Cautious approach towards Indian carriers by leasing cos: CAPA

The court battle among airport operators, tax authorities and Kingfisher Airlines' lessors over repossession of its planes may have a negative impact on other Indian carriers leasing aircraft from global leasing companies, a leading aviation consultancy firm has said.
Major aircraft leasing companies and financers have started adopting a cautious approach towards Indian carriers, with some even threatening to pull out of India, it said.
Keeping this in mind, the Civil Aviation Ministry is contemplating issuing some guidelines to airport operators and government agencies not to hold on to or seize aircraft as security for unpaid dues of an airline, official sources said.
The primary aim of these guidelines would be to prevent foreign lessors from avoiding the India market by telling the airport operators and other agencies not to take aircraft as collateral from an airline company, they said.
31/03/13 PTI/NDTV

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Ranchi's double treat for flyers, airlines

Ranchi:  The state civil aviation department on Saturday slashed 16% sales tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prompting the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to announce that it would make night parking of aircraft free at Birsa Munda Airport here. The double bonanza for the fliers and the airlines, coming within a week of inauguration of the new terminal, is likely to increase number of passengers and flights in the city.
Ranchi probably becomes the first airport in the country where free night halt facility has been made.
The huge tax the state will now charge 4% tax on ATF has taken a toll on the number of flights at the Ranchi airport. Towards the end of 2011, a total of 16 flights operated from the city for various destinations. The lack of free night parking facility and highly taxed ATF took a toll on the number of flights here. Currently, eight flights operate from Ranchi connecting Delhi, Kolkata, Patna and Mumbai. Surprisingly, there is no flight to Delhi in the morning. Air India's flight is the first flight for the national capital at 1.30pm.
31/03/13 Alok K N Mishra/Times of India

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AirAsia incorporates Indian venture; files all papers with MCA

New Delhi:  Gearing up to launch services in partnership with Tatas, Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia has incorporated a company in India with the filing of all requisite documents with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
The venture, AirAsia (India) Pvt Ltd, was incorporated as an "Indian non-government company" with its registered office in Mumbai. It will be an "unlisted" company, as per the documents filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
The private sector company was incorporated on March 28, 2013 with an initial authorised capital of Rs 5 lakh. A company can change its share capital, as also other details, at a later stage.
Most of the existing air carriers present in the country, including SpiceJet, Go Air, Kingfisher, Jet Airways and IndiGo have authorised share capitals running into hundreds of crores of rupees, their RoC filings show.
31/03/13 Economic Times

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Israeli Arrested at Mumbai Airport over Bullet

An Israeli man, 23, was arrested in Mumbai Airport at week's end after a bullet was found in his personal bag when he was about to board a flight to Nepal.
He is in jail and efforts are being made to free him.
The young man's father told Arutz Sheva Saturday night that his son routinely carries a personal handgun and that one of the bullets must have fallen out of the cartridge inside the bag when he was still in Israel.
The father was notified by the Israel Police on Friday that his son was arrested. The Israel Police's representative in Mumbai asked him to obtain certain an approval that his son had no criminal record in order to assist in freeing him. However, he said, when he asked the Israel Police in Israel to give him the approval, he encountered a lack of good will.
30/03/13 Gil Ronen/Arutz Sheva

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Jeddah flight grounded at Amausi

Lucknow: Hundreds of Jeddah-bound passengers from Lucknow got stranded at Amausi airport on Saturday after a Saudi Arabia airline flight developed a snag. The flight, SV-891 was supposed to fly on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday with some 200 passengers and six crew members.
According to Lucknow airport authorities, engineers detected a snag in the aircraft's engine during a pre-take off examination exercise at around 5.30 pm. Airline officials refused to say anything about the technical fault.
There was no official confirmation as to when the flight would finally take off. Airport authorities said that while an alternate flight has been called for, arrangements to replace the damaged spare part is being made. Officials said that the spare part may have to be imported.
31/03/13 Times of India

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Malaysian Allegedly Assaulted by Co-Passenger on Flight

Hyderabad: A Malaysian PIO (Person of Indian Origin) was allegedly assaulted by three people including a co-passenger near the Outer Ring Road at Gachibowli here, after he objected to the passenger "talking" on a mobile phone while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur.
P Shankar Ram, a barrister from Malaysia, suffered injuries after he was beaten up by the young air passenger and his two bodyguards after he landed at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) at Shamshabad here yesterday, the police said.
Ram, who lodged a complaint with RGIA police after the incident claimed that the youngster intercepted his car while he was on way to a hotel here and one of his bodyguards assaulted him with his belt even as he was kicked and punched, causing injuries, the police said, quoting his complainant.
31/03/13 Outlook

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Qantas tips first Boeing 787 routes: Beijing, Hong Kong, India

Qantas will look to expand its international network, including adding direct flights to Beijing and India, with the debut of the airline’s Boeing 787s expected in 2016.
Speaking at today’s launch of the Qantas-Emirates alliance, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce reiterated the Dreamliner’s role as the backbone of Qantas’ future international fleet.
Qantas has options to purchase up to 50 of Boeing's stretched 787-9 beginning in 2016, with Joyce allowing this would let Qantas “open up a range of routes.”
“We’re talking about opportunities for us to re-enter Beijing, India and (add) more frequencies to Singapore and Hong Kong” Joyce said, “and we’re working through the numbers on those.”
31/03/13 David Flynn/Australian Business Traveller

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Kalanithi Maran's Sun group paid a fine of Rs 60 cr for import violation

A month before the CBI raid on M K Stalin’s residence which triggered a political controversy, another member of the DMK’s first family quietly coughed up a Rs 60 crore-penalty for import violation.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) had found post-import violation by a Bombardier aircraft belonging to the Sun group owned by M Karunanidhi’s grand-nephew Kalanithi Maran.
In February, the DRI had served notice to Sun for violation of import obligations under the category of non-scheduled passenger service aircraft. The group had claimed duty exemption under this category, which is meant to provide services on non-chartered routes. However, the aircraft was used by the directors of the group, which has interests from media to civil aviation, effectively using it as private jet.
30/03/13 Appu Esthose Suresh/Financial Express

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Jet to add international capacity, hire foreign pilots

Mumbai: Jet Airways is planning to increase capacity on international routes and induct two Boeing 777s this year. The airline, which earns about 55 per cent of revenue from international operations, has leased five Boeing 777s to Thai Airways; the lease term would end this year.
A senior Jet executive said of the five leased Boeing 777s, the airline would induct two and wet-lease three to Turkish Airlines for a year. Under a wet lease, the aircraft owner provides pilots and crew members and is responsible for the aircraft’s maintenance.
Currently, the airline flies the wide-bodied Boeing 777s on the London and Hong Kong routes from Mumbai and Delhi. It is not known on which routes Jet would deploy the two Boeing 777s on.
Jet’s renewed focus on international routes comes at a time when the company is concluding a stake sale with Etihad Airways. It has sought additional traffic rights for Abu Dhabi (Etihad’s headquarters), Amsterdam, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong.
30/03/13 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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SIA eyes untapped airports to expand base in India

Mumbai: Having successfully connected Visakhapatnam to Singapore through its 100 per cent subsidiary, SilkAir, Singapore International Airlines (SIA) is now looking for similar untapped locations to expand its footprint in India.
Though the airline has exhausted its seat entitlements from India, it is identifying virgin markets which could be connected later on.
“When we launched flights to Visakhapatnam last year, many people asked us why? Even most Indians have not been to Visakhapatnam. But when we did a study, we found out that the city V has three to four million people staying in 100 kms radius, and the area has significant business. But the airport has no direct international flight to anywhere. There was one flight to Dubai via Hyderabad. So we decided to connect it with Singapore,,” said G. M. Toh, General Manager (India) of SIA.
29/03/13 Lalatendu Mishra/The Hindu

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LCCs spread their wings overseas

New Delhi: After controlling a lion's share of the domestic market, pure low-cost carriers (LCC) are now going to spread their wings overseas. The move comes at a time when some startups, most prominent being AirAsia India, are on the horizon and will face a five-year waiting period to fly abroad. So securing a good international network has emerged as one of the key ways to face the upcoming competition from the prospective startups.
For instance, SpiceJet - the only Indian LCC that flies to China - wants to expand its footprint there. "We have four flights a week to Guangzhou and want the number to go up to six. Flights to Hong Kong will also be launched soon though there are no dates yet," SpiceJet CEO Neil Mills said.
The airline says its flights to Kabul are doing very well - mainly due to rising medical tourism in India and redevelopment work there.
30/03/13 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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“Include Madurai in bilateral treaty”

Madurai: The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TNCCI) has requested Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, scheduled to visit Singapore next month, to include Madurai airport in the bilateral treaty between the two countries and pave way for commencement of air services between Singapore and Madurai.
In a press communiqué, TNCCI said that many airliners based in Singapore, Malaysia and United Arab Emirates had evinced interest in operating flights to Madurai.
30/03/13 The Hindu

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Jet Airways’ expansion plans in Europe put on hold till Etihad deal

Mumbai: Jet Airways, which is in talks for a strategic-cum-equity partnership with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, has put on hold its plan to expand its network in Europe through Munich airport, till its deal fructifies with the Middle-eastern carrier. In the recent winter schedule (from October 28), India's secondlargest airline in terms of market share was granted permission from the ministry of civil aviation to start 35 new flights to Munich.
To facilitate its expansion of routes into European cities, Jet was in talks with German carrier Lufthansa for membership in Star Alliance — one of the largest global airline grouping — along with a hub at Munich airport.
The changed scenario, after the ministry approved foreign carriers to invest in Indian airline firms, has now forced Jet to change its stance. It has adopted a 'go slow' approach in actively pursuing Star Alliance membership and also is in the process of reworking its European expansion plans.
29/03/13 Manisha Singhal/Times of India

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BEL, Boeing spread wings for building fighter aircraft

New Delhi: US aerospace major Boeing and the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) on Thursday expanded their two-year relationship with the American company, placing a follow-on order with its Indian partner for building sub-assemblies for its F/A-18 combat plane.
Boeing had tied up with the BEL in 2011 and placed orders with it for both the combat jet and its P-8I maritime reconnaissance plane.
This fresh order from Boeing comes despite it losing out in the Rs1 lakh crore-worth “mother-of-all deals” for 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft.
Boeing was eliminated during the shortlist stage in the August 2007 tender in which French firm Dassault Aviation’s Rafale has been chosen as the lowest bidder.
The BEL delivers components for the Super Hornet and P-8I maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and is a partner with Boeing at the Analysis and Experimentation Centre in Bangalore that opened in 2009.
29/03/13 New Indian Express

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Environmental groups pressure UN body for carbon aviation deal

Washington: Environmental groups have urged the United States to back a global deal to curb carbon emissions produced by planes, noting that global aviation emits more of the greenhouse gas than all but six of the world's nations.
The groups, alarmed at scant progress toward an agreement within a United Nations aviation body, presented a petition with more than 60,000 signatures on Monday to a representative of the US State Department.
The petition asked US Secretary of State John Kerry to secure agreement under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for a market-based approach to curb heat-trapping emissions produced by planes.
29/03/13 Reuters/Times of India

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'India registers highest traffic for Abu Dhabi airport in Feb'

Dubai:  India recorded the highest traffic for Abu Dhabi International Airport in February 2013, with traffic growing by 9.1 per cent over the same period last year, says a report by the Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC). The traffic report for February 2013 showed a 13.1 per cent growth in passenger traffic over the same period last year, with over 1.2 million (1,221,686) passengers passing through the airport, ADAC said in a statement.India was followed by Germany, Thailand, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in the list, it said.
29/03/13 PTI/Economic Times

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Emirates Sky Cargo honours top agents in India

Thiruvananthapuram: Emirates Sky Cargo, the cargo division of Emirates, honoured its top performing cargo agents in the country in recognition of their contribution to the airline’s impressive growth last year at a function held in Goa recently. Top performers  were listed from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode.
The airline carries over 1,400 tonnes of weekly cargo from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, including leather goods, pharmaceuticals, readymade garments, textiles, electronics, engineering goods, spares, valuables and perishables.
29/03/13 New Indian Express

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Air India directed to pay Rs 50,000 compensation to woman flier

New Delhi: Air India Ltd has been directed by a consumer forum here to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation to a woman flier for causing her inconvenience by not loading her luggage in a flight from New Delhi to Abu Dhabi in 2007.
The New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum asked Air India to pay the compensation on a complaint filed by Delhi-resident Sandhya Sharma, who had said that she suffered great difficulties due to loss of suitcase which was delivered to her three days after she reached Abu Dhabi.
"We can understand that without suitcase, complainant (Sharma) must have suffered a lot of inconvenience, humiliation and great difficulty and also spent money on purchases. "Although some compensation of 300 Dirham was given to the complainant by airlines, it is not sufficient for the inconvenience suffered by the complainant. Considering the complaint, we award Rs 50,000 in toto as compensation for the inconvenience suffered by the complainant including litigation cost etc.," the bench presided by C K Chaturvedi said.
29/03/13 PTI/Indian Express

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Woman held with 5 kg of gold at airport

Ahmedabad: Customs officials on Thursday arrested a Surat-based woman from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport with five kgs of gold biscuits worth around Rs 2 crore.
The woman, who had landed here from Dubai, allegedly had the gold biscuits strapped around her waist.
Sources said the woman was identified as Jamila Mohammad Shafi Shah (50), a resident of Kosamba in Surat.
Customs officials said she was a part of a racket and working as a carrier to deliver the consignment in Mumbai. They said she was also a frequent flyer.
29/03/13 Indian Express

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Chinese airlines keen to spread wings in India

Mumbai: Chinese carriers are planning to add more flights and routes to India on the back of over 60% growth in traffic in last four years.
Three carriers from the mainland- Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines fly to Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata.
Air India flies to Shanghai and SpiceJet recently launched Delhi-Guangzhou flights.
Till a few years ago there were no direct flights between two countries and passengers travelling to China had to connect via Bangkok or Hong Kong but since 2009, Chinese airlines have been spreading their wings in India.
According to International Air Transport Association data, traffic between India and China rose from 4,10,000 in 2009 to 6,70,000 in 2012, an increase of 63%. This includes passengers who flew direct or with one stop.  About 65% of traffic comprises of corporate and business travellers.
28/03/13 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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International air tickets may cost more: sources

New Delhi: International air travel may cost more from April across all airlines due to hike in fuel surcharge. Tickets are likely to be costlier by Rs. 1000 each, sources told NDTV Profit.
Jet Airways and Air India have hiked fuel surcharge cost by Rs. 100-150 per passenger from last week, sources said adding, "Budget Airlines like Indigo, SpiceJet, Go Air may hike fuel surcharge from April."
The price of jet fuel or Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) has crossed Rs. 70,000 per kl mark in Delhi and Rs. 72,000 per kl in Mumbai. The government does not provide any subsidy on ATF.
28/03/13 NDTV

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Preliminary hearing on GMR arbitration next month

Male/New Delhi: Four months after Maldives terminated the contract given to Indian infrastructure major GMR to develop and operate the international airport in Male, the two sides will sit down next month in London to begin the multi-million dollar arbitration process.
The preliminary hearing that will structure the arbitration process over the abrupt termination of the 25 year contract with GMR Group for the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) by the Maldives government has been slated for April 10.
"It is the initial meeting of the arbitration process," Sidharth Kapur, Chief Financial Officer of GMR Group told PTI in New Delhi.
"We will sit down and talk. The GMR has not given us any figure as yet. Forensic audit is still going on," Maldives' President Mohamed Waheed's Press Secretary Masood Imad told PTI in Male.
28/03/13 PTI/Business Standard

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Chennai all agog over new airline

Chennai: AirAsia has entered the Indian aviation scene and its plan to make Chennai its hub of operations has brought cheer to stakeholders.
There is great hope of a positive growth trajectory for the various service sectors that have mushroomed around the industry. This is apart from additional revenue that the Airport Authority of India (AAI) might get.
On Tuesday, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) of the Finance Ministry cleared the proposal of Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia and Tata’s joint venture for a passenger airline in India. But the airline is yet to get the flying permit and clearances from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA.).
Flyers, who are set to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this venture, said that apart from the affordability, the fact that new airline’s fleet consists of Airbus A-320s is great news.
28/03/13 The Hindu

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Bombardier to Help Indian Billionaire Return to Profit

SpiceJet Ltd. controlled by Indian billionaire Kalanithi Maran, is counting on Bombardier Inc. (BBD/B) turboprop planes to add more connections to under-served towns and help reverse two years of losses.
The Bombardier Q400 turboprop services will contribute about 20 percent of revenue in the next 12-20 months from 11 percent currently, Chief Executive Officer Neil Mills said in an interview in New Delhi. The Chennai-based carrier, which has 15 of the aircraft, will fly to more destinations as it expands the fleet, he said.
SpiceJet  is strengthening its network to take on competition from Asia’s biggest budget carrier AirAsia Bhd, which plans an Indian venture by the end of this year. Mills started adding the 78-seat Q400s from September 2011 to access more airports with runways too short for jet planes such as Boeing Co. ’s 737s.
28/03/13 Karthikeyan Sundaram/Business Week

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FIPB clears AirAsia, Tata joint venture plan

New Delhi: The Foreign Investment and Promotion Board (FIPB) on Tuesday approved AirAsia’s plans to enter Indian skies, according to a Finance Ministry statement.
The Malaysian budget carrier has plans of starting a new passenger airline in partnership with Tata Sons and Arun Bhatia’s Telestra Tradeplace Pvt Ltd.
Malaysia’s largest budget carrier had proposed to induct Rs 80.98 crore to start the airline that would have a 49:30:21 joint venture with the Tata Group company and Telestra Tradeplace.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said that AirAsia hasn’t yet approached the ministry. “No, they have not submitted any application as yet. There are some concerns, some procedural issues with regard to the proposed airline. We will look into it quickly. But all that will depend on how fast they provide us the information regarding safety, aircraft, pilots and airworthiness of aircraft.
27/03/13 New Indian Express

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India Aviation Minister: Yet to Receive Any Application From AirAsia, Tata Sons

India's aviation minister said Tuesday he is yet to receive any application from the AirAsia-Tata Sons joint venture for setting up an airline license in India.
Ajit Singh also told reporters that "there are some procedural issues" with the proposed venture. He didn't elaborate.
He said that when the proposal will be approved by the aviation ministry depends on how soon the ministry is satisfied on safety issues, airworthiness of planes and engineers.
The proposal has already got a go ahead from India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board on March 6.
Under the plan, AirAsia, Southeast Asia's largest carrier by fleet size, is to own a 49% stake in the joint venture. Tata Sons--which controls India's diversified Tata Group--would hold a 30% stake and privately held Telestra Tradeplace Pvt. Ltd. the remaining 21%.
AirAsia's plans follow a government decision last September allowing foreign carriers to buy up to 49% stake in India's airlines.
26/03/13 Dow Jones Newswires/Fox Business

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AirAsia, Tata JV closer to take-off

New Delhi: Malaysian budget carrier, AirAsia’s joint venture with the Tatas and Telstra group for a domestic airline moved another step closer to take-off following approval from the government on Tuesday. AirAsia’s proposal, cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) on March 6, was given a formal go-ahead on Tuesday, according to an official statement issued by the Finance Ministry which put the investment at Rs.80.89 crore.
The venture will now need operational clearances such as the Air Operator’s Permit from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Talking to journalists here, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said the AirAsia JV had not yet submitted any application to the Aviation Ministry. “There were some concerns and procedural issues with regard to the proposed airline. We will look into it quickly. But all that will depend on how fast they provide us the information regarding safety, aircraft, pilots and airworthiness of aircraft. Any clearance will depend on how fast they give all this information, which will be required by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA),” he said.
26/03/13 The Hindu

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ILFC cannot get 2-3 leased Kingfisher planes until dispute is over

New Delhi: Aircraft lessor International Lease Finance Corp cannot remove 2-3 aircraft leased to Kingfisher Airlines until an ongoing litigation is over, India's aviation regulator said on Tuesday.
On Monday, ILFC had successfully removed one of the six aircraft stranded in India by a dispute over the suspension of operations at Kingfisher Airlines. It still has five A320 jets in India.
26/03/13 Reuters/Economic Times

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Foreign company to handle new Chennai airport terminals

Chennai: The new Chennai airport terminals will be run by a foreign operator experienced in managing technology-intense operations of a modern airport.
The Airports Authority of India, which owns the airport, plans to float a global tender to select a joint venture partner to ensure the buildings can be managed well without privatising. Minister of civil aviation Ajit Singh on Tuesday announced in New Delhi that the AAI was gearing to select a foreign airport operator as joint venture partner. AAI feels its staff are ill-equipped to handle the terminals built at 2,015 crore. Though details are still being worked out, sources said the selected firm might be allowed to hire and fire personnel and control operations from managing flight information, passenger flow, overseeing check-in counters and boarding gates to baggage handling and house-keeping.
27/03/13 Times of India

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9K baby tortoises from China seized at airport

Chennai: Air customs seized 9,000 baby tortoises from a passenger who arrived from Kuala Lumpur by a Malaysian Airlines flight on Tuesday. The consignment was handed over to the forest officials, while R Narayanan from Kolathur, who tried to smuggle in the reptiles claiming that they were packaged food, was fined.
Around 1,500 tortoises died because they had been kept in three bags for more than 10 hours. Narayanan had bought the tortoises, each three inches in size, from China. Forest officials told customs that the tortoises were an exotic species and would not survive for more than 15 hours inside bags.
Customs sleuths intercepted Narayanan when he tried to walk through green channel with three bags. He insisted that he had nothing to declare.
27/03/13 Times of India

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Lufthansa considers how to beat low-cost rivals in India

Deutsche Lufthansa AG said it's looking at establishing a long-haul, low-cost venture to help sustain its market share on routes to Asia, as rival operators syphon more and more traffic through hubs in the Gulf.
Lufthansa may form an intercontinental subsidiary similar to its Germanwings short-haul unit, Chief Financial Officer Simone Menne said at a briefing in New York. Other options include an alliance with a Middle Eastern or Asian airline.
Europe's second-largest carrier won't be able to keep pace with rivals such as Dubai-based Emirates and Etihad Airways PJSC of Abu Dhabi without a change in strategy, Menne said, adding that the Cologne-based company ended services to Hyderabad and Calcutta in India last year because the routes were uneconomic.
"The threat from Gulf carriers, for us, is Southeast Asia and it's India," Menne said. "That is a concern for investors, and the answer is we look at all strategic options. That can be partnerships, it can be joint ventures, it can be our own platform or it can be a retreat from this market."
27/03/13 Bloomberg/Business Standard

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New rule for passengers arriving in U.S.

Washington: The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Wednesday published new rule for passengers arriving in the U.S. – the standard Form I-94, which serves as the arrival and departure record and is stapled to passengers’ passports, will soon be automated and in electronic form only.
From April 26, 2013, Form I-94, which essentially provides “non-immigrants” with evidence that they have been lawfully admitted to the U.S., will no longer be in paper form and hence obviates the need to complete this paperwork prior to landing at a U.S. airport or seaport, according to a CBP notification.
The CBP however clarified that individuals who go through “secondary inspection,” which is a closer examination of personal effects and travel circumstances, “will be provided a paper copy of Form I-94 by a CBP officer.” This would apply to such as asylees, refugees, and parolees, as typical examples. This change, which is an “interim final rule,” in the arrivals procedures, is aimed at streamlining the admissions process for non-immigrants arriving in the U.S.
27/03/13 The Hindu

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Boeing 787 faces new risk: limits on extended range: Reports

As Boeing works to regain permission for its 787 Dreamliner to resume flights, the company faces what could be a costly new challenge: a temporary ban on some of the long-distance, trans-ocean journeys that the jet was intended to fly.
Aviation experts and government officials say the Federal Aviation Administration may shorten the permitted flying time of the 787 on certain routes when it approves a revamped battery system. The plane was grounded worldwide two months ago after lithium-ion batteries overheated on two separate aircraft.
Losing extended operations, or ETOPS, would deal a blow to Boeing and its airline customers by limiting use of the fuel-saving jet, designed to lower costs on long-distance routes that don't require the capacity of the larger Boeing 777. Such a loss could even lead to cancellation of some routes.
"If the FAA approves (only) over-land operations it would be a very damaging blow to the 787 program," said Scott Hamilton, an aviation analyst with Leeham Co in Seattle.
27/03/13 Reuters/Economic Times

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Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways inks wet lease pact with Jet Airways

Mumbai: Jet Airways, India's second largest airline by market share, has leased a wide body aircraft along with 60 of its cabin crew to Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways, a move that indicates a burgeoning partnership, even before the two airlines ink an equity stake sale.
In aviation parlance, a wet lease of an aircraft is an arrangement whereby the lessor, in this instance Jet, provides crew, maintenance and aircraft for a consideration. In turn the lessor takes on the responsibility for supplying and operating the aircraft.
The cabin crew will be trained by Etihad in Mumbai over the next three months. This is the second such collaborative agreement between the two carriers who are engaged in protracted discussions for over three months for an equity partnership and a strategic alliance. Jet had earlier announced a sale and lease back of Jet's Heathrow-London slots for $70 million in February to Etihad. Confirming this, Jet CEO Nikos Kardassis said the crew was surplus with Jet as it has withdrawn flights to its European hub in Brussels originating from Chennai.
26/03/13 Manisha Singhal/Economic Times

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ILFC says gets one plane back in Kingfisher Airlines dispute

Paris: Aircraft lessor International Lease Finance Corp said on Monday it had successfully removed one of six aircraft stranded in India by a dispute over the suspension of operations at Kingfisher Airlines.
Financiers have warned that failure to resolve the dispute between creditors over the grounded carrier's unpaid bills could starve India of funds needed to develop its aviation industry.
ILFC, a subsidiary of U.S. insurer AIG, said it had been able to remove an Airbus A321 passenger jet following a High Court decision in New Delhi on March 15.
"This first aircraft's departure demonstrates the High Court's pragmatic approach in an environment that is perceived as hostile by many foreign investors," ILFC said in a statement.
Kingfisher, controlled by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, has been halted due to a cash crunch.
25/03/13 Reuters/Economic Times

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DGCA to decide on de-registration of Kingfisher aircrafts leased by DVB

Mumbai: The Indian civil aviation regulator met representatives of DVB, the German transportation finance bank and Kingfisher Airlines over the issue of de-registration of DVB's two aircraft leased to the grounded carrier.
The regulator has conveyed that a decision will be taken by the government before the matter comes for a hearing in the court later in April. The regulator met the two entities along with the service tax department which has outstanding dues from Kingfisher alongwith the State bank of India as it heard the representation from all the stakeholders.
"Following discussion of all the relevant facts, the DG stated that the DGCA will make a decision on DVB's de-registration application before the court hearing scheduled for 08 April 2013," said Carsten Gerlach, senior vice president, aviation finance, DVB Bank SE in a mailed response to ET's query. He declined to elaborate further till such time as the regulator made its stand clear.
25/03/13 Manisha Singhal/Economic Times

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Govt clears AirAsia, Tata JV proposal for passenger airline

New Delhi: Government today said it has cleared Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia's proposal to start a passenger airline in India in partnership with the Tata Group with an investment of Rs 81 crore.
The proposal was cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), Finance Ministry said in a statement.
AirAsia recently said it would set up a 49:30:21 joint venture with the Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace of Indian investor Arun Bhatia to launch a new Indian airline.
Asked whether AirAsia and Tatas have approached his Ministry, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh today said: "No, they have not submitted any application as yet."
To further questions, he said there were "some concerns ... some procedural issues" with regard to the proposed airline.
26/03/13 Indian Express

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Will Singapore airlines persuade Ajit Singh to offer more services?

New Delhi: India and Singapore will begin talks early next month to amend and increase bilateral traffic rights when Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh is on an official tour to that country. These talks, if successful, will allow airlines of Singapore— Singapore Airlines, Silk Air and Tiger Airways — to offer more services from more Indian cities and increase the total number of seats on offer to Indians.
Similar increased traffic rights would be available for Indian carriers. But the timing of these talks is crucial. Ajit Singh has not entertained repeated requests from countries like Turkey and ethe UAE to increase seat entitlements or allow more seats per week to airlines from these countries but is keen to discuss the possibility with Singapore. Requests for reworking traffic rights have been pending from other countries too.
26/03/13 First Post.com

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SA teacher held with Rs 7cr drugs at airport

Mumbai: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) officials arrested a South African schoolteacher at Mumbai airport for attempting to smuggle out 7kg of drugs concealed in school bags on Monday morning. The consignment is worth Rs 7 crore.
Around 5.30am, Blantinah Makoti (35) entered the Mumbai airport to board an Ethiopian Airline flight for Mozambique. The AIU officials had got a tip-off about the woman. When Makoti was about to check-in, the officials intercepted her, and sent her bags for a check.
26/03/13 Times of India

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Adria Airways appoints GSA in India

New Delhi: Slovenia-based Adria Airways has appointed Dex Aviation as its general sales agent (GSA) for India, even as the two countries work towards improving air connectivity.
 “Appointing Dex Aviation as our GSA is the first step in developing our sales network in India,” said Mark Anzur, president & CEO, Adria Airways.
 Ramesh Marwah, director, Dex Group, said while there were no direct services between India and Slovenia, the governments of both countries had begun discussions on the topic and he hoped for positive news soon.
Indian arrivals to Slovenia numbered 5,000 in 2012.
26/03/13 Rohit Kaul/TTGAsia

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Reduction of aircraft limit for international flying good for industry: Experts

Mumbai: The reduction of aircraft limit for international flying may augur well for Indian aviation as well as passengers, say industry experts.
Most of them believe that this decision will bring in more Indian carries on the international platform leading to more competition and better quality of service.
Last week, the civil aviation minister said that the aircraft requirement to allow international operations might be reduced from 20 aircraft to 10.
If the proposal is accepted, it will be a big boost to low-cost-carrier, GoAir, which has applied for a permit to fly international with a fleet of 10 aircraft.
LCCs like Indigo and Spice Jet have already started operating to destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai etc.
25/03/13 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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South African woman held for bid to smuggle drugs at airport

Mumbai: A South African woman was on Monday arrested from Mumbai International airport for allegedly trying to smuggle out seven kg of amphetamine drug worth about Rs seven crore, a Customs official said.
Blantina Makoti, a school teacher by profession, was found in possession of amphetamine drugs meticulously concealed in 14 school bags during her luggage checking this morning, the official added.
Makoti was to take an Ethiopian Airlines flight to South Africa, the official added.
According to the official of Air Intelligence Unit of the Customs, Makoti's luggage was frisked following her suspicious behaviour.
25/03/13 PTI/ZeeNews

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Overseas flying norms may be eased

New Delhi: The aviation ministry has decided to end the discrimination desi carriers face in flying abroad vis-a-vis foreign airlines that have flights to India. The current rule that an Indian carrier must complete at least five years of operation and have a fleet of 20 aircraft before being allowed to go overseas is all set to be relaxed. While the minimum age of five will remain for now, the fleet requirement could be cut by half to 10.
"The change of rules would have to be approved by the Union cabinet and we are preparing the papers for being put up there. Many foreign airlines that fly to India (like those of Bangladesh and Bhutan) do not have 20 aircraft in their fleet. Why should our carriers face such conditions then?" aviation minister Ajit Singh told TOI.Such a change would help airlines expected to be launched now after FDI rules have been relaxed and Wadia Group's GoAir that has sought exemption from the 20-aircraft rule to fly abroad. Airline industry officials question the five-year logic too. Many foreign carriers have had their launch flights to India.
25/03/13 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Caribbean Airlines and Air India in code sharing talks

Caribbean Airlines Ltd (CAL) is continuing to explore prospects for a code sharing agreement with Air India. This was confirmed by CAL chairman Rabindra Moonan who said discussions with Air India officials are continuing and the destinations being looked at are London and New York. A codeshare agreement allows two or more airlines share the same flight. A seat can be purchased on one airline but is actually operated by a cooperating airline under a different flight number or code.
 “These trade talks are taking place and we at Caribbean Airlines would want to be on board to make it easier for business and for other types of travel between T&T and India,” Moonan said.
  “It (the talks) are still at the exploratory stages. It may take some time before we actually come to an agreement but we thought that we should not allow it to linger, despite having gone there more than a year and a half ago. We thought now is the opportune time given the trade conferences which have been taking place.” Malay Misra, India’s High Commissioner to T&T, said Air India and CAL are trying to determine whether it is viable to have a code sharing agreement.
25/03/13 Nadaleen Singh/Guardian Media

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Computer outage delays flights

Riyadh: A glitch in the computer network of the Immigration Department caused travel chaos at the two busiest airports of the Kingdom yesterday morning.
The computer outage at Riyadh and Jeddah airports delayed hundreds of travelers and embarrassed several airlines at a time when they are trying to win back customers after prolonged aviation strikes and massive snow storms across Europe that caused several airlines to suspend flights last week.
 “In fact, a breakdown in systems at immigration resulted in delayed flights and long waits for inbound and outbound passengers,” said Prabhu Chandran, Air India manager.
“The Air India flight to Calicut was delayed because of the outage,” said Chandran. “We were told that the immigration computer system was down from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. on Sunday at the Riyadh-based King Khalid International Airport (KKIA) that caused inconvenience to airlines as well to passengers,” said Chandran.
25/03/13 Arab News

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AISSF militant getting off Sydney flight arrested

Sangrur: Sikh militant Manpreet Singh, who fled to New Zealand in May 1999 while on bail, has been arrested at Delhi airport, Punjab police said on Sunday.
Manpreet, who was a member of All India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) in 1987 when he was booked under TADA, was arrested on Saturday following a tip off soon after he landed at the airport in the national capital on a flight from Sydney, they said. Police brought him to Sangrur and produced him in a local court, which remanded him in police custody for a day. Sangrur SHO Harinder Singh said Mapreed was booked under TADA for alleged seditious activities and masterminding jail break along with other militants in high security Sangrur prison.
25/03/13 PTI/Times of India

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AirAsia’s India launch may come with free seats to grab marketshare

AirAsia Bhd., the region’s biggest budget carrier, is considering offering some seats for free when it starts flying in India, a move that may frustrate rivals seeking to recoup $6.6 billion of losses.
The operator plans to give away vacant seats for nothing at airports, expanding similar promotional offers at home in Malaysia, a company official with direct knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be named citing rules. Passengers will have to pay taxes and other fees, the person said. AirAsia, which is awaiting a license after winning the Indian government’s approval this month to form a joint venture, is targeting to start operations by end-2013.
Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes, who has said ticket prices will be the “No. 1 differentiator” in India where 60 percent of the market is controlled by discount airlines, is counting on the South Asian country for growth. His strategy may threaten a recovery at Jet Airways (India) Ltd. and SpiceJet Ltd., which are raising fares to cover costs after cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. ended operations in October.
24/03/13 Karthikeyan Sundaram/Bloomberg/Skift.com

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Boeing under pressure to provide cash refunds for grounded Dreamliners

Boeing Co. may have to provide cash to customers impacted by the 787 Dreamliner grounding, Reuters reports.
All Nippon Airways, which has had its fleet of Dreamliners grounded since January, is asking for cash refunds instead of discounts on future orders. A spokesman for Air India says that company will take the same position in favor of direct refunds.
All Nippon has 17 Dreamliners that have been out of service since battery problems forced the grounding of the fleet earlier this year. Air India has six of the aircraft and orders for 21 more.
23/03/13 Mike W. Thomas/San Antonio Business Journal

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AI to pay Rs 30k to retd Vice Admiral for "casual attitude"

New Delhi: Air India has been directed by a consumer forum here to pay Rs 30,000 to a retired Vice Admiral as compensation for the airline's "casual attitude" towards in-flight services provided to him on an international flight to New York, USA.
The New Delhi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum pointed out to the national carrier that its "complacency" was there for all to see as compared to other airlines and it should address these issues in its own interest.
74-year-old Jain had said in his complaint that he had purchased first class tickets by paying Rs five lakh for himself and his wife so that they could travel in comfort to New York as they were both aged.
However, the flight took off late, the entertainment system in the plane was not functional, the air hostess bell was not functioning, the seats were uncomfortable and the top light and other facilities, were in disorder, he had alleged.
23/03/13 PTI/Business Standard

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Foreigners' tracking system set up at Cial

Kochi: The Cochin international airport on Friday joined 40 destinations across the country where immigration, visa, foreigner registration and tracking ( IVFRT) system have been activated.
The system provides an elaborate network to monitor the arrival of foreigners and track their movement by roping in hotels and even homestays. Primarily, it envisages keying in the data submitted by foreigners in their disembarkation card to a New Delhi-based central server. The hotels and homestays, where the foreigners stay, will also be given an ID and password to access the server. This will replace the current practice of hotels submitting 'C' forms on foreigners staying with them to the nearest police station, said S K Nair, foreigners' registration officer at the airport.
23/03/13 Times of India

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CIAL all set to offer visa on arrival

Kochi: The Cochin International Airport Limited has met the deadline for making arrangements for launching the visa on arrival scheme at the airport and is waiting for the nod from the Centre to get it going.
According to officials, March 15 was the deadline given by the civil aviation ministry in January this year to meet the requirements including the space to accommodate more people and more counters, a waiting area, refreshment counters and the required personnel in the Immigration Department. CIAL, within no time, met all the demands.
23/03/13 Deccan Chronicle

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Open skies, bottomless pits

Mumbai: Last September, when India’s government said it planned to let foreign airlines buy up to 49% of domestic carriers, the offer seemed as tempting as a stale chapati. India’s six largest airlines will post combined losses of $1.6 billion this fiscal year, predicts the Centre for Aviation, a Sydney-based consultancy, and have a combined debt of $13 billion. State-owned Air India, which accounts for most of those losses and debts, lives off government bail-outs while launching price wars that keep its rivals’ fares unsustainably low. Jet Airways, one of the largest private carriers, has not reported a full-year profit for five years. Kingfisher Airlines, a once-popular carrier founded by a booze tycoon, has been too broke to fly since October.
Yet AirAsia of Malaysia, one of the continent’s most successful airlines, announced last month that it was setting up an Indian carrier with the Tata group and another local investor. The Tata family has a soft spot for aviation: it started the country’s first airline in 1932, which was nationalised as Air India, and has since tried unsuccessfully to re-enter the business.
23/03/13 Economist

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Cops nab NRI from Mumbai airport for cheating wife

Gurgaon: A non-resident Indian was arrested by Gurgaon police at Mumbai airport following a complaint by his estranged wife here, alleging harassment by his husband and his family members. The accused was arrested after the Canadian High Commission informed the cops about the NRI's arrival at Mumbai airport. The accused was produced in a court here which sent him in 14 days' judicial custody.
According to reports, Navdeep, who belongs to Jalandhar in Punjab and is based in Canada, got married to Anita (name changed), a resident of Palam Vihar in Gurgaon, in 1999. Soon after the marriage, Navdeep left for Canada promising to return soon and arrange visa for Anita. However, he did not return and his family members stopped all communication with Anita and her family members. After almost two years trying to contact Navdeep, Anita's family registered a complaint of harassment and fraud against the groom and his family at Palam Vihar police station.
23/03/13 Times of India

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Mallya plans to pay pending salaries, start services soon

New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines will settle the pending wages of its employees and plans to restart operations soon, airline promoter Vijay Mallya has said.
The airline, which ceased operations on October 1 last year, has not paid employees’ wages for the last 10 months. Its operating licence lapsed on December 31 last year.
At a late night meeting here on Thursday, Mallya said he was committed to paying back the wages as soon as funds start flowing in from the Diageo-deal. Earlier this year, Diaego had agreed to purchase a 53.4 per cent stake in Mallya-led UB Group at an estimated cost of over Rs 11,000 crore.
The meeting was held a day after a section of employees held a protest at Delhi airport demanding payment of pending wages and sought the intervention of the Government to settle their outstanding dues.
22/03/13 Business Line

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Jet Airways, Etihad Airways deal flies into India's FDI trouble

New Delhi: There is unease in sections of the government on whether the Naresh Goyal's Jet Airways, Etihad Airways deal should be the first to be cleared after FDI rules for aviation sector were changed in India.
Given that Jet Airways has been under the gaze of the security establishment in the past for ownership and funding issues, there are fears that the deal may attract trouble.
Already, the fact that the partner is a Gulf airliner like Etihad is a point of concern because it may be perceived as another way to divert Indian passenger traffic to the Gulf after Emirates cornered a large share of Indian passengers headed west by offering connections from its hub in Dubai.
22/03/13 Indian Express

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As cops fail, Kandahar hijack suspect walks free

Jammu: Six months after he was arrested as a top militant suspected to have helped five men who hijacked the Kathmandu-Delhi Indian Airlines flight IC-814 to Kandhar in 1999, Mehrajuddin Wani alias Mehrajuddin Dand alias Javed Ahmed was bailed out by a court in Kishtwar as the Jammu and Kashmir police failed to present challan against him.
He was bailed out by Munsiff Kishtwar Umesh Sharma, who has been working as acting Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kishtwar. The court ordered to release Dand on bail on his furnishing a bail bond and personal bond of Rs 10,000 each.
The police could not present challan against Dand in the court as Jammu Kashmir government failed to grant sanction for his prosecution within a stipulated period of 180 days.
21/03/13 Arun Sharma/Indian Express

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India Liberalizes Aircraft-Import Rules

India's existing airlines as well as private aircraft owners and flight training institutes no longer need federal government approval to import planes, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said Thursday.
The move will be a relief to airlines such as Jet Airways (India) Ltd., SpiceJet Ltd.  and InterGlobe Aviation Ltd.'s budget carrier IndiGo which until now needed to get their aircraft purchase plans cleared by a panel of bureaucrats from the aviation ministry and also by the minister himself. These companies will now need only get approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the sector regulator, a government statement said.
New airlines and aircraft importers will require federal no-objection certificates for flights and initial import approvals, it added.
21/03/13 Santanu Choudhury/Wall Street Journal

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Naresh Goyal takes Tail Winds route for Jet Airways stake sale takeoff

New Delhi: The promoter of India’s second-largest passenger carrier Jet Airways, Naresh Goyal, has laid the groundwork for a complex transaction that will enable him to sell 24% stake in the airline to Abu Dhabi\'s Etihad Airways.
Goyal re-registered Tail Winds to make it into a corporate vehicle known as New Manx Vehicle (NMV) on February 12, which will make the restructuring or winding up of Tail Winds a smoother and quicker process. NMVs were allowed by Isle of Man as part of the country\'s new Companies Act 2006. The information was retrieved from the Isle of Man registrar of companies website by FE. Jet Airways did not comment on the matter.
Previously Tail Winds, through which Goyal owns a 79.99% stake in Jet Airways, was a normal Isle of Man Company registered under the Isle of Man Companies Act 1931-2004.
21/03/13 Debabrata Das/Financial Express

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Jet Airways Chairman says Etihad deal 'very much on track'

New Delhi: Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal on Wednesday met Civil Aviation Secretary K N Shrivastava amid reports that his plans to offload a minority stake to Abu Dhabi-based Etohad Airways is on the verge of collapse.
Both the airlines have since denied that the deal has run into rough weather . The Etihad board is likely to meet on March 22 to take a final call on the deal on picking up a stake in Jet Airways.
Sources says Goyal during his meeting is understood to have informed the top official that the proposed deal is "very much on track" and the airline will approach the ministry with a proposal in this regard as soon as the negotiations are concluded.
Earlier reports suggested that the deal was likely to be called off in the absence of a bilateral investment protection agreement between India and Abu Dhabi, and that Etihad had reportedly sought such a clause as a pre-condition for its investment in Jet.
21/03/13 Business Today

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International Air Transport Association raises its profit forecast

Mumbai:  International Air Transport Association, an international industry trade organisation of airlines, revised its profit forecast upwards as carriers expect better-than-estimated revenues on back of stronger demand, and improved business confidence.
Closer home, the global airline body said Indian environment will remain challenging due to high costs and a challenging regulatory environment.
Airlines are projected to post a net profit (post tax) of $10.6 billion as against the earlier projection of $8.4 billion with a revised profit margin of 1.6%, up from the earlier estimate of 1.3%, IATA said. The revised forecast was announced via global teleconference by Tony Tyler, IATA's director general and CEO.
21/03/13 Manisha Singhal/Economic Times

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Secretary Kerry: Secure Global Agreement to Reduce Aviation Pollution

Aviation is a major contributor to global warming with its pollution projected to grow significantly if left uncontrolled. With devastating droughts, floods, fires, and storms devastating communities around the world, we need all the global warming reductions we can get. The aviation sector shouldn’t be left off the hook to help address global warming. Next week Secretary Kerry has the chance to help advance an international agreement to cut aviation’s global warming pollution. It is time for his leadership on this issue.
Key countries will meet – on March 25-27 – in Montreal for a “High-Level Group” meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) – the U.N. body established in 1944 to regulate international aviation. This High-Level Group—which includes representatives from the U.S., Europe, China, India, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico – are tasked with developing a global agreement to reduce aviation’s carbon pollution. Unfortunately the negotiations aren’t going well as the U.S. has been resisting proposals that put in place a global approach.
21/03/13 The Energy Collective

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Jet Airways seeks more overseas routes from aviation ministry

New Delhi: Ahead of a possible deal with Etihad Airways, Naresh Goyal, promoter of Jet AirwaysBSE 0.44 % on Wednesday approached the aviation ministry to seek more international routes for his airline.
A source said Mr Goyal has put in a written request to the government seeking more foreign routes for Jet Airways. Some of the routes are now available after the ministry cancelled Kingfisher's flying licence. The move to seek more routes is significant as this will allow Jet to fly passengers to the Middle East for onward travel on Etihad's network. Jet is in talks with Abu Dhabi's Etihad for a stake sale, where the latter would part with a minority stake in favour of the Middle-eastern carrier.
Goyal met senior officials at the civil aviation ministry Wednesday evening and has placed written requests for addition of Amsterdam as a brand new European destination to Jet's existing network.
20/03/13 Anindya Upadhyay/Economic Times

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Bucharest Airports Company to audit India's Chennai and Ahmedabad aviation facilities

The National Company ‘Bucharest Airports' (CNAB) will audit India's Chennai and Ahmedabad aviation facilities under the 'Airport Safety Excellence Review' program, CNAB informs.
The National Company ‘Bucharest Airports' received in February 2013 the Airport Excellence Safety Review mission that was conducted by Airports Council International experts in partnership with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Following this audit, CNAB became the first airport to have received the Airport Excellence in Safety certification and was also confirmed as a strategic contributor to the Airport Excellence Program (APEX), which will promote the top-modern air safety procedures and standards in airports worldwide.
Along with the CNAB certification as 'Safety Partner' under the ACI Airport Excellence program, the company will also be part of the international airport auditing missions.
20/03/13 actmedia

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Boeing faces pressure for cash compensation over 787 Dreamliner

Tokyo:  Pressure grew on Wednesday for Boeing to compensate airlines in hard cash for disruption caused by the grounding of its 787 Dreamliner as two airlines manoeuvred for immediate help instead of future purchase discounts.
Leading 787 customer All Nippon Airways wants cash refunds, rather than discounts on future orders, for losses inflicted by the worldwide grounding in place since mid-January, a person familiar with the airline's intentions told Reuters.
In India, a senior government source said state carrier Air India would take the same stand in favour of direct refunds. All 50 Dreamliners delivered worldwide since it entered service in late 2011 were idled after separate incidents with the plane's battery at a U.S. airport and on a domestic flight in Japan.
20/03/13 Reuters/Economic Times

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Air India withdraws 10 international flights in 3 years

New Delhi: State-run Air India has withdrawn its 10 direct flights to international destinations in the last three years due to poor passenger load.
The airline, which operates flights from 59 domestic destinations, started flights to six new international destinations during the same period, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
"AI had withdrawn its services on Mumbai-Nairobi-Mumbai sector, Chennai-Kuala Lumpur-Chennai sector, Calicut-Mumbai- Kuwait sector, Bangalore-Singapore-Bangalore sector, Hyderabad -Sharjah-Hyderabad sectors in 2010," Minister of State in the Ministry of Civil Aviation K C Venugopal told the Lok Sabha.
In 2011, it withdrew services on Chennai-Damman-Chennai sector, while services on Cochin-Kozhikode-Dammam, Trivandrum- Dammam, Mumbai-Dammam, Hyderabad-Dammam and Amritsar-Delhi- Toronto sector were cancelled last year, he said.
20/03/13 PTI/Economic Times

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Airlines from India to fly to Msia, says MAHB

Mumbai: Airlines from India, which have yet to make a foray into Malaysia are now keen to do so, says Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) marketing general manager Mohamed Sallauddin Mat Sah.
"We have had discussions with several Indian airlines that are keen to fly to Malaysia," he said.  
The airlines might start flying to Malaysia by year-end, said Mohamed Sallauddin but he, however, declined to give details.  
"We can't reveal their names as yet as usually we give the benefit of announcing the new routes to the airlines themselves," he told Bernama on the sidelines of Routes Asia 2013, an annual networking gathering for airports, airlines, tourism authorities, policy leaders and exhibitors.  
As for Indian Airlines which is currently operating in Malaysia, he said MAHB would try to see if there is an opportunity to increase capacity and expand its services.
19/03/13 New Strait Times

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‘Team Australia’ approach to aviation development takes off

Tourism Australia has been voted best destination marketer in Asia by the airline and airport industry at Routes Asia in Mumbai.
The recent achievements of Tourism Australia in helping to market ‘destination Australia’ to international airlines were acknowledged by the international aviation industry.
Tourism Australia took out the ‘Destination’ category at this year’s ‘Routes Asia Marketing Awards’, held overnight in India. The national tourism organisation was recognised for its extensive marketing communications activities and joint campaigns with airlines in tandem with its Australian airport partners.
20/03/13 Breaking Travel News

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India set to restart talks for expansion of flying rights next month; will begin with Singapore

Mumbai: The Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India is expected to restart from next month the process of expanding international flying rights agreements with key countries, starting with Singapore, despite criticism by the government auditor of previous such exercises, a report by Tarun Shukla in the Mint stated. In 2004-11, when Praful Patel was Minister for Civil Aviation, Government of India, the country had allowed several overseas carriers to expand capacity to multiple cities. That pace of opening up came to a standstill amid criticism by the government auditor and protests by state-owned airline Air India Ltd, as it was unable to take advantage because it lacked the planes at the time.
The process is set to resume with a ministry delegation visiting Singapore in the first week of April. “There is a huge demand from and to Singapore for flights and the existing capacity is already reaching its limits. Others like Sri Lanka, etc., are also on the radar,” said a ministry official.
20/03/13 TravelBizMonitor

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Jet-Etihad deal stuck on investor protection pact

Mumbai: Jet Airways-Etihad Airways deal has hit an air pocket over the issue of protection to its investment in India.
The two airlines have been negotiating a stake sale deal since last August   in which Etihad will buy 24% in Jet Airways. However, the deal has been held up as India and UAE government are yet to conclude the bilateral investment promotion and protection agremeent (BIPA).
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was due to visit Abu Dhabi this week enroute to BRICS summit in South Africa but cancelled his trip to Abu Dhabi. This has put the Jet-Etihad deal on the backburner.
On Monday, a news channel flashed that the deal has been called off owing to differences between two sides but Jet Airways denied it. "The information is not correct and at the same time is merely speculative.''
Jet sources, however, confirmed that the deal had been held up over the issue of investor protection. An official also said that there was still room for negotiation and Etihad has not explicitly said it will not sign the agreement until BIPA is signed.
19/03/13 Annesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Etihad may go for an airline alliance

New Delhi: Jet Airways' impending stake sale deal with Abu Dhabi's Etihad may have closed the option of Star Alliance membership for Naresh Goyal's airline but it may still become the first Indian carrier to be a part of an emerging new global alliance. Last week, Air India chief Rohit Nandan met Star Alliance CEO Mark Schwab in Europe to discuss Maharaja's entry into the fold.
It is learnt that while Star has so far not decided on AI's entry into the fold, it is watching with interest Etihad's growing stake purchases in airlines across the world and feels that Abu Dhabi's flag carrier may be trying to forge its own new alliance . With Jet and Etihad deal likely to be signed soon, the Indian carrier will provide the allimportant India connection to the new alliance, which the three largest passenger alliances — Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld — have been hoping to get for years.
19/03/13 Saurabh Sinha/Times of Indiaar

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Etihad says talks on Jet Airways investment continue

Etihad Airways is continuing talks with India peer Jet Airways, the UAE-based carrier said in response to reports that the negotiations had run into rough weather.
In a statement issued late Monday, it said: "Etihad Airways continues to progress discussions about further investment in Jet Airways."
Sources told NDTV that fresh disputes had emerged over investment protection and management control.
Shares in Jet Airways plunged as much as 10 per cent on Monday, closing 2.85 per cent lower at Rs. 559.50 on the National Stock Exchange. Other aviation stocks, grounded Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet, also ended with deep cuts.
19/03/13 NDTV

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Nigeria directs Indian-owned Dana Air to resume operation

Abuja: Nearly after 24 hours of suspension, Nigeria has directed Dana Air, an Indian-owned commercial passenger carrier to resume operations.
The suspension came after the country's parliament complained of the airline's shoddy manner of paying compensations to victims of a crash that left over 150 people dead last year.
A statement by Joe Obi, the spokesman for the oil rich African country's Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah disclosed that the Ministry of Aviation officials and that of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) met with officials over safety issues concerning the airline's operations.
"At the end of the meeting, the suspension of the operations of the airline which took effect last Saturday was lifted. The airline is to resume normal operations immediately. However, a particular aircraft which had a snag over the weekend is to remain grounded until after its air-worthiness has been recertified by Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft." Obi said.
Adding that one of the planes with passengers had an emergency landing on Saturday.
19/03/13 PTI/Zee News

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European airports woo Indian carriers

Mumbai: European airports are wooing Indian carriers to start services in the wake of intense competition from  aviation hubs like Dubai or Doha  for a pie of India's international traffic.
According to civil aviation ministry data, 37 million passengers flew to/from India in 2010-11, of which 11.4 million were connected by hubs outside India. Dubai, Doha, Frankfurt, Sharjah and Singapore are the top five aviation hubs preferred by Indian air travellers.
Now airports in Europe including ones in Amsterdam, Dublin, London Gatwick and Munich are luring Indian airlines to start direct services. Representatives from these cities met Air India and Jet Airways executives at the Routes Asia conference in Mumbai over the
last two days.
"We are discussing with Indian airlines. Munich would be a logical choice for Jet Airways  in Germany," said Oliver Dersch, Director (traffic development) of Munich airport.
19/03/13 Business Standard

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Indian airlines keen to fly to Malaysia

Mumbai: Airlines from India, which have yet to make a foray into Malaysia are now keen to do so, says Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) general manager for marketing Mohamed Sallauddin Mat Sah.
"We have had discussions with several Indian airlines that are keen to fly to Malaysia," he said.
The airlines might start flying to Malaysia by year-end, said Mohamed Sallauddin but he, however, declined to give details.
"We can't reveal their names as yet as usually we give the benefit of announcing the new routes to the airlines themselves," he told Bernama on the sidelines of Routes Asia 2013, an annual networking gathering for airports, airlines, tourism authorities, policy leaders and exhibitors.
19/03/13 Business Times

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Indian national caught with 4.9kg of syabu

Alor Setar: The Indian national thought he could hoodwink the Kedah Customs Department by concealing a consignment of syabu, using dozens of brilliantly-coloured plastic bangles.
Like the bangles which are easily breakable, a team of Customs enforcement officers saw through the ruse and cracked his attempt to smuggle the 4.912kg of drug into the country last Sunday.
The 35-year-old suspected drug mule was nabbed at the Sultan Abdul Halim Airport about 3.30pm.
State customs director Datuk Abd Aziz Abdul Latif said the syabu, estimated to be worth about RM933,280, was found in the suspect’s baggage which also contained dozens of plastic bangles.
19/03/13 Malaysian Insider

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AI Express among 10 airlines moving to new airport in Qatar

Dubai: Air India Express is going to be among the first 10 airlines, which will be part of the soft opening of Qatar’s new airport beginning April 1.
The soft opening of Hamad International Airport (HIA) will include other passenger airlines such as Air Arabia, Biman Bangladesh Airlines, Flydubai, Iran Air, Nepal Airlines, Pakistan International Airlines, RAK Airways, Syrian Air and Yemen Airways.
Qatar’s national airline, Qatar Airways, will move its entire operations from the current Doha International Airport (DIA) to Hamad International Airport (HIA) by the end of the year.
The 10 airlines listed will no longer have a presence at Doha International Airport (DIA) and will operate exclusively from HIA from April 1, 2013, a statement said.
19/03/13 PTI/Business Line

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Govt to seek more flying rights from Abu Dhabi: Ajit Singh

Mumbai: The civil aviation minsterAjit Singh said that the Indian government is in the process of negotiating for more flying rights with the Abu Dhabi government as they have been fully utilised by both sides.
It said it is looking at the request of Jet Airways for a code partnership as country's second-largest private carrier is in crucial negotiations with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways for a possible equity deal. Addressing the media at the 11th Routes Asia Summit, Singh said that Jet's deal with Etihad 'seems to be on track' as Jet sold and later leased back its Heathrow London slots to Etihad (for $70 million) in February but refused to say when and how soon this transaction would fructify.
The civil aviation minster also said that the report on airline safety by the UN body ICAO that reportedly clubbed India with some of the African countries makes no such conclusions. He also added that ICAO has communicated everything verbally and the report is likely to come out by March 20.
18/03/13 Economic Times

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Sri Lanka carrier halves Chennai flights after attack on monks

State-run SriLankan Airlines said it was halving flight to Chennai to 14 a week from 28 from Thursday March 21 following an attack on a visiting Buddhist monk by Tamil groups.
"SriLankan Airlines has observed a drop in traffic between Chennai and Colombo due to recent developments in Tamil Nadu, hence it was decided to reduce its frequency of flights…" the airline said in a statement.
"Revised schedule involves two daily flights, departing Colombo in the morning and evening, to facilitate the passengers who board their flights to Middle East and far eastern destinations from Chennai."
Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said it cautioned travellers to Tamil Nadu, while India said those involved in attacks had been arrested.
Indian Tamil activists have attacked unarmed Sri Lankan tourists several times leading to travel advisories from Colombo.
Authorities said 250,000 Sri Lankans travelled to India last year.
18/03/13 Lanka Business Online

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Female drug mule from India caught at Kuantan airport

Kuantan: An Indian woman was arrested at the Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport here on Thursday allegedly with five kg of ketamine in a concealed compartment of her bag.
The 49-year-old woman, who arrived from Kolkata, India alone at about 1.30pm, was found behaving suspiciously before Customs officers stopped her at the arrival hall for an inspection.
Pahang Customs director Datuk Sarip Ismail said upon examining her bag, the Customs found drugs worth RM175,000 in a hidden compartment.
The suspect is remanded for seven days for investigations under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 which carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
18/03/13 Borneo Post

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Sr citizen made to spend nights at airport after Lufthansa misplaces her baggage

On Thursday, 68-year-old Canada resident Qurasha Ahmed arrived in Mumbai to visit her newly born grandnephew, and family. But the visit, which was supposed to be a joyous family reunion, has turned into a nightmare for this high blood pressure patient. Her first two nights in the city were spent at the airport after Lufthansa Airlines, in which she was travelling, lost her two bags.
Accusing the local Lufthansa staff of being insensitive, a jet-lagged Ahmed alleged that she was asked to be at the airport around 2 am for two days, only to be told a couple of hours, and lots of dilly-dallying, later that her luggage has not arrived. While one of her bags arrived on Saturday, her chief grouse is the manner in which she was treated by local Lufthansa staff.
“On March 12, a heavy snowstorm over Germany forced my Calagary-Frankfurt flight to be diverted to Amsterdam, where we were put up in ahotel till the weather cleared. But I had no problem with my baggage. However, it all went terribly wrong on arrival in Mumbai," Ahmed said .
17/03/13 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror

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UN audit sparks air safety debate

New Delhi: The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has raised objections to the licensing procedures in India for non-scheduled carriers and airworthiness of some of the aircraft repaired or maintained abroad.
Following an audit in December, the ICAO found India lagging in its ability to oversee safety issues.
However, the directorate general of civil aviation said it was aware of the ICAO’s objections but was yet to receive the draft report of the audit.
Non-scheduled airlines are chartered planes which can be hired as air taxis that do not have any fixed time or schedule for flying.
17/03/13 The Telegraph

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Civil aviation ministry favours more flights to Abu Dhabi

Mumbai: India will negotiate with Abu Dhabi for additional seat entitlements, a move which will enable Jet Airways and Etihad. Airways to add more services on the route.
 Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh, on Sunday, said seat entitlements on both sides were full and the ministry will negotiate for additional traffic rights. He said the ministry was also considering Jet Airways proposal to extend its code share agreement with Etihad.
 He said deal was course adding that nothing can be said until an agreement is signed. The two airlines are negotiating a stake sale deal under which Etihad will pick up 24 percent in Jet Airways.
17/03/13 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Dreamliners battery snag being rectified; operations soon

New Delhi: State-run carrier Air India’s brand new fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners that has been on the ground since January after several of these aircraft world over reported battery fire may resume operations by April end.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation Arun Mishra, the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), the highest authority on civil aviation has approved Boeing’s plan to fix the battery-fire problem. A team of Boeing engineers is expected here by the month end which will rectify the battery snag.
“Air India can put these Dreamliner aircraft into service by the end of April after tests on the lithium ion battery packages are successfully carried out by Boeing,” he said.
The Boeing team will take about a week to address the battery problem and a new battery kit is likely to be installed in each of the six grounded Dreamlines in AI’s fleet.
16/03/13 New Indian Express

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Boeing team to reach India by month-end

New Delhi: Raising hopes of resumption of flights by the six grounded B-787 Dreadmliners by next month, a team of technical experts from Boeing will reach India by the end of this month to fix the lithium battery problem following approval by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) for such an exercise.
Air India had grounded its six airplane fleet on January 16 on the directions by FAA to ground all B-787 Dreadmliners worldwide following battery-fire problem. ``The FAA has approved Boeing's plan to fix the battery-fire problem in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. Boeing engineers are expected to arrive here by the end of this month and fix the lithium ion battery packages,’’ Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) Arun Misra said here on Friday.
It may take a week for the new battery kit to be installed. The FAA took three to four weeks to complete the tests and certify the kit. Apart from India, airlines in Chile, Ethiopia, Japan, Poland, Qatar and US have the Dreamliners.
In a separate statement, Boeing said a comprehensive set of improvements that will add several layers of additional safety features to the lithium-ion batteries are in production and could be ready for initial installation within the next few weeks.
15/03/13 Sujay Mehdudia/The Hindu

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AirAsia India optimistic on licence, hopes to get AOC by year-end

Kuala Lumpur: AirAsia, which got the green light last week to take up a 49% stake in a joint venture to set up AirAsia India, is optimistic about clinching the air operator's certificate (AOC) in India.
AirAsia co-founder and deputy group chief executive Datuk Kamarudin Meranun said this is because AirAsia had not received any negative response from Indian authorities since its investment proposal was cleared last week.
“It is too soon to tell but AirAsia got the preliminary approval at record speed'. Hopefully, we can get the AOC licence by the end of the year but it's not our call,” he said.
Thus far, Kamarudin said “we have not received any documentation querying us in return on this”, which he added was a sign that AirAsia's application should be smooth-sailing.
15/03/13 Liz Lee/The Star Online

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Airport alert for Italian envoy

The Centre on Friday put airports across the country on alert to prevent Italy ambassador Daniele Mancini from leaving India.
New Delhi also decided to downgrade its diplomatic ties with Rome as it asked its ambassador-designate Basant Kumar Gupta not to take up his posting. He was to leave for Rome on Friday. Gupta was named successor to Debabrata Saha, who retired in December.
The diplomatic standoff  also figured at the Friday evening meeting of the Congress core committee, attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The meeting decided that the government should continue its tough stand on the issue. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid apprised the meeting of the stand adopted by the government.
The Home Ministry is understood to have told the External Affairs Ministry that a diplomat ceases to retain immunity if he violates the sovereign commitment he has given to the host country.
15/03/13 Deccan Herald

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Incident or mishap to decide plane fate

Mumbai:  The Air France plane, which made an emergency landing after engine failure 15 minutes after take-off on Monday, will remain at the Mumbai airport's international parking bay for some time now.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials said the aircraft was repaired by a special maintenance team called in from France a day after the incident, but it is the classification of the episode that will decide if the aircraft can fly out of Mumbai.
"If the episode is classified as an incident, it will be probed by the French authorities and the aircraft can be authorized to fly to Paris. But if it is classified as accident, it will be within the purview of the DGCA," said an official.
Ground inspection had revealed the presence of a chisel-like tool in the hood of the engine, which had caused massive damage and perhaps led to the failure.
16/03/13 Times of India

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Aero Club under probe for plane import without DGCA nod

The civil aviation ministry has ordered a probe into the import of three trainer aircraft by the Aero Club of India (ACI), headed by Congress MP Capt. Satish Sharma, after it was found that the planes were not certified, the terms of reference were tweaked without the permission of regulator DGCA, and the machines were subsequently dumped.
However, even as the ministry investigates the tender process and has asked the club to produce documents related to payments made to the manufacturer of the CTLS aircraft, the DGCA has decided to amend rules to allow the registration and operation of the light sports aircraft.
ACI is the apex body of over 22 flying and gliding clubs and other aerosports organisations under the ministry, and is funded by the central government. It had placed orders for the three planes, each costing Rs 1 crore, in April 2011.
15/03/13 Ajmer Singh/Indian Express

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Bird hit Emirates flight lands under emergency conditions

Kolkata:  A Kolkata-Dubai Emirates flight with 296 passengers on board suffered a bird hit and returned shortly after take off from NSC Bose International Airport, where it landed safely under emergency conditions. All the passengers and crew members were safe, airport sources said.
The left wing of the plane appeared to have taken a bird hit, when the aircraft started picking up speed. The pilot then contacted the ATC and sought permission to return, which was granted.
16/03/13 PTI/Economic Times

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ICAO has raised objections but no safety audit report yet:DGCA

New Delhi: UN aviation watchdog ICAO had raised objections on licensing procedures for non-scheduled operators and airworthiness of some of the aircraft modified abroad but India is yet to receive the draft report of a December security audit from it, the DGCA chief said today.
"ICAO has not made the draft report available to us of the audit carried out by them in December last year, so there is no question of misleading the Parliament on the issue," Arun Mishra, Director General of Indian aviation regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told reporters on the sidelines of a seminar.
He was replying to a question on reports raising doubts about Aviation Ministry's stand in Parliament that it had not received the safety audit draft report by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), of which India is also a member.
15/03/13 PTI/Economic Times

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Thai Airways to start Ahmedabad-Bangkok flights from March 31st

Ahmedabad: Thai Airways International will start direct flights from Ahmedabad, New Delhi and Mumbai from March 31 to cater to leisure and business travelers from the country, said a company statement.
Thai Smile, a brand of Thai International will operate Ahmedabad-Bangkok-Ahmedabad flights on Wednesdays and Sundays, while the Mumbai and Delhi will connect with Phuket of the south Asian country. The direct connectivity between Ahmedabad and Bangkok will reduce the travelling time.
15/03/13 Himanshu Darji/Economic times

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Kingfisher Airlines case: Return planes held 'hostage', says ILFC

The head of aircraft finance giant International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC) urged India on Wednesday to release six passenger jets held "hostage" by a bureaucratic dispute after struggling Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines failed to pay for them.
ILFC had warned in January that a failure to return leased airplanes to their true owners when airlines cannot pay their bills could put the country's aviation growth at risk by scaring off funding.
According to Los Angeles-based ILFC, the Delhi High Court ruled last month that ILFC could have access to its aircraft to ensure they can be refurbished and maintained.
But ILFC Chief Executive Henri Courpron said that the situation on the ground remained unresolved.
"We have made legal and political progress but people are not following instructions from the government," Courpron said in a telephone interview.
14/03/13 Reuters/Indian Express

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Flyers won't need to fill up landing forms

Chennai: Authorities are cutting paperwork for those flying into Indian airports. The bureau of immigration has decided to do away with disembarkation forms and under a new system passenger details will be digitally sent to the destination airport minutes after the flight takes off.
This will reduce time spent at the immigration counter and allow passengers to leave the airport faster. Forms for Indians coming into the country and foreigners leaving the country will be done away with from June 1, 2013, said B N Shetty, deputy director general of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), on Wednesday. During peak hours, a passenger can spend more than 30 minutes to clear immigration.
Shetty said airlines flying into India will have to pass on the passenger manifest to the destination airport within 15 minutes of the flight taking off under the new advanced passenger information system being introduced globally.
14/03/13 Daniel P George/Times of India

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India maintains A380 ban

The Indian Government persists with its ban, disallowing Emirates Airbus A380 aircraft to serve in India.
Overseas carriers flying aircraft bigger than the Boeing 747 are not permitted to service the country.
India’s concerns that travellers will desert local carriers in favour of larger aircraft operators, such as Emirates’ A380 fleet, remain prevalent since the ban was enforced in May 2008, Air Transport World reported.
14/04/13 eTravel Blackboard

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AirAsia may fly from Chennai to Bangalore, Kolkata, Kochi

AirAsia may launch flights to Bangalore, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Kochi, Nagpur and Bhubaneshwar from its Chennai base, an aviation website has said. The Malaysian-based low-cost airline plans to start its India operations by the end of this year. The airline's group CEO Tony Fernandes has said the airline will link tier II and tier III cities from Chennai with 3-4 Airbus A320s in its initial launch phase. Fernandes also ruled out operations to Delhi and Mumbai because of high aeronautical tariffs.
Airline Network and News Analysis, a website which tracks route planning and network development news has evaluated AirAsia's potential network in India. AirAsia did not respond to an email query on the issue. However, an official  involved in the launch of the service in India said all these routes are possible. "It is too early to say which routes AirAsia will fly and which will be the inaugural service,'' the official said.
The website's predictions are based on the potential passenger market size, distance from Chennai and competition.
14/03/13 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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UAE diplomat caught while smuggling in 37 kg gold jewellery to Delhi

New Delhi: A senior diplomat working in United Arab Emirates Mission was caught allegedly attempting to smuggle about 37 kg of gold jewellery, valued at least Rs 11 crore, at the international airport here.
Acting on intelligence, a team of Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials intercepted the diplomat of a counsellor rank and wanted to check his baggage when he arrived by a Singapore flight early morning yesterday, official sources said.
The diplomat initially resisted the request from DRI officials citing “diplomatic immunity”, they said.
However, after issuing of a search order by the DRI, his baggage was checked and gold jewellery weighing about 37 kg was found.
13/03/13 Daijiworld.com

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Things that may halt AirAsia's takeoff in India

New Delhi: Even though the proposed AirAsia-Tata joint venture (JV) got Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval last week only, it will be interesting to see how this proposal sails through in the civil aviation ministry as there have been some points of contention over this issue already.
Under the JV, AirAsia will have 49% stake, Tata Sons 30% and Delhi based real estate player Arun Bhatia 21%. However, operation control over the airline will be with AirAsia and Tatas have made it clear that they will only be investors. The next big challenge will be to get a no objection certificate from the ministry and an air operator's permit from the DGCA which could take up to six months.
Firstly, FIPB approved of this proposed Joint venture even as the civil aviation ministry raised some issues over  this if the new guidelines applied only on foreign carriers investing in existing domestic ones or even those setting up joint ventures for greenfield operations.
DIPP's press note 6 on the issue had read: "Foreign airlines are allowed to invest in the capital of Indian companies, operating scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services, up to the limit of 49% of their paid-up capital.
13/03/13 Disha Kanwar/Business Standard

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Will AirAsia Be a Game Changer for Indian Aviation?

When India opened its ailing aviation sector to foreign airlines last September, not many thought the sector, which is reeling under heavy losses, would attract foreign investment.
A few months down the line and AirAsia, a successful budget carrier based in Malaysia, has tied up with Indian conglomerate the Tata Group and another Indian investor to set up a new airline called AirAsia India. This has ignited hope in an industry, which despite seeing a huge growth in passenger numbers is suffering due to over-regulation and intense price competition.
"Having a foreign carrier such as AirAsia come in, is a good sign," Binit Somaia, South Asia director at the Centre for Aviation (CAPA) said. "They have experience, expertise, good management - all of that - if they bring it into the country, it helps lift the entire industry."
12/03/13 Rajeshni Naidu-Ghelani/CNBC

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Ministries to sort out differences to pave way for AirAsia India: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Mumbai: Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Government of India has said that inter-ministerial differences would be sorted out paving the way for Tata Sons to set up an airline company, AirAsia (India) Private Ltd,  in collaboration with Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia Berhad. "I don't know what the detailed differences are. I am sure they will be sorted out. If Tatas and an international airline want to set up an Indian airline as long as the international fellows (hold up to) 49 per cent, they should be allowed to do so," Ahluwalia told reporters yesterday in New Delhi. “In my view, if Tatas want to set up a company to run an airline within that 49 per cent limit, the intention of policy as far as I know, is quite clearly that they should be allowed to do it," he added. Last week, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) cleared the Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia's bid to launch an airline in India by joining hands with Tata Sons. But, the Ministry of Civil Aviation sought further clarity on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy in aviation, particularly on whether a foreign airline could invest in a new venture after the approval.
12/03/13 TravelBizMonitor

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Govt has set norms for attracting FDI for development of airports: Ajit Singh to LS

Government today informed the Lok Sabha that it has set prescribed norms for attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for development of airports, including greenfield projects, but has not received any proposal.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said during Question Hour that the government has been encouraging FDI for development of various airports and has set prescribed norms for attracting it in the civil aviation sector.
"No FDI has come in the airport sector so far in the country," Singh said in a written reply.
The minister informed the House that 100 per cent FDI equity is permitted for greenfield airports as well as existing projects.
In reply to demands from some members for including their constituencies on the Air India flight routes, Singh said, "Airlines decide this on commercial considerations. We don't ask airlines to start flights to certain destinations except the North-East, Jammu & Kashmir and the Andamans."
13/03/13 PTI/Business Standard

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Airlines term mishaps minor but are you safe?

New Delhi: Flying is, perhaps, the shortest and the best way to reach your destination on time. But while flying, do you always feel safe or fear grips you thinking anything could happen up there in the air or while landing? After all, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the United Nations’ aviation watchdog, in a compiled report in December 2012, had ranked India amongst the 13 worst-performing countries in terms of aviation safety parameters.
Moreover, as per a report in a leading English daily, aviation safety experts have alleged that Indian carriers tend to underplay major incidents as minor with the ‘help’ of the aviation regulator and continue with their duty putting the safety of passengers at risk.
The experts also alleged that the tradition of airline officials joining the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was causing conflict of interest and harming the airlines and their safety in the process.
13/03/13 ZeeNews

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Probe picks holes in DGCA's zero accident figure

The Indian civil aviation watchdog -- Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA ) -- is often accused of classifying serious accidents just as incidents in a bid to artificially improve the country's safety record. A Headlines Today investigation unravelled the DGCA 's false claims on safety issues.
Headlines Today probed the truth behind the DGCA's zero accident figure. Aviation insiders claimed that the watchdog repeatedly classified accidents in which substantial damage occurred to the aircraft as mere incidents. They said that this use of semantics helps the DGCA improve its records on paper. But it also means that serious accidents are swept under the carpet and are not investigated properly.
Despite the DGCA's year-on-year claims of no accidents, the country sees several reports of planes colliding or going off the runway. Moreover, the Mangalore airport which saw a major air crash that claimed 158 lives in 2010 continues to fail safety audits. Headlines Today found three sets of reports that contradicted DGCA claims. In 2003, DGCA tabulation claimed that there were no accidents in the year even as a plane was reported to have suffered substantial damage in Mumbai on November 25.
13/03/13 India Today

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French team arrives to fix snag-hit plane

Mumbai: A team of French technicians arrived in Mumbai on Tuesday to repair the Air France aircraft that encountered an engine failure on Monday. The team will also probe the presence of a chisel-like tool in the engine cowling after the flight made an emergency landing. Mumbai airport officials said the team was called to get an air-worthiness certificate, which Indian agencies cannot provide.
On Monday morning, the Air France flight, with 200 passengers on board, took-off for Paris and returned after 30 minutes due to an engine failure. On inspection after landing, a maintenance team found a chisel-like tool in the engine hood. The tool seemed to have interfered with the engine and caused a failure.
Officials said that since the engine failure occurred only a few minutes after the take-off, it is likely that the tool interfered with the engine functioning.
13/03/13 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Jet-Etihad deal: Naresh Goyal rejigs promoter stake

Mumbai: NRI entrepreneur Naresh Goyal is putting in place a multi-phase, structured deal that will allow Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways to buy a substantial stake in Goyal's Jet Airways valued at $1.2 billion. The structuring will also see Goyal and Etihad jointly hold 75% in the listed carrier, complying with Sebi's new public shareholding norms.
Jet is 80% held by Tail Winds, an overseas corporate body (OCB) incorporated in the Isle of Man, a tax haven, while Goyal and his wife directly own just about 11,000 shares or 0.01%. An OCB is an entity in which at least 60% is owned by a non-resident Indian (NRI). Though OCBs are currently not clubbed as part of FDI, the government had granted a special dispensation to Goyal in the nineties.
The Jet boss, sources said, is considering transferring either a part or the entire Tail Winds stake to another company, which will be the new holding company of Jet Airways. Indian laws allow NRIs to invest 100% in scheduled passenger airlines through the automatic route.
13/03/13 Boby Kurian/Patha Sinha & Reeba Zachariah/Economic Times

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