they have been purchased from Pajaros LLC, an US-based firm.
The charter operator, part of the City Group which operates a fleet of cars in various metros, plans to operate a 20 aircraft over a period of time for charter flights in various sectors including leisure, pilgrimage and business travel.
The charter airline is part of the City Group promoted by Sayed Mohammed Masood. The Group’s flagship company, City Limouzines, runs a fleet of more than 25,000 cares in various cities including Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad.
The Cessna aircraft bought by the company are two years old and they have already been pressed into service.
10/08/07 Economic Times

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Forget cheap travel, air fares set to rise sky high

New Delhi: Air travel is getting expensive by the day and in fact the low-cost carriers and super-low discount schemes may soon die an early death. Jet and Kingfisher Airlines are planning to hike prices and more private carriers are likely to follow suit. Jet wants to raise fares by 10 percent.
Blame the higher crude oil prices as the root cause. The air carriers claim they have already suffered losses to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore last year. The travelers will also have to feel some pain. Other airlines could soon also hike prices soon and that includes budget airlines as well.
The carriers have signalled this increase by imposing another round of fuel surcharge of Rs 150 from Sunday mid-night, which will take the total fuel surcharge to Rs 1,100. The increase in surcharge is primarily to take care of the hike in the price of aircraft turbine fuel (ATF), which was announced a few days ago. Airline sources said an increase of Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 is necessary for all carriers to become profitable.
10/08/07 CNN-IBN

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Regional airlines airborne

New Delhi: The government today came out with new norms for regional airlines, which could start operations with just three aircraft and a minimum of Rs 12 crore as paid-up capital.
These entities will operate within a region and can fly to other regions but not to the metro airports of other regions. The civil aviation ministry considers the airports in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Calcutta as metro destinations.
A separate category of permit will be issued for the airlines. Civil aviation minister Praful Patel said, “The airline companies can initially start operations with one aircraft but within one year, they must have a fleet of three. In two years from the start of operation, they need to have five aircraft.”
Patel said regional airlines would meet the growing demand for air travel in the smaller cities. He said existing operators were unable to cater to this segment for various reasons.
According to an aviation ministry notification, the requirement of paid-up capital is Rs 30 crore for three aircraft with each having a take-off mass of more than 40,000 kg.
For every additional aircraft, the paid-up capital should go up by Rs 10 crore, up to a maximum of Rs 50 crore.
For an aircraft with a take-off mass of less than 40,000 kg, the paid-up capital for plying three aircraft is Rs 12 crore.For operating two more aircraft, the paid-up capital will be Rs 20 crore.
09/08/07 The Telegraph

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Regional airlines get fuel, landing sops

New Delhi: The government on Thursday notified separate norms and incentives for regional airlines aimed at providing better air connectivity in remote areas and small towns.
According to the notification, new airline companies will undertake operations between airports of any of the four regions — north, south, west and east/north-east.
“Airline companies can initially start operations with one aircraft but within one year they must have a fleet of three. In two years from start of operation, they need to have five aircraft," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said.
A separate category of operator permit — Scheduled Operator Permit for Regional Airlines — will be given to such airlines. These airline companies should have a minimum paid-up capital of Rs 30 crore for operating bigger jets, while airlines operating turboprops should have a minimum paid-up capital of Rs 12 crore.
These airlines will be exempted from paying parking and landing charges in airports and will pay a uniform 4 per cent tax on jet fuel.
09/08/07 Gaurav Choudhury/Hindustan Times

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Flight path cleared for regional airlines

Bangalore: Regional air connectivity in India has been largely neglected but this is about to change. Paramount Airways, the south-based “only business-classs” regional carrier that operates out of eight destinations, sees this as major encouragement and is looking to further spread wings.
“This way the Centre is inviting more players to start air services to Tier II and Tier III cities, which have been ignored till now,” said managing director M Thiagarajan.
Thiagarajan is expecting the new policy to dole out more incentives, which would make flying to these airports very attractive for airlines.
He sees more players entering the niche market. “It has huge potential”.
Thiagarajan has already drawn up plans to add four more destinations in the next few months. He is also looking at start operations beyond south.
There could also be decline in fares on regional sectors as new players fly in.
Jeh Wadia, managing director of budget carrier GoAir, says there will be no impact on airlines that operate pan-India.
But an analyst with a foreign brokerage said the national carriers will lose out on the business generated from short-hop connectivities offered by longer flights.
10/08/07 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Errant airlines risk losing peak-hour slots

New Delhi: The aviation ministry has issued stern warning to airlines whose flights get unduly delayed. Both JetLite and Air Deccan — found to be slack — operate from the nearly choked Terminal-1B. On the other hand, "good performers" operate from the spacious Terminal-1A where queues for everything — baggage X-ray, check-in, security and boarding — are much shorter, an official pointed out.
The aviation ministry is going to call airlines for a meeting on this issue once it gets a report from Mumbai where a similar study is under way.
Ever since the controversy over congestion surcharge, aviation minister Praful Patel is learnt to have asked agencies like DGCA to study the issue of overcrowded skies in Delhi and Mumbai. While airport infrastructure is woefully inadequate in both cities, airlines not sticking to schedules were found to be compounding the problem.
The government chose the 6 am to 8 am slot for the study as all departing flights are already on the ground and any delays could easily be attributed to airlines' 'inefficiency'. ATC officials say if a flight has to leave on time, its doors must close 15 minutes before scheduled time of departure.
10/08/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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IBS gets funding

After investing in some of the big names in India such as NSE, NDTV, Genpact and Patni; General Atlantic, an active investor in India, recently shook hands with Kerala based IBS Software Services. GA will invest $60 million in this IT solution provider for Travel, Transportation and Logistics industries and thus became a minority stakeholder of IBS Software Services.
With a customer base of more than 70 in travel, transportation and logistic sector which include the world’s top airlines, busiest airports, top cruise lines as well as the top oil and gas companies, IBS is hoping for a lot from this investment.
In order to provide the strategic assistance, Abhay Havaldar, Managing Director of General Atlantic, will join the IBS’ board of directors. General Atlantic has been an active investor in India since their entry here in 2002 with their first investment in Patni; after which they have already invested $1 billion in 10 companies in India.
10/08/07 Express Computers

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Navy opposes Tatas' roof-top landing

New Delhi: Days after the aviation ministry allowed the group to have a roof-top helipad for private use at the Taj Wellington Mews Luxury Residences, Colaba, the Indian Navy has opposed the move. The Navy has pointed out that its own air station is just a "stone's throw" from the hotel and that the decision was taken without consulting it.
The Taj Mews had become the second building to be allowed a roof top as only the Essar Building in Mahalakshmi (also in Mumbai) has the facility in India. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had last month issued the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the Taj rooftop helipad. ''The Navy was not even aware of this decision. Being very close to the Naval air station that is also in Colaba, movement of helicopters from the hotel will affect our movement," said a senior official.
The Navy is examining the issue of Tatas operating chopper flights from Mews and will route its recommendations to the defence ministry, who will send the same to the aviation ministry. The helipad was to be used for providing faster access to the group captains to the airport as also to fly to other nearby places with prior permission.
09/08/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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India to get $10b aviation offshore business

Bangalore: The Central government's offset policy is expected to bring aviation offshoring deals worth over $10 billion to the country in the next couple of years. The government has already committed to acquire commercial and defence aviation products, aircraft, components, services and equipment worth $40 billion, with an offset component ranging from 30% to 50%.
Under the offset policy, the government holds back a minimum 30% of the invoice value of any civil or defence aviation related purchase over a mutually agreed period of time, till the seller outsources services equivalent to that of the offset share. The policy is aimed at helping to build an eco-system to support the growth and upkeep of the industry.
Some of the deals cleared include: 68 aircraft from Boeing for Air-India at $6.7 billion (with an offset share of 30%), 43 aircraft from Airbus for Indian at $2.7 billion (40%), 200 helicopters from Eurocopter for defence at around $20 billion (50%), and 126 MRCA (multi-role combat aircraft) from multiple vendors for defence at $10 billion (50%).
The major chunk of these offshoring deals are expected to land in Bangalore. Currently, no other location in the country has a comparable aviation ecosystem.
The aviation engineering business alone is expected to be over $4 billion by 2020. The space will include developing sub systems, intelligence for landing gear, structural body frames for aircraft, interiors, cockpit, and entertainment systems.
09/08/07 Mini Joseph Tejaswi & Anshul Dhamija/Times of India

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Airlines scramble for a piece of the Indo-US air space

New Delhi: No major price skirmishes expected; Passengers seem to prefer flights with a short stop-over.
With both state-run Air India and private carrier Jet Airways starting their operations to US and many more flights in the offing, the Indo-US air space is all set for a battle royale between the Indian, American and European carriers.
The battle is being fought between carriers who are offering non-stop services like Air India, Kingfisher Airlines (subject to government approval), Delta Airlines and Continental Airlines and the others who see one-stop service as a better alternative to address the needs of Indian consumers.
These include Jet Airways, Sapphire Airways and, of course, all the exisiting European carriers.
In an effort to take Air India head on, Continental Airlines, which already has a daily non-stop Delhi-New York service is starting a daily non-stop Mumbai-New York flight from October 2, instead of October 31.
That apart, American start-ups like Sapphire Airlines, promoted by NRI Rahul Puranik, will have around 14 flights a week between San Francisco-Bangalore and San Francisco-Delhi.
In the market it seems the flights with a short stop-over are doing better. Jet Airways registered a Passsenger Load Factor (PLF) of 100 per cent (flight launched on August 5) compared to Air-India's 50-53 per cent on its flight which launched on August 1 .
However-while no major price skirmishes are expected-carriers are still dropping prices so that they do not lose out customers as a result of promotional fares being offered by Air India. The fares are expected to settle around Rs 60,000 to Rs 75,000," said an industry expert.
However, despite an initial lukwarm response AI is expecting customers to troop in.
The airline expects this percentage to go up to 28 per cent by the end of this year, thereby making it the top revenue earner. Air-India will no more having a monopoly in the Gulf route from 2008, which used give it 75 per cent of the revenue.
09/08/07 nirban Chowdhury & P R Sanjai/Business Standard

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Flying overseas all set to be cheaper

New Delhi: The Indian government is all set to effect changes in rules regarding operations on international routes by privately-owned domestic carriers, which may well result in a price war for foreign skies.
It has been learnt that the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has forwarded a Cabinet Note to the Group of Ministers (GoM) – headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee – to relax the existing five-year eligibility requirement contained in regulations for foreign flights and reduce it to three years so as to make some more private carriers eligible to operate on international routes to and from India.
Now the proposed reduction of the eligibility criteria to three years would mean that a majority of domestic operators would become eligible to operate on international routes.
This would mean that the Indian Government would reciprocally have to permit foreign governments also to designate an equivalent number of new carriers based in their countries to operate air services to and from India.
The entry of so many new airlines, both Indian and foreign, would inevitably result in the provision of excess capacity on international routes which, due to competition, would see a cut in airfare rates.
07/08/07 Sanjiv Kumar/Economic Times

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India may seek new partners for transport aircraft

India could seek new partners for its armed forces' military Multi-role Transport Aircraft programme, with a five-year-old joint Indo-Russian joint venture in danger of collapsing following a disagreement over its funding.
Prime contractor Hindustan Aeronautics, products.asp the Indian state-owned aerospace major, has reportedly approached other Western companies with a view to possible collaboration on the development and joint manufacture of 60t transport aircraft.
A response is expected in the next two months and HAL will then study the submissions before making a recommendation to the Indian Cabinet, which will decide on the programme's fate by the end of 2007.
Under the 2002 deal, HAL and a Russian consortium comprising Irkutsk Aviation and Ilyushin Aviation were to each contribute $350 million to the joint venture.
HAL was to design the front fuselage and wing and the Russian companies the rear and centre fuselage. HAL could also help in developing the avionics, while engines could be supplied by Pratt & Whitney or Russian manufacturers.
07/08/07 Siva Govindasamy/Flight International

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Kale Consultants buys Zero Octa

Mumbai: India's Kale Consultants Ltd said it acquired London-based airline accounting services provider Zero Octa UK Ltd for about 9 mln usd cash.
Chief finance officer Sumit Nadkar told Thomson Financial News that the company will fund the acquisition from its internal resources.
In a statement to the National Stock Exchange, Kale said Zero Octa offers a fully managed end-to-end solutions to airlines and has offices in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, with delivery centres in Mumbai and the western Indian state of Goa.
07/08/07 Thomson Financial/ABCmoney.co.uk, UK

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Premium flying: A taste of luxury on air

Bangalore: International carriers are pampering their premium passengers with a host of value adds that make flying a luxurious experience. From super comfortable beds and in-flight TV on 23-inch screens to buffet dinners and limousine transfers — a host of goodies have been thrown in to ensure the worth of a Rs 4,00,000 ticket.
Air India, which has started its Mumbai-New York non-stop daily fights, is offering limousine services at the JFK airport and a shower facility at 'The Lounge' on arrival. The seats in the aircraft have been designed to offer a soft massage to combat the stress levels. Passengers are entitled to $75 and $50 worth gift vouchers for in-flight shopping.
Jet Air, which started its Mumbai-New York flight via Brussels has provided suites that give passengers privacy.
Singapore Airlines' premium customers now receive an amenities kit containing Salvatore Ferragamo toiletries and perfumes as well as Givenchy sleeper suits and suede slippers to lounge onboard. Emirates in-flight entertainment system 'ICE digital widescreen' allows passengers to view their holiday photos onscreen during the flight by connecting to a USB port.
The airline offers free transfers in luxury cars like Mercedes E or V Class, Audi A6, BMW 5 series or Chrysler on arrival in Europe. Their passengers arriving in Venice enjoy transfers in speed boats.
06/08/07 Anshul Dhamija/Times of India

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Abacus on track to meet IATA deadline for E-Ticketing

Asia Pacific's leading travel facilitator Abacus International today announced it had issued 7.5 million electronic air tickets in the first half of 2007, 37% more than the last six months of 2006.
President and CEO of Abacus International Mr Don Birch said that as of June 2007, the proportion of airline tickets issued as electronic tickets by the company now stands at 67%, generated by 63 leading airlines in the region, up from 48 at the end of last year.
As of today 97% of Abacus tickets are e-ticket (ET) enabled, placing Abacus and our airline partners on target ahead of the International Air Transport Association (IATA's goal of 96.5% ET-readiness by the end of May 2008, Mr Birch said.
Nevertheless, Mr Birch welcomed the recent decision by (IATA) to extend the deadline for electronic ticketing to 31 May 2008, and to target 96.5% adoption as opposed to the original 100%.
04/08/07 Moneycontrol.com

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Campus Rush: Airlines sought students

New Delhi: The airlines are all set to cash in on the campus traffic to various parts of the world such as the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Europe.
This year, a large number of airlines have been seen actively participating in many of the pre-departure sessions for students being organised by educational organisations such as United States Educational Foundation in India and CampusFrance in various Indian cities. Promotional activities at such events help the airlines to reach out not just to the students themselves but also to their family members, many of whom travel with the students to help them settle down and later again during vacations and graduation ceremonies.
“This year, we have launched a range of special fares and deals for students travelling from Delhi to take up education in Europe and USA. These will be effective on departures starting August 16 till September 30,” says R Dougie Douglas, manager, northern India & Nepal, Etihad Airways.
”Jet Airways has sponsored our pre-departure events with the students at all the four locations of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata,” says Vijaya Khandavilli, country coordinator for educational advising services (EAS) at USEFI.
“We have associated and partnered with service provider Study Overseas this year and were part of the pre-departure session in both Delhi and Mumbai where we assisted the students travelling to UK with their travel related queries,” says Neha Lidder Ganju, marketing manager, Virgin Atlantic Airways, India.
05/08/07 Ishani Duttagupta & Dheeraj Tiwari/Economic Times

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Your flight just got costlier

Mumbai: Domestic airfares will go up by Rs 150 a ticket from Monday, August 6, as several airlines on Friday decided to levy additional fuel surcharge following the increase in ATF prices by oil companies. Including this, the total fuel surcharge works out to Rs 1,100.
Jet Airways was the first to take a decision. “Today we decided to increase fuel surcharge by Rs 150 and this will be effective from Monday,” said Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer.
Indian Airlines also announced a similar hike.
“Tomorrow we will announce the hike,” said SpiceJet director Ajay Singh.
Following the market leaders, Paramount Airways, the all-business class operator in South India, revised its earlier decision to increase fuel surcharge from Rs 100 to Rs 150.
Once Jet has decided to increase the surcharge, fares in JetLite, its subsidiary, will also go up.
The other leading player, the Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan combine, is yet to announce its decision.
04/08/07 Lalatendu Mishra/Hindustan Times

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It’s not always about the money, but comfort as well

Kolkata: Can airlines increase fares and yet not feel any impact on the load factor? Well, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), this could well be the scenario.
According to a survey by the body, 67% of full-service carrier (FSC) passengers and 51% of low-cost carrier (LCC) passengers would still have travelled by air if the fares had been double.
Around 57.5% of passengers said they would fly with an FSC rather than a LCC even if the trip was personal and self-financed.
About 67% of FSC passengers also said they chose their flight according to a convenient schedule or a previous experience compared with 9% whose choice was based on price. About 38% of LCC passengers chose their flight according to a convenient schedule or a previous experience, equalling the percentage of LCC passengers (38%) whose choice was based on price.
Based on these findings, CAPA wondered whether Indian carriers are reading the market correctly. “The aviation industry in India could potentially sustain fare increases by all carriers,” said CAPA in its study.
02/08/07 Madhumita Mookerji/Daily News & Analysis

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India aims to ease air space management snarls

New Delhi: India's civil aviation ministry has initiated talks with the defence establishment to ease restrictions on the use of air space to accommodate growing civilian traffic. And it has projected a two-fold increase in the fleet size of carriers over the next five years.
With military concerns being a sensitive issue and airspace management a pressing need, talks are on to work out a plan for the flexible use of India's air space, said Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman K. Ramalingam.
'We have an active dialogue on with the Indian Air Force (IAF). As a result, Goa has got more flying hours. Also Hindon (an IAF station near Delhi) has allowed us the use of air space,' K.N. Srivastava, joint secretary in the civil aviation ministry, told IANS in an interview.
The release of air space under IAF is, in fact, among the key suggestions in the draft civil aviation policy and the Vision-2020 document that is being examined by a group of ministers under External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
03/08/07 Neelam Mathews/India PRwire (Press Release)

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Bill to amend Aircraft Act 1934 approved

The Government today has approved a number of proposed amendments to the Aircraft Act, 1934.
The benefits arising out of the decision are:
- The government will acquire necessary powers to exercise supervisory control on the standards of airport and Communication, Navigation and Surveillance(CNS)/ Air Traffic Management (ATM) facilities;
license personnel engaged in ATC; and make rules to ensure civil aviation security
-The amendments would ensure that the safety oversight functions are performed effectively by the DGCA.
-The enhancement in the quantum of penalties for violation of the Aircraft Act is likely to have the desired deterrent effect and hence would go a long in raising the compliance level.
-The Aircraft Act 1934 will get updated in general.
The Central Government exercises control on the manufacture possession, use, operation, sale etc. of civil aircraft through the provisions of the Aircraft Act, 1934.
Keeping the various developments during the last two decades in the civil aviation sector in view, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had reviewed the provisions of the Act and considered it necessary to carry out certain amendments to make it more effective and consistent with the present requirement and circumstances.
Some of the proposed amendments are:-
Regulation of foreign registered aircraft: The Act does not have an explicit provision for extending its applicability to foreign registered aircrafts which may be for the time being in or over India. In order to remove this anomaly, the Act is to be amended so as to exercise regulatory control on foreign registered aircrafts operating in or over India.
Inclusion of the term ‘incident’ along with ‘accident’: The International Convention on Civil Aviation makes a distinction between the terms ‘accident’ and ‘incident’ happening to an aircraft. ‘Accident’ is when a person is fatally or seriously injured during a flight or the aircraft sustains substantial damage or structural failure or the aircraft is missing or completely inaccessible. An ‘incident’ is when an occurrence other than ‘accident’ associated with the operation of aircraft that affects or could affect the safety of the operation. Now the term ‘incident’ along with ‘accident’ will be included in the Act.
Supervisory control over ATM standards/ATC personnel: For discharging its basic responsibility of ensuring air safety, the Government needs to exercise supervisory control on technical standard of the airport and its ground based CNS/ATM facilities. The Government should also have the power to grant licenses to personnel engaged in ATC in order to maintain desired standards and level of proficiency. The Act is being amended to give the government these necessary powers to:
license of personnel engaged in ATC inspect, certify and regulate CNS/ATM facilities
Civil Aviation security: To cover the security aspects of aircraft operations, which can come under threat due to unlawful act of interference the government will strengthen Act to safeguard civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference and ensure civil aviation security.
Powers of DGCA to issue directions: Powers of Directorate General of Civil Aviation will be enlarged to cover; regulation of air transport services, prohibition of flight over specified areas, prohibition of slaughtering and flaying of animals etc. within 10 kms. radius of the airport
Safety oversight functions: The Act will provide for safety oversight functions to be performed by DGCA or any other officer especially empowered by the central government.
Quantum of penalties of violations of prohibitions of the Act: Maximum penalty shall be increased to Rs. 10 lakh and two years of imprisonment other than section 10(1A) where maximum limit is 3 years.
The Bill for Amendment will now be placed before the Parliament.
03/08/07 Press Information Bureau (press release)

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Fuel prices up, air fares to follow

Mumbai: Air fares are set to go up again as airlines contemplate increasing the fuel surcharge in the range of Rs 150-200 per ticket. This is to offset the 3.3 per cent increase in jet fuel prices. On August 1, oil companies hiked jet fuel prices due to the steep increase in global crude oil prices that crossed over $78 a barrel.
This will be the first time that domestic airline companies will be increasing the fuel surcharge twice in a span of little over a month.
“We have not taken any decision so far but we will discuss about it in a day or two,” said Jet Airways Executive Director Saroj Datta.
“We are looking at it and will take a decision by tomorrow. If jet fuel prices go up every month, we cannot do much. We have to pass on the additional burden to passengers,” said Ajay Singh, director, SpiceJet.
But Paramount Airways has already decided to increase the fuel surcharge by Rs 100.
Indian Airlines executives said they were yet to take any decision.
02/08/07 Lalatendu Mishra/Hindustan Times

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As fuel price flies, airlines add winglets, efficiencies

Bangalore: As the aviation industry waits for the benefits of consolidation to land, rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices promises to play the spoilsport.
On Wednesday, oil marketing companies hiked the domestic jet fuel prices by 3.3%.
Last month too, ATF prices had seen a jump — of 2.86%, which prompted airlines to revise upwards their fuel surcharge by Rs 50.
ATF is the costliest component of an airline’s operations.Recognising the threat from climbing fuel prices, airlines are to protecting themselves from its impact. One of the strategies to counter the adverse effects of rising prices is cutting ATF consumption.
Budget carrier SpiceJet, for instance, has been able to reduce its fuel consumption by inducting new generation fuel-efficient aircraft with winglets.
This has helped it bring down its fuel usage from 2375 kilolitres per “block hour” to 2250 kilolitres in the last one year.
A “block hour” is the total journey time taken for a flight, including pushback, taxiing, etc.
SpiceJet has followed Jet Airways in adding winglets or small wings attached to the end of the aircraft wings.
A winglet kit costs $500,000 or Rs 20 lakh, and it saves 1-2% on fuel cost.
02/08/07 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Global aviation hub a distant dream for India

New Delhi: Despite massive capacity expansions, Delhi and Mumbai airports will not be able to bridge the yawning gap with airports run by the Asian tigers, China and Dubai, raising questions about Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel’s vision of making India a competitive global aviation hub within Asia.
Delhi, which currently has a capacity to handle only 12 million passengers a year, is being expanded so that by 2010 it can support 37 million passengers and hit 50 million by 2012. Mumbai airport, which has limited capacity for expansion, is being expanded to handle 40 million passengers annually by 2010.
But these capacities pale in comparison to the massive investments in airports like Changi in Singapore, Dubai airport, Suvarnabhhumi airport in Bangkok, Incheon in SouthKorea,or even Beijing airport.
For instance, with the completion of a new terminal (terminal 3) in Changi with an investment of $ 1.75 billion, the airport will have a capacity to handle over 70 million passengers from 2008, nearly double Delhi's capacity in 2010.
Said Kapil Kaul, who heads Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in India, “I think we have missed the bus in terms of being a hub. Airports like Dubai and Singapore have ensured through their expansion and liberal policy that Indians use it as a hub to fly to the US and UK.”
02/08/07 Surajeet Das Gupta/Business Standard

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Now fly cheap "anywhere to anywhere" in India

Gurgaon: iXiGO (www.iXiGO.com) India’s premier travel search engine today announced the launch of an innovative feature that combines flights from all airlines to find the absolute cheapest flight available on all possible routes in India. This “anywhere to anywhere” lowest fare search makes iXiGO the most comprehensive travel site in India.
In a sample return fare search from Delhi to Madurai done simultaneously on multiple travel portals, iXiGO’s results were not only the fastest, but also showed a lowest fare that was cheaper by nearly 5000 Rupees in comparison to the ones found by other travel portals. iXiGO’s routing algorithms searched through Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai to find the most optimal airline combination and returned twice as many travel options as all the other portals combined, with unbiased and all-inclusive price comparison directly from airline sites.
Launched in June this year, iXiGO has emerged as the most innovative travel search engine in India, with successive launches of new features every month.
01/08/07 India PRwire (Press Release)

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Indian carriers to add 911 more aircraft in 20 yrs!

US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing predicts that India will require 911 new aircraft over the next 20 years, which is almost 50 more aircraft every year, reports CNBC-TV18.
Today airline companies in India have more aircraft on order than up in the sky! Over the last two years, airlines in India have ordered over 350 aircraft - significantly more than the 250 that they have added over the last 50 years. And, this USD 40 billion order size is set to double in the next 20 years. Boeing says India will add 911 aircraft worth USD 86 billion by 2027. But it also adds that like most other markets, India wiill need more smaller aircraft rather than the A-380 variety.
Boeing says that over 70% of aircraft in India will be small. And, while Boeing's forecasts for India seems quite optimistic, it still has concern over the sustianbility of airline companies in India.
Boeing feels that India has shopped for enough aircraft to last it through 2012. It expects big orders like the 68 aircraft Air India order to slow down for sometime though smaller orders of 5-10 aircraft will keep trickling in.
01/08/07 Moneycontrol.com

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Pune to Mumbai in 19 minutes on board a chopper for Rs 10,000 a seat

Pune: For the Pune-Mumbai jet-setting crowd, here’s the latest travel option — chopper service.
With the Lohegaon airport runway going to be closed for re-carpeting in September and flight services likely to be affected, private helicopter charter service firms are eyeing the Pune-Mumbai sector. Among the players are Vectra Aviation, Ventura Aviation and United Helicharters Private Ltd (UHPL).
“We are waiting for the monsoon to get over to start a Mumbai-Pune chopper service,” said Goa-based Ventura Aviation’s chief operating officer Ajay Sareen. Ventura has already readied a four-seater that they plan to lease out to companies or individuals at the rate of Rs 60,000 per hour.
“Companies have approached us for the service. Frequency of the flights will depend upon demand,” added Sareen. The Pune-Mumbai flight will last 19 minutes.
The trend has been confirmed by Vectra Aviation that leases and sells choppers. “The potential is very high. We are working on moving into the Pune-Mumbai sector with a dedicated service,” said marketing manager Severine Rodosavljevic, adding that a construction company in Pune has already placed an order for the purchase of a chopper that will be delivered in early 2008.
31/07/07 Sunanda Mehta/Pune Newsline

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Kale to implement Custodian Management system for one more airport

Following the implementation of a Custodian Management system at an International airport in India, one more airport has contracted Kale Consultants Limited (Kale), the leading provider of software solutions and outsourced services to the Travel & Transportation industry, for implementing a similar system.
A prominent travel agency in India has engaged Kale to develop an integrated solution platform to connect its multiple suppliers and enhance their ability to offer multiple products and cross-selling opportunities.
In addition the solution will also cater to complete automation of operational fulfillment activities of the company’s corporate travel division.
Kale Consultants Limited has recorded Operational revenues of Rs. 205.16 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2007 as compared to Rs. 170.15 million for the corresponding quarter of the previous year, a growth of 21 %.
The company recorded a PBT of Rs. 13.49 million as compared to Rs. 18.03 million for the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The PAT stands at Rs. 11.65 million excluding the exceptional item of sale of property situated at Andheri.
Commenting on the performance, Mr. Vipul Jain, CEO & Managing Director said, “The sharp appreciation of the rupee is a challenge for all of us in the IT industry. Our growth and profitability would have been better but for this impact. We believe that our differentiated business model will enable us to address these challenges effectively in the near term.”
Highlights for the Quarter ended June 30, 2007
The profit after tax is Rs 114.9 million, with the sale of our office premises in Andheri contributing Rs 103.3 million. The premises were sold because they were inadequate to meet our needs for growth and the company has a long term plan to build it’s own campus at Thane.
Meanwhile, a leading West African airline is in the process of outsourcing its Passenger Revenue Accounting functions to Kale-MPS®.
An online hotel reservations specialist and leading tour operator has engaged Kale to develop a hotel management component to their overall online offering.
A global life insurance company has contracted Kale to outsource the support of their AllFusion Gen applications.
About Kale Consultants:
Kale Consultants is a leading end-to-end technology solutions provider to the Travel & Transportation industry. Renowned for its award winning, innovative and industry acknowledged solutions; Kale’s offerings include ‘best-of-breed’ technology, ‘global best practice’ BPO and unparalleled domain knowledge. A thought-leader in transformational outsourcing value propositions, Kale consistently offers – “Solutions that Think”.
Incorporated in 1986, Kale has keenly focused on the airlines, logistics and travel & hospitality industries. Over the years Kale has built a 900+ strong organization successfully addressing the needs of over 60 satisfied customers in 30 countries. These include the distinction of working with industry leaders on landmark multi-year engagements such as bmi, lastminute.com, Qatar Airways, Continental Airlines, Indian and Air India etc to name a few.
Kale’s mission is to establish itself as one of the top three solution providers in it’s chosen markets. Kale strives to achieve this by constant innovation to provide the industry with new value propositions.
31/07/07 PRESS RELEASE, Kale Consultants Limited

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