US aviation regulator wants India to fix staffing gaps by June

New Delhi: US aviation regulator, the Federal Aviation Authority, or FAA, has completed the second stage of a review of its Indian counterpart, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA, and has given it time until June to strengthen staffing before it takes any action.
The FAA review, the second such assessment since December, covered safety procedures implemented by DGCA and checked if they met benchmark standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, or Icao.
The review could potentially have resulted in a downgrade by FAA and adversely affected Indian carriers, especially National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India, as it would deny permission for any new flight to the US as also effectively block new commercial agreements between carriers of the two countries. Going by Icao norms, India currently enjoys a so-called Category I status indicating the highest class of safety. It risked being downgraded to Category II in the review concluded earlier this month. Israel was the most recent country to be downgraded to Category II late last year.
“The threat of downgrade has passed for now,” said a senior civil aviation ministry official, who asked not be identified.
In its December review, FAA had found DGCA lacking in the human resources pool, especially in staffing related to safety oversight. It completed the second round between 16 and 20 March.
But the process is far from complete, said a DGCA official, who too requested anonymity, adding that a final call on the downgrade will be taken by FAA in June. Between then and now, several discussions will take place, he added.
30/03/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Air India launches flights to NY, Chicago via Frankfurt

Frankfurt: Air India, owned by National Aviation Co, has expanded its international operations with the launch of two daily flights from Mumbai and Delhi to New York and Chicago via here and opened a European hub at the Frankfurt Airport.
India's national air carrier's new US-bound flights, which left Mumbai and Delhi Saturday night, in accordance with the airline's new summer schedule, landed at the Frankfurt Airport on Sunday morning and continued their journey to New York (Newark) and Chicago after transferring their passengers travelling to different destinations in the US and Europe.
Shortly afterwards, flights from New York and Chicago stopped over at Frankfurt to enable passengers to board connecting flights for Mumbai and Delhi. The carrier's new services to the US and Europe and the opening of its operational hub for west-bound f lights in Frankfurt are part of a major initiative to strengthen the airline's global network by acquiring new aircraft, adding new routes and increasing the frequency of existing routes, Air India Regional Manager for Central Europe Mr Ratan Bali said.
30/03/09 Business Line

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Commercial Aircraft Use May Drop 4% Worldwide in 2009, OAG Says

Commercial aircraft use in the average airline fleet will drop 4 percent worldwide this year from 2008 as companies trim flight schedules to match demand, according to the Official Airline Guide.
Aircraft use will be down about 7 percent in North America and 5 percent in Western Europe, OAG said today in an e-mailed statement. North American and European operators accounted for 61 percent of global aircraft use in 2008, OAG said.
Airlines are eliminating jobs, cutting routes and grounding planes to survive a slowdown that’s pushed previously profitable operators such as British Airways Plc and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. to losses. Industry capacity overall may shrink 6 percent in 2009 as carriers seek to better match available seats to ticket sales, the International Air Transport Association predicted last week.
“Scheduled airline frequency and capacity cutbacks made over the past six months will have a significant impact on planned aircraft utilization, with a corresponding short-term downturn in demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul services,” OAG Aviation’s managing director, John Weber, said in the statement.
The OAG prediction came with the group’s Commercial Aircraft Fleets and Utilization Forecast, a study that looks at likely demand for maintenance, repair and overhaul. OAG is an aviation data business.
The fleets least affected will be in China, Eastern Europe, Africa, India and Latin America, OAG said.
30/03/09 Andrea Rothman/Bloomberg

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Kingfisher Airlines to continue association with IPL

Mumbai: The Indian Premier League on Monday announced that Kingfisher Airlines would be the official travel partner for the the second edition of the Twenty20 event commencing in Cape Town, South Africa on April 18.
As the IPL's airline and travel partner, Kingfisher would extend its hospitality to not only all the teams and players but also offer IPL fans in India the opportunity to travel to South Africa to root for their favourite teams, a media release said.
The airlines is also working in close consultation with the South African Tourism and three of the largest tour operators for helping Indian fans travel to SA and witness the 34-day tournament, the release said.
IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi said Kingfisher's decision to extend the association with the League was proof that the tournament is being followed globally.
30/03/09 PTI/The Hindu

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IC code may cost AI dear

New Delhi: The national carrier's inability to operate flights of erstwhile Indian Airlines (that has now been merged with Air India) on a common code AI instead of the old IC code may cost it dear. The merged airline was supposed to join the prestigious Lufthansa-led Star Alliance this winter after meeting 79 joining requirements that are mainly about IT upgradation. With a common code being part of those requirements that are now going to be met only by mid-2010, the airline's joining the alliance is also now delayed by several months.
The merged carrier, National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), had initially planned to have a common AI code for both domestic and international flights by this summer. "We have finalised the contract for providing this state-of-the-art passenger service system but it will take a year. Our IT upgradation has taken some time and we now hope to join Star Alliance by mid-2010," said a senior airline official.
NACIL's delay in fulfilling the requirements of joining Star Alliance has made this select club look at a leading private Indian carrier for induction. If that happens before NACIL, the national carrier could lose the first mover advantage.
Ironically, the delay in integrating the IC and AI codes is proving to be the biggest strength for employees who have been opposing the merger process and feel the next government may reverse this move.
30/03/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Israel's El Al plans to launch Tel Aviv-New Delhi air service

Mumbai: Israel's national air-carrier El Al Israel Airlines is planning to enhance connectivity between India and Israel by launching Tel Aviv-New Delhi service from summer, a senior airline official said.
"We plan to introduce an air service between our capital Tel Aviv and New Delhi from the coming summer season," El Al Israel Airlines Limited General Manager (India) Judah Sameul said.
The proposed flight would operate twice a week, Samuel said, adding that, "however, the final dates for the launch have not yet been finalised."
At present El Al Airlines operates three flights a week from Mumbai to Tel Aviv and has a commercial tie-up with national air-carrier Air India and Naresh Goyal-owned private airline Jet Airways, he said.
The carrier was also mulling flights to some other destinations.
29/03/09 PTI/Economic Times

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Air India’s summer schedule

Thiruvananthapuram: The summer schedule of Air India’s international flights came into effect on Sunday. The Thiruvananthapuram-Riyadh flight, AI 925, on Wednesdays will depart at 12.15 noon instead of 4.30 p.m. The AI 915 flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Dammam on Wednesdays will depart at 4.15 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. The Thiruvananthapuram-Mumbai flight, AI 916, on Wednesdays will depart at 4.45 p.m. instead of 5.30 p.m. Airline sources said there was no change for other flights from here.
Air India has come up with summer special fares on 148 domestic sectors from Friday.
The special fares will be in four levels — Rs.1,891, Rs.2,276, Rs.2,611 and Rs.2,901 — and will be offered till June 30, a press release said.
The fares include the passenger service fee. However, passengers will have to pay the user development fees applicable in airports. The tickets have to be bought 30 days in advance and the fare is not refundable.
30/03/09 Kerala Online

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QA holds roadshow in India for Houston flight

Qatar Airways has wrapped up a successful India-wide roadshow promoting its new daily flights to Houston due to launch today.
“The week-long press conferences, attended by over 250 media groups, kicked off in Kochi in India’s Kerala state and moved onto Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi, before winding its way to the country’s financial centre of Mumbai,” an airline spokesman said.
“The new Houston services will offer Qatar Airways passengers from across India one of the quickest and most convenient journeys to America’s energy centre and beyond. Bridging Doha and Houston with direct flights, Qatar Airways will open up the first air corridor between the world’s energy capitals.”
Qatar Airways currently operates 58 flights a week from nine cities in India with early morning departures to Doha and convenient onward daily connections to Houston, as well as the airline’s two other highly popular US gateway cities of New York and Washington.
The airline’s Indian network, comprising daily services from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad and Kozhikode, together with twice-weekly services from Nagpur, is one of the most comprehensive of any international carrier serving the country.
At just under 17 hours flying time, the new daily non-stop services between the airline’s Doha hub and Houston will be Qatar Airways’ longest route and one of the longest non-stop flights in the world operating with new state-of-the-art Boeing 777-200 long range aircraft.
Addressing press conferences across India, Qatar Airways Regional Manager India, Naveen Chawla, said: “Qatar Airways’ India operations are among the most successful in our international network, having virtually doubled capacity between India and Qatar over the past four years. He said Qatar Airways offered customers the highest standards of service.
30/03/09 Gulf Times, Qatar

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Goodbye Kolkata, British Airways flies from city of diminishing returns

Kolkata: After the cheapest car, one of the world’s premier airlines bid adieu to the city. In the wee hours of March 29, a British Airways (BA) flight left Kolkata for London for the last time. After 80 years of operation.
For 76 year-old Renu Mazumdar, life will not be the same again. Twice every year, for the last 15 years, she would board BA 146 and fly non-stop to London to meet her son Kallol Majumdar, a practising doctor in the Isle of Wight. “I need a wheelchair to get into the aircraft. The 11-hour journey was in itself quite an ordeal. With British Airways discontinuing its flight to London, I do not know how I will manage a stopover journey, the only option left now,” says Majumdar.
The withdrawal was announced in November last, when the airlines cited “route rationalisation” as the reason for its decision. In spite of a load factor of around 70 per cent, heavily discounted ticketing, prompted by Lufthansa’s introduction of the direct Kolkata-Frankfurt flight in 2006, the revenue has shrunk.
A few moments before the final touchdown on March 29, the pilot of the Boeing-777 announced that this would be the British Airways’ last flight to Kolkata. “A significant section of the passengers were elderly people with roots in Kolkata, who hastily preponed their return from London because this was the last available direct flight,” said Kavita Jhunjhunwala, a business traveller, who arrived by the last flight in early hours of March 29.
Many travellers have their BA memories. Corporate traveller Niraj Basotia recalls, “I was booked on Calcutta-Heathrow with a connecting flight to Belgium. At the Heathrow Airport, I found that my luggage was not on the flight.” Having reached Belgium with just his laptop, he had to purchase everything from a business suit to toothbrush. He wrote a letter to the airline about the inconvenience faced. “Without asking for any clarification, they reimbursed my entire bill of Rs 30,000, besides gifting me a Harrington suit,” recalls Basotia.
30/03/09 Mouparna Bandyopadhyay/Indian Express

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Jet Airways introduces daily daily direct service to Kuwait fom Mumbai

Mumbai: Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, today launched its daily, direct service to Kuwait from Mumbai.
This is the airline’s second daily service to Kuwait from India, complementing the airline’s existing Kochi-Kuwait service.
Jet Airways operated the new flight aboard a state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft .
Flight 9W 572 departed Mumbai at 1900 hrs, and will arrive in Kuwait at 2030 hrs. Flight 9W 571 will then depart Kuwait at 2130 hrs and arrive in Mumbai at 0400 hrs, the following day.
Speaking at a ceremony to launch the inaugural service, Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways said, “Jet Airways has already established itself as a formidable brand in the intensely competitive India-Gulf sector in a relatively short period of time, on account of the warmth of its service and quality of its in-flight product. We are confident that the new Mumbai-Kuwait service will prove similarly popular with passengers.”
In addition to Kuwait, Jet Airways also flies daily from India to Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the Middle East.
29/03/09 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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New Zealand minister drops Indian business interests

Internal Affairs Minister Richard Worth has resigned his directorships in companies with Indian business interests following questions over a recent trip to India.
Mr Worth's office confirmed this afternoon he had withdrawn from his Indian business interests to remove any perception of a conflict of interest.
Mr Worth has rejected any suggestions that there was a conflict of interest between his ministerial position and his recent visit to India, organised under the umbrella of the India Trade Group, which he chaired till today.
While on the trip, he was also one of three directors of an aviation company that he says has never traded, but which is in a joint venture with an Invercargill fight-training academy for which he brokered a deal in india.He also spoke at a formal ceremony as internal affairs minister about the benefits of New Zealand for aviation training.
A spokeswoman for Mr Worth said he remained clear that there was no conflict of interest but "he wants to make sure there is no perception of that".
He had withdrawn from his Indian business interests, which included India Trade Group and New Zealand Aviation. He had also stood down from the Korea New Zealand Business Council.
30/03/09 Tracy Watkins/The Dominican Post/Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand

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MACK AIR new GSA in Sri Lanka for JetLite

Mack Air Limited a fully-owned subsidiary of the John Keells Group, has been appointed as the General Sales Agent (GSA) for JetLite (India) Limited, with effect from 1st April 2009.
Positioned as an all-economy airline, JetLite promises to offer value-for-money fares. JetLite currently operates a fleet of 24 aircraft, which includes 17 Boeing 737 series and 7 Canadian Regional Jets 200 Series. The airline flies to 26 domestic destinations and 2 international destinations (Kathmandu and Colombo), currently operating a 110 flights a day, on average. Meanwhile, the holding company, Jet Airways, operates flights to 63 destinations spanning the length and breadth of India and beyond, including New York, Toronto, Brussels, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The airline will continue to connect existing international destinations with additional gateway points across its network in the future.
The airline division of the John Keells Group comprises Mack Air and Walkers Air Services. Encompassing one of the largest airline divisions in the country, these two companies represent some of the most renowned names in world of aviation. Walkers Air Services and Mack Air were also the first GSAs in Sri Lanka to be certified under the ISO 9002 standards. Together with John Keells Air Services in India and Mack Air Services in the Maldives, the Airline Division of John Keells Holdings PLC is rapidly establishing its presence in the region. With over three decades of industry experience, the four GSA companies provide infrastructure, marketing, accounting, airport and administrative support to all the principals represented.
30/03/09 Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka

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1 lakh e-mails to Singapore PM, say travel agent associations

Mumbai: Travel agents will send one lakh emails to the Singapore Prime Minister on April 1 as part of a campaign to protest against Singapore Airlines' failure in reinstating the agency commission.
Indian travel agents launch 'operation-e' campaign on April 1 and plans to flood the e-mail box of the Singapore Prime Minister with one lakh e-mails to draw his attention towards the issue.
"One lakh e-mails will be sent to the Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, by all IATA travel agencies on April 1. And this is not going to be an April Fool joke. We want to make the Prime Minister aware of the issue as well as seek his intervention in resolving the issue," IATA Agents Associates of India (IAAI) President Biji Eapen told PTI here.
"We have made every effort to make Singapore Airlines understand the issue in perspective and restore the agency commission like domestic air-carriers have done, but to no avail, hence the operation-e," Eapen said.
In addition to one lakh e-mails to the Singapore Prime Minister, "All IATA travel agencies will be sending 5,000 e-mails every day to the Indian operations heads of all the 14 overseas air-carriers operating in India, who have resorted to zero per cent commission," he said.
The concerted action by these 14 airlines would affect the livelihood of 10 lakh direct and indirect employees in the travel and tourism industry, Eapen said. "The move has also resulted in loss to the national exchequer by way of 12.36 per cent service tax and 11.33 per cent income tax on the commission earned by the travel agents," he said.
30/03/09 Trading Markets

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Kingfisher likely to be official partner for IPL-2

Industry sources told Business Line, “Kingfisher Airlines was the official partner for IPL last year. And this time around too, it is almost imminent that Kingfisher will be the official carrier.”
While the Bangalore-based airline does not fly to South Africa, the details are being worked out on the arrangements it will make to ferry people there.
No domestic airline from India flies to South Africa. However, it being domestic league some enquiries have been made with certain Indian carriers. “Jet Airways has received initial queries about operating charters to South Africa for the IPL season 2. However, at this point in time, we cannot confirm anything,” said a statement from the Mr Naresh Goyal-owned carrier.
Among foreign carriers too, only South African Airways has direct flights. Emirates, Qatar Airways, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines and Egypt Air also fly to South Africa from India, but via different routes.
Apart from being the official airline in IPL season 1, Kingfisher Airlines had also bagged the rights for being the Official Umpire Partner for the league and sponsored all third umpire decisions during the 59 matches.
28/03/09 Shubhra Tandon/Business Line/iStockAnalyst

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Qatar Airways to start Goa operations

With plans to add two more destinations in India this winter as a part of its global expansion plans, Gulf-based air-carrier Qatar Airways
will start its Goa operations by the end of this year.
According to reports, Qatar Airways will be adding five new destinations across the globe in 2009, including two in India.
The new destinations to be commenced in India will be Goa and Amritsar, which will be launched during the winter of 2009, senior airline officals said, adding that introduction of the proposed routes is part of the airline's "continuous focus on enhancing connectivity and network."
Qatar Airways currently operates 58 flights a week across nine Indian cities which include Mumbai, Delhi, Nagpur, Kozhikhode, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Trivandrum and Kochi.
29/03/09 Times of India

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Air India to resume Kolkata-London flight from tomorrow

Kolkata: Air India will resume its service between Kolkata and London from tomorrow even as British Airways has decided to suspend its operation from the city the same day due to shortage of passengers.
Air India, which had suspended its service on the route in October 2008, will operate flights between Kolkata and London via Delhi all days of the week, a spokesperson of the airlines said.
An Airbus 319 will carry 122 passengers from NSC Bose International Airport here at 10.30 am and reach Delhi at 12.30 pm. From there a Boing 777-200 EK will carry 280 passengers to London, the spokesperson said.
Luthfansa and Emirates are the other two airlines which operate flights on the route. While the former has three flights a week, Emirates operates flights on all days via Dubai.
28/03/09 Press Trust of India

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BA bids bye to Calcutta of low yield

Calcutta: When British Airways takes flight from Calcutta on Sunday, it will mean more than just another direct international air link going off the city’s radar.
The “world’s favourite airline”, which had touched down in the city for the first time in the late 1920s, has withdrawn and re-introduced flights several times over the decades. The airline’s latest departure, however, bodes trouble for both the travel industry and frequent fliers from the east who have found this direct Calcutta-London flight the most convenient link with Europe and beyond.
“British Airways leaving is a disaster for aviation in the east. We will soon feel the repercussions,” warns Anil Punjabi, the chairman (east) of the Travel Agents Federation of India.
With just over 24 hours to go for the last British Airways flight to touchdown and depart — arrival 1.15am on March 29 and departure 5.05am on March 29 — Metro compiles a Q&A on BA bidding bye-bye.
What are the reasons for an airline leaving a city?
Low profitability, security issues, low passenger load.
What prompted British Airways to leave Calcutta?
The official reason is “route rationalisation”. Apart from Calcutta, the airline is pulling out of Dhaka. “This route is not making a profitable contribution to our business and we are unable to sustain it,” says a senior airline executive.
The real reason is low profitability. The thrice-a-week Calcutta-London flight has had an average passenger load of 70 per cent but yield — or profit margins — has been low. “Most tickets, including those for business class, are sold at discounted prices that pinch our bottomlines,” says an official.
28/03/09 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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Russian plane's tail raised from lake; Body of Indian yet to recover

A combined team of Ugandan and United States military divers on Wednesday raised the tail of the sunken Ilyushin II 76 Soviet-era cargo plane which plunged into Lake Victoria on March 9, killing all eleven people on board.
A combined team of Ugandan and United States military divers on Wednesday managed to raise the tail-section of the sunken Ilyushin II 76 Soviet-era cargo plane.
Four of the crash victims are still missing and recovery divers are hard at work, trying to raise the wreckage and searching for human remains in the deep, dark water of Lake Victoria.
Two Russians (captain and co-pilot), two Ukrainians, three senior Burundian army officers, two Ugandans, a South African and an Indian man all died in the March 9 accident, authorities have confirmed. However while the remains of seven of these eleven victims -- namely the Ugandans, Burundians and Ukrainians -- have already been identified and buried, the fate of four others is still unknown.
One person among the missing has been publicly identified by his family as an employee of US Dyncorp International, who has still "has not been identified among the dead," a Dyncorp spokesman told Digital Journal yesterday. Also stil missing are the two Russian aviators and the unnamed South African citizen.
The huge aircraft was carrying equipment for the African Peace Mission in Somalia, and crashed into the deep fresh-water lake - the largest in Africa -- within moments of takeoff from Entebbe airport. see our previous report here and also here.
“The wreckage is believed to have sank 24-26 metres deep and buried beneath 10 meters of mud,” said Lt. Col. Gregory Joachim, defence attache at the US Embassy there. The Ugandan government had asked the US for specialised assistance in the recovery mission.
The Americans were tasked with retrieving the remains of the remaining victims, recover the black box and advising the investigation team based at the Civil Aviation Authority offices in Entebbe.
The plane, registration S9-SAB, is owned by the Russian-based Aerolift international cargo company and was chartered by US Dyncorp.
27/03/09 Adriana Stuijt/Digital Journal

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Air India, Air India Express at Changi's Terminal 2.

From Sunday, Air India, Air India Express, Asiana Airlines and Korean Air will operate out of Changi Airport's Terminal 2.
The four are currently at Terminal 1.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a statement on Friday that the move is to allow the airlines to have more capacity for their future growth and expansion.
It will also 'better distribute capacity usage across the three main terminals and optimise the usage of airport facilities', said CAAS director-general and chief executive officer Lim Kim Choon.
To inform passengers and visitors about the move, the airport will be updating its directories, signs and electronic displays.
Steps have also been taken to keep the Indian and Korean communities here posted about the move, via their respective embassies and key associations.
27/03/09 Karamjit Kaur/Strait Times, Singapore

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AI offers ticket to London for Rs 6.9K, NY for Rs 22K

New Delhi: National carrier Air India is looking to start a non-stop service between New Delhi and San Francisco this winter.
Since it withdrew the New Delhi-Los Angeles flight some months back, the airline offers no connectivity to the US west coast. This proposed flight to San Francisco could therefore, become an important revenue generator.
Meanwhile, the airline on Friday announced flights to additional destinations in Europe and the US using Frankfurt as hub.
The move will allow passengers to fly from either Delhi or Mumbai to Chicago, via Frankfurt. The Chicago flight would offer a further connection to New Jersey. These new flights would use new the 777-300ER aircraft with a configuration of 4 first class seats, 35 business class seats and 303 economy class seats.
The new routes come close on the heels of Air India announcing a cut in fuel surcharge on a host of domestic routes for a limited period during the summer schedule.
28/03/09 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Sikhs to fly Sikh to their Holy City Amritsar

A direct air link from Birmingham to Amritsar in Northern India is to be launched - with a new airline serving, amongst others, the large Punjabi and Sikh populations of the Midlands.
The inaugural flight will leave Birmingham International Airport on Saturday 4th April and arrive in Amritsar on Sunday morning by 8.30 to a reception that will be hosted by the ruling political party in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal.
The flights will be operated using a 228-seater Boeing 757 200.
Daljit Singh Birring, Managing Director of Akal Air, which is backed by investors from the West Midlands and the South East, said: “Birmingham is the perfect base for Akal Air. Access to Amritsar is of huge importance to the large Punjabi and Sikh population of the Midlands taking the pilgrimage to the Golden Temple and visiting family and friends, as well as for business people trading with India’s emerging and developing economy.”
The move comes at a tough time for the airline industry – but the private investors behind Akal Air believe they can exploit a gap in the market by targeting a destination which is currently poorly served by others out of Birmingham International Airport.
Akal Air, the trading style of Air Sylhet, will fly to Amritsar twice a week, departing on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 18.30 from Birmingham International Airport, via a non-transfer flight routed through Vienna.
Akal Air is a trading style of Air Sylhet AG. Air Sylhet AG obtained its Austrian Air Operators Certificate (AOC) and Air Operators Licence (AOL) on May 29, 2008. Formal notice of its AOC and AOL has been published in the Official Journal of The European Union.
27/03/09 The Sikh Times, UK

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West Asian carriers chart more flights

Mumbai: West Asian airlines are increasing flight frequencies between India and the US, the UK and parts of Europe with an eye to draw passengers to hubs in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha.
This could stymie plans of local carriers to make India an air travel hub.
Naveen Chawla, regional manager for India at Doha-based Qatar Airways, said the airline deploys 15% of its capacity in India, and that 70% of its passengers out of India are onward travellers that use Doha as a stopover. As part of this strategic initiative, the carrier on Friday announced non-stop services between Doha and Houston, Texas, beginning 30 March.
Saudi Arabian Airlines earlier this week announced adding three new Indian destinations—Bangalore, Kozhikode and Lucknow—beginning 30 March. On that date, Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will change schedules to key destinations from and within India to greater increased long-haul connectivity.
Emirates, too, is increasing connectivity to India via its hub Dubai.
Global airlines are not being picky about which they service, but are focusing on smaller ones
“The India-UK/US market is clearly important for Middle Eastern carriers and it does not help India hub aspirations. However, Indian airports, airlines, etc., will in the end be sunk or saved depending on quality of decisions and making the right investments,” Craig Jenks, president of Airline/Aircraft Projects Inc., a New York-based air transport advisory, said by email.
These global carriers are not being picky about where they go. Besides Kerala—which is a lode of labour for West Asian countries—and metropolitan cities, they are adding cities such as Nagpur and Tiruchirapalli to their network. Qatar Airways also plans to start flights to Amritsar and Goa later in the year.
According to three different travel houses that Mint spoke to, West Asian carriers are on average 30% cheaper to fly beyond their respective hubs.
“The entire Middle East carriers, especially the airlines from UAE, pose a major strategic threat to all the other carries operating out of India, including Indian carriers,” said Kapil Kaul, chief executive officer, Indian subcontinent and West Asia, at Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an aviation consulting firm.
In an October interview to Mint, Naresh Goyal, founder chairman of Jet Airways (India) Ltd, India’s top private carrier by passengers, had alleged that West Asian carriers were dumping capacity in India, thus making life of Indian carriers difficult by taking away passengers.
28/03/09 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Air India to launch Delhi-Chicago flight Sunday

New Delhi: National carrier Air India will introduce a daily Delhi-Chicago flight via Frankfurt from March 29, the airline said Friday.
The launch of the flight follows the airline’s decision to make Frankfurt the hub for operations to Europe and the US, its initiative towards strengthening its global network and restructuring its operations to these continents.
Lalit Kapur, Air India’s general manager (sales and marketing), said the Delhi-Chicago flight will actually originate from Hyderabad, while passengers from Kolkata and Amritsar will be able to check-in at airports in their cities to avoid the hassle of doing so at Delhi’s international airport.
“Passengers from Kolkata and Amritsar can check-in with their luggage and get their immigration check done there. They can then board in Air India domestic flight to Delhi airport and board the Delhi-Chicago flight directly without going through any hassles. These passengers will not pay any extra fare for reaching Delhi and will pay fares as applicable from Delhi,” he said. Kapur said the Delhi-Chicago sector would be operated with state-of-the-art 342 seater B777-300ER aircraft, configured in three classes.
Air India already operates daily flights from Hyderabad to New York (Newark Liberty International Airport) via Mumbai and Frankfurt, to the John F. Kennedy International Airport, also at New York, and to London via Mumbai. It also operates daily flights to Frankfurt via Delhi and Mumbai. The airline has also offered promotional fares for various destinations to Europe and US, which are as low as Rs.6,900 (plus Rs.18,000 as taxes) for a return economy class ticket to London.
27/03/09 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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AI staff held for trafficking women on free tickets

Mumbai The Mumbai Police crime branch has blown the lid off a human trafficking racket to the US, in which women were allegedly flown to New York on forged passports, posing as wives of Air India employees. The police have arrested two Air India employees who allegedly escorted the women to the US, but returned alone.
As many as three persons have been arrested so far by the social service branch (SSB) of the crime branch, and the police are on the lookout for the kingpin. The arrested have been identified as Deepak Salvi, 41, Hemant Morade, 40, and Ejaz Ansari. According to the police, Salvi is an office superintendent with Air India while Morade is an operator. While these two were arrested on February 25, Ansari was arrested from the Madanpura area of Nagpada on Tuesday last for aiding and abetting in the racket.
“These Air India employees are entitled to two free airline tickets for their relatives each year, and it is much easier for them to get visas to the US. In September 2007, Salvi availed himself of this entitlement and flew from Mumbai to Shanghai and then to New York, accompanied by his wife. However, he returned alone to Mumbai. Again in April 2008, Morade did the same thing and he also came back alone. The vigilance department of Air India took note of this and started discreet enquiries,” said an SSB official, who did not wish to be named.
The vigilance department discovered that the wives who were flown to the US were actually imposters. Air India then approached the US consulate for further information on these two cases in December 2008. The consulate confirmed that the two women were imposters and had flown on forged passports to New York.
27/03/09 ExpressIndia

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Bahrain-India flights cut

Low passenger traffic in Bahrain is forcing airlines to cut their flights to several Indian cities.
Jet Airways, which has operated daily flights to Kochi, Kerala, since January last year, is suspending its operations from tomorrow.
Jet Airways will, however, continue its daily flights from Bahrain to Mumbai.
Gulf Air has also decided to stop its operations to Kolkata and will temporarily suspend flights to Bangalore and Hyderabad on Sunday.
Sources said the flights were being suspended for summer and were expected to resume in October.
SriLankan Airlines has already stopped its flights to Kozhikode, Kochi, Hyderabad and Coimbatore and will stop its operations to Goa tomorrow.
The airline will, however, continue its services to Bangalore, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Trichy, Mumbai and Delhi, said country manager Terrence De Silva. Sources said the airlines were suspending flights due to very low yield.
27/03/09 Soman Baby/Gulf Daily News, Bahrain

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Fight for Birmingham-India air route goes to Europe

The fight to restore a direct air link between Birmingham and India is being taken to Europe after West Midlands MEP Neena Gill said the Indian government’s protectionist attitude violated the spirit of an agreement with the EU.
Earlier this month, national carrier Air India said it would not be renewing its popular Birmingham-Amritsar route, which had been suspended in October last year as the firm tried to protect its Heathrow routes.
The decision meant Birmingham was left with no direct, non-stop link to India. Birmingham airport has been courting other airlines from the subcontinent – such as Jet Airways – as potential replacements, but Indian regulations mean that, as things stand, only Air India has a licence to fly direct routes between Birmingham and India.
In a letter to the Birmingham Post, Labour MEP Ms Gill said she was “astonished” by the decision not to reinstate the flights, and said she would be taking the matter up with the European Commission.
Speaking about the Indian government’s refusal to allow other airlines to fly direct from Birmingham to Amritsar, she said: “Only last September the EU and India signed an aviation agreement. I believe this decision contravenes the sentiment of this agreement and intend to take this matter up here with the EC.
“I am contacted all the time by constituents regarding what was a convenient service between Birmingham and the Punjab that served both the business and personal interests of so many in the Midlands and that avoided lengthy and difficult connections at Delhi.
“As such I am taking this issue up with representatives of the airline here in the UK and with the Indian High Commission.
“I have also written to the Indian minister for aviation and believe an explanation of what smacks of a protectionist policy would be highly desirable for the people of Birmingham.”
A large proportion of Birmingham’s Asian community has links to North India, which is served by Amritsar.
26/03/09 Tom Scotney/Birmingham Post, UK

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Flier dead after on-board illness

Kolkata: A Bangkok-bound Air Berlin flight made an emergency landing at Kolkata airport on Tuesday morning after an American passenger complained
of breathing problems. He was declared brought dead by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) doctors.
Ronald Tebl (72) was booked on a Munich-Bangkok Air Berlin flight. After the flight took off from Munich, he complained of breathing trouble and informed the cabin crew. In-flight doctors advised the pilot to land at the nearest airport. "The pilot contacted us and sought permission for landing at 6.45 am," said an official.
AAI doctors rushed to the aircraft soon after the flight landed. Following a detailed investigation, they declared Tebl brought dead. "He died of cardiac arrest," said a doctor.
25/03/09 Times of India

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Saudia flights to 3 more Indian cities

Jeddah: Saudi Arabian Airlines (SAA) will commence flight operations to three new Indian destinations this week.
The airlines will operate three flights a week to Lucknow, effective March 28; two flights a week to Bangalore, effective March 30; and four flights a week to Kozhikode, starting March 31, said Abdullah Bin Mushabbab Al-Ajhar, Saudia vice president for Public Relations.
SAA did not release the detailed schedules but said the flights would serve passengers from Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.
"The additions affirm the continuous increase in air travel to this part of the world," Al-Ajhar said.
The airline's strategic plan is to expand its route network to include high traffic destinations with potentially higher yields, he said. Boeing B757 aircraft would be used for all flights to the new destinations, he said.With the new destinations SAA will reach eight cities in India.
26/03/09 Mohammed Al-Kinani/The Saudi Gazette/zawya

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Travel firms work on special S Africa packages

New Delhi: The local travel and hospitality sector may lose Rs 50-55 crore as a result of the Indian Premier League (IPL) shifting to South Africa. But this is good news for airlines that fly between India and South Africa. And travel companies are working out packages for cricket lovers wishing to visit South Africa.
According to hotel industry sources, the first tournament generated a demand for about 10,000 room nights for the eight franchise teams, officials and sponsors, among others. This generated Rs 42-45 crore during the 45-day tournament. Room nights are the total number of hotel rooms available multiplied by the number of days in a given period.
Additionally, the inter-city air travel of the eight teams by Kingfisher Airlines, which sold over 1,000 tickets as the official carrier of IPL, apart from numerous officials and company staff and fans, generated Rs 2-4 crore. And private security agencies billed the various franchisees Rs 4 crore.
Airline industry sources say there will be a demand for at least 10,000 tickets to South Africa.
Airlines like South African Airways (SAA) that have direct flights to South Africa, and others like Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates and Etihad, which go via Frankfurt, London, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, are now looking to offer special fares for the cricket fans.
“We have to work out special fares, but the fares could either go up or down,” said an executive of SAA. The airline has four direct weekly flights.
“Our current fare will come to around Rs 50,000, but we will have some special fares soon,” said a Lufthansa executive.
Travel industry executives said a passenger would have to spend around Rs 45,000 for an air ticket and the total travel cost per person would come to around Rs 1 lakh, around 30 per cent higher than if the event was held in the UK.
While it is not clear how the teams would make their travel arrangements, some are already entering into their own tie-ups with airlines. Wadia group-promoted Kings XI was in talks with two airlines, said industry sources.
26/03/09 Ashish Sinha & Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

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Gulf Air to suspend Bangalore, Hyderabad flights

The Gulf Air, Bahrain's national carrier, is set to temporarily suspend its operations to two South Indian cities - Bangalore and Hyderabad - with effect from March 29.
According to sources in the travel industry, the airline will operate the last flight from Bangalore (GF273) and Hyderabad (GF275) on Sunday.
However, the flights are likely to be back in service by October end, the sources added.
When contacted, a Gulf Air spokesperson could neither confirm nor deny the report.
25/03/09 TradeArabia, Bahrain

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Riyadh - Dammam - Mangalore Direct Flight On the Cards

Mangalore: As announced on daijiworld.com last month, Air India Express had confirmed its plan to fly Dammam - Mangalore direct by the end of March, 2009. The plan is still on and is awaiting a green signal from the Civil Aviation department. Owing to the forthcoming general elections, the execution of the plan may be delayed by a few weeks. But there is no second thought on flying directly from Saudi Arabian soil to Mangalore, says AI Express officials.
A senior officer, who did not want to be identified told daijiworld that, after the announcement of Dammam - Mangalore flight, there had been tremendous pressure on AI Express from Coastal Karnataka based organizations in Riyadh to extend the service also to Riyadh as there are a number of potential passengers from both Coastal Karnataka and Kasardgod living there. Bowing to pressure, AI Express is now considering another option of flying Riyadh - Dammam - Mangalore. "The plan is surely on the cards, but I cannot assure you at the moment. But Riaydh bound Mangaloreans have every reason to cheer when the news is confirmed" said the AI Express official.
Meanwhile, AI Express has submitted the approval for thrice-weekly flights from Dammam - Mangalore. Due to the current situation, they might reduce the schedules to twice a week, instead of three times a week. Eventually, depending on the load, the frequency may be upgraded.
Due to certain technical difficulties, the scheduled 10 flights per week from Air India Express between Dubai - Mangalore have been reduced to 9 a week. From March 14 to April 14 the Wednesday morning flight will not be operating, but it will continue to operate after April 14, said an Air India Express official.
25/03/09 Daijiworld.com

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Air India expands SR Technics engine pact to A320s

Air India is extending its powerplant maintenance agreement with SR Technics to include additional CFM International CFM56 engines.
The two sides already have a servicing deal with SR Technics maintaining CFM56-7B engines for Air India Express, which operates Boeing 737-800s.
But the new agreement will expand this pact to include CFM56-5B engines on Air India's Airbus A320s.
Air India's co-operation with the maintenance company already covers Pratt & Whitney PW4000 work on Airbus A330s, as well as component support for the type.
24/03/09 David Kaminski-Morrow/Flightglobal.com

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A-380 back on Air India radar

New Delhi: Air-India has renewed its interest in the A-380, the world’s largest passenger aircraft with a seating capacity of 850.
A-380 maker Airbus today held talks with Air India. The two had previously discussed the aircraft in 2007.
“Yes, we are in talks with Air India for our A-380 aircraft,” said Srinivasan Dwarkanath, head of international co-operation (India and East Asia) at Airbus. Similar talks with Air India in 2007 had failed.
A senior Air India official confirmed the talks but maintained that the purchase of the A-380 was at a planning stage.
If a deal is struck, Airbus expects to sell at least 10 A-380s. Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines is the only Indian carrier to have placed an order for the aircraft. Five A-380s are due for delivery from 2010-11. European firm Airbus has delivered over 400 aircraft to Indian carriers and has orders for over 240.
Analysts said Indian carriers would purchase more than 900 aircraft by 2025.Christian Scherer, executive vice-president of Airbus, put the demand at 1,100, including cargo planes, by 2029.
25/03/09 The Telegraph

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Airbus plans manufacturing base in India

New Delhi: European aircraft manufacturer Airbus Industrie on Tuesday said it plans to have a manufacturing base in India in the next three-four years following a strong presence in areas such as engineering, research, design and training.
The airplane maker said that it is bullish on the emerging market like India and see a double-digit growth in the region in the long-run.
"We will continue to grow our supply base in India with focus on six key areas which include engineering and design. Airbus currently employs 200 highly-skilled at its design centre in Bangalore. The headcount will double to 400 in the next few years," Airbus executive vice president and head of strategy and future programs Christian Scherer said.
Airbus expects an expenditure of about $ 1 billion in India over the next 10 years provided it gets right partners and right projects. As part of its globalisation plan, the company plans to build up to 20% of aero-structures and 30% of engineering sub- contracting offshore by 2020.
Airbus currently has an order book of 347 aircraft from Indian airlines. In spite of the turbulence in the aviation sector, the company has maintained its earlier forecast and said that India would require 992 aircraft till 2026. Out of these nearly 60 would be large-size jets like A380.
24/03/09 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Airbus selects Satyam, others

New Delhi: European aircraft giant Airbus on Tuesday said India will witness the highest domestic air traffic growth globally even during this slowdown. Airbus has also selected Satyam Computer, along with four other Indian IT giants, for software support to aircraft like A-380 and A-350.
Five companies Infosys, HCL, CADES, Satyam and Quest have been selected to provide engineering support services to various aircraft programmes like the A-380 and A-350. Four firms Infosys, Satyam, Tata and Wipro will be providing information system services including IT to Airbus.
The European major has reaffirmed its faith in Satyam. "We are going to stand by them despite what has happened in past three months. We have a very good relationship with Satyam. The IT firm's board chief Kiran Karnik has explained the overall process and things will become clear by April-end," said S Dwarkanath, Airbus' director (international cooperation).
Airbus, which will invest close to $1 billion here over the next decade in six major activities including aircraft design, said India will have the highest air traffic growth during 2007-11, and also over the next two decades. "India leads the pack of emerging markets in terms of aviation growth. Even in the slowdown affected period of 2007-11, India will grow at 11.3%," said Christian Scherer, head of strategy.
India's impressive figure also stems from the fact that the base of air traffic was very low till five years back when low cost carriers first appeared here and since then there has been tremendous growth.
25/03/09 Times of India

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Emirates takes you on a Journey Through India

Emirates is advancing its service on Indian routes with the launch of its unique ‘Journey Through India’ campaign.
Focussing on three crucial elements – inflight food and beverage; inflight product; and cabin crew management – the programme seeks to ensure the airline exceeds the expectations of its Indian passengers through regionalisation of the product on Indian routes.
Initiatives under the ‘Journey Through India’ campaign are featuring on Emirates flights to Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calicut, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram.
The menu on all routes and in all classes has been created to meet the regional preferences of Indian travellers. In addition it has been strengthened with a greater presence of Indian dishes, especially vegetarian options, while western dishes continue to be offered to cater to the global tastes of travellers.
In all classes, route specific mini savouries prior to meal service and after meal Indian digestives have been introduced. Advancements in the First and Business class menu include a choice of three hors d’oeuvres including Indian options. In Economy class a bar service has been introduced prior to the meal, which in itself has been boosted with a choice of two Indian and one Western dish. All passengers are served a welcome drink.
Inflight entertainment has also been regionalised and now offers route specific boarding music and reading material. Emirates’ patented and award-winning ice (Information, Communication and Entertainment) system that offers over 600 channels of entertainment is now offered on more Indian routes than previously. Although flying times to/from India are short, flights with or without ‘ice’ now boast an enhanced selection of programmes and music in varied Indian languages.
24/03/09 finchannel.com

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Air India witness's family sues RCMP

The family of a person described in a court document as a “key lay witness” in the Air India trial is suing the RCMP for allegedly breaching a contract to pay them compensation.
Five members of the family claim that the police promised to compensate them for any losses they incurred as a result of the witness, identified only by the initials S.G., having entered the federal witness protection program in September 2001.
“The RCMP have breached their contract with the plaintiffs and [the plaintiffs] claim special damages relating to the loss of businesses, other assets and pre-judgment interest,” says a writ of summons filed in B.C. Supreme Court.
The writ, which contains allegations that have not been proven in court, gives no other details.
No statement of claim, which typically contains a fuller description of the allegations in a lawsuit, has been filed in court.
In October 2000, Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were charged with murder in the 1985 bombings that claimed the lives of 331 people.
24/03/09 Keith Fraser/The Province, Canada

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Emirates seeks to lure India travellers

Dubai: If the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, then Emirates surely knows how to win passengers on its Indian routes.
The airline, which operates 163 flights per week to ten Indian cities, said yesterday it will offer regional cuisine and entertainment on India-Dubai flights.
Dosa, idli, idiyappum, lemon rice, upama will be available to cater to south Indian tastes while paneer makhani is prepared to suit the north Indian palate.
"The menu on all routes and in all classes has been created to meet the regional preferences of Indian travellers. In addition it has been strengthened with a greater presence of Indian dishes, especially vegetarian options, while Western dishes continue to be offered to cater to the global tastes of travellers," the airline said.
Along with Bollywood entertainment, a greater variety of movies in regional languages such as Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Bengali will be offered as part of the "Journey Through India" campaign.
23/03/09 Shakir Husain/Gulf News, UAE

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Abu Dhabi sees strong air traffic growth from India

Dubai: Abu Dhabi International Airport had registered an increase in passenger traffic from India, which was the largest travel market of UAE's capital, during February 2009.The figures which were released today said that the total number of passengers increased to around six per cent in February 2008, while aircraft movements increased by 4.9 per cent. The Indian subcontinent saw strong growth due to improved load factors, increased weekly service frequencies and competitive prices.
Four Airlines currently operate to seven destinations in India. With an increase of 36.4 per cent in passengers for the month, India was a key driver of passenger growth in February, while the number of passengers to Pakistan increased to 14.6 per cent.
Abu Dhabi's third largest international market was UK with nearly 5.1 per cent increase in passenger traffic. International exhibitions, conferences and shows such as IDEX were key factors in sustaining traffic increase in February. Etihad Airlines, the UAE's national carrier, recorded a five per cent increase in the traffic.
23/03/09 PTI/The Hindu

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Lufthansa offers Indian discounts

Lufthansa is offering passengers the chance to "broaden their horizons in India" by discounting flights to the country's cities.The German airline has reduced economy class return fares to six destinations departing a variety of UK locations, including London Heathrow Airport, Birmingham International Airport, Bristol Airport, Edinburgh Airport and Manchester Airport.
Subject to availability, the discounts apply on services leaving the UK between March 30, 2009 and February 1, 2010.Passengers must stay in their destination for a minimum period of one Saturday night and a maximum time of one month.
Flight prices include all taxes, fees and surcharges, although additional charges apply for bookings made via credit card.
23/03/09 Cheap Flights, UK

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Airlines planning to suspend services from Kozhikode

Kozhikode: Owing to the huge loss in revenue following the ‘fare war’, more airlines are getting ready to suspend their services or cut down the frequency of the flights from Kozhikode International Airport.
Etihad Airways and Emirates will reduce the frequency of the flights and Jet Airways also will cancel its Doha flights in the coming week. Other leading lowcost, no-frills airlines also will suspend services soon enough.
The full service airline companies cannot survive with the new fares and they are forced to cut fares on a par with the low-cost services of Indian Airlines and Air India.
A senior Air Arabia official told The New Indian Express that the poor demand from the passengers is the main reason for the revenue loss which results in the suspension of the services to Kozhikode.
“There are almost 2600 seats available a day, but the demand is only around 1500,” he said.
A Kozhikode-Dubai air ticket costs only Rs 6500 for a full-service flight of a leading airline which will provide fivestar food and other facilities for the passengers.
A Jet Airways official said passengers’ demand the same fare of Air- India Express for a full-service airline. And the private companies are forced to provide five-star facilities on the same ticket fare of low-cost airlines.
23/03/09 TP Nijeesh/ExpressBuzz

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Sri Lankan Airlines halves flights to India, trims costs

State-run national carrier, Sri Lankan Airlines, has slashed flights to India from 100 a week to 51, as part of a cost-cutting strategy and re-aligning of services to conserve cash and maximize yields, an official said.
In the first quarter of the financial year starting March 2008, the airline lost almost 50 million US dollars, on core airline operations, chief executive Manoj Gunewardena said.
"But progressively in the next two to three quarters we've managed to stem this loss significantly," he said in an interview Saturday.
With the financial year almost over, Gunewardena says the airline would end "on a minus", though cash flows have stabilized.
SriLankan's bottom line is usually propped up by profits from ground handling and a flight catering unit at Bandaranaike International Airport, its home base.
In 2008, the carrier lost 6.1 billion rupees on core airline operations but ended the year with a 4.8 billion rupee profit, with aircraft sales bringing capital gains to supplement 3.3 billion rupees earned from ground handling and 985 million rupees from catering.
In March 2008, Emirates Airlines, a shareholder, pulled out of a management deal with Sri Lankan.
Gunewardena took over after that, and started cutting costs as fuel prices rose, demand slumped and losses added up. The Indian cut backs were timed with a replacement of the airline's ageing fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft which were flying mostly to India.
23/03/09 Lanka Business Online

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AI facility for transit passengers to US

Nedumbassery: Aiming to lessen the transit time for passengers from Kochi to the U.S, Air India, in its summer schedule from Cochin airport, has restructured its operations by fixing the departure time of its daily direct flight to Mumbai (AI 691) at 9.55 p.m. and would facilitate the clearances for the West bound passengers at Kochi instead of the transit point, Mumbai.
The airline also announced an augmentation of its services to Saudi Arabia on a daily basis with four flights to Damam and three flights to Riyadh carrying out services from Kochi on alternative days in its new schedule effective from March 29. It has also decided to enhance the intra- Kerala connectivity by linking the three airports in the state.
With the schedule, AI with its no frills wing AIE, will be the major international service provider from Cochin with 42 landings per week. The officials also said that the intra Kerala connectivity package was aimed at the `holiday passenger market’.
The airline will make Frankfurt as its operational hub for West bound flights and will have direct connectivity for flights from and to cities like Kochi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, and Bangalore. Later this year, they also plan to launch a Delhi-San Francisco flight, the longest flight to be operated from India.
23/03/09 Kerala Online

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Air India to fly Amritsar-London-Toronto daily

New Delhi/Chandigarh: The airline will be running the fight on a daily basis from the Rajasansi International Airport. The flight currently runs thrice a week.
The proposed move is expected to provide a relief to perishable exporters and farmers of Punjab who were affected after Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines withdrew their services last year stating it was not feasible for them to continue anymore.
“At present, we are handling 100 tonne of cargo per month. Initially, we will introduce Boeing 777 200 ER aircraft on the route. This would be later upgraded to 300 ER. We expects that the introduction of the daily flight would boost the export from the region," said Air India, station manager (Amritsar), Ashwani Arora.
Sport goodsa and perishable items like snow peas, coriander, baby corn, French bean, green chillies and capsicum are currently exported from the Rajasansi International Airport to UK and European countries.
23/03/09 Vijay C Roy/Business Standard

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Frankfurt is Air India's new hub

Chennai/Hyderabad: State-owned carrier, Air India, is restructuring its operations to Europe and the US by making Frankfurt its operational hub for its West-bound flights “as the London Heathrow is busy and not an easy airport to transit”, effective this summer schedule starting March 29.
To begin with, the airline will operate daily flights from Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore to Chicago via Delhi and Frankfurt. Eventually, the idea is launch direct flights from the three south destinations to Frankfurt and then to the US while skipping Mumbai and Delhi in due course, P Ashok Kumar, deputy general manager (commercial), Air India, told mediapersons here .
“We are expecting 200-odd passengers per flight on this route. Even if we can get about 150 passengers per flight, it will make it economically viable for us to start direct flights to Frankfurt, which may happen in a year from now,” he added.
23/03/09 Business Standard

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Singapore’s Silk Airlines to start operations from Amritsar

Amritsar, Punjab: Singapore’s Silk Airlines plans to start operations from Amritsar next month, much to the relief of tourists and business community who had been facing hardships after the cancellation of Singapore’s national carrier last month.
Punjab Council of CII Chairman Gunbir Singh told The Tribune that they had been pressing upon the Singapore Airlines to reconsider its decision to operate its no-frill economy class airline to fill the void created by the termination of its own thrice-a-week flight operations from Amritsar.
He said during the last visit of the Singapore Ambassador to India, the CII had mooted the proposal in view of the demand of a large number of NRIs settled in South-Asian countries, New Zealand and Australia. Now the final nod was being awaited for the resumption of flights.
Gunbir Singh said there was a tremendous scope for lifting of export cargo from here, including hand tools, hosiery, fresh vegetables.
23/03/09 Global Sikh News

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Dragonair A333 returns to Bangalore due to engine problem

Bangalore: A Dragonair Airbus A330-300, registration B-HWH performing flight KA-153 from Bangalore (India) to Hong Kong (China), returned to Bangalore due to an engine problem. The aircraft landed safely.
Engineers determined, that the engine needed to be replaced. A new engine was flown in, so that B-HWH could leave Bangalore as flight KA-153D on March 14th.
22/03/09 Simon Hradecky/The Aviation Herald

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Foreign airlines offer special summer air fares

New Delhi: To counter recession and slow down in tour and travel business many foreign airlines are coming up with special fares ahead of summer holidays. People who were earlier postponing their trips because of the higher airfares have made the most of the opportunity and booked well in advance for their summer holidays since these are for a limited period.
KLM is giving Delhi- London for Rs 9,900 excluding the taxes while Emirates is give Mumbai-Dubai-London for Rs 19,880. Thai Airways has come out with a fare of Rs 35,000 (inclusive of taxes) on the Mumbai-Sydney sector.
However , this is only for the day flights out of Mumbai . Compared to this Qantas is offering a fare of Rs 51,939 (inclusive of taxes), this is from Mumbai to two cities in Australia. All these special fare are valid till 31 March,2009.
According to TAAI which is the apex body of tour and travel industry with more than 3200 agents as its members says that there has been a drop in summer packages to the tune of 30% to 35% this year as compared to last year. Sunday ET spoke to three leading international airlines , all agreed that discount are be offered to bring back the passengers.
On the condition of anonymity one leading international airlines official said:” Overall there is a slowdown both in air and hotel industry . Many leading international airlines for certain period of time are offering attractive rates to woe the traveler. In fact the destination that these airlines is offering special fares are Europe, London and Dubai where this time of the year demand for travel is more.”
Interestingly during these times carriers such as Air Asia, Sama Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines are adding India as its new destination . Many in the industry are hoping that the discount offered by foreign airlines will help increase the sales. India market is seen as a growing market for international air traffic and the current market size is $ 5 billion per year.
22/03/09 Raja Awasthi/Economic Times

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Private Jet Owners look to sell their jets

Private jet owners are now “jumping ship.” They are desperate to sell their private jets due to an economic recession that makes maintenance very expensive. However, they’re finding very few takers.
“The slowdown is hitting everyone,” said Captain Sandeep Saraf, director of operations at Pinnacle Air. “Jet owners are desperately selling off planes. We have witnessed a price drop of 40 to 50 per cent in two months.”
Director of AAA Aviation Vijay Kumar said: “Our jet inventory has nearly doubled, with owners all over the world, especially in the US, desperate to sell. Prices are so low that it is now worth paying in foreign currency for an Australian jet.”
“Jets are no more a Tata-Birla affair,” said Kumar. “Today, even a company worth Rs10 crore is seeking to purchase choppers.”
22/03/09 Private Jet Daily

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AI changes West schedule

Bangalore: In its summer schedule from March 29, Air India has restructured its West-bound operations by advancing the departure time of flights from Mumbai, and providing convenient connections for passengers from cities like Bangalore.
Passengers from Bangalore will now have a flight to Mumbai departing at 10.05 pm and reaching Mumbai at 11.35 hours. In the return direction, the flight will leave Mumbai at 1.30 am to reach Bangalore at 3 am.
This flight will help passengers travelling on Air India flights from Bangalore to London, Frankfurt, Newark, Chicago and New York. The halting time for Bangalore passengers has been reduced to 1-3 hours.
22/03/09 Times of India

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LTTE threat to Kerala airports

Security has been strengthened at all three international airports in Kerala following an alert received from Mumbai about an LTTE threat to the key installations, India media reported yesterday.
The Air India security office in Thiruvanathapuram received the alert message from its Mumbai office, they said.
There were also intelligence reports that the LTTE may attack any of the South Indian airports in the coming days. Kerala has three airports Thiruvananthapuram, Nedumbassery (Kochi) and Karippur (Kozhikode). There are regular flights from Sri Lanka to Kochi and Thiruvanathapuram.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), in charge of airport security, has stepped up vigil at the airports. A special meeting was conducted by the CISF Commandant Rajiv Panth to evaluate the security measures.
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport was thoroughly searched by the bomb squad and dog squad of the police. The Quick Reaction Team of the CISF also joined search operations, said a news report from the city. Similar search operations were conducted in other Kerala airports too. There has been an active operation of the LTTE in the state and of late there were reports that the LTTE is having a “loose arrangement” with certain fringe Maoist groups and some Islamist organizations in the state., reported rediff.com.
A top-ranking intelligence official said some former Naxalite leaders in the state are in touch with the terror elements in Sri Lanka, it added.
In another development, on Friday the Tamil Nadu Coast Guard and Police launched a search operation for a boat from Sri Lanka, suspected to belong to the banned LTTE, off the coast of Tamil Nadu near Cuddalore.
22/03/09 Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka

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SLAF ready to help Kerala

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) is ready to help India in providing whatever details it needs with regard to the `Tiger' threat to certain airports in Kerala, SLAF spokesperson, Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said.
Commenting on the threat he said that the Indian defence officials were already in close contact with Sri Lanka and the SLAF was closely monitoring the situation.
22/03/09 Ananth Palakidnar/Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka

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A-I daily direct flight to Chicago from March 29

Hyderabad: Air-India is launching direct daily flights from Hyderabad to Chicago (US) via Frankfurt from March 29.
The national carrier also plans to introduce non-stop flights from Hyderabad to Frankfurt.
Passengers flying from Hyderabad will now have an option to travel via Mumbai to Chicago and via Delhi to New York for the same fare. Besides from Hyderabad, Air India also launched direct flights to Chicago from Bangalore and Chennai.
``Frankfurt has a distinctive advantage of providing easy connectivity to many cities. For us, it is a hub more strategic than London.
We are expecting at least 10 per cent increase in traffic due to this restructuring,’’ said P Ashok Kumar, deputy general manager (commercial), Air India.
To make introduction of nonstop flights from Hyderabad to Frankfurt possible, the occupany levels of each flight taking off from Hyderabad to Chicago and London via Mumbai and Delhi have to touch 150 to 200 passengers.
“Introduction of direct flights reduces transit time and costs significantly. When volumes increase, we will launch non-stop flights and fares will be much lower compared to the present,’’ explained.
21/03/09 ExpressBuzz

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DGCA gets 3 months to escape US rap

New Delhi: The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday concluded its five-day-long reassessment of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)’s safety regulations, necessitated by a shocking lack of staff strength here. Based on the action plan prepared by India to avoid being downgraded by FAA to the levels of sub-Saharan African nations, from its current number one ranking, the American team is tentatively scheduled to be back in June and see the actual implementation of the plan.
The FAA could downgrade India, if the promise to make Indian skies safer by having a strong regulatory mechanism, which will ultimately see DGCA evolve into an autonomous civil aviation authority, remains only on paper and is not implemented. To begin with, the FAA is learnt to have softened its stance after seeing that India had started taking corrective action for strengthening DGCA ever since it first issued the threat of reassessment in January.
‘‘Certainly, they were aghast at the shocking lack of staff strength and we have assured them that in the next two to three months impressive action would have been taken. In fields where we have staff shortage like operations, airports and air navigation supervision, outside help is being taken by taking inspectors on secondment from airlines. These people will be on board shortly and work under our supervision,’’ said sources.
21/03/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Fly Dubai & back for just Rs 11k

Mumbai: Want a cheap holiday abroad? Beat the April rush of summer vacation planners by booking your tickets now, while flights to destinations like New York, Dubai, London and Bangkok are going cheap. Prices are lower right now than they were for most of last year.
With both fuel prices and travel down, international airlines are offering a slew of cheap fares to stimulate demand. For example, a round trip fare to New York is just Rs 39,200, taxes included, if you’re willing to put up with a stopover in Abu Dhabi. Etihad is offering the fare till March 29 for travel till June and return within six months.
If you hate stopovers, Air India and Continental Airlines are both offering a return fare of Rs 43,800 for a direct flight between Mumbai and New York, provided you buy the ticket before March 31 and travel before April 15. Last year, the fare on this route was in the range of Rs 50,000 to Rs 55,000.
Southeast Asian destinations, as usual, are going cheap. While Thai Airways offers a Mumbai-Bangkok-Mumbai ticket for Rs 12,800, Jet Airways offers the same for Rs 14,000, and Air India for Rs 12,200. Dubai is affordable, too. The fare for a weekend to the popular West Asian shopping destination works out to Rs 16,500 on Emirates and Rs 10,500 on Air India. Emirates sold the same route for Rs 20,000 earlier.
London is another attractive destination this month, with the lowest fares for a round trip on a direct flight ranging from Rs 26,500 (Air India) to Rs 30,000 (British Airways).
21/03/09 Manju V/Times of India

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Indian national fails to smuggle in RM500,000 in Ketamine

Butterworth: An Indian national was caught trying to smuggle in 14.84kg of ketamine valued at RM500,000 at the Penang International Airport on Friday.
Penang Customs director Matrang Suhaili said the man, in his 50s, who had come from New Delhi via Bangkok, was nabbed at 11.30pm after Customs officers found the drugs concealed in some food items in his luggage.
He said it was the typical modus operandi used by drug smugglers from the subcontinent.
He added that records showed the suspect had entered the country several times in the last two years.
20/03/09 Bernama/The Star Online

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Air India restructures operations to US, Europe

New Delhi: Public sector Air India on Thursday said it has taken a major initiative towards strengthening its global network, restructuring its operations to the US and Europe and by making Frankfurt its operational hub.
"To begin with, Chicago and New York would offer more convenient connections to originating traffic from a larger geographical area in India, with the Chicago flight now set to operate from Delhi," Air India executive director (southern region) EA Varghese told reporters here.
He said the passengers who wish to travel from New Delhi to New York would be transferred to the Mumbai-New York flight at Frankfurt. Likewise fliers from Mumbai who wish to go to Chicago would be tranferred to the Delhi-Chicago flight at Frankfurt
and the connections at Frankfurt would be immediate, he added.
Varghese said all these flights would be operated with state of the art 342 seater B777-300ER aircraft, configured in three classes. Further he added that flight schedules have been so drawn that passengers could depart from India at about 1 am from Mumbai/Delhi, arrive in Frankfurt at about 6 pm and depart at around 8 pm for arrival at Chicago/New York at 10.30 am, thus providing fastest connectivity between India and the US.
Varghese informed that Air India would soon launch a non-stop Delhi-San Franscisco flight later this year after inducting three new Boeing 777LR aircraft between June-August 2009.
On the company's proposal to induct new flights he said, the airline presently has over 150 aircraft, including 45 inducted in the past 18 months.
19/03/09 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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IATA: Airline 2009 losses to exceed $2.5 billion

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: The world's airlines are collectively expected to lose more than $2.5 billion this year and could remain in the red for years amid the deepening global economic slump, a key industry body warned Thursday.
The International Air Transport Association will next week raise its forecast for 2009 industry losses as the deteriorating global economic conditions further hit demand for air travel and cargo, said Director-General Giovanni Bisignani.
"Just look at the numbers. January (global) passenger traffic was down 5.6 percent. Premium traffic, where airlines make their money, was off 16.7 percent and cargo is a disaster with a 23.3 percent fall," he said.
In December, IATA forecast a $2.5 billion loss for 2009 based on fuel price of $60 a barrel, a 3 percent drop in passenger demand and a 5 percent drop in cargo.
The group said recently that airline losses exceeded $4 billion in the fourth quarter last year, pointing to total losses in 2008 of up to $8 billion, far more than the $5 billion it previously estimated. That bodes poorly for the current year.
Crude oil prices have plunged and world airlines expect to save $30 billion in fuel cost this year but he said there was no immediate relief for some carriers who had hedged fuel at higher prices.
Asia is expected to be the worst performing region as its carriers, which account for 44 percent of the world cargo market, were badly hit by sharper-than-expected slump in its three key markets — China, India and Japan, he said. IATA, a Geneva-based group that represents 230 airline companies worldwide, repeated its call for greater industry liberalization to give greater commercial freedom for airlines to serve global markets more efficiently.
19/03/09 The Associated Press/International Herald Tribune

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AI reschedules Saudi flights

Kozhikode: According to Air India’s summer schedule, which will come into effect on March 29, flights from the Calicut International Airport to Riyadh by AI-923 on Sundays will depart at 2.05 p.m. and by flight AI-925 on Wednesdays will depart at 2.15 p.m., instead of 6.45 p.m. on both days.
Air India spokesman has advised passengers to report at the airport three hours before departure.
Return flights from Riyadh by AI-922 on Sundays will arrive at Kozhikode at 11.50 a.m. and by AI-924 on Wednesdays at 1.05 p.m.
For more information passengers have to contact any Air India office or the call centre which can be contacted on telephone 18002277 22.
With effect from March 29, Air India flight AI-917 from Kozhikode to Dammam will operate on Sunday, Wednesday and Thursday. Departure from Kozhikode will be at 7.30 a.m. local time and arrival at Dammam at 9.15 a.m. local time.
AI-917, Kozhikode-Dammam which operates every Monday, stands cancelled with effect from March 30 and AI-901, Kozhikode -Riyadh which operates every Thursday, stands cancelled with effect from April 2.
20/03/09 Kerala Online

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Air India Launches Daily Non-stop to Frankfurt Via Newark

Air India will be launching nonstop service to Frankfurt via Newark International Airport as of March 29. Tickets are valid for up to one year and there is no minimum stay and no weekend surcharges. Advance purchase is not required and changes of travel dates are permitted for $75 per change, plus any fare difference, if applicable.
All of Air India’s Chicago/Frankfurt and Newark/Frankfurt nonstops feature First, Executive, and Economy Class service, a choice of Continental or Indian cuisine, and complimentary liquor service in all classes.
18/03/09 Mark Rogers/TravelAgentCentral

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BA pilot sues airline over ‘jock’ racism claim

A Scottish senior British Airways pilot is suing the airline for racism after he was called "a jock" and told to go back to his welfare state paid for by the English.
Douglas Maughan also claims there is a culture of racism at BA. Mr Maughan, 54, who has 29 years' flying experience, 15 with BA, said he received a letter and e-mails from a pilot he had never met after he had a letter published in the staff magazine BA News in 2005 which defended Labour's economic record.
One of the letters said: "Come separation will all Jocks F.off to that welfare state (paid for by English middle classes) ??? please say yes." Speaking from his home in Dunblane, Mr Maughan said: "I have heard the terms coon', nigger', sambo' and wog'. I was shocked because I thought this sort of language had stopped."
Father-of-two Mr Maughan said it was particularly upsetting when a colleague said he did not like Indian women because "they are dirty". The pilot added: "He did not know my wife is Asian, but there is a canteen culture of racism at BA."
19/03/09 The Herald, UK

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Air India Entry To Star Delayed By Year

Air India is now expected to join the Star Alliance in the first quarter of 2010, one year later than its scheduled plan for entry in March 2009.
While Star Alliance and Air India signed a non-disclosure agreement last year, the compliance is yet to be done. According to an airline official, the basic coordination between Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines (now under the Air India banner) is proving to be a harrowing experience as “it is not clear who has to do what.”
Air India has been in the process of merging with Indian Airlines for the past 18 months and was expected to conclude the integration by the end of 2008 and join Star at about the same time.
The two airlines (Air India and Indian Airlines) have yet to integrate their different IT platforms under one common system. Also, AI has not yet confirmed to Star its decision on which IT platform it will be using.
A daily news report in Delhi suggests the Ministry of Civil Aviation is upset that talks are on with Jet Airways to join the alliance, as it would put Air India at a disadvantage. However, a Jet spokesman told The DAILY that while the carrier was evaluating various options, “over the years, Jet had taken a decision not to align itself with a specific alliance and go the way of code shares and independent alliances.”
18/03/09 Neelam Mathews/Aviation Week

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7kg of ketamine found in TV set

Kuching: A 32-year-old Indian national, suspected of being a drug mule, was arrested during a routine Customs check at the Kuching International Airport two days ago. Customs officers found 7kg of ketamine in 46 plastic bags hidden inside a television set belonging to the man.
The drug is worth about RM245,000 on the black market. While it is used in medical treatment, addicts also take it.
State Customs director Rusmani Abdul Sukur said yesterday that the man took off from Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on March 16 and arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on the same day. He said the officers found it strange that someone from India was lugging a TV set all the way to Kuching.
19/03/09 New Strait Times

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Etihad Airways improves Indian connections to America and Europe

Mumbai: Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is set to enhance its schedule within India to provide increased long haul connectivity and better frequency including a change in the flight schedules. Etihad is also streamlining its services to key destinations in response to changing demands and will now operate all Indian flights as early-morning departures effective March 30, 2009.
When the new schedule is introduced, Thiruvananthapuram will connect to long haul destinations like Canada and New York. Also European destinations like Milan, Frankfurt and Moscow will see increased frequency from Chennai. From Kochi, there will be a significant boost of flights to New York, London, Jordan and Europe. Kozhikode will also provide better connectivity to the Middle East with an increase in connections and frequency to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar. Mumbai and New Delhi will connect better to key destinations in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
19/03/09 TravelBizMonitor

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Airlines hit hard by online fraud

The airline industry experiences significant online fraud, according to findings released by CyberSource Corporation, a company that offers a hosted fraud management solution for online retailers.
According to the survey, airlines worldwide lost more than $1.4 billion to fraudsters in 2008. The figure amounts to about 1.3% of worldwide airline revenue.
Online fraud can occur in several ways, Bruce Frymire, a spokesperson for CyberSource told The Industry Standard. Generally, fraudsters use stolen credit card information to buy a ticket for themselves, or act as a travel agent, and buy a ticket for someone else. By the time the true card owner reports the theft, the flight has usually been taken and the airlines loses 100% of the revenue, Frymire said.
While U.S. airlines tend to use automated solutions to identify fraud, overseas airlines manually review many of their bookings. For Middle East-based airlines, 81% of bookings are manually reviewed, compared to just 3% of North American-based airlines, according to CyberSource.
Currently, about 20 airlines use the CyberSource fraud management solution, including British Airways, Jet Airways and LOT Polish Airlines.
18/03/09 Sindya Bhanoo/The Industry Standard

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Assistant SG wants free luxury service for sister on Qantas

New Delhi: Not the least deterred by the thought that he may be misusing his official position, a law officer in Ahmedabad not only asked for an upgrade and preferential treatment for his sister travelling on Qantas from Mumbai to Sydney, he even put down the "request" in writing.
Assistant solicitor general Dhaval G Nanavati, a law officer working for the UPA government in Ahmedabad, wanted his sister, who is scheduled to fly Qantas (flight No. QF124) from Mumbai to Sydney on March 27, to have a comfortable journey on the long flight to Australia
, where she is migrating permanently.
He shot off an official letter to Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) asking it to "instruct and request" Jet Airways and Qantas Airlines (who have a tie-up) to allow his sister to carry excess baggage without charge, a free upgrade to business class, provision of special courtesies so that she does not face any inconvenience and to treat her as `Commercially Important Person' (CIP). What is also surprising is that DGCA even forwarded the letter to the carriers. Nanavati was not satisfied with just shooting off the letter, which came after his discussion with DGCA officials, but wanted the `Qantas people' to send him a confirmation about the arrangements that he had sought.
The unusual letter has left Qantas and Jet Airways officials perplexed and annoyed, but they are not willing to stick their neck out by reacting to such a letter despite knowing that in the hierarchy of the Centre's legal officers, Nanavati comes rather low.
Nanavati's letter, addressed to Dr S N A Zaidi, director general, DGCA, makes interesting reading as it gives an insight into the extent to which officials flex their muscles.
18/03/09 Dhananjay Mahapatra/Times of India

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Travel agent boycott continues, Singapore now to focus on online sales

As the standoff on commissions between Indian travel agents and Singapore Airlines looks to continue on into the third month without a resolution, Singapore Airlines is reportedly set to focus on its online presence.
After hours of talks on Monday between representatives from the airline and travel agent associations, no real solution was found after Singapore Airlines reportedly put a 1% commission rate for a limited time of six months on the table.
The six associations are believed to have spoken with C. W. Foo, Singapore’s General Manager for India, but common ground could not be found.
Additionally Singapore Airlines has been reported saying that during the period of the boycott, its internet sales had doubled, though it declined to give any exact figures.
The six associations of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), IATA Agents Association of India (IAAI), Association of Domestic Tour Operators in India (ADTOI), Enterprising Travel Association of India (ETAA), and Travel Agents’ Association of India (TAAI), have all been very vocal in their demonstration against the airlines.
18/03/09 eTravel Blackboard

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Gati suspends wet lease pact with Air India

Gati has announced that the arrangement under wet lease agreement with Air India (now known as National Aviation Company of India) for five B737-200 has been discontinued with immediate effect.
Consequently, the freighters leased by Air India have also been withdrawn with immediate effect.
However, the strategic alliance with Air India is being continued as usual without affecting air cargo movement business.
18/03/09 Myiris.com

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Cathay realigns flight schedules

Mumbai: Cathay Pacific has realigned its flights in India by introducing daily non-stop flights between Mumbai and Hong Kong. It will also introduce Bangkok as a new destination from Delhi with daily non-stop flights beginning March 30, 2009.
Cathay Pacific Airways general manager — India Tom Wright told ET that the decisions are expected to benefit the air travellers in the Asia-Pacific region. ET broke the news in its online edition on Tuesday.
The re-alignment will help passengers connect with the airline’s extensive global network. The airline currently offers double daily services from Delhi to Hong Kong and 10 weekly flights from Mumbai to Hong Kong.
18/03/09 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

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Travel agents, S'pore Airlines' talks end in a stalemate

Mumbai: A marathon four-hour long meeting between leading Indian travel agents and Singapore Airlines ended in a stalemate.
The meeting, between Singapore Airlines’ general manager CW Foo and travel agents, had been called to resolve a three-month long issue of non payment of commissions. The issue had also resulted in the agents boycotting Singapore Airlines.
“Mr Foo offered the travel agents a 1% commission for six months only, and after that, it would go to zero commission structure,” said a source who was present in the meeting.
Even the 1% commission is linked to productivity, he added. Also, the ticketing amount should come from basic fares only.
Mr Foo met six travel association heads including the Travel Agents’ Association of India, Travel Agents Federation of India and IATA Agents Association of India.
When contacted, Travel Agents Federation of India national general secretary Ajay Prakash told ET: “... We had proposed a 5% commission, but it was not accepted. We will continue to boycott Singapore Airlines.”
17/03/09 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

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India launches campaign to attract foreign tourists

Berlin: In an effort to reverse the decline in international tourist arrivals in the country after Mumbai terror attacks, India has launched a new tourism promotion campaign to woo foreign visitors.
The new campaign ‘Visit India Year 2009’ has been launched at the current International Tourism Exchange in Berlin to present the country as an attractive destination for the holidaymakers.
The campaign is a joint initiative by the government and the tourism industry to win back international visitors who have stayed away since the terror attacks in Mumbai last November, said Secretary for Tourism Sujit Banerjee, who launched the campaign at a conference of international media and travel trade representatives.
“Therefore, the government has joined hands with leading airlines, hoteliers, holiday resorts and tour operators in this ambitious marketing campaign to bring back foreign tourists by offering them a wide range of incentives and bonuses during the period between April and December, 2009.”
The airlines participating in the campaign, Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines will offer a “companion free ticket” for every ticket purchased for international and domestic flights. Connecting flights to the departing airports are included in the final travel costs.
The Indian Travel Agents’ Association (IATO) offers holiday-makers a free sightseeing tour in a city of their choice.
17/03/09 Press Trust of India

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Man dies on flight from Malaysia

Chennai: A 22-year-old man who was coming from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Chennai was found dead in an Air India Express flight. The police suspect the person would have been severely ill when he boarded the flight or had a heart attack.
The flight landed around 11.30 at the Anna international airport with 147 passengers on board. Within minutes, every one got down and the crew of the flight went inside to check if someone has been left behind.
The staff found a youngster sitting still with his eyes closed. Thinking that he was sleeping, they tried to wake him up. When he failed to respond, they thought he was unconscious and alerted the airport officials.
A medical team was pressed into service and after some moments the doctors declared him dead. It is suspected that he died just minutes after the flight took off from Kuala Lumpur.
The police identified the deceased as Kannabiran Balakrishnan from Chidambaram in Cuddalore. He had gone to Malaysia looking for employment. He got a job, but as he did not like it, decided to return to his village.
On Monday morning, he boarded the aeroplane from Malaysia. According to the police, during the flight he asked the cabin crew for some water. There was no one sitting next to him and he was travelling alone.
" ...The body was handed over to the state police," said an Air India official.
17/03/09 Times of India

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Indian flight safety under US scanner

New Delhi: Indian aviation safety regulatory mechanism will be under the US scanner for five days beginning from today. A six-member team from the American Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Singapore and Washington offices will essentially look into three aspects here — licensing of personnel, aircraft maintenance and compliance of regulations.
Doubts over India's effective regulatory mechanism arose as the DGCA has constantly lost staff, becoming tremendously understaffed now, even as air traffic has grown at a tremendous pace in past few years. After the reassessment, the FAA team will send its report on the shortcomings, which India must rectify in a stipulated timeframe, failing which it could be downgraded from its current category one position. Such a move will prevent Indian carriers from adding new flights to the US unless they take aircraft on wet lease from America, and additionally, Indian planes will be put through sever checks at US airports. During its five-day long reassessment, the FAA team will visit Air India's aircraft maintenance facility in Delhi as also the DGCA's regional office at Palam. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had in 2006 pointed out 31 deficiencies, that essentially frowned at DGCA's shocking lack of staff strength.
Unfortunately, no action was initiated over these findings since then. It was only the recent FAA move to reassess India, which spurred the government into action. The new director general of DGCA, Nasim Zaidi, has formulated an action plan — both short- and long-term — to sort out the lacunae by roping in ICAO in areas like air safety, and also in filling up vacancies.
16/03/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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