Indian travellers once again looking ahead to leisure travel

Mumbai: India seems to be coming out of the economic slump. With job security returning, Indian travellers are once again looking ahead to leisure travel instead of the weekend trips they restricted themselves to during the insecurity of 2008-09.
The leisure travel market has grown by more than 25% in the past six months. Nitin Sethi (name changed), managing director of a private firm, will be going with his family on a two-week holiday to Hong Kong this weekend. “We are really going to relax and indulge ourselves in the new year,” says the 35-year-old Sethi said.
“Before the slump, we used to go on vacations twice a year. But this year, because of the economic downturn, a weekend trip to Thailand was all we had.”
With quite a few like Sethi coming ahead to indulge themselves, the gloom that had surrounded the Indian travel industry is lifting. Things have started looking up since August.
“This holiday season has been robust for the travel industry. There has been a marked increase in demand for packages. There has been a 25% growth in both domestic and outbound travel over the past six months,” Karan Anand, head — relationships and suppliers, Cox & Kings (India) Ltd, said.
Ashish Kishore, head — hotel and retail business, Yatra.com, said that the renewed sense of job security has led to the spurt in travel.
“As the recession has ended in India, Indians are thinking beyond short-haul travel,” he said.
31/12/09 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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Aviation in 2009: Of losses and strikes

After its spiral dive last year, the Indian aviation industry noticed slight signs of improvement at the fag end of 2009 that also saw a major helicopter crash in which Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S R Reddy perished and several near-miss incidents.
The combined losses of all airlines in 2008-09 was over a massive Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion).
Though no accidents involving scheduled carriers occurred, the year saw the Y S R tragedy. There were also several near-miss incidents, including one involving the IAF choppers carrying President Pratibha Patil and an Air India plane.
The operations of Jet Airways and Air India remained paralysed for several days by separate strikes called by their pilots in September to press for their demands.
The major dip in passenger traffic caused by the economic recession, low business traffic and high ticket prices
Barring only two carriers -- IndiGo and Paramount -- all scheduled airlines continued to post huge losses.
Air India's financial troubles saw the government coming to its aid and allocating Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion) as the first tranche of equity infusion in the national carrier. It also approved a Jet Airways proposal to raise $400 million from foreign institutional investors.
Modernisation work at metro and non-metro airports continued, but imposition of development charges and hiking of airport charges by private airport developers at some major airports coming under criticism.
The pace of work on upgrading and modernisation of 35 non-metro airports slowed down due to a decline in air traffic, with only nine expected to be completed by March.
Work on another five airports is likely to be completed by 2010-end and the remaining 26 by 2012.
The government had last year approved the FDI limits in civil aviation sector of up to 49 per cent on automatic route and up to 100 per cent for NRIs, besides up to 74 per cent for non-scheduled operators and 100 per cent for cargo, among other things.
While global fuel prices maintained a high but stable rate at $70-80 a barrel, a key factor which could have led to the airlines controlling their losses was a shift to the all-economy, no-frill model, with Jet Airways launching its second subsidiary, Jet Konnect.
Air India announced plans to follow suit by converting some planes to all economy configurations, but that is yet to see the light of the day.
30/12/09 Amitabha Roychowdhury/PTI/Rediff

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2009: A year of rough landings for Indian aviation

New Delhi: Year 2009 has been one of the most turbulent for the Indian aviation sector. The year was marred by strikes, losses and crashes.
However, 2010 may turn out to be the exact opposite and may finally see the aviation sector emerge out of the clouds.
Big bosses of aviation will only be too glad to see the back of 2009. It was a year in which India’s aviation sector went through one of its toughest periods.
The airlines had entered the year, riding a wave of protests from employees who were being sacked to cut costs and the same thread continued in 2009 as well.
Two of the country's biggest airlines—Jet Airways and Air India— were literally grounded when their pilots went on strike in 2009.
Both the airlines suffered big losses due to the strike, bringing forth the issue of manpower management in an industry, which was seeing a downturn after many years of boom.
While Jet finally managed to settle the pilot issue, Air India's troubles were more serious.

The toll in the aviation sector is expected to cross the Rs 10,000 crore mark this year.
To survive the down turn, the airlines not only chopped employees but also aircraft capacity fell by almost 25 per cent, as many shifted to an all economy model.
Jet Airways launched Jet Konnect while Kingfisher increased the number of economy seats in its airline. Utimately almost 70 per cent of the capacity in the sector was in the economy segment, but it was of little help.
The year also saw helicopter flights carrying VIPs crashing like ninepins and several near miss incidents with the president's helicopter. The government was ultimately forced to bring in new stricter norms for helicopter flights.
However, towards the end of the year, the airlines finally got some relief. Passengers were flocking back to the airports, flight occupancy was up and interestingly even fares were firming up, which meant that the airlines could finally see some profitability in 2010.
30/12/09 Arijit Banerjee/NDTV.com

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Airlines will continue to add low-cost seats

New Delhi: The trend of airlines shifting capacities to the low-cost model, as witnessed in the current year, is likely to continue in the next year. Around 80 per cent of the capacity converted or added in the latter part of 2009 had been in the low-cost segment, and a majority came from conversions of full fledged services.
Airlines in India had cut 58 per cent of their capacity in the first six months of the year, but they also added 40 per cent in the second half. The capacity additions took place only after passenger numbers started to rise in June.
“Around 80 per cent of the capacity added or converted this year has been in the low-cost segment. A majority of it came from Jet Airways and Kingfisher converting (existing full-fledged) capacities into low-cost seats. Jet and Kingfisher now have around 75 per cent of their capacity as low-cost,” online travel portal Yatra.com’s head of air business Bhawana Agarwal said.
“A majority of the capacity increase has come due to conversions. Airlines which had grounded services due to less demand in the first half of the year restarted it in the low-cost segment,” Makemytrip.com’s head of online sales Mohit Srivastava said.
Experts feel the coming year will also see further additions in the low-cost segment, with additions in the full-service segment being much less.
“The total capacity in the system is around 20 per cent less than what it was in January this year, which is good for airlines. So, capacity addition will happen next year and such additions would happen in the low-cost segment,” Travel Agents’ Federation of India General Secretary Ajay Prakash said.
31/12/09 Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

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Worst over for global aviation industry: Praful Patel

New Delhi: Civil aviation minister Praful Patel on Tuesday said the worst was over for the global aviation industry and that the coming year held prospects of stability.
"The year 2009 has been an eventful and tumultuous year for the civil aviation sector worldwide. We can draw satisfaction from the fact that the worst is over. Things are turning for the better, which is borne out by the rebound in air traffic figures from October onwards," Patel said in a statement.
"I hope things will stabilise in 2010 and flying will once again be the preferred choice of travel for people," the minister added.
The sector, once a symbol of India's vibrant economic progress, has seen its fortunes nosedive since last year following the global slowdown. Even though the industry picked up since the middle of this year, this has not been robust enough.
29/12/09 IANS/Times of India

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Domestic airlines report good business in festival season

New Delhi: The festival season is bringing cheer to the domestic airline industry with almost all players reporting daily passenger carriage of about 30,000 from about 26,000 previously.
“This year the passenger carriage has been much better than last year. Almost all flights between the metros have been sold out. There is also heavy rush on flights to Kerala, Goa and Rajasthan. This situation will continue till the first week of January,” a senior Air India official said.
A spokesperson for Jet Airways said that the airline had seen days in the past when the carriage was “30,000 plus”. Echoing similar sentiments a spokesperson for Kingfisher Airlines said that the airline has registered a double-digit growth in the number of passengers carried.
This has created a situation where fares are skyrocketing. Over the last weekend some airlines only had seats in business class for sectors such as Delhi-Bangalore priced over Rs 31,000. Three weeks earlier economy class seats were available for about Rs 5,500 on this sector. Similarly, a one-way ticket to Hyderabad was available for close to Rs 17,000 up from about Rs 5,500 earlier.
29/12/09 Business Line

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Isro to join project for passenger plane

Bangalore: India's space agency will be made a partner in the country's Rs2,500 crore passenger plane project so it can share its technology expertise, infrastructure and programme management skills and help avoid the mistakes and delays seen in previous projects.
The so-called regional transport aircraft, or RTA-70, being designed to carry 70-90 passengers on short-haul routes, is India's ambitious attempt to build a civilian plane and bridge the gap in aeronautical expertise with countries such as China and Brazil.The Indian Space Research Organisation, or Isro, "will be part of a consortium," said G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of the research council of National Aerospace Laboratories, or NAL, a public-funded agency focused on civil aerospace technologies. "NAL will lead the project." Nair, a former head of Isro, said the plane project would be run by an independent commercial body, with public and private partners, including an overseas aerospace firm. He did not name the private firms. The plane project is yet to get government sanction but is listed in the science and technology plan in the 11th Plan that ends in 2012.Once approved, the plane project will take around six years to build and be certified for operations, said C.G. Krishnadas Nair, president of the Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries, or Siati, a body that promotes home-grown enterprises in the aerospace and defence sectors.
NAL has built two civilian planes so far: Hansa, a two-seater trainer, is being flown in some flying clubs but is not a commercial success yet. Saras, a 14-seater plane project in the works for nearly two decades, has been suspended till an inquiry is completed into the crash of a prototype in March that killed two pilots.In the late 1990s, military plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, or HAL, and Franco-Italian manufacturer ATR dropped a plan to make turboprop planes jointly in Kanpur, citing limited market opportunity.But economic growth since then and the boom in India's civil aviation sector has presented a fresh opportunity to build planes locally.
29/12/09 K. Raghu/Live Mint

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Airfares may soar 25% in Jan

Mumbai: Flying in the New Year will be costly. Domestic airlines such as Jet Airways, Air India, Kingfisher Airlines and low-cost carriers are considering raising air fares by up to 25%, in January, encouraged by the recent rise in air travel and a higher passenger load factor.
A few airline companies have already hiked fares on select and profitable routes, according to people connected with the development. “There could be an average 25% hike in fares in the coming weeks across the country,” said a spokesperson for Jet Airways, one of India’s largest air carriers. “There are sectors like Goa where a 40% increase in fares has already been effected,” the spokesperson added.
State-owned national carrier Air India said 90% of the seats in most routes were already booked and the remaining would be sold at a higher price bracket, while the Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines has said it is actively evaluating a possible hike in fares. “We always believe in being competitively priced such that it reflects our service quality and if there are opportunities to improve yields, we would always evaluate the same,” said a Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson.
Post the hike, a Mumbai-Delhi full service carrier air ticket would cost anywhere between Rs 9,000 to Rs 14,000, whereas budget carriers ticket would cost around Rs 8,000, including taxes during non-peak hours. In fact, a few budget carriers have already increased fares. A low-cost carrier ticket for Mumbai-Kolkata sector was available for Rs 4,000 a month back, but it now costs Rs 6,000.
29/12/09 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

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Carriers fly high as traffic surges

New Delhi: Indian air carriers are reporting their busiest ever quarter with passenger traffic for the three months ending December 31 expected to surpass the October-December 2007 levels, indicating a revival in the industry. Airline executives say that while flights to metro cities saw a surge in traffic, leisure travel came as an added bonus.
This marks a strong comeback for the industry as air traffic had slumped since early 2008 due to slowdown and had deteriorated further due to the Mumbai terror attacks in November last year.
As per the data available with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in November, an estimated 40 lakh passengers travelled compared to 30.48 lakh in the same month last year. In October 2009 too 40 lakh passengers had travelled on airlines compared to 32 lakh passenger in the year ago period. These figures reveal that passenger traffic in October-November’09 has already surpassed the 2007 levels when 75.2 lakh people travelled.
This has lifted the overall passenger traffic for the year, which has been lagging since 2008. During January-November 2009, 400 lakh passengers travelled an increase of 5.45 % over same period in 2008. Airline companies say the pickup in air traffic over the last two months is due to increase in both business and leisure travel and would allow them to improve their financial performance as fuel cost has not swung too sharply during the last one quarter.
29/12/09 Meenakshi Verma Ambwani/Economic Times

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Asian carriers to lead global growth in 2010

Singapore: Asian carriers are counting on an anticipated pick-up in economic activity in the region next year to help pull the aviation sector out of the doldrums.
While some airlines said they are starting to see signs of an upturn, industry watchers note that 2010 will be a challenging year.
2009 has been one of the most turbulent years for global airlines in history. The highly leveraged industry felt the impact immediately when credit markets froze - putting a squeeze on its operations.
Paul Ng, Global Head of Aviation, Stephenson Harwood, said: "The fact liquidity was scarce over this period impacts the airlines and the businesses that support the airlines with almost immediacy. So, they suffer very quickly and very deeply as a result of the credit crunch that started in 2008."
Global carriers have had to contend with a sharp drop in passenger and freight traffic which started with the global economic slowdown and was made worse by the H1N1 flu outbreak.
A recent report by the International Civil Aviation Organisation shows that world airline passenger traffic fell 3.1 per cent in 2009 making it the biggest drop in the aviation industry's history.
Total passenger traffic - both domestic and international - fell in all regions around the world, except for the Middle East, which posted a 10 per cent growth.
That took the attention away from volatile oil prices which fell from their peaks near US$140 a barrel to as low as US$40 before rebounding in the third quarter.
The roller coaster ride resulted in massive losses for carriers like Singapore Airlines which warned that it could record its first ever annual loss in its corporate history.
28/12/09 Timothy Ouyang/Channel NewsAsia

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Executives may now cut air travel, opt for video-conferencing

New York: The attempt by an Al Qaeda-linked Nigerian Muslim to blow up a flight at Detroit couldn’t have come at a worse time for the airline industry which is expected to suffer losses of $11 billion this year. An Indian-origin aviation businessman observed that corporate people may now prefer video-conferencing to frequent travel.
Having been bled by the 9/11 terror attacks, then high fuel costs and now the global recession, the airline industry’s hopes of improving its financial health have been delivered a big blow by the Christmas Day attack.
Since the Al Qaeda terror attacks nine years ago, the global airline industry has accumulated losses of over $50 billion.
Many North American airlines have gone out of business. Others have merged to survive. Big orders to Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier have been cancelled.
But with the worst of the current recession likely over, many North American airlines have been reporting a higher occupancy rate in recent months.
“Now this attack is a big blow. It will undo the gains made by the industry in recent months,” said an Indian-origin aviation businessman with operations across North America.
Tighter security measures introduced at airports in North America and Europe will also put additional burden on financially stretched airlines.
Long queues at airports and in-flight restrictions are bound to deter people from travelling frequently.
Ban on carry-on bags and use of laptops during the last one hour of the flight is going to be the last straw for most frequent travellers.
29/12/09 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Air carriers flying high as traffic surges

New Delhi: The airlines sector is on course to report its busiest ever quarter, indicating a clear revival for the beleaguered industry in a recovering economy.
Passenger traffic for the three months to end-December is expected to surpass the previous best recorded in October-December 2007 and airline executives say that flights to metro cities have seen a surge in traffic, with leisure travel to destinations such as Goa and Kerala providing an added bonus.
This marks a strong comeback for the industry after air travel fell sharply since early 2008 because of the economic slowdown and deteriorated further in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in November last year.
According to data available with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)an estimated 40 lakh passengers travelled in November 2009 compared with 30.48 lakh in the same month last year. In October too, some 40 lakh passengers travelled on airlines compared with 32 lakh in the year-earlier period.
During January to November 2009, some 400 lakh passengers travelled on airlines, up 5.45% over the same period in 2008.
Airline companies attribute the sharp pick-up in air travel in the last two months to an increase in both business and leisure travel, and officials say this along with the fact that fuel costs have not swung too sharply during the last quarter will help them improve their financial performance.
28/12/09 Meenakshi Verma Ambwani/Times of India

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For airlines, cash flows are looking good again

Mumbai/Bangalore: Cash flows of airlines, which had turned into a trickle with falling passenger traffic and fares, are swelling again, but unlike in the past, carriers are not rushing to expand their operations.
Instead, they are building cash reserves that will see them through the next dry spell.
A senior executive of Jet Airways, who did not want to be named, confirmed that airlines were seeing better inflow of cash as industry yield and demand picked up. He said it has turned positive after a long a time.
"Improved conditions haveresulted in positive cash flow. It will provide relief to us because we can use the same for our working capital requirements," he said.
Dwindling cash from operations was forcing Jet and some other domestic carriers to rely on borrowings from banks and institutions to meet their working capital needs.
Some of them resorted to sales and leaseback (S&L) of aircraft to infuse funds into their companies to meet their day-to-day cash requirement.
Samyukth Sridharan, chief commercial officer (CCO) of SpiceJet Ltd, also said there was a "healthy flow of cash" due to improving environment in the market, though he does not see this resulting in explosion of supply in the market like in the past -- 2005 and 2006.
"The industry has realised it was partly overcapacity that caused problems. I don't think airlines will expand with this flush of money. They'll do it very rationally, slowly," he said.
28/12/09 Praveena Sharma & Ramiya Bhas/Daily News & Analysis

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Aviation policy goes piecemeal

New Delhi: The ministry of civil aviation has now decided to take a piecemeal approach to tackle issues under the civil aviation policy, since a comprehensive policy has been hanging fire for quite some time.
The policy was referred to a Group of Ministers (GoM) in the previous UPA Government regime, but this GoM now stands dissolved since a new government has assumed office.
In the absence of a policy document, some rather significant sectoral issues such as a comprehensive ground handling policy, a separate cargo policy and permission to foreign carriers to pick up stake in Indian airlines remain unaddressed. Also, issues such as allowing Indian carriers to fly abroad without a mandatory five-year domestic operation clause and even the corporatisation of Air Traffic Control require redressal.
Official sources said that in its piecemeal approach, the ministry has already sent a Cabinet Note to lay down a new ground handling policy across all Indian airports from January 1 next year. This policy was in the works for two years, but has been facing stiff opposition from airlines who fear loss of passenger interface and revenues if only three designated agencies are allowed to handle passenger baggage.
An air cargo policy has also been in the works for many months. This policy is expected to project a vision for air cargo growth in India by the year 2020 and the ministry
has begun work on drafting this document after consultation with stakeholders.
28/12/09 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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To secure PM house, new airspace plan

New Delhi: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been asked to submit a new airspace plan with a proposed buffer zone around the Prime Minister’s Race Course residence which will be considered by the Indian Air Force (IAF). This decision to extend the prohibited airspace in the Capital is part of an exercise to secure strategic locations.
The Prime Minister’s residence falls on the periphery of a rectangular-shaped prohibited airspace where civilian and military flights are forbidden. Officials said it was felt that in the event of an aerial attack, the IAF will have no time to react since there is no buffer zone around the prohibited airspace, designated in aviation parlance as VIP 89.
“In case an aircraft flouts airspace norms, it will be able to directly enter the no-fly VIP 89 zone. This raises a serious security challenge for PM House as the Air Force hardly has time to respond in case there is such a violation,” said a senior official of the Civil Aviation Ministry.
Heightened security concerns have made this move necessary, the official said. Included in the current VIP 89 are Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhawan, North Block and South Block. Some vital installations like the Mathura refinery and a nuclear power plant have been secured under VIP 90.
26/12/09 Indian Express

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'Alcohol tests for pilots on intl flights mandatory'

New Delhi: India's aviation regulator has struck a sobering note — don't get high before take off — for pilots of Indian carriers operating international flights this Yuletide. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has made it mandatory for Air India, Jet and Kingfisher to do 100% alcohol testing for all pilots operating flights out of India.
These airlines have also been asked to ensure that the cockpit crew pass breathalyzer tests on the flight back home, according to Indian safety laws and not local rules of those countries. "For this purpose, airlines have been asked to take a doctor on their flight to do the test at foreign airport if they don't have their medico stationed there," said highly placed sources.
DGCA chief Nasim Zaidi is learnt to have adopted a "zero-tolerance policy" on this issue. In fact, the regulator has decided to make punishment for pilots found high at the time of reporting to operate flights very stringent next year. "..For example, the US just suspends forever licence of a pilots caught drunk. We have had similar demands in India too," said sources. The DGCA is going to ensure that pilots are sober at the time of operating flights by moving towards a 100% pre-flight alcohol check for cockpit crew.
26/12/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Confer core industry status to aviation sector: Assocham

New Delhi: Industry body Assocham today suggested that the government should confer core industry status to the airlines business to sustain the aviation sector.
"The sustainability of airline industry would be severely eroded if it is not recognised as 'core industry'," Assocham said in a statement.
The chamber also sought 'declared goods' status to aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by lowering sales tax and revising its taxation structure.
"It is revealed that ATF prices for 11 international airports as on July, 2009, ranged between Rs 23,000 and Rs 26,000 per kilo litre. While Kuala Lumpur has the lowest price of Rs 22,800 per kilo litre, India's airports, the into-plane ATF prices ranged between Rs 34,000 and Rs 47,000 per kilo litre," Assocham President Swati Piramal said.
Assocham pointed out that the lowest price of ATF among Indian airports is at Hyderabad, which is 46 per cent higher than the price at Kuala Lumpur, while the highest price is at Kolkata with almost double than that of at Kuala Lumpur.
25/12/09 PTI/Economic Times

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ATF is more expensive at Indian airports

Mumbai: A recent analysis by industry body Assocham reveals that aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices at Indian airports is much higher, compared with eleven other international airports across Asia, Europe and North America as on July 2009.
In India, ATF is priced lowest at the Hyderabad airport. Yet, it is 46% higher than Kuala Lumpur, where ATF is priced at Rs 22,800 per kilolitre. ATF, which is priced highest at Kolkata, is almost twice as expensive as that in Kuala Lumpur.
While the prices of ATF range between Rs 23,000- 26,000 at international airports, in India the cost is anything between Rs 34,000 -Rs 47,000 per kilolitre at Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata airports. The airports with which comparisons are drawn in the study are Bangkok, Dubai, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, London, Paris and New York.
Assocham president, Swati Piramal has taken up the case and has written to the government that the sustainability of the airline industry would be severely eroded if it is not recognised as a ‘core industry’, which will ultimately lower taxes to 4%on ATF across India. Currently, taxes on ATF range from from a mere 4% in Andhra Pradesh to over 30% in several other states.
26/12/09 Financial Express

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Indian airlines to return to profit: Report

New Delhi: India's private airlines can look forward to a return to profit in the next financial year after two turbulent years of losses, an industry report forecast Thursday.
With the economy rebounding, private carriers are expected to post a total profit of 250 million dollars to 300 million dollars in the next fiscal year starting in April, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation said in a report.
The carriers include Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. and Indigo Airlines.
"After a turbulent couple of years, 2010 should be a more positive year for Indian aviation, provided that the airlines can remain disciplined on costs, capacity and pricing," the aviation consultancy said.
But state-run flagship carrier Air India will remain in the red next year, the Sydney-based consultancy said, dragged down by high operational costs and a fall in passengers.
"Air India will continue to have cash deficits for the next five to seven years, which could cumulatively amount to four-to-five billion dollars, the report said.
Total airline losses for the current fiscal year are expected to total 1.5 to 1.6 billion dollars of which Air India will account for at least half, Kapil Kaul, chief executive in India for the Singapore-based Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation, told AFP.
The combined losses have narrowed from last year's two billion dollars.
24/12/09 Economic Times

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Govt in no hurry to clear airline FDI

New Delhi: The government seems to be in no hurry to bring in foreign carriers as stakeholders in Indian airlines.According to sources, the ministry of commerce and industryis not keen to push for this clause, despite the ministry of civilaviation having recommended up to 25% stake acquisition by foreign carriers.
Sources said the previous commerce minister was keen on the issue, but "the present one does not seem to favour any foreign airlines picking up stake in Indian ones... this proposal is on cold storage for now." Under the earlier dispensation, the commerce ministry was said to have been favouring a 49% cap on foreign airlines investing in Indian ones.
In a draft press note releasedon Thursday, the commerce ministry indicated its reluctance on the issue. "No foreign airlines would be allowed to participate directly or indirectly in the equity of an Air Transport Undertaking engagedin operating Scheduled, Non-Scheduled, and Chartered airlines", though they are allowed to takeequity in companies operatingcargo airlines, helicopter and seaplane services. This draft would be reviewed in September 2010,so no change in regulations is likely till then.
The proposal on foreign airlines was first mooted two years back, when, along with myriad suggestions on reducing the tax burdenon aviation turbine fuel and a
range of other aviation activities, the civil aviation ministry hadinserted the proposal in a presen-tation to be made before the cabinet secretary.
25/12/09 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Pawan Hans Signs MOU with Indiaposts for logistics services

Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd.(PHLL), a Government of India Undertaking with Ministry of Civil Aviation, has entered, into an MOU with Indiaposts of the Department of Posts under the Ministry of Communication & IT to provide complete logistics solutions to PHHL.
The MOU was signed on 21 December 2009 by Shri R.K.Tyagi CMD PHHL and Shri John Samuel, GM, Business Development, Indiaposts.
The MOU has been signed initially for a period of 2 years which is renewable on mutually acceptable terms and conditions for support within India and will be open for International logistics solutions also depending upon performance.
24/12/09 PRESS RELEASE/Press Information Bureau

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First time in India end to end services in Charter Plane Market

Mumbai: Airnetz aviation leading brand in charter plane market crating revolution. From JAN 2010 airnetz planning to offer total End - to - End service. Kuoni travels are one of travel industry leader partnering in this service.
“It is not only strategic decision but it is hard own research with costumer given idea to start this. When we provide costumer care we get insight of costumer. This is USP of our services and that's why we have 100% client retain ratio."
Said Ameya Gore, spoke person of Airnetz.
In this service when you put charter request and provide your schedule for that business trip our team will in action. We will provide you pick up, star hotel booking, car services there at your desire destination and drop also when you back. This kind of End- to End service we wanted to introduce in India.
23/12/09 Your Story.com

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Aviation stocks take off on stable ATF prices, fuller planes

Mumbai: Airline stocks have started taking off on the bourses again in a clear indication that the aviation sector is in a rebound mode.
Airlines like Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Delhi-based low-cost airline SpiceJet all have performed well in the past few days compared to their all-time low performance in March this year. Sectoral analysts say improving load factors, stable aviation turbine fuel (ATF) costs and better yields are driving the sector in the positive territory.
Jet Airways, which reached an all-time low at Rs 115.25 on March 12, 2009, closed at Rs 534 on Tuesday on the BSE. The stock reached an all-time high of Rs 605.95 on December 3. Kingfisher’s share price is also heading northwards, with its shares closing at Rs 56.50 on Tuesday, compared to an all-time low of Rs 24.40 on March 9 this year. In June this year, its stock peaked at Rs 73.45. SpiceJet also has a reason to cheer as its stock closed at Rs 51.85 on Tuesday. Its share price peaked at Rs 59.40 on December 4 and had dipped to an all-time low at Rs 11.90 in Jan this year. Says Ambareesh Baliga, vice-president at Karvy Stock Broking Ltd, “The aviation sector has become optimistic due to the improvement in load factors of various airlines in the current financial quarter of FY 2009-10. The aviation turbine fuel (ATF) cost has also stabilised at $70-$80 a barrel. Last year, the loads had dipped due to the recession and the sector had to take a hit in its topline.”
According to statistics provided by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), airlines ferried 39.57 lakh passengers in November 2009, compared to 30.48 lakh passengers in the corresponding period a month ago.
23/12/09 Financial Express

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Why Indians fancy flying

Indians love to fly. Till the end of November this year, almost 40 million Indians took to the skies in 2009. And the numbers are growing. They’re very discerning, too. They like the “five-star” fare dished out by Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, appreciate Jet Airways (India) Ltd and make no bones about expressing displeasure at what they perceive to be shoddy service standards at the public sector Air India. They’re also highly value conscious, as is evident from the 70% market share enjoyed by the five low-cost carriers (LCCs).
“We are a nation of people who are, perhaps, easy to please. Overall, a satisfaction index of 765 out of 1,000 is not a mean score by any standard...,” says Raghu Roy, managing director, MaRS, the knowledge partner for this survey.
The survey also indicates that the distinction between full-service airlines and their low-cost rivals are fast getting blurred. While Kingfisher and Jet Airways are the two top-ranked airlines overall on all parameters, their scores are not overwhelmingly superior to those of the LCCs, and they are not ahead of the pack in all the cities and towns surveyed.
In Bangalore, passengers actually rated JetLite, Jet Airways’ low-cost sibling, over Kingfisher and Jet. In New Delhi and Chennai, too, an LCC, SpiceJet Ltd, emerges as the most preferred airline, once again underlining the fact that Indians are a very diverse lot. One caveat is in order.
All the passengers who had flown Paramount Airways rated it the best airline, but since the pool of such fliers was very small (only 42 of the 1,330 passengers we surveyed had flown the airline), it was kept out of the overall rankings.
22/12/09 Live Mint

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YSR chopper crash: `gaps' found in transcript

The committee probing the chopper crash that killed former Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four others has sought a second extension before it submits its inquiry report. The probe team, headed by Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited CMD R K Tyagi, has requested the Civil Aviation Ministry for a January 15 deadline after sources suggested that the committee is yet to receive the full transcript of the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) retrieved from the crash site.
The four-member committee formed after the September 2 crash was initially slated to submit its report in the first week of November, a deadline which was then revised to December second week.
It was found that the CVR, sent by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)-appointed team to the US agency National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) for decoding, had certain gaps, and was therefore sent back, said a senior official, close to the development.
These gaps basically refer to the local language used by the chopper occupants. "Since the CVR was sent to the US agency, they could not decipher the local language," said another official, closely working with the investigating team.
Meanwhile, the country's helicopter association, Rotary Wings Society of India (RWSI), which also conducts parallel investigations into chopper crashes, has not ruled out the possibility of a technical failure being responsible for the crash. It also blamed the state governments for not providing suitable aviation infrastructure for helicopter operations.
23/12/09 Indian Express/msn news

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After 2 years, airlines flying into profit zone

Bangalore/Mumbai: Airlines seem to be finally emerging from their two-year flight of turbulence when passenger traffic dipped, operating cost shot up due to higher oil prices and fares slipped to very low levels on sagging demand and competition.
Improving airline yields -- or net revenue per seat -- and load factors in the last three months are providing tailwinds to domestic carriers, which are steeped in losses, to fly towards profits.
And if the current trend continues through this month -- December -- then this quarter may see many local airlines breaking even or even making a small profit.
Sanjay Aggarwal, chief executive officer (CEO) of SpiceJet, said given the robust demand, his airline is expecting to record profits in this quarter.
"If the current demand trend persists then we will break even. Hopefully, we may even make some money in the current quarter," he said.
The budget airline had posted a loss of around Rs 18 crore in the December quarter last year due to the slump in domestic demand with the global economic meltdown.
Bigger rivals Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways had lost Rs 626 crore and Rs 236 crore respectively in the same quarter last year.
Going by Jet's performance in terms of load factor and yield till now, analysts said the Naresh Goyal-owned airline may also be able to achieve breakeven in the third quarter of this fiscal.
Anand Kumar and S Arun, analysts with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said a good December will enable Jet to break even in the third quarter itself.
SpiceJet's Aggarwal said his airline's yields were up by around 25% over the last quarter. He said if today's favourable trend in load factors and yields does not reverse then it would be smooth flight for the local carriers in 2010.
An industry expert said the average load factor of airlines is currently hovering between 76% and 78% compared with 70% in the September quarter, while yields are higher by 15-20% over last quarter.
22/12/-09 Praveena Sharma & Ramiya Bhas/Daily News & Analysis

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Foreign carriers add India flights as demand shows signs of pick-up

New Delhi: In yet another signal of revival in the aviation sector, foreign carriers such as Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines and Singapore Airlines plan to add flights to-and-fro Indian destinations.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has forecast a moderate recovery of 3.3% for the airline industry next year, as the world economy returns to the growth path. As per an estimate, global air traffic is expected to decline 4.5% in 2009. With air traffic starting to pick up in the emerging economies, foreign airlines have begun capacity adjustments on their network. They are deploying additional capacity on routes where demand has improved.
“Now, we are seeing the number of passengers as well as yield going up. Booking trends for the January-March 2010 period seem quite positive. We see a minimum 5-10% growth in traffic next year,” said Lufthansa director (South Asia) Axel Hilgers. The German flag carrier, which operates six flights in a week from Bangalore, is planning to start daily flights by adding one more to the schedule. It also has plans of increasing the number of economy seats on its Pune-Frankfurt flight. Its affiliate Swiss International Airlines and Austrian Airlines would also increase their flight frequencies to Delhi and Mumbai.
Mr Hilgers said despite a rise in the number of passengers, 2010 would continue to be a year of struggle, as the airlines had taken a severe beating this year due to the slowdown and would take time to recover.
While big foreign airlines are bullish about 2010, smaller airlines are worried that the additional capacities created may increase in higher losses for them.
22/12/09 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Aviation sector in cruise mode, traffic rises 25% during Oct-Nov

New Delhi: The aviation industry is headed towards its busiest three months ever with the number of passengers jumping over 25% during October-November 2009 over the year-ago period, indicating clear revival in demand for air traffic. Airlines’ executives said that while flights to metro cities saw a surge in passenger traffic, leisure travel to destinations in Goa and Kerala came as an added bonus.
As per the data available with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), in November an estimated 40 lakh passengers travelled compared with 30.48 lakh in the same month last year. In October 2009, too, 40 lakh passengers had travelled on airlines compared with 32 lakh passenger in the year-ago period.
This has lifted the overall passenger traffic, which has been lagging since 2008. During January-November 2009, 400 lakh passengers travelled, an increase of 5.45% over same period 2008. Airline companies said the sharp pick-up in air traffic over the past two months is due to increase in both business and leisure travel, and would allow them to improve their financial performance, as fuel cost has not swung too sharply during the past one quarter.
This should bring some cheer to airline operators, who have been laden with losses, as falling demand due to the economic slowdown and rise in fuel cost over the past few years cut into margins.
22/12/09 Meenakshi Verma Ambwani/Economic Times

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After clean chit, FAA to review DGCA’s security measures

New Delhi: The country’s air safety regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), may find itself in the dock again US. The US air safety monitoring agency, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which had earlier threatened to downgrade India’s safety ranking from Category I and subsequently given the Indian regulator a clean chit, will be reviewing the recent measures taken by the DGCA in four-five months’ time.
The FAA is said to have communicated this decision to the civil aviation ministry in the recently held India-US Aviation Partnership Summit attended by senior officials. FAA, which conducts an audit to determine whether a country complies with international air safety standards, would undertake a detailed review of the steps taken by the DGCA so far, said an official close to the development. The civil aviation ministry will also monitor and oversee the progress of DGCA’s initiatives to mitigate the concerns highlighted by the US agency. While most of the issues raised have been taken care of, the deployment of manpower and creation of technical posts will take around two years, the official said. “This is a serious matter and the civil aviation ministry would be closely watching the developments. We don’t want an embarrassing situation,” said the official.
In September, India was found to be fully compliant with the international safety standards in an audit done by FAA.
22/12/09 Smita Aggarwal/Indian Express

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More wait for foreign airlines to pick up stake in domestic carriers

New Delhi: Foreign airlines will have to wait for some more time to know whether they will be allowed to invest in Indian carriers.
Official sources told Business Line that the proposal is not being “actively” considered by the Government just yet. At the moment, foreign airlines are not allowed to invest either directly or indirectly in domestic carriers. This was not the case in the early 1990s when foreign airlines were allowed to pick up a stake in domestic carriers, a move which saw some West Asian airlines invest in Jet Airways when it was set up.
When the Government reversed the policy, Jet Airways brought back the stake which the foreign airlines had in it.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had proposed that foreign airlines be allowed to acquire a 25 per cent equity of the 49 per cent FDI cap currently in place in the domestic airline industry. The proposal, which has been sent to the Commerce Ministry for a final decision, is part of a larger attempt being made by the Government to make India a more favourable destination for foreign investments.
21/12/09 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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Beetle banner to fly over Mumbai sky on a copter

Mumbai: The Beetle, which captured millions of hearts as the curvy, temperamental Herbie in The Love Bug and a series of other rocking misadventures on screen, will soon be seen in the Mumbai skies.
Volkswagen, the world’s largest carmaker after its takeover of Porsche, has lined up an innovative campaign that will see the Beetle being promoted through a huge 10,000 sq ft banner that will travel through the skies of Mumbai on a copter around Christmas eve.
The German carmaker has tied up with aircraft leasing company Deccan Charters for the campaign, a person close to the development told ET. “We have been contacted by the agency of an auto major and are working with them on a campaign,” said Sanjay Saihgal, VP (business development) at Deccan Charters, but declined to share any name. Volkswagen did not respond to an e-mail.
Running an aerial promotion such as this requires special permissions from the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) as well as permissions from city authorities.
The expense and the many permissions that are required for such a campaign make this a fairly exclusive exercise limited to a few firms with big budget launches. Deccan charges between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh for every hour in the air. The banner, made of a special material so it doesn't tear in the wind, can cost anywhere between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 10 lakh, depending on the size.
Jigar Thaleshwar, manager, marketing and business development (western region), Deccan said this was the first time such a campaign was being done in India, although hot air balloons atop buildings and occasionally aircraft have been used.
Most companies opt to carry out the exercise in two to three cities so that usage of the banner is maximised.
21/12/09 N Shivapriya & Lijee Philip/Economic Times

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CII preparing roadmap on aviation sector for Govt.

Mumbai: With a view to present a roadmap for the aviation industry’s growth in the country, apex industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is preparing a draft paper on the sector, a top industry official said.
“We are preparing a draft paper on the national aviation policy...the draft paper will address issues concerning the aviation sector in totality and not just those of air-carriers,” Paramount Airways’ Managing Director and Head of CII’s National Committee on Civil Aviation M. Thiagarajan told PTI here.
The draft paper would include viewpoints on the sector from all stakeholders, including airlines, MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) players, charter operators, and airport operators, among others, Mr. Thiagarajan said.
The Committee was also preparing another draft paper on the sector for the budget, which would be presented to the Government soon, he said.
CII has recently set up the committee to work with all stakeholders, including the Government to come up with a holistic and sustainable development programme for the civil aviation sector.
A proposal for formulating a comprehensive civil aviation policy is understood to be under the consideration of the Government since 2007.
20/12/09 PTI/The Hindu

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Start within 5 minutes of start-up call: DGCA

New Delhi: India’s aviation regulatory body, in fresh instructions to meet delays caused by fog, has made it clear to all airlines that if their planes do not start moving out within five minutes of clearance by the air traffic control they would have to rejoin the queue.
“If any aircraft fails to push back or taxi out within 5 minutes of receiving such clearance, the ATC must be informed by the flight crew or by their airlines which shall then re- sequence the departure time for such flights,” the new guidelines from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.
The DGCA has asked all airlines to roster only those pilots for operating flights that is adequately trained and certified for Low Take-off Minima during low visibility conditions to and from Delhi to ensure aircraft operation, especially during CAT II a nd CAT III-A/B conditions.
It has asked all airlines to follow the flight plan as per the schedule separately, filed by them, for the fog period between December 10 and February 10, 2010.
20/12/09 Business Line

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Sky's the limit for these plane spotters

Mumbai: Sitting on a rock and gazing at aircraft take off and land may not come across as a serious hobby. But observing aircraft intently can actually generate many interesting aviation trends and document flying history. A bunch of aviation enthusiasts in the city does just that as a hobby. And, though the world may mock or security agencies may label it a taboo, this bunch of enthusiasts pursue their passion for aircraft spotting with the diligence of an aviation historian.
"I rush to Mumbai every weekend only to take aircraft pictures. This is the only way I like to spend my weekends,'' said 19-year-old Aalok Gaitonde who is an engineering student in Pune. During his school days, he would find a high rock near the airport and spend practically every evening only photographing planes operating in and out of Mumbai.
"Spotters have always been present everywhere. But in our country, it isn't a much heard-about and acknowledged hobby. It is now starting to get noticed,'' said 60-year-old Jimi Wadia who has been taking pictures as well as noting registration numbers of aircraft since the 1960s.
Wadia has kept a record of all registration numbers and manufacturing serial numbers of aircraft to track how many hands an aircraft has passed though before being finally grounded.
Another spotter, Devesh Agarwal, who is based in Bangalore and is closely associated with the spotters' group in Mumbai, said that aircraft spotting helps paint a story of transition for the industry.
Many airports abroad have a designated place for spotters to pursue their hobby and also log in their observations with airport officials who keep a track. For instance, many airports in Japan have open galleries for spotters to photograph and document aircraft movement. Frankfurt airport has given its terrace to the enthusiasts. Manchester airport has given the spotters bright overalls to wear.
20/12/09 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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InterGlobe Technologies Spreads Wings across South East Asia

Gurgaon: InterGlobe Technologies (IGT), India’s leading provider of IT and BPO solutions to the travel and transportation industry celebrates the opening of new BPO delivery centre today in Manila, Philippines.
IGT's Manila facility was inaugurated by Her Excellency Ms. Lilia De Lima, Director General, Philippine Economic Zone Authority. Speaking on IGT's launch in Manila, she said, “Government of Philippines extends complete support and cooperation to IGT. PEZA is a one-stop, non-stop partner for IGT's growth and success in the Philippines.”
Mr. Kapil Bhatia, Executive Chairman, InterGlobe Enterprises said that the group highly regards the immense talent and commitment to work in Filipinos. He reiterated his commitment towards Philippines and to invest further in near future.
Speaking in the launch, Mr. Vipul Doshi, CEO, IGT, said “IGT caters to global clients across six continents. We are building multiple service and delivery centers as part of our global delivery model. Our expansion in Manila is an important addition to our global footprint. It will also help our clients take advantage of global redundancy and service capabilities.”
Mr. Johnathan de Luzuriaga, Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP), said that in the outsourcing industry just being good is not acceptable. IGT exemplifies professional excellence.
“IGT will be the very first BPO specializing in Travel and Hospitality processes in Philippines. We have a solid mix of the best of both worlds in our Leadership team and we not only offer a job but a career to all our associates. InterGlobe Technologies has lived up to its ‘Great place to work’ reputation in Philippines as well. ” said Deanne Calma, Program Director, InterGlobe Technologies Philippines Inc.
A few key facts about the new IGT BPO facility in Manila
1. Total investment of over US $3 million in creating the facility
2. 500 seat service delivery center with complete training facilities, enabled with state-of-the-art technology and built with complete amenities
3. Expansion plans by next year
4. Best in class IT and telecommunications infrastructure
5. Employee friendly working atmosphere and facilities in line with IGT's global standard
6. Located in booming Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, Metro Manila – The Philippine’s top city in the “Ease of Doing Business Index” rankings by the World Bank International Finance Corporation
IGT has the plan to further grow its delivery infrastructure and enhance its access to a wider resource base for its clients by instituting new facilities in other parts of the world like Romania, Poland, Brazil and Spain.
18/12/09 PRESS RELEASE/ InterGlobe Technologies

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Haryana to set up aviation centre

Chandigarh: The Haryana government and the Aero Club of India will set up a national-level aero sports centre in the state Jan 31, an official said Saturday.
The official said the centre, to be named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been proposed to be set up at the Narnaul airfield, on the Delhi-Jaipur highway about 125 km from New Delhi.
A meeting to finalize plans for this centre was held Friday in New Delhi between Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Aero Club of India president and Congress MP Satish Sharma.
The launch ceremony would include activities like para-sailing, parachute jumping, sky diving and hot air ballooning.
19/12/09 IANS/Thaindian.co, Thailand

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Santa gets busy for airlines, travel

New Delhi: The bells are jingling for the country’s airlines this Christmas. After a year that saw the industry suffer in an economic downturn, the New Year holiday season is bringing back some colour.
Flights are well-booked and travel destinations are being discovered on the map to show that a slump in travel may be somewhat offset by travellers who had spent the previous Christmas week in doubt about the economy.
More and more people are opting for outstations vacations rather than a “quiet evening” with family and friends which was the refrain last year.
“We are looking to fly between 25,000 to 28,000 passengers every day between December 24 to January 16. Our flights to Jaipur and Udaipur, Goa, Trivandrum, Bhubaneshwar are fully booked and these are besides the metro destinations which are also reporting good loads,” a spokesperson for Air India said.
To meet the rush Air India will operate additional flights to Goa, Port Blair and Aizwal. Nineteen additional flights will be operated from Chennai to Port Blair in the Andamans, which is a seaside destination increasingly matching old favourite Goa for its sands.
“India was never into recession like the rest of the world in the past. It has very effectively moved out of it which has a straight relation with travel and tourism industry,” Raji Rai, president of Travel Agents Association of India said.
For the low-cost carriers, which were already doing good business during the economic slow down, the holiday season promises them with load factors — the average occupancy of passengers per flight — and better bottomlines.
18/12/09 Samiran Saha/Hindustan Times

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DGCA to make regular medical tests mandatory for cabin crew

Airline cabin crew may have to undergo regular medical tests to prove that they are physically fit, according to new training norms proposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The new rules, to be introduced later this month, are meant to improve cabin safety, DGCA sources said. The move by DGCA to make bi-annual medical tests mandatory for cabin crew, could also lead to grounding of unfit crew members and push up operating costs of airlines.
Currently, only pilots undergo a stringent medical check up each year for renewal of their licences. In Air India, cabin crew members aged over 35 years have to undergo annual medical tests. (The number of crew members aged over 35 years in private airlines is fewer). Cabin crews undergo checks prior to induction, but there is no rule that makes regular medical examinations compulsory after joining work.
Earlier this week, DGCA officials met airline representatives to lay out the new norms which will be applicable to all scheduled and non-scheduled operators (airlines and charters).
A doctor attached to the medical department of an airline said that crew members largely suffer from anaemia because of odd working hours and an irregular diet.
They also complain of frequent backache or spondylosis because their job involves pushing and pulling food trolleys during flights.
A source in an airline said that introduction of compulsory medical tests is a preventive measure.
Some crew members said that the medical tests will help because it will lead to earlier detection of ailments. However, some fear the management may use the new norms as a pretext to ground employees.
18/12/09 Aneesh Phadnis/Mumbai Mirror

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Indian aviation losses likely to fall to $0.5 bn next year

Mumbai: Indian aviation industry's losses are likely to contract next year to around $0.5 billion, down from $1.5 billion this year, a top industry official said on Wednesday.
"My prediction is that the Indian aviation industry is going from a $1.5 billion loss (this year) to $0.5 billion next year," Boeing (India) President Dinesh Keskar told reporters here.
Yesterday, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) had said the industry's losses next year globally would decline to $6 billion from this year's $11 billion.
The expected reduction in losses is an improvement, Keskar said, adding that India is contributing a lot to this.
On the delivery of Boeing-built Dreamliner 787 aircraft to India, Keskar said it was likely to take place in the second quarter of CY 11.
16/12/09 PTI/Economic Times

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Sky’s the limit for Indian industry

The acquisition of Aerostaff Australia and Gippsland Aeronautics by Mahindra Aerospace marks a small step for the company and a bold leap for India Inc into qualitatively new territory. This transaction is not very large ($37.5 million), but it symbolises Indian industry’s ability to make strategic shift to new levels.
Liberalisation of the Indian economy has brought to the common man many goods and services that could only be aspired for in the past. For instance, flying is not any more a privilege of the rich. At the same time, this economic expansion has ensured that Indian companies gained size and sophistication.
And, more importantly, the confidence to move forward to acquire foreign businesses and replace incumbent managements with managers of Indian origin and experience. Aerospace is a fledgling industry in India, and the government’s efforts to develop the country as a hub for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) may not materialise in the near term.
But the long-term potential for the aviation and aerospace sector in India is immense. Particularly as defence production is now open to private sector, including foreign, participation, with riders. Civil aviation too is bound to grow with further expansion of the economy. Taneja Aerospace and Aviation is perhaps the only company in the country manufacturing light transport and trainer aircraft.
17/12/09 Economic Times

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HAL’s global projects hit air pockets after aircraft crashes

New Delhi: Despite the best efforts of the Indian government to strengthen its domestic defence production capabilities, the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) seems destined to fail in every project with international collaboration, it has embarked on so far.
Soon after President Pratibha Patil undertook a much-publicised flight in a combat aircraft, a Sukhoi-30 MKI jet of the c (IAF) crashed near Jethagaon in Jaisalmer while returning from a regular training mission. This was the second of India’s most advanced fighter jet in less than eight months.
According to sources, the aircraft that crashed was a new machine that had recently been rolled out by HAL and was part of an upcoming squadron in Pune.
The state-owned aerospace major HAL has sharply ramped up its manufacturing capacities and is set to deliver 350 combat jets, trainers and helicopters worth Rs500 billion to the Indian armed forces by 2012.
HAL, from its plants at Bangalore, Nashik and Koraput, is currently engaged in manufacturing some 100 indigenous Dhruv advanced light helicopters, an almost equal number of Sukhoi Su-30 MKI combat jets under licence from Russia, some 60 Hawk advanced jet trainers under license from Britain and a little over 20 indigenous Tejas light combat jets.
17/12/09 Huma Siddiqui/Finacial Express

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Air traffic up amid fare rise

Bangalore: Air passenger traffic continued to soar, even as airlines improved their yields -- net revenue per seat -- on better demand for air travel in recent months.
Since June this year, the domestic airline industry has witnessed year-on-year growth in air passenger traffic after it spiralled down in later half of last year and first six months of this year.
The air passenger numbers published by the ministry of civil aviation on Tuesday show that 9.09 lakh or 21.8% more people took to the sky in November this year, compared to the same month last year.
According to the ministry data, local airlines carried 38.98 lakh passengers last month, compared to 30.48 lakh passenger during the same period last year.
However, compared to October -- when domestic carriers flew 39.69 lakh passengers -- November saw a drop of 1.78% in passenger numbers.
Ankur Bhatia, managing director of Amadeus, attributed the month-on-month slip in air traffic to seasonality and higher fares.
And as fares moved up, many airlines -- Jet Airways, JetLite, Kingfisher Airlines, SpiceJet and GoAir - saw their seat factors tumble. Meanwhile, seat factors of Air India (domestic), Paramount Airways and IndiGo increased in November.
In terms of marketshare, the Naresh Goyal-owned airlines Jet and JetLite maintained their lead with a 27% share, even though it was down from 27.7% in October. The second largest airline, Kingfisher, saw its share increase from 20.7% to 21.1%. Air India and IndiGo also increased their marketshare to 18.6% and 14.1%, from 18.6% and 13.6%, respectively.
SpiceJet and Paramount Airways both lost marketshare -- to 12.2% and 5.3% from 12.4% and 5.4%, respectively.
16/12/09 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Mahindras to make planes

Mumbai: The Mahindras are planning to make planes and allied aerospace components to serve the global market.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), the Rs 13,364-crore automobile maker, today announced that it had picked up a 75.1 per cent stake in two Australian aerospace firms for Rs 175 crore, marking its strategic entry into the aerospace business.
In a joint acquisition with Kotak Private Equity, Mahindra Aerospace Pvt Ltd bought a majority stake in component maker Aerostaff Australia and general aircraft manufacturer, Gippsland Aeronautics.
“In the next five years, we believe that we could build as many as 475 aircraft in the 2- to 20-seater range and expect a peak revenue of about Rs 650 crore,” said Hemant Luthra, member of M&M’s group management board.
The Mahindras will retain the top management in both companies. They will also set up a plant in Bangalore to complement these acquisitions and provide dual shoring cost benefits to customers.
The market for turboprops is amongst the fastest growing segments in general aviation. Turboprops provide operational adaptability in environments with poor infrastructure and can serve the market at the lowest cost per passenger seat kilometre.
16/12/09 PTI/The Telegraph

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M&M gets into Aerospace, acquires two Aussie firms

Mumbai: Automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has forayed into the aerospace business by acquiring majority stakes in two Australian companies, Aerostaff Australia and Gippsland Aeronautics.
Mahindra Aerospace Pvt Ltd (MAPL), in which Kotak Private Equity has also invested Rs 150 crore, will hold 75 per cent stake in each of the two Aussie companies. The remaining will be held by the existing managements. The payments will be made in instalments.
Aerostaff Australia (AA) is a component manufacturer of high-precision, close-tolerance, aircraft components and assemblies for large aerospace original equipment manufacturers. AA’s acquisition will help M&M tap the burgeoning defence offset and commercial aviation market.
Gippslan Aeronautics (GA) is an established brand in general aviation and has delivered 200 FAR-23 certified planes in 32 countries (FAR 23 is a mandatory certification for fare-paying passenger carriage). Acquiring stake in GA signals M&M’s entry into the 2-20 seater, turboprop market, among the fastest growing segments in general aviation.
16/12/09 Business Standard

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Domestic air travel takes off in November

New Delhi: Domestic air travel picked up sharply in November as improved economic environment encouraged both business and leisure travel, but air fares are yet to recover, suggesting that financial performance of airlines may not look as good. As per a data released by industry regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), air carries flew 39.57 lakh passengers during this period, up nearly 30% compared to the corresponding month last year. Domestic airlines such as Air India, Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet clocked over 70% flight occupancy in November, indicating positive signals of profitable growth. Amadeus India managing director Ankur Bhatia who tracks the aviation sector closely, however, said that airlines were still behind the break-even level. Airlines have increased capacity since June this year to meet the gradually improving demand. Country’s largest private carrier by market value Jet Airways witnessed 33% surge in passenger numbers during November. The share price of airline companies is up nearly 50% since October end against about 10% rise in the benchmark indices.
16/12/09 Economic Times

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ATF prices cut

New Delhi: For the second time this month, state-run oil companies on Tuesday cut jet fuel prices to ease the burden on cash-strapped airlines. Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices in Delhi came down by Rs 649 or 1.6% to Rs 39,319 per kilolitre, effective Tuesday midnight, an official of nation’s largest oil firm Indian Oil Corp said. The move is thought to boost the aviation industry, which is battling the declining yields due to poor load factors. The airlines, however, are not immediately hiking fares against the backdrop of downward revision owing to the holiday season. Private carrier Jet airways that has secured 19.5% market share for November has said there will no fare hikes immediately. There is no news on fares hikes from national carrier Air India, low cost carriers SpiceJet and GoAir among others. Meanwhile, ATF prices in Delhi Mumbai were cut by Rs 473.55 to Rs 41,236.73 per kl, in Kolkata by Rs 460.02 per kl to Rs 48,220.93 and in Chennai by Rs 488.70 to Rs 44,037.74 per kl. Oil marketing companies revise jet fuel prices on the first and the 16th day of every month, based on the average global oil price in the previous fortnight. 16/12/09 Financial Express

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Major pvt airlines owe Rs 274 crore to AAI

New Delhi: Government today said the major private domestic airlines owed over Rs 274 crore to the Airports Authority of India for availing its services."The outstanding dues payable by major private domestic airlines as on October 31 this year are Rs 16,792.19 lakhs by Kingfisher Airlines, Rs 4986.62 lakhs by Jet Airways, Rs 1,542.42 lakhs by Spicejet, Rs 908.67 lakhs by Go Air, 853.96 lakhs by Paramount Airways, Rs 872.78 lakhs by Indigo and Rs 1466.60 lakhs by Jetlite," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in reply to a Rajya Sabha query.The Minister said most of the airlines paid their dues on time but in case of defaulting airlines, AAI charges interest on defaults, encashing bank guarantees and reducing credit facilities.

15/12/09 Press Trust of India

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Aviation industry may have to wait longer for consolidation

Mumbai: India may have to wait a bit longer for a new round of airborne nuptials.
Three merger deals that would have begun the much anticipated second round of consolidation in the fragmented Indian aviation industry failed to take off in the past two months, said four people familiar with the matter.
Two of these deals involved US investor Wilbur Ross, a master of distress buyouts who controls SpiceJet Ltd. He tried to merge the airline with competitors JetLite (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airline Ltd. The merger talks got grounded over valuation differences. A third merger deal between Paramount Airways Ltd and GoAirlines (India) Pvt. Ltd, too, did not progress because Paramount was not ready to take on the debt of GoAirlines. The latter is a private company and the latest data on its debt is not available.
The Indian aviation industry had a first round of consolidation when Jet Airways (India) Ltd bought Sahara Airlines Ltd (now JetLite) in April 2007, Kingfisher acquired Deccan Aviation Ltd (now Kingfisher Red) in June 2007, and Air India merged with Indian Airlines in August 2007.
According to a March report by consulting firm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa), another round of consolidation is overdue as Indian carriers have been repeatedly battered by price wars, a spike in jet fuel prices and slowing demand.
The accumulated losses of Indian carriers over the last three-four years are estimated by Capa to be in excess of $4 billion (Rs18,680 crore).
Consolidation could be delayed further as passenger volumes increase and some airlines hope to emerge with better financials as the Indian economy picks up speed, said an investment banker.
14/12/09 PR Sanjai/Live Mint

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Prez copter mishap: Probe not yet over, says IAF

New Delhi: The IAF today strongly rebutted reports that an internal probe had given a "clean chit" to its pilots involved in the mishap of the President's helicopter at Bhubaneswar airport and blamed ground staff for the incident.
"The court of inquiry into the incident is still incomplete and it is too premature to come to any conclusions on who was at fault," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander T K Singha said here in the wake of TV channel reports claiming preliminary findings showed the pilots were not at fault.
Singha said the probe would take more time to come up with a report, which would have to go through senior IAF officers before the findings are finalised.
13/12/09 Press Trust of India

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No sign of chopper service to Lahaul valley

Chandigarh/Kullu: Abrupt snowfall in the higher reaches of Lahaul valley has cut off the residents from rest of the world, while the state government has failed to keep its promise to start emergency helicopter service. So while several residents are waiting urgent specialized medical care, the authorities are uncertain about early start of helicopter service to airlift them as there is no place to land the 22-seater chopper they have arranged, which is the only effective machine to operate under these weather conditions.
The Himachal Pradesh government has now sent an SOS call to the Centre for help. As many specialized medical services are not available in the valley, patients needing immediate specialized medical aid are referred to bigger hospital located in Kullu, Shimla and Chandigarh. At present there are three patients in Lahaul who have been referred to be airlifted as emergency cases, but the helicopter has not been able to cross the Rohtang pass for last three days due to weather condition. Chief medical officer, Lahaul-Spiti, Dr Shamsher Singh Pujara, said the district administration was informed in advance about three emergency cases at the community health centre in Udaipur needing immediate specialized treatment. ‘‘Condition of the patients is under control at the moment but the situation may change any time,’’ Pujara said.
As the small chopper is being provided by the state government on demand to attend emergency cases, the issue of starting regular helicopter service for passengers, who have listed their names with the district administration at Kullu and Lahaul, is hanging fire as Airport Authority of India officials deployed at Bhuntar have refused to allow the use of the runway for the helicopter.
14/12/09 Anand Bodh & Ashwani Kumar/Times of India

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DGCA starts work on new regulation to act against practice of fictitious bookings in airlines

Mumbai: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) had found out that that travel agents and portals, who do bulk purchase of tickets in advance from carriers are primarily responsible for this rise in airfares, during the strikes by airline pilots. To discuss the issue in detail MoCA had also called a high-level meeting of all airlines. In a first initiative of its kind, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started work on a new regulation to curb this malpractice. The DGCA is learnt to be doing a detailed study of the entire ticketing process of airlines. It is examining how agents and portals pick up tickets through advance purchase and then price them for sale.
According to a report in the Times of India, a senior official from DGCA said, ‘‘We found that some big agents and portals do huge amount of ghost booking. For instance, they pick up one lakh tickets and do ghost booking for as many as 80,000 tickets. Due to this, price of remaining tickets rise. Once a high level of price is reached and tickets are sold, seats earlier blocked by ghost booking are gradually sold at premium rates. In the aviation industry, ticket prices keep rising as seats get sold. So when a flight opens for ticket sales, the first few seats go at the lowest price. Then fares keep rising as the number of available seats reduces.”
The official added that DGCA is working on a new regulation, possibly the first of its kind, to target the Global Distribution Systems (GDS) on which tickets are sold.
11/12/09 TravelBizMonitor

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Air Works' MRO in Hosur

Mumbai: Aircraft maintenance and repair firm Air Works India Engineering Pvt Ltd is in the process of setting up a hangar for wide-bodied aircraft in Hosur, Bangalore, Ravi Menon, director and group head (business development), said on Wednesday. He said that the construction of the hangar is in the initial stages and it will be operational by the end of 2010-11.
"In the first phase, we have invested close to $20 million for the building this hangar. By the end of 2011, our total investment will reach $45 million," said Menon. This hangar will be used to house and repair all wide-bodied aircrafts and will also be used for maintenance and repair works of private and chartered aircrafts.
In 2008, Air Works became the first commercial maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) firm in India to receive regulatory approval from the Directorate
General of Civil Aviation for its Hosur facility.
10/12/09 Ramiya Bhas/Daily News & Analysis

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USTDA bullish on India's aviation sector

Washington: The US Trade and Development Agency is bullish on the exponential growth of the aviation sector in India [ Images ], despite the global economic downturn.
Acting Director of the Agency, Leocadia I Zak, noted that "this summit follows on the heels of a very important visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [ Images ] to Washington," during which both Dr Singh and President Obama [ Images ] had "emphasized the importance of economic cooperation between our peoples not only as a means to speed economic recovery but also, in Prime Minister Singh's words, to promote 'a deeper and better understanding between our countries.'
"Perhaps one of the best examples of economic cooperation and also people-to-people cooperation is the US-India Aviation Cooperation Program that was launched at the First Summit in 2007," she said, and explained that it "provides a forum for dialogue and a mechanism by which the members can highlight specific areas of bilateral technical cooperation, including appropriate training programs and technical activities."
Zak said that the ACP's programs had begun in early 2008 with an innovative Air Traffic Management training program funded by USTDA "that focused on improved high-density air traffic operations at several Indian airports. The program was year-long and featured both Indian and US exercises."
10/12/09 Aziz Haniffa/Rediff

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24 pilots found alocohol-positive in pre-flight medical tests

New Delhi: Twenty four pilots have been found alcohol-positive in their pre-flight medical examinations this year till November 30, which on some
occasions led to delay in operations, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
"24 cases have been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) from January 1 to November 30 this year where pilots were found alco-positive in the pre-flight medical test," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply.
Patel said there were appropriate DGCA provisions, which stipulates punishments for such erring pilots and cabin crew.
10/12/09 PTI/Economic Times

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24 pilots found alocohol-positive in pre-flight medical tests

New Delhi: Twenty four pilots have been found alcohol-positive in their pre-flight medical examinations this year till November 30, which on some
occasions led to delay in operations, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
"24 cases have been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) from January 1 to November 30 this year where pilots were found alco-positive in the pre-flight medical test," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply.
Patel said there were appropriate DGCA provisions, which stipulates punishments for such erring pilots and cabin crew.
10/12/09 PTI/Economic Times

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Airlines concerned about the new Ground Handling Policy

The Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel informed the Lok Sabha today that the Airline operators had expressed their concerns about the new Ground Handling Policy. He said that the matter was examined by the Government and it was decided that the exit of non-entitled entities including domestic airlines will be implemented only after undertaking a comprehensive review and with inter-ministerial consultation.
Regarding the new ground handling policy, the Minister said that for the metropolitan airports i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad, following provision was made-
• The respective airport operator itself or its joint venture partner.
• Air India and its subsidiaries/joint venture companies specialized in ground handling services. Third party handling will also be permitted to these subsidiaries.
• Any other ground handling service providers selected through competitive bidding process by the airport operator.
10/12/09 PRESS RELEASE/Press Information Bureau

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Air India's VT-EYF too ends up in Jet cemetery

With its internal wiring hanging from the open cargo doors like the entrails of a gutted whale, passenger jet VT-EYF – the one-time pride of the Air India fleet – was yesterday just the latest multimillion-pound flying machine to come to Kemble Airfield to die.
In front of the 18-year-old Airbus, which would have cost its owners £30m new, stood the sorry remains of an identical plane, an A320 operated until this summer by Spanish airline Click. Propped up incongruously on a pile of railway sleepers, it was already shorn of the engines, on-board computers and avionics that together will fetch about £400,000 – a fraction of their original price.
Against a backdrop of the Cotswold hills, three giant Boeing 747s which had until recently been plying their trade in southern Africa as freighters, await their turn in the new year to be painstakingly stripped of anything of value, before their gleaming aluminium airframes meet the jaws of an industrial wrecking machine.
Welcome to the unlikely epicentre of one of the few booming sectors of the global aviation industry – the dismantling, recycling and crushing of aircraft that are no longer needed by airlines who find themselves with older, inefficient jets that cannot be filled or sold.
The result is that an anonymous former military airbase in Gloucestershire has become the world's most prolific aircraft boneyard, with dozens of passenger planes until recently operating in locations from the Seychelles to the Ukraine making one final, smoky flight across the globe to a fatal meeting with the cutting tools of professional dismantlers.
Kemble Airfield, a sprawling expanse of hangars and asphalt near Cirencester which was Britain's busiest RAF base during the Second World War, is the operating base of Air Salvage International (ASI), a British company which has eviscerated more than 350 jets in its short history and, in the teeth of the credit crunch, seen its scrapping business double in the last 12 months.
From business class seats being snapped up by enthusiasts for their front rooms to sections of airframe used by colleges to train would-be flight attendants, the contents of aircraft that once commanded prices up to $148m (£89m) are now being sold off for a song after being torn apart in Gloucestershire's aviation charnel house.
With the aviation industry's environmental image battered by its contribution to the emissions that cause global warming, it has spotted an opportunity that when it comes to ending the life of a passenger jet, its methods should be eco-friendly. Boeing and Airbus have signed up to guidelines which ensure that at least 70 per cent of every plane they have produced is recycled, with that proportion rising to more than 95 per cent as technology improves.
10/12/09 Cahal Milmo/The Independant, UK

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President chopper hits shed after pilot says no to ‘follow-me’ jeep

President Pratibha Patil had a narrow escape today when the rotor blades of an IAF Mi-17 helicopter in which she was travelling hit an abandoned shed at Bhubaneswar airport while taxiing on the runway after landing.
The Indian Express has learnt that the pilot of the helicopter refused the assistance of a “follow-me” vehicle to guide it to the apron. Sources said the pilot decided to rely on ground marshals instead of the “follow-me” vehicle. The helicopter landed in Bhubaneswar after Patil visited Puri and Konark.
“While taxiing, the rotors touched a building in proximity to the apron. No one was injured. We have ordered a court of inquiry,” a senior IAF officer said. This is the second incident this year involving an IAF helicopter carrying the President — there was a near-miss at the Mumbai airport in February.
The incident occurred despite a full rehearsal at the airport by the IAF two days ago — this included “wing tip” measurements to ensure there would be no obstruction. The President was accompanied by husbandDevisingh Shekhawat, Orissa Governor M C Bhandare, her ADC, Military Secretary and physicians.
10/12/09 Debabrata Mohanty/Manu Pubby /Indian Express

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Two planes burn as container carrying them catches fire

Ghaziabad: Two Zenith two-seater trainer planes were reduced to ashes when the container transporting the aircraft caught fire in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, police said Wednesday.
According to police, the container carrying four planes caught fire after its upper portion touched a high tension overhead wire near Khurja bus stand near Shikarpur locality around 1.30 p.m. Tuesday.
The fire spread quickly and became intense within minutes. The two planes on the upper deck of the container caught fire but the two on the lower deck were spared of destruction.
Both the driver and his associate fled the accident spot.
The aircraft were being transported from an aviation institute in Kanpur to a Meerut-based flying academy - Pankh Aviation.
Manish Thakur, the director of Pankh Academy, said: “We had bought the two-seater trainers through an auction to train students in our academy.”
09/12/09 IANS/Thaindian.com

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High debt set to hit airlines’ fund-raising

Mumbai: Airlines in India, which have accumulated huge debt in their books to fuel their expansion plans, will find it increasingly difficult to raise further funds through the debt route, say industry experts. Rather, they will look at raising money through equity.
According to data available on the BSE, the long-term debt to equity ratio for private carrier Jet Airways is 12.61 as on March 2009 and Kingfisher’s ratio is 4.95 as on March 2008. Low fare carrier SpiceJet too has a debt equity ratio of 19.30 as on March 2008. Debt equity ratio indicates how much a company has borrowed long-term as a percentage of its stock equity. The lower, the better.
An investment banker with a foreign bank said, “Airlines are finding it difficult to get more debt since their profitability ratios (operating profit) are negative. Being a capital-intensive sector, return on assets is also not favourable due to declining yields. Hence, getting funds is an issue for airline operators.”
M Shivkumar, senior vice-president (finance) at Jet, said, “We do not have any financial crunch currently. Our fund-raising plans via the qualified institutional placement route are on track. Market conditions are not favourable and hence we have not opted for further debt. We have our own sources of funding for new aircraft purchases.” However, previously, the airline deferred its plans to raise $400 million via rights issue due to volatile market conditions.
10/12/09 Shaheen Mansuri/Indian Express

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Airlines see blue skies in FY11 on cost cuts, improved traffic

Mumbai: India’s airlines are expected to post aggregate losses of around $2 billion (Rs9,260 crore) in 2009-10, largely on account of excess capacity and high fuel prices, but most of them are looking forward to a better, even profitable, 2010-11 on the back of their own cost-cutting measures and an increase in passenger traffic.
“The growth has already started coming in. If the current situation prevails, the next financial year will be good for airlines. Most importantly, the gap between demand and supply will disappear in the year,” Delhi-based low-fare carrier SpiceJet Ltd’s chief executive officer Sanjay Agarwal said in an interview. Demand could outstrip supply by 2014, he added.
That marks a significant turnaround for a sector plagued by overcapacity in 2008-09 and part of 2009-10. The aggregate loss of India’s airlines rose 44% to Rs8,557.37 crore in 2008-09 and the airlines expect to post a loss of a similar magnitude this year. Meanwhile, passenger traffic in the country, the fourth highest in the world after that in the US, China, and Japan, fell in 2008-09 on the back of high tariffs; it also fell in the first part of 2009-10.
However, most airlines have started posting better results in recent months.
An industry analyst, who did not want to be identified, pointed out a potential problem arising from Indian carriers cancelling or deferring orders for aircraft. “Most of the carriers have deferred their aircraft acquisition plans. If the revival is true and if they fly back to black, they will miss the wave of next boom.”
KPMG’s Batra, however, said airlines could always lease all the aircraft they need.
09/12/09 P.R. Sanjai/Live Mint

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Prez has narrow escape after chopper hits wall

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: President Pratibha Patil averted disaster after the rotor blades of her helicopter hit a building at the Bhuba-neswar airport on Wednesday. This is the second incident this year when the president's safety was compromised.
Patil was with her husband Devisingh Shekhawat and Orissa governor MC Bhandari, on her way back from the Jagannath Temple in Puri. The 16-seater Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter, carrying six more people, including Patil's security officers, had a smooth landing at 4.33pm, but on its way from the helipad to the parking place, its rotor blades hit an abandoned asbestos shed. The blades were damaged, destabilising the helicopter, but the chopper landed safely. Patil escaped unhurt and was whisked away to her waiting convoy. Three helicopters were parked nearby and there was a chance that Patil's chopper could have hit those.
A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson described the incident as "minor", but aviation expert Air Marshal (retd) Denzil Keelor said it was "serious". An airport official said the helicopter could have caught fire after crash-landing.
Patil was disturbed after the accident; she went to the pilot herself inquiring about it.
Airport director Sanjay Jain ruled out "poor visibility" as the cause of the accident.
Jain said an inquiry has been initiated by the air force and the airport authority, but did not give details.
09/12/09 Daily News & Analysis

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DGCA de-rosters Rahul's pilot, orders probe

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday ordered a probe into the alleged flouting of norms during the landing of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's helicopter at Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh and also de-rostered the pilot.
The pilot would remain de-rostered until the inquiry was over. He was also scheduled to appear before the DGCA during the day.
Uttar Pradesh Additional Secretary Vijay Shankar Pandey had said on Tuesday that Rahul's helicopter landed well after sunset, violating the DGCA rules.
The report submitted by Kumar to the state government too said Rahul's helicopter landed in Sitapur at 05:30 pm, 17 minutes after sunset in the area.
DGCA rules prohibit visually-aided landings after sunset and mandate such landings half an hour before sunset.
If the DGCA probe confirms the district magistrate's report, it would mean a huge embarrassment for Rahul, who has denied flouting norms while landing.
09/12/09 Headlines Today/India Today

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"The pilot was not ready to land but Rahul Gandhi forced him to land"

New Delhi: The two pilots, who landed the helicopter carrying Congress leader Rahul Gandhi allegedly in poor visibility in UP's Sitapur district on Monday, have been derostered pending investigations.
DGCA has asked the pilots to not fly till further orders and summoned them to Delhi to ‘explain’ the incident.
However, the District Magistrate of Sitapur, in his report to the UP government, has already confirmed that the helicopter had indeed landed in complete darkness.
Importantly, the DM’s statement is in sync with Rita Joshi’s assertion, yesterday, that the chopper had landed in pitch dark surroundings, putting everyone’s life in danger.
"We had to leave in 15 minutes because it was so dark. Putting our life in danger, we landed the helicopter in zero visibility in Sitapur. The pilot was not ready to land but Rahul Gandhi forced him to land. You should see his commitment", Joshi had told reporters.
But Rahul’s explanation was different: “I am a pilot and I am absolutely aware of the dangers of flying in low visibility conditions. I will be the last person to do it.”
However, the continuing with war-of-words between the Mayawati government and the Centre over Rahul’s unannounced visits to the state, the state government has shot off a letter to the Centre over alleged violation of security norms during Gandhi's visit to the state.
09/12/09 Zee News

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I am a pilot, won’t tell pilot to try landing in poor visibility: Rahul

Lucknow A day after UP Congress chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi told a gathering in Sitapur that AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi had asked his helicopter pilot to land in low visibility because he wanted to meet them, Gandhi said “I would be the last person to ask him to do such a thing” since “I am a pilot and know the dangers of flying in low visibility”.
Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Gandhi said the pilot “came to me this morning, crying, and told me that such reports in the media had put him in trouble and would put his job at stake”. He said the “UPCC president is not a pilot... She is not a weather expert. The pilot has not broken any rule.”
Gandhi’s clarification on the Sitapur incident came even as the UP government lodged a protest with the Union Home Ministry on alleged violation of security norms by the Congress leader.
State Additional Cabinet Secretary V S Pandey said: “if any accident occurs due to violation of security norms, then the state government shall not be responsible... the Union government will be responsible for any untoward incident.”
09/12/09 Express India

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Goyal: Indian consolidation needed to overcome 'fundamental problems'

Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal said yesterday at the US-India Aviation Partnership Summit in Washington that consolidation among Indian airlines is inevitable and will be necessary to restore financial sanity to the market.
During his keynote address, he noted that Indian carriers are expected to account for around 19% of global airline industry losses this year even though the Indian market only accounts for about 3% of worldwide capacity. He said the Indian civil aviation market suffers from three "fundamental problems": High costs, a "substantial volume of overcapacity" and a "lack of adequate infrastructure at Indian airports."
He said the third problem is on the way to being solved though privatization of major Indian airports and government investment in aviation infrastructure. But the first two issues likely will take longer, he explained.
He complained that Indian airlines contending with rising fuel costs are "heavily taxed" by local governments, charged excessive airport fees and must pay a limited pool of qualified workers "high salaries."
The cost problem is exacerbated by too much capacity "flooding the Indian market," he said. "We have 25%-30% excess capacity, which leads to unhealthy market practices" such as carriers charging "cutthroat" fares that don't come close to covering the cost of operations. "India has become an almost totally price-driven market," he said.
He added that Indian airlines are flying with load factors in the "mid-60s" when "the high 80s are required to break even." He said, "It's just a matter of time before [Indian airlines] start looking for partners or they'll end up just folding their tents when they run out of gas.
09/12/09 ATW Online

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