DGCA seeks foreign help to meet safety norms

New Delhi: For the first time ever, India will take the assistance of foreign aviation authorities to ensure its airlines and airports meet all safety norms. The desperately short-staffed Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is asking the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to set up three national projects to monitor the vital areas of flight safety, airports and air navigation.
ICAO is being asked to set up these projects for two years. During this time, it will have to put the systems in place, hire professionals and train them so that the systems can function on their own once the contract period is over.
This plan to rope in ICAO and begin the process of strengthening India's extremely weak regulatory mechanism is part of an elaborate action plan drawn up by DGCA's new chief Nasim Zaidi. This plan has been submitted to the US Federal Aviation Administration that has put flight safety oversight systems here under scanner and is planning to reassess DGCA by February 22, with ramifications for Indian airports if they are downgraded. The action plan has two components — immediate steps to be taken within four months and long-term measures that will unfold over four years. The idea — tell FAA corrective steps are being taken and buy time for the reassessment.
"For the long-term, we have sought recruitment of 400 technical officials. Our current staff strength is 240 officials, of which 110 posts are vacant and have lapsed. We have sought revival of these posts immediately and till the clearances come for hiring these 110 officials, we have asked for taking people on contract," said Zaidi.
31/01/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

India to be spared of Boeing job cuts

Nagpur: Aircraft manufacturing major Boeing, which has announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs worldwide this year in view of the global economic crisis, would not lay-off employees in India, a top company official has said.
Though the global economic recession has already hit several sectors, Boeing announced the job cut while declaring its annual financial results a few days ago, Boeing Senior Vice-President Dinesh Keskar said here.
He ruled out any job cuts for now in India, a key market for the Chicago-based company that makes passenger, freight and military planes.
Keskar, however, said Boeing has orders for supplying 3,700 aircraft, worth USD 275 billion, to various airline companies across the world. It will take at least five years for the company to fulfil the business commitment.The aerospace giant has a workforce of 1.76 lakh worldwide in various segments, he said.
Keskar expressed happiness over the slight improvement in the Indian aviation sector which was suffering huge losses a few months ago.
31/01/09 Press Trust of India

Read More

Youth molests co-passenger, abuses flight attendants

Mumbai: A 24-year-old engineering student was handed over to the police after a woman co-passenger filed a molestation complaint with the airline on Friday afternoon.
The passenger, Prashant Imene, who was aboard a Jet Airways London-Mumbai flight, also assaulted the cabin crew and hurled cuss words at them. To add to it, he allegedly threatened to throw his passport out of the window, tore his boarding pass, splashed water on a male flight attendant's face and hit an elderly passenger with a spoon.
A complaint was filed by Jet Airways airhostess Kayazi Mehta after the flight landed in Mumbai at 11.35am. The drama began when Imene suddenly started abusing people sitting next to him. He then tried to assault and molest the female passenger sitting next to him. "He forcibly touched her on the chest,'' said a police official.
Imene assaulted the male flight attendants when they tried to intervene. "He stood on his seat and kept shouting at everyone,'' said an airline official. "He was hurling cuss words at a female cabin crew member. Some of them were so scared that they refused to come ahead to even attend to other passengers,'' he added.
After almost an hour, the flight commander ordered that Imene be handcuffed and tied to his seat. "He went off to sleep after that. After he woke up, he was perfectly normal,'' said an official.
Imene, a native of Hyderabad, was pursuing an engineering degree in London. He will be produced in court on Saturday.
31/01/09 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

Read More

Malaysian Airlines told to pay for mishandling luggage

New Delhi: Holding Malaysian Airlines responsible for mishandling a passenger’s baggage, a consumer court here has asked it to pay Rs.315,000 - the price of the damaged luggage - alongwith with the cost of litigation.The Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission headed by Justice J.D. Kapoor earlier this week upheld a District Consumer Forum order asking the airlines to compensate Rakesh Bawa, a resident of Gurgaon, for his damaged baggage.
The airlines had filed an appeal in the state consumer commission, challenging the 2007 district forum order.
The district forum had held the airlines deficient in service in not handing over the wheel chair purchased by Rakesh from the US, which was a check-in luggage upto New Delhi, in perfect condition.
As the electronic controller of the wheel chair was found missing, the consumer forum had directed the airlines to refund the full value of the wheel chair amounting to $6,668 (Rs.315,000) with additional compensation of Rs.20,000 and Rs.2,500 as cost of litigation.
Rakesh had booked four pieces of baggage from the US to be delivered at New Delhi but only three pieces were delivered. Two pieces of baggage were damaged, the cost of one of the bag was claimed in the Property Irregularity Report to be equivalent of Rs.2,000 and the bag was stated to be two years old.
Initially, Rakesh had claimed award of $1,500 as compensation for loss of the electronic controller of the wheel chair. He later amended the amount to $6,668 on the plea that the supplier of the wheel chair in the US had informed him that he would be required to take the chair to the US to programme it and its controller together since there was no authorised dealer for the product in India.
31/01/09 Thaindian.com, Thailand

Read More

Turban searches humiliating, local Sikhs say

Some Sikh men say they are subjected to systematic and humiliating searches of their turbans whenever they fly out of Oakland International Airport, but a federal airport security official says their complaint is unjustified.
J.P. Singh, co-founder of the Sikh temple in El Sobrante, says he was subjected to a secondary search for explosives all six times he flew out of Oakland in 2008. In eight other U.S. airports that Singh flew out of last year, he was not pulled aside for a secondary search, he said.
"Once in a while, randomly, that's OK," said Singh, a seismic engineer who also is a consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice on cultural sensitivity issues. "But to be humiliated every time I fly out of Oakland, that's not OK."
The Sikh Coalition, a nationwide advocacy group, recently put Oakland International at the top of its list of "problem airports," which it defines as "those from which Sikhs report a nearly 100 percent secondary search rate of their turbans."
All 18 incident reports from travelers departing from Oakland received by the coalition in the fourth quarter of 2008 involved enhanced screening, according to its latest quarterly "TSA Report Card." (TSA refers to the Transportation Security Administration, the airport security branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.)
A Sikh man from Danville who frequently flies out of Oakland reported experiences similar to Singh's; the coalition has filed a complaint with the TSA.
Nico Melendez, the TSA's West Coast public affairs manager, said the coalition's quarterly study is "very unscientific."
"I'm sure that more than 18 Sikhs flew through Oakland in the past three months," Melendez said, adding that his agency has worked hard to address the Sikh concerns. He said wearers of cowboy hats and even baseball caps are scrutinized the same way as wearers of turbans.
Revised standard procedures implemented by the TSA in August 2007 subject anyone wearing head covering to possible additional security screening that could include a "pat-down search of the head covering ... if the security officer cannot reasonably determine that the head area is free of a detectable threat item," Melendez said.
30/01/09 Tom Lochner/West County Times/InsideBayArea.com, USA

Read More

AN-124, holder of 30 world records

Bangalore: The Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) played host to a code F cargo aircraft(An-124), which is the third largest in the world. It flew in from Leipzig, Germany loaded with equipment for the impending Aero India 2009 and headed back after offloading at the BIA.
The An-124 Russian airplanes have set 30 world records, including lifting 171,219kg of cargo to 10,750m. It is fitted with a swept back supercritical wing to give high aerodynamic efficiency. The loading and unloading of the aircraft is fast and efficient as the fuselage nose can be hinged upward to open the front cargo hatch and there is a rear cargo hatch in the rear fuselage.
An-124 is a cargo aircraft that has a payload capacity of up to 150 tonnes.It is designed for long-range delivery and air dropping of heavy and large cargo. An-124 Specifications ?The aircraft fuselage has a double-deck layout. The cockpit, the relief crew compartment and the passenger cabin for 88 seats are on the upper deck. The lower deck is the cargo hold.
?The landing gear is self-orienting and incorporates a kneeling mechanism which allows an adjustable fuselage clearance to assist the loading and unloading of self-propelled equipment. ?There are 34 computers functioning aboard the aircraft, combined into four main systems: navigation, automatic piloting, remote control and monitoring.
31/01/09 ExpressBuzz

Read More

Boeing signs land lease agreement for MRO in Nagpur

Nagpur: US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has signed the much-delayed lease agreement with Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) for setting up a USD 100- million maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility here.
The facility is a joint venture between the aerospace major and national carrier Air India, while MADC, a government agency, has provided the land.
"We have finally signed the necessary papers to live up to the promise made in 2006 that Boeing will have its world's second MRO with Air India as partner in the city," Boeing Senior Vice-President Dinesh Keskar said.
"Hopefully, the facility would be functional by end of 2010." The 99-year lease agreement is for 50 acres of land located adjacent to the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport under the prestigious Multi-modal International Passenger and Cargo Hub, Nagpur (MIHAN) project, he said.
By end of the current fiscal, Boeing will float tenders for constructing hangars which will accommodate two wide-bodied or four medium-bodied aircraft for maintenance and repairs, Keskar said.
Boeing had decided to set up the MRO in Nagpur as there is ample availability of manpower and land. Most importantly, the weather conditions in the city are excellent for aircraft maintenance and repair works, the official said.
31/01/09 Press Trust of India

Read More

Emirates spreads wings in India, adds more services

Mumbai: Expanding its services in the country, Gulf-based carrier Emirates Airlines on Friday said it would be introducing nine additional flights for Dubai from February 1.
"We plan to add nine additional services from Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore, starting from February 1, to our existing network," an Emirates Airlines official said in Mumbai.
Of these, seven would be from Mumbai and one each from Chennai and Bangalore, the official said. The total number of daily services from Mumbai would then increase to 35 from the present 28 flights a week, while Bangalore and Chennai would have 20 and 19 flights a week, respectively, he said.
With the introduction of the new services, Emirates would become the single largest international airline operating from India, the official said.
30/01/09 Press Trust of India/NDTV.com

Read More

Four international airlines looking to operate from Hyderabad

Hyderabad: In spite of the global recession and low capacities, international airlines are still looking at operating out of Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh. Speculations are rife that international carriers, namely Cathay Pacific Airways, Turkish Airlines, Kenya Airways and Iran Air are looking at operating flights from Hyderabad this year. According to sources from GMR- Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), the four aforementioned carriers are either in talks with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Government of India for bilateral rights or have received the rights and are looking at starting operations soon.
A source close to the developments said, “The traffic from Hyderabad to Iran, Kenya, Turkey and Hong Kong is growing day by day. People from Hyderabad are forced to board one-stop flights to these countries, as there are no direct flights. The bilateral talks are on between the four carriers and the Indian aviation ministry and there are high possibilities that the carriers will start operations from Hyderabad soon.” Viswanath Attaluri, Chief Commercial officer, GHIAL confirmed the news, but denied to disclose any time frame for the carriers to start operations from and to Hyderabad International Airport.
30/01/09 Anita Jain/TravelBizMonitor

Read More

Amadeus to Develop Technologies for Aviation

Amadeus, one of the software and e-commerce solutions providers in the aviation sector, is all set to develop localized technologies for commercial and civil airlines in Asia with a focus on markets in India and China.
Despite an economic downturn and terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the company is upbeat about the growth. "As the travel industry is growing, we are focusing to develop new technologies to address new challenges," said David Brett, president, Amadeus of the Asia Pacific. The company is aggressively looking at the demand for integrated IT systems, mobile travel information, online bookings, e-tickets, and airline consolidation and alliance, besides cost-cutting measures.
The role of IT is seamless, and therefore the demand for efficient IT-enabled systems has surfaced. "We have already launched Amadeus SMS for the updating of travel plans and schedules," said Brett. The company is setting up a development center at Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park in Chandigarh, and it will be operational in a couple of months. Amadeus has emerged as a market leader in India with GDS market share of 51 per cent as of Dec, 2008, followed by Galileo and Abascus at 35 and 13 per cent respectively. Amadeus has a largest market in Asia Pacific, and India has a demanding market as compared to Europe in terms of consumer response, said he. India has generated nearly 53 per cent business through online travel agent bookings in Asia Pacific in 2008.
30/01/09 Muntazir Abbas/COX today.com

Read More

SAS plans to expand its operation in India this year

New Delhi: Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), a multi-national airline for Denmark, Norway and Sweden and a leading airline in the Scandinavian countries, recently decided to expand its operation in India in the coming months. SAS has planned to increase few flights from India after April this year, which also includes starting new flight services from Mumbai. Currently the airline has three flights a week from New Delhi.
Talking exclusively to TravelBiz Monitor Lennart Paulsson, Director and General Manager (India), Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) informed in a recent meeting held in the capital that SAS is looking at the aviation market in India for assessing the growth of international travel for the coming days. All plans will be implemented on the basis of the market report. Besides, SAS will also put forward new marketing efforts through print advertisements and travel agents partnership. He further stated that the airline is seeking partnership with India’s national carrier, Air India to sign a through fare agreement. SAS will seek through fare partnership with Air India in six domestic locations of India which include Bangalore, Hyderbad, Pune, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. “Currently talks are on with Air India and the agreement will be implemented soon,” added Paulsson.
He further explained that passengers who travel to these six locations in India can obtain a complete (through) ticket fare, which is recognised by both the carriers. This will avoid the customer the inconvenience to buy tickets from the two airlines.
29/01/09 Anish V Punnackattu/Travel Biz Monitor

Read More

Air Arabia announces new fares for Hyderabad-Sharjah route

Hyderabad: Air Arabia, one of the largest low-cost-carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced new fares for its Hyderabad-Sharjah route starting from Rs 1,340, exclusive taxes.
Talking to media persons here on Wednesday, Air Arabia Head of Commercial Department Mr A K Nizar said that the airline launched in Hyderabad in October 2008, has been well received by passengers from the city and adjoining regions.
The airline enjoyed an average of 85 per cent seat factor for Hyderabad- Sharjah route for the month of January 2009.
“We are extremely happy with the positive response that we have received from Hyderabad. This is our twelfth destination in India and we are committed to providing the best value for money of our customers'', Mr Nizar said.
28/01/09 Business Line

Read More

DGCA faces heat from US on safety

New Delhi: The ugly truth about Indian aviation — failure to strengthen regulatory mechanism and ensure flight safety as air traffic grew manyfold in the past few years — could soon become an international embarrassment.
The government’s attempts to delay USA’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) notice to reassess the precarious staff strength at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) do not seem to be bearing fruit. This notice was served on January 7 and as per FAA rules, action has to initiated within 45 days. Thus, FAA could begin reassessment by February 22, which may lead to the downgrading of India from current level one to the lower third world levels.
‘‘Diplomatic efforts are still on to delay the reassessment as downgrading would mean, apart from serious loss of face, no new flights by Indian carriers to the US. But chances of the reassessment happening by February 22 are very high,’’ say highly placed sources.
Now, a panic-stricken aviation ministry is making some last-ditch attempts to show it is trying to strengthen DGCA and prove it can regulate the country’s growing traffic to the visiting FAA team.
28/01/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

Banker cheats death in plane crash

Kulai: A Singapore permanent resident crashed his light aircraft near here on Monday, but escaped with only a broken thigh bone and burns.
Sanjay Purusottam, from India, was rescued at 7am yesterday by a team comprising members of the Royal Malaysian Air Force combat air rescue (CAR) squadron and the Fire and Rescue Department.
He was airlifted to Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru. The 41-year-old bank officer needed to complete 30 flying hours to gain his flying licence and had taken a Cessna 152 out on a flight path to Malacca.
The plane ended up hanging nose down from a tree after he crashed at the foot of the Gunung Pulai range. Sanjay was pinned between his seat and the crushed control panel.
Although the aircraft caught fire after crashing, rain doused the flames.
Kulaijaya police chief Superintendent Zulkefly Yahya said air force personnel from the Kluang base located the crash site at 4pm on Monday but rescuers could only reach it at 5.30pm.
He said Sanjay could not be immediately evacuated as the "jaws of life", a special rescue tool, was needed to cut him free from the wreckage.
"He was conscious. He waved at us and talked to us, and also used one of the rescuers' mobile phone to contact his wife, Shubhada Bhave."
He had earlier taken off from Sultan Ismail Airport in Senai at 9.42am and was heading to Batu Berendam Airport in Malacca.He was expected to arrive in Malacca at 10.50am.
Sanjay decided to turn his two-seater Cessna aircraft back to Senai after experiencing problems due to strong winds.
28/01/09 Jassmine Shadiqe/New Strait Times, Singapore

Read More

Foreign airlines may win India investment rights

Mumbai: Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic Airways and other carriers may win the right to buy into Indian airlines as the world's second-fastest-growing major economy plans to scrap investment restrictions.
India's government is considering allowing overseas airlines to own stakes in local carriers, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters on January 14. That would reverse a more than a decade-old rule that banned them from owning shares of domestic carriers.
With global traffic plunging amid a recession, India's move may give foreign airlines a slice of a market that's set to surge nine-fold in the two decades to 2026, according to Airbus SAS. The plan will also give carriers such as Jet Airways and SpiceJet access to cash and expertise amid a record $2 billion industrywide loss last year.
“In a global recession, foreign carriers will look at any opportunity where they can make a bit of money,” said Viswanathan Vasudevan, who helps manage $300 million at Aquarius Investment Advisors Pte in Singapore. “India seems to be one of the countries where you have some opportunity. That could be a big plus.”
Vasudevan may purchase Indian airline shares if the government eases restrictions for foreign carriers.
Seven new airlines have been set up in the past six years and passenger numbers doubled between 2004 and 2007, the government said.
India's domestic air traffic will grow 11.5 percent in the 20 years to 2026, making it the world's fastest-growing aviation market, according to Toulouse, France-based Airbus, the world's largest planemaker. In comparison, China's domestic traffic will grow 8.4 percent and the U.S., the world's largest aviation market, will grow 2.4 percent, according to Airbus.
26/01/09 Vipin V Nair/Business Standard

Read More

Best airline complaint ever?

Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson has thanked the author of a tirade slating food onboard as a "culinary journey of hell".
The anonymous email - which has whipped around the internet - is described by the UK Telegraph as one of the best airline complaints in the world.
Opening the lid of the main meal was like being given a "dead hamster as a Christmas present", it says.
The disgruntled passenger fired off the missive to Sir Richard after a disastrous flight from Mumbai to Heathrow on December 7 last year.
"Imagine being a 12-year-old boy Richard," the email says.
"Now imagine it's Christmas morning and you're sat their with your final present to open. It's a big one, and you know what it is. It's that Goodmans stereo you picked out the catalogue and wrote to Santa about.
"Only you open the present and it's not in there. It's your hamster Richard. It's your hamster in the box and it's not breathing. That's how I felt when I peeled back the foil and saw this.
The complaint continues: "…It's mustard Richard. MUSTARD. More mustard than any man could consume in a month. On the left we have a piece of broccoli and some peppers in a brown glue-like oil and on the right the chef had prepared some mashed potato. The potato masher had obviously broken and so it was decided the next best thing would be to pass the potatoes through the digestive tract of a bird."
The passenger also complained about the size and "baffling presentation" of the "criminal" cookie he was served
"It appears to be in an evidence bag from the scene of a crime. A CRIME AGAINST BLOODY COOKING. Either that or some sort of backstreet underground cookie, purchased off a gun-toting maniac high on his own supply of yeast."
The dessert was just as bad, with the passenger asking: "What sort of animal would serve a desert (sic) with peas in ?"
"I know it looks like a baaji but it's in custard Richard, custard," the passenger wrote.
"It must be the pudding. Well you'll be fascinated to hear that it wasn't custard. It was a sour gel with a clear oil on top. It's only redeeming feature was that it managed to be so alien to my palette that it took away the taste of the curry emanating from our miscellaneous central cuboid of beige matter."
The angry passenger then turns on the Virgin boss's eating habits.
"How can you live like this? I can't imagine what dinner round your house is like, it must be like something out of a nature documentary."
Sir Richard Branson telephoned the author of the letter and thanked him for his "constructive if tongue-in-cheek" email, according to London's Telegraph newspaper.
27/01/09 NEWS.com.au/The Mercury.com, Australia

Read More

Wilbur Ross got option for up to 32 pc stake: Spicejet

New Delhi : Billionaire private equity investor Wilbur Ross may become owner of up to one-third of carrier Spicejet by the next year, if he decides to execute the rights he got as part of a deal struck last year, the low-cost domestic airline has said.
Ross, who has invested about Rs 345 crore in the Delhi-based carrier, holds foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) that can be converted into equity by December 2010.
"If Ross opts to covert his FCCB holdings, he will own about 32 per cent in the company," SpiceJet CEO Sanjay Aggarwal told PTI.
Government regulations currently allow only up to 49 per cent foreign direct investment and 100 per cent investment by an non-resident Indian through the automatic route.Dubai government's private equity arm Istithmar owns 13.4 per cent of the carrier, while FIIs hold about 10 per cent equity in the company.
In July last year, Ross had agreed to pump in 80 million USD through his private equity firm WL Ross & Co. Along with Ross, Goldman Sachs had also decided to put in 20 million dollars to bail out the cash strapped company, which now has about 10 per cent share in the aviation market in the country.
It may be recalled that the Airports Authority of India had issued an ultimatum to SpiceJet to pay up its dues or be charged landing and navigational fees on a cash-and-carry basis. Global financial services major Goldman Sachs was given equity warrants in December 2008, which had a lock-in period of one year.
26/01/09 PTI/The Hindu

Read More

Kingfisher may have to return leased aircraft

New Delhi: The Karnataka HC has rejected a petition by Kingfisher Airlines to restrain the US aircraft leasing company GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) from taking any step to deregister and repossess aircraft leased to the private airline. Following the court order, Kingfisher will now have to return the fourth A 320 aircraft to GECAS.
Kingfisher had earlier surrendered three leased aircraft to GECAS after it defaulted on lease payments, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“The fear expressed by KAL (Kingfisher) as to the collapse of its business if the reliefs claimed in the application were not granted, were obviously ill-founded as it has emerged unscathed till date,” the court order said.
GECAS, one of the world’s biggest aircraft lessors, had issued a notice to Kingfisher last September and rounded the four jets, alleging delay in payment of lease rentals and maintenance reserves.
“We have already returned three aircraft with the permission of the hon’ble court and the fourth aircraft is under maintenance prior to return. GECAS also has in excess of $8 million cash in their possession from Kingfisher Airlines. We have recourse to appeal, if we so choose,” a Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson said.
According to the court order, Kingfisher has unconditionally handed over three aircraft to GECAS and the latter has acknowledged it before the court. The lone aircraft — MSN 2029 — that is yet to be redelivered is grounded as its engines are with Pratt and Whitney, whose claim towards maintenance charges is a point of dispute between the parties.
26/01/09 Economic Times

Read More

Jet's executive pilots resign in protest over pay cuts

Mumbai: In December, three senior executive pilots from Jet Airways resigned from their executive positions as they found that it was more lucrative to be pilots than executives.
The pilots felt that after taking the recommended 30 per cent pay cut, their salaries were commensurate to those of senior pilots and that it was more beneficial to be a pilot than an executive in that scenario.
When Jet Airways proposed pay-cuts in the range of 15 to 30 per cent for its employees in November 24, those badly hit were the 200-odd senior executive pilots.The airline decided to cut 25 to 30 per cent of their salaries in order to cut costs. "If our salaries are cut by 30 per cent, it comes to around Rs5 lakh," said a senior executive from Jet Airways. As such Rs5 lakh is what senior pilots earn in the airline. "The kind of work the executives do, we thought it was better to be a pilot than to be an executive," he said.
"They are in office for the administrative work during regular office hours.And they also have to fly if they are allotted on a flight. Despite doing so much hard work, the pay-cut seems harsh," says the executive.
However, a top official of the company said that the resignations of the three executive pilots had not been accepted. "We are renegotiating the salary cuts with them," he said.
25/01/09 Navita Singh/Daliy News & Analysis

Read More

SIA, Indian agents no closer to resolving row

A month after travel agents in India stopped selling Singapore Airlines and SilkAir tickets, the row continues.
Both sides have met several times - here and in Mumbai - but no real headway has been made in the dispute over sales commissions.
To resolve the matter, the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has taken its case to Singapore's Transport Ministry. It also plans to meet representatives of the Singapore Tourism Board in Mumbai next week, said national general secretary Ajay Prakash.
A spokesman confirmed that the ministry has received a note from TAAI president Rajinder Rai, adding that his views have been conveyed to SIA for consideration.
'We understand the difficult business climate and the impact on the travel industry in India,' she said.
'...the decision on travel agency commissions by SIA is a business decision driven by commercial considerations. We encourage both parties to resolve this matter amicably.
Travel agents in India have been upset since last November, when SIA and several other foreign airlines, including Lufthansa and British Airways, stopped paying a 5 per cent commission on the base fare.
25/01/09 The Straits Times/Karamjit Kaur

Read More

Mihin loses Rs. 83 mn in three weeks

Since its re-launch on January 1, Mihin Lanka has made some serious waves in the national pocketbook: think a tsunami hitting the Treasury coffers with unprecedented force.
The airline has surpassed the expectations of all its opponents as well as The Sunday Leader, by losing a record sum of money in just 23 days. The airline has lost Rs. 83 million in its operations insofar.
With over a week left to go before January is over, Mihin Lanka is well on its way to losing over Rs. 100 million in its first month of operations - breaking its own world record for most disastrous state owned excuse for a budget airline.
Yet despite all its woes, Mihin Lanka has just paid a Rs. 4 million \"advance\" to the Triad advertising agency for its publicity campaign for January. The success of this campaign can be judged from the fact that in the last week, not one of its flights was more than half full.
In fact, four flights to Trivandrum were cancelled due to a lack of passengers in both directions. These frequent cancellations have left the Indian civil aviation authorities irate, and a Mihin Lanka official told The Sunday Leader that the airline\'s management has been spooked by the possibility of having its landing rights in India revoked - a move that would restrict the airline\'s budget flights to Dubai alone.
25/01/0Lanka 9 Everything

Read More

Air India Express begins Kuwait -Thiruvananthapuram flight

Thiruvananthapuram: The first Air India Express flight from Thiruvanathapuram to Kuwait took off from the airport here on Saturday evening.
The Air India Express carrying 132 passengers including 62 from here took off from Thiruvanathapuram International Airport at 8.15 pm on Saturday.
"Right now we are starting with one flight every week to Kuwait and depending on the load factor the frequency would be increased," said chief of Air India operations here H.A. Munaf.
State Law Minister M. Vijayakumar was the chief guest for the inaugural function held here at the airport.With this Air India Express flies to nine destinations in the Middle East which are Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Muscat, Salalah, Bahrain, Doha and now Kuwait.
Air India Express operates 88 flights every week from all the three international airports in the State to these destinations.
24/01/09 IANS/The Hindu

Read More

Heroin worth Rs 1.5cr seized from Sri Lankan national

Chennai: After a brief interval, the air intelligence unit of Chennai customs has once again seized drug consignment on Friday night - heroin worth Rs. 1.5 crore was seized from a Sri Lankan national. Customs officials arrested Baladeepan alias Balasingam (25), a native of Jaffna, after he was found carrying 1.576 kg heroin in seven polythene packets concealed inside a Yamaha keyboard.
"The person was caught by the intelligence officials as they were profiling passengers at the airport. The youth was about to board a Sri Lankan flight at about 8.30 pm. His behaviour raised doubts in the officials. They took him in for questioning and recalled his checked-in baggage," Parminder Singh Sodhi, commissioner, customs, told The Times Of India.
Baladeepan was staying with his wife in Chennai for the past two years. His parents are still in Jaffna.
Customs department officials said that the heroin which seemed to have been sourced locally was of high quality. Baladeepan had cleverly concealed the heroin in seven packets sealed with adhesive. The packets were hiddden in the hollow portion of the keyboard. According to Q-branch sources, Baladeepan would visit Sri Lanka frequently. According to sources, Baladeepan was staying in Mannadi. A person who had befriended Baladeepan in Mannadi gave him the keyboard at Kathipara junction as he was on his way to the airport on Friday.
Sources told TOI that Mannadi in North Chennai has turned out to be a hub for nefarious activity. In the current financial year, Chennai airport customs have seized heroin worth more than Rs 11 crore in the international market, as well as other smuggled goods worth Rs. 14 crore.
25/01/09 Times of India

Read More

Congress leader promises budget flights to Kerala

Ramesh Chennithala, president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), on his visit to the Kingdom “to meet our colleagues who have a Congress background and faith in the Congress ideology,” said he would take up the demand of the Keralite community here for a budget flight to Kerala with the Indian prime minister and the civil aviation ministry.Chennithala, who met the Indian community in Dammam and Jeddah recently, told Saudi Gazette that one of the main issues raised by them concerned travel.
“We will definitely pursue the demand for direct and cheap flights to India, especially to Kerala, with the relevant authorities,” said Chennithala, who was accompanied by M.M. Hassan, chairman of NORKA – Non-Resident Organization for Kerala Affairs.
“The Air India Express should be introduced here,” he said, adding that flights to Cochin, Trivandrum and Calicut are in demand.
“If a flight is introduced to Trivandrum, it can cover both Cochin and Calicut -- one single flight can touch three international airports,” Chennithala said.
He said the other purpose of his visit was to promote the Jai Hind television channel, which is one of the main channels of Kerala. The channel belongs to the Congress Party, and was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi, UPA (United Progressive Alliance) chairperson, a year ago.
24/01/09 Habib Shaikh/Saudi Gazette, Saudi Arabia

Read More

BA To Grow India Without Carrier Stakes

Hyderabad: Although the commerce ministry is looking at a proposal to open foreign direct investment in Indian carriers by foreign airlines, British Airways CEO Willie Walsh categorically denies an interest in putting equity in an Indian carrier.
Media reports in the past have indicated that cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines has been in discussions with many carriers, including BA, for an infusion of funds. Virgin Atlantic and Singapore Airlines also have denied they were in such talks with the carrier.
"BA has no plan to pick up a stake in an Indian carrier...We still believe there is a lot of opportunity in India," Walsh told AviationWeek.
Walsh said talks on code sharing were held in the past for domestic routes in India and BA was open to reviewing them in the future. "We will start talking to some Indian domestic carriers like Jet Airways. The focus has been to promote code-shares within the Indian domestic market," he added.
"India is an important market for BA," added Walsh, whose airline has been flying to the country for 80 years. India remains BA's second largest overseas market after the U.S. in volume. Flights were increased from 19 in 2005 to 48 in 2008.
Now, as a part of an initiative to snip routes that are not lucrative, Kolkata and Dhaka in Bangaldesh will be pulled out in April. Flights to Islamabad, the only destination served in Pakistan, were halted following the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in September last year. BA will be starting flights to Jeddah and Riyadh this quarter.
23/01/09 Neelam Mathews/Aviation Week

Read More

Delhi airport lauded for Haj operations by Delhi government

New Delhi: The Haj terminal, an exclusive terminal for Haj pilgrims at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the capital was lauded by the Delhi government yesterday. “We are very satisfied with the entire Haj operation carried out from the Delhi airport,” said Delhi's Social Welfare Minister Rajkumar Chauhan. Over 18,000 devotees had flown for Jeddah from Delhi airport. The IGI Airport is the only airport in India to have an exclusive permanent facility for Haj passengers.
Chauhan was speaking at a function organised by the airport developer, Delhi International Airport Ltd. (DIAL), where members of the Haj Committee, which organises Haj tour for the pilgrims, were also present. The first flight for this Haj season started October 30, 2008 and the flights continued to depart till November 16, 2008. However, special flights continued to operate till the 15th of this month bringing back the pilgrims, DIAL said in a statement.
The flights operated for the purpose were by Saudi Arabian Airlines and Air India, said DIAL. Of the 123,211 pilgrims, 63,511 pilgrims flew by Saudi Arabian Airlines while Air India carried 59,700 devotees. Mohammed Moazzam, Chief Co-ordinator, Central Haj Committee, said the space enhancement at the new Haj terminal made the pilgrims' travel convenient.
23/01/09 TravelBizMonitor

Read More

Delta to temporarily cut Atlanta to Mumbai route

Atlanta: In another sign of a slumping economy, Delta Air Lines will temporarily cut back its non-stop international service from Atlanta to Mumbai, India.
Between April and October, Delta will fly between Atlanta and Mumbai 5 times a week instead of every day.
Market demand is down on that route and others says Delta spokesperson Susan Elliott.
ELLIOTT: "We've been making adjustments across our schedule both on the domestic side and on the international side. It's about being prudent in how we manage our business and tying capacity to demand."
This year, Delta hopes to cut international capacity by at least 3 percent and domestic capacity by at least 8 percent.
For passengers, capacity cuts could mean more than schedule changes. It may also mean Delta offers fewer seats.
24/01/09 Public Broadcasting

Read More

Aviation FDI: Panel to take up ministry proposal

New Delhi: Cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar may take up the civil aviation ministry’s proposal to allow foreign airlines to pick up to 25% stake in domestic airlines on Friday, a government official has said. The move would pave the way for foreign airlines such as Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Lufthansa to buy equities in home-grown carriers like Kingfisher, SpiceJet and IndiGo.
The ministry has already prepared a note on this, seeking government approval to change the existing policy on foreign direct investment (FDI) in domestic carriers. “A committee of secretaries (CoS) headed by the cabinet secretary would consider the aviation ministry’s proposal to allow foreign carriers to hold up to 25% stake in domestic airlines,” a government official, who did not wish to be named, said.
The aviation ministry is learnt to have discussed the proposal with Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and received its consent. In fact, the DIPP is open to allowing up to 49% stake by overseas carriers in the domestic airlines, the official said. He, however, added that foreign airlines would initially be allowed to pick up not more than a 25% stake.
23/01/09 Economic Times

Read More

Singapore Air, Virgin May Win India Investment Rights

Singapore Airlines Ltd., Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. and other carriers may win the right to buy into Indian airlines as the world's second-fastest-growing major economy plans to scrap investment restrictions.
India's government is considering allowing overseas airlines to own stakes in local carriers, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told reporters on Jan. 14. That would reverse a more than a decade-old rule that banned them from owning shares of domestic carriers.
With global traffic plunging amid a recession, India's move may give foreign airlines a slice of a market that's set to surge ninefold in the two decades to 2026, according to Airbus SAS. The plan will also give carriers such as Jet Airways (India) Ltd. and SpiceJet Ltd. access to cash and expertise amid a record $2 billion industrywide loss last year.
``In a global recession, foreign carriers will look at any opportunity where they can make a bit of money,'' said Viswanathan Vasudevan, who helps manage $300 million at Aquarius Investment Advisors Pte in Singapore. ``India seems to be one of the countries where you have some opportunity. That could be a big plus.''
Vasudevan may purchase Indian airline shares if the government eases restrictions for foreign carriers.
Seven new airlines have been set up in the past six years and passenger numbers doubled between 2004 and 2007, the government said.
23/01/09 Vipin V. Nair/Bloomberg

Read More

US aviation regulator refuses to postpone India visit

New Delhi: India’s fear of getting downgraded by the US aviation regulator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), looms large as the latter has refused to postpone its India tour beginning Feb 22, according to a government official.
‘They (FAA team) will reach India according to the schedule worked out earlier. We had asked for more time to get things into place but that hasn’t worked,’ the civil aviation ministry official said Thursday.
Sources said nothing could stop the FAA now from downgrading India’s aviation industry rating from category one to category two. This is due to the pathetic state of affairs at Indian airports and for having failed to fulfil the FAA guidelines and norms.
The Indian government fears that the downgrading by the FAA will influence the aviation sector’s future plans for expansion to the US and would affect the country’s air operators too.
The FAA grades countries as per the level of preparedness to tackle air safety issues.
What is now worrying India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), is that it does not have anything impressive to present before the FAA.
When contacted, Andrew Harrison, the chief operating officer (COO) of Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) that runs the Delhi airport said it was too early to comment on how India’s aviation interests would be hurt if the FAA downgraded the country.
22/01/09 IANS/Sindh Today

Read More

BA's high hopes for Indian skies

British Airways chief Willie Walsh is in Hyderabad, India's sixth largest city, to promote the carrier's five-flights-a-week direct service, which launched last month.
But he also talks openly about the potential for doing a deal with domestic carriers, if and when the country relaxes the current onerous restrictions on foreign ownership.
Walsh says: 'At the moment foreign airlines cannot invest in domestic airlines and for that reason we have had discussions with a number of Indian carriers about a code share arrangement. But nothing beyond that.
'We did consider a possible franchise arrangement. Our preferred route is to link up with a domestic carrier - it would be an advantage going forward.'
BA's chief says the flamboyant boss of Kingfisher Airlines and member of the Indian parliament, Vijay Mallya, has been the most outspoken advocate of changing the rules on foreign ownership 'because of his desire to see new equity'.
There is talk about potentially allowing overseas carriers to take a stake of up to 49 per cent in local airlines. Kingfisher and rival Jet Airways joined together in a cost saving alliance last October as they try to shelter from the economic storm that threatens the very survival of airlines.
Walsh is clearly annoyed that other industries appear to escape the arcane restrictions that prevent foreign ownership of Indian carriers, saying: 'It does seem a bit strange that airlines are excluded.'
He admits having held talks with 'several' Indian competitors about a deal, including local no-frills operator GoAir.
23/01/09 Karl West/DailyMail, UK

Read More

Air India asked to pay Rs.26,000 to a passenger in damages

Indore: A Madhya Pradesh consumer forum has asked Air India to pay a compensation of Rs.25,000 to a passenger for not informing her about the precautions before using dry ice to kill a pain during a flight.The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum has also asked the airlines to pay additional Rs.1,000 as cost of the complaint.
Business woman Seema Sanghi, 52, complained to the forum that she had an acute back pain while travelling on Air India’s lA 432 flight from Kuala Lampur to India March 13, 2007.
She asked a flight steward for painkiller tablets and ice for fomentation. The flight steward gave her painkiller and carbonated dry ice wrapped in plastic bag, about whose use she was ignorant.She fomented her shoulder with dry ice bag for about 20 minutes but when she landed at the Mumbai Airport, her back had become stiff and shoulder had burnt.She had to undergo treatment first at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai and later at a dermatologist clinic in Indore.
“And all this happened because the staff of the airlines did not inform me about the precautions to be taken while fomenting my back and shoulder with dry ice,” Seema said in her complaint.
Dry ice is solidified carbon dioxide having temperature of 20 to 40 degree Celsius below freezing point and can burn the skin similar to frostbite if used without insulated cover.
22/01/09 IANS/Thaindia.com, Thailand

Read More

Chidambaram rises above party politics on Kandahar hijack issue

New Delhi: Breaking ranks with his party colleagues, home minister P Chidambaram described the NDA government’s decision to release three terrorists in exchange for hostages in the Kandahar hijack 10 years ago as a “very difficult decision.” The minister clearly seemed to disapprove of the tendency to score political brownie points over such issues.
“I do not know how I would have reacted if 150 families came to my door and pleaded that their loved ones in that aircraft must be saved. It is easy to criticise but if one is in that position, it is a very difficult decision,“ the Union minister said while addressing a function in the capital.
Mr Chidambaram’s acknowledgement of the difficult nature of the decision taken by the Vajpayee government cannot but be matter of relief for the BJP. The Congress has consistently used the Kandahar episode as a handy retort whenever it has come under attack from the BJP on its record on dealing with terrorism.
In the aftermath of the November Mumbai attack, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh had said that unlike the BJP which gave into the demands of terrorists, the Congress had eliminated the terrorists.
Over the last decade, the BJP has been criticised for its decision to release terrorists in lieu of the safe return of the passengers a'nd crew of the hijacked Indian Airlines craft.
23/01/09 Economic Times

Read More

Tests for expat pilots to be made tougher

New Delhi: Worried at the swelling ranks of young Indian students sitting idle after spending several lakhs on becoming commercial pilots, the government has decided to get tough with airlines on the issue of foreign pilots. Read On >>

Read More

No plans to make any changes in fares, says British Airways

Hyderabad: There are no plans to make any changes in the present fare structure of the British Airways in the wake of fall in global fuel prices, its Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh said here on Thursday.
Talking to reporters on the occasion of celebrating the launch of Airlines direct flight from Hyderabad to London- Heathrow on December 08, Walsh said that “we now fly 48 times each week which is up from 19 flights per week when the UK/Indian aviation ma rket was liberalized in October 2005''.
“Soon we will have a daily flight as we have been encouraged by the demand for our flights that are the only direct services between the city and the UK,” he added.
In reply to a question Walsh said that there was drop in its business class passengers in the wake of global meltdown. He said “Year 2009 was the worst economic environment for the aviation industry and is likely to be extended up to 2011''.
23/01/09 PTI/Business Line

Read More

Proposal to allow 49% stake for foreign airlines in domestic carriers

New Delhi: The Civil Aviation Ministry’s proposal for allowing foreign airlines to pick up a stake in domestic airlines has moved ahead. Later this week the Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary is to consider a proposal to allow foreign airlines to hold a 49 per cent stake in scheduled, non-scheduled and charter airlines.
The latest thinking in the Government is more liberal than the 20-25 per cent stake that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has proposed for foreign airlines in domestic airlines. The change in the FDI rules, if approved, will not only help the 15 scheduled airlines like Kingfisher and Air India but also the 98 non-scheduled operators including Ahmedabad Aviation and Aeronautics and Span Air. Official sources confirmed to Business Line that an “official proposal” to allow foreign airlines to hold a 49 per cent stake in domestic airlines is before the Government.
At the moment foreign airlines are barred from holding a direct or indirect stake in the domestic airline sector. Speaking to newspersons, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, had indicated that the Ministry was examining a proposal to allow foreign airlines to hold a 20-25 per cent stake in domestic airlines. A final decision on how much stake foreign airlines will be allowed to hold in domestic airlines will be taken by the Union Cabinet and not the Group of Ministers looking into the civil aviation policy, Mr Patel had said.
20/01/09 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

Read More

Search on Indian envoy: Sudan orders probe

A diplomatic row is brewing between Sudan and India over the alleged harassment of the Indian ambassador by customs and security officials at the Juba International Airport.
Information and Broadcasting minister in the Government of Southern Sudan, Mr Gabriel Changson Chang, confirmed the incident and later told the Press that about six customs and security officers were involved in a dramatic embarrassing situation when they demanded to inspect the baggage of the Indian ambassador to the Sudan, Mr Deepak Vohra last Thursday.
Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the baggage of the Head of Diplomatic Mission is exempted from customs searches. It was also alleged that the officers tried to block him from boarding a plane to Khartoum if he did not pay them some money in bribery.
Following the incident the South Sudan government has ordered the Internal Affairs minister to take immediate measures including identifying the culprits who were involved in the incident, investigate and prosecute them.
However, the incident ended peacefully after some other interventions forced the Indian Consul General in Juba to present a complaint to the Government of Southern Sudan through the Regional Cooperation ministry after informing it about the incident. The Government of Southern Sudan’s Cabinet, chaired by Vice President Riek Machar, was briefed over the issue on Friday by its Regional Cooperation minister Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin.
Dr Marial told the Cabinet that the incident started when the Indian Consul General in Juba went to the Airport on Thursday morning to check-in the baggage of the ambassador who was travelling to Khartoum.
The incident happens barely few weeks after another embarrassing one involving a Kenyan and a top minister in the Government of Southern Sudan.
Housing and Public Utilities minister had given a Kenyan businessman who was travelling to Nairobi, about $2,000 (Sh156,000) to take to his family in Nairobi. But while inspecting the baggage and getting the money inside the bag, the security personnel allegedly demanded to take $500 (Sh39,000), leaving the Kenyan with the remaining $1,500 (Sh117,000) only.
21/01/09 Daily Nation, Kenya

Read More

Foreign airlines may buy into desi ones

New Delhi: Cash-starved Indian carriers may soon get some fund infusion and management expertise from leading international airlines. On Friday, a meeting of committee of secretaries, headed by the cabinet secretary, will take up aviation ministry's proposal to allow foreign airlines to acquire 25% stake in domestic airlines, with limited management control and no representation on board.
The aviation ministry's proposal has backing from the commerce ministry, with department of industrial policy and promotion is pushing for a 49% stake to be offered to the foreign airlines in desi ones. The aviation ministry was opposed to the idea of FDI from foreign airlines. However, it changed mind to help domestic airlines survive the present downturn.
"In Friday's meet, the aviation ministry will push for a 25% cap and its views will get due importance since the matter concerns the airline sector. Some consensus on quantum of stake may emerge as the cabinet note has to be moved by the commerce ministry for final approval by the government," said sources.
A number of foreign airlines like Lufthansa, British Airways and Singapore Airlines are sitting on huge cash reserves and have in the past expressed interest in buying stakes in domestic airlines. At present, foreign players except airlines can hold up to 49% stake in Indian carriers. Allowing foreign airlines can see crucial fund infusion in the aviation sector.
Aviation sources said that FDI will also enable some players who started airlines but have now found they are not able to run them properly to make a face-saving exit.
21/01/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

European Aviation Holding Acquires Indamer

Mumbai: European Aviation Holding Co Pvt Ltd on Tuesday acquired Indamer Co Pvt Ltd, a leading Mumbai-based MRO firm for an undisclosed amount. However, the move is a major consolidation in the domestic MRO industry, since it only leaves two leading firms in the business: Max Aerospace and Air Works Engineering Pvt Ltd, in which publicly-traded engineering company Punj Lloyd Ltd and US-based private equity firm Global Technology Investment Group each hold a 33 percent stake.
Bharat Malkani, one of the directors of the European Aviation Holding, is also the chairman of Max Aerospace and Aviation Ltd, which was in direct competition with Indamer.
Malkani told Mint that the Indamer acquisition has helped him to offer integrated solutions to the aviation industry.A Bangalore-based aviation consultant said further consolidation is expected in the MRO industry, since it is fragmented, adding that it could also witness participation of foreign players once the aviation industry stabilizes. He declined to be identified. Founded in 1947, Indamer has been maintaining both fixed and rotary wing aircraft for private owners, charter operators, state governments and training institutes.
20/01/09 P.R. Sanjai/Wall Street Journal/AMT Online

Read More

DIPP seeks to abolish norms barring FDI by foreign airlines

New Delhi: Less than a week after civil aviation minister Praful Patel said the Union government was considering allowing foreign airlines to buy equity in Indian carriers, the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), which is part of the ministry of commerce and industry, has sought to abolish rules that bar foreign carriers from doing so. The move is aimed at helping loss-making Indian airlines raise much needed capital even as demand slows.
The current policy allows Indian carriers such as Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and Jet Airways (India) Ltd to sell up to 49% of equity to financial investors, including private equity funds, though foreign airlines are not allowed to buy stakes.
The DIPP note, reviewed by Mint, if approved by the government, will allow foreign direct investment (FDI) of up to 49%. International carriers Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd and British Airways Plc. had said in November that they were keen to buy stakes in Indian carriers.
The aviation ministry has, for years, opposed any foreign airline picking a stake in Indian carriers. But, earlier this month, Patel said there was a “reasonable case” now to allow foreign airline investment into Indian carriers restricting such ownership to between “20% and 25%”. He said then the change in norms was just a “thought”.
“Two-three airlines have said that they want it. They need some investment,” said a senior civil aviation ministry official, who declined to be identified. He added that most airlines in the country are in favour of the move. However, CEO of Jet Airways (India) LtdWolfgang Prock-Schauer has said his firm is against it.
On Monday, shares of local airlines shot up on speculation that the government was close to taking a decision on FDI soon.
20/01/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

Read More

Embraer says no cancellations in India

Mumbai: Even as the world reels under a recessionary threat, Brazilian business aircraft manufacturer Embraer is positive on growing its business jet market in India.
The company is encouraged with the new enquiries that it is receiving, despite the current economic crisis.
Manfred Baudzus, regional sales director, executive jets, Embraer Asia Pacific, believes the company has a lot of business to do in India though it received fewer enquiries this year compared to the previous years.
Moreover, in a time when many executive and business jet orders are been cancelled globally, Embraer has not witnessed any cancellation in India. However, one of its aircraft deliveries has been deferred by a year on customer request.
The company has close to 30 executive jet orders, which will be delivered starting August 2009. These include Embraer's range of Legacy, Phenom 100 and 300, and the luxurious, ultra-large Lineage 1000 jets.
At present, there are 13 Embraer airplanes flying in the Indian skies. With its major deliveries in India starting this year, Embraer has tied up with maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company, Indamer Company Pvt Ltd, for operating its authorised service centres in India.
Rajeev Wadhwa, managing director of European Aviation Holding Co, said Indamer has 12 sites in India and currently services 50 aircrafts, which is expected to touch 100 in the next two years.
21/01/09 Archana Shukla/Daily News & Analysis

Read More

Embraer Names First Authorized Service Center In India

Sao Jose dos Campos: Embraer has named India’s Indamer Company Pvt. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of European Aviation Holding Co. Pvt. Ltd. (EAHC), an authorized executive jet service center. This is the first Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)company to serve Embraer’s Phenom and Legacy 600 jet customers in India.
“The fast growth of the executive jet fleet in India led Embraer to choose Indamer to provide support in the region,” said Edson Mallaco, Embraer Vice President, Customer Support and Services, Executive Jets. “The reputation of Indamer, which has been operating in India since 1947, and the quality of its services were decisive factors in Embraer’s choice.”
Based in Mumbai, Indamer has 1,200 square meters (12,900 square feet) of space for its hangar and facilities, and can provide warranty support and heavy maintenance services for customers of the Phenom and Legacy 600 jets. The service center will handle routine checks and scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, and will offer trained rescue teams for these aircraft. Operations are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2009.
21/01/09 Jets.ru, Russia

Read More

SIA refuses to budge as agents continue boycott

Mumbai: SIngapore International Airlines (SIA) has decided to stick to its guns on its 'no-commission' stance to travel agents, even as the latter claim that the airline's sales have gone down by 80 per cent in the last fortnight. Around 2000 travel agents across the country are not selling the airline's tickets in protest against the decision not to pay any commission.
SIA, however, says it has not been impacted by the boycott. "There is no change in our zero commission stance," said Chai Woo Foo, General Manager, Singapore Airlines, India.
Foo, however, admits to loads being lower than last year on all routes. However, its outlook in India continues to be positive. There will be a temporary reduction of one flight per week from Delhi between January 22 to March 25 and two flights per week from Mumbai between January 27 to March 26. "But this is part of the overall network wide review to adjust the capacity in the short term to current demand; including flights to East Asia, Australia and Europe," he added.
Protesting the non-payment of a commission of 5 per cent on ticket sales by airlines to travel agents in India, around 2000 agents and online travel portals associated with agents associations like Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) among others decided to boycott sales of Singapore tickets in India from December 29.
While around 12 international airlines have taken the zero commission stance, the agents have decided to boycott Singapore Air since it is one of largest carriers operating into India and once it agrees to their demands, others are expected to fall in line.
The agents had stopped selling Jet Airways tickets last year, when three full service carriers — Jet, Kingfisher and Air India — had taken a similar stance of no commission to be paid to them. The boycott had made all three carriers change their stance and agree to pay a commission of 3 per cent on the total fare.
24/01/09 Geetanjali Shukla/Business Standard

Read More

Kingfisher adds 7 foreign destinations

Colombo: Kingfisher Airlines today announced that it would offer flights to seven international destinations over the next three months, in addition to London and Colombo, which it services currently.
Kingfisher Airlines Ltd Vice-President (Global Sales) Siva Ramachandran said there is a proposal for including destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Dhaka, Dubai and Maldives.
"Apart from this our service network would also extend to other international destinations in the Gulf such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait," he added.
He said for this, the company is planning to hire foreign crew, and that "we are also waiting to get government permission in this regard".
Yesterday, Kingfisher Airlines launched its daily flights from Chennai to Colombo and Bangalore to Colombo.
21/01/09 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

Read More

Sri Lankan Tamil pilgrims stranded at Chennai airport

Chennai: About 95 Sri Lankan Tamils were stranded at the Chennai airport when they missed the return flight to their homeland on Monday. Several of them were held up enroute to the airport in buses for fear of violence in connection with the fasting of VCK leader Thirumavalavan.
This group of 95 Tamilians had come from Sri Lanka last week on a pilgrimage to Sabarimala and were supposed return home on Monday by a Sri Lankan airlines flight in the morning. However, several of them were coming back by road and their buses were stopped because of Thirumavalavan’s fasting for the cause of their larger community back home.
The Sri Lankan airlines flight on Monday morning reportedly waited for them for about an hour and then took off without these passengers. While seven of these people came to Chennai by train and boarded their scheduled flight on Monday, the rest of them reached the airport only in the evening.
The representatives of Sri Lankan airlines then assured them that they would be sent home depending on the seat availability. While some members of the group were sent on Tuesday, a majority of them still sat waiting at the airport to be put on the next flight.
21/01/09 ExpressBuzz

Read More

Airlines up on FDI hopes

Kolkata: Aviation stocks gained height on Monday as a section of market players placed bets on the prospect of fresh investments by foreign airlines.
Last week the Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Praful Patel, indicated that the Government might allow foreign airlines to buy up to 25 per cent stake in local carriers. Industry watchers said that the Ministry’s proposal note is ready for circulation among other Ministries.
“The Government has roughly six weeks to act on any proposals before the elections. If cross-currents within the Government do not come in the way, the Cabinet approval could come quickly,” an observer said.
Industry insiders said there could be positive response from some foreign airlines for even a minority stake of 20 to 25 per cent. Keeping in view a long-term growth potential, a toehold now would be a win-win situation for the investor and the local operator.
“In aviation industry, equity investment normally opens up opportunity, operational partnership reduces cost and competition and thrives on cooperation. Moreover, the current valuation of Indian airlines’ stocks would amply justify investments. On the other hand, local players would be benefited from additional cash infusion,” said the CEO of an investment banker.
All private domestic carriers want to expand overseas operations and survive the present negative growth. After reporting 32 per cent and 26 per cent growth rates in 2006 and 2007 respectively, the aviation sector has in 2008 seen a negative growth of 4.8 per cent due to high ATF prices and de-growth in domestic air travel.
20/01/09 Business Line

Read More

Kingfisher airlines inaugurates flights to Colombo from India

Kingfisher Airlines, one of the India’s leading privately owned airline extended its international footprint by launching daily direct flights from Colombo to Bangalore and Colombo Chennai yesterday.
Chairman of the Aitken Spence Limited, the General Sales Agents(GSA) for Kingfisher Air lines in Sri Lanka Harry Jayawardene said becoming GSA of Kingfisher further consolidates groups activities in the airline sector.
Vice President Global Sales Kingfisher Airlines Limited Siva Ramachandran speaking media last evening said that Colombo become its second international destination and intend to providing a delightful experience for the travellers.
Company also said that ever since its launch in may 2005 Kingfisher Airlines has blazed a trail of innovations and introduced a range of market firsts that have completely redefined the whole experience of flying.
By evaluating its customers to level of being guest and not passengers, Kingfisher Airlines has endeared itself to consumers. A growing testimony of this is the numerous awards and recognitions that the kingfisher airlines has won at domestic level as well as international level.
According to company Kingfisher Airlines is India’s first and only 5 star airline and only one to offer premium first class. Currently airlines covers all segments of air travel from low fares to premium service and offers most flights by any single airline network in India. With a fleet of 87 aircraft kingfisher airlines connects 73 cities and operates 442 flights a day.
20/01/09 Deepal V. perera/Dalily Mirror, Sri Lanka

Read More

GE, Qantas to wait before terminating contracts with Satyam

Bangalore: Top Satyam customers such as GE, Qantas and DuPont will wait for few months before exploring any possibility of terminating their outsourcing contracts with Satyam, as these customer organisations seek more clarity about the new leadership, and a potential change in management if the company is acquired by a rival tech firm.
A person familiar with decision making at Satyam s top customers said that some of the clients including GE and Qantas have told Satyam that they would wait for things to stabilise over the next three to six months, and will move to other vendors only after that, he said requesting anonymity. GE, which accounts for around 4.5% of Satyam s revenues also works with Satyam s domestic rivals TCS and Patni.
When contacted by ET on Monday, a GE India spokeswoman said GE continues to work with Satyam. GE continues to use Satyam Computer Services for services and we have not moved any work, she said in an email reply. Meanwhile, other Satyam customers such as Australian airline Qantas are making sure that that they have an internal IT support ready to prevent any disruption of services if needed.
Qantas IT Services has a team monitoring the situation and will continue to do so on a daily basis until the situation is resolved, said Simon Rushton, a spokesperson for Qantas Airways. In the event that Satyam is unable to continue services, Qantas has the ability to activate alternative internal and external arrangements to enable the continuation of seamless services, he added.
Qantas has five years remaining on a seven year contract under which Satyam provides IT application maintenance and support. Experts such as Professor Jayanth R Varma of IIM, Ahmedabad say the coming few weeks are going to be critical for Satyam in terms of holding on to its customers.
19/01/09 Pankaj Mishra/Economic Times

Read More

Amritsar airport: No Singapore flights from Feb 2

Amritsar: Singapore Airlines will stop flights from here from February 2. But Rs 140- crore modernisation and expansion project under way is likely to be commissioned soon.
Senior manager of Singapore Airlines Ang said it had been decided to terminate thrice-a-week flights for reasons like lack of cargo and J class load. There was no move to review the decision though they would like to continue the operations as they were getting sufficient economy class load.
Earlier, Jet Airways had stopped daily Amritsar-London flights in November last year, to the chagrin of NRI diaspora and vegetable exporters.
Meanwhile, the Goair has decided to launch flights from February 15 connecting the holy city with Mumbai and Srinagar. Traders and industrialists have hailed Goair for connecting the city with Mumbai and Jammu and Kashmir. Airport authority officials have yet to receive the flight operation schedule.
19/01/09 SikhSangat

Read More

Juba Airport officers accused of harassing Indian Ambassador

Juba: A number of unidentified Security and Customs Officers deployed at Juba International Airport have been accused of harassing a senior diplomat on Thursday.
Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Gabriel Changson Chang, told the press on Friday that about six Customs or Security Officers involved in dramatic embarrassing situation on Thursday when they demanded to inspect the baggage of the Indian Ambassador to Sudan, Deepak Vohra, and tried to block him from boarding a plane to Khartoum if he did not pay them some money in bribery.
The incident which ended peacefully after some other interventions forced the Indian Consul General in Juba to present a complaint to the Government of Southern Sudan through the Ministry of Regional Cooperation after informing the Ministry about the incident.
The Government of Southern Sudan’s cabinet after being briefed on Friday by the Minister of Regional Cooperation, Dr. Barnaba Marial Benjamin, on the incident immediately resolved to direct the Minister of Internal Affairs to take some immediate measures that included identifying the culprits who involved in the incident, investigate and prosecute them.
The incident disappointed the Government which described it as “embarrassing.”
In his narration to the Council of Ministers meeting chaired by the Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, the GoSS Regional Cooperation Minister told the cabinet that the incident started when the Indian Consul General in Juba went to the Airport on Thursday morning to check-in the baggage of the Ambassador who was traveling to Khartoum. He said four security or customs officers emerged and asked the diplomat to open the baggage for inspection.
Marial explained that it happened despite the fact that the baggage which consisted of four packages were clearly labeled as “Embassy of India Khartoum” which unfortunately the Officers did not respect.
He further explained that the diplomat tried to explain to the Officers that it was not necessary to search the baggage since the Ambassador had privileges and immunities that exempt him from such searches, but they still insisted on opening the baggage.
Under the international Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the baggage of the Head of Diplomatic Mission is exempt from Customs searches.
The incident was resolved after intervention by another senior officer from the Security Detachment at the Arrival Section who immediately authorized check-in of the Ambassador’s baggage without inspection.
Unfortunately, the matter did not end there. When the Ambassador, Deepak Vohra himself arrived at the Airport and went to the VIP lounge, two other personnel in plain clothes who were not present among the first four officers accosted him in the lounge and told him rudely that they would open his baggage unless he produced the relevant “documents” or gave them money.
“When the Ambassador politely asked what documents were needed, they were unable to answer. In order to avoid an unpleasant situation, Ambassador Vohra offered to travel without his baggage. As he was on his way to the aircraft, the two officers rudely tried to block his way, but seeing other passengers looking at them, they moved away,” lamented the Minister.
“When the Ambassador’s diplomatic passport and Identity Card were shown to them, they shouted, “We don’t care throw the passport away,” he added.
The cabinet discussions on the incident also recalled other similar unpleasant incidences involving not only diplomats but also senior GoSS officials at the Airport.
19/01/09 James Gatdet Dak/Sudan Tribune, Sudan

Read More

Crash-landing for tourist plans

Jaipur: Robin Newman had to cancel his visit to the ancient monuments in Jhunjhunu and Sikar from his itinerary due to unavailability of chopper at Rajasthan State Flying Club of Jaipur. Like Newman, many tourists have failed to explore the cultural heritage situated far-off from the state capital due to defunct flying club for almost a decade.
"Months before the beginning of cultural festivals listed in the state's event calendar, we receive queries from tourist all over the world to book a chopper service ferrying them to participate in events," said a flying club official.
He added that due to the authorities' neglect, most of the tourist could not visit distant palaces in the state. "Many tourists ask for flying service to visit the places which do not have a functional airport in the state. Due to unavailability, many of them have to cancel the long journey by train or road," said Rahul Singhal, a travel agent.
Also, the news reports of grooms landing at their marriage venues in neighbouring states of Haryana and Punjab seems to have rubbed off on Rajasthani grooms to make their marriage an unforgettable event. The official confirmed that the number of calls asking for taking grooms to their marriage venue has increased in past couple of years.
The flying club of Jaipur is government-aided and is empowered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to use the aircraft for training pilots and for commercial purpose.
19/01/09 Shoeb Khan/Times of India

Read More

I was not detained: Asif

New Delhi: Pakistan medium-pacer Mohammad Asif on Sunday denied that he was detained or was in the process of being deported. Reports on Saturday suggested that Asif was in trouble for having landed in Delhi via Mumbai on what he termed a private visit.
In a statement issued through Delhi Daredevils, which he represents in the Indian Premier League, Asif said, “I was very pained by the reports in the newspapers and television this morning about my arrival to New Delhi. I wish to clarify that there was absolutely no problem at the Delhi airport on my arrival.”
Asif added that he was “welcomed whole-heartedly (in Mumbai) and all immigration formalities were concluded there ... I am very happy to be in New Delhi and India once again. My visit to Delhi is like coming from one home to another. I hope to meet my teammates such as Virender Sehwag once again.”
According to Delhi Daredevils Chief Executive Officer Amrit Mathur, the Pakistan cricketer “met us today” and the meeting would continue “tomorrow.”
19/01/09 The Hindu

Read More

Air India flights to Kerala rescheduled

Manama: Air India is to increase its flights from Bahrain to Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram, starting next Friday.
Currently, the airline operates only one flight a week to Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesdays.
It will be increased to three flights a week, said country manager Meenakshi Mallik.
The flights will be operated on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday.
On Tuesdays, the flight will leave Bahrain at 12.55am and arrive at 7.50am in Thiruvananthapuram.
On Fridays and Saturdays, it will leave at 11.20pm and reach Thiruvananthapuram at 7.30am the following day.
Air India will reduce the flights to Kozhikode from six to four a week, said Ms Mallik.
The airline operates 20 flights a week to India - to Mumbai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Mangalore.
19/01/09 Soman Baby/Gulf Daily News, Bahrain

Read More

Rs 19.75 lakh seized from air passenger

Chennai: Air customs has seized Rs 19.75 lakh and Singapore Dollars 650 from a Singapore-bound passenger at the international airport here.
The passenger was intercepted on suspicion yesterday by customs officers and his baggage examined. Indian currency in Rs 500 denominations totally Rs 19.75 lakh and Singapore Dollars 650 were recovered, Chennai Customs Air Intelligence Department said in a release today.
The currencies were kept concealed in the cavity between the top and bottom layers of nine aluminium bowls. These bowls had been kept among onions, it said.
18/01/09 PTI/Times of India

Read More

Awarding of compensation to hijacked IC 814 passengers stayed

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has stayed an order of Delhi State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directing the Indian Airlines to pay a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to each of the 160 passengers who were on board on the IC-814 flight which was hijacked and taken to Kandahar in Afghanistan in 1999.
A bench headed by Justice R K Batta also issued notices to the two passengers Ashok Gupta and his wife on whose petition the impugned order was passed by the state commission in December last year.
Justice J D Kapoor, who headed the bench of state commission, had also ordered the Indian Airlines to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of Rupen Katyal who was killed by the terrorists on Kathmandu-Delhi flight.
Mr Shivkumar Suri appearing for the petitioner airlines submitted before the National Commission that the state commission had committed a grave error by awarding a compensation even to those who had not approached it and were not a party to the petition filed by Mr Gupta and his wife.
Mr Suri also contended that the petitioner was not in any way responsible for the incident and no injury was caused to any of the passengers who were on board.
Justice Kapoor had also directed the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation to instruct all airlines to carry out thorough security check of their passengers before they board aircraft.
Their suffering can not be described in words. A fear always engulfs them as to when a bullet would hit them. They were made to sit with their heads down. Two of the passengers had been killed and so they were waiting for some miracles to happen to save them.’ The national commission admitted the revision petition filed by the Indian Airlines.
18/01/09 IndLawNews

Read More

Kingfisher Airlines enter Lankan airmap

The first and only five star airline in India the Kingfisher Airlines will fly to Colombo commencing tomorrow, January 19. The flight from Chennai will touch down Colombo BIA at 8.15am while the flight from Bangalore will land at 4.20 in the evening. Senior officials from the Kingfisher are expected in Colombo for the grand event with the Chairman of Kingfisher Airline, Dr. Vijay Mallya who will grace the occasion.
The country Manager is Mr Shasha Sebastian while the GSA for Kingfisher is Royal Spence Aviation headed by Ms Lali Weerasinghe, a senior official attached to the SriLankan Airlines.
Kingfisher sources said that the airline has started four international operations which includes Bangkok, Singapore, Hongkong and Colombo during the course of this month. The promotional airfares to London will be announced on Monday. According to Chairman Dr. Mallya, a passenger will be made to feel like an honoured guest and not just a passenger. At Kingfisher, a flight is not a journey between two airports but an experience of a lifetime!
As our esteemed guests the passenger can experience the Kingfisher Airlines in three unique classes of service - Kingfisher First (Business Class) Kingfisher Class (Premium Economy) and Kingfisher Red (Low fare). Kingfisher First is available on our international routes.
18/01/09 Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka

Read More

GMR, GVK, Changi in race to pilot Fedara airport

Gandhinagar: Top infrastructure firms like GMR, GVK and Changi of Singapore are learnt to be in the race to develop the proposed world class international airport at Fedara village, 85 km from Ahmedabad, near Dholera.
The airport, which was first mooted a year ago, is on the fast track and evoking keen interest among airport developers, thanks to the recently concluded Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit 2009, government sources said.
A top bureaucrat close to Chief Minister Narendra Modi told TOI that the summit saw top infrastructure groups making a beeline for developing the international airport, of which these three biggies seemed to be more serious. The three giants are believed to be keen on developing the airport in a public-private partnership (PPP) mode.
"Executives of the three groups participating in the summit showed keen interest in developing the greenfield airport, for which 1,690.22 hectares of land has been reserved next to Fedara," a senior official said.
"We have, however, asked them to hold on as the proposal has been sent to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for preparing a detailed project report. Once we receive the AAI nod for the site, we will get down to the job of zeroing in on a developer for the airport."
According to sources, AAI officials present at the summit, including AAI's technical and financial director, were urged by the state government to expedite the DPR preparation.
18/01/09 Rajiv Shah/Times of India

Read More

Asif detained at Delhi airport, deported

New Delhi: Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif was detained by the immigration department at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Saturday evening, reportedly for travelling without sufficient documents. Despite seeking the Pakistan High Commission’s intervention, the authorities deported him back.
The cricketer had arrived in Delhi to talk to GMR and the Delhi Daredevils management for the settlement of outstanding IPL dues.
According to sources, Asif flew to Mumbai on Saturday on-board a Karachi-Mumbai flight of the Pakistan International Airlines before taking a connecting flight to Delhi. “Asif has a five-year visa issued to him which states he can travel to India as an international cricketer to play in the Indian Premier League,” an airport official said. “However, he was on a personal visit and had not informed the Indian High Commission in Islamabad about the same,” the official added.
Besides, Asif reportedly had visa for entering India via New Delhi only and the fact that he first landed in Mumbai also created problems. “At a time of such high threat perception and growing diplomatic tensions between India and Pakistan, you tend to be extra vigilant.
18/01/09 Geeta Gupta/Indian Express

Read More

PIA reduces Delhi flights due to fall in passenger numbers

Islamabad: Pakistan International Airlines has temporarily reduced the number of its flights to New Delhi due to a fall in the number of people travelling to India following tensions in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.
The number of flights from Lahore to New Delhi has been reduced from four to three a week, PIA officials said. The decision followed a move by India last month to increase the minimum time for processing visa applications by Pakistanis to 30 days. The PIA officials said a"relatively low number of passengers" were travelling on the Lahore-New Delhi route.
A large number of businessmen used to travel on the route, enabling PIA to generate sufficient revenue to meet its expenses, but the number had now dropped to only 20 to 30 passengers for each flight, they said.
17/01/09 PTI/Indipia

Read More

Mihin in unexpected boost

Sri Lanka’s newly revived budget carrier Mihin Air, which resumed its operations on January 1, 2009 might be in for an unintended bonanza with opportunity to start operations to three new destinations, airline sources revealed yesterday.
The fledgling carrier, which is yet to build its route network and find adequate passenger loads to be economical has got a boost from Thursday when SriLankan on that day suspended flights to four destinations in India, namely Cochin, Hyderabad, Calicut and Trivandrum.
A spokesperson for SriLankan said the four destinations were suspended primarily because they were not so economical.
Mihin, which resumed operations with an inaugural flight to Dubai, has since added Trichy and Trivandrum to its route network on January 9 and 14.
With the SriLankan decision to suspend four destinations, it is now also eyeing Cochin, knowing that it can pick up the resultant passenger load.
Mihin CEO Kapila Chandrasena contacted in this regard confirmed that they had already sought approval from Indian Airport Authority to operate flights to/from Cochin.He said they were particularly interested in launching a service between Cochin and West Asia as many people from Kerala are employed in the Arab countries.
18/01/09 The Nation, Sri Lanka

Read More

Singapore Airlines cuts more than 200 flights

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is cutting more than 200 flights to Australia, China, Europe and India in response to falling passenger numbers, the company and travel agents said on Friday.
Faced with the global economic slowdown, the carrier informed travel agents this week that 214 flights in all would be cut between now and March. It said Thursday that December passenger numbers were down 7.5 percent year-on-year.
“We don’t want to be flying half-empty planes around the world any longer than we have to, because it increases our cost burden at a time when we can least afford that,” company spokesman Stephen Forshaw told AFP. We want to make sure we match changes in capacity with the changes in demand that are occurring as a result of the economic slowdown,” he said.
Agents said flights would be cut between now and March to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Mumbai, New Delhi, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, London and Zurich. SIA said Thursday it carried 1.61 million passengers last month, compared with 1.74 million in December 2007. It also filled almost 80 percent of seats, down 4.4 percentage points year-on-year.
The city-state’s flag carrier said in November that net profit for the fiscal second quarter ending September fell 36.2 percent from the previous year, as the airline felt the pinch from the economic downturn.
16/01/09 The Nation/Lanka Times, Sri Lanka

Read More

SpiceJet appoints Doha-based Qatar Tours as General Sales Agent

Mumbai: Low Cost Carrier SpiceJet yesterday announced the appointment of its first overseas General Sales Agency - Doha-based Qatar Tours- to expand its distribution footprints beyond India. “This is a significant move that will help Indians and all others residing in Qatar to travel to various destinations within India easily on work and leisure,” Sanjay Aggarwal, CEO, SpiceJet said in a statement. As per an exclusive agreement, Qatar Tours will promote, advertise and sell SpiceJet products and services to people residing in Qatar. In the long-run, this will contribute significantly to inbound traffic to India and help in promoting India as a chosen destination in Qatar, added Aggarwal.
Nasser K Darwish, Marketing Director, Qatar Tours said, “We are confident that travellers from Qatar will find this arrangement efficient and more and more people will be able to travel to India, hassle free.” Qatar Tours is General Sales Agent (GSA) of several airlines including Air Nepal and Pakistan International.
17/01/09 TravelBizMonitor

Read More

NRI mum, kids pushed at airport

Kolkata: A misplaced security check tag triggered furore at Kolkata airport on Friday morning. An NRI family and a CISF officer were caught up in
a heated exchange that turned nasty and ended with the NRI scientist's wife and children, aged 11 and eight, sprawled on the floor.
While Gauravmoy Nath alleges that the CISF inspector manhandled his wife Zinia and their daughters Sohini and Ushani, the force denied the charge. The missing tag was later found on the floor near the X-ray machine, proving that Nath's family had indeed followed security procedures.
The fracas started around 10.20 am, when passengers on the Emirates flight to Dubai queued up at the departure gate for boarding. A CISF jawan found that the security tag and seal were missing from Nath's waist pouch. Nath explained he had put the pouch through the X-ray machine and the tag might have fallen off somewhere.
But the jawan turned him back to the security check area to get the pouch checked. The Naths were on their way home to Antibes in France Riviera and were to take a connecting flight from Dubai. The scientist was upset at having to go through security screening again for no fault of his and complained to CISF inspector on duty, S K Rai.
The officer allegedly gave a blunt reply, which sparked a heated argument. Within moments, the situation spiralled out of control. Everyone's attention was drawn to the high-decibel squabble when they suddenly saw Nath's wife and daughters fall down.
"They manhandled me and my family and pushed Zinia, Sohini and Ushani," Nath said. Eyewitnesses backed the allegation. An Airports Authority of India official told TOI: "After a heated exchange, the inspector asked the passenger to return the boarding pass. When the latter refused, the inspector tried to snatch it from him by force. That's when the passenger's wife leapt into the melee. In the jostle that ensued, she and the kids hit the floor."
It was only when other passengers protested that senior airport and CISF officials intervened and attempted to resolve the matter. The flight, with 284 passengers, including the Naths, took off at 11.30 am, 25 minutes behind schedule.
CISF commandant Jayati Ghosh said the incident was "minor" but that it had escalated because the passenger was "irritated".
17/01/09 Times of India

Read More

Kingfisher plans Valley-UAE link

Mumbai: Kingfisher Airlines plans to start flights from Dubai to Srinagar. With this, the Jammu & Kashmir summer capital and tourists' paradise, wracked by terrorism, will receive a major tourism boost.
Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya told DNA they had applied for a licence with the Civil Aviation Ministry for a flight from Srinagar to Dubai, with a halt in New Delhi. The airline operates 712 daily seats to Srinagar from Indian destinations on the domestic route.
"Everything in this country depends on the Civil Aviation Ministry's approval, when it comes to flying," said Mallya, when asked how soon he would start the service. He said he had applied recently and expects the ministry to clear it without hassle.
Reminiscing about his childhood in Kashmir, particularly Gulmarg, Mallya said that he always wanted to put Srinagar on the international map so that more and more people could see the most beautiful Indian destination.
17/01/09 N Raghuraman/Daliy News & Analysis

Read More

Indian 5-Star Airline selects Sri Lankan Software Company

Sri Lanka’s only specialist aviation software company John Keells Computer Systems (JKCS) - was recently selected by Kingfisher Airlines to provide it with a new passenger services solution. Kingfisher Airlines ranks as one of India’s largest privately owned airlines. It is also only one of six airlines in the world to have a “5-Star” rating from Skytrax along with Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways.
The JKCS solution will serve many of Kingfisher Airlines’ stakeholder touch points. A single seamless administrative engine will facilitate the airline’s internet-based passenger service operations. The solution offers the right combination of technological efficiency and business process dynamism necessary to consistently deliver a safe, value-based and enjoyable travel experience in one of the largest growing economies of the world.
As the leading private airline in India, Kingfisher Airlines serves the largest number of cities in India. Its long-haul sectors include Bangalore-London and the recently introduced Mumbai-London route. “Asia Pacific’s Top 1,000 Brands” survey in 2008 named Kingfisher the most admired airline brand in Asia-Pacific. An unique business model that focuses on a positive customer experience aimed at delighting its flyers has helped the airline stay on top. Kingfisher Airlines opted for the JKCS solution as it offers a comprehensive set of modules, features and functions that support its complex business model.
16/01/09 Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka

Read More