Arunachal governor arranges chopper for pregnant woman

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh governor Brig (Retd) BD Mishra arranged for evacuating a lady in urgent need of medical attention from Tawang to Itanagar by requisitioning an Army helicopter from the Air Force Station in Tezpur on Wednesday.
The governor, who was attending the ‘Maitree Diwas’ at Tawang on Wednesday, directed two of his officers to accommodate an expecting woman and her husband in their chopper after he heard about her condition from a conversation between chief minister Pema Khandu and Lumla MLA Jambey Tashi, Raj Bhavan sources here informed.
The condition of the patient was critical and was likely to be deteriorate as there was no chopper service from Guwahati to Tawang for the next three days.
The governor then asked the chief minister to arrange to send the patient to Itanagar in the helicopter he would travel. However, his helicopter, due to lack of fuel, could not fly directly to Itanagar and had to land at Tezpur for refuelling. After refuelling, the pilot noticed a technical snag in the chopper and the flight had to be aborted.
30/11/18 Times of India

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Air forces of the US and India to hold joint exercise 'Cope India 2019'

Air forces of the United States and India are scheduled to participate in a 12-day joint exercise 'Cope India 2019' at two air force stations in West Bengal next month, the US Consulate said here Thursday.

The exercise will be held from December 3 to 14 at Air Station Kalaikunda and Air Station Arjan Singh (Panagarh).
The exercise showcases efforts and commitment of the two nations to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, a communique from the US Consulate said.
The Cope India exercise is being held after a gap of eight years, with the last one having taken place in 2010.
"Exercise CI19 is a long-standing bilateral US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF)-sponsored Field Training Exercise (FTX), conducted with the Indian Air Force (IAF), focused on enhancing US-Indian mutual cooperation and building on existing capabilities, aircrew tactics and force employment," the communique said.
29/11/18 PTI/Economic Times

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India must renegotiate plan for HAL to build Rafale aircraft

The political controversy surrounding the procurement of the Rafale aircraft against a long-standing requirement of the Indian Air Force drew in its wake one more victim, with the president of the principal Opposition party addressing a gathering of past and present employees at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bangalore.

The three pillars on which national air power rests are the IAF, research and development and associated aeronautics’ manufacturing infrastructure and, to a lesser extent, civil aviation. The growth of HAL since Independence has been linked to that of the IAF: not only has the IAF been its biggest customer, but it has also provided test pilots, engineers, test facilities and three managing directors/chairmen who then moved on to become the chief of air staff. On the financial front, in the initial years, HAL billing to the IAF was on a cost plus basis. In later years, while fixed costs were quoted, HAL budgets were bridged by IAF and HAL mutually adjusting the annual man-hour rates to cover deficits.

As aeronautics and space activities expanded in the country, there was the welcome entry of private enterprises in the small and medium sector. This continues to expand with offset obligations for imports and Make in India efforts. HAL has been listed on the stock exchange and government holding diluted to nearly 90 per cent. These are welcome steps towards larger private ownership. In the long run, HAL must stand on its own to compete internationally, unshackled from the control of the ministry of defence and its dependence on the IAF, its one major customer.

The political debate surrounding the reasons why the previous proposal to manufacture Rafale aircraft at HAL was dropped has turned into one in which HAL finds itself on the back foot. The reasons why no agreement was reached are as follows: Dassault’s unwillingness to take responsibility for the quality of aircraft produced at HAL and, second, enhanced costs associated with HAL production man-hours being 2.7 times those of Dassault.
29/11/18 Brijesh D. Jayal/Telegraph

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Ministry of Civil Aviation & Airport Authority of India (AAI) announce the “Global Aviation Summit 2019”

New Delhi: In its endeavour to recognize the fast growth of the aviation sector, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India and the Airport Authority of India (AAI) in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) today announced the Global Aviation Summit, with an overarching theme of “Flying for all – especially for the next 6 billion”. The event is supported by ICAO, IATA, ACI and CANSO.
The Summit will be held on 15-16 January, 2019 at The Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, the financial capital of India. The Summit aims to focus on the celebration of ‘Flying for All’ and to provide a platform to the aviation fraternity to highlight the challenges of the sector in the newly developing growth spots. The Summit provides a platform to the stakeholders to brainstorm over the future of the aviation industry and identify the growth areas.
Speaking at the announcement of the Global Aviation Summit, Shri Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Civil Aviation and Commerce & Industry said, “The reason behind hosting the Global Aviation Summit here is because India is one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. This Summit will provide a platform to the global aviation fraternity to display the challenges of the sector in the newly developing growth spots and understand how technology- driven innovation will shape the air travel industry in India”.
29/11/18 Orissadiary.com

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Air fares soar as flyers head for winter vacay

Lucknow: If you are planning to fly to your favourite destination for winter vacation then be ready to shell out a hefty sum for flight tickets. For journey by train, ‘tatkal’ ticket is the only option as most of the trains have a long waiting list.

The most preferred destinations of Lucknowites are Goa, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Pune for Christmas and New Year’s eve celebrations. This is the reason that demand for tickets on December 24 and 30 is very high, with air fares expected to soar up to Rs 1,20,000 in some international flights.

Trains, too, are booked as most of the prominent trains have an average waiting of 50 seats. A select few have only 5-10 seats available.

However, travellers who had anticipated the mad rush situation had planned their trips in advance and booked the tickets as early as October, as per the ticket booking data of airlines companies and railways.

For foreign trips, holidayers from Lucknow prefer destinations such as Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore. And as seats in flights for these destinations are getting filled, fares are soaring.
29/11/18 Urooj Khan/Times of India

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HAL CEO says Rafale deal negotiations with Dassault Aviation went south due to disagreements over technology transfer

industan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) CEO R Madhavan in an interview answered questions over the Rafale deal negotiations with Dassault Aviation, saying that the deal breaker was because of disagreement over technology transfer and that HAL man hour rates are lower than global rates. The CEO also asserted that the focus must be on the final cost.

The clarifications came from the CEO after BJP minister Babul Supriyo on 27 September had indicated that HAL lost on the Rafale deal because it quoted 2.57 times more man-hours to build fighter jets. In an interview with CNN-News18, Madhavan also said that HAL is not actively looking for any offset business offers and said that "we work in offset business if it is in our domain."

Madhavan had further stated that HAL is primarily engaged in manufacturing aircraft and it has technology transfer agreement with foreign original equipment manufacturer (OEM) but as far as offset is concerned, "we are not going to actively pursue offset deal."

While talking about the deal with Dassault, he said that first quote by the French aviation firm was 170 percent higher.

HAL was to produce 108 fighter jets locally in a joint venture with French firm Dassault Aviation in the deal for 126 Rafale jets that the previous UPA regime had negotiated. The state-owned firm, however, was left out in the deal as the present government signed to buy 36 fighter jets in 'fly-away' condition from France, reported PTI.
28/11/18 First Post

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Your budget airline costs more than a full service one

New Delhi: Following massive outcry on social media against its move to charge for selection of any seat during web check-in, effectively making it a paid service, IndiGo on Monday tweaked its decision.

IndiGo's modified statement that "some seats will be available for free, depending on the market dynamics" seems to be a desperate attempt by a cash strapped airline — that has seen its profits not just drop but also incurred a loss — to earn even the proverbial pennies on a dollar. Which is not surprising considering that the fig leaf of budget airline tag on IndiGo turns translucent on careful scrutiny.

Pricier tickets: A comparison on the basis of the sectors or flights, along with the timings, reveals that IndiGo's ticket prices are either in the vicinity of or expensive than a full service airline such as Vistara or Jet Airways — even without the add-ons like the recently proposed web check-in fee.
Extra toppings: IndiGo also charges for seat selection at the time of booking, which ranges between Rs 100 to Rs 850, plus Rs 250-Rs 300 for a meal, depending on whether you choose vegetarian or a non-vegetarian option, along with Rs 450 as convenience fee for booking — all of which could add anywhere between Rs 800-1,600 to the cost of the ticket. While Vistara includes meals and doesn't charge for seat selection, Jet Airways charges Rs 450 as convenience fee.
Attracting attention: IndiGo's decision for charging its passengers for web check-in has attracted the attention of the Ministry of Civil Aviation which has decided to examine if they are part of the unbundled pricing framework — the concern being that passengers, in order to avoid paying for web check-in, will be queuing up at the airport counters for the free check-in, which could add substantially to the check-in time.
27/11/18 Times of India.
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Boy flees home after argument, held at airport after using mother’s card to book flight

New Delhi: A 12-year-old boy who tried to flee to Bengaluru after having an altercation with parents, was intercepted at the Delhi airport by the police. The Class 8 boy booked flight tickets from Delhi to Bengaluru from his mother's card, as soon as she received an alert on her phone, the parents informed the Faridabad police.

According to a report in the Times of India, the boy was intercepted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and returned to his family members. The incident happened on Friday night at around 10 pm when the Vistara Airlines staff received a call from the police stating that a 12-year-old boy will board the flight to Bengaluru.

Reportedly, as soon as the parents informed the police, the Delhi police was informed and an immediate action was taken. After receiving the call the Vistara Airlines spotted the minor and handed over to the IGI police station.
The police officials told TOI that while enquiry the boy mentioned that he left his home after a disagreement over an issue with his parents. Reportedly, he also informed his parents before leaving home.
27/11/18 Mirror Now News.com

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Airline staff at Delhi airport foils 12-year-old’s plans

New Delhi: A 12-year-old boy who had run away from his house in Faridabad would have made his way to Bengaluru had it not been for an SMS alert his mother received just minutes after he booked a ticket on a Vistara Airlines flight from Delhi.

The boy was intercepted at IGI Airport and returned to his family. The incident occurred on Friday at around 10pm when the Vistara Airlines staff counter at IGI received a call from Delhi police that a 12-year-old boy would try to board a flight to Bengaluru.

The boy — a Class VII student — had a disagreement with his parents and decided to leave home. He booked the flight ticket using his mother’s card. His parents immediately called Faridabad police upon getting the SMS notification.

The police there informed Delhi police at the airport which sprang into action and asked Vistara Airlines to be alert and detain a minor boy who may try to board flight UK 811 to Bengaluru. The boy was intercepted as soon as he got there and was taken to the IGI police station.

27/11/18 Jasjeev Gandhiok/Times of India

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Former Air India chairman JRD Tata cleaned the airline's dirty toilet and wiped off dirt; story inside

The former chairman of the TATA Group, late Mr. JRD Tata stood to his commitments when it came to maintaing the zeal to work. JRD Tata was so committed to Tata Airlines that even after India’s first commercial airline was nationalised into Air India he continued taking deep personal interest in the functioning of the carrier as its chairman.

Author Shashank Shah in his book claimed that as Air India Chairman, JRD Tata once "rolled up his sleeves" and helped the crew clean a dirty aircraft toilet. If Tata saw a dirty airline counter, he would wipe it himself, Shah said. Tata would take personal interest in issues like air hostesses' hairstyle and colour of their saris, he added.

The book traces the history of 25 Tata group companies using insider accounts from 100 senior Tata leaders. Published by Penguin, the book will be available in the market from next month.
25/11/18 Catch News

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Organ donation: Health Min asks DGCA to involve airlines for speedy transportation

New Delhi: In a move aimed at saving donated organs from being wasted due to delay in the transportation process, the Union Health Ministry is in talks with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for roping in airlines for speedy transportation..

A senior official from the Union Health Ministry said that the talks are still in the nascent stage as huge cost during transportation is involved in the process. "In light of the time sensitivity of organ transplantation, every second counts. To cut down wastage of organs and save precious lives, we have approached the DGCA. We are not sure about the private airlines but hope that our own Air India might come forward to do the noble job," he said.

When asked who will foot the bill for transportation, the official refused to give the details saying that the matter is still being discussed with concerned authorities.

In developed countries, flight transportation is very common. As, mostly organ availability and requirement is far away, air transportation is the most reliable way to ensure the organ and patient make it to where they need to be when time is critical. Presently, in India, aerial transport is available in the private sector which comes with a huge cost.

In India, organ donation has always been on a lower side and around 5 lakh people die every year waiting for organs. Lack of knowledge, awareness, infrastructure are some of the reasons behind shortage of organ donation here, said the official.
26/11/18 Pioneer

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India's aviation industry is struggling but its future outlook is bright

Indian airlines have fallen on hard times, battered by soaring oil prices and a weak rupee in recent months.

They may be getting some relief with crude prices softening over the past few weeks, but there remain challenges for the sector in a fiercely competitive market, analysts say.

“These are difficult times and definitely it’s a rough patch,” says Mark Martin, the founder and chief executive of Martin Consulting, an aviation consultancy.

India’s aviation sector supports 7.5 million jobs directly and indirectly in the country and makes up 30 billion rupees (Dh1.56bn) of its gross domestic product, or 1.5 per cent of the economy, according to the International Air Transport Association.

There are seven major airlines that dominate the market, with three full-service companies including the debt-laden, state-owned Air India, and budget operators such as IndiGo and SpiceJet.

With so many airlines, there is rising competition, and as companies add more flights, it has become increasingly difficult to be profitable.
“We have this double whammy of declining yields and increasing costs,” says Binit Somaia, the South Asia director at Capa Centre for Aviation. “We’re seeing an unprecedented increase in capacity on domestic routes, increasing by about 20 per cent year-on-year. Trying to fill a 20 per cent additional capacity is likely to be difficult unless you reduce fares.”
The rise in fuel prices coupled with the depreciation of the rupee meant that the third quarter, which is traditionally a low season for India because of monsoon rains, was particularly difficult for Indian airlines.
25/11/18 Rebecca Bundhun/National

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Why the Indian aviation industry is nosediving

Sometime towards the end of September, an airport was inaugurated at Jharsuguda in Odisha. Jharsuguda is an industrially developed district, rich in minerals and teeming with power plants. According to plan, local carrier Air Odisha was supposed to operate all flights from here. The airport was named after the 19th century tribal leader, Veer Surendra Sai. No less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present at the opening. In his speech, he pointed out that Odisha had only one major airport even after all these years since Independence, whereas a district in Gujarat such as Kutch had five airports. He offered more stats — only 450 aircraft operated in the country since Independence, while in the past one year steps had been taken to add close to 1,000 aircraft.

It is true, air travel in India is booming. At the end of March 2009, all Indian airports put together had handled 68 million passengers. This year, to date, Delhi alone has handled that much traffic. And according to the latest report of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation — the regulatory body for civil aviation under the ministry of civil aviation — between January and September this year, domestic airlines flew 10 crore passengers as against 85 lakh in the corresponding period last year. Simply put, a growth of 20.94 per cent, the highest in the world.

But while air passenger numbers are booming, the sector itself seems to be hurtling towards bust.

The real story of India’s civil aviation industry is in the footnotes, not the headlines.

A fortnight after the grand inauguration, the Veer Surendra Sai airport closed down. Reason: Air Odisha, reportedly owned by relatives of industrialist Gautam Adani, refused to operate.

Air Odisha, which is the most complained about airline for flight cancellations in the country today, cited technical reasons. But this is the unique thing about the Indian aviation industry — almost everybody related to it is making big bucks except the airlines.

Owing to rising aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, the depreciating rupee and competitive ticket pricing, not a single airline in India is earning more than it is spending. The losses run into thousands of crores of rupees.

It is not as if the big players are denying any of this. Recently, Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube wrote a letter to the carrier’s privilege members in which he admitted Jet’s net loss of Rs 1,261 crore incurred during the July-September period.
25/11/18 V. Kumara Swamy/Telegraph

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Indian Aviation In Crisis

First, the good news: India is set to become the third largest aviation market in the world by 2025, behind China and the United States, according to a report by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The bad news? India’s airlines are facing an existential crisis, buffetted by high fuel costs, low ticket prices and clogged airport infrastructure. India’s current annual airline passenger traffic is over 150 million. It is expected to double by 2025 and more than triple to 478 million passengers by 2036.

According to a Bloomberg report by David Fickling, “For all the disagreement in the industry about the future of aviation, there’s perfect accord on one point: there’s going to be a lot more of it. The world’s air passengers flew a combined 7.64 trillion kilometers (4.75 trillion miles) in 2017, according to Boeing Co’s latest 20-year market outlook. By 2037, that will rise to 18.97 trillion kilometers, with about 40 per cent of the increase happening within five intra-regional markets: China, India, North America, Europe and Southeast Asia.

“That’s sparking a battle over the biggest bottleneck holding back this growth: airports. The governments that still own many of them should be more open to privatisation to cover a $78 billion funding gap in needed capital investments, the Airports Council International, an industry group, argued in a report earlier this year.”

The aborted sale of Air India and the financial crisis in Jet Airways symbolise the mismatch in the country’s aviation sector: great potential but poor planning. In the 25th year of its operations, Jet Airways is bleeding. Pilots are being allowed to leave the airline with just 48 hours notice rather than the normal six months period. The airline has 2,000 pilots (including foreign pilots) and 16,000 employees. Clearly, it is overstaffed but the rising cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and a weak rupee have made matters worse. Caught in a low-priced ticket environment, Jet’s ability to increase revenue is limited.

The acquisition of Jet by the Tata group, which owns Vistara Airlines (along with Singapore Airlines) and AirAsia India, is the most viable outcome. The initial obstacle in the way of a deal was Jet Airways’ founder Naresh Goyal’s reluctance to give up control of the airline – an immutable condition for a Tata buyout. Jet’s huge second quarter loss has added a sense of urgency to resolving the airline’s problems. Once the board of Tata Sons clears it, the acquisition of Jet will take several months to conclude, given the complexity of the transaction.
For the Tatas buying Jet makes economic sense. It is a relative bargain at its depleted market capitalisation. A majority stake in Jet would cost the Tatas very little, apart from taking over the airline’s significant gross debt of nearly Rs. 10,000 crore. That would still be worthwhile given Jet’s legacy airport slots at Heathrow, Brussels, Amsterdam and other global hubs. Jet has a fleet of 124 aircraft (though several leased planes are being returned) and a good domestic route network (though here too routes have been cut in the winter schedule in order to reduce costs).
25/11/18 Minhaz Merchant/Business World

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Indian Aviation Faces Headwinds

An inherent contradiction is unnerving the Indian aviation market as growth in passenger numbers hits an all-time high and financial returns an all-time low. Airlines are facing the steepest loss in a decade with a depreciated rupee against the rising U.S. dollar and fuel prices, a fierce and aggressive competitive environment, and failing airport infrastructure. This is “expected to push airlines deep into the red” this year, noted global analytics company Crisil. Consolidation in the industry seems inevitable.

“To offset the increase in operating costs, the industry will have to raise average fares by 12 percent. But the aggressive fleet expansion plans of carriers and the race to maintain high passenger load factors will keep competitive intensity high and limit their ability to increase fares,” said Crisil ratings senior director Sachin Gupta.

According to Sydney-based consultancy Centre for Aviation (CAPA), Indian airlines are expected to post combined losses of up to $1.9 billion this financial year led by full-service carriers Air India and Jet Airways. Even low-cost carrier IndiGo, the country's largest airline in terms of passengers carried and fleet size, reported its first ever loss in September.

Things didn’t go well for financially bleeding Air India, which found no suitors for its partial sale. It is likely to be kept alive as taxpayers’ money keeps getting pumped into it.

Conversely, talks are on between Jet Airways, India’s second-largest airline in which Abu Dhabi-owned Etihad Airways holds a 24 percent share, and the Tata Group for a majority buy. Tata already part-owns two airlines in the country; it owns a majority stake in Gurgaon-based domestic carrier Vistara jointly with Singapore Airlines and it has a 51 percent share in AirAsia India. Recent reports indicate the Tatas would like to abandon the AirAsia India joint venture and focus on building the Vistara-plus-Jet combination into India’s only full-service private airline.
23/11/18 Neelam Mathews/AINonline

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Domestic air passenger growth eases to 14-month low in October

Mumbai: Domestic air traffic rose 13.34 per cent to 1.18 crore in October over the same period a year ago, the lowest in the last 14 months, DGCA data, released on Thursday, showed.

The Wadia group-owned budget carrier GoAir maintained its top position in on time performance(OTP) from four key airports at 90.5 per cent while the largest airline by market share IndiGo was relegated to the fourth position, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data. The January-October cumulative travel demand also surged a healthy 20.11 per cent, at 11.46 crore passengers as per data.
In terms of flying passengers, IndiGo carried 50.75 lakh passengers during the month with a market share of 42.8 per cent, followed by cash-starved Jet Airways along with its subsidiary JetLite, which flew 17.61 lakh passengers with a combined market share of 14.9 per cent. National carrier Air India carried 14.44 lakh passengers with its share in the total domestic traffic pie standing at 12.2 per cent in October. Among others, SpiceJet flew 13.82 lakh passengers while GoAir flew 10.48 lakh passengers during the reporting month.
Third full-service carrier Vistara, unseated SpiceJet from the second position in maintaining flight time punctuality with 88.5 per cent of its aircraft departing and arriving at four airports, Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, on scheduled time as against 86.5 per cent of the Ajay Singh-controlled budget carrier.
The two scheduled commuter airlines, Air Deccan and Air Odisha, which are in the process of ownership change, failed to operate even a single flight during the month with the regulator recording a 100 per cent cancellation of their flights. “GoAir continues to top the on-time performance for second consecutive month. Stringent processes and systems along with a committed ground force of staff drives our operations,” said Cornelis Vrieswijk, chief executive officer, GoAir, on the carrier’s best OTP for the second month on a trot. The Gurugram-based SpiceJet reported the highest passenger load factor among all domestic carriers at 90.8 per cent for the 43rd month in a row followed by GoAir at 84.1 per cent and IndiGo at 83.1 per cent.
23/11/18 Hans India

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Aviation ministry receives letter on MRO’s condition

Mumbai: The MRO Association of India (MAOI) has urged the ministry of civil aviation for urgent attention to the dwindling maintenance, repairs and overhaul (MRO) industry. Declaring the industry’s present state as “critical”, the MAOI has written to the ministry to offer the Indian MRO a fair chance to compete with foreign MROs that enjoy a favourable import tax policy of the government.

The MAOI has stated that lopsided tax policies, after the introduction of the Goods and Service Tax (GST), have led to 90 per cent of the MRO requirements of India being imported, causing severe loss to the MRO industry and tax revenues.

“The Indian MRO business has been on a gradual decline and for the first time in history, has registered negative numbers this year. We cannot stress enough on the plight of our industry and are hoping for government intervention before it’s too late,” said Bharat Malkani, president of MAOI.

The association has highlighted that the Indian tax regime has been benefitting foreign players while putting domestic players at a disadvantage.
24/11/18 Asian Age

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Rafale deal: French NGO Sherpa files complaint against Dassault, seeks clarification

Amid ongoing row over Rafale deal, a French anti-corruption NGO Sherpa has filed a complaint with the country’s financial prosecutor office demanding an investigation into alleged corruption in the fighter-jet deal.

Sherpa, in its complaint, has sought a clarification on the conditions under which 36 fighter aircraft produced by Dassault Aviation were sold to India in 2016 and the choice of its Indian partner.

"The complaint follows the complaint lodged on the 4th of October 2018 by a former Indian Minister and an anti-corruption lawyer with the Central Bureau of Investigation in New Delhi, against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "abuse of authority" and " grant of undue advantages " in connection with the sale of Rafale," said the NGO in a statement.
Sherpa also said that the National Public Prosecutor's Office should promptly investigate the seriousness of the facts and the presumptions on the reported offenses: potential corruption, grant of undue advantages, trading in influence,  complicity of these offences, concealment of corruption and laundering of these offences.

"France cannot do less than India. Cooperation between both countries should be rapidly established, as it is always the case with international grand corruption investigation. Moreover, the hearing of great witnesses is possible and desirable, " said William Bourdon, founder of Sherpa.

The Rafale fighter is a twin-engine Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation. India signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of the Indian Air Force equipment.
24/11/18 DNA

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SpiceJet vs GoAir vs IndiGo vs AirAsia vs Vistara vs Jet Airways vs Air India: Who is India's No. 1 airline? Find out

Demand for Indian aviation is soaring and this is reflected in the massive numbers. The latest report says that India`s domestic air passenger traffic grew by 13.34 per cent in October, 2018. Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data shows that 1.18 crore passengers were ferried by domestic airlines during the month under review, up from 1.045 crore reported during the corresponding month of 2017.

"Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-October 2018 were 1,146.37 lakh (11.46 crore) as against 954.45 lakh (9.54 crore) during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering a growth of 20.11 per cent," the DGCA said in its monthly domestic traffic report.

SpiceJet had the highest passenger load factor (PLF) -- a measure of capacity utilisation of the airline -- at 90.8 per cent during October.

"This is the 43rd month-in-a-row that we have flown with the highest loads in India. This has set a new benchmark in global aviation and we are proud of that," said Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Sales and Revenue Officer, SpiceJet.

SpiceJet was followed by GoAir with a PLF of 84.1 per cent and IndiGo at 83.1 per cent and AirAsia India at 82.8 per cent.

"The passenger load factor in the month of October 2018 has shown increasing trend compared to previous month due to the onset of tourist season," the monthly statistical analysis statement said.

The data noted that GoAir led the industry with 90.5 per cent punctuality rate (on-time performance) at the four major airports of Bengaluru, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. It was followed by Vistara (88.5) and SpiceJet (86.5).

"It is indeed gratifying that GoAir continues to top the on-time performance for second consecutive month," said Cornelis Vrieswijk, CEO, GoAir. "Stringent processes and systems along with a committed ground force of staff drives our operations...."

Besides, the overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for October stood at 1.16 per cent.

In addition, a total of 669 passenger-related complaints were received last month. IndiGo led the industry with the highest market share of 42.8 per cent, followed by Jet Airways (13.3), Air India (12.2), SpiceJet (11.7) and GoAir (8.8).

AirAsia India had a market share of 5.4 per cent, followed by Vistara (3.7), JetLite (1.6) and Trujet (0.5).

"High travel demand in the upcoming winter holiday season, will further catalyse the growth of passengers in the coming months,"  according to Aloke Bajpai, CEO and Co-Founder, ixigo.
23/11/18 ZeeBiz

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Flyers demand for rational pricing of air tickets

Silchar: There is no uniformity in the pricing of air tickets by different airliners. In fact, there has been voice of protest and resentment against the abnormal hike in air fares by passengers. It has been a long felt demand from the flyers that air fares should be regulated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. On festive and other occasions, the airliners go for raising the air fares on no plausible ground or explanation. If railway fares can be regulated and fixed in accordance with the distance and also the preference of the passengers for travelling in ordinary or reserved compartments, why should not the same yardstick be applied in respect of airliners?

The Centre which pursues Act East Policy for the overall development and welfare of the people of northeast should give a serious thought to this problem of fluctuating pricing of air tickets. The other day, the Chief Minister of Tripura Biplob Deb wrote a letter to Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu, drawing his attention to the unregulated pricing of air fares. He pointed out not long ago, the air fare between Agartala and Kolkata was Rs.2000 which has now being hiked to Rs.13 to 15 thousand. On many occasions, tickets are not available for which patients requiring treatment at Kolkata cannot be taken.

This is exactly the problem at Silchar airport. Though the number of flights operated by Air India, Jet and Spice Jet have increased, air fares remain unregulated, pinching the pockets of flyers. It was thought that with the implementation of ‘Open Air Policy’ of the Centre, passengers of northeast in particular would be benefitted. But this has not happened. Even if seats remain vacant, the airliners charge inflated fare. It is found if tickets are booked three or four months earlier, the air fares are reasonably low.
23/11/18 Sentinel Assam

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Battle for IAF's transport aircraft contract: HAL hops on Avro replacement flight

New Delhi: The Avro story has got new wings. Indian Air Force wants to replace the ageing fleet of transport aircraft, and the C 295 transport aircraft, to be manufactured by a Tata-Airbus combine, is a top choice despite several issues on pricing terms.
But now, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is back in the game, proposing an improved Avro with fresh engines and avionics that could extend their service for almost two decades.

The proposal to replace the Avro Hawker Siddeley HS748 fleet — the planes have been made in India since 1960s — has been in the works for six years, and procurement of 56 replacement aircraft is in the final stages. However, HAL believes that the Avro fleet still has a lot of life left and can easily be upgraded to serve for longer.
Sources told ET that the first Avro which flew in 1961 is set to be upgraded with new engines, modern sensors and safety features as a demonstration aircraft for the air force.
The plane, nicknamed ‘Subroto’ after the first IAF chief, is officially designated as HAL’s corporate carrier and will be upgraded by the company at its own costs. “The aircraft is old but has flown only 30,000 of its total airframe life of a lakh kilometers.

Spare parts for the aircraft are no longer available, so the plan is to fit in a modern engine and new sensors that will give it extended life,” an official aware of the program told ET.
23/11/18 Manu Pubby/Economic Times

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Indian Carriers Fly Most Empty Seats In 19 Months

Seat occupancy of airlines in the world’s fastest-growing aviation market fell to its lowest in 19 months because of excess supply and a delayed festival season.

The average passenger load factor—the percentage of seats filled—fell to 83 percent in October, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. That’s the lowest since March 2017.
SpiceJet, the airline with least empty seats, saw its capacity utilisation drop 290 basis points year-on-year—the biggest fall in 56 months. For India’s largest airline, IndiGo, passenger load factor dropped the most in 28 months on the back of large-scale capacity addition. InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., its parent, increased capacity by 30 percent—nearly twice the industry’s addition.
Passenger growth also slowed to 13 percent, the slowest pace in 15 months, as the festival season travel was delayed because Diwali this year fell in November. Still, close to 12 million passengers flew in domestic airlines.

Among the large players, IndiGo’s passenger growth was the highest at 23 percent. The number of passengers ferried by its rivals rose at a modest lower pace.

Air India’s passenger growth was 3.95 percent—the slowest in 15 months.
Jet Airways’ ferried 1.8 percent fewer fliers—it’s worst performance in 23 months.
SpiceJet’s passenger growth fell to the slowest in 36 months to 1.2 percent.
Indigo’s market share remained stable at 43 percent, while that of cash-starved Jet Group fell to its lowest of 14.8 percent. The Naresh Goyal-led airline has been struggling to maintain its domestic market share, ceding more than 10 percentage points to low-cost rivals since its peak of 25.4 percent in March.

Jet Airways Ltd.’s also lost international market share to India’s No. 1 low-cost carrier IndiGo because of slower capacity addition. IndiGo, which increased capacity by more than a third, saw its share grow to 18 percent on international routes flown by Indian companies. The share of state-owned Air India in overseas routes also dropped.
22/11/18 Soumeet Sarkar/Bloomberg Quint

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Triple trouble for airlines companies; post worst results in 3 years

India’s top three airlines reported their worst quarterly performance in the last three years due to the triple trouble of higher fuel prices, weaker rupee, and competitive fares.
InterGlobe Aviation, Jet Airways, and SpiceJet accounted for 70% of the air traffic in the country. The combined net losses before tax reported by these three companies was more than Rs2,500cr—the maximum in the past three years.
The fuel cost per available seat kilometer rose due to an increase in jet fuel prices. The rising global crude prices made the aviation turbine fuel costlier in India, which is already the most expensive in Asia due to higher taxes.
A weakening rupee and the airlines’ inability to raise ticket prices in a highly competitive industry led to losses for the carriers. Increasing fuel costs negated the gains from a surge in demand for air travel.
For an airline, most of its expenses are in dollar terms, which means that with the depreciating Indian rupee, airliners need to pay more. In the September 2018 quarter, the rupee weakend by 9% over the last year, which led to around five times more foreign exchange losses for these companies.
22/11/18 IndiaInfoline

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Oct. sees 13% rise in domestic air travel

Mumbai: The month of October 2018 witnessed a 13.34% growth in domestic air passengers compared to the same month last year.

According to data published by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 118.45 lakh air passengers travelled during October as against 104.51 lakh passengers in October 2017.

In the January-October period, domestic airlines carried 1,146.37 lakh passengers as compared to 954.45 lakh passengers in the same period last year, an increase of 20.11%.
While Air India, Jet Airways, Jet Lite, SpiceJet, Go Air, Vistara, and Air Deccan reported lower load factor compared to the same period last year, IndiGo, Air Asia India and TruJet reported a higher load factor.
In October, Air Odisha and Zoom Air did not operate a single flight. Air Deccan had cancelled 52.7% of its flights. Air India had cancelled 4.1% of its flights. Go Air did not cancel a single flight in October.
Jet Lite, Jet Airways, IndiGo and Vistara had the least number of cancellations.
As per DGCA data, Air Deccan received the maximum number of passenger complaints.

While 98.5% of its passengers had some complaint, this ratio was 1.4% for Air India. The main complaints pertained to baggage and flight-related problems.

Go Air led the on-time performance in October at 90.5%, followed by Vistara at 88.5%. Air Deccan was the last with on-time performance of 74.7%.

In October, all domestic airlines together denied boarding to 1,846 passengers who received a compensation of ₹97.49 lakh.

As many as 12,556 passengers were affected by flight cancellations and received compensation totalling ₹53.33 lakh.
As many as 90,397 passengers were impacted by flight delays and airlines spent ₹125.70 lakh on facilitation expenses.
22/11/18 The Hindu

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Civil aviation minister Jayant Sinha says inclusion of ATF under GST regime underway

Born in Jharkhand’s Giridh, Harvard-educated Jayant Sinha had served as an investment and strategy consultant with firms such as McKinsey & Co and the Omidyar Network. Elected as an MP from Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, Sinha is the minister of state for civil aviation in the Narendra Modi government and had also served as minister of state for finance earlier. Sinha, 55, said the inclusion of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) under Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime is underway and added that national carrier Air India is doing well with regard to operating benchmarks.

Edited excerpts:

Q: Let me start by talking to you about the latest letter that has come in from the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) to your ministry. They have essentially written to you asking for deferred payment to airport operators as well as to oil companies. Is this something that your ministry is willing to consider?

A: We always engage with the industry. We listen to their concerns and issues. They have brought up multiple issues in the past that we had resolved. We shall take a look at the most recent representation from them and see what we can do to support the industry. Our goal is to provide supportive policy environment so that our airlines can flourish and succeed. Of course, they have to generate adequate return on capital, otherwise, they will not be able to invest in their businesses and continue to provide the excellent service as well as the connectivity that they have in the past. So, we will certainly take that onboard.

Q: How soon can we expect a decision as they are pretty much sending you an SOS? They have asked you to get a one month unsecured credit by oil companies and have asked to stagger payments over the next few months to airport operators. How soon can we expect a decision one way or the other on these specific demands that have been made?

A: We will have to look at each of the individual demands. Please recognise that the demands that are being placed are on other commercial entities, whether it's the oil marketing companies or the Airport Authority of India (AAI). Like airlines have to report back to their shareholders and are responsible to their shareholders, these commercial entities have similar responsibilities. So, many of these are commercial decisions that will have to be taken at that level. So, we will have to proceed as per the board requirements, as per the governance requirements that these companies have. Policy moves, that we can make as a government, certainly, we will try and move on them as expeditiously as we can. I will give you an example on some of the things that we have been working on with the industry. One of them is getting aviation turbine fuel (ATF) into Goods and Services Tax (GST) and that is a matter that we have discussed at length with the industry. We had several rounds of discussions with the ministry of finance and that matter is now going to go to the GST Council. So, wherever we can intervene at a policy level and make a difference to the industry, we are absolutely moving forward as quickly as we can.

Q: Just on the issue of ATF, this has been a long standing demand of industry and there has been a long process of consultation. When can we expect now to be taken forward as a formal proposal to the GST council?

A: The process of bringing ATF under GST is underway. It's with the GST council to decide when they will be bring it on their agenda and how quickly they deal with it. However, it's a complicated issue as ATF revenues are a very large item for many states and so have to proceed thoughtfully as far as it's concerned. So, we need to make sure that we maintain revenue neutrality as far as revenue collections are concerned. Second, this is a question of what happens to all the hydrocarbons. Obviously, we deal with the ATF, but there is petrol and diesel. Should fuel prices be brought in at the same time? Should we only deal with ATF right now? The whole hydrocarbon question is something that the GST Council has to deal with. The GST Council is also trying to ensure that the whole GST framework stabilises. So, these are the things that they are taking into account.

Q: The question of bringing the entire hydrocarbon sector under the ambit of the GST looks highly unlikely. Most states are not even onboard in principle with the idea. So, are you really looking at waiting to see if there is consensus that emerges with states on that before you take the ATF proposal forward?

A: Absolutely not. We have already taken the ATF proposal forward. As I said, we are pushing it as hard as we can on behalf of the industry. All I am saying is, when these issues go to the GST Council, it has to consider it along with all the other matters that I just mentioned.

As far as our industry and ministry is concerned, we are pushing as hard as we can. We are very fortunate that the ministry of petroleum and natural gas is with us on this and now it's with the GST Council.
21/11/18 CNBC-TV18

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MoCA to introduce rupee-based transaction mechanism for aircraft leasing by Jan 2019: Jayant Sinha

The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) is likely to introduce a rupee-based transaction mechanism for leasing aircraft to protect India's airlines against currency volatility, said Jayant Sinha, MoS Civil Aviation.

Sinha, in an interview with CNBC-TV18, said that the Ministry has been working on the rupee-based transaction mechanism and that an announcement is likely to be made regarding the same by January, 2019. "Aircraft leasing is a very important and an exciting area that we are pursuing, we have been working on that for more than a year and a half now and our hope is that in January, we can announce a rupee transaction for leasing," he said.

The policy intervention comes at a time when the aviation sector in India is grappling with severe financial troubles due to adverse factors of high oil prices, weak rupee and low fare levels, with top airlines posting net losses in the September quarter.
22/11/18 TravelBizMonitor

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European Aviation Safety Agency decertifies GMR’s MRO in Hyderabad

New Delhi: GMR Aero Technic Ltd, the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility based at Hyderabad, has lost its European certification to carry out MRO work on aircraft that fly with European certification.

This follows the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspending its certification on November 12 this year.

In effect, this means the facility will be unable to do MRO checks on foreign carriers which insist on EASA certification.

Confirming the development, a spokesman of GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd told BusinessLine: “As part of a recent routine compliance audit, EASA had raised certain observations leading to a temporary suspension of approval. We are working expeditiously to address the same to the satisfaction of the EASA authorities, post which we expect the certification to be reinstated.”

The spokesperson added that as a business imperative, GMR Aero Technic (GAT) holds approval and certification from a number of international civil aviation authorities including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation here and the Federal Aviation Authority of the United States. These approvals enable GAT to render services to aircraft registered under their respective regulatory jurisdictions.

GMR AERO Technic Ltd is a 100 per cent subsidiary of GMR Aerospace Engineering Ltd which runs the MRO business.

The EASA order states that it, “Partially suspended – temporary removal in part of the approval. The approval is held in abeyance in whole or in part until compliance is re-establis
hed. No certify issue or re-issue is required.”
22/11/18 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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India’s Airlines Are in Trouble Again. What Will the Modi Government Do?

New Delhi: India’s aviation industry, which has had to historically burn cash to sustain aggressive pricing, has once again hit deep air pockets.

While the crash and burn of Jet Airways has assumed centre-stage in the last few months, most major carriers have reported losses in recent quarters. The red ink comes primarily from higher fuel prices at one end and lower ticket prices at the other, as airlines scramble to get more passengers in a market riddled with over-capacity.

The question now is: will the Narendra Modi government come to the rescue?

On Wednesday, sources told The Wire that the aviation lobby has asked the Centre to help them obtain unsecured credit from airports and oil companies.

There are hints of broader government help on the horizon as well. Last week, Bloomberg reported that the NDA-II government had sought the help of Tata Sons to help bailout Jet Airways. In particular, Tata Sons was reportedly in talks with the Centre about a potential haircut on loans that Jet Airways owed to state-run banks.
While this was denied by aviation minister Suresh Prabhu a few days later, it’s unclear where more sustainable growth is going to come from in the future.
Because mere growth has never been a problem: from a measly 14 million passengers in 2000-2001 to over 140 million passengers by 2017, Indian aviation has seemingly done well.

The problem has been profits. Even market leader IndiGo reported its worst quarterly performance ever in June 2018, down 97% year-on-year.

“For fiscal 2019, airline industry is expected to see a domestic capacity growth of about 20% driven by a faster capacity expansion from Low Cost Carriers. This capacity driven passenger traffic growth is expected to put downward pressure on air fares, despite an adverse movement of crude oil and INR-USD exchange rate,” Hetal Gandhi, director, CRISIL Research, told The Wire.
“Despite being a negative working capital based industry, majority of the players have significant working capital debt on account of losses posted during the past decade,” Gandhi added.
21/11/18 The Wire

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Indian airlines seek waiver from airports, oil firms for financial revival

New Delhi: Financially stressed Indian airlines want all airports and oil-marketing companies to grant them a month’s extra and unsecured credit to improve their liquidity and waive penalties for late payment.

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), a lobby group of IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and GoAir, told the aviation ministry that this would help revive their stressed finances.

“We request (this) to tide over these tough times and with a commitment from member airlines to make staggered payments over the next few months,” went its letter to Aviation Secretary Rajiv Narayan Choubey. FIA members together have over 80 per cent of the aviation market.

In 2009 and 2011, during similar periods of loss, the airlines had asked the government to likewise step in.

Indian airlines seek waiver from airports, oil firms for financial revivalBusiness Standard has reviewed a copy of the letter. “All member airlines are constantly monitoring their operations and cost control measures... We are sure that given the needful assistance at this time, the sector will be restored to its healthy trajectory,” it says.
High fuel prices and a weaker rupee have increased the operating cost of Indian carriers. At the same time, they have been unable to raise fares because of high competition. All the three listed airlines have reported losses. This includes market leader IndiGo, which has a little over 40 per cent of the home market.
21/11/18 Arindam Majumder/Business Standard

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Biplab Deb targets airlines including Air India, says flyers being exploited; here is why

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb has claimed that airlines, including nationalised carrier Air India, have been “exploiting” flyers of the state. Deb, who is known for making bizarre statements in recent times, has also sought a cap on airfares for airlines operating in Tripura and has written to Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu.

In his letter to the Union minister, Deb said that there has been a steep hike in airfares. He stated that earlier the airfare between Agartala and Kolkata used to be around Rs. 2,000. Now the fares rose up to Rs. 13,000 to Rs. 15,000. “In fact, on many occasions, tickets were not available at any price. As a result, even serious patients are not able to move out of Tripura. All the airlines, including Air India, are exploiting the common people of Tripura,” Deb wrote in the letter, reported Indian Express.

In the letter, CM Deb has also written that airlines have a mandatory obligation to operate 10 per cent of their capacity to remote locations including Northeastern states as per the Civil Aviation Ministry’s Route Dispersal Policy (RDP) revision in 2014 and 2016. Emphasizing that there is a crisis in air travel in Northeast India, CM Deb wrote that the situation has occurred due to airlines reducing their service in the region from the mandatory obligation of 10 per cent operation to 6 per cent. CM Deb wrote that a few states were also added in the list of remote locations and this has reduced focus on the Northeast.
21/11/18 Financial Express

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Tripura Government Lowers VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel for Alluring Private Carriers

Guwahati: Tripura already was suffering a lot due to the non-availability of air transportation as some of the carriers had stopped providing service to the state. Now the ones that are prevailing in the state have created another headache for the passengers as suddenly the airfares have rocketed sky-high, making it troublesome for the passengers to afford flight bookings.

Not only has this problem irked the people of Tripura, but the Chief Minister of the state Biplab Kumar Deb too have pondered over the issue and has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu. But sadly, that has also not worked as no solution to the air transportation issue has been found yet.

As very few flights are currently under operation in the Agartala airport, there has been an acute shortage of tickets. As stated by the travel agencies, the scaling back of operations by private airlines to and from Agartala has triggered a huge shortage of tickets, leading to an about six-fold increase in ticket prices.
An Airports Authority of India (AAI) official states, “After Jet Airways and SpiceJet suspended their operations to Agartala, IndiGo and Air India have also reduced their flights, resulting in a huge crisis.”
20/11/18 Sentinel Assam

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Tripura reduces VAT on jet fuel to incentivise airline operations

Agartala: The Tripura government has decided to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel to attract airline operators to function from Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Airport here, a minister said Monday. Law Minister Ratan Lal Nath told reporters that a decision had been taken to reduce VAT from 18 per cent to 16 per cent, as a result of which aviation fuel would cost significantly lesser in Tripura compared to Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in neighbouring Guwahati or Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata.

Tripura's state exchequer would take a hit of Rs 1.2 crore annually following the decision, Nath said. VAT on aviation fuel is charged at 23.65 per cent at Guwahati Airport and 25 per cent in Kolkata. This move is expected to incentivise airlines to buy fuel from Tripura which can ultimately benefit passengers in terms of ticket price.
"Tripura used to charge aviation fuel at 18 per cent and the new decision would bring it down to 16 per cent, which in terms of money, would make the fuel cost lower at Agartala than its nearest two major airports Guwahati and Kolkata," Nath said.
19/11/18 ETNow News

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India to beat the United States in a sector never imagined!

For most of the last 10-15 decades, India has been a poor country. Just a few decades back, not many would have even dared to imagine that the country would one day may become a challenger, or even a winner among global leaders in any sector. Well, history is about to change! Over the next 15-20 years, India will emerge as a world beater in aviation sector, overtaking the US, says Union aviation minister Jayant Sinha.

In an interview to English daily Hindustan Times, Sinha predicted that at the current rate of growth, India will reach a billion trips a year, in the next 15-20 years.

"We are seeing that this calendar year we will do roughly 225-230 million passenger trips. But if we continue to grow even at the long-term average, in the next 15-20 years, we are going to reach a billion trips a year," Sinha was quoted as saying.

He further said, "By way of comparison, China is at about 600 million trips a year and the US is at about 900 million trips a year. China is growing at about 8.9% a year and the US is going at about 3% a year. I think we will surpass the US. Of course, China will continue to grow strongly and will become the number one market in the world; we are likely to become the number two market in the world, right next to the US."
19/11/18 ZeeBiz

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Government launches upgraded version of AirSewa digital platform for air passengers

New Delhi: Chatbots will now help air travellers in addressing their grievances, as the government Monday launched an upgraded version of AirSewa digital platform.

Besides, passengers can have access to real-time flight status and schedule for both domestic and international flights, according to the Civil Aviation Ministry.

AirSewa 2.0, the upgraded version of the web portal and mobile app, provides chatbot support for faster resolution and personalised traveller experience. Also, passengers can sign up using their Facebook and Google accounts.

Generally, chatbots are computer programmes that interact with people through audio or text messages.
The AirSewa portal and mobile app were launched in November 2016. Since the launch, AirSewa 1.0 has helped resolve significant number of air passenger concerns, as per the ministry.
Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu formally launched the upgraded version of AirSewa here.
19/11/18 PTI/Economic Times

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Airlines may be ranked based on customer feedback, says Suresh Prabhu

New Delhi: In a first, India may soon rank its airlines based on the quality of services they provide to flyers. The quality could be determined by the ratio of passengers flown by an airline and the number of complaints received against it.

Aviation minister Suresh Prabhu said this on Monday while launching an upgraded version of the ministry’s portal for consumers, “AirSewa 2.0” that promises to make registration of grievances and their redressal faster. “We can look at categorisation of airlines. For this, we can take the help of Quality Council of India to determine the parameters for ranking airlines. Accordingly, customer feedback received on AirSewa can be used to rank airlines,” Prabhu said.

Airlines ranked lower, he said, will work to improve their ranking as passengers will choose carriers that are perceived to be more customer-friendly. And that way, the overall level of service from airlines will improve.
Prabhu, from his earlier stint as railway minister and his deputy in aviation ministry Jayant Sinha, has been proactive on social media to solve consumer grievances.
“Individually, I have been trying to do that as much as possible like Prabhu from his days in railway and Sushma Swaraj in external affairs. My social media inbox is flooded with issues faced by flyers. Given the volume of complaints, we needed a systematic thing for registering grievances and redressing them for which AirSewa was launched and has now been upgraded,” Sinha said.
19/11/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Kerala inks MoU with Airbus group to boost start-ups

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's start-up ecosystem got a major fillip as the state government on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Airbus BizLab, a global aerospace accelerator which is part of the Airbus group.
 The MoU was inked between Siddharth Balachandran, Airbus Bizlab India and Saji Gopinath, CEO, Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Under the MoU, an Innovation Centre will be set up here which will be the nodal body for planning and executing all the activities to help start-ups. "We are confident that this partnership with Airbus Bizlab will help the industrial ecosystem of Kerala. It will up-skill the local youth and enhance employability," said Vijayan.
Airbus BizLab will also provide support and mentoring for start-ups in Kerala and conduct regular workshops and discussions with experts from the aerospace and defence sectors.
Further, the France-headquartered company, which has set up facilities in Bengaluru, Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany) and Madrid (Spain) to create a global network of business accelerators, is to run training programmes to acquaint participants with aerospace technologies.
18/11/18 IANS/Sify

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Airlines object to govt's charter to ease air travel: Report

The government has put on hold a so-called passenger charter, which detailed the rights of flyers, as financially troubled airlines raised objections to it, reports Hindustan Times.

Sources from the Civil Aviation Ministry told the paper that the first draft of the charter said passengers could cancel their tickets for free if done within 24 hours of booking and at least four days ahead of the departure of the flight.

The draft allows passengers to make changes to the name at no additional cost. Apart from these suggestions, airlines also did not approve of the compensation customers would get if flights were cancelled.

"The airlines have requested us to look into the high compensation charges as fares in India are very low and such high compensation cannot be justified. Their second main objection is allowing cancellation as their business will get affected if this is allowed," an official said.
If a flight is delayed for over four hours, the draft states that passengers would be entitled to a refund. This, even if the delay is communicated in advance. Moreover, if a flyer misses their connecting flight due to this delay, they will receive a refund ranging from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000.

Passengers must also be provided hot snacks and beverages for free if their flight is on the tarmac for over 60 minutes. They must be de-boarded if that time limit crosses 120 minutes.

The ministry invited public consultation on the draft on May 21 and received responses from passenger associations, airlines and airport operators. There have been two rounds of meetings with stakeholders regarding the charter, the report said.
18/11/18 Moneycontrol.com

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Prices of air tickets on Tripura route spike

Agartala: Prices of flight tickets on the Tripura route have spiked after some carriers suspended their operations while others curtailed their frequency.
The shortage of tickets to and from Agartala has prompted Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and CPI-M MPs to write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu but to no avail.
According to travel agencies, the scaling back of operations by private airlines to and from Agartala has triggered a huge shortage of tickets, leading to an about 6-fold increase in ticket prices.
"After Jet Airways and SpiceJet suspended their operations to Agartala, IndiGo and Air India have also reduced their flights, resulting in a huge crisis," an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said here on Monday.
He said that due to the unavailability of flights, hundreds of passengers were stranded in Tripura, a mountainous state bordering Bangladesh.
The Tripura government on Sunday reduced the VAT (value added tax) on aviation turbine fuel by 2 per cent to lure private airlines to run their operations to the state.
Tripura Law and Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath said: "Due to the reduction of VAT, the state government will incur a revenue loss of Rs 1.20 crore per year. This has been done to reduce the inconvenience to the people."
19/11/18 Business Standard

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On "Fake" No-Fly Zone Letter In Delhi, Aviation Ministry's Clarification

New Delhi: The Ministry of Civil Aviation said on Sunday no letter has been issued declaring a no-fly zone in and around the national capital.
The ministry in a tweet said it has come to its notice that a fake letter by the DGCA declaring a no-fly zone in and around Delhi is circulating on WhatsApp.
"It is clarified that no such letter/ order is issued by any civil aviation authorities," the ministry said.
19/11/18 NDTV

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Headwinds leave bleeding airlines with few options

New Delhi: It’s been a winter of discontent for the Indian aviation industry. InterGlobe Aviation, owner of IndiGo Airlines, posted a loss of Rs 652 crore for the July-September quarter, as compared to a profit of Rs 552 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Jet Airways reported losses for a third straight quarter with Q2 suffering net standalone losses of Rs 1,297 crore. Hammered with losses of Rs 1,323 crore and Rs 1,036 crore respectively in the previous two quarters, the airline lost 70 per cent of its listed market value this fiscal.

SpiceJet, which had bucked the trend last year with a small IndiGo Airlines 105 crore profit for Q2, also went into the red with a Rs 389 crore loss for this July-September quarter. IndiGo, the poster boy of Indian aviation that has steadily reported profits, has seen its stocks wilt over 35 per cent this year after a Bloomberg analyst poll had predicted a much lower loss of Rs 391 crore.

By the end of the financial year, the industry is expected to post a combined loss of Rs 13,000 crore, and the panic is palpable. It’s not that market demand is poor. India, with a growth rate of 16 per cent in passenger traffic, is among the fastest-growing aviation markets. IndiGo grew nearly 17 per cent to a revenue of Rs 6,185 crore in Q2 this year. SpiceJet’s revenue too went up nearly 4 per cent.
17/11/18 Gurbir Singh/New Indian Express

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Indian Carriers Deliver Their Worst Quarterly Performance In At Least Three Years

India’s top three airlines reported their worst quarterly performance in at least three years due to higher fuel prices, weaker rupee and competitive fares.
InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.-operated IndiGo, Jet Airways (India) Ltd. and SpiceJet Ltd. flew 70 percent of air traffic in the world’s fastest-growing aviation market, but at a loss. The combined net loss before tax reported by these three companies was more than Rs 2,600 crore—the highest in at least the last three years, or since IndiGo’s debut on the bourses—according to BloombergQuint’s calculations.
Their fuel cost per available seat kilometer also rose on the back of an increase in jet fuel prices, which accounts for more than a third of an airline’s operating costs. The rising global crude prices only made the aviation turbine fuel in India, which is the most expensive in Asia due to higher taxes, costlier. That, coupled with a double whammy of a weakening rupee and the airlines’ ability to raise ticket prices in a highly competitive industry, led to the loss. Though the rise in fuel cost of the country’s largest airline was in line with an increase in jet fuel prices, the cost of its listed peers was higher than usual. Increasing fuel costs negated the gains from a surge in demand for air travel.

Yields, a measure of the average earnings per passenger per kilometer, fell the most for IndiGo due to higher capacity deployment. The decline in yields was the least for SpiceJet because of the regional routes.

For an airline, most of its expenses are dollar denominated, which means that with depreciating Indian rupee, airliners need to shell out more. In the September quarter, the rupee, on an average, depreciated by 9 percent over last year. This led to at least a fivefold jump in foreign exchange losses.
15/11/18 Soumeet Sarkar/Bloomberg/Quint

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SC reserves order on Rafale, no sovereign guarantee by French government backing the deal

New Delhi:  The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on four petitions seeking a court-monitored probe into 36 Rafale fighter jet deal with French firm Dassault Aviation even as the government admitted that there was no sovereign guarantee by the French government backing the deal.

On pricing, the court asked Attorney General K.K. Venugopal not to respond to the contentions raised by the petitioners until the court decides to look into it.

"The discussion on pricing will come only if we decide... so long that is not there," the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph told the AG. The AG also opposed the judicial review of the Rafale deal.

He said that if the cost of weaponery and avionics comes in public domain, it will be used by the adverseries to make out the weaponery fitted in Rafale.
A three-hour-long hearing saw Attorney General K.K. Venugopal telling the bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph that "though there is no sovereign guarantee from France (government), there is a letter of comfort."
The hearing saw counsel Prashant Bhushan and former Union Minister Arun Shourie questioning the circumventing of the procedure for aborting the process for procuring 126 aircraft (18 in a flyaway condition and 108 to be be manufactured by HAL) in favour of procuring 36 jets in a ready-to-fly condition and unloading HAL as an offset partner.
The petitions included one by Prashant Bhushan, Arun Shourie and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, and others by advocate M.L. Sharma, Vineet Dhanda and AAP MP Sanjay Singh. All of them have broadly assailed the pricing and the induction of an offset partner replacing HAL.
Defending the deal on the grounds of "urgent requirement" of national security, the Attorney General justified the scrapping of the earlier deal for 126 aircraft as it was taking a long time in reaching a conclusion.
This was contested by Bhushan who had earlier referred to March 25, 2015 statement of Dassault Chief Eric Trappier saying that the deal with HAL was 95% complete and that they were in final stages of an agreement. Bhushan said the Dassault CEO had said this in the presence of the IAF Chief and HAL Chairman.
14/11/18 IANS/Outlook

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Rafale probe will throw up names of Modi, Ambani: Rahul Gandhi

Kabirdham/Korba: A probe into the procurement of Rafale fighter jets from France would throw up names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Anil Ambani, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Wednesday.

Addressing a campaign rally here for the second phase of Assembly polls, Gandhi also claimed the NDA government bought the planes at Rs 1,600 crore a piece as against the Rs 526 crore for each aircraft fixed by the Congress-led UPA government.

Gandhi's comments came on a day the Supreme Court said a discussion on the pricing of the Rafale jets can only take place if the facts of the deal are allowed to come into the public domain.

The apex court, which began its hearing on pleas seeking a court-monitored probe into the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France, also said it would like to hear from an Air Force officer and not an official of the Defence Ministry.

"The CBI director (Alok Verma) initiated a probe in the Rafale deal. The prime minister removed him at 12 in the night. I am telling you, the day a probe will begin in Rafale deal, two names will surface: Anil Ambani and Narendra Modi," Gandhi told the gathering.
On former French president Francois Hollande's comments in French media that the Indian government had proposed Reliance Defence as partner for Dassault Aviation in the deal and that France did not have a choice, Gandhi said Modi named Ambani's company as Dassault's partner in the Rs 58,000 crore Rafale deal.
The Modi government chose Ambani's "inexperienced" company over the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which has a long experience in aerospace and defence sector, Gandhi said.

There was no reaction from the government or the BJP on the fresh charges, though they have previously rejected all allegations over the Rafale deal.
14/11/19 PTI/Times of India

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Treat drunk pilots as criminals: Aviation experts

Chennai: Pilots on duty who consume alcohol before or during flights should be treated as criminals, aviation experts said, adding that, pilots should undergo breath analyser tests before and after a flight and any violation should be treated as a criminal offence.

They were also of the opinion that even aircraft maintenance personnel on ground should undergo the breath analyser (BA) test. The BA test must be strictly enforced as both pilots and ground crew staff were responsible for thousands of passengers' lives.

An official of the Indian commerical pilots' association (ICPA) told IANS that post flight BA tests were done only for international flights to India whereas no pre-flight alcohol tests were done.

"If an Air India pilot flies an international flight after taking alcohol then he is risking the lives of several hundreds of passengers. But by the time he lands in India then the alcohol level might have gone down and would pass the BA test," he said.
The official said in the case of domestic flight, pre-flight BA test is done.
According to him, drunken flying should be treated as a criminal offence.

"The airline can hire doctors or agencies to oversee the conduct of the BA tests," the ICPA official added.

An Indian Air Force (IAF) official told IANS preferring anonymity: "No sane person will start a fighter jet under the influence of alcohol. It is akin to committing suicide."

When a pilot or a ground service personnel fails the BA tests or misses it for the first time then the penalty is three months of suspension of licence/approval.

13/11/18 IANS/Times of India

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Will they fare well with low-cost model?

Airlines that are full-service carriers (FSCs), facing an uncertain future, are doing exactly that: trying to experiment with the low-fare model by quietly introducing several new options that allow passengers to choose lower fares minus the add-ons, like free food and other amenities.

Jet Airways, which has been offering fare options since 2016, has gone further down the road by introducing newer low-fare categories with the flexibility of choosing seats with flight+meal or flight only. (Jet has posted a net loss of ₹1,261 crore on a consolidated basis for the quarter ended September 30.)

In August this year, Vistara, another full-service carrier, allowed its passengers the benefit of a bundle of features, claiming that it offers “freedom to choose from thoughtfully designed bundles of features and services at different price points for their preferred flight and class of service or select them à la carte.”

In comparison, state-owned Air India, which is also a full-service airline, does not offer passengers the option of paying less to fly if they buy a ticket without free food.

According to industry watchers, this is perhaps one way of dealing with the current aviation scenario in the country. Crisil Rating points out that the current fleet size in the industry is about 600 aircraft. It expects an annual addition of 120 aircraft in fiscals 2019 and 2020 alone. Further, operating cost is increasing due to the depreciation of the rupee, oil prices are increasing, the input costs are high and there are fears that any attempt to allow fares to move northward could see the passenger carriage fall. This is leaving full-service airlines with little choice but to look at new methods to ensure that they remain relevant in the domestic market.
14/11/18 K Giriprakash and Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line
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Rafale Twist: Why Did France Refuse to Give India a Sovereign Guarantee?

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government has consistently claimed that the Rafale aircraft deal was between two governments – India and France – and therefore there was hardly any possibility of India’s interests being compromised in any way.

However, government documents accessed by The Wire reveal the Ministry of Law and Justice had opined that the “core elements of Government-to-Government (G-to-G) character” of the Rafale deal were not acceptable to France and consequently had to be diluted and waived in the final inter-governmental agreement (IGA) signed between the two governments in September 2016.

So what were the two core G-to-G elements that France did not accept? The law ministry gave a clear view to the Ministry of Defence that in G-to-G contracts, “the responsibility for the supply of equipment and related industrial services and performance of the entire contract remains with the foreign government”.

The second condition cited by the law ministry was that “the dispute resolution mechanism remained at Government-to-Government level only”.
However, in the course of negotiating the IGA, certain sensitive issues arose whereby the French government sought to transfer its own direct responsibilities and obligations to the industrial supplier – in this case Dassault Aviation.

For instance, in the event of a future breach of contract or any other dispute, France insisted India would have to enter arbitration proceedings with the equipment-supplying company, Dassault. Consequently, the French government shied away from providing a direct sovereign guarantee for the performance of the contract. The law ministry saw a direct sovereign guarantee from France as core to the G-to-G character of the deal to purchase 36 Rafale fighter aircraft. This sovereign guarantee was, however, not forthcoming.

The law ministry, though, managed to have one fresh clause introduced in the IGA which mentioned “joint and several responsibility” of the French government and the industrial supplier.
14/11/18 MK Venu/The Wire

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Pricing of Rafale jets can be discussed only if facts on deal come in public domain: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday said any discussion on pricing of the Rafale fighter jets can only take place if the facts on the deal are allowed to come in the public domain.

"The decision we need to take is whether to bring the fact on pricing in public domain or not," a bench headed by the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said.

The bench, also comprising justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, told Attorney General K K Venugopal that without bringing the facts in public domain, there was no question of any debate on pricing.

However, the bench clarified to the attorney general that any discussion on price will be considered if it thinks that it should come in the public domain.

The top court also sought the assistance of any Air Force officer on the issue of procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.

"We are dealing with requirements of the Air Force and would like to ask an Air Force officer on the Rafale jet. We want to hear from an Air force officer and not the official of the Defence Ministry on the issue," the bench said when Venugopal commenced his arguments on behalf of the Centre.

Venugopal told the bench that an Air Force officer would be reaching within a few minutes.

The attorney general in his arguments defended the secrecy clause related to the pricing of Rafale jets saying,"Our adversaries may get advantages if the entire details on the pricing is disclosed."

Refusing to divulge details on the pricing aspect, Venugopal said he would not be able to assist the court further on the pricing issue.

"I decided not to peruse it myself as in a case of any leak, my office would be held responsible," he said
14/11/18 PTI/Outlook
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I do not lie: Dassault boss responds to Rahul Gandhi on Rafale

New Delhi: The chief of Dassault Aviation, the French manufacturer contracted to deliver 36 fighter jets to the Indian Air Force, hit out at Rahul Gandhi for calling him a liar.

"I don't lie," said Eric Trappier, the CEO of Dassault Aviation. "In my position as CEO, you don't lie."

Trappier was responding to Gandhi's accusation that he was lying about the Rafale deal to protect Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Trappier also spoke about the controversial decision to make of Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence an offset partner and about the Congress's claim that the Modi government was overpaying for the Rafale jets.

Moments after Trappier spoke out in his interview (watch full interview here) to news agency ANI, the Congress reacted, calling the Dassault CEO a "co-accused" whose statements hold no value.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala called the interview "dictated" and, "Manufactured lies can not suppress the Rafale scam."
"First rule of Law - Mutual Beneficiaries & Co-accused's statements hold no value. Second Rule: Beneficiaries & Accused can't be Judge in their own case. Truth has a way of coming out," Surjewala also tweeted.
13/11/18 India Today

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India's September domestic air traffic up 20%: IATA

New Delhi: India's domestic air passenger traffic grew in double digits for the 49th consecutive month in September, a global airline association said on Monday.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said India's domestic air passenger volume measured in revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) was highest among major aviation markets like Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Russia and the US.
As per the data, India's domestic RPK in the month under review rose by 19.8 per cent compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.
India's domestic passenger traffic growth was followed by that of the Russian Federation at 11.1 per cent and China at 9.3 per cent.
In terms of capacity, India's domestic available seat kilometres (ASK) -- which measures available passenger capacity -- was higher by 18.8 per cent in September, that of China's 10.3 per cent and the US saw a 8.6 per cent rise.
12/11/18 IANS/Economic Times

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Bottle before throttle: Do Indian pilots have a drinking problem?

This weekend, one of Air India's most senior pilots was found to be too drunk to fly his flight, a long-haul service to London.
Right when this senior pilot was being declared unfit to fly (this, by the way, was the second time he was caught drunk before a flight), an Air India plane that had already taken off was recalled to the Delhi airport after ground staff realised that one of the pilots had 'missed' his mandatory pre-flight breathalyser test.

Both the pilots have been grounded. Captain Arvind Kathpalia, the senior pilot caught drunk for the second time, cannot fly for the next three years.

Air India, the embattled national carrier known to have some of the most experienced pilots, has managed -- once again -- to get some really bad press.

But, is the problem really that bad? Are Indian pilots -- especially those flying Air India -- essentially drunkards who -- as aviation agencies in the West like to say -- hit the bottle before the throttle?
The numbers certainly make for alarming headlines.

At least 12 Air India pilots have already been caught drunk before their flights just this year. In October, Air India told India Today TV that 10 of its pilots had been caught drunk before flights.

Add the two pilots from Sunday and that number goes to 12. And, the year isn't over yet.

Speaking broadly, more than two dozen pilots have been found to be drunk before flights in the last few years.

In July 2016, the Ministry of Civil Aviation told Parliament that almost 100 pilots -- across all Indian airlines -- were found drunk in a three-year period between 2013 and 2015 (43 in 2015, 26 in 2014 and 30 in 2013).
But, why do Indian pilots keep getting caught drunk before flights with such frequencies?

Well, you can blame -- or be grateful for -- India's aviation laws, which are among the strictest in the world when it comes to pilots flying drunk.

For example, regulatory body Directorate General of Civil Aviation has an absolute zero-tolerance for pilots being drunk -- there, literally, cannot be a drop of alcohol in the pilots' bodies.

This is tested using breathalysers, which give an indication of how much alcohol is present in pilots' blood.

Even a miniscule Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) reading of 0.01 per cent (which indicates that there is 10 milligram of alcohol for every 100ml of blood) can make a pilot unfit for flying.

By contrast, the legal limit for driving drunk in India is 0.03 i.e. 30mg for every 100ml of blood. Anything over that and you'll be facing a jail term.
Two pints of light beer should be enough to make you too drunk to drive. But then again, how much alcohol there will be in your blood depends on your body weight, gender and metabolism.

And Indian pilots? Forget pints of beer. They can't risk a teaspoon.

In fact, Indian laws governing pilots' alcohol levels are stricter than those in the West.
12/11/18 Dev Goswami/India Today

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Rafale deal: Centre submits price details of aircraft before Supreme Court, blames UPA for delay

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday submitted price details of the Rafale fighter jets in a sealed envelope to the Supreme Court. Government sources said the Centre has submitted "all details" about the decisions taken in regards to the Rafale deal.

This was in response to the Supreme Court's direction that the Central government must disclose details of the controversial deal before it. On October 31, the Supreme asked the Centre to provide information on the pricing of Rafale fighter aircraft that India is purchasing from France. The court had given the government 10 days to furnish the reply in a sealed envelope.

The court had asked the government to give details on the "core information" regarding the procurement process to the petitioners.

However, the Centre had argued that some details about the Rafale deal may be sensitive and protected against being made public under the Official Secrets Act. To this, the court said that "details that could legitimately come in [the] public domain" will have to be shared with the petitioners, while the "confidential information" regarding the pricing and the selection of the Indian offset partner will have to be "placed before the court," in a sealed cover.

The court had left it to the government to decide what would be the information "legitimately in public domain" which can be shared with the petitioners but made it clear that all information will have to be shared with the court.
In its submission before the Supreme Court on Monday, the Modi government said that delay by the UPA government in finalising the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) process led to adversaries inducting 4th and 5th generation jets and there was an urgent need to "arrest the decline" in the number of IAF fighter squadrons.

This was stated in the document which the Centre made public to justify the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France.
12/11/18 India Today

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Twenty-four startups join Airbus accelerator program

Airbus has selected twenty-four new startups to join its BizLab for the launch of the fourth accelerator program, providing a platform to develop previously untapped technologies and ways of working in the aerospace sector.
Airbus BizLab is a global aerospace business accelerator where startups and Airbus intrapreneurs speed up the transformation of innovative ideas into valuable businesses. Since starting in 2015, Airbus BizLab has accelerated 50 startups and 40 internal projects, which have raised a combined € 19.5 million.
This year, Airbus BizLab also challenged startups to propose technical solutions contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals that Airbus is committed to.
With the opening earlier this year of Airbus BizLab’s fourth site in Madrid (Spain) – afterToulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany) and Bangalore (India) – the selected firms will join a unique consolidated global network within the four sites. During the six-month acceleration programme, the 24 startups will receive support from an international team of experts from various fields and have access to dedicated coaching staff, networking opportunities and co-working spaces. Hailing from ten countries around the world, the new startups were selected out of 495 applications from 64 countries. One of the main criteria used in the selection process were the synergies between the startup projects and Airbus’ innovation strategy.
12/11/18 eTN

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Modi govt has resorted to 'web of lies' to hide corruption in Rafale deal: CPI(M)

New Delhi: Left parties Tuesday alleged that the Modi government had spun a "web of lies" to hide "corruption" and its "wrong doings" in the Rafale jet fighter deal. The political row over the deal escalated on Tuesday with the Congress dismissing as "manufactured lies" claims by Dassault CEO Eric Trappier that there was no wrong-doing. In a media interview, Trappier claimed no wrong-doing in the Rs 58,000 crore deal, asserting it was a “clean deal” and that his company chose Reliance as an offset partner. Taking a dig at the CEO's claim, CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury said "cronies" of all kinds, from France to India, were trying to defend the Modi government on the issue and such efforts will go in vain. "Modi government has resorted to a web of lies to hide the corruption in Rafale scam. Cronies of all kinds, from France to here in India, are out trying to defend the indefensible. But their lies have all been nailed," the CPI(M) leader tweeted. He alleged that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Centre had paid 40 per cent more for each aircraft to Dassault Aviation, the manufacturer of the Rafale fighter jet. "This proves that Modi government paid 40 pc more for each Rafale aircraft. This is the amount of corruption in the scam where Rs 59,000 crore of our money is involved," Yechury said on Twitter. The government has denied allegations of corruption in the deal. The CPI (M) general secretary said the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the Supreme Court and the CBI should answer the alleged corruption in the Rafale deal and not the CEO of the company that was part of the deal. "These are questions the CAG, Supreme Court and CBI should answer. Not the French CEO of a company making money on this deal or the PM - all of whom are complicit in the corruption", said Yechury.
13/11/18 Business Today

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Centre defends Rafale deal in Supreme Court, says it was negotiated for a year

New Delhi: The Central government on Monday submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court in connection with the Rafale deal, citing that appropriate defence procurement norms were followed in acquiring 36 Rafale aircraft.

The Narendra Modi government has also assured the top court that "all requisite steps were taken in the Rafale deal". In the nine-page affidavit, which has been accessed by India Today, the Centre said, "The procurement process as laid down in the Defence Procurement Procedure-2013 was followed in procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft."

The documents also claim that the negotiations on the deal went on for about a year.

There is, however, no mention of Rafale pricing in the affidavit.

The Supreme Court had asked the Centre to provide details of the decision making process in the Rafale deal with France in a sealed cover by October 29 but clarified it did not want information on pricing and technical particulars.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it was not issuing a formal notice to the Centre as it has not considered the averments with regard to the allegations of corruption made in two PILs filed by two separate lawyers.
12/11/18 India Today

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Radar relief for flights crossing Bay of Bengal

Kolkata: A giant communication black hole over the Bay of Bengal, which had pilots virtually flying blind for nearly 40 minutes over a 2.6 lakh sq km oceanic airspace, has now been largely plugged with three-fourths of the area coming under the coverage of live aircraft-tracking instruments.

The grey zone over the Bay of Bengal has now shrunk to 69,000 sq km, cutting by half the blind flying time, after data from flight tracking instruments on two Myanmar islands — Coco & Sittwe — were made available to controllers in Kolkata following an agreement between Indian and Myanmarese aviation authorities.
India, in return, has made the data from Agartala and Port Blair available to controllers in Myanmar. This is India’s first successful project in sharing flight surveillance data with a neighbouring country.

Controllers in Kolkata can now track the 260 flights that cross the sea daily, carrying over 50,000 fliers between countries in South East Asia and those to its west including South Asia, West Asia, Europe and the US. Earlier, controllers were unable to guide pilots as they crossed gigantic oceanic airspace as there was no live flight tracking coverage with technologies like radar or Automatic Dependence Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B).


“Due to the absence of Indian islands on the Bay of Bengal, we could not install radars or ADS-B that limited our coverage over the oceanic airspace. With the two ADS-Bs on Myanmarese islands now providing live data to area controllers in Kolkata, the safety of flights will increase. Flights will also be able to take shorter routes that will in turn lead to reduction in carbon footprint of these flights,” said Airports Authority of India air navigation services (ANS) member Vineet Gulati.
11/11/18 Tamaghna Banerjee/Times of India

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Shimla heli-taxi service withdrawn

Mohali: The heli-taxi service from Chandigarh to Shimla launched with much fanfare on June 4 has been stopped as it finds no place in the winter flight schedule released by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
According to the schedule, there is no place for the heli-taxi service, said Chandigarh international airport spokesperson Deepesh Joshi. He said, "We are yet to get any communication on operations of heli-taxi service on the Chandigarh-Shimla sector."
The taxi service which was introduced twice a week was later extended to thrice owing to upsurge in popularity, which later declined. Sources said the failure of the heli-taxi service is due to high fare and distant airport from Shimla city.
Though the operator also changed the landing place nearer to the city, it still failed to attract passengers.
The helicopter with a capacity of 20 seats with a fare of Rs 2,999 per passenger was introduced from Shimla at 8 am. It arrived in Chandigarh at 8:20 am. The same helicopter used to depart from Chandigarh at 9 am to reach Shimla at 9.20 am.
11/11/18 Times of India

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Army school adds 'wings' to pass out pilots

Nashik: About 43 officers of Combat Army Aviation Training School (CATS) were awarded the coveted 'Aviation Wings' to become Combat Helicopter Pilots after having successfully completed 'Combat Aviation Course Serial-30' at Gandhinagar airfield here today.
Two army officers and one navy officer were awarded the 'Aviation Instructor Badge' for having
successfully qualified on 'Aviation Helicopter instructor Course Serial-29'.
The CATS located at Gandhi Nagar Airfield, Nashik Road is the premier flying training institution of the Indian Army.
10/11/18 UNI

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No tax cuts for airlines, government not ready to lose revenue on fuel

New Delhi: Aviation companies will not get a cut in the levy on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) which they had demanded from the government.

Top sources say that the government is not likely to accept the plea from various airlines, backed by the ministry of civil aviation, that states and oil marketing companies (OMCs) should reduce the taxes, as it happened with petrol and diesel.

Junior minister for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha had met finance minister last month to urge him to bring aviation turbine fuel (ATF) under the ambit of GST.

Ways to lower input costs for airlines were also discussed in the meeting.

During the meeting, the aviation ministry said that Indian carriers are facing tough business conditions despite India being one of the world's fastest growing markets. The ministry mentioned rising oil prices and depreciating Rupee.
10/11/18 Rahul Shrivastava/India Today

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