Rafale fighter deal: Manohar Parrikar to meet French counterpart in Singapore

As India and France look at closing the multi-billion Euro deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets soon, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will meet his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian in Singapore this week.
Parrikar will be travelling to Singapore on June 2 to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue from June 3u20135.
“Both Indian and French Defence Ministers will meet on June 3. Rafale among others will be discussed,” a defence source said.
The issues like consensus on actions to be taken in case of a material breach, stringent liability clause and guarantee by French side are likely to be discussed.
Parrikar had last week said the government is looking at concluding the much-hyped Rafale deal next month, more than a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the purchase of 36 fighter jets during his visit to France.
The deal was announced by Modi in April last year during his visit to France when he said India would purchase 36 Rafales in a government-to-government contract.
Soon after the announcement, the Defence Ministry scrapped a separate process that was on to purchase 126 Rafales, built by French defence giant Dassault Aviation.
30/05/16 PTI/Financial Express

Read More

Dassault Aviation ready to sign Rafale deal, ball in India's court

Dassault Aviation is ready to sign a contract with India at any moment, but the ball is in India's court, chief executive Eric Trappier told French daily Les Echos in an interview published on Tuesday.

The Indian defence ministry said in April protracted talks to buy 36 French Rafale fighter jets were nearing the finish line.

"We are ready to conclude (the sale) at any moment, the ball is in the Indian government's camp," Trappier was quoted as saying.

Asked about reports in Indian media that a bank guarantee was required for the deal, he said that was not the case since the deal was already guaranteed by the French state.
31/05/16 Reuters/Business Standard

Read More

Malaysian cop held at airport

Kochi: A policeman from Malaysia - who arrived in Kerala for his honeymoon - was held at Cochin airport on Sunday night after CISF personnel found bullets in his baggage during checking. The man who was arrested at the airport was identified as Mukundan (31). They later handed him over to Nedumbassery police and a case was registered. The police said that the foreigner had a licence to use gun in Malaysia and he was not aware of the norms in India. The foreigner had come to Kerala on May 23 with his wife. While the man was detained, his wife was allowed to fly back to Malaysia. He was produced before a court on Monday and remanded in judicial custody.
31/05/16 Times of India

Read More

Have plans to connect more and more destinations: Scoot COO Leslie Thng

Singapore Airlines (SIA) launched its low-cost arm Scoot in India last week, connecting Chennai and Amritsar to Singapore with its long-to-medium-haul budget carrier. Introducing this service, SIA has become the second-largest airline group to connect maximum number of destinations in the country, next to the national carrier Air India and its subsidiaries. The group also holds 49% stakes in Tata group backed Vistara. From October, Scoot will also commence Singapore-Jaipur services four times a week. Leslie Thng, COO of Scoot and sister airline Tigerair spoke to Shahkar Abidi on the sidelines of the launch, sharing details about the business model, future plans as well as the outlook for the Indian market.

Q. The offshoot model (wherein an airline group has many airlines under its umbrella for different market models) has been a failure in many markets as carriers, in order to take on low-cost competitors, have created their own LCCs. For example, Go Fly, which was founded by British Airways in 1998 for catering to passenger demand in the European market. Initially, the new subsidiary airline was quite a success according to the aviation analysts, only to be later sold to a private equity and then to its competitor easyJet, which merged it with its own operations. Similarly, Air Canada Tango of the parent company Air Canada had to be folded back within four years of rolling its operations in 2001. Recently, closer home, Jet Airways dropped its LCC brand Jet Konnect to focus on developing the full service model across its network. One of the possible reasons for high failure rate has been the brand confusion it creates and the subsidiary, at times, also eats into the parent airline's market. What has made SIA expand its operations based on the offshoot model?

A. We believe that having a set of different airlines in our portfolio works for us. As a group, SIA has taken the efforts to keep the four airlines clear and distinct so that it does not create confusion in the minds of the fliers. Our efforts start with the right branding, to the kind of aircraft we are using and other aspects of the airline business. Parent airline SIA is a premium airline for long haul while SilkAir is for short haul. On the other hand, low-cost carriers Tigerair and Scoot are for short haul and long haul respectively. A committee set up by the SIA group plans and takes decisions so that the resources can be shared among the airlines in the most efficient manner. It is about integration and using the available sources to the fullest. The final objective is to get more for the airlines in the group and make them successful.
30/05/16 Shahkar Abidi/Daily News & Analysis

Read More