Airlines must consolidate to protect margins: Economic Survey

New Delhi: Concerned over losses and declining margins of air carriers, the Economic Survey for 2007-08 Thursday suggested consolidation to ensure optimal use of resources.
This is despite the fact that the civil aviation sector is growing rapidly and the government giving 'in-principle' approval to import 496 aircraft in the next five years, the survey said.
More than 250 aircraft are likely to be acquired by airline operators, it pointed out.
The survey said that the process of consolidation has already begun.
'The recent mergers and acquisitions that have occurred in public and private sector airlines are expected to enable the airlines to increase revenues through synergies in operations and by ensuring optimal utilisation of resources in this capital-intensive sector.'
Public sector carrier Air India has merged with Indian, private airline Sahara merged with Jet Airways and Air Deccan merged with Kingfisher in recent times. The merger of Indian and Air India would provide an integrated international and domestic footprint, which will enhance options and alternatives to air passengers, the survey said.
28/02/08 India PRwire

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Airlines' fleet size set to double

New Delhi: Domestic airlines may be suffering losses but growth in Indian skies is unlikely to be muted in the years to come. According to the Economic Survey, more than 250 new aircraft are to be acquired by scheduled airlines in the next five years. Budget 2008-09.
As of now, there are 14 scheduled and 65 non-scheduled operators and together they own 535 aircraft. So, in terms of fleet size alone, the Indian skies are expected to witness 50 per cent growth by 2013. But the ministry of civil aviation has already given its ?in-principle? approval for import of 496 aircraft. So technically, the size of the domestic industry could double in the next five years. To keep pace with fleet expansion, the government is working on improving airport infrastructure across the country. The Airports Authority of India is committed to modernising 35 non-metro airports besides undertaking substantial upgradation of Kolkata and Chennai airports. Taking note of the strain on profitability of domestic carriers, the survey points out that due to intense competition between airlines and declining margins, consolidation within the industry is inevitable.
29/02/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya /DNA MONEY/Sify

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Soaring competition in domestic skies cuts into profits

New Delhi: With increasing competition in domestic skies, the profitability of the domestic airline industry is under tremendous pressure as almost all operators are reported to be making losses, according to the pre-budget Economic Survey 2007-08 presented in Parliament on Thursday.
“Given the intense competition among the airlines and the declining margins, a process of consolidation is perhaps inevitable.” The process has already commenced, and the recent mergers and acquisitions in the public and private sectors are expected to enable the airlines to increase revenues through synergies in operations and by ensuring optimal utilisation of resources in this capital-intensive sector.
After the merger of the national carriers Indian Airlines and Air India into the National Aviation Company of India Limited, the new brand entity Air India is expected to provide an integrated international and domestic footprint, which will enhance options to the customer, improve load factors and yields on commonly serviced routes and allow easy entry into one of the three global alliances.
Noting that the civil aviation sector underwent dramatic expansion during X Plan period, the Survey says the rapid growth of the economy, especially during the last four years, has been accompanied by a sharp increase in the volume of air traffic.
29/02/08 Vinay Kumar/The Hindu

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Aviation sector records robust growth in 2007: Survey

New Delhi: The civil aviation sector continues to report robust growth in January-December 2007 with domestic passenger traffic recording a growth of 32.51 per cent. The Economic Survey 2007-08, tabled in Parliament on Thursday by the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, showed that the international air traffic grew by 15.6 per cent during the same period.
The survey points out that the combined number of international and domestic passenger traffic has almost doubled between 2004 and 2007. Similarly, international air cargo reported a growth of 13 per cent while domestic air cargo sector grew by 9.8 per cent during April-October 2007.
Financial health.
Commenting on the financial health of the sector, the survey states that the process of consolidation has started and is likely to enable the airlines to increase their revenues through synergies in operations and also by ensuring optimal utilisation of resources in a capital intensive sector.
During the year, not only did the Government initiate the process of merging Air India and Indian, but the merger of Jet Airways and Air Sahara was also completed and Kingfisher Airlines acquired Air Deccan.
Realising that infrastructure development is a key issue, Airports Authority of India (AAI) started the process of modernising Kolkata and Chennai airports. In Chennai, AAI proposes to construct an integrated passenger terminal capable of handling 20 million passengers annually at an estimated cost of Rs 1,942.51 crore by June 2010.
28/02/08 Business Line

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Airlines take to free tickets, discounts to boost revenue

Mumbai: In the aviation sector, where profit margins are wafer-thin, airline operators are taking a lead in introducing free tickets and other freebies to improve air travel bookings. The rationale behind introducing free ticket is to cut down losses. In the fiscal 2007-08, airlines collectively incurred losses to the tune of over Rs 2,000 crore.
Explains Anand Ramachandran, vice-president, finance, Deccan, "We resort to schemes like free tickets and discounts to sell unsold tickets across sectors, especially during the lean season. For instance, our passenger load factors (PLF) were 79% in January, and the remaining seats were sold by offering free tickets exclusive of taxes. Air tickets are perishable commodity. Once the doors of the aircraft are shut for take-off, the vacant seats cannot fetch any returns and selling them off at a discount makes business sense."
By offering tickets at throw away prices, the airlines not the least earn minimal revenues by way of fuel surcharge and other taxes which is approximately Rs 2,050 on each ticket inapplicable of whether sold in an offer or across the counter. The schemes help the airlines get over 200 bookings during the first week after the announcement of the schemes.
28/02/08 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

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Despite Lalu, airlines say ‘trains cannot fly’

Bangalore: Railway minister Lalu Prasad on Tuesday intensified the price war between train and air travel by cutting rail fares on AC First Class by 7%, AC-II by 4% and AC-III by 3%.
The discount widens the gap between fares of budget airlines and AC II-tier to around 30-40%. It also widens the chasm between no-frills airline fares and AC III-tier by close to 40-50%.
However, even after the price slash, AC First travel by train would be costlier than budget airlines by around 10-15%.
But it would be cheaper than economy class fares in any full service airline (Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and Indian Airlines).
So, will low-fare airlines feel the heat of Lalu’s aggressive pricing? Most budget carriers are unperturbed. GoAir managing director Jeh Wadia puts it simply by saying “trains cannot fly.” So “any amount of discount cannot replace the time advantage that can be enjoyed air passengers.”
Some airline executives, however, feel that Lalu’s move could, at the most, marginally impact short-haul sectors.
27/02/08 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Fare cuts may give low-cost carriers a run for their money

New Delhi: Railway minister Lalu Prasad has slashed upper class fares (AC-I and II) between 7 and 4% during the lean season. The move has once again reaffirmed the railways status as a tough competitor to low-cost air carriers.
Once the new fares come into effect from April 1, passengers traveling in AC first class from Delhi to Mumbai would spend around Rs 2,200, against Rs 2,570 currently. In contrast, air passengers traveling in a low-cost carrier (LCC) would pay between Rs 500 and Rs 4,000 per ticket over and above the Rs 1,700 surcharges, bringing the total cost of travel to between Rs 2,200 and Rs 5,700. While, the LCCs would take shorter duration to reach the destination, it would come without frills such as food and very little space as opposed to the spacious sleeper compartment of a train.
Many of the discounts on the proposed fares will be further enhanced under a variable fare scheme for newly designed high-capacity coaches.
“New routes launched by the air carriers were just getting popular but the budget has announced new trains on these routes making it harder for the air carriers,” Ankur Bhatia, MD, Bird Group said.
Air fares are most probably going to drop after this Railway Budget, especially for low-cost carriers, which were born essentially as competition to the railways,” Bhatia said.
26/02/08 Financial Express

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Tough tussle ahead between rail and airways

New Delhi: Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, the turnaround man of Indian Railways, gave the parting gift to rail passengers when he presented his fifth Rail Budget. The rail passengers are indeed overjoyed with the cut in fares.
This can give the airline companies sleepless nights as passengers may find it easy and affordable to board trains rather then fly.
Therefore, it becomes important to explain how the two categories of fares compare especially after the recent cuts announced in the Rail Budget.
A Delhi-Mumbai rail ticket of AC-II will cost Rs 1,924.8 and in contrast, a ticket on a low cost airline on would cost about Rs 2,525.
Railways is definitely turning out to be cheaper and blame it on the various surcharges that airlines now levy despite the fact that an air ticket price on this route is merely worth Rs 500.
Still, most airlines are confident that they will not loose passengers on the longer routes because the railways lose steam when it comes to competing on travel time for the same distance.
27/02/08 NDTV.com

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Airlines bet on speed to beat rival rail

New Delhi: The railways today reduced fares on all air-conditioned classes but airlines remained unimpressed by the small cuts.
The non-plussed airlines feel trains will have to learn to fly first to beat them, something which the Indian Railways says it may do in the future with trains travelling at the speed of 300-350 km per hour in dedicated high-speed corridors.
For the last two years, Lalu Prasad had been trying to counter low-cost airlines, which were eating into the traffic of prestigious trains such as the Rajdhani Express, by reducing fares in AC-I and AC-II classes.
The minister hopes that this year’s round of cuts will help bust competition.
Airlines, however, do not see any threat from the fare cut.
According to GoAir managing director Jeh Wadia, “The Indian passenger has always followed a process of upgrading as he moves up the economic ladder ... This trend will continue. This is because the Indian Railways cannot provide the time efficiency that air travel offers. Moreover, GoAir takes the launch of Go-Mumbai smart card as a huge compliment to the power of the Go brand.”
27/02/08 The Telegraph

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Budget airlines may feel heat of fare cut

Mumbai/New Delhi: Railway minister Lalu Prasad’s move to reduce fares of air-conditioned (AC) as well as second-class railway passage will hit the short-haul routes of low-cost airlines, but their long-haul routes will remain unaffected, say airline representatives and analysts.
In the Railway Budget for 2008-09, Prasad announced a 6% reduction in the fares of sleeper-class coaches and 2% in AC 3-tier and AC chair car coaches. Last year, he cut AC fares by 8%.
An analyst with a domestic brokerage, who did not wish to be identified, said the short-haul routes of airlines that can be covered by rail in 5-6 hours will bear the brunt of the railway minister’s proposal of paring fares.
Capt G.R. Gopinath, who introduced the low-fare airline concept in India and founded Deccan Aviation Ltd that runs country’s largest low-fare carrier Simplifly Deccan, however, did not anticipate any immediate problem.
SpiceJet’s director Ajay Singh doesn’t expect passengers to stop flying. According to Jeh Wadia, managing director of GoAir the fare cuts announced in the rail budget may have been prompted by “the phenomenal 33% growth recorded by the Indian aviation sector in the last year.” InterGlobe Aviation Pvt. Ltd-run IndiGo’s chief executive officer Bruce Ashby ruled out any fare reduction to counter the railways.
27/02/08 P.R. Sanjai and Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Proposal for helipad near Akshardham temple in Delhi

New Delhi: The government is mooting a proposal to construct a helipad near Akshardham temple in the national capital, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
"Pawan Hans Helicopter Limited is in talks with Delhi Development Authority for allotment of land at a suitable place near Akshardham temple for construction of heliport," Minister of state for Civil Aviation Praful Patel said.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences had requested permission for landing of helicopter on elevated helipad at Jai Prakash Narain Apex Trauma Centre at the premier institute in August last year, he said while replying to a query.
"AIIMS has been advised to follow the guidelines for authorisation for elevated helipad and guidelines for preparation of helipad as per Civil Aviation Requirements and prepare standard operating procedures for operation of helicopters from the proposed helipads," he said.
26/02/08 PTI/Economic Times

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Man loses Rs 70,000 in online fraud

Ahmedabad: A professional from Ghatlodia was duped of Rs 70,000 by online fraudsters. Online tickets had been booked from various portals through his account.
According to Satellite police officials, Sandip Kajrekar, resident of Simandharnagar Flats, Ghatlodia, and employed with a construction major in Satellite area, had gone to a shopping mall on February 22. When he swiped his card, he got to know that he had already exhausted his credit limit. Shocked, he checked out with his bank and got to know that airline tickets had been purchased from various web portals on his account. Kajrekar then approached police officials with a complaint.
"The portals of MakeMyTrip, PayPal and Yatra were used in the fraud. The fraudsters booked tickets from Mumbai to Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad in three domestic airlines including Air Deccan. We now have to get details of the booking and travelling from the websites," said KK Patel, inspector of Satellite police station.
The credit card was used between February 9 and 20 for bookings of tickets worth Rs 70,000.
27/02/08 Times of India

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Chicken dishes are making a comeback on flights

Several domestic carriers had withdrawn chicken from their menu in mid-January after the outbreak of bird flu in the state. Even international flights that load meals in Calcutta had scrapped chicken from their menus.
The state government had banned buying and selling chicken on February 5. The ban was lifted a week later.
“Chicken dishes have been reintroduced on our flights from Calcutta since February 22,” said a Kingfisher Airline official on Tuesday.
Air India has also been serving chicken dishes as part of its Indian and Continental menu on domestic and international flights from Calcutta since Sunday.
In the interim period, some airlines had been serving only vegetarian items, while others were substituting chicken with lamb and mutton.
27/02/08 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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GMR to start charters, plans Rs 700 cr investment

Bangalore: GMR Infrastructure—which has New Delhi, Hyderabad and Istanbul airport projects in its kitty—is now foraying into air charter services. The company is diving into the corporate jet market with a capital expenditure plan of Rs 700 crore. GMR Aviation, set up to drive this charter venture, will have an initial fleet size of 6 nine-seater aircraft and two choppers.
What started as a project for captive use has now been spun off into a full-fledged venture, as a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure. The company is looking at tapping the growing corporate jet market in India. According to industry estimates, the number of private aircraft in India is expected to rise from the existing 150-190 to over 500 in the next four years.
The company has already obtained a licence to operate charter services and has met with encouraging response in its test-marketing phase. GMR has appointed Amit Sinha, formerly with Tata Aviation, to head the venture.
GMR Infrastructure chief financial officer (corporate integration) A Subba Rao told ET, “we floated the venture purely for captive use. But, we now see great potential in offering third party services and using our assets more effectively.”
26/02/08 J Padmapriya & Urvashi Jha/Economic Times

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Domestic airlines poach expats

New Delhi: With carriers such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines all set to battle it out on international routes, leading expatriates with years of experience in global airlines are now being wooed for top management posts.
Jet Airways, the private airline with clearance for flying abroad, has roped in 14 expatriates from major foreign carriers.
The company was able to woo five senior management executives from Singapore Airlines - one of their key competitors, especially in the south-east Asian market.
Besides, three executives have left Gulf Air, a region that has recently been opened up for Indian private carriers, for the company. Jet started operations to West Asia in January this year.
Kingfisher boasts of five expatriates on its advisory board, out of which two are from Cathay Pacific and one from KLM Royal Dutch Airline.
Indian carriers usually have to offer executives a hike of 30-40 per cent on the previously drawn salary.
A lack of trained personnel in engineering and operations has also forced airlines to appoint expats as operational heads, albeit at a premium.
Carriers such as SpiceJet, Simplifly Deccan and IndiGO have expats heading their engineering and technical departments.
26/02/08 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

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Cheaper aviation turbine fuel hopes crash at North Block

New Delhi: The Budget is unlikely to lift the spirits of the aviation industry. The finance ministry has decided against according declared good status to aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or jet fuel, in the Budget. The move would have reduced sales tax on jet fuel to a uniform 4% across the country.
Sales tax on the fuel varies in each state and in certain cases, it is as high as 24%. Domestic carriers are incurring losses due to high fuel bills, which constitute about 40% of airlines’ total operating cost.
In a recent communication to the civil aviation ministry, a finance ministry official said jet fuel could not be added to the list of declared goods without building a consensus among state governments. It said the empowered committee of state finance ministers has said states would strongly object to any such move of the Centre.
Considering the possibility of stiff opposition from states, the initial plan of announcing jet fuel as a declared good in the Budget had been dropped, a source in the government said. It is learnt that the civil aviation ministry has been asked to pursue the issue with individual states and create a consensus.
25/02/08 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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HAL in talks to make Honeywell engines

Bangalore: In what could be the biggest aircraft engine-sourcing contract from India, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is in talks with aero-engine maker Honeywell International Inc. to manufacture more than 1,000 small plane engines locally for the global market.
HAL, the state-run defence aircraft maker, expects a contract to be signed in March for the engines of Honeywell that power small turbo-prop planes such as Jetstream of BAE Systems Plc. and Island Hopper of Integrity Aircraft Holdings Ltd Corp., both of which can carry around 20 passengers.
So far, the Indian aerospace firm has been exporting sub- systems, forgings and components for engines through its equal joint venture in Bangalore with Snecma of France— Snecma-HAL Aerospace Pvt. Ltd—set up in 2005.
24/02/08 K. Raghu/Livemint

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BJETS wants 100% in arm, to pump in $900 mn

New Delhi: BJETS Pte, a Singapore-based company owned by Balaji Ramamoorthy, a person of Indian origin (PIO), has sought permission to pump in nearly $900 million (Rs 3,600 crore) to bring 100 business jets to India for charter and fractional ownership business. The company has sought permission to buy Business Jets India, a company set up by the Ramamoorthy family, for its Indian foray, sources said.
Interestingly, the Singapore-based company has sought clearance for 100% stake in Business Jets India despite reports about Tatas picking up a stake in the venture. According to revised foreign direct investment (FDI) policy guidelines, 74% FDI is allowed in chartered airlines while NRIs are allowed 100%. BJETS has urged the government to waive the equity ceiling and allow 100% foreign investment. Industry sources say the Tata Group is likely to pick up more than 35% stake in the Indian venture of BJETS.
According to the business plan submitted to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), BJETS plans to register 100 business jets in India by 2015 and fund the entire operations through infusion of $900 million out of which $200 million would be equity and $700 million would be debt.
25/02/08 G Ganapathy Subramaniam/Economic Times

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Airlines face credit fears

As airlines try to counter soaring aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, slowdown in demand and overcapacity, the spectre of credit crisis is hovering over them. Run-up to Budget 2008-09
Airlines fear that if losses due to these factors continue, they might fall out of favour with banks and financial institutions.
Budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd chief financial officer (CFO) Parth Sarathi Basu says that even though his airline enjoys (credit) limits from banks today, it may not be the same next year if the red ink on the balance-sheet spreads further.
Basu revealed that SpiceJet did not have any plans for raising funds. A year back, the no-frill airline raised around Rs 320 crore ($80 million) from Tata Group, private equity funds Texas Pacific Group Ventures, Istithmar PJSC and Goldman Sachs.
And it is not just SpiceJet, which is sacrificing depreciation to fund its aircraft purchase. Credit crunch has forced other airlines also to go in for sale and leaseback and capacity rationalisation.
Industry sources say shortage of funds has compelled the Mallya-owned Deccan to defer delivery of some aircraft and GoAir to rationalise its fleet.
25/02/08 Praveena Sharma/DNA MONEY/Sify

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More air link for Games facilities

Ranchi: The state can expect new flights by the year-end as Jharkhand Olympic Association (JOA) has initiated efforts for smooth transition of participants and officials by air and railway during the 34th National Games.
The National Games will be held at three locations — Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Dhanbad.
As of today, Ranchi is the only venue with a regular air link with Delhi.
Efforts are being made to expedite commencement of one flight from Delhi to Dhanbad via Ranchi, and another from Delhi to Jamshedpur via Ranchi. The JOA will approach Indian, Kingfisher and MDLR Airlines, JOA secretary-general S.M. Hashmi said.
He also said: “To expedite commencement of flights, a JOA delegation will soon meet civil aviation minister Praful Patel and Vijay Mallya, the chief of Kingfisher Airlines, and MDLR Airlines officials.”
25/02/08 The Telegraph

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Online air ticket fraud: ATS clueless

Mumbai: The anti-terrorism squad (ATS), which arrested eight persons in connection with an online air ticket booking fraud, is yet to establish the identity of the Kazakhstan-based accused who allegedly provided credit card numbers to those arrested.
The squad, even after keeping the accused in custody for over one-and-half months, is yet to establish how many air tickets were booked through the internet. Also, since no one has lodged a complaint, it is not known who suffered losses due to the fraud. A police constable himself became the complainant in the case.The prime concern of the ATS is detection of terrorism-related cases, seizure of narcotics and fake currency. However, this is the first time that the squad is busy probing a cyber crime.
Interestingly, the cyber crime investigation cell (CCIC) of the city crime branch is unaware of this case. In 2007, the CCIC had assisted the Economic Offences Wing to detect an online ticket booking racket by tracing the Internet Protocol (IP) address of the accused. Generally, cases related to credit card fraud and computer are dealt by police stations with assistance from the CCIC.
25/02/08 Mateen Hafeez/Times of India

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States asked to cut sales tax on ATF

New Delhi:Minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel has recently written a letter to all state chief ministers asking them to bring down the rate of sales tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) in their respective state budgets in 2008-09.
The minister has said the sales tax on ATF has to be cut down to the declared goods rate of 4%, which ranges from 20-35% across various states. “Given the negligible contribution to the overall sales tax collection, the impact of a reduction of sales tax on ATF for the state exchequer will be negligible — especially in view of the upside that the states have seen through high price and increased uplift,” said ministry sources, quoting from the minister’s letter.
In fact, tax on ATF is in excess of 50% in some states. Worse, ATF in India is 70-80% costlier than many other countries. The airlines industry is now in deep distress with cumulative losses of over Rs 2,000 crore in 2006-07.
The single largest element contributing to the airlines costs is ATF which accounts for 40% of the operating cost of Indian carriers as compared to 20% for international carriers.
24/02/08 Raja Awasthi/Economic Times

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Embraer Reveals First Phenom Customer In India

Last week, Embraer disclosed a contract with Indian business aviation solutions company Aviators India Pvt. Ltd. for two Phenom 100 executive jets, totaling US$ 5.96 million, at list price. This order, announced at the Extravaganza Mumbai 2008, February 22-23, in India, is already included in Embraer’s firm order backlog. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2009.
"Aviators India has over ten years of experience in the Indian marketplace. Their choice of the Phenom 100 underscores our confidence in the suitability of the aircraft for this market," said Capt. Manfred Baudzus, Embraer Director of Marketing and Sales for Asia Pacific - Executive Aviation.
The Indian company is active in consultancy services for aircraft management, purchasing airplanes and helicopters, and setting up corporate flight departments.
"Amongst the aircraft in its class, the Phenom 100 provides the best value for investment and is a great personal aircraft," said Capt. Arun Sharma, Managing Director of Aviators India Pvt. Ltd.
Aviators has been in business since 1994 and has bases in Bangalore (also headquarters), Mumbai, Calcutta and Delhi.
24/02/08 Aero-News Network, US

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Strong Re may cushion aviation sector’s losses

New Delhi: The stronger rupee is likely to bring some cheer to the redink spewing Indian aviation industry. Reeling under huge losses — expected to touch Rs 2,500 crore this year from last year’s Rs 2,200 crore — the local aviation industry could end up making cumulative gains of Rs 500-700 crore on an annual basis from falling dollar prices, say analysts.
According to industry sources, all airlines, especially the domestic carriers, are expected to rake in sizeable savings on the salaries paid to expat pilots, aircraft and engine maintenance and overhaul charges, aircraft lease and finance payments and the forever hurting aviation turbine fuel (ATF) costs. These comprise more than 80% of the top line expenses for all airlines.
Delhi-based SpiceJet’s chief financial officer Partha Sarathi Basu said: “The dollar rub-off is a big gain for us. We are making substantial savings as foreign currency transactions are involved in half our operations and the resultant benefits are to the tune of 3-4 % of our total operating costs.” The Rs 1,400-crore turnover airline is expected to gain a minimum Rs 30 crore on its foreign currency payments.
Analysts believe that the rupee benefit has been the best news for the otherwise loss making aviation industry.
23/02/08 Chanchal Pal Chauhan/Economic Times

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Airbus head sees Asian markets as fueling future growth

The Asia-Pacific region will continue as an important market over the long term, with forecasted airline traffic growth driving the requirements for larger aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and the A350 XWB Family.
Speaking to reporters at this week's Singapore Airshow, Airbus president and CEO Tom Enders said the upswing in Asian passenger volume - plus the concentration of operations at key hub cities - will create a demand for jetliners in the A350 and A380 size categories.
"We have to make the most of new technology to support such essential growth through the use of larger, more efficient aircraft," Enders said. "That's why in the next 20 years, we expect 39 percent of twin-aisles such as the A350 XWB Family to be concentrated here in Asia-Pacific, along with 56 percent of large aircraft like the A380."
He noted that more than 50 percent of passengers flying within Asia today are travelling between just 11 hub cities, which are also at the centre of 72 per cent of the demand between Europe and Asia. Routes such as Beijing-Shanghai already are operating at 85 percent load factors, and are expecting further strong growth.
These developments underscore the importance of A380s and A350s as the region's airlines evolve, Enders added, a fact reflected by orders already booked for these two new aircraft by Asia-Pacific carriers.
22/02/08 Reliable Plant Magazine, US

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Regional airlines fly into infra, policy air pockets

New Delhi/Mumbai: Close to six months after the government announced its regional airline policy, carriers are suddenly waking up to serious infrastructure constraints and competitive pressures that, they say, will impact their viability.
Regional airlines that have received approval include MDLR, Jagson Airlines, Star Aviation and Zav Air. Others like Mega Airways and Premier Airlines are still awaiting approval.
Regional airlines are, however, allowed to operate flights only to or from one city (except in the south, where they can operate between Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore).
Infrastructure constraints are already hampering the operations of those that have begun.
"Most of the airports do not even have a proper runway, neither in strength nor in length and cannot support an aircraft of even 40,000 kg," said Koustav M Dhar, executive director, marketing and planning, MDLR Airlines, which has started operations.
He added that most of these small airports are defence airports doubling up for civilian duty so flight timings are restricted to between sunrise and sunset. These timings clash with the peak time in the bigger cities when smaller aircraft are not allowed.
The other serious problem is congestion in the larger airports. Most are reluctant to permit extra flights, even from regional carriers. This leaves these airlines with little option but to operate between the smaller cities.
22/02/08 Anirban Chowdhury & Manisha Singhal/Business Standard

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Keskar: Indian airlines' losses likely to mount

India's airlines must increase their yields urgently if the country's industry is to avoid a collective $700 million loss for 2008, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Senior VP-Sales Dinesh Keskar told ATWOnline in Singapore yesterday.
"There have been signs of some fares increasing but not nearly enough to stem increasing losses," Keskar said. India's airlines lost $500 million over the past two years and he said losses are worsening this year. He added that the competition for economy travelers has resulted in fares declining up to the time of travel, resulting in passengers leaving booking to the last moment.
According to Keskar, a typical fare of $300 with surcharges often ends up at $100 the day of the flight. He also pointed to the mounting surcharges and taxes (up to $51 a flight) as a major impediment to travel.
Sources at the show told ATWOnline that some Indian carriers are selling off production slots and/or aircraft to reduce capacity. Keskar said this will help, as will the country's consolidation that will see six airlines merge into a collective three major carriers.
22/02/08 Geoffrey Thomas/ATWOnline, US

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Asian airlines to order 3,000 planes in 20 years: Boeing

Airlines in South and Southeast Asia are expected to order more than 3,000 planes worth 103 billion dollars in the next 20 years, with India, Indonesia and Malaysia as key growth drivers, Boeing said yesterday.
Dinesh Keskar, Boeing senior vice president for sales, said 1,940 planes are forecast to be delivered in Southeast Asia and 1,067 in Southwest Asia, a large chunk of them to the booming Indian market.
Fleet revitalisation would drive orders for both regions as airlines move to meet an explosion in demand, he said on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.
Most of the orders are single-aisle aircraft preferred by low-cost carriers, which have mushroomed in both regions and is revolutionising air travel.
India will power the boom in airplane orders in Southwest Asia following the deregulation of the aviation industry, leading people who normally took the train to now afford travelling by air, he said. Of the 1,067 forecast deliveries to South Asia, 85 percent will go to India, while Pakistan will account for eight percent, he said.
21/02/08 Macau Daily Times, Macau

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No more paper air tickets from June 1

In 100 days from Friday, paper air tickets would be history as airlines across the world move to 100 per cent e-ticketing from June 1, 2008, a target many in the travel world initially thought would be difficult to meet. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) claims that penetration of e-tickets is already 93 per cent.
"In 100 days, the paper ticket will find a place in a museum. On June 1, 2008, we will achieve 100 per cent electronic ticketing," IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said in a statement.
"While a paper ticket costs $10 to process, e-ticketing reduces that cost to $1.."
When the programme began in June 2004, only 18 per cent of the tickets issued globally were paper-less. The figure is claimed to be 93 per cent today.
"In India, the penetration of e-tickets is 91 per cent, including foreign airlines," said Sunil Chopra, IATA's country manager for India.
Top foreign airlines such as British Airways and Lufthansa are close to 95 per cent, though Air India is slightly lower as it has to depend on agents in some countries.
22/02/08 Business Standard/Rediff

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'Great investment scope in India's helicopter sector'

New Delhi: A great scope for investment exists in the helicopter sector in India but urgent steps are required to rapidly indigenise design and production of choppers, aviation experts from the services and the private sector said on Monday.
There was "large scope of investment" in indigenising imported systems in several areas, especially in communication and navigation systems, spares and parts, Col A K Suri of the Indian Army's Aviation Corps said here.
Addressing a seminar on helicopters at the ongoing DefExpo here, he said Army Aviation, which had an inventory of 250 choppers, was set to double by 2020.
Suri said great opportunities existed for the Indian industry as the Army Aviation Corps would need to upgrade fleet, carry out replacements, diversify and expand its support services. Army choppers operate in varied environments in the country -- from the high mountains to jungles and deserts.
18/02/08 PTI/Economic Times

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Capgemini eyes Indian aviation sector

Mumbai: France-based Information Technology (IT) services and business consultancy firm, Capgemini, is eyeing the booming Indian aviation sector. Currently, it is in talks with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Airport Authority of India (AAI) and private airline companies, including Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways, Paramount Airways, SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo.
“All these years, airlines and airports in India did not attach much importance to IT operations. However, now they have started investing in IT operations, and we see opportunity for growth, in terms of software solutions and business consultancy services,” said Hikmat Mahawat Khan, Managing Consultant – Aviation, Capgemini, during his recent visit to Mumbai. “Our solutions help aviation players to scale up their business to remain competitive in a rapidly-evolving market,” he added.
At present, the company, headquartered in Paris, has offices in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.
22/02/08 Mayuresh Pawar/TravelBizMonitor

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IBS eyes Indian aviation industry for growth

Chennai/Bangalore: Thiruvananthapuram-based IBS Software, a privately-held company, which specialises in IT solutions to the travel, transportation and logistics industry, is eyeing the booming Indian aviation sector for growth.
The company recently bagged its first client in the Indian market. Jet Airways has signed a seven-year contract to implement IBS' crew management system - AvientCrew - to support the airlines' crew management needs.
"The solution helps airlines in scaling up their business to remain competitive in a rapidly-evolving market. We are confident this will be a prelude to other airlines in India following suit. We are in discussions with all leading airlines of the country," IBS Chairman & CEO V K Mathews said on Wednesday.
IBS caters to over 100 customers worldwide, including airlines, international airports, cruise lines, oil and gas companies.
"All these years, Indian airlines and airports did not attach much importance to IT operations. Now they have begun investing on IT operations. We see opportunities for growth. We intend to provide software solutions to at least 40 airports in the country," he added.
21/02/08 Business Standard

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DGCA Blinks on Facilities for Disabled

New Delhi: Indian carriers' opposition to providing mandatory free facilities to physically challenged passengers has put the government under pressure.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) - which had earlier proposed this in a draft civil aviation requirement - has re- sent its proposal to the aviation ministry with the airlines' stand. Instead of issuing the CAR and making it applicable to airlines, this proposal will now be cleared or otherwise by the ministry.
"The decision is now for the government to take. The ministry had some months back issued a letter saying that all important CARs must be vetted by it first," said sources.
21/02/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India/RedOrbit

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IAF open to its fields usage by commercial airlines

Chandigarh: Indian Air Force (IAF) is open to the idea of usage of its airfields by the civil authorities and commercial airlines as long as this does not hamper military aviation, a senior IAF officer said here on Wednesday.
"There is no objection from the IAF side for the usage of its airfields by civil authorities and commercial airlines," Air Marshal P K Barbora told reporters here.
"We are open to share our (IAF) assets," he said adding that these (commercial and civil authorities) must provide help to the IAF in terms of manpower. "If proper understanding exists between IAF and civil authorities than the force is ready to give its airfields for other purposes", Barbora said.
Citing an example, he said Pune Air Force airfield is already being used by the civil authorities. Recently, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had decided to expand the airport in Chandigarh which is jointly used by IAF and civil authorities.
21/02/08 PTI/Newindpress

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Eclipse makes first jet sales in India

Eclipse Aviation Corp. has sold 10 of its very light jets to Club One Air of New Delhi, India, marking the company's first sale of the Eclipse 500 plane in that market.
Mike McConnell, vice president of sales and marketing, announced the deal on Feb. 19 at the Singapore Airshow.
"Eclipse Aviation is experiencing a period of rapid international expansion," McConnell said in a news release. "Establishing a presence for the Eclipse 500 in India through Club One Air will introduce more people to the benefits of owning and flying on private jet aircraft, which continues to be the goal of Eclipse Aviation."
Club One Air -- India's largest non-scheduled air operator and first fractional aircraft ownership company -- chose the Eclipse 500 to launch a new air charter service in India. The aircraft will be operated under a separate company that will use the Eclipse 500s to expand its offering and provide more business travelers a quick, affordable and convenient way to travel across India, said Manav Singh, Club One Air's promoter and managing director.
19/02/08 New Mexico Business Weekly/Wichita Business Journal, US

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Lee sees China, India powering aerospace industry

Singapore: China and India were on Tuesday projected as the emerging powerhouses of the global aerospace industry, at the inaugural ceremony of the first-ever Singapore Airshow.
The ongoing modernisation of the militaries of several Asian countries was also cited, alongside the “encouraging” trends in the civil aviation sector in East Asia, as the catalyst for growth in the global aerospace industry.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said:
“In Asia, the signs are particularly encouraging. The region is expected to lead the [global] growth in air travel, as the [civil aviation] industry’s centre of gravity shifts to the East [from the West]. With China and India integrating more closely into the global grid, demand for air travel in the region will soar.”
About other positive factors in East Asia, Mr. Lee said: “Within Southeast Asia, air travel is also expected to take off. The ASEAN countries are establishing ASEAN-wide open skies, starting with the first milestone of free access between ASEAN capitals by the end of this year.”
20/02/08 P. S. Suryanarayana/The Hindu

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Streamline tax structures to help airlines fly

Mumbai,New Delhi: Ahead of the announcement of the Union Budget, the aviation sector wants the government to streamline various tax structures so that airlines can reap benefits.
The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), of which all the India-based airlines are members, have submitted a memorandum to the finance ministry on February 6, asking the government to include ATF in the ‘declared goods’ category so that it attracts a uniform sales tax of 4% across the country.Major airlines, including Jet Airways and Deccan, posted huge losses in the third quarter of this fiscal.
It may be recalled that the FIA had also asked the government last year to declare a uniform sales tax on ATF, which is priced nearly 70-90% higher than what it is across the globe.
The second most important demand for the sector is an exemption of tax for a period of 36 months for expat pilots from the date of arrival in India.
Other issues which the airlines want the government to consider include the removal of service tax on landing and airport and air navigation fees as it reduces domestic Companies’ competitiveness against other foreign airlines.
19/02/08 Financial Express

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Sunny Skies for the aviation sector ahead

Chandigarh: With a growth rate of 18% per annum, sunny skies lie ahead for aviation industry. The industry has witnessed expansion both in terms of players and number of aircrafts. Read On >>

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'Great investment scope in India's helicopter sector'

New Delhi: A great scope for investment exists in the helicopter sector in India but urgent steps are required to rapidly indigenise design and production of choppers, aviation experts from the services and the private sector said on Monday.
There was "large scope of investment" in indigenising imported systems in several areas, especially in communication and navigation systems, spares and parts, Col A K Suri of the Indian Army's Aviation Corps said here.
Addressing a seminar on helicopters at the ongoing DefExpo here, he said Army Aviation, which had an inventory of 250 choppers, was set to double by 2020. "In fact, growth is expected not only in the number of helicopters, but also their ancillary support systems."
Suri said great opportunities existed for the Indian industry as the Army Aviation Corps would need to upgrade fleet, carry out replacements, diversify and expand its support services. Army choppers operate in varied environments in the country -- from the high mountains to jungles and deserts.
18/02/08 PTI/Economic Times

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IAF chopper pilots to fly Pawan Hans

New Delhi: In a move to provide its senior pilots with an attractive second career option and help aviation companies, IAF proposes to release around 20 of its helicopter pilots for the civil sector every year. Read On >>

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Airlines brush aside fears of slowdown

Mumbai/New Delhi: Unfazed by mounting losses and the slowest growth in three years in December, India’s airlines say they are now embarking on a phase of profitable growth and expect to turn profitable in 2008-09.
The turnaround comes in the context of slower passenger growth, down to 25% a year from the heady 40% seen in the past two years—in December, the growth was 16% as compared to a year ago—and a reduction in the number of planes joining airline fleets.
The predictions of imminent profitability come at a time when the combined losses of domestic airlines are estimated to have risen some 50% to $750 million (Rs2,963 crore) in 2007-08 over 2006-07. Airline executives blame the high cost of jet fuel (commonly referred to as aviation turbine fuel or ATF), unfilled seats on planes, and tickets priced below cost as firms expanded reach and fought for shares in a fast-growing market for the losses.
18/02/08 P.R. Sanjai and Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Airlines register 15% growth in January

After registering a 32% growth in 2007, India’s domestic carriers have started 2008 on a positive note. Although the January to March is the lean travel season with both family and business travel down due to exams and financial year closing, the first month of the year witnessed 14.8% more domestic passengers flying with the figure at 39.34 lakh as opposed to 34.28 lakh same period last year.
Of the nine domestic carriers, four - Indian Airlines, Deccan, JetLite and Paramount - carried less passengers this January than last year. Three of these companies, except Paramount, are now in the process of being merged with bigger players like Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher because of which their services are getting streamlined to avoid duplication.
Indian Airlines, merged with Air India over four months ago, has been witnessing a constant fall in market share since last July when 20.3% of domestic passengers flew on it. While officials of the merged airline point out that private carriers are adding capacity at a faster pace, the trouble in merger process seems to be taking it toll.
18/02/08 Times of India

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Airlines may gain altitude with $ fall

New Delhi: Exporters may be squealing, but the stronger rupee is likely to bring in some cheer for the red-ink spewing Indian aviation industry.
Reeling under huge losses expected to touch Rs 2,500 crore this year from Rs 2,200 crore last year the local aviation industry could end up making cumulative benefits of around Rs 500 to Rs 700 crore on an annual basis from falling dollar prices, say analysts.
Industry sources say all airlines, especially the domestic carriers, are expected to rake in sizeable savings on the salaries paid to expat pilots, aircraft and engine maintenance and overhaul charges, aircraft lease and finance payments and the forever-hurting aviation turbine fuel (ATF) costs.
These comprise more than 80% of the topline expenses for all airlines.
Analyst believe that the rupee benefit has been the best news for the otherwise loss-making aviation industry.
18/02/08 Chanchal Pal Chauhan/Economic Times

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Global air security still an 'unco-ordinated mess'

International aviation security is still a mess of clashing laws and jurisdictions, a leading industry representative says.
Europe and Asia need to harmonise security laws for passengers to be better protected from the threat of terrorism, the chief executive officer of the International Air Transport Association Giovanni Bisignani told a Singapore airshow today.
"The industry is much more secure than in 2001," he said.
"But the system is still an unco-ordinated mess.
"We have not harmonised measures across borders."
Mr Bisignani praised the recent agreement between the European Union and Singapore to work under the same laws for security of duty free items.
"But why was it not an agreement that covers Asia with mutually recognised standards?" he asked.
"Our passengers deserve much better leadership than the patchwork of different standards and procedures we have today."
Asia had to watch the continuing growth of Middle East aviation cautiously, Mr Bisignani warned.
18/02/08 AAP/Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

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Airlines flex fleet muscle, fret over fuel prices

Mumbai: The Indian aviation industry will double its fleet size to over 500 aircraft by 2010 and is expected to fly around 80 million passengers by 2020 from about 50 million at present, a Capgemini report said.
According to the report, the industry will grow at the rate of 24 per cent in 2008, despite the high cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF).
However, the global consultancy firm said infrastructure gaps and strict government regulations would continue to affect the business. The industry suffered losses of $500-550 million in 2006-07.
Competitive air fares and rising ATF prices are eating into the margins of airlines, and have exposed the sector to intense competition.
The airlines are looking for all possible ways to fight rising fuel charges. ATF prices account for about 35-40 per cent of the operating cost of Indian airlines compared with 20-25 per cent abroad.
18/02/08 Anirudh Laskar/The Telegraph

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Asian Governments Should Lift Airline Restrictions

Asian governments need to move faster to lift air restrictions to spur competition for carriers such as Malaysian Airline System Bhd. and Garuda Indonesia, an industry body said.
Full liberalization or ``open skies'' may be achieved in eight years, as some governments start to free some air routes, Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, said in a Bloomberg Television interview yesterday.
Governments in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines restrict landing rights, shielding national carriers from competition. Greater access will push fares lower, spur air traffic and may encourage mergers, Bisignani said.
``I would like to see the bilateral system in a museum,'' Bisignani said in Singapore. ``We cannot sell our product where the market is and we cannot merge and consolidate. It's not easy to consolidate because of ownership issues.''
A fully liberalized Asian air-travel market could generate as many as 1,600 low-cost routes by 2015, according to Airbus SAS. Asia's budget airlines will have a combined fleet of 1,300 single-aisle aircraft by 2025, compared with 236 now, according to Airbus, the world's largest maker of commercial aircraft.
18/02/08 Chan Sue Ling and Haslinda Amin/Bloomberg

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Indian carriers lose market share to foreign airlines

New Delhi: Domestic carriers such as Air India and Jet Airways seem unable to take benefits of the government’s liberalised open-sky policy. Due to high fuel prices, heavy taxation and several entry barriers, Indian carriers have lost around 6% market share to foreign carriers on the country’s international traffic.
Even as the government aggressively negotiated seat entitlements and signed agreements for multiple designated carriers under various bilaterals, domestic carriers lagged behind. Instead, this has given access to foreign carriers. For example, Air India operates seven flights per week on India-France sector. As against this, Air France operates 25 flights a week to India. Similarly, Germany’s Lufthansa operates 45 services to India as against Air India’s seven flights a week to Germany.
“Indian carriers would lose competitiveness to foreign airlines. We need to create a level-playing field for our own carriers so that they can compete with them,” an official in the ministry of civil aviation said. Out of the total bilateral seat entitlements with other countries, Indian carriers are utilising less than 40%.
18/02/08 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Most Indians prefer low cost airlines

New Delhi: The low cost airlines have once again scored over the full-service carriers when it comes to maintaining the seat factor.
According to the latest data from the civil aviation ministry, in the month of January 2008, the low cost airlines logged a seat factor of 73.4% as compared to 68.5% by the full-service carriers.
The data also showed that during January 2008, the total number of passengers increased by 13.60% and the share of private air carriers also witnessed a rise of 16.79% as compared to the corresponding period last year.
Seat factor is the percentage of total number of seats a carrier manages to fill out of the total number of seats.
However, this increase in the number of passengers did not bring any respite for Indian and its seat factor continued to plunge, reporting a decrease of 2.94%.
17/02/08 Raja Awasthi & Dheeraj Tiwari/Economic Times

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ExecuJet Aviation Group targets global business aviation presence

Zurich, Switzerland-based ExecuJet Aviation Group is hotly pursuing the establishment of more FBO (fixed based operations) and MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facilities as it looks to expand its business aviation solutions in emerging markets in Asia.
ExecuJet Group Managing Director Gerrit Basson heads a team visiting the Singapore Airshow this week. ExecuJet's presence coincides with the opening of its first Asian base at the expanding business aviation airport Seletar, where ExecuJet has just acquired an aircraft hangar for wide-bodied business jets and is now expanding its capacity to provide comprehensive operational and maintenance support to several regional Gulfstream and Bombardier aircraft. The deal gives it an instant foothold in the region.
"We see great opportunities in India and China especially," says Gerrit Basson, who has visited both countries in the past few months. He returns to India in March for a series of industry and media briefings with the Aerion Supersonic Business Jet. The SBJ, for which ExecuJet is the international sales distributor for all territories except the USA, has already won an order from Pakistan. The Akbar Group, for its newly established private jet operator Princely Jets, committed to a Letter of Intent at the Dubai Air Show in November.
16/02/08 Al-Bawaba, Jordan

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Indo-Pak air passenger traffic may not increase

Karachi: An updated Air Services Agreement (ASA) between Pakistan and India will not serve its purpose until the two countries ease the process of issuing visas to each other's citizens, travel agents told media.
Aviation authorities of India and Pakistan concluded a two-day meeting in Rawalpindi on an agreement to increase the number of flights to 28 from 12 and added two more airlines from each side on specific routes.
Currently, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) operates from Karachi and Lahore while Air India flies from Delhi and Mumbai.
Under the new agreement, Islamabad and Chennai have also been included among the designated routes. A co-terminal clause has also been made part of the agreement that will allow the six airlines to travel between the chosen cities in their home country before taking off to the neighbouring state.
16/02/08 Agencies/Economic Times

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Govt MRO hub hopes may nosedive

New Delhi: High taxes, Customs duties and shortage of skilled manpower may hinder Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's ambitions of making India a global aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) hub.
The high tax regime makes aircraft service above 50 per cent more expensive than international rates and might spell trouble for over a dozen MRO projects - several of them involving foreign direct investment - that have been announced so far.
For instance, servicing an aircraft in India would entail service tax of 12.5 per cent (overseas MROs do not charge this). Importing spares involves Customs duties of up to 50 per cent plus value added tax of 12.5 per cent and octroi of 4 per cent.
So, while a 'C check' (a half overhaul of the aircraft done every 18 months) on an Airbus A320 would cost around Rs 2 crore abroad, the estimated servicing costs in India would be close to Rs 3 crore.
The imposition of Customs duties is particularly unusual because Indian airlines importing spares are exempt from them but not MRO companies.
Accenture is currently drawing up a business plan for Air India's MROs and the executive said the airline "will definitely take up the taxation issue with the government soon".
16/02/08 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

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Car parts, tyre makers eye aircraft components

New Delhi: Auto component manufacturers and tyre makers are making the first quiet moves into an uncharted area - components for aircraft manufacturers.
Cashing in on the low cost of skilled labour, a clutch of companies are taking the first tentative steps to supply to the big world of aviation.
MRF, India's largest tyre manufacturer, has taken the first step by making tyres for helicopters used by the defence services.
Similarly, lighting manufacturer Lumax Industries is conducting a feasibility study on the market for aircraft lighting.
Pune-based auto component manufacturer Ashok Minda Group's has tied up with Australia's NTS Tooling to set up a venture that will be operational in two or three months.
The company is unwilling to share details of the tie-up.
Auto component manufacturers Sundram Fasteners is also looking at the aviation market pretty seriously. Maini Precision Products, part of Maini Group, is already planning to manufacture aircraft material parts but again, is unwilling to discuss details.
For Indian auto manufacturers getting into the aviation space has many advantages. Industry experts said gross profit margins in auto ancillaries are 10 to 12 per cent, but for the aviation space they are far higher.
16/02/08 Danny Goodman/Business Standard

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Good response to Kerala Travel Mart

Thiruvananthapuram: As many as 170 Indian and 65 international buyers have registered for the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM) to be held from September 20 to 23 at Kochi, Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said here on Friday.
Addressing a news conference, Mr. Balakrishnan said delegates from more than 50 countries are expected to attend KTM, with large contingents expected from Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and the United States.
On the domestic front, a good number of delegates are expected from Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, he said.
The Kerala Travel Mart Society has as its members airlines, ayurveda centres, event managers in the tourism sector, home stays, hotels, houseboats, specialty hospitals, tour operators, travel agents and other service providers in the industry. Airlines like Air India and Sri Lankan Airlines and major hotels in the State would sponsor various aspects of the Mart, the Tourism Minister said.
16/02/08 The Hindu

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Air Force enables pilots to join Pawan Hans

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force and Pawan Hans Helicopter Ltd (PHHL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today at Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhawan) enabling IAF to share its expertise in operations with Pawan Hans.Read On >>

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‘Excess capacity, main reason for aviation sector losses’

Mumbai: The main reason for Indian aviation industry running into losses is not the high price of Aviation Turbine Fuel, say senior industry experts.
In fact, it is the excess of capacity in the airline industry that is putting pressure on the airlines and the current fares are not covering costs, said Mr Saroj Dutta, Executive Director of Jet Airways.
Speaking at South Asia Aviation Finance Conference in Mumbai, Mr Datta said, “In India we have been very free to increase fares with the rise in global ATF prices. So how far can we blame the rise in fuel prices to the plight of Indian carriers?”
Agreeing with the argument, Mr Dinesh Keskar, Senior Vice President, (Sales) Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said that large number of wide-body aircraft would not be sustainable by the Indian aviation industry for serving domestic market.
With the large capacity (through more airplanes) coming in, airlines are finding it difficult to reach a break even load factor, he said. He also added that bigger the aircraft the fuel burnt would be more leading to higher operating cost.
14/02/08 Business Line

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Indian carriers now can fly to Sylhet, Dhaka in Bangladesh

New Delhi: Indian carriers can now fly to Sylhet in Bangladesh, besides Dhaka, while designated airlines from that country can operate any number of services to 18 tourist getaways here.
This was decided at a meeting here during the past three days, where Civil Aviation Ministry officials of both the countries agreed to further liberalise India's existing offer to SAARC nations, an official spokesperson said.
The designated airlines of the two countries are now entitled to operate 61 services every week from any point in each other's territory with any type of aircraft, without any restriction or capping.
Also, in order to promote tourism, the designated airlines of Bangladesh can operate any number of services to 18 Indian destinations. These are Patna, Lucknow, Guwahati, Gaya, Varanasi, Bhubaneshwar, Khajuraho, Aurangabad, Goa, Jaipur, Port Blair, Kochi, Trivandrum, Kozhikode, Amritsar, Vishakhapatnam, Ahmedabad and Tiruchirapalli.
14/02/08 PTI/The Hindu

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Pakistan-India talks on Air Service Agreement Today

Islamabad: Pakistan and India are expected to hold two-day talks on Air Service Agreement here from today, Thursday.
The Indian delegation comprising officials of Defence Ministry, Civil Aviation and concerned departments are arriving here late on Wednesday to participate in the scheduled talks at the Ministry of Defence.
Pakistan side would be represented by senior officials from the Ministry of Defence, Civil Aviation Authority and concerned departments.
During the two days talks, both the countries would explore vistas to reach an agreement for enhancement of air destinations bilaterally besides taking in to account other modalities, said the official.
14/02/08 Pakistan Times, Pakistan

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Hijack threat: Parliament's committee take serious view

New Delhi: A group of members of Parliament has taken a serious view of the terror threat to air passengers in the country, especially in the northeast, after a terrorist last week revealed plans to hijack an aircraft.
While the members from parliament's consultative committee on the civil aviation ministry today took a serious view of the threat, civil aviation minister Mr Praful Patel assured them that security arrangements had been heightened at those airports that are likely to be targets.
A member of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) arrested last week in Guwahati revealed the outfit's plans to hijack an aircraft.
The arrested man was member of the “plane hijacking unit”, not known till recently. Fifteen of his associates from the specialised unit fled to neighbouring countries soon after he was arrested Sunday, it was reported.
13/02/08 Indo-Asian News Service/The Statesman

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Govt plans no-talks policy, death for hijackers

New Delhi: With the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the humiliating 1999 Kandahar hijack firmly on its radar, the UPA government plans to amend the Anti-Hijacking Act of 1982 to make it much more iron-fisted, providing for a no-negotiation policy and death penalty to the hijackers.
The new measures would treat hijacking as "an act of aggression" and entail "directions to all domestic airports to promptly immobilise a hijacked plane if it lands", sources said.
The proposed amendments to the 1982 Act are likely to be taken up by the Cabinet on Thursday.
"If at all negotiations take place, it will only be tactical - aimed at preventing loss of life or bringing the incident to a swift closure," a source said, indicating that the government would not want a capitulation like the one witnessed in 1999 when three extremely dangerous terrorists were released. The new measures flow from the anti-hijacking policy cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security in August 2005. It allows shooting down of a "hostile plane if there is conclusive evidence that it is likely to be used as a missile to blow up strategic establishments", on the lines of the 9/11 Al-Qaida attacks in the US in 2001.
14/02/08 Mahendra Kumar Singh & Rajat Pandit/Times of India

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Andhra Pradesh reduces sales tax to 4% on jet fuel

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry’s requests to state governments to reduce sales tax on jet fuel has borne fruit with Andhra Pradesh deciding to slash it from 33% to 4%.
The ministry had recently convened the first-ever aviation conference with state government representatives here in which it had appealed for reduction of sales tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF).
ATF cost amounts to an average of 35% of total operational cost of an Indian carrier.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel briefed the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Wednesday of the Andhra Pradesh government’s decision to slash the sales tax rates.
13/02/08 PTI/Financial Express

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Domestic traffic register 32.51% growth

New Delhi: The meeting of the Consultative Committee of the Members of Parliament attached to the Ministry of Civil Aviation was held here today. All Members applauded the growth in the sector and congratulated the Minister and the Ministry officials for facilitating this growth.
Welcoming the Members of the Committee to the first meeting this year, the Chairman and the Minister for Civil Aviation Shri Praful Patel, briefly summed up the major activities that had taken place in 2007. He informed the Committee that during the year 2007, domestic airline passenger traffic had grown from 326.28 lakhs to 432.89 lakh – a growth of 32.51% vis-à-vis 2006. And considering the fact that the base is also growing, the Minister said that on a higher base the sector is registering a considerable growth.
He also informed the Members about the new category of airline services, the Scheduled Air Transport(Regional) Services - which has been introduced to promote regional connectivity especially to the Tier-II and Tier-III cities. Four airlines have been given NOC in this category – M/s. Star Aviation for Southern Region, Jagson Airlines for Northern Region, M/s. MDLR Airlines Pvt. Ltd., for Northern Region and M/s. Zav Airways for North-East/Eastern Region.

The Minister also informed that the merger process of Air India and Indian Airlines is underway and several working groups and an Integration Team have been formulated to move the merger process forward. A III-Tier Grievance Redressal Machinery and an Inter-Ministerial Grievance Redressal Committee have been put into place to address employee grievances. The fleet augmentation by NACIL was also underway. Of the 111 state-of-the-art aircraft that is to be added to its fleet, three Boeing 777-200LR, three Boeing 777-300ER, ten Boeing 737-800, six A319 and five A321 aircraft have already been received. The remaining will be received by 2011. He also informed that Air India has been invited to become the Member of Star Alliance – one of the biggest alliance of airlines in the world. Air India will become the full-fledged member of the Alliance formally by 2009, by when the IT Integration and other issues will be completed. Specialized teams at Air India, Star Alliance and its member carriers are now working on the integration process.
Shri Patel spoke about the in-principle approval given by the Government to the setting up of Greenfield airports in Kannur (Kerala), Navi Mumbai and about the international airport at Jewar, Greater Noida that was under the consideration of a Group of Ministers as per the direction of the Union Cabinet. The Minister also spoke about the change in FDI caps in a number of sectors in civil aviation. He said that this change would boost civil aviation in the country.
The Minister informed about the Ministry of Civil Aviation consistent efforts to talk to the State Governments on various issues of civil aviation. These talks have started yielding results – yesterday the Andhra Pradesh State Government announced the reduction in the sales tax on ATF from 33% to 4%.
The Members raised a number of issues – issues of safety and security, pilot training, on-time performances and losses of Air India, status of merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, the new airports, connectivity across the country, rules for permitting airline to fly abroad etc.
13/02/08 Press Information Bureau

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India’s first passenger aircraft Saras gets an expensive tag

Bangalore: A 14-seater multi-role aircraft being developed by India’s National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) for use by the country’s feeder airlines on short-haul routes and by the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be the most expensive plane in its class, although one expert said its cost would go down with an increase in volumes.
NAL has for the first time put a price tag to the Saras, Rs39.4 crore. The Saras will be the first passenger aircraft designed and manufactured in a country which, despite being in the midst of an aviation boom, still depends on overseas aircraft makers for even small aircraft.
The state-run NAL, the only design house for passenger aircraft in India, has built the two-seat trainer called the Hansa or Swan—this is sold to flying clubs to train rookie pilots— and is also working with Plexion, a unit of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, on the design and development of a four-seater aircraft that will be ready by 2010.
“Equivalent twin-engine turboprop aircraft on the commercial market costs anywhere from approximately $3.0 million (Rs11.89 crore) up to about $6.5 million (Rs25.77 crore),” said Raymond Jaworowski, a senior analyst at Forecast International, a US aerospace research firm.
Some of the closest competitors to the Saras would be the King Air 350 built by Hawker Beechcraft Corp. of US, the HAI Y-12 made by the Harbin Aviation Industry in China, Poland’s PZL Mielec-built M-28 Skytruck and the Czech-made LET L 410, he added. The Bangalore-based NAL expects the price of the Saras to drop subsequently to Rs32 crore on higher volumes and better manufacturing practices. The agency has invited private players to take up production of the aircraft in Bangalore and says they can earn annual returns on investment of 14% for the initial period.
12/02/08 K. Raghu/Livemint

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Airport charges may force up fares

New Delhi: Domestic airlines are preparing for an increase in air-fares, saying they may be forced to do so in anticipation of a steep 40 per cent rise in airport charges proposed by the authorities in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai.
On long-haul routes to Bangalore and Hyderabad, new airports being built under public-private partnerships (PPP), the increase could be roughly Rs 1,000. In Delhi and Mumbai, which are being modernised under PPPs, the increase could be a smaller Rs 300 on similar routes because these airports do not charge development fees.
According to sources, Bangalore and Hyderabad are planning to impose a user development fee of around Rs 700 per ticket.
Airport charges, such as route navigation facility charges (RNFC), landing and parking fees, space rentals and ground-handling costs, account for 12 to13 per cent of an airline?s costs.
SpiceJet CCO Samyukth Sridharan said the proportion could rise to 15 per cent after the fee increases.
Airlines say that after being outsourced to the airport developer, ground-handling expenses are expected to increase almost three times from Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per flight to between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000.
Industry sources said landing and parking charges at Mumbai and Delhi airport are also slated to increase 10 per cent this year.
13/02/08 Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

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Finmin may scrap withholding tax on aircraft leases

New Delhi: The government is all set to scrap the present system of granting case-by-case exemption to airlines from paying withholding tax on aircraft leases. Finance minister P Chidambaram is expected to scrap the tax on aircraft leases altogether in the forthcoming Budget.
Withholding tax was a major expense for the carriers as it varies between 10% and 48% a year depending on the country where the airplane is leased.
Indian carriers are expected to acquire about 450 aircraft in the next five years and a large number of these will come as leased airplanes. Domestic aviation sector expect that if withholding tax continues, Indian carriers are expected pay over Rs 1,000 crore a year as tax. This is a significant part of the cost and profits of the aviation industry, which is likely to incur losses of Rs 2,000 crore this fiscal.
Assuming that the tax is paid by an airline company, the average monthly lease rent of an Airbus A320-type aircraft is about 1% of the price value, which turns out to be about Rs 20 crore a year.
12/02/08 Shauvik Ghosh/Financial Express

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Fares may dip as air passenger numbers grow slow

Mumbai: After two years of growing at possibly the fastest rate in the world, the number of domestic air travelers in India has fallen significantly in the past two months of December and January.
Average growth in the past eight months has been above 30%, but December recorded a 14.8% growth in year-on-year terms. Though the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) figures are not available, industry estimates are that growth is likely to be muted in January, too.
Airlines, whose load factors have started falling as a result of the slowdown, are beginning to see the writing on the wall. Falling load factors have forced them to offer cheaper fares by opening their lowest fare-categories. Airfares are bunched in various fare-classes, and airlines typically try to sell at the higher classes, offering lower fare categories only if the demand is slow.
12/02/08 Cuckoo Paul/Economic Times

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High taxes ground HAL’s plan for Bangalore engine repair unit

Bangalore/Mumbai: A proposed joint venture between state-run aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Canada’s Pratt and Whitney to maintain and repair plane engines has been put on hold because of concerns over taxes to be levied on spares and services.
HAL had planned the equally owned joint venture with aircraft engine maker Pratt and Whitney, which is owned by US conglomerate United Technologies Corp., for setting up a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) unit in Bangalore for engines that power executive jets and turboprop planes flying shorter routes.
Higher import duties and additional service tax would increase the cost of such a venture by half, an HAL official said, requesting anonymity. Imported spares attract a customs duty of 34.13% and the service tax on the value of the repair service is 12.36%.
A Pratt and Whitney spokesperson, however, maintained that talks were still on and that tax regulations were not a concern at this point in time. The company did not specify a time frame for the venture to start.
12/02/08 K. Raghu and P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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India Hospitality Corp.'s SkyGourmet Expansion Takes Off

New York: India Hospitality Corp. today announced that SkyGourmet Catering Pvt. Ltd. is expanding its Air Catering Unit (ACU) in Mumbai by 50%, while its fourth and newest kitchen in Chennai opened the last week of January 2008 with an initial capacity of 10,000 meals per day.
SkyGourmet's unaudited revenues nearly doubled in its last fiscal year, and its Mumbai unit was fast approaching capacity limits. Chennai, which has become an emerging automobile manufacturing hub in India, has experienced a significant increase in air travel. The company expects a continued surge from both international and domestic travel growth across India and provides each of its kitchens substantial scalability to meet growing customer demand.
SkyGourmet now has operating units in the four major airport cities of New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Chennai, with additional new kitchens coming on line in Hyderabad and Kolkata within the next six months. The company caters to major domestic airlines, namely Jet Airways, Kingfisher, Indian Airlines, Air India Express, and Jet Lite. Air France and Malaysian Airlines, some of the major international airlines operating out of India, are also SkyGourmet's customers.
11/02/08 PRNewswire/Earthtimes, UK

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Airlines hit a rough patch

With aviation turbine fuel (ATF) being the highest priced petroleum product, the impact of the petroleum prices can well be imagined in the bottom line of the airlines. Adding to the financial mess seems to be the continuing fare war in the international and domestic sectors. As such, most airlines appear reluctant to raise the fares even now.
Air India Chairman and Managing Director V. Thulasidas is on record noting that the airline incurred a loss of Rs. 700 crore last year on account of the rising fuel bill. The loss was bound to climb further this year, when international crude prices hit the $100 a barrel rate but steadied in the 90s.
At a recent seminar in Chennai, Air India chief and Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal made out a strong case for a reduction at least in the taxation of ATF.
In 2006-07, scheduled airlines in the country incurred a combined loss of around Rs. 2,000 crore, because of the competitive pricing policy they pursued.
ATF prices are said to be the highest in India, and in some States, airline officials say, they are twice that of the global rates. This is because of the higher tax rates and the Value Added Tax.
11/02/08 V Jayanth/The Hindu

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Aviation fuel supply: Private refiners ready for take off?

Mumbai: The aviation fuel industry, one of the most lucrative links in the petroleum chain that has for decades been a public sector oligopoly, is set to undergo a sea-change with new entrants getting into the fray. Reliance Industries (RIL) has commenced operations at 13 non-metro airports while two other players, Essar Oil and Mangalore Refinery, will become operative in the next few months.
Although these players have been ready to market their products at Indian airports, they were not able to obtain the necessary licences in the past. With new policy changes in the ministry of civil aviation, the market is now opening up. The new ‘Open Access’ model being adopted by airports for fuel suppliers allows all eligible players to sell their product from common facilities.
The biggest attraction is, of course, the fact that aviation fuel is one of the few petroleum products that is out of pricing control. Air traffic too is growing at all-time highs, leading to a huge growth in aircraft movements.
11/02/08 Ramkrishna Kashelkar/Economic Times

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Indian aviation to adopt Safety Management System by January 2009

New Delhi: Airlines in India are likely to adopt the Safety Management System (SMS) by January 2009. According to Kanu Gohain, Director General, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), SMS will be introduced for the airline industry in order to mitigate risk and attain optimal operational safety.
"By January 2009, all existing airlines and upcoming ones will be required to follow SMS. It will be applicable to everyone, right from the top management to all employees down the rank..." said Gohain.
Introduced by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), all regulatory bodies worldwide are currently implementing the system in their respective nations. Once the system is in place in India, airlines, airports and other players in the aviation industry will be required to follow a rigorous documentation system, wherein all guidelines, parameters and safety measures undertaken by them will be documented in a comprehensive manner. In case of airports, rules pertaining to runway inspection, runway friction level guarantee, etc, will have to be stringently executed and documented.
11/02/08 Kanika Mehta/TravelBizMonitor

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TravelBiz Monitor Indian trade media partner for Aviation Outlook Summits

Singapore: In a recent development, TravelBiz Monitor has been appointed as the Indian trade media partner by Terrapinn Singapore for the two upcoming summits - India Aviation Outlook Summit and the Asia Aviation Outlook Summit. The first will be held at JW Marriott Mumbai on June 10 & 11, 2008, while the latter will be held at Raffles City Convention Centre in Singapore from October 29 - 31, 2008.The India Aviation Outlook Summit 2008, formerly known as India Low Cost Airline symposium, was organised by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) and is an established event that aviation stakeholders look forward to every year. Both events will attract high profile dignitaries of the airline industry from India and abroad. Terrapinn, is a specialised B2B conference organiser with 14 years' global experience.
11/02/08 TravelBizMonitor

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Budget likely to ease merger of private airlines

New Delhi: Budget 2008-09 may come up with fiscal measures to encourage consolidation among private players in the domestic aviation sector.
Indications are that the Government would make available the benefits of carry-forward and set-off of accumulated losses and unabsorbed depreciation to private-sector airline operators going in for a merger with other such entities.
At the moment, such a benefit is available to the amalgamation of one or more public-sector company/ companies engaged in aircraft operation with one or more public company/ companies in a similar business.
Official sources told Business Line that the Budget proposals are likely to extend the benefits of Section 72A of the Income-Tax Act to the merger of Jet Airways with Air Sahara and to Kingfisher Airlines’ buyout of Air Deccan.
The Finance Act 2007 extended the benefits of carry-forward and set-off of accumulated losses and unabsorbed depreciation available to amalgamation of one or more public-sector companies to facilitate the merger of Air India with Indian.
This was done by amending provisions 72A of the Income-Tax Act. Both Air India and Indian have accumulated losses on their balance sheets.
10/02/08 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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Aviation industry losses may mount to Rs 2,400 cr

New Delhi: Despite a huge surge in passenger traffic and revenue from ancillary services, the Indian aviation industry is set to post cumulative losses amountingto around $600 million (approximately Rs 2,400 crore) during 2008, analysts from major brokerage houses have said.
According to data from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA), the domestic airline industry posted cumulative losses of around $500 million (Rs 2,000 crore) in 2007. This was nearly seven times more than the Rs 301.74 crore losses posted in 2006.
Analysts from brokerage firms like Merrill Lynch, Prabhudas Liladhar, Enam and Angel, among others, all concurred on the figure of $600 million (Rs 2,400 crore).
However, they somewhat differed on the amount each air carrier would contribute to the losses.
With regard to the country’s largest private carrier,Jet Airways,analysts maintain that it would break-even, thanks to the sale and lease back of aircraft over the past year.
The main costs of airlines were incurred in salaries and other operational matters. Industry estimates point out that the starting salaries of pilots have gone up by as much as 75% in the last one year owing to the launch of more airlines and shortage of skilled workforce. Salaries constitute about 20% of an airline’s cost.
09/02/08 Shauvik Ghosh/Financial Express

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Lalu may up ante against airlines, plans loyalty bonus

In a bid to compete with budget airlines, railway minister Lalu Prasad is likely to announce a frequent-traveller scheme for rail passengers. Those travelling by air-conditioned (AC) class will earn loyalty mileage for every ticket. For every 100 points, the passenger would be eligible for one free ticket. The scheme, likely to be announced in the Budget, would be operational from April 2008.
Details of the mileage point, procedure for its accumulation and terms and conditions for its redemption are being worked out, a Rail Bhawan source said. The loyalty points could be earned only for tickets booked from the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website.
Explaining the scheme, a source said e-ticket would be issued by IRCTC against payment through credit card. Even if the person gets his reservation cancelled, he would get some points on his credit.
However, he would not get full refund and would have to pay the service charges. Points can be accumulated for a whole fiscal year and could be redeemed within the same year.
09/02/08 Rajat Guha/Economic Times

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Airlines eye orders as income stream

New Delhi/Mumbai: Cashing in on a sharp increase in global aircraft prices, Indian domestic carriers hope to earn around $100 million (Rs 400 crore) in 2008 by either hawking their delivery slots with aircraft manufacturers or by entering sale and leaseback deals with leasing companies.
The income earned from such activities is crucial for the domestic airline industry, which had accumulated losses of over Rs 2,200 crore in 2007. These losses are expected to rise to Rs 2,800 crore in 2008.
With capacity growth outstripping demand, many leading low-cost carriers in particular are cutting aircraft delivery schedules to consolidate growth plans and reduce mounting losses.
In 2007, the available seats per km were 51 billion against a demand for 35 billion.
Air Deccan expects to earn $30 million by selling delivery slots to other carriers and leasing companies. Air Deccan took delivery of 20 aircraft in 2005 and 10 in 2007.
Spicejet is expected to earn Rs 160 crore as premium for a sale and leaseback deal with a leasing company.
GoAir is expected to earn Rs 80 crore to Rs 150 crore this year from this alone.
Kingfisher Airlines, which is on an expansion spree especially as it enters international skies, said that it is not averse selling slots in 2009 if it gets a good price.
09/02/08
Surajeet Das Gupta & Manisha Singhal/Business Standard

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Frequent fliers

New Delhi: In the 1,287 days of the UPA Government till November 30 last year, its ministers travelled an incredible 1 crore km (10 million km)-plus on trips abroad, official and personal, but mostly official.
It means that the ministers made more than 256 trips around the globe, considering the earth’s circumference of 40,008 km. Among the 71 ministers (excluding the prime minister) who went on foreign trips during their tenure, 47 ministers spent over Rs 27 crore.At least 12 of the total 78 ministers travelled more than 2.5 lakh km each in the last three-and-a-half years.71 of the 78 UPA ministers (besides prime minister) have made 786 foreign trips spending about 3,798 days and travelling 1.02 crore km in 1,287 days. Seventy-one of the 78 UPA ministers (besides the PM) have made 786 foreign trips, travelling 1.02 crore km. They do, however, show that some ministers are literally higher than others. In fact, some spent more time abroad on personal trips than on official visits.
Using the Right To Information (RTI) procedure, India Today has obtained a detailed list of ministerial travel abroad during the UPA Government’s tenure and it makes for fascinating reading.
08/02/08 Shyamlal Yadav/India Today

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Passengers accuses airlines of mismanagement

Srinagar: Though after four days air traffic resumed today carrying some 1700 passengers, there was total mismanagement at the airport with passengers accusing the airlines of taking undue advantage of unfavorable weather conditions.
The Indian Airlines is topping in the list which according passengers failed to deliver today. The airlines was accused by the passengers of leaving their baggage at airport and instead preferring cargo baggage. This caused problem for the travelers who have connected flight from Delhi. They missed their planes as they were waiting for their baggage.
A passenger said that he received his belongings at 7 pm and could not board for the connected flight to Hyderabad. Some travelers told Greater Kashmir on phone from Delhi that indifference of authorities concerned made them wait for hours together in queues.
They said they had to wait hours together outside the gate of Srinagar Airport.
Passengers blame the traffic police and airport management for their failure to tackle with the huge rush of passengers.
08/02/08 Bilal Hussain

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Airline hijack fears are allayed

Manama: Aviation officials yesterday played down fears following a reported terrorist threat to hijack a flight from India to the Gulf. Sources told the GDN the alert related to a flight to or from Dubai in the UAE last week.
Press reports said security on board Air India and Indian flights to the Gulf had been stepped up after the threat.
Both airlines together operate 150 flights a week to various Gulf destinations, including Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar.
India's Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) deputy commissioner of security, B S Tiwari said it was not clear how the threat originated but measures were in place in co-operation with the airlines concerned.
"While we never take airport security lightly, sometimes we do receive some extra information from defence intelligence units and take steps accordingly," he said from New Delhi.
08/02/08 Mandeep Singh/Gulf Daily News, Bahrain

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Tata Motors unit to make parts for Dreamliner

Mumbai: After creating a flutter with the world's cheapest car, the Nano, Tata Motors will contribute structural components to one of 'most ambitious projects, the 787 Dreamliner.
The American aircraft manufacturer has signed an agreement with Tata Automobile Limited (TAL) Manufacturing Solutions, a wholly-owned Tata Motors subsidiary, to build floor beams using new technology with advanced titanium and composite materials.
These components will be made at an upcoming 30-acre, Rs 250-crore facility being set up to cater to aerospace requirements at Nagpur in Maharashtra. Commercial production will begin in 2009.
The financials and size of the contract are not being disclosed by either company. The move is being seen as a precursor to a bigger exposure in aerospace components and parts, though the group did not provide more detail.
07/02/08 Business Standard

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Visa on arrival for 18 nationalities

New Delhi: The government will provide visa on arrival to citizens of 18 countries from October 2009. They will also be allowed to avail of multiple visa with five-year validity at the airport. The ministry of external affairs has cleared the proposal and the home ministry is now giving finishing touches to the proposed policy.
An advance passenger information system will come into operation at six major airports by April 2008 and the government is of the view that visa on arrival could be provided after the new system comes into use.
India is also in talks with other countries for enabling Indian nationals to get multiple entry visas on a reciprocal basis.
07/02/08 Nirbhay Kumar & Rajat Guha/Economic Times

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MRTPC suspects cartelisation by low-cost fliers; orders inquiry

New Delhi: Cracking its whip on low-cost airlines, anti monopoly watchdog MRTPC has initiated an investigation on possible cartelisation by such fliers.
Taking a suo motu action, the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission has directed its investigative arm DGIR to probe the role of carriers along with their umbrella organisation, Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), in fixing the fares.
Last month, after a meeting with its member airlines, FIA decided to fix Rs 500 as the minimum airfare to improve their bottomlines.
The Commission is suspecting that by using the FIA platform, the carriers have eliminated fair competition in the sector and deprived travellers from low-cost promotional fares.
According to the Commission, it appears to be restrictive trade practices and goes against the interest of consumers, MRTPC sources said.
05/02/08 PTI/The Hindu

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MRPL, Shell in aviation fuel business JV

New Delhi: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), a Miniratna company and a subsidiary of ONGC, have entered into an agreement to form a joint venture with Shell for domestic marketing of aviation turbine fuel (ATF).
According to a press release issued on 5 February, the JV agreement, signed by MRPL managing director, R Rajamani, and vice-president Shell Aviation, Sjoerd Post, will become effective on 1 March 2008.
An official of Shell in India told Livemint.com that the the JV is an equal partnership.
The JV company would be incorporated as a private limited entity with an initial equity of Rs30 crore. The JV will be exclusive in nature and both MRPL and Shell will route all their future marketing activities for ATF through it. Shell will provide the technical service to the JV free of cost, the release said.
The JV will initially commence marketing of ATF at Bangalore and Hyderabad, and later expand its operations to other airports in India.
05/02/08 Livemint

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