India looking to extend UDAN scheme to Bimstec countries

New Delhi: In a bid to boost its engagement with Bimstec, India is looking to expand the UDAN scheme of its aviation policy to countries of this regional bloc, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday.

"What the government of India would like to see is that we can take the policy design behind UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik or 'common people of the country can fly') and extend it across the Bimstec region," Sinha said while speaking at an event here to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec).

"So if we can link Pakyong (greenfield airport in Sikkim), there is no reason why we can't link an airport in Bhutan or an airport in Myanmar in the same fashion," he said.
Bimstec comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Its main objective is technical and economic cooperation among south Asian and southeast Asian countries along the rim of the Bay of Bengal.
06/07/16 IANS/Zee News

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Aircraft carrier technology: Indo-US working group likely to meet soon

New Delhi: In a major push to bilateral defence cooperation, an Indo-US working group on aircraft carrier technology is likely to meet next month, diplomatic sources told The Indian Express. India and US had decided to form a working group “to explore aircraft carrier technology sharing and design” during President Obama’s visit to Delhi this year. This was again reinforced during the visit of US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter to India earlier this month.
It is believed that Indian Navy has already completed the technology assessment, feasibility studies and analysis of alternatives for joint development of an aircraft carrier, tentatively christened INS Vishal. It is currently believed to be working on engineering design of the warship. The Defence Acquisition Council had approved Rs 30 crore as seed money for this project in April. Former US State Department official and senior associate at Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Ashley Tellis had penned a monograph in April arguing for joint development of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. “Working in concert to develop this vessel would not only bolster India’s Naval combat capabilities but would also cement the evolving strategic bond between the US and India…,” Tellis wrote.
30/06/15 Indian Express

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India-Canada direct air linkages from November

New Delhi: India and Canada will resume direct air linkages from November after a gap of more than seven years to strengthen socio-economic ties and boost trade, High Commissioner for Canada to India Nadir Patel said today.

Interacting with the members of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here, Patel also offered Canadian capacities of housing sector to build Smart Cities in India provided such cities are conceptualised to satisfy the global investors at both top and bottom line.

"The direct flight between New Delhi to Toronto and vice versa would lead to cementing the trade and socio economic ties of the two countries which was called off way back in 2007 and is also a follow up action of the recent Prime Minister visit to Canada a few months ago.
29/06/15 PTI/Economic Times

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GMR group begins construction of Philippines airport

Mumbai: GMR group has commenced the construction of Mactan-Cebu International Airport's second terminal, the Bengaluru based infrastructure company announced today. The terminal will be complete by 2018.

The project is being executed by GMR Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC), a joint venture between GMR Infrastructure and Megawide Construction Corp. of Philippines. The ground breaking ceremony was held today.

GMR Infra JV won the contract to expand and modernize Mactan-Cebu airport in Philippines on BOT basis for 25 years. GMR Infra is the designated operator for the airport and the company officially took over the responsibility of operations of the airport last November.

Srinivas Bommidala, chairman of airports business, GMR group said, “Given our impressive record of building Delhi airport and Istanbul airports in record time, we are confident that we will open T2 to passengers by mid-2018”.
29/06/15 Business Standard

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Strict hand baggage rules in UAE for Air India passengers

Dubai: India's national carrier Air India and its budget airline will restrict the weight of hand luggage carried by passengers from the UAE from July 1.

The free allowance for hand luggage will be strictly restricted to 8kg for Air India and 7kg for its budget airline Air India Express inclusive of duty free items.

Also, the carry-on bags will be weighed at the gates before passengers board the flights, a senior airline official was quoted as saying by The Khaleej Times.

"If the baggage weighs more than the free allowance, a fee of 60 Dirhams (USD 16) per excess kilo would be charged at the gate," said Prem Sagar, manager of Air India and Air India Express in Dubai and Sharjah.

This is introduced at the peak time of summer travel from the UAE, Sagar said most other airlines flying to India have already been charging excess carry-on baggage at the gates.
29/06/15 PTI/Deccan Herald

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Thai AirAsia to connect more cities in India; offer lowest fare

Bengaluru: With AirAsia India taking longer time to fly international routes, its parent AirAsia Berhad has pressed into service its subsidiary Thai AirAsia to connect more cities in India.

Thai AirAsia which flies to Chennai, will fly to Bengaluru from September 1. Its CEO Tassapon Bijleveld told Business Line that as and when the bilaterals are signed between India and Thailand, it will help airlines from both the countries to connect more cities.
29/06/15 Business Line

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First Intl Flight of AI from City before Nabakalebara

Bhubaneswar: National carrier Air India has stolen a march ahead of the private operators by deciding to start international flights from Odisha ahead of Nabakalebara. The first flight will operate between Bhubaneswar and Dubai by July 10, if everything moves as planned.

This was revealed following a meeting between Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma at New Delhi on Saturday.

To popularise the festival and bring in more foreign tourists for the religious event, the decision to introduce international flights from Biju Patnaik Airport was taken, he said.

During the meeting, Pradhan and Sharma also took stock of different schemes being used by the Centre for promotion of Nabakalebara in social, print and other mass media in India as well as abroad. Sharma informed that the entire campaign related to Nabakalebara is being taken up as part of ‘Incredible India’. A separate function for issue of commemorative stamp and coins for the festival will also be organised soon.
28/06/15 New Indian Express

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Indians top Abu Dhabi airport passengers list in May

Dubai: Indians have topped Abu Dhabi International Airport's passenger traffic list with over 305,000 people passing through it in May, up by 58.6 per cent from the same period last year.

According to the official figures, a total of 1,877,440 passengers frequented the airport in May, resulting in nearly 15,000 aircraft movements recorded during the month.

The Cargo traffic of the UAE's second largest airport also showed a healthy growth with 9.8 per cent increase in overall tonnage to 73,476 compared to 66,944 in May last year.
28/06/15 PTI/Economic Times

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Hajis opt for Saudi airlines this year

Ahmedabad: This year, Hajis from Gujarat will travel by Saudi Arabian Airlines instead of the national carrier Air India which drew complaints for running irregular service last year. The decision was recently taken by the Central Haj Committee (CHC) after the Gujarat State Haj Committee (GSHC) sent a letter saying that it did not want to use Air India.
Usman Patel, the secretary of the GSHC, said: "Last year Haj travellers from Gujarat faced a lot of difficulties as the services of Air India were not up to the mark. Often, flights were late and basic requirements such as blankets were not available for passengers."

An Air India official said, "To use our services or not is the prerogative of the CHC." Last year, Air India and Saudia had operated flights for Haj from Gujarat. This year Haj flights are likely to start by the end of August.
28/06/15 Piyush Mishra/Times of India

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Abu Dhabi airport passenger traffic up 14.9% in May

Abu Dhabi: Passenger traffic through Abu Dhabi airport grew by 14.9 per cent in May to reach 1.8 million people, mainly fuelled by increased traffic on flights from the US, Italy and India.

The airport saw nearly 15,000 aircraft movements in May, airport authorities said in a statement.

Passengers from Italy grew 166.5 per cent year-on-year during May to reach over 50,000 passengers, buoyed by Alitalia’s new routes to Milan and Venice.

A similar rate of growth was also seen in passenger traffic on US routes with more than 106,000 travellers, up 49 per cent from the same period last year.

Meanwhile passengers from the Indian flights rose 58.6 per cent to reach 305,000 in May, the statement said.
27/06/15 Mary Sophia/Gulf Business

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Emotional gathering at Air India memorial

Friends, old and new, gathered on Tuesday morning on a very special piece of land overlooking the still waters  of Dunmanus Bay, to remember and pray for the victims of Air India flight 182.
Exactly thirty years previously, at 8.12am on the morning of June 23rd 1985, a bomb exploded on an Air India flight from Montreal to Delhi, just off the West Cork coast.
A total of 329 people died, 86 of them children, and beautiful Ahakista on the Sheep’s Head Peninsula is where the relatives annually come to find some peace.
Joining the relatives at the memorial at this year’s commemoration were Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan; Indian Minister for External Affairs Mr VK Singh; Canadian Justice Minister and Attorney General Peter McKay, as well as the ambassadors from India and Canada.
27/06/15  Brian Moore/Southernstar

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Bird-hit Air Arabia flight takes off from Jaipur International Airport

Jaipur: The Sharjah-bound Air Arabia (AA) flight which suffered a bird hit during take off at the international airport here forcing the aircraft to land back, took off for its destination today morning with 124 passengers. The aircraft with 165 passengers on board made an emergency landing after being hit by a bird at Jaipur International Airport.
As all of them could not be sent in the same plane, the flight, after fixing problem, took-off with 124 passengers, including one child this morning. Flight no. 436 of Air Arabia took off at 10:49 AM after repair of the same plane which suffered hit in engine (outside), an AA official said. Passengers were being adjusted in other flights since last night, he said.
26/06/15 Indian Express

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United Technology's UTC Aerospace Wins IndiGo Contract

UTX , recently announced its selection by Indian airline company IndiGo to supply the wheels and carbon brakes for its new fleet of new Airbus A320neo aircraft. The Landing Systems facility of UTC Aerospace Systems, located in Troy, OH, is expected to commence supply of the equipment from Nov 2015.

UTC Aerospace Systems will use its DURACARB carbon heat sink material for the A320 neo carbon brakes. This should foster extended brake life and lower maintenance costs, thereby generating significant cost savings.

The addition of IndiGo to its customer portfolio is a strategic move by UTC Aerospace to enhance its presence in the rapidly growing Indian passenger airline market. IndiGo is currently India's largest airline in terms of passenger volume. With the prevailing competitive environment in the aviation industry, UTC Aerospace mostly aims to cater to customer needs for building long-term relationships.
25/06/15 Zacks.com/Nasdaq.com

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8 Indians held at Lanka airport for smuggling gold

Colombo: Eight Indians were on Thursday off loaded from a Chennai-bound flight and arrested by Sri Lankan customs officials at the international airport here for allegedly smuggling 1.2 kg of gold to India by hiding it in their rectums.
The eight Indians were nabbed along with a Sri Lankan national while they were on board a flight to Chennai at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).
The men, aged between 19 and 58, were deboarded from the Sri Lankan airlines flight UL 125 and on search 1,200 gm of gold was recovered from them.
25/06/15 Tribune 

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Air India plane makes emergency landing in Melbourne

An Air India flight from Melbourne to Delhi has made an emergency landing at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport after nearly an hour of dramatically flying around the city this morning.
Flight AI309 departed Tullamarine at 10.38am AEST before the aeroplane experienced unknown 'technical complications'.

According to the flight's path, the pilots of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner made a U-Turn shortly after Kyneton and then circled Port Phillip Bay for almost an hour and dumped fuel, before setting it's course back to Tullamarine for an emergency landing.

This comes less then a fortnight after Malaysian Airlines flight MH148 made an emergency landing at Melbourne Airport shortly after taking off.
25/06/15 The Vine Life

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Sydney-Dubai flight lands at T2 after medical emergency

Mumbai: An Emirates flight, an Airbus 380, had to make an emergency landing at the city’s international terminal (T2) on Wednesday afternoon. The flight was flying to Dubai from Sydney and had to make an emergency landing after two passengers complained of feeling sick.
The non-scheduled Emirates flight EK 415 (registration A6-EDE) that landed at T2 at 2.10 pm on Wednesday could depart only at around 4 pm. Two of the passengers on the flight complained of feeling sick, after which the pilot sought the city’s Air Traffic Control’s (ATC) permission for emergency landing.
One of the passengers, Stefan Spatino (seated on 76 H), a 21-year-old Australian complained of chest pain and was offloaded. “After seeing him, another onboard passenger, a senior citizen complained of high blood pressure,” said an MIAL spokesperson.
There were total of 444 passengers and 26 crewmembers on board. The MIAL on duty doctors were immediately called and initial medical attention was provided to Stefan and Henson Carmel (a 64-year-old passenger). After that these passengers were rushed to the SevenHills hospital for further treatment.
A total of five passengers were offloaded after completing the immigration formalities. These five include Stefan’s parents John and Caterina, and Henson’s husband Malcolm.
25/06/15 Neha LM Tripathi/Mid Day

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India to be partner for Innoprom-2016

India has accepted an invitation to be a partner at the Innoprom Industrial Exhibition, to be held in Yekaterinburg July 2016. Denis Manturov, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade had extended the invitation at a meeting with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) last December. India agreed to participate in the exhibition during a meeting at the SPIEF, a release from the Indian Ministry for Commerce and Industry said.
China, with the largest ever delegation, is the partner country for this year’s Innoprom, Russia’s largest international industrial exhibition, to be held in Yekaterinburg from July 8 to 11.
Leaders of both countries are likely to visit the exhibition. In May 2014 in Shanghai, Chinese and Russian leaders agreed that China would participate in the Innoprom-2015 as an official partner. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping are expected to jointly inaugurate the exhibition.
25/06/15  Darya Kezina/Russia & India Report

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SpiceJet ties up with CSA Czech Airline for 2 aircraft

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet has signed a leasing contract with Czech Republic’s CSA Czech Airline for two A-319 aircraft. The first airbus has already been delivered, said a company spokesperson. “We are getting the aircraft to cater to additional demand,” the spokesperson said.
The second aircraft will be delivered in the coming weeks. Both the aircraft are wet leased, where the lessor takes care of the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance. “Our newest wet-leased aircraft, an Airbus A-319, has already arrived. Lessor will provide crew, maintenance and insurance,” tweeted SpiceJet’s chief operating officer Sanjiv Kapoor on Tuesday.
With the wet lease contracts, SpiceJet will not have to bother about the crew and pilots, neither will it have to worry about the insurance and maintenance requirement. Experts say though airlines pay a little premium on wet-leased aircraft, it helps company to concentrate on other core operations like on-time-performance and customer experience.
25/06/15 Sunny Sen/Financial Express

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Chennai may get direct flights to Seoul

Chennai:  Korean Air, the largest airline in South Korea, is exploring the possibility of starting services between Seoul and Chennai or Bengaluru as there is no direct flight from the south though there is a sizeable Korean diaspora living in these two cities.

Sources said that a delegation from Korean Air visited the city recently to study feasibility of starting services. They travelled to Bengaluru also. Direct flights are available only from Mumbai and Delhi.

Travellers from Chennai fly via Singapore or Hong Kong to Seoul. More than 3,000 South Koreans live in Chennai where Hyundai, LG and Samsung have manufacturing plants. They live in close knit community congregating at Korean restaurants, cultural centres and churches. Many of them have to travel to Mumbai to board direct flights.
24/06/15 Times of India

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DHL Logistics to set up North India FTZ

Singapore: DHL Logistics has identified two locations to set up a Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in North India next year with an investment of up to Euro 15 million, chief executive officer Samar Nath said here today.

"We have identified two locations and it will depend on customers' feedback on the FTZ site for the North Indian region," Nath said.

He expects an investment of between Euro 5 million and Euro 15 million in the FTZ.

DHL Logistics Pvt Ltd had set up the first FTZ in Chennai five years ago and the second one in?Mumbai.

The North Indian FTZ will be designed to handle the time- and temperature-sensitive products from life-sciences and pharmaceutical industries, hardware of oil & gas and aviation sectors as well as luxury products among others.

Nath said Chennai and Mumbai FTZs were also being expanded in response to the Indian market demand for logistics management.

He also cited strong demand from India's small and medium industries which will drive demand for logistics management.
24/06/15 PTI

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JetPrivilege, Air Seychelles ink frequent flyer agreement

New Delhi: JetPrivilege, the frequent flyer programme of Jet Airways, concluded a frequent flyer agreement with Air Seychelles. The move will help JetPrivilege members enjoy expanded connectivity and greater opportunities to earn and redeem JPMiles across the Air Seychelles network.
JetPrivilege Platinum, Gold and Silver members can also take advantage of benefits such as excess baggage allowance, dedicated airport check-in counters and access to lounges when travelling on Jet Airways codeshare flights operated by Air Seychelles between Mumbai & Mahe and qualifying Air Seychelles flights to destinations such as Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg.
22/06/15 Financial Express

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Blue Dart Express Buys Majority Stake in Blue Dart Aviation

New Delhi: Blue Dart Express today said it has become a majority shareholder in Blue Dart Aviation after purchasing additional 21 per cent stake.
 Now, the overall shareholding of the company in Blue Dart Aviation has increased to 70 per cent.
Blue Dart Aviation has become a subsidiary of Blue Dart Express -- an integrated transportation and distribution company, according to a regulatory filing.
However, financial details were not disclosed.
During its meeting today, Blue Dart Express' board of directors approved hiking stake in Blue Dart Aviation from the present 49 per cent to 74 per cent.
22/06/15 PTI/NDTV

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Avdel Aerospace Now Representing Shimco in India

Markham, Canada: Shimco, a world-wide leader in the manufacture of precision parts and gap management solutions, announced today the appointment of Avdel Aerospace as the exclusive representative in India for all Shimco parts and services. The agreement was signed in the Shimco stand (Ontario/Canadian Pavilion), at the 2015 Paris Air Show by Peter Voss, President, CEO and owner of Shimco; Jennifer Voss, Director of Shimco; Sameer Bulchandani, Managing Director of Avdel (India) Pvt. Ltd.; and Nandish Jingade, General Manager (Aerospace) of Avdel.

Avdel Aerospace is a division of Avdel (India) Pvt. Ltd. which was founded in 1961 and supplies fasteners, raw material and other hardware to aerospace and industrial customers. With warehouses and sales office locations around India including Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai Thiruvananthapuram and Kanpur, Avdel Aerospace has a strategic advantage of effectively covering the geography of the major aerospace pockets around India. Avdel’s aerospace division is the largest Indian hardware supplier/distributor to the aviation sector.
22/06/15 PR.com

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Tiruchi-Bengaluru sector air service set to resume

Tiruchi: Air connectivity to Bengaluru from Tiruchi is poised to resume after a gap of several years.

Fly Easy, a Bengaluru-based regional airline has conveyed to Tiruchi airport officials that flight operations from the Rock City to the IT city will be launched in a couple of months.

A top-level executive of the airline visited the Tiruchi international airport a few days ago and held discussions with the officials regarding commencement of the service.

Tiruchi Airport Director B.C.H. Negi said the Fly Easy executive had conveyed to him that flight operations in the Bengaluru-Tiruchi-Bengaluru sector would be launched either in August-end or September.
21/05/15 The Hindu

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Singapore Airlines plane makes emergency landing at KLIA

Putrajaya: A Singapore Airlines (SIA) aircraft, Flight SQ425, made an emergency landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Sepang, after encountering a technical problem.

A Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) spokesman said the Boeing 777-200 aircraft carrying 190 passengers had departed from Mumbai, India at 8.44am and expected to arrive in Singapore at 4.44pm, made the emergency landing at KLIA at 4.05pm.

"The plane landed safely and all its passengers and crew were also reported to be safe, with no injury sustained," he said when contacted.

The spokesman said the cause of the incident was still being investigated.
21/06/15 Malaymail Online

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Air India asks govt to reconsider easing of 5/20 rule

New Delhi : Air India has asked the Government to “reconsider” the proposed easing of 5/20 rule which will help new airlines to fly overseas without serving much on domestic routes, saying the move will be “detrimental” not only for the national carrier but also against the other established players.

According to sources, senior airline officials met the Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Nayan Choubey and told the Government that the regulation, allowing a new Indian carrier to fly abroad should be framed in a manner, which does not compromise with the “passengers’ safety” and financial viability of the airlines.  The meeting comes ahead of the scheduled deliberations of a Rajya Sabha-Committee on Government Assurances on the issue in Srinagar tomorrow, they said.
19/06/15 Free Press Journal

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Air India denies reports of neglecting

Air India, India’s national carrier, denied reports that it had neglected to take care of its customers grounded due to technical failure with a flight from Paris to New Delhi.

Media reports had said that forty Indian students, who were stranded at an airport in Paris, were forced to sleep on the floor of the Charles de Gaulle airport on Tuesday night as Air India did not provide hotel accommodation to them.

“All necessary measures were taken to reduce inconvenience to the passengers,” Air India said.

Owing to the ongoing air show in Paris, all hotels in the vicinity of the airport and the city were full, it said.

“Understanding the immediate needs of the passengers, city hotels in far off places were also checked for accommodation and a few passengers were accommodated in a distant hotel.

“Due to night curfew at Charles de Gaulle (CDG), Paris, most of the restaurants and snack counters also close at 2200 hours. However, all passengers were served sandwiches, juice and water in the night, and taken for breakfast and lunch the next day.
19/06/15 Vijay Sharma/Real Time News

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Jet Aviation Geneva Gains Approval from the DGCA in India to Serve Gulfstream and Bombardier Aircraft

Jet Aviation Geneva recently received CAR-145 approval from the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) in India to provide base maintenance services to Indian-registered Gulfstream and Bombardier aircraft.

The regulatory approval for Indian-registered aircraft extends to Gulfstream IV/V/200/300/350/400/450/ 500/550/650 and the Bombardier Global Express series.

“We are delighted to expand our services to support owners and operators of Gulfstream and Bombardier aircraft that are registered in India,” said Cyril Martiniere, managing director and accountable manager at Jet Aviation Geneva. “As home to a number of major multinationals, including the United Nations European headquarters, long-range business jets are regularly flying into Geneva. This is a significant service expansion for Indian-registered Gulfstream and Global Express series aircraft and we look forward to welcoming these customers to our facility.”

Jet Aviation Geneva was founded in 1969 and offers maintenance, refurbishment and FBO services. The company provides complete maintenance, repair and avionics support to private and corporate operators.
18/06/15 Baviation

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Boeing to compensate AI for 787 ‘fuel burnt guarantee’

New Delhi: Air India will ink a compensation agreement with aircraft manufacturer Boeing by the end of this month, said civil aviation ministry officials. “The agreement will be signed for the ‘fuel burnt guarantee’ of the Dreamliners that the American aircraft maker has been delivering,” the officials added.
A committee constituted to look into the reports will be involved in making and finalising the agreement. “The committee is looking into the Dreamliners’ performance. For the 19 planes that have already been delivered, the reports are ready. For the 20th plane, which was delivered in April, the report will come within a week’s time,” said the officials.
Boeing will deliver seven more Dreamliners to India’s national carrier. An upgrade to a higher version of has been canned as it was not commercially viable.
Phone calls and a text to Pratyush Kumar, president of Boeing India, went
19/06/15 Sunny Sen/Financial Express

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Air India's hospitality to minister forces children to sleep on floor at Paris airport

Paris: Indian national carrier Air India has been caught into a controversy as its sole attention to the hospitality of the country's Civil Aviation Minister has left 40 Indian school students ignored, forcing them to spend night sleeping on floor at the Paris airport.
According to media-reports, Air India, being busy in extending luxurious hospitality towards Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in Paris, failed in its duty to arrange suitable accommodation for a group of children who had to spend a troublesome night at Paris airport  because of cancellation of AI's Paris-New Delhi flight.
19/06/15 India Blooms 

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Nashville should lobby India’s airlines to fly to BNA

Two news items coming out of India may present Nashville International Airport and Nashville’s economy with an unusual opportunity.

First, India’s national carrier Air India is looking to expand destinations in North America.

Media reports suggest that Air India might add as many as five new destinations in the U.S.

Second, Delhi and Mumbai airports in India may soon have preclearance facilities where U.S.-bound passengers will be able to complete their immigration, customs and agricultural inspections before boarding the North America-bound flights.

As a result, these passengers would arrive in the U.S. as domestic passengers and would be able avoid substantial time delays while expediting onward journeys to their final destinations.

Air India operates nonstop flights from New Delhi and Mumbai to large American cities like New York and Chicago.
18/06/15 Achintya Ray/Tennessean

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India invites French investment in aviation sector

PARIS: India today sought French investment in its aviation sector while asking aerospace companies from France and other nations to manufacture their products in the country.
In a series of meetings with top French government officials and senior executives from various companies present here at the 51st Paris International Air Show, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told them that India offers a vast opportunity as a market as well as a manufacturing hub.
Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjeet Singh also held a series of meetings with the companies present in the defence sector, including Dassault, from which India has decided to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets.
18/06/15 PTI/The Economic Times

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Airbus to Increase India Sourcing to $2 Billion by 2020

Paris: Bullish on India as a market place as well as a manufacturing hub, leading aircraft maker Airbus on Thursday said it has begun sourcing components for almost all its jets from the country and aims to take its cumulative sourcing from there to $2 billion in the next five years.
Showering fulsome praise for the Modi government's Make in India campaign, Airbus said it's making a large number of products in the country, either directly or through its supply partners, where collectively more than 5,000 people are employed.
18/06/15 PTI/NDTV

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SITA eyes India with blackbox data streaming from flights

Brussels: Airlines IT solutions giant SITA today said it will soon test streaming of data from blackboxes to help gather crucial information about movement of planes, in the wake of the mysterious disappearance of a Malaysian plane and deliberate crashing of a Germanwings aircraft.

SITA, which has significant presence in India, also hopes to work with Indian carriers for flight tracking system besides incorporating the new "simple" solution.

The streaming of data from blackboxes, expected to be tested as early as June itself, comes amid rising concerns about safety of flights.
The ill-fated Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared under mysterious circumstances last year with 239 people on board and massive efforts to trace the Boeing 777 have yielded no success so far.
17/06/15 PTI/Economic Times

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Kolkata-Colombo direct air service begins

Kolkata: Carrying 116 passengers on board, the first direct flight to the city from Colombo touched down at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport today.

The Airbus-319, belonging to Sri Lanka government's low-cost carrier Mihin Lanka, touched down at 2 pm with 116 passengers - 105 in economy class and 11 in business class - after a three-hour journey from Colombo, an airline official said.

The return flight left the city at around 3 pm taking 120 passengers to Colombo.

"It's a historic moment and we are quite excited and proud to start this flight service. We are very pleased to add another destination to our network in India," SriLankan Airlines, Director/CEO Rakita Jayawardena told PTI.

"The two countries have close cultural ties. And because of the presence of several Buddhist relics in Kolkata we felt the need to start up a service. We will do a proper marketing of Kolkata's connection to Sri Lanka," Jayawardena said adding that the Kolkata has centuries-old connection with Colombo.
17/06/15 PTI/Business Standard

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IAAI files criminal case aganist IATA

IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI) has filed a case against IATA IATA at Gurgaon, Haryana, seeking directive for the reconstitution of APJC-India under Appendix ‘F’ – of PAConf New Guidelines of January 2014. This has led to a case under CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) against the IATA Representative, Vinod Malhotra.
According to a release issued by IAAI, till end-2013, in countries governed under 810 and 818g, Agents’ Representation in APJC was decided between the Travel Associations. In India, however, IAAI was kept out of APJC by the vested interests.
In January 2014, PAConf issued globalized directives to countries under Res 818g to regularize APJC under Appendix-“F” of the New Guidelines - Establishment of an APJC – directing that the IATA local/regional offices must be responsible for the formation and regularizations of the APJCs in a country.
When our legitimate right was denied again, there was no other way to push our proposed DIP (Default Insurance Program) through APJC-India, and IAAI was constrained to approach the Court of Law for justice and fairness.
17/06/15 Travel Trands Today

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40 Indian school children stuck at Paris airport

New Delhi: In what highlights the sorry state of affairs at Air India, over 40 Indian school children were forced to spend the night sleeping on the floor at the Paris airport after their flight to New Delhi was delayed due to technical reasons.
According to reports, Air India Flight AI 142 was scheduled to take off from Paris on June 16, 2015 at 10.00 PM, however, it was delayed due some unexplained technical reasons. The flight was suppose to fly back over 40 school children who had been on a tour to Europe.
As per general rule, Air India should have arranged for an alternative stay for these children belonging to KR Mangalam World School, however, the kids were forced to sleep on the floor. They were not even provided food or drinking water during their ordeal.
No one from Air India has appeared to take care of these children at the airport since the announcement of the delay in flight, which was yet to take-off till the writing of this report. Neither Air India nor Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju have responded to the issue.
18/06/15 India Today 

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Turban trouble: Canada withdraws 'discriminatory' airport policy

Amritsar: A day after Sikhs there voiced their discontent, the Canadian government withdrew "the explosive trace detection" turban screening procedure at the airports there. The recently-introduced procedure required those wearing even religious headgears, including Sikh turban, to pat it and then present their hands for test of traces of explosives.

Canada-based World Sikh Organization (WSO) legal council Balpreet Singh told TOI on Wednesday that the country's transport minister Lisa Raitt announced the reversal of the new policy on Tuesday evening. In addition, Canadian minister of state (multiculturalism) Tim Uppal also issued a statement on the subject at the same time.

"The new screening procedure stands cancelled for air travel inside Canada," Singh said, adding that the reversal in orders came hours after WSO condemned the new policy.
18/06/15 Yudhvir Rana/Times of India

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Goa airport set to issue e-tourist visas to 31 more countries

Panaji:  Dabolim airport is set to issue e-tourist visas (ETVs) to 31 more countries enlisted for this facility granted by the Central government recently.

Citizens from Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Belgium, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Malaysia, Malta, Mongolia, Mozambique, The Netherlands, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Surinam, Sweden, Tanzania, East Timor, Turks and Caicos Islands, the UK, Uruguay and Venezuela are now eligible for ETVs under the new visa policy.

The existing policy had provided this benefit to 45 countries and the Centre plans to extend this to 150 by next year.
18/06/15 Times of India

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Magellan Aerospace to partner with Mahindra in India; focus on aerostructures

Paris: Canada-listed global major Magellan Aerospace today partnered Mahindra Aerospace to offer their mutual customers major structural assemblies, machined components and fabrications for the global market.

An MoU was signed between the two companies for this partnership here at the Paris international Air Show and is part of their customers' strategy to develop supply from India.

Under the terms of the agreement, Magellan and Mahindra will develop a framework to partner on jointly responding to and developing new aero structures business opportunities.
18/06/15 PTI/Economic Times

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Kyrgyzstan Man Held at Delhi Airport for Gold Smuggling

Kochi: A Kyrgyzstan national has been arrested for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold jewellery, worth about Rs. 22 lakh, at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi.

The accused was intercepted by Customs officials after his arrival here from Bishkek on Tuesday. On detailed examination of his baggage and personal search, one gold chain and a gold bracelet, total weighing 922 gms, were recovered, a Customs release today said.

The gold jewellery was assessed to be worth Rs. 22 lakh, it said, adding the passenger was arrested.
18/06/15 PTI/NDTV

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Honeywell To Provide Engines for HAL-Made Indian Training Aircraft

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) has chosen Honeywell’s TPE331-12B turboprop engine for its HTT-40 military training aircraft for the Indian air force.

The HTT-40 program’s future had been uncertain, because the Indian air force opposed the purchase of HAL-made trainers. And earlier this year, India opted to buy 38 PC-7 Mk.2 trainers from Pilatus to meet its requirement for 181 Stage 1 basic trainer aircraft.

But in an example of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative, defense acquisition officials rescued the HTT-40 from the dead. They insisted the air force buy enough HTT-40 aircraft from HAL to make the project commercially viable.
17/06/15 Jen DiMascio/Aviation Week

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US flight takes shocking U-turn for two mystery passengers

Who were they? No one seems to really know. But on flight UA-83 of United Airlines, passengers were curious. The two mysterious men were embarked, at the cost of a 46-minute delay even after the Delhi-Newark flight had begun taxiing, after the plane returned to the boarding area of the international terminal of IGI Airport on June 13 night.
It was 11.35 pm when the passengers of flight UA-83 were all aboard the aircraft, waiting to take off for the American destination. The aircraft had begun taxiing -- moments away from the sky.
Then came a phone call. The pilots had to abort the take-off. The airline was allegedly called up by an Indian government agency demanding that the aircraft return to the boarding area for these two men.
"After getting clearances from ATC, customs, etc, the doors of United Airlines flight UA-83 were closed and the staff removed the jetty. As the flight started moving towards the runway, a senior official of the United Airlines got a call to abort the take-off as they had to take two passengers. After a few seconds, the pilots made a Uturn and came back to the area where the passengers board flights. This is shocking as no airline is allowed to take passengers the way United Airlines did," a senior aviation official told Mail Today.
United Airlines has refused to reveal the identity of these two passengers and told Mail Today that these passengers were handed over to them by the Immigration as they were denied entry into India.
17/06/15 India Today

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Tata Sons in talks with AirAsia to raise its holding; likely to buy Arun Bhatia’s shares

PARIS: Low-fare carrier AirAsia India and Tata Sons are in discussion to increase the conglomerate's stake in the airline, a senior executive at the airline's Malaysian parent and another person in the know said.
The Tatas now own 30% stake in AirAsia India while AirAsia Berhad owns 49%. The rest is with private investor Arun Bhatia through his investment holding company, Telestra Tradeplace.
The group will likely buy Bhatia's shares reducing his holding to a "bare minimum", said the person cited above on condition of anonymity.
"There are discussions going on (between Tata Sons and AirAsia India) and I know the Tatas are keen to increase stake. They are happy with AirAsia's performance," said the senior executive at AirAsia Berhad.
17/06/15 Anirban Chowdhury/The Economic Times

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Air Seychelles expands codeshare pact with Jet Airways

NEW DELHI: Expanding its codeshare pact with the Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways, Seychelles national carrier Air Seychelles today announced inclusion of New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata in its existing route network.

With the addition of codeshare routes, Air Seychelles now offers air services to nine Indian cities on Jet Airways' domestic network, including Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, an Air Seychelles release said.
16/06/15 PTI/The Economic Times

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US Airlines Badly Losing US-Gulf Airline Brawl Over India Air Traffic

Three major U.S. airlines, among the biggest in the world, have jointly alleged that three prominent Persian Gulf carriers are relying on unfair government subsidies to dominate the profitable long-haul air traffic segment into the United States, mostly from India.

The Big Three – American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air – charged in a widely-circulated note, “Over the past decade, the government of Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have granted over $40 billion in subsidies and other unfair benefits to their state-owned carriers in order to stimulate their economies by promoting the flow of international passenger traffic through their Gulf hubs.”

The note continued, “State-owned Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates Airlines are now using this huge, artificial cost advantage to exploit the open access they have to the U.S. market.” The airlines wanted the U.S. government to modify its Open Skies policy to address the subsidies.
Etihad Airways dismissed the allegations in a paper submitted to the U.S. government.
17/06/2015 Saritha Rai/Forbes

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Chinese tycoon's plane leaves from Agartala after repair

Agartala: Chinese chartered aircraft, which had to make an emergency landing here last week with nine people, including business magnate Wang Jianlin on board, left for Kolkata on Tuesday en-route to China, officials said.

Wang, one of the world's richest men and chairman of the multi-billion-dollar Dalian Wanda group, along with three of his team members and one of the five crew member left Agartala for China by another chartered aircraft on Friday, a day after his aircraft landed here following a technical snag.

"Two days ago, Indian engineers from Delhi had repaired the plane. The light private aircraft left for Kolkata on Tuesday en-route tothe Chinese capital Beijing after Director General of Civil Aviation and other authorities gave necessary clearances," an official of the Airports Authority of India told IANS.
16/06/15 IANS/Business Standard

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GMR subsidiary signs MoU with Oman Airport Management Company

Mumbai: GMR Airport Developers Limited (GADL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oman Airport Management Company (OAMC) for providing training and consultancy services.
As per the MoU, the GMR subsidiary will provide services ranging from program management, testing and commissioning of airport systems to development of aeronautical and non-aeronautical revenue streams.
Speaking on this occasion Mr. Srinivas Bommidala, Business Chairman Airports, GMR Group said, “GMR Group is the world’s 4th largest private airport developer and possesses end to end capabilities in the airport space. In line with our stated Asset light Asset right strategy, GMR has been engaging with and offering consultancy services to airport companies in the Middle East and South East Asia.
17/06/15 India Infoline

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Rafale deal: French defence minister to visit India again

New Delhi: French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian will visit India soon as the two countries work towards finalising the deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets.
Defence sources said French defence minister is likely to arrive in India soon to carry forward the talks on the Rafale jets. They did not put a timeline to his visit.
Drian visted India last month also.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had last month said that talks would be completed in "2-3 months".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced his decision to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets during a visit to France in April, a deal worth an estimated $8 billion.
17/06/15 First Post

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Singapore Airlines and Vistara to expand network

Singapore Airlines is working on a code share agreement with subsidiary Vistara, to offer its domestic network to India-bound passengers. The agreement would benefit both the Singapore Airlines and its Indian unit to increase their market share.
"We are also trying to see how Vistara and SIA can work together and feed our international traffic in the domestic network," CEO Goh Choon Phong told the Economic Times on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association AGM.
He said: "We have a lot of our flights to India and Delhi and through that we can bring in rest of the world to Delhi and connect destinations that Vistara connects to. We have applied for a code share and are waiting for approvals. Once the approval for code share comes in, you will see much more clarity on this.
16/06/15 Business Insider

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No plan to pick up stake in any airline, says Emirates

Bengaluru:  Gulf carrier Emirates has said that it was too focused on its own growth to explore opportunities for picking up a stake in any airline in India or elsewhere.

The airline also tried to put an end to the claims from foreign airlines that the UAE Government heavily subsidises Emirates, stating that it does not receive such benefits. “We compete on an even field and the accusation of government subsidies is unfounded,” Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Vice-President for India and Nepal,  told BusinessLine.

Ahmad said though there were reports about Emirates planning to pick up stake in one of the airlines in India, there was no truth in them. “We have no plans to acquire a stake in any airline in India or elsewhere. We are focused on our own growth, investing substantially in strengthening our fleet and expanding our network.”
16/06/15 Business Line

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Flying, the Turkish way

Mumbai: When sport superstars Lionel Messi and Kobe Bryant team up to endorse a brand, it is bound to attract a lot of eyeballs. And it did, making Turkish Airlines somewhat of a Youtube star with the ad featuring the duo getting 140 million views. But what has been an even greater achievement for the brand is the 87 per cent increase in its passengers, globally, between 2010 and 2014. The airline flew 387,000 passengers to and from India in 2014, a little more than 10 years after it entered the market.

Turkish Airlines flies to 110 countries, the most by any airline. The airline came to India in 2003 and now serves Mumbai and Delhi with daily flights to Istanbul. In India growth is restricted because of its limited traffic rights--unlike the Gulf airlines which fly to many more points in India, Turkish's operations are confined to two cities. To get around this, the airline is positioning Istanbul as a gateway into Europe for Asian fliers, branding Turkey as a destination for history enthusiasts and leisure travelers and building its image as a youthful airline. "The Indian sub-continent is of utmost importance to us and the market here is growing at a staggering rate. We have started off the year on a good note with growth in sales and we expect the momentum to continue through the holiday season," said the airline's spokesperson in an e-mailed response.
16/06/15 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Make in India: OIS Aerospace signs defence JVs with French firms Rafaut, LH Aviation

PARIS: Joining the government's Make in India programme, home-grown OIS Aerospace group today announced two joint ventures -- with Rafaut and LH Aviation of France -- for manufacturing advanced weapons-to-aircraft interface devices and multi-sensor tactical UAVs.
The first JV with Rafaut, a major supplier of weapons-to-aircraft interface systems in Europe, will make 'pile-ons' for the fighter aircrafts to carry the weapons, besides conducting further research and developments to make the product more advanced and suitable as per the requirements in India.

The second JV with LH Aviation, a French aircraft manufacture, will set up a separate manufacturing plant in India for multi-sensor tactical UAV fighter aircraft that can fly up to 24 hours.
15/05/15 PTI/The Economic Times

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Air India Seeks Pre-Clearance Facility For US Flights

Air India has requested the External Affairs Ministry to facilitate a pre-clearance facility for its US-bound flights from major domestic airports, a security arrangement America is keen to expand overseas.

Apparently, the national carrier hopes this facility will help it in facing stiff competition from the Jet Airways-Etihad combine on the lucrative US routes.

The national carrier has sought the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility at Mumbai and Delhi airports to begin with, which would allow these passengers complete the immigration process at these airports itself.

"We have requested the MEA for having this facility as it would enable our flyers land in the US as domestic passengers and, if granted, this would save considerable time for them," Air India sources said.
15/06/15 BW Online Bureau & Agency/Business World

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Russian-Indian Multi-role transport aircraft to receive Russian engine

India has agreed to install the Russian PS-90 engine on the multi-role transport airplane which the two countries are developing, United Aircraft Corporation (OAC) head Yuri Slyusar told journalists on Monday.
"The Indians have agreed to the PS-90. The project itself will replace the Antonov group of airplanes which in the near futures will begin to leave service en masse ", said Slyusar at the Aviation salon at Le Bourget (France).
The project is currently at the stage of the adoption of the preliminary design, observed the head of the corporation. He said that the OAC had "high hopes" to sign a contract on the transition to the stage for a detailed design by the end of the year.
15/06/15 Ria Novosti/Russia & India Report

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Singapore Airlines may offer Vistara network to its fliers

MIAMI: Singapore Airlines is working on a codeshare agreement with subsidiary Vistara to offer its domestic network to India-bound passengers, CEO Goh Choon Phong said.
The pool of the carrier's customers travelling to India is a ready catchment for Vistara to increase its market share and would benefit both Singapore Airlines and its Indian unit. "We are also trying to see how Vistara and SIA can work together and feed our international traffic in the domestic network," Goh said on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association AGM.
16/06/15 Mihir Mishra/The Economic Times

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Bhatkalli not allowed to enter Hong Kong

Abdul Haque Muniri who has been in the hardware business for 35 years in Bhatkal was invited to be part of a 15-day trip to Hong Kong in which officials of ACC cement company participated. This trip, however, turned into a nightmare after he, along with his wife, were allegedly detained at the Hong Kong Airport by immigration staff for about 12 hours and then sent back to Bengaluru.

Speaking to Bangalore Mirror on his way back from Bengaluru to Bhatkal, Muniri said, "We do not know why we were we harassed. About 43 members were part of the trip to Hong Kong. On landing at the airport at about 9.30 am on Friday most of them cleared immigration, while I, along with my wife, were detained. Initially we failed to understand the language. We were asked several questions like who we were, why did we come to Hong Kong, and so on. Our luggage was checked several times and we too were personally checked. ..," he said. The couple was immediately sent back to Bengaluru. There were 15 other Indians who were sent back.

News of his return spread like wildfire in Bhatkal and on social media, giving room for several conspiracy theories. While some alleged that the name ' Bhatkal' has been put on the look-out list at all international airports, a few maintained that it could be a case of improper travel documents.
14/06/15 Deepthi Sanjiv/Bangalore Mirror

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10 mnths on, Indore UAE flights yet to take off

Indore: International air connectivity to Indore through two Gulf-based airlines seems to have grounded even before they took off. Ten months after Madhya Pradesh government announced that Gulf carrier, Emirates will start operations between Dubai and Indore from December 2014 the first flight is yet to take off.

In August last year, MP government signed MoUs with Air Arabia and Emirates, two prominent airlines from United Arab Emirates (UAE) to provide direct air services between Indore and UAE.

Top government sources confirmed to TOI, "so far operators did not get required permission from Centre."

Madhya Pradesh is waiting anxiously for permissions, but "so far" there is no good news, sources said. A major hurdle is passenger traffic which is not sufficient to make the direct Indore-Dubai flight financially viable, they said.
14/06/15 Deshdeep Saxena/Times of India

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New Delhi-bound Qatar Airlines Cargo plane lands in Lahore

Lahore: A New Delhi-bound Qatar Airlines Cargo plane had to land in Lahore as the Delhi airport authorities asked it to hover in the air till clearance of the runway.
"The pilot of Qatar Airlines New Delhi-bound Cargo flight 8892 today afternoon requested Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority for landing at the Allama Iqbal International Airport Lahore for refueling which was allowed," CAA Punjab spokesman Kamran Malik told PTI.
13/06/15 PTI/Zee News

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Air India seals codeshare alliance with Air New Zealand, Avianca

New Delhi: Providing a seamless connectivity to its passengers bound for New Zealand and Colombia, national carrier Air India has sewed up a codeshare alliance with Air New Zealand and Avianca.
The two partnerships were sealed during the 71st Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association in Miami, early this week.
Both Air New Zealand and Avianca are part of the global airlines group Star Alliance, of which Air India is also a member.
Code-sharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless transport to multiple destinations where it has no presence.
13/06/15 Financial Express

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China tycoon's flight makes emergency landing in Agartala

Guwahati: The private jet of a Chinese realty baron and one of Asia’s richest business tycoons with eight other people on board made emergency landing in Agartala airport after experiencing “technical snag” in its engines.

The flight carrying head of the multi-billion dollar Dalian Wanda group, Wang Jianlin, and a team of businessmen and crew not only left the Tripura government in a tizzy, but as the news spread, strong rumours of a foreign airstrike started doing the rounds.

Wang was on his way back to Beijing after completing his business visit to India, during which he announced plans to invest $5 billion in developing industrial townships in the country.

Airport Authority of India (AAI) sources said that at about 10:30 am on Thursday, the aircraft, which was flying in Bangladesh airspace at that time, contacted the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) at Agartala airport declaring an emergency owing to engine technical warnings.

The ATC followed the protocol and gave permission to enter Indian airspace and cleared it for landing at Agartala airport. All emergency facilities were extended to the aircraft.
12/06/15 Deccan Herald

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Air India seeks US pre-clearance travel facility at Delhi, Mumbai airports

NEW DELHI: Flyers winging their way nonstop to the US from Delhi and Mumbai may soon be landing in America as domestic arrivals, if Air India has its way.

The Maharaja has asked the external affairs ministry to facilitate having US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility at big Indian airports like Delhi and Mumbai. America-bound passengers can clear all immigration, customs and agriculture inspections required by the US at these facilities during departure itself. On landing in US, they can simply collect their baggage and walk off the arrival airports like domestic flyers.
12/06/15 Saurabh Sinha/The Times Of India

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After pacts with utilities, US-based Innovari Inc eyes India’s defence space

After pacts with utilities, US-based Innovari Inc eyes India’s defence space
US-based Innovari Inc plans to enter the Indian defence space. The company, which has inked contracts with three Indian utilities — including Reliance Infrastructure — to help optimise the country’s power grid, is in talks with several Indian SMEs in the defence and aerospace sector.
In an exclusive interview to FE, Preetha Nair, President – Innovari Technologies, said, “We have many plans for the Indian market. We have recently opened a new technology and development centre in Bangalore and plan on investing heavily in India to support our global growth. With the expertise we have in the energy sector this can be used in defence programmes in India. That’s what we are wanting to participate in and support India’s growth and sustainability.”
12/06/15 Huma Siddiqui/The Financial Express

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Etihad invested in Jet Airways for 40 million Indian travellers

MIAMI: Etihad Airways invested nearly Rs 2,000 crores in Jet AirwaysBSE -2.16 % aimed at cornering a large share of the 40 million Indians travelling abroad every year, the Gulf carrier's CEO James Hogan has said.
"One of the reasons we invested in Jet Airways market internationally 40 million people travel each year. For us we are the smallest of the three Gulf carriers and remain the smallest of the three Gulf carriers," Hogan said during a panel discussion as part of the IATA's 71st Annual General Meeting here this week.
11/06/15 PTI/The Economic Times

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Airfares to Delhi cut by more than half

Kathmandu: Airfares on the Kathmandu-Delhi sector have been slashed by more than half as airlines struggle to fill seats after the Great Earthquake of April 25 scared away potential travellers, travel agencies said.

A one-way ticket now costs Rs7,300 compared to the usual Rs15,000 during the June-August period, the lean tourist season. Most carriers flying Nepal have launched discount offers to lure passengers as occupancy has plunged below 30 percent, a leading travel agency said.

Indian carriers Jet Airways and Air India have been selling tickets for less than Rs10,000. Airlines are flying with less than 20 percent of the seats occupied on flights between Kathmandu and Delhi and other Indian cities even though one and a half months have passed since the terrible tremor.
12/06/15 eKanitpur

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Etihad CEO James Hogan calls Jet investment a bet on India market

Miami: Etihad Airways' stake purchase in Jet AirwaysBSE -1.34 % should be seen as an investment in the Indian market and not in the airline per se, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier's chief executive said. James Hogan was speaking at a panel discussion at the 71st annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association here on Monday evening.

Through the stake purchase, Etihad is eyeing India's growing market for outbound travel, as the airline tries to expand its network and better compete with regional rivals. "For us we are the smallest of the three Gulf carriers and remain the smallest of the three Gulf carriers," Hogan said. Etihad acquired 24% in Jet for about Rs 2,000 crore. The deal followed a three-time increase in bilateral seat entitlements between India and Abu Dhabi.
11/06/15 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Air India presents agency awards in glittering ceremony

Dubai : Air India organised its annual agency awards Nite (AAN) on Wednesday, Jun 10 in the grand Rashidiya Ballroom of Al Bustan Rotana Hotel at 8 pm. AAN is held every year by Air India to honour and recognize its sales partners in the territory and to celebrate the same with the trade partners and other eminent personalities of UAE.

Top achievers of Air India from Emirates of Dubai, Sharjah and other northen emirates were felicitated at AAN in a grand ceremony presided over by Melwin Dsilva, regional manager of Air India and Air India Express for Gulf, Middle East and Africa. The programme was hosted by Prem Sagar, manager of Air India for Dubai, Sharjah and Northern Emirates.
11/06/15 Deepak Dsilva -Paladka/Daijiworld 

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Global airline alliances looking to induct Indian low-cost carriers- Indigo and Jet

Miami: Two of the world's three major airline alliances have indicated their willingness to induct low-cost Indian carriers as members. Top executives of SkyTeam, the world's second largest airline alliance, and Oneworld, third largest, said they are keen to have as member an airline from India, a country where aviation passenger growth has touched double digits.

As of now, only Star Alliance--world's biggest airline alliance--has a presence through national carrier Air India.

SkyTeam MD Michael Wisbrun told ET that IndiGo is a dominant player and the alliance will not mind entering India's market through the low-cost carrier. "We prefer to have an Indian company into the alliance," Wisbrun said. "Is it Jet or IndiGo, It remains to be seen. IndiGo also is a dominant player in the Indian market and could be an option."

Bruce Ashby, CEO at Oneworld, said his alliance too is not disinclined to inducting a low-cost carrier from India. "A low-cost carrier will be required to make changes in its system like (introducing) `frequent flier programme' and a few technical upgrades to be eligible to join our alliance," Ashby told ET on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association AGM.
10/06/15 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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Sweden offers to collaborate with India for production of LCA

Sweden tonight offered to collaborate with India on production of light combat aircraft in the country as part of the 'Make-in-India' initiative as the two countries decided to scale up bilateral defence ties.

Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist held talks with his counterpart Manohar Parrikar here during which a range of issues were discussed.
India and Sweden exchanged views on "rising scourge of terrorism" and agreed to cooperate in stemming it, Defence Ministry spokesperson Sitanshu Kar said.

He added that the two sides also discussed issues relating to participation of Swedish firms in defence manufacturing in India under the 'Make-in-India' initiative.

Both sides agreed to continue to explore opportunities for enhancing cooperation between the defence establishments of the two countries in mutually agreed areas, he added.

Hultqvist, sources said, talked about possible collaboration in manufacturing single engine light combat planes.
10/06/15 PTI/Business Standard

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Flights to Kerala operate on schedule

Dubai: Air India (AI) and Air India Express (IX) will operate all flights from Dubai and Sharjah airports to Calicut International Airport in Kerala, India, on schedule. The restriction imposed by the Airport Authorities of India in Calicut will have no impact on the airlines operations, said a top official of Air India.

Air India Manager (Dubai & Sharjah), Prem Sagar, said that narrow bodied aircrafts like A321, A310, and A737 can land in Calicut Airport, despite the restrictions.

He said, “There is no restriction on operating narrow body aircrafts. Since Air India and Air India Express operate narrow body aircrafts like A321, A310 and A737 in this sector, our flights from all airports in the UAE to Calicut will operate as per the schedule.”
10/06/15 Imran Mojib/Gulf Today

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British Airways announces double baggage allowance for students

British Airways has announced double baggage allowance for students travelling from India. Students can now take all of their cherished possessions as they travel to study in the UK, Europe, US or Canada. The offer allows an extra piece of luggage weighing up to 23kg, in addition to the current checked baggage allowance of one piece of luggage for the UK and Europe, or two pieces of luggage for destinations in the USA and Canada.

British Airways, has also partnered with popular brands to enable its student travellers to benefit during their travel experience. There are exciting retail offers from Jabong and Macy’s, free mobile talk time with Matrix, offers with HDFC Credila Student Loans and exclusive benefits on ICICI student travel cards. The offer is valid for students from India travelling with British Airways between April 1, 2015 and March 31, 2016.
10/06/15 Financial Express

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MAHB eyes India, Indonesia airport stakes

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is eyeing stakes in airports in India and Indonesia.

“We are looking at airports closer to Malaysia as well as airports in other high performing countries,” MAHB managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali told StarBiz on the sidelines of the Global Airport Development Asia 2015 conference in Kuala Lumpur.

In March, MAHB disposed its 10% stake in Delhi International Airport Private Ltd to GMR Airports Ltd, a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Ltd, for a consideration of US$79mil (RM295mil).

Meanwhile, the Malaysian airport operator has pre-qualified its bid for the maintenance job at the King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).
10/06/15 Cheryl Pod/The Star

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Sudanese National Held in Chennai Airport, Tried to Flee India With Forged Documents

Chennai:  ‎A Sudanese national, who first came to India in 2008 to pursue his BCA at Osmania University in Hyderabad, was arrested at the Chennai Airport on Wednesday morning. Mohammed Kamaleldin Fatah All (25) was caught by Bureau of Immigration (BOI) officials when he checked in to fly back to Sudan, on a Flydubai flight FZ448, at 5 am.
According to the airport police, Kamal had finished his degree and returned home in 2010 - only to come back on a two year visa to continue his masters. "However, there is no record of whether he studied beyond that in Hyderabad or elsewhere. He claims that he continued studying without realising that his visa expired in 2012," said an official.
10/06/15 New Indian Express

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Afghan man tries to pass as Indian at IGI

New Delhi:  Trying to put his ancestral connections to greatest use, Charan Singh, an Afghan national, tried to idiot the immigration employees at Indira Gandhi International Airport within the capital on Monday night when he tried to fly to Moscow as Rahul Chopra.
The forgery got here to mild when Charan Singh reached the departure space of the airport for immigration clearance round 6pm and launched himself as Rahul Chopra. He was additionally carrying a passport in that identify. “The passenger’s paperwork have been checked and it was discovered that he was unable to affirm the residential particulars on the passport. Our suspicion grew. The tackle was discovered to be registered within the identify of 1 Sunil Rajan Jaitly, residing in USA. His home is being taken care of by a safety guard for the final 4 years. We got here to know that nobody else had resided at the given handle for the final 4 years. The individual was interrogated and it turned out to be a case of forgery. He was arrested,” stated a senior police official.
10/06/15 Bharat Press

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Saudi national held after bullet found in luggage

Kochi: A Saudi Arabian national was arrested today when a bullet was found in his baggage during check-in at Kochi international airport, police said. Saud Salahi Al Ahmad was arrested after airport officials found him carrying the bullet in his luggage during check-in. Salahi was to have boarded a Jeddah-bound AI flight at 4.55 PM, they said.
10/06/15 PTI/Business Standard

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Air NZ pairs with Air India

More people will be able to fly from New Zealand to the Indian capital, New Delhi, following the announcement of a new codeshare agreement between Air New Zealand and Air India.
Improved air links have long been a priority for advocates of stronger business and trade links between the two countries, which are in the early stages of negotiating a free trade agreement.
An existing codeshare arrangement with Singapore Airlines and Air NZ allows connections to Indian destinations through flights from Auckland and Christchurch to Singapore and onwards to India.
09/06/15 NZN/3news

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Indian Rafale Cost Criticism Raises Doubts on MMRCA

Paris & New Delhi: India's criticism of a high price tag on the Dassault Rafale has sharpened public focus on French negotiations to extend sale of the twin-jet fighter beyond a planned 36 units for the Indian Air Force.

Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar fueled speculation about the final size of the Rafale order May 31 when he said the French fighters were "way too expensive" and there was no longer a plan to buy a total of 126 Rafales.

But Dassault Aviation Chairman Eric Trappier said the 126-jet deal "is under discussion," although he admitted progress is slow.

"The Indian Air Force needs many more than 36 planes," Trappier told Defense News.

"There is an immediate need for 36. The negotiations for 126 are rather slow.

"They have an urgent operational requirement which does not allow time needed to set up the license, so they asked for 36 quickly," said the Dassault boss.
06/06/15 Pierre Tran and Vivek Raghuvanshi/Defense News

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Boeing no more associated with MRO facility in Nagpur: Nitin Gadkari

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari today said aircraft manufacturing major Boeing, which had invested US $100 million in Air India's Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) facility here, has disassociated itself with the MRO citing financial constraints.

Gadkari, along with Air India CEO HR Jagannath, visited the MRO facility and took stock of the progress work.

He said the facility, being developed in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) of Multi Modal International Passenger and Cargo Hub in Nagpur (MIHAN), will soon start its operations of maintenance of Air India aircraft.
Boeing had entered into a joint venture (JV) with Air India for setting up and operating the MRO but it will now only be an Air India show.

Gadkari said the entire MRO will be managed by Air India where wide-bodied aircraft will also be taken for maintenance.
06/06/15 Daily News & Analysis

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Singapore-bound Tiger Airways flight suffers inordinate delay

Chennai: More than 140 passengers of a Singapore-bound Tiger Airways flight scheduled to leave here last night have been put to inconvenience as the departure is delayed by 24 hours due to a technical snag, airport sources said today.

The aircraft scheduled to leave at 10.45 pm last night is likely to depart at the same time today after rectification of the snag, they said.

 All the 147 passengers were issued boarding pass after security clearance last night. However, they were kept waiting in the boarding lounge following detection of the snag.
 In the wee hours of today, they were accommodated in hotels by the airline, the sources said.
07/06/15 Economic Times

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India okays three new air routes

Kathmandu:  The Indian government has approved three new “bidirectional” cross-border air routes at Janakpur, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj points.

The air routes are envisaged to serve the proposed Second Internat-ional Airport (SIA) in Bara, Nijgadh, and regional international airports in Bhairahawa and Pokhara.

Indian ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae on Thursday informed to a Nepali tourism entrepreneurs’ gathering in Kathmandu about the approval of the new routes. “The development will be informed to the Nepal government by a formal letter in the coming days,” he said, adding the shorter route would facilitate flight from Pokhara to Indian cities.

Pramod Nepal, under-secretary at the Tourism Ministry, who participated in the bilateral airspace discussions with India held recently, said the government has not received official confirmation yet. “After receiving the official letter from the Indian government, a negotiation will be held and an agreement will be signed to implement the new airspace.”
07/06/15 Sangam Prasain/eKantipur

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Lufthansa set to make indirect bookings dearer

New Delhi: Full service airlines may soon levy a new surcharge on passengers who do not buy tickets from them directly.

German mega airline Lufthansa group will from September 1, 2015, charge in India and abroad a fee of almost $18 (about Rs 1,200) on every ticket that is not bought from their own website or offices.

A surcharge, distribution cost charge (DCC), will have to be paid for Lufthansa group tickets bought through global distribution system (GDS) that are used by travel agents and travel portals in India and abroad.
 Full service airlines pay about $5-6 per ticket as GDS charge for sales through travel agents and portals. "They do not charge this separately from passengers and the GDS fee is built in their ticket price. With Lufthansa soon going to charge separately, other full services airlines in India and abroad may follow suit," said a senior airline official.
07/06/15 Times of India

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Air India awaits investigation report from the Jeddah Airport

New Delhi: National carrier Air India today said it is awaiting an investigation report from the Jeddah Airport authorities on one of its cabin crew members, who is under detention allegedly for smuggling gold.

The cabin crew member was detained yesterday just before boarding the airline's flight from Jeddah for Kochi for allegedly carrying gold more than the permitted limit.

"The crew member claims that he had bought the gold for his personal use while the airport authorities allege that it was meant for smuggling. Their investigation is on," an Air India official said here.

Air India is awaiting investigation report prior to taking any action against its employee, the official said.

The incident had forced Air India to operate the flight with 11 cabin crew members instead of mandatory 12.
05/06/15 Business Standard

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Airline to pay Rs 20 lakh for seat that didn't 'lie flat'

Mumbai: Seven years after a passenger flew from Mumbai to Dallas via Frankfurt on Lufthansa on a business class "lie-flat seat" with a 170-degree recline, the national consumer commission held the advertisement of such seats to be "unfair trade practice" and directed the foreign airline to shell out Rs 20.5 lakh in compensation.

Vivek Talwar, the passenger, is to get Rs 50,000 and Rs 20 lakh are to be deposited with the Consumer Welfare Fund directed Justice V K Jain, the presiding member of the commission in his order. He also directed Rs 10,000 to be paid as litigation costs to the complainant, Society of Catalysts, a voluntary organization that pursued Talwar's case before the commission since 2009 and sought Rs 3.5 crore as compensation for all other consumers who may have been affected.

On September 1, 2008, Talwar flew on a Boeing 737 after seeing advertisements about its lie-flat seats since he said he wanted to sleep through the flight. But he complained that it only "semi-reclined" and he "barely slept on the 20-hour flight".
06/06/15 Swati Deshpande/Times of India

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Flydubai wants more slots to expand operations in India

Seattle: Dubai-based low-cost airline Flydubai can expand its coverage in India if more slots are available.

All the available slots for flights between Dubai and India have been filled with Emirates taking the lion’s share followed by others, including Air India and Flydubai.

“Give us as many slots as possible. With a billion people and growing middle income group, India is a bullish market,” said Kenneth Gile, Chief Operating Officer, Flydubai.

In April, Flydubai commenced its service to Chennai from Dubai, adding it to a network covering Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.

“We have been frequently requesting our government to take up the issue with Indian government. New slots will be announced only if the two governments speak,” he told BusinessLine.

Media persons were at the Boeing facility in Seattle to preview the 49th aircraft to be delivered to Flydubai in July.
05/06/15 TE Raja Simhan/Business Line

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Air Berlin Topbonus deal with Jet Airways

Members of Air Berlin's Topbonus loyalty scheme can now earn and redeem award miles when flying with Jet Airways.

Under the agreement, Topbonus members can also take advantage of benefits enjoyed by Jet Privilege members, including extra baggage allowance, priority check-in, lounge access and pre-boarding.

And, until August 15, Topbonus members will receive double miles on all flights with the Indian airline.
05/06/15 Business Traveller

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Air India Crew Member Detained At Jeddah Airport

A cabin crew member of an Air India flight was detained by the Jeddah Airport authorities on charges of smuggling out gold.

The detained cabin crew was to board the flight bound for Kochi, along with 11 other crew members, sources said here tonight.

The incident which happened this morning forced Air India to operate the flight with 11 cabin crew members instead of mandatory 12, the sources added.
05/06/15 Business World

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FlightSafety Selects Deccan Charters to Provide P&WC Engine Training in India

New York: FlightSafety International has signed an agreement with Deccan Charters Pvt Ltd to provide Pratt & Whitney Canada Engine training in India. Training will be offered at Deccan’s facility in Bangalore on an extensive range of P&WC’s turboprop, turbofan, and turboshaft aircraft engines including the PT6A, PW 100, PT6T, PW 200 series. Courses are scheduled to begin during the last quarter of 2015.

“Deccan’s experience in aviation, reputation for excellence, and commitment to provide the highest quality training and Customer service made them the ideal choice for this initiative,” said David Davenport, Executive Vice President. “Our Customers will now have access to FlightSafety’s industry leading training curriculum and technology for the full range of P&WC engine products in India and the surrounding countries.”
04/06/15 AviationPros

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Airbus backs startups in aerospace field

Bangalore: If you are confident that your ideas will fly, then June 11 is the deadline to watch out for. Entrepr-eneurs and start-up businesses can expect wide-ranging support in the form of a six-month acceleration programme from an Airbus BizLab nearest to you. The European Airbus started off Bizlabs as part of the company-wide effort to enhance its innovation process. Those interested can simply log on to their website and submit their project proposals. This will be followed by pitching sessions on the July 1 and 2. The selected candidates will have access to a large number of Airbus coaches, experts and mentors in various domains, a dedicated mentor, access to prototyping and test facilities for six months.

Right now, BizLabs are being integrated in Toulouse (France) before moving on to Hamburg (Germany) and Bengaluru. With its global CEO Fabrice Bregier saying that Bengaluru maybe a hub of some helpful business ideas, the opening of BizLabs in about 12 months has been received happily from industry watchers. But one person shows no surprise. Devesh Agarwal - of the Bangalore Aviation blog fame - says that although this is wonderful news, it is no surprise that the city has been chosen for such an initiative. "Bengaluru has always been home of Indian aviation in India, right from the time the HAL was started here by Walachand Hirachand in 1940," he says.
04/06/15 Jayanthi Madhukar/Bangalore Mirror 

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Airbus brings India operations under one entity, says move to aid 'Make in India'

The Airbus Group is bringing all its Indian operations under one entity, Airbus Group India Private Ltd, in a move which the aviation major said would allow it, among other things, to "greatly support" the 'Make in India' initiative.

India is the first international market where local operations are being brought under a single company as part of the Group's 'one roof' policy, Airbus Group said in a release here. The new entity would be headed by Pierre de Bausset, a veteran at the company and its former corporate secretary.
The Euro 60.7 billion Group comprises Airbus, Airbus Defence and Space and Airbus Helicopters.

"Given India's importance for us, we have implemented a new organisational structure there with Pierre in charge.
04/06/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Dassault Aviation Does Not Rule Out More Rafales to India

Paris: The head of Dassault Aviation said on Tuesday he had not given up hope of selling extra Rafales to India on top of a deal for 36 aircraft being negotiated by the French government.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month announced plans to buy 36 Rafales under a government-to-government contract with France, leaving doubts over the status of earlier plans to buy 126 planes, including 18 to be built in France.

"We'll see how about the second stage and how that evolves once the contract for 36 has been signed," Dassault Chief Executive Eric Trappier said at the rollout of a new business jet.

"I am not disappointed to drop from 126 to 36 planes, because the way I look at it, we are going up from 18 to 36," he told reporters, referring to the aircraft to be assembled at Dassault's own production line at Merignac, southwest France.
04/06/15 Reuters/NDTV

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Man from Kolkata held at airport with cannabis haul

Hong Kong: Customs officers have detected two drug trafficking cases at the airport in the past two days and seized about 12 kilograms of suspected dangerous drugs valued at HK$3.1 million. On June 1, officers inspected an incoming parcel declared as baby and children clothes from Uruguay. About 2.3 kilos of suspected cocaine worth about HK$2.45 million were found soaked in some cotton pads concealed in the linings of jackets and blankets inside the parcel. A man was arrested yesterday.
Also arrested last night at the airport was a male passenger from whom officers seized about 9.6 kilos of suspected cannabis resin (Pictured), worth HK$660,000.
The man arrived from Kolkata, India via Bangkok, Thailand.
Customs officers found twelve plastic bottles in the baggage. Cannabis resin had been concealed in the bottles.
The suspects aged 29 and 27 will each be charged with one count of trafficking in a dangerous drug. They will appear at Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Courts tomorrow.
03/06/15 The Standard

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MAS to stop flying to three more cities

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will stop flying to three Asian cities in the coming weeks as part of its rationalisation exercise, The Star reported today.

The English daily said the cancelled routes were to Kunming in China, Krabi (Thailand) and Cochin (India). This follows the national carrier's move to suspend flights to Frankfurt, Germany, last week.

MAS owner Khazanah Nasional Berhad said the airline had taken steps to suspend non-profitable routes, and was considering further route rationalisation.

“Moving forward, the national carrier will be principally commercial while supporting national development objectives, provide broad connectivity via partnerships and offer refreshed premium products,” The Star quoted Khazanah as saying in its third quarterly review of MAS’s restructuring.

Full-fledged international carrier MAS Berhad will take over MAS operations from September 1.
03/06/15 Malaysian Insider

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Mission Mice, NY to Kharagpur

Calcutta: A Singapore Airlines flight to Calcutta on Monday night had 12 little passengers that the rest of the 165-odd on board were unaware of.

The 12 mice flew around 13,000km from New York and are now at IIT Kharagpur - not to attend any science conference but to be part of a research on neurological diseases.

Bred in Jackson Laboratory, Maine, in the US, the cousins of Stuart Little travelled around 35 hours in six small boxes in the cargo hold of the aircraft. Following a few hours' stopover in Singapore's Changi, they landed in Calcutta at 10.40pm on Monday.

"The mice were handed over to the IIT officials and were taken to Kharagpur (around 130km from Calcutta) in a temperature-controlled van," an airport official said on Tuesday.

Before boarding the flight in New York, they had travelled almost 700km from Maine in a similar temperature-controlled vehicle.

On board the flight, the special passengers fed on blocks of nutritional gels. "The blocks contain all essential nutrients and also moisture to keep them hydrated," an official of the Jackson Laboratory told Metro over the phone from Bar Harbour, Maine.

The laboratory did not keep water in containers in the boxes to prevent the possibility of the mice being drowned.

The mice were packed in specially-designed plastic boxes - 18-inch long, 11-inch wide and 5-inch high.
03/06/15 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

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Jet Airways forms FFP partnership with Airberlin

Jet Airways has deepened its partnership with airberlin, with the launch of reciprocal frequent flier benefits.

Effective this week, members the Indian airline’s JetPrivilege FFP will be able to earn and redeem JPMiles on airberlin’s flights. Similarly, members of airberlin’s topbonus programme can earn and redeem points across Jet’s network.

For JetPrivilege’s Platinum, Gold and Silver members, the new partnership will offer additional benefits such as excess baggage allowance, dedicated airport check-in counters and access to lounges. These benefits are available to members travelling on codeshare flights operated by airberlin to Berlin and Dusseldorf, via Abu Dhabi, and on qualifying airberlin flights to more than 150 destinations.
03/06/15 Mark Elliot/Travel Daily Media

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Close shave for 293 as three tyres of aircraft burst during landing

Mumbai: Pilot of the Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Mumbai managed to make a jerky but safe landing

Nearly 300 people aboard MH 194 (Kuala Lumpur-Mumbai) got a scare when three of the aircraft’s tyres burst during touchdown on Sunday evening. The pilot of the Malaysian Airlines aircraft, however, managed to make a jerky but safe landing.

The flight, which had taken off from Kuala Lumpur around 6.25 pm, landed at the Mumbai airport around 11 pm on Sunday night. There were 280 passengers and 13 crew members on board. A senior airport official said, “Three rear tyres on the right side of the aircraft burst during landing. Some damage was also sustained by the undercarriage retraction mechanism.
02/06/15 daijiworld

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Vietnam considering opening direct air route linking India

Hanoi:  Vietnamese Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang has recently urged the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) and relevant agencies to research on opening a direct air route between Vietnam and India.

According to Thang's circular, the CAAV needs to encourage domestic and Indian airlines to do research on opening Vietnam- India direct air route, as well as facilitate activities of these airlines in granting flight permits.

Meanwhile, domestic airlines, including the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, private carriers JetStar Pacific and VietJetAir, are requested to monitor the aviation market to soon open a direct air link between Vietnam and India in 2015, reported Vietnam's state-run radio VOV on Tuesday.
02/06/15 Xinhua/Shanghai Daily

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Airbus is very interested in these Bengaluru startups! Know why

India has been attracting massive global attention and investor interest for the past few months. The latest is European plane-maker Airbus, which is banking on Bengaluru for new business ideas for its aircraft programmes. It is for the first time in its 46-year history that the company is seeking ideas from startups across the world. Airbus already has an engineering centre in Bengaluru.
The company's first stop outside its French base is Hamburg, Germany, while the second would be the Silicon Valley, making it the latest global company to cash in on growing number of entrepreneurs in Asia's third largest economy, as per an Economic Times report.
The initiative is part of Airbus' business accelerator programme called BizLabs, under which it would select business ideas outside its French base and mentor them.
Till now, it has only scouted for ideas within the group. The only level where it has engaged with other companies is for supply of plane parts or technology.
02/06/15 Business Insider

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Abu Dhabi to launch more flights to India to meet summer rush

Dubai: Abu Dhabi International Airport has planned a 22 per cent increase in flights including 49 additional flights to India per week to meet the demands of approaching holiday season.

As many as 1,504 flights will depart from Abu Dhabi each week, 22 per cent more than in the previous year, making it one of its busiest ever summer.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has increased its weekly schedule by 68 flights, with 963 flights taking off to destinations all around the world, compared with 895 flights per week in the summer of 2014.

More aircraft will fly this summer to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, with 49 additional flights per week to Indian cities of Pune, Mangalore, Ahmedabad, Kozhikode, Kochi, Delhi and Hyderabad.
31/05/15 PTI/Economic Times

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Carter to face Indian demand for engine technology

New Delhi: The US-India defence relationship needs an engine to drive it, say leaders on both sides. But there are different perceptions on what that engine might be.

Americans believe the engine should be the "Defence Trade and Technology Initiative" (DTTI), a high-level committee of officials from both sides that moots projects for working together, and removes bureaucratic roadblocks. In January, when President Barack Obama met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, they "emphasised the ongoing importance of the (DTTI) in developing new areas of technology cooperation", according to a joint statement issued at that time.

Indian officials are focused on another engine --- the General Electric Aviation (GE) F-414 jet engine that will power a more powerful version of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the Tejas Mark II. The Defence R&D Organisation (DRDO) wants GE to help it up-rate the F-414 engine to power India's futuristic Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which is still on the drawing board.
01/06/15 Ajai Shukla/Economic Times

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Baloch Hijackers Executed

New Delhi: Pakistan has put to death three Baloch insurgents, 17 years after they hijacked a passenger plane with 30 people on board that they then attempted to fly to India. The Pakistan International Airlines flight was hijacked in 1998, with the hijackers ordering the pilot to fly to India, but the plane was diverted and stormed by troops.

The men - Shabbir Rind, Shahsawar Baloch and Sabir Rind - were members of the left-wing Baloch Students' Organisation (BSO), and were executed at jails in Karachi and Hyderabad.

The three men were sentenced to death in 1998, but remained on death row for almost two decades. Pakistan had placed a moratorium on the death penalty -- which it lifted following a brutal Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan led attack on an army run school in Peshawar in December last year.

Since then, Pakistan has put to death at least 130 people. Four other men were put to death on Thursday, accused for crimes not connected to the hijacking. Over 8000 people remain on death row.
29/05/15 The Citizen

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Kitco bags key projects abroad

Kochi: Banking on its more than four decades of expertise in project consultancy and implementation, the state-owned Kitco Limited is all set to expand its operations outside India once again this fiscal.

Some of the major projects that the agency is eyeing to take up this year include the establishment of an airport at Babylon in Iraq and a tourist free zone in Sri Lanka. Another key project that has come its way is the formulation of a comprehensive oil spill contingency plan for the 1,600-kilometre-long coastline of Gujarat.

“We have already prepared a master plan for the airport project, coming up on an area of about 8,000 acres. Alongside the airport, it also envisages the setting up of a township and related infrastructure around it,” said Cyriac Davies, Managing Director, Kitco Limited.
01/06/15 The Hindu

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