Foreign airlines to withdraw Zero Commission

Kochi: Mounting protests against ‘zero-airlines’ by travel agents from across the country may soon prompt foreign airlines operating in the country to withdraw the recently introduced zero-commission system and go back to the earlier scenario.
The tussle between travel agents and foreign airlines over zero-commission has been going on for the past two years. The IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) has already approached the Civil Aviation authorities demanding penal action against the zero-commission airlines for non-compliance of the law. The association has also filed a writ petition before the Kerala High Court demanding that the aviation authorities should strictly enforce and implement its order against zero-commission.
Considering the petition on Wednesday, the court had asked IATA-India, the representative body of the airlines in the country, to submit a written response/affidavit in a week’s time.
The major demand of the airline agents is returning to the earlier scenario as in October 2008, where agents used to get 5 percentage commission, with retrospective effect from March 2010.
The DGCA, in its order in March had directed all airlines, which had gone in for zero-commission, to go back to the earlier commission-based system. However, it had further said that it is for the airlines to decide on the commission to be paid to the agents.
31/07/10 Anil S/ExpressBuzz

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UAE’s Mubadala plans to enter Indian aerospace market

New Delhi: An Abu Dhabi government-backed investor with $24 billion (Rs1.12 trillion) in assets, Mubadala Development Co. plans to enter India’s aerospace market by next year and is in talks with several potential partners, including the Tata group.
The company has stakes in the US-based Carlyle Group and Zurich-based SR Technics. Along with Tata Ltd, the UK arm of the Tata group, it is also a one-third partner in Italian aeronautics firm Piaggio, which specializes in producing business jets, engine parts and structural components.
It now wants to shift part of the manufacturing for Piaggio business jets to India, where they will be cheaper to build than Italy, said Homaid Al Shemmari, executive director for aerospace at Mubadala.
“We have been eyeing the Indian aviation sector—not the airline, but the services, the MROs (maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircraft), the training—and we are trying very hard to find the right partner to penetrate the market,” Shemmari said in an interview on the sidelines of the Farnborough air show in the UK.
He declined to specify the range of investment the firm was looking at, but added that partners will be announced once they are finalized.
31/07/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Cathay Pacific Airways appoints Rajesh Menon as Area Sales Manager

Rajesh Meon has been appointed Cathay Pacific Airways’ Area Sales Manager – Tamil Nadu & Kerala. Menon will oversee passenger sales & revenue for Cathay Pacific and is responsible for the development and execution of sales strategy for the region.
Born and educated in Mumbai, Rajesh Menon has been working with Cathay Pacific since 2005.
29/07/10 India Infoline

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Crashed balloon pilot: ‘I did my best'

Dubai: For days after the hot air balloon he was piloting crashed killing two passengers, Piotr Gorny was jolted awake by memories of the fateful day.
The 45-year-old pilot from Poland had nightmares in which he could hear his passengers’ screams and see the ones who died. He replayed the incident over and over in his mind.
Three months on from the April 25 crash, he has been cleared by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Al Ain Appeals Courts of any wrongdoing.
“There is nothing I could have done differently that could have prevented the accident from happening,” Mr Gorny said yesterday during an interview with The National.
Strong winds were blowing three months ago when Mr Gorny, his crew member Hilary Mtui, 27, from Tanzania, and 11 passengers arrived in Nahel, about 50km from Al Ain, for the pre-dawn flight. Concerned about the conditions, Mr Gorny decided to wait and see what would happen with the weather.
“When I received permission to take off, wind speeds were at 0.7kph, which is within the balloon manufacturer’s recommendations for take-off. I had taken off in similar conditions dozens of times before in the past year-and-a-half without incident.
“As we came to land at 45kph, I flew over some power lines and saw a clearing on the desert floor between two sand dunes,” he said. “I brought the balloon down between them and was going to use one of the sand dunes as a brake to bring the balloon to a rest against.”
As the balloon came in to land, Mr Gorny opened the “smart vent” to release all the hot air from the balloon, thereby collapsing it, preventing it from taking off again.
“The landing was perfect, with the gondola upright and the balloon coming to rest atop the sand dune,” he said.
Mr Gorny told everyone to stay in the balloon, including the two men who would soon be dead: Jean-Pierre Chamignon, 53, a tourist from France, and Mukesh Shah, 56, who was visiting from India with his wife and his daughter.
“Within a couple of seconds, the wind caught the balloon, and turned it into a sail, pulling the gondola up above the seven-metre sand dune and back down, dragging it at 15 to 20kph for 300 metres, on its side.”
When the balloon stopped, Mr Gorny saw that two had died and that Mr Mtui had suffered a broken neck.
28/07/10 Essam al Ghalib/The National, UAE

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India in touch with Congo over kidnapping of pilot

The Indian Government is in touch with the Government of Congo on finding out details of a kidnapped Indian pilot.
Official sources said India is in touch with Congo over the safety of the pilot. Congolese rebels are reported to have taken the Indian co-pilot as a hostage, when they attacked an aircraft on a remote airstrip in a tin mining area of Walikale in North Kivu province.
27/07/10 ANI/Sify

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PIA flights shifted to old T2

Delhi: In a snub of jumbo proportions the authorities at the Delhi international airport shifted two Pakistan International Airlines flights to the old T2 terminal at the eleventh hour. Incidentally, the two flights could have been the first airplanes on and off the newly inaugurated T3 terminal. The airport has finally shifted all international operations to the new terminal but the authorities ensured that it should not be a Pakistani plane that initiates T3 into action on Wednesday afternoon. Termed 'Gateway of India', T3 will be the country's biggest airport and the busiest once operations start in full swing.
International flight operations are scheduled to be shifted from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3 on Wednesday starting from 2 pm. "We have chosen Wednesday because on this day there will be the least number of flights between 2 pm and 7:30 pm," Andrew Harrison, Chief Operating Officer, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said.
An Air India flight from New York will be the first to arrive at T3 at 4:45 pm while another Air India Jaipur-Delhi-Dubai flight (IC-895) would become the first flight to take-off from T3 at 6:50 pm.
28/07/10 Surender Sharma/MiD DAY

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Saudia flight aborts takeoff after engine smoke

Riyadh: A Jeddah-bound Saudi Arabian Airlines flight with 182 passengers on board aborted takeoff at India’s Chennai airport on Monday after the pilot detected smoke coming from one of its engines.
All passengers were evacuated from the aircraft and no injuries were reported.
According to reports from India, the plane was taxiing on the runway for takeoff when the pilot detected smoke. He immediately contacted the control tower to steer it back to a parking bay.
Last month, a Saudia flight to the Indian town of Kochi was forced to return to Dammam’s King Fahd International Airport following a technical malfunction mid-flight. The pilot was forced to make a U-turn one hour into the flight after being alerted of a technical fault by the aircraft’s flight monitoring devices.
In May, a Saudia plane made an emergency landing in the southern Najran province after the pilot reported smoke in the cockpit.
26/07/10 Ghazanfar Alikhan/Arab News

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Letters frozen in time arrive after 60 years

It took them three days, but their search proved in vain. There were no survivors from the 40 passengers and eight crew of the Malabar Princess, an Air India Lockheed Constellation bound for a stopover in Geneva on its way to London.
Now a British student on a field trip to the Alps to examine global warming has added to the legend after stumbling upon a mailbag from the Malabar Princess.
Remarkably, some of the letters it contained have survived sufficiently for Freya Cowan, a third-year geography student, to embark upon a project to reunite about 75 letters and birthday cards with the senders or intended recipients.
While walking away from her University of Dundee colleagues for a lavatory break Miss Cowan, 22, discovered the mailbag, which, due to rock falls and melting snow, had descended about 8,000ft over the years.
She found four bundles inside and the postmark on the letter at the top read: “Bombay, 1950”.
“I thought it was a joke, given that only moments before I had been talking about the crash,” she said.
A few letters from the Malabar Princess have been recovered previously but nothing on this scale. It would seem that none of the mail found by Miss Cowan was written by passengers on the plane, who were seamen bound for a new ship in Sunderland. The bag was destined for the US and the Dundee team has already succeeded in finding the owners of some correspondence.
26/07/10 Simon Johnson/The Telegraph, UK

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Rwandan rebels seize Indian pilot

Officials from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) say that rebels from neighbouring Rwanda have taken an Indian pilot hostage.
The rebels attacked the pilot's aircraft in a tin mining zone in DRC's North Kivu province, army and mining officials said on Saturday.
Baigwa Dieudonne Amuli, a Congolese army official, said Rwandan Hutu FDLR rebels were to blame for the abduction.
"The FDLR attacked a plane with the assistance of Mai Mai Sheka [militia]. We are pursuing the rebels in the bush. They took money and the co-pilot of the plane," Amuli said, adding that $60,000 in cash had been stolen.
The Goma Express, an airline company whose aircraft was attacked, said a Russian pilot escaped and flew the plane back to Goma, the provincial capital 150km away, with a wounded Congolese national on board.
Pedro Kadogi, the director of Goma Express, confirmed the incident and said the plane had been looted before it returned to Goma. He said food supplies, rather than money, had been on the plane.
25/06/10 MWC News

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Clean record must for expat pilots

Mumbai: Airlines will have to follow a stringent screening process while inducting expatriate pilots for flying duties. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has issued a new draft that proposes significant changes in foreign aircrew recruitment process.
The draft, prepared by Nasim Zaidi, is open for comments and suggestions till August 22. In the last three years, there have been six incidents (and two accidents, including the fatal Air India Express Mangalore accident) involving flights operated by expatriate commanders. Most of the incidents involved overshooting the runway after landing or landing on a wrong runway.
26/07/10 Manju V/Times of India

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European nations vie for AI hub

New Delhi: With state-owned Air India intending to shift its European base from Frankfurt, dozens of countries in the euro zone have started wooing the airline to set up its hub in their territories. The local representative of the UK has even offered to give a dedicated terminal to the airline near London, official sources told FE.
"Aviation authorities of all the major European countries, including France, the Netherlands and the UK, have offered Air India to use their airports as hub in the region," a government official said.
Since cities in Europe have multiple airports, they vie among themselves for larger share of the traffic. Higher number of flights add to their both aero and non-aero revenues besides linking them with strategic markets.
"Everybody looks at it commercially. Dubai has also offered Air India to operate from its new airport. National carriers of European countries are either very strong or there are not any, so they do not fear Air India making hub in their countries," Amadeus India managing director Ankur Bhatia said.
Air India wants to move from Frankfurt as the airport has proved to be very expensive for them given the scale of operation from the German financial capital to the US, Canada and parts of Europe.
26/07/10 Nirbhay Kumar/Financial Express

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No Air India flights to JFK from Mumbai

Mumbai: Air India is mulling changes in its non-stop daily service to New York. Instead of the daily Mumbai-JFK flight, it will now be a Mumbai-Newark flight. The Delhi-JFK connection remains unchanged though.
Senior government officials said this tweaking in the Mumbai connection would lead to significant gains since the airline is looking to negotiate for better and earlier slots from Newark - a less busy airport than JFK. Also, a significant numbers of Indians are settled in and around Newark.
“At present, the aircraft is parked for seven to eight hours at JFK,” an official said. “This obviously costs money... the thinking is to reduce the waiting hours in New York and get earlier slots from Newark.” Moreover, this route is expected to be used by people travelling on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai leg because they prefer Newark to JFK.
The decision is significant because the twice daily service to New York accounted for a whopping Rs750 crore losses in 2008-’09.
The airline has been trying to cut down on losses. Besides restructuring the Mumbai-New York leg, Air India officials said they are trying for non-stop connections to Melbourne, Toronto, and Chicago from Delhi in the upcoming winter schedule.
26/07/10 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Malaysia Airline to double India-bound flights by 2012

New Delhi: Malaysia Airlines plans to double the number of flights to India to 60 per day from 30 at present by 2012 and is eyeing over 20 per cent growth in the Indian aviation market, a senior official of the airline said. "We have ordered several aircrafts, including A-380 of Airbus and will keep on adding
them in our fleet till 2015. Some of these aircrafts will be used to expand our presence in India and by 2012, we are looking at doubling the frequency of our flights," Malaysia Airlines Regional Manager (South Asia Operations) Azahar Hamid said.
He added that one more flight is being added on Hyderabad -Kuala Lumpur route from Sunday and 5 more flights will be operational by September between Delhi and Kuala Lumpur.
However, passengers willing to travel to Malaysia on A-380, world's largest aircraft, will have to wait for some more time as the company plans to use them on long routes like London and Sydney.
Delivery of six Airbus A-380s, ordered by the Airline, has been facing some delays and now the Airline is expecting them by 2012.
Hamid said that apart from A-380, the Airline has placed orders for 25 new Airbus A-330s and 55 aircrafts of Boeing's 738-800 series, which will make its fleet the youngest in the Asia by 2015.
25/07/10 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

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India steals limelight at Farnborough air show

Farnborough: Embarked on a spree of defence and commercial aviation deals, India was clearly in the limelight at the Farnborough International Air Show 2010 and the coming months may see increased efforts by foreign firms to woo the country.
Summing up the air show, Mike Alvis, executive vice president of the American defence technology supplier ITT Defense International said at a press conference: "We're seeing unbelievable demand from India. There's a lot of willingness to spend on defence."
Western firms are seeing India as the biggest spender among emerging economies.
The impression is backed by ongoing deals which were talked about at the air show like the C-17 military transport planes and Dreamline 787 passenger craft from Boeing, the Hawk fighter jets from British defence group BAE Systems and military equipment from ITT Corp.
These firms are also keenly awaiting India's choice of supplier for its Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal for the supply of 126 aircraft to augment the Indian Air Force.
Of the six firms short-listed, five are from the US and Europe, the sixth being a Russian firm.
24/07/10 IANS/Economic Times

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GMR-MAHB to takeover airport November

Male: A consortium of India’s GMR Infrastructure and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) that won the Male International Airport bid will take over the airport’s management earlier than planned, Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) said Saturday.
Managing Director of the company, Ibrahim Mohamed said employees have been informed of the change and they will be transferred to the company to be formed by GMR and MAHB before November.
“[They] are trying to take over the operations before the previously set date. When the company takes over the operations, this company [MACL] will have a few administrative staffs,” he said.
GRM earlier said the company would start managing the airport in March 2011.
Mohamed said MACL would only consist of air traffic controllers and security officers.
24/07/10 haveeru online

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Swiss Airlines get Kumar's upgrade

Mumbai: Designer Narendra Kumar is taking high fashion to flying heights with his couture outfits finding place in a new calender for Swiss Airlines, which has roped him as its brand ambassador.
Photographs of models wearing Kumar's exclusive gowns in the backdrop of heritage Swiss locales are featured in the "SWISS & Narendra Kumar calendar 2010-2011".
With the theme superb First Class begins the calendar that begins on August 1 to coincide with Switzerland's National Day was released here last evening.
The exclusive, limited edition masterpiece has been shot by photographer Prasad Naik against the background of heritage hotel Le Beau-Rivage Palace Lausanne, situated on Lake Leman in Switzerland.
23/07/10 ExpressIndia

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Mumbai mum meets sudden death in Nepal airport

Kathmandu: A 47-year-old woman from Mumbai, who was in Nepal for a vacation with her son, died a sudden death while waiting for their flight back home to India, police said.
Sarita Singhal, who had come on a holiday with her son Raunak, was suddenly taken ill Thursday while at the waiting room in the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu to catch a Jet Airways flight back home. She fainted and fell and first aid efforts failed to revive her. As her bewildered son and airport staff rushed her to the Kathmandu Medical Hospital, she died on the way.
The hospital authorities told IANS the dead woman’s family members arrived Thursday evening and were handed over the body.
23/07/10 Sudeshna Sarkar/Sindh Today

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Bangalore brothers killed in US plane crash buried

The bodies of Kartik Kalaichelvan (22) and Pratik Kalaichelvan (19) were brought to the city today and taken to their house in Kalyan Nagar before being taken to Seste Church.
The bodies were later buried, family sources said.
The two brothers, whose father is a pilot with the Kingfisher Airlines here, died in the crash on July 13 in a small town Tolar, about 45 miles Southwest of Forth Worth in Texas. American national Casey Brinegar, 26, also died in the crash. Both Casey and Kartik were pilot instructors at Skymates Flight College in Arlington, Texas.
22/07/10 PTI/Deccan Herald

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Nagaland CM defends Home Minister on Nepal airport incident

Kohima : The government today squarely blamed the media for flaring the issue of Home Minister Imkong L. Imchen’s experience at Kathmandu Airport on June 30 last where he was reportedly held up and questioned for possession of banned currency denominations. Replying to a starred question raised by MLA Joshua Sumi during Question Hour, Chief Minister Neiphiu defended his Home Minister, assuring that Imchen was not detained as reported but rather he missed the Jet Airways flight scheduled to leave Kathmandu for New Delhi due to the time taken to explain the circumstances for carrying the currency to the Nepalese police authorities at the Airport.
While his wife and children left Kathmandu by the original Jet Airways flight, Imchen took the next available Jet Airways flight, he explained. On being asked whether the Home Minister had taken permission or clearance from the Government of India to travel to Nepal, the Chief Minister assured that he himself had given clearance to Imchen for his visit to Kathmandu.
22/07/10 Morung Express

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Inventor of 'black box' flight data recorder, dies at 85

David Warren, 85, an Australian scientist who invented the flight data recorder, the so-called "black box" that has helped solve airplane crashes and has improved airline safety around the world, died July 19 at a nursing home in Melbourne, Australia. The cause of death was not reported.
Today, black boxes -- which are actually painted bright orange or red -- are required on all airlines around the world and are built to withstand fire, heavy impact and intense water pressure.
Dr. Warren was a young fuel chemist when he developed his invention in 1953, after being asked to help investigate the crash of one of the world's first jet airliners, the British-built de Havilland Comet. The crash in India killed all 43 people on board but was a mystery, Dr. Warren said, "without any explanation, without any witness, without any survivors."
The investigation struck a personal chord with Dr. Warren, whose father had died in an unsolved airplane crash off the southern coast of Australia 19 years earlier. His final gift to his son was a crystal radio set, and Dr. Warren retained his childhood interest in electronics long after he had become a chemist.
While investigating the de Havilland crash, Dr. Warren imagined a novel use for a small pocket recorder that he saw at a trade show.
"If a businessman had been using one of these in the plane," he said in 1998, "and we could find it in the wreckage and we played it back, we'd say, 'We know what caused this.' "
Dr. Warren tried to interest his supervisors in the idea but was told to stick to his examination of exploding fuel tanks. Nonetheless, he continued experimenting and by 1957 a prototype of the flight data recorder was ready.
"I couldn't get it out of my mind," Dr. Warren said. "It seemed so bloody simple."
22/07/10 Matt Schudel/Washington Post

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Ratan Tata to head helicopter joint venture

Farnborough: Ratan Tata, head of the Tata group, is set to be the chairman of the country’s first private helicopter assembly line, Indian Rotorcraft Ltd.
The firm is a joint venture (JV) between holding company Tata Sons Ltd and Italy-based Finmeccanica SpA’s helicopter unit AgustaWestland. The Tata group has a 74% stake.
“He was kind enough to become the chairman of the JV,” Giuseppe Orsi, chief executive of AgustaWestland, said in an interview on the sidelines of the ongoing Farnborough airshow in the UK. “This decision has recently been made and is likely to be implemented (soon).”
Orsi will be co-chairman.
State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is the only other helicopter maker in India. Another Tata group company, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd, has a joint venture with Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of US-based United Technologies Corp., to assemble helicopter cabins in India. The venture was announced in November.
Indian Rotorcraft’s plant, to be set up in Hyderabad, will manufacture AgustaWestland’s eight-seat utility helicopter AW119, which will be rolled out by the end of 2011 or early 2012. The facility can also cater to military requirements if the need arises, Orsi said.
21/07/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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DVB Aviation sues Kingfisher Airlines for default on aircraft rentals

Kingfisher Airlines has landed in fresh trouble with Singapore based DVB Aviation Finance Asia Ltd , a subsidiary of Germany’s DVB Bank, suing the airline in the British courts for defaulting to the payment of aircraft rentals. The Singapore based company had leased two Airbus 320 aircraft to Kingfisher Airlines in 2006.
The suit was filed on 16th July and will be heard by the Queen’s Bench division’s commercial court. A source from DVB Aviation, who did not want to be named, said the suit has been filed after the airline failed to pay dues for the last three months. These payments are made on monthly basis. “There is a grace period given for seven to eight days but in this case dues have been pending for the last three months.” The official spokesman of DVB Aviation refused to comment. An e-mail query to KFA’s spokesperson did not elicit any response.
ET Now, your newspaper’s business channel, broke the story on Wednesday afternoon.
The airline’s scrip closed flat at Rs 49.75 on Wednesday.
The DVB Aviation official said the aircraft are still deployed with Kingfisher Airlines and they have not yet asked the airline to return the aircraft.
21/07/10 Sameer Hashmi/Economic Times

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JAL switches terminals in New Delhi

Japan Airlines flights to New Delhi will park in a different terminal from July 30.
The carrier's flight operations will move from Terminal 2 of Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, to the airport's newest Terminal 3.
In Terminal 3, JAL customers can check in for their flights at a dedicated JAL check-in island located near the security screeners and from mid-August*, eligible JAL passengers may also access the lounge of India's domestic carrier - Kingfisher. Kingfisher is slated to join JAL in the oneworld airline alliance in 2011. The lounge offers wireless LAN connection, showers and a business centre among other amenities.
The construction of the ultra-modern Terminal 3, a befitting symbol of India's swift and vast economic growth and expansion, was completed within 37 months and boasts the use of state-of-the-art technologies. Its function as a strategic hub in South Asia is highly anticipated.
22/07/10 Aviation Record

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Citation Mustang Certified in India

Wichita: Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. company, announced today the Citation Mustang business jet has gained certification in India from the Director General of Civil Aviation.
The Mustang, originally certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in 2006, is now certified in more than 60 countries. The world's first fully certified entry level business jet, the Mustang is a six-place aircraft with a top speed of 340 knots (630 kilometers per hour), a range of 1,150 nautical miles (2,130 kilometers) with NBAA IFR Reserves and a service ceiling of 41,000 feet (12,497 meters), enabling more efficient operations above most weather and commercial traffic.
The Cessna Citation Mustang is on display at the Farnborough International Airshow outside London from July 19-25. Cessna, the world's most prolific producer of business jets, has delivered more than 300 Mustangs to customers around the world.
21/07/10 AMT Online

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Deccan Charters is Sikorsky's customer service provider

Mumbai: Helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky has appointed Bangalore-based Deccan Charters as the authorised customer services provider for its S-76 helicopters' platform in India.
Deccan Charters has signed an agreement with Sikorsky Aerospace Services to appoint Deccan's Mumbai facility as the authorised Customer Service Centre (CSC) to support the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter platform, a company press release said today.
Promoted by Capt G R Gopinath, the company offers general aviation services such as aircraft maintenance, charter services and management.
"Deccan is pleased to be associated with one of the pioneers in helicopter design and manufacture in the world. This relationship to support the industry-leading S-76 helicopter family reiterates Deccan's position as the premier aircraft maintenance services company in India," Deccan Charters Ltd chairman Capt Gopinath said.
The Mumbai facility will offer Sikorsky S-76 helicopter operators complete aftermarket support, including Sikorsky-trained maintenance personnel for on-site comprehensive maintenance management, inspections and spare parts procurement, the release said.
The Mumbai centre would be a key support facility for the future expansion of Sikorsky's S-76 commercial aircraft fleet in India, it said.
20/07/10 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Foreign carriers reap benefits of bilateral air pacts

New Delhi: Foreign carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Lufthansa have benefited the most from traffic rights assigned to designated carriers as part of India's bilateral air service agreements with various countries. In contrast, the utilisation of available traffic rights on international routes by Indian air carriers has dipped to nearly 24% from over 35% a few years back.
Last year, the falling share of Indian carriers on international routes had forced the Centre to consider reviewing such bilateral agreements. The Centre had, however, decided against such reviews.
Between 2004 and 2009, when the government had pitched for bilateral traffic rights, foreign airlines used half of available seat entitlements. In the year ending March 2009, these carriers together operated 3,20,052 seats per week to and from India, against 1,62,670 seats by Indian carriers.
During the economic downturn which started in 2008, many Indian carriers slashed flights to check losses as traffic plunged. Following this, Indian aviation authorities were reluctant to offer more seats for foreign carriers. Since 2009, the government has negotiated air traffic rights with just two countries: Qatar and Nepal.
“Before negotiations for more seats with foreign countries, the government asked Indian carriers to state their requirements. Based on that, agreements were concluded. If Indian carriers failed to operate those seats, what can the government do? An agreement with a sovereign country cannot be reversed,” said a government official.
20/07/10 Nirbhay Kumar/Financial Express

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Air India to use eco-friendly aircraft washing system

Farnborough: India's national carrier Air India has signed an agreement with American aircraft engines and products manufacturer Pratt & Whitney to set up an environment-friendly system for washing aircraft engines at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.
The agreement was signed by Air India and Pratt & Whitney on the sidelines of the Farnborough Air Show that began here Monday.
The EcoPower engine wash system, patented by the company, reduces fuel burn, eliminating three pounds of carbon dioxide emissions for every pound of fuel saved. It also helps decrease engine gas temperature thus increasing the amount of time an engine can stay on wing.
Joanne Hastings, director, Pratt & Whitney Line Maintenance Services, told a Britain-based specialised news agency which broke news abut the agreement: "This partnership will expand the availability of EcoPower engine wash services to India, one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets. The service is especially valued since fuel prices in India are among the highest in the world."
19/07/10 IANS/Economic Times

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India, Pakistan showcase aviation wares at Farnborough airshow

Farnborough: Led by their respective state-run agencies, India and Pakistan are exhibiting their aviation wares at the Farnborough International Airshow that got underway on Monday at Farnborough, some 55 km from southwest of London. India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex
(PAC) are among 1,393 exhibitors from 40 countries taking part in the 47th edition of the show at this Hampshire town, one of the biggest in the aviation calendar.
India's Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju is leading the Indian delegation, which includes Defence Production Secretary Raj Kumar Singh and the chief of the Southern Air Command, Air Marshal S Mukerji.
HAL gained credibility as a serious exhibitor in the international arena after two star products from its stable -- the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) "Dhruv" and the Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT) -- made a mark at the previous edicition of the show here in 2008.
A specialist defence news website, globalnews.net, has said that American giant Lockheed Martin is likely to display an aerial refueling device at the airshow, which was co-developed with HAL for the F-16 fighter aircraft.
20/07/10 Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times

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FlyDubai money back on Lucknow flights

New Delhi: Dubai's no-frill carrier flydubai today announced it would reimburse 100 per cent fares for its flights from Lucknow between August 15 and September six through travel vouchers to mark the month of Ramadan.
While the airline has launched the offer for its flights to and from several countries, in India the facility can be obtained on "all flights to and from Lucknow - including connections beyond Dubai", the airline said in a statement here.
"Passengers will only have to pay for the taxes for certain flights booked before August 1 with travel dates between August 15 and September 6.
"The fare will be given back to passengers in the form of a voucher via email on September 9. Passengers receiving the vouchers will have the privilege of using them on any flydubai route and is valid until December 8," the statement said.
19/07/10 Indian Express

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Kenya Airways in code sharing deal with Jet Airways

Kenya Airways has entered into a code sharing arrangement and network-wide frequent flyer partnership with Jet Airways of India.
Jet Airways chief executive Nikos Kardassis said the deal will allow programme members of both partners to earn and redeem miles on entire network of the other airline.
The agreement takes effect on Wednesday.
He said the venture will translate into greater air traffic between India and Africa as frequent flyer partnership will enable Jet Privilege members to tap into Kenya Airways network across Africa.
Kenya Airways group managing director Titus Naikuni said the partnership between the two airlines would enable KQ customers to access more destinations to cities in India.
19/07/10 Daily Nation, Kenya

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Air India to begin final settlement process

Dubai: Indian national carrier Air India (AI) will soon start the process for final settlement of compensation to the families of the Mangalore air crash, the airline has said.
The National Aviation Council of India, the parent company of the airline, had disbursed the interim compensation to the families of 151 victims and eight survivors on board the ill-fated Air India Express flight that crashed on May 22. In fact, 158 people had lost their lives in the crash. A spokesperson for the airline in New Delhi confirmed to Khaleej Times that the airline has received many claims for final settlement, the process for which is likely to start very soon.
“At the time of disbursing the interim relief, a form for final claim was also handed over to all concerned and they were requested to submit them to the solicitor dealing with the matter. Till date, we have received 63 forms for final settlement and this process is likely to start very soon,” the spokesperson said in an emailed response to questions.
The airline is, however, yet to hand over the interim compensation to the one remaining family based in Dubai. “The one remaining claim will be disbursed in Dubai as they could not visit India,” the spokesperson said.
Air India is currently preparing a catalogue of unidentified items including gold and other precious items recovered from the site by the police. The airline said in a press statement that it will request the families of the victims to provide the details of yellow metal/gold items so that they can be matched with the catalogue before handing them over to the rightful owners.
19/07/10 Sajila Saseendran/Khaleej Times

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Emirates airlines to expand operations in India

Dubai: After bringing to India the double decker Airbus A-380, the world's largest passenger aircraft, Emirates Airlines is looking at expanding its operations in the booming country which is considered by the firm as its second biggest hub after Dubai.
"India is a very big market which has a lot of potential for the next five years. China, India and Brazil are the future market.
"Last year, it was exceptional and everybody suffered. I believe the load from India helped us reduce the effect of the recession. There was double digit growth in India last year and hence India is top of our priority," Majid Al Mualla, Emirates Senior Vice-President (Commercial Operations West Asia and Indian Ocean) told PTI here.
As per the bilateral agreements between the two countries, there are a total of 54,000 seats and the current load factor for the airline hovers at about 83 per cent.
With business "back to normal" after recessions, the USD 11.8 billion Airline is looking at a possible growth of 10-15 per cent in the load factor besides hiring more staff for operations in India.
18/07/20 PTI/Economic Times

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CAE books new training business

CAE has announced recent business covering civil and military flight and mission simulators, as well as other equipment and services. The company said Bombardier Aerospace, ATR, Vietnam Airlines and a U.S.-based airline have ordered four full-flight simulators (FFSs) worth just over $52.5 million.
Business aircraft manufacturer Bombardier is slated to acquire a CAE 7000 FFS for the Learjet 85 business jet for delivery in |2012. In addition to training, the simulator will support aircraft testing and certification.
Ab initio pilot candidates will train at CAE’s academy in Phoenix, Arizona. The training company’s network of such schools includes 11 flight facilities in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America, with capacity to train 1,800 new airline pilots a year.
India’s Directorate General Civil Aviation and the European Aviation Safety Agency have certificated to level D the Bell 412 full-mission simulator used by the Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (Hatsoff), the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) and the CAE joint venture.
The simulator features CAE’s “roll-on/roll-off” design, which enables use of various cockpits, such as those of the Indian army/air force and civil variants of the HAL-built Dhruv and (in future) the Eurocopter Dauphin.
19/07/10 Ian Goold/AIN Online

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Hindustan Aeronautics among exhibitors at Farnborough airshow

New Delhi: India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will be among the 1,400 exhibitors participating in the Farnborough airshow, one of the biggest in the aviation calendar, that gets underway in Britain on Monday.
Minister of State for Defence MM Pallam Raju is leading the Indian delegation to the show where the who's who of the aerospace sector is expected to be present. Nearly 120,000 visitors are expected to attend the event.
Defence public sector undertaking HAL is among the 1,393 exhibitors from 40 countries participating in the biennial Farnborough International Airshow, a defence spokesperson said.
Aviation selling and buying will be at the heart of the show, which in 2008 saw a record-breaking business of $88.7 billion being announced, according to the spokesperson.
The week-long event is also an ideal opportunity to showcase the latest star products.
Over 170 aircraft will be displayed through the week and the focus, according to the spokesperson, will be on Space Zone and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) this year.
18/07/10 IANS/Economic Times

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Jet intl passenger traffic up 31 pc in June

Jet Airways has flown 3.65 lakh passengers on its international routes in June, registering a 31 per cent rise over the year-ago period. During the same month, the airline recorded a seat occupancy of over 82 per cent in its international flights, according to the figures released by the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
In June, the overall domestic passenger traffic stood at 45.04 lakh, the DGCA figures showed, out of which Jet and JetLite combine flew about 12 lakh and maintained their lead with a combined market share of 26.5 per cent.
The seat occupancy factor for Jet's domestic operations stood at 80.5 per cent, a marked improvement by over 13 per cent during the the same period last year. JetLite, the no-frills carrier from the Jet stable, clocked a seat factor of 83.7 per cent in the reporting month.
18/07/10 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

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Premium class passenger traffic up by 30%: Cathay Pacific

Mumbai: Premier global carrier Cathay Pacific has seen an upsurge in premium class travel to and fro India this year on the back of an improved international business environment, a senior airline executive has said.
In the first six months of this year, the demand for business class travel has gone up by 30 per cent, Tom Wright, Cathay's General Manager (India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan), told PTI here.
"The demand still looks good and it is in both the front-end and the back-end," he said, implying the demand for travel by business and economy classes.
"We had the problems with the front end (or business class), but that has now improved quite a bit. The demand is now fast coming back. For India, there is a 30 per cent growth in the premium class passenger traffic," Wright said.
Maintaining that the Hong Kong-based full-service airline had clocked considerable growth in its India operations, he said "we are basically now coming back to the level where we were in 2008 at 18 per cent overall growth. So far things look quite encouraging and revenues have been very strong".
Wright said an "interesting thing" was that destinations like Vietnam and Cambodia, which were not major for Indians earlier, were "now becoming very popular".
On reports about allowing foreign airlines to invest in Indian carriers, Wright said it would be meaningful for overseas carriers only if management control was allowed.
18/07/10 PTI/Economic Times

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Pavers England now at Mumbai airport

Pavers England, a UK based footwear brand has opened an exclusive franchise outlet at the domestic airport, Mumbai. The new launch is inspired by the success of an exclusive Pavers England’s outlet opened at the international airport.
Covering an area of 300 sq. ft, the store is located at the Kingfisher Terminal, Mumbai Domestic Airport. The outlet displays a wide range of footwear collection for both men and women along with accessories like handbags.
17/07/10 franchiseindia.com

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Emirates awaits FDI invite

Dubai: West Asian carrier Emirates wants to pick up a stake in an Indian carrier even as the government deliberates on the merits of relaxing the caps on foreign direct investment in airlines.
“Emirates will consider picking up a stake in domestic (Indian) carriers if the government allows such a move,” Majid al Mualla, senior vice-president (commercial operations), West Asian and Indian Ocean region, told The Telegraph.
According to al Mualla, “India is a growing aviation market which cannot be ignored as its economy is booming. The middle class is growing at a rapid pace and the aviation sector has a good prospect in the country.”
Though it allows 49 per FDI in aviation, the Indian government has barred the entry of foreign carriers because of security concerns.
Besides, Indian carriers, which did not fare well in the past two years, were seen to be susceptible to hostile takeovers.
17/07/10 R Suryamurthy/The Telegraph

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Pallam Raju to attend Farnborough airshow

Minister of State for Defence M.M. Pallam Raju Friday left for Britain to attend the Farnborough airshow, one of the biggest in the aviation calendar where the who's who of the aerospace sector will be present and over 1,300 exhibitors and more than 120,000 visitors are expected to attend.
Indian defence public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is among the 1,393 exhibitors from 40 countries participating in the biennial Farnborough International Airshow that begins Monday.
Raju is leading a three-member Indian delegation, which includes Secretary Defence Production Raj Kumar Singh and Commander-in-Chief Southern Air Command Air Marshal S. Mukerji, to the 47th Farnborough show.
Aviation selling and buying will be at the heart of the show, which in 2008 saw a record-breaking business of $88.7 billion being announced, according to a defence spokesperson here.
16/07/10 IANS/Sify

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Ominous FB post: ‘My drink... Downhill Racer’

Hours before Pratik Kalaichelvan died in a plane crash on Friday, he had posted on Facebook that Bangalore was his hometown.
Among his other updates, he had entered Chennai as his ‘current city’. The 19-year-old had also added details of his schools, and posted that he likes Kentucky Fried Chicken. But what looks ominous is his choice of a mock drink (Downhill Racer), and the lyrics of a song he posted. Pratik’s last addition on the Facebook Wall was, “Yuhu! I Found My Drink Today :)) Downhill Racer,” added on Thursday, July 15.
The lyrics he posted is from a song called Feel Good Inc by a band called Gorillaz: “Windmill, Windmill for the land./Turn forever hand in hand/Take it all there in your stride/It is sticking, falling down”.
Pratik and his pilot-brother Kartik (22) died in a plane crash in Texas. IANS reported that their single-engine plane slammed into a field, ending what was to be a fun trip for a barbeque. Social media sites usually register events with lightning speed.
17/07/10 Renuka Phadnis/Bangalore Mirror

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Govt in dilemma over allowing A380 flights

New Delhi: The government seems to be in two minds on whether to allow some foreign carriers to start commercial flights on the A380, the world’s largest aircraft.
Domestic airlines have been lobbying against any such move, saying one A380 flight could wipe out the entire passenger traffic from Europe or other lucrative destinations on any given day since it can carry 517 passengers in one go.
Now, the ministry of civil aviation is considering whether to allow A380 flights from the upcoming winter schedule but any quick decision is unlikely.
Bilaterals or flying entitlements to foreign carriers has been a sore point with Indian airlines for long, since they feel that enhanced capacities on foreign airlines adversely affect their own international passenger loads.
With the A380 threat looming large, domestic carriers’ worries have only grown. As of now, Kingfisher is the only Indian airline company to have ordered an A380 and delivery of the aircraft to the UB Group airline is scheduled for 2015-16. Various other carriers, including Air India, are said to be exploring the option of acquiring the A380.
According to sources, a prominent European carrier requested for permission to bring in the big bird almost one year back but the ministry has not given it permission till date.
16/07/10 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Bring in regular A-380 services, cut fares: passengers

Mumbai: As the first A-380 aircraft, a 517-seater Emirates Airlines plane, landed in Delhi on Thursday, the Air Passenger Association of India appealed to the civil aviation ministry to allow airlines to operate the plane on a regular basis as it would help bring down international fares.
Some foreign airlines like Emirates and Lufthansa are known to be keen to operate the A-380 but no airline has been granted permission by the civil aviation ministry. “A super jumbo could seat around 500 passengers as against the 180-220 passengers in the aircraft operated currently by most airlines. This will naturally bring air fares down significantly,” said Sudhakar Reddy, president, APAI. Thursday’s flight was only a special ‘proving’ flight.
A DIAL spokesperson said that the Delhi and Hyderabad airports, run by GMR group, are A-380 compliant.
“Airports, including the one at Delhi, still need to undertake upgradation work to meet the requirements if an A-380 has to fly in on a regular basis,” said a ministry official.
According to APAI one of the key reasons why foreign airlines have been denied permission to operate A-380 is to protect the interests of the domestic carriers especially on the Gulf sector.
16/07/10 Ranjani Raghavan/Indian Express

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Emirates brings the super jumbo to India

Emirates Airline flew in the first Airbus A-380 super jumbo with 517 passengers on a scheduled commercial operation into India Thursday, and was welcomed at the spanking new Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport through arching jets of water in an aviation industry salute.
Twenty-five years after it first flew to Delhi, the UAE-based Emirates became the first international carrier to land at Terminal 3 that signals a major leap in modernisation of aviation infrastructure for India. The terminal was inaugurated with great fanfare by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ruling UPA coalition chairperson Sonia Gandhi earlier this month.
The first time the A-380 landed at the Delhi airport was on the morning of May 6, 2007, as part of a test-cum-promotional visit for Airbus, flying in from its headquarters at Toulouse in France.
The 517-seat aircraft of Emirates, spread over two decks, offered 14 flat-bed first class private suites with electronic doors, 76 fully-flat seats in business class and 427 contoured seats in economy spread across four roomy cabins on the lower deck.
It also extended to its first and business class passengers private suites, shower spas and an onboard lounge with a wide range of drinks and canapes and the space to socialise or simply relax, officials said.
This apart, passengers in all classes can enjoy the in-flight entertainment, that has more than 1,000 channels of on-demand, including 200 movies from around the world, 100 television channels, some 500 audio channels and over 100 video games.
15/07/10 IANS/Sify

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On board the super jumbo: A lifetime experience

Dubai: If you want to be in the lap of luxury 43,000 feet above sea level, you have reached the right destination. Emirates today launched the country’s first commercial A-380 flight, from Dubai to New Delhi, that touched down at the airport’s new Terminal-3.
The first thing which strikes you about this giant aircraft waiting to take off from Dubai’s swanky terminal, the largest airport in the world, are the two aerobridges — one which connects to the business and first class passengers and the lower aerobridge meant for the economy class.
As you board the upper deck business class, a new world opens up — 76 fully flat seats, each having mini bar and aisle access stacked with soft drinks and juices.
The extra space you get is reflected in the fact that unlike other business class travel, where you have a seven-seat configuration, each row in this aircraft offers only four seats. For those planning a long haul flight, you would experience the comfort of your bedroom — the seats can be converted to a two-metre flat bed with a small store underneath to place your shoes.
The only problem for someone like me – someone with a more than average waistline – is the food tray. When you try to pull the tray placed in the side table, the extended midriff invariably comes in the way and the passenger would have no other option but to have his food served on the side table.
You have a 17-inch screen (23-inch in the first class), much bigger than the ones you see in other business class travel, and a choice of 1,200 channels.
There is an array of choices through which you can control your programmes on the screen – just tap the screen or use the traditional wired control that doubles up as a phone.
For those who want to socialise over a drink, the giant aircraft offers a lounge and a bar stocked with the best wines and whisky from across the world.
To use the shower spas, the first class passengers need to take an appointment to experince the pleasure, prepared by a well-trained hostess.
16/07/10 Surajeet Das Gupta/Business Standard

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Jet Airways in code share pact with Kenya Airways

Jet Airways Ltd, India's top private carrier, said it entered into a code sharing agreement with Kenya Airways, in a move aimed at increasing air traffic between India and Africa. Jet will place its code on Kenya Airways' daily services between Mumbai and Nairobi, the Indian firm said in a statement on Thursday.In April, Jet Airways had launched daily flights from Mumbai to Johannesburg in South Africa.
15/07/10 Reuters/Economic Times

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Virgin Atlantic celebrates 10 years in India

During the ten years of direct operations to India, Virgin Atlantic has enabled the country to capitalise on its economic and tourist potential by flying over a million passengers to the destination.
Virgin Atlantic this July celebrates its 10th anniversary of flying between London and Delhi. The route was launched in 2000 and was the airlines twentieth destination, with flights initially operating twice weekly. This was extended in February 2005 to a daily service.
During the ten years of direct operations to India, Virgin Atlantic has enabled the country to capitalise on its economic and tourist potential by flying over a million passengers to the destination.
India now the world’s eleventh largest economy by nominal GDP and is one of the fastest growing economies in the World. Adding to this growth in the Indian economy, the airline decided to start the route after a period of substantial expansion which included the addition of new routes to Las Vegas and Cape Town and came at a time when Delhi was one of the biggest routes from London Heathrow.
16/07/10 India Infoline

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Two brothers from India, Arlington man, die in training flight crash in Texas

A single-engine airplane took a nose dive into a hayfield late Tuesday in southwest Hood County, killing a flight instructor from Arlington and two brothers from India, according to reports.
The crash of the 1964 Beechcraft Bonanza C33 was reported at 9:30 p.m. off Farm Road 56, 3½ miles south of Tolar, said Trooper Dub Gillum, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Casey Brinegar, 26, the flight instructor, and Kartik Kalaichelvan, 22, the student, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, Gillum said.
Pratik Kalaichelvan, 19, the student's brother, was taken by helicopter to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth where he later died, Gillum said.
The cause of the crash was unknown Wednesday morning, but federal aviation officials were investigating, Gillum said. A witness, however, told investigators that the engine of the four-seat airplane sounded rough, and then it dove, nose first, said Lynn Lunsford, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
"We believe it to be a training flight," Gillum said.
Gillum and Lunsford both said that investigators had not yet determined who was piloting the plane. Lunsford noted, however, that flight instructors are always "in command" of aircraft when a student is aboard.
14/07/10 Bill Miller/Star-Telegram

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First Charleston-built 787 will go to Air India

The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner scheduled to be produced at Boeing's new North Charleston, S.C. assembly plant is scheduled to be delivered to Air India in early 2012.
That's the word from aviation blogger John Ostrower. The Charleston plant, which will supplement Boeing's main 787 assembly line in Everett, is due for completion in mid-2011.
Boeing needs the extra capacity of the Charleston plant to begin filling the more that 800 orders for the Dreamliner. The first delivery of the new twin jet is set for late this year to launch customer All Nippon Airways.
14/07/10 John Gillie/The News Tribune

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HKAC leases three A320 aircraft to IndiGo

Hong Kong Aviation Capital (HKAC), a leading investor in the global aviation sector, today announced new leases of three new Airbus 320 aircraft to IndiGo Airlines of India. The leases will start on delivery of the aircraft new from Airbus to IndiGo in 2011. In addition, HKAC announced the agreement by IndiGo to extend the leases of four existing A320 aircraft.
The three new A320s will be delivered at manufacturer list prices totaling approximately US$ 200 million, and will be on lease to the airline for a period of six years. HKAC is closing the purchase of the new aircraft with support from significant Chinese banking and financial institutions. Upon delivery of the new aircraft, HKAC will have a total of ten A320s on lease to IndiGo. The transaction expands its existing 68 aircraft portfolio with assets totaling approximately US$ 3 billion.
HKAC is an Aviation leasing and investment company that includes HNA Group Co., Ltd., China and an affiliate of Bravia Capital, New York as shareholders.
"In the next year IndiGo will add 18 more aircraft over their current base increasing their market share of the Indian market from 11.7% in 2008 to almost 16% today. As a shareholder of HKAC, we are pleased by the announcement of this transaction and look forward to the company completing more transactions in India and globally," Mr. Bharat Bhise, CEO of Bravia Capital Partners said.
14/07/10 PR-USA.NET

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GMR not worried about airport politicking, will invest US$373 million

The GMR-Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) consortium that recently won the controversial bid to develop Male’ International Airport will spend US$373 million on the upgrade, MAHB has reported.
Speaking at the opening of the cavernous Delhi Terminal 3 last week, GMR Manager P Sripathi told Maldivian journalists that physical work would begin on the airport towards the end of this year.
“The first phase is organising the finances and transitioning the airport from a government-run enterprise to a privately-run enterprise,” he explained.
“The transition will be a new thing [for the Maldives] and we will be there to help with that. We have done such things in other places, and we know how to go about it,” he said.
“There are over 100 various items have to be agreed and signed off between the [incumbent] Maldives Airport Company Limited (MACL) board and ourselves, but we expect to see work start on the new terminal 9-10 months from now.”
Impression of the new airport at night
Sripathi said that within six months GMR would upgrade existing facilities at Male’ International Airport “to a level that international passengers and tourists may [expect]. We will deal with the ‘pinch points’ that are there today.”
13/07/10 JJ Robinson/Minivan News

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Airlines may get foreign cousins to invest in local struggle

The recent media reports state that the loss making airlines abroad are very keen to share their financial failure with their Indian counterparts.
Is this a private equity placement game where financial professionals are paid by the size of the deals they strike; hence do not mind investing a few million dollars or euros in an airline, which is not likely to recover it at any time?
Captain Gorur Ramaswamy Gopinath had brought up his dream low cost airline Deccan Airways to ferry poorest of the poor farmer women who went to neighbouring cities to sell their produce in wicker baskets. He had to leave his dream unattended when the investor came in.
Now his strategy to connect more airports than the state run airline has been shelved and most remote airfields have been dropped from Kingfisher Red network. Similarly, Siddharth Sharma had nurtured India's most profitable and efficient airline in Spicejet but had to step down when his airline's investor came in.
In the United States, airlines have just about survived owing to the government dole being handed out to them. The whole industry was about to go belly up just after the sub-prime crisis. The United States government made it walk, with life giving shots.
11/07/10 Debasish Roy/Economic Times

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India, Iran sign aviation, 5 other pacts

New Delhi: India and Iran on Friday signed six agreements, covering the sectors of aviation, small industries and science and technology, as it completed the 16th Joint Commission meeting between the two countries.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna co-chaired the meeting with Iranian Finance minister Seyed Shamseddin Hosseini, where they reviewed bilateral economic and cultural cooperation. It was agreed that the next Session of the Joint Commission would be held in Tehran.
The agreements inked include an Air Services Agreement, an agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Persons, MoU on Cooperation in New &Renewable Energy, MoU on Cooperation in Small Scale Industry between National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) and Iranian Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organisation (ISIPO), Programme of Cooperation on Science &Technology and a MoU on Cooperation between Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute of India (CPPRI) and Gorgan University of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources (GUASNR).
10/07/10 Indian Express

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False alarm triggers panic on Emirates flight

Kochi bound passengers on Emirates airlines flight EK 532 from Dubai were received a major scare when a fire alarm went off just before landing earlier today. The flight was travelling with 281 passengers on board.
According to airport officials, the captain informed the Air Traffic Control about the alarm just before it landed. The flight arrived in Kochi at 3.05am.
The airport officials immediately summoned the fire brigade personnel. However the alarm was later found to be false.
A senior airline spokesperson told Emirates Business, “..The A320-200 aircraft continued taxiing and passengers were disembarked as per normal.”
Meanwhile, the aircraft has been grounded and taken to the parking bay. Its onward journey to Dubai today has been cancelled. About 82 passengers from Kochi have been put on an alternative flight.
09/07/10 emirates business24-7, UAE

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U.S. aviation body allows more airline services from India

Bangalore: Now, more airlines from India will be able to launch services to U.S. as the country continues to remain in the Category I status of the U.S. based Federal Aviation Authority International Aviation Safety Program. The Category I status will also allow the existing airlines to add more flights.
Before permitting a foreign airline to operate in the U.S., FAA backed by the U.S. legislation conducts an audit of the concerned country's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)/ DGCA to ensure its capability for providing safety certification and continuing oversight on its international carriers.
The audit is conducted under an "International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme' (IASA) and focuses on the country's ability to adhere to standards and recommended practices of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for aircraft operations and maintenance. FAA scrutinized the documentary evidences presented by DGCA and concluded that not only does India continue to meet FAA's IASA Category-1 status but is also considered to be a 'role model' and plays a leadership role for other nations in the Asia region in civil aviation sector, said a statement.
09/07/10 Silicon India

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Budget airlines take off in battle for global skies

New Delhi: After bringing air travel within reach of the common man, low-cost airlines are set to replicate the model on international routes. Apart from domestic low-cost carriers like SpiceJet, foreign airlines like Air Asia and Flydubai are gearing up to take on full-service carriers in international air travel.
The expansion by no-frills airlines across borders comes at a time of capacity expansion by carriers like Emirates, which recently ordered 32 Airbus A380s for $11 billion.
With SpiceJet on the threshold of international operations and Air Arabia, Air Asia and Flydubai strengthening their distribution networks, budget airlines are ready to chase full-service carriers on short-haul international flights. Considering the success of no-frills air travel in India — budget carriers have cornered 68% of the market in seven years — low-cost carriers like SilkAir of Thailand, Tiger Airways of Singapore and Dragonair of Hong Kong are expected to expand their wings in India. Industry sources say Air Arabia is planning to tie up with a Global Distribution System player to strengthen its ticketing system in India and make it accessible to more passengers.
The entry of low-cost airlines—which offer tickets at almost half the price of their full-service counterparts – is expected to kick off a price war in international air travel and increase competition among budget carriers.
09/07/10 Nirbhay Kumar, Vishakha Talreja/Financial Express

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Internet, live TV on flights a reality soon

Full broadband internet access, mobile phone service and even live television may soon be a reality on flights after a leading international airline revealed plans to introduce them.
Cathay Pacific, the flag carrier of Hong Kong, has announced plans to fit its entire fleet with internet broadband service, a mobile telephone network and even televisions that would broadcast live shows, the Age reported.
The airline has entered a deal with Panasonic Avionics, a broadband system that will have speeds of up to 50 megabytes on its aircrafts by early 2012. Flights will also have a service for mobile phones.
The system will be accessible through all passenger devices and seat-back screens and will include a range of content updated during the flight, plus live television with a pay-per-view capability for special events.
09/07/10 IANS/The Hindu

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India retains topmost US aviation safety category

New Delhi: The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday confirmed India's topmost category status on aviation safety and said the country was considered a "role model" in this field for other nations to follow.
An FAA team, which was here to conduct safety audit, today informed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) that India continued to remain in Category-1 status of FAA under its International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme (IASA), an official spokesperson said.
The safety audit came in the backdrop of the May 22 Mangalore aircrash and several aviation safety incidents.
At a meeting with the DGCA, the FAA team said the Indian regulator continued to sustain the actions demonstrated last year in meeting international standards for effective safety oversight of India's airline industry, she said.
During the discussions today, the FAA flagged following four areas for consultation, which included availability of qualified technical personnel in DGCA, technical guidance for them and resolution of safety concerns.
The FAA had for the first time in 1997 put India in the top category.
08/07/10 Press Trust of India

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Guna Airlines begins flight to Bhairahawa

Kathmandu: Guna Airlines has started to fly Kathmandu - Bhairahawa – Kathmandu route from today. The airline with three Beech aircraft has recently started its mountain flight too, said a company official.
The airline is currently flying to Pokhara, Simara, Biratnagar, and Janakpur and has plans to increase the daily number of flights to these destinations to two. According to the private airline, it is also planning to fly Bhadrapur, Bharatpur, and Nepalgunj routes and add one more aircraft in the near future.
Recently, Buddha Air has bought a new 70-seater aircraft ATR -72-500. With a fleet of eight, Buddha Air is flying the new aircraft on Kathmandu-Biratnagar-Kathmandu route. The airline is also planning to start a flight to Indian cities and Bhutan soon.
08/07/10 The Himalayan

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Export cargo piles up at Air India's Chennai warehouse

Chennai: There is a problem of cargo piling up at Air India's export warehouse at the old airport. On Saturday last, 76 trucks laden with cargo meant for export, ranging from electronic components to perishable vegetables, had to return without unloading them. On Monday, the warehouse did not accept fresh consignment because the pending cargo was not cleared. This has slowed down booking of cargo in the last two days.
Earlier, several trucks used to be parked outside the warehouse awaiting their turn. Now, thanks to high-security measures, only six are allowed inside at a time to unload wares.
The shortage of personnel to handle consignments that are offloaded as well as the shortage of personnel to scan them has led to uncleared cargo piling up, slowing down the entire process.
The warehouse of Air India, which handles export cargo for Singapore Airlines, Air Arabia, Kuwait Airways, Saudia, Gulf Air and Oman Air among others, can handle 200 trucks a day. Over 100 arrive each day but just 60 manage to unload their ware. The rest are often turned back.
08/07/10 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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Male Airport: GMR to use 50 acres land for business

Male: Fifty acres land of Hulhule will be used for business purposes, India’s GMR from the consortium that won the Male International Airport bid said Wednesday.
Speaking to Maldivian journalists at the new terminal of New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, CEO of Hyderabad’s Rajev Gandhi International Airport P Sri Pathi said a business centre was proposed to use 50 acres (202,343 square metres) land of Hulhule for business purposes.
GMR won the bid through a consortium formed with Malaysia Airports Holdings. The company will take over the operations of the airport commencing from March 2011.
“We proposed a business centre to the government as an idea. We proposed that idea to get 50 acres of land for [business] purposes. Our idea is to make that land a business centre of the Maldives. It was proposed based on our experience and the recommendations of US experts. If the government and the public want it, we are ready to do it,” he said.
Sri Pathi noted that income could be generated by several ways other than tourist arrivals and the sector, considering the airport’s location.
07/07/10 Haveeru Online, Male

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Newborn found in aircraft toilet

Amritsar: A male infant was discovered in the toilet of the Ashkhabad-Amritsar flight of Turkmenistan Airlines after it landed in the afternoon.
An unwed 26 year-old MBBS student was found to have given birth to the child during the flight. She initially refused to accept the child as hers but later broke down and admitted to it. She was on her way back to Hoshiarpur after completing her doctor’s degree in Belarus. She was examined by doctors at the airport while the infant was rushed to hospital where his condition was declared ‘normal’.
08/07/10 Dharmendra Rataul/Indian Express

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Ordeal for Mangalore air crash victims' kin

Dubai: The agony of UAE-based relatives of the May 22 Air India Express crash victims is far from over. Struggling to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, the next of kin of victims now find themselves sucked into the vortex of legal compulsions and bureaucratic red tape as they run from pillar to post to get succession certificates and other relevant papers critical for making settlements and claiming damages.
Relatives said extended leaves, frequent trips and phone calls to India to complete formalities are taking a toll on their lives.
Compounding their problems are conflicting reports over the compensation amount. Air India's insurers have reportedly hinted that the final compensation would be considered on a case-to-case basis with the Indian press quoting officials as saying that the liability of the airline at ‘100,000 Special Drawing Rights' - or $160,000 (Dh587,200) - as stipulated by the Montreal Convention 1999 is the upper limit and should not be thought of as the actual amount that will be awarded to each victim
All of this has prompted victims' relatives to rally together to fight for their cause. An executive committee of 17 members, representing 88 affected families, both from the UAE and India, met in Mangalore on Wednesday to initiate the registration of the Mangalore Air Crash Victims' Families Association.
Mohammad Beary, president of the association who lost his sister-in-law Zulekha in the crash, told XPRESS from Mangalore, "The association has been formed to address issues facing the victims' families."
He said the association would be calling a special general body meeting on July 11 to discuss the way forward.
08/07/10 Sharmila Dhal/Gulfnews.com, UAE

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Visa racket: 2 travel agents held

New Delhi: A day after 27 people were detained at IGI Airport for trying to board a Dubai-bound flight with fake visas, Delhi Police claimed to have arrested two travel agents. The cops were tipped off after two airline call centres received phone calls saying the 27 travellers would try to hijack a flight.
Police said the travellers would have been sneaked into Iraq after getting to Dubai.
The travellers nabbed at IGI alleged local contacts had organized everything. The local agents had a "central" contact in Delhi who finally arranged their departure. Five of the accused (one from each state) have been remanded in police custody to help unearth the racket further.
The two travel agents, including the owner of Pan Travels in Connaught Place, were arrested on Tuesday night. They have been identified as Rakesh Chopra, the owner, and his employee Sunil Bisht. The 27 people 15 from West Bengal, six from Punjab, four from Haryana and one each from Delhi and Bangladesh were detained at the airport by CISF on Tuesday and later placed under arrest. The Bangladeshi national had an Indian passport with him. "There were masons, electricians and construction workers in the group. From Dubai, they were supposed to go to Iraq where they were promised jobs," said DCP (IGI Airport) Dr O P Mishra.
08/07/10 TImes of India

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Lapses of airport officials led to Pak pilot landing flight

Thiruvananthapuram: Lapses on part of airport officials were responsible for a pof a Gulf-based foreign airline landing in Thiruvananthapuram and staying overnight in a city hotel in May, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said on Wednesday. Replying to a submission by K C Joseph (Congress) in the Assembly, he
said the airline, Etihaad, had sought permission for temporary landing and stay of crew, including the pilot, after giving their names and nationalities.
However, officials who scrutinised the list failed to spot the name of the Pakistani pilot, Khan Khaleedh Rashid. The other crew members were American, Polish, Korean, Egyptian and Indian.
The minister said central agencies had also been asked to probe whether Rashid had made any telephone calls from the hotel during his stay.
He termed as incorrect the reports that Rashid had hired a car and visited various spots in the city.
According to reports, Rashid flew a scheduled flight to the city on May 6 and stayed for a day in a five-star hotel before operating the return flight the next day.
07/07/10 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

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Istithmar World sells 6.89% stake in SpiceJet

Dubai-based investment house Istithmar World PJSC on Tuesday offloaded 6.89 per cent stake in the low cost carrier SpiceJet for Rs 118.54 crore, through an open market transaction.
Istithmar World PJSC has sold 2.21 crore shares, representing 6.89 per cent stake in Spicejet at Rs 53.55 per share, aggregating to Rs 118.54 crore, according to the bulk deal data available on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
In February, Istithmar had sold nearly 14 per cent stake in the airline for Rs 164 crore.
Last month, media magnate Kalanithi Maran’s KAL Airways had acquired nearly 37.7 per cent stake in SpiceJet for about Rs 740 crore from investors Wilbur Ross and B. Kansagara.
Mr. Maran had then launched an open offer to acquire an additional 20 per cent in the no-frills carrier for Rs 57.76 a share.
06/07/10 PTI/The Hindu

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Emirates mulls regular A380 services to India

Emirates has opted for a conservative approach into launching regular services of its superjumbo into Indian skies after the airline announced yesterday it would operate the A380 to New Delhi on July 15 as a special one-off flight.
However, the airline hasn’t ruled out the move, with a senior executive confirming to Emirates Business that possible target cities in future would be New Delhi and Mumbai.
“We’ve taken the first step towards that direction as we prepare to take the A380 to New Delhi. However, there are no plans presently to introduce a full service of the aircraft on the Indian routes,” said Majid Al Mualla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, West Asia and Indian Ocean.
Sources at Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) have already confirmed to the media that its winter schedule could see the Dubai-based carrier, along with and German airliner Lufthansa, launch the wide-body, four-engine aircraft to the city.
07/07/10 Bindu Suresh Rai/Emirates Business 24-7

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India's Ambassador To U.S. To Visit Pratt & Whitney

India's ambassador to the United States is scheduled to meet Thursday in East Hartford with executives of United Technologies Corp. and Pratt & Whitney, and later with members of the Machinists union.
In a visit arranged by U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, Ambassador Meera Shankar is scheduled to tour a Pratt facility and review an F-117 engine, which powers the Boeing C-17 cargo aircraft. India hopes to buy 10 of those planes, which could mean hundreds of millions of dollars worth of work for Pratt.
Last year's defense appropriations bill included $2.5 billion for 10 C-17s for the U.S. military. The Obama administration now wants to shut down C-17 production, however, and seeks no money for it in its current budget. Congressional supporters of Boeing, Pratt and other manufacturers could try to add money for more.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government is brokering a sale of 10 new C-17s to India.
06/07/10 Courant.com

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HAL-CAE See Robust Simulation Market in India

Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF), the joint venture owned equally by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and CAE announced that its Bell 412 full-mission simulator has been certified to Level D, the highest qualification for flight simulators, by India’s Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
“HAL and CAE are very proud of achieving Level D certification, which is the highest performance rating given for flight training equipment, from both the DGCA and EASA,” said Wing Commander (Retd) Chandra Datt Upadhyay, Chief Executive Officer of HATSOFF. “The HATSOFF training centre is a first for India, and we are excited to begin offering simulation-based training that will prove to be one of the best approaches for improving safety, operational efficiency and mission readiness.”
The CAE-built full-mission helicopter simulator at HATSOFF features CAE's revolutionary roll-on/roll-off cockpit design, which enables cockpits representing various helicopter types to be used in the simulator. The first training program HATSOFF is offering is for operators of the Bell 412 helicopter.
The HATSOFF training centre, located near HAL’s headquarters in Bangalore, also features multimedia classrooms, computer-based training, brief/debrief facilities, and a training management information system. The full-mission simulator features a common motion system, vibration platform, and visual display system, along with the four separate cockpit modules that can be used in the full-mission simulator. When a cockpit is not used in the full-mission simulator, it will be used as a fixed-based flight training device (FTD).
07/07/10 Defpro

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Flights from Kathmandu to Varansi, Dehradun, Lcknw

Ahmedabad: Nepalese capital Kathmandu will soon have air connectivity with Indian cities of Varanasi, Dehradun and Lucknow, Ambassador of Nepal to India, Rukma Shumsher Rana said today.
Rana, who was speaking on the sidelines of a CII organised, Trade and Investment Opportunities programme, said the flight air connectivity from Kathmandu to Dehradun will also be covering Badrinath shrine, which will help boost tourism on religious circuit.
Previously, Nepal had limited air connectivity in Indian, confined to Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi airport.
Rana, who was leading an eleven member delegation from Nepal, was visitng the city to highlight trade and investment opportunities back home.
"The air agreement signed between Nepal and India in the recent past has opened access to 42 small airports for us," he said.
06/07/10 ZeeNews

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Brazil's Embraer proposes regional jets for India

Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil: A growing appetite among Indian carriers to serve regional routes makes the country a potentially big market for 250 regional jets with a capacity of up to 120 seats, Brazil's aircraft maker Embraer.
In India, around 250 low-to-medium-density routes remain unused, as they are not profitable to run with narrow-bodied aircraft. Plus, in the non-metros sector, 133 routes have less than one frequency a day, said Brazil-based Embraer.
At present, out of some 400 aircraft for scheduled commercial operations in India, 261 are narrow-bodied planes and only 20 are regional jets.
A regional jet is generally run on a range of short-to-medium-haul routes with a seating capacity for 100 passengers. Compared with these, narrow-bodied planes, such as the Boeing-737 and Airbus A-320 family, have around 160 seats.
As the economy bounces back and major Indian airlines review their fleet plans, Embraer says it is in discussion with all players as they will be interested in tapping the low-to-medium-density routes where regional jets have a niche.
04/07/10 Neelam Mathews/South Asia Mail

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No service tax on transit travel

New Delhi: International and domestic air travel becomes costlier this month onwards with an additional burden of service tax, announced in the Budget. However, globetrotters who stop over in India during a transit flight can avoid paying this tax, provided they refrain from venturing out of the customs area.
While issuing a notification on the new service tax, the government has exempted certain categories of air travelers from it. The tax is otherwise 10% on the gross value of the ticket or Rs 100 for domestic travel in any class and Rs 500 for international travel in economy class, whichever is less.
Going by the notification, a person who arrives in India in a transit flight is exempted from paying this additional levy, “provided he does not pass through immigration, does not leave the customs area and continues his journey to a place outside India.”
Usually, people who take transit flights or connecting flights through India schedule engagements —business or tourism--- in India for their convenience. Now, this would result in an additional burden of around Rs 500 as a traveller would have to leave the customs area for any such engagements.
06/07/10 Tanu Pandey/Financial Express

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The Superjumbo Finally Set to Arrive in India

Dubai: To celebrate the launch of the new terminal at the IGI Airport, Emirates has commissioned a special commercial service of the 517-seat A380 offering passengers flying from Delhi to Dubai a one-off opportunity to experience the aircraft’s grandeur, not to mention its luxurious onboard amenities.
The A380 will operate EK516 on the Dubai-Delhi route on 15th July, 2010 departing Dubai at 10:10 hours and arrive in Delhi at 14:50 hours. The aircraft will be at the IGI Airport for three hours before it returns to Dubai as EK517 departing Delhi at 17:50 hours. Bookings for this special flight will open on 6th June, 2010 with a special one-way fare from Dubai for AED380 plus taxes or return for AED990 plus taxes. The fare is valid only for bookings made on the special flight of the Emirates A380.
The massive bird, which will fly into the Indian skies for the very first time, is expected to attract huge crowds. The event will be a momentous occasion not just for Emirates and the IGI Airport, but for Indian aviation.
06/07/10 Daijiworld.com

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Balloon crash: Court to hear pilot’s appeal today

Abu Dhabi: The Al Ain Appeals Court will on Tuesday hold the first hearing of an appeal filed by balloon captain Piotr Gorny of Balloon Adventures Emirates (BAE) against a one-year jail sentence for the Suwaihan crash in April this year, which killed a French and an Indian on board, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department said on Sunday.
The company’s office in Dubai is closed “for the summer”, explained the company’s only employee left behind, answering the company founder’s private cellphone number. “We don’t have flights in the summer, so everybody is on holiday. Everybody will be back in August,” said the BAE representative.
The company was set up in Dubai seven years ago and only in 2009 started flying over the desert between Suwaihan and Al Ain.
The crash had also caused moderate to critical injuries to 11 persons. The mishap occurred when the hot air balloon in which they were on a tourist trip crashed as it was trying to make an emergency landing at Nahel Suwaihan in Al Ain following intense winds.
06/07/10 M.A. Qudoos,T Ramavarman & Silvia Radan/Khaleej Times

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Big B wraps up Kandahar

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has wrapped up his portions of shooting for Kandahar (Malayalam), directed by army officer-turned-filmmaker Major Ravi with South Indian superstar Mohanlal in the lead role. The Amitabh Bachchan was in Ooty for the three-day shooting.
Being made in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, Kandahar marks the coming together of India's two finest actors, Amitabh Bachchan and Mohanlal. The duo acted together earlier in the forgettable Ram Gopal Varma ki Aag.
05/07/10 Baiju NT/Galatta Express

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Indian national nabbed for smuggling illegal drugs at Bangkok airport

Bangkok: Thai customs authorities on Monday detained an Indian man suspected of smuggling seven kilogrammes of ketamine, also known as K, worth Bt22 million (some US$666,000) into the kingdom at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Kalyanasuntaram Karuppaiyan, a 33-year-old Indian national, was arrested when his luggage was checked by customs inspectors. He was an inbound passenger travelling from India’s Chennai.
05/07/10 MCOT

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Coup for Bahrain company as New Delhi airport opens

A new ultra-modern $3 billion airport terminal in the Indian capital New Delhi, has its footing on firm ground, literally, courtesy of the Kingdom-based mining major Bramco Group.
Bramco, a mining and stone company, laid the granite flooring for the sprawling 5.4 million square feet terminal, carving out the mountains of Saudi Arabia and processing a staggering 500 square metres of stone everyday at its factory in Bahrain.
Touted to be the world's secondlargest airport terminal in size and sixth in terms of capacity, the ninelevel hub which opened yesterday can handle 34 million passengers per annum.
Complete with the granite floors imported from Bahrain, huge white columns fitted with expensive speakers, 63 elevators, 95 immigration counters and a state of the art security and baggage system, Terminal 3 is also home to India's first transit hotel.
The Bahrain mining and stone company won the bid to handle all the stonework design and installation for the flooring, the lifts and lobby areas in the face of fierce competition.
05/07/10 K.V.S Madhav/Bahrain Tribune/Zawya

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Kin hire 3 American law firms to fight case

Mumbai: About 10 families of victims of the Air India air crash at Mangalore, hired three leading American law firms Masry & Vititoe, Giradi & Keese, Engstrom, Lipscomb and Lack as their attorneys on Sunday to represent their case before insurance companies. The crash was one of the country's worst aviation disasters ever. These American law firms which have vast experience in aviation disaster cases, in turn, have appointed M Dhruva & Partners, a Mumbai-based firm of advocates and solicitors to assist them in processing claims for damages for all those relatives.
05/07/10 Times of India

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Passage to India: sky marshals on board?

New Delhi: The Australian and Austrian governments want sky marshals on board their carriers operating flights to India.
A request to this affect has been received by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which has sought the views of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security — the regulatory authority for civil aviation security in India.
For a sky marshal to be on board, a formal MoU (memorandum of understanding) needs to be signed between two countries as was done by India and the US in January. Sky marshal is an undercover agent on board a commercial aircraft to counter a hijacking.
The two requests received within a span of a month point to apprehensions that western countries might have regarding aviation security in the country, senior civil aviation officials said.
“Strictly speaking, the request do indicate that they think of India as an unsafe destination where security arrangements are not sound enough and loopholes exist,” said A.K. Doval, former director, Intelligence Bureau.
04/07/10 Tushar Srivastava/Hindustan Times

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Kerala police to probe Pak pilot's breach

After TIMES NOW reported the incident of a Pakistani pilot of a foreign airline staying in Thiruvananthapuram without the knowledge of intelligence and security forces the Kerala police have started investigating the incident.
Khalid Rasheed, the pilot-in-command of a Gulf-based airline, flew a scheduled flight to the city on May 6 and stayed for a whole day in a hotel in the city allegedly without informing the police or immigration authorities of his stay in the city.
An assistant commissioner with the city police has been entrusted with the inquiry in the case, focussing on how the pilot managed to stay without informing authorities.
After the incident, the Kerala Police said, "We would be conducting a comprehensive probe into all aspects of the case including if there was intelligence failure."
Sources have told TIMES NOW that according to foreigners registration rules as mentioned in the Foreigners registration act, it was the responsibility of the police and its intelligence wing to keep a tab on foreign nationals staying in the city, especially those from Pakitstan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
05/07/10 Times Now

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Brazil's Embraer proposes regional jets for India

A growing appetite among Indian carriers to serve regional routes makes the country a potentially big market for 250 regional jets with a capacity of up to 120 seats, Brazil's aircraft maker Embraer.
In India, around 250 low-to-medium-density routes remain unused, as they are not profitable to run with narrow-bodied aircraft. Plus, in the non-metros sector, 133 routes have less than one frequency a day, said Brazil-based Embraer.
'This doesn't provide adequate frequency to passengers. No wonder other forms of transport are used such as first-class rail with fares of air travel,' said Alex Glock, Embraer's managing director for Asia Pacific.
'With the Indian economy growing and growing rather fast, air services to the so-called secondary cities need to be more frequent - there have to be comprehensive daily services,' Glock told IANS in an interview.
At present, out of some 400 aircraft for scheduled commercial operations in India, 261 are narrow-bodied planes and only 20 are regional jets.
04/07/10 IANS/Sify.com

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New India airport testimony of MAHB’s expertise

New Delhi: New Delhi has got a new landmark with the completion of the US$2.5bil Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) Terminal 3, touted to be one of the 10 largest in the world. Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) was party in its construction and will operate it for the next 30 years.
MAHB has a 10% equity stake in the consortium that built, operates and manages the airport. The IGI is the second airport in India that MAHB is involved in. The first is the Hyderabad International Airport in which it has an 11% stake.
“This goes to show the expertise and excellence of MAHB in building and managing airports around the world,” said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha.
Other members of the consortium are India’s infrastructure group GMR, Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Germany’s Fraport. GMR has a 54% stake in the consortium, AAI 26% and Fraport 10%.
MAHB has been instrumental in integrating the entire airport and the integration will be expanded to the domestic terminals located nearby Terminal 3.
It is also supporting the information technology infrastructure for the airport.
MAHB is now managing the Sahiba Gocken International airport in Istanbul (20% stake) together with GMR and recently won the bid to build, operate, modernise and expand the Male International Airport in the Maldives.
The Saudi-Malaysian consortium, whose members include MAHB, has also been pre-qualified to bid for the first expansion phase of the Prince Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz airport in Medina.
05/07/10 B K Sidhu/The Star online

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Ahmedabad-London flight may start once again

Ahmedabad: Flying straight from Ahmedabad to London may be possible once again. On Sunday, Union minister for civil aviation Praful Patel said that the final decision on this would be taken in October when the winter schedule of Air India flights would be drawn. Resumption of this flight was one of the major points of discussion during the inauguration ceremony of an international terminal at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SPV) International Airport on Sunday.
Member of Parliament Harin Pathak, who was present at the inauguration ceremony, said, “A huge number of passengers from Gujarat travel to London on a regular basis. We hope the civil aviation minister will consider resuming the direct flight between Ahmedabad and London.”
To this, Patel assured that he will discuss the matter with concerned authorities. Patel said, “During the new schedule prepared for flights in aviation sector in month of October, we will discuss the possibility of a direct flight to London from Ahmedabad.”
05/07/10 Times of India

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AirAsia announces launch of services to Hyderabad

New Delhi: AirAsia announced the launch of services from Hyderabad from July 20, 2010.
The launch is also supplemented by an exclusive offer for the local market that provides seats for an amazing low fare.
Talking about the new service, Jasmine Lee Sze Inn, Head of Commercial, AirAsia said, “We are glad to add yet another chapter to our success story in India. As a gesture of gratification, we have introduced a special limited period offer for the local market here.”
AirAsia started their operations in India in the year 2009 with launching services to Trichy and in a very short span, they have extended their operations to Trivandrum, Kochi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore. Hyderabad will be their 8th destination in the country which will be followed by the launch of services in the national capital in early August. AirAsia is committed to providing the best services at low fares. They have also been selected as the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline for two consecutive years by Skytrax in their annual World Airline Survey for providing the best services .
04/07/10 Express India

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