Showing posts with label Foreign Mar 2015. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foreign Mar 2015. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Govt firm on scrapping 5/20 rule for airlines

Sticking to its earlier position, established carriers such as Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet on Tuesday opposed the government's move to replace the present 5/20 rule for launching foreign flights with domestic flying credit (DFC).

Against this, the start-up Tata group venture Vistara and Air Asia India pitched for further relaxation in the rules for flying overseas on the last day for submitting comments on the draft aviation policy that seeks to overhaul rules for flying.

An official source said that Federation of Indian Airlines, the trade body representing established private carriers, had urged for status quo of the present 5/20 rule.
 “We cannot please everyone. We have decided to move ahead with the change,” another official, who also did not wish to be named, said.
31/03/15 Nirbhay Kumar/Mydigitalfc.com

Near miss by Etihad, Emirates flights over Mumbai airspace

Mumbai: An Emirates and an Etihad aircraft, flying in opposite directions came in proximity of each other over the Indian Ocean, leading to a collision alert warning in the two cockpits on Sunday night. The Indian aviation regulator - the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) - has initiated an inquiry into the near-miss incident.

The Emirates flight EK-706 was flying to its base in Dubai from Seychelles, while Etihad flight EY-622 was enroute to Seychelles from Abu Dhabi.
"All Emirates aircraft are equipped with onboard instrumentation so that crew are alerted in a timely manner of all surrounding traffic. The crew informed the authorities of the incident and later filed an Air Safety Report, which will be forwarded to Mumbai Air Traffic Control. Safety is of paramount importance to Emirates, and we will be cooperating fully with the Mumbai Air Traffic Control in the subsequent investigation," said the airline in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Etihad Airways spokesperson did not respond.
Noticing that the two aircraft were perilously close to each other, Mumbai Air Traffic Control alerted one of the commanders by giving a resolution advisory (RA), the sources said.
Due to the closure of Yemeni airspace in the wake of the on-going civil war in the region, Emirates and Etihad are operating to Seychelles using Mumbai and Muscat airspace.
31/03/15 Manju V/Times of India

India Sends 5 Ships, 4 Planes to Evacuate Indians Stranded in Yemen

New Delhi:  India has sent a total of five ships and four planes to evacuate about 4000 Indian nationals stranded in civil war-torn Yemen. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, General VK Singh is presently in Djibouti to oversee the evacuation efforts.

The aircraft being used for the evacuation will have a three-hour window in which they have been assured passage in and out. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had spoken to Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud last night, during which he was assured of all help to get stranded Indian nationals out of Yemen.

Two passenger aircraft from Air India would be involved in the evacuation efforts. While one has been positioned in Oman, the other, AI-312, would fly in from Muscat. It would fly through Saudi Arabian airspace, which is closed to India's military aircraft, to the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, which is safe for civilian flights.
31/03/15  Amitabh Pashupati Revi/Shyam Balasubramanian/NDTV

Etihad, South African Airways code-sharing for India-origin flights

Global airlines companies South African Airways (SAA) and Etihad Airways (EA) on Tuesday said they have commenced a codeshare partnership in India which will enable fliers from India to travel to Johannesburg in South Africa via Abu Dhabi in UAE.

As per the agreement, SAA will codeshare on select EA flights to and fro Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram while EA will codeshare on a select SAA flight from Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg and back.

According to EA, in addition to the codeshare flight, the passengers can also avail alternate service on-board between Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg and continue their onward journey to various destinations in South Africa and the African continent using SAA’s domestic and regional flights.

“India is an extremely important market for us. A BRICS state, India has significant investments in South Africa and the two countries are witnessing a steady rise in bilateral trade. At the same time, tourism is increasing significantly as well.
31/03/15 Economy Lead

US FAA report on India's aviation safety likely by April 10

New Delhi:  A team of officials from the US aviation watchdog Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which is in the capital for a final assessment of India's aviation safety, is expected to submit its report by April 10.

The report could pave the way for a possible upgrade of the country's aviation safety ranking.

The FAA officials, who arrived here yesterday for a final review of the steps taken by the aviation regulator to address the deficiencies in the country's aviation safety, are expected to complete the exercise today, DGCA sources said.

On January 31 last year, the FAA had lowered India's safety ranking to Category-II from Category-I which the country had been holding since 1997.
31/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

Monday, March 30, 2015

MAHB confirms planned sale of stake in Delhi international airport

Malaysia Airport Holdings (MAHB) has confirmed that it is to sell its entire 10% stake in Delhi International Airport operator, DIAL, to GMR Airports for around $80 million.

It is believed to be selling the stake due to frustrations with the Indian legislation that limits foreign ownership of domestic companies to 49% – a law that ensures that MAHB can never exercise any control over the management of the company.

Elsewhere in India MAHB currently has an 11% interest in Hyderabad–Rajiv Gandhi International Airport operator, GHIAL, where GMR has a controlling 63% stake.

If the DIAL deal is ratified, GMR’s stake in India’s capital city gateway will rise to 64% where the other stakeholders will remain the Airport Authority of India (26%) and German airport group, Fraport (10%).
30/03/15 Airport World

Government to airlift citizens from war-torn Yemen

New Delhi: Government said on Sunday that it was preparing to airlift stranded citizens from war-torn Yemen despite the bombing of the country's main international airport.

Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said air evacuations would take place from Yemen, which has been plunged into chaos by a Huthi Shiite rebellion that has triggered Saudi-backed airstrikes on the capital Sanaa.

Some 4,100 Indians are currently in Yemen, including 3,100 in Sanaa, 500 in Aden and the rest around the country, the minister said.
"Today we got permission to fly from Sanaa for three hours a day. We will use this slot for evacuating our citizens every day," Swaraj said on Twitter.
29/03/15 AFP/Times of India

India rejects BP's request to market jet fuel

New Delhi: India has rejected a request from BP Plc to be allowed to sell jet fuel to the booming aviation market in Asia's No. 3 economy, saying it did not meet the conditions necessary, a source with direct knowledge of the decision told Reuters.

Consumption of aviation fuel is set to rise in India as domestic air traffic is estimated to almost triple this decade, with more of the country's 1.25 billion people starting to fly and as airlines connect smaller cities.

Demand for aviation fuel in India could rise by 2.2 percent in the financial year beginning in April, according to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell in the federal oil ministry.

BP is not the only overseas company interested in India's jet fuel retail business, which is dominated by state refiners. Royal Dutch Shell Plc already sells a small volume of jet fuel in a tie-up with state-run Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd.
30/03/15 Reuters

Foreign airlines come under sexual harassment Act

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has said that any foreign airline having even one office in the country is bound by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

It was hearing a public interest litigation on Monday seeking the implementation of the Vishakha guidelines on sexual harassment against women at the workplace in the aviation industry.

The case had been transferred as a PIL from another court which was dealing with the plea of an Indian woman, employed with the Sri Lankan Airlines, seeking action against the carrier and its official whom she had accused of sexual harassment.
30/03/15 Vijetha S N/The Hindu

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Despite nod, AI Express fails to operate flights to Abu Dhabi

Trichy:  The number of people travelling from the central districts to the Middle East is increasing but Air India Express has not operated flights to Abu Dhabi from the international airport here for the past two years, despite having obtained slots.

A Right to Information (RTI) Act petition filed to the director general of civil aviation on specific operations of Air India Express flights revealed that the airlines had obtained approval to operate 24 services from Trichy, out of which 10 were never run.

The Chennai- Trichy - Abu Dhabi and Trichy - Colombo flights are supposed to fly three and seven services respectively from the city but they have been totally neglected. A senior official of Air India Express here said, "The flights to Abu Dhabi were suspended two years ago after Air India Express did not find it feasible to operate it from here."

Information about the approved slots for Air India Express from Trichy to Colombo reportedly surprised even the airport officials here, who claimed they had had no knowledge of it.
29/03/15 Harish Murali/Times of India

China keen to invest in Mihan: MADC

Nagpur: China has expressed its interest towards future investments as well in the multi-modal international cargo hub and airport at Nagpur (Mihan) project.

  A business delegation from China headed by Consul General Zhang Xiyuan today visited the project and had a meeting with the officials of the Maharashtra Area Development Company (MADC), the nodal agency for the project.
29/03/15 NITI Central

Air India boss fears passengers will switch carriers to avoid long queues

A top official from the national airline of India believes passengers may start choosing to fly to and from Dubai with Emirates rather than his carrier because Terminal 1 at Dubai International Airport is too congested.
Emirates has the exclusive rights to Terminal 3 at the airport, with other major international carriers operating from Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. However, Melwin D’Silva, Air India’s regional manager for the Gulf, Middle East and Africa, told 7DAYS he thinks Terminal 1 is “too congested”. And D’Silva believes that flyers “may start picking Emirates over Air India because passengers have begun caring more and more about their [airport] experience.”

Air India runs 175 flights per week to the UAE, about 100 of which are to Dubai. D’Silva said: “We have already seen a rise in preference for our Air India Express flights, which land at Terminal 2 and they are able to get out much faster. So the overall experience does matter.” D’Silva said Terminal 1 has to have “better crowd management”. He said:?“With Dubai growing at the rate it is, they need to have more counters and staff to regulate the flow of passengers.”
29/03/15 Megha Merani/7 Days in Dubai

Dubai Int'l T1 too congested, says Indian airline boss

The regional boss of Air India has said Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 1 is becoming too congested, which he said will begin to favour Emirates which has the entire Terminal 3 operation to itself.

Melwin D’Silva, Air India’s regional manager for the Gulf, Middle East and Africa, said congestion has become an issue at Terminal 1 and airport officials should introduce “better crowd management” in order to get passengers through as quickly as possible.

“With Dubai growing at the rate it is, they need to have more counters and staff to regulate the flow of passengers,” D’Silva told 7Days newspaper.

He said the congestion is so bad that he believes travellers “may start picking Emirates over Air India because passengers have begun caring more and more about their [airport] experience.”

He said the airline had no congestion issues with Terminal 2, where it operates the Air India Express flights.

“We have already seen a rise in preference for our Air India Express flights, which land at Terminal 2 and they are able to get out [of the terminal] much faster. So the overall experience does matter,” D’Silva told the newspaper.
29/03/15 Neil Halligan/Arabian Supply Chain

Saturday, March 28, 2015

No truth in reports claiming hijack scare on London-Delhi AI flight: Govt

New Delhi: Air India and aviation authorities on Saturday termed as false claims of a security scare onboard a recent Delhi-bound Air India flight from London.

Nothing unusual was reported on the flight AI-112, which had departed from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) on March 17 for Indira Gandhi International airport, officials said, adding, "there is no truth" in the reports which have appeared today about a hijack scare on the plane.

A section of media has reported that there was an aborted hijack attempt on the national carrier's London-Delhi flight. They said the crew had become suspicious about a passenger, who "feigned" illness, and the other passengers, who claimed to be doctors and offered to help him on the flight, as they were all Pakistani and insisted on meeting the captain.

"There is no truth in it," civil aviation secretary V Somasundaram told PTI here when contacted.
The Air India too issued a statement saying all such claims were totally false and there were no Pakistani nationals as mentioned in these reports.
28/03/15 PTI/Times of India 

Hijack attempt foiled on board Air India flight to London?

An alleged attempt to hijack a London-bound Air India flight was made on Friday, according to an email sent to Jet Airways pilots. Several airlines have subsequently asked their crew to be on alert during flights.

According to Hindustan Times, an email sent to the pilots on Friday said that a passenger aboard the Air India flight pretended to be ill and five others claiming to be doctors volunteered medical assistance. After examining the 'sick' passenger, they insisted strongly on meeting the captain, but were refused permission.
The note says that the captain refused to meet the 'doctors' because the crew felt their actions were suspect.
A check was subsequently carried out, which revealed the five were Pakistani nationals. Furthermore, on examining their documents, their numbers were also found to be fictitious.
Similar accounts have been sent to cabin crew at other airlines, with strict instructions that no 'unauthorised' person is to be allowed entry to the cockpit at any cost, aviation sources said.
28/03/15 Daily News & Analysis

Yemen crisis: With no airstrips, 3,700 Indians to be evacuated

New Delhi: The government is planning to evacuate 3,700-odd Indians in Yemen via Djibouti — on the southern side of Gulf of Aden — in the light of absence of airstrips in the war-torn nation.
Sources told The Indian Express that a “broad plan” discussed at a joint meeting involving representatives of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), defence and other concerned agencies suggested transporting the Indian community to Djibouti through the Gulf of Aden and then flying them to Mumbai.
An option to send the national carrier instead of an Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft is also being mulled given the “signal” that a service aircraft landing in the region may send. While Indian Air Force (IAF) as well as Navy have been consulted, neither of the two agencies have yet received any instructions to proceed.
“The challenge in Yemen is that no airstrip is available for landing. Thus, the closest airstrip is Djibouti on the southern side of Gulf of Aden. Indian citizens are thus likely to be brought to Djibouti via Gulf of Aden and then flown to Mumbai,” said a source.
28/03/15  Pranav Kulkarni/Indian Express

Canada bets on direct Delhi flight to push tourism

Bengaluru: Canada will re-launch the direct non-stop Delhi–Toronto air link on November 1, which should increase the number of Indians travelling to that country.

Duncan Bureau, Air Canada’s vice-president, Global Sales, said it would deploy a new Boeing 787-900s on the route, four times a week.

The airline had stopped the service in 2007 saying it was uneconomical. He said, later, it would increase the flight frequency, expand to Mumbai and beyond and improve the traffic numbers, which grew 20 per cent between 2013 and 2014.

Air Canada is acquiring 50 787-900 aircraft and “India is the first market where the airline will operate the newly delivered aircraft”, he told a news conference here on Thursday. At present, travellers between the two countries fly on Asian or European carriers. The shorter direct flight lasting around 13 hours, he said, would also weigh in its favour.
28/03/15 The Hindu

Bhutan's Paro airport's fate in limbo: IAF may relocate

Paro International Airport in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which acts as a global gateway to adjoining eastern India, will start limiting the number of flights from May due to a space crunch, hurting tourism and business prospects in the region.

A plan to expand the airport and its facilities has been stalled, pending the release of funds committed by India and the relocation of an Indian Air Force base from the air field.

"Curtailment of services through the airport will have a negative effect on commercial activity of adjoining Indian area. Paro is only a couple of hours' drive from eastern Indian tourism hubs like Guwahati and Siliguri and we have an open border between the two countries," said tourism consultant R Basu.

Paro airport offers convenient passage for both inbound and outbound tourists in the region, including eastern India. At least 40% of the premium foreign tourists visiting the eastern Himalayan region travel to Bhutan and eastern India, according to Basu, who is based in Siliguri.
28/03/15 Debasis Sarkar/Economic Times

US couple held for carrying Sat phone, released

Udaipur:  An American couple were arrested at Dabok airport in Udaipur on Thursday morning for carrying a satellite phone without proper documents and necessary permission. However, during inquiry it was found that the man had filed details about the phone in the immigration form after landing in New Delhi. The couple were released and also got back their phone. Later, they left for Delhi by the evening flight.

According to sources, Richard Walk (51), a resident of Florida in US and his wife had come to India along with 11 friends in a tourist group. They had visited Agra, Ranthambore, Kumbalgarh and other places before arriving in Udaipur on March 23, sources said.
27/03/15 Geetha Sunil Pillai/Times of India

Friday, March 27, 2015

India proud to be armed with the Su-30MKI fighter – Indian Minister

The Indian Air Force is proud to possess the Sukhoi (Su-30MKI) fighter plane, one of the world’s most powerful jet aircraft, said India’s Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who is himself an accomplished pilot. By 2018, India’s Air Force is expected to possess 14 Su-30MKI fighter jet squadrons.
The Su-30MKI fighter aircraft which India has acquired from Russia is one of the most powerful in the world and a source of pride for the Indian Air Force (IAF), said Rajiv Pratap Rudy, while inaugurating the first Russian-Indian Youth Forum.
"India takes pride that we have in our arsenal the Su-30MKI, which is one of the most powerful fighter planes in the world ", said Rudy, Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
A Russia-India youth summit will take place on March 27. It is expected that more than 300 people aged between 18 and 35 will participate in the summit. The Russian Union of Youth is organizing the summit with sponsorship from Rossotrudnichestvo in India.
26/03/15 TASS/Russia & India Reort

Gulf NRI Forum, Kuwait urges expats to fly by AIE direct flight to Mangaluru

Kuwait: Gulf NRI Forum president Pascal Pinto, appeals to the people of Karnataka, Kerala and surrounding region to support the ailing Air India Express (AIE) to ensure survival of the only direct flight service to Mangalore.

Addressing the media persons here on Thursday March 26, Gulf NRI Forum, Kuwait president Pascal Pinto, a well known community leader, social worker in Kuwait and India, revealed details of the efforts and hard work that went into ensuring commencement of direct flight service from Kuwait to Mangalore, a long seen dream of flying directly to our home land. He expressed his thanks and gratitude to all people involved in realization of this dream with special mention of leaders – former union minister Veerappa Moily, Kasargod MP Karunakaran and MUDA former chairman K Thejomaya for their whole-hearted support and the instrumental role they played to ensure Mangalore airport gaining international status and also direct flight from gulf to Mangalore. It is well known and can be proudly said that their constructive pressure to central government has yielded positive result. Please note that otherwise for international Airlines, we have to wait 2 or more years to complete needed runway to land the aircrafts.
 27/03/15 Bellevision.com

Air Canada to restart India operations soon

Bengaluru: Canadian national carrier Air Canada, which had suspended its India operations on May 31, 2007, will soon reconnect with India. The airline, which used to fly a Boeing 777 to India, suspended operations as it was finding it uneconomical.

“The type of aircraft was the issue. The Boeing 787-900 made it sensible and economical to operate direct flights to India because it's cheap to operate," said Duncan Bureau, vice-president, Global Sales-Air Canada, in Bengaluru on Thursday at a press conference hosted by Canada Tourism Commission-India.

The airline plans to operate its newly-acquired Boeing 787-900 from Toronto to New Delhi from November 2. Initially, the airline will operate four flights a week. It will gradually increase the frequency of its flights to seven a week, added Cross. The configuration of the aircraft will include 29 business class seats, 247 economy class seats and 21 in premium economy. The airline said it had sold out business class and premium economy. Meanwhile, it has sold about 50 per cent of the economy class.
26/03/15 Business Standard

Kuwait Air flights to Kochi

Kochi: Kuwait Airways will operate two flights daily between Kochi and Kuwait from March 30. The airways, which started operations from Kochi in 2002, said in a press release that it would fly A320 aircraft with 117 economy-class seats and 16 business-class seats. The flights from Kochi will leave at 5.50 am and 7.15 am. The return flights will arrive at 4.50 am and 6.15 am. Kuwait Airways also operates from Thiruvananthapuram, apart from Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi.
27/03/15 Business Line

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Not interested in anybody else but IndiGo: Qatar Airways

The Arabian Kingdom of Qatar is looking at scaling up its economic partnership with India. During the ongoing visit of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani to Delhi, both sides discussed how the Arabian Kingdom can use its sovereign wealth fund the Qatar Investment Authority to invest in railways, defence and infra sectors.
The one area that the Qatar government is keen on entering is the Indian aviation space and Qatar Airways has been exploring joint ventures with Indian carriers. The airline is particularly keen on tying up with India's most profitable carrier IndiGo. Meanwhile, according to sources,  SpiceJet  has now reached out to Qatar airways to be an investor in the beleaguered airline. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said the company will like to invest in IndiGo. He said they are not interested in any other company but IndiGo. Baker concluded saying that the India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) policy suits them but the country’s aviation policy doesn’t.
25/03/15 CNBC-TV18

Direct air routes deemed key to Vietnam-India tourism cooperation

A recently signed agreement between India and the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport will serve as an important legal framework to facilitate the development of their transport infrastructure, Billa noted at a tourism promotion event held by the Vietnamese Embassy in New Delhi on March 24.
He said that India is one of the two countries that have had the most tourists going overseas in the world, and encouraged Vietnamese people to visit. He also suggested that if promotional activities are conducted effectively, Vietnam will be a magnet for Indian visitors because it possesses a multitude of attractive destinations, a rich culinary culture and many shared spiritual and cultural similarities with his country.
General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Nguyen Van Tuan, said numerous measures have been taken to strengthen bilateral cooperation, particularly in tourism, since Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to India last October.
Following the decision of India’s second biggest carrier, Jet Airways, to open a direct air route to Vietnam, the Southeast Asian country’s national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines is also planning to launch a direct route to India. This will fuel tourism between the nations, Tuan claimed.
26/03/15 Vietnam Net

Rafale the next logical step under 'Make in India': Dassault Aviation

New Delhi: Pitching the multi-billion deal for 126 Rafale combat jets as the "logical step" towards the 'Make in India' initiative, Dassault Aviation on Wednesday hoped that the contract which has been "95% finalised" would be signed soon.

At a ceremony to hand over the first two upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft to India, the company's CEO Eric Trappier declined to give a timeline for the signing of the deal, saying the question should be put to the Indian Defence Ministry.

However, he said it was better to take time now than clarifications being sought after the signing of the contract which he said is already running into thousands of pages.

When rafale was shortlisted in 2012, the deal was estimated to be about US$ 10 billion but it is now over USD 20 billion, including the life-cycle cost.
25/03/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

Airlines make a gold rush as fans fly to Australia for the World Cup semifinal

New Delhi: It seems all air routes are converging in Australia. With the cricket fever catching up one and all in India, travellers from this cricket-crazy nation are rushing for flight tickets to Down Under. And the airlines are making the most of the season.

While some of the outbound Indian travellers have reached Australia, there are others who are waiting due to various reasons - from availability of flight seats to visa-related issues.

As India takes on Australia in the cricket World Cup semifinal on Thursday in Sydney, top-notch Indians will be cheering for the country at the famous Sydney Cricket Ground or SCG. From corporate czars to business honchos to families of Indian cricket team to former cricketers, Bollywood stars and the like - they all have reached the Australian city over the last few days and they shall be at the SCG, holding the Indian Tricolour. Sources in the IGI Airport in Delhi told MAIL TODAY that many top bureaucrats also flew to Sydney in the last few days.

High cost According to travel agents in Delhi, booking of flight tickets for Australia began as early as September of 2014. The flight tickets were then available for `56,000 to `60,000. "Today, even at `1.2 lakh, no airline can assure you a ticket," said a travel agent associated with yatra.com.
26/03/15 Mail Today/India Today

Desi feel in Aussie air as fans fly down to Sydney

Mumbai: Probably for the first time in history, Australian skipper Micheal Clarke and his boys will find today that the Sydney stadium is no longer their home ground. The 42,000-seat venue would mysteriously seem to be India as it will be largely packed with Indians, quite a number of them from Mumbai. The home ground advantage would clearly be with the Men in Blue.

According to World Cup organizers, Indian fans have bought about 70% of the tickets for the semifinal match. The effect is already visible Down Under. "The international flight from Auckland to Sydney today seemed like an Indian domestic flight with conversations being held in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu and Tamil. Going by the indications given here, the ratio of blue to yellow at the stadium will be 90:10," said Ravi Raman, who heads a financial company in Mumbai and is in Sydney to catch the match.
26/03/15 Times of India

Etihad Airways deploys Boeing 787-9 To Mumbai

Mumbai: Etihad Airways, the national airline of United Arab Emirates, has started flying its second Boeing 787-9 between Mumbai and Abu Dhabi. The aircraft operates on the daily EY206 which departs from Abu Dhabi at 10pm and lands in Mumbai at 3am. The aircraft departs Mumbai at 4.30am and arrives in Abu Dhabi at 6.25am, enabling guests to connect on to more than 50 destinations on Etihad Airways’ global network.          
The B787-9 is configured with eight First Suites, 28 Business Studios, and 199 Economy Smart Seats, offering superior levels of comfort, entertainment and inflight connectivity.
On board, décor and lighting has been inspired by contemporary modern Arabian design, complementing the new ‘Facets of Abu Dhabi’ design identity, recently introduced by Etihad Airways.
Neerja Bhatia, Etihad Airways’ General Manager for India, said: “Mumbai is the commercial capital of India and it is one of our key routes in the India Subcontinent.
“Operating our brand-new Boeing 787-9, we are able to carry business and leisure travellers into and out of Mumbai on board our three-class aircraft which has been customised with the world’s most innovative cabins.”
25/03/15 IndiaInfoline

Two upgraded Mirage 2000 handed over to India in France

Istres: French defence major Dassault Aviation on Wednesday handed over the first two upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft with advanced navigational, radar and missile systems to India amidst continuing stalemate on the over USD 20 billion Rafale contract.
The entire fleet of 48 aircraft is being upgraded with the help of Dassault Aviation and Thales under a Rs 10,000 crore deal signed in July 2011.
The upgraded Mirages comes with advanced navigational, radar and missile system besides a fully integrated electronic warfare suite. The mid-life upgrade is expected to extend the life cycle of the aircraft by another 10-15 years.
25/03/15 PTI/IBN Live

Malaysian Woman Dies of Cardiac Arrest at Chennai Airport

Chennai:  A 58-year-old Malaysian woman died due to cardiac arrest just an hour before she was scheduled to take a flight from here to Kuala Lumpur today, airport authorities said.

The passenger, identified as Esha Binti Veerasa, died around 5 PM in the security clearance area just before her scheduled departure at 6 pm in an Air Asia flight.
26/03/15 PTI/New Indian Express

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

DIAL's Malaysian partner to sell entire 10 per cent stake for $79 million

Kuala Lumpur/New Delhi: Malaysia Airports Holdings today announced sale of its entire 10 per cent stake in Delhi International Airport for Rs 492 crore, saying a minority share did not give it any "influence" in the venture.

The Malaysian entity, which made its first investment in Delhi International Airport (DIAL) in 2006, would be reaping a profit of nearly USD 22 million from the proposed sale.

In a filing to the Malaysian stock exchange, MAHB said it would sell 245 million equity shares for a "total cash consideration of USD 79 million" to GMR Airports.
24/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

AirAsia offers 3 million seats at discounted prices

New Delhi: In one of the biggest discounted sale offers, Malaysian carrier AirAsia today put three million (30 lakh) seats up for grab for destinations, including India.

As part of this mega sale offer, AirAsia has rolled out fares as low as Rs 3,399 for a Visakhapatnam-Kuala Lumpur and Rs 3,699 for travel on Kochi-Kuala Lumpur sector, the airline said here.

The bookings for the seven-days-Big Sale offer begins today for travel period that from September 1 to May 31 next year, said in a release.

The highest fares under the sale bonanza have been offered for travel from Kolkata and Bengaluru to Kuala Lumpur at Rs 6,999 for (each sector) while the ticket price for Trichy and Hyderabad have been pegged at Rs 4,699, according to the airline.
23/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

Next aviation war likely in foreign sector

New Delhi: The next aviation war among the domestic carriers could be fought on the international sector with the current tailwinds for revenues and profits blowing in that direction.

Consider this: In the third quarter of fiscal 2015, Jet Airways's domestic revenue grew 6.8% over the same quarter last year to Rs 2,113.7 crore while its international revenue grew at more than twice that speed of 17.4% to Rs 3,089.9 crore during the same period.

The full-service airline fared better on the international sector even in terms of number of passengers carried during the same period, with its seat load factor at 86.3% compared with 82% on the domestic sector.
It was the same for budget airline SpiceJet Ltd, which started flying on foreign routes only a few years ago.

According to Kaneswaran Avili, chief commercial officer (CCO), the no-frill airline's growth in international air passenger traffic this fiscal month till date (MTD) compared with same period last year was 44% while revenue climbed 37%.
24/03/15 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

TN Should Press Centre to Include Madurai in Foreign Airline Services: FICCI

Madurai: In the wake of the Union Civil Aviation Ministry's proposal barring new domestic airlines to operate on the international routes that are less than six hours of journey from Indian cities, FICCI has urged the State government to press the Union Government to include the Madurai Airport in the Bi-lateral Airport Treaties with countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, the UAE, Kuwait and Thailand.

In a press statement, N Jegatheesan, president of the Tamilnadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Madurai, said, "As Madurai is not included in the treaty with countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, the UAE, Kuwait and Thailand, the airlines of those countries, though willing to commence direct services to Madurai from their countries, would be not able to do so. Only our domestic airlines are permitted to operate such services."
24/03/15 New Indian Express

Govt yet to decide on purchase of Japanese amphibious craft

New Delhi: Even as  defence minister Manohar Parrikar is heading on his first foreign trip later this month to Japan, followed by South Korea, the government has informed the Lok Sabha that no decision has been taken yet on the purchase of Japanese long-range 12 US-2i aircraft for the Navy for around $1.65 billion.
As part of India’s effort to step up its defence diplomacy, Parrikar will undertake a two-day trip starting from March 30 to Tokyo, the first foreign visit by an Indian defence minister since November 2013. Though the thrust of Parrikar’s visit will be increasing defence cooperation and pushing the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative in Tokyo, the two sides will be discussing the ShinMaywa US-2i amphibious aircraft and will also try to iron out any issues related to its  purchase.
23/03/15 Huma  Siddiqui/Financial Express

New proposal of Civil Aviation Ministry to hit Madurai airport

Madurai: Madurai airport will be hit hard by the Civil Aviation Ministry’s new proposal not to allow any new domestic airline to operate on international routes which are less than six hours of journey duration from Indian cities.

This would prove detrimental to the State government’s Madurai-Tuticorin industrial corridor proposal, senior president of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry S. Rethinavelu said.

Civil Aviation Ministry allows only a domestic airline with five years of domestic operations and possessing 20 aircraft to fly to foreign destinations.

At present, only Air India, Spice Jet, Jet Airways and Indigo satisfy this condition known as Rule 5/20.

While Air India is facing aircraft shortage, other players were not interested to operate flights from Madurai to destinations like Singapore, Malaysia, and Gulf countries, Mr. Rethinavelu said. The Union government’s earlier proposal to relax Rule 5/20 was heartening as newer domestic airliners could fly from Madurai to meet its international flight potential.
24/03/15 The Hindu

Monday, March 23, 2015

Airlines seek more lenient norms to fly abroad

New Delhi: India's airlines appear to have dropped their opposition to scrapping the current norms for operating international flights and have sought greater leniency in the proposed system of earning domestic flying credits to determine eligibility to fly overseas.
Resistance by Jet Airways Indigo, SpiceJet and Air India to the removal of the eligibility norms to fly abroad seems to have died out.
None of them present at a meeting last Wednesday opposed the move to replace the minimum requirement of five years of operations and 20 aircraft, known as the 5/20 rule, sources who attended told ET.
The carriers, however, sought more flexible norms for the new regime based on credits earned for flying local routes, classified into three categories. Continuation of the 5/20 model would have affected Vistara and AirAsia, which started operating flights in India recently.
23/03/15 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

There is huge potential in the Indian market: Lufthansa

New Delhi: Germany's Lufthansa says it might go ahead and launch its Airbus A-380 services between Mumbai and Frankfurt in its 2015 winter schedule because of the "huge potential" in the Indian market.

According to Lufthansa Cargo's board member for product and sales, Alexis von Hoensbroech, the airline is keen on starting the service after receiving regulatory clearance and a gateway slot at Mumbai airport.

"There is a huge potential in the Indian market. We are looking forward to start the A380 services between Mumbai and Frankfurt in the winter schedule of 2015," Hoensbroech said.

Last year Dubai-based Emirates airlines had secured Mumbai airport's approval to continue Airbus A380 operations in the winter schedule of 2014.
22/03/15 IANS/India TV News

Airlines hike fares for Australia with India entering semifinal of ICC World Cup

New Delhi: With the defending champions India set to take on Australia in the second semi-final of the 2015 ICC World Cup at Sydney on Thursday, airlines have hiked their fares substantially for Down Under.

The fares for Sydney and Melbourne have already shot up by 15-20 per cent in the last one week and the airlines could make a killing off the left over seats if Men in Blue beat the Kangaroos and enter the World Cup final, travel industry executives said today.

"There is definitely a 15-20 per cent surge in economy class fares for Australia after India entered the semi-finals. These fares may rise further if India reaches final as well," travel portal Yatra.com President Sharat Dhall told PTI.
22/03/15 Economic Times

Air Asia keen to foray into Indian insurance sector

Hyderabad: Air Asia Bhd, the Malaysia-based conglomerate with interests in aviation, financial services and hospitality is actively considering its foray into the Indian insurance sector.

"We are talking to key players in the market and our plans are very much on", said Tony Fernandes, one of the founders of the conglomerate.

The recent passing of the contentious insurance bill in the Rajya Sabha with higher Foreign Direct Investment cap is welcome and augurs well for our plans, he told newspersons here.

In Hyderabad, to unveil the livery of its fourth aircraft to commemorate the visionary JRD Tata, the Chief Executive Officer of Air Asia Group said the Indian Government's moves in insurance looks more positive than the recent changes in the aviation sector, especially the 5/20 regulations.
22/03/15 Business Line

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Airlines oppose govt's credit trading proposal

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry’s proposal to allow trading in domestic flying credits to help new airlines fly abroad has not found takers among those with large fleets.

Current rules require airlines to have flown in India for five years and have 20 planes in their fleet before they are allowed to fly abroad. According to the proposed changes, airlines will have to acquire credits based on the routes they fly to earn international flying rights. A quarter of these credits can be bought by airlines from their competitors.

“Why should we sell our credits to them and make their life easy? We waited for five years. It is a bizarre idea that we will trade and help them compete with us," said a senior executive with a leading airline. The bigger airlines will have 4,000-5,000 credits, much higher than what they need for flying abroad.
21/03/15 Somesh Jha/Business Standard

‘Aviation rule defies logic’

Hyderabad: The new aviation rules will hamper the economic activity in the country and lead to lesser jobs, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said here on Saturday.

He observed that the country’s skies should be opened up without any restrictive policies so as to tap the immense potential of domestic and international aviation markets. Mr. Tony expressed his disappointment over the existing 5/20 rule. According to the rule, domestic operators can only fly international if they have five flying years and a fleet of 20 aircraft, and also its proposed replacement which requires accumulating credits based on their local flying hours and destination.

“We do not see any logic behind these rules. Much more investment is needed in India as the number of international flights is very less. India needs more connectivity too. Nowhere in the world have we seen such a rule. It is either a safe airline or not a safe airline, and there is no difference between flying domestic and international,” he said,
21/03/15 Rahul Devulapalli/The Hindu

South African Airways to add India destinations through code-sharing agreements

Johannesburg: South African Airways (SAA) will redirect all its Indian destination flights through Abu Dhabi from next month to cut costs through its code-sharing agreements with Etihad and Jet Airways.

It is adding multiple destinations to India through the code-sharing agreements, arrangements in which two or more airlines share the same flight. The new destinations in India include Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Madras.

SAA has announced that that from 1 April 2015, all its Indian destination flights would be routed via Abu Dhabi, in a code-share agreement for connections with Etihad and Jet Airways into the sub-continent.

Etihad Regional Business Development Manager John Friel said that through its arrangement with Jet Airways, South Africans could reach almost every destination in India.
21/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

Customs seizes $38,000 from Indian diplomat

Customs authorities seized $38,000 from an Indian High Commission official in Bangladesh when he allegedly tried to take out the greenbacks illegally by using diplomatic immunity, officials said.

Armed police and customs officials at the airport challenged Sandipan Bhattacharya at the anti-trafficking point in the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport area as he, along with his wife, was trying to leave Dhaka for Kolkata by an Indian Airlines flight on Thursday night.

Joint Commissioner of Dhaka Customs House Kazi Muhammad Ziauddin told The Financial Express that, having been challenged, he identified himself as a visa officer at the Indian HC in Dhaka.

"Later, he admitted having possessed the amount. He was carrying the money in a schoolbag," Ziauddin said.
21/03/15 Financial Express

Friday, March 20, 2015

New rules for startup airlines to fly abroad

New Delhi: New airlines will find it easier to start long-haul international operations and will have to wait for a longer period before launching flights to nearby countries. The aviation ministry is proposing that startup airlines be allowed to start flights of over six-hour duration - including Europe, North America and Australia - once they set up a certain minimum domestic network.

Flights of under six-hour-duration - including Gulf, Southeast Asia and Saarc regions - will be allowed when startups double their domestic network over the minimum coverage. For a big startup like Vistara (a JV between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines), it could mean over a year of flying within the country to start US, Europe operations and over two years of domestic flying before mounting flights to nearby regions. Relatively smaller ones like Tata-AirAsia could take longer.
The aviation ministry communicated this to airlines on Wednesday at a meeting called to discuss the proposed changes to Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG or norms for flying within the country on metro and remote routes), which will now be linked to overseas operations of all carriers.
19/03/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

New Zealand Sikh MP: Kirpan Should Be Allowed on Planes

Wellington:  New Zealand parliament’s first Sikh MP has called for legislation to allow carrying of the kirpan — a Sikh ceremonial dagger — while traveling in planes.
National MP Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi Mar. 17 said the legislation should make clear that the kirpan — a short dagger that symbolizes a Sikh’s duty to come to the defense of those in need — is not a weapon and is safe to be worn.
Bakshi said the biggest issue for Sikhs is being able to wear a kirpan at their workplace and at public events, The Dominion Post reported.
He said carrying a kirpan at all times is a big deal for Sikhs and sometimes there is a compromise when it comes to flying.
“Some people are very strict at following the rules and don’t fly — in India they’ll travel by road; they won’t fly. There are people who will wear a symbolic one, a smaller version, which is allowed on airplanes,” he said.
Bakshi said Sikhs are “sensible” people who would not use a kirpan inappropriately.
The New Zealand government is considering exempting kirpans from civil aviation rules, allowing these to be carried onboard planes rather than stowed away with luggage.
19/03/15 IANS/India West

No-shows to late shows, how Air India crew delay flights

New Delhi: The eight-hour delay of Air India flight AI 302 to Sydney due to crew shortage on February 15 and the two-hour delay of flight AI 887 to Mumbai on February 17 due to a pilot getting caught up with Mahashivratri festivities are far from isolated incidents at the country’s national carrier.
An internal study done by the airline reveals that a no-show by nearly half the cabin crew members for scheduled duties over a seven-month period ranked as the primary reason for AI’s dismal on-time performance record.
A sample audit done at the airline’s southern base (with 152 AI cabin crew members, 57 employees from AI’s wholly-owned subsidiary Airline Allied Service Ltd) between April and October 2014, shows that on an average, 46.4 per cent of those who were rostered requested for and got their allotted schedules changed during the period last year. These changes were effected despite the rosters having been made after taking into account duty time limitations, crew rest period, crew availability, leave requests, absenteeism and training. On an average, each crew member is assigned eight domestic flights and four-five international departures every month. No flights are given on nine days every month on account of weekly offs and non-allocation.
17/03/15 Sharmistha Mukherjee/Financial Express

No decision yet on purchase of Japanese amphibious aircraft: Govt

New Delhi: No decision has been taken to buy long-range amphibian aircraft from Japan, government said in the Lok Sabha today.

“No decision has been taken by the government for the procurement of US 2i amphibian aircraft from Japan,” Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar told the lower house in a written reply.
20/03/15 PTI/Business Line

Emirates organises appreciation dinner for Indian travel partners

Mumbai: Emirates hosted its partners among the Indian travel trade at a dinner recently at the Armani Hotel in Dubai, acknowledging their contribution to the airline’s success last year. The airline hosted more than 20 key travel partners, including Cox & Kings, Thomas Cook, Clear Trip, Wipro Travel Services Ltd., and UAE Exchange India.

The event was hosted by Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Vice President Commercial Operations - Centre, Emirates; Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Vice President, India & Nepal, Emirates; and Ahmed Khoory, Senior Vice President, Commercial, West Asia & Indian Ocean (WA&IO), Emirates.

Delivering the welcome address at the dinner, Khoory said,  “India has been an extremely significant market for Emirates since its inception in 1985. We have established strong roots in the Indian aviation industry and only hope to strengthen it further. India is one of the markets that exemplify our growth story. We are extremely grateful to all our loyal travel agents who have been an integral part of our journey. We look forward to their continued support in the years ahead.”
19/03/15 TravelBizMonitor

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Jet Airways to piggy-back on Etihad Airways to launch dedicated freighter ops

New Delhi: Jet Airways plans to launch dedicated freighter operations to become the first private Indian passenger airline to offer all-cargo services scheduled to commence in April, 2015 – this is subject to regulatory approvals.
The freighter services will be operated using an A330-200F aircraft wet-leased from strategic-partner Etihad Airways and will have an operating base in New Delhi – the freighter services will operate to a number of international and domestic destinations including Bangalore, Hong Kong, Hanoi and Singapore.
Cramer Ball, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways, said: “The launch of dedicated freighter operations enables Jet Airways to provide, for the first time, freighter services for customers in India and around the world. In line with the ‘Guest First’ strategy that Jet Airways has implemented for its passenger services, Jet Airways Cargo has developed a wide range of service options to meet the growing needs of its customers, including express and valuable products.”
17/03/15 Financial Express

DGCA acting on FAA findings on Indian civil aviation security: Sharma

New Delhi: Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is taking action on the findings brought up by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on India's aviation safety, which remained downgraded since early last year.
The action on the findings would be presented to FAA during the final consultation meeting to be held in
March/April, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said in Rajya Sabha.
In order to retain category 1 rating in security, DGCA has taken action for compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards. FAA team revisited India for reassessment of DGCA's oversight capability for determination of category rating for India and conducted an audit from December last year and it raised 12 findings, Sharma said in a written reply.
These findings include certification of flying training organisation, completion of hiring of full cadre of 75 Flight Operations Inspectors (FOIs) in DGCA, training of FOIs on type of aircraft operated by scheduled airlines and inspection and surveillance of foreign aircraft maintenance organisations, he said.
17/03/15 PTI/First Post

Solar Impulse takes off from Ahmedabad, expected to land at Varanasi at 9pm

Ahmedabad: After a delay of over 1.5 hours, Solar Impulse 2 took-off for Varanasi at 7.18am from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International airport at Ahmedabad on Wednesday. On its journey to Varanasi, pilot Andre Borschberg will fly the zero-fuel airplane on about 1071km for an estimated time of 15 hours and reach around 9pm.

After a brief pit stop in Varanasi, Si2 will leave for Mandalay in Myanmar on Thursday.

The world's first solar-powered plane had landed in Ahmedabad from Muscat on March 10. Si2 was supposed to fly to Varanasi on Sunday morning but it was delayed by three days due to bad weather. Initially the delay was due to light rains in Ahmedabad and then fog concerns in northern parts of country delayed the flight till Wednesday.
A small dance group performed traditional garba for the pilot and the crew early morning. Later after technical check, Borschberg got into the cockpit and began preparations for the take-off.
18/03/15 Piyush Mishra/Times of India

No final decision yet on Rafale aircraft deal: Govt

New Delhi: Negotiation is taking place for procurement of medium multi-role combat aircraft from Dassault Aviation France but "no final decision" has been taken, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar also said review of existing fleet and induction of new aircraft is a continuous process and such a review is carried out keeping in view the operational requirements of the Air Force.

On whether fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) are in place for the Indian Air Force to have superior air strike capabilities, he replied in a negative.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had last month held talks here with Parrikar to salvage the multi-billion Rafale contract even as a deadlock continues to hold up the deal.
17/03/15 PTI/Zee News

Rafale deal terms non-negotiable: Parrikar

New Delhi: As India and France struggle to break the deadlock over the $20-billion Rafale fighter deal, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar reiterated on Tuesday that the contractual terms in the Request for Information and the pricing were “non-negotiable.”

“The pricing will be decided on the basis of the Request for Proposal,” he told presspersons outside Parliament.

However, on the guarantee clause, which had been an issue of contention between Dassault and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), he said the two firms had to sort it out.

These comments are significant in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to France next month. Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar is visiting France next week.
18/03/15 Dinakar Peri/The Hindu

Thursday, March 12, 2015

India To Change Rule On Foreign Flights By Indian Carriers

The government plans to revise a rule which requires local airlines to have least five years of operational experience and 20 aircraft in their fleet before flying overseas.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma on Tuesday said there are plans to revise the existing '5/20' rules for Indian carriers to operate international flights.

"The reason for the revision include addressing the imbalance between Indian and foreign carriers in utilisation of bilateral traffic rights," he told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

To a query on whether abolishing this eligibility criteria would expedite utilisation of bilateral rights, the minister replied in the affirmative.

"Operation of more airlines on international routes can address the imbalance in utilisation of bilateral traffic rights in various markets where the Indian carriers are not matching up to the capacity deployment of foreign carriers," Sharma said in another written reply.

In 2014, Indian carriers utilised 32 per cent of the traffic rights on international routes against total entitlements available while the utilisation by foreign airlines stood at 62 per cent during the same period.
11/03/15 Business World

Oman Air flight suffers tyre burst at Delhi airport, passengers safe

New Delhi: An Oman Air flight from Muscat when the nose wheel tyre burst after landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here on Thursday morning.

According to information, the Oman Air flight no WY 241 from Muscat landed at the Delhi airport at 6 am and while it was taxing towards the disembarking area, the nose wheel tyre suddenly burst, causing panic amongst the on board passengers.

However, the airport authorities immediately rushed towards the aircraft and safely evacuated the passengers. After evacuating the passengers, the aircraft was towed to a safe area at the airport.
12/03/15 IndiLeak

FAA team to visit India soon to review measures by DGCA

New Delhi: A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) team would soon visit India for a final review of the steps taken by the DGCA to address the deficiencies in the country's aviation safety, which remains downgraded since January last year.

"We are expecting a Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) team here by the end of the month for a final review of the various measures taken by the DGCA on the aviation safety," official sources said here.

The decision to upgrade the country's aviation safety will be decided after the US regulator's team files its report, which is expected to take place by mid-April, sources said.
11/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

Dassault, HAL To Be Co-Contractors On Indian-Built Rafales

Saint-Cloud and Paris: France’s bid to sell 126 Rafale combat jets to India moved a step closer to reality in recent weeks, with Dassault Aviation and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) reaching an agreement as to who will be responsible for guaranteeing 108 Indian-built aircraft required under the deal.

The first 18 Rafale jets are to be built in France. After that, India’s HAL would take over production of the remaining aircraft.

"This is the first time Dassault agrees to be a co-contractor," Dassault CEO Eric Trappier said following his company’s annual earnings conference March 11. "Dassault and HAL will both take responsibility for the part they will each build on the Rafale aircraft made in India," he continued, asserting the commitment is in line with the Indian government’s initial request for proposals under the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) tender.
11/03/15 Amy Svitak and Caroline Bruneau Aerospace Daily & Defense Report

India gifts Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft to Seychelles

India has gifted Dornier Maritime Patrol Aircraft to Seychelles, as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the country.

The aircraft provides yeoman services in anti-piracy operations.
11/03/15 Rajani Baburajan/Economy Lead

Air Arabia hosts key travel trade in Mumbai

Air Arabia, the low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa and the first international low-cost carrier to fly to India, is soon to complete a decade of operations in India.

To celebrate this milestone, the airline hosted a travel trade dinner and was attended by the airline Group Chief Executive Officer Adel A.

Ali and senior management. Air Arabia raised a toast to the continual support extended by the travel trade fraternity resulting in Air Arabia's successful operations in India.

Air Arabia started operations in India in 2005 and now flies to 13 cities in India which includes Jaipur, Kochi, Nagpur, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram, Goa, Kozhikode, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Chennai - offering the perfect blend of connectivity from not just the smaller towns, but also from metros and Tier 1 cities across the length and breadth of the country. It operates over 112 weekly flights from its hub in Sharjah to the thirteen cities in India.
11/03/15 New Kerala

Export hub hope floats on Cathay Pacific freighter

Kolkata: A Cathay Pacific freighter lifted 30 tonne cargo from the city on Wednesday, raising hope of Kolkata emerging as an export hub. The airline's cargo wing hopes to lift 60 tonne a week from Kolkata airport initially before adding frequency to lift more.

Prior to Cathay Pacific Cargo, Qatar Airways was the only carrier to operate a freighter service to Kolkata. Other airlines carry cargo in the belly of their passenger aircraft.

"We believe Kolkata is a good market for both import and export of goods. Its potential was largely untapped due to capacity constraints and goods that should have been lifted from Kolkata were exported via Delhi, Hyderabad or Chennai," said Cathay Pacific Cargo regional cargo manager (South Asia, Middle East and Africa) Anand Yedery on Wednesday.
12/03/15 Times of India

India's Rafale fighter jet deal stuck in doldrums

New Delhi: The multi-billion dollar Rafale fighter jet contract between India and France continues to face an impasse despite the two countries having agreed to "fast-track" the negotiations.

But while forward movement is awaited in this regard, defence sources made it clear that the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to France and the fighter jet deal were two separate issues which cannot be linked, PTI reported.

"There are some issues which still persist because of which the final contract is pending for such a long time," defence sources said when asked if the issues relating to pricing and the guarantee clause had been sorted out.

 Talking about chances that the deal would be worked out ahead of Modi's visit to France next month, the sources maintained the two were not linked.
11/03/15 India Today

Emirates Airline expects drop in annual fuel costs

Dubai’s Emirates Airline expects lower oil prices to translate into fuel savings in the financial year ending this month but is braced for foreign exchange hits in markets such as Europe, India and Russia, its chief operating officer said.
Adel Al Redha did not put a figure on the fuel costs but said their proportion of the company’s total costs was expected to fall to 35-37 per cent, from 42 per cent in the previous 12 months.

“There has been a direct reduction to operating costs with the reduction of fuel price,” he told reporters at the sidelines of a border security conference in Dubai.

Jet fuel prices have tracked a steep drop in oil prices since June last year. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has forecast a combined $25 billion in 2015 net profit for airlines, up from 19.9 billion estimated profit in 2014, mainly driven by lower fuel costs.
11/03/15 Reuters/Khaleej Times

Monday, March 09, 2015

Kozhikode airport partial closure unlikely to affect Oman flights

Muscat: The partial closure of  the Kozhikode airport for around eight hours daily from May 1 as part of resurfacing work is unlikely to affect flights from and to Muscat and Salalah though there could be some rescheduling of flight times.

Airport director Peter K Abharam said in Kozhikode on Sunday that the runway would be closed for repair works from noon to 8pm. This was around the time there was lesser movement of international aircraft. He clarified that no wide-bodied or jumbo aircraft would be allowed to land in the airport till the whole work was completed.

Air India Express and Oman Air are the only two airliners operating to Kozhikode from Oman and they operate narrow-bodied aircraft which are allowed to land at the airport.
09/03/15 Oman Tribune

Bilateral flight slot refarm bid

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry may consider taking away unused bilateral rights with existing airlines and give them to other carriers, including the new entrants who may be allowed to fly abroad.

On lucrative European routes, Indian carriers use less than 10 per cent of the capacity allocated to them, leaving most of the market share to foreign airlines. In the Asia-Pacific region, foreign carriers have a 55 per cent share. On India-US routes, domestic airlines hardly fly, given the unlimited rights they have.

"New airlines will be encouraged to fill in the gaps ... but conditions such as flying to tier-II cities may be set as pre-conditions for foreign flight allocations," said officials.

The civil aviation ministry wants the criteria to fly abroad be based on technical and financial parameters rather than the number of years of operation or the number of aircraft.

"The India-US route is largely being fed by Gulf carriers," said Robin Pathak, aviation consultant and a former Indian Airlines director.
08/03/15 Jayanta Roy Chowdhury/Telegraph

Sunday, March 08, 2015

Air India has new address in Washington, Los Angeles and Amsterdam

New Delhi: Loss-making Air India has shifted its offices in Washington, Los Angeles and Amsterdam to less expensive premises, saving thousands of dollars every month in rentals.

The national carrier has embarked on restructuring of overseas offices as part to its overall cost-cutting measures. Faced with intense competition from private airlines and high operational cost, Air India has been grappling with huge losses for the past few years.

The airline's decision to shift its Washington office from January this year has brought down its monthly rental expense by more than $2,500.


The monthly rent shelled out by the carrier for its present premises at Washington is $2,495 whereas the expense was more than $5,000 at the previous location, according to official data.

"The (Washington) office has been shifted to new premises with effect from January 1, 2015. The current rent of the premises is $2,495. Air India earlier had office premises with a monthly rent of $4,542 plus $500 for parking space.
08/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

Saturday, March 07, 2015

Man posts himself in box from the UK to Australia in Air India plane

The Javelin thrower had wanted to compete in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, but when that proved unreachable he got a job in an airport to try and earn enough money so he could fly home.

Although in a twist of fate, Reg’s wallet was stolen and he was forced to change his plan or he would never make it home. He had a friend build a box in which he could live in when he was loaded onto a plane.

According to Metro he said “I just got in the thing and went. What was there to be frightened of? I’m not frightened of the dark so I just sat there.

“It’s like when I travel now if I go overseas. There’s the seat. Sit in it, and go.”

He managed to get loaded onto an Air India plane yet had to endure a 24 hour delay squashed into the 5ft x 3ft x 2.5ft box.

He took only a few supplies to stay alive for the three day journey. These included: A blanket, a pillow, a torch, some tinned foods, two plastic bottles (one used for water, the other for urine) and a suit.

Whilst in the air, he often crept out to wee into the bottle of which he left on top of the box as the plane came into land in Paris on its first stop.

Reg describes his next stop, Bombay, as being ‘sticky’. He said that his box was left in the sun’s glare upside-down for hours. This was a good enough excuse for Reg to get naked.

Many more hours had gone by until, finally, he could hear the sound of Australian baggage handlers swearing about the size of the box he was inside.
He said “The accents, how could you miss? I’m on the soil. Amazing. Wonderful. I made it.
07/05/15 Thomas Finlay/Sunday World.com 

Kalina AI team battles to move Turkish plane off Nepal runway

A team of 11 Air India engineers from the city specially trained in damaged aircraft recovery are working against the clock in a critical operation to salvage a Turkish Airlines Airbus A-330, which has been blocking a runway since Thursday at Nepal's only international airport after skidding off it.

On Nepal's request, an IAF C-130J Super Hercules aircraft reached Kathmandu airport on Thursday with 25 technical personnel including the engineers and a 7.5-tonne Damaged Aircraft Recovery Kit (DARK). The team led by Assistant GM (Engineering) S Ramaswamy is from Air India's facility in Kalina and the only one of its kind in southeast Asia.

Airport officials said AI's engineering team first approached the collapsed front portion of the damaged plane. "The nose gear had collapsed during landing. Inflatable tubes were pushed below the aircraft body, and the equipment was manoeuvred to ensure the aircraft easily slid over them without damage to the airframe or its components," TIA chief Birendra Shrestha said. He added that the aircraft's wheels have been damaged and would have to be replaced before it can be towed.
07/05/15 Aditya Anand/Mumbai Mirror

Indian Budget Casts Doubt on Rafale Deal

India may not have the funds to seal the deal with Dassault Aviation to purchase $12 billion Rafale fighter planes, according to an Air Force source.

While India plans to boost hike defense spending by almost 8 percent, defense analysts and military officers say it falls short of expectations and isn't enough to buy fresh weaponry.

India will spend US $40.4 billion on defense in the April 1 2015-March 31 2016 financial year, according to the Feb. 28 proposal to Parliament.

That's an increase of 7.74 percent over the previous year. The previous year's budget went up 12.4 percent.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave no additional funds in the "Capital Account Head" of the budget proposals, which is earmarked to buy fresh weapons. The budget included the same amount as last year: $15.5 billion.
06/03/15 Vivek Raghuvanshi/DefenseNews

Indian doctor, first at plane crash site, shocked to find Harrison Ford

Los Angles: Dr Sanjay Khurana was close to finishing a golf game when a vintage plane clipped a tree and "dropped like a rock" onto the green. He rushed to the crash, finding a pilot bleeding from a deep gash in his head.

When the surgeon got a closer look, he was stunned to see the pilot was Harrison Ford, the actor he grew up watching in the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" movie franchises.

"I'm a child of the '80s," Khurana said Friday. "I'm a big fan."

One of Hollywood's pre-eminent stars, who is also an experienced pilot, crash-landed his World War II-era plane Thursday, but he was conscious and able to talk when witnesses pulled him from the wreckage.

Soon after Ford took off from Santa Monica Municipal Airport near Los Angeles, he radioed that the single engine of his 1942 Ryan Aeronautical ST3KR stopped working and he was going to make an immediate return.

Ford, who received his pilot's license in the 1990s, glided his plane onto a fairway near the airport in what aviation experts characterized as a skillful landing given a total loss of power above a densely populated area.
07/05/15 AP/Times of India

Indian-origin man jailed in UK for pestering girl on flight

London: A 38-year-old drunk Indian-origin man, who pestered a schoolgirl on a New Delhi-London flight, has been jailed for four months and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for the next seven years by a court here.

Manjit Singh Sidhu, from the city of Leicester, pawed the 14-year-old and told her he wanted to have sex with her, while she was flying home with classmates and schoolteachers from an educational trip on April 18 last year.

The man also engaged the teen in conversation about Bangkok's infamous red-light district, prostitutes, transsexuals and drugs during the Jet Airways flight from New Delhi to Heathrow, Leicester Mercury reported.
She said she did not want to continue the conversation and put on headphones to watch a film.
But she was interrupted later by Sidhu, who came stumbling down the aisle and perched himself on the armrest next to her.

"He tried to stroke my head and brushed my hair away and stroked my face and neck with his hand three or four times," she said. "I felt insecure and unable to say anything."
06/05/15 PTI/Times of India

Friday, March 06, 2015

IndiGo Only Efficient Indian Airline: Qatar Airways CEO

Qatar Airways would like to raise its stake in the owner of British Airways and Iberia at some point and may invest in other well-run airlines, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Qatar Airways bought a 9.99 percent stake in International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) in January, aiming to forge closer ties to a company with two major European hubs and strong transatlantic networks.

Asked whether Qatar Airways would like to buy more of its oneworld partner, Chief Executive Akbar Al Baker said: "Yes, we would like to increase our stake in IAG at a later date. We have just taken a shareholding: we could add value to them and they will add value to us."

Qatar Airways will also keep investing in other well-managed carriers to diversify its income from the main airline.

"We will look at other acquisitions of airlines but we look at airlines that don't take the resources of Qatar, or attention of Qatar management, to fix issues. We will always go after goldsmiths, not scrap dealers."

That could include India's IndiGo, if any of the privately-owned budget carrier became available to buy.

"I think domestic airlines in India are inefficiently run. The only one efficiently run is IndiGo. If we have the opportunity to acquire a stake in IndiGo we shall be very pleased to do so," Al Baker said.
05/03/15 Business World

Defence finance wing redflags UPA’s trainer aircraft deal

New Delhi: India’s 2012 order for 75 Swiss Pilatus basic trainer aircraft (BTA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) has run into rough weather with the finance wing of the Ministry of Defence pointing out that 88 per cent of the acquisition cost over 30 years will be incurred in just seven years because of “inbuilt flaws” in the Rs 4,000-crore deal signed during the UPA rule.
The Ministry of Defence (Finance) raised the red flag in January this year after the IAF moved a proposal for Follow On Support Contract (FOSC) for five years at an estimated cost of Rs 507 crore for maintenance and related issues of Pilatus aircraft — almost three times the cost for repairs and maintenance presumed at the time of evaluation of the lowest bidder (L1).
The Indian Express has learnt that in August 2013, the Ministry of Finance, then under P Chidambaram, while giving a no-objection certificate, had asked the Ministry of Defence, then under A K Antony, to fix future cost escalation through “clarification of fixity of contractual prices given in the pre-bid conference”.
05/03/15  Appu Esthose Suresh/Indian Express

Air India crew held up for two hours at JFK airport for discrepancies in documents

New Delhi/New York: A 15-member crew of an Air India flight from Delhi was held up for nearly two hours by the US authorities at JFK airport for “discrepancies” in their travel documents. The incident happened on March 2 after Air India flight AI-101 from New Delhi landed at the JFK Airport in New York. The crew was stopped at the immigration check itself by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities and was made to wait for nearly two hours before getting clearance.
“It was humiliating as the entire crew was in full uniform, standing and waiting in full public gaze. The crew also approached Air India station manager at the airport seeking his intervention, but he also expressed his helplessness in either helping them or finding out the reason for such a humiliating wait,” sources in the know of the incident said.
04/03/15 India.com

India pipped China in air travel demand for January '15: IATA

Indian carriers in January clocked one of the highest average load factors on domestic flights among countries in the BRIC region, Australia, Japan and the US, according to data realised by the International Air Transport Association ( IATA).

Indian carriers got 84% loads closely following airlines in Brazil which clocked 84.6%. American carriers filled 79.3% of their planes on an average, Chinese airlines filled 77.6% of their planes, airlines in Australia got 76.2% occupancy onoccupancy on average.

Indian carriers, led by SpiceJet have been garnering high load factors with discounted fares. Starting December cash-strapped SpiceJet cut massive capacity which led to a decline in seats offered in the market and a rise in average occupancies for airlines.
04/03/15 Economic Times

India and Japan Inch Closer to Surveillance Aircraft Deal

As India and Japan continue to strategically converge amid mutual fears regarding China’s rise, they have deepened their defense cooperation. Notably, India will likely be Japan’s first export partner for military hardware under Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s principles on defense equipment exports. The Japanese government recently lifted its decades-old self-imposed ban on exporting weaponry to other countries.

The two governments look all set to conclude a landmark deal for the sale of Japanese amphibious search and rescue (SAR) aircraft, a deal that has been in the works for years. India will likely purchase 12 ShinMaywa US-2 short take-off and landing (STOL) SARs this year (down from an earlier estimate of 15). Negotiations for the sale of the US-2 began in 2011 under the Democratic Party of Japan, first under Prime Minister Naoto Kan and then under Yoshihiko Noda.

The US-2 itself is a reliable and capable surveillance aircraft with a range of around 4,700 km, capable of transporting its crew and cargo from Indian territory to anywhere in the Indian Ocean region within 3 hours; its most notable feature is its ability to take-off and land at sea. Once acquired, India will likely station the US-2s off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, using the aircraft to conduct surveillance of the eastern Indian Ocean region. Indian military sources have also told the press that the US-2 will allow the Indian military to support friendly vessels in Southeast Asian waters, potentially detecting pirates and other threats.
05/03/15 Ankit Panda/The Diplomat

Air India to shut offices in Cairo, Tehran

New Delhi: National carrier Air India is in the process of closing down its offices in Cairo and Tehran while it has already shut down booking offices in Zurich, Chittagong and Vienna.
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma told the Rajya Sabha that a committee at Air India is in the process of taking action to close down offices in Cairo and Tehran.
Regional Manager (Gulf, Middle East & Africa) — and Regional Finance Manager, are part of the panel.
“Air India generated Rs 58.56 lakh from Cairo office and Rs 138.75 lakh from Tehran office as revenues during 2013-14,” Sharma said in a written reply.
Besides, a committee is looking to address issues of downsizing the carrier’s Toronto station and the process is in the final stages, he noted.
04/05/13 PTI/Financial Express

Indian aircraft arriving Nepal to remove Turkish airbus

Kathmandu: Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) is bringing a ‘removal kit’ from India to remove the Turkish Airline’s aircraft which has got trapped on its runway and to relocate it to safety.

Hercules aircraft of Indian Air Force is coming to Kathmandu from Mumbai with the ‘removal kit’.

The aircraft which is now in Delhi is flying to Kathmandu, Purna Prasad Chudal, Manager at the Civil Aviation Authority Nepal (CAAN) told myRepublica. The aircraft will land at the TIA within 1 hour and 25 minutes. At the high level initiation of the government, the aircraft of the Indian Air Force has been demanded in Kathmandu to remove the crash-landed Turkish aircraft from the TIA runway.
05/03/15 myRepublica

Jet Gets 'In-Principle' Nod to Wet Lease Etihad Freighter

New Delhi: The government today accorded in-principle approval to private carrier Jet Airways to wet lease one freighter from its equity partner Etihad Airways, paving the way for the Mumbai-based carrier to launch cargo services.

Jet Airways had sought permission from the Civil Aviation Ministry to wet lease an Airbus A 330-200 freighter from Etihad for two years, official sources said, adding that the initial nod is for six month.
05/03/15 PTI/NDTV

US Offers To Develop Aviation City In Andhra

Hyderabad: The U.S. has come forward to develop the Aviation City in Andhra Pradesh, the state government said.
This was discussed during a meeting between Henry Steingass, regional director for south and south east Asia at the U.S. Trade Development Agency, and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
An airport and Aviation City will be developed over 1,000 acres of land.
A 1,000 MW micro power grid will also be set up for the proposed project, said a statement from the office of the chief minister. The US has already agreed to partner in the Visakhapatnam-Chennai Industrial Corridor and the development of Visakhapatnam as a smart city.
05/03/15 Silicon India

Airbus, KDS team up for sale of aerial target products

New Delhi: European Defence major Airbus today announced an agreement with Kolkata-based Kadet Defence Systems (KDS) covering the sale and marketing of services and products in the field of aerial target.

The companies had teamed initially to offer Airbus Defence and Space's Manoeuvrable Expendable Aerial Target (MEAT) to the Indian Air Force and Army and the exclusive new agreement will extend that to offer further products inside India and for export.
05/05/15 PTI/Business Standard

Wednesday, March 04, 2015

RDGs are under active consideration: Civil Aviation Minister

New Delhi: Government is actively considering revising the 5-20 rule to allow Indian carriers to fly abroad and the Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDGs), which make it mandatory for them to operate to remote parts of the country like the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir.
"The revision of the existing 5/20 rule as well as RDGs is under active consideration of the Government. Stakeholders including Federation of Indian Airlines have sent their views on both proposals, which are being examined," Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said during Question Hour in Rajya Sabha.
Stating that RDGs were aimed at increasing air connectivity, he said these were required due to the fact that no plane took off or landed in as many as 31 airports during the last one year.
03/03/15 Jagran Post

India records 7.1% year-on-year rise in FTAs in 2014

Mumbai: Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) to India increased by 7.1 per cent in the calendar year 2014, to 74.62 lakh from 69.68 lakh in 2013. Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from tourism in during the 12-month period last year stand at Rs 120,083 crore with a growth of 11.5 per cent, as compared with Rs107,671 crore in 2013.

Substantiating the increase in tourist footfalls to the country, Dr Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State with Independent Charge for Tourism and Culture, and Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Government of India said that the Ministry has taken various initiatives to boost growth of tourism in India.
03/03/15 TravelBizMonitor

Turbomeca Provides Power for New Indian Helicopters

Safran’s Turbomeca engine unit announced that its engines will power two new indigenous helicopters being developed by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL).

The twin-engine HAL light combat helicopter will be powered by the Turbomeca Ardiden 1H1 engine, which received EASA certification in 2009. More than 250 Ardiden 1H1 engines have already been co-produced with HAL under the Shakti designation.
04/03/15 AINonline

Tuesday, March 03, 2015

Stranded Pakistanis arrive in Lahore after PM sends special flight to New Delhi

Islamabad: After Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took notice of over 200 passengers stranded at New Delhi Airport due to  some technical fault in a Gulf Air aircraft, a special flight was sent for their evacuation, which arrived in Lahore on Tuesday.
Gul Air’s flight GF-766, that took off from Bahrain at 4am on Sunday, was supposed to arrive at the Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport the same day at 9am. However, due to a thunderstorm, the aircraft developed some technical fault and had to be diverted to New Delhi. But passengers have since been stuck in India.
Speaking to Express News some of the passengers expressed their gratitude to India and the PM for their support and help in the situation.
“We were provided with hotel rooms and food and they took very good care of us. We did not even feel like we were anywhere else, it felt like we were in Pakistan and they (India) treated us like family,” another passenger informed.
03/02/15 Abdul Manan/Tribune

Stranded Pakistani passengers return home

Over 200 Pakistani passengers stuck in New Delhi after their flight was struck by lightning forcing the aircraft to land, returned home on Tuesday.

Their ordeal began when pilots of Gulf Air flight GF-766 were forced to land in New Delhi after the aircraft developed technical faults.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took notice of the incident on Monday and directed Shujaat Azeem the aviation advisor to arrange a special flight if needed to bring the passengers home.

The prime minister had also directed the Pakistan High Commission in India to look after the well being of the stranded passengers.
03/03/15 The News

Tough Time for Pakistan Passengers at IGI

New Delhi: Over 200 Pakistani nationals, who were stranded at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) here after their flight was diverted from Lahore due to technical snag, were forced to undergo a harrowing experience on Monday. The passengers, including children, had to  confine themselves to the plane for over eight hours and then in the lounge, with little food and facilities.

The Gulf Air flight GF766 was en route from Bahrain to Lahore with 214 passengers on Sunday evening. As they were nearing Lahore, the plane was apparently struck by lightning.

The passengers remained inside the aircraft  for over eight hours, before they were allowed to disembark on Monday morning.

Later, they were all asked to go and sit near Gate no 15 in the transit lounge, where they settled down. Feeling neglected by both the airline and airport authorities, the passengers had to scramble for food. After some of the passengers protested, they were given lunch at a restaurant and were given sandwiches later.
03/03/15 Devirupa/Indian Express

Malaysia Airlines offers discounts, deals for events

Chennai: Malaysia Airlines offers discounts up to 30 per cent for travellers from India on its worldwide network. According to a press release from the airline, the travel validity is up to December 31, 2015.

Quoting its Regional Senior Vice-President, Azahar Hamid, the release adds, “With sporting events happening across the globe, we hope that travellers can take advantage of this sale and enjoy the games live.
02/03/15 Business Line

India Explores New Helicopter Options with Russia

At the recent Aero India show in Bangalore, Russian Helicopters held further talks with Indian officials about possible licensed production of the Mi-17 and Ka-226, following the agreement in principle by the heads of state last December. According to authoritative sources, the Russian side also offered to supply “an improved version of the Ka-31 with higher performance.” The Indian navy operates approximately a dozen of these ship-based airborne early-warning and naval surveillance rotorcraft.

“We and our Indian partners are in discussions on a follow-on contract for one more batch of the Mi-17V5,” said Alexander Mikheyev, general manager of Russian Helicopters. But, he added, “The Mil design house is working on new versions of the Mi-17 with improved hot-and-high performance, the key to further sales into India.” The company has already delivered 121 Mi-17s to India. The original agreement signed in 2008 specified 80 aircraft, but the Indians have since exercised three options, bringing to 151 the current total to be received. These helicopters are delivered in a customized Indian version, including a glass cockpit from Russian Avionics. India has more than 300 Mi-8/17s.
02/03/15 Vladimir Karnozov/AINonline

SilkAir plans to offer flights to Pune

SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines is planning to start operations to Pune. The airline already flies to eight destinations in India namely; Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram and Visakhapatnam- plans to expand its network to Tier II and Tier III cities in India.
Speaking about the new developments, Jagdish Ram Bhojwani, general manager- India, SilkAir said, “In terms of the existing range of fleets, we can only fly to the south market, but we will soon get our Boeing Max which will give us a range of six to six and half hours from Singapore. Pune will be the next target city for us. Pune is a city which has both MICE and leisure travellers. Moreover, travellers coming to Singapore from Pune have to take a flight from Mumbai, which becomes hectic.”
When asked about the date of operation Bhojwani added, “Pune does not fall under the India- Singapore Bilateral Agreement. From our side we have intended to start operations.”
With the reduction of fuel prices the aviation sector has undergone a major transformation. “We have announced a fuel charge reduction effective from February. Passing the benefits to our customer is our main objective.”
02/03/15 Akshay Kumar/Financial Express

Baby’s death forces Bahrain flight to land in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: An 11-month-old Indian child died aboard a flight from India to Bahrain on Monday, according to a relative of the family.
When the infant showed physical discomfort, the Gulf Air flight from Kochi to Bahrain made an emergency landing at Abu Dhabi airport Monday morning, but she had already died, the relative, Ratheesh Kumar, told Gulf News.
The infant, Rishi Priya, boarded the flight with her mother, Aswani Binoy, early on Monday morning bound for Bahrain where the child’s father, Binoy Mundakkal, is working, Kumar said.
A senior official at Abu Dhabi Airport confirmed the incident. Ahmad Al Haddabi, Chief Operations Officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, told Gulf News: “The flight was given priority in the landing queue. The airport medical team was waiting at the gate. Unfortunately, the infant died. Her body was transferred to Shaikh Khalifa Medical City.” Al Haddabi added that the infant’s mother was assisted with a temporary visa and then transported to a relative’s residence in Abu Dhabi.
02/03/15 Binsal Abdul Kader/Gulf News

Pakistan International Airlines acquires property in Delhi without RBI approval

New Delhi: Pakistani carrier PIA purchased immovable property in the national capital without obtaining prior approval from the Reserve Bank, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.
Replying to a question on foreign companies acquired flats/offices in India without prior approval, Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha said one case has come to the notice of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“… a foreign company has acquired immovable property in the country without obtaining mandatory clearance from the RBI.
“The case relates to acquisition of six flats and a car parking space in New Delhi by Pakistan International Airlines,” Sinha said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
03/03/15 PTI/Indian Express

Monday, March 02, 2015

24-hour ordeal for AI Express fliers

Muscat Passengers on Air India Express flight IX817 from Mangalore to Muscat via Abu Dhabi had a harrowing time in the UAE capital on Saturday after their flight got delayed by nearly 24 hours and reached here on Sunday due to a technical default.

There were 124 transit passengers at Abu Dhabi. Of these, 43 took the British Airways flight to Muscat on their own expense, three travelled by road and the rest arrived in the flight on Sunday, the airline said. Passengers complained that the airline had not offered them conveniences like hotel rooms or put them on other airlines for travel to Muscat.
02/03/15 Oman Tribune

Visa on arrival a game-changer for tourism industry

Finance minister Arun Jaitley's proposal in the budget to extend the visa on arrival facility to 150 countries from 43 at present in a phased manner is set to increase the tourist inflow and benefit the local industry manifold, experts said.

Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in 2014 reported a growth of 7.1% to 74.62 lakh compared with FTAs of 69.68 lakh in 2013, which was, in turn, a growth of 5.9% in 2012.

Peter Kerkar, director, Cox & Kings, said, "The extension of electronic travel authorisation (e-visas) to 150 more countries is a positive step for tourism as this sector contributes 7% of India's GDP and helped create more than 40 million jobs last year.''

Hari Nair, founder & CEO, HolidayIQ.com, a travel portal, said, "Visa on arrival being extended to 150 countries is a huge step for Indian tourism. In addition, tourism is a sector that is a beneficiary of improvements across multiple areas. The focus on areas such as infrastructure, skills development and rural development has the potential to provide a big tailwind for tourism."
02/03/15 Soumonty Kanungo/Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

Oman airport imposes new flight tax on passengers

Muscat: Flying from Muscat and Salalah will cost more from today (March 2) as the Oman Airports Management Company (OAMC) has introduced new charges for all departing passengers.

A circular, reference number OAMC/CEO/A-22/10/15, which was sent to all airlines operating into Muscat and Salalah airports by the OAMC, said that all international departing passengers will have to pay OMR8 and the transfer passengers will have to pay OMR1 as new passenger charges.

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"However, infants under the age of two years, aircraft crew on duty travelling in uniform with a valid airline identity card and domestic departing passengers are exempted from the charges," the circular said.
01/03/15 Times of Oman

Anti-terror law fails to guarantee agencies will share information, ex-judge says

The former Supreme Court judge who headed an inquiry into Canada’s worst terrorism incident says the federal government’s new anti-terror legislation is flawed because it fails to ensure that CSIS and the RCMP share information on unfolding threats.

John Major says the crucial lack of co-operation between the two agencies that occurred before the 1985 Air India explosion is still a concern and that a security overseer is needed to ensure information-sharing takes place.
In his 2010 report into the disaster, he said a national security adviser with enhanced powers should be appointed to settle disputes and ensure intelligence is shared between the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, the RCMP and 14 other security agencies and departments. The Conservative government rejected that recommendation at the time.

“They may be entitled to do more than simple intelligence gathering,” he said of CSIS under the proposed new law. “If that’s the case, it can lead to other problems of overlap. The RCMP get a little annoyed and think, ‘Well, let CSIS do it.’ And CSIS doesn’t do it. When you have that many agencies involved, it’s a recipe for confusion unless there’s somebody steering the ship.”
01/03/15 Sean Fine/The Globe and Mail

Lufthansa Airlines flight grounded due to snag

Chennai: : A Frankfurt bound Lufthansa flight with 180 passengers on board was grounded here today due to a technical snag, airport authorities said.

The flight was grounded just before take off when the snag was detected.
02/03/15 PTI/Economic Times

Sunday, March 01, 2015

Post-budget, flying becomes costlier for non-resident Indians

Muscat: Non-resident Indians (NRIs) will have to pay more for their tickets as the Indian government hiked marginally the service tax on airfares in its union budget for the financial year 2015-2016, on Saturday.

According to the budget, flying is set to become marginally dearer in the next financial year thanks to the hike in service tax from 12.36 per cent to 14 per cent, but it will be applicable only for tickets purchased in India.

Airlines officials and travel agents say that the hike will be nearly 2 per cent of the ticket price.

Which means, a Kochi – Muscat one-way economy fare costing around OMR199 on an airline on Saturday, will cost around OMR4 more.

The impact on business and first class travel will be more due to high base fares which would lead to heftier hikes.
28/02/15 Rejimon K/Times of Oman

38 Pilatus Trainer Aircraft to Be Bought From Switzerland

New Delhi: Government today cleared the purchase of 38 additional Pilatus basic trainer aircraft for the IAF from Switzerland and nominated state-run Goa Shipyard to manufacture 12 mine counter-measure vessels (MCMVs) for Rs 32,000 crore.

It also decided that future requirements of the trainer aircraft would be met by state-run HAL which would be given adequate orders for its HTT-40 plane to be commercially viable.

The Defence Acquisition Council, which met today, also okayed the purchase of a C-130J Super Hercules aircraft for the Indian Air Force to replace the one which had crashed in March last year killing five service personnel, including four officers, near Gwalior.

Chaired by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, DAC decided to seek more information on the proposal to purchase at least 15 US-2i amphibious aircraft from Japan.

No decision was taken on the bid by Airbus-TATA consortium to replace the ageing Avro transport aircraft fleet of the Indian Air Force.
28/02/15 Outlook