Government to enforce checks on airline cost cuts at expense of safety

With the Mangalore aircrash in mind, the government is preparing detailed rules and guidelines to ensure that loss-making airlines do not cut costs on safety front while trying to reduce their financial burden, official sources said.
If an airline does not meet these rules and procedures, after they come into effect, its Air Operator’s Permit (license to run air operations) as also future expansion of fleet and operations, could be affected, the sources warned.
With mounting losses, many Indian carriers have started reducing flights, laying off employees and rationalising their route structure. There have also been cases where leased aircraft of certain private carriers have been taken over by lessors or airlines denied any credit on lifting of jet fuel from oil marketing firms.
Noting that some airlines have been in distress over financial or operational issues, the government is trying to “ensure that safety oversight functions are not affected“.
They said the “unfavourable trends” being witnessed in some of the airline operators’ financial conditions could be identified by factors like lay-offs, delays in paying salaries, reduction of safe operating standards, inadequate maintenance of aircraft, shortage of supplies and spares or sale of aircraft or other major equipment.
30/05/10 The Hindu

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India Creates Air-Safety Council

New Delhi: India is creating a new advisory council to monitor aviation-safety issues and investigate accidents, after an Air India jetliner crash on May 22 that killed 158 people.
Aviation-safety experts have been urging India to beef up its policing of airlines and create a new body to evaluate the industry that is separate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which currently oversees all aviation regulatory matters in India.
The Indian airline sector expanded rapidly in recent years, with passenger air traffic more than doubling to 69 million between 2005 and 2009. During the boom years, many airlines were adding six or more aircraft each month. That rapid growth made it harder to uphold safety standards, experts say.
The initiative to create the council was already underway before the crash on May 22 of an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 jet in the southern city of Mangalore, he said. The council will help investigate that accident. Indian and U.S. authorities are already working to find the reason for the crash after recovering the "black box" with flight data.
The council, which will be made up of about 15 to 20 people, will provide input to the DGCA but will operate separately from it.
Nasim Zaidi, director general of civil aviation at the Civil Aviation Ministry, said the "Aviation Consulting Council" will include officials with expertise in areas such as aeronautics, flight operations and safety.
The council will provide recommendations to the DGCA in areas such as air navigation, monitoring of flight operations and critical airports—those with features that make safety issues more complex, Mr. Zaidi said.
He said one key area will be to "gauge human performance and training of pilots, co-pilots and other crew members."
27/05/10 Vibhuti Agarwal and Amol Sharma/Wall Street Journal

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India sets out to build 90-seater civilian aircraft

The high-powered committee for building the first indigenous civilian aircraft in India has decided to configure a 90-seater civilian aircraft and is expected to give its report within the next year to the government. India is going ahead with the project despite the two decade-old experimentation with Saras, a 14-seater passenger aircraft, yet to get into commercial production.
The formation of the committee comes barely weeks after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation had said there was no technical flaw in the Saras aircraft. The Prototype-II of Saras aircraft, developed by CSIR’s NAL, had crashed during a test flight on March 6 last year killing the three-member crew.
28/05/10 Business Standard/Sify

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NAL plans new design for its small aircraft

Bangalore: Facing tough competition, designers at the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) are mulling over a change in the configuration of the so-called regional transport aircraft (RTA) they plan to build to run on short-haul feeder routes.
The RTA was envisaged as a 70-90 seat civilian aircraft powered by a turboprop engine—a gas turbine engine used to drive a propeller.
But NAL is now thinking of using a jet engine as well and increasing its capacity to 90-110 passengers.
“We are looking at an aircraft (where) both turboprop and turbojet can be used,” said Samir Brahmachari,director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India’s largest public-funded research agency. NAL is the CSIRlab for aerospace technologies.
27/05/10 K Raghu/Live Mint

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Visa free travel for Chinese, Indian airline staff

Beijing: The airline staff of India and China will henceforth enjoy visa free travel between their countries following an agreement signed during the visit of Indian President Pratibha Patil.
On the second day of President Patil's six-day visit, the two countries inked an agreement on streamlining the visa system for airline staff and two Memorandums of Understanding (MoS) for extending cooperation in the areas of sports and civil administration.
The agreement on streamlining airline staff visas was signed by Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue.
27/05/10 Economic Times

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Aviation cover rates may increase

Mumbai / New Delhi: Aviation insurance rates are likely to increase after an Air India (AI) Express flight crashed while landing at the Mangalore airport on Saturday, killing 158 people in the worst airline accident in India in a decade, according to insurance company executives.
The claims stemming from the Mangalore crash will have a “big impact” on insurance rates, said T.A. Ramalingam, head of underwriting at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd, who also cited an increase in the number of smaller aviation-related claims in the past two years.
Insurance rates are going to “harden” when aviation insurance policies come up for renewal, said Ramalingam.
Another executive with an insurance firm who asked not to be identified as he is not authorized to speak with the media said insurance premiums for India’s airlines may rise by around 5% depending on the safety record of the carrier.
The premium local insurers charge an airline is based on international benchmarks such as reinsurance backup, which is calculated for a country based on the last 10 years’ record of the airlines and the premiums absorbed. “When a crash happens, this premium is raised so we can’t give discounts to the airlines to the extent we would have otherwise,” the executive said.
24/05/10 P.R. Sanjai and Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Govt rule that kept US pilots at bay

Washington: Lobbied heavily by airlines in the US to stem the flow of their pilots to India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ruled in 2007 that Americans holding pilot’s licences cannot be employed by airlines in India beyond the age of 60.
The discriminatory decision to help an American industry with huge lobbying power worldwide was made even as DGCA rules allowed pilots of every other nationality, including Indians, to fly until they were 65 years old.
The decision prompted nearly 50 American pilots, whose applications to fly with Indian carriers were pending with Indian authorities, to change their plans for a career shift to India, according to a source in the DGCA who is familiar with the way the national regulator caved into US corporate interests.
While the questionable decision, which had been influenced by civil aviation minister Praful Patel, may have had no bearing on the weekend’s crash of an Air India Express flight, it forced airlines in India, both private and state-owned, to turn in a big way to pilots from non-English-speaking countries to overcome a shortage.
Difficulties in following instructions in English from air controllers and an inability to cope with heavy air traffic during landings and takeoffs by such pilots have been among the staple of complaints about the safety of aviation in India, following a recent boom in this industry.
The irony of India’s decision to ban American pilots who are over 60 was that it was made one month after the US Congress actually raised their retirement age to 65 to cope with a shortage of pilots in airlines in America.
The change merely required flight captains in the US who are over 40 to pass stipulated medical check ups, including cardiac examinations every six months instead of annually for younger pilots.
In addition to the 50-odd American pilots who withdrew their applications with the Indian regulator to fly with airlines in the country in 2007, several others left Indian carriers as a dead end after the DGCA changed its rules precipitously, according to sources in the airline industry.
24/05/10 K P Nayar/The Telegraph

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CVR affected by fire but will yield data: DGCA

New Delhi: The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Sunday said the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of the Air India Express flight that crashed at Mangalore on Saturday was affected by the fire but it was expected to yield the desired information. It would take a fortnight to analyse the details.
The DGCA also took into possession all documents pertaining to the aircraft and air crew, such as engineering, operations, training, air traffic control, fire fighting and allied services, for evaluation. The examination of all these information would take at least a couple of weeks.
The DGCA formed four groups — engineering and wreckage group, operations group, air traffic control group and aerodrome group — and initiated inspection of the wreckage site at 6 a.m. on Sunday.
24/05/10 The Hindu

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Mangalore air crash: Did pilot try last-minute take-off?

Crucial evidence that could finally unravel the mystery behind Saturday's crash in Mangalore that left 158 people dead has been found and investigators are now trying to find answers to questions like these as they look into what could have possibly gone wrong.
According to sources, the throttle in the cockpit, extricated from the debris, was found in a forward position suggesting that the pilot may have attempted a final thrust to take-off seconds before the crash.
Meanwhile, investigators on Sunday also retrieved the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and the Digital Flight Data Acquisition Unit (DFDAU), which record cockpit conversation and technical details, from the wreckage of the ill-fated Air India Express. But the search for the crucial Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) still continues.
24/05/10 Mangalore/NDTV.com

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Travel agents knock on DGCA doors over fees

Mumbai: The two-year old tussle between travel agents and foreign airlines over the issue of zero commission shows no signs of abatement.
In a new development, travel agents have knocked at the door of the directorate general civil aviation (DGCA) once again, complaining about the foreign carriers not responding to DGCA’s communication on the zero commission issue.
Talking to FE , Rajinder Rai, president of the Travel Agents Association of India, said, “We have approached the DGCA saying that foreign airlines have not responded to us. The DGCA has said it will take up the issue with them. Foreign airlines have maintained their indifferent attitude and defied the ruling of DGCA.”
The status quo over the issue continues and has not just caused inconvenience to customers, but also affected the business of many small to medium travel agents in the country. However, when contacted, a British Airways spokesperson, without divulging finer details on the issue said, “We will continue to comply with the DGCA ruling.”
The DGCA, in its March order, had said that all airlines that had gone in for zero commission should move back to the commission-based regime.
24/05/10 Shaheen Mansuri, Shweta Bhanot/Finacial Express

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Aviation ministry names Malviya for Prez medal

New Delhi: In a strange development the civil aviation ministry has recommended the name of top aviation security official, Manoj Malviya, a 1986 batch IPS officer, for President’s Police Medal (PPM). The CBI on Wednesday searched Malviya’s residence and office for allegedly abusing his official position to benefit private firms.
“The security official’s name is under consideration at joint-secretary level for PPM. It has not been cleared yet,” two persons in the civil aviation ministry said.
21/05/10 Nirbhay Kumar/Financial Express

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CBI probing Malviya's assets

Mumbai: CBI is conducting searches at the office and residence premises of a senior official of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security in connection with disproportionate assets case.
The searches have been conducted at the office and residence premises of IPS officer Manoj Malviya in New Delhi and Kolkata, CBI Joint Director (Western Region), Rishiraj Singh told reporters here today.
The investigating agency had yesterday registered a case against Malviya, a 1986-batch officer of West Bengal cadre, for allegedly misusing official power.
20/05/10 Press Trust of India

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Airlines offer hefty discounts, free tickets for kids

Bangalore: If you missed out on your summer holiday or if the volcanic ash smoked you out of Europe, here is a respite. International airlines continue to roll out special holiday packages, which for the south Indian market, is like an end-of season summer sale.
While the summer holiday season in south would end in the first week of June with reopening of schools, the holiday cheer would continue till July in the northern parts of the country.
Emirates, which operates 184 flights to India, has just launched a holiday package where by parents can take their children along for free. The airline is offering free return tickets, stay, food, visa charges, and entry fees at entertainment hotspots in Dubai, for children below the age of 16 years. This offer has been bundled into a package where an adult is charged Rs 32,105 for a 4-day 3-night stay in Dubai.
At Rs 10,000 more, Dragon Air and Cathay Pacific offer holiday packages to Disney Land in Hong Kong. However , there’s no free ride for the children here.
Then there are a slew of offers by various airlines for business and first class travellers, where by the spouse is entitled to a 50% discount on a return ticket.
20/05/10 Anshul Dhamija/Economic Times

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Aviation watchdog official in trouble over favours

New Delhi: In a major setback for BCAS, the CBI on Wednesday booked its additional commissioner (security) Manoj Malviya, an 1986 batch IPS officer of the West Bengal cadre, for allegedly obtaining personal favours from businessmen with whom he had official dealings.
With the post of BCAS commissioner lying vacant for several months now, Malviya was one of the two top BCAS officials who were responsible for the functioning of the organisation.
The agency has booked Malviya -- who is alleged to have run up huge bills in 5-star hotels which were later paid by a private firm -- under the Prevention of Corruption Act and for criminal conspiracy. Head of security (Mumbai International Airport Limited) Virendra Singh Chandrawat has also been named in the FIR as one of the accused. The other accused include officials of GVK Industries, which is engaged in infrastructure and maintenance work for Mumbai airport, and also some unidentified Airports Authority of India officials.
Chandrawat left his job with MIAL only 15 days back and is said to have joined a Delhi-based firm.
It was found that Malviya visited Mumbai several times where his hotel bills were allegedly paid by GVK and some bills were paid from the account of Airport Authority of India in February 2010. He stayed at another 5-star hotel at Santa Cruz in Mumbai where his bill of Rs 24,790 was paid from the credit card of Chandrawat.
Malviya is alleged to have gone out of his way to favour firms like GVK in his official capacity.
20/05/10 Times of India

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Civil aviation officer booked for graft

Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case against a senior official of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) for abusing his official position and conspiring with persons who had official dealings with him.
The anti-corruption branch (ACB) of the CBI registered the case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Manoj Malviya, Additional Commissi-oner (Security), BCAS, who was posted in New Delhi. No arrests have been made.
The CBI said Malviya had made the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), GVK Industries and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) pay for his five-star hotel stays during his visits to Mumbai between May 2009 and February 2010.
MIAL, which owns the airport, is a joint venture led by GVK in which AAI is also a partner. The BCAS is attached to the Civil Aviation ministry.
The CBI conducted raids at Malviya’s office and Delhi home in Green Park. During the raid on Malviya’s home, the CBI recovered 27 bottles of imported liquor.
The CBI also found and seized 2,900 US $, 1,350 Hong Kong $, 90 Malaysian Ringgit, 30 Swiss Franks, 10 Euros and 8 Singapore $. Officials also seized Rs 1.2 lakh in cash.
20/05/10 Hindustan Times

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Asian airlines cash in on Europe's ash

Bangalore: While the Western carriers continue to remain grounded due to Iceland’s volcanic ash problem, airlines in Asia are doling out freebies and out-of-this-world travel offerings to boost their profits.
They are trying to draw air passengers by giving free tickets to kids, open bus tours, plush cabin interiors, view from Burj Khalifa, complimentary stay at Dubai’s Armani Hotel, online visa and a host of other value-adds that don’t come during the off-seasons.
The UAE carrier Emirates, for instance, has come out with Kids Go Free, where children up to 16 years can not only travel free, but even their cost of tourists visa, stay at three orfive star hotel, meals, rides on Dubai Metro and airport transfers would be waived when accompanied by two paying adults. This package of three nights and four days is priced at just Rs32,105.
The West Asian airline has something for the first and business class Passengers too.
20/05/10 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Railways want you to fly

Mumbai: Keen competitors until now, the railways and the aviation industry appear to have joined hands. The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is selling air tickets on its website, tempting passengers with a 10 per cent cash-back offer and discounted airfare.
This comes in the wake of substantial inroads made by low-cost airlines, which have brought airfares on many major routes across the country down to a few thousand rupees, and made flying — once a luxury affordable only to the rich —affordable to a much larger base of travelers.
This has seen increasingly competitive fare wars between the railways and airlines. “A typical case study is the Mumbai-Delhi sector. After low-cost airlines made flying on this route affordable, the railways slashed prices on the Rajdhani Express, which connects the two cities. The airlines then further reduced rates — it had become quite an aggressive battle a few years ago,” a senior railway manager said on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
IRCTC said the battle is still on, but added that what they are offering on their website will also lead to cross-bookings.
20/05/10 Rajendra Aklekar/Hindustan Times

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Airline fund-raising plans get grounded

Mumbai: Indian carriers have been hit hard by the spewing of volcanic ash, which has led to flight cancellations, and the fallout of the European debt crisis, hindering efforts to collectively raise at least $1 billion (Rs4,560 crore) as investors hold back amid signs of weakness in the recovery story.
“Collectively, as an industry, there isn’t an appetite for aviation paper of this magnitude,” said Mahantesh Sabarad, senior vice-president (equity research) at domestic brokerage Fortune Equity Brokers (India) Ltd. “Moreover, equity market confidence is being tested once again with sovereign fiscal problems surfacing.”
Jet Airways (India) Ltd, which flies the most passengers in the country, has been looking to raise $400 million for the last two-three years, while India’s second largest carrier Kingfisher Airlines Ltd is looking to raise $250-350 million through a rights offer and a GDR issue. The company expects to raise these funds by the second quarter, its spokesperson said.
In February, low-fare carrier SpiceJet Ltd started roadshows for raising $75 million by selling new shares and shortlisted half a dozen funds, but has not been able to finalize anything because of differences in valuations.
Other carriers such as IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Pvt. Ltd, and Wadia Group’s GoAirlines (India) Pvt. Ltd, which runs low-fare carrier GoAir, have also been looking for fresh funding.
National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, which runs Air India, and has a debt of Rs21,000 crore, has successfully raised a little over $3 billion, largely because it has been backed by sovereign guarantees.
19/05/10 P.R. Sanjai/Live Mint

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Flying Planes with Coal?

Airplanes powered by coal -- at first blush it sounds about as attractive as the toddler chainsaw. But Accelergy in Houston says it has come up with a way to convert the ubiquitous rock into an economical, clear, and arguably clean form of jet fuel.
The company will initially try to sell fuel to the U.S. military -- the Air Force has already begun initial testing -- and has also started to field inquiries from China and some commercial aircraft and engine manufacturers. Biomass can also be substituted for coal, or at least part of it, in the recipe, depending on the desired characteristics of the final fuel.
The Department of Defense will likely set its standards for synthetic jet fuels in 2013, and CEO Tim Vail claims that Accelergy's fuel will be able to meet those standards.
The key is a process fine-tuned at ExxonMobil in the mid-1990s that turns coal or plant matter directly into a liquid, according to Vail. Unlike the often-criticized Fischer-Tropsch process devised in the 1920s, Accelergy's process does not get convert coal into a synthetic gas before transforming it into a liquid. Eliminating gasification greatly reduces carbon dioxide emissions, as well as the total amount of coal (or biomass) consumed to produce liquids, he said. And it's cost-effective.
"You can be profitable in the $50-to-$60-a-barrel range," extrapolating from the mathematical models devised by Exxon in the '90s, Vail said.
So what makes this environmentally friendly? It depends on how you look at the problem. While coal is a relatively dirty form of fuel, it's also one of the most pervasive.
The world has an estimated 998 billion tons of proven coal reserves, with the largest reserves located in the U.S., China, India and Russia.
While the U.S. and Europe have begun to reduce coal consumption, emerging nations will invariably use large portions of theirs. Converting it into liquid jet fuel reduces carbon dioxide and particulate matter that would get released by burning it, Vail argues.
17/05/10 Michael Kanellos/Greentech media, USA

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Volcanic ash holds up flights for 6 hours

Mumbai: After a six-hour disruption due to restrictions over Heathrow and Gatwick in UK, most airlines were able to operate flights to London on Monday. Early morning today, Air India had to cancel its 2.20 am flight to London because of volcanic ash over European airspace.
Kingfisher Airlines also cancelled its London-bound flights on Monday. Airport sources said that on Sunday, Emirates airline AK 503 had asked a few London bound passengers to deplane because of the European air space closure.
An Air India source said that on Monday, the airline had cancelled its Amritsar-London-Toronto flight. However, the Delhi¿London and Mumbai-London flights on Tuesday morning would be on time, he added.
“We are using a B-777 jumbo jet aircraft on the Mumbai-London route to accommodate the stranded passengers,” said an airline spokesperson.
18/05/10 Indian Express

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UK airports reopen; tourists continue to suffer

There was some respite for air travellers in the United Kingdom after two of its major international airports-Heathrow and Gatwick-reopened on Monday following which all flight restrictions were lifted.
Flights resumed landing and taking off from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
The authorities warned travellers that it would take time for the airlines to clear the backlog of delayed flights. They have advised passengers to contact their airlines before leaving for the airport.
Airports across the country were slowly recovering from the sporadic shutdowns. All British and Irish airspace were open now except for smaller airports.
Meanwhile, aviation officials came under fire over their decision to impose the no-fly zone. A no-fly zone had been imposed across several countries in northern Europe due to dense volcanic ash drifting down from Iceland.
Some airlines officials called it a gross over-reaction to a very minor risk.
With summer holidays started in schools, it is also the time for annual holiday for many Indian families. But the ash cloud could not have appeared at a worse time. Several families' well-laid plans for foreign visits went for a toss with flight disruptions in Europe.
Air India flights from Kolkata to London were terminated at Delhi causing major inconvenience to passengers. Adding to their woes, the authorities at Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport were unable in giving precise information about when the operations would get back to normal.
18/05/10 Headlines Today/India Today

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Now, US-bound flyers look east

New Delhi: Eyjafjallajokul, the Icelandic volcano, has reared its head again, hitting London, and Amsterdam-bound flights from India. However, the Amritsar-London-Toronto flight operated on Monday as per schedule.
“As of now, we intend to operate all our flights on Tuesday and will be employing a Boeing 747 on the Mumbai route to take care of extra passengers,’’ an AI official told TOI. Kingfisher, too, while resuming services, said passengers must watch out for changing conditions.
With flyers avoiding all but essential travel in view of the disruptions, the holiday traffic from India is expected be hit. ‘‘It is too early to assess but there is no doubt that airline cancellations will impact travel plans badly,’’ said Rajinder Rai, president of Travel Agents Association of India.
Indian flyers who were expected to use London as a transit or a final destination on a Europe holiday are now looking at alternatives.
‘‘The situation has become so unpredictable that tourists are choosing stopovers in the Far East rather than Europe, for travel to the US. But London is a very popular destination and this will affect travel there,’’ says Sharat Dhall, managing director of TripAdvisor India. As a fallout, demand might go up for domestic travel or destinations like Malaysia, he said.
18/05/10 Economic Times

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Heathrow shuts down for seven hours, flights to London hit

New Delhi: Air services from India to London were impacted today, as Heathrow airport in London was closed for seven hours. Kingfisher Airlines and Air India cancelled their flights to the region. Air India resumed operations later during the day. Jet, however, operated all its flights to the region.
The latest cancellations came as black clouds shut other major airports in Europe, including Schipol and Rottredam in Holland, and Gatwick and London as well as flights to and from Ireland and Scotland.
Kingfisher cancelled its flights to and from London Heathrow today. The national carrier, however, after cancelling one flight each from Delhi and Mumbai to London earlier during the day resumed operations and will operate flights to the region tomorrow.
“We operated our Amritsar-London-Toronto flight later during the day and will operate with a bigger aircraft from Mumbai to ferry the stranded passengers,” said an Air India spokesperson.
Kingfisher has also decided to operate flights tomorrow. “The cancellation was for today and as of now flights scheduled will operate,” said an airline spokesperson.
Around 1,000 out of 28,000 flights, which operate in Europe every day, were disrupted.
18/05/10 Business Standard

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Year 1 of aviation ministry: Full of turbulence

Civil aviation minister Praful Patel's second term as the aviation minister has been full of turbulence. When the UPA government started its second term, most of the airline companies were in a bad shape. The global slowdown meant that the airlines were going only one way down.
Passenger figures had dropped dramatically and airlines were slashing fares to stay in the race. Jet Airways cut fares by 40 per cent, but things were about to get worse.
The airlines expected the government to bail the industry out as the budget day approached.
The industry had demanded that aviation turbine fuel be brought under declared goods category, which would have capped tax on ATF at 4 per cent. But their demands were ignored. Instead the government announced a bailout package for Air India.
Air India by mid 2009 had accumulated losses of Rs 5000 crore. Private airlines were certainly unhappy as they wanted a bailout package for the industry and threatened to go on strike for a day.
Patel was back to firefighting and after a high profile meeting with the airline honchos they finally dropped their threat to bring the aviation business to a halt.
Meanwhile the prime minister's office also stepped in and asked Patel to put Air India in order.
The government entered into negotiations with the unions but most talks ended in a deadlock.
Finally, the government decided to issue an ultimatum to the airline shape up or ship out.
Air India did manage to stay airborne with a Rs 800 crore rupee equity infusion and by the end of UPA 2's first year in office, most of the airlines were slowly climbing back into profitability.
17/05/10 Bianca Ghose and Arijit Banerjee/NDTV.com

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Travel agents move court against airlines

Mumbai: Travel agents have once again moved court against 16 foreign airlines that are not paying them commissions due on ticket sales, and have asked India’s civil aviation regulator to intervene on their behalf.
The Iata Agents Association of India, or IAAI, a lobby group of 600 travel agents from across the country, recently filed a contempt case in the Kerala high court against the 16 carriers for failing to pay them a 5% commission, as ordered by the court in July 2009.
The court had then asked the ministry of civil aviation and regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ensure that the payment was made.
Following the order, DGCA directed the airlines in March to pay the commission, saying it was rightful remuneration. But the airlines are yet to comply, said IAAI.
“In stark defiance, the 16 airlines have not cared to follow the (DGCA) directive,” IAAI president Biji Eapen wrote in a letter dated 13 May to S.N.A. Zaidi, the director-general of civil aviation. Mint has reviewed this letter.
The association now wants DGCA to apprise the court about the situation.
“The high court will reopen next week after the annual vacation and it is expected that the contempt of court case will be disposed (of) as soon as the DGCA compliance report is submitted,” Eapen said.
18/05/10 P.R. Sanjai/Live Mint

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Supplies plane arrives in Imphal

Imphal: A military plane landed at the Tulihal airport here on Monday morning with 700 cartons of life-saving drugs from Guwahati.
Life-saving drugs and many essential items became scarce in Manipur following a 41-day economic blockade imposed by Naga tribal students along two major highways. Routine surgeries were suspended in government and private hospitals due to lack of medical gas.
Official sources said another plane was ready to airlift medical gas and other hospital materials.
The postal department is charging Rs.13 a kg of cargo. Officials said priority would be given to hospital materials.
A government spokesman said several passenger buses and loaded trucks would reach Imphal shortly.
18/05/10 Iboyaima Laithangbam/The Hindu

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Jet fuel price hike by Rs 104 to 42,556/kl in Delhi

New Delhi: State-owned oil retailers today raised the price of jet fuel, or ATF, marginally by Rs 104 per kilolitre, making it the sixth straight increase since March.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) rates in Delhi have been hiked by Rs 104, or 0.24 per cent, to Rs 42,556 per kilolitre with effect from midnight tonight, an official of Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest oil firm, said.
Jet fuel constitutes roughly 40 per cent of the operating cost of an airline and today's increase in fuel rates would put a nominal, but extra burden on Indian carriers.
It was not immediately clear if airlines would pass on this burden to passengers.
15/05/10 Press Trust of India

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Airlines offer a slew of conveniences for travellers

Mumbai: This summer, airlines are going all out to woo travellers. From extra flights and cheap fares to zero per cent loans, the industry is doing all it can to get more people to wing their way to their holiday destination.
If you are thinking of booking a flight to Delhi but are not sure whether you will get a ticket due to the summer rush, worry not. Air India (AI) has started extra night flights from May 15. “Flight IC 624 from Delhi will leave at 11pm and arrive at Mumbai at 1.20am (the next day). Similarly IC 623 from Mumbai shall leave for Delhi at 11pm. The airline is offering an all-inclusive one-way economy class fare of Rs5,330 on these night flights,” said a statement issued by the airline.
Sectors such as Kolkata, Bangalore, Patna and Chennai will also have extra flights for the convenience of passengers. Air India is also starting a direct flight between Chennai and Coimbatore four times a week from May 17. The flight will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Travellers who cannot afford to buy air tickets can now try the card option with Jet Airways. The airline has tied-up with the State Bank of India (SBI) to offer zero per cent loans on the purchase of air tickets.
In case you want to travel abroad and want to book tickets online without getting into the hassle of dealing with foreign currency, international low-cost-carrier AirAsia has made it easier for you.
15/05/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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Key medical supplies airlifted to Manipur

Guwahati/New Delhi: Authorities in a restive northeastern Indian state have decided to start airlifting crucial medical supplies after these items ran out of stock following a 40-day highway blockade by tribal agitators.
N. Biren Singh, a spokesman for the Manipur state government, said yesterday that transporters have been told to book freight with airlines and the government will cover the difference in costs.
Hundreds of agitated Naga tribespeople are blocking two highways linking Manipur with the rest of India in protest against the government's decision not to allow a leading separatist leader to enter the state.
While that blockade began 10 days ago, Nagas have also been protesting since early April against the decision to hold local council polls in Naga-inhabited areas.
16/05/10 Gulf News, UAE

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DGCA orders airlines to put pilots in school to get monsoon-ready

Mumbai: Come our monsoons and aircraft overshooting or skidding slippery runways are not new occurrences at all. So, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a circular a few days earlier to all airlines, directing ground school training for all pilots to be able tackle the monsoon climate.
The stated purpose is to ensure safety against the aviation accidents that occur every year, despite the predicted regularity of the Indian monsoon. Analysis of these incidents, it adds, has shown they mostly occurred due to human deficiencies.
An Air India spokesperson said: “We always provide special monsoon training to pilots on our simulator or such before the monsoon. It is an annual practice for us.”
While techniques of handling air turbulence are crucial, a pilot from a major airline said the training provided isn’t enough. “We have to trust our years of experience in flying to get us through air turbulence, as these can’t be predicted. Though simulators help, real life experiences of encountering cross-wind and other turbulences are far different,” he said, on condition of anonymity.
A Jet Airways spokesperson confirmed, “As per DGCA’s revised circular, all of our pilots are being inducted into this programme for operations ahead of the rainy season. Day-long ground training is currently underway.”
According to experts, the biggest dangers during the monsoon are wet runways and air turbulence and the DGCA has tried to cover these in its pointers on what the ground school training should cover. Some of the measures the circular has stressed on are updating captains about Indian monsoon climatology, use of weather radar (type-specific) and techniques of weather avoidance.
15/05/10 Sneha Kupekar/Business Standard

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CBI: no sabotage or conspiracy in YSR's chopper crash

Hyderabad: An inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has ruled out any conspiracy or sabotage in the helicopter crash in which former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and four others were killed in Kurnool district on September 2, 2009.
The CBI, which carried out a detailed and very exhaustive probe, concluded that the crash was an accident which could have been averted had the pilots taken a decision to terminate the journey or change the flight path in view of the adverse weather conditions.
The premier investigating agency submitted the report to the State government as well as the Kurnool district Collector on Friday. It is learnt that the CBI had recommended the suspension of a top official of the AP Aviation Corporation who had also attracted ire earlier of the four-member Committee headed by R.K. Tyagi that conducted a separate probe into the crash.
The DGCA-constituted committee had also come to the conclusion that both pilots of the twin-engined Bell 430 had shown poor judgement in not thinking it fit to return to Hyderabad or divert the helicopter to a nearby location, although the weather was highly inclement.
The ill-fated chopper was commanded by Group Captain S.K. Bhatia as pilot and M.S. Reddy as co-pilot.
During the inquiry, several witnesses were examined and the assistance of experts from National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Central Forensic Laboratories, Hyderabad, New Delhi and Chandigarh, Rotary Wing Society of India, Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, National Remote Sensing Center, Hyderabad, Zen Technologies Ltd. Hyderabad and several others.
14/05/10 The Hindu

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Aviation players increase flight frequencies

New Delhi: Aviation players are increasing frequencies and easy payment options.
The national carrier Air India increases frequencies from Delhi to Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Patna on economy class while private airlines Jet Airways announced that it has tied up with SBI Card, enabling its customers to book their tickets online through credit card on an EMI basis.
According a statement from Air India, passengers traveling by Air India during this summer between Delhi and Mumbai/Kolkata/Chennai/ Bangalore and Patna can look forward to more daily flights on these sectors from Saturday. Air India is also starting a direct flight between Chennai and Coimbatore 4 times a week from May 17.
The flight will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
15/05/10 ExpressBuzz

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Book air tickets on IRCTC site

Ludhiana: Coming to the aid of domestic fliers, authorities have launched the service of booking air tickets on the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The procedure would be similar to that followed for booking rail tickets and commuters would get printed e-tickets for their chosen destination.
An IRCTC official said the facility of booking tickets for domestic flights had been introduced in the first lot and they would extend the service to foreign destinations after observing the response.
As per information, booking for popular domestic destinations like Tirupati, Goa, Srinagar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep would now be possible from the same portal. The commuters would be able to create an account on the website, just like e-tickets for trains. Details like timing, etc, would be available on the site.
14/05/10 Nidhi Singhi/Times of India

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With economy soaring, people take to skies again

New Delhi: Thanks to the economic resurgence, domestic travellers are flying again. Last month saw 41.9 lakh people flying within the country, 24.7% higher than April 2009's figure of 33.6 lakh. This April's figure is even higher than pre-slowdown April 2008's tally of 37.8 lakh. Since April is the beginning of travel season after the traditionally slow quarter of January-March, the industry is expecting huge growth in coming months.
The massive shift towards budget flying — even by corporates — during the slowdown has helped LCCs complete their domination over Indian skies. Pure budget carriers lead the load factor charts, followed by Jet and Kingfisher that now have a majority of their flights in LCC avtars. Air India, that does not have a domestic LCC, saw the lowest occupancy — 73% in April.
Naresh Goyal's Jet Airways, which enjoys almost 26% share, followed by Kingfisher at 21.4%, admitted that good times are back.
14/05/10 Times of India

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Domestic airlines take off with more passengers in April

New Delhi: Kingfisher was the only one-of-the-three full service airlines which reported a marginal decline in number of passengers flown in April this year at 8.98 lakh against 8.99 lakh carried in the preceding month. In comparison, Air India (Domestic) flew 69,000 more passengers in April as compared to the previous month.
The latest data collated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation show that in April the domestic airlines carried 41.88 lakh passengers, an increase of almost seven per cent over the previous month.
The performance of the industry has been much better at 26 per cent if a year-on-year comparison is made. The data show that April has been the best month for the industry during this calendar year both in terms of number of passengers carried and seat factors recorded.
All the eight airlines have reported improvement in their seat factors, which indicates the number of seats occupied on each flight, in April as compared to the previous month this year. Air India (Domestic) saw its seat factor rise to 72.9 per cent in April from 66.5 per cent in March, Jet Airways 74.2 per cent (70.3 per cent), JetLite 78.1 per cent (72.9 per cent), Kingfisher 75.8 per cent (70.1 per cent), SpiceJet 81 per cent (73.5 per cent), Go Air 78 per cent (70 per cent), Paramount 85 per cent (84.7 per cent) and IndiGo 82.4 per cent (74 per cent).
13/05/10 Business Line

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More flyers: January-April tickets show 22% surge

New Delhi: In a positive sign for the beleaguered aviation sector, domestic airlines saw a 22 per cent rise in ticketing in the first four months of 2010 over the same period last year.
Jet Airways continued its dominant position in the domestic market, followed by Kingfisher and Air India, as per air traffic data released by the civil aviation ministry on Thursday.A total of 162.82 lakh passengers travelled in the first four months of this year, against 133.41 lakh a year ago. The total number of domestic passengers carried by the scheduled airlines in April was 41.88 lakh. The figure was 39.03 lakh in the previous month.
13/05/10 HIndustan Times

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Air traffic vaults 26% in April

New Delhi: The new fiscal has started on an upbeat note for domestic airlines. Passenger numbers increased 26% in April, with carriers taking 41.88 lakh passengers to the skies, government data showed. Most domestic carriers saw flight occupancy of 70-80% as demand improved in April. Domestic carriers have maintained double digit growth for the past many months on the back of a robust economy.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, domestic airlines carried 162.82 lakh passengers in January-April this year, up 22% over 133.41 lakh in the corresponding period last year. “Airfare has also been on the lower side. In spite of the market’s ability to absorb higher fares, airlines have been reluctant to raise tariffs,” Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation India CEO Kapil Kaul said. Domestic air traffic has shifted towards low-cost airlines, benefiting budget carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet.
14/05/10 Economic Times

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Domestic Passengers Carried by Indian Scheduled Airlines in the Month of April, 2010

The total domestic passengers carried by the Scheduled Airlines of India in the month of April, 2010 was 41.88 lakhs. The total passengers carried by domestic airlines in the month of March, 2010 was 39.03 lakhs. The break-up for the month of April, 2010 is as follows:
Air India (Domestic) – 7.62, Jet Airways – 7.66 lakhs, Jet Lite – 3.18 lakhs, Kingfisher – 8.98 lakhs, Spice Jet – 5.27 lakhs, Paramount – 0.13 lakhs, Go Air – 2.46 lakhs, IndiGo – 6.58 lakhs.
The percentage share of the carriers in the month of April, 2010 was:
Air India (Domestic) 18.2%, Jet Airways – 18.3%, Jet Lite – 7.6%, Kingfisher –21.4%, Spice Jet – 12.6%, Paramount – 0.3%, Go Air – 5.9% and IndiGo – 15.7%.
The seat factors of the domestic airlines in the month of April, 2010 was:
Air India (Domestic) – 72.9%, Jet Airways – 74.2%, JetLite – 78.1%, Kingfisher Airlines – 75.8%, Spice Jet – 81.0%, Paramount Airways – 85.0%, Go Air – 78.0% and IndiGo – 82.4%.
13/05/10 PRESS RELEASE/Press Information Bureau

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Paramount, Jet receive highest number of complaints

Mumbai: Paramount Airways and Jet Airways had the highest number of passenger complaints for March 2010, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) figures. The industry average of the number of passenger-related complaints was 4.5 per 10,000 passengers carried for March.
While Paramount clocked 15.2 passenger complaints per 10,000, Jet comes second with 8.7. The two airlines also had the highest number of cancellations, with Paramount accounting for 6.9 per cent, Jet Airways for 3.9, while its low-cost carrier (LCC) JetLite accounted for 4.4 per cent, much higher than the overall cancellation rate of 1.9 per cent.
Jet Airways and JetLite together have the largest market share within domestic scheduled airlines at 26 per cent, while Paramount has the lowest market share at 1.3 per cent. Paramount Airways operates predominantly within the four southern Indian states.
Three LCCs, that is, JetLite, GoAir and SpiceJet, also have a higher than industry average number of passenger complaints with a complaint rate of 5.7, 6.9 and 7.5 per 10,000 passengers carried, respectively.
Three airlines with a better than industry average record in passenger complaints are IndiGo, Kingfisher Airlines and the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil), which flies under the Air India brand, with passenger complaints of 2.2, 1.9 and 0.9, respectively.
14/05/10 Sneha Kupekar/Business Standard

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Babus ground ethics for aviation jobs

Senior officials of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the country's civil aviation regulator, have allegedly breached ethics to ensure that their children get jobs in private airlines at hefty pay packages.
As conflict of interest is staring at their face, their alibi is that they have obtained prior approval from the ministry of civil aviation. But investigations by MAIL TODAY revealed that it is true only for certain DGCA officials.
Even if they do, they continue to regulate and maintain oversight of the same airlines their children work for.
Take DGCA director-general SNA Zaidi, who is charged with regulating all airlines operating in India. His son, a lawyer, was employed by Jet Airways in its legal division.
Zaidi is not alone. Joint director-general R. P. Sahi's son works as a first officer for Jet Airways.
Deputy director-general A. K. Sharan's daughter is a co-pilot at Indigo. Director of air transport Lalit Gupta's daughter worked with Indigo for three years. She was, until recently, the airline's assistant manager (commercial). Before joining Indigo, she was employed with SpiceJet for two years.
Deputy director-general Charan Dass's daughter is an engineer with SpiceJet. Director (air safety) R.S. Passi's daughter flies for SpiceJet. Chief flight operations inspector Capt H.Y. Samant's daughter is a pilot with Indigo. In some cases, officers themselves joined private airlines soon after retirement in violation of service rules.
The central government's conduct rules prohibit officials from accepting offers from private organisations with whom they have dealt with in their official capacity. If there is a case of conflict of interest, it is mandatory to make full disclosure.
It is this disclosure that has become the defence armour for some DGCA officials, who have claimed immunity saying they sought the civil aviation ministry's permission before their children took up jobs in private airlines. But it is also true that there is no mechanism to ensure that the officials concerned recuse themselves from handling the airlines that have employed their children, rendering the full disclosure clause meaningless.
13/05/10 Ajmer Singh/Mail Today/India Today

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Airlines' fight over maintenance may ground sky marshals

Mumbai: In 2001, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) asked all airlines to have sky marshals on board. All these years, Air India has been bearing the expenses of the sky marshals and the other airlines are in turn supposed to reimburse Air India for the expenses.
Air India has been the single point contact for the NSG, which provides sky marshals, for better co-ordination.
The National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil), which operates Air India, has threatened to pull out of the arrangements, unless private airlines comply with their part of the agreement and pay up their dues.
Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are believed to have the largest amounts due by virtue of operating more number of flights than other private airlines.
Earlier, Nacil complained to the home ministry about private airlines not paying their dues, as decided earlier, to it. The home ministry then asked the civil aviation ministry to sort out the matter.
In a meeting convened by the civil aviation ministry, all airlines agreed to pay the amount due to Air India.
However, Air India is yet to receive the dues from some of the airlines.
13/05/10 Sneha Kupekar/Business Standard

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Govt scouting for pvt partners for plane project

New Delhi: Government today said it was scouting private partners to fulfil its ambitious plans to design and develop an indigenous medium-range civilian transport aircraft.
Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan said the government had already set up a 15-member high-power committee headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief G Madhavan Nair to prepare a feasibility report on development of the 80-100 seater aircraft.
The National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL), a Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) institute, has been tasked to lead the national effort to develop the civilian aircraft.
There have been a couple of attempts to develop a regional transport aircraft earlier, but officials claim that this time round the project has been taken up on mission mode.
The NAL will be the main agency to implement the project in association with state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The design centre for the regional civilian aircraft project will be set up in Bangalore under the supervision of NAL and private partners will be involved right from the design stage, CSIR Director General Samir Kumar Brahmachari had said.
11/05/10 PTI/Zee News

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Ministry keeps norm on overseas flights at five years of service

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry won’t shorten the minimum norm of five years of service for domestic carriers seeking to fly overseas as the group of ministers (GoM) discussing this has been disbanded, said two officials with knowledge of the matter.
The 12-member GoM had been formed in 2007 to take a view on a proposed civil aviation policy, of which the rule change on overseas operations was a part.
The move means that overseas services will be limited to carriers with five years of domestic experience and 20 aircraft.
“Private domestic airlines have been permitted to fly on overseas routes subject to specified guidelines,” civil aviation minister Praful Patel had said, referring to SpiceJet Ltd and Kingfisher, which had been granted international flying approval as they had completed five years.
InterGlobe Aviation Pvt. Ltd-run IndiGo has already sought approval to fly abroad next year when it turns five. Turning five this year are GoAir (India) Pvt. Ltd and Paramount Airways Pvt. Ltd, but they fall short on the fleet requirement front, with eight and two aircraft, respectively.
11/05/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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GHG emissions from aviation almost doubled

New Delhi: The government has revised India's greenhouse gas emission estimates after 13 years and has found one fact unchanged — India has one of the lowest per capita emissions of GHG gases in the emerging economies and at merely 1.5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per capita it continues to be way below that of the developed countries.
The GHG gas inventory is based on data for 2007 and comes more than a decade after the last one which was prepared on the basis of 1994 data.
In 1994, Indian emissions stood at 1.23 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. They saw a nearly 60% jump to 1.73 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. But despite this leap in emissions, even on gross basis, India's emissions continued to be nearly 1/5th of that US despite being home to nearly 17% of the world population.
Interestingly, emissions from aviation have increased substantially more when compared with other modes of transport. "The contribution of civil aviation to GHG has almost doubled," Ramesh pointed out while detailing the report.
The highest contributions to emissions, as expected, continue to be from the electricity production and distribution systems with 37.8% of total emissions being from this sector. The emissions from energy production have increased at 5.6% on a compounded annual growth rate basis. Transport continues to be the second biggest contributor with 7.5% of the emissions arising out of the fossil fuel burnt in transportation which includes aviation, shipping, railways and road transport.
12/05/10 Times of India

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To avoid Europe, passengers look for Far East routes to US

Mumbai: Uncertainty in the European airspace has forced many passengers to opt for alternative routes through the Far East to fly to the United States.
“Passengers to the US are asking us to book tickets via the Far East. They want to avoid travel via Europe,” said Rajendra Rateria, president of the Travel Agents Association of India, western region.
“In April, flight cancellations and delays had resulted in many passengers losing out on hotel bookings. Commuters may miss their connecting flights owing to delays,” he said.
On Tuesday, volcanic ash over the middle-Atlantic forced many flights to take deviated routes and caused flight delays, said Air India spokesperson.
12/05/10 Indian Express

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Mahindra Satyam eyes aircraft making

Bangalore: Information technology firm Mahindra Satyam is looking to leverage group synergies to move from aerospace design services to manufacturing of components. The firm has begun to build on a few contracts that will include design plus manufacturing, a top company executive has said.
The move towards ‘design to build’ will help the firm garner a bigger pie of the Indian outsourced aerospace engineering market, valued between $600 million and $700 million. The market, without the defence offset windfall, is expected to balloon to $4 billion by 2020.
“We are getting ready for the offset. We are a design services company. Now we are getting into ‘design to build’ because of group synergies. This means we will be able to manufacture as well. This will help in better positioning,” said Karthikeyan Natarajan, VP and head, Integrated Engineering Solutions, Mahindra Satyam.
Under the offset clause, companies bagging defence tenders need to source 30% of the value of the contract awarded from India – this may include IT, engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, maintenance, and MRO. On the defense side, the government is expected to spend $40-50 billion on modernisation programmes over the next five-seven years and to the extent of $100 billion over the next 10-12 years, experts say. This implies $30-$40 billion offset needs to be managed within the country.
11/05/10 Goutam Das/Financial Express

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Mahindra's GippsAero Airvan set to create history

On May 8, 2010, the GA8-TC Airvan from GippsAero, one of Australia’s most reputed aircraft producers which was recently acquired by India’s $6.3 billion Mahindra Group, began its attempt to create history by becoming the first Australian designed and manufactured aircraft to circumnavigate the globe.
Mahindra, GippsAero’s new parent company, is supporting pilots Ken Evers and Tim Pryse in their bid to raise $ 1,000,000 for malaria awareness. Ken and Tim will undertake a historic round the world flight towards this goal and have chosen Bendigo, Australia as their starting point. This is also part of Mahindra’s efforts to help promote stronger ties between both countries.
The aircraft took off from Bendigo Aerodrome in Bendigo, Victoria Australia, after an official take-off ceremony, attended by government representatives from the State of Victoria. The citizens of Bendigo were also present on this historic occasion. Ken and Tim are currently headed to Norfolk Island - the first leg of their Pacific crossing.
Mr. Arvind Mehra said that the Mahindra Group was delighted to extend its support on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of Australian aviation. The Group is especially proud that Ken and Tim have chosen to fly the GippsAero Airvan on its maiden flight across the globe, which speaks highly of the strength and endurance of the aircraft. He went on to say that the flight would provide the company with valuable feedback which could be used to improve the product’s competitiveness further. He concluded by stating that both Mahindra and GippsAero commended Ken and Tim on this initiative and said he looked forward to welcoming the GA8-TC Airvan to Bangalore, India in June, where Gippsland’s parent, Mahindra Aerospace is based. The flight will be formally commemorated there as a symbolic gesture to foster Indo-Australian friendship.
10/05/10 India Infoline

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Ash cloud likely to delay more flights

Mumbai: Several international flights may continue to be delayed as they will have to take longer routes to India owing to the cloud of ash hovering over the North Atlantic, according to airlines.
An Air India spokesperson said the airline’s flight arrivals were delayed by 1.5 to three hours on Tuesday. “Our flights from the US and Canada are expected to be delayed because of ash clouds.”
International flights of Jet Airways that operates three flights from Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai to/from Brussels, would also be late, said a spokesperson for Jet Airways.
11/05/10 Indian Express

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Pilots told to practise in simulated rains, so that fliers are safe

Mumbai: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines to ensure their pilots undergo additional simulator training to handle adverse weather conditions, a move aimed at improving passenger safety during the monsoon.

Although such instructions are issued every year, the DGCA said it has specified additional requirements which would be enforced strictly this year.

A note issued to all airlines on May 6 has asked them to put their pilots through simulator sessions, irrespective of whether they have flown previously during monsoons. DGCA said that it would pay special attention to first-time commanders during monsoons.

“We are taking special measures to bring about improved safety standards. We want airlines to organise training sessions for all their pilots. In the previous years this was largely considered to be a voluntary excercise. This year we have made it compulsory for all airlines,” said Dr Nasim Zaidi, Director General of Civil Aviation.

The DGCA circular says, “Analysis has shown that most of the incidents and accidents, that have occurred, were not generally attributable to inadequacies in aircraft performance but occurred mostly due to various deficiencies/shortcomings of the human element”.

10/05/10 Ranjani Raghavan/Indian Express

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Airlines Restoring Capacity on International Sectors: IATA

New Delhi: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) Sunday said airlines worldwide have begun restoring capacity on international sectors which was drastically affected during the global recession.

"Airlines are bringing capacity back into international air travel and air freight markets. But at a much slower pace than the expansion in demand," the IATA said in its latest publication on the aviation industry.

This, it said, was despite the damage caused to the industry by the volcanic ash crisis recently in Europe. The airline shares, it said, were still 15 percent higher in 2010.

"The passenger capacity available in the international sectors grew by two percent, compared to a travel expansion of over 10 percent since March last year," it stated.

International air travel volumes grew annually at nine percent, while air freight expanded at 26 percent.

10/05/10 IANS/Daijiworld.com

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Indian carriers set to connect more UK cities

New Delhi: India and Britain are set to amend a bilateral pact to allow airlines from the two countries to expand their reach to smaller cities, two civil aviation ministry officials said on condition of anonymity.

The move will set the stage for Air India and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd to enter so-called domestic code-sharing agreements with British Midland Airways (BMI) and British Airways Plc. (BA), respectively, as sought by the Indian carriers earlier this year.

Code sharing allows an airline to include a connecting flight operated by another carrier on its own ticket. The practice is followed mainly for international flights. The expected amendment will make Britain the sixth country in which Indian carriers can have domestic code-sharing pacts, after the US, France, China, Japan and the Netherlands.

The amendment will also put the two Indian carriers on their way to joining global airline alliances, or networks of airlines that have code-sharing agreements with each other.

09/05/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Airlines fight ash effect by changing routes

Mumbai: Ash from Iceland’s Eyjafjoell volcano, which began erupting on April 14, is back to haunt international travellers.

Scores of flights in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and France were cancelled on Sunday as some airspace was closed because of the ash cloud drifting over from Iceland.

Airlines flying to and from India over European airspace have changed their routes leading to marginal delays. They said taking a longer route was better than cancelling flights.

“The arrival of our long-haul flights like the Toronto-London-Amritsar and the one from New York (John F Kennedy airport) to Mumbai is delayed by two hours,” said an Air India spokesperson.

“This is because our aircraft flying from the transatlantic region (which is closed) have taken alternate routes. This is more time- and fuel-consuming.”

A Jet Airways spokesperson said six of their transatlantic flights — from Brussels to North America and back — are running late. “This is because we have taken a different path through the polar route leading to marginal delays. But there are no flight cancellations,” he said.

Airlines have been carrying extra fuel since May 4 when the volcanic ash resurfaced and sent a new plume of 5.5km in the air.

09/05/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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Ogling the BIA babes

Bangalore: For most people, bird watching has only one meaning: Ogling pretty young things. But for 30-odd members of the Aviation Photographers of India (API), bird watching or plane-spotting is checking out bodies which are shapely, no doubt, but are huge, complete with wings and roaring engines.

This group’s sole attraction is planes and religiously on weekends, they head out to Bengaluru International Airport, early morning, to catch the mighty birds land and take off.

The group had modest beginnings with four members in 2008, with Devesh Agarwal, chairman of the Infrastructure Committee, Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce, and an aviation enthusiast, as one of the founding fathers. “Devesh is the one who approached the BIAL authorities. And thanks to their supportive nature, Bangalore is the first city to have a designated plane-spotting platform,” said Siddarth Bhandary, a senior specialist with Nokia Siemens System and a member of the group.

passion for planes

One question that defies logic is what exactly drives these people to get up at unearthly hours and drive about 55-plus kilometres to reach the airport and then stand under the sun to look at planes. “Passion for planes”, pat comes the reply from Nimish Gupta, working with McAfee, another founder.

Said Bhandary, “I am both crazy about planes and photography and what better way to practise?” On the other hand, the most dedicated plane-spotter according to other spotters is Avinash BL who is a student pilot. “If given a chance, he will sit here with a tent and watch planes,” said Agarwal.

10/05/10 Gayatri Nair/Bangalore Mirror

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Anger up in the air may soon cost you Rs 5 lakh

Alarmed by the increasing instances of unruly passengers misbehaving with the cabin crew, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for the first time has proposed a set of rules to deal with unruly passengers.
A DGCA source said, “According to the proposed rules, misbehaviour includes damage to property, even removal of smoke detectors, nagging a steward, trying to touch an air-hostess, getting abusive with the crew or co-passengers or assaulting them. A passenger who indulges in these will attract punishment.”
Nazim Zaidi, DGCA, confirmed having sent the proposed rules to the law ministry for consideration. “A big issue that we are looking to address through this amendment is that of jurisdiction.” This means, even if an offence is committed on foreign airspace in an India-bound flight, a case can be registered and tried in India.
So far, such passengers were to be tried only under the Indian Penal Code. But now, any act which prohibits the crew from discharging their duty will be considered an offence.
Depending on the nature of the misbehaviour, the passenger could be fined up to Rs five lakh or spend a year in jail. The more serious of offences, like getting into physical fights and risking the safety of the aircraft, are also likely to be considered non-bailable offences.
As of now, the Aircraft Rules of 1934 are in force, which do not include punitive measures for passengers who harass or threaten crew members.
In fact, DGCA has had to issue a fresh directive to all airlines to report air rage incident to the Chief of Flight Safety telephonically and submit a written complaint within 12 hours.
08/07/10 Alka Shukla and Aneesh Phadnis/Mumbai Mirror

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‘One shift, one aircraft type’

Mumbai: India’s aviation regulator has found that pilots flying more than one type of aircraft in one duty shift are prone to accidents.
As a result, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a draft on April 30 asking airlines not to roster pilots in more than one type of aircraft in a duty cycle. For instance, a pilot who has flown a Boeing 737 aircraft on a route should not be asked to fly an Airbus 320 in the same shift.
“It is plain logic. You will struggle to drive a Mercedes soon after driving a Maruti,” said Nasim Zaidi, director, DGCA.
Airlines and other stakeholders will have to respond to the draft with suggestions by the end of May.
The regulator’s accident assessment team found that often pilots have to fly different types of aircraft in a single 10-hour shift. In such cases the pilots struggle to adjust to different cockpits and controls.
“We have come across two cases wherein the cause of the accident was the pilots lack of training to handle different cockpits,” said a member of the team requesting anonymity.
08/05/10 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Shell Aviation wins regional best aviation fuel provider award

Shell Aviation has been named the best aviation fuel provider at the first annual Emerging Markets Aviation Awards after they received 400 votes from the customers
Shell Aviation has been named the best aviation fuel provider at the first annual Emerging Markets Aviation Awards’ (EMAA) ceremony, a prestigious event held during the Airport Show, which recently took place at the Dubai Airport Expo.
The awards recognise the achievements of companies in emerging markets of the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Russia and the CIS countries. Frost & Sullivan, the business research and consulting firm, audited the awards. A panel of jury members from the aviation and airports industry selected the winning entries in 23 service categories. Shell Aviation received over 400 votes from customers for the best fuel provider category.
07/05/10 AddPR.com

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Pawan Hans to get mini Ratna status: Praful Patel

New Delhi: Government will soon grant mini Ratna status to Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited (PHHL) which plans to acquire 100 helicopters over the next few years, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said today.
"Pawan Hans will get mini Ratna status soon. It will also have a Board of independent Directors," he said while inaugurating the new corporate office of the state-owned helicopter firm at NOIDA.
The Airports Authority of India is the only aviation PSU which has been accorded the mini Ratna status so far.
Patel said PHHL, which is already the biggest chopper company, has plans to acquire 100 helicopters in the next few years.
06/05/10 Press Trust of India

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Pay more to fly abroad this summer

New Delhi: Planning a trip abroad this summer holiday? Be prepared to pay more for your flight tickets.
Over the last few days, many airlines have quietly hiked fares — from as low as three per cent to 50 per cent. Aviation and travel experts attribute the hike to demand-supply mismatch as well as the Icelandic volcanic eruptions, which disrupted air travel to Europe and North America for close to a week last month, costing the airline industry millions of dollars.
“Qatar Airways has hiked its Delhi-London-Delhi economy fare from Rs 12,000 to Rs 20,000 from May,” said Rajji Rai, president, Travel Agents Association of India. That’s a 40 per cent increase.
Passenger traffic increases by an average 25-30 per cent during the holiday season, said Bhavna Aggarwal, vice-president of travel portal Yatra.com. On certain routes, the increase is as much as 40 per cent.
06/05/10 Tushar Srivastava/Hindustan Times

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Volcano spews ash again, summer uncertainty feared

Mumbai: Ash from the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull again caused the closure of airspace in Ireland and parts of Britain for hours on Tuesday, but this did not impact flights from India to Europe or the UK.
When Eyjafjallajokull erupted on April 14, flights to and from Europe were disrupted for about a week, leading to widespread chaos at airports around the world as passengers remained stranded.
On Tuesday, an increase in volcanic activity resulted in a fresh ash plume being pushed about 5.5km into the air. Due to wind conditions, the cloud moved towards the northern parts of the UK.
Airlines in India, which have services to the UK, said they are monitoring the situation and haven’t cancelled flights. “We got to know that there is no problem yet and have not cancelled any flights to London or the rest of the UK,” a spokesperson for Air India said. A private carrier, which has recently started flights to London, said they are operating normally.
05/05/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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39 pilots found alco-positive before flight

New Delhi: As many as 39 pilots or co-pilots were found alco-positive during the pre-flight breath-analyzer test last year, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told the Rajya Sabha today.
"39 cases have been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) from January 2009 to December 2009, where pilots or co-pilots were found to have consumed alcohol during pre-flight breath-analyzer test," Patel said in a written reply.
He said action was taken against them as per the Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR), section 5, series F, Part 3, which says that any crew member found alco-positive during pre-flight breath-analyzer test should be kept off flying duty for at least four weeks. And the employer company initiates disciplinary proceedings against him.
05/05/10 Zee News

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Demand takes off, but capacity yet to take flight

Mumbai, Bangalore: The wide chasm between the demand and supply in the airline industry is closing, but not all airlines are rushing to expand their capacity.
After having burnt their fingers in the glut between 2006 and 2008—sinking into a loss of over Rs 9,000 crore—domestic carriers are being cautious about their expansion plans despite strong demand returning.
Samyukth Sridharan, chief commercial officer of SpiceJet Ltd, says his airline is not getting carried away by the recent spurt in domestic air travel and is sticking to its plans of inducting five more aircraft this year.
“Yes, if you look at the last quarter, demand is closer to supply but airlines are still cautious and are not aggressively expanding their fleets. Talking about ourselves, we inducting only those aircraft which are in the pipeline,” he said.
Sridharan said the budget carrier was looking at placing new orders for planes but not in immediate future.
Another industry expert said most airlines were shying away from swelling their capacity because the demand is still very price-sensitive and any shift in the supply would intensify the fare war and disrupt their flight to profitability.
“Airlines would be jeopardising their chances of turning around during the current fiscal if they expand now. Demand is very price-sensitive and is not sustainable,” he said.
According to him, every airline is reacting differently to the current jump in demand depending on the extent of red blot on its balance sheet.
04/05/10 Neha Rishi & Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Span Air signs for second Bell 429

Bell Helicopter has announced that Span Air Pvt. Ltd. has signed an agreement to purchase its second 429 following a demonstration of the world's newest helicopter.
Headquartered in New Delhi, Span Air is a pioneer of private air charter services that operates the light, single-engine Bell 407 as well as fixed-wing aircraft. An original 429 customer, Span Air is to receive its first new light, twin-engine helicopter later this year. Its second 429 is scheduled for delivery in early 2011.
"The 429 is a great machine to fly," said Capt. S.K. Malik, leader of Span Air, who piloted the light twin on a demonstration flight during its recent tour of India. "The Bell 429 clearly and comprehensively stands superior to twins from competing manufacturers in terms of range, speed, passenger cabin volume and comfort. The 429's operating costs are in the most competitive range, which will be very useful for charter operators."
Span Air serves business executives and VIPs who need to travel to remote sites in comfort and privacy and to major cities on their own schedules.
03/05/10 Shephard

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Low-cost biz class fails to worry competition

New Delhi: Full-service carriers remain unfazed by the introduction of the business class segment by budget airlines.
Jet Konnect and GoAir’s launch of a business class segment, a first by low-cost airline carriers (LCCs), has failed to create much concern among full-service carriers (FSCs).
“The Jet Konnect flights with business class arrangement are connecting smaller cities and do not clash with our full-service Jet Airways flights. Also, on the prime sector, timings are different, hence, not impacting our business,” said a Jet Airways executive who did not want to be identified.
“Any business class flier in our airline will not be attracted to the LCC business class. Our business class occupancy will continue to remain the same,” said a Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson.
Jet Konnect, a Jet Airways brand, recently introduced a business class accommodation called Konnect Select in all of their 17 operational aircraft. The fares of these are 35 per cent cheaper than the business class in FSCs.
GoAir also launched ‘Go Business’ in all their aircraft. At just Rs 1,000 more than the low-cost GoAir fares, the airline provides priority check–in, complimentary food and no re-booking and penalty charges.
03/05/10 Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

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Testing the waters: IGGA expands to Maldives

Male: Maldives, being an island nation scattered over roughly 90,000 square kilometres in the Indian Ocean depends heavily on sea and air transportation. Although local scheduled flights fly within the country to the three domestic and two international airports, Maldivians have been relying mainly on sea transportation to travel between the islands.
The local aviation sector still needs to be developed into a fully-fledged industry raising doubts whether Maldives has a potential market for aviation companies.
But more islands are being developed into resorts and more airports are expected.
InterGlobe General Aviation (IGGA), a group company of InterGlobe Enterprises based in India is trying to break the ground by expanding to Maldives. The company has signed an exclusive agreement with Pacific Aerospace to sell P-750 XSTOL (Extremely Short Take Off and Landing) aircraft in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Maldives.
In an exclusive interview with Haveeru, Nigel Harwood, President and CEO of InterGlobe General Aviation expressed his belief that “the company’s interesting product offerings would be ideal for the Maldives market,” and that “more aircrafts would fly in the country in the near future.”
02/05/10 Ali Naafiz/Haveeru Online

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Rain gods, air traffic play havoc on flights

Mumbai: Poor weather in Delhi clubbed with peak-hour air congestion delayed at least half-a-dozen flights, particularly those from Delhi to Mumbai, on Friday night.
Planes continued circling over the city only to be diverted to places like Ahmedabad to refuel and return. “Our Delhi-Mumbai flight, which was supposed to leave at 7.50 pm, took off at 9.30 pm,’’ said Dhiren Kanwar, a passenger on Go Air’s G8-171. “We reached Mumbai at 11.30 pm, only to hover over the city for a while before flying to Ahmedabad where it halted for 25 minutes. When the flight eventually landed at 3.20 am, the commander informed the passengers that the night’s diversions and delays had cost the airline Rs 4-5 lakh more.’’
Ashwini Naik, a passenger on Air India Delhi-Mumbai flight 810, had a similar, but not so trying an experience. “My flight took off at 6.15 pm, just 15 minutes behind schedule. But when we were over Vadodara around 7.30 pm, the commander said the Mumbai runway had been shut for about 30 minutes for an emergency landing. We finally landed at 9 pm. We reached the terminal building only by 9.25 pm as the aircraft was apparently given a remote bay.’’
However, the Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson clarified that there was no emergency landing on Friday night and the runway was not shut for regular flights.
02/05/10 Times of India

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Jet fuel rates raised by Rs 273 per kl

New Delhi: State-owend oil retailers today raised jet fuel, or ATF prices, by Rs 273 per kilolitre, making it the fifth straight increase since March.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) rates in Delhi have been raised by Rs 272.77, or 0.6 per cent, to Rs 42,452.02 per kilolitre with effect from midnight tonight, an official of the Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest oil firm, said.
Jet fuel constitutes roughly 40 per cent of the operating cost of an airline and today's increase in fuel rates would put a nominal, but extra burden on Indian carriers.
It was, however, not immediately clear if airlines will pass this burden to passengers.
30/04/10 Press Trust of India

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Cleartrip.com wins 'Favourite Travel Portal' award

Paying testament to service excellence, Cleartrip (www.cleartrip.com), was adjudged the Favourite Travel Portal by the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller’s Readers’ India Travel Awards 2010. This coveted honour bears testimony to Cleartrip’s dedication in continuously innovating and providing customers with a refreshingly simple booking experience.
Condé Nast Traveller magazines’ annual Readers' Travel Awards are recognized internationally as a benchmark for excellence in the travel and tourism industry. Every year the magazine’s readers are invited to vote online for their choice of the best the travel world has to offer. This year, to celebrate the October 2010 launch of Condé Nast Traveller in India, British Condé Nast Traveller magazine, together with Vogue.com and cntraveller.
in, launched a unique digital Readers' India Travel Awards. Discerning, opinionated and well-travelled audiences were asked to determine the finest that India has to offer. With 15 categories to vote for - including favourite travel portals, cities, states, hotels, airports, airlines and more – the jury was looking for readers’ insights, interests and preferences.
Launched in July 2006, Cleartrip (www.cleartrip.com) is one of the top three online travel companies in India with 35% market share.
30/04/10 India Infoline

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