Yeti Flies International

Yeti Airlines International, a joint venture between Yeti Airlines and Air Arabia, began international flights from Wednesday (Jan 23), with its inaugural flight taking off to Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia Wednesday morning. The airline, which is also known as FlyYeti.com, is scheduled to operate three flights a week to Kuala Lumpur and thrice-weekly flights to Sharjah, using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft. It is the first Nepali low-cost carrier and the first to have foreign investment scheduled.
Yeti has received permission from the government to fly to 14 destinations in various Asian countries including India , Malaysia , the UAE, Qatar , Hong Kong , Singapore and South Korea.
Ang Tshering Sherpa, chairman of the airline, said that the airline was planning to bring in
another aircraft, an Airbus-320, in mid-February and another Boeing 737-800 aircraft in mid-March. "We will expand our services to Bangkok , Hong Kong , Doha , Abhu Dhabi, Riyadh and Lhasa ," he said.
02/02/08 Media For Freedom, Nepal

Read More

Foreign airline FDI still off domestic civil aviation turf

New Delhi: The Government has stuck to its policy of not allowing foreign airlines to acquire a stake either directly or indirectly in Indian passenger airlines, charter airlines or non-scheduled airlines. The only exception is cargo airlines, where foreign airlines may be allowed to pick up a 74 per cent stake through the automatic route.
Domestic aviation players, especially the low cost airlines, and the Planning Commission have been pressing the view that the Government should have a re-look at the policy of barring foreign airline investment in the domestic industry.
“The domestic airline industry is suffering huge losses. There is a need to allow strategic investors and allowing foreign airlines into the domestic sector would have helped,” the Executive Chairman, SpiceJet, Mr Siddhanta Sharma, told Business Line. The Planning Commission had also called for allowing foreign airlines to participate in domestic airlines in an official communication.
The Union Cabinet, in a meeting here on Wednesday, was, however, of the opinion that the FDI in air transport services should continue to be capped at 49 per cent through the automatic route. But non-resident Indians can hold up to 100 per cent in domestic passenger airlines.
31/01/08 Business Line

Read More

New FDI policy for aviation unveiled

The Government today (Jan 30) has approved certain changes in the FDI permitted in civil aviation activities.
· FDI in Air Transport services would continue to be capped at 49% on the automatic route and 100% for Non-resident Indians (NRI), subject to no direct or indirect participation by foreign airlines. This segment would be reclassified as Domestic Scheduled Passenger Airline Sector.
· FDI up to 74% may be permitted on the automatic route for Non Scheduled airlines, Chartered airlines and Cargo airlines. No direct or indirect participation by foreign airlines would be allowed in non-scheduled airlines and chartered airlines. NRI investment would be allowed up to 100% on the automatic route.
· FDI up to 74% may be permitted on the automatic route for Ground handling Services subject to sectoral regulations and security clearance. NRI investment would be allowed up to 100% on the automatic route.
§ FDI up to 100% may be permitted on the automatic route for Maintenance and Repair organizations; flying training institutes; technical training institutions; and helicopter services/seaplane services in the aviation sector requiring DGCA approval.
30/091/08 Press Information Bureau (press release)

Read More

New FDI norms may take aviation to new heights

New Delhi: In a major fillip to the high-growth aviation sector, the government on Wednesday approved an almost complete overhaul of the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for the sector.
The move will help the sector attract around $50-$70-billion investments over the next few years, which is civil aviation minister Praful Patel’s one of the goals.”FDI percentage will be 26% and the investment component of FIIs at 23%,” information and broadcasting minister PR Dasmunsi said announcing the government’s decision.
The government has capped the FDI in air transport services to 49% on the automatic route and reclassified it as domestic scheduled passenger airline sector. This sector consists of all the domestic airlines that publish fares and transport passengers.
The FDI in non-scheduled airlines, chartered airlines and cargo airlines, has been capped at 74% on the automatic route as long as no foreign airlines are participants. Manav Singh, MD of domestic chartered airline company Club One Air pegs the industry size at around Rs 350 crore and growing at 30 to 40% annually.
The cargo industry is also set for a boost with most existing airlines like Spicejet and the national carrier Air India getting heavily into cargo. The ministry estimates that India will carry around 4 million tonne cargo by 2010. FDI in ground-handling services has been hiked to 74% on the automatic route, subject to sectoral regulations and security clearance.
The FDI norms for scheduled and non-scheduled air services, cargo and ground handling are allows non-resident Indians (NRI) 100% investment.
30/01/08 Financial Express

Read More

All Nippon Boosts Profit on Flights to China, India

All Nippon Airways Co., Japan's largest domestic carrier, boosted third-quarter profit as it flew more passengers overseas.
All Nippon's net income rose 34 percent to 12.4 billion yen ($117 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of 9.3 billion yen a year earlier. Sales at the Tokyo- based carrier fell 0.9 percent to 378 billion yen.
The carrier carried 5.8 percent more international passengers in the period as it added flights to China and India. The airline is targeting growth overseas as discount carrier Skymark Airlines Inc. takes away domestic customers.
``Stronger passenger volume from international routes is the high point of All Nippon's earnings,'' said Takuya Osaka, an analyst at Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co. in Tokyo.
The airline's shares rose 3.9 percent to close at 423 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange before earnings were announced.
All Nippon is also cutting low-margin routes within Japan to boost profits. It cut seven routes last year and will slash the same number from April 1 to July 1. Fewer flights and more competition led to a 2.3 percent drop in domestic passengers in the third quarter.
31/01/08 Chris Cooper/Bloomberg

Read More

Court appearance for Air India bomb maker delayed

Vancouver: A court appearance scheduled Wednesday to allow convicted bomb maker Inderjit Singh Reyat to plead guilty to perjury has been delayed.
Families of the Air India bombing victims were told last week that Reyat was going to admit to lying on the stand in September 2003 in the trial of two other men accused in the terrorist plot.
A special court date was set for Wednesday afternoon so that he could enter a plea, avoiding a trial for perjury that was set to begin next week.
But instead, Reyat's lawyer, Ian Donaldson, was expected to tell the court that he had been unable to talk to his client, who is in Matsqui prison in Abbotsford, B.C., which was locked down following a riot there last weekend.
Reyat pleaded guilty to manslaughter five years ago for his role in the June 23, 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people.
He had been convicted in 1991 for building a second bomb that exploded the same day at Tokyo's Narita Airport, killing two baggage handlers.
30/01/08 Canwest News Service/Vancouver Sun/Canada.com, Canada

Read More

Indian carrier to operate 11 new flights to UAE

Trivandrum: Air India has initiated a number of steps, including an increase in services, to end the woes of passengers in Kerala-Gulf sector.
Its budget airline, Air India Express, will operate 11 new flights from Trivandrum International Airport to Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah from February 18 a week as part of the initiative, said Air India Chairman V. Thulsidas.
He told reporters here yesterday that the flights now being operated from Karipur airport to various Gulf countries via Trivandrum, Cochin and other airports will subsequently become direct flights.
The flights from Calicut to various airports in the United Arab Emirates will be increased following bilateral negotiations with the UAE authorities. The AIE will operate additional flights from Calicut to Doha and Bahrain from February 19, he added.
Thulsidas said Trivandrum would be made an operating base of Air India to check flight delays.
31/01/08 T.K. Devasia/Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates

Read More

Kerala IT firm wins aviation award for its product

Thiruvananthapuram : Technopark headquartered IBS Software, a leading provider of IT solutions to the global travel, transportation and logistics industry, was declared the winner of the "Emerging Cargo IT Systems Provider of the Year" award.
This was announced at Air Cargo India 2008, an international event that concluded at the World Trade Centre in Mumbai.
V.K. Mathews, chairman and CEO of IBS Software, received this award from Michael Proffitt, CEO of Dubai Logistics City, early this week, said a company statement released here Wednesday.
IBS' iCargo, a new-generation cargo management system (CMS), was chosen winner of the award based on factors such as functionality, technology used and the range of business benefits to airlines.
Currently, CargoJet and Northern Air Cargo in the Americas and Avient Airlines in Europe use IBS' cargo management systems.
Other major airlines the firm has signed up include Nippon Cargo Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Air New Zealand Cargo.
30/01/08 IANS/Indian Muslims, USA

Read More

Making IT happen for high fliers

The key areas of management at Heathrow (and at Gatwick, also operated by the same company, BAA) including the complete airport management database, passenger and baggage handling as well as all flight announcements have been entrusted to solutions provided by a niche Indian player in the management of what is known as TTL — Travel, Transportation and Logistics — the Thiruvananthapuram-based IBS Software Services.
“I don’t think any other company offers such a wide range of services and solutions across the spectrum of TTL,” says V.K. Mathews founder-Chairman-CEO of IBS. It is no idle claim, that this MTech in aeronautical engineering from IIT Kanpur makes. Yet so low-key has been the profile of this company that few outside the TTL industry are aware of its name or that this is the international epicentre of an operation that is a decade old and now spans 15 global delivery and support centres.
A lean team totalling less than 2,000, creates and delivers solutions for airports, seaports, airlines, oil and gas companies, tour operators, cruise lines, that have received the highest ISO ratings of the software industry.
Only last week, Air New Zealand, became the third airline to adopt IBS’ cargo management system, iCargo, which supports the complete chain of supply from shipper to consignee harnessing the Web.
31/01/08 Anand Parthasarathy/The Hindu

Read More

Growing traffic between Chennai and Southeast Asia spurs airlines to expand services

Chennai: With significant increases in business and leisure travel between Chennai and Southeast Asia and the Far East in the past year, airlines are looking to expand their services to the region in the coming months. The popular Chennai-Singapore route will be a particular target: there will be an additional 3,700 seats every week on this sector in 2008.
Singapore Airlines is introducing its second day-time flight out of Chennai in April, which will operate four times a week — this will be its 11th weekly flight. “There’s actually enough traffic on this sector for Singapore Airlines to even have three day-time flights every day, but we are constrained by traffic rights,” said Bharath Mahadevan, Manager (Southern India), Singapore Airlines.
The airline had a load factor of around 85 per cent last year on its flights out of Chennai, and traffic increased by around 15 per cent.
Other airlines have enjoyed similar success: Singapore-based low-cost carrier Tiger Airways introduced flights to Chennai last October, and will operate four flights a week in 2008. Jet Airways and Air India Express already operate daily flights, and they are both set to expand their operations this year.
The new services will see the addition of around 3,700 seats every week out of Chennai, increasing current capacities by more than half.
31/01/08 The Hindu

Read More

Nagpur-Singapore flight by mid-April

Nagpur: Low cost airline Air-India Express has proposed to connect Nagpur with Singapore via Kolkata-Bangkok by mid-April this year. Singapore follows four other international destinations connected to Nagpur; following Sharjah (Air Arabia), Doha (Qatar Airways), Dubai (Air India Express) and Bangkok (Air India).
The Nagpur-Singapore flight will be operated on Nagpur-Kolkata-Bangkok-Singapore sector, thrice a week initially, from Dr Ambedkar International Airport at Nagpur. A-I Express is already operating international flights from Nagpur on Mumbai-Nagpur-Dubai route thrice a week, with good load factor. Its return flight from Nagpur to Mumbai provides a connecting flight for the New York service.
Presently, A-I Express operates a flight on Kolkata-Bangkok-Singapore sector twice a week, however after the arrival of the new aircraft the same service will be extended to Nagpur also.
30/01/08 Sachin Dravekar/Times of India

Read More

Kandahar hijack case verdict deferred till February 5

Patiala: A Special Court in Patiala on Tuesday deferred to February five its judgement against three persons arrested on conspiracy and other related charges in connection with the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane IC-814 during its flight from Kathmandu to New Delhi nearly eight years ago.
Special Judge Inderjit Singh Walia, on January 18, had reserved its judgement for Tuesday after the conclusion of the arguments in the case of the hijacking of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 from Kathmandu on December 24, 1999.
The hearing was conducted inside the high security Patiala Central Jail where the three conspirators Abdul Latif, Dalip Kumar and Yusuf Nepali are lodged since their arrest about eight years back.
The hearing was held in camera and over 120 witnesses were examined.
The decision of the judge to defer the case to February five was announced to media persons outside the prison by defence lawyer Barjinder Singh Sodhi.
29/01/08 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

Read More

Boeing, IISc, Wipro and HCL to develop network technology for aerospace

New Delhi: Boeing has entered into an agreement with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and two leading Indian information technology companies to develop wireless and other network technologies for aerospace-related applications.
The agreement, signed by representatives from Boeing, IISc’s Society for Innovation and Development, Wipro Technologies and HCL Technologies, forms the Aerospace Network Research Consortium. Led by Boeing, the ANRC is India’s first public-private aerospace research consortium.
Initially established as a four-year collaborative effort, the agreement can be extended based on mutual interests. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Researchers from Boeing Phantom Works, the company’s advanced R&D unit, and Commercial Airplanes will represent Boeing.
29/01/08 Economic Times

Read More

CIAL support for Lanka

Nedumbassery: As part of the diversification projects, the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) is all set to provide assistance to Sri Lanka in constructing an airport.
A high-level delegation of the officials of the CIAL headed by its Managing Director Shriram Bharath left for Sri Lanka following the invitation of Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapakse on Monday to hold preliminary discussions about the feasibility of setting up a new Greenfield Airport in southern Sri Lanka, in line with the CIAL airport here.
Besides the CIAL Managing Director, the team included Airport Director A. C. K Nair, general Managers A. M. Shabeer (Civil) and Suresh Babu (Commercial), Sr. Manager K. P Thankachan, Manager C. V. Ajithkumar and Deputy Manager T. Rajendran.
They will hold discussions with the President of Sri Lanka., the Minister of Ports and Aviation and senior officials of the Sri Lankan Government. The delegation will also visit the proposed site for the construction of the Airport. The delegation will return on February 2.
29/01/08 Newindpress

Read More

Chinese and Indian travellers boost Changi traffic to new high

Singapore: More travellers from China and India boosted passenger traffic at Singapore's Changi Airport to an all-time record high of 36.7 million last year, 4.8 per cent over 2006, the Civil Aviation Authority said on Monday. Visits by Chinese and Indians increased by 12.6 per cent and 15.6 per cent from the previous year.
"Emerging markets such as Vietnam, Russia and South Africa also saw double-digit growth in traffic at 24.4 per cent, 27.7 per cent and 15.1 per cent respectively," the authority said.
"We got off to a good start in 2008," said Chief Executive Officer Lim Kim Choon, citing the opening a a third terminal.
The airport "is in good stead to tap on the strong demand for air travel," he noted.
The traditional peak travel month of December also set a record for highest monthly traffic. More than 3.5 million passengers went through the airport, a 3 per cent increased over the corresponding month in 2006.
28/01/08 DPA/Earthtimes

Read More

Air India to offer customised holiday packages

New Delhi: National carrier Air India is set to enter the select league of airlines offering exclusive holiday tours to passengers. Air India will start a specialised tour division, similar to that of Malaysia Airlines, Emirates, Thai Airways, Sri Lankan Airlines and Singapore Airlines, later this year to offer customised tour packages to all class of passengers.
The airline will also offer tours to international locations while the core emphasis will be on domestic tourist hot spots in Goa, Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir. Looking at optimising its revenue streams after merger with the domestic wing (the erstwhile Indian), it will be the first Indian airline to foray into the holiday touring business.
An Air India official confirmed that plans were underway to launch the service in the next few months.
29/01/08 Chanchal Pal Chauhan/Economic Times

Read More

Jet Airways too set to fly non-stop to the US

Mumbai: India's oldest privately run airline, Jet Airways (India) Ltd, is readying plans to fly non-stop to select US destinations, potentially rivalling competitor Kingfisher Airlines Ltd's ambitions of flying directly to San Francisco from Bangalore and Mumbai by the middle of this year.
State-owned airline Air India has already started non-stop operations to the US from Mumbai and New Delhi.
International airlines such as Continental Airlines Inc., American Airlines Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. too operate non-stop flights to the US from Mumbai and Delhi.
The total market size on the India-US sector is more than 2 million passengers and, with the introduction of long-haul planes by Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS, the world's two biggest plane makers, airlines are increasingly offering direct flights to the world's largest economy.
Jet Airways had in 2007 established the European city Brussels as a hub for offering various onwards connections from there to North America.
29/01/08 P.R.Sanjai/Livemint

Read More

Lufthansa takes cautious stance on mainland, India

Frankfurt: Signs that the pace of growth in Chinese air cargo volumes is beginning to peak and increasing fears about excess freighter capacity in India are encouraging Lufthansa Cargo to take a cautious approach to future main deck operations in those markets.
The German carrier has already switched some of its former China market freighter capacity onto North Atlantic routes and decided to hold back from any possible investment in an Indian all-cargo airline, at least for the time being.
Those were some of the points to emerge from a recent press briefing given by Lufthansa Cargo in Frankfurt. The focal point of the event was a presentation by the carrier outlining general trends in the global air cargo industry, based on the research findings of a variety of organisations, notably German air cargo industry consultancy Aviainform and US group MergeGlobal Inc (MGI).
Overall, said Andreas Otto, Lufthansa Cargo executive board member, product and sales, the worldwide air cargo market was expected to average 5.4 percent growth annually in the years 2007-12 to total 28 million tonnes a year by the end of that period, 40 percent more than the 20 million tonnes achieved in 2006.
"Our expansion in China is now somewhat stagnating because of the poor growth of export air cargo into that market. We have had to do something about that. One of our responses has been to switch some (freighter) capacity from that market to the North Atlantic."
Turning to prospects for the overall Indian air cargo market, Otto said research suggested 2007-12 would see "strong growth" averaging 6.4 percent a year. However, he played down speculation in some quarters that Lufthansa Cargo might invest in an Indian freighter operation, possibly along the lines of its established involvement with Chinese airline Jade Cargo International.
28/01/08 Phil Hastings/Cargonews Asia

Read More

Sabena is first to offer third-party Eclipse 500 pilot training

Arizona-based Sabena Airline Training Centre (SATC) has received US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to offer Eclipse 500 type rating pilot training at the company’s Falcon Field facility in Mesa, Flight International has learned. Read On >>

Read More

Cargo market on the move

According to the World Air Cargo Forecast-2006-2007 report, the market from India and its neighbouring countries constituted approximately 3.9 per cent of the world’s air cargo traffic in tonnage and 4.2 per cent in tonne-kilometres in 2005. Total international air cargo flows moving into, within, and out of the region now exceed 1.4 million tonnes annually.
The report suggests that Europe is the region’s primary air trade partner. It accounts for 33 per cent of all foreign air trade being carried in and out of the region. West Asia (23 per cent), Asia (22 per cent) and North America (18 per cent) are other significant regions for the air cargo industry.
As per the study, India is the leading international freight market in the subcontinent, which also comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Of the total 1.4 million tonnes of international cargo that flew in and out of the region, India moved the maximum with about 8.82 lakh tonnes. The other two important markets in the region were Pakistan with about 2.07 lakh tonnes and Sri Lanka with 1.6 lakh tonnes.
28/01/08 Business Line

Read More

MAS to start Kuala Lumpur-Delhi freighter service

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) plans to start a dedicated freighter service between Kuala Lumpur and Delhi this year.
The national air carrier and Acumen Overseas Pte Ltd, its general sales agent (GSA) for north and west India, is undertaking a feasibility study, which is expected to be completed soon.
“A dedicated freighter service to India presents MasKargo a huge opportunity to enhance its presence in the Indian subcontinent,” Acumen managing director Pukhraj Chug said at the Air Cargo India 2008 exhibition in Mumbai recently.
He said the frequency of flights to be operated would depend on market demand. “We are working on two freighter flights per week initially,” he said.
Meanwhile, MAS cargo division, Malaysia Airlines Cargo Sdn Bhd (MasKargo), is considering using Delhi as its cargo transit from Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Acumen is the sales representative for MasKargo in the northern, western and eastern regions of India. It is responsible for selling MasKargo products in its region that includes cargo space. At present, MAS has no dedicated freighter services to India.
28/01/08 Malaysia Star, Malaysia

Read More

Immigration racket: Flight purser gets bail

Mumbai: A sessions court on Friday granted bail to the flight purser working with an international airline in connection with a racket involving illegal migration to the US that was busted in November last year.
All the 12 accused have been granted bail in this case.
Arrested on January 16, the accused — Sarfaraz Sherali Virani (27), a resident of Bandra and a flight purser with Virgin Atlantic airlines — allegedly posed as the husband of a Gujarati woman, Rameelabain Jyotabhai Chaudhary, to secure a visa for her from the US consulate and also helped send her to the US.
While Chaudhary paid the alleged kingpin of the racket, Altaf Shaikh and his associate a total of Rs 22 lakh, Virani was paid Rs 2 lakh for posing as Chaudhary’s husband, the police claimed.
The police claimed that Virani is the boyfriend of former Jet Airways airhostess Aliyah Rizvi, who was arrested on November 26.
The 12 accused in the case were booked for forgery, cheating, using a forged document and criminal conspiracy.
28/01/08 Mumbai Newsline

Read More

Etihad India manager pledges to campaign for more Indian routes

Etihad Airways' new country manager for India has pledged to campaign for the expansion of the airline's India network to India in 2008.
Neerja Bhatia, who has been Etihad Airways' acting country manager since summer 2007, having assisted with the launch of the Abu Dhabi-based carrier's new services to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, said India had "huge potential".
"It's one of the fastest growing economies in the world today and we have already showed an interest in eight new destinations," Bhatia told ATN.
Etihad Airways has Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Calicut on its radar as well as secondary markets such as Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Armristar and Calcutta said Bhatia.
The airline has already submitted requests to fly to these destinations with the Indian government.
Bhatia said she and the Etihad planning team were also working to identify other potential routes and said her job was to maintain close relationships with the Indian authorities in order for the carrier to see its expansion plans come to fruition.
28/01/08 Gemma Greenwood/ArabianBusiness.com, United Arab Emirates

Read More

Domestic airlines queue up to fly lucrative international routes

New Delhi: Despite the government restricting access to international routes, Indian airlines are queuing up to fly them attracted by higher profit margins, a 20% growth in passenger traffic every year, lower operating costs and cheaper jet fuel.
Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, SpiceJet Ltd and Paramount Airways Pvt. Ltd are gearing up to go global. Air India and Jet Airways (India) Ltd are currently the only airlines flying international destinations. India only allows carriers with five years’ experience on domestic routes to fly overseas.
The goverment is willing to relax the current guidelines but a group of ministers, responsible for finalizing the new aviation policy, has not been able to reach a consensus.
According to an analyst with a leading domestic brokerage, the size of international market for flights into and out of India is about Rs30,000-35,000 crore. Out of this, the West Asian market accounts for 25% and the South-East Asian and European market account for 15% each. Other key markets include the US.
27/01/08 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

Read More

NAS Kuwait to expand in Indian subcontinent

Kuwait's leading airline ground handling company National Aviation Services (NAS) is expanding at a rapid pace and will soon be present in the Indian sub-continent, according to senior spokesperson Mr. Adel Al-Askar who addressed members of the local press at a dinner hosted by the company recently.
Having begun in late 2003 handling one airline, today NAS boasts of handling 20 scheduled international airlines, the likes of British Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Jazeera Airways to name a few in addition to handling private charter flights, VIPs and flights for the US Military.
NAS has been credited with introducing several new concepts at the Kuwait Airport for instance the Hala Kuwait Meet & Assist, where departing and arriving passengers are assisted with their check-in, baggage and immigration formalities thus easing their travel stress and making their trip more memorable.
28/01/08 AME Info (press release), United Arab Emirates

Read More

Israel's Bedek in talks with HAL for Bangalore facility

Mumabi: Bedek Aviation Group, part of the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), is in talks with Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) to set up an aircraft conversion site in Bangalore.
The facility will be dedicated to the conversion of 737 passenger aircraft to cargo freighters. "We are in talks with HAL and are actively pursuing this project," said Dany Kleiman, vice-president and general manager, Bedek Aviation. The company is one of Israel's largest aerospace conglomerates with an aircraft maintenance and conversion division.
The move is significant as this will be the first passenger aircraft conversion facility to be set up in India. Companies who currently want to avail of this service have to send their aircraft abroad.
While Mr Kleiman believes that the Indian air cargo sector is a key market for the Bedek Aviation Group, he refused to share more details about the project. "The discussions are in the very early stages," said Mr Kleiman on the sidelines of the Air Cargo India 2008 summit held in Mumbai.
25/01/08 Economic Times/McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX/Trading Markets (press release), USA

Read More

Fatal crashes, close calls cast pall over flight school

High above a rural stretch of Florida east of Fort Myers, a young student pilot on her first solo flight began to panic.She had stopped receiving the radio signals that served as her way points in the sky. Read On >>

Read More

India market offers UPS, others crack at growth

Mumbai: Despite its woeful infrastructure, India offers express-delivery companies an English-speaking market of about 1. 1 billion people and 9 percent annual economic growth, with well-educated professionals and cities teeming with entrepreneurs trying to reach overseas markets.
United Parcel Service Inc., FedEx Corp., Deutsche Post AG’s DHL and TNT NV are all seeking to offset anemic growth on their home turf by exploiting opportunities in emerging markets. But UPS of Atlanta arrived in India after its three big rivals and must grapple with some problems they have already addressed or avoided.
Take the airport here, the main gateway for express shipments of packages and documents into and out of India. Each year, for two months at a stretch, it closes its main runway for repairs for two hours every afternoon. For these two awkward months, the world’s largest delivery company must make adjustments, such as shuffling its schedule so that flights from Hong Kong will arrive a few hours early and depart before each daily runway closure.
Then, the UPS planes have to detour to the Middle East emirate of Dubai for a stopover to Cologne, Germany. Each stopover in Dubai costs a few thousand dollars in landing fees. The runway repairs have much less of an impact on FedEx, DHL and TNT because their flights don’t coincide with the closures.
But all the players must deal with India’s inefficient skies. Connelly notes that his planes fly in circles “pretty much every day, waiting for permission to land” at Bombay, where encroaching slums have for years stymied efforts to enlarge the international airport.
Market-share data are hard to find, but DHL appears to be the leader among the four biggest international express-delivery companies here. Analysts say FedEx and TNT are vying for second and third places, while UPS ranks fourth.
In spite of the vagaries on the ground and in the air, UPS guarantees three daily delivery times in India, and each deliveryman handles an average of 40 packages a day — on par with his counterpart in China, where the infrastructure is much better, and only 20 percent fewer than UPS manages to deliver in the more orderly cities of Japan. Worldwide, UPS moves an average of 15 million packages a day.
26/01/08 Bruce Stanley/The Wall Street Journal/Arkansas Democrat Gazette, USA

Read More

Rivals force Air India Cargo to drop Mumbai-Paris service

Mumbai: Air India Cargo (AIC) will soon withdraw its cargo operations from the Mumbai-Paris route, and instead, will deploy its two freighter aircraft in South East Asian sectors like Hong Kong and Singapore. AIC had started its Paris operations in June 2007 and will withdraw services due to stiff competition from airlines like Air France and Lufthansa.
Confirming the news, Wolfgang Scholinz, cargo sales manager at Air India, told FE, “Airlines like Air France and Lufthansa offer cheaper rates than AIC for uplifting cargo. The market in Paris has not accepted the product (AIC) due to higher uplifting charges.” It is learnt that the charges for uplifting cargo by the rival freighter aircraft on the Paris-Mumbai route is less than euro 30 per kilogram, which is nearly 25% less then what AIC charges to its customers on the route.
26/01/08 Shaheen Mansuri/Financial Express

Read More

Airbus lines up £2.5bn orders

Aerospace workers on Deeside are waiting for confirmation of another major order for Airbus jets from a growing Asian airline.
Reports from India strongly suggest the country’s Kingfisher Airlines is in talks to buy around 40 Airbus planes in a deal worth about £2.5bn.
Details of which aircraft types the Indian carrier was interested in have not been disclosed and Airbus was making no comment on the reports last night.
Wings for the aircraft will be made at Airbus’ Broughton plant, near Chester.
It was not immediately clear whether it was the same deal as the preliminary £3.5bn contract Kingfisher announced at the Paris air show last June for the purchase of 50 Airbus aircraft.
That deal included 15 of Airbus’ newest aircraft, the A350-800 XWB, worth £1.5bn, as well as five four-engine A340-500 planes, 10 A330-200 wide-body models and 20 single-aisle A320-family jets.
26/01/08 Alistair Houghton/Liverpool Daily Post, UK

Read More

Kingfisher in 5bn Euro Airbus deal talks

New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines is in talks to buy around 40 Airbus planes in a deal worth about 5 billion euros (USD 7.33 billion), a French diplomatic source said on Friday.
"There are discussions between Kingfisher and Airbus for a potential of 5 billion euros," a source told on the sidelines of French President Nicolas Sarkozy's state visit to India.
The source said the deal would involve around 40 Airbus planes but the source did not know which types of planes.
"This could be concluded quite quickly."
Airbus had no immediate comment.
The source said it was the same deal as the preliminary USD 7.2 billion contract Kingfisher announced at the Le Bourget airshow last June in France.
At the time, Kingfisher had said the contract was for 50 planes, including 15 A350-800 XWB jets worth USD 3 billion as well as five four-engine A340-500 planes, 10 A330-200 wide-body models and 20 single-aisle A320-family jets.
25/01/08 Zee News

Read More

Air India, Jupiter, France Airbus to set up MRO facility

New Delhi: Air India is joining hands with Airbus of France and Rajiv Chandrasekar’s Jupiter Aviation to set up a maintenance, repair, overhaul (MRO) facility in India to service all types of Airbus aircraft. A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed here on Thursday.
The national carrier would now prepare a business plan for the MRO and submit it to its board. The plan would be ready in two months.
The proposed business plan would outline the broad contours of the proposed MRO joint venture. Equity stake for the partners, location of the proposed MRO, investment details and other plans would be part of the business plan.
It is understood that the MoU was inked by the national carrier’s chief V Thulasidas in the presence of the visiting French delegation headed by president Nicolas Sarkozy.
It is understood that Air India will set up the JV in partnership with a subsidiary of Airbus, which is an EADS company. Jupiter and EADS have already set up a special purpose vehicle for this purpose, it is learnt.
26/01/08 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

Read More

Kingfisher to fly over sea routes on August 27

New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines has set a target for August 27 to fly overseas routes two days after Deccan Airways turns five years old and becomes eligible for flying abroad. Kingfisher’s first route would be Bangalore to San Francisco aboard a brand new Airbus A 340. Officially, though the company is still awaiting permission to fly on overseas routes.
Kingfisher is expected to complete its functional merger (demerger as per the Accenture report) with Deccan in March.
According to sources, Kingfisher Airlines would be the holding company under which there will be two carriers - Kingfisher Airlines, which would operate the full service long-haul routes and Kingfisher Deccan for low-cost short haul operations. “Kingfisher would service the Europe and US routes, while Kingfisher Deccan will serve the Asia and Middle-East routes,” the official said. The airline would subsequently start three more international routes after the Bangalore-San Francisco route becomes operational.
26/01/08 Shauvik Ghosh/Financial Express

Read More

Saudia Flights to Calicut, Lucknow and Bangalore

Riyadh: Under a new aviation agreement between the Kingdom and India, Saudi Arabian Airlines is to extend its operations to new Indian destinations, such as Calicut, Lucknow and Bangalore, while Air-India will introduce a new service to the Madinah International Airport in addition to its existing services to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah.
The decision was taken at a meeting held Wednesday in Jeddah to review the bilateral air services agreement between the two countries. R.K. Singh, joint secretary of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, led the Indian team while Dr. Mohammed R. Beranji, vice president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, chaired the Saudi Arabian side.
According to sources, Saudi Arabian Airlines will also fly to cities such as Ahmedabad, Trivandrum and Kolkatta in the second phase of the agreement and two private airlines from India will be given permission to come to Riyadh and Dammam.
26/01/08 Mohammed Rasooldeen/Arab News, Saudi Arabia

Read More

Air India to end ties with KLM, BA, Cathay

New Delhi: National carrier Air India will terminate its long-standing relationship with several international carriers, including Europe’s largest carrier Air France, KLM, Aeroflot, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Continental and Royal Jordanian, once it joins Star Alliance.
Air India will be terminating its code-sharing contract with these airlines by December 2009, as they are members of the competing Sky Team and One World. Air India will join Star Alliance — which is the largest airline consortium with 17,000 daily flights to 897 destinations in 160 countries — next year. Air India, along with Egypt Air and Turkish Airlines, has been accepted as future member of Star Alliance network, which has around 3,000 aircraft in its combined fleet.
“...It will take around 18 months to integrate with Star Alliance and gradually we will terminate our code-sharing contract and frequent flier programmes with a large number of international airlines and regional carriers by 2009.
...,” said a senior Air India executive.
25/01/08 Chanchal Pal Chauhan/Economic Times

Read More

JetLite May Start Low-Cost India-Middle East Flights This Year

JetLite (India) Ltd., the budget arm of the country's largest private airline, aims to start flights to the Middle East as early as March, increasing competition on routes dominated by state-controlled carriers.
The airline plans to have daily flights from India's west coast to as many as four cities, including Dubai, Doha and Kuwait City, Chief Executive Officer Garry Kingshott said in an interview yesterday.
The plan further dents the hold of Indian state carriers on Middle East routes after parent Jet Airways (India) Ltd. earlier this month became the first non-government Indian airline to fly to the Gulf. Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways are also increasing flights to India from the Middle East, home to some 4 million Indian workers.
Air India Express, the budget-airline unit of the nation's biggest overseas carrier, is currently the only Indian low-fare airline flying the route. Air Arabia PJSC, a low-cost carrier based in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, flies to Indian cities including Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai.
25/01/08 Liza Lin/Bloomberg

Read More

Airlines bank on rising traffic to the United States

Chennai: India’s air carriers are set to launch an all-out offensive to tap the growing traffic to the United States this coming year, and passengers can expect more travel options and lower fares as competition on U.S. routes will become more intense than ever before.
On August 27, Kingfisher Airlines will launch a non-stop service from Bangalore to San Francisco. It will likely introduce non-stop flights from Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi to New York as well as a Chennai-San Francisco service by September or October. The year 2007 saw Jet Airways end Air India’s monopoly among Indian carriers on U.S. routes, and Kingfisher’s entry is set to reduce their margins further.
Jet Airways and Air India enjoyed considerable success in their New York sectors last year: Jet’s load factors were close to the 90 per cent mark and Air India’s, at 80-85 per cent.
According to the latest forecast of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the significant growth in international travel that India saw last year is likely to continue in 2008, although at slightly lower rates. International travel increased by 10.8 per cent in 2007, and the IATA forecasts that it will grow by 9.6 per cent next year.
25/01/08 Ananth Krishnan/The Hindu

Read More

India becomes first country to operate schedule flights to Madina; Saudi gets Calicut

Government of India and the Government of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia decided to enhance the existing air traffic entitlement of 8500 seats per week to 20000 seats per week with immediate effect. For the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Calicut, Lucknow and Bangalore were included as new points of call besides Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi and Hyderabad and Madina was included as a new point of call for the Indian carriers in addition to the existing points of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Significantly Saudi Arabia is the first country in Middle East/Gulf to get the facility of flights to Calicut. Similarly, India is the first country to be granted access to operate to Madina on schedule basis.
Both sides have also decided to free up all limitations on the cargo services. There will be no restriction in terms of frequency and point of call for operating all cargo services.
With the successful conclusion of this agreement, airlines of both sides will be able to add new services on the India-Saudi Arabia route, which is presently constrained due to the bilateral capacity/route limitations.
The Indian delegation was led by Shri R.K. Singh, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation , while the Saudi Arabian delegation was led by Dr.Mohammed R. Beranji, Vice President in the General Authority of Civil Aviation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The delegations to review the bilateral air services agreement between the two countries met at Jeddah on 23 January, 2008. The last round of review had taken place in 2002.
The Indian delegation was led by R.K. Singh, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation , while the Saudi Arabian delegation was led by Dr.Mohammed R. Beranji, Vice President in the General Authority of Civil Aviation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
24/01/08 Press Information Bureau

Read More

NRI dies as airport doc comes 'drunk on duty'

Mumbai: The death of 69-year-old Jagjivan Girdharilal at Mumbai’s Sahar International airport raises uncomfortable questions on the response-time at Indian airports during emergencies.
Photographs and video recording done by Girdharilal’s co-passenger shows the sorry state in which the NRI’s body lay in the premises of the Mumbai airport.
Girdharilal had come to Mumbai from Australia by Malaysian Airlines flight MH-194 and suffered a heart-attack at the airport.
The co-passenger – who does not wish to be named – says the lax attitude of paramedical staff and the airport authorities was shocking.
If arriving late was not enough, the paramedic, Dr Upadhyay, allegedly reported drunk on duty.
"He was drunk and he tried to give mouth-to-mouth. He then called his assistant. She tried but nothing happened,” says the co-passenger.
Despite their denial, the airport authorities are silent on allegations that the doctor was drunk on duty.
24/01/08 Arun Gopalakrishnan/CNN-IBN

Read More

India to highlight aerospace exports at Berlin Air Show

Berlin: This year's ILA Berlin air show is to highlight India's aerospace products with 25 companies approved by the Defence Ministry in New Delhi for a joint stand, organizers said Thursday. As this year's partner nation at Germany's principal air show, the Indians are also likely to be wooed by European planemakers seeking orders from rapidly expanding Indian airlines.
The showcase every two years for jet fighters, electronic wizardry and other gear is to be held at Schoenefeld Airport from May 27 to June 1.
The venue is currently being redeveloped into the German capital's main international airport. The last ILA in 2006 had more than 1,000 firms from 42 nations exhibiting.
German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung invited India to take part and set up the joint stand for its companies.
The Indian Defence Minister, A K Antony, had written back that this renowned air show not only offered the Indian aerospace industry a chance to show its products but also to negotiate new business, air show staff said Thursday.
24/01/08 DPA/Earthtimes, UK

Read More

Singapore Airlines slammed by animal rights group

An animal rights group in the US has slammed Singapore Airlines for a print advertisement which shows a man sitting on top of an elephant, holding a rod and forcing it to bow to tourists, early this week.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) claimed that the poster advert calling on travellers to “visit colourful India” was offensive as it depicted a man holding a bullhook (ankus).
“There's nothing ‘colorful about tearing elephants away from their families and habitats and forcing them to perform for tourists under the threat of beatings,” said Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President, who grew up in India. “Singapore Airlines is glorifying it with its thoughtless ad."
PETA said that for glorifying the practice, it had awarded Singapore Airlines with its annual ‘Litterbox Award’, saying the awards are given to “companies that have attempted to boost revenues by using ads that stink for animals.”
In response to these recent accusations, Singapore Airlines has replied saying that the advertisement was an old one that hasn’t been used for some time.
25/01/08 e-Travel Blackboard (press release), Australia

Read More

Sri Lanka invites Cochin airport builders for new airport

Kochi: International Airport to construct an airport in that country. Talks on the proposal will begin in Colombo Jan 28.
The Cochin airport is India's first airport built under public-private partnership. Kerala government and several NRIs hold stakes in the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL), which built the airport and still operates it.
A seven-member CIAL delegation led by its managing director S. Bharath will hold talks with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and other Lankan leaders on the proposal.
The talks will be spread over six days from Jan 28, he said.
Bharath said CIAL is ready to provide a full turnkey solution for the proposed airport in Sri Lanka.
It was almost two years ago that Rajapaksa mooted the idea of CIAL building an airport in his country when he flew to Kochi en route to Shri Krishna Temple at Guruvayoor.
24/01/08 IANS/India PRwire (Press Release)

Read More

Arrival of first India-Oman private carrier flight marked

Muscat: The first regular flight between India and Oman operated by a private carrier arrived here on Wednesday.
Jet Air flight 9W 538 from Calicut was greeted by a high-profile gathering of dignitaries led by Civil Aviation Under-secretary Mohammed bin Sakhr Al Amri and Indian Ambassador Anil Wadhwa. The plane touched down at the Seeb International Airport at 11.30am after a three-hour-twenty-minute journey from the northern Kerala city carrying 70 passengers and a 13-member crew led by Captain Floyd Gracious and First Officer Farid Kharadi.
The return flight ' 9W 537' took off at 2.30pm carrying some 50 passengers.
Also on Wednesday, the airline launched its flights to Muscat from Kochi, also in Kerala. On both sectors, Calicut-Muscat and Kochi-Muscat, the company will be operating a direct flight every day using B737-800 aircraft.
25/01/08 Ravindra Nath/Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates

Read More

Bird-flu: Manila Airport to screen passengers from India

The Customs unit at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport yesterday banned the entry of live birds and poultry products, following the call for vigilance in a conference on avian flu in Thailand.
The Manila International Airport Authority meanwhile, is renewing its fight to keep the Philippines bird-flu free by screening passengers coming from India, Thailand, including Indonesia, Myanmar and Pakistan which have recorded cases of infection by the H5N1 flu strain.
“We received a report from the Department of Agriculture to tighten the monitoring of airport and seaports to guard against the possible entry of infected animals,” said Celso Templo, customs deputy commissioner, who also heads the intelligence branch.
MIAA chief Alfonso Cusi has issued guidelines and recommendations for frontliners traveling and arriving with passengers from places reporting bird-flu cases.
25/01/08 Vito Barelo/Manila Standard Today, Philippines

Read More

Expatriates to protest discrimination aganist Indian airport

Doha: The Gulf-Calicut Air Passengers Association Qatar (Gapaq), an Indian expatriate forum headquartered in Doha, plans to resort to legal remedies to draw political attention to what it termed as “discrimination and injustice” meted out to Karippur (Calicut) airport in Kerala by Indian civil aviation officials.
The Gapaq which held a large gathering to protest against the injustice to the airport in November at the Shantiniketan Indian School grounds, said its members and their families would sit in a demonstration in front of Karippur airport on February 16 to bring the issue directly to the attention of the Indian civil aviation authorities.
Asked as to why the body chose February 16 for a sit-in at the airport, Usman said the Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patil would be visiting Kerala that particular day.
Qatar-based Gapaq officials in Kerala are also consulting a senior lawyer on filing a private suit in the Kerala High Court for legal protection of international passengers’ rights to those passing through Calicut airport.
23/01/08 Gulf Times, Qatar

Read More

Convicted Air India bomber will plead guilty to perjury

Vancouver: Convicted bombmaker Inderjit Singh Reyat plans to plead guilty to perjury for lying at the Air India trial of two other men acquitted in the June 23, 1985, bombing, victims' family members have been told.
Relatives of those who died in the terrorist attack were contacted Tuesday by the RCMP and Air India prosecutors to tell them about Reyat's change of plea.
Several family members confirmed to Canwest News Service that they had received the news, but were asked not to comment on it until the plea is formally entered.
Reyat had been set to go to trial for perjury Feb. 4, but will appear in court next week instead to enter the new plea, the families were told. Reyat's decision to change his plea is not part of any agreement for a lower sentence, the RCMP and Crown stressed to the relatives, who were outraged at a report earlier this month that Reyat had been offered a "plea bargain."
The maximum penalty for perjury is 14 years, but few people are ever sentenced to anything near that length.
Reyat, who is now 55, remains at Matsqui Institution where he has been serving the remaining days of a five-year sentence handed to him in February 2003 when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter for playing a small role in the bombing plot. The sentence expires Feb. 9, meaning Reyat would walk free.
Kim Bolan/Vancouver Sun; Canwest News Service/Edmonton Journal, Canada

Read More

Jet seeks China allies

Mumbai: Jet Airways is in talks with several Chinese airlines for a possible partnership similar to its existing tie-up with Brussels Airlines.
Such an agreement would help Jet improve connectivity in China, ahead of it developing Shanghai as a hub for its flights onwards to North America.
Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways, confirmed this, but declined to name the airlines involved in discussions.
Jet, which has Brussels as its hub for Europe and cities on the east coast of the US, currently has a partnership with Brussels Airlines for connecting the hub with various cities in Europe.
The CEO also reaffirmed the plans to raise $400 million through a rights issue or QIP despite the current turmoil in global financial markets.
24/01/08 Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Air India to set up hub at Munich: Patel

Davos: National carrier Air India will set up a hub at Munich within a year to provide integrated connectivity in the European region and neighbouring countries, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said today.
"Air India is likely to open its major hub in Munich. They have taken a decision and it (Air India) is already invited to join Star Alliance to provide integrated connected flights within Europe and elsewhere," Patel said, adding that it may take about one year to begin the operations.
Star Alliance is a global network of airlines. Air India will take help from German flier Lufthansa, which is a major member of the alliance.
Patel, who is in Davos to participate in World Economic Forum's annual meet, said Jet Airways has already decided to make Brussels as its hub for European operations.
He said Munich was identified for the hub considering the fact that neighbouring Frankfurt airport is already congested.
23/01/08 Chennai Online

Read More

British Airways in alleged racism row

Chennai: British Airways flight BA36 from Chennai to London was postponed due to a technical snag. And hile foreign passengers were reportedly provided hotel accommodation and many routed through other airlines, at least fifteen Indian passengers claim they were left to fend for themselves.
They staged a protest after which they say the airline asked them to arrange for their own accommodation and have the expenses reimbursed.
''They were escorted separately by the British Airways' team,'' said Dr Mugilan, Indian passenger.
In an e-mail to NDTV, British Airways has refuted the allegation of racism.
24/01/08 Sam Daniel/NDTV.com

Read More

Patel for more carriers to fly abroad

Davos: Civil aviation minister Praful Patel has said the government is seeking to position Indian carriers to fly several more international routes that are not serviced by Indian airlines currently. This would allow Indian carriers compete further with the global carriers. The government will also take the final decision on allowing higher foreign direct investments (FDI) in a slew of activities in the aviation sector.
Patel said Air India was set to open a major hub in Munich. AI had recently joined the Star Alliance of airlines.
In an informal chat with a section of the Indian media on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2008 in Davos, Patel, who is part of the Indian ministerial delegation, said there are a vast number of routes where Indian carriers are not operating, but which are being operated in by foreign airlines flying to and from India.
On freeing up FDI in aviation activities further, Patel said while there was 100% FDI in greenfield airports, his ministry and the commerce ministry were moving quickly to free up FDI in other allied activities.
23/01/08 Sourav Majumdar/Financial Express

Read More

ETA Star to invest $1billion in India

Mumbai: ETA Star, one of Dubai’s household names, will invest more than $1 billion in India to cash in on booming sectors such as ports and aviation.
Star Aviation, the Chennai-based private airline firm of the ETA group, is looking to start commercial flight operations in June-July this year, after it received the civil aviation ministry’s permission in December.
The airline aims to first launch itself as a regional carrier in the southern market, connecting cities such as Visakapatanam, Coimbatore and Madurai as also metros such as Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Hyderabad.
The company will start operations with 3-4 leased and 2 owned Airbus with single class configuration. Company officials claim that the airline will operate in an all-economy class, on the lines of another southern carrier Paramount Airways.
The group’s plan is to make air travel affordable for the local people, without becoming an all out budget carrier.
The company aims to aggressively explore the possibility of having a pan-India presence in due course. This will happen through induction of more aircraft and increase in the number of connecting routes.
24/01/08 Swaraj Baggonkar/Business Standard

Read More

Jet launches two flights to West Asia

Mumbai: Jet Airways today launched two new flights in the Kochi-Muscat and Mumbai-Doha routes. The airline will fly Boeing 737-800 aircrafts on these routes.
With the introduction of the new flights, Kozhikode became the second city in Kerala to be connected by Jet Airway’s international services to West Asia.
The airline is already operating daily direct flights on the Kochi-Kuwait-Kochi, Kochi-Bahrain-Kochi, Mumbai-Bahrain-Mumbai and Delhi-Kuwait-Delhi routes.
Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 76 aircraft, which includes eight Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, seven Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 52 classic and next generation Boeing 737-400/700/800/900 aircraft and nine modern ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft.
With an average fleet age of 4.37 years, the airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world. It operates over 365 flights daily.
24/01/08 Business Standard

Read More

Myanmar airline to fly to India

Yangon: Myanmar Airways International (MAI) will extend its flight services to India later this year as part of its plan to stretch its wings to more international destinations, the local Yangon Times reported on Thursday.
The planned introduction of the India air route followed the resumption of MAI's flight services to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur on January 15, which were suspended for about three months for technical reasons.
With the prospective addition of India, the MAI will have four international flight destinations, which also include Singapore.
MAI is a joint venture between the state-run Myanmar Airways (MA) and Region Air of Singapore.
Besides MAI, Myanmar has MA and three private airlines - Air Mandalay, Yangon Airways and Air Bagan. The three private airlines, in addition to their domestic flights, have also extended their services to Chiangmai, Phuket and Bangkok in Thailand, to Incheon in South Korea and to Singapore.
24/01/08 Xinhua/Hindustan Times

Read More

More A-I Express flights to Kochi, Kozhikode

Doha: Air-India Express is increasing its number of flights to India with effect from February 19, officials announced yesterday. The added frequencies will continue into the summer schedule.
According to Mehjabeen Mukhtiar, Air-India Manager (Qatar), the budget carrier will now operate daily flights to Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
There will be six flights a week to Kozhikode, one flight weekly to Thiruvananthapuram and three flights to Mumbai and Mangalore.
All sectors will be operated using Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which can seat 180 passengers.
Mukhtiar said the airline has decided to increase the number of flights because of high passenger load factors (PLF) which averaged 80 percent between April and December last year.
24/01/08 Peninsula On-line, Qatar

Read More

Indian belly freight feeding DLC growth

Dubai Logistics City, part of the world’s first truly integrated logistics and multi-modal transport platform within the giant Dubai World Central (DWC) urban aviation community being built in Jebel Ali, Dubai, will be looking at key prospects from India’s globalisation process, at Air Cargo India 2008 in Bombay, from 24-25 January.
India, which has been projected to be a world economic superpower by 2020 by analysts globally, as revealed that its exports will touch US$150 billion by 2008-09 – a significant opportunity for Dubai’s trading hub proposition.
“After the liberalisation of its economy in 1991, India followed with the opening up of its markets to global players and went on a fast track economic boom with an eight-nine per cent GDP growth per year,” said Michael Proffitt (above), chief executive officer, Dubai Logistics City.
“With 50 per cent of the world’s air cargo still being transported in the aircraft belly, India’s air cargo and aviation sector growth is linked to the Middle East’s economic boom,” said Abdulla Al Falasi, DWC’s director for marketing and corporate communications.
23/01/08 Air Cargo News.net, UK

Read More

Lankan airline offers stake to Jet, Kingfisher

New Delhi: SriLankan Airlines, the emerald island's national carrier in which Dubai-based Emirates has over 40% management stake, has approached leading private Indian carriers like Jet and Kingfisher for buying the Gulf carrier's shares. SriLankan had a 10-year management contract with Emirates that ends this April but due to sharp differences that erupted recently, the latter has made clear that it would not extend the same. The Gulf-based carrier is learnt to have evaluated its stake at nearly $150 million that is now up for garbs.
Kingfisher's executive V-P Hitesh Patel confirmed that the airline has approached them and some other Indian carriers.
Jet Airways, however, maintained a "no comments" stand. Indian carriers are learnt to be offered a 43.6% stake. The Sri Lankan government holds a 51% stake in the airline, while employees have the rest.
23/01/08 Times of India

Read More

Drama at Manchester over pilot's upset stomach

An airline captain declared an emergency at Manchester Airport because he had an upset stomach.
He was flying in from India when he began to feel unwell.
Fire engines met the First Choice Airways Boeing 767 after one of the co-pilots made a safe landing shortly before 3pm yesterday.
Buses were also placed on stand-by to take the 255 passengers from the runway to the terminal.
But they were not needed because the captain managed to taxi the jet to its stand at Terminal 2.
An airline spokeswoman said fire crews were called to the aircraft as a precaution.
She said: "First Choice Airways confirms that the emergency services were called to meet flight FCA175 from Goa, which was carrying 255 passengers.
"This was a purely precautionary measure as the captain felt unwell with a stomach upset before landing.
"He was supported at all times by two first officers who are fully qualified to land our aircraft.
"However, in line with our standard operating procedures, only the captain taxis the aircraft onto its stand".
23/01/08 Dean Kirby/Manchester Evening News, UK

Read More

Flight missed for papad

Calcutta: A passenger carrying papad was detained for eight hours at Calcutta airport on Tuesday morning after security personnel suspected that he was carrying narcotics. He was later released, but his flight had taken off by then.
Santosh Dube, 30, a resident of Gorakhpur, in eastern Uttar Pradesh, was scheduled to take an Air India Express flight from Calcutta to Bangkok.
The flight was to take off at 7am and Dube, who exports food items to Thailand, had reached the airport two hours early. He was carrying 10 kg of papad, along with other goods in cartons.
After collecting the boarding pass, he proceeded to the security hold area around 6.30am. The testing equipment beeped during the check-up, indicating there were narcotics in the papad. He was immediately detained and his luggage taken off the aircraft.
But CISF personnel and the experts from Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) could not find any narcotics.
“It seems the carton containing the papad was used for storing narcotics earlier. That is why the equipment was giving positive indications,” said an NCB official.
23/01/08 The Telegraph

Read More

Maldives' airline to operate daily flights to India

Thiruvananthapuram: Launching its first international operation, Maldives' national carrier 'Island Aviation Services' would be starting daily flights between the island nation's capital Male and Thiruvananthapuram from January 25.
To start with the airline would be flying a 50-seater Dash8 aircraft for the 120-minute journey, starting from 13:30 Maldives time, and return to the island at 18:30 from here, the airline's Managing Director, Bandhu I Saleem, told a press meet here.
Island, fully-owned by the Maldivian Government, had so far been providing inter-island connectivity among the islands constituting the Maldives.
Spencer's Travels Services Ltd., would be representing the airline whose office was inaugurated in the city Tuesday.
22/01/08 PTI/The Hindu

Read More

Foreign airlines to fly frequent in India

New Delhi: Buoyed by the impressive growth in passenger traffic in India, foreign airlines are on expansion spree here.
While Star Alliance member Lufthansa plans to launch operation on Pune-Germany sector besides increasing its frequency on the existing routes, Cathay Pacific would start flying on the Hong Kong-Chennai sector. Another Hong Kong-based carrier, Dragonair, is in the process of flying to Bangalore.
Cathay Pacific plans to launch 23 new flights a week connecting Indian cities such as Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai with Hong Kong by early June. Another Asian carrier Air China is also looking at adding more destinations like Bangalore and Kolkata on its Indian network, besides increasing its frequency on Delhi-Beijing route from the existing three flights a week.
Gulf-based carriers such as Emirates, Gulf Air and Qatar Airways are also aggressively looking at tapping the traffic growth in non-metro cities such as Calicut, Amritsar and Lucknow.
23/01/08 Economic Times

Read More

Decision on foreign airlines soon: Ahamed

Kozhikode: The Centre will take a decision on granting permission to more foreign airlines to operate from the airport here in the next two to three months, Union Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed said on Wednesday.
"Civil Aviation Ministry is in the process of working out the feasibility and a final decision on allowing foreign airlines to operate from here will be taken in two to three months," he said.
Ahamed was talking to reporters after inaugurating Jet Airways' maiden flight from here to Muscat.
Jet Airways was given the nod to commence services in the Gulf sector from this month as the airline had completed five years of operations in the domestic circuit, he said.
Earlier, Jet Airways flight 9W 538 took off at 0930 hrs with 77 passengers onboard. The private airline will also maintain daily flights to Doha from here at 2000 hrs.
23/01/08 PTI/The Hindu

Read More

Lucknow HC seeks reply from Centre, Air India in Haj case

The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court has sought a reply from the Centre and Air India with respect to the reported inconveniences faced by Hajis during Haj pilgrimage. The order was passed by a bench comprising Justices Pradeep Kant and S N Shukla on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Khuddamul Hujjaz Committee chairperson Sayyad Yawar Hussain.
The petitioner had alleged that after Haj pilgrimage, people were halted at Arab Airport for several days.
Besides, pilgrims had to pay additional freight of 55 riyal per kilogram against the fixed 13 riyal per kilogram.Mr Hussain had charged that Hajis were not even allowed to carry holy water 'Aab-e-azam' along with them.
23/01/08 UNI/Indlaw.com

Read More

US airports fingerprint foreign fravelers

Boston: As a foreign traveler, Punit Pawar is used to the security when he flies into the U.S., so he barely noticed Tuesday when he was asked to put his 10 fingers on a digital scanner as part of an enhanced security system rolling out at airports across the country.
"It didn't take much of my time, so it didn't bother me," said Pawar, a citizen of India and a student at Boston's Northeastern University.
Since 2004, nonresidents traveling internationally have been required to allow airport personnel to scan their two index fingers at airports as part of a program called US-VISIT. But now, foreign travelers will be asked to scan all 10 fingers, an enhancement the U.S. Department of Homeland Security hopes will help officials more closely monitor watch lists of suspected terrorists, criminals and immigration violators.
Logan Airport became the third airport to use 10-finger scanners last week. Dulles Airport, serving Washington, D.C., began using the devices in November, while Atlanta's airport began using the new system this month.
By the end of the year, the devices are expected to be up and running in all of the nation's international airports, as well as seaports and border points.
23/01/08 Denise Lavoie/The Associated Press

Read More

‘18 months from now, fly to Dubai, London’

Chandigarh: If all goes well, international flights to Dubai, London and other destinations will begin in the city in a matter of 18 months.
An official said, “Initially, the proposal is to start with weekly or bi-weekly international flights to Dubai by April 2009. Later, London, Vancouver, New York, Singapore, Kathmandu and other European destinations will be added to the list.”
Sources said the existing terminal building, with a capacity to cater to two hundred passengers, is being expanded at an estimated cost of Rs 80 crore to facilitate five hundred passengers at a time. It’s going to take 18 months for the project to finish.
The new terminal building will be centrally air-conditioned with a built-up area of 12,150 sqms, equipped with modern passenger-friendly facilities that are a common sight at other international airports. These include boarding bridges with visual docking guidance system, escalators, elevators, in-line baggage conveyor system in the arrival as well as departure hall, CCTV and car parking facilities.
At the present apron, only three aircraft can be parked- two Airbus 320 and one small one ATR-72 type aircraft. Once work on the new building and apron is finished, there will be space for four Airbus 320s, said sources.
23/01/08 Harpreet Bajwa/Chandigarh Newsline

Read More

Calicut-Kochi-Al Ain flight rescheduled

Kozhikode: National carrier Air India's Calicut-Kochi-Al Ain flight for Thursday, originially scheduled to depart at 0915 hrs, will now leave at 1425 hrs owing to `airport closure' at Al Ain in UAE, AI sources said.
The rescheduling would be applicable only for tomorrow, they added.
23/01/08 PTI/The Hindu

Read More

BA to christen Menzies Indian operation

Menzies has been awarded its first contract for Bangalore, with the arrival of British Airways’s daily B747-400 service.
Menzies is opening a new 13,000 m2 cargo facility at the Indian airport in March.
Paul Smith, director, Asia Pacific for Menzies Aviation, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded this prestigious contract in India, our first for Bangalore business. Successful conclusion of this agreement demonstrates the readiness of our cargo operation in Bangalore and also the close and strong relationship between Menzies Aviation and British Airways. We are looking forward to further developing this long and mutually beneficial business relationship.”
22/01/08 Air Cargo News.net, UK

Read More

Malik battles Air India lawsuit

Vancouver: Lawyers for the B.C. attorney-general withheld evidence when they got a court order allowing them to execute search warrants last fall on the home of Vancouver businessman Ripudaman Singh Malik, B.C. Supreme Court heard yesterday.
Lawyer Gary Nelson, who is representing Malik's son Jaspreet, argued that the order allowing the searches, which also involved Jaspreet's law office, should be set aside for several reasons, including the lack of full disclosure by the attorney-general.
The B.C. government is suing Ripudaman, Jaspreet and other Malik family members, to recoup millions loaned to the patriarch to pay for his successful defence team in the Air India bombing trial.
But lawyers representing Malik, his wife and three eldest sons are fighting the government's tactics, alleging misrepresentation of the facts related to the defence funding.
Malik has also filed a countersuit, which he hopes will be heard along with the government's case, alleging that he was maliciously prosecuted to advance the political career of Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh.
Dosanjh, who was premier of B.C. when Malik was charged in the Air India bombing in October 2000, told The Vancouver Sun last week that Malik's allegation was "bonkers."
22/01/08 Kim Bolan/Canwest News Service/Times Colonist, Canada

Read More

International passengers walk out skipping checks

Calcutta: Three passengers of an international flight entered the country through Calcutta airport without going through the immigration and customs checks, posing a threat to the country’s security.
The passengers, who had taken Air India’s Yangon-Calcutta flight last Friday, were not at fault, though — the airline’s bus had mistakenly dropped them at the domestic terminal.
_____________________
See Also:
Kochi airport bungle
Security lapse at Kochi airport:
CIAL orders probe
_____________________
Banwari Jalan, a resident of Salt Lake, and Khin Win Ye and Yin Yin Sani, two women from Myanmar, arrived at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on IC 728. The flight landed at 7.20pm and stopped in bay No. 41. The bus in which the trio and around 30 others had boarded was taken to the domestic terminal. The driver soon realised his mistake, but the three got off before he could start for the other terminal.
Jalan, who had gone to Yangon on January 14, was carrying only a handbag. So was one of the two Myanmarese women. “Jalan walked out of the domestic terminal, while the other two took Air India’s evening flight to Delhi,” the official said.
“I was called back to the airport from home around 10pm to complete the formalities,” Jalan said. The two women were flown back to Calcutta on an Air India flight on Saturday morning for the formalities and then sent to Delhi again. The immigration department has sought an explanation from Air India, which has ordered an inquiry and showcaused the bus driver.
22/01/08 The Telegraph

Read More

Fares to the Gulf to get dirt cheap

Mumabi: Passengers flying to West Asia can soon see fares going down by 10 to 30 per cent as Indian domestic operators such as Jet, its low-cost carrier (LCC) Jet Lite and Air Deccan are all set to fly to this market.
“There is a sizeable number interested getting from point to point for the bare minimum fare. This is the reason why we are flying an all-economy class configuration, in the cheapest way possible,” said Gary Kingshott, CEO, JetLite.
That is why JetLite will fly routes such as Calicut to Sharjah, where passengers are not looking at premium service, but cheap price.
Air India Express, which has dominated the lower-end of the West Asian market with 47 flights per week, says it is prepared to take on the challenge.
“If they fly cheap, we will fly cheaper. We have enough margins and can sustain the cost war,” said Jitendra Bhargava, executive director, corporate communications, Air India.
Air Deccan, which planning its Gulf operations from August, meanwhile refused to talk about its strategy. Even foreign LCCs are bracing up to handle the glut in services.
22/01/08 Manisha Singhal/Business Standard

Read More

Branson lobbies for domestic Indian airline

Sir Richard Branson yesterday said he was renewing a push for government permission to set up a domestic carrier in India to tap into one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets.
Sir Richard's lobbying effort comes at a strategic moment for the industry in India.
Overseas investors are allowed to own up to 49 per cent of a domestic Indian airline but foreign carriers are not permitted to own any stake directly or indirectly.
Some analysts believe the government may consider permitting foreign airlines to take small strategic stakes under the new policy, a move that could benefit Virgin and others looking for a foothold in India.
"If Virgin comes in as a joint venture with an existing company then it could be positive for the industry," said one equities analyst in Mumbai. Gurvinder PS Arora, senior manager at KPMG, said recent signals from the cabinet indicated the government was not ready to change the policy. Any successful attempt by Sir Richard to win access to the Indian market would be a coup for Virgin, which has domestic services in the US, Australia and Nigeria.
22/01/08 Joe Leahy in Mumbai/Financial Times, UK

Read More

Air India to lease aircraft to cover Boeing delay

New Delhi: Air India is in talks with major aircraft leasing companies abroad for some 15 aircraft to make up the losses it would incur following the delay in receiving 27 Boeing-787 Dreamliners.
'We would preferably go for a dry lease. It is cheaper. We have to see how many aircraft can be made available owing to delay of the Boeing's delivery,' V. Thulasidas told reporters here Monday on the sidelines of announcing its Delhi-New York non-stop daily flight from Feb 8.
Air India had earlier launched its Mumbai-New York non-stop flight Aug 1 last year.
Chicago-based Boeing has deferred deliveries of Dreamliners by three months, which means Air India will now fly the long-haul aircraft around May instead of February next year.
Under the contract, Boeing could compensate Air India for the delay. Thulasidas did not make the quantum of compensation clear, but Air India officials say it could receive a significant amount from Boeing.
21/01/08 India PRwire

Read More

India in touch with US, Euro regulators on aviation safety pact

Bangalore: India is in touch with American and European regulatory authorities for signing the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA), which would pave the way for automatic acceptance of Indian aviation products in those countries, a civil aviation official said on 22 January.
However, it was a lengthy process and likely to take five-six years before the pact was inked, said R P Sahi, joint director general, Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Teams from American and European regulatory authorities have already visited the Bangalore-headquartered Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and also audited DGCA’s accounts as part of the process.
22/01/08 PTI/Livemint

Read More

No more seat upgrades on Air India

Days of getting your "class" upgraded on international flights may be over, with Air India taking a firm stand against upgrades on its non-stop flights. Chairman and managing director V Thulsaidas said the airline has decided to completely ban the practice of upgrading economy class passengers when seats are vacant in the executive and first class categories, especially on non-stop flights.
Air India already operates a non-stop flight between Mumbai and New York and is beginning the same service from Delhi next month. The 777-200 LR aircraft being deployed on the Mumbai-NY and Delhi-NY route can seat eight passengers in the first class, 35 in the executive (business) class and 195 in the economy class.
22/01/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya/DNA Money/Sify

Read More

Indian woman went missing before boarding flight

Cary: Cary police had been unable to find any trace of a woman missing since last week.
Vanlata Patel, 57, of Woodway Bluff Circle in Cary was last seen at about 9 a.m. Wednesday. She is originally from India and has a medium brown complexion, brown eyes and a thin build.
Patel's son reported her missing. She was supposed to board a flight to Canada on Thursday, but she never made it to the airport. Investigators have been looking for her and talking with people she knew.
Harish Patel said he has been separated from his wife for a while and was devastated to hear she had disappeared.
Anyone who has seen Vanlata Patel or who may have information on her whereabouts is asked to call the Cary Police Department at 919-469-4012.
22/01/08 WRAL.com, NC, USA

Read More

Wipro Arabia bags $100 m order from Saudi airlines

Bangalore: Third largest software exporter Wipro Ltd has bagged five-year, over $100 million order from Saudi Arabian Airlines. The contract was awarded to Wipro Arabia, joint venture between Wipro and Dar Al Riyadh Group, providing IT solutions and services in Saudi Arabia.
Wipro Arabia will provide data centre consolidation and management, integration and management of a highly secure converged network and comprehensive enterprise wide managed infrastructure and security services.
As a part of its privatization programme, Saudi Arabian Airlines has undertaken an extensive business transformation exercise, which will create an organization designed around innovation, agility and customer centricity.
21/01/08 Financial Express

Read More

More pilot training with standby instruments urged after Airbus A319 power loss

Investigators are recommending that pilots be trained more rigorously to fly with sole reference to standby instruments following a serious incident in which a British Airways Airbus A319 suffered an extensive loss of electrical power. Read On>>

Read More

New FAA Training Program Graduates First Student Pilot

Delta Connection Academy made history on January 4, 2008 when Steven Harden became the first flight school student pilot nationwide to complete the 141 FAA/Industry Training Standards (FITS) program designed to increase aviation safety, reduce the number of accidents and improve pilot skills and decision making in technically-advanced aircraft. Read On >>

Read More

FAA certifies Eclipse's first flight simulator

The Federal Aviation Administration has certified Eclipse Aviation Corp.'s first flight simulator, manufactured by Florida's Opinicus Corp. Read On >>

Read More

India's Essar interested in Prague Airport privatisation

Prague: Industrial group Essar is among three Indian groups that could take part in the privatisation of Prague Airport, daily E15 reported, citing unnamed sources.
Airport operators GVK and GMR Group are the other two Indian firms interested in the privatisation of the facility, along with Singapore's Changi Airport, E15 said.
Czech news server tyden.cz also reported today that Australian Macquarie Airports, part of Macquarie Group, expressed interest in Prague Airport, citing the group's CEO speaking in the Australian daily Sydney Morning Herald.
21/01/08 AFX News/Thomson Financial/Forbes, NY, USA

Read More

Agam SPV to invest $300 mn in airports

New Delhi: Cayman Island-based Agam SPV Six, which will be funded by a subsidiary of UK-based investment management company Atlas Group, has applied to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to set up a wholly owned company and bring in foreign direct investment of $300 million (Rs 1,200 crore) to develop airports in the country.
In its application to the government, Agam SPV has said that it would like to focus on developing low-cost airports to meet service the fast-growing airline traffic in the country.
The proposed company, to be called Indian Infrastructure Investment SPV, will be funded by Agam Fund which is managed by Sigma Asset Management (Guernsey), a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Capital Associates. The Atlas group handles over $4 billion of assets across the globe and provides advisory and portfolio management services.
Sigma Asset Management has been managing investments in emerging markets for over a decade.
22/01/08 Surajeet Das Gupta & Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

Read More

Branson Wants to Start Domestic India Carrier

Richard Branson, who controls U.K. carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., has sought permission to start a domestic airline in India, where more people have started traveling by air due to economic growth.
Billionaire Branson hopes the Indian government will change its rules on allowing foreigners to run local services, he told reporters in New Delhi today without elaborating.
India's air passenger travel is expanding at about 25 percent a year as economic growth and higher disposable incomes enable more people to shun trains. At least six discount carriers have started flights in the country of 1.1 billion people as air travel growth in India will outpace the global average until 2025, according to government estimates.
Still, India doesn't allow overseas airlines to hold stakes in local carriers directly or indirectly.
The policy of not allowing foreign airlines in Indian carriers will be reviewed, Indian government officials have said in the past, without elaborating.
21/01/08 Kartik Goyal/Bloomberg

Read More

Kerala hunts for fleet-owning partner for Air Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: After the Centre’s nod for its fourth international airport, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has started zeroing in on aviation as Kerala’s area of core competence. The go-ahead for Kannur airport has buoyed the VS Achuthanandan government enough to reopen the forgotten budget airline project.
Last week, Achuthanandan’s emissaries were knocking at doors of civil aviation minister Praful Patel’s in New Delhi to explore of LDF’s new-found comradeship with the public-private partnership (PPP) format could be made flexible enough to fit the Centre’s norms for new overseas air carriers.
Earlier, Patel had turned down the idea of a state-owned overseas airline operator. One, the norms required that an overseas licencee applicant should have five years of continous operations in the domestic sector. Two, the proposed airline should have a minimum 20-aircraft fleetsize. This means that Kerala would need to team up with an experienced and fleet-owning domestic airline, before rustling up its NRI capital. Earlier, the state had, through Cochin Internationl Airport, India's first greenfield PPP airport, prepared a feasibility report with the help of Ernst & Young. This report had not factored in an existing airline partner.
State minister (in charge of aviation) M Vijayakumar confirmed that the Air Kerala proposal was alive again.
20/01/08 M Sarita Varma/Financial Express

Read More

Cathay Pacific Airways Increases Aviation Capacity To India

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways has announced that the company will greatly increase aviation capacity between Hong Kong and India.
Starting from March 31, 2008, the number of flights between Hong Kong and New Delhi will be increased to twice daily, and there will be ten flights a week between Hong Kong and Bombay. Currently, there are four flights per week on each of the two routes.
Cathay Pacific also plans to operate four flights per week to Chennai from May 1st, while its subsidiary Dragonair will start a daily flight from Hong Kong to Bangalore.
Last December, Hong Kong signed an agreement with India to double the number of flights from Hong Kong to New Delhi and Bombay.
21/01/08 China Hospitality News, China

Read More

Two passengers deported

Nedumbassery: Two passengers who left for UAE by Air India Express flight on Thursday, were deported to Kochi airport on Saturday.
Radhakrishnan, 51, of Alappuzha who worked in Dubai for a long time, had lost his passport at the workplace.
He managed to return home with the out pass issued by the officials of UAE. He arranged another passport and left for Dubai by an AI flight on Thursday.
But according to UAE rules, the entry of those who are permitted to leave UAE on the strength of out pass, would be banned for a year, sources said.
Radhakrishnan was deported when the Emigration officials in Dubai airport found that the entry of the passenger was banned.
In another case, Jayakumar, 38, who left for Abu Dhabi by Air India Express flight on Thursday, was deported when Abu Dhabi Emigration personnel found that his passport had expired seven months ago.
20/01/08 Newindpress

Read More

Jet approaches Bmi over controlling stake

Sir Michael Bishop, the chairman of Bmi British Midland, has been approached about a potential sale of his stake in the company by Jet Airways, the Indian airline that is one of the world's fastest-growing passenger carriers.
The Sunday Telegraph has learned that Jet expressed an interest just before Christmas in conjunction with a leading Middle-Eastern airline, believed to have been Emirates.
It is understood that the approach was made through an unidentified third party to "test the water" and that the two sides have held no formal meetings to discuss any possible offer.
advertisement
No talks are live at the moment, according to a person familiar with the situation.
If Jet, which is run by Naresh Goyal, one of India's richest men, pursues its interest in Bmi, it would signal another important step by Indian companies on to the global stage.
As the owner of 11pc of the take-off and landing slots at Heathrow Airport, the future ownership of Bmi has become one of the hottest topics in the aviation industry.
The value of Bmi's 83 slot pairs - the largest portfolio after British Airways - has rocketed following last year's "open skies" deal between the European Union and the US, which opens up Heathrow to new competitors from April this year.
Bishop owns 50pc plus one share of Bmi, with Germany's Lufthansa holding 30pc minus one share and Scandinavia's SAS, 20pc.
That values Bmi at £457m and Bishop's stake at £229m, though any deal would be adjusted for inflation. Bishop has until June 2009 to exercise his put option to sell his stake in Bmi to Lufthansa.
Both Virgin and British Airways have expressed interest in acquiring Bmi.
20/01/08 Mark Kleinman/Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom

Read More

Abu Dhabi-bound flight returns as pilot falls sick

Kozhikode: Abu Dhabi-bound Air India Express flight returned to the Karipur International Airport here last night about 15 minutes after it took off as the pilot reported "sick".
"The IS-347 flight, which left for Abu Dhabi via Thiruvananthapuram at 9.20 pm, returned within 15 minutes as the pilot felt uneasy and report sick," Air India sources told newsmen.
Airline officials were working out alternative arrangements to transport the passengers to their destination without much delay, they said.
20/01/08 Sahara Samay

Read More

Private airlines hope to operate on Abu Dhabi, Dubai routes

Kozhikode: The Government could soon allow private sector airlines to operate to Abu Dhabi and Dubai and could also possibly look at permitting them to fly to Saudi Arabia.
Addressing a press conference the Mr Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways, said that bilateral talks on air services between India and these Gulf States were expected to be held soon and this could pave the way for private sector airlines to operate to these Gulf States.
Mr Goyal was here to announce the Muscat and Doha flights to Kozhikode.
At the moment, Jet Airways has only been given permission to operate 70 weekly flights to Kuwait, Doha and Bahrain.
The airline also applied for permission to operate flights to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which were not granted by the Government.
The airline, meanwhile, hopes to start operating on the Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco route as early as the end of next month.
19/01/08 Business Line

Read More

Jet Airways to fly from SFO to India via Pacific route

Kozhikode: Private airlines Jet Airways will commence daily flights between Mumbai and San Francisco via China by next month, a top official of the Airways said on Saturday.
`Indian Civil Aviation officials are currently in China holding talks on finalising the schedule and it is likely to be cleared to start from the end of February or the beginning of March', Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal said.
Goyal was addressing reporters here to announce the commencement of Jet Airways daily direct flights from here to Muscat and Doha from January 23.
Noting that it would be for the first time that a foreign airline would be allowed to operate such services through China, he said with this the bilateral ties between India and China would be further strengthened.
The proposed arrangement also provided for picking up passengers from China en route to San Francisco, he said.
19/01/08 PTI/Economic Times

Read More

PIL against hajis' ordeal

Lucknow: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Saturday in connection with alleged anomalies conducted while ferrying Haj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to India. The case would be taken up by the court on February 5.
The PIL was filed by Khuddamul Hujjaj committee, a registered society and Syed Yavar Hussain Reshu, a resident of Ghasiyari Mandi in Lucknow against Union of India, Haj Committee of India, the state Haj committee and Air India (AI).
It was stated in the PIL that Air India charged extra-luggage charges at the rate of Saudi Arabia Riyal (SAR) 55 per Kg against SAR 13 per Kg, which had been agreed upon between the Air India and the Haj Committee of India.
The petitioner has also sought the court's help in directing Air India not to restrain and create any hindrance in bringing 10 litres of holy water (Abe-e-Zamzam) by the Haj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia as neither the government of Saudi Arabia nor government of India had imposed any restrictions.
20/01/08 Times of India

Read More