Cost controls burnish airline metrics

Bangalore: When budget carrier SpiceJet reported a net profit of Rs 26.3 crore at an average operating load factor of 76% in the June quarter, a senior executive of a leading private full service airline suspected something was amiss.
"At 75-76% load factor, it is technically impossible to make money (at today's yield). You need minimum 80-85% load factor to make money. They (SpiceJet) must have deferred some costs or must have got credit incentive from manufacturer or some extraordinary income (to make that profit)," he said.
But SpiceJet's profit and loss account had no such item, not even aircraft sale and leaseback, an income airlines normally use to prop up bottomlines.
Samyukth Sridharan, chief commercial officer of SpiceJet said falling operational cost had brought down the breakeven load factor drastically.
In short, as operational costs came down, led largely by lower fuel expenses, the airline needed fewer passengers to break even.
A lower breakeven load factor made it easier for SpiceJet to register a profit even at 76% operating seat factor, when its yield for the quarter was just Rs 2,960 per passenger.
In contrast, a budget airline executive said, the average yield in the no-frill segment last year was close to Rs 4,000 per passenger and the breakeven load factor was between 75% and 80%. Despite that, airlines could not be profitable as operational costs soared.
In fact, most airlines have seen their breakeven load factor drop in June as operational costs fell. Full service carrier Jet Airways' breakeven load factor, for one, fell to 84.9% from 90% a year ago.
This, an analyst who did want to be named, said, was because the Naresh Goyal-owned airline's total expenditure on its domestic sector fell 33.2%.
31/07/09 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Expats face pay cuts as companies trim costs

New Delhi: Wolfgang Prock-Shauer, the genteel Austrian who runs India’s Jet Airways, had probably never bargained for turbulence hitting his salary. At least not after spending 25 years in the global aviation business and in a world starved of good managers.
But that belief was to be proved wrong. As corporate travelers swapped airport lounges for videoconferencing rooms and low-cost carriers ate into the rest of the business, Jet and other full-service carriers found cash hard to come by and debts started piling up. India's fledgling aviation industry stared at a cumulative annual loss of Rs 10,000 crore.
Mr Prock-Shauer was forced to clean up, and started it with himself. The 52-year-old took a voluntary pay cut of 10% and set an example for the rest. Last November, Jet sacked 32 foreign pilots to save costs as part of its plan to replace all expat pilots, more than a quarter of Jet’s 1,100 pilots are expats, with Indians by March 2010. A foreign pilot is, on an average, paid a monthly salary of Rs 5 lakh a month plus an accommodation allowance of Rs 2 lakh. An Indian pilot is paid just half.
Mr Prock-Shauer and Jet’s foreign pilots may be victims of the peculiar conditions that the company and the Indian aviation sector finds itself in, but thousands of other managers on so-called “expat” postings across sectors are finding that their condition is no better.
31/07/09 Shreya Biswas & Bhanu Pande/Economic Times

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Govt not to replace VT registration code for Indian aircraft

New Delhi: Government today said it has decided not to replace VT as the international code of registration for Indian aircraft.
"An attempt was made with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and after evaluating all the options, it has been decided not to replace the existing mark VT as no other code which distinctly identifies with India is available," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said while replying to a Lok Sabha query.
"All alphabets denoting India are already allotted to other countries, hence replacing VT with another code, which doesn't denote India is not worthwhile,"he added.
The Minister also clarified that the code VT doesnot stand for' Viceroy Territory or Victorian Territory.
30/07/09 PTI/Indopia

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Private carriers suffered Rs 2,444 cr losses in 2007-08

New Delhi: Private scheduled commercial airlines suffered a combined loss of Rs 2,444.6 crore in 2007-08, Lok Sabha was informed today.
Air Deccan, now christened as Kingfisher Red, registered the maximum loss of Rs 798.3 crore, while its parent carrier Kingfisher suffered losses of Rs 408.9 crore.
No-frills carrier Jetlite had a loss of Rs 441.5 crore, while Jet Airways suffered a loss of Rs 253 crore in 2007- 2008.
Low-cost carriers GoAir, SpiceJet and Indigo recorded losses of Rs 174.7 crore, Rs 133.5 crore and 234.7 crore, respectively, according to data provided by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
However, all-business-class airline Paramount had a profit of Rs 11.7 crore. Replying to another question, Patel said that the number of passengers carried by the National Aviation Company of India Ltd, that runs the national carrier Air India, dropped by 22 per cent during 2008-09 as compared to the previous fiscal.
30/07/09 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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‘Standing Seats’ concept unrealistic claim Indian aviation stakeholders

Mumbai: The concept of ‘Standing Seats’ or `Vertical Seats,’ which was initially coined by Airbus in 2003, is the latest grapevine in the global aviation industry. The concept is now being reviewed by China-based Spring Airlines and Ireland’s Ryanair. The concept will help airlines cut 20 per cent cost and carry additional 40 per cent passengers. For this, Spring Airlines has approached Airbus while Ryanair has spoken to Boeing. Both the airlines are ready to offer this service (once the safety checks are cleared by respective local aviation ministry) for almost half the total fare on short haul flights. Both the manufacturers are positive about vertical seating. The governments of Ireland and China are yet to approve plans proposed by both the airlines.
TravelBiz Monitor asked Indian Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) if they would consider this option in the near future. A source from SpiceJet opined, “The concept of vertical seating sounds thrilling and amusing. But I don't think the concept can take off in the Indian market. Its known that LCCs are growing in Indian skies due to high demand, but this doesn't mean Indians will be opting for standing option for short haul flights.”
Sanjay Kumar – Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo Airlines said, “....even if this concept takes off globally, I don't think that Indian passengers will be open to the idea of standing seats.”
Koustav Dhar, COO & Executive Director, MDLR Airlines Ltd. said, “Technically the concept sounds unrealistic. There are hardly any chances of clearing safety hazards by the governing or monitoring body of aviation sector...”
30/07/09 Anita Jain/TravelBizMonitor

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PM, President to get swanky copters

New Delhi: After getting three desi versions of US president’s 'Air Force One', the Indian President and PM are now all set to also acquire 12 swanky and secure helicopters for VVIP travel on the lines of ‘‘Marine One’’.
The multi-million dollar deal to procure the 12 EH/AW-101 helicopters, manufactured by Italian aviation major AgustaWestland, is in the concluding stages now, say defence ministry sources. This will be the third major deal in recent years to ensure Indian netas and other VVIPs can travel in fully-secure comfort in and around the country.
Though not as high-tech as Barack Obama's "Marine One", the call sign of the US Marine Corps helicopter which ferries the US President, the Indian EH-101 helicopters will have self-defence systems like missile-approach warners, chaff and flare dispensers and directed infra-red electronic counter-measures to protect the VVIPs on board.
The new helicopters will replace ageing Russian-origin Mi-8s and Mi-17s being operated by IAF's elite Communication Squadron, which ferries around the President and PM, just like the Legacy jets have replaced the old HS-748 Avros and the BBJs the two 737-200 aircraft bought in 1983.
30/07/09 Rajat Pandit/Times of India

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Antics in air to honour visionary

Jamshedpur: To celebrate the birth of a visionary and pioneer aviator, nothing short of an air show would do.
Eager schoolchildren and enthusiastic visitors swamped the Sonari airstrip here today to be part of an aircraft exhibition organised to mark Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata’s 105th birth anniversary.
An aeromodel show organised by the Jamshedpur Aviation Club was the star attraction of the function. Categorised into gliders and engine planes, the remote-controlled models went up to 40ft in air. This year, over 15 gliders and engine aircraft were on display.
Over 500 students attended the exhibition to see some of the best remote-controlled aeromodels up close.
The oldest aircraft at the show was a yellow Pushpak MK1 made in 1965. This is a unique aircraft because of its single engine, wooden propeller and fabric covering. The twin carrier is mainly used for training purposes.
Another aircraft on display was the Cessna 152 — a single engine 1984 model made in the US. It can carry up to 900kg and fly for four hours at a stretch.
Students from Bal Vihar, Sonari, a special school for the deaf and mute, also enjoyed the breathtaking spectacle.Partha Sengupta, vice-president (corporate services) of Tata Steel, attended the programme as its chief guest.Tata Steel also lined up several events to celebrate the special day.
29/07/09 Antara Bose/The Telegraph

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Tributes paid to JRD on 105th birth anniversary

Jamshedpur: Rich tributes were paid to JRD Tata, the legendary industrialist, who is also known as the father of the Indian civil aviation, on the occasion of his 105th birth anniversary celebrations held here on Wednesday. They day was also observed across all locations of Tata Steel.
At Jamshedpur, the momentous day began with the garlanding of JRD's portrait at the JRD Tata Sports Complex.
This was followed by the inauguration of a thematic exhibition and aero-modelling on JRD at the Sonari airport by vice-president of Tata Steel Partha Sengupta. The exhibition traces JRD's life and times and his outstanding achievements for the cause of the nation. It also showcases his passion for flying and his pioneering initiative to bring civil aviation into the subcontinent in 1932 with the launch of "Air India".
Several other programmes also marked the day.
The Tata Steel Family Initiatives Foundation organized health check-up camps for women and children and also conducted quiz contests to generate awareness. The health camps included ante-natal check-up, post natal check-up, immunization and family planning schemes and services. A health camp-cum-infotainment programme was also organized by project SAHAS, an adolescent reproductive health project, at Babudih bustee. The event was attended by over 200 children.
Information on ARSH (Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health) was presented through a dance-drama programme.
30/07/09 Times of India

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Carbon offset programme launched for air travellers

Travel management company Uniglobe Travel Wednesday launched a carbon offset programme in India that will allow air travellers to purchase carbon credits to reduce the environmental impact of their travel.
Uniglobe, which launched the programme in association with CarbonNeutral Co, a global carbon management firm, said the fund raised through the sale of carbon credits would be used in various emission reduction projects in the country.
Aircraft globally contribute to 8 percent to the total carbon emission, which makes the carbon offset programme very important, company officials said.
Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, who launched the programme here, said the aviation sector is a big contributor to carbon emission so that it has to take initiatives to check it.
Ritika Modi, South Asia regional president of Uniglobe, said the cost of offsetting the emission of a Delhi-London flight is Rs.800 per person, while it is Rs.1,350 for a Delhi-New York flight and Rs.1,450 for a Mumbai-New York flight.
For a Delhi-Mumbai flight, the cost per person would be Rs.100, for Delhi-Chennai Rs.200 and Bangalore-Chennai Rs.50.
29/07/09 IANS/Sify

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No-frill airlines find flight path to profit

Bangalore: As air travellers shift their preference to low fares, it is budget airlines such as SpiceJet, IndiGo, JetLite and others that are reaping profits while full service carriers (FSCs) like Jet Airways are struggling to keep their losses from sinking further.
An industry expert pointed to higher cost per unit of the FSCs as the reason for their tumbling bottomlines and operating revenue. "Even though they (FSCs) have increased their proportion of lower fares in their total offerings, their unit cost is still high. This is pulling them into the red," he said.
For the June quarter, Jet's cost per available seat kilometre (CASKM) was Rs 4.79, which is double that of low-cost airline like SpiceJet's. Jet continues to have high CASKM even though over 50% of its offerings are in the low-fare segment.
The same quarter has seen the Delhi-based carrier move into the black with a net profit of Rs 26.3 crore compared with a loss of Rs 129.2 crore last year. Jet, on the other hand, was in the red with a loss of Rs 225.3 crore as against a profit of Rs 143.4 crore in the same quarter last year.
Interestingly, Jet's low-cost subsidiary JetLite registered a profit of Rs 2.2 crore compared with a loss of Rs 134.77 crore last year.
Sanjay Aggarwal CEO of SpiceJet Ltd said his airline was able to turn around despite lower yields because of reduction in CASKM, higher operating revenue and better utilisation of aircraft. SpiceJet's yield in the first quarter had slipped 6% but the no-frill airline propped up its bottomline on lower CASKM, which was down 24% mainly due to lower fuel costs.
Mihir Shah, analyst with broking firm Prabhudas Lilladher, in his report brought out on Monday said, "We expect yields to remain under pressure as the company increasingly utilises its capacity for no frill services. Jet Konnect, which currently contributes one-third of Jet's capacity, will go up to two-third by October 2009."
An industry expert said Jet was in the rejig mode and trying to figure out where to deploy its capacity in the current market.
Ankur Bhatia, managing director of Amadeus, says low fares were beginning to stimulate demand and expected it to go up further in the coming months because of improving economic sentiment in thecountry.
29/07/09 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Major domestic airlines owe around 250 crore to AAI: Govt

New Delhi: Government on Tuesday said that the major domestic airlines owe around Rs 250 crore to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for using its facilities at different airports across the country.
"The amount due from major private airlines as on June 30 is: Go Airlines- Rs 1,335.82 lakhs, Interglobe Aviation Limited - Rs 989.91 lakhs, Jet Airways Rs 3,309.12 lakhs, Jet Lite (India)- Rs 1,418.42 lakhs, Kingfisher Airlines- Rs 14,968.70 lakhs, Paramount Airways-Rs 1,300.76 lakhs and Spicejet Limited- Rs 1,655.28 lakhs," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
He said invoice for airport charges are raised on fortnightly basis against the airlines and 15 days credit is allowed to the private domestic airlines against security deposit equivalent to their two-month billing.
28/07/09 PTI/Economic Times

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Air travel set to become more expensive

New Delhi: Flying is set to become dearer as the state enterprise Airports Authority of India (AAI) is finalising a proposal to levy development fee on departing passengers from 10 major non-metro airports across the country, a top official has said. The proposal is likely to be fast-tracked as the company faces shortage of funds to undertake the upgrade of key non-metro airports.
For the modernisation work currently under way at the Chennai and Kolkata airports, the authority would levy development fee, similar to the fee charged at the Delhi and Mumbai airports, to meet the estimated capital expenditure shortfall of Rs 1,300 crore.
“AAI has engaged a third party consultant to undertake an independent study to estimate the fund shortage and recommend the development fee to be charged from passengers flying out from each of these airports,” the official told The Indian Express. Earlier, four private airport developers were allowed to charge airport fee from departing passengers at Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Once the authority firms up the actual charges, the proposal will be vetted by the civil aviation ministry before a cabinet note is prepared for the consideration of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). AAI is likely to finalise the proposal in a month’s time, the official said.
28/07/09 Smita Aggarwal/Indian Express

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DGCA relief for Jet pilots

The Directorate General of India (DGCA) has added a clause in the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), clarifying that a pilot whose service conditions have been adversely changed by an airline need not give the mandatory six-month notice before leaving.
“In case an air transport undertaking resorts to reduction in the salary/perks or otherwise alters the terms and conditions of the employment to the disadvantage of the employee pilot, this (earlier) CAR shall not be applicable,” the new clause says.
The change in CAR will come as a relief to the 20 Jet Airways pilots, who had resigned in April to join Qatar Airways. The DGCA move comes after captain RPS Panag, one among the 20 pilots, moved the Delhi High Court against DGCA and Jet Airways. The next hearing of the case is on July 29. Under the present CAR, a pilot needs a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the company to join a new carrier.
The DGCA has invited comments from stakeholders by July 30.
In case the change is implemented, Jet will have to issue NOCs to the 20 pilots or a letter from DGCA would act as a NOC.
Jet like many other airlines, is struggling for funds. In order to bring its cost down, the carrier had announced salary cuts and a freeze on various allowances. According to pilots, all these measures violate their employment contract and therefore, the notice period norm should not apply to them.
27/07/09 Parul Chhaparia/mydigiatlfc

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Aviation sector confident of weathering current storm

New Delhi: Unfazed by the controversy surrounding the financial crisis at Air India, aviation observers say that the long-term prognosis for the civil aviation industry is good in view of the reforms carried out over the last five years.
In his previous stint as minister of civil aviation, Praful Patel opened up the skies to competition and also took the bold step of creating a public-private partnership (PPP) to upgrade and modernise the airport infrastructure in the country. The Delhi and Mumbai airports are being upgraded to world class airports with private sector participation; the airports at Chennai and Kolkata are in the process of being upgraded and work has also begun on 35 non-metro and smaller airports across the country for similar upgradation.
The minister has allowed 100% foreign direct investment for setting up greenfield airports. These changes, says one aviation industry expert, are "irreversible and will change the face of aviation in the medium term".
While there has been much hand-wringing about the losses suffered by Indian carriers, both public and private, the big success has been on fleet expansion. From just 100 aircraft in 2004, the combined fleet strength of Indian carriers has almost quadrupled.
Patel, according to aviation sources, is working towards further liberalisation even in his second term. Take, for example, the proposal to allow foreign airlines to pick up equity in Indian carriers. Though many of his own cabinet colleagues are opposed to the idea, Patel has been instrumental in nudging the government to consider the contentious proposal, which is now lying with the commerce ministry. If approved, this move may help some of the cash-strapped Indian carriers raise finances for survival.
24/07/09 Daily News & Analysis

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Civil Aviation Minister assures India will tide over aviation crisis

New Delhi: The Minister of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India, Praful Patel has said that ongoing issues in the civil aviation sector in India are not going to be the permanent face and has assured that the industry will tide over the crisis and aviation will boom again. He was speaking at the launch function of India Aviation 2010 yesterday, an international exhibition and conference on civil aviation, in the capital.
He further mentioned that civil aviation in India witnessed robust growth in previous years but during 2008 to 2009 it has marked severe decline in growth due to global economic issues that had affected India like other countries. “India is not the only country to witness decline in aviation growth but the aviation industry as a whole across the world had been affected due to recession and several issues,” said Patel. He said the government would extend the Mumbai and Delhi airport development models to the 80-odd airports that are currently financially non-viable. Patel underlined the need for carriers in India to transition from Full Service Carriers to low cost ones. This, he said, would be reflected both in terms of the number of people carried and the operating costs.
Referring to Air Traffic Management (ATM), Praful said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) will soon address all shortcomings regarding traffic management and will fill vacancies for Air Traffic Control (ATC) officers, as well as other positions in the aviation regulatory agencies soon. His Ministry is also planning to appoint retired ATC officers from both defense and civil sectors to fulfill the need for experienced air traffic officers.
23/07/09 TravelBizMonitor

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Airlines flouting safety norms will have to shell out up to Rs 10 lakh fine

New Delhi: In a major step that would force airlines to both maintain their aircraft well and follow all existing passenger-friendly moves, the aviation ministry has come out with stiff penalties — with jail terms — for airline officials for not doing so. A notification issued last week stipulates that not following basic air safety norms would invite highest category of jail up to two years with a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh if any airline flies an aircraft without the mandatory certificate of airworthiness.
Operating a flight without the minimum crew or with a pilot not rated for that plane would also fall in the highest category of violation and punishment. What’s more, airlines not reporting an incident or accident would invite action under this head only.
The notification says second category of offences like an airline brining a passenger to India without a valid passport or carrying passengers in unauthorised parts of an aircraft will invite a jail term for officials of up to a year with a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh.
Apart from safety, the new rules piloted by the DGCA lays equal stress on passengers. All civil aviation requirements issued for them like for benefit of physically challenged passengers or for taking care of passengers of a long delayed flights have been put in the third strictest category that has a jail term of up to six months and a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh.
24/07/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Boeing remains bullish on India, sees air travel bouncing back

New Delhi: Aerospace major Boeing forecasts that the Indian market will require 1,000 commercial jets in the next 20 years, which will represent over 3 percent of Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ forecasted market worldwide. This makes India a $100 billion market in 20 years.
Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar shared the company’s market data and forecast on Tuesday at a media conference focused on Boeing’s view of India’s commercial airplane market.
India’s economy has averaged 7 percent annual growth over the past 10 years and the country’s economic growth remains among the strongest in the world. The record growth in air travel, which expanded rapidly in the past eight years due to liberalisation and favorable economic conditions, is now tracking at 2007 levels, Boeing said in a media statement.
Keskar said air travel in India, tied closely to the country’s economic growth, will rebound. “There is strength and resilience in the India commercial aviation sector over the long term,” Keskar said. “The potential for future growth of air travel, both domestically and internationally, is among the greatest in the world.”
Recent market forces and recession in many parts of the world have led to a contraction of India’s commercial aviation sector, with consolidation of airlines and an overall reduction of capacity.
23/07/09 Business Standard

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India will need 1,000 planes in 20 years: Boeing

New Delhi: Indian carriers could require 1,000 aircraft worth 100 billion dollars over the next two decades, according to the Indian unit of the US aeronautical giant Boeing.
The bullish estimate Wednesday from Boeing-India president Dinesh Keskar, came despite the recent decision by India's largest privately owned carrier, Jet Airways, to defer delivery of seven Boeing aircraft because of declining passenger traffic.
Keskar noted that Air India, the ailing state-run carrier, had not deferred deliveries of any of 68 aircraft it had ordered.
"A phenomenal growth is likely in India as its economy is in a better shape than the rest of the world and the aviation industry will come out (of the economic slowdown) faster than other sectors," Keskar said.
Projecting annual economic growth of 6.5 percent in India over the next 20 years, Keskar said Boeing forecast the Indian market "will require 1,000 commercial jets valued at approximately 100 billion dollars" over the period.
23/07/09 PTI/Economic Times

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iXiGO.com generates Rs. 300 crores for airlines in direct sales

iXiGO.com (www.ixigo.com) has released key financial metrics outlining its performance and the benefits that airline partners have derived ever since its launch.
Analysis of performance data indicates that iXiGO.com helped airlines in India generate Rs. 300 crores in direct-sales and saved them cumulative distribution costs of Rs. 15 crores.
In addition, since bookings processed through iXiGO.com are fulfilled on the airline's own site, the leading travel meta-search has enabled airline partners generate ancillary revenues of almost Rs. 5 crores.
The cumulative effect of these two factors led to a net positive impact of Rs. 20 crores for airlines.
"Distribution costs form the third biggest expense item on the P and Ls of airlines in India after fuel and personnel expenses. The data points we have aggregated suggest that the meta-search model's growth in India is reducing distribution costs through efficient online customer acquisition, at a fraction of existing distribution channels, and is helping accelerate ancillary revenue generation", said Aloke Bajpai, Founder-CEO, iXiGO.com .
iXiGO.com's business model enables consumers to search and compare airline fares and availability in an unbiased manner and once the consumer wants to book a chosen flight ticket he/she is redirected to a deep-linked page on the airline website to complete the transaction.
With this efficient process, the consumer can transact securely and directly with the airline site without depending on a middleman in the process, thereby saving commissions and booking fees.
23/07/09 ANI/Sify

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‘Indian airline industry bit more than it can chew’

Dinesh Keskar, president of Boeing India, a civil aviation industry veteran who has been dealing with airlines in India for decades. In an interview with ET NOW, he said Boeing has managed to avoid aircraft order cancellations till now and new orders are unlikely now. Excerpts:
Is overcapacity the one of the key factors that has landed Indian airline companies in trouble?
Most certainly. In fact, we have been saying that. While the growth was very good about three years ago, it (Indian airline industry) did bite more then it can chew. The industry got too many airplanes in a hurry and that caused a significant increase in capacity. The growth rate was in excess of 40%, but half of that growth was what I consider was organic growth... meaning it was real, but the other half was stimulated by very low fares and that gave a false sort of expectation that India is going to grow very big. Even now, there is overcapacity to the tune of 15-20%, which is forcing everybody to put the fares down and creating a situation where nobody is making any money.
Does that mean cancellation of orders for aircraft manufacturers like Boeing?
Well, we have been fortunate. First of all, we picked and chose our customers very carefully in India. We don’t expect any cancellation. We haven’t had any so far. We had some deferrals in the past. Of course, when economy gets so bad worldwide, clearly there is going to be some implication, but we have been very successful so far in not getting any cancellation.
Do you expect Air India to retain its orders despite its mounting losses?
Well, again as I mentioned, we have not had any cancellation, we have not heard from Air India that they would like to cancel anything. We share the pain that Air India is going through. In fact, Air India is not the only airline in the world that is suffering. I was at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur past month, where every major airline in the world was complaining about the traffic going down. Air India is no exception, but they are creating a modern fleet and I think they will stick to their plan, if they have to reschedule some deliveries, we will certainly be able to talk to them. So far, we have not seen any communication from them on the subject yet.
What about other customers?
We have been very fortunate. We have done business worth $25 billion with India, between Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and three very prestigious Boeing business jets for VVIP fleet, which is flown by Indian Air Force for top people like the Prime Minister. As I said, we are focused on keeping the orders that we have sold and working through the cycle. I think we are very well placed for the future, but in the near term, we don’t expect any orders, but we are not expecting any cancellation either.
23/07/09 G Ganapathy Subramaniam/Economic Times

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Boeing Cuts India Commercial Aircraft Sales Forecast

New Delhi: Boeing Co.(BA) Wednesday cut its commercial aircraft sales forecast for India saying it expects the country's carriers to buy up to 1,000 planes by 2029 for as much as $100 billion.
The U.S.-based aircraft manufacturer previously forecast India would need 1, 001 aircraft worth $105 billion by 2027.
"India is economically better than the rest of the world but the aviation industry here is equally affected as companies globally," Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar told reporters.
He said last year's forecast was that large airplanes' share in the overall market would reach 11% but it now expects it to be 8%.
The company now expects higher orders for small planes, so it has scaled down its forecast for India by $9 billion.
Keskar said air travel has started recovering and he expects the local aviation market to turn around in nine to 12 months.
Higher operating costs, the global economic downturn and lower consumer spending has hurt air travel in India.
Air passenger traffic fell about 5% in 2008. Air traffic declined 8.06% to 21.09 million passengers during the first six months of 2009.
Jet Airways (India) Ltd.(532617.BY), Kingfisher Airlines Ltd.(532747.BY) and Air India have cut capacity and deferred and cancelled deliveries of new planes from Boeing and its rival Airbus due to the decline in passenger numbers.
Boeing's customers in India include Jet Airways, Air India and low-fare carrier SpiceJet Ltd.
22/07/09 Nikhil Gulati and Anirban Chowdhury/Dow Jones/CNN Money.com

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Anuradha Reddy to chronicle the history of aviation in Mumbai

Mumbai: In a first of its kind for the city of Mumbai, renowned aviation historian P Anuradha Reddy has embarked on a unique initiative to chronicle the glorious history of aviation in the city. Dating back to developments that shaped the history of aviation in the pre-independence era, and with the objective to capture and document this gradual transformation over the years, this is in line with her earlier efforts that includes some pioneering work in both Delhi and Hyderabad.
As a part of this initiative, Mrs. Reddy has invited people to share any data, facts, figures, case studies, documents, references, trivia and images pertinent to the aviation space in Mumbai. One can send in their contributions to aviationhistorybombay@gmail.com or call +91 9930899422 for any further queries. Additionally, you can also reach her on +91 9441181247.
Highlighting the need for such an initiative, Mrs. Reddy stated, “It is imperative for the younger generation to understand how various agencies have contributed immensely to the evolution of the sector right from the time when flying was seen as a luxury meant for the affluent only. As of today, the rich and magnificent history of aviation in Mumbai including countless individual anecdotes have not been collectively documented anywhere or by anyone. This initiative, more than anything else is a consolidated effort to possibly have a ready reckoner on the history of aviation in this city that all future generations can refer to”
In the past, Mrs. Reddy, one of the few aviation historians that India has, has done some pioneering and extensive work on Indian Aviation. In 2002, she authored a book “Aviation in the Hyderabad Dominions”, which was the culmination of a special article she was to author for a Hyderabad-based daily to celebrate its 60th anniversary.
23/07/09 PR-inside.com

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Private airlines are advised on VIP movement: Patel

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today said that all airlines operating from Indian airports have been advised to ensure proper facilitation of VIPs upon timely intimation of their movement.
Asked whether there was any mechanism in Airport Authority of India (AAI) to ensure that protocol is strictly followed by private airlines for VIPs, he said that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) provides stipulated facilities to the VIPs such as reserved lounges and free access to terminals and visitors' galleries at the airports.
The private airlines are according advised regrading the VIP movement, Patel said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
21/07/09 Press Trust of India

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Pilots on a high: Mallya’s Kingfisher raises the bar

New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines has emerged as the carrier having the maximum cases of pilots found under the influence of alcohol before take-off.
A number of airlines including Naresh Goyal’s Jet were cited where pilots were reported to be under the influence of alcohol in the past one year, civil aviation minister told Parliament. The Vijay Mallya-promoted airline Kingfisher is named after the most popular beer brand in his brewery business. Eight pilots of Kingfisher Airlines, six each of Indigo and SpiceJet and three each of Jetlite, Jet Airways and Paramount had beendetected alco-positive during pre-flight medical examination, Patel said.
“Any pilot found to be alco-positive is immediately grounded for a period of up to six weeks,” the minister said.
22/07/09 Indian Express

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Scientists track eclipse from aircraft, conduct tests

New Delhi: Solar eclipse trackers on the ground were not be the only ones studying the spectacle as the Indian Air Force (IAF) and astrophysicists conducted experiments and filmed the celestial event from a fighter jet and a transport aircraft.
A Mirage-2000 fighter jet and an AN-32 medium lift transport aircraft took to the skies early this morning with a team of astrophysicists and IAF personnel onboard who carried out some experiments and filmed the longest total solar eclipse of the century.
The fighter aircraft took off from the IAF airbase in northern city Gwalior, while the transport aircraft with scientists from Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous body of the Department of Science and Technology flew from Agra towards Khajuraho in central state Madhya Pradesh.
Scientists from Noida-based Vigyan Prasar, Udaipur-based Solar Observatory and Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics participated in the experiments and the filming.
22/07/09 Press Trust of India

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Fare break-up rule for airlines

New Delhi: The government today said it had amended rules to rectify “deceptive” advertisements by airline companies to make them give the break-up of fares charged from passengers.
“In order to rectify the deceptive advertisements by airlines, Rule 135 of the Aircraft Rule, 1937, has been amended,” civil aviation minister Praful Patel said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.
Airlines will have to display tariff in a conspicuous manner to show the total amount payable by a passenger and the complete break-up of the amount indicating the fare, tax, fees or any other charge separately, he said.
The minister added that domestic airlines such as NACIL (formed by the merger of Air India and Indian), Jet, JetLite, Kingfisher, SpiceJet, Paramount, Go, Indigo and MDLR had complied with the rules in displaying airfares on their websites.
But a tourism industry source said: “Some airlines are giving the fare break-up but some others are yet to comply.”
Jet Airways is not showing the break-up. “The break-ups are not shown in the promotional fares but it is mentioned taxes would be added to the basic fare,” an airline official said.
Air India said it was complying. “Air India has been giving the full fare with the break-up, including fuel surcharge, passenger service fees and user development fees,” its spokesperson said in Calcutta.
21/07/09 The Telegraph

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Aviation ministry may reallocate routes not being used by airlines

New Delhi: In an attempt to prevent airlines from squatting on international and domestic routes allotted to them, the aviation ministry has asked carriers to explain why they aren’t flying on many of the sectors/routes that they have been granted. The ministry plans to reallocate routes in case it’s not convinced by the airlines’ arguments.
To fly international routes, airlines need permission from the ministry—under what are called bilateral rights with other countries. The routes are allotted on the basis of the number of seats available on various flight sectors. The ministry’s permission is also required to fly domestic routes, based on the number of slots available at various airports every summer and winter.
The ministry has written to several airlines, including Jet Airways (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, to explain their operational plans for routes they have been allotted and are not flying, said a civil aviation ministry official, who didn’t want to be named.
The airlines have been asked why they were blocking the routes they have acquired, this official said, adding that the ministry had acted after conducting a study of several routes it had granted on the request of airlines and which had remained unused.
For example, Kingfisher Airlines, which launched its international operations last year, acquired permission to fly Mumbai-Hong Kong, Mumbai-Singapore and several other routes from winter 2008-09, but is yet to start operations on many of them.
On 11 July, Kingfisher announced that it will start operating on some of the routes later this year.
“Beginning September 2009, Kingfisher Airlines plans to launch two new flights. The two new routes will be Mumbai–Singapore and Mumbai–Hong Kong,” the airline said in a statement.
Jet Airways secured rights to fly to at least a dozen destinations, including Singapore, Brussels, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the US, but is yet to start flights to several of them.
“That is a monopolistic thing; you take a route and not fly. Once you take a route, then you should fly,” said Sanat Kaul, former representative of India to the International Civil Aviation Organization, and a former civil servant in the aviation ministry. “Of course, they will say there was an economic depression, but the point is you made a commitment.”
Airlines have curtailed flights and scaled down expansion plans as they struggle with declining traffic during the economic downturn.
A senior Jet Airways official, who didn’t want to be named, said he couldn’t confirm if the airline had received the ministry’s letter. He said the airline had cut some non-profitable routes over the past few months, but was also launching flights to West Asia.
21/07/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Signs of air travel recovery in India

Domestic air passenger numbers in India rose by 5.7 per cent year-on-year in June to 3.7 million, leading to speculation that recovery is around the corner, new research from Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (Capa) shows.
Based on figures from the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Capa report said the market, which contracted for 12 consecutive months from June 2008, might finally be on the road to recovery. Traffic bottomed out in November 2008 when passenger numbers slumped 21.7 per cent year on year.
Jet Airways was the only Indian carrier to report a decline in traffic for the month, as it focuses on yield as opposed to volume. Jet Airways' passenger numbers slumped 17.7 per cent year-on-year in June, while the carrier's all-economy unit, JetLite, was down 4.9 per cent.
The Capa report said all other domestic carriers, both full service and low cost, increased their passenger traffic in excess of 12 per cent year-on-year in June, including national carrier Air India, which grew by12.2 per cent, IndiGo showed an increase of 19.4 per cent, SpiceJet grew by 29.5 per cent, Paramount increased by 58.7 per cent, Kingfisher Airlines by 79.5 per cent and GoAir by 86.1 per cent.
Kingfisher's figure is an aggregate of both Kingfisher Airlines and Deccan traffic, which has been combined since November 2008. GoAir's passenger numbers for June increased off a small base in June 2008, when the carrier's traffic slumped 25.5 per cent year on year.
Jet Airways also had the lowest seat factor of the domestic carriers in June. Its seat factor was 67.8 per cent, while JetLite maintained a higher seat factor of 74.4 per cent. Jet Airways cut capacity by a further 10 per cent in June and plans to cut an additional 10 per cent of capacity over the course of this fiscal year ending March 31, 2010.
Kingfisher, which recently launched its Dubai service, remains the leader, capturing 24.5 per cent of market share in June. The carrier is likely to gain more share in coming month from Jet Airways' capacity cuts.
Overall scheduled domestic carriers (excluding Paramount) achieved an on-time performance of 81.6 per cent in June. Highlights include IndiGo (87 per cent), Jet Airways (86.4 per cent), GoAir (83.4 per cent), Kingfisher (83 per cent), JetLite (80.4 per cent), SpiceJet (76.9 per cent) and Air India (75.7 per cent, including Alliance Air).
22/07/09 Nina Varghese/Emirates Business 24-7, UAE

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NE MPs decry apathy in air services

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha MPs hailing from the North-east today decried the apathy to air services in the Region, disputing claims by Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel that night landing facilities were available at Dibrugarh and Silchar airports. Two back-to-back questions in the Rajya Sabha on air services in the North-east led the MPs from Region to express their dismay at the air services. The MPs also demanded introduction of daily morning and evening flights between Guwahati and Delhi.
Replying to a question by Silvius Condpan, Patel claimed that night landing facilities were already available at Dibrugarh and Silchar airports.
However, Condpan countered this claim pointing out that it is a frequent experience of the air passengers to deplane at Guwahati, as airlines refuse to fly to these two destinations because of lack of night land landing facilities.
Meanwhile, replying to another question by Kumar Deepak Das, Patel said that there has been no cancellation or delayed flights for low visibility due to fog or dust storm at Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport during the last two years, barring the period between March 4 to March 17.
21/07/09 Assam Tribune

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As Rs 79-k per seat, best-view windows all booked on eclipse flight

New Delhi: The ‘route’ does not sound exciting — Delhi to Gaya and back —and the timing would put off any regular flyer:4.30 am on Wednesday from IGI Airport. But for the 30 or 35 passengers, the short, three-hour air-ride will be the flight of their lives.
For, they will be chasing the once-in-a-lifetime event: witnessing the century’s longest solar eclipse from the closest quarter possible for citizens.
Eclipse Chasers Athenaeum — a group of, as the name suggests, eclipse chasers and astronomers — is organising the flight along with a travel company.
The aircraft seats come in four categories: the sun-side seats (offers the best view) on the right, the middle seats, the aisle seats and the earth-side seats on the left. While the eclipse would be least visible from the earth-side seats, enthusiasts on this side would be able to photograph the lunar shadow moving over the Earth.
There are 21 seats on both sun- and earth-sides.
“All sun-side window seats are sold out and a few earth-side window seats are left,” said Shruti Pandey, deputy manager (corporate communications) at Cox and Kings, which is organising the Boeing flight along with Eclipse Chasers Athenaeum.
Taking off from the Capital at 4.30 am, the aircraft will fly towards and hold over Gaya, Bihar, till the eclipse time. The flight, the Pandey said, will intercept the middle of the eclipse shadow at 6.26 am at a height of 41,000 feet. A sun-side seat on the special flight costs Rs 79,000. The cost is Rs 67,000 for middle seats, Rs 59,000 aisle seats and Rs 29,000 for earth-side seats.
21/07/09 Pragya Kaushika/Express India

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Airport fee will add to your travel bills

Mumbai: Airfares are set to rise again, with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) proposing an Airport Development Fee (ADF) of Rs 300 on flights to domestic non-metro destinations and Rs 1,000 ($20) on international flights. The proposal will be sent to the civil aviation ministry for approval next week, and may come into effect from September 1 this year, said an AAI official, who did not wish to be named.
The International Air Transport Association has said in a statement they have opposed the fee.
To begin with, ADF will be imposed on passengers flying to 12 airports, according to the proposal. Among the destinations earmarked for the fee are Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Udaipur, Visakhapatnam and Thiruvananthapuram. In the second phase, ADF will cover another 23 non-metro airports. It will be charged for 10-15 years and will be put into an escrow account, said the official.
An escrow is maintained by a third party, which makes sure funds will be disbursed only after pre-agreed conditions have been fulfiled.
AAI will earn Rs 700-800 crore from ADF, which will be used for development and upgradation of non-metro airports. It will also finance its airport modernisation programme, which is under way across the country. AAI has earmarked Rs 3,000 crore for undertaking developmental projects across various airports during 2009-2010.
21/07/09 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

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Heliport plans hit air pockets

Mumbai: The state government's plans to set up a helicopter taxi service connecting the island city with satellite towns of Thane and Navi Mumbai have hit an air pocket.
The preliminary report submitted by the consultants, who were doing a techno-economic feasibility study, said that a full-fledged heliport at Cuffe Parade and the international airport was not possible.
The report, a copy of which is with DNA,also ruled out the heliport proposed at the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) office at Priyadarshani Park.
The state government had appointed egis India Consulting Engineering Pvt Ltd to do a techno-economic feasibility report of the project. The Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) was to carry it out. "The reports said that the international airport was already facing saturation due to heavy aircraft movement. The site near MSRDC office would also require a lot of reclamation. Hence, both sites are being ruled out," confirmed a senior MMRDA official requesting anonymity.
Though Cuffe Parade already has a single helipad, setting up a heliport with a capacity of six helipads would not be possible, added the official. "The site has size limitations. Moreover, it also falls in the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) and safety influence zone of INS Kunjali," he said. A helipad can be further developed with clearance from Ministry of Defence (MoD) and THE Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
20/07/09 Ninad Siddhaye/Daily News & Analysis

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TN eyes Perambalur for locating aeropark on 4,000 acres

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has given the much-awaited formal nod to promote a mega aerospace project in the state. Soon, a high-level delegation is expected to visit the US to woo investors in the sector.
Official agencies are working overtime to prepare the final blueprint and zero in on the location for the aerospace park, the next big ticket investment sector identified by the State Government after auto, IT and electronic hardware.
Once these are ready, Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin, in-charge of major industries, is expected to visit the US backed by a high-powered delegation of top officials and industry leaders.
Mr Stalin may accompany industry captains and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) representatives, who are keen to explore collaborations with companies in the US, people familiar with the development told ET.
Alongside, the site evaluation exercise is on. It would take one or two months to identify and finalise the place of the proposed aeropark. Efforts were on for over a year to locate the aeropark within Chennai or nearby. Hosur was considered because of its proximity to Bangalore. But, it has only 250 acres available for the park.
On the other hand, Ennore in Chennai, another potential destination was not considered on technical grounds. Though land was available at Sriharikota, it too could not fit in the scheme of things, a government source told ET.
After prolonged discussions, the stakeholders have finally agreed to consider Perambalur district, where land is available in plenty. Already the government is promoting a multi-product special economic zone in the district. By locating the aeropark in the backward area, an ideal ecosystem could be nurtured, the source added.
17/07/09 Hemamalini Venkatraman/Economic Times

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Five domestic airlines owe Rs 2,225 cr to oil PSUs

New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways, National Aviation Company of India Ltd, Paramount and SpiceJet owe Rs 2,225.52 crore to the public sector oil marketing companies till May-end, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Murli Deora, informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
While Kingfisher Airlines owed the three oil marketing companies Rs 950.46 crore, Jet Airways had an outstanding of Rs 760.07 crore and NACIL owed Rs 472.93 crore till May-end, the Minister said.
The Chennai-based Paramount Airways had to pay Rs 25.82 crore and the Delhi-based SpiceJet owed Rs 16.24 crore, the Minister added. The three OMCs are Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation.
The outstanding of the five airlines to the three oil marketing firms stood at Rs 3,658.06 crore till the end of December last year. At that time the outstanding against NACIL was Rs 1,311.91 crore, Jet Airways (Rs 1,266.21 crore), Kingfisher Airlines (Rs 1,030.08 crore), Paramount (Rs 36.56 crore) and SpiceJet (Rs 13.30 crore), the Minister said.
17/07/09 Business Line

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NOIDA planning to construct helipad

Mumbai: The New Okhla Industrial and Development Authority (NOIDA) is planning to construct a helipad near the flyover connecting Sector 82 and Sector 128 by January next year. According to NOIDA, the spot is also close to the Greater Noida Expressway, allowing residents an easy access to the helipad. It will come up at a distance of 6.5 km away from the Amity Chowk and is on the main approach route to the Expressway. The trial run for the same was carried out successfully on the designated spot recently.
According to Mohinder Singh, Chief Executive Officer, NOIDA, the proposed site has been finalised and the project will take up on 1,000 sq. metre (25 acres) of area. Singh said that as the Games Village in Delhi is a few kilometers away from Noida, the Authority expects that the helipad will help promote tourism in the area. The helipad is expected to be operational within a span of six months.
According to a report in Times of India by Dwaipayan Ghosh, the helicopter will help commuters reach Noida and Greater Noida in 15 minutes from the Indira Gandhi Airport. Sanjib Takru, GM (North zone), Pawan Hans said, “The entire NCR region will soon have an integrated helicopter service. We are already constructing a helipad near the Akshardham Temple and will construct a helipad at Rohini. We are also planning another helipad at Gurgaon to cater to the growing demand from the corporate sector.” The company said that the average cost of a helicopter trip comes to Rs 65,000 per hour and one can travel a distance of 200 km on a single trip.
17/07/09 TravelBizMonitor

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Kingfisher owes oil PSUs Rs 950 cr

Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines owes state-run oil companies over Rs 950 crore (Rs 9.50 billion) in unpaid fuel bills while financial crisis-hit NACIL has cleared almost two-thirds of its outstanding.
Kingfisher Airlines owned Rs 1,030.08 crore (Rs 10.30 billion) in unpaid bills for buying jet fuel from Indian Oil , Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum on December 31, 2008. It stood at Rs 950.46 crore (Rs 9.504 billion) as on May 31, 2009, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.
On the other hand, National Aviation Company India Ltd (NACIL),which operates the merged state carriers Air India and Indian Airlines, has reduced its outstanding from Rs 1,311.91 crore (Rs 13.119 billion) to Rs 472.93 crore (Rs 4.729 billion).
Jet Airways has reduced outstanding from Rs 1,266.21 crore (Rs 12.662 billion) to Rs 760.07 crore (Rs 7.60 billion), Deora said.
16/07/09 PTI/Sify

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On-time showing better, but travellers still suffer

New Delhi: The latest government statistics reveal that India’s domestic airlines registered 81.6% on-time performance in June, up from 79.5% in May. That would mean that at least eight in every 10 flights in the country were on time.
And at the level of individual airlines, there have been some radical improvements between May and June.
India’s civil aviation ministry in May made it mandatory for airlines to report their on-time performance. And one reason why the statistics might be at odds with passenger experience is the way the government defines “on time”—up to 15 minutes delay in take-offs or landings.
Another reason is that not all airlines are clear about the nuances of this definition. For instance, in the case of take-offs, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA, follows the international definition. The take-off time is defined as that when the chocks or wedges that keep an aircraft stationary on the tarmac are removed and it starts rolling on the runway, said Naseem Zaidi, director general of civil aviation.
But not all airlines get this. Two executives, one at a low-cost carrier and the other at a full-service airline independently confirmed this but asked not to be identified, given the sensitivity of the matter.
There’s yet another reason for the data looking healthier than most flyers’ perception of reality—the fudging of data.
DGCA has now created a task force that will be stationed at eight airports across India to check the on-time performance of airlines.
June figures released by the government do not include data for one airline, Paramount Airways, because of “ambiguity” found by DGCA. Mint couldn’t independently ascertain what DGCA meant by the use of this term or, indeed, what the ambiguity in Paramount’s data was.
M. Thiagarajan, managing director of Paramount Airways, said the airline was in the process of preparing an explanation. The data was compared incorrectly, he added, as one of the airline’s aircraft was not in service. The discrepancy, Thiagarajan said, also came about because several flights had been removed from the system for that duration and the data could have been compared with the old flight schedule.
To be sure, DGCA’s confusion over Paramount’s on-time data may have to do with simply not understanding the way it is presented. A senior government official who is familiar with the matter and asked not to be identified said the number of delays reported by the airline was actually lower than that reported by air traffic control.
16/07/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Open skies policy: Flight fights

The postponement of flights by flydubai to India this week comes amid calls by Air India (AI) to the government of India to review its open skies policies and freeze capacity of foreign airlines flying into the nation.
Flights by flydubai have been postponed because of “operational issues”, the budget airline has said.The low-cost carrier halted its inaugural flights this week to Lucknow, Coimbatore and Chandigarh, but said it may resume them in future.
Other Dubai-based carriers are still flying to India.
Media reports cited AI as assembling a Dh11.5 billion bailout request from the government to help it survive. According to the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation, however, the government cannot breach long-standing existing bilateral agreements with foreign airlines to help the ailing AI.
Majid Al Mualla, Vice-President of Emirates airline, West Asia and Indian Ocean, said: “Emirates launched its operations worldwide in 1985 with the start of services to New Delhi and Mumbai. Since then we have been serving India and continue to be strongly committed to it. At present, when many airlines are reducing capacity to India, Emirates is enhancing its operation.”
In May, Emirates added 22 weekly flights to India, taking its total to 185 a week to 10 destinations.
16/07/09 Xpress

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Aviation fuel prices slashed, but fares unlikely to be cut

New Delhi: With a fall in international prices of crude, state-run oil companies Wednesday slashed aviation fuel prices by almost 6 percent. The new prices will be effective on Wednesday night and come after four consecutive hikes.
Aviation fuel will now cost Rs.2,220 less per kilolitre. In Delhi, it will cost at Rs.36,338 a kilolitre, and in Mumbai Rs.37,475 a kilolitre.
However, air fares are unlikely to come down, according to an airline official.
The three state-owned oil companies - Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum - last raised prices July 1 by Rs.2,307 per kilolitre.
Aviation fuel prices are revised every fortnight according to the crude prices prevailing in the international markets.
US crude oil for August delivery had fallen 20 cents Monday to $59.69 a barrel, after earlier touching a new low of $58.32, the lowest since May 18 this year.
15/07/09 IANS/Economic Times

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PSU oil firms cut ATF prices by 5.7%

New Delhi: After increasing it four times in a row, the state-run oil firms on Wednesday cut jet fuel prices by 5.7% on easing international rates.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) rates in Delhi were lowered by Rs2,221 per kilolitre to Rs36,338 per kilolitre, effective from Thursday, an official of Indian Oil Corp (IOC) said.
Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum had in the past two months raised ATF rates four times on firming international oil prices. Jet fuel rates were Rs31,614.51 per kilolitre on 1 May and in four instalments they were raised to Rs38,557.56 per kilolitre by 1 July.
“International rates have eased since,” he said. The basket of crude oil India buys has averaged for July at USD 63.42 per barrel. The July average was lower than USD 69.12 a barrel average price of Indian basket of crude for June. It was also lower than USD 69.57 a barrel average in the second fortnight of June based on which jet fuel rates were hiked by 6% from 1 July
15/07/09 PTI/Livemint

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21 Helipads Proposed in Different Districts of Karnataka

Bangalore: Helipads are proposed to be established in 21 places of different districts of Karnataka, Tourism and Infrastructure Development Minister G Janardhana Reddy informed the state legislative assembly on Tuesday.
Deputy commissioners of each of the districts where the helipads are proposed have been released financial grants of Rs 10 lakh each, the minister said,
Steps are being taken to develop airports in Gulbarga, Shimoga, Hassan, Bijapur and Bellary under public-private-partnership model.
14/07/09 Daijiworld

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Hot competition on KL-Chennai air route

Petaling Jaya: With four airlines competing in the Kuala Lumpur-Chennai route, passengers are benefiting from the increasingly attractive fares.
After the KL-Delhi route, the KL-Chennai route is said to be the busiest for point to point travel from KL to India. Chennai, formerly known as Madras, is the fifth largest city in India and capital of Tamil Nadu state.
MAS, Jet Airways, Indian Airlines and Air-India Express offer direct services. Flights originating from KL to Chennai via Singapore (Singapore Airlines and Tiger Airways), Bangkok (Thai Airways) and Colombo (Sri Lankan Airlines) are also popular. Most of the carriers offer daily flights to Chennai, an almost four-hour journey direct from KL.
Jet Airways regional general manager for Malaysia and Thailand Kavin Martinus said fares on the KL-Chennai route had dropped by 20% to 30% over the past two months.
These days, one can get a return all-inclusive economy-class airfare for just over RM800 online provided you book early. But the cheapest fare thus far is from Sri Lankan Airlines at RM788 for an all-inclusive return airfare if you book direct with the airline. This fare is available till Aug 30.
Sri Lankan Airlines flies via Colombo which means you spend three hours waiting for your connection to Chennai. But if you travel on Sunday, you have to spend a night in Colombo at your own cost. However, from a traveller’s perspective, it is visiting two destinations for the price of one as you have about 16 hours before your connection to Chennai. You arrive after 3pm in Colombo on Sunday and leave for Chennai only at 7.25am on Monday.
A random check on online fares for a one-week trip from Aug 15 to 22 shows that Tiger Airways offers the best deal at an all-inclusive fare of RM807, followed by MAS at RM828. SIA’s return all-inclusive airfare for the KL-Singapore-Chennai sector is pricey at RM2,083. There was no seat availability on the dates for Indian Airlines and the offer is for business class at RM2,360 all-inclusive return airfare.
15/07/09 BK Sindhu

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Air passenger traffic in H1 2009 down by about 8 per cent

New Delhi: The financial downslide took its toll on the Indian aviation sector with the passenger traffic recording a negative growth rate of about 8 per cent in the first half of this year.
Passengers carried by domestic airlines between January and June came down to about 21.1 million from 22.9 million in the same period last year, thereby registering negative growth of approximately 8 per cent, official traffic data released today said.
However, the total domestic passengers carried by the scheduled carriers in the second quarter of 2009 (April to June) was 10.94 million as against 9.82 million between January and March.
In the second quarter of this year, Kingfisher Airlines and its low-cost subsidiary Kingfisher Red topped the list of Indian carriers by flying 2.77 million passengers. It was followed by Jet Airways and its subsidiary JetLite, together carrying 2.59 million, and Air India (Domestic) with 1.92 million.
Among the no-frill carriers, IndiGo flew 1.5 million air travellers, followed by SpiceJet (1.36 million) and GoAir (534,000), while full-business class carrier Paramount carried 230,000 air travellers, the data showed.
The percentage market share of the carriers between January and June showed that Air India (Domestic) cornered 17.5 per cent, Jet Airways 16.3 per cent, Jet Lite 7.4 per cent, Kingfisher Airlines (including Kingfisher Red) 25.3, SpiceJet 12.4, Paramount 2.1, GoAir 4.9 and IndiGo 13.7. Kingfisher and its low-cost subsidiary bagged the highest percentage share in the first six months of this year, removing Jet Airways from the top position. Jet and JetLite together had last year (January-June) cornered 29.3 per cent of the market share. Both no-frill carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet had a lower percentage share in the first half of last year, which improved during the same period this year.
14/07/09 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Lapses cost aviation PSUs Rs 74 crore

New Delhi: Public sector units under the ministry of civil aviation have together lost Rs 74.06 crore on account of various lapses last fiscal.
According to the latest Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) report, there were discrepancies in various decisions taken by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which accounted for a large chunk of this total loss.
The indictment of AAI assumes significance since it remains the largest airport operator in India with 125 airports (including civil enclaves at defence airports) under its management. Of these, only 86 are currently operational and only 15 were profit making till 2007-08!
To begin with, AAI delayed the tender process for duty free shops at Ahmedabad, Goa, Bangalore and Hyderabad and continued to operate on older contract rates, losing Rs 5.15 crore in the process. In another instance, it failed to incorporate the actual area occupied in the award letter for ITDC run duty-free shops at Kolkata airport, losing Rs 1.77 crore.
Failure to insure assets based on current valuation at the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai led to a loss of Rs 1.07 crore while loss in purchase of spare parts for X-ray baggage inspection system machines for Mumbai and Delhi airports cost the Authority another Rs 65.58 lakh.
Not just AAI, the CAG report has also pointed out that Pawan Hans Helicopters' revenue loss of Rs 42.51 crore due to its inability to complete "mid life" upgradation of choppers needed by ONGC in the stipulated time period.
14/07/09 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daliy News & Analysis

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Domestic air traffic starts flying again

Bangalore: This June air traffic of domestic airlines flew high as they carried 1.98 lakh--or 5.66%--more passengers compared to the same month last year. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) released on Monday shows the local carriers flew 36.94 lakh passengers this June as against 34.96 lakh last June.
An industry expert said the spurt in the passenger numbers was mainly due to better fares and a slight increase in the capacity. "Airlines were able to carry more passengers this June because of better fares. Also, last June many airlines had cut capacity and that had also suppressed traffic. Yields, more or less, are at the same levels as last year's," he said.
Airlines were not only able to push up year-on-year traffic but sequentially also. From March quarter to June quarter, they flew 11.16 lakh, or 11.36%, more passengers as 109.38 lakh fliers got aboard local airlines in the June quarter compared with 98.22 lakh fliers in March quarter.
Though, the passenger numbers for the first half of the current calendar year have slipped with 18.46 lakh, or 8.05%, fewer fliers taking to the sky compared to first half of last year. During that period - from January to June - only 210.99 lakh flew as against 229.45 lakh in the corresponding period of 2008.
Number of fliers in June was down compared to May too, when 2.35 lakh - or 5.98% - more passengers travelled by air.
14/07/09 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Domestic passengers carried by Indian scheduled airlines in the second quarter of 2009

The total domestic passengers carried by the Scheduled Airlines of India in the second quarter of 2009 - April to June 2009 - was 109.38 lakhs as against 98.22 lakh during January to March, 2009. The break-up for second quarter of 2009 (April to June, 2009) is as follows:
Air India (Domestic) – 19.18 lakhs, Jet Airways –17.80 lakhs, Jet Lite – 8.11 lakhs, Kingfisher – 27.72 lakhs, Spice Jet – 13.57 lakhs, Paramount – 2.30 lakhs, Go Air – 5.34 lakhs, IndiGo – 14.98 lakhs.
Passengers carried by domestic airlines in the first half of the year 2009 (Jan-June) were 210.99 lakhs as against 229.45 lakhs in the corresponding period of 2008 thereby registering a negative growth of 8.05%.
The total domestic passengers carried by the Scheduled Airlines of India in the month of June, 2009 were 36.94 lakhs. The break-up is as follows:
Air India (Domestic) – 6.45 lakhs, Jet Airways –6.12 lakhs, Jet Lite – 2.71 lakhs, Kingfisher – 9.01 lakhs, Spice Jet – 4.74 lakhs, Paramount – 0.73 lakhs, Go Air – 2.01 lakhs, IndiGo – 5.04 lakhs.
The percentage share of the carriers in the month of June, 2009 was:
Air India (Domestic) – 17.5%, Jet Airways – 16.6%, Jet Lite – 7.3%, Kingfisher – 24.4%, Spice Jet – 12.8%, Paramount – 2.0%, Go Air – 5.4% and IndiGo – 13.6%.
The percentage share of the carriers in the second quarter of 2009 was:
Air India (Domestic) 17.5%, Jet Airways – 16.3%, Jet Lite – 7.4%, Kingfisher – 25.3%, Spice Jet – 12.4%, Paramount – 2.1%, Go Air – 4.9% and IndiGo – 13.7%.
It may be recalled that the percentage share of the carriers in the second quarter of 2008 was:
Air India (Domestic) 15.4%, Jet Airways – 21.1%, Jet Lite – 8.2%, Deccan – 13.5%, Kingfisher – 14.3%, Spice Jet – 10.5%, Paramount – 1.2%, Go Air – 3.9% and IndiGo – 11.7%.
The seat factors of the domestic airlines in June 2009 were:
Air India (Domestic) – 67.9%, Jet Airways – 67.8%, JetLite – 74.4%, Kingfisher Airlines – 72.0%, Spice Jet – 77.3%, Paramount Airways – 88.2%, Go Air – 85.1% and IndiGo – 81.7%.
13/07/09 Press Information Bureau

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Rajasthan slashes sales tax on aviation fuel to woo carriers

New Delhi: In a decision that could reduce costs for India’s airlines if other states copy it, Rajasthan has become the fourth state to slash sales tax on jet fuel to 4% from 28%.
Fuel accounts for over 40% of operating costs at airlines in India and the tax reduction is being hailed by carriers. Airline firms, whose flights touch Rajasthan, could immediately take advantage of reduced spending on fuel while buying aviation turbine fuel (ATF) in the state.
Jitender Bhargava, executive director of National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India said the Rajasthan move should be followed by other states as well. “Mumbai and Delhi have to reduce it. Airlines account for half their flights,” he said.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel has said in the past that he will try and persuade state governments to help airlines by reducing taxes on fuel.
Rajasthan, in its latest budget announced on 9 July, said it was reducing taxes to woo airlines to the state. “To attract the airline services to Rajasthan, tax rate on ATF has been reduced from 28% to 4%,” the state government said.
The state has three main airports at Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur run by Airports Authority of India.
13/07/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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One crore Indians opt for air travel in April-June

New Delhi: Over a crore passengers travelled by air in the domestic sector in the April-June quarter, an increase of about 11 lakh compared to the previous quarter, according to official data released Monday.
About 1.09 crore passengers flew in April-June, up from 98.22 lakh in January-March, data released by the Director General of Civil Aviation showed.
Private carrier Kingfisher Airlines topped the list, scoring 25.3 percent in terms of passenger load share between April and June.
It was followed by Air India (domestic) at 17.5 percent and Jet Airways at 16.3 percent. Low cost carriers like IndiGo scored 13.7 percent, SpiceJet 12.4 percent and GoAir accounting for 4.9 percent.
13/07/09 Sindh Today

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IBM India to offer technology-driven solutions to Indian aviation industry to improve efficiency

New Delhi: IBM India has decided to work closely with the Indian aviation industry to help improve their efficiency through its technology driven innovative solutions- Smart Aviation Models. These solutions have been developed as an outcome of a study undertaken by IBM among more than 1,100 CEOs of the industry worldwide some time ago and the company is hoping that these solutions will help the travel and transportation industry overcome the current and future crisis.
According to Sameer Batra, Vice President – Distribution Sector (India/South Asia), IBM India, the solutions developed by IBM had been successfully implemented by airlines and airports around the world and helped in improving their efficiencies remarkably in the past. He cited examples of Delta Airlines and Kuala Lumpur Airport to prove his point. “The travel and transportation industry is going through difficult times. Next two to three years will be crucial for the industry. It is important for airlines and airports to set their priorities right that too in an integrated way to sustain in these difficult times,” stated Batra.
He added that IBM has been always in the forefront in offering hi-end competitive solutions which are well ahead of times to various industries all over the world. “The current business model in the aviation industry is based on a trade-off between cost and quality of service,” stated Batra. However, he said that this model hasn’t helped much as customers are still dissatisfied and didn’t work out to be cost effective.
13/07/09 P Krishna Kumar/TravelBizMonitor

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Extra flyers on board? It’s routine for airlines

New Delhi: The recent discovery of three extra passengers — one ‘adjusted’ in the cockpit and two on cabin crew seats — on an Air India flight has just exposed what has been a routine practice among airlines for years, say industry insiders.
Former DGCA chief Kanu Gohain recalls instances when a woman was caught travelling in the cockpit of a domestic flight with her pet dog some years back. About a decade back, a plane flying from Patna to Delhi had an extra passenger ‘adjusted’ in the toilet!
“There have been such instances in the past. We had to issue an aeronautical information circular (AIC) prescribing who is allowed inside the cockpit. This list included pilots, cabin crew and officers of DGCA, aviation ministry or Met department on observation flights with prior clearance ,” Gohain said. The AIC was meant to serve as a warning-cum-guideline for airline staffers to deter them from accommodating unauthorised passengers on full planes.
Pilots, too, are allowed to travel in cockpit only if on duty and not if they are going on a personal trip. This guideline , too, has been bent ingeniously . Some airlines have an unwritten policy to allow pilots on leave to travel in jump seats. Others give a staff on duty ticket to pilots or engineers going on leave to enable them to travel in the cockpit . Recently, Indian Airlines grounded one of its pilots for flying from travelling from Patna to Delhi on the cockpit’s jump seat on a personal trip.
12/07/09 Saurabh Sinha/Economic Times

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Panel to keep tabs on flight delays

Mumbai: The civil aviation ministry has taken serious note of flight delays and asked Mumbai and Delhi airports to set up a special committee to analyse on-time performance of airlines on a daily basis.
In an air transport circular sent to Mumbai and Delhi airports last week, the ministry directed the airport operator, airline officials and traffic controllers to send daily reports on on-time performance of flights and reasons for delays. Experts see this as a move towards maintaining flight schedule discipline as is done at many international airports abroad.
Airlines, till this move, have been sending performance data to the DGCA on a monthly basis. Now, however, all details are collated and sent across by the airport operator to a dedicated task force in Delhi. This is the second step taken by the ministry to bring airlines to book for not abiding to schedule.
The ministry has already started releasing monthly lists of airlines’ on-time performance.
12/07/09 Chinmayi Shalya/Economic Times

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TAAI to severe links with foreign airlines

Hyderabad: The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) on Thursday said that it has decided to severe links with foreign airlines and promote only national air carriers, following its ongoing skirmish with Singapore Airlines (SIA) over payment of commission.
Henceforth, TAAI will promote only Indian airlines, which are trying to bail themselves out of the current economic crisis, with help from the Central government, TAAI president Rajji Rai said in a press release issued here today.On the ongoing dispute between the travel agents and SIA, he said, what started off as a skirmish between SIA and the Indian travel agents last year is still going on as a battle for rights, even as other parties are getting involved.Since January 2009, anguished calls of travel agents, who are demanding their due commission from SIA, have gone unheeded, Rai said.He, however, added that airlines from Hong Kong and China were supporting the Indian travel agents.
09/07/09 PTI/Economic Times

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IBM India Plans New Takeoff in Aviation Space

Delhi: IBM India is viewing the aviation industry, one of the worst-hit sectors by the global economy downturn, as an opportunity to leverage its customized travel and transportation offering.
According to Giovvani Bissignani, director and CEO of IATA, airlines are expected to lose $9 billion this year while BMI-IBEF 2008 figures indicate the IT spend in the aviation industry will be $300 million in India.
"During the current recessionary phase, the airlines in India can leverage IBM solution to get process innovation, global airline expertise, and reduction in operational costs," said Sameer Batra, VP (distribution sector), IBM India and South Asia.
"There is a need to enable operational agility, including build fact-based decision enablement and continuous process compliance," he said.
India holds a significant position for IBM in its business strategy for South Asia. The country also has the second largest employee-base for the company after the US.
Incidentally, Madhavan Nambiar, secretary in the Civil Aviation ministry, has indicated that there will be a market for 1,000 general aviation aircraft by 2020, and expressed confidence that the industry would witness a revival.
10/07/09 Muntazir Abbas/CXOtoday.com

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HAL to Manufacture India's Homegrown Saras multi-role aircraft

Despite a recent accident which claimed the lives of three pilots, and its expensive price tag of $8 million, India’s homegrown multi-role “Saras” aircraft will still be acquired by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy, reports India Defence Online.
The prototype of the Saras aircraft was being developed by the Bangalore based state-owned National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) had crashed recently and claimed three lives and no official reason was cited. The inquiry commission appointed by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is yet to give its report on the Saras crash.
According to NAL officials, the second prototype of the 14-seater Saras aircraft had been fitted with a high performance engine and its weight had been considerably reduced said a NAL scientist. The weight had been reduced after fine-tuning the aircraft’s structural design, more use of composites and optimization of margins and electrical fittings. The reduction in the weight of the second prototype by over 500 kilograms from the first prototype of 5118 kilograms was also matched with a high thrust engine from Pratt and Whitney, said NAL officials. NAL has also identified Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)’s facility at Kanpur as its production partner for the 14-seater aircraft because of HAL’s expertise manufacturing similar aircraft in the past. NAL is also expecting clearance from the DGCA soon on the aircraft crash issue and will proceed with the transfer of technology to HAL and commence serial production.
09/07/09 Defence Professionals

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One killed, 4 Injured as Helicopter Crashes at Amarnath Shrine

Srinagar: A woman pilgrim was killed and four others, including the pilot, were seriously injured when a helicopter crash landed at the Amarnath cave shrine in South Kashmir Himalayas on Thursday.
The woman, who was on the ground, was hit by the helicopter when it crashed, police said.
The four occupants of the helicopter were seriously injured and have been hospitalised, they said.
The private helicopter was being operated by Himalayan Aviation Company which runs a chartered service between Baltal and Sonamarg to carry pilgrims to the shrine.
09/07/09 PTI/Daijiworld

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Budget says aviation PSUs must find another Rs 12,000 crore this year

New Delhi: The government has increased the target of internal and extra budgetary resources (money from loans or through reinvestment of profits) which will be raised by public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Civil Aviation by over 63.5 per cent, from Rs 7,320 crore in the revised estimates of 2008-09 to Rs 11,974.8 crore in 2009-10.
The money will be used mostly to fund the aircraft acquisition programme of the financially ailing National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil), which runs the Air India brand, and also the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is undertaking the expansion of airports in Kolkata and Chennai, among others.
As a result, the outlay of the ministry has gone up substantially from Rs 7,490.6 crore in the revised estimates of 2008-9 to Rs 12,164.8 crore in 2009-10, a jump of over 62 per cent.
The government, in its Budget documents, says the plan allocation of the ministry has been raised to meet the expenditure due to enhanced competitiveness of Indian carriers for international operations, cost of a media campaign and for capacity-building to enhance effective management and control in aviation.
Nacil is making an investment of over Rs 40,000 crore to buy over 118 aircraft and is in dire need of loans to fund its acquisition of new planes.
The Air India management has been looking for a bailout package to get the corporation out of the woods, which includes a combination of expanding its equity capital base (Rs 140 crore) and also to raise loans from the market.
09/07/09 Business Standard

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DGCA loath to give info

Chennai: Is the Directorate General of Civil Aviation shy of letting the public know about flight safety norms? Or does it treat questions addressed to it through the Right to Information Act as unworthy of being answered at all?
These were the impressions one got after going through the replies given by Deputy Director of Airworthiness at the DGCA to 11 questions on flight dispatcher and safety audits raised by a Delhi-based retired law officer.
Seven of the questions elicited a ‘no comment’ reply.
However, to the questions: “Do all airlines operating in India follow Civil Aviation Rules and Regulations (CAR)? Does DGCA conduct audit in all airlines?” the replies were: “Yes, all airlines operating in India have to follow CAR. DGCA conducts audit in all airlines.”
Whether the replies were smart or dull is a matter of debate as many airlines are said to flout such rules and regulations. And if there had been audits, how do they get away with them?
Among the questions that drew ‘no comments’, one related to the mandatory presence of a dispatcher in locations where an aircraft has night halt. The public is not expected to know that there is a specific CAR (Section 5 Series F Part I Para c) that states “the operator should have sub-bases at stations where there are night halts.
09/07/09 Mamta Todi/ExpressBuzz

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No plans to use pvt airlines for moving paramilitary forces: Chidambaram

New Delhi: Government is not considering engaging private domestic airlines for moving paramilitary forces, Home Minister P Chidambaram informed the Rajya Sabha today.
Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, he said the Government was, however, considering outsourcing of air courier services for Central Paramilitary Force personnel from Jammu and Kashmir and North Eastern sectors as a welfare measure.
"At this moment, it is only a proposal. Once approval of the competent authority is obtained, an open tender will be floated," he said. All commercial airlines registered with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation would be eligible to bid.
"The decision to go through an open tender was taken after consulting Air India," he said.
Chidambaram said due to its own operational commitments, Indian Air Force is providing limited air support to paramilitary forces.
09/07/09 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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TAAI organises series of IATA-BSP training sessions across all its chapters

Mumbai: In order to acquaint each travel agent with the latest trends in the ticketing process, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) is organising a series of IATA-BSP (Billing and Settlement Plan) training sessions across all its chapters. These training programmes were initiated post a decision of the TAAI management committee at a recently held meeting. The IATA-BSP training session which is now a nation-wide initiative of TAAI will be organised at regular intervals. With the boom in aviation industry over the last decade, travel agents in India are enhancing their skills to be a value-add for the consumers and also to extend assistance to foreign tourists who are travelling to India.
The Andhra Pradesh Chapter of TAAI conducted the IATA-BSP training session for all its associates yesterday to create awareness on the latest developments in BSP. Krishnan, Head-Southern Region for BSP and Krishnan, Branch Manager- Southern Region, IATA (India) conducted the session which will help the employees of travel agencies who handle the ticketing process to serve their customers better. The training covered topics related to BSP procedures and BSP-Link training.
Similar workshops for the Northern Chapters have been held successfully with positive responses emerging from the members who have attended these sessions. TAAI, an active body wants to strengthen its members with the latest developments in the travel industry in order to offer the best in the market to their customers.
08/07/09 TravelBizMonitor

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Abolition of FBT to help aviation sector save crores

New Delhi: The domestic airline industry has welcomed the Budget doing away with the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT).
Airlines had to pay FBT on a variety of expenditures, including hotels booked for crew to stay, cars used to transport crew and also free air tickets that were provided to the personnel as part of their annual pay package. It is estimated that a large-sized airline, having both international and domestic operations, would have to set aside almost Rs 50 crore annually towards FBT.
“The FBT was a cost. Its abolition has come at a time when the industry is trying to save every rupee. It is most welcome,” a senior Air India official said. Welcoming the move a spokesman of Kingfisher Airlines said it will lead to a saving of about Rs 15 crore annually, the Executive Director, Bird Group, Mr Ankur Bhatia, felt that the abolition of FBT will bring down the average immediate costs for airlines.
“Earlier, despite losses, given that FBT was linked to expenses, it meant an increased cost for the airlines. Also, foreign airlines, otherwise not required to pay income taxes in India, had to pay FBT resulting in increased cost and compliance,” said Mr Kuljit Singh, Partner (Infrastructure, Real Estate and Government), Ernst & Young.
07/07/09 Business Line

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Plan Outlay of Rs 12164.76 crore for Civil Aviation Ministry

Out of the total Plan Outlay of Rs 12164.76 crore for the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Rs 190 crore is the budgetary support, of which the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been provided with Rs 99.15 crore for development of airports.
Of the total budgetary support for AAI, Rs 20 crore has been earmarked for the development of airports in the North-Eastern states and the balanced amount of Rs 79.15 crore is for development of airports in other crucial areas like Jammu, Srinagar, Aggtti, Puducherry airport etc.
Budgetary support of Rs.50 crore has been provided to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and a provision of Rs 14 crore for the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) to pursue their plan schemes.
A provision of Rs 10 crore has been made for Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd. (PHHL) for heliport in NCR/Delhi in order to facilitate Common Wealth Games and also to provide for Disaster Management/Mitigation measure.
06/07/09 PIB/Sify

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Allocation for civil aviation ministry hiked

New Delhi: Focusing on rapid development of civil aviation infrastructure in the country, the government on Monday increased the budget allocation to the civil aviation ministry to almost Rs12,165 crore.
The Budget proposal to abolish the fringe benefit tax (FBT) will help airlines save substantial expenses as they were paying this tax for expenses on hotel accommodation of their cabin and cockpit crew.
Compared with the 2009-10 allocation of Rs12,165 crore, the budget allocation to the ministry for 2008-09 was Rs10,031 crore and revised allocation Rs7,490.06 crore. The total budgetary support this year stands at Rs190 crore.
Of this, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been allocated Rs 99.15 crore to modernise major metro airports at Kolkata and Chennai and another 35 non-metro airports.
The directorate general of civil aviation has been given a budgetary support of Rs50 crore, while the bureau of civil aviation security was allocated Rs14 crore.
06/07/09 PTI/Livemint

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Airlines put brakes on IT spend: Survey

Mumbai: Airlines are cutting down on their IT spend by 1.7% this year, predicts a survey by SITA, a global communication and IT solutions provider. The silverline to this cost-cutting exercise however is that the airlines will offer more online options to passengers to maximize their distribution channel.
In the survey which polled 116 airlines, 72% said they would renegotiate their IT supplier contracts and 70% opined that they would invest in solutions that would lower overall enterprise costs. SITA chairman & British Airways chief information officer Paul Coby said, "There will be a year-on-year decline in IT spend. The focus is on doing even more with even less. So, it is no surprise that reductions in investment are cited by survey respondents as the main obstacle to airline CIOs achieving their strategy."
But this development will still benefit the consumers as airlines are looking at maximising their costs by making optimum utilisation of the most preferred distribution channel now -web. "Most airlines want to introduce change/cancel/rebook facilities on their portal by 2010," says the survey.
Even airlines like Air India and Jet Airways said that they are working towards this. In spite of the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, two sets of tickets with code AI (Air India) and IC (Indian) are issued.
07/07/09 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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Airlines now lure students with a range of freebies

Chennai: With international passenger traffic slowing down, airlines have started offering a whole range of attractive allowances to lure students travelling to the US, UK and Europe.
With the increased price of aviation turbine fuel dissuading airlines from offering special fares, they are making up for it by providing more baggage allowance, wifi connections, international calling cards and discounts on particular brands of bags. Jet Airways, for instance, offers a student's kit that includes a Matrix calling card and a wifi connection. Air India organised a pre-departure briefing for students as part of its marketing initiative.
Students travelling on Air India and Jet Airways flights will now be able to carry additional baggage all the way into interior towns in the US and Europe, an offer that was not there last year. Air India allows students to carry an extra piece of luggage to the US and 10 kg extra to Europe. "Last year, we permitted them to carry the extra free luggage only up to important cities. Now, students can carry them in one domestic flight abroad," said an Air India official.
Emirates offers 30 kg baggage for Economy Class passengers. The airline offers an additional 20 kg of baggage for students aged 12-26 years travelling to the UK and Australia. Jet Airways allows 63 kg (three bags) to the US and 50 kg to Europe.
Prathibha Jain, an international education consultant, advises students to travel light, however.
06/07/09 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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Airlines lower festive fares to retain fliers

Kolkata: Airlines are aggressively marketing promotional fares in their bid to ensure their traditional festive fliers aren't wooed by Mamata Banerjee's budget goodies to switch to the railways. In fact, apprehending a dream railway budget, many airlines had already begun promoting low-cost tickets for the festive season.
Many airlines are already offering festive season fares at discounts up to 60% for a two-week period in June. These tickets, all non-refundable, are available for onward journey dates extending till the middle or in case of some airlines end-September. Corresponding return tickets are also available cheap for travel dates till October, provided the onward journey is undertaken not later than September.
"We apprehended that after the railway budget, there would be a great rush for AC two and three-tier, Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express tickets. Without taking risks, we decided to introduce promotional fares to cash in on the rush for tickets during the festive season," said a senior Jet Airways official.
Under the latest scheme, an Air India ticket on the Kolkata-Delhi sector will cost only Rs 2,479 while one on Indigo will cost you only around Rs 2,000. The cost of an AC second class ticket on Rajdhani Express is Rs 2,000.
Elucidating on the offer, Paramount Airways Managing Director M Thiagarajan said: "The monsoon deal offered by us has been developed to encourage leisure travel. The economy fare would now be hard to resist." Spice Jet CEO Samyukth Sridharan echoed him saying, "Now, these unbeatable low fares will encourage more people to fly with us."
Aviation experts said airlines usually spent the lean season rationalizing flights and introduce special offers just before the peak season. But this year, they went on the promotional mode well in advance.
04/07/09 Arpit Basu/Times of India

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More trains, but confusion in skies

New Delhi: Airlines and travel agencies are divided on whether the new train services announced by Mamata Banerjee in the Railway Budget 2009-10 will see a shift of passengers from airlines to trains.
Banerjee has announced 12 non-stop “Duronto” trains which will offer point-to-point services between key Indian cities, including Delhi-Kolkata, Delhi-Pune and Chennai-Delhi. These train services will offer savings in time which could range from one hour to three hours, depending on the route being travelled. She has also introduced “Yuva” trains for the youth in which passengers have to fork out Rs 299 for distances up to 1,500 km and Rs 399 for distances up to 2,500 km.
“Airlines offer about 125,000 seats a day. We estimate about 10,000 seats to be deflected to the new train services which constitutes for 7 to 8 of airlines’ inventory,” said Mohit Srivastava, head of online sales for Makemytrip.com, an online travel portal.
However, there are others who say that the new services will have no impact at all. Says Ajay Singh, director of low-cost carrier SpiceJet: “This is a myth, the savings in timing cannot be matched even if it saves some time. Second, airline travel is an aspirational product — train passengers move up to airlines; they don’t go back to trains. Third, the new fares which you can buy if you are planning your journey earlier are very attractive.”
A similar view is echoed by Noel Swain, vice-president of Cleartrip.com, another travel portal.
However, of the 12 Duronto trains, only Delhi-Lucknow (497 km), Delhi-Allahabad (628 km) and Mumbai-Ahmedabad (545 km) are within six to 10 hours of travel time. Most of the other trains cover long distances and, therefore, the savings in time might not be a consideration for passengers to change.
04/07/09 Business Standard

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