MH370 investigators to meet in France ahead of debris analysis

Five days after the discovery of a Boeing 777 wing fragment on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, French and Malaysian aviation experts will meet police and magistrates in Paris to co-ordinate their work in the investigation into the disappearance of Flight MH370.

It comes after a fevered hunt for more possible wreckage on the island on Sunday turned up no further clues, with authorities confirming that metallic debris found by locals did not come from an aircraft.

A Malaysian delegation headed by the director general of civil aviation, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, and representatives from Malaysia Airlines and judicial officials will meet on Monday in a chamber of the three French magistrates assigned to the case.
03/08/15 AFP/Guardian

Read More

Identification work of suspected MH370 debris set for Aug.5

Plane debris that washed up on the Indian Ocean island of La Reunion and may belong to the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight has been transferred to Toulouse for identification, which would be conducted on Aug. 5, French media reported on Sunday.

In Saint-Denis, capital of La Reunion, Chinese Consul General Guo Wei told Xinhua that the Chinese side is closely following latest developments of the issue.

The consulate has been continuously monitoring information concerning recovery, transport and examination of the debris, and will keep in touch with La Reunion authorities, he added.

The flight, a Boeing 777-200, went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, and a total of 239 passengers on board, most of them Chinese nationals, are presumed dead.

The debris was found Wednesday off the French overseas island. Experts identified it as a part of a plane wing known as a flaperon. A day later, pieces of a suitcase and bottles were also found in the area.

The flaperon has been transported by truck to Toulouse on Saturday after being airlifted to Paris from Saint-Denis.

The debris, about 2-2.5 meters long, will be checked by experts at the military-run General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) in Toulouse suburbs. The fragments of that suitcase went to a Paris lab for investigation.

French experts won't examine the debris till the arrival of their Malaysian counterparts, the Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement.
02/08/15 Wang Fan/Xinhua/Ecns.cn

Read More

Hunt for MH370: Australia Won’t Extend Search Without Fresh Evidence

Canberra, Australia: Australia still plans to end the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 after the current undersea search zone has been covered unless a wing part found on a remote Indian Ocean island yields hard clues on the fate of the vanished aircraft, the country’s deputy prime minister said Monday.

Warren Truss, whose country is leading the southern Indian Ocean search and bearing most of the costs, said unless a small flap found on France’s Réunion Island last week revealed evidence of an explosion or structural failure changing calculations of where the aircraft may have come down, Australia expected to wrap up the search late next year.

“The experts are telling us that there is a 97% possibility that it is in that area, and if you move into a wider area there is just too much to be covered for a small chance of finding the aircraft,” Mr. Truss said in an interview.
03/08/15 Rob Taylor/Wall Street Journal

Read More

Malaysian co in talks for MRO at Mihan

Nagpur: Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) has received an inquiry from a Malaysia-based aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) depot for acquiring land in the
Mihan-SEZ.

The inquiry came from a government agency in the country, but the offer is still in a very initial stage, with formal negotiations yet to begin, said Tanaji Satre, vice-chairman of MADC.

The MRO needs around 50 acres of land. If the deal materializes, the facility may be as big as the one built by
Boeing, said a source involved in the case.

With this, there are chances that the SEZ in Mihan may emerge as a hub of MROs. Boeing has already finished construction work and handed over the MRO to Air India for running it. Air India
itself is planning a separate set up for landing gear next to the MRO.
26/02/15 Shishir Arya/Times of India

Read More

Etihad Airways To Increase Operations In India

UAE carrier Etihad Airways, which owns 24 per cent in Jet Airways, says over the next year it will add more flights, beginning with a third daily service from New Delhi to Abu Dhabi from May 1.

This additional flight from the national capital will take its weekly services to 140, making it the largest Gulf carrier in the country connecting 11 cities with Kolkata being the latest destination from early this month.

These increases mean from May, Etihad and Jet will together offer 224 weekly return flights connecting 15 Indian cities, making it the largest Gulf carrier, Etihad said in a statement quoting its president and chief executive James Hogan.

Etihad and Jet jointly operate 5 daily flights from Mumbai, 3 from New Delhi (beginning May), three from Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi; two from Ahmedabad and Kozhikode and one from Jaipur, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram.

On expansion, Hogan said, "over the next 12 months, we will add more frequencies to our India network and deploy new wide-body planes, including Boeing 787s."

From February 15, the airline added a new daily service on the Mumbai-Abu Dhabi and Kolkata-Abu Dhabi routes.
26/02/15 Businessworld

Read More

Indian American Ravi Chaudhary, appointed to a key position in Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has appointed Ravi Chaudhary, an Indian-American to a key position in the US's national aviation authority. He has been appointed as an in charge of oversight and execution of aviation operations in nine different regions.

The former US Air Force officer was recently named the Executive Director for Regions and Centre Operations at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to regulate and oversee all aspects of American civil aviation. He is also responsible for executing a 288 million dollar operating budget and over 2,100 Federal Employees in nine regions across the world.
26/02/15 Indiatoday in Education

Read More

India’s DGCA allows NAC to fly to Delhi

Karhmandu: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation of India (DGCA) on Wednesday gave its go-ahead to Nepal Airlines to land at Delhi airport.

Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) Managing Director Madan Kharal said it received the flight permit confirmation from India on Wednesday evening, with effect from February 25. NAC, which had planned to resume its Kathmandu -Delhi flight after nearly a year’s gap from Wednesday (8:00 am), was forced to postpone its maiden Airbus A320 flight after the Indian authority asked for a few documents to get the permission to land at Delhi airport.

Around 130 passengers had booked for the flight to the Indian Capital. “It was an accident. However, the Indian authority responded quickly to the Nepal government’s request,” Kharel said.

In a press statement, the corporation expressed its apologies for the inconvenience caused to the passengers. Kharel said almost all travellers who had booked Wednesday’s flight were flown to Delhi on other airlines. “With the DGCA’s approval, NAC’s Delhi flight will start from Friday,” said Kharel.
26/02/15 Sangam Prasain/eKantipur.com

Read More

Etihad Airways To Increase Operations In India

UAE carrier Etihad Airways, which owns 24 per cent in Jet Airways, says over the next year it will add more flights, beginning with a third daily service from New Delhi to Abu Dhabi from May 1.

This additional flight from the national capital will take its weekly services to 140, making it the largest Gulf carrier in the country connecting 11 cities with Kolkata being the latest destination from early this month.

These increases mean from May, Etihad and Jet will together offer 224 weekly return flights connecting 15 Indian cities, making it the largest Gulf carrier, Etihad said in a statement quoting its president and chief executive James Hogan.

Etihad and Jet jointly operate 5 daily flights from Mumbai, 3 from New Delhi (beginning May), three from Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kochi; two from Ahmedabad and Kozhikode and one from Jaipur, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram.

On expansion, Hogan said, "over the next 12 months, we will add more frequencies to our India network and deploy new wide-body planes, including Boeing 787s."
26/02/15 Business World

Read More

US team to clear Hyderabad airport security check

Hyderabad: The Centre has okayed the visit of a team from the US Department of Transportation to carry out safety checks at the GMR-run Hyderabad airport, said sources. The schedule of the security audit is still being worked out.

Air India is the only carrier which operates to the US from Hyderabad via Delhi, and its passengers have to undergo security check at both airports before flying to the US. If the US team clears the security mechanism at the Hyderabad airport, passengers will not have to undergo a second check at the Delhi airport. Air India had launched its Hyderabad-Delhi-Chicago flight in 2010.
26/02/15 Deccan Chronicle

Read More

US woman of Indian origin held at Amritsar airport with 25 live cartridges

Amritsar:  The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) arrested a US national with live cartridges at Amritsar's Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport on Wednesday.

CISF commandant Suman Kumar told TOI that they found 25 live cartridges and one empty shell from the handbag of Manjita Dhillon, who was to fly to Delhi on a Jet Airways flight, while carrying out a routine check. She was to board a flight to Pune at 2.55 pm and then take one to Los Angeles from Mumbai on Thursday, the officer said.

Manjita, 52, resides in Los Angeles with her husband Nirmal Singh, who is a building contractor. Manjita said she had arrived in India with an Indonesian group and had gone to attend a marriage function at Nawanshahr. According to Commandant Suman, Manjita, who was born in Indonesia, claimed that she had strained relations with some of her relatives who had put cartridges in her handbag.
Dhillon has been handed over to the police. Amritsar assistant deputy commissioner of police (city II) Ketan Bali Ram Patil said police had booked Manjita under sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. He said the cartridges were of .223 bore rifle.
Manjita told police that she had no knowledge about the cartridges recovered from her bag.
26/02/15 Yudhvir Rana/Times of India

Read More

IC-814 hijack suspect is peacemaker between Afghan govt, Taliban

New Delhi: Taliban military chief Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansoor, long sought by India for questioning on his alleged role in providing explosives and assault weapons to the hijackers of an Indian Airlines flight to Kandahar, has emerged as the leader of a secret diplomatic initiative to open talks between the Afghan government and the terrorist group, highly placed government sources in Kabul and New Delhi have told The Indian Express.

Hanif Atmar, Afghanistan’s National Security Advisor, met with Mansoor and the head of the Taliban’s interior affairs committee, during an unannounced visit to Doha, Qatar’s capital, early this month, the sources said.

The involvement of a Kandahar hijacking suspect in the Afghanistan peace talks is likely to underline New Delhi’s mounting concerns over what it sees as the pro-Pakistan tilt of President Ashraf Ghani’s new government. “We have not forgotten the culprits and accessories of IC-814,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs said.
25/02/15 Praveen Swami/Indian Express

Read More

NAC postpones New Delhi flight

Kathmandu: Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) has postponed its plan of resuming New Delhi flights with its new Airbus A320-200 aircraft until further notice.

The national flag carrier had unveiled plans to resume New Delhi flights from Wednesday. It had stopped flying to the Indian capital three years ago, citing shortage of aircraft.

NAC Spokesperson Ram Hari Sharma said they decided to postpone resumption of New Delhi flights as Indian authorities were not ´satisfied´ by the documents submitted by them.

 "Most probably, we will resume flight to New Delhi from Friday," he added. 
NAC has unveiled plan to operate four flights a week -- on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays -- to New Delhi. It has already unveiled promotional fares for the flight. NAC will charge passengers Rs 7,084 (including taxes) for one-way flight and Rs 15,177 for round trip flight. Foreign passengers will need to pay an additional Rs 1,130 as tourism service fee.
24/02/15 my Republica

Read More

India is the only country on the global network to have its own advertisement: Director, Lufthansa

At a time when the Indian aviation industry is going through much turbulence, international carrier Lufthansa is working towards cementing its ties with Indian customers. So after breaking the norm by launching its first campaign, ‘More Indian than you think’ outside the global network, the aviation company introduced a brand new feature, called the ‘premium economy’ class for international flights from India. Just a notch above economy class and a grade down business class, with the new feature the carrier is expected to get many more business fliers on board.

In a conversation with FE Brandwagon’s Anushree Bhattacharyya, Wolfgang Will, director, Lufthansa Passenger Airlines, South Asia, explains why the Germany based airliner found it necessary to launch an India specific marketing strategy and the impact it has had on travellers from India. Edited excerpts:

With domestic aviation companies struggling for existence in India, how is the scene when it comes to international players such as Lufthansa?

The Indian aviation industry has gone through an evolution in the last five years. We have been in India for 55 years and so far we have only witnessed a rise in demand. For example, despite facing capacity constraint last year, we grew at a rate of 5% in terms of number of passengers as well as revenue. The Indian market is very competitive and in our effort to meet the needs of Indian consumers we have continuously expanded our services. Not only have we added new routes, we currently have 47 frequencies a week. For our customers from India we have already introduced one of our premium carriers, the Boeing 747, also known as the queen of the skies.
24/02/15 Anushree Bhattacharyya/Financial Express

Read More

Bangladesh Customs seizes Indian currencies worth Tk69,57,000 at Dhaka Airport

Dhaka: Bangladesh Customs has seized a huge amount of Indian currency worth Tk 69,57,000 at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. A person named Md Akram, has arrested.

Arrestee hailed from Munshiganj, landed in Dhaka by a flight no PK-0266 from Pakistan.

Assistant Director of Customs Intelligence, Ayesha Akhter, told the media at a press briefing at the airport that “On suspicion, customs officials held him while he was in the green channel of the airport.”
23/02/15 Customs Today

Read More

Man swallows gold coins, hospitalised

Kochi: A Sri Lanka national who landed in Kochi airport was admitted to the Government Medical College, Ernakulam, on Monday after he attempted to smuggle gold into the country by swallowing it.
Official sources said that the person, identified as Muhammad Suwair, landed here by a SriLankan Airlines flight from Colombo on Saturday and was intercepted at the exit gate of the arrival hall while attempting to escape through the green channel. He showed signs of discomfort, which raised suspicion among officials.
He was shifted to the hospital after he complained of weakness.
Officials said one gold coin was removed from his stomach at the hospital. Hospital sources said the person had swallowed 13 gold coins, wrapped in condoms.
“We put him through X-ray and ultrasound scans and spotted the coins. His condition is stable but it can turn worse if the remaining coins get stuck in the stomach,” they said.
24/02/15 The Hindu

Read More

VoA facility doubled at Goa airport: Tourism officials

Panaji: The number of visa-on-arrival (VoA) issued at Goa airport at Dabolim has doubled within a month, taking the figure to 10,475 till now, tourism officials said today.

Beside the encouraging VoA numbers, Goa continues to maintain a third spot in the percentage share of different airports for highest number of VoAs issuance, according to a statement issued by Goa tourism department here.

It said New Delhi tops the list followed by Mumbai, Goa, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram.

Visa-on-arrival facility was started at the Goa airport from December last year.

The top 10 source countries for VoA in Goa during the last two months were Russia, Ukraine, USA, Germany, Finland, Australia, Philippines, New Zealand, Norway and Jordan.
23/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

AI mulling direct flights to Madrid, Amsterdam

Buoyed by the success of its flights to Milan and Rome, state-owned Air India is actively considering introducing direct flights to Madrid and Amsterdam from Delhi. The airline will deploy B787 Dreamliner airplanes on the two routes.

“Apart from Madrid and Amsterdam, many other routes are also under evaluation. We are studying the commercial viability of all key routes where we are not flying,” a senior Air India official said.

Air India CMD Rohit Nandan was recently in Madrid to evaluate demand and commercial viability of launching the return flight on the Delhi-Madrid-Barcelona sector. In a move that would give a boost to tourist traffic in the India-Spain sector, the government is also considering a proposal to extend e-visa facility to Spain also.
22/02/15 Nirbhay Kumar/mydigitalfc.com

Read More

India signs pact for fighter jet trainer's support systems

New Delhi: In order to maintain its fleet of more than 100 Hawk aircraft, India has entered into an agreementwith European Defence major BAE Systems for a comprehensivepackage of support systems for the advanced jet trainers.

The five-year contract will cost India's military aviation giant Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) 28.5 million dollar, which is producing the aircraft under transfer of technology. Under the pact, BAE will provide a comprehensive package comprising Ground Support Equipment, Spares, Support and Training for the Hawk Mk132. With the help of BEA, HAL plans to establish a dedicated Repair and Overhaul facility for the aircraft in advance for a major servicing milestone anticipated in 2016. The agreement was signed by Wing Commander Benjamin, General Manager Overhaul Division, HAL and Steve Timms, Managing Director, Defence Information,BAE Systems.
22/02/15 Web India

Read More

Minister seeks more Mangaluru-Gulf flights

Mangaluru:  Karnataka Health Minister UT Khader has urged the Union Government to increase the number of aircraft operations from Mangalore International Airport to Gulf countries.

Khader, who met the Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in New Delhi, told him that there is good demand for flights between Mangaluru and Gulf countries.

He requested the Minister to operate direct flights from Mangaluru to Saudi Arabia and Jeddah. More private airlines should operate flights from Mangaluru to Gulf countries, he said.
22/02/15 Business Line

Read More

Indian anti-terror authorities stop man from boarding Dubai flight

Indian anti-terror authorities stopped a graduate from boarding a flight to the UAE, where he was due to take up a job with a company in Dubai, because of his previous links with the terrorist group ISIL.

A spokesperson for India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) told 7Days newspaper that the mechanical engineering graduate had previously planned to join up with ISIL along with four others last year, but had decided against it, and wanted to take up a job with a company in the UAE.

However, as he attempted to leave Mumbai last week, Indian authorities stopped him from boarding the flight to Dubai.

“He was stopped because he is on our watch list for suspicious activity,” the NIA official told 7Days.
The official said that the youth, from Kalyan, is not accused of any crime and is not in custody.

“He was not caught in a manner where he was trying to escape. But he is not allowed to leave the country without informing police and getting their permission. His activities and associations are under suspicion, therefore he is required to be in the country and be available for inquiry whenever required,” the official said.
22/02/15 ArabianBusiness.com

Read More

India, Russia sort out differences on fighter jet project

New Delhi: India and Russia have generally agreed upon the amount and division of work during the research and development (R&D) stage of the fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) project.

A contract for the R&D phase is being prepared and expected to be signed this year, said Yuli Slyusar, president and chairman of Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) at Aero India 2015 in Bengaluru.

“The Russian and Indian parties have generally agreed on the work share of each,” said company officials but refused to divulge specific details at this stage.

The work share of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been a contentious issue as the project will have equal investment between India and Russia and is likely to cost over $30 billion for about 400 aircraft. India plans to induct 144 of them.
22/02/15 Dinakar Peri/The Hindu

Read More

It would be a shame if Avro replacement project is delayed: Airbus

Bengaluru: With no decision in sight yet over the Airbus-Tata consortium's bid to replace IAF's ageing fleet of 56 Avro aircraft with C-295 transport carriers, the European aviation major today said it would be a ‘shame’ if the project is delayed further. Terming the bid of C-295 as an ‘elegant opportunity’ for the government's push for 'Make in India', Airbus said they cannot be faulted for being the only bidder.     "It is a very elegant opportunity to move forward with Make in India and it would really a shame if we delay it for any reason precisely at a time when that is so high on nation's agenda," said Kieran Daly, spokesperson of Airbus' Military aircraft, He was replying to a question if the delay works against the concept of 'Make in India'. Daly said he understands that there is a discussion about moving ahead when Airbus-TATA is effectively the sole bidder.   
"We understand the concern about that but we have pointed out that although we are the sole bidder now, we were not the sole candidate at the beginning. There were other aircraft in that class. The fact that other companies did not chose to be in, we cannot be faulted for that," he said.
20/02/15 PTI/Deccan Herald

Read More

Emirates A380 Coddles Indian Travelers from San Francisco

Free wifi onboard. Movies in Bengali, Urdu, Malayalam and Marathi. And a free pair of fluffy socks: all in economy class.

As for business and first class, the sky’s the limit, with a trendy onboard cocktail lounge, chauffeured rides to the airport, gourmet food and wine, and top-of-the-line amenities — including a spa-quality shower in first class.

Executives from Emirates airline are doing their best to persuade travelers to India to hop aboard the newest addition to their fleet, the huge double-decker Airbus 380, which has been flying from San Francisco International Airport to Dubai since Dec. 1, 2014. The airline now has 58 A380s in its fleet, representing one-third of all A380s currently in the skies, more than any other airline.

At an industry event Feb. 13 at the Four Seasons Hotel, Manoj Shailendra, senior sales executive for Special Markets (Northwest U.S.), told India-West, “The A380 is a unique product in the sky. Some airlines also have the A380, but how we configure it makes it special.”
20/02/15 India West

Read More

Bomb threat grounds Delhi-bound Swiss flight

Zurich: A bomb threat was made on Friday against an aircraft operated by Lufthansa's Swiss at Zurich airport, a spokesman for the airport said.

Swiss flight LX 146 had been due to depart for New Delhi at 12:45 pm (local time).

"The aircraft has been moved to a de-icing pad," the spokesman said, adding that the aircraft's passengers and crew were inside the terminal.
20/02/15 Sahil Online

Read More

Ethiopian Airlines to Increase Flights to Mumbai

Ethiopian Airlines, the largest airline in Africa, is pleased to announce that it has finalized preparations to start double daily flights to Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport starting March 2015. Ethiopian has been providing reliable air service to Mumbai for over 43 years with the launch of its first flight in December 1971. The airline currently has daily flights to Mumbai and New Delhi.

Both daily flights to Mumbai will be operated with the ultra-modern B787 Dreamliner aircraft, which offers passengers unparalleled on-board comfort with the largest windows in the sky, higher level of cabin air humidity greatly reducing fatigue, high ceiling, the latest in-flight entertainment system and much reduced noise. With the double daily flights to Mumbai, Ethiopian aims to provide optimal connectivity options for passengers traveling between India and its 49 destinations in Africa.

Africa-India traffic is witnessing a significant rise owing to the economic growth of the two regions and their increasing trade, investment and tourism ties in addition to the travel demand of the large Indian community in various African countries.
20/02/15 Ibe Uwaleke/The Guardian

Read More

Pegasus Asia launches flights to Delhi

Continuing to expand its network, Pegasus Asia has launched scheduled flights to India’s capital Delhi. Guests can fly between Bishkek and Delhi on Mondays and Fridays with fares starting at just £104.
Pegasus Asia, born out of Pegasus Airlines’ partnership with the Kyrgyz airline Air Manas, continues its growth with the launch of new routes and increased flight frequencies. The Bishkek-based airline now includes scheduled flights to Delhi as the latest addition to its growing network.
Guests can fly from Bishkek to Delhi on Mondays at 08:30 and Fridays at 21:55 and return from Delhi to Bishkek on Mondays at 12:15 and Saturdays at 01:40, with fares starting at just £104. 
20/02/15 ITCM

Read More

Bulls flown in from Frankfurt to Kolkata to beat milk production blues

Kolkata: On Valentine's Day, a Saudia Cargo chartered freighter landed at Kolkata airport with a unique consignment. In its cavernous belly were 36 thoroughbred young German bulls, ready to inseminate cows that will then deliver high genetic merit bulls and cows with higher milk productivity.

The 36 Holstein Friesian bulls that arrived in Kolkata were among the 76 bulls that were loaded in the plane at Frankfurt. Of them, 40 were offloaded in Chennai while the rest made their way to Kolkata. The bulls were imported by National Dairy Development Board for a national breeding programme to improve the genetic potential of Indian cows under the National Dairy Plan.

"This is the largest consignment of live animals handled at Kolkata airport in recent years" Airports Authority of India joint general manager (cargo operations) Girish Sharma said.

The bulls, between six months and a year old and weighing around 300 kg each, are being quarantined and will be under observation for 30 days.

"The bulls have been kept in air-conditioned sheds so that they do not feel any discomfort," an official at the airport quarantine section said. Regional quarantine officer D Biswas had flown to Germany on February 7 to be briefed on how to take care of bulls.
19/02/15 Subhro Niyogi/Times of India

Read More

MoCA to take back unused foreign flying rights

According to a report by Mihir Mishra in The Economic Times, Indian airlines not utilising their quota of foreign flying rights may have to surrender them within the next six months. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India has decided to take back unused overseas flying rights and allot them to airlines with firm plans, especially to West Asia destinations.

The move will also benefit new carriers AirAsia India and Vistara after the government abolishes the eligibility criteria for domestic airlines to fly abroad. With Air India Ltd., Jet Airways (India) Ltd., SpiceJet Ltd., and IndiGo—the only airlines allowed to fly overseas—using only about 35 per cent of their entitlements, the Ministry has, for the first time, also decided to take them back before the mandated three-year period.

Currently, unutilised rights are reviewed after three years and airlines can retain them further by providing an assurance that they will be used.
19/02/15 TravelBizMonitor

Read More

Bharat Forge to supply wing components to Boeing

Bengaluru: Global aircraft manufacturer Boeing Wednesday announced that it has signed a multi-year contract with Bharat Forge for supply of wing components for the next-generation 737 and 737 MAX planes.

"We are pleased to welcome Bharat Forge into our supply chain as they have an impressive record of performance across many industries," said Kent Fisher, vice president and general manager, supplier management, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

"Our discussions with Bharat Forge leading up to this agreement have demonstrated not only a high level of technical expertise, but also an understanding of the need to meet aviation market requirements for affordability," Fisher added.

According to the aircraft manufacturer, under the agreement, Bharat Forge will begin supply of pre-machined forgings from its facilities in Pune and Baramati to Boeing in the first quarter of 2016.

The company said the titanium parts will be heat-treated, shaped in a forging press, and machined by Bharat Forge before being shipped to Boeing Portland for finish machining into components.
18/02/15 Web India 123

Read More

Fiji Airways explores codeshare opportunity with Air India

Fiji Airways, the national carrier of Fiji is exploring opportunities to have codeshare with Air India. Speaking exclusively with Financial Express Online, Faiyaz Koya, minister for industry, tourism and trade, Government of Fiji said, “Currently, the traffic from India to Fiji is comparatively very small. As of now we do not see a possibility for a direct flight from Fiji to India. But we have had several talks with the Government of India for a codeshare between Fiji Airways and Air India. We want to increase the connectivity between India and Fiji. Singapore Airlines is also one option we are looking at to have a codeshare.”

In 2014, Fiji witnessed an increase of eight per cent in the number of Indian travellers visiting the island nation. Speaking about the footfall, minister Koya said, “We have hit the 3000 mark in 2014 which shows a steady increase of eight per cent compared to 2013. In this year we will like to double the figure as India is an important source market for us. In 2015 we expect a growth rate anywhere between 15 to 20 per cent.”
18/02/15 Akshay Kumar/Financial Express

Read More

Cathay Pacific adds Kolkata to its cargo map

Cathay Pacific Airways has expanded its freight network to Kolkata. The airline is now the only carrier providing direct cargo services between Kolkata and Hong Kong.

The scheduled service will operate twice a week on a Hong Kong-New Delhi-Kolkata-Hong Kong route.

It will strengthen the airline’s airfreight presence within the subcontinent, offering customers greater choice and flexibility when moving goods between South Asia and other parts of the world, top officials of Cathay Pacific said.

At present, Cathay Pacific operates cargo services to 46 freighter destinations around the world, including Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai in India. It also carries freight in the bellies of its 140-plus passenger aircraft that serve a growing global network.
18/02/15 Ritwik Mukherjee/mydigitalfc.com

Read More

Govt not convinced of PIA reply on office purchase

New Delhi: The New Delhi office of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), at the centre of an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for alleged foreign exchange violations, could face the prospect of closure.

The government is not convinced with the airline’s argument that under Section 5 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), it is not covered by the regulation which bars “citizens” of certain countries including Pakistan from purchasing immovable properties in India.

“The matter has to be probed under Section 7 read with Section 8 of the FEMA and not under Section 5 as the company is claiming,” a finance ministry source told The Indian Express. The matter was referred to the ED by the finance ministry when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) almost after a decade, brought the matter of purchase of property by the airline to the notice of the ministry.
19/02/15  Shruti Srivastava/Indian Express

Read More

MMRCA RFP to blame for delay?

Bengaluru: Three years after the Indian government picked France’s Dassault Aviation to supply 126 of its Rafale fighters to the Indian Air Force and countless rounds of negotiations over the final contract, it’s still all tunnel and no light at the end of it. While Dassault has been tightlipped about what’s causing the delay, Indian officials have from time to time let it be known that price and guarantees are holding the deal up.

Now, this newspaper has learnt that the “cost escalation” maybe as much due to an Indian “self-goal” as to the French trying to milk the deal for all it’s worth after having quoted the lowest price among six competitors.

The original Indian Request for Proposal (RFP) for the IAF’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) contract did not take into account over 60 items, the costs of which added up as contract negotiations proceeded, knowledgeable sources who have observed the origins and the trajectory of the told this newspaper. The MMRCA contract is the first time the defence ministry is attempting to do life-cycle costing for a large acquisition, in addition to writing in the costs for technology transfer and working in offsets. Given the complexity, that exercise has been botched up, the sources said.
19/02/15 Asian Age

Read More

Israel, India 'open' to joint production of military hardware

Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon on Wednesday attended the biennial Aero India show, which is at the center of India's military modernisation plans.

He spoke at the opening of Israel's stand at the aviation exhibition in the southern city of Bangalore, saying "Once again we are witnessing the Israeli defense industry's capacity for innovation.

"Israeli companies are working together with the Administration for the Development of Weapons and Technological Infrastructure to fortify the security of the State of Israel, the strengthening of the IDF, and to maintain the qualitative edge we have over our enemies."

Addressing the ties with India, Ya'alon said the bilateral relations "have grown stronger in recent times. I am proud to be the first defense minister who visits here and meets with senior government officials, whose leadership and vision to lead India seeks prosperity and growth.

The Israeli official has met with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who vowed to end India's status as the world's number one defence importer, saying he wanted 70 percent of hardware to be manufactured domestically by the turn of the decade.
Modi told hundreds of foreign and local businessmen that his government would favour domestic firms when awarding defence contracts as part of a larger push to boost India's manufacturing sector.
18/02/15 i24 News

Read More

ShinMaywa confident of progress on US-2 sale to India

Bangalore: ShinMaywa officials at Aero India 2015 believe that Japanese and Indian government support for the sale of 12 US-2 amphibian aircraft to the Indian Navy (IN) means it should overcome delays that could threaten the deal.

The IN requirement for a long-range search-and-rescue platform, first mooted in 2012, is awaiting approval by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), which has to approve all programmes before contract negotiations can begin.

Senior IN officers told IHS Jane's in January that the USD1.65 billion US-2i procurement featured "prominently" in the Services Capital Acquisition Categorisation Committee (SCAPCC) meeting at the Integrated Services Headquarters in New Delhi on 31 December 2014.

All major Indian materiel acquisition proposals are mandatorily routed through the SCAPCC by the respective service headquarters.

Partha Dutta Roy, ShinMaywa's senior manager in charge of sales and business development in India, told IHS Jane's on 18 February that "a fair amount of work has been done" on outlining the various elements of the proposed deal so that work can move ahead quickly once DAC approval is given.

A joint working group set up in 2014 to expedite the acquisition has held a number of meetings that have prepared the groundwork for transfer of technology, offsets and contract negotiations, Roy said at the biennial defence show in Bangalore.
17/02/15 James Hardy/IHS Jane's Defence Weekly

Read More

Hoping to ink deal with IAF soon, Rafale displays aircraft at Aero India 2015

Kolkata:  Hoping to ink the deal with Indian Air Force for supply of 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) soon, the consortium of Dassault Aviation, Thales and Snecma (safran) - three leading international aerospace companies that form Rafale International - will showcase the Rafale fighter aircraft at Aero India 2015 that got underway at Air Force Station Yelahanka, in Bengaluru from Wednesday.

During the air show, three Rafale aircraft, including a single-seater Rafale C and two two-seater Rafale B will be displayed. There will also be a daily flight "solo" display, a source in Rafale said. This is an attempt to display the consortium's commitment to India and to Indian interests, he added.

"Dassault Aviation, the Rafale manufacturer, has contributed proudly to India's defence preparedness for more than 60 years. Demonstrating the Rafale's capabilities in Aero India, is reaffirming Rafale International's support to India's sovereignty. We have had a long standing relationship with the Indian Air Force and industry and will continue to partner India in meeting its strategic defence and economic needs," said Eric Trappier, chairman and chief executive officer of Dassault Aviation.
18/02/15 Jayanta Gupta/Times of India

Read More

Fokker Sasmos gets P-8 wire harness workshare

Fokker Sasmos, a joint venture between Fokker and Indian firm Sasmos, is set to build its first harnesses for the Boeing P-8 maritime patrol aircraft.

The joint venture, originally announced last year, will initially produce a series of "proof of concept" harnesses for the commercial Boeing 737 in order to iron out any production or supply chain issues, Fokker says. It will then commence producing part of the wire harness assembly for the P-8 development of the type.
Based at a Sasmos facility in Bengaluru, Fokker Sasmos expects to grow to about 150 employees in coming years. It hopes to eventually produce wire harnesses for other military and commercial types.
21/02/15 Greg Waldron/Flightglobal

Read More

Airbus signs pact with Dynamatic for flap-track beams

New Delhi: European aircraft manufacturer Airbus on Monday signed an agreement with India’s Dynamatic Technologies, making the Bangalore-based company the single source supplier of flap-track beams for the wide-body A330 Family planes.

Airbus had last year in May selected the Indian firm as the sole supplier of flap-track beams. The agreement is the largest manufacturing contract between Airbus and a private sector company in India and elevates Dynamatic to a global tier-1 supplier, the European firm said.

Dynamatic has manufactured flap-track beam assemblies for Airbus’ single-aisle A320 family on a global single source basis as a Tier-2 supplier, since 2010. In phase one of the agreement, Dynamatic will assemble all the flap-track beams from its Bangalore facility. In the second phase, Dynamatic will be responsible for the entire supply chain for the flap-track including sourcing materials, manufacturing and final assembly.

With this new business award Dynamatic will be established as a centre of excellence for the production of flap-track beams, the company said in a statement.

“Dynamatic is proud of its partnership with Airbus, who have invested considerably in development, training, tooling and quality systems and worked closely with us to establish advanced manufacturing capabilities in India, which is truly in consonance with the Make in India programme,” Udayant Malhoutra, CEO and managing director, Dynamatic Technologies Limited, said.
17/02/15 PTI/Indian Express

Read More

Airbus India to expand sourcing base in India

Bengaluru:  Leading aircraft manufacturer Airbus is planning to increase its sourcing base from India for the manufacture of its planes. Presently, the company have around 38 supply chain partners in the country.

As part of its new strategy, the European major has signed a single source Tier-I supplier agreement with Bengaluru-based Dynamatic Technologies. As per the agreement Dynamatics will be the single source supplier of flap-track beams for the A-330 aircraft. The size of the deal was not disclosed.

According to the company, this is its largest manufacturing deal with any private sector player in the country. It also said, Airbus sourcing from India over past nine years have grown 12-folds and $400 million worth sourcing was done from India in 2014.

“India is one of the fastest aviation growth markets in the world and it will be one of the largest in the next 20 year. The new deal with Dynamatic signifies our commitment towards developing the aerospace supply chain in India thereby supporting thousands of highly skilled jobs in India,”said Dr Srinivasan Dwarakanth, Managing Director, Airbus India.
16/02/15 The Hindu

Read More

Did Kingfisher money disappear in Cayman, Mauritius?

Kingfisher Airlines had leased 26 of its 64-aircraft fleet through offshore companies in tax havens like Cayman Islands and Mauritius and paid rents far above market rates, documents accessed by dna indicate.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) suspects some of them were 'dummy' companies and were floated specifically for generating over-valued lease rental invoices.

These inflated rentals were then paid through bank loans. There was a substantial difference between the actual rental and the inflated invoice, and that money disappeared through companies based in Cayman Islands and Mauritius, sources said. The CBI is yet to ascertain where the money finally landed.

Company balance sheets show that between 2007 and 2012, when the airline was grounded, Kingfisher spent a lion's share of its expenditure on leasing and operating fleet -- a mix of ATR 72-212s and Airbus models.
    The Cayman Islands companies from where Kingfisher leased aircraft had addresses in the buildings of global finance and law firm MaplesFS. In 2008, US President Barack Obama during his presidential campaign had described this building as the world's biggest front for tax evasion.
Two aircraft were leased from Hubli Aircraft Leasing Co, one from INDEC Turbo Leasing Co, two from Turbo 72-500 Leasing Co and seven from KF Turbo Leasing Co. It bought two 72-seater ATR 72-212 A from Hubli Aircraft Leasing Ltd.

In a written response to dna, MaplesFS Cayman denied any link to the companies. "Please note that the entities you reference (sic) are not subsidiaries of MaplesFS or part of the MaplesFS group of companies."
17/02/15 Sai Manesh/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Snecma and Max Aerospace Form Engine MRO in India

France’s Snemca and India’s Max Aerospace have finalized an agreement to form an aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul operation called Maxaero Aircraft Engines Pvt Ltd (MAEPL). The partners claim that the operation, which is set to start operations during the second quarter of 2015, will be India’s first privately owned engine MRO joint venture.

Initially, MAEPL will provide line support for the Snecma M53 engines that power Dassault Mirage 2000 fighters operated by India’s air force. The service has indicated that it plans to outsource more maintenance work.

The new company will also start supporting CFM56 airliner engines, made by Snecma’s CFM International partnership with GE Aviation. According to MAEPL chairman Bharat Malaki, there are currently approximately 400 CFM56 engines in service with Indian carriers such as Jet Airways, Air India and GoAir. He said that this number is projected to double in the next decade and that MAEPL will focus on providing line support for operators.
16/02/15 Neelam Mathews/AINonline

Read More

Dassault may abandon $20-bn MMRCA deal

Bangalore: Dassault Aviation, maker of Rafale fighter jet which is in exclusive negotiations with the ministry of defence for close to three years now for the  $ 20-billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender, may have to abandon the plan over lingering issues.

This is despite the fact that bagging the MMRCA tender, which envisages purchase of 126 aircraft with an option for buying 63 more, is critical for Dassault. Contrary to initial expectations of a quick contract signature, Dassault-MoD negotiations have dragged for over two years.

As reported by FE earlier, cost has been an issue since the start besides the company’s reluctance to transfer sophisticated technology to India and meet offsets requirements.  In the last few months, questions have been raised by Dassault regarding the role of HAL in the MMRCA.

Moreover, the French company is unwilling to be held liable for the quality, timely and on-cost delivery of the 108 aircraft to be license produced at HAL. This is in breach of tender conditions and has emerged as a major threat to speedy contract conclusion.
17/02/15 Huma Siddiqui/Financial Express

Read More

Ethiopian Airlines to increase flight frequency to Mumbai

Ethiopian Airlines, one of the largest airline in Africa, has finalised preparations to start double daily flights to Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport starting March 2015. Ethiopian has been providing air service to Mumbai for over 43 years with the launch of its first flight in December 1971. The airline currently has daily flights to Mumbai and New Delhi.

Both daily flights to Mumbai will be operated with the ultra-modern B787 Dreamliner aircraft, which offers passengers with the largest windows in the sky, higher level of cabin air humidity reducing fatigue, high ceiling, the latest in-flight entertainment system and much reduced noise.

With the double daily flights to Mumbai, Ethiopian aims to provide optimal connectivity options for passengers traveling between India and its 49 destinations in Africa. Africa-India traffic is witnessing a significant rise owing to the economic growth of the two regions and their increasing trade, investment and tourism ties in addition to the travel demand of the large Indian community in various African countries.
16/02/15 Financial Express

Read More

Norwegian Air plans flights from Europe to Brazil, India, South Africa

Oslo: Budget carrier Norwegian Air plans to launch direct flights from London, Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm to Brazil, India and South Africa by the end of 2016, the company said on Monday.

"These destinations are definitely in our pipeline," spokeswoman Anne-Sissel Skaanvik said, adding that, depending on aircraft availability, the company aims to open the routes by the end of next year.

"It would be natural for these routes to be flown from the Scandinavian capitals and from London Gatwick where we are already seeing unprecedented growth."
17/02/15 Reuters/The Hindu

Read More

Mangaluru-Kuwait flights: NRI forum demands better service, timings

Mangaluru: Gulf NRI Forum of Kuwait on Monday February 16 urged improvement in the services of Air India Express flights between Mangaluru and Kuwait.

Addressing a press meet here, Gulf NRI Forum of Kuwait president Pascal Pinto said, "We thank DGCA Kuwait, DGCA India and Air India for restarting the direct flight between Mangaluru-Kuwait. This is very useful for the growth of tourism in the coastal region and for patients who travel to the coastal region for the cheaper medical treatment."
Urging for more convenient flight timings, he said, "We request the authorities to implement old timings. Earlier the departure from Kuwait was at 12 am IST and arrival was 7.15 am IST which was very convenient for all of us and it saved time. But now the departure from Kuwait is at 12 pm IST and arrival at 7.15 pm IST which is causing inconvenience to many, especially if the flight is delayed."

He also urged for more facilitiees in the flight, saying, "The authorities need to provide more facilities to mothers with infants and aged persons. They should provide fresh refreshments and not sandwiches, and also provide some drinks against payment.
16/02/15 Daijiworld

Read More

1971 wartime Dakota handed over to Bangladesh

Dhaka: A four-decade-old aircraft, Dakota-3, used during the Bangladesh Liberation War was handed over to Bangladesh on Monday.

The first aircraft of the Bangladesh Air Force took part in the crucial para-drop operations in Tangail, 60 miles from Dhaka, on December 11, 1971, four days ahead of Pakistan military’s historic surrender to the India-Bangladesh Joint Command on December 16.

The war machine was installed at the Bangladesh Air Force Museum in Tejgaon in Dhaka at an impressive ceremony. It was formally handed over to the BAF by Air Marshal S.B. Deo, Eastern Air Command of the Indian Air Force.

Although the official date of the formation of the BAF is September 28, 1971, the force was launched formally by the wartime Mujibnagar government that led the Liberation War on October 8. It was formed with Bengali officers and airmen of the Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), who took part in the war.
17/02/15 Haroon Habib/The Hindu

Read More

Malindo Air starts fifth Indian route from Kuala Lumpur

Malindo Air has made Visakhapatnam (VTZ), also known as Vizag, its latest destination in India, with the introduction on 15 February of thrice-weekly (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays) flights from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) using its 737-900ERs. The 2,612-kilometre route is not flown by any other carrier. CEO of Malindo Air, Mr Chandran Rama Muthy, said, “Our new routes in the past year have received very warm reception from the public, and hence we are introducing more to our current network. With Vizag, we aim to capture a bigger market for India where it will become our fifth destination in India and seventh in South Asia.”.
16/02/15 Anna.aero

Read More

Rafale proposal 'effectively dead' as Dassault bid not cheapest

New Delhi: Even as three Rafale fighters line up in Bengaluru for eye-popping aerobatics displays at the Aero India 2015 exhibition this week, senior ministry of defence (MoD) sources say the proposal to buy the French fighter is "effectively dead".

The reason: During three years of negotiations between Dassault and MoD officials in the so-called "contract negotiation committee" (CNC), it has emerged that Dassault's bid was actually higher than that of the Eurofighter Typhoon, not lower as the MoD had announced on January 31, 2012.

Dassault had submitted a sketchy commercial bid, and when the CNC obtained details from the French company to arrive at the actual cost of the Rafale, the figures added up to significantly more than had originally been estimated.

The confusion is due partly to MoD inexperience with "life cycle costing" (LCC). The global tender for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) was the first time the MoD was awarding a contract based on LCC. This meant the winner would not be the fighter with the cheapest purchase price; instead the chosen fighter would be the one that was cheaper to buy, fly, maintain and overhaul over its 30-40 year service life.
16/02/15 Ajai Shukla/Business Standard

Read More

Etihad begins flights to Kolkata in India

Etihad Airways on Sunday launched daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Kolkata (Calcutta), the airline’s 11th destination in India on its own, and its 15th destination in combination with network partner Jet Airways.

Flight EY256 departed Etihad Airways’ hub at 11:10 and is scheduled to land at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport in the West Bengal capital at 17:20 this afternoon (all local times). The return flight EY255 will depart Kolkata at 18:20 this evening and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 22:30.

“We’re delighted to add Kolkata, an economic powerhouse and Etihad Airways’ first destination in North Eastern India, to our flight network,” said Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer.

“This new service will support the growing demand from air travellers who are keen to fly between West Bengal and the Middle East, Europe and North America via our Abu Dhabi home base.”
16/02/15 Emirates 24|7

Read More

Austrian Airlines eyeing larger share of Indian aviation market

Vienna: Austrian Airlines is aiming to corner a larger share of the "very competitive" Indian market, also the carrier's third largest, by offering attractive products to meet the growing challenges posed by its global competitors, a top airline official said.

"Indian market is very competitive and it is growing so fast now. We have to be competitive. We are in competition with everyone who is flying in the Indian market," Stephan Linhart, International Sales Director of Austrian Airlines, told visiting Indian correspondents here.

In a bid to attract Indian customers, the airline is offering Indian cuisine, as well as others products ranging from Bollywood movies on their in-flight entertainment systems to latest Indian news on board flights between Delhi and Vienna.
15/02/15 PTI/Times of India

Read More

GE to use India manufacturing unit as export hub

Chakan: Chakan plant to produce rail, aviation and diesel engines
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and General Electric (GE) Vice Chairman John Rice shake hands at the inauguration of the company's plant at Chakan near Pune on Saturday. PTI

General Electric Co will use its new manufacturing facility in India, which was formally inaugurated on Saturday, as an export hub, with plans to send half of its output to the conglomerate’s global factories.

The 67-acre plant in Chakan, near Pune, is GE’s first multi-purpose manufacturing facility in India, which will produce a range of products that will include aviation, rail and diesel engines. It will also be a major part of GE’s plan to win increased domestic orders, the US company said at inauguration, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The GE plant dovetails with the government’s push to turn the country into a manufacturing hub with its “Make in India” initiative.

GE Vice Chairman John Rice told Reuters in an interview that the US conglomerate had spent a total of $200 million on the facility but declined to give other specifics, including how much it will produce.
15/02/15 Reuters/Deccan Herald

Read More

'Make in India': PM Inaugurates GE's First Manufacturing Plant in India

Inaugurating the first manufacturing plant of US-based General Electric (GE) in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the conglomerate, on Saturday, to build ships in the country under the "Make in India" campaign.
The General Electric logo is seen in a Sears store in Schaumburg, Illinois, September 8, 2014Reuters

"India offers immense opportunities for the ship-building sector," the Prime Minister said.

"I congratulate GE & assure the world that there are many opportunities in India", Modi said.

GE has set up a multi-modal manufacturing facility in Chakan, near Pune, in Maharashtra. The factory will manufacture a range of diversified products, to supply to the aviation, oil and gas transportation and energy sectors.
14/02/15 Kuganandhan Paramanandan/International Business Times

Read More

Air India runs out cricket fans on way to Adelaide

New Delhi: Cricket fans booked on an Air India flight to catch Sunday's India-Pakistan World Cup match were left in the lurch after cabin shortage kept the Dreamliner at IGI Airport some eight hours past departure time. Violent clashes broke out as it became clear that the flight, set to reach Sydney at 6.40am (Australia time), ahead of the 2pm match, would not make it.

Air India is the only airline, Indian or foreign, to operate a direct flight from India to Australia and cricket fans on way to Adelaide made up the bulk of the flyers on Saturday's 12-hour flight.

Air India's AI 302 was to take off for Sydney and Melbourne with 252 passengers at 1pm (India time) on Saturday. A crippling cabin crew shortage kept flight grounded till 9pm. While an AI spokesman said the flight may take off by 9.30pm, airline sources said crew was unlikely to be found for the flight before midnight.

While an Air India spokesman hoped "the flight will take off in time and passengers be able to reach Australia in time for the match", there was little chance of them getting to Sydney in time and catching a connecting flight to Adelaide. As the hours passed, passengers got into heated arguments and fisticuffs with the airline staff.
15/02/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

Adelaide Airport turns dormitory for India, Pakistan fans

Adelaide: The Adelaide Airport has come to the rescue of thousands of India and Pakistan fans who have tickets for Sunday’s big game but no hotel accommodation. And they are not merely laying out mattresses and converting the terminal into a dormitory. There will be a giant screen playing Bollywood entertainment, bean bags, artificial lawns with picket fences and food outlets open all night.
“This is the first time the terminal will be open all night,” said Brenton Cox, Executive General Manager (Corporate affairs) at Adelaide Airport. It is estimated that about 5,000 fans will spend the night at the airport and catch one of 19 Monday morning flights out of the city. Efforts are also on to get the permission to put the game live on the giant screen at the terminal.

The Adelaide Airport has come to the rescue of thousands of India and Pakistan fans who have tickets for Sunday’s big game but no hotel accommodation. And they are not merely laying out mattresses and converting the terminal into a dormitory. There will be a giant screen playing Bollywood entertainment, bean bags, artificial lawns with picket fences and food outlets open all night. (Full Coverage| Venues | Fixtures)

“This is the first time the terminal will be open all night,” said Brenton Cox, Executive General Manager (Corporate affairs) at Adelaide Airport. It is estimated that about 5,000 fans will spend the night at the airport and catch one of 19 Monday morning flights out of the city. Efforts are also on to get the permission to put the game live on the giant screen at the terminal.

It is estimated that 20,000 non-Adelaide fans will be filling the 50,000 capacity stadium for the most-hyped contest whose tickets were sold out within hours. The anticipation for the game is hard to miss here as streets, restaurants and hotels are filled with fans from the sub-continent.

Even for the net sessions, supporters in blue or green shirts, depending on their affiliation, have been coming in, attempting selfies, trying to get autographs or merely having a glimpse of their favourite cricketers.
14/02/15 Sandeep Dwivedi/Indian Express

Read More

Delhi-Sgr air fare soars, affects tourist inflow

As the tourism season for Kashmir is nearing, travel companies and the airlines have hiked air fare sharply affecting inflow to tourists.
The air tickets from Delhi to Srinagar have touched sky high to Rs 12000, whereas the fares from Srinagar to Delhi are not more than Rs 6000. This jaw-dropping disparity has left every traveller in a fix.
Most the Kashmiris who migrate to other Indian cities during winter return by the end of February. They are preferring road journey to Kashmir due to high air fares.
Sajad Ahmad, travel agents from Srinagar, has expresses surprise over the sharp increase in the air fare from Delhi to Srinagar.
“For last two weeks, I have been checking the air fares but it never came down from Rs 10000. It is unaffordable. I wonder why there is no such mechanism to keep a check on this.”
Khursheed Ahmad, operational manager of Jet Airways said that they have no role in fixing the rates of tickets.
15/02/15 Wafa Bari/Rising Kashmir

Read More

India must seal $2 billion US chopper deals soon to avoid price hike

New Delhi: India will have to fast-track the long-pending approvals for 22 Apache attack and 15 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters if it does not want a major cost escalation in the two deals currently worth around $2.5 billion.

US aviation major Boeing on Friday obliquely warned of a price hike if India did not close the two deals for its two iconic helicopters soon. "We are awaiting the Indian government's decision. We have extended the validity of our commercial bids when asked (in the past). But there is a point beyond which we cannot (hold the price line) due to inflationary pressures," Boeing India chief Pratyush Kumar said.

As was first reported by TOI, the AH-64 Apache gunships and the CH-47F Chinooks had outclassed their Russian rivals, Mi-28 Havocs and Mi-26s, in extensive field trials held by IAF since the entire competition began around five years ago.
 But the final commercial negotiations with Boeing have since then proceeded at a slow pace, with the already much-extended validity of its bids slated to finally end on March 31. The "approval process" for the two chopper deals is currently with the defence ministry's finance department.
14/02/15 Times of India

Read More

IndiGo denies stake-sale talks with Qatar Airways

IndiGo said it was not in "talks" with any airline including Qatar Airways for a stake sale, a month after the gulf carrier's chief executive Akbar Al Baker expressed his desire to invest in the Indian company.

"Indigo is not even in talks with Qatar...The question does not arise. Its kind of them (Qatar) to say that...

"Its a decision not happening at my level.. We're not in talks with anyone," IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

Currently, Rahul Bhatia of InterGlobe Enterprises holds 51.12% stake in IndiGo and the rest 48.88% is held by another investor Rakesh S Gangwal through his Virginia-based company Caelum Investments.
13/02/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Air India Kolkata-London flight delayed by 7 hours

Kolkata: Air India’s Kolkata-London flight via New Delhi today took off after a 7-hour delay because of cabin crew shortage and the passengers for London would have to stay in New Delhi for the night.

Air India officials here said the flight was scheduled to take off from here at 10.30 AM but it actually left at 5.30 PM because of shortage of crew members.

The plane had 160 passengers on board with 100 bound for London.
13/02/15 PTI/Financial Express

Read More

Why India's 2.5-Billion-Dollar Chopper Deal With Boeing Could Shoot up in Costs

New Delhi:  Ahead of Aero India, touted as Asia's biggest air show, aviation major Boeing has made it clear that it cannot wait indefinitely for the government to sign a deal for Apache attack helicopters and Chinook heavy lift choppers.

According to Pratyush Kumar, Boeing India president, "We are inching closer to a situation where our ability to hold prices will not be there." In other words, there is a possibility that India would need to re-negotiate the commercial aspects of the $2.5 billion (over rupees 15,000 crores) deal and end up paying more for helicopters that the armed forces urgently require. 
Cost negotiations with Boeing ended 18 months ago; since then the company has agreed to extend the validity of negotiated prices twice with the latest six-month extension being granted in October 2014.  
 Sources in the Defence Ministry have indicated that the Cabinet Committee on Security may approve the purchase of 22 AH-64E Apache and 15 CH-47F Chinook helicopters before this financial year closes, but there are still no clear indicators of when that will happen.
13/02/15 Vishnu Som/NDTV

Read More

Alaska Airlines Names Jay Gupta Managing Director Of Infrastructure And Modern Platforms

Seattle: Jay Gupta joined Alaska Airlines as managing director of infrastructure and modern platforms in its Information and Technology Services division. Gupta is responsible for strategy, implementation and operations for the airline's data centers, airports, call centers and mobile employees.

"Jay brings with him over 18 years of IT experience and a track record of delivering operational excellence and setting strategic technology direction to align with corporate vision and financial goals," said Kris Kutchera, the airline's vice president of information technology. "He will help us continue to grow our services to our customers as we strive to become the easiest airline to fly."

For the last four years, Gupta was senior director of infrastructure with Thomson Reuters, managing the global infrastructure for its revenue-generating and customer-facing products. Prior to that he served as information technology director for Oracle leading its global Cloud Services initiatives.
12/02/15 PRNewswire/AviationPros

Read More

Ethiopian Airlines doubles the love in Mumbai

Mumbai: “We are very bullish on the prospects of the Africa-India market," said Ethiopian Airline’s CEO Tewolde Gebremariam, commenting on its recent route expansion.

Ethiopian Airlines has confirmed that effective March they will add more flights on the route from Addis Ababa to Mumbai with double daily departures.

Operated with a new B787 Dreamliner, the second daily service offer added connectivity from across Ethiopian’s African destinations. Flights to destinations beyond Mumbai will be operated by codeshare and Star Alliance partner Air India which flies to all the key regional airports across India.

It is understood that Ethiopian is also looking to launch additional destinations in India in due course, again in conjunction with Star Alliance partner Air India which will be providing the onward connections.
13/02/15 eTurboNews

Read More

Cancelled flight puts paid to teen cricketers’ Aus trip

Sydney-bound youngsters from Gujarat claim they were told by airline staff they would not get seats till Feb 17 due to the rush as WC fans headed Down Under.

Five under-16 cricketers from Ahmedabad were in for heartbreak after their Singapore Airlines flight from Mumbai was cancelled at the last moment, robbing them of their maiden trip to Australia and a chance to play for a Sydney club on February 14 - the day the ICC Cricket World Cup gets underway at Melbourne.

Atharva Javeri, Darshil Solanki, Arham Vineet Javeri, Naishal Patel and Vedant Brahmbhatt, accompanied by coaches Bhavin Solanki (41) and Rakesh Patel (42) were to participate in a special cricket camp in Sydney. The trip was part of a cricket exchange programme between the governments of Gujarat and Australia.

However, after reaching Mumbai Airport on Tuesday night and being made to wait for 10 hours, the group was told their flight (SQ 423) had been cancelled due to 'technical reasons' and the next available flight was on February 17.

The kids were scheduled to play three one-day and Twenty20 matches each at Adelaide and Sydney between February 14 and 26. "We were literally begging the airline staff to accommodate us on another, but the airport manager kept on saying that all flights were full till February 17 due to the World Cup, and accommodating us is next to impossible," Darshil said.
13/02/15  Bipin Kumar Singh/Mumbai Mirror

Read More

SpiceJet's revival may run into trouble as lessor BBAM seeks $100 mn

New Delhi: Irish aircraft lessor Babcock and Brown Aircraft Management has sought the return of six Boeing B737 aircraft and a payment of $100 million (Rs 600 crore) from troubled budget airline SpiceJet to cover several months of unpaid rent and maintenance costs.

Sources said despite SpiceJet trying to negotiate afresh, Babcock and Brown had informed the airline it was not willing to do any further business. Babcock and Brown had ended lease agreements in December, when SpiceJet was trying to reduce its fleet. But the airline is operating five of the aircraft and another is in maintenance.

“Babcock and Brown has been trying to repossess the aircraft. It has said it will not renegotiate and has remarketed some of the B737s to other airlines such as Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines,” said a source.

Babcock and Brown had filed a plea to the Delhi high court, asking it to direct the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to cancel the registration of five B737 aircraft. The judgment was reserved on Monday and is expected soon.
12/02/15 Roudra Bhattacharya/Business Standard 

Read More

GMR Aero to be Bombardier service facility

Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based GMR Aero Technic will now be the first Indian authorised service facility for Bombardier’s Q400 turboprop aircraft.

As per an announcement made today in Toronto, Canada, Bombardier said GMR Aero will offer its customers the full range of line and heavy maintenance services from its facilities located at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad.

The 27,300 sq m maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency for line maintenance, and by both the agency and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for heavy maintenance.

GMR Aero will also provide service to Q400 aircraft operators for countries near India, said Todd Young, Vice-President, Customer Services, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. Currently, there are more than 340 Bombardier commercial aircraft in service with, or ordered by, customers and operators in Asia.
11/02/15 Business Line

Read More

PIA involved in planning terror activities against India: Reports

New Delhi: Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the primary foreign intelligence agency of India, has alerted that the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) might be involved in planning terror activities againt India.

The intelligence agency informed that a terror outfit member was recruited by the international airline carrier in its Karachi office.

An Enforcement Directorate notice was also issued to PIA to “dispose of” its properties in Delhi's Connaught Place as their purchase was “unauthorised.”
12/02/15 Zee Ndews

Read More

India rejects “baseless” media claims regarding defence cooperation

The Indian High Commission in Malé has issued a press release seeking to clarify what it argues are “baseless claims” in media reports regarding bilateral cooperation on defence.

“The High Commission of India notes with concern recent media reports about India-Maldives defence and security co-operation and other issues containing blatantly false information,” read this morning’s statement.

It follows a number of stories in Maldivian media which suggested India had refused to train Maldivians to pilot the helicopters, donated to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) in 2010 and 2013 .

It was also reported that the Indian pilots who currently man the Kurangi helicopter (meaning frigate-bird in Dhivehi) had conducted unauthorised flights.

Kurangi is currently stationed at Gan International Airport in the southernmost Seenu Atoll. The aircraft is intended for use for search and rescue operations and surveillance within the Maldives exclusive economic zone.

“The Indian crew members, who provide technical support, are under the operational control of MNDF and can fly Kurangi only on authorisation by MNDF,” said the Indian High Commission.
12/02/15 Daniel Bosley/Minivan News

Read More

Government must make Airport infrastructure more investor-friendly: Fraport

Mumbai: German airport operator Fraport, GMR Infrastructure's long-standing partner at the Delhi airport, has said the Narendra Modi-led NDA government has not done enough in terms of reforms in regulation and policy to create a more conducive environment for investment in airport infrastructure.

"We, like everybody else, had high expectations when the new government took office last year. So far, though, I am not sure about real changes in this sector," Matthias Engler, project manager for global investments and management at Fraport, told ET in an interview.

To begin with, Engler said, the government should work on giving clearer guidelines to the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA). "Currently, a different set of regulations is proposed for different projects. It's quite an issue... Before a project is put out for bids, there has to be clarity on what the tariff regime will be," he said.
12/02/15 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

Read More

Intelligence Bureau, RAW object Pakistan airlines offices in India

New Delhi: The Intelligence Bureau and Research & Analysis Wing have objected to Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from buying properties in India. The Intelligence officials said the neighbouring country had stopped Air India operations and may have Pakistan Intelligence officials working for it.

Sources in the government told Economic Times that Finance Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi held a meeting on Thursday after PIA recently complained of harassment by Enforcement Directorate and the Reserve Bank of India for violations of Foreign Exchange Management Act for buying four flats and three underground parking at Barakhamba Road, in 2005, which houses the PIA head office.
12/02/15 India TV News

Read More

Ramco to provide aviation IT solutions to US-based firm

New Delhi: Software products firm Ramco Systems today announced a partnership with US-based aviation company Dynamic Aviation.

Dynamic Aviation, which provides innovative aviation solutions to government and commercial organisations, has chosen Ramco Aviation Suite with Ramco HCM to help integrate its business operations under one platform, the Chennai-based firm said in a release.

In order to get a seamless and integrated view of its worldwide operations, Dynamic Aviation will implement Ramco's full-suite aviation software including fleet maintenance tracking and management, supply chain management, flight contracting and billing, and Human Resource management.

Ramco provides aviation solutions to Emirates, Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines Engineering Company, Petroleum Helicopters, Columbia Helicopters, Air Methods and 66 others.
11/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Lufthansa scouts for long-term IT provider in india

Mumbai: Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline, is looking to consolidate its global IT service providers and strike a long-term deal with an Indian company to tap into digital technologies to stay ahead of the competition.

The carrier plans to reduce its spend on legacy systems by improving efficiency and divert to digital projects the money it saves in the process, besides cutting down on its vendors that number over 300 at present.
"We want to consolidate and simply our vendor management. Working with a large Indian provider makes sense because our competitors work with them and we want to boost our use of offshore efficiencies," Roland Schuetz, Lufthansa's senior vice president and chief information officer told ET.

Schuetz and the airline's CEO Karl Ulrich Garnadt, who are in India to attend the Nasscom India Leadership Forum in Mumbai, are working on narrowing down the vendors. he CIO now reports to the CEO, instead of the chief financial officer earlier.
12/02/15 Jochelle Mendonca/Economic Times

Read More

Airbus Group to organise recruitment fair at Aero India

Bengaluru: Team Airbus is landing in Aviation Capital of Bengaluru with a commitment to be part of government's ‘Make in India' programme.
At Aero India 2015, the Airbus Group will present a wide range of cutting-edge products and technologies including commercial platforms, military aircraft/helicopters and radars.
In a unique initiative that could provide immense opportunities for talented engineers in India, the Airbus Group is conducting a recruitment fair at the show. To be held during the last two days (public says) of Aero India 2015, the group will organize the recruitment fair at its pavilion for experienced aviation engineers.

"Airbus is looking for engineers with post-graduation or more for open positions in areas of avionics, structural analysis and repair a. Our HR representatives from the company will be available at the fair to meet interested candidates, review their CVs and guide them on the selection process," an Airbus official said.
Yves Guillaume, President, India, Airbus Group, said that strong footprint it had developed in India over the years will come to play while supporting the government's ‘Make in India' campaign.
12/02/15 One India

Read More

India's FAA safety upgrade pushed to April as DGCA struggles to fill FOI posts

New Delhi: In a dampener for India’s aviation sector, the country might have to wait a bit longer for an upgrade of its air safety rating by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Business Standard has learnt from official sources.

The main reason is that our regulator, the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has been able to appoint only about 45 Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs), despite the Union Cabinet approving appointments of 75 FOIs at market-linked salaries over a year earlier.

Aviation ministry officials now expect an upgrade only around April, the second such delay. This is also subject to a visit by an FAA team in end-March and their being satisfied. After a visit by an FAA team in December, the ministry said it was confident of an upgrade by January, during US President Barack Obama's visit. It had then revised this to March.

“Right now, the US consultant, The Wicks Group, is working hard with the DGCA team to complete all formalities before the FAA team visit next month. When the team visited in December, it had found two deficiencies. Inadequate number of FOIs was the main problem,” a ministry official said.
11/02/15 Business Standard

Read More

Cheaper fares help Gulf carriers boost US-India route market share

US airlines have lost at least five percentage points of their share of flight bookings from the United States to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia since 2008 due to fierce competition from Gulf carriers, according to data seen by Reuters.

More recently, US carriers have seen an erosion in their share of bookings to Milan, according to a report the US airlines sent to the White House and the departments of State, Transportation and Commerce. The 55-page white paper is not yet public.

The report says the combined share of bookings between the US and the Indian subcontinent for Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines dropped to 34 per cent in 2014 from 39 per cent in 2008. The drop includes bookings on the airlines’ codeshare partners, such as British Airways and Air France.

In the same time, Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways have surpassed them. The Gulf airlines' share of that market has jumped to 40 per cent from only 12 per cent seven years ago, according to the report.
11/02/15 Emirates 24|7

Read More

GMR Aero Technic Limited First Authorized Service Facility for Q400 in India

Toronto, Ontario: Bombardier Commercial Aircraft announced today that it has further strengthened its global presence by appointing GMR Aero Technic Limited ("GMR Aero Technic") of Hyderabad, India as an Authorized Service Facility (ASF) for its Q400 turboprop.

Under the ASF agreement, which takes effect immediately, GMR Aero Technic will offer Bombardier customers the full range of line and heavy maintenance services from its facilities located at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, India. The 27,300 square-metre (294,000 square-foot) state-of-the-art Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility is certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for line maintenance, and by both EASA and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA, India) for heavy maintenance.

"We're very pleased to welcome GMR Aero Technic onboard as one of our trusted Authorized Service Facilities - the first in India to provide local Q400 aircraft operators, as well as those in the surrounding regions with maintenance expertise and first-class customer service close to their bases of operations," said Todd Young, Vice President, Customer Services, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. "GMR Aero Technic has a great reputation and is well positioned to meet the needs of our customers. I am very confident about the level of service our newly minted ASF will provide."
10/02/15 Yahoo.com

Read More

Singapore Airlines, Tata Consultancy Services introduce Mobile Solution for Cabin Crew

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) today introduced TCS CrewCollab Solution, a tablet-based mobile application for cabin crew to deliver more personalised customer service and to automate and streamline in-flight processes for cabin crew.

SIA is the launch customer for TCS CrewCollab Solution and its cabin crew are now using it on board. Crew can view information which traditionally has been in paper format, such as customer service lists, flight information and crew lists, digitally via tablets during flights.

In addition to the accessing and updating of flight, crew and service information digitally, SIA’s cabin crew will also be able to create digital voyage reports for each flight and enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of follow-up items across the many functional areas of the airline. Additionally, crew will be able to use the application to access digital versions of key documents such as safety manuals, service procedures manuals, catering information, crew memos or alerts and crew-to-crew handover notes.
11/02/15 Financial Express

Read More

Foreigner held at airport for gold smuggling

Mumbai: A Syrian passenger was today arrested from Mumbai International airport for allegedly trying to smuggle in gold worth Rs 37.8 lakh from Riyadh, Customs officials said.

"Passenger Omar Ali Youssef, holding Syrian Passport, arrived from Riyadh this afternoon on an Air India flight. He was intercepted after the screening of hand baggage, which revealed that he was carrying 13 gold bars collectively weighing 1.5 kg," A P S Suri, Commissioner of Customs, told PTI.

The value of the metal was estimated to be Rs 37.8 lakh, Suri said
10/02/15 PTI/Business Standard

Read More

Technical snag grounds Air India flight in Muscat

Muscat: A technical snag left a Mumbai bound Air India flight from Muscat grounded for hours forcing passengers to change their travel plans on Monday.

Aircraft engineers, flown to Muscat from India to rectify the technical snag of the grounded Muscat-Mumbai AI986, are working to resolve the problem, said a top official of Air India in Muscat.
"The flight, supposed to arrive at 11 pm from Mumbai on Sunday, landed at around 1am and then took 30 minutes more to park. As per the schedule the flight was supposed to leave Muscat for Mumbai at 12.05 am Monday.   There is a possibility that the pilot sensed some problem with the aircraft. Out of the 126 passengers, 50 were flown on other airlines to Mumbai while the rest are being provided accommodation," said BP Kulkarni, country manager of Air India in Oman. "The departure of the flight has now been delayed for more than 15 hours and it may take off by today (Monday) evening," said the country manager, while adding that passengers were given dinner at the airport.
Meanwhile, worried passengers were posting their concerns about the flight's delay on social networking sites.
09/02/15 Rejimon K/Times of Oman

Read More

HC reserves order on plea to ground 5 leased SpiceJet planes

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on an Irish firm’s plea to ground five aircraft leased by it to Spicejet till their registration was cancelled by aviation regulator DGCA.

A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw heard arguments of Spicejet, Ireland-based B&B Air Acquisition and the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) and reserved its verdict on the aircraft leasing company’s plea.

B&B has sought directions to DGCA to cancel Certificate of Registration (CoR) of five Boeing 737 aircraft, leased by it to the no-frill airline, and grounding them.

Senior advocate Ramji Srinivasan, appearing for B&B, said that its lease agreement with the airline was terminated in December last year over alleged non-payment of dues, including rent of the aircraft.

After termination of lease, the company wrote to DGCA to cancel registration of the aircraft, but the regulator did not do so on the ground that the CoR has not been returned by Spicejet.
10/02/15  Bharat Press

Read More

Passengers miss family wedding after cancelled Air India flight strands them

A family missed a wedding in India after they and other passengers had to wait more than 48 hours for a flight at Birmingham Airport.

More than 230 passengers had been due to fly out on Air India on Friday night but discovered their flight had been delayed due to a technical fault. But their frustration turned to misery when they were told their flight had then been cancelled completely.

More than 40 passengers then spent two nights in local hotels waiting for an Air India flight bound for Amritsar via Delhi. The delay meant some will miss a family wedding today, while another family will be unable to attend a funeral.

Sunny Rai, a 26-year-old trainee financial adviser from Smethwick, his mother Charanjit Kaur, 50, and 54-year-old father Balkar Singh, were looking forward to attending a cousin's wedding.

Instead, the weary family, who had nine suitcases and paid £480 each for their ticket, were still waiting for a flight last night.

Mr Rai said: 'I was at the airport and checked in at 5.30pm on Friday and they suspended us there and then. They said there was a technical issue and asked us to 'bear with us'.
09/02/15 John Hutchinson/Mail Online

Read More

Mumbai-Dubai busiest route in 2014, Delhi-Dubai 2nd

New Delhi: The Mumbai-Dubai sector was the busiest international city pair for travel to and from India last year. With as many as 17.5 lakh people flying between these two cities, closely followed by 13.6 lakh between Delhi and Dubai, the Emirate emerged as the destination most frequented by Indians.

Dubai saw a whopping 84.5 lakh people flying to and from India last year, way ahead of the second spot of almost 44 lakh occupied by UAE — of which it too is a part. London, Bangkok, Singapore and Kathmandu were the other major destinations or transit points for Indian globetrotters last year.

India is an important market for all airlines as international travel has been constantly growing in the past few years. Forget metros, even small towns are generating huge volumes of traffic. For instance, 4.5 lakh people flew between Sharjah and Kochi last year. Trivandrum and Dubai saw 4.7 lakh people flying between them last year. Pune, Varanasi and Amritsar also saw substantial numbers flying to overseas destinations last year.
09/02/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

Birmingham Airport Air India passengers stranded for 48 HOURS

A group of frustrated passengers are fuming today after they have been left stranded at Birmingham Airport for nearly 48 hours.

The passengers said they had been due to fly to India on Friday night but discovered their flight had been indefinitely delayed due to a technical fault - and then cancelled.

They said they had spent two nights in local hotels waiting for an Air India flight bound for Amritsar via Delhi.

The delay means that some will miss a family wedding tomorrow, while another will be unable to attend a family funeral.

Sunny Rai, a 26-year-old trainee financial advisor from Smethwick, his mother Charanjit Kaur, 50, and 54-year-old father Balkar Singh, were looking forward to attending a cousin’s wedding.

Instead the weary family, who have nine suitcases and paid £480 each for their ticket, were at the airport today still trying to get on a flight.

Mr Rai claimed: “I was at the airport and checked in at 5.30pm on Friday and they suspended us there and then.

“They said there was a technical issue and asked us to ‘bear with us’.

“We hung around the Air India desk. The flight had been cancelled.

08/02/15 Jasbir Authi/Sophie Jamieson/Birmingham Mail

Read More

Air France KLM Martinair cargo to suspend service to Chennai

Chennai: As part of an adjustment in its Asian freight network, Air France KLM Martinair cargo is suspending its thrice a week call to Chennai from April 1.

The suspension of Hong Kong-Chennai-Mumbai-Amsterdam Schipol service is in line with the changing global airfreight market to further rationalise the capacity offer, the airline said in a trade notice. The airline will continue to serve customer by carrying cargo in the passenger aircraft. It operates 14 flights a week from Delhi, seven flights a week from Mumbai and six weekly flights from Bangalore. The freighter that is to be suspended offers good connections from Chennai to Mexico/African/South American destinations that are new focus areas for Indian exports.
08/02/15 TE Raja Simhan/Business Line

Read More

Kabul police stops attempt to smuggle 18kg of heroin to India and Canada

Kabul: Police in Hamid Karzai International Airport arrested eight individuals including a woman for attempting to smuggle 18kg of heroin to India and Canada. (File photo of drug smuggle arrested by border police)

The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said seven Afghan nationals were looking to smuggle 4.9kg of heroin to India after placing it in 499 capsules.

A statement by MoI said the individuals were arrested by border police forces after they were identified while going through checkings.

The statement further added that a woman was arrested while she was attempting to smuggle 14kg of heroin to Dubai and then to Canada.

MoI said the woman had placed the woman had professionally placed the heroin in curtain materials and was arrested while she was going through checkings.

The statement by MoI also added that the arrests were made in close cooperation with the Afghan intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) and Kabul customs officials.
08/02/15 Khaama Press

Read More

Global lessors queue up to lease planes to Air India

New Delhi: As many as 14 global aircraft lessors have evinced interest in leasing planes to Air India, which seeks to replace its ageing narrow-body fleet with new fuel efficient planes.

The state-run carrier would induct 19 new Airbus 320 neo/ ceo planes in the fleet by March 2018 on an up to 12-year dry lease as part of this plan, Air India sources told PTI.

Of these 19, five are being leased from independent Chinese lessor China Aircraft Leasing Company, which has already delivered Air India the first sharklets-equipped A320ceo plane last week, they said.

The remaining four will be inducted in the fleet by October this year.
08/02/15 PTI/Times of India

Read More

Air Arabia seeks more capacity from India

Mumbai:  Low cost airline Air Arabia, which flies 112 weekly flights to 13 Indian cities from Sharjah, has urged the Centre to grant it more capacity so that it can fly to more cities here offering low fares to workers employed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

“We would like to go to 13 more Indian cities, which do not have an international airport now. But, will eventually have one. But there are limitations. We want more capacity through bilateral reciprocity. Our airports in UAE are open to receive as many Indian carriers as India wants. But India should respond,” said Adel Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer and board member, Air Arabia.

“We have not grown in India since past five years because we have no more capacity granted to us. In fact, some capacity has been taken away. The cap on Air Arabia’s growth in India is no good for us but it is not good for the Indian public as well. We have seen people’s lives changing wherever we fly. Ten years ago when we flew to Nagpur, nobody was flying there. Now you see the change. We want to go to airports where nobody goes, but grant us capacity,” he added.
07/02/15 Lalatendu Mishra/The Hindu

Read More

Passenger traffic on Asia-Pacific carriers up on year 5.8% in 2014

Mumbai: Airlines from Asia Pacific recorded an increase of 5.8 per cent in passenger traffic compared with 2013, according to International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) global passenger traffic results. However, traffic has been broadly flat over the past four months or so amid signs of a slowdown in regional production activity, although trade volumes have remained strong. Capacity rose seven per cent, pushing down load factor 1.1 percentage points to 76.9 per cent.

International passenger traffic rose 6.1 per cent in the year under review, compared with 2013. Capacity rose 6.4 per cent and load factor slipped 0.1 percentage points to 79.2 per cent.

Globally, air travel demand (Revenue Passenger Kilometers or RPKs) rose 5.9 per cent last year, compared with 2013. This is above the ten-year average growth rate of 5.6 per cent and the 5.2 per cent annual growth experienced in 2013, compared with 2012.
07/02/15 TravelBizMonitor

Read More

Flight to Abu Dhabi brings Louvre closer

Kolkata: By year-end, you can be at Louvre Museum in four hours. Shocked? Thank Etihad Airways and Louvre, whose expansion plans have coincided, bringing Kolkatans a rare treat.

Etihad is starting direct flights between Kolkata and Abu Dhabi this week and the Louvre Abu Dhabi will open later in 2015. New York's Guggenheim Museum is also opening in Abu Dhabi in 2017. The twin attractions are likely to make Abu Dhabi the most popular destination in the Gulf among Indians, a status currently held by Dubai. Also, Zayed National Museum — narrating the region's history and unification of UAE through the life of founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan — will open in 2016.

Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority country manager Bejan Dinshaw told TOI that tourist flow will increase dramatically over the next few months as the Etihad-Jet alliance leads to a rapid ramp-up in flights from Indian cities to Abu Dhabi. "By March-end, there will be 200 flights a week into Abu Dhabi from 14 Indian cities. Many of those travelling to US will go via Abu Dhabi because US immigration and customs formalities get completed at Abu Dhabi airport itself before they board the flight. This saves up to three hours of wait in serpentine queues on arrival at New York and other airports in the US," he explained.
08/02/15 Times of India

Read More

Singapore PR denies molesting women

A Singapore-based Indian businessman has been arrested and let out on bail as an investigation is launched into his alleged involvement in a case of molestation on board a domestic flight in India.

Dr Ravindra Jhunjhunwala, a Singapore permanent resident with business interests in Singapore and India, has been accused by a woman passenger of touching her on an IndiGo flight from Mumbai to Bhubaneswar on Jan 27.

The entrepreneur, believed to be in his 60s, was seated behind the 32-year-old woman on the flight.

"He inserted his hand through the gap in the seats and tried to inappropriately touch her body with the motive of sexual gratification," Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner R.P. Sharma was quoted as saying by India's NDTV.

Dr Jhunjhunwala is chairman of the Orind and Shashwat group of companies, which deal with heat-resistant material for various industries.

Dr Jhunjhunwala, who is now in India as his passport has been impounded by the police, told The Straits Times by telephone that he has been framed.

"I have been well and truly framed. The truth will come out and I will be exonerated. The matter is under investigation.

"I have no criminal record in Singapore. In (my) 18 years (in Singapore), there is not a single blemish on me," he said.

But in videos shot with a cellphone by the woman, in which she confronts the businessman first on board the flight and then in the airport after alighting, he can be heard saying: "I'm prepared to face any consequence for it. I made a mistake..."

When the woman suggests he give her a written apology, he says: "For touching you I want to give you a written- I request you."

The videos of the incident uploaded on YouTube have gone viral. The first video taken on board the flight has been viewed more than four million times.

Television channels have also aired the videos.

In the first video, taken as passengers were getting ready to disembark, the woman is seen telling off the businessman, who sits in his seat covering his face with his hand.

Alternating between English and Hindi, she says: "I'm video-taping you, mister! If you ever do this again, you'll remember this episode.
08/02/15 Nirmala Ganapathy/The Straits Times/Asiaone20 Singapore

Read More