Man caught smuggling tortoises at Trichy airport

Trichy: As many as 300 Indian star tortoises were confiscated by the Trichy Customs when a Chennai-based man, Mohammad Rafiyudin, tried to check-in on an Air Lanka (UL132) flight bound for Colombo on Thursday. Rafiyudin had come to the airport as early as 6.45 am to board the flight, scheduled to take off at 9.45 am. This is the first time star tortoises were captured at the Trichy airport. The live creatures command a premium price in the international market and had been packed in six different cartons of 50 each.
An air intelligence officer said a coterie tried to transport the creatures through Chennai airport first, but as the security was considered impenetrable, they changed their mind. The tortoises were couriered to Trichy by road, and then the carrier, Rafiyudin, tried to reach his final destination of Kuala Lumpur via Colombo.
29/06/12 Dennis Selvan/Times of India

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Flying to India with kids? Emirates is cheaper than ‘budget’ airlines

There’s good news and bad news for travellers hoping for a ‘budget’ vacation this year.
First, the bad news: the so-called budget carriers are not really offering any bargain deals, even if you book weeks in advance and despite the ‘inaugural discounts’ being offered by some of the budget carriers to some of their destinations.
For instance, what a budget carrier flaunting a one-way airfare of Dh350 or whatever from Dubai to New Delhi is not telling you is that, once you add the taxes, and seat-selection charges, and meals, and baggage fees, what you might end up paying for the trip could be multiple times the single-sector airfare being advertised. Seriously.
The good news (yes there is some): the UAE’s full-service airlines, the Dubai-based Emirates and the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad, may just work out to be cheaper for you, especially if you are travelling with kids.
How? Firstly, the so-called budget carriers operating from Dubai do not seem to make a distinction (when it comes to airfares and taxes) between a child and an adult.
An occupied aircraft seat, for them, is an occupied aircraft seat – be it an infant, a child, a teenager or an adult.
On the other hand, full-service airlines do make that distinction, and an infant’s ticket is usually priced at just about 10 per cent of an adult’s ticket, while children (two years and above until 12) pay 70 per cent of the price of an adult’s ticket.
28/06/12 Vicky Kapur/Emirates 24|7

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Fares go up 20% on Gulf routes as AI cuts flights

Travelers including Indian expatriates from Gulf region flying to India may face difficulty during the current peak summer holiday season till July due to Air India Express flight cancellations. Rival carriers such as Indigo have jacked up airfares from the region to India by over 20 per cent on account of high travel demand.
“Average fares on the route have increased by 20 per cent compared with the same period last year. While fuel and other cost-components haven’t increased that much, the weak rupee and increase in taxes and airport charges has contributed to some of the hike,” said Keyur Joshi, co-founder and chief commercial officer, makemyt-rip.com, the largest online travel booking firm.
The national carrier Air India, which has the lion’s share of Dubai flights through Air India Express low cost brand, has reduced flights from the Gulf region by almost 50 per cent on account of the 49 day strike of about 400 pilots.
26/06/12 Saahil Anant/mydigitalfc.com

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Only dollar can buy food on no-frills global flights

Mumbai: While travelling to an international destination, even on an Indian plane, if you are feeling like some snack or meal, keep some US dollars or the currency of destination country in hand. Reason: The Indian rupee won’t be accepted, as per laws related to international flights.
City-based textile designer Milind Kardile, 48, learnt this the hard way recently, when he flew to Bangkok on an Indigo flight. While Kardile has now approached the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with a complaint, Indigo officials claim they are only following Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directives, which apparently prohibit payment in Indian currency aboard a flight.
Kardile was stunned when the airline crew refused to accept Indian currency for a sandwich he had ordered during a flight to Bangkok on June 10. “How can an airline operating from India not accept Indian currency,” a shocked Kardile said.
27/06/12 Daily News & Analysis

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Air Works India completes EAG stake deal

Dubai: The stake buyout transaction by Air Works India Engineering Pvt Ltd in Empire Aviation Group (EAG) has been successfully completed, EAG’s financial advisor for the deal, Alpen Capital (ME) Ltd has said.
Air Works India, which provides aviation services, was reported to have bought stake in Dubai-based EAG for Rs 120 crore.
The strategic investment was done through Air Works’ UK-based subsidiary Air Works UK Engineering Ltd and was financed by a structured debt from a consortium of lenders led by KKR Capital Markets India Pvt Ltd, Alpen Capital said in a statement yesterday.
“Alpen Capital is delighted to announce the successful closure of this complex M&A transaction, where Alpen Capital acted as the sole financial advisor representing the sellers,” the Alpen Capital’s MD, Mr Sanjay Vig said.
“The GCC-India corridor has a lot of potential and with our presence and expertise in both these markets, we feel we are well equipped to advise clients on such cross border deals,” Mr Vig said.
27/06/12 PTI/Business Line

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India flight faces another delay in Doha

Manama: More than 150 passengers who were stranded in Bahrain for nearly two days after an Air India Express flight developed a technical snag faced another hiccup in Doha yesterday (June 26) as their flight was delayed for eight hours.
Air India Express flight IX4744 departed Bahrain for Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala at 7.50am yesterday after its passengers were stuck in the country for 36 hours.
However, it faced another delay during a stopover in Doha when a warning went off in the plane's fire alarm system.
27/06/12 Trade Arabia.com

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Flight returns after technical snag detected

Chennai: A Singapore bound Air India flight with 144 passengers on board returned to Anna International terminal here soon after take off today following a technical snag, airport sources said. The flight left for Singapore this afternoon, but reported a technical snag in mid air, following which it returned and landed at around 4 PM, they said.
27/06/12 PTI/IBN Live

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Mallya's woes worsen as lessors take back 34 planes

Mumbai: With cash-starved private carrier Kingfisher Airlines defaulting on lease rentals of around Rs 1,000 crore, the lessors have taken back 34 aircraft, sources said here today even as the company maintained that it has returned the aircraft voluntarily.
Besides, another 15 aircraft of the company are also aground due to want of spares, and the airline is now left with only 15 planes to carry out its operations, they said.
"Lessors have taken back as many as 34 aircraft from Kingfisher between March and June, owing to non-payment of lease rentals, which stand at around Rs 1,000 crore," sources told PTI here.
The airline, however, said it has returned these aircraft voluntarily and that no aircraft was taken back by lessors by "force".
26/06/12 PTI/Business Standard

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Dragonair’s Kolkata to Hong Kong flight may miss October deadline

Kolkata: The much-awaited Kolkata to Hong Kong direct flight by Dragonair is likely to miss its October schedule. The sister airline of Cathay Pacific Airways anticipates a delayed beginning of the service, as Kolkata airport’s integrated terminal is far from meeting its October deadline for completion.
According to Mr Rakesh Raicar, Regional Sales and Marketing Manager South Asia, Dragonair, the company is awaiting a ‘definite’ date to start operations from the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
“We wanted to begin operations from October. But, we still have to work with them requiring a definite start date. We will be meeting the officials from airport authority next week to decide whether they want to postpone,” Mr Raicar told Business Line.
26/06/12 Ayan Pramanik/Business Line

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Manila eases visa rules for India’s frequent flyers

The India business community in Manila lauded the action of Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. to allow Indian nationals to enter the Philippines visa-free so long as they are holders of a valid visa issued by either of the following: US, Canada, Japan, Australia, Singapore, the UK or the European Union.
Immigration officials said the new development will speed up the processing of Indian nationals who are regular travelers to the Philippines.
Indian nationals may now enter the country without a visa and stay here for 14 days, which may be extended for an additional seven days, but only via the three terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, David said.
26/06/12 Manila Standard Today

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Indian Aviation Academy to train African professionals

Chennai: More than 100 aviation professionals from African countries will be trained at the Indian Aviation Academy, New Delhi, in operation and management of airports this year, according to Dinesh Kumar, director of the academy, which is the training wing of the Airports Authority of India.
The AAI set up the academy because a majority of its employees are highly experienced in airport operations and there is a need to train recruits as well as provide orientation programmes for existing staff as airport operations and management has changed over the years.
The IAC, which offers more than 120 courses, trained 3,500 people last year, said Mr. Kumar. The programmes were offered to foreign nationals as mandated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The training programme would be done as part of an agreement that India signed with the African Union and the duration would be 10 days.
24/06/12 The Hindu

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Families pay tribute to Air India victims on 27th anniversary

Dozens of supporters joined families of Air India bombing victims at a memorial service in Stanley Park Saturday commemorating the 27th anniversary of the terrorist attack.
Major Sidhu and his family were there to remember his sister Sukh-winder, and her two children, 10-year-old daughter Parminder and son Kul-dip, 9, who died in the bombing.
He was too emotional to speak to reporters after he listened to speeches by politicians and friends.
B.C. NDP leader Adrian Dix was there on behalf of his wife Renee Sak-likar, whose aunt Zeb and uncle Umar Jethwa - both doctors - perished in the bombing, leaving their young son Irfan an orphan.
"He went from having two loving parents who were wonderful people who provided medical care to low-income people in India, to being an orphan," Dix said.
25/06/12 Kim Bolan/Vancouver Sun

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IndiGo to fly to 5 Indian cities

IndiGo, the youngest Indian budget airline, will start flying to five new Indian cities next month, Adithya Ghosh, President and Chief Executive Officer of IndiGo announced in Dubai.
The problems currently faced by private airlines in India will not deter IndiGo from going ahead with its ambitious expansion plans, Ghosh added.
Launching an Arabic website of the airline for Middle East travellers, Indian Ambasador to the UAE N. K. Lokesh said the Indian community in the UAE seeks more efficient and affordable airlines.
The Ambassador also said the India-UAE civil aviation agreement will be reviewed in view of the demand for new seats from UAE-based airlines like RAK Airlines. Lokesh said: “IndiGo is known for its consistency and professionalism and they are always open to new ideas.”
Ten months after launching its first flight from Dubai, IndiGo will have six daily flights from Dubai. It is adding four extra flights to five new destinations.
25/06/12 VM Sathish/Emirates 24|7

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Average Indian domestic air fares lower than other nations

Average domestic air fares in India have been found to be lower than some major world aviation markets, including US and Britain, according to a study based on IATA data.
The finding has come in the backdrop of aviation regulator DGCA asking Indian carriers to make ticket prices more rational and reasonable following recent outcry over a major fare hike on various domestic sectors.
A comparison of average domestic fares prevailing in some countries for air travel above 2,000 km showed that those in China were higher than in India by 87%, those in Australia by 182%, in Canada by 162% and in the US by 119%.
The air fares were analysed on the basis of PAX-IS data of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) which the global airlines' body compiles from the tickets sold by all IATA carriers.
24/06/12 PTI/Moneycontrol.com

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Indian Aviation Academy to train African professionals

Chennai: More than 100 aviation professionals from African countries will be trained at the Indian Aviation Academy, New Delhi, in operation and management of airports this year, according to Dinesh Kumar, director of the academy, which is the training wing of the Airports Authority of India.
The AAI set up the academy because a majority of its employees are highly experienced in airport operations and there is a need to train recruits as well as provide orientation programmes for existing staff as airport operations and management has changed over the years.
The IAC, which offers more than 120 courses, trained 3,500 people last year, said Mr. Kumar. The programmes were offered to foreign nationals as mandated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The training programme would be done as part of an agreement that India signed with the African Union and the duration would be 10 days.
24/06/12 The Hindu

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Indian Aviation Academy to train African professionals

Chennai: More than 100 aviation professionals from African countries will be trained at the Indian Aviation Academy, New Delhi, in operation and management of airports this year, according to Dinesh Kumar, director of the academy, which is the training wing of the Airports Authority of India.
The AAI set up the academy because a majority of its employees are highly experienced in airport operations and there is a need to train recruits as well as provide orientation programmes for existing staff as airport operations and management has changed over the years.
The IAC, which offers more than 120 courses, trained 3,500 people last year, said Mr. Kumar. The programmes were offered to foreign nationals as mandated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The training programme would be done as part of an agreement that India signed with the African Union and the duration would be 10 days.
24/06/12 The Hindu

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Flying to nearby cities abroad to get cheaper

New Delhi: Air travel to East and West Asia is set to get easier, with carriers SpiceJet and IndiGo expanding their capacity for these destinations, following a green signal to do so.
Indian air carriers are well behind foreign peers in utilising the traffic rights allocated under the bilateral services agreements India has signed with 109 countries. There are 834,000 weekly seats on international air routes connecting all these countries with India. Indian airlines have been able to utilise only 23 per cent of the total seat allocations till now; after the new set of permissions, this is set to increase to 40 per cent.
Underserved to a great extent are short-haul destinations, as most airlines would rather take passengers to onward destinations such as Europe and America.
24/06/12 Ruchika Chitravanshi & Mihir Mishra/Business Standard

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Virgin: In-flight mobile service for Delhi-London route

New Delhi: Come July and you will be able to use your mobile to chat with your family or business partners at 35,000 ft when your aircraft cruises from Delhi to London.
This facility would be available on premier British carrier Virgin Atlantic's brand new Airbus A-330 when it takes off on its inaugural flight from here on July 11.
Buoyed by an over 15 per cent growth in its business traffic, Virgin has introduced this and other facilities in a new product package on the busy Delhi-London sector, an airline spokesperson said here.
The package, which is part of the Richard Branson-owned airline's 100 million pound investment plan to upgrade onboard facilities, includes a re-designed business class cabin, longer beds, seats with more recline, a sophisticated touch- screen entertainment system, mood-lighting and a big onboard bar.
"We can't wait to welcome our customers from Delhi on board in July. Having seen more than 15 per cent growth in business class last year out of Delhi, I am confident the new business class cabin will help us attract even more customers," Virgin CEO Steve Ridgway said in a statement.
24/06/12 PTI/Business Standard

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Stranded for four days at Muscat airport, Indian flies home finally

Muscat: An Indian expatriate living in Damam, Saudi Arabia was stranded at the Muscat International Airport for nearly 4 days after having lost his passport but was finally able to fly home when the airline staff recovered his passport after some round of checks in their aircraft across various sectors.
Everything went smooth for Mansoor Puthoor Parangotil hailing from Kozhikode district of Kerala when he took off from Damam International Airport on June 18 for a journey via Muscat and Mumbai before reaching his native town until he realised that his passport was left behind inside seat pouch of the person sitting in the front.
Security officials couldn’t permit him return to the aircraft as it was against the civil aviation law but was assured that his passport will be reaching at the Gate No 19 before he could board the next flight to Mumbai. He was then asked to wait at the Gate No 4 where his passport was hoped to be delivered.foreign jun
“I couldn’t get my passport back even after the next flight took off to Mumbai as I was seeing from the waiting area and it continued till Thursday, the fourth day of his worries”, a panicked Mansoor told Observer on his Oman GSM which he borrowed from a cleaner inside the airport.
23/06/12 Oman Observer

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Budget airline announces new flights to India

Dubai: A relatively new budget airline today announced new routes from Dubai to Indian cities, giving cheaper travel options to low- and middle-income Indian workers.
The low-cost carrier IndiGo said it will soon fly to the south Indian cities of Hyderabad, Kochi and Chennai. A large number of blue-collared workers have come from those cities to work in the emirate.
"We will start new flights from Dubai to Hyderabad on August 7," said Aditya Ghosh, president of IndiGo, which began operations between Dubai and the Indian cities of Mumbai and New Delhi in July of last year.
"We are concentrating on southern India, so we are going to start new flights to Kochi and Chennai from August 25," he said today during a press conference in Dubai.
The announcement came amid an ongoing pilot strike at the government-owned carrier Air India that has led to fight cancellations and has upset the holiday plans of hundreds of expatriates in the UAE.
24/06/12 The National, UAE

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Air India loses Rs 1,492 crore on international routes

New Delhi: Profitability or just breaking even may be like chasing a mirage for the almost bankrupt Air India. The airline operates 42 international routes using widebody (twin aisle) aircraft. A government committee set up to examine all its routes and then suggest ways of turning around their fortunes has found that these routes lost Rs 1,492 crore in 2011-12. And just 13 of them contributed to 75 per cent of the losses. The top seven loss-making routes are AI's most prestigious flights to North America and Europe.
Now, this preliminary report is being sent to the airline to see how these routes and the entire network could be tweaked by either changing flight timings; changing fares or putting different aircraft on those routes. "All the routes will be rationalized and an attempt be made to at least make them break even. The least loss-making routes will be started first once AI has pilots to fully utilize the widebody fleet," said a senior official.
23/06/12 Economic Times

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Airbus planning to house its innovation cell in Bangalore

Bangalore: Global aircraft manufacturer Airbus aims to source $1 billion worth of equipment and services from its Indian entities by 2020, said Kiran Rao, Executive Vice-President, Sales and Marketing and Customer Affairs, Airbus, on Friday. The company, which already sources software and engineering services from its facility in Bangalore, is setting up an innovation cell, which will be operational by the end of the year, Dr. Rao told The Hindu.
“This will not be an engineering centre, but will work with other Airbus units to develop new designs and concepts,” Dr. Rao said. “With the aviation market moving from the Western Hemisphere to the East, concepts of aircraft design should be coming from the East,” he said. “We have decided that our think tank for determining how aeroplanes should be, and how they should interact with airports and passengers and how pilots should interact with the craft would be headquartered in Bangalore and be headed by an Indian,” he said.
Airbus’ pilot training centre in Noida would be operational by 2013, Dr. Rao said. The facility would have the “capability” to train 5,000 pilots annually, but it would start operating only three simulator bays for training initially.
22/06/12 V Sridhar/The Hindu

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Sri Lankan held at IGI Airport with fake visa

New Delhi: A Sri Lanka national has been arrested from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport for traveling on a forged Schengen visa, police said on Saturday.
Kirupakaran Muthulingam, who hails from Colombo, arrived in the city late on Thursday evening and was scheduled to board a connecting Air France flight to Paris on Friday morning.
“He was stopped after an immigration officer at Terminal 3’s departure wing suspected that the Schengen visa on his passport’s page number 13 to be fake,” a senior police official said. It was later confirmed by Air France’s document advisor that the visa was forged.
23/06/12 Deccan Herald

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Did not request to revise agreement with government: GMR

Male: Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) operator GMR, India has stated that it did not request to amend the agreement between the Male International Airport Private Limited and the government.
While GMR has made the statement, President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has sought the opinion from pro-government parties to deal with GMR. Few replies sent by some parties to the President read that it is important for the future of the Maldives legally, constitutionally, economically and in terms of national security to take over the handling of the airport from GMR.
President’s office spokesperson, Abbas Adil Riza said that a cabinet committee is holding discussions on the issue with GMR. However, he said that he had no information about what was being discussed in the meetings.
23/06/12 Abdullah Jameel/Haveeru Online

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Soon, flights to Lanka from Madurai

Madurai: The members of the Travel Club, Madurai met the Sri Lankan minister of civil aviation, Piyankara Jayaratne and urged him to commence operations of their national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, from Colombo to Madurai.
The Travel Club members, led by their president B S G Mustafa met Jayaratne on June 20 in Colombo and submitted a petition in this regard. The delegation also made a detailed presentation in his chamber elaborating the market potential for international flight operations in the Madurai - Colombo sector given the fact that a large number of fliers are from the nine southern districts of Tamil Nadu.
23/06/12 Times of India

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Air India strike upsets expats' vacation plans

The vacation travel plans of many Indian expatriates in Kuwait have gone haywire following the ongoing strike by the Air India pilots as India's flag carrier sharply curtailed its schedules to south Indian destinations. Many passengers booked on Air India now look for alternative airline bookings paying exorbitantly high fares as India's carrier was forced to reduce its weekly flight schedule from five to three. While officials claim that the airline maintains a truncated schedule despite the agitation, it has halted booking for July from Kuwait.

"The pilot strike is something that is beyond our control. Still, we are operating three weekly flights from Kuwait in place of five to south Indian destinations. Currently, we manage to accommodate about 70 percent of the passengers on the same day itself they are booked. The backlog is being adjusted in subsequent flights. We are also rerouting some of the passengers via Chennai on Indian Airlines fights," an Air India official told the Kuwait Times on condition of anonymity.

Some passengers who just arrived from India narrate their harrowing tale as they had to fly through Goa, Chennai and Bangalore before finally landing at their destination in Kochi after more than 16 hours. Many are now concerned about their return journey as well. According to them if they fail to return to Kuwait as scheduled, their jobs will be in jeopardy.

21/06/12 Sajeev K Peter/Ny Daily News

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AAI to train airport executives from Africa and Afghanistan

Chennai: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) will train more than 100 aviation professionals from African countries on operation and management of airports this year.

The short training programme will be done as part of a cooperation agreement India has signed with the African Union. Indian Aviation Academy (IAC) sponsored by AAI will train the officials from Africa for 10 days.

"We have trained around 20 executives from Afghanistan. Another batch will be taking our course this year. The academy trains them on all aspects of airport operation including safety and security," said Dinesh Kumar, director, Indian Aviation Academy.

22/06/12 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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Global Vectra resumes flying operations

Private helicopter service provider, Global Vectra Helicorp Ltd, has resumed its flying operations. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had suspended its operations in May.

In a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said: “The company has received requisite letter from the Director General of Civil Aviation for resuming its flying operations and the company is resuming flying operations with immediate effect.”

Global Vectra has 23 choppers. It provides services to various oil exploration companies such as ONGC to take its personals to oil rigs located in deep water in sea and rivers. It also provides service in Vaisno Devi.

21/06/12 Business Line

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Air India to reactivate east Asia routes, plans operational rebound

New Delhi: Strike-hit national carrier Air India will reactive flights between the national capital and east Asian destinations like Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong in phases starting from Sunday.

In a mail to its travel agents and channel partners, Air India detailed its reactivation plans for the east Asia sector in which the airline recorded passenger loads of 80 percent on an average.

"We have decided to reactive flight services to these destinations in east Asia from June 24. Dates have been decided and we have informed our ticketing agents about the same," a senior Air India official told reporters.

According to the official, services to Shanghai will start from June 24 followed by Tokyo from June 26 and Hong Kong from July 6.

21/06/12 IANS/Economic Times

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Nine held for sending people abroad on forged passports

The police have arrested nine persons, including two Afghan nationals who have been living as refugees in India for over 20 years, and the manager of Turkmenistan Airlines in Amritsar, in a case of getting passports made by fraudulent means to help people travel abroad.

While the airlines manager has been identified as Dinesh Kurl, Afghan nationals are Pritam Singh and his wife Ajit Kaur. They were arrested after their extradition from Doha — the transit point — to Amritsar. According to sources, police came to know of the racket at the time of these Afghan nationals were boarding the flight, but let them go after alerting the authorities in Doha.

Among those arrested is also a head constable, Kulbir Singh — posted at division number 6 — accused of wrongly verifying the false address that helped Pritam and his family get passports on fake identities.

21/06/12 Indian Express

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Empire Aviation attracts investment from Indian firm

Air Works India Engineering Pvt Ltd (Air Works), an India-based provider of Aviation Services, has made a strategic investment in Dubai-based private aviation specialist, Empire Aviation Group FZCO (EAG).
Formed in Dubai in 2007, by the existing management team and co-founders of the company Paras Dhamecha and Steve Hartley, EAG is a private aviation company offering aircraft sales, aircraft management, aircraft charter, and aircraft finance and insurance. Today, the company has more than 100 staff and operates one of the region’s largest managed fleets of business jets, with 20 aircraft under management, operating out of Dubai International Airport.
EAG co-founder and Executive Director, Paras Dhamecha, said: "Since formation in 2007, EAG has successfully built a strong regional aviation business and grown revenues and profit every year. We have also recently been looking at the exciting potential of the Indian aviation market and opened our first branch office there in 2011.
20/06/12 Arabian Supply Chain

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Boeing 787's dimmable windows not dark enough for long haul flights: All Nippon Airways

Tokyo: Boeing Co's launch customer for its 787 Dreamliner, Japan's All Nippon Airways says the plane's electronic dimmable windows are not dark enough for long haul flights and has asked the US aircraft maker to come up with a way to make the plane's cabin darker.
The Japanese airline is looking to install pull down blinds on 787s already delivered, an industry source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. That is one solution ANA is mulling for two Dreamliners operated on long haul routes, company spokesman Ryosei Nomura confirmed.
"For our passengers to have good sleep, we realised that it is important to offer appropriate darkness during flights especially for long haul," Nomura said.
20/06/12 Reuters/Economic Times

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Indigo plans Kochi-Dubai daily service

Kochi: Private airline operator Indigo plans to introduce a daily service from Kochi to Dubai from August 25. The service will operate from Kochi at 6.15 pm every day, the airline said. The minimum rate for a one-way trip will be Rs 5,600 per head and Rs 11,200 for a round trip. Ticket bookings on the Kochi-Dubai sector have been commenced, said Indigo president Aditya Ghosh. Following the introduction of the Kochi-Dubai service,
20/06/12 Times of India

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Jet Airways pulls Chennai-Kuala Lumpur flights

Kuala Lumpur: India's INDIA’S Jet Airways will suspend its daily Chennai-Kuala Lumpur flights on July 2, seven years after it commenced operations on this route.
The flight cessation was due to business realignment, rather than poor loads, according to a source. Passenger loads were good, averaging 75-85 per cent both ways.
Currently, Kuala Lumpur is the only Malaysian destination that Jet Airways flies to.
Sharitha Rajendran, travel consultant of Selangor-based Topaz Travels & Tours, said the suspension was a blow to the company, especially during the year-end school holidays as there was a shortage of seats. Business travel would also be impacted as the flight timings were ideal for a day trip to Chennai, she added.
20/06/12 S Puvaneswary/TTG Asia

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FDI in aviation may take long; differences with Trinamool Congress persist

New Delhi: The government may not be able to allow foreign airlines to buy stake in cash-starved domestic carriers in the near future as key UPA ally Trinamool Congress remains steadfast in opposing the move, highly placed sources said.
"Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has held two meetings with TMC chief Mamata Banerjee to persuade her to give a go-ahead to the proposal. But, no consensus has yet been reached," they said.
The proposal to allow foreign airlines to buy upto 49 per cent stake in domestic carriers originally mooted by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, has received a green signal from the Finance Ministry and the Civil Aviation Ministry.
Although the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has sent a cabinet note on the matter, it was felt that TMC should be taken on board before the issue is taken to the Cabinet for consideration.
20/06/12 PTI/Economic Times

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Jet Airways woos students seeking admission abroad with freebies

Mumbai: In a move to woo students aspiring for admissions in Western universities and colleges for higher studies, private carrier Jet Airways today announced a special baggage scheme, which allows an additional baggage of 23 kgs besides numerous other benefits.
Students flying out of India to select destinations across UK and Europe on the airline network and its code share partners can avail this scheme, a Jet Airways release said here.
The offer includes an attractive EduJetter kit bundled with benefits such as excess baggage allowances between 30-69 kgs, depending on the destination they fly to, the release said.
20/06/12 Economic Times

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‘14 flights abroad cause 80% loss’

New Delhi: A report submitted by a government—appointed committee has concluded that 14 international flights, including long-haul ones, are accounting for 80 per cent of the financial losses in flight operation of national carrier Air India. These include flights such as the Amritsar-Delhi-Toronto flight.

The committee, headed by a civil aviation ministry official, has made several recommendations, including deployment of aircraft with smaller capacity on international flights where the load factor is just about half of the capacity. The committee has also recommended that different aircraft with varying capacities be deployed on routes depending on the time-period of the year. It has said, for instance, that if it is a peak summer or winter travel/holiday season where load capacity is high, then aircraft with bigger capacity can be deployed.

16/06/12 Asian Age

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Biman flight returns to Dhaka with 'snag'

Kolkata: A Biman Bangladesh Airbus A310 aircraft carrying 198 passengers was about to land in Kolkata around 10.40am when the pilot suspected a snag in the right engine. After hovering over Kolkata for a couple of minutes, the captain decided to return to Dhaka, as the airline's engineering base was located there.

In Dhaka, passengers were asked to disembark and a thorough check was conducted. When no snag was detected, the same aircraft left for Kolkata.

16/06/12 Times of India

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Slovenia's Adria Airways to revive talks with Air India

Adria Airways is to revive talks with Air India in order for the Indian national carrier to launch its once planned flights from Mumbai to New York via Ljubljana. Last year Air India and Adria Airways signed a memorandum of understanding which was to see Air India code share on Adria’s regional flights, while in return the Indian national carrier would operate some of its services to the United States via the Slovenian capital. Plans were set for flights to be launched either during the 2012 summer season or the 2012/2013 winter season. However, Air India requested lower fuel prices at Ljubljana Jože Pucnik Airport and an exemption from paying fees in order to launch services to the Slovenian capital, all of which were denied.

The Slovenian government, together with the petrol provider, Ljubljana Airport, Adria and Air India are now prepared to get back to the negotiating table to discuss possible cooperation.

15/06/12 Balkans.com

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Air India Express flight cancellations ruin UAE residents' holiday plans

Dubai: The ongoing Air India pilot strike has led to the cancellation of a number of Air India Express flights, which have ruined the holiday plans of hundreds of UAE residents.
"Don't fly Air India Express till things stabilize. I am advising friends and relatives who have booked flights from July onwards to cancel them," Gulf News quoted a senior Air India official, who was based in New Delhi, as saying.he ongoing strike by around 350 Air India pilots entered its 37th day on Wednesday, crippling the national carrier's operations worldwide.Things are bad," the official said, adding that both short and long haul flights were affected.
Enquiries at the Dubai office of Air India Express revealed they had a flight schedule only till June 30. "We have no information about flights from July 1," a staff said.
14/06/12 ANI/News Track India

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Air India bomber appeals perjury conviction for testimony at 2003 trial

Vancouver: An Air India bomber who received Canada’s longest perjury sentence is appealing the conviction in a Vancouver court.
Inderjit Singh Reyat was handed a nine-year prison sentence last year for lying repeatedly at the 2003 trial of two men charged with mass murder and conspiracy.
Reyat was a Crown witness at the trial of Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, who were acquitted in the biggest case of aviation terrorism before the 9-11 attacks in the U.S.
14/06/12 The Star.com

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Pilots walk out of full plane as 'duty ends'

Pilots of an Air India Express airline have refused to take off, citing duty hours, leaving passengers of a Trivandrum-bound flight stranded at the Dubai International airport.
The IX 538 flight to Kerala’s capital was scheduled to take off at 10.40pm and all passengers had checked in and even boarded the flight.
However, less than an hour before the scheduled departure a drunken passenger on the flight had to be evicted and the flight was delayed by an hour and a half.
“Later, the passengers were all asked to take their handbags and leave the aircraft. At around 12.30am we were all told that the flight has to be postponed by 15 hours because the pilots were refusing to work after duty hours,” says Sajan Veloor, an Ajman resident.
“According to the information provided to us, the pilots were arguing that their duty time was over and they would now work only after a 12 hour break. All the cabin crew were Indians,” he added.
Among the stranded passengers are those from two Trivandrum bound flight that were cancelled earlier in the day.
13/06/12 Joseph George/Emirates24|7

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South African Airways plans to increase flights from India

Mumbai: On the back of a surge in the inbound tourist figures from India, South African Airways, the national carrier of South Africa, is looking to expand its base in India. In 2011, South Africa saw a 26.2 per cent increase in Indian visitors from the previous year, with 90,367 Indians travelling to the country.
The upward trend continued in 2012. South Africa received 6,805 visitors in the month of February this year, up 24.9 per cent compared with 5,449 visitors in February 2011.
The country's overall growth in 2011 was largely due to a 14.6 per cent growth in the emerging markets of Asia.
“South African Airways has witnessed a steady performance, with growth in leisure tourism and MICE tourism.
14/06/12 Business Line

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IATA criticises India for higher airport charges

Beijing: India on Monday came under sharp attack for the recent hike in charges at Delhi airport and major delays in building new airports and strengthening infrastructure, with airlines’ body Iata saying this was “clearly unacceptable” and the government should encourage the aviation sector for overall economic growth.
Observing that India’s airport regulator Aera allowed a 346 per cent hike in Delhi airport charges, Iata director general and CEO Tony Tyler said “this is clearly unacceptable”.
“The Delhi International Airport (DIAL) has to pay 46 per cent of its revenue to the government... This is neither in the interest of the airlines nor of the airport”.
Addressing the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) here, Tyler said he would be holding discussions with Indian authorities on this issue soon, expressing hope that “there might be some common ground” which could be found to protect airlines’ and consumers’ interests.
14/06/12 Oman Tribune

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India may see Finnair's first long-haul flight on bio-fuels

Helsinki: Nordic carrier Finnair will launch its first long-haul flight powered by bio-fuels to Asia, where India is a strategic market, to show its commitment towards environment protection and sustainable air transportation.
"We were the first to fly the longest commercial bio-fuel flight flown anywhere in the world," said Kati Ihamaki, vice president for sustainable development with Finnair, referring to the flight in July last year between Amsterdam and Helsinki.
"We have now planed a long-haul flight powered by bio-fuels. It could be end of this year or beginning of next year. It could be to anywhere in Asia. It could be India too," Ihamaki siad.
14/06/12 ZeeNews

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Air Partner launches strategic partnership in India

Air Partner has announced the formation of a strategic partnership in India “to launch a range of private aviation products.”
The chosen partner is InterGlobe Enterprises, a leader in aviation and travel related services who, after success in the business aviation sector, broadened its product offering and underwent a re-launch to become InterGlobe Established - trading as 'THE ESTD'.
THE ESTD offers a portfolio of lifestyle products to high net worths and corporate clients and its extensive access to potential customers and knowledge of the Indian corporate and luxury travel markets will provide Air Partner with an ideal springboard from which to capitalise on the growing number of private aviation users on the Subcontinent.
14/06/12 BlueSky

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Indian skies inviting, but no takers for airlines

Beijing: With a potential air market of hundreds of millions of people, airlines ought to be hammering on India's door - yet global airline executives say it would be madness to invest in a domestic carrier there, even if they were allowed to.
Although India's economy is not the investor darling it was some years ago, the 1.2 billion population includes a sizeable middle class with increasing disposable income and the desire to go places. It's a sprawling nation, trains are packed and their safety record is poor, so the potential for air travel is huge.
But there was little enthusiasm for India at a major airlines summit in Beijing this week. "Anybody who is looking at India now is going to say it's going to be an extremely difficult proposition. There is a reward, access to a vast market, but the execution of that is the question," Tim Clark, president of Dubai's Emirates Airlines, told Reuters.
"You cannot afford to let civil aviation be a lame duck, not in something the size of India. You will have to find a way to make it work."
13/06/12 Reuters/IBN Live

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PE firms likely to invest in SpiceJet soon

Two foreign private equity firms have expressed interest in buying stake in Kalanidhi Maran-led no frills carrier SpiceJet and the airline is close to signing a term sheet with one of the two private equity companies, reports CNBC-TV18's Shereen Bhan.
The airline’s management told Bhan that they would prefer a deal with a foreign carrier provided foreign direct investment norms permit to do so. Neil Mills, CEO of the company, denied rumours that Emirates, Air Asia and British Airways are picking up stake in SpiceJet. “The managements of these three companies have said that the risk reward ratio currently does not merit an investment in a domestic Indian carrier,” he said. However, he agreed that foreign carriers have expressed interest in picking up a stake in SpiceJet if the regulations do change.
13/06/12 First Post

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Emirates chief wants Indian aviation to liberalise faster

Beijing: Indian aviation sector has to liberalise rapidly to keep in tune with the huge air traffic growth being experienced by the country, a top airline official said today.
"India has not missed the opportunity of being an aviation hub. You do not write off India. It has a great opportunity. There are problems. But you need a focussed approach to civil aviation," Tim Clark, President of the Emirates Airlines, said on the sidelines of IATA's annual summit here.
Replying to questions on the government's intention to allow foreign airlines to pick up 49% stake in Indian carriers, he said "the Chinese do it big time and they value what civil aviation is. Obviously you need to get foreign carriers in, just as the Chinese carriers need to go out. How come India cannot do the same? With Europe down you have a great opportunity to pick up kick-start and get it going."
"If you look at it from an arms length it looks okay. As an investment, 49%. But then if you work the practicalities like high fees at the airports...The airports were told that the terminal will be full of foreign and Indian carriers...You will be full of people. But then you do not allow anyone (airline or investment) to come in. Why will you do that?"
12/06/12 PTI/Business Standard

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India misreads airport tariff policies on regulation of airports: Global bodies

New Delhi: The UN's global body for civil aviation and UK's civil aviation regulator have charged India's civil aviation ministry of misinterpreting their airport tariff policies in a recent consultation paper on regulation of airports.
The civil aviation ministry has in the consultation paper said the UN's International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) no longer supports the single-till model of revenue collection and that UK's use of this model was a 'historical anomaly' caused by its bilateral agreement with the US.
Both these bodies have disputed these statements in written replies to ET. While the ICAO has said it would be incorrect to say that it supports the alternative dual-till model, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said the bilateral agreement cited by the ministry has been discarded and that it considers the single-till model to be the most cost-effective method of price controls.
12/06/12 Vikas Dhoot/Economic Times

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Boeing Dreamliner soon to arrive in India's troubled airline market

Seattle: Boeing's first delivery of a 787 Dreamliner outside Japan is finally expected to go ahead soon, following an agreement with Air India on compensation for more than three years of delays.
India's national flag carrier still faces serious financial and labor trouble at home. Indeed, the entire Indian aviation market is in turmoil, despite healthy projected long-term growth.
And yet, as airlines there jockey for position in an uncertain future, a high-stakes battle for a key Indian order is looming in the bitter sales war between Boeing's 737 MAX and Airbus' A320neo.
Air India is bleeding billions of dollars, its pilots are on strike, and many of its long-haul routes are suspended.
11/06/12 Dominic Gates/The Seattle Times/Chicago Tribune

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Zurich Airport eyes Navi Mumbai, Goa

Mumbai: Even as German airport developer Fraport AG is shutting its operations in India, deciding to sell its small stake in the Delhi airport, its competitor in Europe, Zurich Airport, is bullish on Asia’s third-largest economy. The company is eying investments in the greenfield international airport projects at Navi Mumbai and Goa.
“Zurich Airport is planning further investments in Navi Mumbai and Goa. In general, we are interested in any airport with two to three million or more passengers a year,’’ company spokesperson Michael Stief said in an emailed response to Business Standard. Ending speculation the company would sell its five per cent stake in the GVK-controlled Bengaluru International Airport Limited, Steif said, “We do not plan to sell our stake.’’
In 2009, Zurich Airport had sold about 12 per cent in the Bangalore airport to the GVK group.
12/06/12 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Fliers ‘lose sleep’ over flight times

Kochi: Flying to Europe or the US can be an exciting prospect, but it also means spending a sleepless night as airlines operating on these routes have flights taking off at odd times, post-midnight, much to the discomfort of children and the old undertaking these journeys.
At least 23 flights to the Gulf and Europe from the three Kerala airports take off between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m. every day and as it’s mandatory for passengers to check-in three hours prior to departure, the whole affair gets more tedious than it needs to be.
“People like us who live in Alappuzha or Kottayam need to leave at least three hours ahead to reach the airport on time and even after spending much of the night awake, breakfast is served on board the flight an hour after take-off.
12/06/12 Krishna Kumar K.E/Deccan Chronicle

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DGCA order suspending Global Vectra's operation permit stayed

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today stayed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation order, which had suspended the permit of Ravi Rishi-led aviation firm Global Vectra Helicorp to operate its fleet of choppers.
"I am inclined to stay the operation of the impugned order dated May 7, 2012 till further orders," said a vacation bench of Justice Vipin Sanghi, staying the DGCA order, which had scrapped the operation permit of the aviation firm.
While allowing the aviation firm to operate its fleet of choppers, the bench, however, asked the government to "nominate two directors on the board of directors of the Global Vectra" to oversee its operations.
In its interim ruling on the plea by the aviation firmand its two directors against the DGCA order, the bench said, "Global Vectra and its office bearers shall fully cooperate with the government directors and provide all information to them and they would be entitled to participate in all board meetings of the firm."
11/06/12 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Suspicious aircraft released after questioning

Jaipur: A foreign chartered aircraft flying from Muscat to Dhaka was detained overnight by authorities here after it entered restricted area over Jodhpur airbase but was released today following questioning of its pilot.
The aircraft with four crew members on board flew over Jodhpur airforce area without permission before its scheduled landing at the Sanganer Airport in Jaipur for refuelling last evening, officiating Director, Sanganer airport, P Krishna, said here.
"The aircraft deviated from its scheduled route but was being monitored. We got information from Delhi ATC about the violation so the aircraft was grounded (at Sanganer airport) and the pilot Ibrahim was questioned," he said.
According to the pilot, the aircraft had deviated from the route yesterday because of some technical problem in the GPS system.
11/06/12 PTI/ZeeNews

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Airfares higher in Indian than in China due to taxes: Naresh

Beijing: Air fares in India were about 300 per cent higher than those in China and some other countries because of high tax rates, Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal said on Monday, asserting that the aviation industry could not grow with such taxation.
"The Indian (aviation) industry can't grow with the taxes. In fact, India is the only country in the world to impose a service tax on their airlines. Do you know that the fares of Chinese airlines are a third of the Indian carriers? Why is it so? Because there are no taxes here. In fact, the Indian fares are higher by 200-300 pc if compared with the world's other carriers, leave alone Chinese," Goyal told PTI here.
Comparing Chinese airlines with their Indian counterparts, he said Chinese airlines are all state-owned and "have solid government backing, not from now but for a very long time. The Chinese government doesn't tax their own carriers and there is a lot of state support to them".
11/06/12 One India News

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IATA attacks govt for airport charges hike, delay in infra dev

Beijing: India Monday came under sharp attack for the recent hike in charges at Delhi airport and major delays in building new airports and strengthening infrastructure, with airlines' body IATA saying this was "clearly unacceptable" and the government should encourage the aviation sector for overall economic growth.
Observing that India's airport regulator AERA allowed a whopping 346 percent hike in Delhi airport charges, IATA Director General and CEO Tony Tyler said "this is clearly unacceptable".
"The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has to pay 46 percent of its revenue to the government... This is neither in the interest of the airlines nor of the airport".
11/06/12 PTI/Zee News

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Jet Air in talks with Star, Skyteam for global tie-up

Beijing: Jet Airways is in talks with two global airline alliances — Star Alliance and Skyteam, the airline's promoter, Mr Naresh Goyal, has said.
The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) had recently indicated in a report that Jet Airways would join the Star Alliance ahead of Air India.
However, Jet Airways has yet to begin the process of joining a global alliance. Air India's entry into Star Alliance has been stalled due to a variety of factors.
Star Alliance includes Air Canada, Air China, ANA, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines and operates 20,500 daily flights to 1,200 airports. In comparison, Skyteam has Aeroflot, Air France, China Eastern, Delta Airlines and KLM among others, and operates 14,700 daily flights to 958 destinations.
11/06/12 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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Delay in luggage delivery, Malaysian Airline to pay Rs 20,000

New Delhi: The Malaysian Airlines has been asked by a consumer forum New Delhi to pay Rs 20,000 to an advocate for making him travel all the way from Ludhiana to Delhi to collect his luggage, which the airline had delayed in delivering.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum presided by Narendra Kumar observed that considering the money spent by the complainant, the delay caused by the airline and "in the interest of natural justice" the lawyer was entitled to a compensation of Rs 10,000 and litigation cost of Rs 5,000.
10/06/12 PTI/IBN Live

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Travel agents decry huge hike in air fares to Gulf sector

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Association of Travel Agents today expressed concern over "huge" increase in fares by private airlines to various destinations in the Gulf by exploiting the crisis due to Air India pilots' strike.
In a statement here, KATA said it was all the more serious that the fares were hiked at a time when there was heavy post-vacation rush to the Gulf countries from Kerala.
Association president K V Muraleedharan wanted Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and central ministers from the state to urgently take up the issue with the Civil Aviation Ministry to bring relief to thousands of passengers.
10/06/12 PTI/Business Standard

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Airline told to pay couple for defective seats

Mumbai: The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered Air India (AI) to offer business-class return air tickets on the Mumbai-New York-Mumbai sector or pay a compensation of Rs 1.6 lakh to a senior citizen couple who faced physical pain due to defective seats on a New York-Mumbai flight.
Gujarat-based Tarun Seth and his wife had purchased two business-class tickets for Rs 2,39,537 for a return journey from New York to Mumbai. When they boarded the flight in 2004, they found their seats to be defective—they did not slide or move forward. They immediately complained to the airline staff and were promised a change in seats or an upgrade in London. But no action was taken.
10/06/12 Rebecca Samervel/Times of India

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Husband of Nigeria air crash victim sues Boeing

The husband of a woman killed in last Sunday's plane crash in Nigeria is suing the plane's manufacturer, Boeing (BA.N), and engine maker United Technologies (UTX.N), saying her death was caused by a "dangerous and defective" aircraft.
David Chukwunonso Allison, who lives in Lagos, is also suing the estate of the American pilot, Peter Waxtan, according to the lawsuit filed on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
Allison's wife, Joy, was among the 153 people on board who died in the crash in Lagos, Nigeria's worst in two decades. Waxtan was also killed.
09/06/12 Reuters.com

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Spicejet to connect Delhi, Mumbai with Dubai

Mumbai: Mumbai: The Kalanithi Maran-led no-frills carrier, Spicejet, on Friday announced expansion of its international services to the Gulf market by connecting Delhi and Mumbai with Dubai daily from June 25.
Spicejet said Dubai will be the airline's third international destination after Delhi-Kathmandu and Chennai-Colombo.
In domestic market, SpiceJet connects 34 destinations.
09/06/12 PTI/IBN Live

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Global aviation crisis can be opportunity for Karnataka

The global aviation industry is under severe pressure to reduce operating costs and overheads drastically and this challenge could be converted into a huge opportunity for Karnataka, said industry experts at a session on aerospace and defence.
Chris Rao, vice-president, Goodrich Aerospace Services, said material costs account for 35% of the entire operational expenses of airlines globally. "Costs are still going up," he said, and added that India's cost advantage provides the most apt answer for manufacturers in aerospace. Manufacturers are said to be trying to cut nearly 40% from operations and overhead costs.
Karnataka has the best potential to develop an ecosystem that represents a gamut of aerospace-related services, given its already existing base of companies such as HAL.
09/06/12 Times of India

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Boeing to compensate Air India for Dreamliner delay

New Delhi: Boeing has agreed to pay compensation to Air India for the over three-year delay in delivery of the B-787 Dreamliner but there was no clarity on the amount.
Air India had two years ago sought a $710 million package for the delay and several rounds of negotiations have taken place since then.
In the last week of May, the airline Board agreed on a compensation package from US aircraft maker and sent it for approval by the government.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told that the matter would be taken up by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs at its next meeting.
09/06/12 Press Trust of India/IBN Live

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More low-cost flights spread wings abroad

Mumbai: Indian low-cost carriers (LCC) are expanding their wings in the international skies.
On Friday, Spice Jet announced the opening of bookings for Dubai from Mumbai and Delhi from June 25. The airline had already made a small foray into international sectors with flights between Delhi-Kathmandu and Chennai-Colombo. Indigo, another LCC, also started international flights last year. Industry observers see the expansion as a boon for passengers who will get more competitive fares to choose from.
Officials in the industry said GoAir has also applied for permissions to go international despite not having the requisite number of aircraft. It has 12 aircraft when the requirement for international operations is a fleet of 20.
09/06/12 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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SpiceJet, Saudi Arabian Airways to transport Haj pilgrims this year

Mumbai: Air India Ltd (AI) will not be ferrying Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia from India this year. Part of the state-run carrier’s traditional task will be carried out by SpiceJet Ltd, the country’s second-largest low-fare airline. Saudi Arabian Airlines will fly nearly half of the 125,000 Haj pilgrims chosen by the Haj Committee of India this year, two officials at the Civil Aviation Ministry said.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to divulge financial details and the exact break-up of the allocation. The right to transport these Haj pilgrims was till now exclusive to state-owned Air India, but the cash-strapped firm has backed out from most of the stations, citing capacity constraints, Mint reported.
08/06/12 TravelBizMonitor

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No free pass to Indian celebrities, VIPs at US airports

Washington: Against the backdrop of Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan's detention at a New York airport, the US has ruled out any special screening for VIPs and celebrities unless they have diplomatic exemption, but said it is in talks with several countries to facilitate hassle-free immigration procedures.
India is not among those countries with which the US is having such negotiations.
"I'm not aware of anything right now," John Wagner, Executive Director of Admissibility and Passenger Programmes with the US Customs and Border Protection, told foreign journalists when asked if the US was holding any talks with India to facilitate quick and hassle-free immigration procedures for people coming from India.
09/06/12 PTI/Economic Times

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Alitalia Airlines to pay Rs 25K for losing baggage of couple

New Delhi: The Alitalia Airlines has been directed by a consumer forum here to pay Rs 25,000 as damages to a couple for losing their luggage in their trip to Newark, USA with the airline.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum observed that the Italian airline had been informed about the missing baggage by the couple when they arrived at Newark and it had assured that the lost suitcase would be traced and delivered to them within 30 days, but it never happened.
"At Newark Airport complainants (the couple) noticed that out of their two suitcases, booked at Delhi Airport, one was missing. Information was immediately given at the airport. It was noted down by the officials of Alitalia at the airport and also assurances were made that lost baggage would be delivered within 30 days.
"Despite several correspondences, nothing came out and the lost baggage of the complainants was not recovered. The opposite parties (OPs) (Alitalia and Akarshan Air Tours and Travels Pvt Ltd) failed to compensate the complainant's loss. There is deficiency proved on the part of OPs," the forum said.
08/06/12 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Finnair sees India as key market for tourism, transit

Helsinki: Nordic carrier Finnair sees India as a strategic market not just for in-bound tourism into Finland, but to also serve as a convenient hub for transit to other European nations and North America, says its chief executive Mika Vehvilainen.
But the carrier, which flies to New Delhi for the moment, has no immediate plans to look at other Indian cities nor re-introduce passenger operations to Mumbai from which it has cargo operations, the chief executive added.
"India offers a lot of potential. It is a growing market and an important market for us. But the aviation market there faces lot of competition," Vehvilainen told IANS, on the margins of Finnair's annual global press meet here.
"In fact, the Asian economy is growing very fast and we are very keen to grow with the Asian economy. Our team has also spotted 10-12 destinations there. But for the moment, we don't have any expansion plans. We want to consolidate," he said.
07/06/12 IANS

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DANA Air crash: US, France, India demand release of victims’ corpses

Foreign diplomats, on Wednesday, met with the Lagos State governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola, demanding the timely release of the corpses of their nationals involved in last Sunday’s plane crash in Lagos.
Captain Peter Waxtan, the American pilot who flew the Dana plane on Sunday.
The diplomats were from United States of America, India and France. Speaking on behalf of the diplomats, the Consul-General of China, Liu Xianta said the members of the diplomatic corps were very appreciative of the efforts of the state government on the incident.
He said the missions would want the bodies of their nationals who had been identified after the necessary tests had been carried out among those in the mortuary to be released to them for burial rites in earnest.
Also, Rani Malick, the Consular Head of the High Commission of India, said the visit was aimed at seeking the release of the corpses of their nationals involved in the crash, adding that the body of the 26-year-old Indian engineer named Rijo K Eldhose is yet to be found. Malick had clarified earlier that co-pilot of the plane, Mahendra Singh Rathore, was an American of Indian origin.
Responding, Governor Fashola said the meeting was convened to enable him to convey condolences on behalf of the government and people of the state and to share with the diplomats the processes by which the foreign missions could identify their nationals who were involved in the mishap.
The governor said the administration would also like to ask the missions what the government could do to assist them at this difficult period. He advised that they should contact the Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris; the Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr Wale Ahmed and the Special Adviser on Public Health for enquiries or possible areas of assistance.
The governor explained to the diplomats that the process of identifying the victims was a complex and painstaking one with both legal and economic consequences. He stated that there were laws that guide the process of releasing remains of some of the identified victims to their relatives.
He added that right now, recovery of bodies of victims was still going on at the site of the crash. Until the regulatory agencies in charge of that decided that rescue operations had ended, Government, he said, must exercise every care in dealing with the corpses of victims, as very little action could take place in terms of release of bodies.
07/06/12 Soji Ajibola, Sylvester Okoruwa and Christian Okeke/Nigerian Tribune

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Dana Flight 992 Tragedy: Pilot First Asked to Land On Longer Runway After First Engine Failed

Air traffic controllers have told Saharareporters confidentially that the crashed airliner Dana aircraft most likely had one failed engine long before the pilot declared an emergency. Multiple sources confirmed that the pilot had requested to land on Murtala Muhammad Airport’s longer runway 18R before calling air controllers back a few minutes later to report a total emergency.
They believe that second call was most probably when the second engine failed. The aircraft crashed about seven nautical miles from the local airport.
One source further explained that the MD 83 plane was overloaded with passengers and luggage to the extent that when the first engine failed, the pilots urgently reduced speed to enable the flight land safely on the longer and better runway, an action that led the flight to an extra 20 minutes delay before crashing at 3:43p.m. It had been billed to land at 3:21p.m.
Our sources stated that the drastic reduction in thrust was the undoing of the pilot, given the heavy pay load. To underscore their point that the operators of the jet knew of its mechanical troubles, one of our sources said the jet conducted a short flight test between the Lagos and Ibadan airport on Saturday, apparently to prove to regulators that the jet was “airworthy”.
Several employees of the Dana airlines have publicly stated that the owners were aware as early as Sunday that the jet had mechanical troubles, as it had struggled on a flight to Calabar, but the operators forced the crew to fly it anyway, obviously with an eye on maximizing profit.
06/06/12 Sahara Reporters

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Confusion, grief as families identify bodies amid stench

Tears flowed freely yesterday as over 300 relatives of the victims of DANA Air plane crash stormed the Lekan Ogunsola Memorial House of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.
Most of them broke down at the sight of the lifeless and charred bodies of their breadwinners, children and friends, who died in the ill-fated flight and others, whose houses were hit by the aircraft.
To others, it was an endless search as they went round the facilities without finding their missing relations.
Confusion reigned as they moved from one end of the building, screaming “where is …(mentioning names of the affected victim).
They starred into the faces of 43 decomposing bodies amid heavy stench that oozed from every side and not finding any that looked familiar to them, many of them broke down in tears.
“If he is dead, why can’t I find his body to give him a befitting burial,” a woman lamented amid tears. She lost her husband in the crash.
Hospital officials told The Guardian that only 43 of the 103 bodies that were brought to the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, LASUTH were identifiable.
Others were burnt beyond recognition and only through DNA could their relatives identify them. The bodies have been taken to the Mainland General Hospital for examination beginning from yesterday.
Of the 43 identifiable bodies, families and friends had identified only 29 as at 4 p.m. yesterday.
06/06/12 Seye Olumide,Wole Oyebade, Isaac Taiwo, Kenechukwu Ezeonyejiaku, Chijioke Iremeka, Chika Goodluck/The Guardian

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Its engine packed up mid air, says passenger on board same plane earlier that day

A passenger who had flown on the ill-fated plane earlier that day from Lagos to Abuja narrated how its engine stopped working for 30 seconds during flight. Fitz Patrick, a telecommunications engineer with Huawei Telecommunications told Daily Sun that his return flight from Lagos to Abuja on the same plane owned by Dana Airlines was supposed to be for 12.06pm but it was delayed. According to him, when the plane took off, it shook seriously and he was scared that it would not be able to make it to Abuja.
“I took the plane that crash landed earlier in the day. My return flight to Abuja was supposed to be for 12.06pm on Sunday but the plane left Lagos late. Everybody complained. Eventually, it took off. When we were in the air, the plane shook seriously and I became scared. But after a while, it went smoothly.
“The pilot later announced that visibility in Abuja was up to 10 kilometres and there were scattered clouds so no cause for alarm. We continued to move. When we were about to land, the plane shook three times and it was serious. At a point, the engine stopped for about 30 seconds. My seat number was 27B. Then I heard the noise again. What I was thinking within myself was that ‘Please Patrick, pray. Can the pilot hold this flight?” he said.
He added that a similar incident had happened last Friday when he left Abuja for Lagos. He stated that there was a loud noise from the plane’s propeller during the flight but that it was on Sunday before he knew that they had an emergency landing.
“My flight number to Lagos last Friday was 996 and my return flight from Lagos was 993. “On Friday, my flight time was 7.35pm but we had an hour delay. My seat number was 25A. The sound of the propeller was too much. I held my two ears and opened my eyes. During the flight, the pilot said we were about to be at 30, 000 feet above sea level but in my experience, I know that at 30, 000 feet you cannot see any building yet I was seeing buildings.
“It was on Sunday that I knew that they had emergency landing on Friday. On Friday, we didn’t land at Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 but at airport 1, specifically near the bush. While we were still inside the aircraft, there were already three cars with headlamps as well as an ambulance and fire extinguishers waiting. The pilot said ‘sorry for landing you here. It is a sign of good things coming to Nigeria’. Some people smiled while others murmured. My understanding was that they did not give them permission to land at MMA 2,” Patrick said.
06/06/12/Faith Omoruyi & Kate Halim/The Sun

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Dana plane crash: FG sends two Black Boxes to U.S.

Abuja: The Federal Government said yesterday that the two Black Boxes (the Accident Data Recorder) and (Cockpit Voice Recorder) recovered from the crashed Dana plane last Sunday will be flown to United States (U.S) today to ensure that the report of what actually led to the accident is authentic. The government also debunked the insinuation that Nigerian airspace is not safe, saying it is the safest in the world, while its records of best practices are being used in international meetings from time to time.
Addressing State House Correspondents yesterday after the Special Federal Executive Council (FEC) chaired by President Goodluck Jonathan, in honour of victims of the ill-fated Dana Air on Sunday and that of Allied Air Limited, a cargo plane which crashedlanded in Accra, Ghana, the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, alongside her Information counterpart, Mr Labaran Maku, and the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Dr. Reuben Abati, also named a nine-man Technical and Administrative Review Panel led by Group Captain John Obakpolor (rtd), to comprehensively assess all the domestic scheduled airlines.
Others are Captain Austin Omame, Capt Dele Sasegbon, Dr. O. B Aliu, FC Onyeyiri, an engineer, Capt Mfon Udom, Capt Mukhtar Usman, Dr. Tony Anuforom and Capt A. Mshelia. The panel which has six weeks to complete its assignment, is to ensure that management culture as well as effectiveness of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority’s (NCAA) oversight function is maintained and enhanced.
It is also mandated to make bold recommendations to the Federal Government on actions that must be taken to improve on the overall safety net of the aviation sector. Oduah assured that the committee, made up of the Ministry of Aviation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), commercial banks and other financial agencies - the CBN, Federal Ministry of Aviation (FMA), set up earlier to ensure that domestic airlines are restructured, submitted its recommendations yesterday, and will be fully implemented.
0706/12/Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye/Sun News Publishing

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Lagos Crash: Residents apprehensive about ghosts

Some residents of Iju-Ishaga, a suburb of Lagos, where a Dana airline crashed into buildings on Sunday, have appealed to the authorities to bury the victims far from the area.
Their apprehension was based on their belief in the existence of ghosts, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
Idayatu Ali, a 24-year-old unemployed school leaver, said living around the scene of the crash, was superstitious and would not want the victims buried at the scene of the accident, “for fear of ghosts”.
According to her, human beings are no goats and when they die prematurely, especially, violently, their ghosts will haunt the scene for a while.
“This is no superstition; I have witnessed where a young man died in an accident and his ghost continued to cry at the scene for days until a sacrifice was performed.
“Please, tell them not to bury the victims here or else some of us will have to abandon our houses,” she pleaded.
However, Jude Agwu, a commercial motorcyclist, said he and some colleagues could easily offer sacrifices to Ogun (the Yoruba god iron) in a bid to get rid of any ghost threat.
Mr Iyiola Akande, the South-West Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), said no decision had been taken on where to bury the victims.
He, however, believed that identifiable bodies should be released to their relations for burial, while badly burnt ones would be given mass burial, probably far from the scene.
07/06/12 Emma Mgbeahurike, Owerri/The nation

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Nigerian air crash: Shattered family waits for Indian co-pilot's body

The distraught father of Mahendra Singh Rathore, co-pilot of a plane which crashed in Nigeria, on Wednesday asked the Union government to step up diplomatic efforts in bringing his son's body to India at the earliest.
Hailing from Bikaner city, 34-year-old Mahendra was the co-pilot of the passenger plane, belonging to Dana Air, which slammed into a residential area in Lagos killing him and over 150 people on board and 40 on the ground on June three.
"We are informed that the body will be handed over to us after identification through DNA test and it may take another four-five days," I S Rathore, father of Mahendra, told PTI.
"The government should ask the authorities in Lagos to complete all formalities as early as possible," he said.
06/06/12 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Nigeria crash toll likely to be 159: state government

Lagos: A plane crash in Nigeria's commercial capital of Lagos is likely to have killed six people in the building hit by the airliner, raising the toll from Nigeria's worst aviation disaster for two decades to 159, the Lagos state government said on Wednesday.
The privately owned Dana Air flight, a McDonnell Douglas MD-83, smashed into an apartment block in a densely populated Lagos suburb on Sunday afternoon, killing all 153 people onboard and an unknown number of people on the ground.
Because many bodies were fragmented or burnt beyond recognition, distinguishing the passengers from other victims has proven difficult, officials say.
Authorities had done a survey of the building and the surrounding houses and found six people missing, said Oke Osanyintolu, of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency.
06/06/12 Chijioke Ohuocha and Oludare Mayowa/Reuters

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TMC uses Kolkata airport as trade-off for aviation FDI nod

New Delhi/Kolkata: The Trinamool Congress will support the central government’s initiative of inviting foreign direct investment (FDI) in civil aviation if the latter completes modernisation of the Kolkata airport before the Puja season in October.
Top government sources in Delhi told Business Standard this was the condition laid down by TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, when she met Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh last month.
According to airport officials, modernisation work at Kolkata airport is likely to be completed by July, while it will take another two months to make the new airport operational.
In Kolkata, the TMC refused to make its stand on the issue public. But there is a sense that the party may give in, if it gets what it wants for Bengal.
07/06/12 Business Standard

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Jet Airways loses director’s cut of Rs. 2-cr film in transit

Mumabi: A film director-producer, who was returning from the recently-held Punjabi International Film Festival in Canada (PIFF), has accused Jet Airways of negligence after the ground staff said his baggage was either lost or not loaded onto the flight at all.
Among other things, Jeet Matharru said that his bags contained the digital director’s cut version of his Punjabi-Hindi bilingual movie, Woman from the East…Kudessan, which was screened at the festival.
Matharru had boarded the Toronto-London-Mumbai flight on May 28 and was told that the airline didn’t have his luggage when he reached Mumbai around 11 pm the next day.
07/06/12 Mumbai Mirror

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Nigeria air crash: Dana Air not an Indian company

Accra: An aircraft in Nigeria that crashed killing 193 people is not Indian owned, an airline official said.
Dana Air, owners of the MD 803 carrier that crashed on June 03 in Lagos, Nigeria is not an Indian company and the only connection with India is its managing director, Jacky Hathiramani, group communications manager Dana group Tony Usidamen told a news agency over phone.
"Dana Group is wholly owned registered company in Nigeria with Nigerians as directors but, we have a managing director Jacky Hathiramani who is Indian," Usidamen added.
Usidamen could not immediately confirm the number of years that Mahendra Singh Rathore, the co-pilot on the flight who lost his life, had spent with the company.
A company statement had said: "The first officer had flown 1,100 flight hours, 800 of which (were) on the MD83 aircraft."
06/06/12 ZeeNews

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Nigeria plane crash: Kerala engineer’s body yet to be found

Lagos: India and other foreign countries have asked Nigeria to quickly release the bodies of their nationals killed in a plane crash here that claimed the lives of 153 people on board and an unknown number on the ground.
Foreign diplomats met with Babatunde Raji Fashola, the governor of Nigeria’s southern state of Lagos, where the accident occurred, demanding the early release of dead bodies of their citizens.
“It was not an official meeting. We went to find out about our citizens who died in the crash,” Rani Malik, the consular head of the High Commission of India in Lagos, who was among the diplomats, told PTI.
She said the body of the 26-year-old Indian engineer from Kerala named Rijo K Eldhose is yet to be found.
Malik had clarified earlier that co-pilot of the plane, Mahendra Singh Rathore is an American of Indian-origin.
06/06/12 PTI/First Post.com

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Return of air-crash victim's body may be delayed

Kochi: It might take at least a fortnight for the body of Rijo K. Eldhose, who died in Sunday's air crash in Nigeria, to arrive at his hometown Neriamangalam in Ernakulam district, family sources said.
Since the corpses of the 153 people on board the aircraft were all mangled and cannot be recognised individually, the authorities in Lagos, Nigeria, were now planning to identify the victims by matching the DNA samples of the their parents.
On being told by the Nigerian authorities to send his DNA sample, K. Eldhose, father of Rijo, left for Delhi on Wednesday.
06/06/12 The Hindu

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21 foreigners dead in Nigeria air crash

Abuja: Twenty-one foreign nationals, including Indian co-pilot Mahendra Singh Rathore, were among the 193 dead in Sunday's air crash in Nigeria, aviation authorities said Wednesday.
Eight Americans, six Chinese, two Lebanese, and one each from Canada, France, Germany, India and Indonesia were among those who lost their lives, Xinhua reported.
Seven of the eight Americans had dual nationality, according to a list of passengers provided by aviation authorities.
The MD 803 carrier of Dana Air, carrying 153 people, crashed into a two-storey building in southwestern Lagos state June 3 killing all on board and another 40 on the ground.
06/06/12 NY Daily News.com

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Ajit Singh to meet Mamata to discuss FDI in aviation

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh will soon discuss with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee the issue of allowing foreign airlines to pick up stake in Indian carriers, which her party has been opposing.
"We will talk to Mamata and we will talk to DMK. We have already talked to NCP," Singh told reporters here after a meeting with Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Before meeting Chidambaram, he had told reporters, "We are still talking to our allies" on the issue of allowing foreign airlines to invest in Indian carriers. Singh had met Banerjee once earlier to pursuade her to give a go-ahead to the proposal.
The proposal was mooted by the Commerce Ministry which was later approved by the Civil Aviation Ministry. Trinamool Congress, a key UPA partner, has been opposing it for quite some time.
06/06/12 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Dana Air Lagos Nigeria plane crash: Authorities find flight data and cockpit voice recorder

Lagos, Nigeria: Nigerian authorities found the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder from a deadly weekend plane crash, emergency officials said Tuesday.
The devices will help investigators piece together what caused the crash. Meanwhile, heavy rains have prompted a suspension of recovery efforts, officials said.
The pilot of the Dana Air plane that crashed into a densely populated neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, radioed that the plane was having trouble just minutes earlier, an airline official told CNN on Monday.
The details emerged as search and rescue crews worked to recover bodies from the wreckage, while authorities searched for the flight data recorders to try to piece together what brought down the plane Sunday, killing all 153 people aboard and at least 10 on the ground.
The pilot declared an emergency as the plane was on final approach to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, and witnesses said it appeared the plane was having engine trouble, said Oscar Wason, Dana Air's director of operations.
Wason identified the pilot as an American, but did not release his name or hometown. The co-pilot was from India, and the flight engineer from Indonesia, Wason said.
U.S. citizens were on board the flight, the U.S. State Department said Monday, but the agency did not have an exact number. The consulate in Lagos was working to notify the victims' next of kin, spokesman Mark Toner said.
Also among the dead are six Chinese citizens who were on board the flight, the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria said Monday.
05/06/12 Vladimir Duthiers and Chelsea J. Carter/CNN/ABC Action News

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2 Indians among those killed in Nigeria crash

Lagos: Rains hampered rescue effort at the devastated site of an air tragedy in Nigeria today as emergency workers looked for more bodies through the rubble, even as it emerged that two Indians were among the 153 people on the ill-fated flight that crashed following engine failure.
Rescuers have recovered 137 bodies from the site of the crash, in which the toll is expected to mount to up to 200. Just before going down near the airport, the pilot of the flight had reported to the control tower that both of its engines had failed, according to Nigeria's civil aviation chief.
Director of Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority Harold Demureen said that there was confusion at the airport before it was learnt that the aircraft had crashed. But Dana Airline, the owners of the aircraft with registration number 5N-RAM, said despite being 22-years-old the plane was still serviceable and operational.
05/06/12 Paul Ohia/PTI/IBN Live

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Engines failed before Nigerian plane crash

Lagos: The pilot of the flight that crashed in Lagos, killing all 153 people on board including an Indian co-pilot and over 40 others on the ground, reported to the control tower that both of its engines had failed before it went down, the civil aviation chief said today.
Director of Nigeria's Civil Aviation Authority Harold Demureen said that there was confusion at the airport before it was learnt that the aircraft has crashed.
But Dana Airline, the owners of the aircraft with registration number 5N-RAM, said despite being 22-years-old the plane was still serviceable and operational.
The companies Director of Flight Operations, Captain Oscar Wilson, said that the aircraft was in good condition.
Meanwhile, rescue workers at the scene of the crash at Iju Ishaga area of Lagos have recovered about 137 bodies from the rubble including a woman clutching a baby.
05/06/12 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Keralite among victims of Nigeria air crash

Kochi: A young computer engineer from Neriamangalam in Ernakulam district was one of the 153 people who lost their lives when a Dana Air passenger jet crashed in Lagos, Nigeria, on Sunday night.
Rijo K. Eldhose, 25, son of Kochukudi Eldhose and Elizabeth of Avolichalil at Kavalangad panchayat near Neriamangalam, was returning to Lagos after attending a company meeting at Abuja, Nigeria's capital, when the aircraft crashed. He was a customer service engineer for Hewlett and Packard (HP) in Lagos.
05/06/12 The Hindu

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Nigeria suspends Dana Air's licence after crash

Nigerian civil aviation authorities today "suspended" the licence of Dana Air, an Indian-owned commercial passenger carrier, after a flight operated by it crashed in Lagos, killing nearly 200 people.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority spokesman Sam Adugorogboye announced the suspension, saying Dana will not be granted another licence until a fresh re-certification.
A Dana Air spokesman said he was not yet aware of the government's decision.
The suspension came after the Senate today suggested that the airline be grounded till probes are carried out into the immediate and remote cause of Sunday's fatal accident.
05/06/12 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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India should tax air tickets to pay for AIDS drugs - UN

New Delhi: Millions of the world's poorest people could have easier access to life-saving drugs if India introduces an air ticket tax to help fund purchases of cheap medicines for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, a senior U.N. official said.
UNITAID, a U.N. agency which negotiates for cheap medicines from pharmaceutical manufacturers to treat deadly diseases, is lobbying countries such as India to join its air ticket levy initiative which began in 2006.
Under the programme, countries put a nominal amount on the cost of air tickets which funds UNITAID to buy drugs for patients in the developing world. Ten countries have imposed the levy, generating $200 million annually for cheap medicine.
"What we want in India is a similar system by which a very small contribution which is painless to the traveler can be applied to large numbers of travelers," UNITAID Executive Director Denis Broun told AlertNet in an interview.
05/06/12 Nita Bhalla/Moneycontrol.com

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Air passenger 'smuggles' daggers from Kuwait, held

The Hyderabad police are writing to the authorities of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad to verify the claims of an air passenger that he managed to bring in three daggers from Kuwait to city five days ago.
The Hyderabad Police Commissioner's Task Force officials had seized three daggers from the passenger, Md. Younus, after nabbing him at a bar in Madannapet on a tip-off. “He was showing the daggers, believed to have been made in America and purchased by him in Kuwait, to his friends then,” TF (East) Inspector R.G. Siva Maruthi said on Monday.
The 26-year-old Hyderabadi told his interrogators that he had managed to bring in the daggers hoodwinking the authorities at the airports in Dubai and Hyderabad. He maintained that the Dubai airport officials normally don't check the luggage of passengers seriously.
05/06/12 The Hindu

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Indian Owned Dana Air Crash Highlights Air Safety Concerns In Nigeria

When a Dana Air plane crashed in Lagos, Nigeria on Sunday, it aroused concerns that, despite improvements made over the last five years, there are still major safety issues in the West African nation's aviation industry.
Nigerian air safety authorities have confirmed that at least 153 people perished when the plane crashed into a residential building in Ishaga, a neighborhood near Murtala Muhammed Airport. The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 was on its way from the capital Abuja when it crashed into the two-story building Sunday, killing all on board. The number of casualties on the ground remains unclear, but state-owned Radio Nigeria puts the number at 10.
"At about 3:43 p.m. local time, Dana Flight 0992 from Abuja to Lagos declared an emergency, a call for May Day to the Lagos control tower, from about 11 nautical miles," Aviation Minister Stella Oduah told state-owned NTA television on Monday. "A minute later the aircraft disappeared from the air traffic control radar."
The tragedy was Nigeria's fourth major crash in the past decade and the worst since Jan. 22, 1973 when a passenger plane carrying 176 passengers and crew went down in the northern provincial capital of Kano.
After a spate of cashes in 2005, Nigeria made improving its aviation safety record a priority. President Goodluck Jonathan echoed that sentiment on Sunday.
Indian-owned Dana Air, based out of Lagos' Murtala Muhammed Airport, has grown to become one of the oil-rich nation's leading airlines since its inaugural flight from Lagos to Abuja in November 2008, operating over 18 daily domestic flights to Abuja, Calabar, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Uyo. According to the airline's website, it was named "Best Safety and Security Conscious Airline in Nigeria" at the Security Watch Africa Awards in September 2010.
04/06/12 Mark Johanson/IB Traveler

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Air India may not lose its loss-making foreign routes

New Delhi: Air India may still have to fly on international routes on which it is not making money at the moment.
Air India operates around 45 international flights a day, a majority of which do not make money.
Sources said that there are some flights like those to destinations in North America such as Toronto, which do not even meet the cost of the aviation turbine fuel needed to operate the service.
Official sources told Business Line that the thinking in the Government is to give Air India a set time-frame to turn around the loss-making international routes that it operates.
Sources also indicated that the airline could be given between six months to a year to make an unprofitable route profitable.
03/06/12 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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Singapore Airlines and SilkAir launch special Pre-Monsoon fares to China & Singapore

Mumbai: Singapore Airlines & SilkAir are pleased to bring to you a special pre-Monsoon offer, featuring 2 popular destinations, China & Singapore, at a special all-inclusive return Economy Class fares from INR 38,888 per person. Valid for travel on Singapore Airlines or SilkAir from Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram, the limited offer includes splendid destinations such as Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Kunming, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Wuhan & Xiamen. To avail of this offer, customers must make their bookings by 15 June 2012 for travel from 01 July to 30 September 2012. A minimum of two passengers must travel together for the whole itinerary and return within 1 month from the commencement of travel from India. The fare is inclusive of all taxes and surcharges.
04/06/12 India PRwire

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Jobs for Indians with security is Thales mandate

Dubai: French defence, aerospace and civilian technology major Thales not just believes in creating employment for 'enterprising and hard working' Indians at its global projects but also intends to give them job security with an offer of relocation.
In Dubai, for example, Thales is executing two major projects among others - two new airport terminals and the Metro. In the airport project alone, more than 40 percent of its 20,000-strong contract workforce comprises Indian nationals.
'We have not just created these jobs for Indian nationals. We have also helped enhance their skills. They are enterprising and hard working,' said Eric Lenseigne, managing director and country director for the company's India operations.
03/06/12 News Track India

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SpiceJet scouts for foreign stake buyer

Mumabi: Sun Group-promoted SpiceJet is keen on offloading a part of its stake to an overseas investor as soon as the government gives the green signal to the FDI policy, allowing foreign airlines to pick up to 49 per cent stake in domestic airlines. The SpiceJet board has already evolved a consensus on selling a part of the company to foreign investors.
“The airline is open to selling its stake — it could be to financial investors or foreign airlines,” Neil Mills, CEO, SpiceJet, said. As per reports by The Financial Express, the airline was in talks with Dubai-based Emirates for a majority stake sale. The carrier officially refused to comment on the news then. Even now, Mills did not divulge the name of the airline or the foreign investors that SpiceJet was in talks with.
02/06/12 TravelBizMonitor

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Passengers stuck in Canada due to AI strike

Chandigarh: The chairperson of the Punjab Mandi Board Ajmer Singh Lakhowal is among hundreds of Air India passengers said to be stuck at the Toronto Airport in Canada following the ongoing strike of pilots of Air India after a stand off with the management.
A resident of the Lakhowal village in Ludhiana district, Ajmer Singh Lakhowal visited Canada for medical check-up on 1 May following the heart surgery in the first week of May.
He went for a medical check up as per appointment and is supposed to come back to join his office located in Sector 17 of Chandigarh on 22 May. But, because of the strike of pilots of Air India, he has been still awaiting his turn for the air journey to India. His family has been awaiting to see him for the last one week without much success.
02/06/12 CB Singh/Tehelka.com

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Air India to turn to expat pilots sacked by Jet Airways

New Delhi: Air India will turn to expat pilots sacked recently by Jet Airways to beef up its dwindling numbers in a last-ditch attempt to normalise operations devastated by a 24-day strike by pilots.
"Air India seeks to operate a small international schedule from now on with the help of 200 pilots, for which it is looking to hire 50-60 expats sacked by Jet Airways recently," a senior official in the civil aviation ministry told ET.
The stricken national carrier is attempting to restore some semblance of normalcy to its crippled international operations, and improve financial performance to meet the milestones set by the government as a condition for the 30,000-crore bailout package. Money will be released only if the airline meets certain performance targets, such as dropping unprofitable routes.
The strike has cost the debt-laden airline more than Rs 330 crore in revenues and is worsening an already difficult financial situation. Air India's losses stand at Rs 20,000 crore and it has a debt of over Rs 43,000 crore.
01/06/12 Anindya Upadhyay/Economic Times

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The long story of transport aircraft for Russia and India

Russian-Indian transport aircraft has already become one of the most drawn out projects both in Russian and world aviation. The Russian UAC (United Aircraft Corporation) and Indian HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) signed an agreement on the joint development of a transport aircraft back in 2001. Today most analysts believe that the aircraft will not be able to take off until the end of the current decade, and many of them doubt the feasibility of the project.
At present the Antonov An-12 is the major Russian medium-sized transport aircraft. This aircraft, created in the middle of the fifties and manufactured up to 1972, is not getting any younger. Despite constant repairs, its final retirement is not far off.
At the same time, such a machine is needed, because the Air Force cannot manage solely on heavy aircraft like the Ilyushin Il-76, and the question of the An-12 and the future An-72/74 replacement already arose long ago. The irony lies in the fact that the roots of this problem lie precisely in the desire to radically update the structure of military-transport aviation. In accordance with this desire already at the beginning of the eighties, the Ministry of Aircraft Industry and the Soviet Air Force refused serial production of the An-12’s upgraded variant in favor of the promising An-70 project.
01/06/12 Ilya Kramnik/The Voice of Russia

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Foreign airlines see growth opportunities in India, says CAPA

Chennai: Foreign airlines remain interested in India despite challenges.
A number of carriers have either suspended services to India ( such as AirAsiaX, American Airlines and Qantas) or have reduced frequencies on certain routes (Air France, Austrian and Lufthansa).
Jet Airways recently announced plans to suspend its Mumbai-Johannesburg service from June.
Reasons for these reductions include insufficient traffic, poor yields and high airport charges, according to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, a research agency on aviation.
Apart from AirAsiaX, these are largely carriers that face competition from Gulf and Asian carriers on routes to/from India.
AirAsiaX's withdrawal was in part due to the weakness of its direct distribution strategy in the Indian market, which could not support the capacity generated by 11 weekly wide-body services into Kuala Lumpur, the agency said.
01/06/12 TE Raja Simhan/Business Line

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