RBI liberalises import norms for aircraft, copters

Mumbai: Liberalising the procedure for import for the civil aviation sector, the Reserve Bank on Friday allowed airlines to make advance payment up to $ 50 million toward purchase of aircraft, helicopters and other aviation equipment.
The airlines operating scheduled air transport services can now make "advance remittance, without bank guarantee or an unconditional, irrevocable standby Letter of Credit, up to US$ 50 million, for direct import of each aircraft/helicopter/other aviation-related purchases," the RBI said in a notification here.
The central bank has also asked the authorised dealer banks to undertake the transactions after following the KYC (Know Your Customer) guidelines with respect to the Indian importer and the overseas manufacturer.
The notification further said the advance payments should be made as per the terms of the contract between the buyer and the seller, in the account of the manufacturer.
30/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

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Fighter jet deal: 15,000 crore to be re-invested in defence, aviation industry

New Delhi: After years of speculation and dilly-dallying, the defence ministry on Friday finally cleared the global tender on India’s biggest defence deal — purchasing 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft at a whopping Rs 42,000 crore (approximately $ 10 billion).
The companies in competition are USA’s Lockheed Martin (F-16 Falcons) and Boeing (F/A-18 Super Hornet); Sweden’s Gripen (JAS-39); France’s Dassault Aviation (Rafale), Russia’s Mikoyan Design Bureau (MiG-35) and a European consortium comprising of companies from Germany, Spain, UK and Italy which manufacture Eurofighter Typhoon. While 18 fighters will be purchased in flyaway conditions, the remaining 108 will be manufactured at the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd under licence.
Interestingly opening up a new course in the complex price negotiation process, DAC has approved 50 per cent offset for this mega deal. While the new defence procurement policy stipulates 30 per cent offset for all purchases worth more than Rs 300 crore, the 50 per cent offset clause has been put exclusively for this deal because of its massive size.
If the total deal is worth Rs 42,000 crore, approximately Rs 30,000 crore will be the cost of acquisition. In such a scenario, at least Rs 15,000 is likely to be re-invested in the country’s defence and aviation industry as offset.
30/06/07 Deccan Herald

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Rescheduling is now in the air

Bangalore: Jet has withdrawn two night flights to Kolkata and Bangalore sectors over the past six months because they were not able to get enough load on these flights. SpiceJet has also cancelled 4-5 flights during the same period.
Kingfisher Airlines did the same with its Ahmedabad-Jammu flight when the demand refused to pick up even after operating on the route for six months.
“As a rule, full-service carriers are constantly juggling their flights on a daily basis either by combining them or rescheduling them. However, certainly if a flight does not recover the variable cost for more than three months, then it is best to pull back that flight altogether and deploy the aircraft on a profitable route to ensure optimum utilisation of your aircraft,” said a senior Jet Airways official.
That is what SpiceJet did with its Delhi-Kolkata flight, which flew via Guwahati. It knocked out the Delhi-Kolkata flight and retained the Guwhati-Kolkata-Guwahati flight.
30/06/07 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Internet essential to influence in Asia-Pacific travel market

According to findings of the first Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions Online Travel Survey, the Internet is favoured by 81% of all MSN and Windows Live users in India as a source for planning and researching upcoming leisure and business travel, far outpacing traditional media such as magazines (29%) and newspapers (40%).
The survey also reveals that across Asia, 7 out of every 10 users prize the internet for its depth of information on travel products and services and agree that making travel reservations online is convenient and hassle free.
Based on responses from close to 7,000 people, the Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions Online Travel Survey was conducted online across the MSN and Windows Live networks between November 20, 2006 and April 9, 2007. Ten Asia Pacific countries took part in the survey including Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
In India, the average amount spent on the last purchase or reservation was US$1,300 for leisure trips and US$1,600 for business trips.
Over the past year, air tickets (48%) and hotel reservations (22%)) ranked as the most purchased items online for users in India. Purchases made online will continue to increase over the next 12 months with air tickets (69%) and travel packages (44%) the most popular followed by travel packages (44%) and sightseeing tours (27%).
29/06/07 Televisionpoint.com

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India's Hypersonic Plane To Fly By December 2008

The hypersonic plane, one of the most ambitious project of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is expected to be test flown by the end of 2008, a senior official said today.
"The developmental testing and prototype realisation are being pursued now before the test flight planned for the end of next year," V K Saraswat, Chief Controller (R&D), DRDO, told reporters here. The expertise available at IITs, Indian Institute of Science and other R&D laboratories in the country had been identified, integrated and networked to purse the hypersonic technologies.
The technology demonstrator will be powered by a supersonic combustion ramjet (Scramjet) engine that takes oxygen from the atmosphere and burns liquid hydrogen. The hypersonic plane will travel 6 to 14 times faster than the speed of sound and will revolutionize space travel. Saraswat, who is also the Chairman of the Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI), was briefing reporters about the two-day International conference of High Speed Transatmospheric air and space transportation. The hyper-plane can take off from conventional airfields, inhale air from the atmosphere as it moves on, separate oxygen and store it on board for subsequent flight beyond the atmosphere. Several countries including United States, Israel, Russia, China, Japan and Australia are engaged in research in hypersonic technology.
29/06/07 India Defence

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Pilots' flying time to be increased by 50-100 hr annually

New Delhi: In a bid to tide over the massive pilot shortage the country is facing, the flying hours for pilots are going to be increased marginally to see that they don't get stressed while being able to fly more. Currently pilots are allowed to fly for a maximum of 1,000 hours annually with a monthly cap of 125 hours. Now the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is revising the flight duty time limitation (FDTL) norms that could increase flying hours between 50 to 100 hours a year. This would allow all airlines to fly more.
"The new norms are going to be finalised shortly. They have been decided after several rounds of discussions with medical and aviation experts as safety cannot be compromised for increasing capacity," said highly placed sources. Indian currently has about 2,600 pilots, including 600 foreign pilots.
Pilot shortage is badly affecting airlines expansion plans. A leading airline's official said some carriers are now deferring their deliveries. The main problem is of getting experienced captains as an eight-month training is adequate to make a newcomer a co-pilot. The main problem is that the shortage means airlines don't have pilots for hold.
29/06/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Aviation forum hails India, China air travel boom

Bangkok: Aviation industry figures and politicians yesterday hailed a boom in air traffic in India and China, with operators keen to cash in on growing numbers of passengers travelling to the regional giants.
Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told an aviation forum in Bangkok that the expansion of air traffic in China and India was contributing to the growth of the overall Asian economy.
"The expanding economic power of China and India is a key factor in Asia's dynamism ... (and) this has already impacted on the aviation industry," Surayud told the seminar, organised by airline network Star Alliance.
"It's clear that China and India's trade and traffic with the rest of Asia will help shape the future of aviation in the region," he added.
Air China and Shanghai Airlines will later this year become the newest members of Star Alliance, the largest global passenger airline network.
Jaan Albrecht, Star Alliance chief executive, said they hoped the new members would bring a 2-3 per cent increase on their existing 400 million yearly passengers.
"Like China, India is definitely a developing and growing market in Asia," he said.
29/06/07 AFP/The Brunei Times

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Aviation FDI hike to have riders

New Delhi: Even after the government hikes the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in domestic airlines to 74% and allows foreign carriers equity in them, their role in management will be restricted.
According to a proposal by a section within the government, the voting rights of a foreign airline will be restricted and not in proportion to 26% they will be allowed to hold. Further, chairmen of the boards of Indian carriers and their chief executives must be resident Indian citizens.
These restrictions are to ensure that foreign airlines engage with Indian carriers just as investors. A foreign airline will also have no control over the running of a domestic carrier.
“The main worry is that the move will provide backdoor entries to foreign airlines. We are trying to address this concern,” said a government official.
Similarly, foreign carriers as equity partners will not have any say in scheduling the timetable of domestic carriers and ticket pricing.
29/06/07 Bipin Chandran/Financial Express

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IAF to allow some bases for civilian flights

The defence ministry had given an in-principle nod to allow the use of some of the Indian Air Force (IAF) bases by civilian domestic carriers at peak flying hours, KN Srivastava, joint secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said today.
“Hopefully, the Hindon air force base would be the first one from where the commercial aircraft would take off,” Srivastava said.
The move is aimed at easing congestion during peak hours at Delhi where air traffic movement during peak hours has increased to nearly 60 flights every hour after the boom in the civil aviation sector in recent times.
A committee, headed by Planning Commission member Anwar Hoda, will also suggest measures to establish rail linkages from airports in 10 cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune, the official said.
28/06/07 Business Standard

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Asia Pacific to become top airplane market

The Asia Pacific region is moving up to become the world's single largest aircraft market in the next two decades in terms of new plane purchase value, up from second place at present. At US$1,020 billion, the region, spanning from Japan to Afghanistan and including Australia and New Zealand, would account for more than one-third of the value of airplanes delivered between 2007 and 2026, according to the US manufacturer Boeing.
The region is also expected to take delivery of 8,350 planes in the period, second only to North America which is forecast to acquire 9,140 new planes.
China and India will together buy 4,000 planes in the next 20 years, says Randy Tinseth, vice-president for marketing of commercial planes at Boeing.
The region is also expected to take delivery of 8,350 planes in the period, second only to North America which is forecast to acquire 9,140 new planes.
Rapidly expanding no-frills carriers will give an extra push to new plane demand, expecting to account for more than a third of the market for new aircraft in the next two decades.
Driving up the Asia Pacific's plane demand in the next 20 years are China and India, the emerging vast air travel markets, which are expected acquire some 3,000 and 1,000 planes respectively in the period, said Mr Tinseth.
28/06/07 Boonsong Kositchotethana/Bangkok Post, Thailand

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Global Vectra net rises 95.81% to Rs 12.50cr in FY07

Global Vectra Helicorp Ltd. part of the UK-based Vectra Group and a leading provider of helicopter services to India’s Oil and Gas sector, has posted a net profit of Rs. 2.86 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2007 on a total income of Rs. 44.26 crore.
GVHL posted a net profit of Rs. 12.50 crore for the year ended March 31, 2007, a jump of 95.81 per cent as compared to Rs. 6.38 crore posted in the same period in FY 06. Income from operations rose by 66.67 per cent to Rs. 149.79 crore as against Rs 89.87 crore a year ago. Earnings per share for the full year (2006-07) stood at Rs. 10.03 as against 5.70 in FY 06, a jump of 75.96 per cent.
Global Vectra Helcorp Ltd. has maintained a steady growth since it’s IPO in the second half of 2006, and this growth is in line with the company’s expectations. Further, this growth reinforces its commitment to enhancing value for its shareholders and business associates. GVHL has inducted four new Bell Helicopters in the last quarter expanding its services and support infrastructure to meet the growing demands of the industry. GVHL’s fleet size as on March 31, 2007 stood at 18 helicopters.
26/06/07 Moneycontrol.com

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Concerns over Aviation Policy

Times Now has learnt that the Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's pet project -- a policy statement to lay the groundwork for the aviation sector by 2020 -- has run into problems with the Ministry of Defence.
Defence Ministry has vetoed the Civil Aviation Ministry's move to even frame such a policy without the views of the ministry and the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Indian Air Force (IAF), meanwhile, has reiterated that utilization of airspace should be dictated by a National Aviation Policy not just a Civil Aviation Policy.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has categorically reiterated that it is not in favour of allowing foreign airlines to do self-handling or even private independent ground handling service providers. While the Commerce Ministry has put forth its demand that the Civil Aviation Policy should address cargo concerns especially for agricultural produce.
The Union Finance Ministry has objected to recommendations on taxation on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) as an encroachment on its turf. Planning Commission has also raised objection to waiving of airport and navigation charges for private airlines flying to smaller towns.
26/06/07 Times Now.tv

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FDI in domestic carriers unlikely to be increased beyond 74%

New Delhi: The government is considering two options to raise the cap on foreign direct investment in domestic airlines. The first option is to raise the cap to 74% from the present 49% and the second one is to cap it at a level below 74%.
Government officials said the FDI limit was likely to be increased anytime soon. A section of the industry sought 100% FDI in domestic carriers, but the idea was rejected at the recent UPA-Left co-ordination committee meeting, officials said. The government was expected to further deliberate on the FDI issue before finalising the cap, they said.
“The FDI policy review is on. We have given our inputs to the commerce and industry ministry for raising FDI in certain segments,” civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla told FE. But he did not discuss anything on the proposed increase in FDI in domestic carriers.
27/06/07 Sunny Verma & Arun S/Financial Express

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PE players skeptical to invest in Indian aviation

The focus of Indian airline companies seems to be shifting from chasing consumers to chasing capital. Almost all of them are wooing private equity investors to rope in some money. And while PE players are more than keen to invest in the Indian aviation market, they are holding back.
Deccan struggeld for over six months to rope in private equity players, Go Air has been in the market for over a year. In fact, almost all airlines in India have been working hard to crack a deal with investors - but with little luck!
Private equity investors say that in most cases, the valuation expectations of promoters are much higher than what the investors are willing to bring in.
According to industry estimates, the aviation sector as a whole requires investment of USD 20 billion over the next few years. And while private equity investors are keen to set foot in India, they are equally skeptical. Some do admit that external factors like fuel prices and infrastructure bottlenecks have contributed to the USD 550 million loss of the airline companies. But the numbers do not seem to be getting better.
27/06/07 Moneycontrol.com

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Passengers pinning hope on talks with India and Kuwait

Dubai: With Kuwait threatening to disallow landing of India's state-owned carriers at its capital from Sunday, passengers planning to fly to India during summer holidays are now pinning hopes on the crucial talks between both countries.
While civil aviation authorities of both the countries are engaged in a second round of negotiations in New Delhi, the Indian Ambassador in Kuwait and Civil Aviation Ministry joint secretary are expected to hold parleys with their counterparts before July one in Kuwait.
"If the flights between the two countries are halted, the services of India's national carriers, Air India and Indian to Kuwait will be heavily disrupted," Kuwait Times report said.
Travel agents has said that they had not received any word from Air India or Indian Airlines regarding Kuwait DGCA's decision to stop their flights.
The crisis for passengers between India and Kuwait was aggravated after the latter issued a notice to 'Air India' and 'Indian' saying it will not receive flights of the airlines from July 1.
The row was sparked after Kuwait asked India to increase seat capacities of Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways to and from India, while the Indian Civil Aviation is reportedly unwilling to grant the request as it feels that its national carriers will face stiff competition.
26/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

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Kuwait decision to block flights unfair, says India

New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: Kuwait’s unilateral decision to ban all flights from India from July 1 is “unfair and uncalled for” and all issues must be mutually resolved, a spokesman for the Indian civil aviation ministry said yesterday.
“This action is harmful to the interests of the travellers of both countries,” the spokesman added, as the travel trade industry in Kerala said that pressure tactics of the Kuwait government would not yield any result.
Kuwait said two weeks ago that it would stop all flights to India with effect from July 1 since it says New Delhi was not honouring its commitment to allow more landing rights for the Gulf state’s carriers.
Three flag carriers, the state-run Air India, its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express and Indian Airlines, have been designated to fly to Kuwait, while the Gulf country has Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airlines as its carriers for India.
The two countries had concluded their bilateral agreement in March last year under which they allowed 5,200 seats per week for the carriers of either side. The Kuwaiti side wanted the limits raised to 6,800 seats per week.
26/06/07 IANS/Gulf Times, Qatar

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Flight ban: India, Kuwait to break ice

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry has described Kuwait's decision to stop Indian flights to Kuwait as 'unfair and unwarranted' and assured the two national carriers that the issue will be settled in a couple of days.
The second round of bilateral talks between the two countries will take place before the end of this month. The joint secretary, civil aviation, and the Indian ambassador to Kuwait will take part in the meeting.
'Our ambassador to Kuwait has conveyed to its authorities that keeping in mind the bilateral agreement between the two countries, such unilateral action will be harmful to the interests of travellers,' said a civil aviation ministry spokesperson.
'India is ready for talks with the Kuwaiti authorities,' he added. Civil aviation officials had briefed the external affairs ministry on the issue last week.
Kuwait recently issued notices to national carriers Indian and Air-India threatening that they would have to stop their flights from July 1. It had alleged that New Delhi had gone back on its commitments under the bilateral agreement signed between the two countries in 2006.
26/06/07 Business Standard

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Domestic air travel rises 43% in June

Mumbai: Airline companies in India will fly more than 42,200 domestic flights within India in June. This is an increase of 25% in the number of flights and 5.7 million seats, a 43% rise in the number of seats in comparison to June 2006. These are the findings of OAG, a global data solutions company for the aviation sector in its latest survey. OAG is a global partner of CAPA.
The Mumbai airport is the busiest in the country, followed by Delhi. The Indian aviation market is still in its infancy in consumer penetration, and will almost certainly continue to enjoy high growth rates, according to airline officials.
Delhi, on the other hand, posted a 20% growth in the number of flights and 32% in the number of seats this June over the same month in 2006.
Meanwhile, carriers like Jet Airways have grabbed a 27% market share in the number of flight frequencies and seats, Indian Airlines follows with a 17% share, Kingfisher Airlines has a 10% share, Air Deccan 9%, Air Sahara 5%, SpiceJet 5%, Go Air 4% and Indigo 3 %.
26/06/07 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

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Govt likely to hike FDI cap in aviation

New Delhi: In a major policy review, the UPA government is likely to allow FDI in atomic energy and raise the foreign investment cap in the aviation sector by July end.
The government is encouraged to go in for a big liberalisation drive following a record FDI inflow of 15 billion dollars in 2006-07, official sources said.
The government has set an FDI target of 25 billion dollars for the current fiscal, they said.
At present, FDI in airlines is capped at 49 per cent while greenfield airport projects are allowed 100 per cent foreign participation.
25/06/07 Zee News

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Flights delayed due to heavy rain

Nagpur: Torrential downpour in Mumbai led to diversions, delays and rescheduling of flights to and from Mumbai over the weekend.
All the three evening flights from Mumbai—Indian, Jet and Kingfisher Airlines arrived one to two hours late and left only around Saturday midnight. " Passengers who came from Mumbai told us that they boarded the flight but it didn't take off for about a hour. In Nagpur again the planes were held up because of heavy rain and air traffic congestion in Mumbai," an airline official said.
Indian diverted two Mumbai-bound flights to city on Saturday night. A Delhi-Mumbai flight and Muscat-Ahmedabad-Mumbai flight were diverted to Nagpur and they took off to Mumbai after refuelling well past midnight.
The Sunday morning flights from Mumbai too were delayed. While Kingfisher Airlines arrived 20 minutes late, Indian and Jet Airways flights were delayed by a hour. Indian and Jet Airways departed at about 11 am.
25/06/07 Times of India

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Shell likely to hawk aviation fuel in India

Mumbai: International oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell is all set to foray into distribution of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), the fuel for airplanes.
Royal Dutch Shell would be the first international major to enter into ATF marketing space. Besides national marketing companies (IOC, HPCL and BPCL), Reliance Industries, ONGC and Essar are also planning to take a plunge in jet fuel distribution.
Royal Dutch Shell, which has made over $1 billion investment in the oil and gas sector, has already secured the marketing licence from the government. The company is looking at greenfield airports, including Navi Mumbai Airport and other new projects.
Deepak Mukherji, country head of corporate affairs of Shell India, said the group had secured the marketing licence, adding: "ATF distribution is an exciting segment that we are keen on." However, Mukherji declined to divulge the details.
25/06/07 P R Sanjai/Business Standard

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Weather disrupts India flights

Dubai: A number of flights from India to the UAE and vice-versa were diverted or delayed yesterday because of the heavy rains in a few cities in India. Flights from Kerala and Mumbai were diverted or rescheduled as the aircraft were unable to land or take-off from these airports.
Indian, the Indian carrier that operates a flight from Mumbai to Sharjah via Calicut and Cochin, failed to land in Calicut after taking off from Mumbai airport on Saturday evening. Speaking to Khaleej Times, Abhay Pathak, Indian?s regional manager for the Gulf, said, "after the flight failed to land in Calicut due to bad weather, it was diverted to Cochin. The pilots again tried to land the aircraft in Calicut but had to go back to Cochin."
Pathak explained that because of the delay of the flight IC 595, the officials had to request the Sharjah airport authorities to extend the watch-hours. The carrier was given a 30-minute grace as special permission and the landing time was extended to 1.30am.
"However, the aircraft is grounded in Cochin because of a technical snag. The flight has not been able to pick up passengers from Cochin nor come back to Sharjah," Pathak said. The airline is trying to organise a shuttle between Calicut and Sharjah and there are 230 passengers on board.
Meanwhile, speaking to Khaleej Times, an official from the Department of Civil Aviation in Dubai said, "the Emirates airline flight, which was supposed to leave Mumbai yesterday morning should land in Dubai by 9 in the evening. All flights from Hyderabad are on schedule so far."
25/06/07 Khaleej Times/Daijiworld.com

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How about shopping at 30,000 ft?

New Delhi: SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo have all decided to make your air-journey a unique shopping experience as well.
Moving beyond selling food and beverages, GoAir has already started selling merchandise such as watches, CDs and golf balls besides other gift items. Spicejet has taken a step ahead and soon it will be closing a deal with a private bank and a famous fast food chain for advertising on hand baggage tags, boarding pass and head rests.
Not only that, all airlines are now teaming up with other players on ground so that you can now book hotels, rent a car, bid for special holiday packages and buy travel insurance through them besides just buying air tickets.
Currently, SpicJet generates around 5 % of their revenue from anciallry services.
They aim to achieve a 4% growth in this segment, and generate a total revenue of Rs 1,400 cr by the end of this financial year. For GoAir, ancillary services generate around 7% of their total revenue.
Bruce Ashby, president & CEO, IndiGo though currently is clueless as how exactly to find the right mix but he his already reviewing various options.
24/06/07 Dheeraj Tiwari/Economic Times

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Civil-aviation sector needs to tackle hurdles: Patel

Washington: Noting that Indian civil aviation sector is experiencing high levels of growth, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said the industry must tackle the shortcomings of inadequate infrastructure and shortage of skilled manpower to sustain the growth.
"We need more pilot training facilities, we need more engineering facilities and we need more technical people. The real challenge is to build infrastructure in the shortest possible time. Otherwise we cannot sustain this kind of growth," he said while attending a session of the United States-India Business Council here on Thursday.
The Indian aviation sector was growing at between 35 per cent to 40 per cent annually with the domestic sector accounting for 48 per cent and the international sector chipping in with 20 per cent, he said.
India must allow private players to build new merchant airports and should promote regional airlines in tier two and tier three cities with one major hub in a region if it aims to widen the sector, Patel said.
The aviation sector have to look beyond the realm of passengers to include cargo and logistics, he said adding trusts should be given to cargo facilities,i.e. more cargo airlines and hubs.
23/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

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India, US sign MoU to modernise civil aviation sector

New Delhi: India and the United States have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish an Aviation Cooperation Programme for modernisation of the civil aviation sector.
The agreement was signed between visiting Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Secretary, US Transportation Department, Mary Peters in Washington, a US Agency statement said.
Patel also called for tackling shortcomings in the Indian aviation sector, including, inadequate infrastructure and skilled manpower.
"We need more pilot training and engineering facilities as well as more technical people. The real challenge is to build infrastructure in the shortest possible time. Otherwise we cannot sustain this kind of growth," Patel said while attending a session of the US-India Business Council on Thursday.
India must allow private players to build new merchant airports and should promote regional airlines in tier two and tier three cities with one major hub in a region, if it aims to widen the sector, Patel added.
As per the MoU signed, the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), Civil Aviation Ministry, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and public sector entities of both countries will cooperate to identify infrastructural lapses and support modernisation of the Indian civil aviation sector.
22/06/07 ANI/DailyIndia.com, US

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Govt works to erase VT

New Delhi: Three years after the first half-hearted attempt to change the nationality code on Indian aircraft (VT), the Civil Aviation Ministry has launched a fresh all-out effort with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to replace VT, which stands for Victorian Territory (?), to a code that reflects India’s post-Independence status.
A move was made in the NDA regime to change it to BM (Bharatmata) or BH (Bharat), but authorities soon discovered that the ‘B’ series had been already given to China. Now, the move was to look at IU (Indian Union) or Indian Republic (IR) but as it turns out, the ‘I’ series belongs to Italy.
But this time the Ministry has asked Naseem Zaidi, India’s representative at ICAO, to find a way to somehow obtain a code that can reflect India’s independent status. The options involve engaging countries like Italy through the ICAO to allow a two-letter code that can begin wih ‘I’.
There is a sudden push being given to efforts in the wake of the merger between Air India and Indian. The merged airline will have its first operation on August 1 from Mumbai to New York when it will show the “common face”.
23/06/07 Pranab Dhal Samanta/Indian Express

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Consolidation benefits miles away for carriers

Bangalore: Are airlines flying towards profits after the recent consolidation and rupee appreciation?
Industry experts and airline operators are divided. Some say the situation has not changed much as the excess capacity in the market continues to drive down the yield, while others say they are awaiting the results of the route and fleet rationalisation to kick in.
SpiceJet Ltd CEO and chairman Siddhanta Sharma believes the effects of route and fleet rationalisation by Jet-Sahara and Kingfisher-Air Deccan are eight months away.
The only immediate impact of Kingfisher’s Vijay Mallya taking over Air Deccan is that fares closer to the date of travel have firmed up marginally, but advance sales fares are still being discounted as much as before.
Leading central reservation system (CRS) Amadeus India’s corporate marketing and communication vice-president Karun Budhiraj also does not expect the aviation industry to regularise soon.
21/06/07 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Aviation policy for sops to regional carriers

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry has proposed a five-year exemption for “regional airlines” from airport and navigation charges for destinations they fly.
To improve regional connectivity and create regional hubs, the ministry has mooted a proposal to set up “regional airlines”, defined as carriers with aircraft having less than 80 seats and which operate exclusively on regional routes from any one metropolitan airport, which includes Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
This proposal is a part of the comprehensive aviation policy that the ministry has submitted to the Cabinet and which has now been referred to a group of ministers (GoM).
The ministry has also suggested that the first airline to connect cities that are not linked by air should be exempt from all airport and navigation charges at both airports for the first year of operation. For regional airlines, navigation and landing charges could constitute around 10 per cent of overall costs.
Under the new policy, the ministry has also proposed the establishment of an Essential Air Services Fund (EASF) to provide subsidy to airlines that operate on “uneconomical but essential routes” like the northeast. The subsidy support from the fund would be established through a transparent process of minimum subsidy bidding.
21/06/07 Surajeet Das Gupta & Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

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India tests Airbus assembly line interest

Le Bourget, Paris: India caught planemaker Airbus off guard by trying to gauge its interest in building an assembly line on Indian soil on Wednesday, matching investment in China where Airbus plans to build jets from 2009.
The idea was floated in front of journalists by India's civil aviation minister at the Paris air show just as Kingfisher Airlines was signing on the dotted line for $7 billion in provisional new orders, highlighting fast Indian traffic growth.
Airbus agreed last year to set up an assembly line for the A320 family of jets in China from 2009 to meet strong demand. But India's aviation market is also spreading its wings rapidly.
"I would be very happy to see that," Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters, shortly after raising the idea of an Indian assembly line at a signing ceremony for the Kingfisher plane order, which includes 20 A320s.
"I mentioned it to them (Airbus) yesterday. India is one of the largest markets in the next 10 years," he said. He also said Indian companies would like to invest more in Europe.
20/06/07 Tim Hepher/Reuters

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Goyal Expects More Mergers in India

Jet Airways (India) Ltd., the nation's biggest domestic carrier, expects more mergers among airlines as tickets sold as low as 2 U.S. cents lead to losses of $500 million for the second straight year.
Jet Airways may make more acquisitions after buying Sahara Airlines Ltd., Chairman Naresh Goyal said in an interview yesterday at the Paris Air Show. The company isn't in talks with SpiceJet Ltd., he said, denying reports that negotiations have been initiated with India's second-biggest low-fare carrier.
``Consolidation is a must,'' Goyal said. ``It will happen because the industry is getting sick. That's why we went for Sahara. I've not spoken to SpiceJet as I stand today.''
``Most of the airlines, in fact all, are losing money because of the irrational pricing,'' Goyal said. ``We are okay as far as the bottom line is concerned. We are in a far better position than the competition since we bought Sahara.''
20/06/07 Kartik Goyal and Rishaad Salamat/Bloomberg

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Amadeus appoints VP for Corporate Marketing & Comm for APAC

Amadeus, a leading technology partner for the travel and tourism industry, has appointed Mr Karun Budhraja as Vice President, Corporate Marketing & Communications for Asia Pacific.
Karun will be based in Bangkok and will take up this appointment in mid August 07. He will be responsible for all communication and marketing activities for the region, including media and public relations activities, events, internal communications, advertising, and marketing programs.
With more than 17 years experience in marketing and corporate communications, Karun started his career in the travel industry with the GSA of Thai Airways in India. He subsequently worked for Air France (India) for 10 years in various positions, including that of Marketing & Corporate Communications Manager.
Karun joined Amadeus India in 2001 as the Senior Marketing and Corporate Communications Manager Indian Subcontinent, based in Delhi.
20/06/07 Moneycontrol.com (press release), India

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Civil aviation ministry likely to probe ATF increase

New Delhi: Shaken by the massive increase in charges levied by airport operators on the supply of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by oil companies, domestic carriers and the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) have requested the civil aviation ministry to look into the matter. This is because higher charges are ultimately passed on to airlines in terms of higher ATF prices.
In the last few months, airport operators have substantially raised the charges.
In Delhi and Mumbai, throughput charges have been increased to Rs 280 a kilolitre from Rs 58 a kilolitre. In Kolkata, these tariffs have gone up to Rs 1,000 a kilolitre from Rs 58 a kilolitre, and in Chennai to Rs 1,200 a kilolitre from Rs 58 a kilolitre. Airlines have complained that throughput charges have pushed the already high ATF prices up.
According to an industry source, oil companies never provide a break-up of ATF prices and, therefore, it was very easy to pass on the extra charges they have to pay to the airport authorities to airlines.
Airline companies have written to the ministry that throughput charges have gone over the roof after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) started auctioning the hydrant infrastructure to oil companies in February this year.
20/06/07 Atreyee Dev Roy & Sunny Verma/Financial Express

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Civil Aviation Minister bats for M&As

Seemingly taking a cue from the consolidation in the aviation industry, civil aviation minister Praful Patel has decided to support mergers & acquisitions (M&As) in the sector with industry-friendly norms.
Simple rules for the transfer of traffic rights and the right to use airport infrastructure to facilitate M&As in the sector are among the initiatives proposed in the comprehensive civil aviation policy, which will be considered by a group of ministers (GoM) soon.
The move is significant for airlines as several regulatory hitches emerged when Jet Airways took over Air Sahara, triggering consolidation in the industry. With the UB Group’s Kingfisher subsequently picking up controlling stake in Air Deccan and setting the stage for further M&As, Mr Patel’s move could prove crucial in the long term.
The civil aviation ministry’s stand should help M&A deals by making it clear that an airline which takes over another can use the traffic rights of the latter. Parking bays, landing slots, hangars, check-in stands, lounge areas, ticketing areas and office space would also get transferred.
20/06/07 Times Now.tv

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Struggle to keep up with Big 3

With three mergers in less than six months giving more than 80% of the domestic passenger market to the new Big Three of India’s commercial airlines industry, the Little Four are scrambling to find ways to pull through tough market conditions. And, the route finding favour: talking mergers.
One small carrier that has hit a bit of an air pocket is GoAir Ltd, an airline started by textiles major Bombay Dyeing. The Mumbai-based carrier, which has had to trim the number of planes in its fleet and the routes it flies, is losing about Rs20 crore every month, according to a former senior executive who preferred not to be named.
Meanwhile, GoAir’s managing director Jeh Wadia, who wouldn’t confirm the loss figures, says he has appointed an investment bank—Morgan Stanley’s India unit—to vet investment proposals.
The strongest candidate among the Little Four with big ambitions to acquire scale—and, with seemingly deep pockets to match—is Chennai-based Paramount Airways Ltd, also backed by a family with a textiles background. SpiceJet and IndiGo make up the Little Four.
Paramount is also being forced to look at other options, such as a majority stake in SpiceJet Ltd, another low cost carrier. But SpiceJet too denies it is in sale or merger talks with Paramount or any other domestic airline. Meanwhile, Paramount isn’t alone in eyeing SpiceJet, which has 8.2% marketshare, or about the same as Air Sahara that was acquired by Jet Airways (India)Ltd.
20/06/07 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Airlines can avail engineering service from A-I, post-merger

Mumbai: Following its merger with Indian Airlines, national carrier Air-India will throw open its engineering services to other domestic and international airlines as well.
Currently, many domestic airlines send their aircraft to the Middle East for engineering services.
According to Air-India officials, the company’s engineering market cell is geared towards undertaking third party work of various international airlines.
The cell has already started receiving queries about various services like maintenance of airframes, aircraft furnishing, line maintenance, major maintenance and providing certification of aircraft.
V Thulasidas, CMD, Air India told FE, “Post merger, we shall have a complete support service that can handle our own requirements as well as those of other airlines.” He added that various international and domestic airlines are in touch with Air-India for engineering facilities, which would be offered at competitive rates as compared to other countries.
19/06/07 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

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E-travel booking sites not foolproof

Last week, a Mumbai air traveller was shocked to find at the check-in counter that her return ticket to Goa had been wrongly booked by an online travel planning website. Instead of June 2, the ticket was booked for June 1, and the return for June 6 instead of June 8. The strange part is that the consumer, who is a banker by profession, received a receipt confirming both the dates. She called up the site's customer care number and was told to send across the complaint. "I then had to book new tickets at a very high price; Rs 7,000 for two tickets, one way."
This case shows up that online travel sites, which book you into airlines, hotels and package tours, are not foolproof. Their software can throw up glitches. Says an airline official, "There could be some kind of a system interface error." Other than wrong dates, online faux pas include booking of only some part of the travel or absolutely no booking at all. The airline official says such errors occur because online booking is still nascent in the country.
In the unfortunate scenario where a consumer discovers such a serious lapse, Nirmala Desikan of Chennai's consumer organisation Concert advises that he or she must gather all the supporting evidence, like the booking ID and e-ticket.
He must send it across to the online company by registered post and ask for reversal of charges to the credit card.
18/06/07 Rucha Biju Chitrodia/Times of India

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India invited as partner to 2008 Berlin Air Show

Berlin: India has been invited to become the partner nation at the 2008 Berlin Air Show - one of the world's biggest - organizers said Monday.
A statement said the presence of India with its 'highly ambitious aerospace industry,' would increase the international dimension of the biennial aerospace trade show.
Known under its German acronym ILA, the Berlin exhibition includes sectors on commercial aviation, space flight, defence and security as well as conferences and seminars.
The 2008 show will take place from May 27 to June 1.
18/06/07 Monsters and Critics.com, UK

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IT firms home in on aerospace

New Delhi: Analysts said domestic IT firms catering to the aerospace segment have come a long way from providing back-offices services and procurement systems to providing high-end engineering services to major global players in the civil aviation sector.
Besides, they have also ventured into engineering solutions in the defence sector. The analysts added that the growth in the aerospace sector would be led by high-end players who can afford huge investments required for specialised engineering.
For Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's leading IT company, aerospace accounts for 13 per cent of its EIS (Engineering and Industrial Services) revenues. The growth rate in this sector has been 40-45 per cent.
The company's clients includes Airbus, Dassault, United Technologies, Safran and Bombardier, besides HAL, Isro, IAF and DRDO on the home front.
HCL Technologies, another big player, has global giants such as Airbus, Boeing and Smiths Aerospace among its 30-plus client list.
Satyam and Infosys are also investing in this area. Satyam Computer Services recently signed a $30-billion deal with Northrop Grumman Corp to jointly provide high-end engineering services to the global aerospace and defence industry.
18/06/07 Ishita Russell/Business Standard

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Maintaining aircraft to become a booming biz

With the Indian aviation industry booming - one new aircraft landing every week with 450 in orders - the stage is set for Phase II of the revolution in the sector, that of setting up of the MROs.
Already, Lufthansa Technik (LHT), the leading MRO provider in the world, has announced its tie-up with the GMR Group to set-up India’s first third-party MRO at Hyderabad while Air India and Boeing will establish one in Nagpur where the US aircraft major will invest $ 100 million.
Indian Airlines has signed an agreement with the Bangalore-based Jupiter Aviation and Logistics and EADS of Europe (which has plans to invest $2.57 billion over the next 15 years in India) to set up the unit in Delhi and Hyderabad. GoAir, from the Wadia stable, will team up with Singapore Airlines Engineering to set up 13 MROs in the country.
Kingfisher Airlines is in talks with GAMCO (Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company) of Abu Dhabi on MRO in India.
Turboprop manufacturer ATR is establishing a technical support centre in Bangalore.
17/06/07 Deccan Herald

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Dubai tops international flight frequency chart

Mumabi: Flights connecting Mumbai and Delhi, India’s largest international hubs, to various cities around the world have almost doubled in the past two years. Liberal bilateral agreements have led to more international airlines getting permission to fly into India. The opening up of the aviation sector is in sharp contrast to the earlier governments’ policy of tighter controls to protect Air India.
In June, airlines will operate 13,040 flights offering over 2.8 million seats from India to various international cities. This is a 9% growth in the number of seats compared with June last year. A snapshot of the top 10 overseas destinations from the two airports, based on data available with international flight data and solutions company OAG, gives a clearer idea of the new league tables. Dubai tops in terms of flight connections from India with about 85 flights a week, operated mainly by Emirates, Air India and Indian. It is followed by London with 83 flights. Both destinations have seen a huge increase in the number of flights in the last two years, with several new airlines starting operations.
18/06/07 Cuckoo Paul/EconomicTimes

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Paris Air Show, a mixed bag for India airlines

Mumbai: Airlines from India, among the fastest growing by passenger volume in the world, will be wooed by aircraft manufacturers at the Paris Air Show this week but are unlikely to be major buyers.
Analysts say that the world's oldest and largest air show, which kicks off Monday, may see few deals from India as budget carriers struggle to manage costs and move to profitability.
But full-service Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines is expected to place orders as it prepares to expand into budget services in India and fly to international destinations as well, said Amar Kedia, aviation analyst with brokerage Mumbai-based ICICI-Securities.
Kingfisher has already ordered Airbus's A340-500s that can directly serve the US West Coast. In 2005, Kingfisher ordered 15 Airbus aircraft: five of the new superjumbo A380, five of the future A350 and five A330s.
In 2005, budget carrier Indigo ordered 100 A320 planes from Indigo worth about six billion dollars while full-service Jet Airways bought 10 A330 airliners for around 1.65 billion dollars.
In January 2006, Air India signed an agreement to buy 68 Boeing jets for around 11 billion dollars to upgrade its ageing fleet, marking the biggest deal in Indian aviation history.
In 2005, Indian Airlines ordered 20 Airbus A-319s, 19 A-321s and four A-320s in a deal worth 2.2 billion dolars.
More than 50 percent of the fleet in India is made up of Airbus planes, while Boeing commands a 25 percent presence.
17/06/07 Zee News

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Proposed aviation policy suggests AAI restructuring

New Delhi: Indicating the introduction of private and foreign participation in the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the proposed Civil Aviation Policy recommends its restructuring and hiving off some of its services, including air traffic management.
The policy 'Vision-2020,' which has been referred to a Group of Ministers for wider consultations, suggests that efforts would be made to raise funds from the capital market and various modes of public-private partnership (PPP) "on a fast-track mode" as part of restructuring the profit-making public sector unit, sources said.
At an appropriate time, the government would permit AAI to hive off some of its services, either by setting up wholly-owned subsidiaries or through joint ventures with international partners, they said.
The proposals include hiving off Air Traffic Control (ATC) from AAI and converting it into a separate entity.
There have been differing views among political and industry circles on some of the proposals made in Vision-2020, which led the government to have a further discussion on it.
A section among these circles feel that separation of ATC and other services would lead the PSU to lose a substantial chunk of revenues, affecting its profitability, the sources said.
16/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

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‘Aviation policy to ensure level playing field’

New Delhi: The new civil aviation policy on the anvil will ensure a level playing field to domestic carriers as against the international players with a most “balanced approach” adopted, said the civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel, today said.
Responding to a suggestion by the Assocham president, Mr Venugopal N Dhoot, for strengthening the infrastructure, the minister said the Vision 2020 document was based on the most liberal policy approach and would provide tremendous scope to the public-private-partnership (PPP).
Earlier, Mr Dhoot said that Indian Airspace would have to add capacities at 15-20 per cent CAGR (compounded average growth rate) over the next 5-6 years to cater to growing opportunities of the sector and enhance its current fleet of aircraft to about 500 by 2020 from current level of 292.
The study estimates that this CAGR growth rate and increased aircraft fleet, including renewal, would require investments to the tune of $2 billion. The total aircraft fleet strength would have to reach 1,000 in future, including the replacement of the current fleet of 292 aircraft, which would require an additional estimated $80 billion investment.
16/06/07 The Statesman

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Foreign firms may be left out of modernization deal

Mumbai: Foreign operators of airports who have been jostling to line up domestic partners for modernizing Airports Authority of India-managed airports in Chennai, Kolkata and some of the three dozen other cities in India may soon find themselves completely out of the picture, thanks to the government’s U-turn on privatization.
“Considering that the government has opened up only airside development to private players at the 35 non-metro airports, we will bid for this on our own and will not require any foreign airport operator in this area. We may, however, team up with real estate developers if the need arises,” says Manish Kalghatgi, a GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd spokesperson.
GVK had tied up with Airports Co. South Africa to modernize the Mumbai airport.
Unlike core airport operations, where most Indian firms do not have the experience required to?improve?airport operations, city-side development encompasses developing food and beverage malls, convention centres and hotels. This calls for more of real estate development expertise and marketing in the hospitality industry, rather than expertise in reducing traffic congestion in the air or ensuring faster take-offs and landings for planes.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel recently said the government would itself upgrade the Chennai, Kolkata and 35 other non-metro airports in India located in towns with a population exceeding a million residents.
“There’s no role in this for airport operators per se as this is more for real estate players,” says Peng of Changi Airports. “On the other hand, if the idea is to develop an airport city— a meetings and incentives, conference and exhibitions destination for a city like Mumbai, then that’s where our expertise would come in to bear. In the given situation, our business plan will be modified to suit the current scenario.”
Bob Johnson, CEO of Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, says, “We are more interested in airport opportunities in India.”
16/06/07 Yassir A. Pitalwalla/Livemint

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Cabinet refers aviation policy to GoM

New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Friday decided to refer the aviation policy to a Group of Ministers (GoM) for wider consultations on several issues including the norms for allowing private carriers to fly abroad.
At the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime minister Manmohan Singh, it was felt that several proposals contained in the policy called Vision-2020 needed to be further discussed, official sources said.
The issues also included proposal to hive-off Air Traffic Control (ATC) from the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to form a separate company, they said.
There have been differing views among the political circles and the industry on some of the proposals made in Vision-2020.
A section among these circles felt that separation of ATC from the AAI would lead the latter to lose a substantial chunk of its revenues.
They argued that infrastructure currently in place was not conducive for more international operations from the clogged Indian airports.
15/06/07 PTI/Economic Times

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India, Russia revise aviation pact

Delegations representing the Government of India and the Russian Federation met in Moscow on 14th June 2007, to discuss issues related to the cooperation between the two countries in the field of civil aviation.
A mutually beneficial agreement was reached, under which the designated airlines of the two countries will continue to be permitted to over fly the territory of the other country without restrictions. Further, traffic rights were enhanced and capacity entitlements were increased from 46 to 52 weekly frequencies for both sides. The increase in flights will be to the cities of Ahmedabad and Amritsar each of which will get three additional flights from Russia.
The Indian delegation was led by Mr. RK Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation. The Russian delegation was led by Mr. G Loschenov, Chief Negotiator, Department of State Policy in Civil Aviation.
15/06/07 Press Information Bureau (press release)

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Experience not a yardstick for flying abroad

New Delhi: Domestic airlines which don’t have the mandatory five-year flying experience could be allowed to fly to international destinations if the Union Cabinet clears the proposed Civil Aviation Policy (Vision 2020) at its meeting on Friday.
However, no blanket review of the existing guidelines is being considered and the stipulation that a carrier must have a fleet of a minimum 20 aircraft to fly abroad is likely to remain. Once cleared, the proposal would give the Civil Aviation Ministry the powers to relax the existing guidelines only on a case-to-case basis.
Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines is likely to be the first beneficiary of a likely relaxation of the five-year domestic experience condition.
The Vision 2020 is also likely to do away with the restrictions that prevent private airlines from operating on lucrative Gulf routes. This would end the monopoly enjoyed by national carriers Air India and Indian in the sector.
14/06/07 Financial Express

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Aviation ministry to introduce tariffs for peak, non-peak hours

New Delhi: Air travellers could soon hope for better bargains while flying during the non-peak hours. After dithering over it for some time, the civil aviation ministry has once again mooted the proposal of introducing differential tariffs for peak and non-peak hours in an attempt to curtail congestion at busy airports.
The proposal was brought up at the Airlines Facilitation Committee meeting, which was held about two weeks back to discuss general issues related to the aviation industry, government officials told FE. Airport charges comprise landing, parking and route navigation.
About three months back, the ministry had proposed to double charges during the peak hours and to half those in the non-peak hours, which was shelved due to hefty opposition from airline companies.
Now, the government has once again floated the idea to specifically incentivise non-peak hour travel in order to better utilise the airport infrastructure between midnight and 5 am.
14/06/07 Sunny Verma & Atreyee Dev Roy

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Govt declines CAPA's 49 pc FIs in Indian carriers

Mumbai: Industry body Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation has demanded allowing foreign airlines to invest up to 49 per cent in Indian carriers, but the Centre has ruled out such a possibility in the near future.
"Investment by foreign airlines in Indian carriers should be permitted up to 49 per cent, as suggested by over 70 per cent respondents in our survey," CAPA Executive Chairman Peter Harbinger said after releasing the Aviation Investor Poll.
However, Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla said there was no proposal to consider raising the foreign investment cap in the aviation sector.
About 83 per cent of the respondents said uncertainty in the country's aviation sector was a matter of concern due to lack of transparency in the selection process and changing regulations or competing airports policy, the survey said.
13/06/07 PTI/Economic Times

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IA trumps Jet in May as leading airline

Mumbai: State-owned carrier Indian Airlines has squeezed past rival Jet Airways to emerge as the largest airline in terms of market share in the country in May. The airline has cornered 23 per cent market share against 22.5 per cent recorded by the private Jet Airways (excluding Air Sahara).
Indian Airlines, which had been the second largest airline in terms of market share, had lost even this position to budget carrier Air Deccan in July 2006.
Later in April 2007, Indian Airlines jumped to the number two slot thanks to an aggressive marketing initiative, coupled with the crashing of Air Deccan's reservation system for a few days.
The market share of Indian Airlines in April was at 22 per cent, while that of Jet Airways was at 22.3 per cent. Air Sahara, rechristened JetLite after being acquired by Jet Airways, has maintained a market share of 6.8 per cent in May against 7.1 per cent.
The Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines, which has recently picked up 26 per cent stake in Air Deccan, has improved its position to 12.2 per cent in May against 10.9 per cent in April.
14/06/07 P R Sanjai/Business Standard

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No single airline could protect market share: CAPA report

Mumabi: The aviation market in India has moved into a consolidation phase in the last three years—the two national airlines are merging, Jet Airways has acquired Sahara, Kingfisher and Air Deccan are coming together. The proliferation of new entrants over this time has meant that no single airline could protect their market share, stated the recent CAPA report released by Peter Harbison, executive chairman, CAPA in Mumbai.
CAPA conducted an extensive survey of India over the past three weeks, including Mumbai and Delhi, seeking information and views on the travel experience by either LCCs or FSCs.
The report states that a very low proportion of full service carriers (9%) chose their flight on the basis of price, a stark contrast with the 38% on LCC”s, for whom pricing is the key decision point. Over two thirds of FSC passengers selected the airline on the basis either of convenient schedule or previous experiences.
14/06/07 Financial Express

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Foreign operators find aviation sector lucrative

Mumabi : After bidding for the development of Shimoga, Gulbarga and Bijapur airports in Karnataka, Changi Airport International (CAI) is planning to enter Indian airport development business in a big way. Just as in the case of these airports, wherein CAI formed a consortium with the Tata Group, it is looking at the joint venture route in other projects too.
On the sidelines of the Aviation and Tourism Investor Summit hosted by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in Mumbai, NG Tim Peng, regional vice-president, CAI told the media that his firm is keen on taking up joint venture projects with an Indian counterpart for the development of regional airports in India.
Meanwhile, talking about what foreign investors look for before investing in airport development of any country, Mark Thompson, executive director, Abu Dhabi Investment Company said that airport investors assess few key characteristics like the government support in terms of minimum revenue guarantee.
12/06/07 Financial Express

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Club One Air to invest 50 mn dlr to acquire aircraft

Mumbai: Club One Air will invest $50 million within the next five years to acquire aircraft, of which two will be inducted in the current fiscal including a long-haul to fly overseas besides planning to get listed by 2009, its senior official said on Tuesday.
"We will invest $50 million to acquire aircraft within the next five years to expand our operations. Two aircraft will be inducted this fiscal, including a long haul Canadian Regional Jet to fly overseas and we expect its delivery in the next few months. We will induct two aircraft each fiscal," company's Chief Executive Officer Ashok Pratap Rai told media here.
Club One Air, is India's first aircraft fractional ownership' company, that commenced services in August 2005 and currently has six aircraft in its fold, of which is rented out to blue-chip companies as well as for medical emergencies. The company has more than 10 fractional owners for its aircraft and expects to have more by the year end.
He said the money needed to fund its acquisition plans would be raised as debts besides equity of the fractional owners and pointed out that his company would be eyeing a turnover of 50 crore in the current fiscal, which would be 12 crore more that the last fiscal.
12/06/07 PTI/Economic Times

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Inner Circle bags advertising duties of American School of Aviation

Inner Circle will handle the media and creative duties of the Indian chapter of the American School of Aviation, which is a professional pilot flight training academy based in California. The academy has a special arrangement with Kingfisher Airlines. The account size is estimated to be Rs 2 crores. The launch campaign will break by the end of this month.
Inner Circle has also bagged the account of PC Chandra’s School of Business. The PC Chandra Group, one of the leading jewellery houses in Kolkata, had earlier diversified into hotels and is now planning to foray into business education. To begin with, there will be a two-year MBA course that will include a specialisation in retail marketing. The campus will be located in Salt Lake.
13/06/07 Indrani Sinha/exchange4media.com

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Govt planning to allow airports on private land: Patel

Mumbai: Faced with a shortage of infrastructure in the country, government is planning to allow setting up of airports on private land.
Speaking at the 3rd Annual Aviation and Tourism Investor Summit organised by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation in Mumbai on Monday, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said the government is also working on a proposal to allow regional airlines, which could operate in more than one metro city.
However, they will have to be new players as the existing airlines operating at the national level would not be allowed to operate a regional-level service.
"The licences given for the regional carriers will be distinct from those given to the national carriers", he said.
There will be some inbuilt incentives for the operators providing regional services. Their capital requirements will be lower as there are certain incentives available for smaller aircraft. Besides, the landing and parking charges are lower at regional airports, he said.
The government will shortly call a meeting of chief ministers of various states to discuss aviation issues and will also discuss the issue of regional airlines, the minister said.
12/06/07 Zee News

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Regional carriers to have separate norms: Patel

Mumbai/Delhi: The government was planning to formulate a separate set of policies for regional airlines, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said today.
He said, “The government will formulate new norms for operators who want to secure permission to run regional airlines,” adding that existing scheduled carriers could not pitch for regional-airline status.
“A policy in this regard is yet to be finalised. The licences given for regional carriers will be distinct from those given to national carriers,” said Patel, on the sidelines of an aviation seminar organised by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
He added that the government was yet to work out the modalities on regional carriers, on whether they would be allowed to operate from “one metro and surrounding regional cities” or whether the operating permits would be “state-wise”.
The minister said a conclave of chief ministers, along with the prime minister, the finance minister and the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, would be convened soon, and focus on clearing infrastructural constraints or other procedural delays, if any, in setting up regional airlines.
The discussions in the conclave would include setting up private merchant airports and operationalising airstrips in various states.
12/06/07 Business Standard

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DGCA watching pilots flying more than 1,000 hrs a yr

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has stepped up vigil as most domestic airlines continue to expand their fleets and operations despite the massive shortage of pilots in the country.
A few months back, seven pilots of a national carrier were grounded as they overshot the permitted 1,000 hours in 365 consecutive days. Now a leading private domestic carrier’s pilot is under the scanner for alleged violation of "flight duty time limitation" (FDTL) norms.
"Domestic airlines with big market shares are being closely watched. The cap on flying hours has been placed as per international rules to ensure that pilots are not fatigued and passenger safety is not compromised," said a highly placed official.
Currently, India has 2,600-odd pilots while the requirement is much more and the number of commercial aircraft registered in India is expected to double from the current 321 in the next two to three years.
12/06/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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‘Upcoming aviation policy revolutionary’

Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel on Monday said that the upcoming aviation policy would be a ‘revolutionary’ one.
Speaking at the 3rd Annual Indian Subcontinent and Middle East Aviation and Tourism Investor Summit here, Patel said, “We are looking at building future airports. Our decision to come up with merchant airports would be a revolutionary decision.”
Merchant greenfield airports will be private airports built on private land within permissible civil aviation parameters and air-traffic management regime. The government would allow 100% FDI in setting up these facilities.
“If somebody is willing to take the risk, has the land and is willing to build airports, we are going to look at it in a very positive manner,” the minister added.
Noting the rapid pace of expansion of airports in the country, the minister stated that they should be expanded to all the nooks and corners of the nation.
The minister informed that during his visit to Paris next week, he would be signing MoUs with foreign parties to set up flight training schools in the country.
12/06/07 Financial Express

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Retaining talented professionals a major concern for airlines

Mumbai: Indian aviation can attract foreign investors provided the right conditions are created, said Andrew Miller, CEO and principal consultant, CAPA (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation) Consulting.
Miller believes that one of the major causes of worry is that though some airlines in India have expatriates as their top executives, retaining them is a big question. Miller was speaking on the sidelines of the 3rd Annual Indian Subcontinent and Middle East Aviation and Tourism Investor Summit in Mumbai on Monday.
Miller added that low cost carriers dominate the aviation market in India, which is not the case in any other market. The cost advantage for full service carriers is robbed from the aviation market.
Miller explained that allowing foreign investment is important, not only to bring in international expertise, but also because having this backing provides confidence to other potential investors. This would provide domestic operators including FSCs (full service carriers) and LCCs access to a long-term flow of capital from FIIs and other international institutions at competitive rates.
12/06/07 Financial Express

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Ahead of merchant airports policy, companies scout for land, tie-ups

In anticipation of new government rules that are expected to allow new airports to be built by private entrepreneurs with the requisite land, aerodrome developers have started scouting for locations to build new airports and tying up with realty firms to ease land acquisition troubles.
Close on the heels of German airport investor Fraport AG’s tie-up with DLF Ltd to develop up to five airports, Singapore’s Changi Airports International has started work with local partner Tata Realty and Infrastructure Ltd on its search for viable locations for such investments.
Senior civil aviation ministry officials expect other such proposals to come up soon.
The ministry expects to circulate a draft “merchant airport” policy among various other ministries within the next six weeks before sending the guidelines for such private investment to the Union cabinet for approval, civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla said.
Merchant airports are expected to allow up to 100% foreign ownership; investors could even be foreign airport companies or airlines.
Merchant airports would cater to domestic and international passenger traffic apart from meeting cargo requirements of industry and retail chains, Chawla said. The policy on greenfield airports allows private developers but the land is to be acquired by the state government.
Airport security and air traffic control is likely to remain with government bodies such as the Central Industrial Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and AAI. Further, airport projects will require clearance from the defence and environment ministries.
Analysts said new airports in smaller cities may find operations will take longer to break even since most of passenger traffic is concentrated in India’s large cities, which already have large airports or have plans for second airports.
11/06/07 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Aircraft leasing to see strong demand

New York: International Lease Finance Corp, the world's largest aircraft leasing company, believes continued demand from emerging markets such as China will keep demand for commercial aircraft strong through 2008, but expects the market to soften in 2009.
ILFC, a unit of American International Group Inc, expects aircraft orders to exceed 1,000 this year as it did the last two years, chief operating officer John Plueger said on a conference call with UBS Investment Research. A recording of the call was released to clients on Friday.
Plueger said first-quarter aircraft orders were up to 319 compared with 265 in the first quarter of 2006.
Demand is expected to be driven by emerging economies in China and India, with carriers in developed markets such as the United States and Europe making only incremental orders.
Despite rampant growth in India, Plueger is concerned about doing business there, because the airlines are not profitable and the aviation infrastructure cannot support the planes already scheduled to be delivered to the country.
In China, Plueger said demand remains high, but rates are low and the company is looking elsewhere for deals that provide higher yields.
11/06/07 Reuters/Gulf News, United Arab Emirates

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Aerial affairs to fly airlines to profits

New Delhi/Mumbai: Now that the masters of the Indian skies have found their match — Kingfisher-Air Deccan, Jet-Sahara, Air India-Indian Airlines — is it time for a tango to profit zone? With accumulated losses of over Rs 2,000 crore, the airline industry today is clearly destroying shareholder value. The good news is that the blood-letting will stop. The bad news? It might take almost two years before that happens.
The last three months have seen three instances of consolidation: Air India-Indian, Jet-Sahara and Kingfisher-Deccan. Between them, the trio commands 80% of domestic traffic. Industry-watchers feel this will help the sector emerge out of the red. Analysts and airline executives expect profits to kick in from the third quarter of 2008, with 2009 the year to watch out for.
The industry lost around $500 million in 2007 alone. A duopoly of aircraft suppliers, little control over fuel costs, monopoly of infrastructure providers, low entry barriers and fickle customers have scarred the aviation industry. So, conventional wisdom has it that fewer players should see an end to price wars.
11/06/07 Sudipto Dey & Amit Bhandari/Economic Times

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Global business brings about sartorial change in air

Mumbai: With domestic airlines adding more and more international routes to their network, the looks and the uniform of in-flight staff, specifically airhostesses, have occupied prime importance in the image makeover plans of carriers.
Airlines like Kingfisher, which is hoping to fly to international destinations by 2008, predominantly sports red outfit, the skirt finishing above the knee with the jacket cuts styled internationally. Also, the airline does not have a maximum age limit for airhostesses.
Jet Airways is investing millions of dollars on overall expansion plans, including new uniforms for in-flight attendants to serve premium-class travelers, on routes like Johannesburg, Toronto via Brussels, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.
It may be noted that an airhostess flying to domestic destinations earns anything between Rs 20,000-25,000. For those flying to international destinations, it is Rs 50,000 across carriers. However, in the case of foreign airlines, the pay packet can be anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 130,000.
11/06/07 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

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Losses drive airlines to consolidation: Report

New Delhi: While growth in India’s domestic air travel has been one of the fastest, the rush by the airlines to augment capacity and grab market share has resulted in major losses for the industry. It is estimated that India’s airlines are likely to have posted a combined loss of over $500 million during FY07, says foreign brokerage CLSA.
However, mounting losses, shortage of resources like pilots and airport infrastructure, along with the need for capital to execute expansion plans, are driving consolidation as well as rationalisation among the airlines. Consolidation in the sector will pave the way for rational behaviour by the leading carriers and, therefore, it is expected that going forward yields are likely to improve in the domestic sector, says CLSA.
After the UB acquisition of strategic stake in Air Deccan, the airlines have stated that they will look to increase yields going forward to stem the burgeoning losses.
Besides operational synergies, Kingfisher is likely to use Air Deccan as the vehicle to utilise its wide-body aircrafts that are expected to be delivered from December 2007 onwards.
Post this acquisition, the two private airline groups — Jet-JetLite and Kingfisher-Air Deccan — will account for over 60% share of the domestic market. Along with Indian Airlines-Air India combine, more than 80% of the domestic market will be controlled by the three large groups.
11/06/07 Sanjeev Sharma/Economic Times

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Flights of fancy

He has 405 models of aircraft in original die-cast metal. Some 100 plastic models of Air Force planes painstakingly assembled from kits and painted in its original colours, countless photos of planes taking off and landing and about 150 video tapes of airports and air shows.
Meet Jimmy Wadia (58), a retired banker, for whom his passion for understanding aviation and aircraft – as an art – overrides every other need in life. Sitting in his expansive but unassuming second floor flat in Grant Road, the “publicity-shy” bachelor reminisces: “I remember when it all started. It was in the early 1960s, when I was shopping around Colaba Causeway and picked up an aircraft book from a street vendor. Ever since, I have been bitten by the collectors’ bug – I can’t stop buying books, magazines, videotapes on the subject.”
Wadia served diligently at the Union Bank of India, till 2001, when he decided opt for voluntary retirement to pursue his hobby. “I had so much more to learn,” he says, “I wanted to follow my love for aviation more seriously. That’s when I decided to retire.” He adds that his colleagues and superiors were always cooperative about his interest.
Wadia’s latest priced possession is the close-up photos of the super jumbo Airbus A-380 that landed in Mumbai recently, which a friend living near the airport clicked from the terrace of his flat.
Today, Wadia wants to form an association of aircraft lovers – so that his loved possessions have a future after him.
11/06/07 Nitya Kaushik/Mumbai Newsline

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Airlines unveil sops to woo students

New Delhi: Almost all airlines are gearing up to woo the students in the coming fall semester. British Airways and Air-India have already roll out offers for them.
Other airlines such as Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa are also expected to announce the sops soon. The offers include discounts on airfares and permission to carry extra baggage.
Students who are flying on British Airways starting June till October end, can carry an extra bag weighing up to 23 kg. Not only that, the airline is running a competition where in five lucky winners will get a complimentary ticket for their loved ones.
Following the trend, Virgin Atlantic is all set to announce offer for those who prefer Richard Branson’s magic carpet. Their campaign will start from the July 1 to October 31.
National carrier Air-India is not far behind. They’re offering a special baggage allowance for extra 10 kg to carry books besides other luggage. Air India is also giving concessions of Rs.2000 on the one way fare.
On submission of proof of admission, Lufthansa will allow 23 kilos of extra baggage for those flying to US and up to 10 kg for Europe bound students.
10/06/07 Dheeraj Tiwari/Economic Times

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Several planes grounded as mercury soars in north India

New Delhi: An unusually intense heat wave across north India affected air travel Saturday and over half a dozen flights were disrupted in at least three cities as temperatures at runways touched a 49 degrees Celsius.
In the Indian capital where the temperature touched 44.9 degrees, the highest for this year, at least five flights of state-run Indian Airlines and private carrier Jet Airways could not take off due to the weather conditions.
According to the met office at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport here, the runway temperature recorded a maximum of 49.5 degrees though the air temperature at the airport was 46.1 degrees.
"Due to the weather, flight schedules were disrupted to some extent between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. In high temperature the air becomes thin and creates problems for the plane in take-off," said R.K. Jenamani, meteorological director at the IGI airport.
"During such times, planes should carry less load than its capacity. Either they have to shed some cargo, passengers or fuel but due to economic reasons they (airlines) seem to have decided to delay the flights," Jenamani added.
While the airport of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh recorded a maximum temperature of 42 degrees Celsius, the mercury climbed to 46 degrees at Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
09/06/07 IANS/NewKerala.com

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Elite take private jets to new highs

Private jet traffic is soaring to unprecedented levels as a burgeoning tier of super-rich private individuals and high-earning executives turn their backs on scheduled air travel, impatient with lengthy security procedures and frequent delays.
Despite unprecedented awareness about the impact of air travel on global warming, aircraft manufacturers forecast worldwide deliveries of new business jets will come close to 10,000 over the next decade - almost double the production rate for the previous 10 years. Adding in very light jets, the forecast rises to about 18,000.
Private air travel will always be regarded as a hallmark of corporate excess in some quarters. But many boardrooms, emboldened by a favourable economic climate, are increasingly confident such an apparent extravagance can be justified if it enables the highest paid executives to maximise the time spent engaged with their work.
The longest order lists are coming from China, Russia and India, fast-growing economies with vast land masses that are difficult to cross by other means, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. For the past 20 years, the US and Canada have generated about three-quarters of business jet sales. Last year jet makers reported that, for the first time, most orders were coming from outside North America.
09/06/07 Simon Bowers/The Guardian, UK

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Every call centre will exit India, says Jagdish Sheth

Mumbai: When Prof Jagdish Sheth, an expert on strategic marketing and global competition, speaks, corporations usually listen. He famously espoused the Rule of Three theory which argued that in every industry, the three strongest players dominate, controlling 70-90% of the market. Think what is happening in the Indian airline industry—dominated by
Air India-Indian, Jet-Sahara, Kingfisher-Air Deccan—and you will know what he means. His latest book, The Self-Destructive Habits of Good Companies, lists the reasons why top businesses fail.
In an interview to FE, Sheth, who is also a futurist, says the call centre business in India is not sustainable. “Every company will exit the business,” he says, because of various reasons.
For one, the attrition rate is atrocious. It’s somewhere between 118-120%, which means that “before you train the person, he’s out the door.” Sheth says companies like Delta Airlines or any top telecom company for that matter will ideally want six-eight months training on accent, domain expertise and so forth.
Attrition apart, there are disadvantages like the graveyard shift. On top of this, capital costs in India are high and mounting.
But he also points out that only the call centre companies will exit India, not the back offices.
10/06/07 Sudipta Datta/Financial Express

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Govt readies plan to promote MRO facilities

New Delhi: The government is preparing a road map to woo more aviation majors like Embraer and Boeing to set up maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities for aircraft in the country. Official sources told FE that the civil aviation ministry was looking at actively pursuing foreign investment in MROs.
The sector can expect certain policy initiatives to augment the industry’s proposals in the current Plan, they said, adding that mega deals and joint ventures with global aviation majors can be expected soon.
In recent months, three different JVs between Indian companies & foreign companies like Airbus, Boeing and SIA Engineering have embarked upon for setting up of MROs. Global Vectra, the second largest helicopter operator in the country, is also planning to set up a MRO facility at Mumbai. The Indian MRO market is growing at about 8% annually and the Asia-Pacific aircraft and engine MRO market is estimated to touch $12.90 billion by 2011.
According to the Planning Commission outsourcing of line-maintenance by domestic and international airlines to MROs should be allowed. Green field projects and modernisation projects of existing airports should ensure hangars and space for MROs. Location being an important factor, an aircraft MRO should be located at an airport and it must have hangars large enough to accommodate the type of aircraft meant to be repaired or overhauled.
09/06/07 Oineetom Ojah/Financial Express

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Travel portals pip their airline peers

Bangalore: The supermarket effect is trickling into the internet airline ticket distribution. Online travel portals are fast overtaking airline websites in their reach of customers. And this trend has taken off despite flyers having to pay a slightly higher price on the travel portal.
It is the convenience of multiple choices that an air passenger gets on the travel portal, as against fares of a single airline on airline website that is drawing him to it.
“There is a slow trend of more and more customers moving to portals for booking their ticket, and travel portal’s gain is any airline’s website’s loss,” says SpiceJet Ltd vice president - marketing and planning - Kamal Hingorani.
Travelguru chief marketing officer Devyani Nagpal attributes the shift to billboard effect and comparison shopping that portals offer.
Nagpal also feels that the aggressive promotion undertaken by portals recently has also led to widening their reach.
“Smart promotions like 30% cash back and other such marketing by portals are spurring growth by bringing more customers to the website,” says Nagpal.
08/06/07 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Travelguru Promises 'A Guaranteed Hotel Room - Any Budget, Anywhere'

Mumbai: Travelguru, India's leading travel portal, announced that it has unleashed a mass media campaign promising consumers a guaranteed hotel room, at any budget and any location of their choice in India. This new campaign comes close on the heels of Travelguru having crossed the milestone of being regarded as ` India's Largest Hotel Network', by a cross section of discerning business and leisure travelers. The campaign promise is 'A Hotel Room Guaranteed. Any Budget. Anywhere. As part of a nationwide marketing campaign, the new television commercial being aired across major networks in the country highlights how Travelguru's scale can alleviate customer concerns about booking hotels. Travelguru understands the consumer's need and 'guarantees' that it can help a consumer locate and get a confirmed hotel room of his choice at his price range and destination, from across 3000 hotels in India and 72000 globally.
08/06/07 Business Wire India (press release)

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Govt plans to have a re-look at airport policy

New Delhi: The government is planning to have a re-look at the airport policy to expedite growth in airport infrastructure, which will require a whopping investment of about Rs 50,000 crore within the next five years, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Thursday.
"The government is planning to have a re-look at the airport policy to support and expedite growth in airport infrastructure," Patel said after accepting the honorary doctorate degree from the Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom.
"The government is planning to have a re-look at the airport policy to support and expedite the growth in airport infrastructure. The government also proposes to change the FDI policy in certain sectors of aviation to facilitate its growth," he said.
The minister said after America, Japan and Europe, India was poised to install the satellite navigation system GAGAN to be able to handle higher volumes of air traffic safely, it said.
Suggesting that the country could easily have 400 airport Patel said the greenfield airports at Hyderabad and Bangalore would be operational next year, while work was in progress to develop 35 non-metro airports in the country.
08/06/07 PTI/The Hindu

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Aviation infrastructure plan outlay may jump 300%

New Delhi: The government is likely to allocate Rs 52,108 crore during the 11th Plan period to boost the country’s aviation infrastructure-a massive 303% increase over the 10th Plan allocation of Rs 12,982 crore.
Most of the outlay will be met through internal resources of various organisations. The budgetary support is expected to be Rs 825.86 crore, primarily to meet the investment needs in North- East and other difficult areas.
The government is also undertaking a number of steps to ensure faster growth in the aviation sector, including opening more international routes for private carriers, relaxing the conditions to fly abroad and ensuring greater private participation in aviation infrastructure.
Airports Authority of India (AAI) should plan to have functional airports at all the state capitals to enhance air connectivity and ensure that air travel facilities are available to the country even in the far-flung areas of the country, the Planning Commission said.
AAI should also aim at providing airports at district headquarters level so that the entire country has air connectivity. As per AAI estimates, the aircraft movements at Indian airports are likely to grow by 14.4% during the current Plan period.
08/06/07 Oineetom Ojah/Financial Express

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Global airline groups woo Indian carriers

Two global airline alliances, SkyTeam and OneWorld, are bullish on India and have started holding preliminary discussions with Indian carriers to attract them into their respective teams.
“We have held exploratory discussions with Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher about joining the alliance. Sooner than later, we will have an Indian airline joining the SkyTeam,” its chairman, Leo van Wijk, said.
Both van Wijk and his competitor, OneWorld managing partner John McCulloch, said India was a huge market and a “major target for us.” The SkyTeam chief said his alliance “has made it a priority to finalize discussions with Indian carriers and select a partner.”
However, McCulloch said the Indian aviation industry, where consolidation has already begun with the Jet-Sahara, Air India-Indian and Kingfisher-Air Deccan deals, would take “three to four years to stabilize. So any decision will have to be taken after that.”
The state-owned Air India has, however, already declared its intention of joining the third group, Star Alliance.
08/06/07 Amitabha Roychowdhury/PTI/Livemint

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Praful Patel conferred doctorate degree by Leeds University

The Leeds Metropolitan University of United Kingdom today conferred an honorary doctorate degree on the Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel. The University has stated that the conferment of the honorary doctorate degree on Shri Praful Patel is in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to the modernization of India’s civil aviation industry”.
Accepting the degree the Minister said that it was “a recognition of the progress of civil aviation in India”.
According to the Minister, the past three years or so have seen the redefining of civil aviation in India. Air travel in India was originally for an elite few. Things have changed dramatically and now it is a mode of mass travel. There has been an unprecedented growth of over 50% in domestic passenger traffic in the year 2006. Further domestic air services are now available to/from more than 75 airports across the country as against 50 in the year 2000.
Aviation is integral to the economy of the country. It has a big role in generating tourism, travel, industrial development, job creation and integration of the country. The sector has finally got momentum and is now poised for major growth. This growth is expected from the Level-II and Level-III cities across the country. The Indian economy has been growing at a healthy rate and should continue to do so for the years to come.
Each year the Leeds Metropolitan University confers honorary degrees on a small number of distinguished recipients. This year being the centenary year of the Leeds Met, it is being celebrated at the University’s Headingley campus. The University has marked these celebrations with a special Honorary Awards ceremony.
The decision of the University to confer the degree on Shri Praful Patel was conveyed to the Minister personally by Prof. Simon Lee, Vice Chancellor of the Leeds Metropolitan University.
07/06/07 Press Information Bureau (press release)

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FDI in aviation sector set for overhaul

New Delhi: Faced with huge infrastructure requirements for the fast growing aviation sector, the government will soon announce a major liberalisation in FDI policy, hiking the threshold limit in many of the ground handling and support services to 100 per cent.
"The annual FDI policy review has already started and aviation services is one area where the government wants to go all out to attract investment from overseas," a senior official said.
Helped by intense competition and burgeoning of low cost carriers, the Indian aviation industry is growing at the annual rate of 25-30 per cent.
However, the growth has generated the need for improving aviation services like ground-handling, maintenance and training, according to analysts.
"In these services FDI could go to 74-100 per cent. In many of these areas FDI would be allowed through automatic route," he said.
At present, all Air Transport Services come under a common head and FDI of up to 49 per cent is allowed. Now, these services will be treated separately.
Sources said in air charter services too FDI regime will be liberalised. The announcement about the changes in FDI policy in aviation and other sectors is expected in a month or so.
06/06/07 Financial Express

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Competition heats up in Indo-Gulf airline sector

Mumabi: India now seems to occupy a key position in the growth plans of Gulf-based airlines, with more and more airlines exploring newer destinations in India, subject to government approval. While Gulf Air is awaiting Indian government approval to fly to Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, Qatar Airways is not far behind. Back home, Air-India Express and Air India, which fly to the Gulf sector, are all geared up to offer innovative products at competitive prices on the gulf sector. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, 6 million Indian passengers flew to the Gulf sector in 2006.
Currently, Gulf Air flies to Bangalore, Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Kolkata and Chennai. He added that the prices too are competent compared to other airlines which boast of premium service to the passengers.
Qatar Airways too has targeted India’s growing air-travellers by offering premium services like a business lounge at the Doha airport.
07/06/07 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Times

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