Cut in Haj airfare not to help Kerala

Kozhikode: The Centre's announcement on Tuesday of a significant reduction in airfare for Haj pilgrims could turn out to be of little use for those from many States, especially Kerala and Uttar Pradesh, which send the largest contingents.

That the decision of the Centre to do away with the subsidies for the pilgrimage at one go may have been in line with a Supreme Court order, but a quick analysis of the Haj airfares from the previous years shows that the reduction flies in the face of the Ministry for Minority Affairs.

“Only the tariff from Ahmedabad and Mumbai has been announced by the Centre. But Air India, Saudi Airlines and Flynas (a budget airline operated from Saudi Arabia) will carry Haj pilgrims from 21 embarkation points in India. So it is uncertain if the decision will be beneficial to Kerala,” Thodiyoor Muhammed Kunju Moulavi, chairman of the Haj committee, told The Hindu on Wednesday.

Last year, the subsidy in airfare was not given to pilgrims boarding from the Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Hyderbad airports. The fares from these embarkation points were: Rs. 53,000, Rs. 59,000 and Rs. 60,000 respectively. At the same time, Guwahati was given the biggest subsidy of Rs. 49,650 while for Bengaluru, it was a meagre Rs. 1,500, the Moulavi said.

The subsidy given to pilgrims embarking from Kerala and Lakshadweep were Rs. 40,202 when the fixed air fare was Rs. 68,200 (2013); Rs. 35, 500 out of Rs. 69,900 (2014); Rs. 28, 200 out of Rs. 70,820 (2015); Rs. 15, 200 out of Rs. 60,185 (2016) and Rs. 15,750 out of Rs. 77, 812 (2017).
28/02/18 Biju Govind/The Hindu

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With aviation sector taking off strongly, more women taking to the skies

Compared with other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, MENA, region, the UAE has more women pilots, captains, aircraft engineers, mechanics, aircraft maintenance and air traffic controllers, among others.

Thirteen of the 15 countries with the lowest rates of women participating in their labour force are in the MENA.

Emirates currently employs nearly 27,000 women, making up 42 percent of the group’s workforce, including women pilots who includes the youngest Emirati female pilot operating the world’s biggest aircraft, A380, of which it is the world’s largest operator. Over 60 of more than 4,000 pilots employed by Emirates are females.

Etihad Airways currently employs over 2,850 Emirati women covering various roles, including 50 female pilots and also the first Emirati woman registered as a specialist in aviation medicine. Over 50 percent of the airline’s 13,000 strong workforce are women and the airline is keen to narrow the gender gap further.

Air Arabia employs women staff, including the first female Emirati holder of a multi-crew pilots, MPL, licence. Two years ago, the UAE became the first country in the world to launch an all-woman operated airline services company.

H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chief Executive of Emirates Group, said, "Women have played a key role in the success and development of the aviation industry in the UAE. With the region experiencing high passenger growth, and with more airlines, aircraft and flights in service, as well as more routes being served than ever before, there has never been a better time for women to build a successful career in the aviation industry than now."

The 3rd Women in Aviation General Assembly will be held on 9th May on the side lines of The Airport Show from 7th – 9th May. The conference, under the patronage of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, will have more than 20 speakers. It is expected to be attended by over 350 participants.

An important debate topic at the conference will be how initiatives like the Emirates Mars Mission, UAE Astronaut Programme, Space Research Centre, Yahsat and Virgin Spaceport are propelling the UAE into the top tier of modern space research and exploration. The UAE’s first astronaut programme is now searching for four Emirati astronauts, who will be trained on various space missions with the aim of heading to the International Space Station within five years. Young women have been invited to join the race for being part of the coveted mission.

Jameela Al Muheiri, the first-ever woman Minister of State for Public Education and speaker at the event said, "The UAE has been a leader in women empowerment and providing employment opportunities for women, especially in aviation, a key driver of socio-economic growth. UAE is now moving towards the Space programme. Civil Aviation has long been a male-dominated arena, but women now have a significant presence. To flourish and thrive, the aviation industry needs to have women on board everywhere."

Mervat Sultan, one of the first Arab women to obtain a flight dispatcher’s license and a co-founder and the President of the Middle East chapter of Women in Aviation International, added, "Most roles in aviation are still dominated by men around the world. We are focussing on spreading awareness about aviation as a career of choice in the region and also helping aviation companies that are keen on hiring women."

Estimates from the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, ISA, show that women pilots account for only three percent of the total 130,000 pilots in the world. It has been reported that only twelve out of the 248 airlines operating worldwide are currently led by women.

Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company has estimated that by 2034, 558,000 more commercial pilots will be needed to meet the growth of the industry.

The chances of the pilot being a woman are much higher in India than anywhere else in the world with 600 out of the total 5,100 pilots being women. Meanwhile in China, an increasing number of airlines are hiring female pilots.
28/02/18 Wam/Emirates 24|7

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Etihad Airways to divest Jet stake by December: CAPA

Etihad Airways will likely divest its entire 24% stake in Jet Airways by December this year, according to a report by CAPA-Centre for Aviation.

“CAPA research indicates that Etihad may divest its 24% stake in @jetairways, possibly by Q3 of FY2019. This could lead to a rationalisation of capacity between India and the Gulf, particularly Abu Dhabi. #indianaviation,” said the Sydney-based consultant in a tweet.

Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal has denied reports of Etihad's exit. He has also denied Jet has been looking for another partner, despite floating industry information of talks with Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines with whom Jet had deep rooted commercial ties.
28/02/18 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Travellers look at foreign shores this long weekend

Mumbai: There has been a 50 per cent increase in travellers looking to exploring international destinations this long weekend, travel booking websites reveal. Discounts offered by airlines and increase in spending capacity are cited as reasons for the rise in bookings.

According to travel websites, many short-haul destinations including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Thailand, Singapore, Bali and Sri Lanka remain top picks for the long weekend. “Short haul international destinations are growing in popularity given easy access with increased connectivity-penetration, attractive airfares/ discounts and entry of low cost carriers have added impetus to the long weekend growth story in destinations like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Thailand, Singapore, Bali, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Macau , Sri Lanka, Ras Al Khaimah,” said Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head-Leisure Travel & M.I.C.E at Thomas Cook (India) limited.

This week, major airlines including Air India, Go Air and Jet Airways offered discounts on trips to popular tourist destinations. In its ‘Beat the Budget’ offer, Air Asia has offered discounts on flights to Goa, Chennai and Hyderabad among other destinations, which is valid for travel till August 31, 2018.

Popular domestic destinations include Vrindavan, Goa, Manali, Thailand, Singapore and Andamans, according to Travkart, a travel website. Balu Ramachandran, head of air and distribution at Cleartrip, said, “Many travellers have planned their short-haul international excursion to south-east Asian destinations like Colombo, Denpasar, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. They have seen more than 57 per cent growth compared to last Holi. Last minute domestic fares have reduced by almost 18 per cent, which could be one of the reasons why last-minute bookings compared to last year have increased considerably this Holi weekend.”

According to Ezeego1, the Holi weekend would boost travel to Dubai, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam. “Indians travelling abroad are spending 4.4 times more than domestic travellers with average spends increasing by 10 per cent for domestic and 16 per cent for international travel,” said Mohit Gupta, COO, MakeMyTrip.
28/02/18 Indian Express

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Bangladesh national arrested at airport

Chennai: The Central Crime Branch sleuths attached to the Chennai police have arrested a 24-year-old man who illegally entered India and tried to fly to Dubai using a fake Indian passport.

According to the police, on February 25, Jagathullah, 24, was intercepted by Raj Narayan Singh, an official from the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO) at the Chennai airport.

During interrogation, it was found that he was from Chittagong, Bangladesh, and was living in Mumbai posing as an Indian national. With the help of agents, he managed to obtain a driving licence, voter identity card, Aadhaar and PAN card. Subsequently, he also obtained the passport.

A complaint was lodged with the CCB, and Jagathullah was arrested.
28/02/18 The Hindu

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Four Indians held in Nepal for trying to fly abroad illegally

Kathmandu: Four Indians including three women have been arrested in Nepal from a Hong Kong-bound plane for illegally boarding the aircraft, officials said today.

An immigration official stopped the Nepal Airlines plane just before take-off following a tip-off that some passengers had illegally boarded the aircraft, according to officials.

Janak Rai, Amrita Lama, Soni Rai and Anusha Tamang, all Nepalese-origin Indian nationals, were about to fly to Hong Kong illegally by using tourist visas when they were arrested.

They had reached Kathmandu from India by road.

According to the existing rules, any Indian national wising to visit a third country via Nepal needs to get a no-objection letter from Indian Embassy in Kathmandu.

None of them had received the no-objection letter, the officials said, adding that two of the four Indian nationals had Indian passports with Nepalese cover.

The four persons were travelling to Hong Kong with illegal travel documents with the help of human traffickers, an Immigration Department official said.
28/02/18 Shirish B Pradhan/Outlook

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Our India expansion plans not solely dependent on Air India: Turkey's Celebi Aviation Holding

Turkish company Celebi Aviation Holding, which has expressed interest in bidding for the ground handling business of Air India, said it would expand operations and not rely solely on the inorganic route to grow in the country.

“Acquiring Air India will give us entry right away in about 60 airports across the country, but we cannot peg our India expansion plans only on Air India because it will be a bid. There is still an opportunity to grow in different destinations across India,” Canan Celebioglu, board member, Celebi Aviation Holding told ET.

She said that the company would also bid for ground handling rights in cases where the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has cancelled the contracts of the airports.
AAI has cancelled contracts at some airports, including in Kolkata and Chennai, and plans to invite fresh bids at these airports under the new aviation policy, which allows domestic carriers to do their own ground handling at airports in the country.

The regulator’s move has been opposed by the existing ground handlers. “We, along with our foreign investors and nationalised banks who had funded us for this project, are in a state of shock,” Prem Bajaj, chairman, Bhadra International India told ET. “Bhadra has complied with all the stringent conditions laid down by AAI, created world-class infrastructure at Indian airports and deployed around 4,000 well-trained, whole-time bonafide workforce as permanent employees on its roll.”
Celebi Aviation Holding, which currently offers ground handling services in Delhi, Mumbai, Cochin and Ahmedabad, had in August last year expressed interest in Air India’s ground handling subsidiary, which the government plans to sell along with Air India.
27/02/18 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Megawide, GMR submit $3B offer to rehabilitate NAIA

Construction and engineering firm Megawide Construction Corp. and GMR of India have submitted a $3-billion unsolicited proposal to upgrade and rehabilitate the highly-congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Consortium representatives said on Thursday that the proposal – which was based on an 18-year concession – was aligned with the government’s strategy to develop a sustainable multi-airport system in the Philippines.

The GMR MEGAWIDE consortium believes that its solution will increase airfield capacity to 950 to 1,000 aircraft movements per day, a 30-35 percent increase from the current estimate of 730 aircraft movements daily.

For peak hours, the consortium pitches to increase NAIA’s aircraft handling capacity by 50 percent, from 40 to 60.

Within 24 months of taking over operations, the consortium also plans to rehabilitate and expand the existing terminals, which will roughly double the space and result in over 700,000 square meters of terminal area. Once completed, both the airside facilities and the terminals shall be able to handle a total annual throughput of 72 million passengers.

“As an experienced private operator, we have a deep understanding of the problem experienced by NAIA and we would like offer our take on the solution,” said Louie Ferrer, one of the consortium’s authorized representatives. “Our team has transformed Delhi International Airport, previously one of the world’s worst airports, into one that is consistently named among top five best airports of the world. We have also transformed Mactan-Cebu International Airport, one of the Philippines’ previously overlooked airports, into the 2016 Best Regional Airport in Asia Pacific. We hope to contribute our knowledge from these projects to the development of our country’s main gateway,” Ferrer said.

The GMR Megawide consortium is also the operator of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

“It is vital to immediately decongest NAIA and maximize its potential in order to sustainably support the air traffic needs of the greater capital region,” Ferrer explained. “A solution is urgently needed, which we in the private sector are willing to support and provide.”
The “alternative” proposal was submitted around two weeks after seven of the country’s biggest conglomerates submitted a rival P350-billion unsolicited proposal to upgrade NAIA.
28/02/18 Doris Dumlao-Abadilla/Inquirer.Net

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Month after scrapping Haj subsidy, govt slashes airfare for pilgrims

New Delhi: The Centre on Tuesday announced a remarkable reduction in airfare for people going on Haj with Union Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi describing it as a “major step”. “The PMO took a keen interest in this. The decision is in line with our empowerment without appeasement policy,” PTI quoted Naqvi as saying.

“The decision to cut airfares will end the “political and economic exploitation” of Hajis “as was done during the Congress-led UPA regime,” added Naqvi.

To drive home the point, Naqvi compared Haj airfares fixed during the former UPA regime and the ones for 2018.

The fare reduction will be applicable to airlines, including Air India, Saudi Airlines and Flynas, an air carrier based in Saudi Arabia, to Jeddah and Medina from 21 airports in India.

The round fare from Ahmedabad this year will be around Rs 65,015 as against Rs 98,750 in 2013-2014. In the same way, the fare from Mumbai has been brought down to around Rs 57,857 from Rs 98,750 in 2013-14.
27/02/18 Indian Express

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Dubai airport to close southern runway for 45 days next year

Dubai: Dubai International Airport will close one of its two runways for 45 days next year for upgrade work, temporarily reducing capacity at the world's busiest airport for international travellers, its operator said on Monday.
The southern runway will be closed from April 16 to May 30, 2019 for resurfacing and replacement of ground lighting and other infrastructure, Dubai Airports said in a statement.
Dubai International, which handled 88.2 million passengers in 2017, is the base for major Middle East airline Emirates and discount carrier flydubai, and an engine for Dubai's economy, which relies heavily on tourism and travel.
Capacity will be significantly reduced by the temporary runway closure and airlines will have to scale back their operations during the 45 days, Dubai Airports said.
However, it added that airlines would be able to use Dubai's second airport, Al Maktoum International, located about 60 kilometres (38 miles) away. That airport is being expanded and plans call for it eventually to be even bigger than Dubai International.
26/02/18 Reuters/Times of India

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58-year-old Chinese woman dies at airport

An Emirates flight from Dubai to Hong Kong was diverted to Mumbai on Sunday afternoon due to a medical emergency involving a 58-year-old Chinese woman. The passenger, however, was declared dead on landing at the city airport.

Official sources said flight EK380 was diverted to Mumbai after the airline crew noticed an “unresponsive passenger on board” and alerted the authorities at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
The flight, which took off from Dubai in the morning, had crossed Ahmedabad and was entering Maharashtra airspace when it was diverted towards Mumbai around 3:37 pm.

Ateam from the medical emergency team at the airport, which was on standby since 3:39 pm, reported at Bay V20 to attend to the patient as soon as the flight touched the ground at 4:05 pm.

“However, the passenger was unresponsive and was soon declared dead. Further investigation is on,” a spokesperson from the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said.

The Sahar police, who were called in at 4:30 pm, conducted a panchnama following the death of the passenger.
26/02/18  Satish Nandgaonkar/Mumbai Mirror

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Assam CM, Air Asia CEO discuss Guwahati-ASEAN flights

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has discussed the modalities of starting direct flights between Guwahati with ASEAN countries with Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Air Asia, Amar Abrol.

The Assam government has even offered to provide a subsidy in order to make direct flights to ASEAN countries viable for operators.

The meeting discussed Air Asia's plan of making Guwahati its principal hub for the company's Southeast Asia operations. Abrol submitted a proposal to Chief Minister Sonowal for Air Asia's expansion plan in Guwahati, including connecting the city with frequent direct flights to domestic destinations such as Chennai, Hyderabad, Vizag and Bagdogra.

Sonowal said that the state government is working very seriously to make Guwahati the nerve centre of India's Act East Policy and, as part of this effort, wants to start direct flights with ASEAN and BBN countries.

He also informed the Air Asia CEO that his government, in association with the Ministry of External Affairs, is in constant touch with ASEAN countries to persuade them to set up consulates in Guwahati.
26/02/18 Bikash Singh/Economic Times

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Chinese man arrested for smuggling gold worth Rs 92 lakh at airport

The Custom officials at the Delhi airport arrested a Chinese man for allegedly trying to smuggle gold worth Rs 92 lakh in to the country, officials said on Sunday.

According to a statement issued by the Customs, the accused was intercepted upon his arrival from Hong Kong on Wednesday. "A detailed personal search of the passenger resulted in the recovery of three gold bars, weighing three kilograms, concealed inside specially designed pockets of the jeans worn by him," the statement said. "The gold bars, valued at Rs 91.88 lakh, have been seized by the officials at the airport," it said.

A similar incident was reported earlier in the month, when four Chinese men were arrested by the Customs for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country 10 kilograms of gold at the airport. The accused were intercepted by the Customs officials after their arrival from Taiwan via Hong Kong on February 10. The gold bars, valued at little over Rs 3 crore, were seized and the Chinese men were arrested.
26/02/18 DNA

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Keeping Air India Employees Will Diminish Bid Value, Says Interested Party

New Delhi: The bid value of Air India will fall if the government asks buyers to keep the airline's employees on payroll, according to Turkish firm Celebi, which has expressed interest in buying a subsidiary of the disinvestment-bound national carrier.

Celebi, which offers ground-handling services, had written to the ministry of civil aviation last year expressing interest in the national carrier's ground-handling subsidiary, the Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL).

Celebi's expression of interest came months after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the disinvestment of the national carrier and appointed a group of ministers to chalk out a strategy for the stake sale.

"If they (the government) are asking maximum price (for Air India), but asking us to keep the old personnel, then it will not match. The value of the bid will be lowered. Not just keeping the personnel, but also their indemnity is an issue," Celebi's Board member Cana Celebioglu said in a media interaction recently.

The AIATSL has a presence across 60 destinations in the country and the Celebi hopes buying the AI subsidiary will help it achieve a wider penetration in the domestic aviation market in India.

Celebi's CEO for India, Murali Ramachandran, explained that there are other areas that the company needs a clarity on, such as Air India's future value.

"Today, Air India has grandfather rights at all the airports but we'd like to know for how long. Additionally, AIATSL has assured business from Air India flights but what will happen to that once Air India is sold," said Ramachandran.
25/02/18 PTI/NDTV

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Direct flights from Asean countries

Half of the 10 countries in Asean have direct flights to India. The three aviation hubs of Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur hold the lion's share of these direct flights, although they are not India's closest neighbours. Singapore has more than 240 flight services a week to India, while Thailand has 270 and Malaysia, 230.
Indonesia and Myanmar also have direct flights to India, but on a very limited scale.
Indonesia's Garuda launched a thrice-weekly direct flight from Jakarta to Mumbai in 2016, while Myanmar has three direct flights a week from Yangon to Kolkata.
VietJet Air said it would begin operating a direct Delhi-Ho Chi Minh flight later this year, after a delay of about a year.
Flights between the Philippines and Mumbai and New Delhi should also restart in the second half of this year. National carrier Philippine Airlines began direct flights to India in March 2011, but cancelled them after eight months, owing to low demand.
25/02/18 Strait Times

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Birmingham flight gets good response

Amritsar: The tremendous response to the Air India’s flight between Amritsar and Birmingham is likely to revive the glory of Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International (SGRDJI) airport.
It bolstered the morale of the tourism industry and officials of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) as they feel that the flight must be made regular.
They felt that it could be a turning point in the fortune of the airport which had been incurring losses. Operating international flights is likely to increase the income of the airport.
Airport Director Manoj Chansoria said the response from passengers was remarkable and many flights had been booked in advance. “Undoubtedly, the flight must be made daily,” he added.
“The Sri Guru Ram Das Jee international airport needs airlines with long range aircraft to start direct flights to Australia and the US, where a large number of Sikh diaspora resides,” he asserted.
So far, passengers here are using flights to Singapore to travel to Australia and flights to the Gulf to reach the US.
25/02/18 Tribune

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Air India Express to increase flights to Doha

Air India Express is increasing the frequency of its Doha flights to and from Cochin.
The Indian low-cost airline will add 3 more flights every week from Cochin to Doha and this timetable will be in effect from March 25 till October 28.

The new timetable was tweeted by Indian embassy in Qatar.

The new addition will increase the frequency on Doha-Cochin sector from 4 weekly flights to daily service.

Flight IX 0475 from Cochin will leave at 23:30 and will reach Doha at 1:15. Meanwhile, flight from Doha IX 0476 will leave at 2:15 and will reach Cochin at 9:10. 
25/02/18 Peninsula Qatar

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Air India not only route to Indian market: Celebi

New Delhi: Our Bureau Turkish ground handling company Celebi will invest in India irrespective of whether or not it is successful in taking over the ground handling activities of Air India.

Celebi is currently carrying out ground handling activities in Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi and Ahmedabad.

In August last year, soon after the Centre announced its intention to divest Air India and its subsidiaries, including its ground handling entity, Celebi put in an unsolicited bid to acquire Air India Transport Services Ltd (AITSL), the company which provides ground handling services for the national carrier.

“Air India is one of the options for investing in India, but it will be decided by a bidding process. So we cannot bind ourselves only with that option. Of course, if we get that business, most of the areas will be covered. Even if we do not get Air India there is still an opportunity to grow in different destinations,” said Canan Celebioglu, Member, Celebi Aviation Holding, Inc.
Company officials indicated that they need clarity on at least three issues — how the company will be structured, the future value in tenure that the company delivers and the future of Air India’s employees.

“Today, Air India has grandfather rights at all the airports but for how long is that (going to be)? The company (AITSL) enjoys the base of Air India as it is an assured business but whom Air India gets sold to is not known...All these things need to be addressed as a responsible investor,” said Murali Ramachandran, Chief Executive Officer, India, Celebi Aviation.
25/02/18 Business Line

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Non-stop flight brings Amsterdam closer to Namma Bengaluru every day

Amsterdam (The Netherlands): With the number of visas issued by The Netherlands to Indians increasing by 25% each year, Jet Airways has brought the picturesque country closer to Bengalureans by launching its first non-stop daily flight between the city and Amsterdam.This marks the third daily service of the airline between India and Amsterdam, the other two services already functioning from Mumbai and New Delhi. Jet Airways is the only airline from Bengaluru that offers a direct flight to Amsterdam.

While the service was formally launched on October 29, 2017 from Bengaluru, a media team was taken by Jet Airways recently to the country to showcase the relaxed travel experience and ambience of its Airbus A330 aircraft. The spacious cabin with ergonomically designed seats offers ample leg space throughout the flight while the Premiere class stands out for its lie-flat beds ensured to offer its elite travellers a comfortable sleep. The night wear and a pair of socks offered to passengers definitely made the journey a pampered experience for guests on board.

According to a spokesperson from Jet Airways, “This new service is particularly great for corporates and business travellers from Bengaluru who comprise nearly half of Jet Airways (9W) passengers. Earlier, they had to travel two or three hours from Bengaluru to Mumbai or Delhi plus spend the connection time for an onward flight to Amsterdam.”

The duration taken for the flight is 10 hours and 45 minutes. It departs from Bengaluru at 2.30 am and reaches Amsterdam at 8.30 am (local time). A typical one-way economy non-promotional fare is around `25,000. “The ticket cost will be around `1.5 lakhs for Premiere or Business class,” he said.Ever since its launch, the load factor has been around 85%, he added.
25/02/18 S Lalitha/New Indian Express

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New Air India service to boost local businesses

Businesses from across the Midlands are set to reap the benefits of a new service connecting Birmingham Airport to the Indian city of Amritsar.

The new Air India service was welcomed by Indian drummers and dancers who weaved their way through passengers who were joined by Members of Parliament, business leaders and members of the Sikh UK community.

Amritsar is the second direct Birmingham to India service, complementing the Delhi service which started in August 2013. The service has carried more than 600,000 passengers in the four years it has operated using the popular Boeing 787-8 ‘Dreamliner’ aircraft.

William Pearson, aviation director at Birmingham Airport, said: “We are proud to say we are offering a totally unique route, as Birmingham is the only UK airport offering a direct service to Amritsar.

“The Midlands has the second largest Asian community in the UK and so it is great news that we are making more of India accessible to our passengers for business, leisure and to visit family and friends.”
24/02/18 BQ

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Abu Dhabi aviation offers help to start Air Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: The Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA) has proposed a tie-up with the state government for commencing Air Kerala airlines, emergency helicopter medical services, international aviation academy, tie-ups with Kannur International Airport and setting up of aircraft engineering maintenance base. A high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary Paul Antony has been constituted by the government to examine the scope of the proposal.

Abu Dhabi Aviation is one of the largest commercial helicopter operator in the Middle East. It operates a fleet of about 60 aircrafts and over 50 helicopters. Government sources said that the fresh move would be a major fillip to the state’s aviation sector, especially the long pending plans to have an own airline as well as air ambulance. Abu Dhabi Aviation Academy director Mark J. Pierotti recently sent the formal proposal to the state government showing interest in tie-up. It suggested formation of a joint venture company of the state government and ADA.

ADA offered supply of aviation expertise and facilitate lease or purchase of aircraft. It proposed that the state government should give regional government carrier status and preferential terms at all airports, enabling the company to get government grants and concessions. The chief secretary chaired committee will be holding discussions with the ADA authorities and experts on the scope, further modalities, legal and financial aspects and give a recommendation to the government.

Other members of the committee are principal secretaries in charge of industries, finance and aviation departments, Cochin International Airport Limited managing director V.J. Kurian and former Air India chairman and managing director V. Thulasidas.
24/02/18 Arjun Raghunath/Deccan Chronicle

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Three Indian nationals smuggling gold arrested at Sri Lanka's Colombo airport

Colombo: Sri Lanka Customs officials at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake have arrested three Indian nationals smuggling over Rs. 5 million worth gold biscuits in their luggage.

The trio had arrived in a SriLankan Airlines flight from Chennai, India on Thursday (22) afternoon.

The Customs officials found the gold biscuits hidden in the handles of their traveling bags when the bags were x-rayed. It is estimated that the gold stock is worth Rs. 5.5 million.
24/02/18 Colombo Page

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Foreign player that has bid for 49% of Air India not a known foreign airline: Sources

New Delhi: The mystery foreign player who has expressed interest in acquiring 49 per cent of soon-to-be-privatised Air India is not a “known foreign airline”. In January-end, the government had disclosed that a foreign company had given an “unsolicited expression of interest for AI’s airline arm” but had not revealed its identity.
“The foreign company which has approached us is not a known airline and it is not known if it is behind a known airline. It wants 49 per cent stake in AI’s airline arm as per Indian rules and we are not sure if it wants its name to be made public yet,” said a highly placed source.
Apart from this mystery foreign player, so far only IndiGo has given a formal expression of interest for AI’s airline arm. The Tata Group-Singapore Airlines (SIA) JV Vistara has said it has an “open mind for AI if it makes business sense”. SIA is learnt to be very keen on AI. Other players like Jet are watching from the sidelines as they are waiting for the bid documents to know exactly what is for offer and for how much.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways — whose CEO Akbar Al Baker on Tuesday had reaffirmed the plans to start an airline in India — is yet to begin the formal process to do so. “Qatar Airways has so far not applied for launching an airline here,” said a senior aviation ministry official. Al Baker had told the media in France “we will launch an airline in India which will have a fleet of at least 100 aircraft”.
Qatar Airways has been keen to pick up a stake in IndiGo for years but the Indian low cost carrier has been “politely declining” the same. Now with Air India being privatised, industry insiders there are chances of Qatar Airways tying up with an Indian carrier to bid for the Maharaja. The airline has not commented on this issue so far.
“Launching a new airline makes little sense as big Indian airports like Delhi and Mumbai have hardly any slots due to a crippling infra crunch. On the other hand, buying AI means getting its slots not just in Indian airports but also abroad,” said a source.
23/02/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Mahindra Aerospace, Canada’s Viking Air sign MoU to manufacture small aircraft

Mahindra Aerospace and Canada’s Viking Air have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a strategic alliance for making smaller aircraft to support regional air connectivity in India.

The pact was signed during the ongoing India visit of Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, to India.

“Under this alliance, Mahindra Aerospace and Viking will work together to support each other’s non-competing aircraft business to boost market penetration in identified territories and provide potential customers with multiple options based on specific operational requirements,” said a statement from Mahindra Aerospace.

Viking produces the Twin Otter Series 400, a 19-passenger, twin-engine utility turboprop aircraft that is capable of operating from multiple surfaces (including water). Mahindra Aerospace produces the 8-seat utility piston aircraft, the Mahindra Airvan 8, and the 10-seat turboprop utility aircraft, the Mahindra Airvan 10 and will in due course also launch these aircraft in Ski and Float versions

“In India, this portfolio can address the much needed requirements of regional connectivity, where this range of aircraft offers a very suitable solution and desired boost to the UDAN scheme introduced by theGovernment of India,” said SP Shukla, Chairman, Mahindra Aerospace.
23/02/18 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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Kanishka bombing, deadliest pre-9/11 airplane terror strike, looms over Trudeau visit

New Delhi: At a press conference held in New Delhi Wednesday, several reporters asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about Sikh temples in Canada putting up posters of Talwinder Singh Parmar, considered to be the mastermind behind the horrific Air India Flight 182 bombing in 1985, commonly known as the ‘Kanishka tragedy’.

 “I do not think that we should ever be glorifying mass murderers, and I am happy to condemn that,” Trudeau said at the event.

Although Trudeau had formally apologised on behalf of the Canadian government for the Komagata Maru incident, there hasn’t been one for Flight 182.

Air India Flight 182
Air India Flight 182 took off from Montreal in the early hours of 23 June 1985. The final destination was Mumbai, with stops at London and New Delhi. It was a Boeing 747, named ‘Emperor Kanishka’.

Around 0715 GMT, the plane was cruising at 31,000 feet over Irish waters when a bomb detonated in the carriage.

All 329 people on the plane — 268 Canadians (mostly of Indian descent), 27 Britons and 24 Indians — died. This was the worst aviation attack in history until 9/11.

The militants had actually planned to conduct two simultaneous bombings on two Air India flights going to India from Canada in opposite directions. The other bomb, that flew over the Pacific, was destined for a flight to Bangkok, but detonated at Tokyo’s Narita airport, killing two baggage handlers. The reason it didn’t detonate in flight was because the planners had forgotten to account for Daylight Saving Time.

Inquiry report
Justin Trudeau’s predecessor and former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2006, had announced a full public inquiry into, what he termed the “worst mass murder in Canadian history”.

The inquiry report concluded that “a cascading series of errors” by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had led to the terrorist attack on Flight 182. It also said that Parmar and the Babbar Khalsa, a Sikh separatist group, were behind the attacks.

In a 20-year trial that cost 130 million Canadian dollars, brought to light several lapses, security errors, and unheeded warnings.

A revenge plot
In the aftermath of Operation Blue Star and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 following Indira Gandhi’s assassination, the movement for a separate Sikh nation of Khalistan intensified.

Parmar had migrated to Canada, and was wanted by the Interpol for his part in the Khalistani militancy since the early 1980s. Shortly after Operation Blue Star, Parmar paid a visit to auto mechanic and electrician Inderjit Singh Reyat, which is where the revenge plot that became the Flight 182 bombing purportedly began.

In a few months, Reyat openly bought explosives, timers, circuits, and detonators, and even conducted bomb trials in dense forests, right under the nose of the CSIS, who were said to be keeping a watch on him.

Though at least eight people were suspected to be involved, including Parmar, Reyat was the only one convicted.  He refused to name any others or testify against them.

Canada’s 9/11
A day before the bombing, on 22 June, Reyat bought 12 volt batteries, and asked for a friend’s car to deliver some things to the airport.

Later, a man called “Manjit Singh” called the airlines to ask whether his ticket on Flight 182 was confirmed; he was told that he was on the waiting list. This man, then, asked for his Samsonite suitcase to be checked into this flight regardless.

On the same day, the X-ray machine had broken down at the Montreal airport and security was using the PDD-4 hand-held explosive sniffer. They were told that the sniffer would emit loud screams near explosives. A soft beep was heard near a red suitcase, but it was allowed to pass, since security personnel were not told what to do when the sniffer emitted soft noises.

There was tight security and extra policemen at the airport on Air India’s request, after threats from Sikh militants.

However, these weren’t the only warnings. Earlier in 1984, at least two informers as well as a man called Harmail Singh Grewal had notified the CSIS and RCMP about potential flight bombings. These reports were dismissed as unreliable.
22/02/18 Neera Majumdar/The Print

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India willing to help US with aviation maintenance in Afghan: Pentagon

Washington: India is willing to help the US with aviation maintenance in Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Thursday. The Pentagon also praised India’s developmental role in the war-torn country.

“India has been very supportive, and they’ve pledged additional developmental aid in Afghanistan. They’ve been willing to help with aviation maintenance,” Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana White told reporters.

“All of that is very helpful in ensuring, again, that this regional approach works. India is an important part of that,” she said. Responding to another question, White said that Defense Secretary Jim Mattis believes that Pakistan has an opportunity to do more with respect to the regional security, and that it’s in its interests to do more with respect to regional security.
23/02/18 PTI/Indian Express

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Plans for Netherlands-India digital airfreight corridor

IT specialist Kale Logistics Solutions has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cargonaut, the Schiphol cargo community service provider, to create a digital airfreight corridor between Holland and India.

Mumbai Airport, India and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, together with their cargo community system partners, Kale Logistics Solutions and Cargonaut, are pioneering a digital air corridor linking the two trading partners.

The digital corridor will “facilitate flow of information within the stakeholder chain and optimise cargo visibility across the stakeholder network”, a statement said.

Kale Logistics and Cargonaut expect to together develop a shared interface between their respective air cargo community systems. This interface will be capable of facilitating exchange of cargo status at each location, as well as allowing the interchange of shipment data.

At any time, participants of the network will be in full control of their data.

As a result, any unnecessary administrative paperwork involved in shipping between the two countries should be kept to an absolute minimum.

Kale Logistics chief executive Amar More said: “Kale Logistics has always been at the forefront of driving trade facilitation across the logistics and supply chain sector.
22/02/18 aircargonews

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UAE on itinerary of a third of all flyers to & from India

New Delhi: Nearly a third of all international flyers to and from India last year came from or went to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Not surprisingly, Dubai-Mumbai was the busiest international air route for India in 2017 with 24.3 lakh people flying between the two mega cities. Delhi-Dubai was a close second at 20.7 lakh, according to DGCA data for foreign air travel in 2017.
Of the 1.9 crore people who flew between India and UAE last year, a significant number was transiting on the mega carriers of the region — Emirates and Etihad. While this percentage is not shown by DGCA data, up to 30% of these flyers are estimated to travel between India and the rest of the world through the hubs of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Dubai Tourism recently said India had emerged as the “number one source market for Dubai’s in-bound tourism”; the glitzy emirate saw 14 lakh tourists between January and September 2017. Abu Dhabi Tourism said “India is the second largest international source market with more than 3.6 lakh guests” in 2017, an increase of 11% over the previous year.
Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority chairman Khalid Jasim Al Midfa recently said India is “undisputedly one of the largest key markets for the tourism and travel industry around the world. In fact, 1.38 lakh Indian guests stayed in Sharjah hotel establishments during 2017”.
23/02/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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British defence industry body ADS Group downs shutters in India

New Delhi: Even as New Delhi and London talk up the importance of their “strategic partnership” and exchange top-level political visits, the UK defence industry is thinning out from India.
Business Standard learns UK defence industry body ADS Group (the acronym encompasses “aerospace, defence, security and space”), which represents over a 1,000 defence firms, is shutting down its India office from March 31.
Since 2002, when ADS Group opened an office in New Delhi, it has been only its second foreign station after Toulouse, France. In 2009, ADS Group opened another office in Bengaluru. “With its massive defence budget, a booming civil and military aviation market, and ambitious homeland security plans, India is a country one cannot afford to miss,” says the company websight even today.
That enthusiasm has dramatically waned. While no public announcement has yet been made, ADS Group member companies have been informed about the closure of the India office. So have Indian defence companies that joined the British industry body, hoping that would help them connect with small, UK-based, high technology companies, which they could potentially ally with or even buy out.
One of those Indian members was the Pune-based Kalyani Group, which confirms its membership lapsed as it became evident that ADS Group was pulling down the shutters in India.
After March 31, only a handful of large British manufacturers will retain a presence in India — large firms like BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Cobham, which do enough business in India to justify maintaining company offices.
The UK government will continue its support, though, with defence products ranking amongst Britain’s top three exports. This would be done through the UK Department of International Trade, which operates from the British High Commission in Delhi.
20/02/18 Ajai Shukla/Business Standard

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South Africa’s Guptas hid Bombardier jet, EDC says in court repossession efforts

Canada's export credit agency is worried that a Canadian-financed Bombardier luxury jet could become the escape vehicle for the controversial Gupta brothers as they flee a corruption prosecution in South Africa, according to court papers filed by the agency in Johannesburg.

Excerpts from the documents were reported by a South Africa newspaper and confirmed to The Globe and Mail by a reliable source familiar with the court documents that EDC filed.

The Guptas are refusing to surrender the aircraft, and the tracking device on the Bombardier jet has been switched off in an attempt to hide its whereabouts, the documents say.

The Guptas, business partners of the son of former South African president Jacob Zuma, are at the heart of a corruption scandal that led to Mr. Zuma's dramatic late-night resignation last week. Five of the Gupta associates and family members were arrested by police last week, and several others are now the target of a police manhunt.

For years, the Guptas have flown between South Africa, India, Dubai, Russia and Switzerland on their private Bombardier Global 6000 jet, which they purchased from Bombardier for US$52-million in early 2015.

The Guptas obtained 80 per cent of the purchase price in a loan from Export Development Canada, the federal Crown corporation that helps Canadian exporters and their clients.

Late last year, the Guptas began defaulting on their loan payments and EDC cancelled the US$41-million loan. Since then, the federal agency has been trying to repossess the jet, without success so far. In documents filed in a Johannesburg court, EDC says the Bombardier jet could be used for unlawful and corrupt purposes, such as fleeing from justice or taking money out of South Africa.

The documents were filed to support EDC's legal efforts to force the Guptas to surrender the jet. The documents also ask South Africa's aviation authority to cancel the jet's registration so that it will be grounded.

In recent weeks, flight-tracking websites have shown the Gupta jet flying between Switzerland, France, Dubai, India and Russia. The documents, filed in the Johannesburg court last week, say that the jet's tracking device has now been switched off, apparently after it was flown to Moscow earlier this month.
The court documents also cite a large discrepancy between the financial statements that the Guptas provided to EDC in 2014 and the realities of their finances as described in recent court filings by South African prosecutors. If the prosecutors are correct, the Guptas deceived EDC by providing a "grossly overstated" estimate of their income and assets, the EDC court documents say.

Critics have questioned whether EDC conducted an adequate "due diligence" review of the Guptas when it approved the loan in 2014. One Canadian human-rights group, Above Ground, says it will push for reforms that require the EDC to conduct a more rigorous screening of its potential clients. The agency's enabling legislation is due to be subject to a parliamentary review this year.

In December, when EDC confirmed its cancellation of its loan to the Guptas, the agency acknowledged that the "political exposure" risks of its dealings with the Guptas had increased. But it has denied that there were any mistakes in its due-diligence process.
20/02/18 Geoffrey York/Globe and Mail

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Abhishek Verma owned Olialia India bags Maldives International Airport construction award

A global conglomerate owned by billionaire Abhishek Verma, 'Olialia' (pronounced as Oooh La La) has signed an MoU for building an international airport with the Government of Maldives.

Olialia has been sanctioned a huge lagoon by the Government of the Maldives for this purpose. Located far from the capital city Male, the designated water body was in much need of an international airport.

The second lagoon identified by Olialia is for development of a seven star resort close to the airport development.

The planned airport is going to be named Olialia International Airport for a minimum period of 50 years. Olialia was invited by the island nation’s government for the construction of the airport by issuing a formal invitation letter / Expression of Interest.

This letter addressed to Mrs Anca Verma the wife of Abhishek Verma was signed by the Maldives’ Tourism Minister Moosa Zameer.

A special purpose company (Olialia International Airport Maldives Private Limited) is now been registered in Maldives which has already received sanction to bring in FDI (foreign direct investment) into the country for this airport project.

The airport will be built upon the ‘build, own and transfer’ model, which means that Olialia build and run the airport for 50 years, after which the operations and management would be handed over to the government of Maldives.

As decreed by the model, the government is not liable for any finance, which means that Olialia would be the sole investor in the project.

An Olialia spokesperson has revealed that the company will hand over the airport to the Maldives government after developing and running it for a period of 50 years. The airport’s net worth is expected to rise to a whopping $6 billion by the said time. The airport project is also expected to generate approximately 5,000 employment opportunities for the people of Maldives.

Olialia World is a Lithuanian multinational corporation with US$ 2 billion annual sales. It is a FMCG company with interests in hospitality, aviation, infrastructure, financial services and tourism.

Olialia World is owned by India's Verma Family scion Billionaire Abhishek Verma with Mrs. Anca Verma being the Chairperson of the Conglomerate. The Co-Founders of Olialia brand are Justas Tomkus, Rasa Tomkiene and Rytis Tomkus.
19/02/18  Olialia World/OpenPR

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Air Asia X to stop flights from Mumbai

Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia has decided to pull out its flights from Mumbai to Kuala Lumpur from April 30.

A report in The Times of India quotes an  AirAsia India spokesperson saying passengers booked on the sector after April 29 will be allowed to either re-route through other destinations, get a credit refund, change the travel date or get a full refund.
The Mumbai-Kuala Lumpur flight has been popular with tourists to Malaysia and Bali, where Air Asia has excellent connections. If you were planning your South Asia summer holiday, you still have three good options from Mumbai. The following airlines operate non-stop flights:

Malindo Air flies to to Kuala Lumpur from Mumbai every day, with a flight duration of 5 hours and 20 minutes. Book your tickets here.

Malaysia Airlines also has daily non-stop flights between Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur. Book tickets here.

Jet Airways flights, operated by Malaysia Airlines as a part of codeshare, will also take you to Kuala Lumpur in just 5 hours 20 minutes.
20/02/18 Conde Nest Traveller

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Indian carriers' share in international traffic up by 2.6%

New Delhi: This is one "made by Indians" programme that is showing the desired results.
Last year, 5.9 crore people flew in and out of India - up 11.3% from 5.3 crore in 2016. Indian carriers saw their share in this traffic going up to 38.6%, up a significant 2.6% in just one year from 36% in 2016. The jump came mainly on the back of a solid 58% increase in international passengers flown by IndiGo, followed by soon-to-be-privatised Air India express which saw 20% jump in this traffic.
Since the liberal grant of bilaterals to the Gulf, especially Dubai, by the previous UPA regime had become a controversy, the Modi government has not given more flying rights despite demand from all big players like Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. As a result, the 11% growth in international traffic to and from India seen in 2017 over 2016 is mainly a result of more passengers being carried by Indian airlines.
Five Indian airlines fly abroad - Air India, AI Express, Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet. In 2016, these five accounted for 1.9 crore of the 5.3 crore passengers who flew in and out of India, which means a share of 36% in overall traffic. In 2017, they accounted for 2.3 crore of the 5.9 crore international traffic which saw their share go up to 38.6% - a jump of 2.6% in just a year.
But where the 'tortoise' of Indian carriers of overtook the 'hare' of foreign carriers is in these numbers. The five desi airlines saw 21% jump in international passengers in 2017 over 2016 while the growth for foreign carriers was less than athird at 5.9%. To be sure, a major part of this growth in passenger carriage by Indian carriers is to nearby countries where the single aisle planes of IndiGo A-320) and AI Express (B-737) fly. The medium and long haul market is dominated by foreign airlines as only AI (up to US and Australia) and Jet (farthest destination being Toronto) fly to the distant places.
20/02/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Qatar Airways reiterates it will launch airline in India with 'at least 100 planes'

New Delhi: Qatar Airways on Tuesday reaffirmed its plans to start an airline in India. The airline’s CEO, Akbar Al Baker, told the media in France “we will launch an airline in India which will have a fleet of at least 100 aircraft”. He did not specify what type of planes will be deployed in India. Baker made this statement while taking delivery of Airbus A350-1000 in Toulouse on Tuesday.
The reiteration comes exactly a year after Al Baker had said that he along with Qatar government’s investment arm will start a domestic airline in India.
Till recently, Qatar had not made an application to start an airline in India. Last March, he had made that statement in Berlin. An airline spokesperson had then said the application will be made soon.
Qatar Airways has been keen to pick up a stake in IndiGo for years but the Indian low cost carrier has been “politely declining” the same. Now with Air India being privatised, industry insiders think there are chances of Qatar Airways tying up with an Indian carrier to bid for the Maharaja. The airline has not commented on this issue so far.
20/02/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Singapore Airlines Increases Frequency From Ahmedabad

Singapore Airlines has introduced a fifth weekly flight from Ahmedabad to Singapore; to cater to the increased travel demand during the summer holiday season. The additional flight will operate every Friday from April 27 – May 25, 2018.

David Lim, General Manager India – Singapore Airlines said, “Ahmedabad continues to be a key market for Singapore Airlines and we are pleased to offer an additional, seasonal frequency to meet the growing demand. The new flight will provide travellers an additional departure window to travel to Singapore and to onward destinations.”
19/02/18 T3 News Network

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Indian carriers' share in international traffic up by 2.6%

New Delhi: This is one "made by Indians" programme that is showing the desired results.
Last year, 5.9 crore people flew in and out of India - up 11.3% from 5.3 crore in 2016. Indian carriers saw their share in this traffic going up to 38.6%, up a significant 2.6% in just one year from 36% in 2016. The jump came mainly on the back of a solid 58% increase in international passengers flown by IndiGo, followed by soon-to-be-privatised Air India express which saw 20% jump in this traffic.
Since the liberal grant of bilaterals to the Gulf, especially Dubai, by the previous UPA regime had become a controversy, the Modi government has not given more flying rights despite demand from all big players like Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad. As a result, the 11% growth in international traffic to and from India seen in 2017 over 2016 is mainly a result of more passengers being carried by Indian airlines.
Five Indian airlines fly abroad - Air India, AI Express, Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet. In 2016, these five accounted for 1.9 crore of the 5.3 crore passengers who flew in and out of India, which means a share of 36% in overall traffic. In 2017, they accounted for 2.3 crore of the 5.9 crore international traffic which saw their share go up to 38.6% - a jump of 2.6% in just a year.
But where the 'tortoise' of Indian carriers of overtook the 'hare' of foreign carriers is in these numbers. The five desi airlines saw 21% jump in international passengers in 2017 over 2016 while the growth for foreign carriers was less than athird at 5.9%. To be sure, a major part of this growth in passenger carriage by Indian carriers is to nearby countries where the single aisle planes of IndiGo A-320) and AI Express (B-737) fly. The medium and long haul market is dominated by foreign airlines as only AI (up to US and Australia) and Jet (farthest destination being Toronto) fly to the distant places.
"IndiGo has been growing aggressively by adding flights to nearby countries which has seen this mega jump in its international traffic. Had the engine crisis on the Airbus A-320 Neo not slowed down delivery of new planes to IndiGo and GoAir (which does not fly abroad currently), this year would have seen a much bigger jump in share of Indian carriers in overall international traffic to and from the country. GoAir has officially blamed delayed delivery of Neos as the reason for its launch of international flights getting postponed," said an airline official who did not wish to be quoted.
21/02/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Poor training of pilots, crew led to Jet mishap in Dhaka: DGCA

Inadequate training of pilots and other crew members had led to the fuel tank of a Jet Airways flight from Mumbai hitting the runway on landing at Dhaka International Airport last year, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said.

There was a serious damage to the aircraft, and as many as 168 passengers on board had a narrow escape in the accident that took place in January 2017. The aviation regulator has made the observation in its investigation report submitted to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Flight 9W-276 had bounced with its nose-up higher than the normal on initial touchdown. The pilot in command then took over the controls in a second attempt, and the aircraft finally taxied, exiting the runway.

An inspection showed rubbing marks on the tail and damaged underbelly of the aircraft. The plane had to be grounded, and its return to Mumbai was cancelled.

DGCA noted that during the "shutdown procedure", the crew did not pull the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR CB) out as required for the aircraft not equipped with the CVR 'Auto switch.' The relevant CVR recording was over written and was unavailable for investigation, the report reads.

"Processes and procedures followed by the training department to assess crew proficiency do not have the system of addressing specific deficiency", the report said, adding that an absence of documented training profiles to remove deficiencies was observed during the assessment.

In its recommendations to the airline, DGCA said, "Review the flight crew training processes and procedures to address the flight crew proficiency which should include specific training profiles."
19/02/18 Anvit Srivastava/DNA

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Pakistan charges Rs 2.86 lakh for route navigation charges on PM Narendra Modi flights

New Delhi: Pakistan has billed India Rs 2.86 lakh as route navigation charges for Indian Air Force aircraft used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a stopover in Lahore and visits to Russia, Afghanistan, Iran and Qatar, an RTI response shows. The data gathered by activist Commodore (Retd) Lokesh Batra. through his RTI application, show that till June 2016, Indian Air Force aircraft were used for the Prime Minister’s visits to 11 countries–Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Qatar, Australia, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, Fiji and Singapore. Batra gave a copy of the RTI responses, received from August last year to January 30 2018, to PTI.

During one such visit on December 25, 2015, Modi had a brief stopover in Lahore at the request of then Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The stopover took place when Modi was returning from Russia and Afghanistan. For this, a bill of Rs 1.49 lakh has been issued as route navigation charges, records accessed under the RTI Act from the Indian High Commission in Pakistan show.

Modi was received by Sharif with a warm hug at the tarmac of the Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, when he made the unexpected stopover on his way back home following a day-long trip to Afghanistan after concluding a two-day visit to Russia. Modi was accorded a red carpet welcome as the PM’s special Indian Air Force Boeing 737 plane touched down at 4.50 pm. He then took a helicopter to Sharif’s Raiwind palatial residence on the outskirts of Lahore to attend Sharif’s birthday celebrations.

A bill of Rs 77,215 was imposed as route navigation charges by Pakistani authorities when Modi used an IAF aircraft to visit Iran on May 22-23, 2016, and Rs 59,215 when he visited Qatar on June 4-6, 2016, the RTI response shows. For both visits he flew over Pakistan.
18/02/18 PTI/Financial Express

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Thai low-cost carrier Nok Air pins turnaround on more China, India flights

Bangkok: Nok Airlines Pcl, the struggling low-cost subsidiary of Thai Airway International Pcl, aims to turn around operations by growing international revenue with more flights to China and India, a top executive said on Monday.

The carrier, which posted a loss of 1.85 billion baht ($58.95 million) last year, aims to increase revenue by 3 billion baht this year from 20.4 billion baht in 2017, by carrying 9 million passengers, 4 percent more than a year prior, Chief Executive Piya Yodmani told reporters at an earnings review.

He also said the carrier aims to increase revenue from international operations to 40 percent of its total from 20 percent a year earlier.
Piya, who took over as CEO in September after the resignation of Patee Sarasin, said Nok targets aircraft utilization of 12 hours, up from 10.4 hours in 2017, with more red-eye flights and routes in China to boost earnings as Chinese tourist arrivals surge in Thailand.

“We are waiting for approval to fly into three cities in India with the possibility of increasing routes there,” Piya said.

Hotel and retail groups are among the main beneficiaries of a Thai tourism boom, while Thai airlines struggle with competition and fuel costs.
19/02/18 Reuters

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MADC eyeing Changi’s expertise for Purandar

Pune: The Maharashtra Airport Development Company Limited (MADC) is exploring the possibility of using the technical expertise of the Singapore-based Changi Airports International (CAI) to develop three MADC-managed airports, including the proposed new airport for Pune at Purandar.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between MADC and CAI — focused on collaboration — has been in place since September last year.
See Ngee Muoy, the spokesperson for Changi Airports International told TOI that talks between both the parties on this matter have been on.
“Changi Airports International and the Maharashtra Airport Development Company signed an MoU on September 29 to promote mutual collaboration in the area of civil aviation. Discussions to extend technical advisory services by Changi Airports International to Maharashtra Airport Development Company are still in progress,” Ngee Muoy said in a written response to a TOI query.
MADC officials, meanwhile, said assistance and guidance from CAI were expected to be sought in matters related to the proposed Purandar airport project.
19/02/18 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Rafale Jet Deal: Mother of all defence scams

The Indian Air Force’s (IAF’s) glorious feats in wars since 1947 have been in consonance with the force’s motto of “Touch the sky with glory.” However, the process of its latest acquisition, Rafale, a 4.5 generation omnirole combat aircraft manufactured by Dassault Aviation, France, is so opaque, nepotistic and shrouded in secrecy, that it may turn out to be the mother of all defence scams in the history of India.
It was in September 2016 that the deal for 36 aircraft for ?58,000 crore was finalised with the signing of the Inter- Governmental Agreement (IGA) by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean-Yves le Drian in New Delhi. It had been announced a year earlier by PM Modi in Paris. Basically, India would pay a whopping ?1,611 crore for each of the planes, the same planes for which the UPA government was paying ?526 crore per unit. The UPA government had floated a tender to purchase 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft and the Rafale was chosen over five other competitors.
The irony is that while inflation plus weapons package cannot justify this huge difference in per aircraft cost, the UPA’s price included transfer of technology (ToT), under which 108 aircraft would have been built by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Under this current deal, there is no ToT as all 36 planes have been ordered on a fly-away basis. So, several questions arise. Why were orders for seven squadrons cut down to two? Why is there such a massive price escalation in spite of no transfer of technology? Where is this money going? Why is Dassault partnering with Reliance Aerospace in India and, in the absence of ToT, what are the offset obligations of Dassault? And there are many more such questions. Till date, the Narendra Modi-led BJP government has not answered any of them.
Incumbent Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s written reply to Parliament on February 5 this year that the government is not aware of the Indian partner of Dassault Aviation has taken what was murky into the realm of the unreal. When the joint venture company of Dassault and the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Aerospace laid down the foundation stone of its facility in Nagpur in October, 2017, BJP leaders like Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari were present. The JV was formed 13 months before the deal was announced and it’s in the public domain. So why this denial?
What is perhaps most crucial is the betrayal of national interest on part of the Modi Sarkar by superseding the public sector HAL, which has extensive experience in the aer¬ospace industry in favour of the Anil Ambani-led company, which has zero experience in the defence sector. Under the deal mooted by the erstwhile UPA government, HAL was to get a ?30,000-crore business share in the project, which would have kept its production lines alive. It had signed an agreement to this effect with Dassault on March 13, 2014.
Pallam Raju, former MoS of Defence, told National Herald, “By deleting HAL from the deal, the Modi government has destroyed the whole ecosystem which we had created through the UPA’s offset policy. Thousands of jobs and working hours would have been added if the government had gone forward with the older deal. The deal exposes the sham of Modi’s ‘Make in India.’ Otherwise, he would not have deprived HAL of the chance of producing 108 of these planes.”
18/02/18 Bhasha Singh/National Herald

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Birmingham flight starts tomorrow

Amritsar: The maiden direct flight between Amritsar and Birmingham will take off on February 20. MP Rajya Sabha Shwait Malik and Union Minister of State and BJP state president Vijay Sampla will inaugurate the flight at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Amritsar.
The flight was announced by Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha in November 2016.
The Air India’s direct non-stop flight between Amritsar and Birmingham will fly twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday and return from Birmingham on Wednesday and Friday.
This flight will take off from the city at 13:55 IST and land at Birmingham Airport by 17:15 BST and will depart from Birmingham Airport at 18:45 BST and land at SGRD Amritsar Airport by 07:45 IST.
18/02/18 Tribune

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Twice daily nonstops: Air India looks at SFO on weekends and to Australia thrice a week

New Delhi: Soon-to-be-privatised Air India is looking at majorly increasing the frequency of its popular nonstops to San Francisco (SFO) and Australia. The Delhi-SFO flight is currently six days a week and the Maharaja is planning a 50% increase by making it nine times a week. And the daily Delhi-Australia nonstop may be raised to 10 flights weekly. AI is the only airline that flies nonstop from India to Australia and to the west coast of US.
“We are witnessing lot of rush on the SFO nonstop during weekends. So we are looking at having a double daily on Fridays and Sundays. As of now there are two options, to make it a daily or have 9 a week. We are more keen on nine flights,” said a senior AI official.
Similarly, AI currently has four flights a week on Delhi-Sydney and three to Melbourne. The airline is planning to make it five flights a week to Sydney and as many to Melbourne. Being the only direct flight between India and Australia, there is significant demand for these flights, say officials. This is acknowledged by the Australians as well.
Tony Huber, Australia’s consul general in Mumbai, Tweeted on Saturday: “Australia receives more visitors from India than from Hong Kong, Indonesia & New Zealand. Those three countries have 666 flights to Australia between them per week — India has 7. A reminder of how much economic & tourism potential can be unlocked between” the two countries.
At present, majority of travellers between India and Australia do so on southeast Asian carriers like Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and AirAsia. In recent times, Chinese carriers are also trying to get a pie of India’s increasing traffic to the east — right up to the east cost of US — by offering low fares.
17/02/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Histadrut Cries Foul In Agreement Between Israel And Air India

Histadrut National Labor Federation Chairman Avi Nissankoren addressed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Transport Minister Yisrael Katz in a letter calling on them to stop unfair competition and discrimination against Israeli airlines as opposed to foreign airlines.

Nissankoren’s call comes after it became known that the government intends to allow the Indian company AIR INDIA to fly to and from Israel over Saudi Arabia – a route significantly shorter than that of Israeli companies.


In the letter, the chairman of the Histadrut wrote, among other things, that “it is unthinkable that the government will lend a hand to conduct that would seriously harm Israeli companies and their devoted employees.”
16/02/18 The Yeshiva World

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Sharjah flight from Amritsar

Mohali: Air India officials have announced that the international flight to Sharjah will operate from Amritsar instead of Chandigarh due to the ongoing runway repair work. The Chandigarh international airport has been closed for civil and military flight operations till February 26. Till February 26, the flight IX 181 (Amritsar-Sharjah) will depart from Amritsar at 8 pm (local time) and reach Sharjah at 9.55 pm (Sharjah time). The return flight IX 182 will take off from Sharjah at 2.15 pm and arrive in Amritsar at 7 pm (local time). The flight will operate three days a week — on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.
17/02/18 Tribune

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Air India planning direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Indian cities

In view of the developing bonds between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Air India will soon have direct flights connecting the major cities of both nations, a top official has said.

The management of Air India is mulling flights that connect Abu Dhabi with New Delhi and other Indian cities.

“The relations between two countries are on the upswing. There has been a great desire expressed by everyone that Air India should restore its full operations from Abu Dhabi to New Delhi. We are only connected to Mumbai and looking forward to having a connection to New Delhi,” said Ranjan Kumar Datta, Air India manager for Abu Dhabi and Al Ain region as quoted by Khaleej Times.
Revealing the strategy of increasing the frequency and seat pitch to woo the travellers, Datta said, “Our frequency here is not as high as we would like it to be and we are seriously looking at increasing the frequency. The amount of seats offered by other airlines are far ahead of us. However, our seat pitch is the best and unmatched by any airline in this region. Our lag of having a slightly older aircraft can be compensated with seat pitch and trained crew. We are also looking to introduce web check-in for Air India Express.”

Datta also accepted that there is stiff competition in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain sectors but informed that the airline is undertaking lot of improvements.
“We ensure that on the right occasions, we have the right capacity with reasonably comparable prices and provide comfortable travel for our passengers. We adjust seating capacity as per booking profile. We interchange aircraft as per requirement and help more passengers travel. Whenever requested, our head office have granted it in no time,” he added.
15/02/18 Connected to India

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Now, daily flights to Singapore from Madurai

Now, flying to Singapore directly from Madurai will be possible all seven days a week, as Air India Express is introducing three more services a week from March 27. Besides, the same flight would be given a direct link between Kochi and Madurai.

Buoyed over the high patronage for its four days a week service that was started in September 2017, Air India Express has increased its frequency.

“We have lot of demand on Madurai-Singapore sector and are now increasing the frequency,” said its Chief Executive Officer, K. Shyam Sundar. The service on this sector is seeing an average occupancy rate of 90%.

As of now, Madurai-Singapore flights are being operated on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The flight departs Madurai at 11.15 p.m. and lands at Singapore at 6.15 a.m. (Singapore local time). In the return direction, it leaves Singapore at 10.40 a.m. and reaches Madurai at 12.25 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.

The same flight is also providing a direct connection between Madurai and Delhi. “Madurai-Delhi sector is also doing well on many days,” he said.

The new services connecting Madurai with Singapore will be available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
16/02/18 S Sundar/The Hindu

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Maldives Tries to Fight Off Travel Alerts as Tourists Stay Away

Male: Tourists have been cancelling hundreds of hotel bookings in Maldives every day since the imposition of a state of emergency last week, tour operators say, despite government assurances things are normal in the resort islands, far from the capital. (Reuters Photo/Stringer)

Male. Tourists have been cancelling hundreds of hotel bookings in Maldives every day since the imposition of a state of emergency last week, tour operators say, despite government assurances things are normal in the resort islands, far from the capital.

China, India, the United States and Britain issued travel warnings after President Abdulla Yameen imposed the emergency and arrested judges who had ordered him to free jailed opposition leaders.

"We have had about 50-60 room cancellations per day and the number is consistent since it started. This is the same for all of our properties in the country," said a spokesman for Paradise Island Resort-Villa Group which runs the 282-room hotel, a 20-minute ride by speedboat from Male where the turmoil is centered.

Tourism accounts for a third of Maldives' gross domestic product, measured at $3.5 billion in 2017. Ratings agency Moody's has said it would lower its 2018 growth forecast of 4.5 percent if tourists are deterred for a prolonged period.

Calls from Yameen's opponents for military intervention by India, the leading power in the region, have added to the uncertainty. The Muslim-majority nation of 400,000 people lies close to international shipping lines and has become another arena of contest between India and China.

China, which has built close ties to the Yameen government in its push for a network of friendly ports in the Indian Ocean under its "Belt and Road" initiative, has cautioned against foreign interference. But that hasn't stopped it from issuing a travel warning to its citizens, who make up a fifth of the tourist traffic.
15/02/18 Mohamed Junayd/Jakarta Globe

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Philippines company picked from 3 to build Mopa airport

Panaji: GMR Goa International Airport Limited (GGIAL), the special purpose vehicle (SPV) that will develop the greenfield airport at Mopa, has selected Megawide Construction Corporation of the Philippines to construct it.
Work is expected to begin in the first week of March and will comprise site preparation, construction of the terminal building, air traffic controller (ATC) tower, airside and landside infrastructure and other associated tasks.
Megawide was selected from among Larson and Toubro (L&T) of India and Linak of Turkey as it was the lowest bidder, a senior officer said.
In June last year, when GGIAL had invited tenders from global contractors for engineering and construction of the new airport and procurement processes, all three companies had qualified for the sub-contract. The SPV had subsequently forwarded the names of the firms to the Union ministry of home affairs, which accorded security clearance to them in the second week of February.
GGIAL and the Union ministry of civil aviation had on March 31 last year, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Delhi for necessary support from the Centre to develop the international airport. The MoU is part of the concession agreement signed between the state government and GGIAL on November 8, 2016.
As per the concession agreement, GGIAL will have the right to operate the business for 40 years, extendable by another 20 years.
16/02/18 Times of India

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Canadian traveller accuses Jetstar employee of racism

A Canadian traveller has accused a Jetstar employee of racism following an alleged altercation at Melbourne International Airport over overweight baggage fees, an incident the airline disputes took place.

Ryan Chand, of Surrey in British Columbia, claims the female employee uttered a racist slur and “accosted” his wife during a conversation inside the terminal on the evening of 4 February.

In a post to Jetstar’s Facebook page, Mr Chand said the couple arrived at Melbourne International Airport on their way to Brisbane at which time they shared with the Jetstar worker their difficulties buying extra baggage allowance through the carrier’s app.

“She did not care to listen. As we were adjusting our overweight luggage to fit what was allowed by Jetstar, she accosted my wife to weigh her purse,” he wrote.

“This was the first time we'd be harassed by a Jetstar employee to weigh a personal item. We'd only had good interactions with other employees at Auckland and Queenstown up to this point.”
Mr Chand then claimed when he said they had not experienced such an issue with Jetstar check-ins on their trip the Jetstar staffer told them: “Well this is Melbourne, not India”.
“I was shocked about what she had just said to me. Thankfully it was just out of earshot of my wife, who was already stressed about the luggage issues,” he said.

“This was clear racism towards my wife and I. We live in 2018, and this sort of behaviour is NOT OK. I chose not to confront her at the time, as I did not want to escalate the issue when we had a flight to shortly catch. I waited until our itinerary was complete with Jetstar as I did not want to end up on a no-fly/blacklist for our flight to Sydney either.”
When contacted for comment over the allegations, a Jetstar spokesperson said: “The team member involved disputes that there was any discriminatory comments made.”
The spokesperson added: “We do not tolerate any form of discriminatory behaviour.”
Mr Chand said he is filing an official complaint against the female employee and is also demanding to be reimbursed the $57 he was forced to pay for extra baggage because of “your faulty app”
He believes the comment was in “direct reference” to his and his wife’s South Indian background.
16/02/18 Kate Kachor/9news

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SriLankan Airlines expands footprint in India

New Delhi: SriLankan Airlines has been focusing on the Indian market to strategically expand its operations in the country. During the past years, the airline has established a strong market presence and lasting relationship with the travel partners and industry stakeholders of India.

India has been a vital partner in SriLankan Airlines' route network from the early days. The airline holds the widest coverage in India, which is Sri Lanka's primary source of inbound tourist traffic. Today, it directly operates to 14 Indian destinations with a total of 135 flights a week.

"We are keen on increasing the destinations and flight frequencies in India as the demand is constantly on the rise. With the new development ventures, we anticipate significant passenger numbers from our key contributors to inbound tourism traffic- India, China, Europe, Australia and Maldives. We have already introduced three new destinations in 2017 namely Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Coimbatore commenced operations with 4 frequencies a week," said Chinthaka Weerasinghe, Country Manager, Srilankan Airlines.
14/02/18 AIN

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Tanzanian man held at IGI airport for smuggling heroin worth 1 crore

New Delhi: The Narcotics Control Bureau on Wednesday arrested a 31-year-old Tanzanian man for allegedly smuggling in heroin estimated to be worth Rs 1 crore. Sleuths of the NCB apprehended Brayton N Lyimo  at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport on Tuesday night after he landed here from Mumbai. "The man was intercepted at the airport as the agency was working on some intelligence inputs on the activities of international drug cartels."His contacts in Delhi and few other places are under our scanner," NCB Zonal Director Madho Singh said.

A  senior official said that Lyimo was carrying two packets of heroin, totaling 4.8 kg, in his registered baggage and had arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday from Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). He later took a flight for Delhi where he was intercepted by the NCB sleuths and arrested under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
15/02/18 Pioneer

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Thai Airways Bangkok-Mumbai flight suffers tyre burst while landing, all safe

A Thai Airways Bangkok-Mumbai flight carrying 292 passengers suffered tyre burst while landing at Mumbai Airport on Monday night.
No casualties were reported due to the incident.
 "At 22.22 hours arrival aircraft TG 317, Bangkok- Mumbai flight carrying 292 passengers had a tyre burst. No one hurt. However,  Debris found on the runway," said Mumbai Airport official.
12/02/18 DNA

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Tata-GE aircraft engine JV order book full for next 5 years

Hyderabad: A joint venture between Tata Advanced Systems and General Electric, which is setting up an aircraft engine component manufacturing-cum-research hub in Hyderabad, has already got orders for the next five years, a top official said.

The facility is expected to be ready for manufacturing by the year end, catering to GE's global demands as well as India's defence market. The joint venture will also sup a skilling centre to train youth in engine manufacturing.

"This facility will manufacture components for Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion (LEAP) engines for jets and will cater to aircraft manufacturers like Airbus and Boeing and supply components for India and global markets of GE," Vishal Wanchoo, president of GE South Asia, told journalists in Hyderabad on Monday at the venue of the ground-breaking ceremony. "We have already received 200 orders from 35 aerospace companies even before the start of the facility," he said.
13/02/18 Economic Times

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Saudi Arabian Airlines opens office in New Delhi

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) recently launched its new office in New Delhi, India.
The new office was inaugurated by Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to India, Saud bin Mohammed Al-Sati, in the presence of the diplomatic corps of the embassy in India, senior officials from the airline, as well as customers and travel agents in India.
The airline’s new city office is located in the historical area, Connaught Place, in the central business district of New Delhi.
Saudia’s new head office in India is welcoming guests for all of their booking requirements with the airline. During the event, officials participated in a ribbon cutting and reveal ceremony.
Ambassador Al-Sati also invited guests for a tour of the facilities, accompanied by Saudia’s country manager in India, Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al-Qubbi, who briefed guests on the state-of-the-art Saudia fleet and new onboard services being provided to guests.
The airline’s new office includes a service counter for ticket sales, training and development, reservations, travel agents, finance, administration, and a stakeholder coordination office with the Indian aviation authority. The office provides guests with expedient services, enabled by modern electronic reservation and ticket issuing systems.
12/03/18 Arab News

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Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines loses court battle in UK, to pay $90m in claims

London/Singapore: Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya has lost another legal battle linked to his now- defunct Kingfisher Airlines after the UK High Court awarded Singapore-based BOC Aviation an estimated $90 million in claims.
The latest case involving the 62-year-old businessman, whose extradition case+ over alleged loan defaults amounting to around Rs 9,000 crores returns to Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on March 16, is related to the leasing of aircraft by Kingfisher Airlines dating back to 2014.
Justice Picken, in a judgment dated February 5 at the Business and Property Courts of the High Court in London, ruled that "the defendants have no real prospect of successfully defending the claim".
The defendants in the claim brought by BOC Aviation in Singapore and BOC Aviation (Ireland) Ltd have been named as Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd.
"We are pleased with the judgment but would not like to comment further at this stage," said a spokesperson for BOC Aviation in Singapore.
The legal claim relates to a leasing agreement between Kingfisher Airlines and aircraft leasing company BOC Aviation involving four planes, of which three were delivered.
12/02/18 PTI/Times of India

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Philippine Airlines eyes flights to Australia, Japan, India

Manila: Philippine Airlines said Tuesday it was looking at opening new routes in Asia and Australia this year, as it expands its fleet while strengthening its position as a full-service carrier.

Prospective destinations include Brisbane in Australia, Sapporo in Japan and New Delhi and Mumbai in India, PAL president Jaime Bautista said.

These routes will use the Airbus A321neo, which can fly non-stop up to 8 hours and are equipped with WiFi connectivity, he said.

Philippine Airlines will outfit four new Airbus A350-900s jets arriving in June with its most luxurious Business Class service. These planes will fly to Rome, Frankfurt and Paris, said Bautista.

The airline recently secured a 4-star rating from Skytrax, a London-based ratings body. The highest possible score is 5 stars, given only to 10 airlines.
13/02/18 Jacque Manabat/ABS-CBN

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Soon, book Lufthansa ticket through Air India mobile app!

New Delhi: Passengers might soon be able to book tickets on Star Alliance member airlines through the website or app of any member carrier, thanks to the grouping's digital services initiative.

A 28-member strong Star Alliance, that also has national carrier Air India onboard, has launched the digital services platform in collaboration with technology major Accenture.

The platform can gather data provided by an individual member airline or third-party source and make it available to all member carriers as well as enable them to have their own customer-facing digital applications, according to the alliance.

"With India being the focus of Star Alliance for 2018, the country can expect a series of technological partnerships this year as the global airlines' grouping plans to sign contracts with certain firms later this year," Star Alliance's Chief Executive Jeffrey Goh told PTI.

The alliance has come out with a system wherein a person can choose seat in a member airline through the app of another member carrier.

The system is already operational for United Airlines and Singapore Airlines.
11/02/18 PTI/Economic Times

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Singapore Airlines looking at operating more flights from India

Kolkata: Singapore Airlines is upbeat on Indian operations as it mulls the possibility of more flights from the country.
According to David Lim, General Manager India, the airline already has 98 flights a week from 11 destinations in the country. And, plans are now afoot to have more in the coming days.

The 11 destinations from where Singapore Airlines and Silk Air – its sister concern – currently have services are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Kochi, Vizag, Thiruvananthapuram and Ahmedabad.

“We have not announced anything yet. But we do feel confident to add a few in the coming days. However, I can’t tell you from where,” he told BusinessLine during an interview.
Peak period , Lim said, has already seen Singapore Airlines increase flight frequencies. For instance, in the December-January period, the company had nine flights a week from Kolkata, instead of seven a week (once a day). For the ensuing April-May period, it plans to have five flights a week, instead of four.

“We can add up to 10 more flights – to 108 per week – during the peak period,” he said adding that the company also adds capacity by bringing in bigger aircraft . For instance, in October 2017, , it operated Singapore Airlines flights in place of Silk Air .

Lim, however, ruled out beginning operations from smaller airports immediately. The smallest aircraft the company offers is a 150-seater; and for operations to be sustainable, at least two to three flights a week are required.

“We do not want to start operations and then withdraw all of a sudden,” he added.

Instead of Singapore Airlines starting international operations, it relies on its local partner, Vistara — the Tata-SIA run airline, to grow the market. Singapore Airlines has a 49 per cent stake in the full service carrier. Tatas own the remaining. “We have a partner in Vistara and we co-share with them to different cities and through these, we reach out to more tier-II and-III cities in India,” Lim said.
09/02/18 Abhishek Law/Business Line

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Race for India’s fighter jet deals to heat up in 2019

Singapore: Boeing Co and Saab AB, which are among those vying for a contract to supply 57 fighter jets for the Indian Navy, expect it may take until 2019 for the tender process to enter the next phase, according to company executives. The naval contract, as well as a less-advanced plan to buy 100 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force, represent multi-billion dollar opportunities for manufacturers and for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” drive to build a domestic production base. But with the country due to hold a general election by next May, the expectation is both processes could take time. Boeing is proposing its F/A-18 Super Hornet and Saab has touted its Gripen M concept in responses to a request for information (RFI) on the naval contract but they are waiting for a more formal request for proposal (RFP) to be issued.

Boeing Vice President Global Sales Defence, Space & Security Gene Cunningham said the Indian Navy and Ministry of Defence were evaluating the answers to the RFI to see if there were any changes to requirements or expectations before releasing the RFP. “We see that evolving over the next year or so, then driving to a competition,” he told Reuters at the Singapore Airshow. An Indian Navy spokesman said work was in progress and he expected an RFP would be issued in the months ahead detailing specific requirements. Dassault Aviation SA has expressed interest in the navy tender with its twin-engine Rafale M fighter and Russian Aircraft Corporation has reportedly proposed the Indian Navy buy more MiG-29Ks.The firms did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
09/02/18 Financial Express

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Singapore aviation co announces JV with MRO in Mihan

Nagpur: Singapore-based AAR Corp has announced a joint venture with Indamer Aviation which is coming up with an aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) depot, at Mihan-SEZ.
Indamer has been allotted 30 acres of land in the SEZ and construction is under way at the site, said sources in Maharashtra Aviation Development Company (MADC).
Agencies have reported that AAR has announced the joint venture with Indamer Aviation for a new airframe MRO facility at Nagpur.
AAR has posted in its website that the facility being built in India is scheduled to be open in fall 2018 with certification from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This means that the company hopes to start the project by mid 2018.
The world class facility is designed to conduct heavy maintenance on all narrow body platforms including new generation aircraft, says the website post.
09/02/18 Times of India

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Israel Hopeful About Saudi Letting Air India Use its Airspace for Tel Aviv Flights

Jerusalem: An Israeli cabinet minister voiced hope on Friday that Saudi Arabia would allow Air India to fly to and from Tel Aviv through Saudi airspace, a prospect so far played down by Riyadh although the carrier has said the new route is in the works.

Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and lifting the 70-year-old airspace ban would reflect what appears to be thawing ties between Israel and the kingdom, both US allies with a shared concern over Iranian influence in the region.
But after Air India on Wednesday announced the planned thrice-weekly flights to Tel Aviv over Saudi soil, the General Authority of Civil Aviation in Riyadh said it had not granted such permission to the carrier.
"There is apparently progress on the matter of flights to and from Israel and India over Saudi Arabia," Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet, told Tel Aviv radio 102 FM.

Asked about the Saudi demurral, Steinitz said: "I hope that this matter will be worked out."
09/02/18 News18.com

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Airlines offer waiver on cancellations for Indian passengers flying to Maldives

Citing the ongoing crisis in Maldives, Indian aircraft carriers have announced waivers on cancellation charges and changes in date of flying for Indian passengers flying  to Male, capital of the country.

An Air India, spokesperson, said, "Starting February 8 we have been waiving of charges to passengers who opt to cancel or change their travel plans to Maldives. Though our flights are being operated between India and Maldives but it is for those who may want to avoid going there."

A Spicejet  spokesperson, added, "Sighting the ongoing crisis which has emerged in Maldives, SpiceJet has announced waivers on various charges to minimise the impact on the passengers. For travel period between 8 – 14 February to and from Male, passengers opting to cancel their tickets will be offered full refund and cancellation charges will be waived off."

The spokesperson further added, "For all change requests, SpiceJet will waiver the change charges only and will charge the fare difference. Passengers who do not want to travel, will be processed full refund."

Earlier Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump discussed the tensed situation in Maldives which plunged into a political chaos last week when it's apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were politically motivated.
09/02/18 Mehul R Thakkar/DNA

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