Deccan Aviation's row with aircraft lessors reaches SC

New Delhi: Deccan Aviation has moved the Supreme Court to resolve the dispute with aircraft lessor GECAS Group of Companies over the terms of lease agreement.
After the merger between Deccan Aviation&aposs low-cost airline Air Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines, it was decided to terminate the lease agreements prematurely with lessors to eliminate surplus aircraft and avoid duplication of flights.
A bench headed by Justice D K Jain has admitted the plea by Deccan Aviation (whose low-cost carrier Air Deccan has since been renamed Kingfisher Red after its merger with Kingfisher Airlines) challenging the Karnataka High Court ruling that refused to interfere in the dispute involving commercial activity of Deccan with its aircraft lessors.
Earlier, on Deccan&aposs plea the Karnataka high court had given an exparte order restraining the lessors from repossessing the aircraft. However, the court vacated its stay order on a plea by GE Commercial Aviation Services, a part GECAS group, and dismissed Deccan&aposs petition on the ground that though the lessors had given consent to the merger scheme, it would not take away their rights to repossess the aircraft.
GECAS Group of Companies had invoked the cross default clause and had held up around 4.714 million dollars in the form of cash and letters of credit when only rental amount of 1.643 million dollars was due in respect of four aircraft.
According to Deccan senior counsel F Nariman and Pratap Venugopal, the court which had sanctioned the merger scheme under Section 391 of the Companies Act cannot refuse to decide its dispute with its creditors. Resolution of the dispute was a must for proper working of the merger scheme, they added.
31/05/09 Indopia

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Passenger inconvenience again, this time it’s Etihad

Mumbai: In another case of passenger inconvenience, an old couple who flew from New York to Mumbai via Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways have complained to the airline that they were forced to spend almost 14 hours at New York’s John F Kennedy (JFK) airport without any help from the airline’s ground staff.
The incident follows two earlier instances this month wherein two different sets of passengers alleged Air France of racial bias. While this incident was apparently not a case of racial bias, the elderly couple — C V Rajagopalan (64) and his wife — were also forced to spend unnecessary hours at a foreign airport. The reason attributed was rescheduling of the flight, about which they was not informed. While Rajagopalan is diabetic, his wife suffers from hypertension.
According to Rajagopalan, they had flown in from Raleigh early on May 18 to reach the New York airport on time to catch a Etihad flight to India, departing at 10.50 am. They left their residence at 3 am, but once they reached New York airport they got to know that this flight had been rescheduled to 10.50 pm. “We had to wait for nearly 14 hours at New York airport. Both of us are senior citizens and we had to wait without any proper food as both of us are vegetarians,” Rajagopalan said.
“It is very surprising that such a reputed airline made no efforts to inform them of the change in schedules despite giving all the contact numbers and e-mail address to them. Also then, what is the use of giving phone numbers and contact addresses,” said Venkatesh Srinivasan, their son-in-law.
31/05/09 Shashank Shekhar/Indian Express

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Steep discounts on limited-period air travel abroad get good response

Mumbai: With leading global airlines in India offering deep discounts on international air fares for a limited period, travel agencies and portals have seen ticket sales rise by 15-20 per cent in May over April.
Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa and British Airways are offering deep discounts. Singapore Airlines, for instance, has offered a return ticket between all major cities and Singapore for Rs 11,000 and a similar offer for Bangkok for just Rs 12,455.
Lufthansa is running a series of offers as part of its golden jubilee celebrations. A round trip from Delhi to London starts at Rs 36,100 and a round trip from Bangalore to Amsterdam will cost Rs 19,295. Its spokesperson said the number of clicks on its website and the number of bookings have increased sharply.
“This is a very good time for airlines. Elections are over, the stock market is moving up. The sentiments are working well for people. Now they want to take a break and go for a holiday,” said Bhawna Agarwal, co-founder and head of air business at Yatra.com.
“We can see a late peak happening in May. April was bad, but in May we saw airlines coming up with aggressive discounts and offers. Most of these are instant hits and people are wasting no time to grab those. We are witnessing 10 to 15 per cent rise in bookings as compared to last month and that’s a very good sign,” she added.
“The fare cuts and offers have helped in sales going up by 20 per cent in May, as compared to last month. We had better sales during the same period last year. But after the initial months of this year, we were not expecting such figures for the holiday season. The sales are definitely better than we expected. People are preferring a short trip abroad this time,” said Anup Kanuga, chairman of the western region chapter of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI).
29/05/09 Ruchi Panigrahi/Business Standard

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Patel hints at allowing foreign carriers invest in Indian ones

New Delhi: New Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Friday hinted at more reforms in the sector, including allowing foreign carriers to pick up stake in the domestic airlines.
"FDI is an ongoing process. I do not think we are averse to opening up the sector on a gradual or constant basis ... In the previous regime of ours, we had visualised the situation where foreign carriers could also invest. It may not happen overnight but it may happen eventually," Patel told reporters here.
Currently, foreign carriers are not allowed to pick up equity stake in Indian carriers.
Keeping in view the problems faced by domestic carriers, he said airlines should put their expansion on hold "at least for next six months", while assuring his ministry will look into the matter of expansion by carriers on a priority basis.
28/05/09 PTI/Economic Times

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Boeing India Research Center To Advance Aerospace Innovation

Boeing has set up a research and technology center at Bangalore. This center will collaborate with research and development organizations in universities and corporates in India and enhance the country's aerospace capabilities. The Indian center is also Asia's first for Boeing, which has two other facilities in Europe and Australia. For Boeing, such a collaboration with the best brains globally, gives the company a competitive technological edge.
Boeing already collaborates with researchers at the Indian Institute of Science and at Wipro and HCL as part of the Aerospace Network Research Consortium, and the research center will continue on this foundation to break new ground in in aero structures, aerodynamics and electronic networks. This is the first aerospace research consortium on a public-private basis in India. The company claims these efforts will change the future of aviation.
This innovation best practice model has already been implemented in the UK and has seen Boeing teaming up with industry and universities that have already added value to the economy. Apart from collaborating with leading universities like Sheffield and Cambridge, Boeing has established leadership centers that give SMEs an opportunity to participate in developmental programs. The initiative also gives those in the filed added job opportunities and encourages long term competitiveness for industry participants.
The Indian aviation industry sources a large portion of its carriers from Boeing, either on purchase or lease. Boeing expects India to purchase over 900 planes valued at US$86 billion in the next 20 years, while its rival Airbus, the other major supplier of planes, expects Indian airliners to demand 1,100 passenger and freight aircraft valued at US$105 billion, over the same period. Moreover, Boeing is also expecting US$31 billion in defense deals with India in the next 10 years.
29/05/09 FinancialWire via COMTEX/Trading Markets.com

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Emirates will add 22 weekly flights to India

Dubai: Emirates airlineEmirates airlineLoading... on Thursday said it will add 22 weekly flights to India - a further expansion of its India operation as the country propels itself to become one of the world's fastest-growing aviation companies, encouraged by a liberalisation of the skies.
The Dubai-based airline will increase flights as a support for the Indian government's ambitious growth plan to attract 100 million travellers in 2010.
The existing service of 163 flights per week to 10 Indian gateways will be strengthened to 185 over the summer and winter periods.
High demand routes such as Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram will be the chief beneficiaries.
Majid Al Mualla, Vice-President of Commercial Operations for West Asia and Indian Ocean said: "The global slowdown is not over yet, but the outlook for the future is showing signs of improvement.
29/05/09 Gulf News/Zawya.com

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Indian passengers complain of discrimination by Air France

Mumbai: A fortnight after over 50 Indian passengers alleged they were victims of racial profiling while flying Air France, ten Indians, travelling by the same airline, met a similar fate when they were stranded for an entire night in a Paris airport lounge.
The Indians, flying to Mumbai from Washington via Paris, complained that they were confined to the lounge on Monday with just some water and a sandwich after their plane reached Paris late from Washington and they could not board the connecting flight to Mumbai.
The passengers of the flight AF025 alleged that while they had to remain at the airport, people with American passports were given transit visas, provided accommodation and taken care of.
Complaining of discrimination and insensitivity towards them, a passenger Gwyneth Alphonso said, "We were not put on the immediate connecting flight on the same day. We were told that we have to just adjust within the environment. (Those) who held American passports were given visas and accommodation and were taken care of. But we who had Indian passports were the only ones to be denied any kind of help at that place".
The passengers said the airline extended an apology to the passengers through an SMS.
Over 50 Indian passengers had on May 12 accused Air France of 'racial' profiling at Paris airport where they were stuck while in transit after their aircraft developed a technical problem, a charge denied by the airline.
29/05/09 IndianExpress

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Kingfisher Airlines joining oneworld's Global Explorer

A domestic network in India is to be offered by a round-the-world fare for the first time with India's market-leading airline Kingfisher Airlines participating from Monday (1 June) in Global Explorer, which offers flights on all members of the oneworld alliance and some selected other airlines.
Global Explorer already includes a number of airlines with no other oneworld links - Aer Lingus, Air Pacific, Alaska Airlines and its Horizon Airlines sister, and Gulf Air. Flights carrying the Qantas code but operated by Air Tahiti Nui, Jetstar, South African Airways and Vietnam Airlines are included too.
"The fare also covers all routes offered by oneworld's existing member airlines - American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Malév Hungarian Airlines, Qantas and Royal Jordanian and some 20 affiliated carriers, including LAN Argentina, LAN Ecuador, LAN Peru, China's Dragonair and South Africa's Comair. Mexicana and its affiliate MexicanaClick also participate, ahead of joining oneworld later in 2009," oneworld says.
These airlines serve five points in India - but the addition of Kingfisher Airlines' Indian domestic network expands that to a further 62 gateways across the country.
Russia's leading domestic carrier S7 Airlines - whose election on board oneworld as a member designate was announced earlier this week - will also be included in Global Explorer from 1 June, expanding the fare's coverage considerably in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States, adding 54 cities and eight countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).
With the addition of Kingfisher Airlines and S7 Airlines from Monday, Global Explorer now covers flights serving a total of more than 850 destinations in some 150 countries offered by more than 20 airlines and some 20 affiliates.
29/05/09 The Financial

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Gopinath's cargo airline goes global

New Delhi: India's first cargo airline to launch international freight operations was flagged off on Wednesday from IGI Airport Cargo Terminal.
This is yet another brainchild of Capt G R Gopinath, the man who revolutionalized low cost travel in India.
Called Deccan 360, the first plane, an A-310, took off from Delhi for Hong Kong, the world's second largest cargo hub. It was flagged off by Dr Naseem Zaidi, director general of civil aviation. Two more A-310s, each capable of carrying 35 tonnes of cargo, will be inducted soon and by September, six ATR42 planes will be added to the fleet.
Speaking on the occasion, Gopinath said the airline was born out of the frustrations he encountered while he was in Air Deccan, India's first budget airline. "The logistics supply chain would often make us lose valuable time and money. Many airline companies go to six-seven such companies to transport vital airline spares such as tyres and engines across the country.'' He remembers the day he had to get an engine for an Air Deccan plane in Kolkata. "It took me seven days to move that engine from Delhi to Kolkata, first from Delhi to Singapore and from there to Kolkata. So I thought why not start my own logistics company. After all, vision is the art of seeing the impossible.''
At present, India has seven cargo planes with a combined capacity of just 120 tonnes, as compared to China's 100 dedicated cargo planes, he says. "For a country of over a billion people, the possibilities are endless for anyone with optimism and energy.'' However, India's logistics industry is severely hampered, curbing growth and opportunities. "India needs 100 cargo planes over the next 10 years,'' says Gopinath.
28/05/09 Times of India

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Jet Airways introduces special Première fares to London

Mumbai: Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, has introduced special Première fares to London from several Indian cities.
Jet Airways has introduced a special limited period offer for Première passengers from Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune travelling to London between May 29, 2009 and September 30, 2009.
Première passengers from the afore mentioned cities who book their tickets between May 29, 2009 and June 1, 2009, may avail of a special return fare of INR 60,000 to London, via Mumbai. This offer also extends to travellers on the Mumbai-London sector. *
For passengers unable to complete their travel bookings in the specified time period, the airline also offers Première travellers from Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Vadodara a special return fare of INR 89,000 to London, via Mumbai, for sale and travel with immediate effect. This offer also extends to travellers on the Mumbai-London sector.
Additionally, Jet Airways also offers Première travellers from Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Pune, Goa, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, a special return fare of
INR 94,000 to London, via Delhi, for sale and travel with immediate effect. Travellers from Delhi may avail of a special return Première fare of INR 1,06,000 to London for sale and travel with immediate effect.*
According to Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways, “Jet Airways has established itself as among the leading carriers on the competitive Indo-UK sector purely on the strength of its exceptional product quality and high service standards. Our Première product is arguably the best in its class, and offer exceptional value with the introduction of these special fares.”
Jet Airways flies daily, direct to London Heathrow from Mumbai and Delhi. For more details please log on to www.jetairways.com.
28/05/09 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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Passengers reject Air France offer of compensation

Mumbai: Almost two weeks after 53 Indian passengers onboard Air France flight AF-218 from Paris to Mumbai accused the airline of racial discrimination, the airline on Wednesday offered them compensation by means of an airline voucher worth 350 euros each. However, the passengers refused to accept it, terming it an ‘apology of a compensation’.
On May 12, 53 passengers landed at Mumbai airport from Paris after an ordeal of 28 hours because of a technical snag in the aircraft that caused it to return to Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport. Passengers alleged that they were made to spend an entire night inside an immigration hall at Paris airport while European and American passengers were provided with transit visas to check into nearby hotels. Air France officials were not available for comment.
28/05/09 Shashank Shekhar/Indian Express

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Oman-India flight diverted

Mumbai: A flight from Oman's capital Muscat to Chennai in southern India was diverted on Monday after a suspicious object on the plane sparked a security alert, officials said.
The Oman Air plane, which was carrying 140 passengers, was forced to stop in Mumbai for a security check, a Mumbai airport spokesperson said.
'Passengers had complained of a mysterious object during flight, hence it was diverted,' the spokesperson said.
'The Oman Air plane is currently at Mumbai airport undergoing a security scan.'
25/05/09 AFP/Straits Times

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Indians living in Malaysia want Tamil announcements at airports

Kuala Lumpur : The Tamil Indian community in Malaysia has complained that there is no announcement in Tamil at the international airports around the country.
According to a report in The Star Online, the community also complained that the television news readers had failed to promote Indian culture through their dressing and that deejays on radio channels were not fluent in Tamil.
These issues were highlighted to Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam at a function organised by the Malaysia Tamil Youth Bell Club recently.
In his speech, Subramaniam, who agreed to bring the matter up to the Government, said that television and radio channels should use proper Tamil in their programmes. He said that the influence of Western media and culture among the community's youths had resulted in the lack of support for the community's own religious and cultural programmes, adding that Indian organizations should act to preserve the Tamil language.
26/05/09 ANI/Malaysia Sun, Malaysia

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Etihad cabin crew quarantined in India cleared of swine flu after tests

Abu Dhabi: An Etihad cabin crew member who was quarantined in India over suspected swine flu has been cleared after she tested negative, an official of the airline told Gulf News.
"The crew member who was kept under supervision at a local Indian hospital on Monday has been cleared as she tested negative on swine flu tests," an Etihad Airways spokesperson said.
"She has bronchitis," added the official.
On Monday morning the cabin crew member who was aboard the Abu Dhabi flight to Kochi International Airport in the southern Indian state of Kerala was put under medical surveillance as she showed flu-like symptoms. Indian authorities confirmed that she was admitted to the Perumbavoor Taluk hospital in Kochi .
26/05/09 Rayeesa Absal/GulfNews, UAE

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SIA in another row

Singapore: Airlines, already embroiled in a five-month dispute with travel agents in India over sales commissions, now faces a similar problem Down Under.
Flight Centre, one of Australia's biggest travel companies with 800 outlets, has taken SIA off its list of 40 preferred airlines, and told staff to stop promoting the Singapore carrier to clients.
A Brisbane-based spokesman confirmed this when contacted by The Straits Times, but would not verify reports that the company is upset because SIA has refused to increase its 5 per cent commission on ticket sales.
25/05/09 The Straits Times

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Flight from Muscat to Chennai delayed after hoax bomb threat

Chennai: A hoax bomb note created a flutter amongst the passengers of an Oman Air flight bound to Chennai from Muscat on Monday afternoon.
The flight WY 857 had taken off from Muscat at 09:15 (local time there) and was scheduled to arrive in Chennai by 2:30 pm.
Enroute, the crew came across a note on the flight that supposedly announced, “You all are going to die, bye!” The note had been found in the toilet.
The captain of the flight then called for an emergency landing in Mumbai at about 1.15 pm where all the 135 passengers and four infants disembarked.
A bomb squad was pressed into service. It combed the aircraft but found nothing. The flight was then delayed due to some procedural formalities and took off from Mumbai at about 9.45pm.“Such pranks have cost a lot in terms of both time and money. This same flight was to take off from Chennai at about 4 pm,” an airport source said.
26/05/09 ExpressBuzz

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Aviation FDI: Expecting to take off

The civil aviation ministry has revived a proposal to allow foreign carriers to invest in domestic airlines by putting it on its new list of reforms. The proposal is viewed by the ministry, as one way to improve the bottomlines of cash-strapped domestic airlines.
Last year, when the country’s second-largest low-cost airline SpiceJet was starving for cash, foreign investor Wilbur Ross had come to its rescue. Most other Indian airlines are now caught in the same situation. The three major carriers — Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher — are estimated to have combined cumulative losses of Rs 8,000 crore in 2008-09.
Currently, non-aviation companies can buy up to 49% stake in a local airline. But a foreign airline cannot invest at all. While Kingfisher and Jet Airways are trying to raise funds through various routes, state-owned Air India is seeking around Rs 4,000 crore through soft loan and fresh equity infusion from the government. Liquor baron and promoter of Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya has advocated foreign direct investment (FDI) by global airlines into domestic airlines.
Aviation consultancy Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA) head Kapil Kaul believes it will improve investors’ confidence in the industry.
25/05/09 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Damages for NRI flier

Calcutta: Air India has paid a 72-year-old NRI Euro 1,200 (around Rs 80,000) in compensation for not informing him about the cancellation of his flight.
The national carrier had to cough up the amount following an order from the UK’s Air Transport Users Council.
London-based Ambika Prasad Dutta and wife Chitra had booked tickets on Air India’s London-Calcutta flight, now withdrawn, on November 30, 2006. “We had booked the tickets seven months in advance. It was a special trip for us as we were to attend two weddings in our family,” Dutta said over the phone from London.
The flight was finally cancelled but the airline did not convey the information to Dutta. “The airline kept me in the dark about the development though the norm is to inform passengers well in advance about any cancellation,” Dutta said.
On reaching Heathrow airport, Dutta contacted the airline and was accommodated on a Jet Airways flight the following day. Dutta and his wife reached Calcutta via Delhi two days later but both weddings were over by then. Dutta wrote to Air India narrating the harassment he and his wife went through. Back in London, he got in touch with the Air Transport Users Council, a grievance redress forum for air travellers in the UK. The airline initially refused to pay the compensation. “It agreed much later, after the council posted the incident on its website,” Dutta recalled. The airline informed Dutta about its decision to pay the compensation in March 2009. The NRI received the money a few days back.
25/05/09 The Telegraph

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Two more swine flu suspects quarantined

Kolkata: Two international passengers from Bangkok, suspected to suffer from swine flu, have been quarantined at a city hospital, sources at the Infectious Diseases (ID) Hospital said on Sunday.
Ramen Chatterjee, 47, and Krishna Sahu, 27, residents of Rajahat and Icchapur, arrived by a Jet Airways flight from Bangkok on Saturday morning. Doctors at the airport found them suffering from the flu symptoms and rushed them to the hospital at Beliaghata.
“All passengers on international flights are being screened, but since they [the two passengers] were coming from Thailand, a swine flu-affected country, we took extra precautions,” a health officer said.
Hospital sources said both passengers were put in separate wards.
25/05/09 The Hindu

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Foreign airlines lure passengers, slash airfares

New Delhi: Even as domestic airfares have been skyrocketing Indian globetrotters have never had it better. The airfare to Singapore and back is now just Rs 11,000 thanks to huge discounts being offered by international airlines.
While these are promotional fares to increase air traffic hit by financial crunch but no one seems to be complaining. International airlines are wooing Indian holiday makers with rock bottom fares and have slashed airfares by almost half.
British Airways is offering 50 per cent discount on business and first class tickets to London, Europe and US. Not to be left behind Air India is also offering return tickets to London at Rs 21,900 while New York fares are priced at Rs 42,000.
The airfare of Rs 11,000 by Singapore Airlines is almost the same as from Delhi to Mumbai in airlines like Kingfisher or Jet Airways.
One can also fly to China for Rs 22,000 and Perth for Rs 25,000. Some of the discounts are applicable till September.
23/05/09 Mike Sangma/CNN-IBN

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Jet to add four new Dubai-India routes

Jet Airways, India's largest private carrier, plans to launch four new Indian routes from Dubai in the next three months, a senior executive said.
The airline launched operations to the UAE last year with daily direct flights to Abu Dhabi in April, followed by Dubai in August.
"From Dubai, we are planning to launch flights to four more Indian destinations – Hyderabad, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore. Talks are in process and we should be able to launch these routes in the next two to three months," Abraham Joseph, Senior General Manager for Jet Airways Middle East and North Africa, told Emirates Business.
The Indian carrier currently operates daily non-stop flights to Delhi and Mumbai from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Last month it included Chennai to its route network from Dubai and added one more frequency to Mumbai again from Dubai. Plans are also afoot to launch daily services from Mumbai each to Jeddah and Riyadh starting June 14 this year, Joseph said.
In order to battle the declining demand in air travel and boost traffic on the UAE-India route, the carrier has slashed its airfares by about 20 per cent this year.
The first cut for Jet Airways' airfares was in March this year when the carrier slashed fares by about 12 per cent on flights from the UAE to India. This was followed by a 10-per cent cut in fares last week on the same sector.
Asked if the airline was planning any further cuts in airfares this year, Joseph said: "Airfares are already quite low. I do not think we would be able to reduce it any further than what we already have. As with all other airlines, we also reduced fares because of the market pressures. But it is not good for airlines to keep reducing fares in the long run."
24/05/09 Shweta Jain/EmiratesBusiness24-7, UAE

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Direct flight to Saudi Arabia awaits clearance from new Ministry

Bangalore: According to a UNI report, introduction of direct flight to Saudi Arabian destinations by Air India Express awaits clearance from the new Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) at the Centre. Sources at Mangalore’s Bajpe Airport told UNI that the process of direct flight between Mangalore and Dammam by Air India Express was kept on hold due to the general elections. Mangaloreans, who reside in sufficient number in Saudi destinations were hopeful that once the new Aviation Minister assumes office, the process of direct flights between Mangalore and Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam would gain momentum and a final confirmation would be expected soon. According to earlier plans, the flight to Saudi Arabia was supposed to take off in April this year, but due to the pending government nod, the plan was kept in abeyance.
As reported by TravelBiz Monitor earlier, Jet Airways has decided to connect Mangalore-Mumbai-Riyadh from June 14. Though the airline was awaiting clearance from the Central Aviation Authority, it had received booking instructions. As per the proposed schedule, the Jet Airways will run a daily flight between Mangalore and Riyadh.
22/05/09 TravelBizMonitor

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Brussels sees long-haul growth thanks to Jet Airways and US carriers

Located just 11 kilometres from the city centre, Brussels Airport at Zaventem serves as the main airport for all the politicians involved in running the European Union. Traffic at the airport has been growing steadily for the last six years though passenger numbers at the airport have yet to reach the peak of 2000 when Sabena, the failed national carrier was in its heyday. Between 1991 and 2000 traffic had grown by 160% as Sabena established a major hub-and-spoke network at the airport. The airline’s ill-fated involvement with Swissair resulted in the airline’s collapse in November 2001.
The airline’s successor, SN Brussels Airlines, merged with local low-cost rival Virgin Express in 2006/07 to create Brussels Airlines which operates a fleet of some 45 aircraft (only half as many as Sabena at its peak). This summer the airline will serve some 57 destinations non-stop from the airport, while several other destinations are served with an intermediate stop.
As at most major European airports passenger numbers have been down in the first four months of 2009. At present traffic levels are similar to those achieved in 2006. The seasonality profile is typical of many European airports with a peak in July and demand being lowest in December and January.
While Brussels Airlines is clearly the airport’s leading airline the next biggest carriers in terms of passenger numbers are primarily charter airlines. Jetairfly (TUI’s Belgium subsidiary) with 12 based aircraft and Thomas Cook Airlines with six based aircraft are the next biggest airlines. Lufthansa ranks fourth (serving seven destinations in Germany and Milan Malpensa with its new Lufthansa Italia subsidiary) while Jet Airways of India ranks fifth.
Jet has created a ‘scissor-hub’ at Brussels with daily flights arriving from India (Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai) and flying across the Atlantic to Newark, New York JFK and Toronto. All routes are operated with 226-seat A330s which are all scheduled to arrive in Brussels at 07:50 in the morning. All six aircraft then depart at just after 10:00 allowing a good two hours for connections between flights to be made. A fourth Indian connection to Bangalore was started at the end of October but was abandoned in mid-January. All of these flights helped Brussels’ ‘Overseas’ traffic to grow by over 25% in 2008.
22/05/09 Airline Network News and Analysis

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Foreign flights in fare cut

Calcutta: International airfare from the city has hit an “all-time low” with airlines trying to beat the downturn by ferrying tourists during the summer holiday.
Singapore Airlines on Friday reduced fares on a number of sectors to almost half. Industry watchers believe other airlines would follow suit, thus offering a bonanza to holiday travellers.
After the fare cut, a return ticket to Singapore from the city on Singapore Airlines will cost Rs 11,000 including taxes.
The airline’s existing return fare between Calcutta and the island state is around Rs 23,000.
Passengers wanting to avail themselves of the low fare will have to book their tickets between May 25 and May 29. The fare will be valid till September 30.
For China, Australia and the US, bookings under reduced fares will have to be made between May 25 and June 12. The fares will be valid till September 30.
The airline is offering return fare of Rs 22,000 to China, Rs 25,000 to Perth, Rs 36,000 to Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne and Rs 45,000 to the US. The fares are inclusive of taxes. Those flying to Australia, the US and China through Singapore can stay on the island by paying $1.
According to travel industry sources, fall in the number of passengers prompted the fare cut.
Low-cost carrier Air India Express is not increasing its return fare of Rs 15,000 (including taxes) to Singapore in the peak season so that the passenger count does not fall.
Emirates airline, which connects Calcutta to Dubai is offering a free return ticket for a child below 16 years along with tickets for two paying adults.
23/05/09 The Telegraph

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For now, fly abroad at rock-bottom fares

New Delhi: This could well be the final call for holidayers looking for rock bottom international fares this holiday season. Airlines are coming up with limited period mouth-watering fares for travel in next few weeks, before hiking them from next month itself for the rest of this travel season.
On Friday, while Lufthansa's discount offer of up to 50% ended, Singapore Airlines started its own similar offer. The south Asian giant is offering all-inclusive return fares of Rs 11,000 to Singapore, which is the same as a return Delhi-Mumbai fare on a full-service airline. The airline's other fares are just as tempting — Rs 22,000 to China and Rs 25,000 to Perth. The return fare for other Australian cities is Rs 36,000.
``Bookings for this exceptional value deal opens on May 25 and is valid for sale till May 29 for Singapore and June 12 for China and Australia routes. The travel validity for all destinations is till September 30,'' said an airline release.
Air India too is continuing for now with its low fares like a Rs 21,900 return fare (all inclusive) to London or Rs 42,000 to New York.
Some airlines are even targeting the premium traveller. British Airways is offering a limited period discount of up to 50% on its business and first class. Fares will soon rise as the travel industry expects traffic to pick up from late June due to two reasons — increased business travel to India with a stable government being sworn in and school holidays abroad.
``I see demand for both domestic and international travel rising in India by 10-15% in next few months, a dramatic rise in these recessionary times. So fares will see some increase. Airlines need to stop bleeding and start earning,'' said Travel Agents Association of India chief Rajinder Rai.
23/05/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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DGCA upgrades to escape US curbs

New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has spared the government a major embarrassment by meeting 60 per cent of the critical conditions laid down by the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in an assessment it conducted in March 2009. Had it not met these conditions, the US would have curtailed flights from India and imposed more stringent security checks.
A DGCA official said that the regulator had overcome in about two months 54 of the 89 shortcomings pointed out by the FAA. “The DGCA has now also constituted a Board of Aviation Safety under the chairmanship of the director general to take periodic stock of safety and security developments,” the official told The Indian Express.
The FAA team is scheduled to visit India in June for another inspection. Though the DGCA expects to fulfill all the conditions by then, it has decided to buy more time from the FAA and push the deadline to July. Earlier, the regulator was hauled up by the civil aviation ministry, which had to request the external affairs ministry to firefight on its behalf with the American counterpart.
After conducting an on-site assessment, the FAA downgrades ratings of a country if it fails to meet minimum safety oversight standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
22/05/09 Smita Aggarwal/Indian Express

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Jet Airways to expand West Asia service

New Delhi/Mumbai: India’s second-ranked airline by passengers carried, Jet Airways (India) Ltd, has been permitted by the aviation ministry to expand services to West Asia, connecting four Indian cities with Sharjah, raising concern among smaller rivals planning to fly to the region that their large peers are hogging limited, bilaterally negotiated rights.
Jet entered the West Asia market in January last year on expiry of a rule that allowed only the national carrier—National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, or Nacil, that runs the Air India services—to fly to this region. With some six million Indians estimated to be working in the region, with about a quarter of them in the United Arab Emirates, Jet Airways expanded quickly into these lucrative routes as part of its first phase of international expansion that included connections to the US and Europe.
Of the 18 cities it connects internationally now, six are in this region, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait and Muscat. It plans to add three more cities—Riyadh, Jeddah and Sharjah—to its West Asia network.
Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, Jet Airway’s bigger rival by share of passengers carried, which flies to London, Dhaka and Colombo, does not operate flights to West Asia yet.
A Jet Airways spokeswoman confirmed to Mint that her airline had received permission for flights to Sharjah but declined further detail.
The permissions for Jet Airways from the outgoing government cover daily services to Sharjah from Kochi, Kozhikode (formerly Calicut), Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai, according to a senior government official who wanted to remain anonymous.
The airline earlier this year started flying the Chennai-Dubai and Mumbai-Kuwait routes even as it cut down on domestic routes.
22/05/09 Tarun Shukla and P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Cheaper air fares for students

Bangalore: Airlines are going whole hog to woo students travelling overseas for higher studies this year.
The give aways include 20%-30% discount on tickets with free stopover visits and site seeing, excess baggage allowance of up to 60 kg and other freebies worth Rs 11,000.
The student segment brings in significant revenues for airlines between July and September, as many international universities begin their courses during this period. On an average, close to 60,000 Indian students venture aboard for further studies annually.
And analysts say that the market is getting bigger as countries like Australia and New Zealand are seeing Indian student traffic growing almost 100% year-on-year. Typically, students carry 20 kg of excess luggage, which is over and above the average prescribed allowance of 23 kg on international travel.
Jet Airways has just announced its plans to offer students flying out of India an excess baggage allowance of between 40 kg and 60 kg for travel to the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Kingfisher Airlines is offering an excess baggage allowance of 45 kg on its international routes, which is also applicable on domestic connecting flights and international code share airlines.
For every kg of excess luggage airlines levy a fee of 1% of the basic fare price.
Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Air India are offering excess baggage allowance of 20 kg to 25 kg and more, depending on the destination.
Malaysian Airlines offers students a stopover visit to Kuala Lumpur at an additional cost of just Rs 1,000. Some other airlines too are considering to introduce free stopover visits.
22/05/09 Anshul Dhamija & Darinia Khongwir/Times of India

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Jet Airways to connect M'lore-Riyadh

Mangalore: Introduction of direct flight to Saudi destinations by Air India Express awaits clearance from the new Ministry at the Centre.
The sources at Bajpe Airport said here today, the process of direct flight between Mangalore and Dammam by Air India Express was kept on hold due to the general elections. The Mangaloreans, who are in sufficient number in Saudi destinations were hopeful that once the Aviation Minister assumes office, the process of direct flights between Mangalore and Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam would gain momentum and a final confirmation would be expected soon. The sources said according to the previous plans, the flight to Saudi Arabia was supposed to take off in April, but pending the government nod, the plan was kept in abeyance.
Meanwhile, Jet Airways, has decided to connect Mangalore-Mumbai-Riyadh from June. Though the airline was awaiting clearance from the Central Aviation Authority, it had received booking instructions. As per the proposed schedule, the Jet Airways would run a daily flight between Mangalore and Riyadh. The connecting Jet flight would take off from Mangalore at 1515 hrs and arrive at Mumbai airport at 1620 hrs. The Mumbai-Riyadh flight would take off at 1930 pm and arrive at Riyadh at 0905 hrs Saudi Time.
The return flight from Riyadh will take off at 2005 hrs every day and arrive at Mumbai at 0430 hrs. The connecting flight from Mumbai to Mangalore would be at 0920 hrs, which is set to reach Mangalore at 1030 hrs.
21/05/09 Mangalorean.com

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Special prosecutor clears lawyer of man convicted in Air India bombing

Vancouver, BC: A spin-off investigation from the Air India bombing trial has determined no charges will be laid against the lawyer for the only man convicted in the terrorist plot.
After a seven-year investigation, special prosecutor Paul Fraser has decided the evidence didn't support a charge of fraud against Inderjit Singh Reyat's lawyer David Martin.
And while Fraser concluded there would be a likelihood of conviction for Reyat's son Didar, he said prosecution was not required in the public interest.
The Law Society of B.C. issued a citation against Martin, alleging that he defrauded the government by making a deal to pay $10,000 a month to Reyat's two children for translation services and that he submitted fake accounts for work that hadn't been done.
After the allegations were made in 2002, Reyat's entire legal team, except Martin, resigned and were replaced.
Reyat pleaded guilty a year later to manslaughter for his part in the bombing that killed all 329 people on the Air India jet that crashed into the ocean off Ireland in June 1985.
Fraser said any evidence against Martin presented at a criminal trial "would likely be ambivalent and would lack the cogency and clarity to support a finding of the necessary criminal intent."
A Law Society panel ruled in 2004 that Martin didn't conduct himself professionally around the matter, but didn't do it intentionally.
"It was common ground that the applicants misconduct involved neither dishonesty nor deceit," said a decision from the society.
The society ordered that Martin be reprimanded, pay a $20,000 fine and pay $35,000 in costs of the discipline proceedings.
"I am gratified that the announcement made today finally puts this entire matter to a complete end," Martin said in a statement to the media.
22/05/09 The Canadian Press/CJBK, Canada

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Kingfisher renting out planes to foreign carrier

New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, will rent out at least two of its five long-haul A330-223 aircraft to Nigerian carrier Arik Air Ltd for two years from the third quarter of 2009.
This indicates that the Mumbai-based carrier’s expansion plans into Europe and the US remain uncertain. It sold two of its long-haul, Airbus SAS-made A340s to Arik Air late last year when it was scheduled to take deliveries of 10 other aircraft to start international operations.
Kingfisher Airlines, India’s largest private carrier by passengers, launched only a few international flights with five of the A330s deliveries it accepted.
“All it says is that Kingfisher will not expand in the long-haul sector for at least two years,” a London-based analyst said on condition of anonymity. “It will continue to expand in the region and I expect flights to start to Singapore, Bangkok, Kathmandu and the Middle East in the next 18 months.”
The analyst added that the leases were an indication that Kingfisher may expand regionally unless there are drastic changes in the international market.
This year, Kingfisher has started flights to Colombo and Dhaka using its domestic fleet of ATR planes. It also has government approval to fly to Chittagong, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and plans to start an all-economy service between Bangalore and Dubai from 25 June using an Airbus A320.
The Arik Air lease will start almost a year after the two A330s, valued at list prices of $180.9 million (Rs862 crore) each, have been grounded.
Rival domestic carrier Jet Airways (India) Ltd has given nine wide-body aircraft on lease to West Asian carriers but for much shorter time.
21/05/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Fare war on Dhaka-Kolkata air route

A fare war has now surfaced on the Dhaka-Kolkata route, as Indian carriers recently slashed fares drastically to secure a slice of the market, airline officials said yesterday.
In the last couple of days, three Indian carriers operating from Bangladesh reduced their fares for flights between Dhaka-Kolkata. Air India Express was the first to cut fare, followed by Jet Airways and the newest entrant Kingfisher Airlines.
Local carriers--Biman Bangladesh Airlines, GMG and United Airways -- are yet to respond to the price cuts by the Indian carriers and some said they are first observing the situation.
“We cut our fares to allure more travellers to our flights on the route. Our Dhaka-Delhi route has a 90 percent rate of occupancy, but it is quite low for our Dhaka-Kolkata route. I hope we will be able to attract more travellers after the reduction in fares,” said Sudhakar Rao, general manager of Jet Airways in Bangladesh.
The Jet Airways official termed the latest fare promotional and said it would continue from May 18 to June 30.
The fare war began as Liquor baron Vijay Mallya led private airline Kingfisher Airlines to debut on the Dhaka-Kolkata route on May 15. It is the sixth airline to secure a slice of the air-travel market, which is blessed mainly by Bangladeshi medical treatment seekers, tourists and business people.
21/05/09 Sohel Parvez/The Daily Star, Bangladesh

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South African airline adds flights for India's IPL

South African airline SAA is adding flights and using larger planes to cope with the number of fans coming from India for the final stages of the Indian Premier League tournament this weekend.
The Twenty20 event, which was moved to South Africa for security reasons in April, finishes with the semifinals on Friday and Saturday in Pretoria and Johannesburg, and the final on Sunday in Johannesburg.
SAA said in a statement that it was adding a Johannesburg-Mumbai flight on Friday and another on Monday because of an increase in demand for seats from IPL fans. SAA normally has four Johannesburg-Mumbai flights a week.
The airline was also planning to use a larger plane on the route on Thursday and Sunday.
20/05/09 Associated Press/Taiwan News

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Saudi, Egypt and India largest buyers at this year's airport show

The ninth Dubai Airport Show saw airport authorities from Saudi Arabia, India and Egypt, followed by Qatar and Oman, emerging as the largest buyers of airport equipment.
"Airport authorities from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, India and Egypt, are shopping for everything from cargo and baggage screening systems to aircraft parking components," the show's organisers, Reed Exhibitions, said yesterday in a statement.
It said Saudi's King Abdulaziz International Airport, for example, is undergoing a $20 billion (Dh73.4bn) overhaul aimed at transforming it into the region's second-largest airport by 2035.
Meanwhile, Cairo Airport Company, part of the Egyptian Holding Company for Airports and Air Navigation, which manages the Cairo International Airport and 19 airports under the Egyptian Airport Company, is prioritising security and safety, IT systems, infrastructure and cargo solutions on its EGP 7.8 billion (Dh5.1bn) shopping list, according to Ihsan Sadik, an executive from Cairo Airport Company.
With total project budgets exceeding $6bn, airport operators from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region were declared as the ones among the leading buyers at the show.
Furthermore, performance-based navigation systems were among the top priorities for Gulf airport operators limited by airspace restrictions mandated by governments across the region.
21/05/09 Emirates Business 24-7, UAE

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Swine Flu may have landed in city

Kolkata: A passenger with symptoms of Swine Flu was detained at the NSC Bose airport this morning. Airport doctors said Mr Shyamal Sarkar (35), who flew in from Dubai on an Emirates’ flight, exhibited respiratory distress, symptoms of a cold, a running nose and mild fever. He was immediately segregated. After initial consultations, doctors of the Airport Health Service (AHS) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) ensured the passenger was covered with a face mask, cap, gloves and disposable apron and sent him to the infectious diseases hospital in Beliaghata. Mr Sarkar, a resident of Gosainagar in Ranaghat, Nadia, works in Dubai as a welder.
Dr Sujit Buxy, chief medical officer of AAI, said all precautions had been taken while examining the suspected carrier of the Swine Flu virus.
Dr AC Dey, chief airport health officer, said that not only was Mr Sarkar segregated but the passenger manifest of the flight was thoroughly examined. Personal details and recent medical/travel histories of his co-passengers were collated and passengers' contact numbers have been communicated to the state health department.
Health department officials will be contacting passengers as a follow-up action to ascertain if any of them show symptoms similar to Mr Sarkar's. Dr Dey added that there were no instructions from the World Health Organisation to fumigate the aircraft in which passengers with Swine Flu symptoms had been detected. Mr Sarkar, meanwhile, is being kept under observation. He told doctors at the airport that he has many Philippines nationals as co-workers in Dubai but Dr Dey said the Philippines was not listed among the countries affected by Swine Flu.
20/05/09 The Statesman

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India-bound PIA flights half-empty

Karachi: Pakistan International Airlines is running half-empty flights to India as the neighbouring country has tightened visa policy, causing millions of rupees loss to the national flag-carrier ever week, the sources concerned told TheNation.
The state-run airline is currently operating six flights a week to India with only 45-52 per cent utilisation of capacity as India has slashed the issuance of visas to the visitors after Mumbai attacks, the sources said. Before Mumbai incidents, PIA flights to India were operating with over 70pc capacity, the sources added.
It is said that the top PIA officials have requested the Defence Ministry to reduce the number of flights to avert increasing financial losses. But the Ministry, under pressure from the federal govt high ups, has asked PIA to continue with the current schedule of flights on the plea that cut in flights would further damage Pakistan’s ties with India.
They pointed out that after Mumbai attacks, on the one hand, the Indian govt has tightened visa rules while on the other, the number of visitors has dropped sharply because of tension between the two countries.
Air India, that was operating two flights to Pakistan every week, had already suspended its flights, but the federal government officials were not willing to reduce the number of PIA flights, fearing that doing so could annoy the Indian government, claimed the sources. Despite immense financial crisis in the airline, PIA continues to operate on its routes to India, although after Mumbai attacks, Air India had stopped all its operations to Pakistan.
21/05/09 Javed Mahmood And Sadia Saeed/The Nation, Pakistan

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Job lost due to cancelled flight, man to get Rs 5 lakh in damages

New Delhi: The Delhi Consumer Commission has held Emirates Airlines guilty for not enabling a man employed in Libya to take a flight back after spending time at home. The Commission asked the airlines to pay Rs 5 lakh in compensation.
The incident dates back to May 1999, when complainant Raj Kumar Sharma was headed back for Djerba, Libya, after spending time with his ailing mother in India. Sharma worked as a nurse with Central Hospital at Benwalid in Libya under a contract of employment and work visa.
In its recent judgment, the consumer commission charged Emirates with deficiency in services. It ruled that the airlines was duty-bound to inform Sharma about any rescheduling and cancellation of connecting flights to Libya as also to place him in another flight.
According to Sharma’s complaint, he was granted 80 days’ leave and flew down in February 1999 after getting confirmed return tickets. On May 6 that year, he was scheduled to take an Emirates Airlines flight from IGI Airport to Dubai, and then connecting (Air Malta) flights to Malta and on to Djerba. But Emirates officials told Sharma at IGI Airport that his ticket from Dubai to Malta was not in the list and that the other flight (Malta to Djerba) was also cancelled.
20/05/09 Indian Exprerss

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Singapore Airlines face-off with travel agents set to continue

Mumbai: The managing committee of the Travel Agents Association of India (Taai) on Tuesday rejected a productivity-linked bonus offer by Singapore Airlines, continuing a stand-off between the airline and travel agents that is approaching its fifth month.
“Taai had demanded commission on tickets sold. In fact, we had asked all of our state committees to tighten their stand against Singapore Airlines with a slogan ‘Quit India’,” Taai president Rajinder Rai said, following the managing committee’s meeting in Kochi. Earlier, the airline had offered a productivity-linked bonus in which agents would get 2% of total sales provided they brought in business of at least Rs5 lakh a month.
“Tafi (Travel Agents’ Federation of India) members had overwhelmingly rejected the productivity-linked proposal since it is not the remuneration equal to commission… Moreover, there is no continuity for this scheme since it is negotiated every year. Nothing stops Singapore Airlines to stop this (a) few months down the lane,” said Ajay Prakash, national general secretary, Tafi. The two groups had made the decision late last week; the Taai managing committee meeting in Kochi on Tuesday was to ratify this decision, among other things.
This is the first time Singapore Airlines made an offer similar to other global carriers since it did away with a 5% commission on each ticket sold. Of the 72 international airlines operating in India, at least 16 do not pay commission to travel agents.
C.W. Foo, general manager (India) for Singapore Airlines, confirmed the offer in an email to Mint. “In the meeting with the travel agents associations on 12 May 2009, we offered (a) productivity-linked incentive scheme, which covers a broad base of travel agents i.e. a modest productivity target of Rs5 lakh per annum with 2% incentive,” he said.
20/05/09 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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GMA seeks to strengthen trade, air links with India

Manila, Philippines: President Arroyo said today she would accelerate talks on inking a free trade agreement between the Southeast Asian countries and India while calling for early establishment of direct air links between Manila and New Delhi.
Speaking at the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Philippines and India, Mrs. Arroyo said a tightened linkage to Asia's economic powerhouse India may strengthen the country's resilience to the global economic crisis.
Mrs. Arroyo said it is time to give the Pan-Asian region a stronger voice in shaping the world economic order and accelerate negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India.
"Perhaps because of the strength of India and China and other countries, the Asian continent is the best situated to weather the global crisis, compared to America and Europe," she said.
Mrs. Arroyo also urged Indian businessmen operating in the country to convince airlines to provide direct flights between India and the Philippines to boost two-way trade and investment.
She recalled that in an earlier trip to India, she had invited Indian filmmakers to consider shooting in the Philippines which drew enough interest to produce a couple of Bollywood films shot on location in the country but the absence of direct flights had reportedly hindered more filmmakers to come over.
Mrs. Arroyo said the Philippines and India have an existing air agreement, and it's now the economic decision making of the airlines that will make direct flights possible.
18/05/09 Xinhua/philstar.com

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High Court allows Jet to lease aircraft to Turkish Airlines

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today allowed Jet Airways to lease a Boeing aircraft to Turkish Airlines, in addition to the three already leased.
Justice Anand Nirude granted permission to Jet to give the aircraft on dry lease (without the crew) for 25 months.
Jet needed the court&aposs permission as earlier the High Court had barred the airline from creating third-party rights in its moveable assets, including 40 aircraft, until its dispute with Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd (SICCL) was settled.
Last month also Jet had moved court seeking permission to send three Boeing-777 aircraft to Turkish Airlines on dry lease.
SICCL had in March filed a petition claiming that the Naresh Goyal-run airline had defaulted on payment for the acquisition of Sahara Airlines, now JetLite, and hence it was liable to pay the original deal amount of Rs 2,000 crore and not re-negotiated Rs 1,450 crore.
19/05/09 Indopia

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Jet Airways introduces 'Edujetter' bebefits for students flying abroad

Mumbai: As part of its ‘EduJetter’ initiative aimed at celebrating the achievements of students who have secured admission in educational institutes abroad, Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, now offers them a whole host of benefits, effective May 26, 2009.
The airline offers students flying out of India assured benefits of more than
INR 11, 000*, including excess baggage allowance between 40-60 kgs for students travelling to the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, UK, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong aboard Jet Airways, as well as 1000 JPMiles on enrolment into the airline’s JetPrivilege frequent flyer programme that results in a free ticket after the first flight.
Other benefits include free talk-time from Matrix of upto INR 3500 and waiver on the first month line rental with connection; INR 500 worth of free global internet roaming in over 160 countries by Tata Indicom WiFi; special forex rates on ICICI Bank Travel Cards; gift voucher of INR 2000 on HP Pavilion notebooks; a 20% discount on Samsonite luggage, backpacks and travel accessories; three 40% discount coupons from FedEx for international shipping and gift vouches worth INR 1000 from Provogue.
According to Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways, “Indian students abroad have gone on to make the country proud by going on to excel in several spheres abroad. Jet Airways’ EduJetter initiative is the airline’s way of encouraging every young student from India travelling abroad with assured benefits, having been tailored to suit the specific needs of this category of young travelers, and make their travel experience as convenient and enjoyable as possible.”
For more information, students may log on to jetairways.com/edujetter, sms edujet to 56388, e-mail at edujetter@jetairways.com or call on 1800 225522 or 02239893333.
19/05/09 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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Fellow passengers of A(H1N1) flu patient hospitalised

New Delhi: Two fellow passengers of the lone positive case for swine flu in India have been hospitalised with symptoms of the dreaded disease.
The Hyderabad resident, who had tested positive for swine flu after returning from the United States is being treated with Oseltamivir and is presently stable, a senior health ministry official said here on Monday. Two of his contacts, who travelled in the same flight, were found to have cough and sore throat and as a matter of abundant precaution they are presently admitted in the identified hospital at Hyderabad, he added.
Meanwhile, so far samples of 66 people have been tested, including one which tested positive for A (H1N1) flu. The rest have been found negative for the disease. The screening of passengers coming from affected countries is continuing in 21 International airports.
A total of 39,991 passengers have been screened till date out of which around 14,245 passengers were from affected countries. One passenger disembarking at Delhi Airport has been referred to the identified health facility.
18/05/09 PTI/The Hindu

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flydubai receives its first Boeing 737-800 aircraft

Dubai: flydubai, the emirate's first low-cost carrier (LCC), on Monday received its first of 50 next-generation Boeing 737-800s.
While the summer traffic is expected to be low this year due to a dampened consumer spending, Gaith Al Gaith, chief executive of the airline said the "booking right now is better than expected" for the summer.
The airline, whose first flight will be to Beirut, Lebanon, on June 1, will be adding 14 to 16 more destinations by the year's end. Other confirmed destinations include Amman, Jordan, Damascus, Syria, Alexandria and Egypt.
Al Gaith told Gulf News that the airline would be looking at the Indian sub-continent and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as its new destinations. The focus would "always be this region", he said.
The airline would be taking delivery of six aircraft this year, including its inaugural aircraft. One more is expected this month, two in July, one in October and another in December.
The airline placed an order of 50 aircraft last year at Farnborough for $4 billion (Dh14.69 billion), and officials said that all the deliveries would be taken by 2016.
Speaking of the funding for the aircraft, Al Gaith said that it would be from the airline's own resources, plus from local and international institutions. "We will finance them as they come," he said.
The airline's model is said to be "less complex, less stressful and less expensive". The ticket price includes all taxes and hand baggage allowance of 10kg. For additional 32kg, passengers will have to pay a separate charge of Dh40.
"People should not pay for others' baggage," Al Gaith said, describing the separate price charge as "fair".
18/05/09 Nadia Saleem/Gulf News

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First case of swine flu in India confirmed

New Delhi: Its official now, India on Saturday confirmed first case of deadly H1N1 virus. A 23 year old passenger who arrived at Hyderabad from US has been confirmed to be carrying the virus.
While, the IT student whose samples confirmed positive for H1N1 virus has been put on Tami flu, his co-passengers who departed New York on May 11(Emirates Airline EK-202), transiting Dubai (Emirates airline EK-524) are being tracked.
“We have informed Dubai and New York health authorities through the World Health Organisation (WHO) about the case and informed them to track all those he might have passed on the infection to,” Naresh Dayal, health secretary told the Indian Express, confirming the case.
According to the health ministry officials, all the passengers who traveled in the connecting flight from Dubai to Hyderabad have also been identified and they are being contacted through Integrated Disease Surveillance Project “their health status would be monitored. These passengers are also being advised to remain under home quarantine for further period of seven days,” added the official in the ministry.
The passenger found to be positive for the virus was quarantined at the Hyderabad airport early morning on May 13 as he was found to be having fever. “He was then immediately shifted to the identified isolation facility and his samples were taken,” an official in the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said.
16/05/09 Teena Thacker/Indian Express

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Two travelled with swine flu infected passenger

Bangalore: Two passengers from Karnataka had travelled along with the youth, first to be tested positive for swine flu in India, who flew from US to Hyderabad via Dubai, a top health official said here today.
"Two passengers from Karnataka boarded the same plane as the 23-year-old man, who was tested positive with the H1N1 virus, at the transit at Dubai," Director of Health Services, Usha Vasunkar, told PTI today.
"We are still ascertaining details about the duo, who hail from Gulbarga and Bidar respectively,"she said.
16/05/09 Indopia

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Foreign carriers forced to offer promotional fares

New Delhi: Slackening demand even during the peak season is forcing foreign carriers to offer promotional fares. After Jet Airways announced special fare on India-London route and Malaysian Airlines cut down fuel surcharge, Emirates has launched ‘kids go free’ offer to travellers flying from India to Dubai.
International air traffic fell 1.8% to 2.61 million in March this year over corresponding month last year. While the global slowdown has already hit hard air travels across the world, the recent outbreak of swine flu in Mexico further dented the aviation sector.
“Starting April 10 through June, domestic as well as international air traffic are its peak. While outbound traffic during this period is high, the inbound traffic is low. Unfortunately, outbound traffic is also low this time due to the recession forcing airlines to offer aggressive fares,” said Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation head Kapil Kaul.
Malaysian Airlines has reduced fuel surcharge (a major component of airfare) by 53% for flights between India and Kuala Lumpur.
16/05/09 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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16 flu-suspect flyers traced, quarantined

India has put on home quarantine 16 people who had recently travelled from San Francisco to Hong Kong in a flight that also carried an H1N1 swine flu infected passenger.
TOI had first reported how China had informed India on Wednesday about these suspected passengers, most of whom were from Tamil Nadu.
According to the Union health ministry, all 16 suspected passengers have been traced and state governments have been told to put them on home quarantine for the next one week.
During this time, the health condition of these 16 people and their close contacts will be observed. In case they show any symptoms of H1N1 influenza infection, like cough, cold, upper respiratory tract infection and fever, their throat samples will be picked up and sent to National Institute of Virology (Pune) and National Institute of Communicable Diseases (Delhi) for testing.
Tamil Nadu's directorate of public health has put six people, including four women and a child, on residential quarantine for a week. While four of the passengers are now staying in Choolaimedu, the other two reside in Madipakkam and Aynavaram. None of them have shown any clinical symptoms of a H1N1 swine flu infection. Details of the other 10 passengers were not revealed.
16/05/09 Pushpa Narayan & Kounteya Sinha/Times of India

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Daily flight to Dhaka ftom Calcutta

Calcutta: Kingfisher Airlines launched a daily flight to Dhaka from the city on Friday. Calcutta thus became the fourth city from which the private airline operates international flights.
The Kingfisher Red (the airline’s low-cost service) flight will take off from Calcutta at 1.35pm and touch down in Dhaka at 3.15pm (local time). The return flight will start its journey at 4pm (local time) and reach the city at 4.15pm. The promotional minimum return fare of around Rs 6,500 including taxes will be valid till June 15, said airline sources.
An airport official said the inaugural 66-seater plane went to Dhaka with 22 passengers and returned with 50 passengers. Currently, Air India Express, Jet Airways, GMG Airlines and United Airways operates in the sector.
16/05/09 The Telegraph

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Power failure at Delhi airport damages aircraft

Mumbai: An American Airlines plane was accidentally damaged at the Indira Gandhi International Airport yesterday night when power supply was disrupted for a brief period.
Sources told NDTV that the door of the American Airline plane was damaged in the incident. The incident occured at bay 42 after which the return flight of the airline has been cancelled.
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), which manages the Delhi, airport said in a statement, that due to a glitch in the power back up there was a malfunction in the automated electrical systems, which was then switched to manual mode. As a result, "the aerobridge attached to American Airlines flight 292/293 operating to Chiacgo accidentally touched the boarding gate of the aircraft leading to the damage."
The statement from DIAL said that all the passengers had disembarked and there was no one in the plane when the incident occured.
Sources said that as soon as power supply was restored, the aerobridge started moving in the opposite direction, which caused the damage to the aircraft's door.
This is the second such incident that has happened in the last few days. An Air India plane was damaged when the pilot tried to taxi the aircraft while one of the doors was still open. The door hit the aerobridge and was ripped apart while there were 172 people on board.
15/05/09 Ashutosh Sinha and Arijit Banerjee/NDTV.com

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Air France says sorry to Indian passengers

New Delhi: Air France Thursday apologised for "all inconveniences" suffered by its passengers - mostly Indians - due to a long delay in a Paris-Mumbai flight Sunday.
"Air France apologises for the ill-treatment meted out to passengers and understands the annoyance expressed by some of them. Exceptional circumstances made the situation particularly difficult," the airline said in a statement.
The Air France Airbus-A330 flight AF 218, carrying 169 passengers and 12 crew members, left the the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris at 12.45 p.m. Sunday, but returned after the pilot noticed some vibrations emanating from the cargo hold enroute.
Later, some Indian passengers complained that they were "ill-treated" during their stay at the airport Sunday night. They also accused the airline of racial bias.
"The airline did not give any reason for the delay and dumped all Indians in a small room," an Indian passenger said after reaching Mumbai Tuesday.
All passengers were transferred to another Air France flight AF-218A Monday. It left Paris at 2.15 p.m. Monday and arrived in Mumbai early Tuesday.
However, the airline said its employees provided assistance to all passengers, who were offered beverages, snacks and amenity kits.
14/05/09 IANS/ExpressBuzz

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184 heroin pellets found in Afghan smuggler

Kabul: Border police this week arrested a man with 184 heroin pellets in his abdomen, a record in Afghanistan, as he was going to board a plane to India, a commander said Thursday.
The man was arrested with another Afghan national at the Kabul International Airport, the border police chief at the airport, General Mohammad Asif Jabar Khil, told reporters.
"184 capsules were taken out of one's abdomen (and) 91 from the another," he said at a press conference, where the plastic pellets -- each more than an inch (2.5cm) long and nearly an inch wide -- were laid out on a table.
An Afghan woman was also arrested at the airport last week with 4.5 kilogrammes (10 pounds) of heroin strapped to her body, he said.
Khil said that in the past month, authorities had discoverd 12 cases of people trying to smuggle out drugs through the airport, eight of which had involved smugglers swallowing pellets.
15/05/09 AFP

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Indian student is final passenger on Flight 3407 to be identified

Nirmal Sidha is still coming to terms with the tragic events of Feb. 12. She is attending the NTSB hearings in Washington, D.C., but she could not stay in the room when the animation of the plane crash was screened.
Her son, Dipinder Sidha, 29, was on Continental Connection Flight 3407. His name previously was not released by the airline or the family.
Dipinder Sidha was born in India, and lived with his family in Liberia before they moved to the United States. His family lives in Texas.
"I didn't want to watch," Nirmal Sidha said Tuesday when she left the hearing room. "Maybe a few years from now. Maybe not ever."
She did want to talk about her son.
In February, Dipinder Sidha was living in California, where he was attending graduate school, his mother said. He was studying for an MBA.
Sidha was traveling to visit relatives in Toronto the night of the crash. He had flown from California to Newark, and was taking the commuter plane to Buffalo, where relatives were waiting to pick him up.
13/05/09 Susan Schulman/The Buffalo News, USA

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Discrimination charge: travel agents write to Air France

Mumbai: A day after 53 Indians spent an entire night in the basement immigration hall of Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport, the Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) has written a letter to Air France seeking an explanation from the carrier.
“I had one of my lady passengers who witnessed racial discrimination recently on a flight from New York,” said Vasuki Sundaram, secretary of TAFI’s western chapter. “It was one of those relatively empty flights and the airhostess was asking all passengers whether they would prefer to shift to seats which had more leg room.
While she asked all the ‘whites’ for their preference, she conveniently ignored this lady. Only when the lady raised a hue and cry that she had paid as much as the others for the tickets did the airhostess ask her,” added Sundaram.
“Earlier Indians used to be scared to speak out. I’ve had this experience on a flight when the airhostess was smiling at everybody but stopped smiling when she looked at me,” said Sundaram.
“Therefore when we read about yesterday’s incident, we wrote a letter to the carrier seeking an explanation. It looks like a case of racial discrimination,” she added.
14/05/09 Shashank Shekhar/Indian Express

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Improved links from Luton Airport

A new service has been launched connecting Luton Airport with India, South Africa and the Far East.
Business leaders in the East of England are hoping that the increase in flights from Luton to a range of international destinations, via Israel, will increase investment in the region.
The new EL AL service to Tel Aviv was launched last week and offers connecting flights to Mumbai, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Beijing and Bangkok.
London Luton continues to offer more choice with new routes and more flight departures; passengers choose to fly from London Luton because of our excellent transport links and service levels and we are delighted the EL AL service is already proving so popular.
With six flights a week, it is hoped that businesses already established in the region will take advantage of the service, as well as encouraging new foreign firms to consider setting up bases there.
Managing Director of London Luton Airport, Glyn Jones, said that demand for the service had been very strong in the first week since its launch.
13/05/09 UK Trade & Invest, UK

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India's airlines register record growth in Bahrain

Manama: India's airlines registered record traffic and revenue from Bahrain, it was revealed yesterday.
Indian Airlines carried a record total of 3,500 people to and from Bahrain last month in its 12-year history, said country manager for both Indian Airlines and Air India Meenakshi Mallik.
Both airlines are being merged and is now known as Air India.
Indian Airlines operates to Calicut, Kerala, and Air India Express to Calicut, Cochin, Trivandrum (all in Kerala), Mangalore and Mumbai.
While Indian Airlines operates daily flights, Air India Express operates 13 flights a week.
Since Air India Express launched its operations in Bahrain in April 2007, it set a record in terms of revenue both in March and April this year, Ms Mallik told the GDN.
"The revenue in March was more than BD262,000 ($695,062), and this was the highest since the airline started operating to Bahrain," she added.
"The revenue in April showed a 12pc increase over March."
Ms Mallik said the figures clearly showed that the recession has not affected the travel to and from India.
"Though there were reports in the past that the job market in Bahrain and other Gulf countries is affected because of recession, our experience proves that a large number of people are still coming from India to take up jobs in Bahrain," she noted.
14/05/09 Soman Baby/Gulf Daily News, Bahrain

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When it took 7 days to fly from Britain to India

London: It was considered a flight of fancy 80 years ago, but when the first flights from England to India took off in March 1929, it took seven days to cross the distance -- a far cry from what has today become one of the busiest sectors in aviation.
As several flights take off and land between Britain and India today, early aviation records here show that the first flight to India took off from the Croydon Airport in south London. The airport is no longer in use.
According to records, the first flight took off for Karachi in colonial India on March 30, 1929. It had to make more than 20 stops, travelling through France, Italy, Greece, Libya, Gaza, Iraq and then on to India.
Later in 1929, the route was extended to Jodhpur and Delhi. The few passengers who were then able to afford the luxury of the first flight paid 130 pounds for the one-way journey. The service was operated by Imperial Airways, which ran the aircraft called 'Short Calcutta'.
Imperial Airways was tasked with pioneering a chain of long distance intercontinental air services linking the countries of the British Empire with the United Kingdom. The first of these routes was to the jewel in the crown: India.
Eastbound flights left Croydon every Saturday with the westbound flights from Karachi taking off on Sundays. Three different types of aircraft were used in various stages, an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy, a Short Calcutta and a Handley Page Hercules.
The company earned revenue by transporting mail.
12/05/09 Prasun Sonwalkar/Rediff

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Malaysia Airlines slashes fuel surcharge

Chennai: Malaysia Airlines has reduced its fuel surcharge from India and Bangladesh by 53% to Kuala Lumpur and by 27% to Australia and New Zealand. Both Karachi and Sri Lanka will see a drop of 58% in its fuel surcharge to Kuala Lumpur.
Fuel surcharge on flights from India to Kuala Lumpur will be reduced by $53, resulting in a return air fare from India to Malaysia starting from Rs 16,528 including taxes.
Both Australia and New Zealand, and North America sector saw a reduction of $106 in their fuel surcharges for a round trip. The airfare for Australia will start from Rs 37,846. For a one-way journey to Australia and New Zealand the fuel surcharge has seen a reduction of up to $53.
Malaysia Airlines Regional Manager, South Asia, Azahar Bin Hamid said, “We are pleased to reduce the fuel surcharge and offer more competitive fares to benefit our customers especially with the on-set of the holiday season. We will continue to review our fuel surcharge which is benchmarked against our competitors.”
12/05/09 ExpressBuzz

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Three quarantined at Delhi airport

New Delhi: Three passengers, who flew into Delhi from Dubai, Bangkok and Europe, were quarantined at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday morning after they complained of throat congestion, fever and cough -- symptoms resembling the deadly H1N1 swine flu infection.
A 25-year-old Swedish woman, who flew in from Bangkok on Tuesday, was the first foreigner isolated in India with H1N1 symptoms. Her throat sample is being tested at NIV Pune and NICD Delhi.
Till now, the samples of 40 passengers, including two from Pune, who arrived from flu affected countries have tested negative for influenza A (H1N1). All of them were Indians.
Thailand on Tuesday announced its first confirmed cases of swine flu in two people who recently returned from Mexico. The cases in Thailand also marked the official arrival of swine flu in Southeast Asia. Other countries in Asia which have reported cases include China, Japan and South Korea.
Meanwhile, India has stopped using mouth thermometer to check body temperature of suspected passengers and have started using digital ear thermometers. It not only takes just three seconds to record body temperature but is also risk free.
13/05/09 Kounteya Sinha/Times of India

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Passenger 'on drugs' bites air marshal

Mumbai: Security officials at the Mumbai international airport had to attend to an unlikely visitor for more than three days after a flight from Cairo off-loaded him early on Friday morning.
A Nigerian national, Ojo Joshua Oladele, who was on board a Cairo-Kuala Lumpur flight, had to be grounded at Mumbai airport for allegedly violent behaviour on board the flight under the influence of drugs. The passenger, who stayed with the security officials at the airport till Monday, had allegedly misbehaved with the airline crew, assaulted them, and even bit the arm of the air-marshal who tried to calm him down.
The flight had to make an emergency landing at Mumbai as "his behaviour became uncontrollable'', said a security official. He was sent to Cooper Hospital on Monday evening after he started showing withdrawal symptoms in the custody of security officials.
Sources said he is still recuperating in hospital.
According to sources, the Egypt Air flight MF 968 made an emergency landing in Mumbai at around 3 am on Friday.
While in usual cases all unruly passengers are handed over to the local police, the Nigerian national had to be kept in the airport itself as he did not have an Indian visa to get past the immigration counters.
"He could not be taken out due to a visa problem. All medical assistance was provided to the passenger inside the airport. The passenger soon started showing withdrawal symptoms. He was vomiting repeatedly and had to be taken to Cooper Hospital,'' said a senior security official. "He will be sent back to Cairo after his condition improves,'' the official added.
13/05/09 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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International travellers to get higher compensation

New Delhi: The compensation that an international air traveller will receive in case of injury or death, destruction or loss of baggage and cargo as also for loss caused by delay in international carriage of passenger, baggage and cargo for flights originating from India is set to increase manifold from July 1.
The new rules follow India’s ratification of the Montreal Convention, 1999 which governs the compensation to be paid to an international traveller.
In case of death, a passenger will be entitled to receive $66,000, which is more than three times higher than the $20,000 that is paid now.
In case of loss of checked-in baggage also the compensation will be higher than the $20 a kg paid at present. Similarly, the current compensation of $400 for loss of hand bag will also be increased.
The new rules will apply to the international operations of Kingfisher, Jet Airways and Air India as also international airlines operating to India.
12/05/09 Business Line

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Air France passengers allege racial bias

Over 50 Indian passengers flying Air France had a "harrowing" time at Paris Airport after their aircraft developed a technical problem, and complained on Tuesday (May 12) on reaching Mumbai Airport that they were victims of "racial" profiling. The passengers, who spent 28 hours in Paris, said they were confined to a lounge at the airport there from 10 PM on Sunday till 7 AM the next morning and given "hardly any food and water".
The passengers, on their way to Mumbai from the US via Paris, said while the foreigners were taken to hotels shortly after their plane returned to the Paris airport due to apparent technical problem following a four-hour flight, they were taken to the lounge and given just a bottle of water and a sandwich. Giving details of their "harrowing" time, one of the travellers, Vineeta Sengupta said, “No foreigner would have been treated like the way we were treated. People were lying down on the floor over there (at a place at the airport) where immigration takes place".
Accusing Air France of "racial" profiling, a girl passenger said that the officials there even had threatened that they would be handed over to the police if they did not stop protesting. Sengupta said the 53 to 54 Indian passengers were later "huddled out" of the airport on a "group visa", which the authorities could have provided much earlier, and taken to a hotel. No reason has officially been given for the delay.
The passengers, who were in transit and did not have a visa for Paris, said the flight--AF 218--took off from the French capital with 169 passengers and 12 crew on board but returned to the airport after just about four hours in flight. "The sandwich was so bad that one could not eat it," complained one of the travellers. "We had to beg for water. There was no information, no facility to even ring up".
12/05/09 Timesnow.tv

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China, India seen as important markets to help aviation industry

Singapore: China and India are seen as important markets to help the aviation industry turn around. According to industry-watchers, premium carriers have been taking a hit as companies cut down on business travel. But they note that Asian carriers will remain more resilient than their counterparts elsewhere.
Businesses are thinking twice when it comes to sending their executives to out of town meetings.
The number of passengers flying in either business or first class is estimated to have dropped by about 30 per cent in Asia, the Pacific and Europe during the first quarter of this year.
And for the airlines, this translates into a 15 per cent hit to their bottomline.
At an industry conference in Singapore on Monday, some experts said most airlines are going to have to buckle down in the year ahead as more tourists look to travel short haul, or take budget airlines to cut costs.
Peter Harbison, executive chairman, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, said: “We've seen already before all this happened, a trend toward more short haul tourism as well as air travel and what we are seeing now is more of that as. It is cheaper to do it with short haul where there is a lot of competition with low cost carriers that is the market that will stay stronger then any of the others.
"The premium market in the first quarter of 2009 has been down for most of Asia. The Pacific and Europe has been down about one third. That's first and business class travel which is a massive massive drop - we've never seen anything like that before."
The premium carrier market is expected to continue to decrease in the year ahead with those in Europe and the US the worst affected. But the blow in Asia is expected to be buffered by increasing affluence in China and India.
11/05/09 Rachel Kelly/Channel NewsAsia

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Fill up a form: that was my swine flu screening

New Delhi: As the Hong Kong-Delhi flight prepared to land, I was apprehensive about the screening for swine flu. But all that happened was that I was asked to fill up a form, and no one checked if I was stating the truth.
Hong Kong newspapers had reported last Friday that a 25-year-old Mexican visitor had tested positive for the influenza A/H1N1. It led to a series of emergency measures by Hong Kong authorities, including the immediate quarantine of everybody in the hotel where the visitor was staying. That meant Hong Kong was one of the countries affected by swine flu.
As about 100 passengers got out of the Air India flight at the capital’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) over the weekend, we could hear an announcement: all passengers should report to the health desk. So that was what we did, everyone expecting to spend a long time at the desk, being examined by the men in white lab coats and masks we could see sitting there.
But at the desk, all the passengers were just asked to fill up a form stating which country they were coming from, the flight details and whether they were suffering from any swine flu symptoms.
Then the passengers submitted the forms at the desk. No doctor checked any passenger, not even one who clearly had a cold. The men at the desk just stamped the forms - and that was it.
“What can we do if the doctors don’t screen passengers?” asked Arun Arora, associate vice president of Delhi International Airport Limited, which operates IGIA.
A spokesperson of India’s health ministry admitted that not every passenger is screened physically.
12/05/09 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Gold dust from Tanzania lands in customs net

Bangalore: Customs sleuths on Monday seized 2.786 kg of gold at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA); the gold was smuggled from Tanzania. Kirit Singh from Ahmendabad and Mohammed Alla Baksh from Bangalore, who arrived from Dubai in an Emirates flight, have been arrested.
According to sources, Baksh ran a gold-polishing business in Bangalore. The gold brought by the duo was in `dust' form. After treating under heat, they would get over 85% pure gold.
The two left India for Africa on April 16. Although they claimed the gold was purchased from a mine in Ghana, the bills are from Tanzania. They did not have relevant documents for bringing the gold dust to India.
This was the third trip the two had made to African countries. They claimed their earlier visits were for `negotiations' and this was the first time they had brought gold. Later, they said they carried cash to Tanzania through which they purchased gold.
Carrying the gold dust, they went to Dubai on May 5 and stayed there for four to five days before finally flying to Bangalore. Customs sleuths suspect a cartel of goldsmiths may be behind the purchase of gold dust.
12/05/09 Times of India

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Air India to launch daily Ahmedabad-Frankfurt flight

Ahmedabad: Air India is set to launch a daily direct flight from here to Frankfurt from June 1, the airline said Saturday.
Flight AI-120 Ahmedabad-Frankfurt, a Boeing 777-200 aircraft with a passenger capacity of 291, will depart the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport at 2.05 a.m. June 1 and will reach the German city at 6.50 a.m. (local time).
The daily return flight will leave Frankfurt at 11.10 a.m. (local time) and reach Ahmedabad at 10.25 p.m., an Air India official said.
Air India had recently opened an operational hub for west-bound flights in Frankfurt, he added.
10/05/09 IANS/Silicon India

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Flying to Kullu? Thailand trip will cost the same

Mumbai: If you plan to book a holiday within the country and hope to get some good low-fare deals, then be prepared for a rather unpleasant reality check and a Plan B.
The promises made by airlines about offering low fares seem to have evaporated as airfares soar to a new high, bringing domestic travel on a par with a trip to southeast Asia. This trend is making more and more Indian tourists opt for an international holiday this summer, say travel experts.
Travel agents, who usually do brisk business with domestic sector tickets during the summer, have booked up to 50% more on international routes this time. Though travel has been less compared to last season due to the slowdown, international holidays are fast emerging as an economically viable option vis-a-vis domestic travel, say the experts.
For instance, the price of a one-way journey to Kullu can fetch one a trip to Thailand. Similarly, while a round trip to Goa will cost around Rs 8,000-9,000, Jet Airways and Air India are offering a Bangkok return trip for Rs 11,000. A round trip to Bagdogra (closest airport to Darjeeling, West Bengal) will cost Rs 25,000 even as Gulf carriers are offering a Mumbai-London trip at Rs 27,000.
"We are selling tickets to Manali for Rs 9,000. This is enough for a person to visit Thailand, Malaysia or Bangkok,'' said Vasuki Sundaram, chairperson, Travel Agents' Federation of India (TAFI). "Though flights to cooler places like Leh and Ladakh will still fly packed, the number of passengers for these places will not rise now due to the jump in fares. The high fares on domestic sectors are a major deterrent, and many people are therefore going for international travel. Along with competitive fares, the cost of lodging in southeast Asia is also cheaper.''
European countries like Greece and Turkey, too, are emerging as favoured holiday destinations. "The Turkish tourism board has generated considerable hype in the market. As part of a short promotion, return air tickets were provided for Rs 23,000. Apart from this, one can also combine a Greece-Turkey trip for a similar price,'' said Rajesh Rateria, managing director of Cirrus Travels, who has booked at least 20% more on international sectors then domestic.
Anup Kanuga, chairman of Travel Agents' Association of India (TAAI), said bookings on international sectors were as much as 50% higher than on domestic routes.
So, what is the reason behind this trend? Travel experts believe that the clout of Indian carriers in the domestic skies is dictating higher prices for air travel within the country. To add to this, the capacity remains limited as not all carriers operate on all routes.
11/05/09 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Kingfisher to fly from Bangalore to Dubai from next month

Dubai: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines will start flying daily from India's technology hub Bangalore to Dubai from June 25.
The flight, using an A320 aircraft, will take off from Bangalore at 6.30 pm and land in Dubai at 8.55 pm local time while the return flight will leave Dubai at 11.30pm and reach Bangalore at 4.45 am, the airline's officials told the media during the Arabian Travel Market held recently here.
The launch was planned for March but had to be delayed because of the global economic slowdown, officials said, adding Kingfisher also plans to start flights to Abu Dhabi and a couple of other destinations in the Gulf region.
The airline has expanded its route network significantly since acquiring Air Deccan in 2007. Kingfisher has 87 aircraft in its fleet and has 438 flights daily to 72 destinations in India and abroad. It operates 27 direct flights to Indian destinations from Bangalore.
10/05/09 PTI/Economic Times

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Mulroney adviser tried to hide Air India bombing facts, memos suggest

Documents released late Friday suggest a senior adviser in the Mulroney government wanted to keep key facts about the 1985 Air India bombing hidden.
All 329 people on board Air India Flight 182 died when the plane crashed near Ireland on June 23, 1985.
The federal Department of Justice produced documents for the inquiry that suggest the Prime Minister's Office, in 1985 and 1986, tried to conceal from the Indian government the fact that the bombing was plotted entirely in Canada.
At the time, the RCMP had already concluded the bombing was planned and orchestrated entirely in Canada. That conclusion was reflected in a report the Aviation Safety Board prepared for India's Kirpal Commission, which was investigating the bombing.
But the ministerial briefing notes released Friday show the PMO — specifically, Brian Mulroney's senior adviser Fred Doucet — thought that report didn't show Canada in the "best light."
The notes called the ASB report "potentially damaging" and suggest it should therefore not be given to the Indian government. There are even accusations of a conflict of interest.
At the time, one of the memos reads, the safety board may have perceived "itself as being in a position of possible conflict," because its interests in aviation safety and determining the cause of the accident were "possibly at odds" with the government's interest in portraying Canada in the best light possible.
Lawyers for the victims' families have accused the Mulroney government of covering up information to limit financial liability.
08/05/09 CBC News, Canada

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