Govt firm on scrapping 5/20 rule for airlines

Sticking to its earlier position, established carriers such as Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet on Tuesday opposed the government's move to replace the present 5/20 rule for launching foreign flights with domestic flying credit (DFC).

Against this, the start-up Tata group venture Vistara and Air Asia India pitched for further relaxation in the rules for flying overseas on the last day for submitting comments on the draft aviation policy that seeks to overhaul rules for flying.

An official source said that Federation of Indian Airlines, the trade body representing established private carriers, had urged for status quo of the present 5/20 rule.
 “We cannot please everyone. We have decided to move ahead with the change,” another official, who also did not wish to be named, said.
31/03/15 Nirbhay Kumar/Mydigitalfc.com

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US FAA report on India's aviation safety likely by April 10

New Delhi:  A team of officials from the US aviation watchdog Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is in the capital for a final assessment of India's aviation safety, is expected to submit its report by April 10.

The report could pave the way for a possible upgrade of the country's aviation safety ranking.

The FAA officials, who arrived here yesterday for a final review of the steps taken by the aviation regulator to address the deficiencies in the country's aviation safety, are expected to complete the exercise today, DGCA sources said.

On January 31 last year, the FAA had lowered India's safety ranking to Category-II from Category-I which the country had been holding since 1997.
31/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

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Aviation ministry advocates infra status for airline sector

With no relief coming for the debt-ridden airlines in the Union budget last month, the aviation ministry is set to make another pitch with the finance ministry for according infrastructure status to the sector.

The proposed classification would help airlines access funds from banks at cheaper rates besides getting longer repayment period.

As per Crisil Research, a unit of rating agency Crisil, the domestic airlines are saddled with a combined debt of more than Rs 70,500 crore as of March 2014. The three carriers Air India, Jet Airways and SpiceJet account for 93 per cent of the sector’s total debt.

“It (the proposal seeking infrastructure status) is already on the cards. Definitely, we want this for the sector. It will propel the real growth in domestic aviation,” a senior aviation ministry official told Financial Chronicle
29/03/15 Nirbhay Kumar/mydigitalfc.com

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India to build two next-generation AWACS for Rs 5113 crore

New Delhi: The Manohar Parrikar-led defence acquisitions council (DAC) approved the building of two AWACS, which will involve mounting indigenous 360-degree coverage AESA (active electronically scanned array) radars on Airbus A-330 wide-body jets, at a cost of Rs 5,113 crore.
The eventual plan is to induct eight such aircraft under the "AWACS-India" project since both China and Pakistan are well ahead of India in this critical area in modern-day warfare, as was reported by TOI earlier.
"It will take at least 5-7 years to build the first two AWACS. Six more AWACS will be ordered when the project is mid-way," said a source. The decision, incidentally, comes ahead of PM Narendra Modi's visit to France and Germany, which primarily house the European Airbus consortium, in early-April.
The DAC also approved the Army's Rs 1,605 crore acquisition of 30 weapon-locating radars from defence PSU Bharat Electronics and the Rs 710 crore order for 1,512 mine-ploughs for the T-90S main-battle tanks from Bharat Earth Movers Ltd.
28/03/15 News Hub

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India rejects BP's request to market jet fuel

New Delhi: India has rejected a request from BP Plc to be allowed to sell jet fuel to the booming aviation market in Asia's No. 3 economy, saying it did not meet the conditions necessary, a source with direct knowledge of the decision told Reuters.

Consumption of aviation fuel is set to rise in India as domestic air traffic is estimated to almost triple this decade, with more of the country's 1.25 billion people starting to fly and as airlines connect smaller cities.

Demand for aviation fuel in India could rise by 2.2 percent in the financial year beginning in April, according to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell in the federal oil ministry.

BP is not the only overseas company interested in India's jet fuel retail business, which is dominated by state refiners. Royal Dutch Shell Plc already sells a small volume of jet fuel in a tie-up with state-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd.
30/03/15 Reuters

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MoCA advocates infrastructure status for airline sector

As per a Financial Chronicle report by Nirbhay Kumar, with no relief coming for the debt-ridden airlines in the Union budget last month, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is set to make another pitch with the Ministry of Finance for according infrastructure status to the sector. The proposed classification would help airlines access funds from banks at cheaper rates besides getting longer repayment period.

As per Crisil Research, a unit of rating agency Crisil, domestic airlines are saddled with a combined debt of more than Rs 70,500 crore as of March 2014. The three carriers Air India, Jet Airways and SpiceJet account for 93 per cent of the sector’s total debt.

“It (the proposal seeking infrastructure status) is already on the cards. Definitely, we want this for the sector. It will propel the real growth in domestic aviation,” a senior MoCA official said.
30/03/15 TravelBizMonitor

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Exploring the Veracity of Claims on Aircraft in Ancient Texts

Thiruvananthapuram: Who would go for a talk which features terms like ‘Force’, ‘Velocity’ and ‘Centre of Gravity’ when the ICC World Cup finals is telecast live on TV? Many. Around 60 participants were at the seminar on ‘The Physical Principles of Flight and Review of Claims about Ancient Indian Aviation Technology’ on Sunday. A testimony to the fact that the brouhaha over the Indian Science Congress held in January 2015 is yet to die down.

 The talk was organised by Breakthrough Science Society at Kerala State Science and Technology Museum, Thiruvananthapuram. The talk was by K Satheesh, a faculty at Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIST, Thiruvananthapuram. ‘’Once you know the principles of flight, you yourselves will be able to make a judgement,’’ he opined.

 He started with the history of aviation and proceeded to explain the principles of flight.  At that point, few suspected that the facts have any relevance to the meat of the discussion - the Review of ‘Vaimanika Sasthra’. Slowly and carefully, he was laying down the tools for a healthy debate.
30/03/15 New Indian Express

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Fare War: GoAir Introduces Another Discount Offer

Fare war in Indian skies has intensified with airlines introducing new offers every next day. Budget carrier GoAir on Saturday announced yet another discount scheme, in which it's offering one-way tickets as low as Rs 1299.

To avail this scheme, which is valid for travel between June 23 to October 31, tickets should be purchased between March 28 and 30.

Last week GoAir had also rolled out a limited period low fares scheme, offering one way ticket prices as low as Rs 999 with a more than four months validity period, for travel across its network.

This low fare scheme by GoAir triggered another round of fare wars and rival airlines like Tata's Vistara, AirAsia India and IndiGo announced new schemes to woo travellers throughout the week.

While Tata's Vistara on Friday offered discounted air fares for booking made 90 days in advance, IndiGo on Wednesday announced a 'lower than low' scheme offering domestic all-inclusive fares starting as low as Rs 1,395.
29/03/15 NDTV

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Helipads in 10 tourist spots soon

Ranchi: Ten tourist destinations of Jharkhand will soon be equipped with helipads. State government has taken the initiative for proper aerial connectivity and infrastructural facilities for such spots. The helipads will have safety, security and safe operation of helicopters carrying passengers and VVIPs.

The Re-tender inviting bidders for the construction of helipads was published by the Civil Aviation department on Monday. The opening of the technical bid and financial was scheduled on March 27 at the office of Additional Chief Secretary Sajal Chakraverty in the State Hangar. Talking to The Pioneer, Chakraverty said they are yet to identify the ten locations for the helipad construction.

“We have chosen Maluti, Betla, Basukinath and Saranda among the ten spots. But, the final list of the spots has not been prepared. Searching land on the basis of longitude and latitude for the set up is an issue as most of the places are dominated by private land,” he added.

The construction is part of the 2014-15 Financial Year plan. Chakraverty said the grounds used by political parties and senior Government officers for landing helicopters in case of campaigning, inspection or a confidential activity are not safe. “Helipads would serve a convenient space for landing in such circumstances in terms of safety,” he maintained.
29/03/15 Nyooz

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IndiGo tops Indian aviation sector with 37% market share

New Delhi: A series of heavy discounts helped Indian carriers fly 21.6% more passengers in February this year compared with the same month last year.

Budget carrier IndiGo continued to lead the way, registering a record market share of 37.1% during the month. In January, the airline's market share was at 36.4%. Jet Airways, along with JetLite, too managed to improve its market share marginally to 24.3% (up from 24.1% in January).

National carrier Air India came in third with 17.8% share of air traffic, a decline over 18.7% the airline had recorded the month before. For others, market share remained largely constant — SpiceJet 9.2% (9.4% in January), GoAir 8.9%, Air Costa 1%, AirAsia 1.2% (1.3% in January) and Vistara 0.5% (0.2% in January).

"The growth in passenger numbers during February is higher than expected and is driven by continuing fare stimulus," said Kapil Kaul, India CEO of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.
28/03/15 Economic Times

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Get ready to use WiFi on flights; formal announcement likely soon

New Delhi: Air travellers in India could in the coming months surf the web while flying, with the government finally warming up to the idea of WiFi--based Internet connections on flights, meeting a longstanding demand of both airlines and passengers.
A senior civil aviation ministry official said his ministry has approached the department of telecommunications (DoT) with the proposal and will make a formal announcement soon. "The DoT has already said (informally) the proposal is possible to implement," he said, asking not to be named.

DoT allots spectrum, or airwaves, capacity to operators to provide telecom and broadband services. In India, only foreign airlines such as Emirates, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines offer Internet connectivity on international flights.

Sanjiv Kapoor, COO of budget airline SpiceJet, said several airlines had expressed interest in the proposal.
"It is a welcome proposal, it is allowed in many other places of the world. In the US these days, it is rare to be on a flight that does not have Wi-Fi," he said.
28/03/15 Binoy Prabhakar/Economic Times

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Centre’s Policy Vital to Launch Air Kerala’s Domestic Flights

Kochi:  “Any solid decision regarding the commencement of domestic services for Air Kerala will be taken only after the Centre clarifies its policy stand. The final decision on the topic will be taken by the next Director Board meeting,” said a senior airport official after the CIAL and Air Kerala Director Board meeting held in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday.

“We speeded up the process of commencing Air Kerala operations after the Central Government started giving out signs that we would be able to provide foreign services after one year of domestic operations. However, the Central Government has failed to clarify its stand as of now,” he said. By the newly proposed Domestic Flying Credits( DFC) rule, credits are calculated on the basis of revenue per passenger kilometre. More credits can be earned by flying to tier 2 or tier 3 airports. To ply on foreign routes, an airline must have a minimum of five aircraft and must possess 200 credits in the case of new airlines and 300 credits, if it is an already existing airline.
By the current calculations, Air Kerala might have to wait for at least two years before commencing foreign services.
28/03/15 New Indian Express

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Air Kerala May Find the Going Tough Initially

Kochi: One of the biggest hurdles when it comes to successfully operating Air Kerala is to maintain a minimum loss margin in the initial years of its domestic operations, experts opine.

“For an aircraft to post a profit from its operations, it must run at least 17 hours every day. During its domestic operations, the airline must get good slots for its services from good airports and at the optimum time. There will be no use if the Air Kerala services are confined to a busy slot,” said Poulose K Mathew, chairman of the Kerala chapter of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).

“Also the running costs of an airline have to be take into consideration. Fuel cost accounts for almost 70 percent of the running cost, which in turn is heavily dependent on the fluctuations in international market. Any hike in the fuel prices would have to be met with a corresponding fare hike if the airline is to run on profit. The absence of a major investment would mean that the airlines would have to hike their fare prices proportionally and this defeats the stated purpose of a low cost Gulf airline,” he said.
28/03/15 Vaisakh E Hari/New Indian Express

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Air Kerala fails to take wings

Thiruvananthapuram: A decision to commence domestic flight operations of Air Kerala, the airline start-up conceived by the State government to provide Non-Resident Keralites (NoRKs) better connectivity to the Middle East at affordable fares, has been deferred.

The director board of Air Kerala that met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at the Secretariat on Friday decided to wait till a “clear picture” emerges on the move to amend the ‘5/20’ rule.
The move to commence domestic operations was intensified following reports that the Centre was reducing the stipulation to one year. Official sources said that there was no assurance from the Centre and that a decision would be taken at the next board meeting.
The board was of the view that more studies were needed to commence domestic flight operations of Air Kerala.
28/03/15 S. Anil radhakrishnan/The Hindu

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Rs 8.68 crore was spent on aircraft of CM, governor in 2 years

Gandhinagar:  The state government spent a hefty Rs.8.68 crore for operation and maintenance of the state government's aircraft and helicopter, mainly used by the chief minister and sometimes by the Governor, in the last two years. However, these expenses don't include those by the state government on hiring private aircraft for VVIP travel as the old plane is not used by VVIPs anymore.

The state government usually spends around Rs 17 to Rs 20 crore on hiring private aircraft services for the chief minister and other VVIPs, as the one fixed-wing aircraft and one helicopter are not sufficient. Many times the aircraft and the helicopter remain under maintenance and so private services are hired.

Saurabh Patel, state civil aviation minister, in a written response to a Congress MLA's starred question disclosed this information in the state assembly on Friday. The minister said that in last two years (till 31-12-14) a total of Rs 3.95 crore was spent on operation and maintenance of the aircraft. For the operational use and maintenance of the helicopter, the government spent Rs 4.72 crore which is more than the value of the aircraft.
28/03/15 Times of India

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How popular airlines are responding to ticket refund, lost baggage and clueless staff

As existing airlines expand their operations and new airlines fly into the Indian airspace, passenger issues too are on a rise. In 2012, a total of approximately 7,600 passenger complaints were logged against airlines. In 2013, complaints increased 9% to 8,255 and in 2014,19% to 9,780, according to figures from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

2015 may be worse, with 1,197 complaints already filed in the month of January itself. To be sure, the number is less than a percent of the total 66.42 million passengers who flew locally last year. But seen in absolute numbers, India is doing worse than other countries.

There are currently eight operating airlines in India. The US Department of Transportation last year logged 11,364 complaints against a total of 40 local airlines. "The long-standing issue with the Indian airline industry or any airline industry is a certain level of complacency," said Manoj Chacko, CEO Kuoni Business Travel.
28/03/15 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Vistara flight cancellation rate highest in February

New Delhi: The newly-launched Tata-SIA joint venture carrier Vistara cancelled more flights than any other domestic carrier in February, says DGCA data.
The third full service carrier after national airline Air India and Jet Airways, Vistara also operated over 40 per cent seats vacant in its aircraft during a period in which some of the other airlines reported a seat factor as high as 89.7 per cent.
As per the data released by the directorate general of civil aviation on Friday, Vistara cancelled 2.28 per cent of its total number of flights during the reporting month as against an industry average of 0.6 per cent.
The airline was closely followed by Jet Airways subsidiary JetLite, whose cancellation rate was 1.86 per cent while AirAsia India, the domestic arm of the Malaysian carrier, cancelled 1.50 per cent of its total flights during the month.
No-frills carrier IndiGo had the lowest cancellation rate of only 0.15 per cent.
27/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

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Domestic air passenger traffic surges 22% in February 2015

The domestic passenger traffic of airlines surged 22% to 60.16 lakh passengers in February 2015, compared with 49.46 lakh passengers carried in the same month of the last year.

Passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-Feb 2015 were 122.61 lakhs as against 100.93 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering a growth of 21.5%.
26/03/15 Capital Market/Business Standard

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Flight cancellation rate: Vistara worst, Indigo best

New Delhi: The newly-launched Tata-SIA joint venture carrier Vistara cancelled more flights than any other domestic carrier in February, says DGCA data.
The third full service carrier after national airline Air India and Jet Airways, Vistara also operated over 40 per cent seats vacant in its aircraft during a period in which some of the other airlines reported a seat factor as high as 89.7 per cent.
As per the data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation today, Vistara cancelled 2.28 per cent of its total number of flights during the reporting month as against an industry average of 0.6 per cent.
Vistara was operating from four airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Goa — during the period under review with the last stop added to its network on February 20.
The airline was closely followed by Jet Airways subsidiary JetLite, whose cancellation rate was 1.86 per cent while AirAsia India, the domestic arm of the Malaysian carrier, cancelled 1.50 per cent of its total flights during the month.
No-frills carrier IndiGo had the lowest cancellation rate of only 0.15 per cent.
27/03/15 PTI/Business Standard

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India proud to be armed with the Su-30MKI fighter – Indian Minister

The Indian Air Force is proud to possess the Sukhoi (Su-30MKI) fighter plane, one of the world’s most powerful jet aircraft, said India’s Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who is himself an accomplished pilot. By 2018, India’s Air Force is expected to possess 14 Su-30MKI fighter jet squadrons.
The Su-30MKI fighter aircraft which India has acquired from Russia is one of the most powerful in the world and a source of pride for the Indian Air Force (IAF), said Rajiv Pratap Rudy, while inaugurating the first Russian-Indian Youth Forum.
"India takes pride that we have in our arsenal the Su-30MKI, which is one of the most powerful fighter planes in the world ", said Rudy, Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
A Russia-India youth summit will take place on March 27. It is expected that more than 300 people aged between 18 and 35 will participate in the summit. The Russian Union of Youth is organizing the summit with sponsorship from Rossotrudnichestvo in India.
26/03/15 TASS/Russia & India Reort

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Manohar Parrikar to discuss next generation AWACS, French missile deal next week

New Delhi: The Defence Ministry is set to decide on going ahead with a Rs 5,200 crore strategic programme to develop a next generation of airborne warning and control systems (AWACS) that will act as a major force multiplier for the Indian Air Force (IAF), giving it a deep insight into enemy territory.

The large size AWACS programme, different from an ongoing Embraer-based airborne early warning and control system (AEWCS), is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and will initially be for two aircrafts, an order that will be increased after successful development.

Sources said that the strategic project is set to come up for discussion with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar at a key meeting this week in which DRDO will make its case for allocation of funds to go ahead with ordering a platform and initiating work.
27/03/15 Manu Pubby/Economic Times

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Indian Official Describes Latest AEW&C Plans

India is seeking a joint-venture deal with Embraer to export the EMB-145 AEW&C system, now that it has decided on a larger platform to meet Indian Air Force (IAF) requirements. The country has acquired three of the Brazilian aircraft and equipped them with an indigenous radar system. They are now undergoing trials, and two will enter service with the IAF. But the service will not exercised an option to acquire more such aircraft. Meanwhile, however, India is evaluating responses to the RFP that was issued last year for six larger platforms.

S. Christopher, director of the Center for AirBorne Systems (CABS) within the government’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), told AIN that the RFP sought a longer-endurance and higher-altitude platform than the EMB-145, on which to integrate the indigenous radar system. The RFP was issued to Boeing for the 767, Airbus for the A330 and Ilyushin for the Il-76, and a decision will be made by April, he said. The Indian Air Force currently operates three A-50/Il-76s for AEW&C equipped with IAI-Elta Phalcon radars.
27/03/15 Neelam Mathews/AINonline

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Ambedkar Maidan helipad transferred to aviation department

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to transfer the helipad and the state of art VIP guesthouse, part of the Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan, to the Civil Aviation Department.
The helipad, the ground surrounding helipad, the guesthouse, the watchtowers – all spread over seven acres and with investment of over Rs 20 crore near the airport – was built in 2012 as the extensions of the 51-acre Ramabai Ambedkar Maidan, one of the several memorials built during the previous Mayawati regime.
27/03/15 Indian Express

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Helicopter deal under scanner

Jammu: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has slammed the Jammu and Kashmir government for purchasing a helicopter for VIP movement in a non-transparent manner. In its report for the year ended March 31, 2014, the CAG has pointed out that procurement of  Augusta-109E Power was not carried out in a transparent manner by JKs Civil Aviation Department (CAD). The State government procured the helicopter in 2007 for Rs 20 crore.

In its observations, the auditors have questioned the bidding process carried out by the government for the procurement. "No formal Notice Inviting Tenders or Request for Proposals was issued either on open/global tender basis or even to three shortlisted vendors on limited tendering basis. In the absence of such a process, firm quotes were not obtained,"it states.
27/03/15 Nyooz.com

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New civil aviation policy to be finalised shortly: Minister

New Delhi: Government is likely to finalise the new civil aviation policy shortly, Minister of State for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma said.

"We are waiting for certain inputs from stakeholders .... I think within a very short time,?could be in a week's time, it should be finalised," Sharma told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event here.

Government had in November last year announced the new Draft Civil Aviation policy and circulated it to all stakeholders for consultations before putting it in place.

Responding to a question on the proposed norms for domestic carriers?for international operations,?the Minister said?the?decision on removal of 5/20 rule would not depend on individual carriers' interests.
26/03/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Direct air routes deemed key to Vietnam-India tourism cooperation

A recently signed agreement between India and the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport will serve as an important legal framework to facilitate the development of their transport infrastructure, Billa noted at a tourism promotion event held by the Vietnamese Embassy in New Delhi on March 24.
He said that India is one of the two countries that have had the most tourists going overseas in the world, and encouraged Vietnamese people to visit. He also suggested that if promotional activities are conducted effectively, Vietnam will be a magnet for Indian visitors because it possesses a multitude of attractive destinations, a rich culinary culture and many shared spiritual and cultural similarities with his country.
General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Nguyen Van Tuan, said numerous measures have been taken to strengthen bilateral cooperation, particularly in tourism, since Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to India last October.
Following the decision of India’s second biggest carrier, Jet Airways, to open a direct air route to Vietnam, the Southeast Asian country’s national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is also planning to launch a direct route to India. This will fuel tourism between the nations, Tuan claimed.
26/03/15 Vietnam Net

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More flights this summer as domestic airlines add planes

Mumbai: The country's top airports will witness about 8% growth in daily departures with airlines adding flights in summer.

Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad airports which handle over 50% of air traffic handled 1,114 departures daily in winter schedule and the figure is expected to go up to 1,203 departures in summer owing to proposed increase in domestic and international flights.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation approves the schedules of both domestic and foreign airlines and summer schedule will come into effect from next week. The regulator however is yet to announce the approved schedules.

Domestic traffic grew 9.7% in 2014 over previous year and January saw a growth of 21% in domestic traffic fuelled by discount offers.

IndiGo which is the largest domestic airline by market share is introducing a flight between Kolkata-Dimapur and additional flights from Delhi to Kolkata, Varanasi and Indore and flights between Mumbai-Indore and Mumbai-Raipur.
25/03/15 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Vigilance report questions EC Nasim Zaidi role in key appointment in DGCA

New Delhi: A vigilance report has accused Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi of not following proper procedure while making a key appointment in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The appointment was done in June 2012 when he was secretary in the civil aviation.

Zaidi had appointed Yash Raj Tongia as director, flight training, DGCA.

Economic Times reported that, according to vigilance report, Tongia was selected for the post of director, flight training via a UPSC interview. The fact that he was the owner of a flying school meant that he was subsequently removed from the post before his probation came to end in June 2014. Zaidi's role was relevant in initially pushing the case for Tongia.
26/03/15 India TV News

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Rafale the next logical step under 'Make in India': Dassault Aviation

New Delhi: Pitching the multi-billion deal for 126 Rafale combat jets as the "logical step" towards the 'Make in India' initiative, Dassault Aviation on Wednesday hoped that the contract which has been "95% finalised" would be signed soon.

At a ceremony to hand over the first two upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft to India, the company's CEO Eric Trappier declined to give a timeline for the signing of the deal, saying the question should be put to the Indian Defence Ministry.

However, he said it was better to take time now than clarifications being sought after the signing of the contract which he said is already running into thousands of pages.

When rafale was shortlisted in 2012, the deal was estimated to be about US$ 10 billion but it is now over USD 20 billion, including the life-cycle cost.
25/03/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Airlines make a gold rush as fans fly to Australia for the World Cup semifinal

New Delhi: It seems all air routes are converging in Australia. With the cricket fever catching up one and all in India, travellers from this cricket-crazy nation are rushing for flight tickets to Down Under. And the airlines are making the most of the season.

While some of the outbound Indian travellers have reached Australia, there are others who are waiting due to various reasons - from availability of flight seats to visa-related issues.

As India takes on Australia in the cricket World Cup semifinal on Thursday in Sydney, top-notch Indians will be cheering for the country at the famous Sydney Cricket Ground or SCG. From corporate czars to business honchos to families of Indian cricket team to former cricketers, Bollywood stars and the like - they all have reached the Australian city over the last few days and they shall be at the SCG, holding the Indian Tricolour. Sources in the IGI Airport in Delhi told MAIL TODAY that many top bureaucrats also flew to Sydney in the last few days.

High cost According to travel agents in Delhi, booking of flight tickets for Australia began as early as September of 2014. The flight tickets were then available for `56,000 to `60,000. "Today, even at `1.2 lakh, no airline can assure you a ticket," said a travel agent associated with yatra.com.
26/03/15 Mail Today/India Today

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Two upgraded Mirage 2000 handed over to India in France

Istres: French defence major Dassault Aviation on Wednesday handed over the first two upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft with advanced navigational, radar and missile systems to India amidst continuing stalemate on the over USD 20 billion Rafale contract.
The entire fleet of 48 aircraft is being upgraded with the help of Dassault Aviation and Thales under a Rs 10,000 crore deal signed in July 2011.
The upgraded Mirages comes with advanced navigational, radar and missile system besides a fully integrated electronic warfare suite. The mid-life upgrade is expected to extend the life cycle of the aircraft by another 10-15 years.
25/03/15 PTI/IBN Live

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Regional airlines to get new wings

New Delhi: The government has proposed a raft of sops for airlines dedicated to small towns.

A new category of carriers - scheduled commuter airlines - will be set up to link small airports to metros, though the carriers will not be allowed to ply between metros.

In fact, the civil aviation ministry wants to convert all regional carriers, including non-scheduled operators, into scheduled commuter airlines.


According to a draft policy of the ministry on regional connectivity, the minimum paid-up capital for such airlines will be reduced to Rs 2 crore.

No restrictions will be placed on the minimum number of aircraft, but the planes must weigh less than 25 tonnes. Moreover, at least 200 flights need to be undertaken annually.

Capacity of aircraft weighing less than 25 tonnes - such as the Bombardier CRJ 200, Embraer ERJ 145, Saab 2000 and ATR 72-600 - is usually between 40 passengers and 74 passengers

"Such airlines will link small cities to metros, such as between Bagdogra and Calcutta or Jamshedpur and Calcutta," said civil aviation ministry officials who drafted the policy, now being considered by an inter-ministerial group.
24/03/15 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/Telegraph

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Airlines yet to receive fuel price benefit

Mumbai/New Delhi: Domestic airlines have not been able to report strong profits despite lower jet fuel prices but are better placed to take advantage of declining prices than their peers in Asia-Pacific because of the very low levels of fuel hedging and relative strength of the rupee.

A weaker currency and potential hedging loss — several airlines have hedged their  fuel requirement at a higher price than the current $67 per barrel — would reduce the positive impact of lower fuel costs for airlines, analysts said.

In India, jet fuel prices dropped about 31 per cent between October and February before rising eight per cent in March to Rs 50,363 per kilolitre in Delhi. Fuel accounts for 30-40 per cent of a domestic airline's expenses and the proportion of fuel costs to total costs is declining because of the price benefit in recent months.
25/03/15 Aneesh Phadnis & Somesh Jha/Business Standard

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ED zeroes in on contacts of chopper case accused

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has zeroed in on some two-dozen local contacts of Christian Michel, a British national accused in the Rs. 3,700-crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal bribery case, during its investigation to unearth the money trail.

Among those quizzed is a Mumbai-based senior journalist formerly with an aviation magazine, who knew Mr. Michel since 1985. After leaving the job in 2002, he got in touch with Mr. Michel for work and was offered remuneration for filing aviation-related news daily. The journalist would send reports on developments regarding military and civilian aircraft to middlemen in defence contracts.

Mr. Michel later allegedly asked the journalist to join his Delhi-based shell company, Media Exim Private Ltd., as a director.

When he expressed reservations, as he could not shift to Delhi, Mr. Michel told him to attend just a few meetings every year.
25/03/15 The Hindu

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Next aviation war likely in foreign sector

New Delhi: The next aviation war among the domestic carriers could be fought on the international sector with the current tailwinds for revenues and profits blowing in that direction.

Consider this: In the third quarter of fiscal 2015, Jet Airways's domestic revenue grew 6.8% over the same quarter last year to Rs 2,113.7 crore while its international revenue grew at more than twice that speed of 17.4% to Rs 3,089.9 crore during the same period.

The full-service airline fared better on the international sector even in terms of number of passengers carried during the same period, with its seat load factor at 86.3% compared with 82% on the domestic sector.
It was the same for budget airline SpiceJet Ltd, which started flying on foreign routes only a few years ago.

According to Kaneswaran Avili, chief commercial officer (CCO), the no-frill airline's growth in international air passenger traffic this fiscal month till date (MTD) compared with same period last year was 44% while revenue climbed 37%.
24/03/15 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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AirAsia, Spicejet, GoAir, others flash sales power Cleartrip bookings via mobile phones

New Delhi: A spate of flash sales by airlines like AirAsia, Spicejet, GoAir and others have become the new dominant drivers for travellers making impulse bookings from mobile phones, a Cleartrip study for bookings made on 21st and 22nd March 2015, showed.
The recent GoAir flash sale, along with a Cleartrip Hotels flash sale, recorded a huge spike in bookings on Cleartrip Mobile, selling three times the number of flights than what it usually does during the non-sale weekends.
Subramanya Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, said, “The airline flash sale over the last weekend brought much joy to travellers. Compared to the previous non-sale weekend (14-15 March 2015), this weekend (21-22 March 2015) Cleartrip Mobile saw a 100 % growth in bookings over just Saturday and Sunday, alone. Intuitively so, mobile bookings were sure to outshine those made on desktops, simply because they were spurred by a weekend flash sale, a time when most travellers are away from work and turn to the palm of their hands, to make impulse travel bookings.”
Sharma added, “Stimulating demand for the lean season, tickets on average busy sectors on Cleartrip Mobile were on an average priced at Rs 3,200, which is over Rs 1,000 cheaper. The demand was bound to hit the roof.”
23/03/15 Financial Express

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Govt yet to decide on purchase of Japanese amphibious craft

New Delhi: Even as  defence minister Manohar Parrikar is heading on his first foreign trip later this month to Japan, followed by South Korea, the government has informed the Lok Sabha that no decision has been taken yet on the purchase of Japanese long-range 12 US-2i aircraft for the Navy for around $1.65 billion.
As part of India’s effort to step up its defence diplomacy, Parrikar will undertake a two-day trip starting from March 30 to Tokyo, the first foreign visit by an Indian defence minister since November 2013. Though the thrust of Parrikar’s visit will be increasing defence cooperation and pushing the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative in Tokyo, the two sides will be discussing the ShinMaywa US-2i amphibious aircraft and will also try to iron out any issues related to its  purchase.
23/03/15 Huma  Siddiqui/Financial Express

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New proposal of Civil Aviation Ministry to hit Madurai airport

Madurai: Madurai airport will be hit hard by the Civil Aviation Ministry’s new proposal not to allow any new domestic airline to operate on international routes which are less than six hours of journey duration from Indian cities.

This would prove detrimental to the State government’s Madurai-Tuticorin industrial corridor proposal, senior president of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry S. Rethinavelu said.

Civil Aviation Ministry allows only a domestic airline with five years of domestic operations and possessing 20 aircraft to fly to foreign destinations.

At present, only Air India, Spice Jet, Jet Airways and Indigo satisfy this condition known as Rule 5/20.

While Air India is facing aircraft shortage, other players were not interested to operate flights from Madurai to destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, and Gulf countries, Mr. Rethinavelu said. The Union government’s earlier proposal to relax Rule 5/20 was heartening as newer domestic airliners could fly from Madurai to meet its international flight potential.
24/03/15 The Hindu

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Airlines seek more lenient norms to fly abroad

New Delhi: India's airlines appear to have dropped their opposition to scrapping the current norms for operating international flights and have sought greater leniency in the proposed system of earning domestic flying credits to determine eligibility to fly overseas.
Resistance by Jet Airways Indigo, SpiceJet and Air India to the removal of the eligibility norms to fly abroad seems to have died out.
None of them present at a meeting last Wednesday opposed the move to replace the minimum requirement of five years of operations and 20 aircraft, known as the 5/20 rule, sources who attended told ET.
The carriers, however, sought more flexible norms for the new regime based on credits earned for flying local routes, classified into three categories. Continuation of the 5/20 model would have affected Vistara and AirAsia, which started operating flights in India recently.
23/03/15 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Intra-state air services to take off in April first week

Lucknow:  The much awaited intra-state air services project may finally be ready for a take off in UP. North-East Shuttle, the lone air service company that has evinced interest in the project, has been granted clearance by Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Airport Authority of India (AAI). The company is also set to open its office in Lucknow.

Well placed sources in the department of tourism said that with the approval given by two key agencies, the project will be launched in the first week of April. Director General of UP tourism, Amrit Abhijat said, "The department is in the final phase of talks with the company before it starts its operations in the new financial year".

In the first phase, the services would be provided in cities like Agra, Allahabad and Varanasi. "The company would be taking into consideration the number of passengers it gets, and will accordingly adjusts to its service area", said a senior official of the tourism department.
23/03/15 Times of India

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There is huge potential in the Indian market: Lufthansa

New Delhi: Germany's Lufthansa says it might go ahead and launch its Airbus A-380 services between Mumbai and Frankfurt in its 2015 winter schedule because of the "huge potential" in the Indian market.

According to Lufthansa Cargo's board member for product and sales, Alexis von Hoensbroech, the airline is keen on starting the service after receiving regulatory clearance and a gateway slot at Mumbai airport.

"There is a huge potential in the Indian market. We are looking forward to start the A380 services between Mumbai and Frankfurt in the winter schedule of 2015," Hoensbroech said.

Last year Dubai-based Emirates airlines had secured Mumbai airport's approval to continue Airbus A380 operations in the winter schedule of 2014.
22/03/15 IANS/India TV News

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Airlines hike fares for Australia with India entering semifinal of ICC World Cup

New Delhi: With the defending champions India set to take on Australia in the second semi-final of the 2015 ICC World Cup at Sydney on Thursday, airlines have hiked their fares substantially for Down Under.

The fares for Sydney and Melbourne have already shot up by 15-20 per cent in the last one week and the airlines could make a killing off the left over seats if Men in Blue beat the Kangaroos and enter the World Cup final, travel industry executives said today.

"There is definitely a 15-20 per cent surge in economy class fares for Australia after India entered the semi-finals. These fares may rise further if India reaches final as well," travel portal Yatra.com President Sharat Dhall told PTI.
22/03/15 Economic Times

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Amid stalled fighter projects, upgraded Mirage cheers IAF

New Delhi:  Faced with huge delays in clinching new fighter projects even as it grapples with fast-eroding air combat power, IAF finally has some reason to cheer. The force will get its first two upgraded Mirage-2000 fighters with new avionics and weapons this week.

The defence ministry says France will hand over the two "almost new" Mirage fighters to the project management teams of IAF and Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) on March 25. "Our teams are in Istres to take the delivery. The next two jets will be upgraded by HAL in India with French assistance," said an official.

The remaining 47 Mirages, which were first inducted by India in the mid-1980s, will then be progressively souped up by HAL with technology transfer from France under the overall Rs 17,547 crore programme finalized in 2011-2012.
23/03/15 Rajat Pandit/Times of India

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5 months after Sukhoi crash, farmers to get compensated

Pune: Farmers in Kolwadi village finally see some hope for compensation, five months after an Indian Air Force Sukhoi 30 MKI crashed into their sugarcane fields while on a routine training exercise on October 14 last year.

In a written reply to Mirror, Indian Air Force (IAF) Pune station spokesperson, Wing Commander Anupama Monga, stated, "The representatives of Air Force Station Pune had met with the concerned farmers and handed over the application for compensation on November 21. The farmers are required to get the application recommended by the block development officer (BDO) and district collector and submit it to the IAF for the allotment of compensation amount."

Farmers said their crops and vegetables, including sugarcane and cauliflower, had been destroyed in the crash. While the crash, per se, didn't damage the crops and fields, the real damage happened while the aircraft was being removed, they said. Authorities had to flatten the fields, thereby damaging water pipelines, in order to clear the wreckage. The aircraft was finally removed on October 23. Vinayak Gaikwad, one of the farmers, said, "District administration officials got in touch with us last week, assuring that the compensation amount will be transferred to our bank accounts within a few days. "
23/03/15 Mubarak Ansari/Pune Mirror

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IAF all set to raise first squadron of indigenous fighter Tejas

New Delhi: With its fighter squadron strength dwindling and finalisation of medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) still eluding, the Indian Air Force has sped up its plan to raise the first squadron of indigenously developed light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas. Sources in the Defence Ministry told UNI that the IAF was planning to raise the first squadron of the aircraft by next year after getting the delivery of at least six Tejas in the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) configuration. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has already delivered the first IOC-standard aircraft to IAF in January this year.

Rest of the five Tejas of same configuration are likely to be handed over to it by this financial year end, the sources said. The first squadron of Tejas will be rechristened as Squadron 45 and it would be called ‘Flying Daggers’. Keeping the logistical issues in mind, the squadron will be based in Bangalore so that the HAL may be called into service at any given point to sort out the teething problems if any, an IAF official said, adding that subsequently, the squadron would be shifted to Sulur base of the IAF.
23/03/15 Central Chronicle

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Are Crews Prepared for a Mid-Air Crisis?

Chennai: Medical emergencies occurring when you’re closer to the heavens than the ground, aren’t a rarity anymore. With the burst in Indian aviation and low cost flying, more people are taking to the skies - exponentially increasing the possibility of having a mid-air emergency. “There is a large difference between treating a patient on the ground and up in the air,” says Dr A P Chakraborty, AGM (Medical), Air India, “From delivering babies to handling stretcher patients who are being air-lifted for an emergency, we see such cases on almost a daily basis,” he adds.
With the number of sick patients being accommodated on Indian planes having almost doubled in the first two months of 2015, crews have their work cut out.
While you may have thought that the pretty flight steward who served you coffee and stale food was limited to said tasks, all of them who don their uniforms have to clear DGCA mandated medical emergency training programmes, “We have a medical training centre in Hyderabad and on induction we put them through three days of training,” he tells us. A Jet Airways spokesperson also chips in by saying that all cabin crew are given first aid training for 7 days - with due emphasis given to practical hands-on training via simulated medical emergencies.
As part of their refresher courses, staff are also given training to handle passengers’ psychological stress and counsel them in tight situations.
Though most of Air India’s planes have the all-important defibrillator on board - to shock a patient’s heart back into sinus rhythm if they have a heart attack - none of the domestic carriers have one.
21/03/15 Daniel Thimmayya/New Indian Express

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CAG indicts Punjab govt on purchase of helicopter, other irregularities

Chandigarh: In an embarrassment to the Punjab government, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Friday pointed out "non-adherence" of rules and procedures in purchasing a helicopter for flying Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son and deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal.
The CAG report, tabled in the state assembly, also indicted the state government on several issues, including a scheme to install Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants in view of pollution of underground water.
It pointed out that the state government invited no tenders and did no evaluation before the purchase of a Rs 36.62 crore helicopter in 2012.
"The civil aviation department purchased a helicopter valuing Rs 36.62 crore in disregard of the rules prescribed for public servant," the report said.
The state civil aviation department has purchased a specially designed Bell 429 — a twin-engine five-seater helicopter — for flying Badal and his son Sukhbir in 2012, despite opposition from the Congress, said the state is already facing a fiscal crunch.
As many as 675 AC bills amounting to Rs 1,772.10 crore were awaiting adjustment as on March 31 2014.
20/03/15 Tribune

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Airlines oppose govt's credit trading proposal

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry’s proposal to allow trading in domestic flying credits to help new airlines fly abroad has not found takers among those with large fleets.

Current rules require airlines to have flown in India for five years and have 20 planes in their fleet before they are allowed to fly abroad. According to the proposed changes, airlines will have to acquire credits based on the routes they fly to earn international flying rights. A quarter of these credits can be bought by airlines from their competitors.

“Why should we sell our credits to them and make their life easy? We waited for five years. It is a bizarre idea that we will trade and help them compete with us," said a senior executive with a leading airline. The bigger airlines will have 4,000-5,000 credits, much higher than what they need for flying abroad.
21/03/15 Somesh Jha/Business Standard

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‘Aviation rule defies logic’

Hyderabad: The new aviation rules will hamper the economic activity in the country and lead to lesser jobs, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said here on Saturday.

He observed that the country’s skies should be opened up without any restrictive policies so as to tap the immense potential of domestic and international aviation markets. Mr. Tony expressed his disappointment over the existing 5/20 rule. According to the rule, domestic operators can only fly international if they have five flying years and a fleet of 20 aircraft, and also its proposed replacement which requires accumulating credits based on their local flying hours and destination.

“We do not see any logic behind these rules. Much more investment is needed in India as the number of international flights is very less. India needs more connectivity too. Nowhere in the world have we seen such a rule. It is either a safe airline or not a safe airline, and there is no difference between flying domestic and international,” he said,
21/03/15 Rahul Devulapalli/The Hindu

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India plans to build Light Combat Helicopters indigenously from 2017-18 onwards

New Delhi: The production plan for indigenously-built Light Combat Helicopters have been made from 2017-18 onwards, the government said on Friday, adding that they are not a replacement for the ageing fleets of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters.

Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply that the light combat helicopters are being developed by HAL to fulfill the requirement of the army and the air force for a combat helicopter.

"The production plan for LCH has been made from 2017-18 onwards subject to firm order from IAF for limited series production," Singh said.
20/03/15 PTI/ZeeNews

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HAL's Kanpur Unit to Maintain Two Aircraft

Bengaluru: The civil aviation division of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has got a major boost with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) according approval to the public sector undertaking’s transport division in Kanpur to maintain and repair Dornier (Do 228) and Avro (HS 748) aircraft.

Last month, HAL bagged a major contract for supplying 14 Do 228 aircraft to the Indian Air Force. HAL has so far produced 125 Do 228 and 89 HS 748, all of which are in service in the defence and other sectors. One Do 228 was exported to Seychelles in 2013.

The Government of Mauritius recently signed a contract with HAL to acquire the its Dornier aircraft for maritime surveillance to guard its extensive coastline.

The Kanpur division is now a DGCA-approved facility for maintenance and repair of both Do 228 and HS 748 aircraft as per Civil Aviation Requirements-145 (CAR-145). CAR-145 was introduced on January 26, 2005, to harmonise approval requirements of aircraft maintenance organisations with  international requirements.
21/03/15 New Indian Express

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India UAV Market 2015-2021 – Forecasts for the $421 Million Market

India’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is emerging as a key market in Asia-Pacific region. India first introduced its long range line of UAVs in early 1990s for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. India’s UAV market is buoyed by several factors such as increasing terrorist activities, border security, rising defense budget, FDI, favorable government policies on import and increased domestic production campaigning for defense aircrafts and military equipment. India is one of the largest importers for defense equipment worldwide. Conversely, in the coming years, India is planning to rely comprehensively on its domestic production on military equipment.

India UAV Market is projected to record $421 Million by 2021. Expected introduction of regulation by DGCA in 2016 would promote its penetration in civil application sector, retail and hospitality application sectors.

Amongst all applications, military application accounts for majority of the revenue share in India’s UAV market. Over the last three years, law enforcement application is witnessing higher deployment of mini-UAVs in Tier-I cities, on account of increasing crime rate. Furthermore, before the ban on the use of UAVs for civil application by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), mini-UAVs were used in events and photography.
20/03/15 GISuser

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New rules for startup airlines to fly abroad

New Delhi: New airlines will find it easier to start long-haul international operations and will have to wait for a longer period before launching flights to nearby countries. The aviation ministry is proposing that startup airlines be allowed to start flights of over six-hour duration - including Europe, North America and Australia - once they set up a certain minimum domestic network.

Flights of under six-hour-duration - including Gulf, Southeast Asia and Saarc regions - will be allowed when startups double their domestic network over the minimum coverage. For a big startup like Vistara (a JV between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines), it could mean over a year of flying within the country to start US, Europe operations and over two years of domestic flying before mounting flights to nearby regions. Relatively smaller ones like Tata-AirAsia could take longer.
The aviation ministry communicated this to airlines on Wednesday at a meeting called to discuss the proposed changes to Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG or norms for flying within the country on metro and remote routes), which will now be linked to overseas operations of all carriers.
19/03/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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New airlines may take more than 2 years to get short-haul global flying permits

New Delhi: Airlines said if the central government's proposed credit-based system replaced the current rules, this would be the impact: It would take a new domestic carrier a minimum of 12 aircraft and operations of over one-and-a-half years in the country before it could fly on long-haul international routes. Airlines said, for short-haul global routes, a new domestic airline would take two years or more, and a minimum of 15 planes.
The current 5/20 rule allows global operations after five years and with 20 aircraft.
A sector representative said, "An airline with five planes will take two-and-a-half years to acquire the 300 credits needed to fly on long-haul international routes. We are working on estimates and will send these to the Union civil aviation ministry soon."
Airlines have sought two weeks to respond to the ministry's proposal.An executive at an airline said it was surprising that the new airlines were upset about the proposed changes. "The new rules are a substantial dilution of the existing ones," he said.
20/03/15 Somesh Jha & Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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$ 2bn private plane project unlikely to take off

New Delhi:  The $2-billion pilot involving the private sector for manufacture of a new fleet of transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force is floundering and could be shelved by the Defence Ministry that is reviewing the requirement as well as the bidding process.

The government plan to involve only the private sector in the replacement programme to create an alternate aviation industry besides state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited had not garnered much response last year when only one bidder emerged for the Avro replacement project an AirbusTata consortium offering the C295 medium transport airlifter.

The defence ministry has now set up a specialised committee to review the programme and to evaluate why other private players did not come up with bids for what was considered as the largest project given entirely to Indian players. Preliminary indicators do not look positive for the Airbus-Tata alliance with a strong view that the tender has to be rebid with a new set of conditions that would make it easier for other players to come in.
20/03/15 Times of India

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Preparing for take off – The DGCA is framing guidelines for drones in India

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is working on an interim operations guidelines for the civil use of drones or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), the ministry of civil aviation said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha. However, the ban on the use of drones t hat the DGCA had issued (pdf) in October 2014 is still in effect. “Till such regulations are issued, no non government agency, organization or an individual will launch a UAS in Indian Civil Airspace for any purpose whatsoever,” the ministry said.

The DGCA seems to have softened its stance on the use of drones as indicated by this Economic Times report following other countries such as the United States, Australia and New Zealand which have notified rules for the commercial operations of drones. In India, however the idea for drones has been successful in pilot projects such as in the Panna Tiger Reserve. The ministry of environment and forests plans to use drones at around 15-20 sites across five different so-called ‘tiger landscapes’ making up 47 tiger reserves, over the next couple of years.
19/03/15  Shashidhar KJ/Medianama

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Jet Airways To Start Cargo Operations

Mumbai: Jet Airways (India) Ltd, the country's second largest airline by passengers carried, will start dedicated cargo operations in April, becoming the first private Indian airline to do so.

The cargo service, with Delhi as its base, will be operated using an Airbus A330-200F aircraft wet-leased from partner Etihad Airways PJSC. A wet lease includes pilots and cabin crew as well as the aircraft, unlike a dry lease in which only the plane is leased.

A person close the development said the freighter operations would be run under the brand Jet Airways Cargo, which would start with one cargo plane and be reviewed later for more.

Jet Airways will fly cargo planes to several destinations, including Bengaluru, Hong Kong, Hanoi and Singapore.

The airline has chosen Delhi as its base because of better connectivity to international and domestic destinations, the person said, requesting anonymity.
19/03/15 PR Sanjai/Mint/Aviation Pros

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Govt officials may get to claim LTC for chopper ride

New Delhi: The government is discussing a proposal to allow its employees to claim leave travel concession for domestic helicopter flights, a move seen boosting the helicopter-ferrying business.
At present, central government employees can claim leave travel concession (LTC) only for using scheduled commercial airline flights, preferably Air India.
According to a civil aviation ministry official, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had sought a cost analysis of helicopter rides in the country.
"We have sent our analysis to the DoPT on the cost of flying in a helicopter. They had asked for it since they plan to bring helicopter rides under the LTC scheme," the official, who did not wish to be named, told ET. The helicopter industry has welcomed the proposal, which aims to extend the travel concession to some 3 million central government workers.
20/03/15 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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New Zealand Sikh MP: Kirpan Should Be Allowed on Planes

Wellington:  New Zealand parliament’s first Sikh MP has called for legislation to allow carrying of the kirpan — a Sikh ceremonial dagger — while traveling in planes.
National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi Mar. 17 said the legislation should make clear that the kirpan — a short dagger that symbolizes a Sikh’s duty to come to the defense of those in need — is not a weapon and is safe to be worn.
Bakshi said the biggest issue for Sikhs is being able to wear a kirpan at their workplace and at public events, The Dominion Post reported.
He said carrying a kirpan at all times is a big deal for Sikhs and sometimes there is a compromise when it comes to flying.
“Some people are very strict at following the rules and don’t fly — in India they’ll travel by road; they won’t fly. There are people who will wear a symbolic one, a smaller version, which is allowed on airplanes,” he said.
Bakshi said Sikhs are “sensible” people who would not use a kirpan inappropriately.
The New Zealand government is considering exempting kirpans from civil aviation rules, allowing these to be carried onboard planes rather than stowed away with luggage.
19/03/15 IANS/India West

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Customs play blame game over Solar Impulse-2 delay

Ahmedabad: A day after allegations of delaying the take-off of solar-powered aircraft — Solar Impulse-2 — the Customs officials in Ahmedabad passed the blame on “ground staff” on Thursday saying “the delay was caused due to ineptitude of ground handling agency – Cambatta Aviation”.
In a press release the officials said that the delay can’t be attributed to them. The release stated that the world’s first solar aircraft was accompanied by two other aircraft carrying spare parts and support crew.
The arrival procedure among other formalities of these two aircraft was handled by Cambatta Aviation, a ground handling agency at the Ahmedabad airport.
In case of Solar Impuse-2 that landed on March 11 was taken directly to a temporary hanger adjacent to terminal-3 of the international airport.
20/03/15 Indian Express

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Govt mulls corpus fund for aviation sector in line with USOF for telecom

New Delhi: The government is mulling creating a corpus fund for the aviation sector in line with the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) for the telecom sector.
A top civil aviation ministry official told FE that they are considering a cess on travellers on metro routes.
Airlines too may have to pay if they do not fly to smaller towns, as per the new route dispersal guidelines, that would make a certain portion of their domestic operations  mandatory for flying to smaller towns.
According to new norms outlined in the revised aviation policy for promoting air connectivity for regional and remote areas of the country, domestic airlines seeking permits to fly overseas anyway, would be required to earn that right by providing connectivity to underserved and unserved areas (smaller towns or Tier -2 and 3).
“You have many new airlines, which may not be willing to fly to smaller towns, as these places do not make a business case for them. They can buy seats or contribute  towards aviation corpus fund for not flying to these underserved areas of the country,” said an official.
20/03/15 Sanjay Singh/Financial Express

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Flyers set for higher payoffs from airlines

New Delhi:  The Narendra Modi government has enhanced the compensation that airlines must pay passengers in case of lost baggage or suffering an injury while travelling with them.

If a person dies or suffers bodily injury in an air crash or some other aviation-related accident, the compensation payabale to the family is now Rs 90 lakh, up from Rs 75 lakh earlier.

In case of inordinate flight delays, the compensation could now be as high as Rs 3.5 lakh, up from Rs 3 lakh earlier. The maximum compensation for lost baggage has now been upped to about Rs 84,000 from Rs 74,000 earlier.
The enhanced compensation comes with the Cabinet on Tuesday amending the Air Carriage Act that deals with issues like damages to be paid for flight delays, loss of baggage and accidental death. Indian carriers will now pay as their international counterparts, in line with the 1999 Montreal Convention that governs airline liability and compensation.
These compensations are based on something called special drawing rights (SDR), with each SDR worth $1.2.
19/03/15 Times of India

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No decision yet on purchase of Japanese amphibious aircraft: Govt

New Delhi: No decision has been taken to buy long-range amphibian aircraft from Japan, government said in the Lok Sabha today.

“No decision has been taken by the government for the procurement of US 2i amphibian aircraft from Japan,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the lower house in a written reply.
20/03/15 PTI/Business Line

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Research and Development Projects in Aeronautical Sector

Delhi: A number of raw materials and technologies of aeronautical systems are imported from technologically advanced countries. These include metallic and rubberised materials, components and sub-systems of various systems, engine, flight control system, etc. Many of the technologies are not available for purchase.

A Committee headed by Air Marshal M Matheswaran (Retd.) made several recommendations for development of critical technologies in Aeronautical sector. Among its recommendations, the Committee identified a list of over a dozen technologies in aeronautical sector on which India should urgently get down to work to ensure a minimum level of self-reliance; further study on the latest technology denial regimes; dual use Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) items; various materials used for aircraft manufacture, precision guided weapons, aero engines, sensors. The Committee also pointed out that India needs to find ways to synergise civil and military aviation sectors.
20/03/15 Business Standard

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Solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse 2 reaches Myanmar

Mandalay:  The Solar Impulse 2 (Si2), a solar-powered aircraft on a mission to fly around the globe without a drop of fuel, has landed here on Thursday, completing the fourth leg of its historic flight, according to media reports.
The aircraft, piloted by the Swiss project chairman Bertrand Piccard, had taken off from the Indian city of Varanasi early on Thursday, and reached Myanmar after crossing the Bay of Bengal and a tall mountain range, covering a distance of about 1,400 km, according to a BBC report.

Capable of flying over oceans for several days and nights in a row, the single-seater Si2, which started its journey from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 9, will travel 35,000 km around the world in 25 days.
It will likely be another five months before the aircraft returns to the UAE, after it crosses both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
Piccard takes turns with project CEO Andre Borschberg to guide the Si2 on its circumnavigation of the globe. - So far, the pair has covered about 4,500 km since the start of their adventure.
19/03/15 IANS/Times of India

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LG calls on Civil Aviation, Tourism Ministers

Port Blair: Lt Governor, Lt Gen A. K. Singh (Retd), today called on the  Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Minister of State for Civil Aviation & Tourism, Dr. Mahesh Sharma. Secretaries to Govt of India of the concerned Departments and MD, Air India, were also present.

During this meeting, it was decided that Delhi–Visakhapatnam–Port Blair flights should be operational by 1st week of April 2015.

Besides, the Ministry agreed to consider four charter flights between Chennai-Port Blair-Chennai. It was also decided that the Administration will seek clearance from DGCA for night landings of flights at Port Blair. The issue of expansion of Pawan Hans Helicopter Services by adding two more helicopters was also discussed. Other issues such as stationing of an Air India ATR aircraft at Port Blair which could operate between Port Blair and Car Nicobar and the feasibility of operating flights from airfields at Campbell Bay and Shibpur also figured in the discussions. It was also brought out that once the approval of the operation of night flights is obtained, the issue of Charter flights for Kolkata would become possible as Indian Airlines can make available aircrafts only at night. Blocking of seats in each of these flights and the commencement of flight to Phuket were also discussed.
19/03/15 Echo of India 

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L-3 Aviation Products Opens MRO In India

L-3 Aviation Products (L-3 AP) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony today in celebration of the opening of its new MRO (Manufacturing, Repair & Overhaul) facility in Bengaluru, India. L-3 AP's official theme for the ceremony, "India's Partner - Today, Tomorrow and in the Future," reflects the company's commitment to its customers by expanding its local footprint and advancing its long-term investment in the region.

"Our growing presence in India underscores L-3's pledge to serving the Indian aviation sector," said Krishen Ganase, president of L-3 Aviation Products. "Our new MRO facility places additional personnel in key technical and business roles in Bengaluru, and we're continuing to broaden our reach in other ways to meet the evolving needs of military and commercial aviation customers in the region."

"We are focused on implementing the next steps in localized sustainment solutions for our growing customer base," added Gp. Capt. (retired) Rajeev Dutta, L-3 AP's director of business development, based in Bengaluru, India.
19/03/15 AVweb

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Domestic Carriers' Financial Health a Concern: Government

New Delhi: The government on Tuesday expressed concern over the financial health of domestic airlines but ruled out plans of extending financial package to budget carriers.

However, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said state governments have been requested to reduce value added tax (VAT) on ATF (aviation turbine fuel) as it constitutes a significant part of an airline's total operational costs.

"Government is concerned over financial health of all airlines including budget airlines. No financial package is planned for budget airlines by the government," he said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Mr Sharma was responding to a query on whether the government is concerned over financial distress of budget carriers and is planning any package for their survival.
17/03/15 PTI/NDTV

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Why India is likely to emerge one of the largest aviation markets

While industrial growth triggered by the first leg of economic liberalisation in early nineties led to a sea change in India's social fabric over the last couple of decades, aviation stands apart as a sector that is capable of fuelling drastic changes in terms of economic growth.

In fact, for more than 40 years since independence, Indian aviation was a public sector monopoly, with Air India and Indian Airlines as the two only operators serving the domestic and international market respectively. Liberalisation changed this for better as air taxi operators were allowed to serve the domestic market. While many private airlines entered and exited, a few players including Jet Airways survived the initial turbulence.

The government's decision to deregulate international air traffic in 2004 allowed private Indian carriers to extend their services to international routes. Leveraging positive policy ambience, airlines such as IndiGo and SpiceJet carved a niche for themselves by adopting a low-cost business model.
18/03/15 Preetam Kaushik/Business Insider

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New Delhi: In a startling revelation in a recently published book authored by former Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Wing Commander (Retired) Dhirendra S. Jafa, American military officers interrogated 1971 Indian Air Force prisoners of war (PoWs) in Pakistan in an attempt get information on Indian Air Force navigational techniques which were used with pinpoint accuracy to target Pakistani air fields.

In chapter seven of his 241-page book titled "Death Wasn't Painful", Wing Commander Jafa reveals that a well-known American flyer and test pilot was brought to his prison cell by a Pakistani officer around the 25th of December, 1971, who he saw as a symbol of the US Seventh Fleet, "the coercive, high-handed, self-righteous aggressiveness of the ugly American."

The American military officer wanted know how the Indian Air pilots were accurately targeting Pakistani airfields at night.

Wing Commander Jafa recalls that the American officer interrogating him was taken aback by his (Jafa's) initial hostility, but recovered quickly enough to avoid a "slanging match" and begin a "dialogue" (read interrogation).

Wing Commander Jafa mentions that he was taken momentarily aback when the line of questioning shifted to the wreckage of his crashed aircraft, when the American test pilot referred to it as "very interesting, these Russian aeroplanes ..., which never depart from the basic concept."
18/03/15 ANI/ZeeNews

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DGCA acting on FAA findings on Indian civil aviation security: Sharma

New Delhi: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is taking action on the findings brought up by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on India's aviation safety, which remained downgraded since early last year.
The action on the findings would be presented to FAA during the final consultation meeting to be held in
March/April, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said in Rajya Sabha.
In order to retain category 1 rating in security, DGCA has taken action for compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards. FAA team revisited India for reassessment of DGCA's oversight capability for determination of category rating for India and conducted an audit from December last year and it raised 12 findings, Sharma said in a written reply.
These findings include certification of flying training organisation, completion of hiring of full cadre of 75 Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) in DGCA, training of FOIs on type of aircraft operated by scheduled airlines and inspection and surveillance of foreign aircraft maintenance organisations, he said.
17/03/15 PTI/First Post

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India to get its first upgraded Mirage 2000 this month

India will get its first upgraded Mirage 2000 later this month from France under a Rs 10,000 crore deal. French defence major Dassault Aviation, the original manufacturer, will handover two upgraded aircraft to India on March 25 in Istres Dassault Aviation Flight Test Center. India had in 2011 signed an upgrade programme worth over Rs 10,000 crore with Dassault Aviation for upgrading the fleet of its Mirage 2000 aircraft totaling 51. However, at least three aircraft have been lost in crashes since then. The firm, which is negotiating a multi-billion dollar deal for supplying 126 Rafale combat aircraft to India, has said that after the successful completion of this phase, the rest of the fleet will be upgraded in India by state-run HAL with help from Dassault and Thales, another French firm. The IAF had started procuring the Mirage 2000 in the early 80s and the upgrade is likely to expand its life span by around 10-15 years.
17/03/15 moneycontrol.com

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Govt wants airlines to add flights to Kashmir, North East

Domestic airlines will have to increase flights to Jammu and Kashmir and the north-east under a proposed credit-based policy that replaces the existing route-dispersal guidelines.

The government has also linked approvals for foreign flights to mandatory operations to remote locations.

The Union civil aviation ministry issued a revised draft proposal last week after airlines and airport operators had raised concerns over an earlier one. The ministry will discuss the issue with airlines on Wednesday.
Domestic airlines now must deploy 10 per cent of their capacities on key routes to Jammu and Kashmir, north-east, Lakshadweep, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Also, domestic airlines are not allowed to fly abroad till they have five years of operations and 20 aircraft (5/20 rule). The government is reviewing this rule.
18/03/15 PTI/Business Standard

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Airlines revise service tax on tickets

Mumbai: Airlines have began charging the revised service tax on tickets following the hike in rates announced in the union budget last month.

Airlines have informed agents of the new service tax slabs which will be applicable for all travel post April 1.

Service tax will be levied at 7.41% of first and business class fares and 4.94% of the economy class fares.

In the union budget  finance minister Arun Jaitely announced a reduction in abatement in service tax on business class and first class fares from 60% to 40%.
17/03/15 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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No final decision yet on Rafale aircraft deal: Govt

New Delhi: Negotiation is taking place for procurement of medium multi-role combat aircraft from Dassault Aviation France but "no final decision" has been taken, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also said review of existing fleet and induction of new aircraft is a continuous process and such a review is carried out keeping in view the operational requirements of the Air Force.

On whether fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) are in place for the Indian Air Force to have superior air strike capabilities, he replied in a negative.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had last month held talks here with Parrikar to salvage the multi-billion Rafale contract even as a deadlock continues to hold up the deal.
17/03/15 PTI/Zee News

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Rafale deal terms non-negotiable: Parrikar

New Delhi: As India and France struggle to break the deadlock over the $20-billion Rafale fighter deal, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar reiterated on Tuesday that the contractual terms in the Request for Information and the pricing were “non-negotiable.”

“The pricing will be decided on the basis of the Request for Proposal,” he told presspersons outside Parliament.

However, on the guarantee clause, which had been an issue of contention between Dassault and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), he said the two firms had to sort it out.

These comments are significant in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to France next month. Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar is visiting France next week.
18/03/15 Dinakar Peri/The Hindu

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IATA’s Ops Conference 2015 to address emerging safety and operational issue

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) will host the sixth annual Ops Conference (Ops Conference 2015) from April 13-15, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. More than 300 high-level delegates from airlines, regulators, air navigation service providers, airports, manufacturers and systems providers are expected to attend the event.

Tony Tyler, director general and CEO, IATA said, “Safety is aviation’s top priority and aviation is the safest form of long-distance transportation ever invented. In large part this is owing to the culture of cooperation and partnership that has been a part of aviation since its birth. No matter how hard we may compete commercially, all stakeholders are united in their dedication to safety. The Ops Conference provides an opportunity to share global best practices, to identify and address emerging challenges, and to work together through global standards to make aviation even safer.”
17/03/15 Express Travel World

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HAL’s Kanpur unit gets DGCA’s upkeep nod

Bengaluru: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has approved Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.’s Transport Division at Kanpur as a full-fledged maintenance and repair centre for Dornier and Avro aircraft.

HAL, which manufactures military aircraft for the IAF, said the move gives a boost to its small and growing civil aviation business.

HAL Chairman T. Suvarna Raju was quoted as saying that the Kanpur division obtained the approval after rigorous audit by the DGCA.
18/03/15 The Hindu

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Future of air travel is personalisation: SITA

The ‘connected passenger’ has become a reality, with 97 per cent of airline passengers carrying at least one personal electronic device. But global usage rates indicate passengers have been slow to adopt new airline and airport mobile services when travelling. Deeper analysis however, shows that some industry players are bucking the trend and achieving high levels of usage. This is according to ‘The Future is Personal’, the latest industry report from SITA, one of the leading global IT provider to the air transport industry.
SITA’s industry insights are based on in-depth research directly with more than 6,000 passengers; carried out at 106 airports across the world which handled 2.35 billion passengers last year and with airlines that together carried more than half the world’s passenger traffic. The research shows airlines have made significant investments in mobile services over the past four years as smartphone adoption surged and the majority now enable passengers to buy tickets, check-in and access flight information via smartphone apps. Meanwhile half of the worlds’ airports also provide flight information via apps.
18/03/15 Financial Express

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India To Change Rule On Foreign Flights By Indian Carriers

The government plans to revise a rule which requires local airlines to have least five years of operational experience and 20 aircraft in their fleet before flying overseas.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma on Tuesday said there are plans to revise the existing '5/20' rules for Indian carriers to operate international flights.

"The reason for the revision include addressing the imbalance between Indian and foreign carriers in utilisation of bilateral traffic rights," he told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

To a query on whether abolishing this eligibility criteria would expedite utilisation of bilateral rights, the minister replied in the affirmative.

"Operation of more airlines on international routes can address the imbalance in utilisation of bilateral traffic rights in various markets where the Indian carriers are not matching up to the capacity deployment of foreign carriers," Sharma said in another written reply.

In 2014, Indian carriers utilised 32 per cent of the traffic rights on international routes against total entitlements available while the utilisation by foreign airlines stood at 62 per cent during the same period.
11/03/15 Business World

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Most Indians prefer low cost carrier over trains: Survey

Mumbai: While travelling, most Indians consider flying in a Low Cost Carrier (LCC) to replace a train journey, highest in any Asia-Pacific country, according to a recent survey.

Indians are most willing to consider a LCC to replace a train journey, which is 67 per cent, an Expedia report on Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Index said.

The study was conducted on behalf of Expedia by Northstar, a globally integrated strategic insights consulting firm, among 3,263 adults, aged 18 and above in India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan, who have flown in the past two years.

The report revealed that about 46 per cent Indians will also consider LCCs to replace a bus journey for trips with at least three family members for whom they are paying (45 per cent), for a trip with friends (44 per cent) and for trips to visit family and friends (45 per cent).
11/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

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Make hoax call punishable offence: Par panel on anti-hijacking

New Delhi: The proposed anti-hijacking legislation should make hoax calls a punishable offence and provide adequate compensation for victims of hijacking, a parliamentary panel said today.

The committee has also asked the government to look at adequately defining the terms 'hostage' and 'security personnel'.

The Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2014, introduced in Rajya Sabha in December last, was referred to the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture.

The bill has proposed stringent measures such as death penalty to the hijackers. Besides that, the definition of 'hijacking' has been widened to include even those persons or acts associated directly or indirectly with hijacking.

In its report tabled in the Parliament today, the panel said such a "comprehensive and strong" bill is the need of the hour.
11/03/15 PTI/Business Standard

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'Remove Greenpeace Activist's Name From No-Fly List': Court to Government

New Delhi: Exactly two months after Greenpeace activist Priya Pillai was stopped from boarding a flight to London to speak to British MPs, the Delhi High Court has asked the government to quash and set aside the lookout circular against her.

The court has also directed the government to expunge the passport entry where it has been stamped as "offload".

In its 39-page order, the court observes that criticism by an individual may not be palatable, even so it cannot be muzzled. "Why must the state interfere with the freedom of an individual, as long as the individual operates within the ambit of laws framed by the legislature?" says the order adding, "the state may not accept the views of civil rights activists, but that by itself, cannot be a good enough reason to do away with dissent."
"I'm feeling very happy because this reposes our faith in the Indian judiciary. Big win for people who dare to have a different dream of development which may not coincide with the dream of the government... Big vindication of our work," Ms Pillai said after the court order.
The government too said that it will honour the court's order.
12/03/15 Ketki Angre/NDTV

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FAA team to visit India soon to review measures by DGCA

New Delhi: A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) team would soon visit India for a final review of the steps taken by the DGCA to address the deficiencies in the country's aviation safety, which remains downgraded since January last year.

"We are expecting a Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) team here by the end of the month for a final review of the various measures taken by the DGCA on the aviation safety," official sources said here.

The decision to upgrade the country's aviation safety will be decided after the US regulator's team files its report, which is expected to take place by mid-April, sources said.
11/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

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Dassault, HAL To Be Co-Contractors On Indian-Built Rafales

Saint-Cloud and Paris: France’s bid to sell 126 Rafale combat jets to India moved a step closer to reality in recent weeks, with Dassault Aviation and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) reaching an agreement as to who will be responsible for guaranteeing 108 Indian-built aircraft required under the deal.

The first 18 Rafale jets are to be built in France. After that, India’s HAL would take over production of the remaining aircraft.

"This is the first time Dassault agrees to be a co-contractor," Dassault CEO Eric Trappier said following his company’s annual earnings conference March 11. "Dassault and HAL will both take responsibility for the part they will each build on the Rafale aircraft made in India," he continued, asserting the commitment is in line with the Indian government’s initial request for proposals under the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender.
11/03/15 Amy Svitak and Caroline Bruneau Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

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India’s Airlines to Get Respite by Ditching Remote Routes

For Indian carriers such as Jet Airways India Ltd. and SpiceJet Ltd. that are struggling with $10 billion of losses, Prime Minister Narendra Modi may be offering some succor.
The government is considering easing rules that force local airlines to serve the nation’s remote locations despite little demand. Under proposed changes, smaller private operators plying these routes would be given credits, which larger carriers would be able to buy to meet the capacity regulations, without having to actually fly to those destinations.
“Bigger airlines lose a lot of money flying in those areas where passenger loads aren’t very high,” G. Ashok Kumar, a joint secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, said in an interview in Bengaluru, formerly Bangalore. The system of credits would free up larger planes, while giving smaller carriers incentives to head to far-flung places, he said.
Loosening the 20-year-old rule might provide some respite to the airlines as it would let them cut consumption of jet fuel, which accounts for about 50 percent of their costs. State taxes as high as 30 percent make jet fuel in India the costliest in Asia, causing defaults by some carriers on payments to banks, vendors, airports and staff.
11/03/15 Anurag Kotoky/Bloomberg

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Delhi govt to get drones to keep an eye on its forests

New Delhi: The Delhi government’s ambitious project of using drones for surveillance of its forests may take at least about six months to materialise.
According to government sources, among a number of clearances required from multiple agencies — including the Ministry of Defence and Director General of Civil Aviation —- to make the proposal a reality, finding persons with the expertise and technical know-how to man these drones will be the most challenging.
“We will need at least eight staff members who have the necessary diploma, training in Geo-spatial Information Science (GIS), who may have conducted surveys or have the knowledge of remote-sensing technology. Persons with such expertise will also expect a high pay. In all probability, they will have to be contractual employees,” a senior government functionary said.
11/03/15 Mayura Janwalkar/Indian Express

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‘Replacing outdated copters top priority’

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday told a group of wives of Armymen that replacing the fleet of obsolete Chetak and Cheetah helicopters was the top priority of his ministry. Representatives of the 28-member group met Parrikar at South Block and demanded that the fleet of outdated helicopters “be grounded” immediately to avoid further mishaps and putting the lives of their husbands at risk. “As a representative of the group, I met the defence minister at 10.45 am for 25 minutes. He promised that replacing the fleet of 175-odd active choppers is the priority of his ministry and added that hunt is on for looking for an option for these choppers and the choppers will be replaced soon,” advocate Meenal Bhosale, founder member of the group said after the meeting.
12/03/15 Pranav Kulkarni/Indian Express

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Indian fliers mind leg room, baggage allowance cuts: Expedia

New Delhi: : Fliers on low-cost airlines in India may not mind lack of an in-flight entertainment system, free meals or pillows, but they are loath to accept absence of free checked-in baggage, reduction of leg room and bathroom privileges, shows a survey by online travel agency Expedia.

"Indian fliers are least willing to sacrifice bathroom privileges, legroom and free-checked luggage, while flying a low-cost carrier. Indian travelers are most willing to sacrifice in-flight entertainment, full meal service, pillows and blankets, being able to choose seat in advance and snacks and beverages," the survey said.

The Expedia 2015 Asia-Pacific LCC Airline Index polled about 3,200 travellers in India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan, the company said in a statement.
12/03/15 Economic Times

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Helicopter flying over the Cauvery belongs to Bengaluru firm: police

Mandya: The helicopter that flew low and dropped a powdery substance into the Cauvery near Sangam in Srirangapatna belonged to the Bengaluru-based private aviation company, Deccan Charters, according to Mandya Superintendent of Police Bhushan Gulabrao Borase. The 44-second video footage of the helicopter dropping powdery substances into the river went viral on Tuesday morning in the district and reports about it were published in the media. Subsequently, the district police had conducted an inquiry into the issue.
There were two pilots and four passengers in the helicopter. It had obtained Air Defence Clearance and had taken all due permissions from Air Traffic Control (ATC) concerned.
12/03/15 MT Shiva Kumar/The Hindu

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India's Rafale fighter jet deal stuck in doldrums

New Delhi: The multi-billion dollar Rafale fighter jet contract between India and France continues to face an impasse despite the two countries having agreed to "fast-track" the negotiations.

But while forward movement is awaited in this regard, defence sources made it clear that the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to France and the fighter jet deal were two separate issues which cannot be linked, PTI reported.

"There are some issues which still persist because of which the final contract is pending for such a long time," defence sources said when asked if the issues relating to pricing and the guarantee clause had been sorted out.

 Talking about chances that the deal would be worked out ahead of Modi's visit to France next month, the sources maintained the two were not linked.
11/03/15 India Today

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RS MPs ask govt to regulate air fares

New Delhi: Rajeev Shukla of Congress received widespread support from members including deputy chairperson P J Kurien on his demand to regulate air fare.

During Zero Hour, Shukla said despite fall in prices of jet fuel, which constitutes 33% of the operating cost, airlines, both private and state carrier, are charging exorbitant rates. He said fares are changing daily and at times even on the basis of row of seats. "It is completely arbitrary, "he said, demanding an airfare regulatory authority to regulate the fares charged by airlines.
12/03/15 Times of India

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AAI to hive off air navigation services, appoints consultant

New Delhi: In a step towards listing profitable public-sector undertaking Airports Authority of India (AAI) on the bourses, the government has appointed former law secretary NK Chaturvedi as a consultant to recommend measures to hive off air navigation services (ANS) from the state-owned airport operator.
Chaturvedi has been mandated to firm up modalities to spin off air traffic control services from AAI, prior to it being listed on the bourses.
The move, sector experts said, will help unlock the potential to upgrade air traffic control systems in a fast-growing aviation market where safety standards lag behind global benchmarks. The proposed ANS Corporation will control route navigation facilities, terminal navigation and instrument landing systems autonomously, allowing AAI to focus on its core function of managing airports.
09/03/15  Sharmistha Mukherjee/Indian Express

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Aspirational flight for women

Surat: An all-women flight to Bhavnagar from Surat and back to mark the International Women's Day on Sunday by Diamond Aeronautics, a local airline carrier, empowered many women in its own small way. This is because the passengers aboard the nine seat Cessna Caravan flown by Captain Rasleen Brar and Captain Sonam Jadhav were five housewives and four other young women from the city who had never been on an aircraft before. The women passengers came from humble backgrounds.

"Our group believes in empowerment of women and promoting girl child. We wanted to express thanks to our country's womenfolk and thus thought of arranging a joyride for a few of them to Bhavnagar in our aircraft. This flight was also to show that given an opportunity, girls can do wonders," said Diamond Aeronautics CEO K Kartikeyen. The company has been promoted by four diamond barons of the city.
09/03/15 Himanshu Bhatt/Times of India

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