Showing posts with label Foreign Aug 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreign Aug 2014. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

Ebola: Six 'high risk' passengers from west Africa quarantined at Delhi airport

New Delhi: Six people deemed "high risk" Ebola suspects were on Monday admitted to a quarantine facility at Delhi airport, health ministry said.

The suspects were among 181 passengers who arrived in India from the affected western African countries.
As of today, the ministry said, as many as 816 passengers were being tracked by authorities under Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.

These passengers are those who carried certain risk because of suspicion that they might have come in touch with Ebola victims and are being monitored to ensure that they are attended to in case they develop symptoms of the dangerous disease.
"Report has been received from state IDSP units of 18 of the 20 states about 80 passengers being monitored. One passenger, who is being tracked and monitored in West Bengal has confirmed to be having Malaria...," it said.
01/09/14 PTI/Times of India

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Now, airlines' frequency to under-served regions linked to international flying rights

New Delhi: The government is likely to link an airlines' frequency of service in under-served regions like Kashmir and the Northeast to the international flying rights it is allocated.
Such a move is expected to not only incentivise airlines' operations in under-served regions, which are considered loss-making but also help streamline allocation of international flying rights.
"In the event of any liberalised scheme permitting international routes for domestic airlines, (the) government could consider imposing proportionate obligatory operations to remote and regional areas for such airlines, which would be notified separately," says a draft route dispersal guideline, which has been put up on the civil aviation ministry's website for public comments.
A civil aviation ministry official said such a move could act as catalyst and airlines may add capacity in underserved regions to get allocations in key international routes, which is going to be difficult with more airlines coming into operation. An industry executive said such a step will not only increase connectivity to under-developed regions but also bring in a formula to decide on international allocations for Indian carriers.
30/08/14 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

Centre scraps light utility helicopter tender, opens it to Indian players

New Delhi: The government on Friday scrapped a tender worth Rs 6,000 crore to procure 197 light utility helicopters from foreign vendors for the armed forces and decided to allow domestic players to manufacture these helicopters.
Scrapping the tender, the Defence Acquisition Council chaired by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley put the acquisition under the “Buy and Make Indian” category, allowing the Indian industry to make the helicopters under a joint venture with a foreign manufacturer.
This is the second defence tender under the new government to be opened to the Indian industry. Last month, the government had opened the process to develop 56 transport aircraft to the domestic private sector.
The scrapping of the tender is significant as former defence minister A K Antony had deferred a decision on it following the VVIP helicopters scam. Investigations into the scam had also revealed alleged kickbacks in the light utility helicopters procurement process.
30/08/14 Pranav Kulkarni/Indian Express

Government scraps seven year-old global tender for acquisition of 197 helicopters

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government swung into action on Friday, scrapping a seven-year-old global tender worth thousands of crores for the acquisition of 197 helicopters for the Army and Air Force after allegations of corruption.

The cancellation of the global tender for the 197 helicopters floated way back in 2007 by the UPA-1 government was perhaps the most significant step on Friday. This is for the second time in seven years that the global tender for this proposed acquisition was cancelled. The deal was worth $600 million when the tender was issued in 2007, but it is estimated that the cost may have gone up at current prices to about $1 billion (about Rs 6,000 crores).

This time the cancellation was done after allegations earlier that an Army brigadier involved in the field trials had demanded a huge bribe from one of the foreign vendors. The tender for this acquisition was cancelled originally in 2007 after alleged irregularities following which a fresh tender was issued which has been cancelled now. Of the 197 helicopters, 133 were believed to be for the Army and the remaining 64 for the IAF.

The European Eurocopter and the Russian Kamov helicopters were in the fray for the deal. The light-utility helicopters were meant to be a replacement to the ageing fleet of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters that carry troops and equipment to high-altitude areas such as the Siachen glacier. But just two weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged from the ramparts of the Red Fort to boost indigenous manufacturing, the ministry of defence (MoD) said the acquisition of the 197 helicopters would now be as per the “Buy and Make (Indian)” category which essentially means that an Indian company can enter into a Joint Venture (JV) with a foreign firm and then bid for the contract.
30/08/14 Deccan Chronicle

Shocked Air India says website blocked by US, Indian cos in wake of Rs 100 ticket offer

New Delhi: Air India's website, which went down two days ago after the airline offered a special fare of Rs 100, was apparently blocked by a few sites in India and abroad for a considerable time.
An unprecedented 80,000 hits a minute were recorded from some sites which blocked Air India bookings by genuine passengers, the national carrier's Information Technology (IT) team found during internal investigations.
The IT team identified at least four sites in India, four in the United States and one in Singapore, which were blocking others from getting into the ticket booking engine, airline sources said.
The massive hits led the website's NIC server to turn erratic, they said. Almost all Indian-government websites are developed and managed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
Following the massive load on its website, the airline increased the number of its servers from four to eight, the sources said, adding a large number of tickets were sold at the offered rate but did not elaborate.
30/08/14 PTI/Financial Express

Friday, August 29, 2014

Why the Indian Health Ministry is wrong to focus on airport screenings to keep out Ebola

It has already claimed more than 1,400 lives, yet the Ebola virus continues to spread across West Africa. On August 8, an emergency committee of the World Health Organization unanimously agreed to declare the virus a public health emergency of international concern, calling for a coordinated international response to stop the spread of the disease. Consequently, India’s health ministry has put in place several elaborate precautionary measures, including extensive screening of all airline passengers arriving from Ebola-hit regions of West Africa.

Despite these efforts, India’s somewhat panicked response to Ebola is indication of the power of media-led hysteria – and how it can set the priorities of an otherwise fragile system of public health. A number of public health experts have argued in the wake of this global spread of news about the disease that attempts to build a more proactive approach to disease control are actually hampered by these bouts of overwrought interest in one disease or the other.
29/08/14 Udit Thakur/Scroll.in

Boeing, Airbus vie for $2 billion order from India's Air One

India's Air One Aviation Pvt. is seeking $2 billion of jets to take on Singapore Airlines Ltd.'s venture in the country, stoking competition in a market where carriers lost almost $10 billion in seven years.

Air One, among six companies that last month got initial approval to start airlines in India, is looking at Airbus Group NV's A320s and Boeing Co.'s 737s, its director Alok Sharma said in an interview yesterday. At list prices, 20 Boeing 737-900ERs cost $1.98 billion, although airlines typically get discounts.

"You can't start with one plane and wait for another six months to get the next one," Sharma said in his office near New Delhi's airport, adding Air One plans to provide full-service flights from mid-2015. "The launch will be decided by availability of aircraft in a contiguous manner."

Sharma, undeterred by one of the world's costliest aviation markets, said he sees growing demand for air travel and reduced capacity because some airlines in India are struggling. Singapore Airlines -- partnering with the Tata Group -- plans to fly its full-service Indian venture Vistara this year. AirAsia (India) Pvt. began operating a low-cost carrier in June.
28/08/14 Daily Herald

India should review airport regulatory model for investment: ACI

New Delhi:  India's prevailing airport regulatory model has yielded "poor returns" for investors, global airports body Airports Council International (ACI) said today and sought its review to attract investment to develop aviation infrastructure in the country.

Asserting that transparent economic regulatory processes must be put in place in India, ACI Director General Angela Gittens said, "The current regulatory model has yielded poor returns for investors and this could stifle development of India's airports in the long run."
Gittens, who met top government officials including those from the Civil Aviation Ministry here, said India needed the "right" economic regulatory framework in place to encourage the development of the much-needed airport infrastructure.

The government should "review their approach towards regulation....India really needs to think about how much economic regulation is necessary," she told reporters.

"It is outmoded to have a very prescriptive economic regulatory model," she said, giving the example of the United Kingdom which had "stepped away from such a system".

The ACI chief said the private investors came in to invest in airport infrastructure with "one set of expectations but got something different".
28/08/14 PTI/Economic Times

Air India website blocked by a few sites in India, abroad

New Delhi: Air India's website, which went down two days ago after the airline offered a special fare of Rs 100, was apparently blocked by a few sites in India and abroad for a considerable time.
An unprecedented 80,000 hits a minute were recorded from some sites which blocked bookings by genuine passengers, the national carrier's Information Technology (IT) team found during internal investigations.
The IT team identified at least four sites in India, four in the United States and one in Singapore, which were blocking others from getting into the ticket booking engine, airline sources said.
The massive hits led the website's NIC server to turn erratic, they said. Almost all Indian-government websites are developed and managed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
Following the massive load on its website, the airline increased the number of its servers from four to eight, the sources said, adding a large number of tickets were sold at the offered rate but did not elaborate.
29/08/14 Economic Times

Indian airports over-regulated: Global airports body

New Delhi: One of the key challenges for Indian aviation is the development of airport infrastructure which should not be subject to strict economic regulation in every case, Airports Council International (ACI) director general Angela Gittens told newspersons after interacting with senior aviation sector officials in New Delhi.

ACI has offered its support to India’s attempts to further develop its airport infrastructure and find the right regulatory framework. “Other countries have faced this dilemma and we will provide examples for the government to explore. India should be one of the three largest aviation markets in the world. ACI wants to see India take its rightful place in the aviation world,” Ms. Gittens said when asked about the interactions with Ministry of Civil Aviation officials.

In this regard, ACI discussed with Government officials the need for India to have the right economic regulatory framework in place to encourage the development of this much needed infrastructure. “The world is recognising that airports are businesses in their own right as they vie to gain air services for their communities. As such, the need for regulating every aspect is now outmoded and regulators tend to focus more on service quality rather than strict price,” added Ms. Gittens.
28/08/14 Sandeep Dikshit/The Hindu

Malaysia Airlines to slash 6000 jobs

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia Airlines will cut 6,000 of its 20,000 jobs as part of a major overhaul, the company said on Friday.
The outline restructuring plan was announced by state sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad, which is aiming to buy up all remaining shares to delist the company by the end of the year.
The restructuring should see a re-launch by July, and a return to profit by the end of 2017, Khazanah said. The 12-point plan would include an infusion of 6 billion ringgit (1.90 billion dollars).
29/08/14 DPA/The Hindu

Active phase of Avia Indra-2014 begins

The active phase of the Avia Indra-2014 joint air force exercises between Russia and India began today. Aerial manoeuvres are being held in Voronezh at the Pogonovo range and in Astrakhan Region at the Ashuluk training range, Colonel Igor Klimov, spokesman of Russia's Air Force, told journalists.
Colonel General Viktor Bondarev, Commander-in-Chief of Russia's Air Force, attended a ceremony marking the start of the exercises in Lipetsk.
“Russo-Indian crews manning the aircraft Su-30SM, helicopters Mi-35 and Mi-8 are to make joint flights with firing at ground targets, and drill the refuelling of Su-30SM aircraft in mid-air by the tanker plane Il-78,” Klimov said. He pointed out that, beginning from August 25, Indian air pilots at the Lipetsk-based aviation centre studied the areas of the forthcoming flights and practiced piloting skills on modern training facilities, while air defence specialists have been familiarizing themselves with anti-aircraft missile systems at the training centre of anti-aircraft missile troops at Gatchina.
“Joint air defence crews at Ashuluk military range will repulse a strike by a simulated enemy with field firings of anti-aircraft missile systems S-400, S-300, Buk-M1, and the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile-and-gun system.” The purpose of the exercises will be to train joint Russo-Indian crews in accomplishing various function tasks.
29/08/14 Russia & India Report

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Passengers cry foul as Kerala-Dubai airfares skyrocket

Dubai: Airfares to Dubai from the Indian state of Kerala have skyrocketed by more than four times from now until the first few days of September as a result of the end of summer vacations and upcoming Onam festival.

Return airfare from Kozhikode, Kerala, to Dubai has gone up from around Rs19,000 (Dh1,150) a few weeks ago to as much as Rs78,500 (Dh4,790) around Onam (September 9), leading passengers in Kerala scrambling to other airports in India for cheaper options.

A Keralite who’s landed a job in the UAE changed his travel plans after he was told the airfare from Kochi to Dubai is a whopping Rs80,000. The jobseeker opted to travel from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai, and from there to Sharjah, paying altogether Rs60,000, thus saving Rs20,000 (Dh1,220).

“All return air tickets from Kerala, especially from Kozhikode and Kochi are very high up to September 10. These rates are four to five times more than the normal rate during other seasons,” said Abdul Rasheed, a Travel Consultant.
28/08/14 VM Sathish/Emirates 24|7

Airlines fare hike to Gulf regions resented by Kerala CM

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today expressed strong resentment over the hike in airfare by airlines operating to Gulf regions and said the state's protest would be conveyed to the Union civil aviation ministry.

"The airline companies are creating an artificial demand for tickets by cutting down services and taking advantage of the Onam festival season," he told reporters during the cabinet briefing here.

"Kerala's protest in this regard will be conveyed to the Union Ministry for Aviation", he added.
27/08/14 PTI/Business Standard

Air India wants Boeing to give more compensation for the grounding of Dreamliners

New Delhi: Perturbed by the recurring glitches in its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet, Air India's management has asked Boeing to compensate for the grounding of the aircraft due to these problems and the subsequent loss of revenue because of bad publicity. These compensations would be over and above the demand for initial deliveries not being as fuel-efficient as promised, which is being negotiated.
Air India (AI) asked for this compensation in its meeting with Dinesh Keskar, senior vice-president, Boeing India, in the beginning of August. "The faults with Dreamliners are just refusing to die and we are facing a lot of losses due to aircraft on the ground, adverse publicity in media that takes away a lot of our passengers. We have asked Boeing to compensate us for the same," said a senior AI official.

He added that an executive representing the AI management, in its meeting with Keskar, showed him a file that was a compilation of media reportage over Dreamliner glitches in India.
28/08/14 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

First Hajj flight from India arrives in Saudi Arabia

Jedda: The first Hajj flight from India carrying 235 pilgrims has arrived in Madinah in Saudi Arabia.
Air India flight AI 5001 arrived yesterday at Prince Mohammed International Airport in Madinah from Kolkata.
The pilgrims were received at the Prince Mohammed International Airport by India's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Hamid Ali Rao, Consul General of India, Jeddah BS Mubarak and other officials.
From the Saudi side, officials from Ministry of Hajj, General Authority of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority were present.
All pilgrims were provided Saudi SIM cards at their embarkation points in India.
28/08/14 PTI/Financial Express

Boeing, Airbus Vie for $2 Billion Air One Order in India

India’s Air One Aviation Pvt. is seeking $2 billion of jets to take on Singapore Airlines Ltd.’s (SIA) venture in the country, stoking competition in a market where carriers lost almost $10 billion in seven years.

Air One, among six companies that last month got initial approval to start airlines in India, is looking at Airbus Group NV’s (AIR) A320s and Boeing Co.’s (BA) 737s, its director Alok Sharma said in an interview yesterday. At list prices, 20 Boeing 737-900ERs cost $1.98 billion, although airlines typically get discounts.

“You can’t start with one plane and wait for another six months to get the next one,” Sharma said in his office near New Delhi’s airport, adding Air One plans to provide full-service flights from mid-2015. “The launch will be decided by availability of aircraft in a contiguous manner.”

Sharma, undeterred by one of the world’s costliest aviation markets, said he sees growing demand for air travel and reduced capacity because some airlines in India are struggling. Singapore Airlines -- partnering with the Tata Group -- plans to fly its full-service Indian venture Vistara this year. AirAsia (India) Pvt. began operating a low-cost carrier in June.
28/08/14 Bloomberg.com

Nepal moves to establish shorter air routes to India

Kathmandu:  The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation on Wednesday formed a technical working group to discuss a range of airspace issues and create a favourable condition to open new cross-border air routes between Nepal and India.

The group is led by the deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) and includes senior officials of the Tourism Ministry. It will finalize Nepal’s agenda for opening more direct and shorter flight routes between the two countries.

The group will submit its report to the ministry which will forward it to the Cabinet. Subsequently, a meeting will be held with an Indian technical team, said Suresh Acharya, joint secretary at the Aviation Industry Management Division at the ministry. Nepal has proposed holding the first round of meetings with India in September and the second round in October.  
28/08/14 eKantipur.com

Five-hour haj flight delay forces Manjhi to fly back

Gaya: CM Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday flew back to the state capital without flagging off the first batch of Haj pilgrims of the state as the inaugural flight was delayed by nearly five hours. Manjhi flew in shortly after 9am to flag off the first flight of Haj pilgrims scheduled for 10.50 in the morning. But the five-hour long delay forced the CM to fly back without performing the flagging off ritual. The long delay caused confusion and management problems at the airport. Quite a few pilgrims expressed resentment at the delay.

According to Dr Farasat Hussain, coordinator of health services to Haj pilgrims, said though the delayed departure of the pilgrims caused more inconvenience to the older pilgrims though doctors and para-medical staff remained in action mode to cater to their health requirements.

However, the CM individually met the pilgrims and offered them flowers and asked them to pray for the welfare of the state. Addressing the Haj pilgrims, volunteers and officials present at the airport, the CM promised to speed up the land acquisition work for the expansion of the runway to facilitate the landing and take off of A-310 type of planes with a passenger capacity of 250. On account of the existing shorter runway, only A-320 type planes with 140 seat capacity can make a safe landing and take off.
28/08/14 Abdul Qadir/Times of India

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Tata Signs Aircraft Pact with Pilatus

Hyderabad: Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL)  said here on Tuesday that it has  signed a pact with Switzerland-based Pilatus Aircraft Ltd to manufacture and supply turbine-powered business aircraft Pilatus PC-12 Green Aircraft aerostructures from its facility in Adibatla in Hyderabad.

The agreement includes assembly of complete airframes for the aircraft, including integrated fuselage, wing, cockpit, ailerons, fins, and rudders.

Pilatus is currently supplying its PC-7 MkII basic trainer aircraft to the Indian Air Force as part of its contract for 75 such aircraft.

‘’The partnership is important in the context of Pilatus’ offset obligation resulting from the sale of the PC-7 MkII Training Aircraft System to the Indian Air Force,’’  Markus Bucher, CEO, Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, said.

According to Pilatus, there are 1,300 such aircraft sold worldwide and the PC-12 NG is involved in executive transport, cargo, air-ambulance, airline, and government special mission applications.
27/08/14 New Indian Express

Air India plans to reintroduce Mangalore - Kuwait operations

Mangalore: Plan to reintroduce operations from Mangalore to Kuwait is taking shape. The flights that were cancelled ostensibly due to lack of leased aircraft on part of Air India Express is now all set to restart in the Winter schedule of the national carrier. Air India Express authorities have indicated the same affirmatively in their official e-mail sent to Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel. The flight will operate on the Bahrain-Kuwait-Mangalore route.

K Shyam Sundar, chief executive officer of Air India Charters Ltd, in an email communication to MP, has confirmed that the company has plans to reintroduce operations from Mangalore International Airport (MIA) to Kuwait.

"As I informed you over phone on Friday evening, it has been planned to reintroduce the link between Mangalore and Kuwait three times a week effective 27 th October 2014, i.e from the start of the Winter 2014 schedule. The routing of the flight will be Mangalore- Bahrain - Kuwait - Mangalore. The flight from Mangalore to Kuwait has been planned to be operated on Monday, Wednesday and Friday departing from Mangalore at 7.30am and reaching Kuwait via Bahrain at 11.15am (local time). In the return direction the flight from Kuwait to Mangalore will operate non-stop leaving Kuwait at 12.15pm local time and arrive into Mangalore at 19.25 hours local time," Sundar informed the MP through email.
26/08/14 Vinobha KT/Times of India

Jet-Etihad Airways deal: SC seeks Centre reply on Swamy's plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday sought Centre's response within four weeks on pleas by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy seeking Cabinet note concerning Jet-Etihad Airways deal and copy of the transcript of tapped telephonic conversation of former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia in which she had allegedly talked about civil aviation sector.

A bench comprising justices H L Dattu and S A Bobde asked Additional Solicitor General L Nageshwar Rao who accepted the notice on behalf of the Centre to file response on Swamy's application.

The bench also asked the Centre to respond to Swamy's plea seeking copy of communication of April 9, 2013 of Ministry of External Affairs to Ambassador of United Arab Emirates on the issue.

Swamy has filed petition seeking to quash the deal on the ground that it was against public interest as there has been squandering of natural resource i.E. The sky and air space.
26/08/14 ZeeNews

Russia Plans to Supply India With A-50 Aircraft – Aircraft Company

Moscow: Russia and India plan on signing a contract to supply India with A-50 airborne early warning and control aircraft, Beriev Aircraft Company General Director-General Designer Igor Garivadsky told journalists Tuesday.
“We plan on signing a deal with the Republic of India to deliver the A-50 aircraft,” Garivadsky said.
The A-50 aircraft are intended to detect, track and determine the origin of air and surface targets, as well as conduct surveillance, command, control and communications functions for command posts of automatic control systems, and give guidance in hitting air and surface targets.
The planes have a maximum take-off weight of 190,000 kilograms (419,000 lbs) and can fly for four hours straight without refueling, carrying up to five flight crew members.
Earlier, it was reported that Indian troops had arrived in the Russian city of Lipetsk to participate in the Aviaindra 2014 joint air force exercise, which is to take place from August 25 to September 5.
27/0814 RiaNovosti

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

112 Indians Arriving from Ebola-Hit Liberia; Mumbai, Delhi Airports Gear Up

Mumbai: Elaborate precautionary arrangements have been put in place at the Delhi and Mumbai airports to screen 112 stranded Indians who will arrive today by various flights from and around Ebola-hit Liberia, authorities have said.

Some of these passengers, traveling by a South African Airways flight, arrived at the Mumbai Airport a few minutes after midnight.

"As part of the tentative plan, the aircraft will be first taken to a remote bay and all passengers will be screened at the step-ladder exit after the arrival of flights at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA)," the Mumbai International Airport Limited or MIAL earlier said in a statement.

While the passengers without any symptoms will be cleared and shifted to the terminal for immigration and customs clearance, those with symptoms suggestive of Ebola Virus Disease or EVD will be directly shifted to the designated hospital in ambulances from the bay, it said.

These passengers would have been screened in at least three countries - Liberia, South Africa and United Arab Emirates or Ethiopia, where the flights would have halted on their way - before they land in India, said sources.
26/08/14  Tejas Mehta/Sanchari Bhattacharya/PTI/NDTV.com

6 passengers isolated at Delhi airport over Ebola fears, 85 Indians clear screening test at Mumbai airport

New Delhi/Mumbai:  Six passengers who arrived at Indira Gandhi International airport on Tuesday morning have been isolated over Ebola fears.

The isolated passengers have been sent to RML hospital for further tests.

Meanwhile, 85 Indians from Ebola-hit countries reached Mumbai on Tuesday.

Fleeing west African nations amid the Ebola scare, all 85 Indians who arrived here from Liberia and Nigeria were cleared by the Airport Health Organisation as none had any symptoms of the deadly disease.

These passengers arrived in three batches with more to follow in the day, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) said in a statement.
26/08/14 Suhas Munshi/Times of India

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Government might take away overseas flying rights of airlines who fail to perform

Concerned over "unsatisfactory performance" of Indian airlines in taking on foreign competition, the government is considering a new strategy to motivate them to perform and take away overseas flying rights of those who fail to do so.
"We have to work out a strategy that will motivate our players to perform. The reality is that Indian players are not able to perform - neither the public nor the private sector (airlines)," Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju told PTI here.
He was replying to questions on the performance of Indian carriers vis-a-vis the bilateral air traffic rights granted to them and foreign carriers to fly to each others' countries.
To a question on the air traffic rights between India and countries like Dubai, Raju said, "Nobody believes that the (air service) agreements were done with any commercial analysis in mind."
"So, decisions at very high levels still raise questions of integrity which, at those levels, should not happen. Now, in the event of this being a fact, then it becomes very unbecoming," the minister said in an interview.
24/08/14 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Suspected Ebola patient sent to isolation ward

Mumbai: A 32-year-old man was admitted to civic-run Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray trauma care hospital on Sunday following an alert from the International airport authorities that he may be a case of suspected Ebola virus disease.
Manoj Maurya, who arrived from Nigeria, was admitted in the hospital’s isolation ward. The hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Shashikant Wadekar, said, “There are no strong symptoms. But we will conduct the required tests.”
24/08/14 Indian Express

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Frankfurt-bound flight returns to Mumbai due to technical problems

A Mumbai-Frankfurt Lufthansa flight with about 350 passengers on board had to return to the city 150 minutes after take-off as when it developed a technical snag while overflying the Pakistan-Afghanistan region.

After initially considering landing at a Pakistani airport, the pilots of flight LH-757 that had taken off from Mumbai at 3 am decided against it as getting the faulty part serviced there could have been an issue. Instead, the pilots opted to dump fuel to reduce the aircraft's weight. Aircraft are designed to land at a maximum weight lower than their maximum weight.

"In order to be below that maximum landing weight, they must either burn that fuel during flight or dump it. The pilots opted for the latter by hovering over the Arabian Sea," a Lufthansa official said.

The aircraft, a Boeing 744, landed in Mumbai at 5.30 am. Upon inspection, engineering staff found an issue with the flaps, and spares are being flown in from Frankfurt.
23/08/14 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror 

‘Air Asia planning Vizag-KL flight’

Visakhapatnam: Air Asia is planning to launch a direct flight from Vizag to Kuala Lumpur during its winter schedule from November this year. IndiGo is also planning a morning flight from New Delhi to Vizag and back in its winter schedule, according to president of the Air Travellers Association (India) D. Varada Reddy.

SpiceJet is planning morning flights to Bangalore and Chennai. These additions will take the total number of flights from Vizag to 42. The routes in high demand from Vizag are Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, Mr. Reddy told a media conference here on Friday.

On the facilities required at the cargo terminal at Visakhapatnam International Airport, he said that a big scanner and a fork lift should be provided. There was a slight difference in the level of ground between the old terminal and new terminal at the airport and this should be levelled to allow the aircraft to move to the old terminal without any problem.
22/08/14 The Hindu

Fix airfares ceiling, Kerala asks Centre

Thiruvananthapuram: The central government should take appropriate steps to fix a ceiling on airfares in the Middle-East sector, said a Kerala minister.

State Minister for Diaspora K.C. Joseph told reporters here Thursday that over the last many years airline companies have been exploiting those who travel to and from the Middle-East and this is all the more during the peak season when fares are jacked up eight to ten times as compared to the off-season.

"The Centre should step in and fix a ceiling on Air India and Air India Express flights based on IATA guidelines," said Joseph.

He said that while the off-season one-way fare to any of the Middle East destination is around Rs.8,000 to Rs.10,000, it shoots up to as high as Rs.45,000 during peak season.
22/08/14 Business Standard

As ailing Afghans increasingly fly to India for care, embattled airline thrives

New Delhi:  Bibihaji Zia plans to return to Kabul next week after knee surgery in New Delhi. She'll fly with SpiceJet Ltd., part of surge in Afghan medical tourism that's a silver lining for the indebted Indian airline.

"There are hospitals in Afghanistan, but the quality of medicine is the biggest issue," said the 54-year-old's son, Sediq, who organized the ticket. "Getting Indian visas is easy. The alternative, Pakistan, is less secure and less friendly."

SpiceJet is the only private Indian carrier with direct flights to war-torn Afghanistan, a route that's busy even after Taliban militants fired rockets at Kabul airport and the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 disaster in Ukraine underscored risks in conflict zones. The number of Afghans seeking treatment, up 21 percent last year to more than 32,000, is set to climb further after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi relaxed visa rules to deepen ties.

SpiceJet's data show it flies about 1,000 Afghan medical tourists and their relatives each month from Kabul to New Delhi, which may earn the company about 156 million rupees ($2.6 million) a year based on average ticket prices. The carrier said the route is "very positive" when asked about profitability, without giving more details.

That contrasts with the mounting costs and competition in India's skies that led SpiceJet to lose 1.24 billion rupees in the April-June period, its fourth straight quarterly loss.
22/08/14 Anurag Kotoky and Soumya Gupta/Bloomberg News/Stars and Stripes

Indian project on bond runway

A proposed US dollar bond from the operator of Delhi Airport is shaping up as a test case of international appetite for Indian infrastructure projects.

A successful debut from GMR Group-controlled Delhi International Airport, better known as Dial, could provide a new funding avenue for project financiers, easing some of the pressure on India’s overstretched banking system.

It will also underline the rebound in international confidence in India since Narendra Modi’s pro-reform government swept to power in a landslide election victory.

“India needs this kind of confidence to fund its infrastructure. Any offshore bond from an infrastructure company will be a very big positive for the sector,” said Ray Tay, vice president and senior analyst, project and infrastructure finance, Moody’s.

HSBC, Citigroup, JP Morgan and Standard Chartered have been mandated on Dial’s offering of up to US$350m, expected to come with tenors of 5–10 years.

Other infrastructure companies, including Mytrah Energy and Jindal Steel and Power, are already working on potential dollar bonds.
23/08/14 Manju Dalal/IFRAsia

'Fake' gun haul mystery solved, trader arrested

This Delhi builder would travel to France, Austria and Germany and return with unusual souvenirs. These were dummy pistols and revolvers that were almost impossible to differentiate from real ones. If he is to be believed, he smuggled the weapons out of the airport exactly like they do it in the movies. He claims he would first fly into Amritsar, and then to Delhi with his aide, who would join him in Amritsar. While he, himself, walked out hassles- and baggage-free, his aide would make it out of IGI with the dummy pistols, using his "connections".
Their free run ended when, in the run-up to Independence Day, police stumbled upon one of the consignments during heavy security checks in southwest Delhi. On Friday, the special cell rounded up Manjeet Singh from Paschim Vihar. He was arrested.
Special commissioner of police S N Shrivastava said his team had received an input that Singh would come to a five-star hotel in the area. A trap was laid and Singh was apprehended. On August 12, police had recovered a cache of 146 pistols, 40 revolvers, 8,700 cartridges, one 12 bore gun and nine daggers from a white Nano car. Vijay Kumar and Ranjan Paswan, who were carrying the weapons in the Nano, were arrested and booked under Arms Act.
24/08/14 Times of India

Thursday, August 21, 2014

US aviation agency grounds Air India Dreamliner

New Delhi: The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday grounded an Air India Dreamliner in Seoul to examine its engines. The American regulator's move came after some other airline's aircraft saw an inflight failure of its General Electric (GE) engine.
FAA then decided to ground all aircraft fitted with the same series of GE engines wherever they were and examine the engines before allowing them to take off. The problem, say sources, could be with the engine's "angle valve" which work as the gear box.

The AI Dreamliner (VT-ANP) operating on Delhi-Hong King-Seoul-HK-Delhi route was also fitted with the same series of GE engine and was grounded for checks by the FAA in Seoul. AI had to cancel the return leg of the flight to Delhi that this plane had to operate. The aircraft will be released after checks if the engine is found to be alright. The airline has put up stranded passengers in hotels.
21/08/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Singapore's Changi Airports International not picking up stake in GVK Airport Developers: Official

Hyderabad: Airport operator GVK Airport Developers Thursday said that Singapore's Changi Airports International is not picking up any stake in the company due to regulatory issues.
"Changi went back because of India story being bad like the Vodafone retrospective tax and introduction of the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR)," Issac George, chief financial officer, GVK Group said on the sidelines of the company's annual general meeting held here.
21/08/14 Economic Times

MoU signed between MP, Emirates airline

Bhopal : On the first day of his 3-day Dubai visit, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Wednesday had exclusive meeting with Divisional Senior Vice-President of Emirates Group Adnan Kazim.
Chauhan also met Dubai Civil Aviation Authority’s President Shaikh Ahmad Bin Syed Al Makhtoom.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was singed in Dubai between Madhya Pradesh and Emirates Airline. According to the MoU, Emirates will extend cooperation in tourism promotion in the state. After Heathrow airport of London (England), maximum number of passengers arrive at Dubai airport. Emirates has arrangements to extend facilities to these passengers.
21/08/14 Free Press Journal

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Aviation safety: FAA team to visit India

New Delhi: A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) team would soon visit India to review the steps taken by DGCA to address the deficiencies in India's aviation safety mechanism, which was downgraded by the US regulator early this year.

"The DGCA has requested the FAA (for a review) and I think the FAA team is coming shortly. So, there will be a review," Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju told PTI here.

"Our people are confident that we will be able to get back our old status (Category-I) of being on par with the best in the world," he said in a wide-ranging interview.

Almost all of the 33 major areas of concern identified by the FAA on aviation safety issues, like the DGCA not having full-time fight inspectors, have been addressed, he said.

It is likely that a decision by the FAA to restore the top Category-I status of India's aviation safety mechanism could come during the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month.
20/08/14 PTI/Economic Times

Aviation safety: FAA team to visit India

New Delhi: A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) team would soon visit India to review the steps taken by DGCA to address the deficiencies in India's aviation safety mechanism, which was downgraded by the US regulator early this year.

"The DGCA has requested the FAA (for a review) and I think the FAA team is coming shortly. So, there will be a review," Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju told PTI here.

"Our people are confident that we will be able to get back our old status (Category-I) of being on par with the best in the world," he said in a wide-ranging interview.

Almost all of the 33 major areas of concern identified by the FAA on aviation safety issues, like the DGCA not having full-time fight inspectors, have been addressed, he said.

It is likely that a decision by the FAA to restore the top Category-I status of India's aviation safety mechanism could come during the US visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month.
20/08/14 PTI/Business Standard

Singapore's Changi Airport to raise stake in BAPL

Singapore: Singapore's Changi Airport International (CAI) has decided to increase its stake in Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd (BAPL) to 32.2% from 26% held since the project began in 2009.

The stake increase was announced during West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee's official visit to Singapore and at a business forum attended by Singapore-based businessmen.

The CAI stake increase in BAPL was approved by the state government last month.

"The project is looking promising for us to increase the stake in BAPL," CAI CEO Lim Liang Song told PTI today.

The Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in West Bengal will improve the connectivity between the North East Indians and the BAPL townships as well as industrial zones, he said.

The airport being set up by BAPL in Andal, near Asansol is expected to commence operations from December.

WBIDC which plays a pioneering role in provision of industrial infrastructure in West Bengal entered into a Joint Venture Development Agreement (JVDA) with BAPL in 2008 to set up Durgapur Aerotropolis in Durgapur-Asansol region in Burdwan district of West Bengal.
20/08/14 Business Standard

AirAsia profit jumps despite `challenging` climate

Malaysia-based AirAsia on Wednesday announced a sixfold increase in second-quarter net profit as Asia`s budget travel leader increased revenue despite what it called a "challenging" aviation environment.
Net profit was 367.2 million ringgit (USD 115 million), up from 58.3 million ringgit in the same quarter of 2013.
AirAsia said the jump was mainly due to foreign exchange gains on borrowings.
But it said revenue also grew five percent to 1.31 billion ringgit as passenger numbers increased slightly.
AirAsia is led by flamboyant boss Tony Fernandes, a former record industry executive who acquired the then-failing airline in 2001. It has seen spectacular success and aggressive growth under his low-cost, low-overhead model.
20/08/14 ZeeNews

India to revise air traffic pact with Egypt

Mumabai: India will revise air traffic rights with Egypt, the first such agreement after BJP-led NDA government came to power in May. The move will benefit Egypt Air to expand services to India. Currently it operates four weekly flights to Mumbai and is keen to launch flights between Cairo-Delhi in winter schedule. At present passengers also opt for a one stop flights via Gulf.

No Indian carrier flies to Egypt at present but Air India is exploring code shares with Egypt Air, a Star Alliance member, on routes in Africa. Egypt Air has a code share with Air India on Delhi-Mumbai route.

In April last year, India had increased bilateral entitlements to Abu Dhabi from 13,300 seats a week to 50,000 a week. The same day, Etihad announced it was picking up a 24% stake in Abu Dhabi-based Jet Airways. This led to a controversy and litigation with BJP leader Subramanian Swamy challenging government decision in Supreme Court.

In February the government revised traffic rights with Dubai increasing the entitlement by 11,000 weekly seats over existing 54,200 seats.
20/08/14 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

Cirrus Aircraft expands into India

Cirrus Aircraft said it has expanded its international sales network into India. Cirrus India joined the company´s authorized sales network in July 2014.

Cirrus India (SRK Aviacom (I) Pvt Ltd) is located in New Delhi, India and offers a team of experienced aircraft sales professionals.
Over the past year, Cirrus Aircraft has added multiple partners to the sales network including Cirrus sales organizations in Australia, New Zealand, Panama, Italy and the United Kingdom. For a complete listing of international sales centers, visit

SRK Aviacom (I) Pvt Ltd is one of the providers of flight simulators in India and is also engaged in selling aircraft and helicopters.

Cirrus Aircraft is a recognized leader in general aviation. Its all-composite line of personal aircraft incorporate innovative and advanced performance, electronic and safety technologies, including Cirrus Perspective by Garmin avionics and the unique Cirrus Airframe Parachute System. Its website is at cirrusaircraft.com.
20/08/14 Gulli Arnason/Financial News, UK

Gujarat government wants direct flights to London, Newark, Dubai

New Delhi: Gujarat government today sought direct flights from the state to London, Newark and Dubai and urged the Centre to expand Ahmedabad airport's domestic capacity. The issues were raised at a meeting the state's Civil Aviation Minister Saurabh Patel had with Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju here. Patel wanted the Civil Aviation Ministry's help in starting a direct flight on the Ahmedabad-London-Newark (New Jersey) sector and connections to Dubai from Surat and Vadodara, official sources said.

He also sought enhanced domestic connectivity between various points in Gujarat to cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai.
20/08/14 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Dreamliner Woes: India's Aviation Minister To Meet Boeing Execs

New Delhi:  With the Boeing 787 Dreamliner continuing to give sleepless nights to Air India (AI), aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati has decided to take matters into his own hands.

Aviation ministry sources said Raju would soon be summoning top Boeing officials for a meeting to discuss the unending glitches with the Dreamliner that have taken away much of the sheen off AI's newest aircraft.

Till June, 318 cases of delays had been reported due to technical snags in the Dreamliner. The Dreamliner was inducted into AI's fleet in September 2012.

Boeing has replaced windshields of AI's entire Dreamliner fleet following a spate of incidents of windshield cracking, which resulted in unnecessary delays, aircraft grounding and problems for the national carrier.

"Unlike the past when AI was neglected, Raju is taking a direct interest in AI's turnaround. The meeting with Boeing officials will come on the heels of Raju issuing detailed guidelines on how to bring about efficiency and profitability in AI," a ministry official said.
19/08/14 Tushar Sivastava/Aviation Pros

Indians stuck in Ebola-hit Liberia as airlines cancel services

Mangalore: As the situation in Liberia is turning grim by the day, Indian expatriates who want to leave are stuck because many airlines have suspended flights to the Ebola-hit country.

Kenya Airways is the latest carrier to suspend its flights to the Liberian capital of Monrovia and Sierra Leone's capital Freetown due to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The airline will stop flying its planes to Liberia from Tuesday.

At present, only Brussels Airlines is operating. British Airways, Emirates, pan-African airline ASKY and smaller regional carrier Arik Air have restricted flights in the region.
Adding to the woes of the local and expatriate population is the escalating cost of essential commodities. The price of one particular variety of parboiled rice popular in Liberia — imported from India and the US — has doubled.
18/08/14 Stanley Pinto/Times of India

Lufthansa out to woo travellers with new Indian avatar

Chennai: German airline Lufthansa is putting a lot more emotion in its TV commercial to create brand awareness in India. Its first television commercial ever to be telecast outside Germany, airing on TV sets here now, is to woo Indian customers by saying travel is not only about precision, safety and efficiency but also a lot about emotions.

The commercial, says Wolfgang Will, Director, South Asia, Lufthansa, reflects the “soul of Germany with the heart of India”. It has brought into play that emotional factor, which was not well represented so far, he explains, in an interview to BusinessLine. “There will more such commercials in future,” he adds .

“We fought for this commercial as India is one of the most important markets for us. We are known to be the brand for safety, efficiency and reliability. But travel is about emotions too and we are stressing this fact through the commercial. Our presence in the last 50 years here has given us an unparalleled understanding of our customers’ needs. The commercial will help customers see the brand’s Indian side and connect with the brand even more,” he said.

Launched on July 21, the commercial portrays a grandfather and grandson taking their first Lufthansa flight out of India and are surprised by its very ‘Indian’ service, be it the food or the crew.
18/08/14 TE Raja Simhan/Business Line

Foreign deportee escapes from IGI Airport, airlines security officials blamed

New Delhi: A foreigner, deported from Singapore due to insufficient documents, managed to escape from IndiGo's security officials' custody on Monday.

According to an official of the Delhi Police, the accused was supposed to be deported to Colombia, but due to negligence of IndiGo officials he went away. The Delhi Police registered a case under Passport Act. While cops are analysing CCTV footages, the foreigner is yet to be traced, police said.

According to an immigration official, it was a major negligence from IndiGo's side as accused was supposed to be deported to Colombia and he was in transit. Later, Foreigner Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) gave a written complaint to the Delhi Police quoting negligence done by IndiGo officials.

"On Friday, IndiGo officials informed Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) officials that a foreigner deported from Singapore due to fake documents have managed to flee from IndiGo officials' custody.
19/08/14 Ankur Sharma/Mail Today/India Today 

Sunday, August 17, 2014

French treasure hunter finds 50 pieces of jewellery on Mont Blanc from Air India crash 48 years ago

Paris: A French treasure hunter has found a trove of jewellery, including bracelets and necklaces, on the ice of Mont Blanc belonging to passengers from an Air India plane that crashed on western Europe's highest peak half a century ago.
The find comes a year after a young mountaineer stumbled across a metal box containing 100 diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires valued at €240,000 (£193,000).
Daniel Roche, who has been scouring the mountain in search of objects for years, came across around a fresh set of 50 pieces of jewellery which the Bossons glacier had pushed to the surface.
"They were scattered around a big cone at the Plateau des Pyramides, as if they had been placed the previous day," he told Le Parisien. "There were bracelets, necklaces, pendants, gold chains, earrings." Like the other unearthed gems, Mr Roche said he believed the jewels came from Air India flight Kangchenjunga - a Boeing 707 flying from Mumbai to London which crashed on the southwest face of Mont Blanc on January 24, 1966. Some 117 people died in the crash, including the pioneer of India's nuclear programme, Homi Jehangir Bhabha.
Mr Roche, a former international yachtsman, has discovered a host of objects from the 1966 disaster and another - Air India's Malabar Princess, which crashed on 3 November, 1950 with 48 people on board - including a jet engine and human remains.
17/08/14  Henry Samuel/The Telegraph, UK

Air Arabia awaits approval of flights to India from Ras Al Khaimah

Air Arabia is still waiting for approvals to fly to India from Ras Al Khaimah following the closure of RAK Airways, which had operated to the country until last year.
But that is not stopping the region’s biggest low-cost carrier from expanding elsewhere in south Asia. Air Arabia said it would fly three times per week to Chittagong in Bangladesh from next month.
Air Arabia started flying from the northernmost emirate in May after RAK Airways, the emirate’s flag carrier, ceased operations six months earlier. The new hub is its second in the UAE and the fourth worldwide.
“We are still waiting. Every week we write to them and they say wait for a few days,” said Mohammed Qazi, RAK Airport’s chief executive. “We hope to get the approvals very soon, as it affects people in the Northern Emirates.”
In the meantime, the carrier is looking at other regional destinations to add new routes.
“Chittagong is a tried and tested route by RAK Airways. We are very happy to operate this route again by Air Arabia,” said Mr Qazi.
“We are looking at the moment at Nepal and Qatar,” Mr Qazi added, referring to popular routes that were previously operated by RAK Airways.
Air Arabia currently offers direct services to Jeddah, Cairo, Muscat, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Dhaka from its RAK hub.
17/08/14 Shereen El Gazzar/The National

Rafale fighter jet deal contract with France almost ready: Defence ministry

Mumbai: The much-awaited multi-billion Rafale combat aircraft deal with France has moved a step further with the defence ministry finalizing a 'draft contract', according to top defence ministry officials.

Rafale was declared the lowest bidder in Janaury 2012 but the deal has not been inked so far on account of escalation in the cost. The Cost Negotiation Committee, which was set up in February 2012 to work out the modalities for the deal has not reached a conclusion after 30 months of negotiations.

The government raised its concerns over this last month, during the visit of French foreign minister Laurent Fabius to New Delhi.

"Yes, we are in the process of finalizing the draft contract for the deal. And we also expect the Cost Negotiation Committee to submit its report soon," said a senior defence ministry official, who was privy to the developments.

But the official refused to give a time frame for inking the deal. "It is very difficult to predict any date for signing the contract. But, it should happen in the next few months," the officer said, requesting anonymity.
18/08/14 Pradip R Sagar/Daily News & Analysis

Mangalorean NRIs demand budget airlines to Gulf

Mangalore: Passengers from Mangalore International Airport (MIA) to Gulf countries demand budget airlines in lines of Kerala. Passengers point out huge difference in the flight fare from MIA and that of airports in Kerala while requesting budget airlines.
According to Mangalore International Airport Users Forum the average flight fare to Calicut, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram from UAE countries is about 580 Dirhams (Approximately Rs 9,600). Meanwhile, it is almost four times higher, up to 2,000 Dirhams (Approximately Rs 33,000) to Mangalore from same countries. The forum demands that budget airlines flights that are being operated on Kerala - Gulf be introduced at MIA and also set up a grievance cell at the deputy commissioner's office to solve various issues pertaining to MIA bound passengers.
Forum coordinator Prabhakara Ambalathere said that passengers, who take off or land at MIA are facing several types of harassments. "After several years of fight we considered ourselves fortunate when a flight landed at MIA eight years ago. Passengers from Gulf to Mangalore were all thrilled and happy to this achievement, but as days passed by, the service has become disappointing. While the fare is high on one side, flight operators restrict passengers from carrying baggage for more than 20 kg and even 'karimani' (mangal sutra) of more than 4 sovereign are not allowed," he said.
17/08/14 Times of India

Kenyan woman detained at airport

Chennai: A 26-year-old Kenyan woman was detained by immigration authorities here after it was found that she allegedly had a fake visa and overstayed in India, airport authorities said.
The woman, Jacinta Mueni, arrived here from Hyderabad to board an early morning flight to Doha.
She was detained and being questioned by the authorities, they said.
18/08/14 Zee News

New Indian navigation technology to be offered to partner countries

New Delhi: The Indian government plans to offer its newly-developed Gagan (GPS-aided geo augmented navigation) system to Southeast Asian countries to generate financial resources and showcase the country's next generation navigation and survelliance technologies.

Gagan is a satellite-based augmentation system which helps aircraft navigate by GPS, hitherto seen in passenger cars. It offers free enhanced satellite navigation signals over India that are 10 times more precise than GPS.

The advanced features of the system provide better accuracy, integrity and continuity of navigation services for various applications in the civil aviation sector by using data from satellites rather than ground-based radar tracking systems.

"Currently AAI is working on show casing the technology to interested parties. The government is also in favour of sharing the new technology that can also be used in non-aviation sectors," a senior official of the Airports Authority of India told IANS at its Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan headquarters here.
17/08/14 IANS/daijiworld.com

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Jet Airways London Flight Departs After Nearly 24-Hour Delay

Mumbai:  Around 300 Jet Airways passengers, who were stranded for nearly 22 hours after a London-bound plane was grounded due to a technical glitch, finally left for for their destination this morning.

"The stranded flight took off at around 11.45 AM today after a long delay of 22 hours. The airline today operated it as a special flight 9W 118 with an Airbus 330," sources told PTI in Mumbai.

The London flight was grounded due to technical issues, Jet Airways spokesperson had said in a statement on Friday, adding that the airline will be operating a special flight on Saturday morning to London Heathrow.

The flight 9W 118 was scheduled to leave for London's Heathrow Airport on Friday at 12.45 PM but Jet Airways grounded the aircraft, citing "technical" reasons.

"We were told that the flight will depart at 6 PM since the airline had arranged another aircraft, but later we were informed that this aircraft too was grounded due to a technical glitch and passengers would fly only at 1.30 AM in the morning," a stranded Jet Airways passenger said last night.
16/08/14 PTI/NDTV

Friday, August 15, 2014

AirAsia introduces Premium Flex for passengers

Chennai: AirAsia has launched Premium Flex, a new service which gives passengers an option to change their flight twice without a penalty.
The service launched by AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes in Kuala Lumpur includes complimentary 20kg baggage allowance, Xpress boarding and Xpress baggage and other perks, primarily targeting business travellers.
The option to change flights is likely to be a game changer in the industry at a time when passengers have to pay a penalty for changing their already booked flights.
Industry insiders say other airliners are also likely to introduce this at a time when ticket cancellations make the airlines fly with empty seats.
Talking to media, Fernandes said AirAsia India would be introducing at least one aircraft every month. Load factor in the already introduced routes are much higher than what it had earlier budgeted and the airline would be introducing new services to Jaipur and Chandigarh from Bangalore from September.
The airline triggered a price war in the aviation industry in India by introducing a flight on Bangalore-Goa route on June 12 with a ticket fare of Rs 990, including taxes.
"We must keep innovating and improving our products and services to maintain and remain on the cutting-edge," Fernandes said.
15/08/14 Nagaland Post

Why Lufthansa and British Airways are professing love for India

They are the latest Indophiles. Only that they happen to be brands. In recent times, there have been two noteworthy cases of international airlines that have tried to appeal hard to the Indian psyche.
One of them, the German carrier Lufthansa, would like you to believe that the brand is ‘more Indian than you think’.
The other, British Airways, tries to lure the pardesi (Indian expat) back into his mother’s arms, never mind if this is a scene one is used to seeing in Hindi films. But when British Airways launched a big digital campaign, less than a year back, it was Maa ke haath ka khana (mum’s cooking) that was the biggest emotion it played upon.
To be sure, neither of the two airlines is new to India. Lufthansa Airlines, for example, has been present in the country for more than 50 years. In its recent campaign the carrier decided to tell consumers that even though it’s a German company, it knows how to service Indian consumers, the Indian way. In fact, this is the first time the German airlines has launched a campaign specifically targeted at the Indian market which tells fliers that the airlines is ‘more Indian than you think’.
15/08/14 Meenakshi Verma Ambwani/Business Line

Ebola scare at Lohegaon airport

Puine: A 33-year-old man from Pimpri who had travelled to an Ebola-hit African country and returned to Pune via Dubai had airport and health officials on their toes when he landed in Pune on Thursday. However, the passenger was allowed to leave after screening as he did not show any symptoms of the dreaded infection.

"Since the person had a travel history to Guinea, which is among the Ebola-hit African countries, airport officials received an alert as a precautionary measure. They in turn informed us about the passenger's arrival. We examined the person when he reached the airport but he did not show any symptoms. Hence, we did not have to quarantine him nor did we draw his blood sample for testing. He was allowed to go soon after his medical check up," said H H Chavan, deputy director, directorate of health services.
15/08/14 Umesh Isalkar/Times of India

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Etihad, Jet Airways partner to offer fliers discounted fares

Mumbai: Jet Airways and its strategic investment partner Etihad have offered discounts ranging from 20 per cent to 68 per cent to fliers, on regular fares over the combined network of the two airlines

This five-day special offer would be available for sale from August 15 to August 19 for travel between September 15 and September 30 June, Jet Airways said in a release today.

Attractive fares to all domestic and international destinations of the two carriers have been rolled on the eve of India's 67th Independence Day, it said.

"The special Independence Day fares, jointly offered with Etihad Airways will enable our guests to celebrate this national holiday by visiting and spending time with their loved ones," Jet Airways Senior Vice President (Commercial) Gaurang Shetty said in the release.
14/08/14 PTI/Economic Times

Air Seychelles mulls direct flights to India

New Delhi: Air Seychelles is looking to start thrice-weekly direct flights between Mumbai and Seychelles by the end of this year, according to Seychelles Tourism and Culture minister, Alain St Ange, who was in New Delhi last week.

Pending approval by India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, the airline is expected to use Airbus A320 aircraft on the route.

“India’s outbound tourism potential is unparalleled and we are here to claim a share of this growing market. Presently, Indian travellers can reach Seychelles via Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Colombo.

“Indian filmmakers will also have an opportunity to gain access to the stunning and unexplored filming locations of Seychelles through direct flights,” said Ange.

He also revealed that there were talks to include India’s Andaman islands in the Indian Ocean Vanilla Islands Regional Organisation that includes Comoros, La Reunion, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mayotte, the Seychelles and Sri Lanka as member islands.
14/08/14 Rohit Kaul/TTG Asia

AI Express to charge normal excess baggage rates

Doha: It has been decided by Air India Express to charge normal EBG (excess baggage) rates on flights into India, with effect from August 15, 2014.

The special excess baggage rate for 10 kg will not apply at the airport.

The special excess baggage rate for 10 kg applies only when it is booked in advance through the reservation system.14/08/14 daijiworld.com

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Pilot asleep, co-pilot on tab, Jet flight drops 5,000 feet

New Delhi:  The spectre of "sleeping pilots" is back to haunt Indian flyers. A Jet Airways aircraft winging its way from Mumbai to Brussels last Friday suddenly dropped 5,000 feet in the Ankara airspace over Turkey. The commander of the Boeing 777 aircraft was taking 'controlled rest', which means a nap as per rules. The aviation regulator is now probing if the co-pilot too had dozed off.
The co-pilot, who was supposed to hold fort in the cockpit, claims she was busy on her tablet and did not notice that the aircraft had lost altitude. It took a call from an alarmed Ankara ATC, asking why 9W-228 had moved away from its assigned flight level of 34,000 feet, for the situation to be rectified.
European ATCs in particular have become very particular about watching aircraft sticking to their flight path in this extra-sensitive region. Other aircraft had been assigned the flight level at which Jet's B-777-300 had descended to.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) got to know about this incident on Tuesday when its joint DG Lalit Gupta got an anonymous SMS about the "level burst", or uncontrolled descent.
13/08/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

International airlines doling out offers to attract Indian flyers

New Delhi: Global airline majors are doling out low fares and promotional offers to attract Indian flyers in the festive season.

The UK-based airline Virgin Atlantic has started an offer for this festive season. Passengers will now have to pay for just 68 percent of the base fare when booking in premium economy and upper class.

Adding to the offer, the airline said travellers booking in premium economy will be reimbursed Rs.6,800 on the total fare for bookings till Aug 14 for a travel period valid up to Nov 30.

Middle-East airline major Qatar Airways has also begun offering Indian customers discounts up to 25 percent on economy and premium cabin fares to a wide variety of destinations.

The promotion, that runs till Aug 15, offers passengers a four-month travel window until Dec 10.

British Airways has also commenced a similar marketing initiative for Indian customers for destinations in North America and Canada with special monsoon offer which has all-inclusive fares starting at Rs.65,880 for tickets booked by Aug 31 for outbound travel until Dec 31.
13/08/14 IANS/Business Standard

Foreign airlines join in offering discounts on Independence Day

New Delhi:  Indian and global carriers are offering limited period discounted fares to attract flyers from here on the occasion of the 68th Independence Day.

A number of foreign carriers are offering discounted tickets to the outbound Indian passengers, ranging from 32 per cent to a minimum of 20 per cent.
Not to remain behind, Indian carriers Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Go Air are also offering low fare tickets to the flyers.

While British Airways (BA) is offering 15 per cent discount on its first and business class from India to the UK and USA, its competitor Virgin Atlantic has come up with a 'Freedom offer', under which passengers planning a trip to the UK this season would have to pay just 68 per cent of the base fare when booking in premium economy and upper class.

The BA's four-day special offer starts from August 11 to 14 for an outbound travel period on or before December 31, while travellers booking in premium economy in Virgin would be gifted with an additional Rs 6,800 off on the total fare. Its tickets are up for grabs till August 14 with travel valid up to November 30.
12/8/14 Economic Times

Amit Sadh detained, interrogated for 6 hours at New York airport

New Delhi: Television actor Amit Sadh was recently on his way to the US to spend time with friends and family when a religious object part of his luggage at the time became the reason he spent six hours at the New York airport answering questions, claims a leading daily.
Amit was reportedly carrying the holy knife (Kirpan), one he especially got from the Golden Temple in Amritsar to give to friend, when the airport authorities stopped him saying he couldn't enter the US carrying a knife.
What followed was hours spent answering questions and furnishing documents, where Amit tried his best to make the authorities understand that the knife had religious significance, adds the report.
13/08/14 India Today

No plane sailing for this mogul

Pune: Real estate tycoon Donald Trump and his entourage had a taste of Indian defence rules after his personal jet, a Boeing 757-200, was denied permission to fly to Pune as per their convenience.
Trump was to fly out of Mumbai, where he stayed overnight, at 9 am on Tuesday. Even as his customised 43-seater was prepared for take-off, Lohegaon Airport denied permission. The Indian Air Force (IAF)-run airport permits an aircraft with any foreign national on board to land only if it has been pre-cleared by the IAF headquarters in Delhi as per rules.
Senior Mumbai airport officials said the airports Movement Liason Unit (MLU), operated by IAF to ensure co-ordination between civilian and defence flying, was approached for permission to land in Pune. "However, permission was sought just as it would have been for a regular flight without foreigners," the official said.
After realising the paper work involved, Trump's flight staff started gathering photocopies of documents. "They were completely unprepared for the documentation. It took two hours to get everything cleared by IAF headquarters," a senior airport official said.
14/08/14 Pune Mirror

Airlines asked for list of flyers with west Africa links

Mumabi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday asked all foreign airlines to draw up a list of India-bound passengers who have visited any Ebola-hit countries within two weeks of the date of journey. Doctors will be positioned at airports in India to screen these passengers on arrival.

Even as a man suspecting himself to be affected with Ebola got admitted to a Vasai hospital on Monday, only to be given an all-clear, officials of the Airport Health Organisation (AHO) held a meeting at T2, Sahar, to ensure that not a single arriving passenger with possible symptoms goes undetected.
Based on feedback from Mumbai and Delhi airports, the DGCA issued guidelines that will enable officials to be prepared to screen these passengers when they arrive at the directed airports. All airlines operating on international routes are to take steps against the spread of Ebola virus, including distribution of pamphlets and pro forma to passengers.
13/08/14 Mumbai Mirror

Hyderabad Airport Sets up 4 Teams of Doctors to Scan Passengers from West Africa

As India gears up to prevent the Ebola virus from entering the country, the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad has set up four teams of doctors to screen the passengers flying in from the virus-hit West African countries.
"Four teams of doctors have been posted at RGIA (Rajiv Gandhi International Airport) to screen passengers arriving from the West African countries for the deadly Ebola virus," Jupaka Mahesh, Airport Health Organisation Chief and Senior Regional Director (Regional Office for Health and Family Welfare), told DNA.
These teams will be working all around the clock to check the passengers coming in from Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The teams would not only check for the Ebola symptoms in every passenger but also for their travel history.
"Our teams are working round-the-clock to examine any suspected cases of Ebola by checking passengers through their travel history and symptoms," Mahesh pointed out.
13/08/14 Soumo Ghosh/International Business Times

Ebola scan on flights from Africa

New Delhi: The Centre has requested the chief secretaries of all states to track and monitor the health of passengers arriving from west African countries affected by Ebola and strengthen hospital facilities for isolating patients.
The passenger-monitoring programme will be part of a tracking plan the Union health ministry had announced last week amid concerns that infected travellers from the four Ebola-affected countries — Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria — might carry the virus into India.
More than 1,000 patients, among more than 1,800 infected with the Ebola virus in the four countries, have so far died from the infection since early this year. While no case has surfaced in India yet, the health ministry and other government agencies are trying to strengthen preparedness to detect and manage patients infected with Ebola.
The health ministry has announced plans to train immigration officers at India’s airports and advise crew of international airlines about how to manage patients with symptoms on board before the aircraft lands in India. The ministry has said passengers from the affected countries should be tracked for up to 28 days as the gestation period of the Ebola virus can be up to 21 days.
The Union cabinet, secretary who called a meeting today with the health, civil aviation, home, and information and broadcasting secretaries to review the government’s preparedness for Ebola, has suggested a mechanism for systematic, easy and effective sharing of information between the different ministries on passengers travelling to India from the affected countries.
12/08/14 The Telegraph

Negotiation on for Rafale aircraft: India

The negotiation for Rafale aircraft is on, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said Tuesday.
The minister told the Rajya Sabha that Dassault Aviation of France, the original equipment maker of Rafale aircraft, had emerged as the lowest bidder for procurement of medium multi-role combat aircraft.
"Given the complexity of the procurement case, the process of negotiations with Dassault Aviation on various aspects of the commercial proposal and provisions of draft contract is on," Jaitley said.
Dassault Aviation won the contract to supply the fighter jets to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2012. However, the committee responsible for costs and contract is yet to finalise its report on the deal.
Rafale is a French twin-engine multi-role fighter aircraft, described by Dassault as an omnirole fighter.
It was one of the six fighter aircraft competing for the Indian MRCA competition for 126 multi-role fighters. Originally, the Mirage 2000 had been considered for the competition, but Dassault withdrew the Mirage in favour of the Rafale.
12/08/14 Big News Network

Japan may allow India to produce parts for amphibious aircraft

Japan may agree to allow India to manufacture parts for US-2 amphibian aircraft to conclude a sales deal with New Delhi, a Japanese government source said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe may convey Tokyo's intention to approve production of some parts for the aircraft when he meets with India's newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi, possibly on Sept. 1, during his visit to Japan, the source said.

In April, Tokyo eased its rules on the sale of defense equipment and transfer of defense technology in the first major overhaul of a decades-long arms embargo.

Produced by ShinMaywa Industries Ltd. and sold for around 12 billion yen per aircraft, the US-2 can take off and land in a short distance, even on rough seas, and engage in search and rescue operations. Currently, Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force has five US-2s in service.
12/08/14 Global Post

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

United, Saudi aircrafts in near-miss

New Delhi: Two passenger aircrafts, one from Bangladesh and the other from Saudi Arabia, narrowly avoided a mid-air collision over the eastern Indian city of Jamshedpur early on Monday, it has now been revealed.
Officials say one of the pilots wrongly acted on a command from Air Traffic Control (ATC) that was not meant for his aircraft.
The incident took place around 8.30am on Monday morning.
The aircrafts were not to land in Kolkata; rather they were over-flying the Kolkata sky on way to their respective destinations.
Sources at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport in Kolkata said that three passenger flights -- a Saudi Arabia Airlines flight from Hong Kong to Jeddah, an United Airways (Bangladesh) flight from Muscat to Dhaka and an Emirates flight from Dubai to Dhaka -- were flying through the Kolkata Flight Information Region (FIR) on way to their destinations.
The three aircrafts were flying at some 30 to 40 nautical miles distance from Kolkata and were very close to Jamshedpur.
The ATC at NSCBI Airport was regulating the flights.
In course of managing these flights, an ATC radarscope operator sent a command to the Emirates flight to descend in the sky from the level the aircraft was flying then. But instead, the pilot of United Airways flight picked up the command and took down his aircraft by some 300 feet.
That brought the aircraft very close to the Saudi Arabian Airlines flight and a collision appeared imminent.
It was then that the Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) of both the flights automatically got activated, sending an emergency alert to the pilots.
The pilot of the United Airways flight, with instruction from the Kolkata ATC, ascended quickly and thus narrowly averted a mid-air collision.
12/08/14  bdnews24.com

Air India, national interest factored in for nod to Jet-Etihad deal: Siddeshwara

Air India's concerns, the prospect of global connectivity and national economic interests were taken into account when the government approved the Jet-Etihad deal, Lok Sabha was informed today.
"Primacy of the national carrier has been retained as traffic rights are allocated to other carriers only after considering the operational requirements of Air India," Minister of State for Civil Aviation GM Siddeshwara said in reply to a question.
He said the concerns raised by stakeholders, including Air India, were considered at appropriate forums.
After taking these concerns into account, the passengers' interest in having more connectivity to new overseas destinations and the overall economic interests of India, an MoU was signed between the governments of India and UAE (Abu Dhabi) to enhance air traffic entitlements in a phased manner, he said.
12/08/14 PTI/Financial Express

Monday, August 11, 2014

GoAir flies into black, plans foreign operations and FDI

New Delhi: IndiGo, for long India's only profitable airline, now has company. The Wadia Group-owned GoAir has flown into the black and is now firming up the launch of its international operations next May, apart from getting a foreign airline as FDI partner on board shortly.

Speaking on the financials of the unlisted low-cost carrier (LCC) for possibly the first time, GoAir CEO Giorgio De Roni told TOI that the airline had made a profit of Rs 100 crore in FY 2012-13. "The subsequent financial year 2013-14 was also profitable - all purely from operational side and nothing else (hinting that there was no sale and lease back earning) - but the figure was lower due to the fall of the rupee and the sharp rise in aviation turbine or jet fuel (ATF) price. India has the highest domestic ATF price globally. The first quarter of this fiscal was profitable and FY 2014-15 is set to be profitable," De Roni, the man behind the LCC's quiet turnaround, said.
11/08/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Sunday, August 10, 2014

India calls for 'broad-based' Intl probe into MH17 downing

Nay Pyi Taw (Myanmar): India today sought a "broad-based" international investigation into the downing of a Malaysia Airlines plane in Ukraine and called for steps to ensure that such a tragedy was not repeated.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, in her address at the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers Meeting here, also underlined the need for finding a diplomatic solution to the situation in Ukraine.
"The senseless loss of lives in the crash of MH17 on July 17 has left the international community with responsibility to ensure safety of civil aviation. Parties in conflict situations must urgently abjure violence and work for diplomatic solutions," Swaraj said.

"We must ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated. A broad-based international investigation must cover all aspects of this incident," she said.

Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with 298 people on board was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was downed between Krasni Luch in Luhansk region and Shakhtarsk in the neighbouring region of Donetsk, Ukraine. All 298 people were killed.

It is believed that flight MH17 crashed after being hit by a surface-to-air missile fired from the rebel-held area.
10/08/14 PTI/Business Standard

8KMiles to raise India focus; in talks with low-cost airlines

Mumbai: To increase revenue contribution from home market, the country's only listed pure-play cloud computing firm 8KMiles is in talks with leading domestic low-cost carriers to offer cloud solutions, especially on the ticketing front, to cut cost and also offer bulk bookings.

"We have been offering cloud solutions to the largest Asian low-cost carrier AirAsia for the past few years. We now want to extend our success with this airline to other airlines in the country, especially the low-cost ones," 8KMiles founder chairman and chief executive Suresh Venkatachari told PTI.

Though he said he is already piloting with some of the low-cost airlines, he refused to share names of anyone citing client confidentiality.

Though registered in Chennai and listed on the BSE, 8KMiles draws over 75 per cent of its revenue from the US and only 10-15 per cent from the home market, he said, adding that he wants to increase the revenue contribution to around 25 per cent from here through deals with airlines.
10/08/14 PTI/Business Standard

‘Screen Passengers at Delhi, Mumbai Airports for Ebola’

Bangalore: Health Minister U T Khader has appealed to the Union government to ensure intense screening of passengers coming from West African countries at Mumbai and Delhi airports for the dreaded Ebola virus.

Khader, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister Harshvardhan, demanded arrangements at the source of the scare itself.

He appealed to people not to panic about the Ebola as no suspect cases have been detected in the State. Arrangements have been made at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases for screening and medical care for Ebola suspects, he said.

Khader told reporters that strong screening system at Mumbai and New Delhi airports is needed as Bangalore does not have direct flights to West African countries. Most of the passengers from these countries enter the country through Mumbai and Delhi airports. Any suspects of Ebola infection, if detected at Mumbai or Delhi should be immediately sent to AIIMS in Delhi where Ebola unit has been set up and they should not be allowed to travel to any part of the country, he urged.
10/08/14 New Indian Express

Suspected case of Ebola: Passenger from Guinea kept under observation in Chennai hospital

Chennai:  A male passenger, who landed in Chennai from Guinea on Saturday night, has been kept under observation for suspected case of Ebola.

Senior officials in the health department said the man, hailing from Theni district of Tamil Nadu, approached the health facility at the airport and asked to be checked.

"He will be kept under observation in a quarantined area for two days and later under home surveillance in Theni," said director of public health K Kulandaisamy.

He said the man showed no symptoms of Ebola thus far.

Symptoms of Ebola start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus. Symptoms include fever, sore throat, muscle pain and headache.
10/08/14 Ekatha Ann John/Times of India

Saturday, August 09, 2014

Air India Jumbo picks up evacuated workers from Malta

An Air India Boeing 747 made a rare visit to Malta this morning to pick up 289 Indian workers who were evacuated from Benghazi.
The workers were brought to Malta by a Virtu Ferries catamaran chartered by the Indian government. It also picked up passengers from Misurata.
The vessel entered Grand Harbour in the early hours of this morning. A Maltese oil worker from Libya was also on board.
The Indian workers went straight to the airport for their flight home.
09/08/14 Times of Malta

Maharashta govt gears up to detect Ebola-infected air passengers

Mumbai: Maharashtra government has deployed ambulances available with the state emergency medical service at the city's international airport to shift suspected Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) passengers.

Two ambulances of Maharashtra State Emergency Medical Service have been stationed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here following directives from the Centre's International Health Division of the Directorate General of Health Services to the Airport Health Officer (APHO) for necessary vigilance at all international entry points, officials in the state Health Department said.

The Centre has asked the international health division to collect information with help of APHO of the concerned airport about the list of suspected passengers if any and their relevant details like address and contact numbers.

Ten beds have been reserved in each of the medical college hospitals of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The state has communicated to all medical officers to be prepared to handle any eventuality in the wake of the EVD outbreak. The state has communicated the National Institute of Virology diagnostic facility for EVD.
09/08/14 PTI/Business Standard

Kerala braces up for WHO alert on Ebola virus

Thiruvananthapuram: With the WHO issuing world wide alert on Ebola virus and Union Health Ministry issuing advisory, the state health department has taken all steps to meet any situation.

Health authorities here said that district medical officers and health officials were already prepared to handle the situation. Threat perception is low for the country at the moment. “We already have a surveillance system to track people with H1N1 and Middle East Respiratory  Syndrome (MERS), in place at the airport. But if the union civil aviation ministry or the international civil aviation agencies issue advisory we will make the system functional ,’’ said Dr Amar Fettle sate nodal officer for H1N1 Dr Amar Fettle.

People with possible symptoms who come from such countries would be tracked. There should be symptoms and epidemiological link only then one becomes a suspect. Such persons would be tracked for at least four weeks and there are isolation facilities in the hospitals for H1N1 and MERS management.
09/08/14 Deccan Chronicle

Bangalore company, Lockheed tie up for Moon mission

Bangalore:  Team Indus, India's only entry for the $30-million Google Lunar XPrize, has partnered with American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin for its Moonshot moment.

The Bangalore aviation startup has roped in Lockheed Martin's Space Systems division to aid the lunar mission's trajectory, descent and landing. Lockheed Martin works on advanced space-based systems for government and global commercial customers.

Team Indus will compete with other teams to place a robot on the Moon's surface. The robot will explore at least 500 metres and transmit high-definition videos and images to Earth.

"We are a bunch of people who aspired for the Moon. Our moonshot is the Moon," says Sheelika Ravishankar, people lead at Team Indus. The 30-member team comprises scientists, engineers and space enthusiasts.

"We have partnered with L&T Engineering that will build the spacecraft based on our specifications. Tata Communications will help us with long-range communication for data centre and low latency connectivity between ground stations. Sasken Communication Technologies is assisting us in avionics and Lockheed Martin is working with us on the mission side for trajectory and landing," Ravishankar says.
09/08/14 Shilpa Phadnis/Times of India

Airfare hike during vacation

It has been noticed that all the airlines in general ruthlessly increase their tickets during school vacations.
Those going to India in particular face a lot of pressure due to the fare hike.
But in general almost all expat families bear the brunt of this hike in airfare during school vacation.
International Indian School, Dammam (IISD) is one of the largest schools in the world with more than 17,000 students whose families visit India when the school closes for summer.
Airlines justify the hike in airfare saying direct flights cost the airlines more than the transit flights.
Jet Airways, Saudia, Air India etc. operating to India have become very expensive. Transit flights are cheaper compared to direct flights.
Most of the expats cannot afford traveling to their homeland with an increased fare of SR3,000-4,000. Particularly in this year the airfare has gone up to more than SR4,000. The hike in the airfare is not only during summer vacation but also during all other school vacations.
09/08/14 Arab News

Seychelles present personal letter to Indian Minister of Civil Aviation

Tourism Minister from Seychelles is joined by H.C. Waven William, Civil Aviation CEO & Air Seychelles General Manager for Corporate Services to present a personal letter to Indian Minister of Civil Aviation

The Indian Hon Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri. Gajapathi Raju last week welcomed Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture at his Offices at Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan at Safdarjung Airport of New Delhi. The Seychelles Minister who was on an Official Working Visit to India was joined for this particular meeting with the Indian Civil Aviation Minister by H.E Waven William, the Seychelles High Commissioner based in New Delhi. Gilbert Faure, the CEO of the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA), Alan Renaud, the General Manager for Corporate Services at Air Seychelles, Sherin Naiken, the CEO of the Seychelles Tourism Board, Benjamine Rose, the PS for Culture and Marco Francis, the Chairman of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

Minister St.Ange had been mandated by Minister Joel Morgan, the Minister responsible for Civil Aviation of Seychelles to deliver a letter to his Indian Counterpart and Mr Gilbert Faure of the SCAA and Alan Renaud of Air Seychelles had travelled to India to be present at this important meeting which was aimed at helping move forward the request by Seychelles for necessary landing rights by Air Seychelles.
09/08/14 eTurboNews

Friday, August 08, 2014

Another Air India flight to leave for Tunisia to bring back Indians

New Delhi: Another special Air India flight will leave tomorrow for Djerba in Tunisia to bring back 216 Indian nationals, who have crossed over there from strife-torn Libya.

With the fresh batch of 216, the total number of Indians who would have come back from Libya by this weekend would be about 1500, leaving 3000 registered Indian nationals still in the conflict-hit country, the Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry said.

Out of 1500 Indians, private companies facilitated departure of 450 Indian workers employed with them. Apart from taking a slew of measures to facilitate the departure of Indians in Libya, which is witnessing stepped up violence, the Ministry has issued a number of advisories asking Indians to leave the conflict-hit country and not to travel there.
07/08/14 ZeeNews

KLM-Air France announces Independence Day special offer in India

Mumbai: European carrier Air France-KLM today joined the bandwagon of international airlines offering discounted tickets to the outbound Indian passengers with the launch of a limited period 20 per cent discount scheme on Air France, KLM and Delta flights. The ‘Independence Day special’ offer is valid for bookings made in India between August 11 and August 15 for travel between October 1 and December 15, the airline said in a release.

As India celebrates its 67th Independence Day this year, Air France-KLM will give customers a special reason to enjoy the celebrations and book discounted travel to mesmerising Europe combining with upcoming long weekend breaks and Dussehra holidays, it said. Air France-KLM group, with a global network of 231 destinations across 103 countries, operates from its hubs at Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol airports, respectively.

In India, Air France currently operates daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai and 6 times a week services from Bengaluru to Paris. The KLM too, offers 14 weekly flights from India, including a daily flight each from New Delhi and Mumbai to Amsterdam.
08/08/14 India.com

India offers to buy more US helicopters

New Delhi: India has offered to increase an order for US Apache helicopters to drive down costs as the two sides race to close a $1.4bn deal, officials said, the first big military contract since a new government took office in New Delhi.
The Apache gunships and a deal for Chinook helicopters, both built by Boeing, top the agenda for visiting US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel’s talks today with the new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India and the US have rapidly expanded military sales in recent years, despite discord in areas such as trade and intellectual property rights.
Washington is keen to further step up defence co-operation with India, which it sees as a key strategic partner in Asia in the face of an increasingly powerful and assertive China.
India has offered a follow-on order of 39 AH-64D Apache helicopters in addition to the 22 now being negotiated, a defence ministry official said. The two sides have been wrangling over the price of the gunships in a deal estimated to be worth $1.4bn.
The initial batch of helicopters is meant to replace the Indian Air Force’s ageing fleet of Soviet-era aircraft and will be armed with Hellfire and Stinger missiles.
The Indian army has separately requested a fleet of at least 39 of these attack aircraft, some of which will be deployed as part of a new mountain division it is raising along the disputed border with China, an army official said.
08/08/14 Reuters/Gulf Times

New code-share flights link Vietnam and India

Vietnam Airlines has signed a reciprocal agreement with India's Jet Airways which will allow Indian passengers to connect to Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi through Singapore and Bangkok.
Vietnam Airlines Deputy Director Duong Tri Thanh said his company would “make all possible efforts to maximize opportunities offered to our combined network to bring the most convenience to our valued customers who travel from India to Vietnam via Bangkok/Singapore and vice versa.”
Passengers from Vietnam, meanwhile, travel to India on Vietnam Airlines flights to Bangkok and Singapore. From here, they can take Jet Airways flights to Chennai (only from Singapore), Mumbai and Delhi.
The code-share flights will begin providing more choices for travelers between the two countries staring on August 4 .
Jet Airways' Ho Chi Minh City service will begin on November 5, Vietnam Airlines will place its marketing code on Jet Airways' Bangkok/Ho Chi Minh route.
08/08/14 Thanh Nien News

Ramco Systems wins order from Falcon Aviation Services

Ramco Systems announced that the Company has secured Middle East based Falcon Aviation Services as its 65th Aviation customer.
As per the agreement, Ramco will be providing its complete engineering, materials management, maintenance, quality, flight operations, and MRO modules along with ERP Financials, HR and payroll.

Built for the Aviation sector, the Ramco Aviation Suite caters to airlines, rotor wing operators, CAMOs, air cargo and third party MROs.

Ramco ended the fiscal 2013-14 year with 14 new aviation customers; including leading players like Malaysia Airlines, DanCopter, Eagle Air, Ellinair, Astra Airlines and Modern Logistics. Middle East and Africa is the third largest market for Ramco after India and US contributing 23% to the overall revenue (FY 2013-14).
07/08/14 Capital Market/Business Standard