Reports: Pratt & Whitney To Soon Resume Engine Deliveries In India

Pratt & Whitney will soon begin deliveries of spare engines to India's IndiGo airline that grounded eight of its Airbus A320neo aircraft last week following engine problems, according to news reports.

The East Hartford-based jet engine subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. will deliver two engines Wednesday and the remaining within the next 40 days, Reuters and Bloomberg News reported, citing unidentified sources.

Bloomberg reported that Pratt & Whitney will provide spare engines for all grounded Airbus SE A320neo aircraft at IndiGo. The first delivery is scheduled for Wednesday, Bloomberg said, quoting unidentified sources.

Eleven aircraft were grounded last week, complying with an order from India’s air-safety regulator. Hundreds of flights were canceled.

Pratt & Whitney did not comment beyond what Robert Leduc, president of the jet engine maker, said last Friday at a meeting with industry analysts.

The IndiGo fleet will be flying again by the end of April, Pratt & Whitney will retrofit and rework the 55 engines it has previously shipped to Airbus and it will make its full-year production commitment to Airbus, he said.

IndiGo said Tuesday it had canceled between 35 and 45 flights a day, or 3 percent of its schedule, Reuters reported.

Pratt planned to replace defective components by June for the latest snag caused by the so-called knife-edge compressor, requiring some planes to fly with one affected engine for almost three more months, Bloomberg reported.
20/03/18 Stephen Singer/Hartford Courant

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IndiGo, Qatar Airways to make a joint bid for Air India

New Delhi: As the government prepares to call for preliminary interest memorandum (PIM) along with expression of interest (EoI) from parties interested in gaining control of the national carrier, Air India, sources said that low-cost carrier IndiGo is likely to make a bid along with Qatar’s national carrier, Qatar Airways, in a consortium.

After the announcement that the government would be selling off Air India, the civil aviation ministry had said that IndiGo had expressed interest in buying the carrier. IndiGo also confirmed the same but said its first priority would be to buy the overseas flights of Air India if the government broke and sold the domestic and international flights as separate entities. However, government sources have said no such bifurcation would be made.

Sources also clarified that the net worth criteria that bidders must meet is likely to be fixed at Rs 1,000 crore, calculated on the basis of an existing formula under the Companies Act, before they are allowed to put in bids and access the bid data room for Air India.

So, while the airlines bidding for Air India can have a negative net worth, at least one of the partners in the consortium must have to have a positive net worth. “This means these airlines can come together and bid as a consortium with a private equity partner or a sovereign wealth fund,” said a source involved in the process of Air India divestment. FE had earlier reported that prospective bidders will have to meet the net worth criteria to qualify.

IndiGo’s net worth at the end of FY17 was Rs 3,779 crore ($583 million), while Qatar Airways had a net worth of $15.8 billion at the end of FY16, according to Bloomberg data. Qatar has a fleet of 200 aircraft and flies to 150 destinations. It is part of the oneworld global alliance which gives it access to nearly 1,000 airports across the globe.
For IndiGo, acquiring Air India will be a game changer, giving it greater market dominance in domestic flights (the two airlines together account for more than a 50% share) and a ready platform to ramp up its international services with ready slots at some of the most coveted airports across the world and an enviable fleet of 68 wide body aircraft.

Qatar Airways, owned by a sovereign fund, is facing turbulence back home due to a blockade by Arab nations, which have accused it of supporting terrorism. The airline is now actively looking to extend its operations outside the region by making relevant investments that will aid growth. Qatar Airways has for long been looking to get a foothold in the Indian aviation market, and it has specifically expressed an interest in Indian budget carrier IndiGo on several occasions. A bid for Air India, could just offer that opportunity.
20/03/18 Financial Express

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Mile-high stake swap could feed Air India bid

Foreign airlines can fuel homegrown bids for Air India. Naresh Goyal'sJet Airways is eyeing a bid for the soon-to-be privatised national carrier, according to a Press Trust of India report published in Mint newspaper. That would consolidate the country's long-haul market, but Jet would need serious financial help. Abu Dhabi's Etihad may have to make room for a new large strategic investor.

Jet is already highly leveraged, a legacy from its decision to offer long-haul routes before there was ample demand. Competition from budget rivals has hurt too. Despite cost cutting, net debt remains around 7 times reported EBITDA. Recapitalisation is critical, says Kapil Kaul of the Centre for Aviation, a consultancy.

A bid in partnership with Air France-KLM and U.S.-based Delta Airlines, as mooted by Press Trust, would spread the burden. However, Air France already has a cooperation agreement with Jet, so it would stand to gain little from such a deal. As for Delta, Chief Executive Edward Bastian says the airline is not planning such an investment.

But there is a decent case for Etihad to sell its 24 percent stake in Jet. Abu Dhabi's flagship airline appears to be in retrenchment and has began to cut ties or sell some of its minority stakes in struggling rival airlines. Although the investment in Jet still holds value for the tiny emirate, connecting its Gulf airport to a population of 1.3 billion potential travellers, Jet's new alliances significantly erode that advantage.
20/03/18 Una Galani/Nasdaq

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AirAsia pilot dies in Kolkata, body sent to Syria

Kolkata: AirAsia pilot, Capt Maher Sayegh, a Syrian national, died here on Friday following cardiac arrest, a senior police officer told PTI today.

Maher had arrived in the city in the morning and had checked into a city hotel. He collapsed in his car in VIP road on way to the airport.

The pilot was 60, the police officer said.

The driver on finding him unconscious drew the attention of the police, who helped to take the pilot to a nearby hospital where doctors declared him 'brought dead'.

The attending doctors said the reason of his death was cardiac arrest, the police officer said.

The body was later sent to Maher's homeland after post mortem, he added.
17/03/18 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Vietnamese low cost 'bikini airline' to launch in India soon

Vietnam based low cost airline, ViertJet Air would soon launch its operations in India. Run by a woman entrepreneur, Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, the airline is popularly known as bikini airline.

As the name suggests, air hostesses of ViertJet Air dress up in bikinis and swim suits unlike other airlines.

The carrier would reportedly commence its operations between July to August this year.

Due to the unusual uniform, VietJet Air gained popularity in no time, making its CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Vietnam's first woman billionaire.

The airline has announced direct flights from New Delhi to Ho Chi Minh City.
It would fly four times every week.
Earlier this year, Vietjet was slammed on social media because of its "cheap" PR stunt. The airline came under fire for sending models in swimming costumes to join the footballers heading home from China.
Though the airline has grabbed headlines by staffing some of its inaugural flights with air hostesses in nothing more than bikinis, many online users said it was inappropriate to send the lingerie models to accompany the young men.
18/03/18 DNA 

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Lufthansa flight from Mumbai to Frankfurt delayed by 23 hrs

Mumbai: A “technical” glitch today forced German carrier Lufthansa to delay its Frankfurt-bound flight from here by almost 23 hours, causing a lot of inconvenience to over 360 passengers.

The flight, LH 757, which was scheduled to depart for Frankfurt from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport here at 2.55 am today, will now leave at 1.30 am tomorrow, the airline said.

All 368 passengers have been provided hotel accommodation near the airport, Lufthansa said in a statement, adding, “the technical problem has been fixed.” As a result of delayed departure of the March 17 service, there will be two Lufthansa flights departing from Mumbai to Frankfurt on March 18, the statement added.
17/03/18 PTI/India.com

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Investment in Vistara has been positive for us: Singapore Airlines

New Delhi: Investment in Vistara has helped Singapore Airlines (SIA) reaped benefits in India. Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Sons and SIA, in which the Singapore-based carrier holds 49 per cent.
“The partnership with Vistara has proved mutually beneficial for SIA and Vistara. It has allowed us to get traffic from areas where we don’t fly to,” said David Lim, general manager, India, at SIA.
Last month, the promoters infused another Rs 2 billion into Vistara, taking the total infusion from 2015 onwards to about Rs 15 billion. Total infusion includes a start-up capital of Rs 6.2 billion, followed by tranches of Rs 1.5 billion and Rs 2.5 billion in 2016. Vistara, however, has registered losses of Rs 4 billion and Rs 5 billion in FY16 and FY17, respectively. With losses in successive years, the airline’s net worth is negative by Rs 10 billion.
Lim highlighted that the importance of Indian market was growing for SIA, with the number of outbound tourists growing. Singapore gets one of the highest numbers of tourists from India, which is behind China and Indonesia. The India-Singapore outbound market has grown by 16 per cent in 2017, compared with last year.
SAI, however, has not been able to take much advantage of the growth due to constraints of bilateral flying rights.

Due to the constraint, SIA and its sister concern, SilkAir, together are able to increase only 10 flights for the summer schedule to 104 from 94 weekly flights now.
17/03/18 Arindam Majumder/Business Standard

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We are keeping an open mind on Air India, says Singapore Airlines' India chief

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has a long history in the Indian aviation scene. The airline started operations from Chennai in 1970, and since then, its interest in the Indian market has gradually grown. Nearly four years ago, SIA tied up with conglomerate Tata Group to start full-service carrier Vistara.

Of late, SIA is in news again after showing interest in national carrier Air India, which will be up for sale soon. The government's decision to allow 49 per cent foreign direct investment in Air India has opened doors for SIA to look for an Indian ally - which most likely will be Tata Group - to snap up Air India in some form and shape. In a conversation with Business Today's Manu Kaushik, SIA's general manager for India David Lim said that the airline has not closed the door on Air India yet. Here are edited excerpts from the interview:

Q. What are the latest developments at Singapore Airlines?

David Lim: We have just announced our quarterly results. It looks really good. The net profits and operating profits have increased because revenues have increased more than the expenditure. Even though the fuel prices have increased, we have managed to grow our revenues much more.

We are excited to take delivery of the new Airbus A380 a few months ago, and we have built a new product that includes suites, business class, premium economy and economy class. It's one of the best in the industry. By the end of this month, we are going to take delivery of Dreamliner (Boeing 787-10). It's different from 787-8 and 787-9. It's a longer version. With that, we will unveil a new product.

Dreamliner will be a medium-haul business class product. It will be flying on routes [with a flight duration of up to] 7 hours that would include India. We have ordered 49 Dreamliners. They are meant for growth as well as to replace some of our existing fleets such as A330 and Boeing 777.

Dreamliner and A350-900 are new generation aircraft which are lighter and more fuel efficient. We use A350 for the long-haul. We already have 21 A350s.

Q. Where does India fit into the global strategy of Singapore Airlines?

David Lim: India is an important market. We started our first flight to India (Chennai) nearly 48 years ago. Today, we are flying to 14 cities from Singapore under SIA and Scoot brands. Excluding Scoot, we have 98 weekly services currently. In the coming summer, we are adding new flights. We will have 104 weekly services.

We are adding more flights from Coimbatore, Trivandrum, Mumbai, Kochi, Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad. We want to increase the flights as far as possible, but in some cities like Chennai, we cannot grow anymore because we have reached our entitlements. We have about 25,000 weekly capacities under bilaterals.

Q. What's going on with Air India?

David Lim: We are keeping an open mind on the bidding process for Air India. We have not closed the door yet.

Q. Are you going to be participating in Air India's bidding?

David Lim: I really don't know. It really depends when the [bidding] document is published and everybody will see if it's of sufficient value. Then whoever has the resource will have to show that they want to own it.

Q. Most players are interested in the international side of the business?

David Lim: There are so many speculations. I guess the seller wants to have more interest. Air India is a national asset. Every Indian has some pride in the airline.

Q. Are you pushing for more bilateral seats from India?

David Lim: We will use what we have as far as we can. Currently, 90-odd percent of the bilaterals [from our side] are being used. We are seeing Indian carriers also increasing their flights to Singapore. Air India Express is flying from more points. IndiGo, Air India and Jet Airways have increased their flights. Air India Express has started services from Madurai to Singapore. The Indian carriers are getting more interested in Singapore because they also see that many Indians are going to Singapore.

Q. What percentage of India's share of the bilaterals is being used presently?

David Lim: It's nearly 80 percent. The Indian carriers don't fly to Malaysia and Vietnam but many Indian carriers are flying to Singapore.
16/03/18 Manu Kaushik/Business Today

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Jagmeet Singh now rejects glorification of Air India bombing mastermind

After having expressed some doubts, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said today he accepts the Air India inquiry's conclusion that Talwinder Singh Parmar was the mastermind behind the deadly mid-air bombing that killed hundreds of Canadians — and he thinks it's inappropriate for some Sikhs to glorify Parmar by displaying his photo.

"There was an inquiry that was conducted into this horrible terrorist act. The inquiry identified specifically Talwinder Singh Parmar, and I accept the findings of the investigation, of the inquiry. I accept them and I condemn all those responsible," he said in an interview with the CBC's David Cochrane Thursday.
The 18-month long Air India inquiry, led by former Supreme Court justice John Major, pointed to Parmar as the chief terrorist behind the bombing.

A separate inquiry, carried out by former Ontario NDP premier and Liberal MP Bob Rae, also fingered Parmar as the architect of the 1985 bombing that left 329 people dead — 268 of them Canadians.

In an interview with CBC's Terry Milewski last October, Singh refused to denounce extremists within Canada's Sikh community who glorify Parmar's memory.

When Milewski asked him specifically about Parmar, Singh said this: "I don't know who's responsible [for the bombing] but I think we need to find out who's responsible, we need to make sure that the investigation results in a conviction of someone who is actually responsible."

A day after a 2015 appearance by Singh at a Khalistan "sovereignty" rally ignited criticism, the NDP leader said the inquiry's findings are not in doubt and he accepts that Sikh extremists were behind the attack.

Singh said the aftermath of the bombing was painful not only for the families of the victims but also for many Sikhs who felt they were "collectively punished for the acts of some individuals."

Because of the history of violence and persecution directed at some Sikhs, it has been hard for some in the community to accept that Parmar was to blame, he said.

"There are some in the community that don't accept the official record," he said.
When asked if he thought it was appropriate for some gurdwaras — Sikh houses of worship — to display pictures of Parmar, Singh said he did not.

"Personally, I think the displaying of a picture of Mr. Parmar is something that re-traumatizes and hurts and injures people that are suffering so much in terms of that loss in their lives," he said.

"I don't think it's appropriate, so I don't think it should be done. It doesn't help us move forward with peace and reconciliation."
15/03/18 John Paul/CBC News

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Air India confirms its Israel flights over Saudi Arabia will start next week

New Delhi:  State-run carrier Air India said Friday it will begin flights to and from Israel over Saudi airspace from next week, in a move that ends a decades-long Saudi ban on the use of its airspace for flights to Israel.
The new route is being launched at a time of growing ties between India and several Middle Eastern countries, and after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted at a diplomatic realignment in the region earlier this month.

“The Air India flights to Israel will start from March 22. The flights will take around seven hours and five minutes, and fly over… Saudi airspace,” airline spokesman Praveen Bhatnagar said.

The new service was first announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last July, with Netanyahu then suggesting in January the route could pass over Saudi Arabia.
16/03/18 AFP/Sue Surkes/Times of Israel

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India-bound IndiGo flight returns to Toulouse due to technical glitch

Toulouse: IndiGo Airline's brand new ATR plane, which was flying from France's Toulouse to India on Thursday, returned to its base an hour after taking off.

The flight returned to its base due to low oil pressure in one of its engines for maintenance check.
"Within an hour into flight, engine low pressure was detected in one of the engines of IndiGo ATR 72-600. The aircraft was being ferried (non revenue flight/no revenue passengers onboard), from Toulouse (France) to India." read an official note.

"As a precautionary measure the aircraft immediately returned to Toulouse for maintenance checks. Post maintenance the aircraft was released for ferry. The matter has been brought to the notice of the regulator," it added.

16/03/18 ANI/Business Standard

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Emirates flight lands in Hyderabad for medical emergency, passenger declared dead on arrival

Hyderabad: A Dubai-Bangkok flight of Emirates made an unscheduled landing at the airport here today due to a medical emergency involving a passenger, who, however, was declared dead on arrival, airport sources and the airline said. The flight landed at the international airport here around 4.30 PM after the passenger was understood to have collapsed on board, airport sources said. A spokesperson for Emirates said the passenger was confirmed to have passed away on arrival and the flight resumed its journey to Bangkok about one hour and forty-five minutes later.

“Emirates confirms that flight EK372 Dubai to Bangkok on 16 March was diverted to Hyderabad due to a medical emergency. Sadly on arrival the passenger was confirmed to have passed away. Emirates offers sincere condolences to the family,” a statement said without giving any further details.
16/03/18 PTI/Financial Express

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Boeing signs new pact with TAL to manufacture floor beams for Dreamliners

New Delhi: Aerospace major Boeing and Tata Group company TAL Manufacturing Solutions (TAL) on Wednesday announced the signing of a new contract for the manufacture of advanced composite floor beam (ACFB) for Boeing's 787-9 and 787-10 Dreamliner airplanes. The US aviation major said it had awarded the first contract to TAL for the floor beams in October 2011, and TAL recently delivered the 13,000 floor beam successfully to 787 fuselage suppliers. TAL has a dedicated manufacturing facility for Boeing in the MIHAN SEZ (multi-model international passenger and cargo hub airport - special economic zone) in Nagpur, India, from where it manufactures and ships the ACFBs.

Read more at: http://www.sify.com/finance/boeing-signs-new-pact-with-tal-to-manufacture-floor-beams-for-dreamliners-news-airlines-sdouaejecbejc.html
"Boeing has provided advanced technology to support this partnership, and closely worked with TAL as they trained the frontline factory workers who are now delivering world class quality," Boeing India President Pratyush Kumar said in a statement. Boeing and various Tata group companies have established partnerships in India to manufacture aerostructures for Boeing's commercial and military aircraft. "The collaboration between Boeing and several Tata group companies on various aerospace and defence programmes in India will drive synergies and create future opportunities for both companies in manufacturing and innovation," said Banmali Agrawala, President, Infrastructure, Defence and Aerospace, Tata Sons.
14/03/18 IANS/Sify.com

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Air India flight over Saudi airspace part of delicate 'political change' in Arab world

Air India has begun selling tickets for the first flight in its new leg from New Delhi to Tel Aviv and back again. The route, which will begin operations on March 22 with three weekly flights by the national carrier of India, will fly directly over Saudi Arabia.

Today, all Israeli carriers, as well as every foreign carrier that takes off or lands in Israel, is banned from passing through the airspace of all Arab states, with the exception of Jordan and Egypt — countries that have recognized international peace treaties with Israel. Because of the ban, flights from Israel to Asia are forced to fly north to Turkey and only then turn east, and vice versa — a detour that adds several hours to each flight.

The Air India route will become the first international one to travel through the skies of an Arab country with no official ties with Israel. As such, it will break an aerial embargo initiated by Arab states with Israel's founding in 1948. Flying over Saudi Arabia will shorten the flight time between India and Israel by hours and enable the carriers to drop ticket prices by hundreds of dollars.

"This is truly a historic event," said Israel's Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin in an exclusive interview. "It is proof that political change can be achieved without resorting to territorial compromise."

However, he added, "until the flight lands, I recommend restrained enthusiasm."


Levin explained that "the move is dramatic — from both a political and tourism standpoint. What the new route means is that the world is beginning to treat us in a whole new way. Until now, some countries have completely avoided any public demonstration of a connection with Israel. As for tourism, as soon as there is a short direct route to India, and maybe other places as well, prices will drop and tourism will swell."

Levin said the idea of a new route was first voiced in his office two years ago. A grant of 3.2 million NIS that the Ministry of Tourism promised Air India convinced their directorate to take the financial risk of opening the new route.

Despite the excitement in Israel, the public response is still restrained; everyone is aware of the sensitivity surrounding the new route. Saudi Arabia is a central state in the Persian Gulf, and for decades has steadfastly refused any rapprochement with Israel. In recent years, as a result of geostrategic changes in the Middle East and increased openness in Saudi Arabia to the Western world, informal ties have increased between the Muslim kingdom and the Jewish state.

The Saudi press has taken a softer approach to Israel, and informal representatives of the royal family have met with Israelis. Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and Israeli Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz have been interviewed on Saudi television. In addition to the visible steps come reports in the foreign press of intelligence cooperation between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and meetings between representatives of the two governments.
14/03/18 Ariel Kahana/Sun Sentinel/Jewish Journal

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Federal Officials Describe Passenger’s Air Rage on Flight From India to Dulles

A passenger on an Air India flight from New Delhi, India, to Dulles International Airport became disruptive and dangerous Friday, according to federal officials.

A man in business class drank three alcoholic beverages before he was denied a fourth, officials said.

He then tried to get a friend in coach to join him in business class and was denied again, officials said.

At that point he began screaming at and then kicking and pushing flight attendants, saying, “You don’t know who I am. I am dangerous.”
There is one air rage incident for every 1,400 flights, according to the International Air Transport Association. That’s a slight drop from the numbers in 2015. Almost a third of them involved alcohol.

Last month, a flight was diverted to D.C. by an unruly passenger. A woman was accused of drinking in excess, throwing food, screaming and flirtatiously touching a male passenger near her.

She and the man on the Air India flight are charged with interference with a flight crew. Both cases are being heard in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia.
13/03/18 Scott MacFarlane/NBC Washington

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SC order a relief for Haj aspirants

Kozhikode: About 1,000 elderly Haj aspirants from the State will be able to make the pilgrimage following the Supreme Court’s verdict on Tuesday that asked the Ministry of Minority Affairs to allow those in the 65-69 age group who have applied five times before.

This is apart from the existing 10,980 seats given to the State. The actual quota for Kerala allotted by the Haj Committee of India (HCoI) is only 6,400. “We have been able to achieve partial success through legal remedies. Unfortunately, the Ministry gave the figure of 2,000 in the category of elderly persons,” Thodiyoor Muhammed Kunju Moulavi, chairman of the Haj committee, told The Hindu on Wednesday. This year, Saudi Arabia increased India’s Haj quota by 5,000, taking the total to 1,75,025. “However, the Supreme Court has left it to the Centre to revive the Haj embarkation point at Calicut airport,” he noted.
The order of the apex court helped restore all the 21 existing Haj embarkation points in the country, including the Kochi airport, from its earlier policy that recommended only nine embarkation points.

The Moulavi said that the HCoI had been compelled to reverse some of its irrational policies after the Kerala State Haj Committee moved the court on behalf of the pilgrims.

Besides, he pointed out that the Ministry had also reduced the airfare for Haj pilgrims when the Kerala Haj Committee raised the issue of inviting global tenders instead of the Indian government having an agreement with the Saudi government that allowed only Air India, Saudi Airlines and Flynas [a budget airline operated from Saudi Arabia] to operate Haj flights.
14/03/18 The Hindu

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Tragedy of skipped flight haunts friends

Calcutta: Three Nepalese passengers on the US-Bangla Airlines flight that crashed in Kathmandu on Monday were to return home from Dhaka the previous day but postponed their journey to go sightseeing and shopping, according to two fellow travel agents from Calcutta who were with them in Cox's Bazar.

Hari Shankar Poudel, director of sales at Namaste Aviation International in Kathmandu, was one of the three victims who had befriended the group from Calcutta two days before the tragedy. The air crash killed 49 of the 71 people on board the Bombardier Dash Q400 aircraft.

"All of us were taking pictures with our mobile phones but Poudel had a proper camera with him. He took some shots of us and told me that he would mail the pictures once he reached Kathmandu. So said that it will never happen," Rofikul Hassan, who runs Maple Air Booking in Esplanade, told Metro.

If he had stuck to the original travel plan, Poudel would have been back in Kathmandu on Sunday along with 11 other travel operators from his city who attended a two-day summit organised by US-Bangla Airlines in Cox's Bazar. Two of the group took that flight as scheduled while the rest decided to spend an extra day in the Bangladesh capital.

Fourteen travel agents from the city had gone to Bangladesh on March 9, where they met the group from Kathmandu. "I knew Poudel by name through a common friend. On March 9, he came up to me and introduced himself. He came across as a very warm person," Rofikul recalled.
he two were together through the summit, where some of the travel operators were felicitated for meeting sales targets. A Bangladesh minister attended the event.

"He asked me about my company and the volume of business I generate," Rofikul said. "He loved the seafood there and urged me to have plenty of it."

After dinner, they went for a walk on the beach in front of the hotel. They also returned to Dhaka from Cox's Bazar together.

"I had thought of speaking to him after returning to Calcutta. I was in Dhaka when I heard about the crash," Rofikul said.

Suman Roy of Riya Travels said he got introduced to Poudel and immediately felt comfortable in his company. "He took my visiting card and apologised that he was not carrying one of his own. I saw him speaking to everyone."
14/03/18 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

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Vietjet to connect Vietnam and India

In the third quarter of 2018, travelers from India will be able to fly direct to Vietnam and vice versa.

The announcement which was witnessed by Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang and senior leaders of Vietnam and India at the recent Vietnam – India Business Forum also marks a significant milestone for the country especially in light of the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and India and the 10th anniversary of strategic partnership between the two countries.

The first route is scheduled to connect Ho Chi Minh City with New Delhi on a basis of four flights per week.

The introduction of the new route thus presents Vietjet with an opportunity to not only tap into the growing tourism market but also facilitate trade integration and exchange between Vietnam and India.

Modeling itself as a ‘Consumer Airline’, Vietjet will continue to meet the growing demands of consumers by introducing new routes, expanding its fleet, investing in modern technology, and offering greater value-added products and services. The airline also prides itself in offering diverse promotional programs on tickets and entertainment especially during the festive seasons.
14/03/18 ftn NEWS

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BAC participates in Air Cargo India 2018

Mumbai: Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the operator and managing body of Bahrain International Airport (BIA), highlighted Bahrain’s cargo infrastructure in Air Cargo India 2018, a biennial international networking conference and exhibition, which took place in Mumbai. Several airlines, airport authorities, freight forwarders, and air cargo industry entities attended the event, now in its 7th edition, where they discussed the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities, and the future of the air cargo industry.

BAC Chief Commercial Officer, Ayman Zainal said: "BAC’s participation in Air Cargo India 2018 is part of an overall strategy aiming to increase BIA’s cargo traffic, which experienced a 10% growth last year, reaching a total of 289,325 tonnes compared to the 263,956 tonnes handled in 2016. South Asia is a productive region and an emerging market that Bahrain very much appreciates being connected to. We are happy to be actively participating, as Bahrain has a unique customer proposition, and our delegation has succeeded in establishing trade lines with new and existing customers to further business opportunities."
13/03/18 Bahrain News Agency

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Singapore-based Silk Air checks Vijayawada's viability for international flight services

Vijayawada: Amid talks of bettering flight connectivity at Gannavaram airport, a team from Singapore-based Silk Air arrived at the city and studied its business scale and viabilities on Sunday. Previously, Air India had announced the launch of direct flight services to Dubai and Sharjah from Vijayawada. On their visit, the Silk Air team examined parking bays, runways, terminals, immigration and customs sections of the airport. Also, they discussed viabilities and business options with the airport director, G Madhusudan Rao.  If satisfied, the airways is expected to begin its flight services to Singapore and Malaysia.
The next 45 days are going to be very happening for the Vijayawada Airport as Air India is expected to launch its services to Dubai and Sharjah soon. For the purpose, the airline company intends to use Boeing airplanes with carrying capacity of 160 passengers for each trip.  The immigration staff of Vijayawada police wing have recently received training from the Immigration Society of India and are currently practising in Hyderabad’s Shamshabad airport.

G Madhusudhan Rao commented on the development: “We have got all clearances from the aviation ministry for international services. International airline companies are coming forward and showing interest to launch direct services. As many NRIs hail from Krishna, Guntur and West Godavari districts, the direct flight services would benefit them. Also, industrialists and the businessmen are eagerly awaiting such a service in Vijayawada so that they can avoid travelling to Hyderabad or Chennai.”
13/03/18 New Indian Express

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110 days to go for T2 opening

Terminal2 (T2) of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) is now in its final stage of completion, with just 110 days to go until it opens its gates to the world. Andrew Harrison, chief executive adviser of GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp. (GMCAC) said 91 percent of the terminal has been completed and its concessionaires have started doing their work. “Construction is mostly done and most of the systems have already been installed,” said Harrison, adding that by April, the team will begin installing the design components inside the new terminal. Harrison also disclosed that they have started implementing the Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (Orat) program for the opening of T2, which focuses on intensive testing of facilities, processes and facilities, information technology and airport systems, and human resource readiness.
Orat will be conducted in phases, the first of which includes walkthrough training and familiarization. The company will also invite stakeholders to act as passengers during the trial phases.
MCAC president Louie Ferrer announced that the inaugural launch of T2 is slated on June 6, which will be attended by President Rodrigo Duterte, some dignitaries and other prominent personalities. He said the launching will be a big celebration, as it marks the completion of one of Cebu’s big-ticket infrastructure projects. GMCAC targets to operate T2 by June 15. Under the concession agreement, the company has until July 1 to begin operations. “If we would be ready before our target date, then we will begin operations. We will not wait for July 1,” said Harrison. It was in late 2014 when GMCAC, a joint venture of GMR Infrastructure Ltd. of India and Megawide Construction Corp. of the Philippines, took over the operations at MCIA under a public-private-partnership scheme.
13/03/18 Katlene O Cacho/SunStar Cebu

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Air India flights had taken off for Kathmandu when US-Bangla airliner crashed

New Delhi: The closure of Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) for nearly three hours on Monday following the crash of a Bangladeshi airliner there affected fights of other airlines that fly to and from Nepal, including Indian airlines. Three Indian airlines — Air India, Jet and IndiGo — flying to Kathmandu had to be delayed, cancelled or diverted.
“The crash occurred at 2.20 pm and operations resumed at 5 pm,” said an airline official. Air India’s two flights had taken off for Kathmandu, one each from Delhi and Kolkata. They both had to return their origin cities. The Kolkata-Kathmandu flight took off later in the day once the runway opened," an official said.
IndiGo and Jet Airways’ flights from Delhi to Kathmandu were delayed for the same reason. Another Jet Airways aircraft was at TIA and scheduled to depart for Mumbai when the crash happened. This flight was also delayed.
According to initial reports shared with airlines that fly to Kathmandu, the ill-fated US-Bangla aircraft did not have any Indians on board. The turboprop had 67 passengers and four crew members on board. “Of the passengers, 33 were Nepalis; 32 Bangladeshis; and one each from China and Maldives. The four crew members were Bangladeshis,” said an official of an Indian airline based on the report from his team in Kathmandu.
12/03/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Ahead of Air India bid, Jet Airways hires Delta's M&A expert Piero Ceschia

Mumbai: Jet Airways has hired Piero Ceschia, a senior executive from Delta Airlines, known for his expertise in merger and acquisitions, ahead of a possible bid for Air India.
Ceschia who served as vice president (strategic alliances) in Delta joined Jet Airways last week. Previously he has worked in senior finance and corporate strategy roles in Air France-KLM and Alitalia.
Ceschia's expertise is in areas of mergers and acquisitions, capital market transactions and restructuring of distressed assets, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has been involved in fundraising, stake sale negotiations, airline partnerships and business reorganisation in his stints at the two European airlines.
Jet Airways did not immediately respond to a query on the hiring and has called its interest in Air India as speculation. Air France-KLM offered no comments.

Delta did not respond to the query.
On Sunday, Press Trust of India reported that Jet Airways, Air France-KLM and Delta will bid for Air India.
A source said there have been discussions between Jet Airways and it's partner airlines on Air India's bid. But no decision has been taken and there is no certainty regarding the bid given different priorities of each airline.
While the enhanced co-operation between Jet Airways and Air France-KLM has enabled them to strengthen presence in India, Europe and transatlantic routes the focus of the airline managements' has also been on cost savings and debt reduction.
12/03/18 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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Air India sale: Jet Airways-led consortium to bid for debt-ridden national carrier

After the country's largest budget airline IndiGo expressed interest to buy Air India's international operations last year, a consortium led by full-service carrier Jet Airways along with European airliner Air France-KLM and US-based Delta Airlines has expressed interest in the disinvestment of national carrier Air India, according to a report.

Going ahead with the strategic disinvestment of debt-laden Air India, the government is expected to soon invite Expression of Interest (EoI) from the bidders. Last year, Turkey's Celebi Aviation Holding and Delhi-based Bird Group had shown interest in buying state-owned Air India's ground handling operations.

As per reports, the government is planning to split the airline into four entities - core airline business (Air India and Air India Express), regional arm (Alliance Air), ground handling and engineering operations. Each entity will be sold separately with at least 51 per cent stake on offer. The disinvestment process is likely to be completed by the end of 2018. Air India's debt stands at Rs 51,890 crore.

Jet Airways' possible bid for Air India by way of a consortium comes at a time when CEO Vinay Dube, without naming any manufacturer, said Jet hopes to order 75 narrow-bodied aircraft by March 31 in addition to 75 Boeing 737 MAX that the airline had ordered in 2015. The Naresh Goyal-led airline enhanced cooperation agreement with the Air France-KLM Group less than four months ago.

Interestingly, Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube had a decade-long career at Delta Air Lines before joining the Indian carrier last year. Immediately before coming to Jet Airways, he was Senior Vice President (Asia Pacific) at the American airline. Air France-KLM and its partners Delta and Alitalia operate the largest Trans-Atlantic joint venture with over 270 daily flights.

Though Air India is saddled with huge debt, acquiring the airline can help boost the acquirer in terms of foot print, bilteral flying rights, parking slots, etc.
12/03/18 Business Today

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Air India flight over Saudi airspace part of delicate ‘political change’ in Arab world

Air India began selling tickets this past week for the first flight in its new leg from New Delhi to Tel Aviv and back again. The route, which will begin operations on March 22 with three weekly flights by the national carrier of India, will fly directly over Saudi Arabia.

Today, all Israeli carriers, as well as every foreign carrier that takes off or lands in Israel, is banned from passing through the airspace of all Arab states, with the exception of Jordan and Egypt—countries that have recognized international peace treaties with Israel. Because of the ban, flights from Israel to Asia are forced to fly north to Turkey and only then turn east, and vice versa—a detour that adds several hours to each flight.
The Air India route will become the first international one to travel through the skies of an Arab country with no official ties with Israel. As such, it will break an aerial embargo initiated by Arab states with Israel’s founding in 1948. Flying over Saudi Arabia will shorten the flight time between India and Israel by hours and enable the carriers to drop ticket prices by hundreds of dollars.

“This is truly a historic event,” said Israel’s Minister of Tourism Yariv Levin in an exclusive interview. “It is proof that political change can be achieved without resorting to territorial compromise.”

However, he added, “until the flight lands, I recommend restrained enthusiasm.”

Levin explained that “the move is dramatic—from both a political and tourism standpoint. What the new route means is that the world is beginning to treat us in a whole new way. Until now, some countries have completely avoided any public demonstration of a connection with Israel. As for tourism, as soon as there is a short direct route to India, and maybe other places as well, prices will drop and tourism will swell.”

Levin said the idea of a new route was first voiced in his office two years ago. A grant of 3.2 million NIS that the Ministry of Tourism promised Air India convinced their directorate to take the financial risk of opening the new route.

Despite the excitement in Israel, the public response is still restrained; everyone is aware of the sensitivity surrounding the new route. Saudi Arabia is a central state in the Persian Gulf, and for decades has steadfastly refused any rapprochement with Israel. In recent years, as a result of geostrategic changes in the Middle East and increased openness in Saudi Arabia to the Western world, informal ties have increased between the Muslim kingdom and the Jewish state.

The Saudi press has taken a softer approach to Israel, and informal representatives of the royal family have met with Israelis. Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and Israeli Minister of Transportation Yisrael Katz have been interviewed on Saudi television. In addition to the visible steps come reports in the foreign press of intelligence cooperation between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and meetings between representatives of the two governments.
12/03/18 Ariel Kahana/jns

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Air India’s Delhi-Tel Aviv flight getting good response, says CMD Pradeep Kharola

New Delhi: Air India’s newly announced flight to Tel Aviv has witnessed a “good response”, according to the airline’s CMD Pradeep Kharola. The national carrier announced recently that it will introduce thrice-a-week flight from Delhi to Tel Aviv from March 22. “The initial response for our Tel Aviv flight has been good. The interest from travellers has been encouraging,” Air India’s Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pradeep Kharola told PTI. He added that more than 10 per cent of the total seating capacity of the aircraft had been sold in the first 24 hours and he was expecting to see the flight operate on full capacity. The airline anticipates interest from travellers from countries further to the east of India such as Australia, Kharola explained.

Air India will be operating its 256-seater Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft between Delhi and Tel Aviv after Saudi Arabia permitted the airline to use its airspace, enabling it to take a shorter route as compared to the only other airline that flies between the two countries — Israel’s national carrier El Al. Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, disallow airlines from using their airspace for flight services to that country. The Air India flight will fly over Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reach Israel.

The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost 2 hours and 10 minutes compared to the longer route taken by Israel’s national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai. El Al takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Air India is offering introductory return fares starting from Rs 35,500. The flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
11/03/18 PTI/Financial Express

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Questions over Gupta role in SAA halting its flights to India

Johannesburg - Did the Guptas play a role in South African Airways (SAA) halting its flights to India, allowing Indian airline Jet Airways and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways to take over the bilateral arrangement between the two countries?
The SAA decision to suddenly shut down its Mumbai-Johannesburg route, which had a seat-load factor of 82% to 88%, in March 2015 intrigued the travel and tourism sector. SAA did not even give enough notice to tour operators who had booked flights until November 2015, tour operators say.

So why did SAA, in the name of streamlining its operation, abandon one of its routes that serviced the historical ties between India and South Africa? SAA claimed that the route was loss making, but industry sources say the seat-load factor tells another story.

According to an Indian foreign ministry source, the Guptas wanted to benefit Jet Airways.

It was Jet Airways from whom the Guptas chartered an aircraft to ferry guests from India to Johannesburg to attend a family wedding in 2013. That controversial event laid bare the Guptas' abuse of South African state facilities and infuriated South Africans.
After SAA withdrew from India, Jet Airways filled the slot. Now it carries passengers from India to Abu Dhabi and from there they are lifted by Etihad for their onward journey to South Africa.

Etihad bought a 24% stake in Jet Airways in late 2013 and has a code-sharing arrangement with SAA to fly the route.

By realigning these routes, alliance partners Etihad and Jet Airways have monopolised the India-South Africa route, which can only be challenged if SAA reclaims its bilateral arrangement with India, which seems unlikely.
11/03/18 IOL

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Courier jailed 18 months for stealing gold jewellery he was meant to take to India

Singapore: For a hawker stall helper, it was a golden opportunity to earn hundreds of dollars: Act as a courier by wearing more than $200,000 worth of jewellery on a flight to India.

But when 33-year-old Muhammad Hajali Sahul Hameed and his cousin got through passport checks at Changi Airport, they turned back, re-entered Singapore and sold off most of the gold chains they were meant to carry.

The Singaporean was sentenced to 18 months in jail on Monday (March 12) after he pleaded guilty to misappropriating the jewellery.

His cousin - store keeper and part-time delivery driver Abdul Aziz Abdul Hameed, 33 - and another alleged accomplice will appear in court on Thursday.

The court heard that in July last year, Muhammad Hajali agreed to help a casual acquaintance, who was a courier agent, carry out a one-time job by taking 16 gold chains and two gold bangles to a buyer in Mumbai. They were worth a total of $218,400.

The Singaporean was told that he would receive $600 in commission and that his flight and accommodation would be paid for by the buyer.

Muhammad Hajali agreed to take on the job with Abdul Aziz and they met the courier agent and seller of the jewellery at Changi Airport Terminal 3 on July 3. They were briefed on the assignment and each was given a black plastic bag filled with some of the jewellery.
According to court documents, the seller - Mr Kannaian Praksam, 43, an Indian national who is the director of Jothi's Gold Jewellery in Singapore - had instructed them to wear the gold bangles on their arms, the big gold chains around their waists, and place the small gold chains inside their pockets.

The duo were also told that upon arrival at Mumbai Airport, the buyer's representative would approach them.

Mr Praksam and the courier agent left after passing the two men $400 and watching them clear immigration. The remaining $200 was to be paid when they returned to Singapore.

However, the men did not board the plane and instead planned to sell the jewellery and share the earnings. They re-entered Singapore and paid $1,750 in tax after declaring the jewellery to Customs.

The next day, Muhammad Hajali asked his relative Muhamud Sidhik Shahul Hameed, 43, a private-hire car driver, to help sell the jewellery. He sold 14 small gold chains to two buyers for a total of $75,766, with the help of two middle men.

The proceeds were split. The middle men received $5,466, Muhamud Sidhik received $10,000 and Abdul Aziz pocketed $17,800.

Muhammad Hajali kept the remaining $42,500, and used some of it to pay off personal debts.

He and Abdul Aziz were arrested on July 5 after Mr Praksam made a police report when he discovered that the duo had not boarded the plane.
12/03/18 Tan Tam Mei/Straits Times

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Air India to start thrice-a-week Delhi-Tel Aviv flight from March 22

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New Delhi: Air India will introduce thrice-a-week flight from Delhi to Tel Aviv from March 22, the airline said today.

The national carrier had planned to launch the service in May last year, but it couldn't materialise after some countries denied use of their airspaces for flights to Israel.
The announcement from Air India comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters on Monday, during his visit to the US, that Saudi Arabia had given permission to the Indian carrier for flying over its territory on its route from New Delhi to Tel Aviv.
Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, disallow airlines from using their airspace for flight services to that country.
"Air India will introduce thrice-a-week flight to Tel Aviv from Delhi with effect from March 22," an airline spokesperson said.

The Air India flight will fly over Oman, Saudi Arabia and Jordan to reach Israel, a senior airline official said on condition of anonymity.
The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will mean Air India will take a shorter route between Delhi and Tel Aviv and cover the distance in 7 hours and 10 minutes.
The permission to fly over Saudi Arabia will save Air India almost 2 hours and 10 minutes as compared to the longer route taken by Israel's national carrier El Al, which has direct flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai, according to another Air India source.
El Al takes a circuitous route over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enters India and avoids countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. This route, too, is covered in 7 hours and 10 minutes.
If Air India were to take this route from New Delhi, it would cover the entire distance in more than nine hours, according to the source.
08/03/18 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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London flight held up at RGIA for 2.5 hours

Hyderabad: London-bound passengers of a British Airways flight were stranded at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport here for about two-and-half hours on Wednesday morning following technical snag in the aircraft.

Sources said flight No. BA276 was scheduled to take off at 7.20 a.m. on Wednesday, but could not fly out of the airport before 9.56 a.m.

The captain alerted the ground staff about the snag, and it was attended to by the engineering team, which gave clearance to fly more than two hours later.

As many as 245 fliers, including the airlines crew, were on the aircraft.
08/03/18 The Hindu

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Flights delayed for 30 minutes at Mumbai airport after cargo aircraft suffers hydraulic failure

The main runway of Mumbai International airport was shut down for over 30 minutes on Thursday at noon following a hydraulic failure reported by UPS Airlines, a cargo aircraft.

The  aircraft landed at Mumbai airport with a deflated tyre. For half an hour, operations were shifted to the secondary runway while aircraft was towed away.

Last month several flights were delayed due to repairwork on the runway.

During this period, the secondary runway was used for take-off and landings. However, the capacity of the secondary runway is far less when compared to the primary runway due to which several flights will be delayed.
08/03/18

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Airbus signs contract with 2 Indian start-ups for aerospace solutions

Hyderabad: European plane-manufacturer Airbus, along with its subsidiary Navblue, has signed contracts with two Indian start-ups -- Neewee and Eflight -- to provide solutions in aerospace, a company statement said on Thursday. "Neewee and Eflight, two start-ups accelerated at Airbus Bizlab India, have signed their first contracts with Airbus and subsidiary Navblue to bring to life their unique innovative ideas in aerospace that are in line with the Indian government's 'Make in India' and 'Startup India' initiatives," Airbus said in a statement.
According to the company, the two Bengaluru-based start-ups were part of five start-ups chosen a year back from the second season of the Airbus Bizlab technology acceleration programme that attracted 137 applications from nine countries.
"Neewee's solution, called procuSense, will enhance certainty to manufacturing supply chain and procurement operations at Airbus, using advanced analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence," the Airbus statement said.
"Eflight's trip support solution will offer a comprehensive suite of services that allows business jet pilots to optimise plans for fuel, time, route and weather," it said.
The start-up has also signed an exclusive partnership with an Airbus subsidiary to jointly address some opportunities in India, the statement added.
08/03/18 IANS/Sify.com

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Emirates flight makes unscheduled landing at Chennai airport

A Dubai-bound Emirates flight from Singapore with 298 passengers on-board made an unscheduled landing at the Chennai airport today due to technical reasons, airport sources said
The pilot safely landed the aircraft at the airport after getting clearance from Air Traffic Control at 11.58 am, they said.
Meanwhile, Emirates Airways said the aircraft was diverted to Chennai airport due to "technical reasons" and the officials were in the process of rebooking the flight to final destination.
"Due to technical reasons the flight has diverted to Chennai.
08/03/18 PTI/Business Standard

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Air Arabia eyes more flights to India, sees strong growth

Mumbai: Sharjah-based budget airline Air Arabia, which has not been able to expand in India due to constrained bilaterals between India and the UAE, says it sees strong demand to deploy more flights between India and its hub at Sharjah. It is hoping there would be an increase in the number of the seats allotted to the no-frills carrier in the near future.

“We always want more capacity and our job is to convey this to the governments. And the governments then meet and decide. We have been requesting the governments for some years now and whenever the decision is made (to increase the number of seats), it will be good,” said Adel Abdullah Ali, group CEO, Air Arabia.

The current stalemate over not allowing more seat allocation to airlines operating between India and the UAE, Ali said, was because airlines in India were not using the entire capacity that was made available. But now, as Indian carriers expand and budget airlines fly more passengers to the UAE, this seat utilisation has reached near-optimum levels with the scope for renegotiating the seat share between the countries.
“Indian carriers are using more seats today and if the governments meet and if they see it is good to increase flights, it will happen,” Ali said, adding that India and the UAE trade ties are on a very strong footing and India is one of the biggest trade partners of UAE, with good air connectivity.

Getting its fair share of seat allotment is tough for a relatively smaller airline like Air Arabia with a fleet size of 50 aircraft, especially when it has to compete with some of the largest fleet airlines globally, like Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad, that garner more than 80% of the allotted seats on the route and use wide-body aircraft, unlike Air Arabia which uses single aisle A320s.

Air Arabia currently operates about 113 weekly flights from 13 Indian airports with 85% load factor. It says the Indian market has been performing satisfactorily for the airline, and the Indian business makes money, as all its Indian routes are profitable. Though there has been some yield dilution year-on-year, the airline has been able to sustain profitability of its operations. For the year 2017, the airline posted a combined record profit of $180 million.
08/03/18 Financial Express

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Ryanair offers cheaper training to pilots after staffing troubles

London: Ryanair has cut the price of a course for new pilots to fly its 737 planes, the Irish budget airline's operations chief said on Wednesday, as it tries to avoid more staffing problems.
Ryanair was forced to cancel thousands of flights last year as it did not have enough standby pilots to ensure the smooth running of its schedule.

While Ryanair has denied there was a pilot shortage, chief operations officer Peter Bellew told reporters the move would help Ryanair grow without fresh problems.

"What we're going to do now for the next couple of years is we're going to get ahead of the game," he said, adding that even if Ryanair chose to expand a bit quicker than planned, "we're not going to have any limiting resource around pilots."Pilots wishing to join Ryanair will have to pay 5,000 euros ($6,200) for their so-called type rating course to fly the 737, down from 29,500 euros.

A type rating determines which kind of planes pilots fly, often a 737 or an A320 at Europe's low cost carriers, and is done after gaining an airline transport licence.
The price varies from airline to airline and is not included in the fees for training at pilot schools, which can be around 80,000 pounds.

Bellew said Ryanair had also reactivated links with pilot training schools and ordered seven new simulators. Cancellations, which started last September, sparked a pilot revolt, prompting Ryanair to recognise unions for the first time.

Chief executive Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday that talks with unions could cause some disruption to flights in Ireland and Portugal in the coming months .
07/03/18 Web India 123

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Hyderabad Airport staff stops Jeddah-Jakarta flight from taking off after noticing fuel leak

Hyderabad: Staff at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) stopped a Jeddah-Jakarta flight from taking off after noticing fuel leakage from one of the wings of the plane. This incident took place at around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. The flight was started from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and was heading for Jakarta, Indonesia.

According to the report published in Telangana Today, leakage of fuel was noticed when Citilink Airlines flight was about to take off after filling fuel at RGIA. When the issued was found, pilot was immediately informed.


It may be mention that earlier, the airplane had made an emergency landing reportedly due to insufficient fuel. It landed after getting permission from Air Traffic Control of RGIA.
However, after refueling, flight was stopped from taking off due to fuel leak. Soon, fire teams reached the spot and the issue was rectified. Finally, flight was allowed to take off at around 10 p.m.
04/03/18 Siasat Daily

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GMR submits bid to revamp Manila airport

Hyderabad: The GMR-Megawide consortium that manages the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines has submitted a $3-billion proposal to decongest and redevelop the Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

According to a filing by Megawide with the Philippines Stock Exchange in Manila, the redevelopment proposal involves increasing the capital city’s airport’s capacity to 950-1,000 aircraft movements a day from the present 730 and take the overall passenger handling capacity to 72 million per annum. The Mactan-Cebu International Airport is the second largest airport in the Pacific island nation and is operated by the GMR Group and Megawide in a 40:60 joint venture.

According to the Manila International Airport Authority, the city’s aerodrome handled almost 37 million passengers (domestic and international) in 2017.
04/03/18 Business Line

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Vietjet Air to start Ho Chi Minh city-Delhi flight

New Delhi: Vietnam-based low-cost airline Vietjet Air on Saturday said it will commence direct flight service between Ho Chi Minh city and New Delhi four days a week to cater to the fast-growing air traffic between the two cities. The announcement was made at the India-Vietnam Business Forum organised here to mark the visit of Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang. Currently, there are no direct flights between the two countries.
03/03/18 IANS/Sify.com

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Cat brought from Gulf detained at Kochi airport

Kochi: A pet cat brought from a Gulf country was detained at the International Airport here as it was not the recommended route for it to travel, a top Customs official said here today.

An Indian couple travelling from Jeddah on March 2 on Saudia Airlines had brought the cat along with them.

The animal was seized and detained by the Customs sleuths as it was not a recognised route for importing the pets, Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar told PTI here.

The official said Saudia Airlines was asked to send the cat back to Jeddah as the couple had not carried documents necessary for bringing a pet to India.

"Import of pets is only allowed after production of required health certificate from the country of origin and examination by our animal quarantine office," he said.

Besides, Kochi International Airport is not a route for bringing pets as it does not have a quarantine facility, the official said.
"Import of pets is allowed only at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad Airports which have animal quarantine facility," Kumar said.
04/03/18 New Indian Express

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United's NYC-Delhi nonstop diverted to London due to medical emergency onboard

New Delhi: United Airlines' Newark/New York-Delhi nonstop flight UA 82 had to be diverted to London due to a medical emergency onboard on Sunday.
The Boeing 777 took off from Newark with 266 passengers and 15 crew members. After crossing Greenland enroute Delhi, a patient was taken unwell and the crew decided to divert the flight to London.
"Our team at London Heathrow Airport is providing assistance to customers of United flight 82 (New York/Newark to Delhi) which was diverted to London Heathrow Airport because of a medical issue onboard. The flight has now been cancelled due to the crew reaching their maximum duty time. We are providing hotel accommodation for our customers, and making arrangements for them to complete their journeys tomorrow. We have apologised to our customers for the inconvenience caused," United Airlines said in a statement.
04/03/18 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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New Air India Milan Director

Rajender Kumar is the new Director of Air India Milan. He is being entrusted with the management of the territory of Northern Italy within the geographical boundaries with the official title of “Station Manager Milano” whose activities extend to the management of Air India flights to Milan Malpensa airport.

During the 35 years of activity with Air India which started in Amristar in 1982, R. Kumar has held important positions at the New Delhi office with tasks in the field of tourism and public relations, as well as the sales department and sales unit.

In the tourism division, he will be responsible for the promotion of incoming passenger traffic with Air India flights, the management of business trips and congress activities, familiarization travel activities, and other important events as well as special projects connected with tour operators.

Among his airport experiences at N. Delhi, he has covered flight management, passenger traffic, and handling of foreign carriers.

After an experience in Dubai, Terminal II, with duties as a manager with full responsibility for airport operations, from here he transfered to Milan. Air India Express was part of N. Delhi, Terminal III, in 2015 until January 10, 2018.
03/02/18 Mario Masciullo/eTN Italy

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Win-win lure of India-Asean air links

It was telling that there was a kink in the red carpet India laid out on Jan 26 for leaders of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), who were chief guests at the country's Republic Day celebrations. The crinkle arose over a matter of access: many Asean leaders were not able to fly to the Indian capital directly - at least not on any commercial airlines. There are no direct flights between New Delhi and several Asean capitals, including those of relatively large nations such as Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The issue of strengthening air connectivity between India and Asean featured high on the agenda during the Asean-India Commemorative Summit held on the eve of India's Republic Day. While both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in the area of aviation and enhance air-links for better connectivity within the region, the challenge will be to realise this vision without further delays. There have been steps in this direction before. For example, at the second India-Asean Summit in Bali in 2003, then Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee called for an open-skies arrangement between Asean and India - an aspiration echoed by his successor, Mr Manmohan Singh. At the Asean Transport Ministers Meeting in November 2008, an Asean-India Aviation Cooperation Framework was adopted. But since then, progress has been slow.
03/03/18 Straits Times

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‘India could be a market for Indonesian aircraft’

Chennai: There might be a market in India for Indonesian aircraft, with the country manufacturing a number of small, short take-off landing aircraft, a top Indonesian official said.

Speaking at an interactive meeting with members of the India-ASEAN-Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Friday, Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, Ambassador Extraordinary, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, said with the UDAN scheme “there might be something (trade) we can do in that area”.

Mr. Suryodipuro said small aircraft — 35 seaters, 90 seaters and short take-off aircraft were being manufactured in Indonesia and could serve the Indian aviation market.
He also said there was need for a broader framework between the two countries for educational cooperation.
S. Soundara Rajan, president of the Chamber, said Indian companies had invested more than $15 billion in Indonesia, mainly in infrastructure, power, textile, steel and consumer goods.
03/03/18 The Hindu

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Etihad Airways refutes CAPA report on Jet Airways stake sale

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has clarified it has no plan to sell its 24 percent stake in Jet Airways putting an end to speculations after aviation consultancy CAPA's report claimed the airline may sell its entire stake in Jet by Q3FY19, reported Business Standard.

In a statement, Etihad said, "The claims made in the CAPA report are false. Jet Airways is a valuable partner of Etihad Airways, and we have no plans to divest.”

The CAPA report was prepared for private circulation, and was not available on its website; however, the consultancy had tweeted:
he Gulf airlines built up a global presence by stitching up alliances and picking up investments in airlines around the world including Jet Airways. It, however, reported failures in its two high profile investments — Alitalia and Air Berlin — after which it set out on a course correction strategy.

The airlines has also downsized its fleet. It has been phasing out its Boeing 777-200LRs, Airbus A330 freighters and Airbus A340 aircraft and also offering leave without pay to its pilots.

Experts believe a slowdown in the Gulf economies and decline in crude oil prices may be other factors that influence Etihad's growth plans.
02/03/18 Moneycontrol.com

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Air France to hand over Mumbai route to Joon in June

As of June 8th, Air France will hand over its Paris Charles de Gaulle to Mumbai service to Joon, its new-generation subsidiary.

The group’s little sister will connect the two cities with a daily flight operated by Airbus A340.

In Mumbai and Paris, whether you have a connection on an Air France group flight or with its SkyTeam partners, guests will benefit from Air France assistance and seamless connecting channels.
Following on from the flights operated by Air France until June 18th, and as part of the enhanced cooperation agreement between the Air France-KLM group and Jet Airways, customers will benefit from multiple travel options to 44 Indian destinations.

Business, premium economy and economy customers will benefit from new cabins on board the Airbus A340s equipped with the latest-generation individual touch-screens to enjoy some one hundred films.

They will also have free access to YouJoon, the in-flight streaming system on their own smartphone, tablet or laptop.

01/03/18 Breaking Travel News

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Israel Seeks Green Light to Fly via Saudi Airspace Direct to India

Israel’s national airline, El Al, has asked the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to help obtain use of Saudi Arabia’s airspace on its Israel-India flights.

El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin asked Alexandre de Juniac, head of the world airline industry trade association, to intervene in order to prevent discrimination and “an uneven playing field,” according to Reuters.
“I am approaching you and kindly requesting IATA to intervene and to represent aviation industry’s interest by advocating equal overfly rights for all carriers over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and opposing any form of discrimination,” the letter said.
The IATA is comprised of 278 airlines from 117 nations. The letter from Usishkin asked for the Israeli airline not be “discriminated” against, compared with Air India.

In addition, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who enjoys a warm relationship with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was also asked by Usishkin for assistance.

Air India is slated to begin a new direct flight between Tel Aviv and New Delhi on March 6, one that passes through Saudi air space. El Al officials have been hoping Saudi Arabia would relax its historic ban on flights to and from Israel entering its airspace in light of the new agreement with Air India.
01/03/18 Hana Levi Julian/Jewish Press.com

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