Problem in aircraft door force Dhaka flight to return

Kolkata: A GMG flight to Dhaka had to return to Dum Dum airport minutes after takeoff on Saturday after it started losing cabin pressure due to a problem in the craft's door.
Soon after flight Z5-001 of Bangladeshi private carrier GMG took off at 9 am on Saturday, the 28 passengers and four crew members on board heard a loud bang, which was followed by vibration of the craft. In the cockpit, captain Kamal Pasha scanned the instrument panel and noticed a warning light indicating a problem in the cabin air pressure. Confirming the trouble with the cabin crew, he contacted the air traffic controller and sought priority landing.
On landing, engineers found that the rubber seal on the aircraft's door frame was worn out. "Air was leaking, leading to the problem," said a GMG official. Industry experts said the snag pointed to lack of proper maintenance procedures. "The wear and tear should have been noticed during regular inspection and the rubber seal replaced," he said.
Although GMG procured the Dash 8-300 (Q series) in 2003, the aircraft was manufactured sometime in the late 1990s and has been in use since.
After ascertaining that the short-distance flight could be made despite the snag, the flight took off at 11.30 am and safely landed at Zia International Airport in Dhaka at 12.15 pm. The craft, however, maintained an altitude of 9,000 feet to prevent any problem with air pressure at that altitude.
08/03/09 Times of India

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Vijay Mallya in talks with EADS Socata to co-develop business jets

Berlin: Vijay Mallya's UB Group, the spirits-to-airline major, has initiated talks with France-based EADS Socata, a leading aircraft manufacturer, to invest some $200 million to co-develop business jets for which India has now emerged as a hot market.
"We want to look at a global organisation that has service centres in place with tools to market in the country," said, EADS Socata spokesman Phillipe de Segovia, confirming that the group was in talks with the UB Group and other Indian companies.
"We had earlier started talks with IndUS Aviation, an Indian-American aircraft maker with headquarters in Dallas, Texas, and Bangalore, three years ago," de Segovia said, adding that the talks did not progress.
A phone inquiry to Vijay Mallya was replied with a monosyllabic "no comment".
At the US National Business Aviation Association's annual meeting and convention in Atlanta last September, Mallya had pledged a personal stake of $200 million to the US-based Epic Aircraft to develop its very light jets.
He said these jets would be would be manufactured and promoted for India and the Middle East markets. Now, however, the deal between Epic Aircraft and Mallya is believed to be over.
01/06/08 IANS/Economic Times

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Larsen & Toubro to bid for new Muscat airport

Mumbai: Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro is set to bid for building the new greenfield airport at Muscat in Oman.
The contract value was expected to be in the region of Rs 2,500-3,000 crore, said an executive familiar with the negotiations.
The company has already built two greenfield airports in India and is currently engaged in the modernisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports.
"The government of Oman is in the process of inviting bids. We will be submitting bids," the executive said asking not to be named. The bid will be submitted through L&T Oman, a wholly owned subsidiary of L&T, which has ongoing construction work in Oman.
When contacted, K V Rangaswamy, president, construction division, L&T, said, "We will look for foreign airport modernisation contracts and greenfield airports as and when they come up. We have the expertise and are part of the all major airport projects in the country."
The current international airport at Muscat is called Seeb airport and it handles around 4.2 million passengers a year. The new airport will come up around 15 km away and will have a capacity of 12 million passengers a year in the first phase and 48 million passengers eventually. The first phase expected to be completed in three years.
01/06/08 Indulal PM/Hindustan Times

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Tiruchi-Kuala Lumpur air service soon

Tiruchi: Air Asia, a low-cost carrier, would soon operate direct air services on the Tiruchi-Kuala Lumpur sector.
The airline is planning daily services on the Kuala Lumpur-Tiruchi-Kuala Lumpur sector from mid-August. According to Airport sources, Civil Aviation Ministry has cleared the introduction of the service while clearances were awaited from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Indications are that the service, likely to be in the morning, would be launched by August 12. The airline may deploy A-320 aircraft for the service.
Second carrier
Air Asia would be the second international low-cost carrier introducing services from Tiruchi to destinations abroad after the Air India Express (Colombo-Tiruchi-Colombo service of another low-cost carrier, Mihin Lanka, remains suspended). Sources indicated that Air Asia could be interested in connecting more destinations from Tiruchi, including Bangkok and Singapore in future.
Meanwhile, Air India which had increased its frequency to make it a daily service on the Chennai-Tiruchi-Thiruvananthapuram-Sharjah sector, is seeking to operate the service all through the week in the return direction too.
However, shortage of manpower in the Central Industrial Security Force, in charge of the airport’s security here, has been hampering the move.
02/06/08 S. Ganesan/The Hindu

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DHL working on open offer for Blue Dart

Bonn: Leading logistics firm DHL Express is planning to make an open offer to shareholders of domestic courier company Blue Dart. DHL Express Singapore, a subsidiary of Bonn-headquartered DHL, already holds 81.03% in Blue Dart. The move is aimed at delisting Blue Dart from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), making it a fully-owned subsidiary of DHL. Blue Dart shares closed at Rs 625 per share on the BSE on Friday, 1.75% lower than the previous closing.
“Making Blue Dart Express a 100% subsidiary would help us take decisions fast. It would also centralise activities of the company and bring it under the control of the core management. We tried to delist Blue Dart earlier, but the market condition at that time didn’t favour,” DHL Express CEO John Mullen told ET.
“Blue Dart is one of the most profitable companies under Deutsche Post World Net (DPWN),” he added. DPWN is the parent company which holds various units under mail, express, logistics and finance categories. Blue Dart operates with seven freighter aircraft in the domestic market and is expected to extend logistics operation to neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore and Thailand.
02/06/08 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Pak govt behind Burney's deportation: Sources

New Delhi: Former Pakistan human rights minister Ansar Burney was not allowed to enter India on the advice of the Pakistan government, CNN-IBN on Sunday learnt from sources in Pakistan Prime Minister’s office.
Burney, who had come to Delhi on May 30 to attend a peace conference, was sent back from the Indira Gandhi International Airport soon after his arrival.
The sources revealed that Burney’s personal initiative on behalf of Indian prisoners was not to the government's liking.
They also added prisoner swapping is an internal matter between the governments of the two countries and no individual can decide any case or take credit.
Earlier, Home Ministry sources had told CNN-IBN that Burney was sent back on the basis of a 'Lookout Notice' issued by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad about a year ago. For some reason, the sources said, that notice was never revoked.
In an official statement though, the Ministry said that he was deported because of lack of proper documentation.
Despite the apologies, the man who was instrumental in securing the release of Kashmir Singh, an Indian prisoner languishing in a Pakistani jail for 35 years, said he was hurt by the treatment meted out to him in India.
Burney, however, added that he suspected Pakistan government’s hand to be behind his deportation from India.
01/06/08 CNN-IBN

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Mystery thickens, Bukhari says government cleared Burney’s visit

New Delhi: A day after India “regretted” denying entry to former Pakistan human rights minister Ansar Burney, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmad Bukhari Sunday said the government had given a go-ahead to the rights campaigner’s visit. The schedule of Burney, who was to come here to address an international conference on terrorism that took place Sunday, was conveyed to the external affairs ministry and the home ministry six months ago, Bukhari told reporters.
“The list of delegates was finalized and the confirmed list was sent to both ministries. The government had also sent its letters for visa clearance,” he said.
Bukhari’s remarks triggered speculation about the government’s actual reasons for denying entry after he landed at the airport here Friday night.
Reliable sources said Burney was not allowed to enter India as Pakistan’s new civilian government was not favourably disposed towards his visit at a time when the two countries are trying to resolve at the highest political level the issue of prisoners detained in each other’s country.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani had written to President Pervez Musharraf for granting clemency to Sarabjit Singh, accused of his complicity in terrorist blasts in Multan nearly two decades ago.
But the issue of clemency evokes mixed reactions in Pakistan with a section of the establishment unhappy with the way Burney has taken up the cause of Sarabjit Singh and accolades he has earned in India.Burney has suspected the Pakistan government’s hand behind his “deportation” from India.
01/06/08 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Afghan national arrested

Hyderabad: An 18-year-old Afghan national, who was deported by Colombo airport authorities, was arrested at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport by the immigration officials on Sunday morning. During interrogation, immigration officials found that the accused was using a Mexican national's passport. According to immigration officials, Javed, a native of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanisthan, boarded Sri Lankan Airlines flight UL-176 on May 31 and reached Colombo the same day using the passport of a Mexican national, Garcia Lopez Rafael.
"He was planning to go to Paris via Colombo but as he did not answer the queries of the immigration officials at the Colombo airport, he was deported in a return flight to Hyderabad on Sunday morning," DCP (Crimes), Cyberabad, G Surya Prakasa Rao said.
After questioning the accused for nearly seven hours, the immigration officials at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, came out with information that raised doubts over the security at international airports in the country.
Immigration officials found out that Javed came to New Delhi on March 26, 2008 and stayed there for nearly two months.
In Delhi, Javed secured a passport of a Mexican national, Garcia Lopez Rafael of Mexican City and replaced the original photograph with his own. He also secured an Indian tourist visa valid from March 20 to September 19.
Immigration officials said that Javed came to Hyderabad 10 days back with some other people and stayed in a hotel.
02/06/08 Times of India

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Biggest currency haul of two decades in airport

Kolkata: Customs officials at NSC Bose Airport yesterday seized Rs 9.92 lakh in 500 rupee note denominations from an air passenger, Arab Muhammad Javed (27). Preliminary examination has proved that the notes are fake. The man was arrested today.
Muhammad Javed, a resident of Ahmedabad, came from Bangkok by a Jet Airways flight. Officials of the customs’ Intelligence unit interrogated him when they grew suspicious of his movements.
This is the largest amount of fake Indian currency seized at NSC Bose Airport in two decades. During interrogation he said that he received the money from a person in Bangkok and was supposed to hand it over to another in Kolkata. His passport revealed that he had travelled to Bangkok thrice in a year. The counterfeit money has been sent to the RBI for further examination.
01/06/08 The Statesman

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Sri Lanka's Mihin Air seeks cash, merger

Sri Lanka's grounded state-run budget airline has sought an 800,000 dollar cash infusion from the Treasury and may be merged with the national carrier, as part of a restructure plan, officials said.
Mihin Lanka, which has been dogged with financial problems since it began commercial operations last year, has suspended services after running up debts to nearly 15 million dollars.
Operations are currently on hold due to lack of planes as the last aircraft, an Airbus A321, was reclaimed by its Bulgarian owners late April.
"We had to give that (A321) plane up, because we didn't have money to pay the lease," Mihin's chief executive, Sajin Vaas Gunawardene told reporters Fridays.
The cash-strapped airline, which has 231 staff onboard, ran scheduled services to the cities of Trivandrum, Tiruchirapalli in India, Dubai, Male, and Singapore.
Gunawardene said he gave his resignation to the airline's board yesterday, but has sought a cash infusion and a Treasury guarantee to secure another aircraft on a lease to resume operations.
Current Sri Lankan civil aviation restricts aircraft over 15-years from being used for commercial operations. But Gunawardene alleges the government has agreed to amend the laws to raise the aircraft age limit to 21-years.
Officials from the Civil Aviation department, the government's airline regulator, were not immediately available for comment.
The restructuring plan includes the government picking up the 647,000 dollar tab to lease the aircraft for two months, plus another 100,000 dollars to resume operations.
30/05/08 Lanka Business Online, Sri Lanka

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Oman Air launches operations to southern Indian state

Muscat: Oman Air will add a highly lucrative destination to its expanding network with the launch of operations to Kozhikode in the southern Indian state of Kerala on June 5.
Another south Indian city, Bangalore, will follow suit, also next month, and the carrier is poised to begin services to four other destinations - Sana’a, Damascus, Frankfurt and Kuala Lumpur — in the subsequent months.
The airline will operate seven flights a week on the route, one daily, using Boeing 737-800 aircraft that will accommodate 159 passengers in the economy and 12 in the business class. Kozhikode will be Oman Air’s ninth destination in India and 26th worldwide.
31/05/08 Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates

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India shamed over Burney deportation, orders probe

New Delhi: The Home Ministry is red-faced after Pakistani human rights activist and former minister Ansar Burney was refused entry into Delhi and sent back to Dubai from the airport on Friday night.
On Monday, it was said that there was a 'lookout notice' on Burney but the Home Ministry and Foreign Ministry say they don't know why he was sent back.
The Home Ministry has ordered an inquiry into what is now being seen as an embarrassment.
Some reports suggest it could be a mistake and could have been done at the level of the Foreigners Regional Registration office.
Burney was sent back from the Indira Gandhi International Airport by an Emirates flight at around on 8:30 pm on Friday.
31/05/08 NDTV.com

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Rights activist Burney deported

Amritsar: In a development that could have serious repercussions on Sarabjit Singh’s safe return from Pakistan, human rights activist Ansar Burney was deported from New Delhi airport on late Friday night.
Burney is also an advisory member of United Nations Peace Council and had played a key role in the release of Indian national Kashmir Singh, who had languished in Pakistani prisons for 35 long years.
Burney was in India to participate in a meet against terrorism scheduled to be held at Jama Masjid. He had arrived here from London via Dubai. Talking to TOI from the airport, he said, "This is the most heartbreaking moment of my life. I can’t understand how the Indian government could deport a person who is relentlessly working for the good of Indian persons lodged in Pakistani jails."
He added he was not given any reason by the immigration officials, but was asked to return to Dubai. Burney, who had faced the wrath of his countrymen for helping Indians, had recently visited India on the invitation of Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal.
"I will continue my efforts in securing the release of Sarabjit Singh and other innocent persons, including Indians, lodged in Pakistani jails," he said.
31/05/08 Yudhvir Rana/Times of India

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No foreign co-pilots from June 1

New Delhi: From June 1, India's commercial aircraft will not have foreign co-pilots on board. This will open fresh opportunities for thousands of aspiring pilots in the airline industry, said a government official. Read On >>

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CAE to install two full-flight simulators at Bangalore training centre

Monreal: CAE has been awarded contracts to design and manufacture five full-flight simulators (FFSs) valued at more than C$56 million at list prices. Read On >>

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Air India Express on expansion spree

Mumbai: Air India Express, which currently operates 48 flights per week to Dubai from 12 Indian cities is on an expansion spree. The airline will add nine more flights from three more Indian cities to Dubai effective June 2008 to have 57 weekly flights.
Air India Express, the international budget airline, which is into its fourth year of operations, will now also have flights to Dubai from Hyderabad, Goa and Pune.
Air India Express fleet presently comprises of 18 B737-800 aircraft, one of the most technologically advanced single aisle jet aircraft. By the end of 2009, it will have 25 aircraft in its fleet – 7 leased and 18 owned.
30/05/08 Business Standard

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Air India Reprises “One Price India” Sale Fares Through October

New York: Travelers to India will have another opportunity to take advantage of Air India’s “One Price India” sale. The special Economy Class fares are available from New York’s JFK International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport to Mumbai, Delhi, as well as to the over 40 other cities in India served by the carrier. Fares are set at $549 round trip for departures from August 19 to September 18, $599 from August 1 to August 18 and September 19 to October 31, $704 from July 14 to July 31, and $808 from June 1 to June 12, 2008.
The “One Price India” fares apply to any of Air India’s direct and non-stop flights to India departing New York Sunday through Thursday, and returning Monday through Friday. Weekend departures are also available for an additional $50, based on a round-trip purchase. They include flights on Friday and Saturday to India, and Saturday and Sunday from India. The minimum stay is the first Sunday after arrival, and the maximum stay is up to six (6) months.
Fare Conditions: Sale Fare tickets must be purchased by June 20th. Travel must be on Air India operated flights from New York City, including “Indian Airlines” designated flights within India. Tickets are non-refundable, and all flights must be confirmed prior to issuance of tickets.
31/05/08 India Journal, USA

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Airbus maker may shift some manufacturing to India

New Delhi: The European aircraft consortium, EADS, has said that it may start producing in India so as to be closer to its customers here. The Company Chairman, Mr Louis Gallois, told newspersons at the ongoing Berlin airshow that if EADS wanted to sell in India, it would also have to look at producing here.
The statement comes in the wake of Airbus maker, EADS participating in two ongoing Indian defence procurement programmes — the 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft being acquired by the Indian Air Force and 150 helicopters for the Indian Army.
The terms of both contracts specify that the eventual winner will be allowed to ship the first batch of aircraft from the supplier’s manufacturing base, but will eventually have to shift the manufacturing capability to India.
Officials feel that any decision to move production to India could be beneficial to the European consortium. “Currently, most of EADS production is in the Euro zone, while payments are generally made in dollars, which is not very favourable due to the exchange rate fluctuations these days. Besides, if the company wins any of the orders in India, it can claim that it is already sourcing from here and seek adjustments against the offset clause that is mandatory in Government contracts,” an official said.
28/05/08 Business Line

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Calif. men charged in separate airline, embassy threats

Sacramento: Two Sacramento-area men were indicted Wednesday on federal charges of making separate bomb threats, one against Delta Airlines and the other against the U.S. Embassy in Italy.
Apun Mahapatra is charged with threatening to destroy an aircraft. The 31-year-old Sacramento man allegedly called a Delta operator May 1 to say that a plane leaving Mumbai, India, for Atlanta should be canceled because of a "hijack" and "bomb blast."
He apparently had a dispute with someone he thought was on the plane, said Lauren Horwood, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Sacramento.
Carlos Ramos, 22, is charged with sending an October 2007 e-mail threatening to destroy the embassy in Rome.
"There's going to be a lot of dead people when the building explodes," read his warning, according to federal prosecutors.
He lives in Dixon, a farming community and suburb between Sacramento and San Francisco.
Security was increased for the Delta flight and at the embassy because of the separate threats.
28/05/08 The Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News, USA

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1.25 kg heroin found inside Nigerian

Chennai: After two Filipinos and a Thai, it was a Nigerian woman's turn to land in the enforcement net for trying to smuggle 1.25 kg of heroin through Chennai airport on Tuesday.
Unlike the Filipinos and Thai women who had concealed heroin in their bags, the Nigerian had swallowed them in capsular form. While the previous destinations were Far East, the Nigerian smuggler was headed for Colombo. The origin (Delhi) and final destination (East Asia) are, however, common in all the four cases.
Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials on Tuesday arrested 23-year-old Nigerian Rehemamuyanja Namuyanja, on a tip-off and recovered 1.25 kg of heroin, around 900 gram from her rectum and another 350 grams from her digestive system. DRI sleuths intercepted the woman, who was about to board a Sri Lankan Airlines flight to Colombo on Tuesday night. She was very arrogant when the DRI officials cornered her and refused to co-operate.
However, when she came to know that the officials had specific information, she agreed to co-operate.
"We took her to a private hospital and removed the capsules of heroin from her rectum. When we further interrogated her, she admitted to have swallowed more than 30 such capsules, each containing 10 grams of heroin. She was then subjected to a CT scan and the scan images showed the capsules in her intestine," a DRI source told The Times Of India.
29/05/08 K Praveen Kumar and Pushpa Narayan/Times of India

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Malaysian customs seize drugs couriered from India

Malaysian customs have seized three kilograms of ketamine worth 200,000 ringgit ($58,820) hidden in a box sent from India, reports said Wednesday.
Customs officers seized the box, which had been labelled as jewellery, from the cargo area of the international airport late last Friday, said the departments deputy head of narcotics Mohamad Subri Awang.
He said customs officers received a tip off from Hong Kong customs on the arrival of the package, which was addressed to a receiver in the central Selangor state.
'The package was sent from Mumbai, India and the receiver's address was in Selangor. It was brought here on a Cathay Pacific flight from Mumbai, which had a transit in Hong Kong,' he was quoted as saying by the Malay-language Berita Harian daily.
'Based on market pricing, the drugs are worth some 200,000 ringgit and the drugs would be sold in tubes of 100 ringgit each,' he said.
28/05/08 IANS/Malaysia Sun

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Air Arabia introduces daily service to Kozhikode

Mumbai: Air Arabia announced today the introduction of daily service between Kozhikode and the company’s main hub in Sharjah, UAE. Air Arabia became the first Middle Eastern airline to offer flights to Kozhikode when it introduced service in February of this year, providing flights three times per week.
Now customers can choose either morning or evening flights between Sharjah and Kozhikode. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, flights will depart Sharjah at 8:00AM and arrive in Kozhikode at 13:25PM. On the same days, return flights will depart Kozhikode at 14:10PM and arrive in Sharjah at 16:25PM. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, flights will depart Sharjah at 22:45PM and arrives in Kozhikode at 4:10AM. On the same days, return flights will depart Kozhikode at 4:55AM and arrive in Sharjah at 7:10AM.
“The increase in the number of flights to Kozhikode demonstrates our commitment to the Indian market and our desire to offer expatriates from this Indian city working in the Middle East competitively priced fares,” said AK Nizar, Head of Commercial Department, Air Arabia. “Kozhikode is the third city within the state of Kerala to be an Air Arabia destination, giving residents there access to the extensive destination network of our carrier and the highest quality service possible.”
28/05/08 India PRwire

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South African Airways to increase frequency from Mumbai

New Delhi: South African Airways will be increasing its frequency from Mumbai by adding one more flight, thereby making it five flights per week from October 26, 2008. The airline is augmenting the frequency due to increased load factors, as well as enhanced corporate traffic to South Africa. Though it is currently offline from New Delhi, it will soon commence operations from the capital city. Apart from this, the national carrier of South Africa is also planning to tie-up with domestic carriers in India for increasing their reach. They are planning to have interline agreements with Air India and Indian by September 2008. Currently, the airline has special prorate agreements with Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines with the objective of serving more cities. Internationally, South African Airways is exploring routes in Johannesburg and within Africa as a continent to increase their connectivity.
Talking to TravelBiz Monitor, Tauseef Khan, Acting Head, South East Asia, South African Airways said, “We have witnessed an increase in Indian travellers to South Africa. More and more corporate travellers are going to South Africa for business and Meetings Incentives Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE). The airline thus decided to increase its frequency from four times a week to five times a week from Mumbai.”
28/05/08 Kanika Mehta/TravelBizMonitor

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GVK on lookout for overseas airport projects

Bangalore: GVK Group, which is modernising and upgrading the Mumbai International Airport, is scanning foreign geographies for airport development opportunities. It’s looking at airports in Prague, St. Petersburg and Mexico and is evaluating the privatisation processes in these countries. Rival GMR Infrastructure, which has Delhi and Hyderbad airports in its kitty, has already made a first by bagging a contract to develop an airport in Istanbul. GVK group has a JV with Airports Company South Africa for modernising the Mumbai airport.
Industry observers say that some of these overseas airports will witness very aggressive bidding by global players. Incidentally, GMR too is on the lookout for airport development opportunities in Eastern and northern Europe. GMR’s most aggressive overseas foray was by winning the bid to renovate the Sabiha Gokcen airport in Istanbul that cost the group a concession fee of Rs 10,808 crore ($2.7 billion) to be payable to the local government over 20 years. GMR, which is looking at adding one more international airport project to its kitty in 2008, raised $1-billion through the QIP route for asset acquisitions and allocation of equity across its projects.
28/05/08 J Padmapriya/Economic Times

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Aviation industry headed for a crisis: Jet chief

Berlin: With petrol prices expected to cross $200 per barrel in the near future, Jet Airways chief Naresh Goel said the aviation industry was headed for a deep crisis due to price wars among airlines, at home and abroad.
“These irrational policies are bad for banks, manufacturers and shareholders. We are all in trouble. We don’t have a regulator and the situation is very very bad,” he said ahead of taking delivery of an Airbus in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Defence Minister A. K. Antony and Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders.
Mr. Goel said that undeterred by the losses, Jet was looking at expanding its operations on a number of sectors. “We are looking at Milan. We are looking for places in Germany,” he said, adding that unless sanity was restored and everybody started looking at the bottomline, the situation was going to worsen.
The Jet chief felt that acquisitions in such market conditions were inevitable. At the same time, he pointed out that mergers were part of the market process. “We went for Sahara. And this does not happen here alone. It takes place in banks, insurance etc. As a company we are conservative in our approach,” he said.
Mr. Goyal said he was not looking to adding the largest airliner A-380 to his fleet. The company’s strategy was to fly in planes with more frequency. But he was seriously examining the possibility of acquiring Airbus’ A-380 XWB (extra wide body) which will be inducted from 2013.
28/05/08 Sandeep Dikshit/The Hindu

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Australia and India governments hold talks on air services

A high-level aviation and infrastructure Australian delegation to India is planned later this year or early in 2009.
This was the outcome of a meeting between Australia’s minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development, Anthony Albanese, and India’s minister for civil aviation, Shri Praful Patel.
Albanese said the two ministers had discussed a range of issues important to both countries, including air services; opportunities for Australian companies to contribute to aviation and airport infrastructure development in India; international efforts to reduce greenhouse emissions; and co-operation in the areas of transport security and aviation safety.
He said there “enormous opportunities” for Australian companies to assist India as it moves to invest around A$500 billion in infrastructure development over the next five years.
27/05/08 Aircargo - Asia Pacific, Australia

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Flight flight develops snag, lands safely

Chennai: A British Airways flight, which developed a technical snag mid-air, landed safely at the international airport here on Wednesday, airport sources said.
The flight from London to Chennai developed a hydraulic snag when it was preparing to land. Following this, the flight with 247 passengers on board hovered over the airport for about half-an-hour before landing,the sources said.
All emergency services, including ambulance and fire service, were kept ready in case of any eventuality, the sources added.
28/05/08 PTI/The Hindu

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2010 deadline for expat pilots to leave

New Delhi: With growing instances of Indian students not getting jobs even after spending lakhs on commercial pilot licences (CPL), the government has turned 'swadeshi' to save their interests. Read On >>

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Bahrain Air begins flight service to Kochi

Kochi: Bahrain Air, the first and only premium Low Price Carrier (PLPC) in Bahrain, began its service to Kochi International Airport near here, thus making Kochi as the carrier's first destination in the Indian sub-continent.
The first Bahrain Air flight 2B 321 landed at 5.35 PM Ibrahim Al Hamer, Bahrain Air Managing Director, told reporters here today.
Bahrain Air flies three times weekly and plans to start daily flights from October this year.The Monday flights will depart Bahrain International Airport at 10.40 AM and arrives at Kochi International Airport at 5.30 PM, the same day,he said.
The other two flights will operate on Tuesdays and Fridays, departing Bahrain at 7 PM and arriving at Kochi in the early hours of Wednesdays and Saturdays at 2.30 AM. This service will operate three times a week for the entire summer season,he said.
27/05/08 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Singapore Airlines launches disabled support service at Chennai airport

Chennai: Singapore Airlines today launched its exclusive services for the disabled air travellers, which would become fully operational at the airport from June one.
The services have been introduced to simplify air travel, keeping in mind the difficulties faced by the disabled at the airport.
The airline has partnered with city-based NGO Vidya Sagar (formerly The Spastics Society of India) to lend its support for the disabled people and to create awareness for the cause.
Talking to newspersons here, Singapore Airlines General Manager India Foo Chai Woo said ''we will ensure that a dedicated escort takes care of the disabled traveller, right from the airport entrance till the boarding area.'' ''The airline will also provide a special lounge access for them while they wait for the boarding announcement,'' he said adding ''besides this, they will also receive priority baggage tags to cut down their waiting time.''
27/08/05 Chennai Online

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Silk Air plans to launch operations in India

Chennai: Silk Air, a 100 percent subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, has kept their options 'wide open' to set up new connectivity in non-metros, a top official said. "We will continue to work on basis of requirement as and when opportunities come" Singapore Airlines General Manager-India Foo Chai Woo told reporters Tuesday on the sidelines of a function where they launched new services for disabled people in Chennai.
"As of now there is nothing specific yet, but we will continue to evaluate our year round operations" he said to a query whether there is new connectivity in the offing.
The company which runs chartered trips to destinations like Jaipur, Varanasi, has also planned to increase its presence in these areas.
"Our subsidiary Silk Air operates chartered trips across several months on various locations and we have planned to strengthen it to places like Varanasi, Jaipur, Budh Gaya and Pune" Foo said.
28/05/08 Chennai Online

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Jet introduces web check-in facility on international flights

Jet Airways introduces a web check-in facility on its flights to six major international destinations- Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, London and Brussels, enabling passengers traveling on these sectors to check-in on the web, select their seats and print their boarding passes.
Jet Airways’ passengers will need to report at the check-in area for document verification and to check-in their baggage, not later than 75 minutes prior to the departure of their respective flights.
Jet Airways’ First Class, Premiere passengers as well as JetPrivilege Platinum and Gold members may avail of this facility up to 48 hours prior to the departure of their flights. JetPrivilege Silver and Blue Plus members may web check-in 24 hours prior to their departure. From 12 hours till departure, all remaining passengers may use this facility.
Commenting on the web check-in facility, Mr. Gaurang Shetty, Senior Vice-President- Alliances and Interline, Jet Airways, said, “The introduction of Jet Airways’ Electronic Web Check-in facility on International routes, besides enhancing passenger convenience by doing away with the need for a manual check-in, will also enable the airline to boost efficiency in terms of volumes of passengers processed at the relevant airport terminals. This innovation is a fine example of the company’s relentless drive to excel in terms of both customer service as well as operational efficiencies.”
28/05/08 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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Now, check-in bags can raise your air fare

Berlin: The more luggage you carry, the more expensive your air ticket could be. Jet Airways has indicated that passengers may be charged extra for their check-in luggage to make up for spiralling fuel prices. Jet's move comes in the wake of the mighty American Airlines announcing its plan to levy a $15 fee on the first piece of checked-in baggage and $25 on the second piece.
"I'm not overruling fuel prices going up further and every airline has to look at its bottom line and adopt some measures," said Naresh Goyal, chairman, Jet Airways at the Berlin Air Show on Tuesday. "We have not yet decided on how fares will increase, but they will increase and every airline will have to do so too."
Goyal added that Jet Airways will explore every solution to check losses accruing from the rise in fuel price. He said the Indian airline industry stood to lose up to $2 billion in 2008. The price of crude oil reached a record $133.82 a barrel last week, forcing airlines to make deep cuts in order to stay in the business. Until now, Indian carriers responded to fuel price hikes by increasing the fuel surcharge component on the air ticket.
At the show where German Chancellor Angela Merkel was present, Goyal took delivery of an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, sending out signs that cost cuts would not affect the purchase of new aircraft, with Jet spreading its wings to Hong Kong and expanding services to Europe and the Middle East.
28/05/08 Manju V/Times of India

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Big aviation opportunities in India

Infrastructure minister Anthony Albanese has met with India’s civil aviation minister, Hon Shri Praful Patel, to discuss the possibility of a high-level aviation and infrastructure delegation to India by early next year.
India is planning to invest up to $500 billion in infrastructure development in the next five years.
“There are enormous opportunities for Australian companies to assist India,” said Mr Albanese.
While no Indian airlines are offering direct flights to Australia, the imminent completion of the merger between Air India and Indian Airlines is expected to open direct air routes between the two countries.
Currently the majority of traffic between Australia and India travels on third-country airlines via intermediate hubs such as Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.
27/05/08 Transport and Logistics News, Australia

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NIIT joins AI-SATS for cargo handling systems

Mumbai: Global IT services provider NIIT Technologies Ltd will collaborate with the Air India and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (AI-SATS) to implement the cargo operations system (Cosys) to support the cargo handling operations at the Bengaluru International Airport.
Announcing the collaboration Monday, Ranjiv Ramanathan, senior vice president (cargo) of AI-SATS, said: "The implementation of the Cosys is required to ensure quicker processing of the cargo and will boost the operational efficiency of the AI-SATS airport services."
AI-SATS is a joint venture between the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL) and Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS) to provide professional ground handling services at Indian airports.
Cosys is a cargo management system that can work with the airline cargo reservations system.
26/05/08 IANS/Sify

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Five a week to Frankfurt

Calcutta: Europe’s second largest airline, Lufthansa, has decided to increase the number of flights between Calcutta and Frankfurt from three to five a week, beginning June 3.
The airline’s director for South Asia, Werner Heesen, said on Monday that Calcutta was “increasingly gaining in importance as a strategic growth market” and that this was reflected in the demand for tickets.
The new flights will take off from Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 12.55am on Wednesdays and Sundays and reach Frankfurt at 7.25am local time.
“Lufthansa has steadily expanded its flight calendar to the country in recent years… We are monitoring Calcutta’s market very closely and have plans to introduce daily flights from the city soon,” Heesen said.
Business travellers account for 60 per cent of Lufthansa’s passenger traffic to and from Calcutta.
The addition of two flights has increased Lufthansa’s presence in India to 50 flights a week from seven destinations. The increase was made possible by an air traffic agreement signed by India and Germany in April.
27/05/08 The Telegraph

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Best Air goes international

The Best Aviation Limited has stepped to the international aviation industry through the launching of its international flights from ZIA International Airport yesterday.
The aircraft with passengers on board left Dhaka for Bangkok Subarnavum International Airport, Thailand at about 12:00noon.
Best Air's Dhaka to Bangkok (5Q 666) flight departs from Dhaka at 11:00am and reaches at Bangkok at 2:35, while the flight departs from Bangkok to Dhaka (5Q 667) at 15:35 and arrives Dhaka at 05:10 every scheduled day.
Best Aviation Limited also plans to start the flights to Kolkata, Chennai and Kualalampur in July next, while Middle Eastern gateway point Dubai flight would be started in August 2008, Haider said.
Using B-737 advanced aircraft with single class configuration of 118 all economy seats, Best Air has already earned its position operating in the lone domestic sector Dhaka-Chittagong-Dhaka with premium quality flight services.
26/05/08 The New Nation, Bangladesh

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Briton sick, airport sicker

A young Briton with hypertension bled from the nose and slipped in and out of consciousness at Calcutta airport as officials of the international airline he had flown with and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) wasted time arguing whose responsibility it was to take him to hospital.
Allan Roddy arrived at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport on a Biman Bangladesh flight around 9pm on Saturday.
The 33-year-old was in the queue for immigration clearance when he let out a scream and fainted.
Other passengers lifted him and put him on a sofa, where he lay for more than an hour as representatives of the airline and the AAI staff played pass-the-buck.
It wasn’t until around 10.30pm that the doctor on duty at the international terminal, the airport manager and immigration officials carried Roddy on a stretcher to the ambulance that took him to Apollo Gleneagles Hospital.
One of the doctors treating him said on Sunday that his condition was “serious but stable”.
Biman Bangladesh maintained that it was the AAI’s responsibility to look after the patient. “Once a passenger has disembarked and entered the terminal, it is the responsibility of that airport to look after him,” an official of the airline said.
Officials of the AAI contested the claim.
No wonder Roddy, when he came to, mumbled to the arguing officials that they should inform the UK embassy about his condition.
26/05/08 The Telegraph

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India flights launched by Bahrain Air

Bahrain Air, the first and only Premium Low Price Carrier in the country, will launch its service to India today, with the inaugural flight to Kochi, Kerala.
The non-stop flight to Cochin International Airport will leave Bahrain at 10.40am today.
Marking the new service, a reception will be held at Bahrain International Airport, under the patronage of Civil Aviation Affairs Under Secretary Captain Abdulrahman Al Gaoud.
The response to the new service has been overwhelming, said Bahrain Air managing director Ibrahim Al Hamer.
The service between Kochi and Bahrain marks the beginning of an expansion plan that will link the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East through the airline's hub in Bahrain, said Mr Al Hamer, who will head the Bahrain Air's official delegation to Kochi.
The schedule was finalised after a long market research, said Mr Al Hamer.
Monday flights will depart Bahrain at 10.40am and arrive at Cochin International Airport at 5.30pm, local time on the same day.
"The other two flights will operate on Tuesdays and Fridays, departing Bahrain at 7pm and arriving at Kochi in the early hours of Wednesdays and Saturdays," said Mr Al Hamer.
The airline operates a fleet of two modern Airbus 320 and will increase to three aircraft in June this year, with 12 seat capacity in Premium Class.
26/05/08 Soman Baby/Gulf Daily News, Bahrain

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Jet to commence services from Mumbai to San Francisco via Shanghai, effective June 14

Jet Airways will commence its daily services from Mumbai to San Francisco via Shanghai, effective June 14, 2008. Jet Airways will thus become the first Indian carrier to operate daily non-stop flights to Shanghai from Mumbai and onward to San Francisco.
Jet Airways will become the first private Indian airline to connect the financial heart of India, Mumbai with "Everybody’s Favorite City," San Francisco. With the famed Silicon Valley to its south – the heart of America’s technology revolution has a large concentration of Indian IT professionals who have made an invaluable contribution towards Indo-American cooperation in high technology areas.
Jet Airways’ launch of these new flights will connect the economic and commercial hubs of Mumbai, Shanghai and San Francisco. With the growing importance of trade and commerce between India & China and the strong presence of both the Chinese and Indian communities in San Francisco area, Jet Airways’ will cater to large volumes of business and leisure travel between these cities. Jet Airways’ flights to San Francisco via Shanghai will offer its passengers the advantage of reduced regular flying time, benefiting the business traveler.
Jet Airways will operate these transpacific flights with the airline’s brand new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft which will offer unprecedented levels of luxury, privacy and comfort in the air, including First Class suites with the world's longest airline beds, private closets, dining tables for two, and 23" flat-screens. Première (business) class seats offer what are considered the most comfortable Business Class seats in the sky that convert to 73"-long totally flat beds. Leg-room in Economy is more generous than the norm - and passengers in all three classes have access to the state-of-the-art Panasonic eX2 entertainment system, complete with 200+ movies, games and endless music choices.
Jet Airways’ flight to San Francisco International Airport will also be the airline's fourth daily departure from India to North America, following new launches of service from New York's JFK and Newark airports, and Toronto Pearson International Airport, within the past year. San Francisco is a popular tourist and business destination and with the commencement of these new flights Jet Airways expects the route to prove one of its most popular sectors.
Announcing the launch of these new flights, Mr. Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, “With the introduction of Jet Airways’ new transpacific service to San Francisco via Shanghai, we continue our airline's unprecedented expansion throughout North America. This bares testimony to our team's accomplishments of launching four new long-haul routes in less than a year to North America. This takes forward, our Chairman’s, Naresh Goyal’s vision that’s by 2010, the airline should be rated among the top five airlines in the world. Having changed the way people fly in India, we are now taking to the world our very own brand of service and style."
For further information about the flight schedule, passengers are requested to contact the Jet Airways toll-free number on 3989-3333 or 18-00-22-55-22 or your travel agent or log onto: http://www.jetairways.com
26/05/08 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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Jade Cargo ready to fly to new destinations

With four of its six 747-400ERFs in operation and the pilot shortage issue resolved, Jade Cargo is set to take off for new destinations in Europe and the Asian region. Correspondent Ian Putzger reveals the carrier's plans
After treading water for a year, Jade Cargo International is finally back on the expansion path. As the Shenzhen-based airline is getting close to having a full complement of pilots, its idling freighters are headed for the runway to launch new services to Europe and within the region.
After a flying start, Jade's expansion plans were forced into neutral a year ago as a result of unexpected staffing problems. The carrier took delivery of its final two B747-400ER freighters but found itself unable to put them into action on account of a pilot shortage. Against this background, Jade's first chief executive officer left and was replaced by Kay Kratky, a former 747 pilot who was senior vice-president of transportation management and flight operations of Lufthansa Cargo prior to his move to Shenzhen.
At that time, Jade had 22 pilots in service. Today the number is close to 100, of whom 75-80 are fully licensed in China, according to Reto Hunziker, executive vice-president of sales and marketing.
He added that Jade benefited from the collapse of Hong Kong-based budget airline Oasis, as it could snap up about 20 of Oasis' experienced pilots.
In August, Jade plans to launch flights to India and Vietnam. The former operation will be routed from Shenzhen via Shanghai to Chennai, returning to Shenzhen, while the Vietnam service will originate in Tianjin and serve Ho Chi Minh City, returning to Shenzhen.
26/05/08 Cargonews Asia, Hong Kong

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Jetstar to recruit 75 foreign pilots

Sydney: Qantas has reportedly secured government approval to employ 75 pilots from off-shore to fly its low-cost Jetstar subsidiary's aircraft.
If it proceeds, it will be the largest-scale hiring of off-shore pilots since the airline pilots strike in Australia 20 years ago. Read On >>

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India for 'Open Sky' policy with UK

London: India is keen on having an 'Open Sky' policy with the United Kingdom to keep pace with the burgeoning air travel between the two countries.
"On our side we are keen. We would like to have an Open Sky policy with the UK on the pattern of the one with the USA," Ashok Chawla, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, said during an Interactive Session at the India House in London.
Chawla, who held talks with his counterparts here, said Britain has pointed out their problems in having such a policy with India "because of EU stipulations."
Talks were also on with the EU to overcome the problem, he said.
The Civil Aviation Secretary said in the last three to four years, the number of flights from the UK to India has increased very rapidly - from 27 to 113. At present there are 56 weekly flights from India to the UK and 57 flights from the UK to India.
According to official sources, the Civil Aviation industry in India would require an estimated 6,000 additional certified captains over the next five years.
It has been estimated that in the next five years, 5,000 additional pilots would be required for scheduled operations and 1,000 pilots for non-scheduled and private operations.
Chawla said by 2020, India would spend an estimated $ 110 billion for acquisition of new aircraft and upgrading of facilities.
25/05/08 Press Trust of India/NDTV.com

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Air India may drop London-US link

Air India has indicated that it will discontinue connecting London to North America after finalising its European hub.
The airline will be shifting these flights to the new hub and will also look at connecting new trans-Atlantic destinations. The airline is evaluating three cities - Munich, Vienna and Frankfurt - to decide on its scissor hub in Europe.
Executive director for passenger sales and marketing P.K. Gupta, says the airline currently has flights to London, Paris and Frankfurt. "London will become a terminating flight. Paris and Frankfurt might be merged to fly into the new hub," he told DNA India. "In the US, we are looking at connecting Houston, San Francisco, Dallas, Boston and Washington DC after the hub is formalised.”
He says the carrier is examining the traffic patterns and viability of connecting these destinations.
Currently, Air India connects London to the John F. Kennedy airport in New York as well as O’Hare International airport in Chicago. It also flies to Newark through Paris.
Rival Jet Airways is scheduled to start flying to San Francisco through Shanghai this month.
24/05/08 Aviation Record, Australia

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Air India Express to Fly to Dammam

Dammam: Air India Express, which completed three years of service this week, is planning to commence services to Dammam and Kuwait City from Kerala, Mangalore and Ahmedabad shortly. The AIE also has plans to fly to Dubai from Goa, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Flights will be operated from Kolkota to Singapore and Bangkok via Dhaka, the Indian flag carrier said in a statement.
The AIE which started in 2005 April has recorded a threefold increase in number of passengers within three years and the total number of passengers carried by the airline during 2005-06 was around half a million. In 2007-08, the number of passengers flying on the no-frills airline went up to 1.8 million, a growth of 200 percent, while its annual revenue touched around Rs12bn, it said. The AIE is a whol ly owned subsidiary of National Aviation Company of India (NACIL) floated to operate budget flights targeting low-income Indian workers in the Gulf.
"Air-India Express gives its passengers all the essential on-board services needed for a comfortable flight. Free standardized meals and limited on-board entertainment facilities are available," the statement said.
Meanwhile, Emirates Airlines has announced its six-flights-a-week service to Kozhikode, effective from July 1. Kozhikode is the Emirates' third gateway in the state after Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, and its 10th in India.
24/05/08 Mohammed Ashraf /Arab News/Daijiworld.com

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Virgin Atlantic discounts seats to India

Virgin Atlantic is offering reduced fares on flights to India. Travellers can book Economy-Class flights from Heathrow Airport to cities such as Mumbai from £397 return, including taxes charges and surcharges, while Premium-Economy fares are available from £737.
All Economy sale fares are for outbound travel before June 22. Premium-Economy fares are for travel before June 26.
The minimum stay is one Saturday night and the maximum stay is three months.
Cancellations are not permitted but date changes can be made at a cost of £100.
A selection of available fares is listed below.
Fly from Heathrow Airport to:
Mumbai (to June 22) from £397 (Economy Class)
Delhi (to June 22) from £437 (Economy Class)
Mumbai (to June 26) from £737 (Premium Economy Class)
Delhi (to June 26) from £777 (Premium Economy Class).
23/05/08 Cheapflights.co.uk, UK

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Germans fly in, stroll out

Two German pilots on a world tour took Calcutta airport for a pit stop where they could land, park and walk out without any formalities and, shockingly, did so unnoticed until moments before their return journey two days later.
Marc Aurel Lehmann and Carl Heinz Maxwitat, both in their late 60s, landed their two-seater DA 40 aircraft at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on Monday and casually walked out after parking it on hangar No. 9, close to where Air India keeps its aircraft.
The veteran pilots didn’t bother going through immigration and customs clearance, and none of the airport personnel who might have seen the duo walking out bothered to tell them that they should.
The security breach was discovered only on Wednesday, when Lehmann and Maxwitat showed up at the immigration counter before they were to take off for Phuket, Thailand.
“They admitted to making a mistake and apologised. Their documents were checked and because everything was in order, they were allowed to leave,” said Basab Talukdar, the deputy commissioner of security control and foreigners’ regional registration officer.
The Germans told immigration officials that they were “extremely tired” and needed rest, which is why they “hurried off to a hotel”.
After travelling 180 nautical miles south of Calcutta, Air Traffic Control lost touch with the pilots.“We contacted Bangkok later and were informed that the aircraft was 50 nautical miles north of Phuket,” an official said.
Airport sources said it was the responsibility of the handling agent —usually an airline— to guide foreign pilots through the necessary formalities. Lehmann and Maxwitat did not have a handling agent and drew up their travel plans on their own.
23/05/08 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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SriLankan extends its own Ground Handling operations to India

SriLankan Airlines now does its own ground handling at four airports in India, which significantly increases the visibility of the airline’s branding in India.
The familiar colours and logo of Sri Lanka’s National Carrier are now regular features on vehicles and ground service equipment at airports in Chennai, Trichy, Coimbatore, and Goa.
SriLankan Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer, Manoj Gunawardena, said: “Benefits from this initiative are two fold, it increases our level of customer service and it also brings in significant cost savings to the operation. It is an excellent example of how significant quality and cost benefits can be achieved by challenging the established practices.”
SriLankan, which last November became the first foreign carrier to operate 100 flights per week to India, has 33 flights to these four destinations – 15 to Chennai, 11 to Trichy, four to Coimbatore, and three to Goa. Chennai is one of SriLankan’s busiest destinations in the airline’s route network.
Nalini Fernando, who as Regional Airport Service Manager- India spearheaded the project, said: “Our decision to self-handle at selected Indian airports was undertaken towards reducing heavy operational costs & branding of SriLankan at Indian airports in a highly competitive market. Airport Service staff in SriLankan uniforms attend to every aspect of airport service duties, offering personalised service to our customers, unlike in a handling Agent environment.
23/05/08 Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka

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Despite Delayed Funding, Epic Aircraft Moving Forward

Epic Aircraft continues development of its all-composite turboprop singles and very light jets, though without the $200 million in funding Indian billionaire Dr. Vijay Mallya pledged last September at the NBAA Convention.
The deal with Mallya isn’t dead, Epic CEO Rick Schrameck told AIN, but instead has become “more complicated due to other outside partners. Schrameck’s carefully chosen words refer to Airbus, which Mallya–the CEO of Kingfisher Airlines, one of the European aircraft manufacturer’s best customers–got involved in the deal to help Epic with FAA certification.
The problem isn’t so much with Airbus as it is with parent company EADS and, more specifically, its subsidiary Socata, which happens to manufacture a turboprop single–the TBM 850–that would largely compete with the Epic Dynasty, which is slated for certification late next year. Socata CEO Jean-Michel Léonard told AIN this week at EBACE that his company has conducted talks with Epic, “but there is no agreement whatsoever” at this point.
22/05/08 Chad Trautvetter/Aviation International News, USA

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X-ray of shoe leads to record heroin bust

An X-ray scan found something amiss in the sole of a shoe in a traveller's suitcase at Calgary airport last week.
A border officer went in for a closer look.
"It had a hollowed-out sole," said Lisa White, spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency. "There were drugs in there."
It was heroin, and by the time police and border officers dug deeper into the suitcase and two others, they had uncovered Alberta's largest heroin bust -- 7.8 kilograms worth around $2.3 million. Virtually all of it was hidden in the suitcases' false bottoms.
Police said a man and a woman left India on May 14 and flew to London. From there, they took a British Airways flight to Calgary.
It was around 7:15 p.m. on May 14 that border officers in Calgary pulled the pair aside for a secondary search.
The seized drugs would have yielded around 77,800 individual doses, police said. Each dose has an approximate street value of $30.
Police can't say for sure where the drugs were headed, but it's possible it was Vancouver, said Sgt. Patrick Webb, spokesman for the RCMP.
The previous largest heroin bust was 700 grams in June 2006, at the Montana border, White said.
Bakshish Singh Ghai, 21, and Aneelvir Grewal, 18, were charged with importing and possessing a controlled substance. The two Canadians are scheduled to appear in court next week.
22/05/08 Joel Kom, Calgary Herald/Calgary Herald

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Jet Airways Founder, Tesla Auto Backer Electrify TiE

Jet Airways founder and chairman Naresh Goyal provided the inspirational success story and entrepreneur Elon Musk the dynamic entrance at the annual conference of The Indus Entrepreneurs May 16-17.
The 58-year-old Goyal regaled a huge audience in the Santa Clara Convention Center auditorium with the saga of his meteoric rise from someone who could barely afford to pay his school fees to the builder and innovator of India’s largest private airline.
Musk, whose three current ventures after co-founding and being the largest stockholder of PayPal encompass making electric cars, space travel and solar energy, electrified the TiE conference by driving his new 2008 Tesla Roadster into the auditorium.
Not since former San Francisco 49er quarterback Steve Young keynoted TiE in 2003, have so many TiE attendees rushed forward to the stage after a talk.
The avuncular Goyal, who seemed to be smiling with a twinkle in his eye throughout the keynote panel, described how he has kept a single-minded focus on building an airline that is “the best of the best.” Jet Airways will one day be recognized as one of the “five best airlines in the world in reliability and service,” he predicted.
From a poor background, Goyal, now listed among Forbes magazine’s top billionaires, described walking to school and not being able to pay his school fees and receiving a huge lift when he got his first bicycle.
He started in the airline business literally at the bottom, working as a baggage handler for Lebanese International Airline at the Beirut airport.
23/05/08 Richard Springer/San Leandro India West, USA

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New film throws spotlight back on Kanishka bombing

Toronto: Sturla Gunnarsson's powerful film on the Kanishka bombing, Air India 182, premiered at the Hot Docs Festival recently. Vancouver-based Gunnarsson, who is originally from Iceland and whose wife is Punjabi, has put a number of members of the victims' families in front of the camera, sharing their pain and anguish with the viewers.
They never got such a chance earlier, said Gunnarsson, who made the feature based on Rohinton Mistry's book Such a Long Journey, and whose films have won an Oscar nomination, Emmy, Genie and Gemini awards, a Prix Italia, and best film prizes at numerous festivals.
Gunnarsson said he was able to gain 'unprecedented access' to people involved and to key investigators from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
In Air India 182, he has used voice tapes of conversations between the Air India flight's cockpit and control towers in Toronto, Montreal and Shannon airport in Ireland. CSIS surveillance video tapes are used too, and it is shown how the surveillance at Babbar Khalsa leader Talwinder Singh Parmar's home was discontinued a couple of days before the Air India tragedy of June 23, 1985.
That surveillance post, it is stated, was dismantled the moment then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi returned to India after his visit to the United States. The American Federal Bureau of Investigation had shared with the Canadian law enforcement agencies intelligence that there could be an attempt on Gandhi's life by Sikh terrorists.
Talwinder Singh ParmarThe film shows how Liberal lawmaker Ujjal Dosanjh, who was at the time working as an attorney, was beaten up and left half-dead outside his law office for speaking up against Sikh extremism. He was in hospital for several weeks.
"The Canadian authorities," Gunnarsson said, "were turning a blind eye to that [Sikh extremism] because they didn't want to be accused of meddling in the internal affairs of the Sikh community."
Why a film on Kanishka now? "Over the course of the 20 years of investigations, there were all kinds of conspiracy theories, rumours, there was a mountain of information -- but it was all kind of meaningless information. There was no clear narrative as to what actually happened," the filmmaker said, adding that the books that have been published on the tragedy 'are all in disagreement with one another.'
21/05/08 Ajit Jain/Rediff

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Qatar Airways Calicut service from June 15

Qatar Airways plans to operate scheduled flights to the southwest Indian coastal city of Kozhikode, the airline's third gateway in the state of Kerala beginning June 15.
Formerly known as Calicut, the city is Kerala's third largest with a population of almost 500,000 people. Qatar Airways will operate daily non-stop services between Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, and Kozhikode using an Airbus A320 aircraft.
The airline already serves Cochin and Trivandrum in Kerala and a further six cities across India.
22/05/08 Khaleej Times/Middle East North Africa Financial Network, Jordan

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SriLankan trains 42 more aircraft engineers and technician

Colombo: SriLankan Airlines recently completed comprehensive training programmes for 35 aircraft Technicians and seven Aircraft Engineers, in its continuing efforts to provide opportunities for young men and women to embark upon rewarding careers as professionals in the international aviation industry. Read On >>

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Nahil to launch budget airline

Business magnate Nahil Wijesuriya and related parties will invest US$ 20 million for a budget airline, which will initially fly to sub continental routes.
The initial destinations will be Chennai, Trivandrum and Bangalore in South India and later Mumbai, Wijesuriya told Daily News Business by telephone from Singapore.
"There is tremendous scope for budget carriers and all the Government has to do is to have an open skies policy and Sri Lanka will have unlimited scope like Jet and Air Sahara making headway here due to the unparalleled strategic advantage of its geographical proximities, he said.
He also implored the Government to favour the locals and not the foreigners in the spirit of the country favouring its people for the people to favour the country.
This is what is happening in the Indian Aviation industry unlike in Sri Lanka where we were pampering foreigners all the time, he said in disdain.
Wijesuriya, whose Air Lanka Ltd cargo flight, which was a single Russian aircraft, had round trips on the route Colombo- Male- Sharjah- Chennai Colombo, operated over 70 flights as a test run prior to wanting to operate passenger flights, which were to be from Colombo to Jaffna and South India.
But the then Government Agreement with Emirates was the drawback in the way of implementing the project.
The airline was disbanded and the aircraft returned. "We did not want to operate cargo flights for the rest of our lives," he said.
21/05/08 Ravi Ladduwahetty/Ceylon Daily News, Sri Lanka

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IBS Software acquires US aviation maintenance firm

Bangalore: IT solutions vendor IBS Software Services is foraying into the aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business by aqcuiring 100 per cent equity in US-based aviation maintenance and engineering (M&E) company Visaer Inc.
IBS Software chairman and CEO V K Mathews said on Thursday that the acquisition had been completed in April this year and has a cash component as well as earnout segment payable over the next three years.
Mathews declined to specify investments involved in the acquisition of Visaer Inc which has prominent customers like China Southern Airlines, Qantas Airways, Wood Group Gas Turbine Services and Copa Airlines among its clientele in the M&E space.
"With the Visaer acquisition, IBS will add depth to its portfolio and strive for leadership in the global airlines MRO space. We see an addressable market which comprises 3-5 per cent of the total MRO pie".
The acquisition will include the operating assets of Visaer in the US and the UK, employees, and global customer base, besides the 50-people strong company's Web-based MRO software system "Visaer".
With this, Boston-based Visaer will join an array of IBS products catering to airline operations, the other products being AvientCrew for airline crew management, AvientFleet for airline fleet management, and TopAir for integrated flight operations.
21/05/08 Business Standard

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Air India cancels flight from Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: Air India on Wednesday cancelled its direct flight from Ahmedabad to London saying there was restriction on the runway here due to expansion work undertaken by the airport authorities, sources said. "We had cancelled the flight AI 133 which was scheduled for departure today at 1035 hrs because of runway restriction due to expansion work on the runway undertaken by the airport authorities," an Air India official said.
"Moreover, the wind speed in the city has gone up since last few days making the conditions unfavourable for take-off and landing. So, as a precaution we cancelled the direct flight," the official further said.
Some passengers complained that they were not informed about the cancellation of the flight and claimed that the flight was cancelled because it was under booked.
"We had informed all the passenger, with proper contact details, before hand, and asked them to board a 0710 hrs Indian flight to Mumbai. From there they will board a flight to London," the Air India official claimed.
21/05/08 Business Line

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No Air India flight to London till May 24

Ahmedabad: The ongoing expansion work on the runway of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport has affected the landing and takeoff of big aircraft like Boeing and Jumbo, forcing Air India to cancel its direct flight from Ahmedabad to London from Wednesday.
“The flight AI 133 will remain cancelled till Saturday,” an AI official told Newsline. He added that the flight, which was scheduled to depart at 10.35 am on Wednesday, was cancelled owing to the construction work at the airport. “Due to the expansion work, the space available on the runway is not adequate for landing and take off of big aircraft (with a passenger capacity of 450),” he said.
Though airport director BP Bhagat could not be contacted despite several attempts, a junior official confirmed that the expansion work was on and it would take a few more days to complete it.
According to the official, 49 of the 75 passengers, who had booked their tickets for the Wednesday flight, were informed in advance about the cancellation. An arrangement of an alternate flight was made for them to fly to Mumbai. From there, they were accommodated in another flight for their onward journey to London. The rest of the passengers could not be informed, as they had not given their personal phone numbers. All of them have been booked on other flights to London from Mumbai, the officials added.
22/05/08 Expressindia.com

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Gati Air Express-Redefining Connectivity To Match Business Needs

Hyderabad: Gati is a pioneer and leader in the Express Distribution and Supply Chain Solutions in India. It was the revolutionary approach adopted by Gati that helped launch many path breaking initiatives in the logistics segment and many were the firsts for the Indian market.In a span of 18 years, Gati has consistently explored various ways to bring premium value to the customer.Always setting benchmarks in quality of service and customer satisfaction.
Gati Air Express,the latest offering from Gati is in answer to the needs of the business segment to meet the demanding timelines of today's businesses.
Gati Air Express delivers shipments across all major locations the very next day during business hours,and to some prime locations even before noon!
A fleet of dedicated frieghters(cargo planes)that fly during the night,and a seamless multimodal network that goes down to the last mile,to ensure that your shipments arrive on time.The company has assured the customer,frieght would be refunded if the assured timelines are not met by the company.
In 1996, Gati tied up with Indian Airlines to facilitate speedier delivery of shipment. This twelve-year relationship has now been further strengthened with the launch of the co-branded (Air India Gati ) air cargo and courier service. This lethal combination will demonstrate the value the customers can derive from the synergies of the two majors in air and surface networks.
21/05/08 IndiaPRwire

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Etihad to fly to Kozhikode and Chennai

Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways will launch two daily flights from August 1 to two new Indian destinations -Kozhikode (Calicut) in Kerala and Chennai (Madras) in Tamil Nadu, a statement from Etihad Airways said.
According to the airline, flight EY250 will depart from Abu Dhabi at 11.35pm and arrive in Kozhikode at 5am the next day, while the return flight EY251 will depart from Kozhikode at 5.45am arriving in Abu Dhabi at 8am the same day.
The new Chennai service will operate as flight EY266 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing Abu Dhabi at 8.50am and arriving in Chennai at 2.30pm. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the service will operate as flight EY268, departing Abu Dhabi at 1.45pm and arrive in Chennai at 7.25pm.
The return flight EY267 will depart Chennai on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 3.15pm, arriving in Abu Dhabi at 5.45pm the same day. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the service will operate as flight EY269, departing Chennai at 8.20pm and arrive in the UAE capital at 10.50pm.
21/05/08 Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates

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ASEAN To Sign Common Air Ties With China, India, Japan & Korea

Bohol, Philippines: The Philippine Department of Transportation and Communication said Wednesday that ASEAN countries were expected to sign a multilateral air agreement.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries signed among themselves together with China, India, Japan and Korea an air agreement to be effected in December this year, DOTC Chairman Leandro Mendoza said.
Mendoza, together with Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Alfonso Cusi, was interviewed Monday night by reporters and discussed the plan.
Mendoza said the Philippines and other ASEAN countries have agreed in principle to liberalize their skies with the possible signing of a "common air agreement" in December this year.
Mendoza said ASEAN countries have also discussed with China, India, Japan and Korea the possibility of their joining in the regional air services grouping.
Cusi said ASEAN's adoption of an open skies policy would ultimately lead to the creation of a single aviation market in the region by 2015, wherein the Philippines needs to further develop its air transport policy as well as upgrade existing facilities.
21/05/08 Preciosa Dumlao/AHN

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Kingfisher plans to fly to Karachi and Lahore soon

Mumbai: Private air-carrier Kingfisher Airlines is looking at destinations across South-Asia, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, as a part of its international operations.
The air-carrier also has Colombo in Sri Lanka on its radar.
"Karachi, Lahore, Colombo and Dhaka are on our radar," a top airline official told news agencies.
The airline plans to launch flights to some of these destinations after its proposed launches of the New York and San Francisco flights in August from Bangalore.
If the airline gets permission to operate a service to Karachi and Lahore, it will become the first private air-carrier from India to fly to Pakistan.
"We want to fly to Singapore, Bangkok, Shangdon, Munich etc. We have finalised our schedule and a final decision will be taken soon," the official said.
"However, all this is subject to the government`s approval," he added.
In addition to this, kingfisher is also eyeing Kuala Lumpur and Dubai sectors as part of its proposed overseas operation.
21/05/08 Zee News

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Lufthansa Cargo levies new import handling charges

Lufthansa Cargo has implemented new handling charges from May 1 on cargo imported into India. However, the trade is against this and wants the carrier to withdraw the charges immediately.
The new charge will enhance the entire service chain immediately after touch down of aircraft for import handling services.
But the trade feels it is an ?unfair trade practice? adopted by the carrier.
Since Lufthansa Cargo is a major player in the air cargo market with nearly 80 per cent market share, the carrier is taking advantage of this position to generate undue profits, according to the Federation of Indian Export Organisations.
As per the World Air Cargo Forecast-2006-2007, of the total 1.4 million tonnes of international cargo that flew in and out of the Indian sub-continent which include Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, India moved 8.82 lakh tonnes.
Lufthansa Cargo in a circular to its clients said the levy was to realign its services to the new improved level, and charged along with the delivery order fee.
21/05/08 Business Line/Moneycontrol.com

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Hawker Beechcraft receives order for 10 Hawker 4000s from BJETS

Geneva, Switzerland: Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) announces a significant order from BJETS, an emerging fractional and block charter company based in India, for 10 Hawker 4000s — the world’s most advanced super-midsize business jet—with options for an additional five. The total value of the contract with options is in excess of $330 million.
This new order complements the previously announced existing BJETS order for the purchase of 11 Hawker 900XP and nine 850XP business jets, a total of 20 new Hawkers for their fractional fleet throughout India and Southeast Asia. The Hawker 900XP and 850XP were derived from the world’s most popular midsized business jet lineage, the Hawker 800 series.
“BJETS’ new service is forging the way in fractional ownership in the Indian and Southeast Asia region.
BJETS is a private company that provides innovative business aviation services to corporations and high net-worth individuals in Asia. Offering their services in India and Southeast Asia, the emerging fractional and block charter company is based in Mumbai, India and Singapore, with a flight operations center based in Hyderabad, India.
In 2007 India grew to become the third largest geographic region for sales of HBC products behind the United States and Brazil. Hawker aircraft are supported in the region by the recently-opened InterGlobe Hawker Beechcraft Authorized Service Center in Delhi.
20/05/08 Hawker Beechcraft Corporation/AMTOnline.com, USA

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Jet chief hails ‘extraordinary’ effort on giant Basle hangar

Jet Aviation has opened its new completions-dedicated widebody hangar at its Basel facility last Friday.
The new hangar has some 9,600m2 (103,333ft2) of space which allows it to house an Airbus A380 and a Boeing 747-8 at the same time, with room to spare for a few smaller aircraft. Jet Aviation it is one of only two such hangars in Europe, and comes at a time when the completions industry has a high demand for widebody capacity.
The hangar was built in just seven-months. “To complete such an undertaking in record time took extraordinary cooperation between suppliers, constructors and the airport,” said Jet Aviation chief executive Peter Edwards at the inauguration ceremony.
19/05/08 Flight Daily News/Flight International

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Mechtronix announces partnership agreement with India's HBE Aviosec

Montreal: Mechtronix Systems Inc. (MSI), the fastest growing and third leading provider of flight training equipment in the world, today announced that it had signed an agreement to work with HBE Aviosec PVT Ltd to better develop and service the rapidly expanding Indian market. Read On >>

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United Airlines, Jet Airways enter codeshare, frequent flyer partnership

San Francisco: UAL Corp.'s United Airlines said Monday it entered into a codeshare and frequent flyer partnership with Jet Airways, expanding the number of flights available to customers of both carriers to travel between the U.S. and India.
Chicago-based United said it expects the agreement to begin around Nov. 1, pending approval by the Department of Transportation.
United will have service to 13 cities in India, including Bangalore, Kolkatta, Mumbai, and New Delhi. Jet Airways customers may travel to United's five hubs, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, as well as more than 20 other cities across the U.S. the company said.
19/05/08 Thomson Financial/Forbes, USA

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XOJet gets $2.5 bn, to battle Buffett's NetJets

BANGALORE: XOJet Inc, a private aviation company backed by buyout firm TPG Inc, said it has arranged $2.5 billion of financing to expand its fleet and better compete with rivals such as NetJets Inc, owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
The company on Monday said the funds will come largely from investors in the Middle East, a region it expects will be a big driver of future growth. XOJet's funding package comes just two years since the company started, and at a time when tight credit markets worldwide make it difficult for even many established companies to raise money.
San Carlos, California-based XOJet said it is teaming up with Tasameem, an Abu Dhabi Investment Authority real estate arm, to expand internationally.
19/05/08 Reuters/Economic Times

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Foreign fly: Kingfisher plans charter service

New Delhi: Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines has found a way to utilize the wide-bodied aircraft A-330s and A-340s, which will join its fleet by month-end, to be deployed on international routes. The airline is talking to large travel houses and corporates for chartering the Airbus A-330s and A-340s for foreign jaunts.
The airline had earlier planned to use the three A-330s, on domestic routes like Bangalore-Delhi sector, before the Deccan-Kingfisher combine becomes eligible to fly abroad from August 26. Now this option, said sources, is unlikely to be exercised.
Apron side of domestic terminals at airports in India have parking bays for medium size planes, like A-320 or Boeing-737.
Using an A-330 on domestic flights would mean parking this plane on international terminal side that has bays for bigger planes. "Then both passengers and baggage would have to be transported over the long distance between international and domestic side, which does not seem to be an ideal option for travellers," said an official.
19/05/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Airline curries favour over Madras switch

A north councillor has accused an airline of making her travel to Manchester for a flight when she could have gone from Newcastle.
Joan McTigue made a phone booking to Madras, India, to see her son.But call centre staff at Airline Network booked her on a flight from Manchester.
Middlesbrough councillor Joan later discovered she could have gone from the more convenient Newcastle.
She said: “The assistant who sold me the ticket described himself as a consultant.
“Why did he not offer me the chance to fly from closer to home?
“I do not think I was given enough information about the flights beforehand.
“It was not explained what airports were available for my choice of destination.
“I complained to the company but they said I would have to pay £150 to switch.”
A spokeswoman for Airline Network said Joan did not specifically ask for a flight from Newcastle.
She said: “There is a flight from Newcastle but it is not direct and would cost more than her original booking.
18/05/08 Mr Justice/Sunday Sun, UK

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Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines citizens may get visa on arrival

The Indian Government is considering visa-on-arrival facility to citizens of Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Maldives and the Philippines.
The facility would be offered on a reciprocal basis, ensuring that Indian citizens also get a similar benefit in these countries. At a recent meeting between intelligence agencies, and the tourism home ministries, details have been worked out to allow visa-on-arrival at major international airports.
This concession would be extended later to 18 other countries who do not offer this facility to India. Tourism Ministry officials said providing visas on arrival would not be a problem since advance passenger information system is in place at the six major international airports.
Sources said the Home Ministry has agreed to consider implementation of visa-on-arrival gradually. The Indian Government is now considering visa-on-arrival to citizens of the US, Japan, France, Germany, New Zealand, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, South Korea, Vietnam, Chile, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and the UK. A liberal visa regime will facilitate business visits to India which, in turn, will boost foreign investment.
18/05/08 Ceylon Daily News, Sri Lanka

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Etihad sets dates for new Indian flights

Etihad Airways will launch flights on 1 August 2008 from its Abu Dhabi home base to Kozhikode (Calicut) and Chennai (Madras).
The airline will operate a daily service to both cities. Flight EY250 will depart Abu Dhabi at 11.35pm and arrive in Kozhikode at 5am the next day. Return flight EY251 will depart Kozhikode at 5.45am arriving in Abu Dhabi at 8am the same day.
The new Chennai service will operate as flight EY266 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing Abu Dhabi at 8.50am, arriving in Chennai at 2.30pm. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the service will operate as flight EY268, departing Abu Dhabi at 1.45pm and arrive in Chennai at 7.25pm.
Return flight EY267 will depart Chennai on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 3.15pm, arriving in Abu Dhabi at 5.45pm the same day. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, the service will operate as flight EY269, departing Chennai at 8.20pm and arrive in the UAE capital at 10.50pm.
18/05/08 XPRESS, United Arab Emirates

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India starts airlifting quake relief to China.

Beijing: In the first-ever major humanitarian assistance to China, India on Saturday began airlifting relief material to the earthquake-hit neighbour.
An IAF IL-76 plane carried the first consignment of tents, cutting machines, blankets, water purifiers, generators and other relief material to Chengdu, capital of worst-hit Sichuan Province on Saturday afternoon.
The 36-tonne consignment, part of five million dollar humanitarian assistance pledged by India, was transfered to the affected areas immediately after its arrival, Indian Embassy said here.
Another IL-76 aircraft will ferry relief material from Kanpur on Monday. The second consignment will include sleeping bags, wheel-chairs, stretchers, cranes and winches to be used in getting to people trapped under debris in the worst earthquake to hit China since 1976.
17/05/08 PTI/The Hindu

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DHL sees huge growth in pharmaceutical logistics

DHL, the Middle East's leading logistics and courier company, is expanding its pharmaceutical logistics operations to tap into the increasing demand for healthcare products and services in the region. With the current Dh16 billion pharmaceutical market in the Middle East expected to grow to Dh43.5bn by 2015, DHL sees enormous potential in the pharmaceutical logistics sector.
In an interview with Emirates Business, Dave Harris, General Manager for Contract Logistics, and Parim Patel, Life Sciences and Healthcare Manager at DHL-owned Danza's International; along with Steve Kay of DHL Global Customer Solutions for Emerging Markets, and DHL Express's Akin Sawyerr, who are in charge of Business Development for Life Sciences, outlined how the company intends to capture the regional pharmaceutical logistics market.
18/05/08 Ashaba K Abdul Basti/Emirates Business 24/7, United Arab Emirastes

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Foreign airlines operate more flights during day

New Delhi: People wishing to fly abroad now have more options of travelling during day time, with several foreign airlines starting additional flights during these hours for passengers' convenience following India's insistence.
Civil Aviation Ministry has been pressing the international carriers to do away with night services and operate additional flights during day time and the effort has started bearing fruit now.
Premier British carrier Virgin Atlantic took the lead in introducing day time flights out of Delhi. British Airways followed suit by introducing its additional flight during day time.
German carrier Lufthansa now also operates day time flights to Munich out of Delhi and Mumbai, apart from its night services to Frankfurt.
17/05/08 PTI/The Hindu

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Air India is on the move

Air India moves its base of operations today from Terminal 3 to Terminal 1 at Pearson International Airport.
The move is being made in part so that Air India's operations can be realigned to join its future partner, Star Alliance.
Last December, Air India's application to join Star Alliance was approved. Star Alliance partners form the world's largest airline network with 18,000 daily flights and serving more than 950 destinations in 160 countries,
16/05/08 John Stewart/Mississauga, Canada

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Qatar Airways plans to operate flights to Kozhikode

Qatar Airways today announced plans to operate scheduled flights to the southwest Indian coastal city of Kozhikode - the airline?s third gateway in the state of Kerala - beginning June 15.
Formerly known as Calicut, the city is Kerala?s third largest with a population of almost 500,000 people and is home to serene beaches, historic sites, lush green scenery and world-renowned Ayurvedic health treatments - a haven for holidaymakers seeking adventure and relaxation.
Qatar Airways will operate daily non-stop services between Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, and Kozhikode using an Airbus A320 aircraft. The airline already serves Cochin and Trivandrum in Kerala and a further six cities across India.
16/05/08 Moneycontrol.com

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Gulf carriers one up on Western airlines

London: The prodigious growth of airlines in the region has left their European competitors playing catch-up. Middle-East airlines Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways are among the fastest-growing in the world, fuelled by huge infrastructure development projects in the booming Gulf region.
These projects include the construction of the world’s biggest airport at the Dubai World Central development, which will comprise six runways and capacity for 120 million passengers a year. In addition, the Gulf airlines have marketing muscle. Dubai airline Emirates sponsors a range of sports events and teams around the world, including Arsenal FC and its stadium, while Abu Dhabi rival Etihad has just signed a deal with the Ferrari Formula One team.
Moreover, the airlines’ hubs are positioned at what Etihad chief executive James Hogan describes as ‘the crossroads of the world’, the geographical centre-point between East and West, leaving them ideally placed to serve the rapidly-developing economies of India and China.
17/05/08 Jane Simms/Economic Times

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Air India flights in Kochi-Sharjah sector

Nedumbaserry: The Air India has launched the operation of daily flight service with A-320 type of aircrafts in Kochi-Sharjah-Kochi sector on Friday, informed its Area Marketing Manager Patric Xavier.
The flight IC 595 departs Kochi at 7.35 pm and arrives in Sharjah at 9.55 pm. The Flight which returns as IC 596 from Sharhah at 1.40 pm will reach Kochi at 6.45 pm.
17/05/08 Newindpress

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Kuwait-bound woman arrested

Hyderabad: A 31-year-old woman from Gunupudi village in West Godavari district was arrested by immigration authorities at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad for attempting to fly to Kuwait without employment papers on Wednesday morning. Police suspect the role of an immigration official behind clearing the woman.
According to police, P Bayamma got a visa from Kuwait consulate in Chennai to work as a domestic help in the oil-rich country. One Srinivas from Bayamma's neighbouring village, Juvvalapalem, arranged everything for her to secure a visa.
With the assistance of Srinivas, Bayamma came to the city on May 9. With the help of a car driver, Mohammed Aqeel Ahmed of Hyderabad, Bayamma came to the Shamshabad airport in the wee hours of Wednesday to board a Kuwait Airlines flight, KU372.
16/05/08 Times of India

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Dream to settle in USA crashes at airport

Kolkata: A diploma engineer in electricals, Ms Dimple Rashik Bhai Patel (23), wanted to settle in Portland, USA, but she has landed in Kolkata police's custody late last night.
Ms Patel was arrested just before boarding an international flight from Kolkata airport when immigration officials caught her travelling on a false passport.
Mr Basab Talukdar, DC (security control), said today that she was travelling with the passport bearing the name of Rina Tahir Bhatia and was to fly on a Lufthansa flight from Kolkata. During check at NSC Bose Airport immigration officials detected the fraud and it was found that the passport originally belonged to a person who is a resident of Surat.
During interrogation Ms Patel, a resident of Ahmedabad, said that her father had entered into a contract with one Vinod Bhai that the later would receive Rs 7 lakh for escorting her to Portland. Accordingly Rs 1 lakh was paid and Vinod Bhai took her to Mumbai, gave her the passport and later they came to Kolkata on 13 May.
After arriving at the airport the man disappeared and Ms Patel during immigration check was held. She was later handed over to police. Mr Talukdar added that the passport also had the stamp of one year US residency that is genuine.
15/05/08 The Statesman

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Menzies reports good start to the year

John Menzies said yesterday that it had made a satisfactory start to the year and was continuing to trade in line with its expectations, despite some challenging economic conditions.
The news distribution and aviation services company said its major start-up operations in South Africa, where it has begun activities at six airports providing ground handling services to 41 airlines, and also in India, had moved on apace.
"We have secured more contracts than expected, and as a result have incurred a higher level of start-up costs, which are reducing short-term profitability," it added in reference to the South African operations, but stressed the division is well placed going forward.
In India, Menzies said it started ground and cargo handling operations at the Rajiv Gandhi Airport in Hyderabad in March but pointed out that the opening of Bengaluru Airport in Bangalore has been delayed.
16/05/08 Simon Bain/The Herald, UK

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