Airbus MRO facility to come up in Nagpur aviation hub: Prithviraj Chavan

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today said the world's largest aircraft manufacturer Airbus will set up the proposed MRO facility in Nagpur.
"Yes, the Airbus MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility will also be part of the international aviation hub that is being developed in Nagpur," Chavan told PTI on the sidelines of the WEF-CII organised India Economic Summit here.
However, the Chief Minister refused to share more details, including the time-frame for the project.
Comments from Airbus India were not available immediately.
The development comes on the heels of reports that CBI is planning to lodge an FIR against the officials of Airbus' parent company EADS, Indian Airlines and the aviation ministry for the inordinate delays in executing the project.
The Airbus Parent EADS was to set up a USD 100 million MRO facility as part of the USD 175 million concessions the government got as part of the Rs 8,000 crore Airbus deal to supply 43 aircraft to the erstwhile Indian Airlines inked in February 2005.
Incidentally, Airbus rival Boeing Corporation is also working on a USD 100 million MRO in the Nagpur aviation hub. According to Boeing India president Dinesh Keskar, the facility will be ready by the fourth quarter of 2012.
14/11/11 PTI/Economic Times

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Bangkok Airways expands to India

After a two-year break, Bangkok Airways is resuming the expansion of its international network with a foray into the Indian subcontinent. The privately owned carrier, which had undergone a rationalisation with the suspension of several international routes, is to embark on flights from Bangkok to Mumbai and Dhaka in March next year.
The launch represents a renewed but cautious move as the global airline industry steadily recovers from its slump as the world economy picks up.
Branding itself Asia's boutique airline, Bangkok Airways will start serving the Bangkok-Mumbai route on March 2 with six flights a week using an Airbus A319 jet configured with dual classes and 120 seats.
The Bangkok-Dhaka service is due for take-off on March 27 with seven flights a week using an Airbus A320 with 162 seats in all economy class, said vice-president Nandhika Varavan.
30/11/10 Bangkok Post

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Thai Airways connects Mumbai and Phuket

Thai Airways International, the national carrier of Thailand, is looking into expanding their presence in India by adding a connecting service between Mumbai and Phuket by winter 2011. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of its international operations, the airline also announced plans to increase its services within India. A Travel Biz Monitor report indicates that plans are in the pipeline to increase the frequency to 14 flights per week for Mumbai and Bengaluru and daily flights to Hyderabad by the end of 2011.
30/11/10 Aviation Record.com

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Korean Air appoints Delhi-based Acumen Overseas as its GSA in India

Mumbai: Korean Air has signed General Sales Agent (GSA) agreement for services with Delhi-based Acumen Overseas. As per the terms of the arrangement, Acumen Overseas will provide full range of GSA services throughout the country, for both passenger and cargo divisions of Korean Air, with effect from December 1, 2010.
According to a report in Economic Times, headquartered in Seoul, the airline flies to 118 destinations in 38 countries. It has a fleet of 105 modern passenger and 27 cargo aircraft. It has placed orders for 45 passenger aircraft that includes ten of Airbus's superjumbo A380 and ten Boeing 787 Dream-liners. Korean Air is also said to be the world's largest commercial airline cargo operator for six consecutive years since 2004. The airline also has 12 cargo aircraft on order.
29/11/10 TravelBizMonitor

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Indian Customs arrest 2 Maldivians with drugs

Male: Two Maldivians trying to traffic illegal drugs to the Maldives were arrested in India on Sunday.
Haveeru learned from a reliable source that the two suspects arrested from Trivandrum Airport were Mohamed Waheed Adam, 24 and a 14-year-old. The Maldives High Commission in India confirmed the report.
High Commissioner Abdul Azeez told Haveeru that the Indian government has not officially informed the matter to the High Commission. However, it is investigating the matter through the Maldivian Consulate after an Indian Malayalam newspaper reported the arrest, he added.
Consul Mohamed Rasheed said the two Maldivians, boarding the 12.30pm flight on Sunday, are still held in airport customs as illegal drugs were confiscated from them. Drugs worth 2500,000 Indian Rupees (about Rf700,000) were reportedly seized.
29/11/10 haveeru online

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S7 Airlines joins Kingfisher and Finnair in oneworld alliance

New Delhi: Russian airline S7 Airlines has joined oneworld, a global airline group that includes Kingfisher and Finnair, and would now be able to sell more routes using its partner network.
"We are very satisfied to welcome to oneworld a top quality alliance partner, whose membership brings even more coverage to the Russian market area," Finnair Managing Director Mika Vehvilainen said.
With the accession of S7 to membership, oneworld flies to as many as 750 destinations in 150 countries.
Recently, at the World Travel Awards event, the oneworld alliance has been selected as the World's Best Airline Alliance by 180,000 travel industry professionals.
28/11/10 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Flying to London? Shell out 25 dollars extra for green seat

Mumbai: Passengers flying from India to any airport in the European Union (EU) including London's Heathrow Airport, may have to shell out an additional carbon emission surcharge of roughly $25 dollars on their air tickets from January 1, 2012, according to well-informed sources.
"Airline companies will have to pay up, and they are expected to collect this amount from passengers. Each airline will have to pay according to its carbon dioxide emission levels, while airlines themselves can be expected to charge passengers a surcharge of around $25 per seat.
Emissions of passenger aircrafts and per passenger kilometres vary with variables like aircraft size, number of passengers, altitude and distance of the journey. So an airline emitting more carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases would probably charge passengers more," says Vishwajit Dahanukar, managing director of Managing Emissions Pvt. Ltd., a carbon credit trading company.
It's not merely Indian airline companies that will be affected, because the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) legislation will force all airlines flying to, through, or from the EU, to pay for permits for all carbon dioxide tonnes that they emit from 2012.
28/11/10 Bobby Anthony/MiD DAY

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GMR secures US$369 million loan from Singapore AXIS Bank

Male: Singapore AXIS Bank has granted a US$359 (Rf4.9 billion) loan to GMR Male International Airport Private Limited (GMIAL).
A company press release estimated that the development cost of the airport would reach US$511 million.
GMR said AXIS Bank would cover 70 of the cost while the company will cover the remaining US$152 million.
The company further said the loan should be repaid within 7-12 commencing from 2015. State Bank of India (SBI) Male Branch will manage the loan account for the company.
The government leased the airport to GMR for 25 years on June 29. The Indian company formed a joint venture with Malaysia Airports Holdings and registered GMR Male International Airport Private Limited at Trade Ministry.
27/11/10 haveeru online

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Cardiac arrest lands plane

New Delhi: An Air India Chicago-Delhi flight had to be diverted to Toronto on Saturday after a 70-year-old passenger on board suffered a cardiac arrest. The Air India flight left Chicago, US, at 2.40pm local time with 287 passengers, but had to land at Toronto at 6.32pm local time after N. Rodrigues suffered a cardiac arrest almost two hours after the take-off.
An ambulance with full medical assistance was kept ready at Toronto airport and Rodrigues was rushed to hospital. The flight resumed its journey to Delhi after taking off from Toronto at 8.21pm local time.
28/11/10 Hindustan Times

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Emirates Airline appoints Sudhir Sukumaran as Regional Manager

Emirates Airline, Dubai based international carrier recently announced the appointment of Sudhir Sukumaran as the Regional Manager for South India. In his new role, he will be responsible for Emirates operations in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
Emirates operates 78 weekly flights out of these three states from five stations namely Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi, Trivandrum and Kozhikode connecting Dubai and destinations beyond.
Sukumaran, who, until recently headed the Sales and Commercial Operations of the Airline for Tamil Nadu, will oversee the Airport, Cargo, Engineering as well as Commercial Operations of Emirates in South India. This restructuring is expected to support Emirates’ growing India operations and help consolidate its leadership position in India. Sukumaran will continue to be based in Chennai.
26/11/10 India Infoline

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Jet's daily non-stop flights to Milan

New Delhi: Jet Airways today announced daily non-stop flights from Milan to Delhi starting December 5 in code sharing agreement with Alitalia, making the Italian city the 24th international destination on its network.
The airline will be using its modern Airbus 330-200 aircraft configured in two classes, with 30 seats in Premiere and 190 seats in Economy class.
25/11/10 Economic Times

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India, US to sign aviation safety agreement

New Delhi: The country's aerospace segment is poised to grow with India and the US set to sign the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) that would usher in mutual acceptance of aeronautical products and parts developed in either country, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) Thursday said.
'The agreement would be signed within next 6-8 weeks, whereby the aerospace products could be inspected and certified by DGCA and the products could be then exported,' said Nasim Zaidi, Director General of Civil Aviation, DGCA.
According to Zaidi, the country's aeronautical products industry is fast growing as more design and manufacturing is being shifted to India and it will reap the benefits of the agreement.
25/11/10 IANS/Sify.com

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Canada asked to raise Kanishka bombing ex-gratia

Toronto: The Indian Overseas Congress in the US has urged Canada to raise its proposed ex-gratia of $25,000 each to the families of 329 victims of the Air India Kanishka bombing in 1985. In a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the NRI body has said that the victim families of the Kanishka tragedy deserve to be compensated suitably.
Vikram Bajwa, who heads the Indian Oversees Congress unit in California, in his letter to the prime minister has said the proposed $25,000 amounts to "disrespect to the lost souls'' who perished in the worst aviation tragedy till 9/11 happened.
He said Canada should "at least honour the insurance policy terms, (prevailing) in 1985, which allow $ 1 million, for each occurrence and accident'' as per the Air Insurance Rules.
Though families of each victim were paid upward of $75,000 in an out-of-court settlement in 1991, the John Major inquiry commission in its June report asked the Canadian government to make additional compensation to the victim families even as it said that "no money can heel the wounds of the victims, deprived of justice for 25 Years.''
26/11/10 Hindustan Times

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GMR Group achieves financial closure for Malé airport

Bangalore: GMR Malé International Airport Private Limited (GMIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure Limited (GIL), on Thursday said it has achieved financial closure for the project to modernise, expand and operate the Malé International Airport. Earlier this year on June 24, the consortium led by GIL with Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) had won the concession for the Malé Airport for a period of 25 years.
GMIAL is the special purpose vehicle formed in Maldives pursuant to the concession in which the stake of GIL and MAHB is 77 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.
The total cost of the modernisation and expansion project, estimated at USD 511 million, is being funded through a combination of debt and equity in the ratio of 70:30.
25/11/10 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

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Male opposition to hold protest against airport lease

Male: The opposition coalition is to hold a mass protest on Thursday evening against leasing Male International Airport to India’s GMR Infrastructure.
Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Deputy Leader Umar Naseer, who is organising the protest, said leadership officials of coalition members would take part in protest to be held at 9pm Artificial Beach area.
The opposition coalition consists of DRP, People’s Alliance (PA), Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and Jumhooree Party.
25/11/10 haveeru online

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Canada begins talks for compensation to Kanishka families

Toronto: Canada has begun talking to the families of the victims of the Kanishka bombing about financial compensation as it tries to bring closure to the 25-year-old bombing case.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney sent a letter last week to families whose loved ones died in Canada's worst terrorist attack, the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182 in which 329 people were killed.
The letter discusses the possibility the families would receive an "ex-gratia payment," which was one of the proposals made in June by the commissioner of the Air India Inquiry, Justice John Major, according to National Post.
Three previous such payments are cited in the ministers' three-page letter: the USD 21,000 paid to families of Japanese internment during the Second World War; USD 24,000 to victims of chemical weapons testing; and USD 20,000 paid over the Chinese head tax.
The ministers' letter says ex-gratia payments are "made in the public interest where there is no obligation or legal liability to do so."
25/11/10 PTI/Economic Times

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UAE threatened not to let AI aircraft take off

New Delhi: The UAE air traffic control had recently threatened Air India that it would not give take-off permission for its aircraft at the Dubai airport as the national carrier had not updated the navigation database system, Parliament was informed today.
"Yes Sir, the UAE airspace had changed certain terminal procedures, which were effective in the NAV (air navigation services) data base cycle June 03, 2010 to July 01, 2010," Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.
He was replying to a question on whether the UAE air traffic control had threatened recently that it would refuse Air India permission to take off its aircraft from Dubai Airport as it had not updated the navigation database system.
He, however, did not mention on what date the incident took place.
The navigation database which should be updated every 28 days includes flight path of the aircraft.
Patel said the aircraft was dispatched under a provision of Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which allows a grace period of 7 days in updating the navigation database.
Air India was using the grace period when the aircraft entered Dubai terminal area, the Civil Aviation Minister said.
23/11/10 ZeeNews

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Vivek Oberoi and Cathay Pacific Airways work with Habitat for Humanity

Cathay Pacific Airways, one of Asia’s premium airlines along with renowned Bollywood actor-Vivek Oberoi joined hands with Habitat for Humanity, a Non Government Organisation (NGO) to build homes for the underprivileged at Bawana village, 40 kms from Delhi on Sunday – 21st November 2010.
25 Cathay Pacific Airways staff members, volunteers of Habitat for Humanity aided in constructing walls and casting of septic tank for the benefit of underprivileged people in Bawana village.
Cathay Pacific is actively involved in a variety of community initiatives under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) banner. Cathay Pacific and sister airline Dragonair have achieved an A+ rating - the highest possible - in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, an internationally accepted benchmark for CSR reporting.
Most recently Cathay Pacific Airways purchased 30,000 tonnes of carbon-emission reductions from carbon offset service provider Climate Action (www.climateactio2n.com) for the airlines’ FLY greener offset programme. They have also worked with Habitat for Humanity in the past at the Mijkarwadi Village near Mumbai.
22/11/10 India Infoline

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Lufthansa may recall flight instructor on deputation with Air India

New Delhi: Lufthansa Flight Training could consider recalling the newly appointed Chief Training Officer of Air India, Mr Stephan Sukumar.
Mr Sukumar, who was earlier the Chief Flight Instructor of LH Flight Training, was appointed Air India's Chief Flight Training officer in October as part of a hand-picked team to help the state-owned airline achieve its turnaround plan.
A successful implementation of the turnaround plan would also facilitate entry of Air India into Star Alliance for which Lufthansa is mentoring the Maharaja.
Sources told Business Line that Mr Sukumar has now been called back to Germany “to report” on the preparedness of Air India. The move assumes importance as in the past few days the airline board has raised questions about the appointment of the team which has been hand- picked by the first Chief Operating Officer, Captain Gustav Baldauf, to turn around the airline.
The committee has been asked to submit its report to the Board within 15 days and is expected to be considered at the next meeting scheduled for early December. Lufthansa Flight Training fears this could damage its global reputation.
20/11/10 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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PAL to commence RP-India flights in 2011

Manila, Philippines: Local carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) will commence flights between the destinations in the Philippines and India next year.
"In 2011, PAL will launch a new route to New Delhi, India, opening up the Philippines to the potentially enormous market of Indian tourists," PAL mentioned in a statement it released on Thursday following the announcement the Aquino government's thrust to liberalize aviation.
The Philippine government will be adopting an "open skies" policy before the year ends, according to President Aquino.
The new aviation policy is part of an effort to increase tourist arrivals, which currently pale in comparison to neighboring Thailand and Malaysia.
The row between the management and labor unions of PAL was partly a reason why the government considered "open skies," an industry lingo for removing restrictions, which are defined in government-to-government negotiations of air rights.
21/11/10 abs-cbnNEWS.com

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Thasmeen, Shahid deny meeting GMR officials

Male: Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali and Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid Saturday denied reports that they met with India’s GMR Infrastructure officials and took US$1 million per person.
An anti-government website, which also reports against the opposition, recently claimed that Thasmeen and DRP council member Shahid met GMR officials in New Delhi and took US$1 million per person. The website further claimed that they travelled to India via Sri Lanka.
Thasmeen, however, told Haveeru that they went to Sri Lanka to share information with the diplomats and denied travelling to India.
“I have not met GMR officials so far. But I am not saying that I would not meet them in the future. I do not find any problem in meeting them and seek information about their plans for the airport,” he said.
The government leased Male International Airport to GMR for 25 years on June 29. The Indian company formed a joint venture with Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB) and registered GMR Male International Airport Private Limited at Trade Ministry.
The GMR-MAHB consortium proposed to pay US$78 million (almost Rf1 billion) upfront, one percent of the total profit in the first year (until 2014) and 10 percent of the profit from 2015 to 2035. It also agreed to pay 15 percent of fuel trade revenues in the first four years and 27 percent from 2015 to 2035.
20/11/10 haveeru online

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India tightens experience norms for overseas pilots

New Delhi: India has tightened the rules for expatriate pilots seeking jobs in the country’s booming aviation sector in the wake of the plane crash in Mangalore that killed 158.
Serbian-born Zlatko Glusica was flying the Air India Express aircraft that crashed on 22 May in India’s worst air disaster in a decade.
From 1 December, foreign pilots will need at least 4,000 hours of experience to fly Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 planes, director general of civil aviation Nazim Zaidi said in a 15 November order. To fly long-haul Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 aircraft, they will now require at least 5,000 hours of flying experience.
They currently need to have flown just 2,000 hours with 100 hours on that type of aircraft, compared with 2,500 hours for Indian pilots with 1,000 hours on that type of aircraft.
Mohan Ranganathan, a Chennai-based safety expert who is part of the Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Council established by the government after the Mangalore crash, welcomed the move.
Overseas pilots who are already flying in India, typically on one-year renewable contracts, will have to conform to the new norms when these come up for renewal.
India faces a shortage of airline pilots in the face of a rapid growth in civil aviation. There are around 670 foreign pilots working in India, and domestic firms estimate the country will need at least 2,500 pilots, including 1,200 from overseas, in the next five years, as the sector continues to register an annual growth of about 15%.
The civil aviation regulator has also introduced more stringent local medical checks that so far have been applicable only to Indian pilots.
Zlatko, who flew the Air India Express plane from Dubai, is alleged to have slept for half the duration of the 3 hour 45 minute flight, said an official familiar with the recently concluded court of inquiry, requesting anonymity.
Foreign flight crew members will now also have to show evidence that they have not been involved in any accidents for the past five years. If they are away from the country for more than 90 days, they will have to seek fresh security clearances, the regulator said.
19/11/10 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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GECAS Delivers New Airbus A320s to IndiGo Airlines

Mumbai: GE Capital Aviation Services Ltd. (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of GE, announced delivery of a new Airbus A320 aircraft to IndiGo Airlines. IndiGo Airlines currently operates a fleet of 30 Airbus A320 aircraft to 22 destinations in India.
GECAS, the U.S. and Irish commercial aircraft financing and leasing business of GE, has a fleet of over 1,800 owned and managed aircraft with approximately 245 airlines in over 75 countries. GECAS offers a wide range of aircraft types and financing options, including operating leases and secured debt financing, and also provides productivity solutions including spare engine leasing, spare parts financing and management. GECAS, a unit of GE Capital, has offices in 23 cities around the world.
19/11/10 mfrtech.com

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Medical checks for foreign pilots now a must

Chennai: Following the investigation into the Mangalore air crash which showed that the expat pilot was sleeping in the cockpit, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has made it compulsory for foreign pilots to undergo medical checks in India starting December 1.
According to Civil Aviation Requirement series G, part II, issued on November 15, DGCA has made the medical requirement for foreign pilots on a par with that of their Indian counterparts. The CAR, that will come into effect from next month, eliminates disparity in standards followed in licensing foreign and Indian pilots.
As per revised norms, foreign pilots should get a valid Class 1 medical fitness assessment from India and a valid Class I medical assessment issued by DGCA India as required under Rule 39B of Aircraft Rule, 1937 and medical fitness in accordance with the requirements contained in CAR Section 7, Series 'C' and medical fitness assessment as per rule 39C of the Aircraft Rules 1937.
19/11/10 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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Embraer Delivers The First Phenom 100 Executive Jet To India

Embraer delivered the first Phenom 100 entry level jet to India’s Invision Air Services Pvt. Ltd., a Mumbai-based on-demand air charter company. The aircraft is the first of 18 Phenom 100s that Invision Air ordered three years ago, along with two Embraer Phenom 300 jets.
“We are excited to have the Phenom 100 jet enter service in India this year,” said José Eduardo Costas, Embraer Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Asia Pacific – Executive Jets.
In support of Embraer’s Phenom jets going into service in India, Mumbai-based Indamer & Co. – Embraer’s Authorized Service Center (ASC) in the country – provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for these aircraft, as well as for the Legacy 600. Internationally, Embraer maintains a network of over 40 ASCs, which is complemented by a 24-hour Customer Contact Center at the Company’s headquarters in São José dos Campos, Brazil, to provide assistance to Embraer’s Executive Jets customers anywhere in the world, at anytime of the day.
18/11/10 Logistics Week

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Cheap players attracting foreign MRO players to India: Menon

Hyderabad: Foreign players in the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) segment are increasingly getting attracted to the Indian market due to the availability of cheap labour, a senior executive of Air Works a Mumbai-based MRO company said here today.
Air Works'' Director and Group Head (business development) said there is a likelihood of saving around 50 per cent on the labour cost when compared to other places like West Asia companies.
"The manpower cost in the MRO industry ranges between USD 30 and USD 35 per man hour, as compared with about USD 60 in West Asia," Menon said on the sidelines of Aeronautical Society of India''s Aviation Conclave 2010, a three-day event which began here yesterday.
According to Menon, the MRO spend by airlines in India, which is currently pegged at USD 500 million, is expected to touch USD 1,500 million by 2015. By the same period, he said the number of aircrafts in the country is expected to be more than 700 from the existing 400.
Quoting a study by Frost and Sullivan, he said the Indian MRO market is estimated to reach over USD one billion from the present around USD 500 million.
19/11/10 MSN.com

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Air India liar prays for victims of 'terrible events'

The only man ever convicted in the Air India bombings issued an apology of sorts Thursday for the deaths of 331 people, telling the judge who will sentence him for perjury that he regretted "these events."
But the statement read out by the lawyer for Inderjit Singh Reyat at his sentencing hearing failed to acknowledge his role in the twin explosions on June 23, 1985, that remain the worst act of mass murder ever plotted on Canadian soil.
"No words in any language can ever bring closure to those who have lost loves ones as a result of the Air India and Narita tragedies," Reyat said in the statement read out in B.C. Supreme Court. "Neither can words bring back those who perished in such tragic circumstances."
In the statement read out by lawyer Ian Donaldson, Reyat said his belief in God has sustained him, his four children and his wife, who has kept the family intact through 30 years of legal uncertainty -- most of it with Reyat behind bars.
"I pray every day that God will ease the terrible burden of loss that so many people continue to suffer as a consequence of these terrible events," he said of the worst act of aviation terrorism until the 9-11 attacks in the United States. As Donaldson finished reading the statement, Reyat appeared to be wiping away tears.
The apology was immediately dismissed by special prosecutor Len Doust, who said simply: "No proffer of truth."
18/11/10 The Canadian Press/CTV News

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Sri Lankan airlines officials visit Madurai airport

Madurai: Sri lankan airlines officials held talks with Airport authorities here to explore possibilities of starting flight operations between Madurai and Colombo, officials said today.
Madurai airport sources said officials, including Regional Manager (Tamilnadu and Karnataka) Samantha Naghawatte and Area Manager Ahamad Mazahim visited the terminal yesterday to know about the facilities available there.
19/11/10 PTI/MSN.com

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Kenya Airways Says Planning to Increase Its Flights to India

Kenya Airways Ltd., sub-Saharan Africa’s third-biggest carrier, today said it wants to increase flights to India after the Asian nation’s government approved a request for more frequencies.
“We welcome the new development,” Chris Karanja, the company’s spokesman, said today in a telephone interview from Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. “We will definitely look at expansion by next year.”
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh granted the request by his Kenyan counterpart, Raila Odinga, during a meeting in New Delhi on Nov. 16, Odinga said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
18/11/10 Eric Ombok/Bloomberg

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Second Screening of Turbans Now Mandatory at U.S. Airports

Three civil liberties organizations say the rights of Sikhs in America are being further trampled upon as the Transportation Security Administration rolls out a new policy which will mandatorily require all turbaned Sikhs to undergo three levels of security screening at U.S. airports.
The new policy was first unveiled at a Sept. 21 meeting with representatives from the Sikh Coalition, United Sikhs and the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Kimberly Walton, TSA Special Counsel, and Margo Schlanger, officer for civil rights and civil liberties at the Department of Homeland Security.
That meeting was ostensibly held to discuss new advanced imaging technology scanners – also known as backscatter x-rays - that are being rolled out throughout the nation’s airports. More than 750 such devices will be installed by next year, and allow TSA screeners to view a full-body, nude image of each passenger.
Advanced imaging technology enhances security by detecting both metallic and non-metallic threat items concealed under layers of clothing, says the TSA in an advisory to travelers displayed on its Web site. Scanners are designed to be able to detect explosive devices under several layers of clothing.
But the civil rights organizations learned at that meeting that all turbaned Sikhs would now have to undergo two additional compulsory screenings in addition to the body scan, including examination by a hand-held metal detector and a turban pat-down.
18/11/10 Sunita Sohrabji/indiawest.com

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Air India perjury sentencing opens

Another sentencing hearing begins in Vancouver on Wednesday for Inderjit Singh Reyat — the only man ever convicted in connection with the Air India bombing.
It will be the third time Reyat is sentenced over the 1985 bombing of Air India Flight 182, en route from Montreal to London and New Delhi. The 747 jet carrying 329 people fell from the sky off the coast of Ireland after an explosive device went off in the cargo hold.
Reyat was found guilty in September of perjury while testifying as a Crown witness at the 2003 trial of Ripudiman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri.
They had been charged with conspiring to blow up the Air India flight and of causing another explosion that killed two baggage handlers at Narita Airport in Japan.
Bagri and Malik were acquitted, but seven years later the Crown proved that Reyat had lied under oath during their trial.
17/11/10 CBC News

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Managlore air crash: Plane landed after 5200 ft

New Delhi: Pilot error caused by “sleep inertia” on the part of the Serbian-born British commander, Capt. Zslatko Glucika, was the cause of the crash of Air India Express’ flight IX-812 at the Mangalore airport on May 22 this year that led to the death of 158 persons on board, sources said, while citing the report of the government-appointed inquiry into the crash.
The court of inquiry, set up in the first week of June, submitted its report on Tuesday evening to the civil aviation ministry after making a presentation to the civil aviation minister, Mr Praful Patel. The report will be made public only after it is placed before Parliament, sources said.
The pilot had slept in the cockpit for about one hour and forty minutes during the flight from Dubai to Mangalore that lasted a little more than three hours. Just before descent, he woke up and took control of the aircraft. Capt. Glucika was also warned by his co-pilot, Capt. H.S. Ahluwalia, thrice to go-around and a fourth time that the descent was an unstabilised approach. But the Serbian-born pilot did not heed the warnings probably on account of the sleep inertia which led to loss in situational awareness and alertness. Capt. Glucika overshot the touchdown zone of the runway and landed on the 8,000-feet-long runway after overshooting 5,200 ft. On realising the plane was going to crash into the gorge beyond, he swung the throttle and tried to take-off but failed.
17/11/10 Deccan Chronicle

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Aircraft touched down after 5000 ft, Pilot suffered from sleep inertia

New Delhi: The Court of Inquiry (CoI) into the Mangalore air crash has concluded that the pilot in command was at fault, including the fact that he was sleepy. The inquiry into the country's worst air tragedy of the decade that claimed 158 lives has established that Captain Z Glusica, the pilot in command of the Air India Express flight IX-812 from Dubai to Mangalore on May 22, reacted late and also, many standard operating procedures were not followed during landing.
The report has stated the plane touched down at Runway 24 of the Mangalore airport, which is approximately 8,000 feet long, when it had already crossed over 5,000 feet of the tabletop runway. With less than 3,000 feet of runway left, the pilots tried to take off again --only to crash into a gorge.
Experts have concluded that despite the limited runway left, had the pilot applied emergency brakes and not attempted to take off again, the plane could have been brought to a halt. The plane's takeoff gear was found activated.
The CoI has stated Glusica, an expatriate, was asleep for over 1 hour 40 minutes of the three-hour flight and "disoriented" at the time when the plane started to descend. Sources said Glusica was suffering from "sleep inertia".
The report was submitted to civil aviation minister Praful Patel on Tuesday and would be tabled in the Parliament. It has suggested several steps including "hard landing" and medical check-ups to avert such mishaps.
16/11/10 Tushar Srivastava/Hindustan Times

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Probe panel confirms pilot error caused M’lore crash

New Delhi: Pilot error caused the Air India Express plane crash at Mangalore airport which killed 158 people, an inquiry has found.
The final report of the inquiry committee which probed the incident says that the flight commander of the ill-fated Air Indian Express, which crashed on May 22,2010, ignored the warnings of his co-pilot. The panel submitted its report to the Civil Aviation Ministry on Tuesday.
The Air India Express IC 812 Boeing 737-800 carrying 166 people, including the crew, from Dubai crashed while negotiating the tricky landing at Mangalore’s “table-top” airport overlooking a ravine. It burst into flames after overshooting a table-top runway and plunged into a nearby forest.
The inquiry found that the pilot Captain Zlatko Glusica, slept for over 90 minutes during the flight. The report is said to have quoted the American National Transportation Safety Board saying it was the first instance of snoring recorded on a Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR).
Sources also said the pilot realised too late that the plane was at a higher altitude than the flight path.
In the CVR, co-pilot Captain HS Ahluwalia is heard telling Captain Glusica thrice to go around as the plane could not land. The sources also say the pilot tried to pull up but it was too late.
As the pilot did not take-off in time, the aircraft had rammed into the boundary-wall of the table-top runway before falling into the deep gorge on the other side of the airport, they said.
Data retrieved from the CVR had shown that the captain was on the wrong flight path and had also delayed in taking corrective measures.
16/11/10 DHNS/Deccan Herald

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Air France-KLM to set up plane parts repair facility in India

The aeronautical division of Europe’s largest airline, Air France-KLM group, has entered India’s aircraft component repair market by acquiring a 26% stake in Mumbai-based aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company Max AeroSpace and Aviation Ltd for an undisclosed amount.
A formal announcement is expected on Wednesday.
Air France Industries, KLM Engineering and Maintenance and Max AeroSpace will jointly build an aircraft component repair facility at a special economic zone (SEZ) that will be capable of servicing Boeing Co. and Airbus SAS planes, their executives said.
Mid-sized planes made by Boeing of the US and Europe’s Airbus dominate the Indian market.
As India’s aviation sector grows, the domestic MRO market is expected to earn a revenue of $1.06 billion (Rs.4,781 crore) by 2015, up from $499 million in 2009, according to a 2009 report by Frost and Sullivan. MRO service requirements in the country are expected to grow annually at a compounded rate of 13.5% in the same period.
“Labour costs in India are around $30-35 per man-hour, compared to $55-60 in South-East Asia and the Middle East and even higher in the US and Europe,” said Frost and Sullivan analysts Chethan Kambi and Arun Narayanan. “Therefore, India has the potential to service not just Indian aircraft but also those from neighbouring regions.”
Bharat H. Malkani, chairman and managing director of Max AeroSpace, said his company will start building the MRO facility in the first quarter of calendar year 2011. The facilitiy is expected to be ready by mid-2013.
17/11/10 P.R. Sanjai/Live Mint

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L&T-led consortium bags Oman airport order

Mumbai: A consortium of India’s largest engineering company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and non-resident Keralite (NRK) businessman P Mohamed Al-led Galfar Engineering & Contracting has bagged the design and development order for the New Salalah International Airport in the Sultanate of Oman for $764 million (Rs 3,452 crore).
L&T is the leader of the consortium and its scope of works will be approximately $500 million (Rs 2,200 crore). L&T’s scope of works involves the complete design, including airside and landside works, and construction of the 660,000 sq ft passenger terminal building, the air traffic control tower, ancillary buildings including MEP Systems and airport-wide system networks. These are scheduled to be completed in 30 months.
Upon completion, the airport will have a capacity to handle two million passengers per annum, said a press release.
The bid by the L&T and Galfar consortium was better than that of local players J&P and a joint venture of Alsim Alarko and NCC, said sources.
16/11/10 Business Standard

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Turkish Airlines looks for new destination

Turkish Airlines is on global expansion spree and is looking at new destinations in South India.
"Turkish Airlines is exploring new destinations in India. Talks are on with civil aviation authority for connecting Istanbul and Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata," Turkish Ambassador to India Levent Bilman told Express on the sidelines of a conference here on Friday.
Currently seven flights from Mumbai and Delhi, the airline has exhausted its existing rights of 14 services a week.
Ambassador Bilman hopes that these would be increased in the next bilateral air traffic talks between India and Turkey. The Turkish carrier so far had four flights a week from Delhi and three from Mumbai.
15/11/10 FTN News

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Elderly couple deported from US

Ahmedabad: The immigration department at Sardar Patel International Airport received two people from Gujarat on Friday as they were deported from the US. According to investigators, the elderly couple had travelled on identical persons' passports seven years ago.
According to Sardarnagar police, Bhikhabhai Prajapati, 64, and his wife Kashiben, 58, natives of Madalpur village in Mehsana district, were deported on Thursday by US immigration department. The duo was involved in stray jobs and was staying with their relatives in the US, said investigators.
The couple wanted to get US citizenship to get old age benefits, said officials.
14/11/10 Times of India

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HCL Infosystems MEA and Mercator to Manage Flydubai IT Infrastructure

New Delhi: HCL Infosystems MEA, Dubai based subsidiary of HCL Infosystems, India’s premier ICT system integration, Hardware and Services Company, today announced its agreement with Mercator, the IT division of the Emirates Group, to manage IT infrastructure for flydubai. HCL Infosystems will provide IT infrastructure for hosting services through Mercator’s two data centers that will host flydubai’s applications through a private virtual cloud and will manage communication links to access externally hosted services. HCL Infosystems will provide, manage and support all end-user devices and services for flydubai. This multi-million dollar partnership will help flydubai optimize provisioning of critical services such as check-in, departure control, network planning, flight & crew operations, aircraft maintenance and other back office systems. The partnership will also ensure complete management of the infrastructure, day-to-day operations, vendors, connectivity and capacity.
13/11/10 Forestlaneshul

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Over 5,000 tourists from five countries avail visa on arrival

New Delhi: As many as 5,016 visitors from Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Singapore availed of visa on arrival in India between January-October this year, officials said Thursday.
As a facilitative measure to attract more foreign tourists, a scheme of 'Visa on Arrival' (VoA) was launched this January for citizens of five countries visiting India for tourism.
11/11/10 IANS/Sify.com

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Zurich air caterer to buy 74% in Skygourmet

New Delhi: The $3-billion Gate Gourmet, the world’s largest air catering company, has decided to acquire majority stake in Skygourmet from India Hospitality (IHC) for around Rs400 crore. Under the proposed deal, Zurich-listed Gate Gourmet will acquire 74% stake in Skygourmet, India’s largest air catering company. The balance 26% will be retained by IHC.
Confirming the transaction, Ravi Deol, managing director and CEO, IHC said: “Gate is joining as majority partner in the company.” The scale and expertise of Gate Gourmet will further consolidate Skygourmet’s leadership position in the Indian aviation market, he added.
London’s AIM .listed Indian hotel and restaurant company IHC will use the sale proceeds to part finance the proposed acquisition of Wagamama, the world’s largest noodle bar chain with over 38 international restaurants and 66 restaurants based in the UK, said another official familiar with the development.
IHC is the frontrunner in the race for Wagamama. Besides IHC, two private equity firms — Morgan Stanley’s private equity wing and Bahrain-based Investcorp — have also submitted bids. “Since the Wagamama deal is around Rs1,800 crore, IHC will also raise non-recourse loan to finance the deal,” the official said.
12/11/10 Arun Kumar/Economic Times

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Airlines face Rs 1200 cr AAI bill

New Delhi: Indian and foreign air carriers owe the Airports Authority of India (AAI) Rs1,200 crore, with the national carrier Air India and its subsidiary owing over half of the total sum at about Rs640 crore.
Air India subsidiary, Alliance Air , owes Rs32.89 crore, civil aviation minister Praful Patel has informed the Upper House . The cumulative dues of all private airlines are about Rs375.13 crore, of which Kingfisher , owned by tycoon Vijay Mallya, owes the major share of Rs224.82 crore to the AAI. The combined dues of Jet Airways and JetLite stood at Rs50.36 crore, while those of SpiceJet were at Rs12.79 crore, IndiGo Rs7.27 crore, GoAir Rs5.47 crore and Paramount Rs4.58 crore. Other private carriers, including charter companies, owed a combined total of Rs69.84 crore. International airlines operating in India, too, owed the Authority a total of Rs161.20 crore, of which Emirates , an airline based in the Middle-East, has to pay Rs19 crore, Mr Patel said in a written reply.
11/10/11 Economic Times

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Bird hits plane with 250 aboard

Panaji: A chartered plane to Moscow with 250 passengers on board had a narrow escape early Thursday when it suffered a bird hit at the runway of Goa's Dabolim international airport.
Airport Authority of India (AAI) officials said that immediately after the bird hit, the pilot of the Moscow-bound Aerofloat Boeing flight that was still taking off braked hard, resulting in its tyres going bust.
The incident occurred at 7.30 a.m., the official said, adding that two other flights were delayed because of the bird hit on the runway.
11/11/10 IANS/Times of India

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L&T-led group wins Salalah airport deal

Muscat: The much-awaited RO294 million-Salalah airport expansion project was bagged by a consortium led by India's engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The local partner in the consortium is Galfar Engineering and Contracting Company, sources familiar with the contract told Times of Oman.
This is close on the heels of a consortium of US-based Bechtel, Bahwan Engineering Company and Turkey's INCA recently winning a RO706 million-contract to build a new passenger terminal for the Muscat International Airport.
Larsen and Toubro-led consortium won the contract amid severe competition from several other multinationals, including Turkey's Alsim Alarko Sanayi Tesisleri Ve Ticaret AS with Nagarjuna Construction Company and Joannou & Paraskeevaides (Overseas).
Sources said that Salalah airport will be able to handle one million passengers per year after the expansion. This can be scaled up to two million, with a provision for six million passengers per annum.
The scope of work for Salalah airport include design and building of a new terminal, a four kilometre-long runway, air traffic control tower, new fuel farm and fuel network, new rescue and fire fighting station, new aircraft parking hangar, air side works and other facilities.
10/11/10 A.E. James/Times of Oman/Zawya

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India's long-delayed Kaveri engine makes flight debut

India has successfully flight tested its Kaveri jet engine using an Ilyushin Il-76 transport as a testbed.
"The engine was tested from take-off to landing and flew for a period of over 1h up to at an altitude of 6,000m [19,700ft] at a speed of Mach 0.6 in its maiden flight," says India's defence ministry. "The engine control, performance and health during the flight were found to be excellent."
The test took place at Russia's Gromov Flight Research Institute near Moscow.
As of last year, India's state-owned Gas Turbine Research Establishment had spent 20 billion rupees ($455 million) over the 20-year programme, but produced a powerplant that was overweight and that failed to provide the 21,000-22,500lb (93-100kN) of thrust required for the Indian air force's Tejas light combat aircraft. Details of the engine's thrust output during the Moscow test have not been disclosed.
10/11/10 Greg Waldron/Flight Global

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AI to operate non-stop flights on Shanghai-India route

Beijing: Air India would introduce the latest B777-200LR aircraft on the busy Shanghai- India route from tomorrow to operate non-stop flights to Delhi and Mumbai in view of the growing traffic between India and China.
In recognition of the growing importance of the China market which is witnessing increase in business travellers and tourists, Air India has decided to introduce the latest B777-200LR aircraft on the Shanghai-India route effective from November 9, an AI press release here said.
Air India will now operate the non-stop direct services from Shanghai to Delhi, and onwards to Mumbai with B777-200LR aircraft, replacing the current A330 aircraft.
08/11/10 PTI/Economic Times

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Boeing to start delivery of Dreamliners to Air India in 2011

New Delhi: US aircraft manufacturer Boeing today said it will start delivery of '787 Dreamliners' to Air India by second quarter of next year.
"We have said in July that we will start the deliveries of Dreamliners to Air India by second quarter of this year and we stand by that," Boeing India president Dinesh Keskar said.
Air India plans to buy 27 B-787 'Dreamliners' from Boeing which are to be delivered in phases.
The B-787s, made of composite materials to make it lighter and more fuel-efficient than other aircraft, are to be deployed by Air India on long-haul sectors like India-US and India-Australia for non-stop operations.
Keskar said Indian aviation market will grow by 15 per cent and profitability is increasing in the sector.
On Boeing's deal with low cost carrier Spicejet for delivery of 30 B737 planes, he said it is a good sign for Indian aviation industry which is "coming back to life."
09/11/10 PTI/Economic Times

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US Prez borrows credit for earlier Boeing-SpiceJet deal

Visiting US president Barack Obama listed US aircraft maker Boeing's finalising a 30-aircraft deal with Gurgaon-based low-cost carrier SpiceJet, but the agreement was actually struck some months earlier. Also, the 12,970 jobs this deal is supposed to create will be staggered, as delivery of the aircraft will be on for four years.
The deal was announced by SpiceJet in July-end at a conference in the presence of Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar. Deliveries for the aircraft are to start from 2014 and end by 2018.
Altogether, Obama, during this trip, has announced $15 billion of deals that will support 53,670 jobs in his country. This included the $2-billion GE-Reliance Power deal for the 2,400-Mw Samalkot plant in Andhra Pradesh, which too was signed earlier, on October 22, though it was "commemorated" on Saturday in the presence of the US president.
Boeing, in a release sent today, said: "Valued at about $2.3 bn at list prices, SpiceJet had declared its intent to purchase Boeing's Next-Generation 737-800 in July this year. This order was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on Boeing's orders and deliveries website."
At present, SpiceJet operates with a fleet of 24 Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 aircraft and will add four in the current financial year.
11/09/10 Business Standard/Sify

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Boeing, SpiceJet finalize order for 30 Next-Gen 737-800s

New Delhi: Boeing and Indian budget carrier SpiceJet announced an order for 30 Boeing Next-Generation 737-800 with winglets in the presence of the US president Obama late last week.
Valued at about $2.3 billion at list prices, SpiceJet had declared its intent to purchase Boeing’s Next-Generation 737-800 in July this year. This order was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on Boeing’s orders and deliveries website. SpiceJet currently operates a fleet of 24 Boeing 737-800s and 737-900ERs.
Boeing will deliver SpiceJet’s Next-Generation 737-800s with the all-new 737 Boeing Sky Interior. The interior promises to redefine the travel experience for SpiceJet passengers, who will enjoy the modern, sculpted sidewalls and window reveals and larger stow bins that are standard with the new interior.
The Boeing Sky Interior is the latest in a series of improvements to the Next-Generation 737 family. The next to come is a package of performance improvements that will reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 2 percent - making the airplane a full 7 percent more efficient than the first Next-Generation 737s delivered.
08/11/10 Economic Times

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Obama welcomes agreement on purchase of heavylift cargo planes

New Delhi: US President Barack Obama today welcomed India's "preliminary agreement" to purchase 10 C-17 Globemaster heavylift cargo planes for its air force saying it will benefit both the countries.
"Today Iam pleased to welcome India's preliminary agreement to purchase 10 C-17 cargo planes, which will enhance Indian capabilities and support 22,000 jobs back in the US," he said while addressing a joint press conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here.
The aircraft is manufactured by American defence major Boeing at its facility in Long Beach, California.
On a lookout for a strategic heavylift transport aircraft, the IAF had shortlisted the C-17, which can carry loads of over 75-80 tonnes and take-off from short runways.
08/11/10 PTI/Economic Times

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ATC automation: officials yet to get visa to attend training programme in US

Chennai: The move to automate air traffic control at the Chennai airport seems to have hit rough weather as the US consulate is yet to issue visas to the team of 31 air traffic control officials and communication engineers chosen to attend a training programme at Raytheon's facility in the US.
Raytheon has bagged the Rs 42-crore contract for the project and training was scheduled to begin on November 4 and 5. "But the dates were tentative," said a source at the airport.
Selected officials attended interviews at the consulate on different dates in mid-October but they were not issued the visas immediately. The consulate staff told them they would be informed about the status of their applications. It's been over two weeks now but none of them have heard anything from the consulate. An online check shows their applications are pending.
"It seems the consulate has kept all the applications on hold even though Raytheon has vouched for them. The consulate officers did not state any reason for not issuing the visas immediately," said the source.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has now written to the US consulate about the importance of the training programme and asked it to speed up the visa process. AAI is also thinking of refering the issue to the Union civil aviation ministry.
The officials are being taken by Raytheon to its facility in Boston for training in installation, operation and maintenance of the automation procedure at the Chennai airport.
08/11/10 Times of India

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Emirates Airline indicted for flight mishandling

Kochi: India's Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has indicted Emirates Airline for the manner in which the pilot and other officials handled its Dubai-Kochi flight on April 25 that suffered air turbulence that left 18 passengers and one crew injured.
A report prepared by S. Durrairaj, inquiry officer, regional controller of air safety, southern region, said that prompt communication between the captain of the aircraft and the air traffic controller at Kochi was lacking during the incident.
The report said airline officials were trying to suppress information and had mentioned only one passenger was injured. The inquiry also found that the flight officials failed to inform the passengers at the right time to use seat belts when the aircraft suffered air turbulence.
07/11/10 IANS/Sify.com

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US companies may bag many civil aviation projects

Recently, Suresh Kumar, an Indian-American who is currently designated as the head of the US and Foreign Commercial Service of the US Department of Commerce , the trade promotion arm of the American government, revealed that, during Obama’s current visit, he plans to especially focus on the cooperation in the civil aviation industry between India and the United States. He said that there are talks that US companies are going to bag many civil aviation projects since India wants to build many new airports in its Tier-II and Tier-III cities and also needs many more aircraft.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the Government of India and USA were in the process of entering into Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement (BASA) which would eventually lead to mutual acceptance of aeronautical products/parts developed in either countries.
Subsequent to completion of all preparatory works, two very important activities towards achieving BASA have been recently completed. These are:
(a) ‘Technical Assessment’ of DGCA by FAA in eleven defined areas, and
(b) a shadow certification project where the DGCA carried out actual work and the FAA reviewed.
08/11/10 Economic Times

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Turban search for Sikhs at all American airports

Washington: America’s transportation security administration (TSA) officials have informed Sikh groups that the community should now expect turbans to always be searched at US airports, prompting angry reaction from Sikhs.
The Sikh Coalition, United Sikhs, and Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund have decided to oppose it. While procedures which allow Sikhs to pat down their turbans and have their hands swabbed by a TSA screener remain in place, what changed is that turbaned Sikhs must go through an additional hand wand of the turban as an additional screening procedure 100% of the time.
This is even for Sikh travellers who choose to be screened by going through the new advanced imaging technology (AIT) machines.
The AIT machines (or whole body imaging machines) are being placed in airports nationwide over the coming years.
The TSA said that because a turban is “non form-fitting”, it is more capable of concealing dangerous items than other forms of clothing. It said that its new AIT machines cannot see through the folds of a turban to determine if it is concealing a dangerous item, the Sikh organisations said.
08/11/10 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Malaysian Airline eyes Indian, Chinese markets

Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian Airlines has kept the markets in India and China at the top of its new expansion plans. With Asian economies growing faster than those in Europe and the Americas, the national carrier is also focusing on the neighbourhood and Australia.
Over 600,000 Indians travelled to Malaysia last year.
The airline's managing director and chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin has denied plans to turn it into a budget airline.
According to Boeing Commercial Airplanes senior manager of market analysis Michael L. Warner, global passenger traffic should grow at 5.3 percent a year and air cargo at 5.9 percent a year over the next 20 years. Passenger traffic within Southeast Asia alone will grow by seven per cent a year.
08/11/10 IANS/Economic Times

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At IGI, Air Force One pilots keep it simple & safe

New Delhi: The pilots of Air Force One chose the most comfortable option for Barack and Michelle Obama and their entourage to touch down in the capital after an exactly 1.46-hour flight from Mumbai. The Boeing 747-200 was given the option of landing on any of the three runways at IGI Airport and midway from Ahmedabad to Delhi, the pilots informed Delhi ATC that the 'big eagle' would land on the main runway 28.
Reason: This 3.8-km-long and recently-resurfaced runway is closer to the Palam Technical Area than the newest airstrip 29, from where taxiing could have taken over 20 minutes.
From the runway 28, the pilots were again given three options to exit the runway enroute to the technical area where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife were waiting to receive the US first couple. When the plane touched down in Delhi at 3.19pm, it used the entire 3.8-km runway to slow down and opted for Taxiway Kilo, the last on the airstrip, to turn right. This allowed the pilot to avoid any harsh braking, slow down gently and give maximum comfort to the VVIP passengers.
The aircraft reached Palam technical area about seven minutes after touchdown. In another five minutes, the ladder was attached to the aircraft after which the Obamas emerged.
While officials maintained that air space closure for the VVIP movement was for not more than six minutes and did not affect the commercial schedule, the last flight to operate before Air Force One landed was the arrival of Indigo's flight 6E 302 from Chennai at 3.03pm. The first movement after the presidential flight landed was the arrival of Air India's IC7808 from Jabalpur at 3.25pm.
08/11/10 Times of India

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Flapless drone gets airborne

To make an aircraft fly and manoeuvre safely without the use of conventional control surfaces is an achievement in itself; to do that while at the same time bringing together new construction techniques and new control mechanisms could be said to be over-ambitious —but a British team of researchers has precisely done that. An unmanned air vehicle (UAV) showcasing a wide range of new technologies has successfully demonstrated ‘flapless flight’ in the UK.
The UAV, called Demon, made the historic flight from an airfield at Walney Island in Cumbria recently. Developed by Cranfield University, BAE Systems, and nine other UK universities, Demon represents the first alternative to the moving flap technology used since the early days of aviation, in which moving mechanical elevators and ailerons control the aircraft’s flight. Conventional control surfaces’ many moving parts require frequent, costly repairs and account for a significant percentage of an aircraft’s noise output.
BAE Systems has offered to work with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other agencies to help India develop its autonomous UAV technology.
08/11/10 Huma Siddiqui/Financial Express

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AI flight diverted to save passenger's life

New Delhi: An Air India Toronto-Delhi flight was diverted to Stockholm to save the life of a passenger who fell sick three hours into the journey, the airline said on Sunday. According to an Air India statement, Capt J S Gill, commander of flight AI-188 diverted the aircraft on Friday and landed at Stockholm
airport to save the life of Karnail Singh Jaswal, a 70-year-old Canadian citizen.
A doctor on board the plane administered first aid and oxygen to Jaswal after which his condition stabilised. However, two hours later, his condition again deteriorated and the doctor advised immediate hospitalization.
An ambulance with full medical assistance had been kept at readiness at the Stockholm airport and Jaswal was rushed to the hospital after the plane landed.
07/11/10 Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times

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SpiceJet to buy 30 Boeing aircraft for $2.7 billion

Mumbai: Budget airline SpiceJet will buy 30 B737 planes from US aircraft manufacturer Boeing in a deal worth $2.7 billion, which will form part of $10 billion pacts being sealed during US President Barack Obama's visit. "The order of 30 aircraft, the second of such order by SpiceJet, will enhance it's market," said Bhulo Kansagra, Director and one of the promoters of SpiceJet at the US India Business Council meet.
Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar said the deal, announced today, was signed in late October after it received government approvals.
The deal is part of 20-odd pacts, worth USD about 10 billion, that are to be sealed during Obama's 3-day visit. The agreements are expected to create 50,000 jobs in the US.
06/11/10 Press Trust Of India/Hindustan Times

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AIE to restore 12 flights from Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram : Air India Express (AIE), the no-frills airline of Air India, is to reinstate 12 weekly flights from the Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode airports to various destinations in the Gulf from next month.
The flights to be reinstated are the IX343/344 Kozhikode-Dubai-Kozhikode on Wednesday and Saturday, the IX537/538 Thiruvananthapuram-Abu Dhabi-Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday and Sunday, the IX535 /536 Thiruvananthapuram-Sharjah- Thiruvananthapuram (Thursday) and the IX539/540 Thiruvananthapuram- Dubai- Thiruvananthapuram of Saturday. The flights were among those cancelled by the airline in September citing shortage of cabin crew and regulations of the Director-General of Civil Aviation.
The airline was under pressure from all quarters to reinstate the cancelled flights from the State to the Gulf in view of an increase in fares in other airlines.
07/11/10 The Hindu

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Red tape delays return of WWII airman's body

Maybe you like to walk in a cemetery where a loved one is buried, where workers cut the grass between the gravestones, where it's the same year-after-year - accessible, familiar.
Altoona native Sheldon Chambers' resting place is nothing like that: It's on the other side of the world, in a remote province of an unfamiliar country, on an exposed mountainside, where the winds howl and no one comes routinely to visit.
After 66 years, his loved ones want him back to place his body - or what can be found of it - in a cemetery where they can visit once in a while and plant flowers.
That recovery was supposed to happen this year, but it didn't, and they're unhappy about it.
Chambers was a 23-year-old Army Air Force co-pilot when his B24 bomber, the "Hot as Hell," crashed in Arunachal province in northeastern India in January 1944 during World War II, killing all eight aboard.
No one knew what happened until 2006, when a private researcher from Arizona named Clayton Kuhles discovered the wreckage and notified family members.
Since then, the U.S. Joint Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Command has visited the site three times, once for reconnaissance and twice to excavate but without discovering human remains.
JPAC was planning to return this fall to finish excavating, in the belief workers would find remains.
"[But] the Government of India (GOI) was not able to schedule the necessary talks for JPAC to gain clearance," JPAC wrote to the families in June. "Consequently, JPAC was forced to reschedule the excavation for September - November 2011."
It was actually "bureaucratic bungling," according to Gary Zaetz of Arizona, nephew of the plane's navigator and spokesman for the Hot as Hell families.
The area is remote, rugged, in dispute between China and India and prone to insurgency, heightening the need for firm arrangements for guides, communication frequencies, access and coordination with the provincial government, according to JPAC.
"Despite our best efforts, no time window became available" to make those arrangements, according to JPAC.
07/11/10 William Kibler/AltoonaMirror.com

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The eagle lands, followed by decoy

Mumbai: At about 11.30 am on Saturday, the most recognised aircraft in the world, Air Force One crossed over from Karachi air traffic control area and entered Indian airspace over the Rann of Kutch.
A little over an hour later, at 12.48pm, the blue-and-white Boeing 747-200 B made a surprise touchdown at the Mumbai airport by opting for Runway 14. This made it, perhaps, the first-ever VVIP aircraft to have ever landed on the lesser-used, smaller runway, which is infamously shunned by some international airlines. Air Force One had been expected to land on the main runway 27.
Air Force One then taxied to Apron Lima, where Marine One, the US President's helicopter and its decoy, along with three other US marine choppers, were parked. At a distance away were CISF sniffer dogs, the Bomb Disposal Squad Unit, fire and rescue tenders, US secret service agents with dark glasses and walkie-talkies, and a crowd of khaki-clad CISF personnel and policemen.
The aircraft door opened at 12.54 pm, but then several minutes of wait followed as the step ladder took a bit of time to be aligned with the aircraft. Finally, at 1.02 pm, the President and his wife Michelle Obama — in a grey dress — walked out holding hands.
The Air Force One decoy also landed by then and waited near the end of runway 14 as the President and his wife boarded Marine One. The helicopter lifted off at 1.09 pm for INS Shikra, a naval helipad located in South Mumbai. The airspace over Mumbai airport was closed from 12.32pm to 12.55pm, said a Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson.
Since it was not peak hour, only five arriving aircraft were put on hold as the Air Force One landed and Marine One departed.
07/11/10 Manju V/Times of India

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Tatas to deliver 1st chopper cabin next week

Hyderabad: The first helicopter cabin manufactured by Tata Advanced Systems in the aerospace SEZ in Ranga Reddy district will be delivered next week.
Tatas had set up a helicopter manufacturing facility at the aerospace SEZ to manufacture cabins for the Sikorsky-92 helicopters which would be exported to the Sikorsky's assembly unit in the US on November 23 with two more scheduled to be delivered by the year-end.
According to the chief minister's office, Tata group chairman Ratan Tata would be meeting the chief minister K Rosaiah on November 7 to discuss further investments planned by the group in the state.
Meanwhile, automobile giant Mahindra also proposes to set up yet another aerospace project at the aerospace SEZ envisaging an investment of around Rs 300 crore. The functioning and progress of the country's first Aerospace and Precision Engineering Special Economic Zone set up on a 500-acre site at Nadargul and Adibhatla villages in Ranga Reddy district was reviewed by the chief minister on Sunday.
6/11/10 Times of India

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Delivery of Boeing planes for AI in 2011

With reports of further delays in delivery of Boeing's next generation 787 aircraft, Air India on Saturday (November 6) said the deliveries of these planes for it are slated for June next year. “To the best of our knowledge, the delivery will begin from June 2011,” a spokesman for the national carrier said in New Delhi. Air India plans to buy 27 B-787 'Dreamliners' from Boeing which are to be delivered in phases. He said the delivery date was pushed back to June 2011 from April next year, as early as in August this year.
A report in the latest issue of the premier US-based journal Aviation Week and Space Technology said, "Air India now is believed to be scheduled to receive its first B-787 in September or October 2011 instead of April, a delay of around five months." The B-787s, made of composite materials to make it lighter and more fuel-efficient than other aircraft, are to be deployed by Air India on long-haul sectors like India-US and India-Australia for non-stop operations.
According to the report, the delay in deliveries would affect the first few customers like Korean Air and Japan Airlines, apart from Air India.
06/11/10 Times Now.tv

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Airlines cancel Jakarta flights

Mount Merapi (Indonesia): International airlines cancelled flights into Indonesia’s capital today after a volcano hundreds of kilometres to the west unleashed its most powerful eruption in a century, incinerating villagers as they fled a searing gas cloud.
President Obama is scheduled to arrive at Jakarta on October 9 after a three-day India visit.
The number of people killed by Mount Merapi in the last two weeks climbed to 138, as a tiny hospital at the foot the mountain struggled to cope with survivors, some with burns on up to 95 per cent of their bodies.
The only sign of life in one man, whose eyes were milky grey in colour and never blinked, was the shallow rising and falling of his chest. Others, their lungs choked with abrasive volcanic ash, struggled to breathe.
Indonesia’s most volatile mountain unleashed a surge of searing gas, rocks and debris yesterday that raced down its slopes at highway speeds, mowing down the slope-side village of Bronggang and leaving a trail of charred corpses in its path.
It continued to rumble and groan today, at times spitting ash up to 8km in the air, dusting windshields, rooftops and leaves on trees hundreds of kilometres to the west.
07/11/10 AP/The Telegraph

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Lankan woman caught with forged passport

Chennai: Proving that the number of cases of deported immigrants is on the rise, a 23-year-old Sri Lankan woman, Khadeejha, was arrested at Chennai airport on Friday while arriving back at Chennai airport after being deported from London.
Khadeejha, who arrived in India 10 years back along with her father, was staying in Mandapam camp, near Rameswaram. “As she later fell in love with Muhammed Farooq from Chennai, who was working with a department store in London, she got married in 2006. When she found it difficult to get a visa to migrate to London with her refugee identity, she forged her passport with Indian identity with the help of a travel agent in Tiruchy and reached London on 15 days’ tourist visa,” said police sources.
“She illegally stayed in London for more than 15 months and while travelling back to India, was caught by the London police and deported to India,” he added.
According to the police, the airport police registered a case and remanded her in custody. The police at Chennai are on the lookout for the touts who got her the forged passport.
07/11/10 Deccan Herald

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UK orders re-screening of cargo coming from India, Pakistan and Iran

As an aftermath of the recent mail bomb plot, Britain has tightened screening of air cargo passing through the country and ordered re-screening of parcels originating from some cities in India, Pakistan, Iran and some other countries.
Currently such flights do not need to be screened in the UK.
After a meeting with industry representatives here, Hammond said they also discussed a proposed system of grading countries sending air cargo to the UK, according to perceived risk.
Countries that have screening measures matching those of the UK and the European Union could have easier access to the UK than those that do not, he indicated.
05/11/10 Daily News & Analysis

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Air Seychelles denied traffic rights to India

Air Seychelles’ planned inaugural flight to Chennai, en route to Singapore, was delayed until further notice, when it emerged that the airline had not been given traffic rights in time.
Although the application, according to reliable sources in Mahe, was filed 100 days in advance – instead of the mandatory 60 days – and staff and local contacts in India were relentlessly chasing the application’s progress in the weeks leading up to the 01st of November, the approvals did not come forth.
Suggestions have promptly circulated in aviation circles that rival airlines were trying to use their influence, with other suggestions not being so ‘innocent’, said to be worried over or opposed to Air Seychelles’ code share arrangements with another Indian carrier, which would boost ‘new routes’ for both of them beyond Chennai and Mahe.
05/11/10 Dr. Wolfgang Thome/eTurboNews

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Boeing to Delay Some 787 Delivery

Boeing Co. may delay delivery of its new 787 jet to follow-on customers by up to 10 months, Aviation Week said, citing unidentified industry sources.
Korean Air Lines Co. won’t receive its first 787 until August 2012, 10 months later than planned, according to the report. Air India and Japan Airlines Corp. will take delivery three to five months later than expected, Aviation Week said.
Boeing’s current plan is to deliver the first 787 to All Nippon Airways in the middle of the first quarter of 2011.
06/11/10 Peter J. Brennan and Gopal Ratnam/Bloomberg

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Delhi hurdle for foreign fliers

Calcutta: Passengers taking Air India’s connecting flights from Delhi to Calcutta after flying in from New York and London have been arriving in the city hours late and often without their luggage.
The airline blames the lack of infrastructure at the newly commissioned terminal 3 (T3) of Delhi airport for the problems while the airport authorities accuse Air India for not deploying enough employees.
Air India operates daily New York-Delhi-Calcutta and London-Delhi-Calcutta flights. On reaching Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, passengers have to change aircraft to fly to Calcutta.
“The flights have been arriving three to four hours behind schedule for the past four to five days. Also, we have been receiving complaints from several passengers about their luggage not being loaded on the Delhi-Calcutta flight,” an official at Calcutta airport said on Friday.
The New York-Delhi-Calcutta flight arrived at 1.30am on Friday, nearly three hours behind schedule. The London-Delhi-Calcutta flight arrived at 5.25pm on Friday instead of 3.45pm.
“The scale of operations at T3 has gone up suddenly with 11 domestic flights operating from it. There seems to be shortage of manpower,” said an Air India official in Delhi.
The new software for segregation of baggage is creating confusion among airport employees and causing bags to be loaded on wrong flights, he added.
Air India is the first airline that moved to T3 for integrated international and domestic operations.
06/11/10 The Telegraph

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Chavan to receive Obama at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and Protocol Minister Suresh Shetty will receive U.S. President Barack Obama at the airport here today as the representatives of the state along with Union Minister Salman Khurshid.
“The Ministry of External Affairs has told us that the Chief Minister and the Protocol Minister would receive Obama on his arrival at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport,” an official from the Chief Minister’s Office said.
Mr Khurshid has been chosen by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to be the minister-in-waiting for Mr Obama.
Mr Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and Home Minister R R Patil have also been invited for a speech against terrorism by the President, scheduled at the Taj hotel in the afternoon.
However, the ministers have not confirmed whether they will attend the function or not, an official from Mantralaya (state secretariat) said.
06/11/10 PTI/The Hindu

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Delta Airlines jet searched after Mumbai landing

A Delta Airlines flight from Amsterdam has been evacuated and searched after landing at Mumbai airport in western India.
Flight 70, carrying 244 passengers, was taken to a secure area after reports of suspicious cargo in the hold.
A Delta employee in Amsterdam had informed the pilot about the unidentified object, officials said.
The cargo was later given the all clear after being found not to have any suspicious materials.
The plane touched down at 2300 local time (0530GMT).
A Delta spokesman said: "Upon landing in Mumbai, we requested a precautionary rescreening of a cargo shipment on board flight 70. All passengers were safely deplaned and we are cooperating with authorities in their assessment."
04/11/10 BBC, UK

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New international routes will take SpiceJet higher

In the past six months, the stock of India’s most profitable low-cost airline SpiceJet has given a return of about 37% as against the 31% of the benchmark, Sensex. Rising domestic passenger traffic and the launch of international operations have kept the stock buzzing.
Given the encouraging performance of the company in the September 2010 quarter, its stock is likely to see sustained investor interest. It was the fourth consecutive quarter of profits for the company. It reported a net profit of Rs 10.1 crore as against loss of Rs 101.3 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous year. During the quarter, the airline recorded 16% growth in the number of passengers flown.
The company’s revenue shot up by 35% to Rs 603 crore. On the operational front, earnings before interest, depreciation, tax and rentals (EBIDTAR) jumped by 42% to Rs 492 crore in com-parison with last year’s September quarter .
05/11/10 Rajesh Naidu/Economic Times

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Japan Airlines boards Kale

Mumbai: Kale Consultants Ltd announced that Japan Airlines (JAL) has selected Kale's REVERA solution for its passenger revenue accounting requirements as licensed solution.
Japan Airlines is one of the leading carriers in the Asia Pacific region. It operates almost 900 daily departures with its fleet of more than 260 aircraft, adds a press release. JAL also has multiple code-share partners across the globe, many of whom are oneworld alliance members. For such scale of operations and variety of offerings, it required a very robust and dynamic revenue accounting system that could fulfill all its requirements. Kale’s passenger revenue accounting solution REVERA possesses enhanced features like daily revenue reporting, modules for invoicing and ancillary revenues, inbuilt dashboard etc. which will enable JAL to deal with the most complex revenue accounting requirements and help it implement industry best practices to proactively adapt to dynamic market conditions.
04/11/10 CIOL

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India likely to ease offset norms to include aviation, internal security

New Delhi: In a statement that would come as welcome news to the foreign defence industry, a senior Indian diplomat has said India is likely to expand the scope of defence offsets to include the sectors of civil aviation and internal security. India also said it expected progress in the issue of relaxation of US export control on dual-use items.
While foreign players have been pleading for a relaxation in the tough defence offsets clause — in some deals contractors need to invest up to 50 per cent of the contract value in the Indian defence industry — this is the first official indication that the government may be diluting the norms.
Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar on Wednesday said while it might be a bit early to raise the FDI cap on the defence sector, the government is more likely to bring about changes in the offsets clause.
04/11/10 Manu Pubby/Indian Express

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30 air traffic controllers to be trained in automation in US

Chennai: In the coming days, around 30 ATCs and communication wing engineers are expected to fly out to the US for a training programme. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) began the project over a year ago. The Rs 42-crore contract for the project was bagged by US-based Raytheon.
Sources said that the ATCs would be trained at the Raytheon's facility at Boston, Massachusetts. "The personnel will be sent to the US in batches and the training may extend from 20 days to a month," the sources added
The training comes after Raytheon officials visited the airport last year, worked with controllers, studied the ATC procedures and systems. Once the training is completed, Raytheon will begin installing the system.
An automated ATC system at the Chennai airport is expected to take some time. Such a system is already in place at the Mumbai and Delhi airports.
"It may take a year or so. The training itself is going to take place only now, after Raytheon officials studied ATC system at the airport last October. The training is part of the installation procedure where Raytheon staff will have to work closely with controllers and communication engineers," said a source.
04/11/10 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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First Sukhoi Superjet 100 SN 95007 production aircraft took to the air

Komsomolsk-on-the Amur: Today the first Sukhoi Superjet 100 SN 95007 production aircraft intended for Armavia took to the skies.
The aircraft was piloted by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft’s test pilots Alexander Ivanov and Alexander Kochetkov.
During the 3 hours flight, the pilot crew checked the overall engines, systems and equipment performance having confirmed the aircraft characteristics within operational range.
“The premier flight of the first serial aircraft Sukhoi Superjet 100 is an important milestone of the program. We are now really starting the ramp-up of production. There are 17 serial aircraft in production, 5 of which are at the final assembly shop,” said SCAC’s President Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk.
After a series of factory checks, the SSJ100 SN 95007 will fly to Moscow for operational route proving tests. Ground handling at the airports will be performed in full compliance with the operational documentation. Route proving tests are aimed at confirmation of reliability of onboard systems in operational environment and feasibility of aircraft handling with standard airport on-ground devices.
04/11/10 PRESS RELEASE/SuperJet International

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Tokyo airport uses Kerala IT firm solution for cargo operation

Thiruvananthapuram: The second busiest airport in Asia and the fourth busiest in the world, Haneda Airport in Tokyo has adopted Kerala-based IBS Software's cargo management solution to meet its business and customs operations. IBS's iCargo is an integrated solution suite designed to handle the cargo management requirements of full freighter carriers, passenger and cargo combination carriers, ground handling agents and airports in the areas of cargo sales and reservations besides cargo revenue accounting in a single seamless solution. The Technopark-headquartered IBS is the only service provider outside Japan that has full NACCS (Japanese customs) capability and know-how.
03/11/10 IANS/Economic Times

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Bombardier set to make inroad in India with SpiceJet order for 30 Q400s

Montreal: Bombardier's efforts to tap into the Indian transportation market is bearing fruit after discount carrier SpiceJet said it plans to spend about US$900 million to order 30 Q400 NextGen turboprops.
The airline informed the Bangkok Stock Exchange that its board approved an initial order for 15 planes with an option for 15 more on Tuesday, with deliveries beginning in the second quarter.
The airline's new CEO told reporters in New Delhi that it plans to more than double its fleet in about three years. It currently flies 22 Boeing 737s to 18 India cities.
"We believe that the enormous potential in the Indian domestic market can be further tapped by enhancing regional connectivity,” Neil Mills said.
Founded five years ago, it is India's fifth largest carrier and second-largest low-fare airline with about 12.8 per cent market share. It launched service to Nepal and Sri Lanka in October and services 22 destinations in India and the neighbouring countries.
SpiceJet placed a US$2.3-billion order in July for 30 Boeing planes that will begin to be delivered in 2014.
Bombardier spokesman John Arnone said no agreement has been signed, but acknowledged that the company was in talks with the SpiceJet.
"We look forward to finalizing a purchase agreement for Q400 aircraft," he said in an interview.
Bombardier has CRJ planes in operation in the world's largest democracy, but this would mark its first delivery of new Q400 turboprops.
"As a market, we're very bullish on the potential for our aircraft in India. It is a market that has the ideal conditions for any one of our three family of aircraft — Q400, CRJ as well as CSeries," Arnone said.
Bombardier forecasts that India will increase its fleet of between 20 and 149 seat aircraft from 120 to 650 aircraft in the next 20 years.
02/11/10 Ross Marowits/The Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press

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Jet, S African Airways plan tie-up

New Delhi: The country's largest private carrier Jet Airways has proposed to enter into a marketing alliance with South African Airways. The airline is awaiting regulatory approval for the tie-up which would help the two carriers sell each other’s tickets on Mumbai-Johannesburg besides connecting other onward destinations, industry sources said.
“The two carriers would code-share on the trunk Mumbai-Johannesburg route. The issue is currently pending with civil aviation ministry," a Jet Airways official said.
Jet seeks to provide its customers the option to fly with South African Airways for onward connectivity to cities such as Cape Town and Durban. The proposed agreement would allow the South African Airlines passengers to book tickets on Jet Airways' network in India. “The flight is not doing as we had expected at the time of its launch. On an average we are seeing a occupancy of 60-70% on the flight. The code-share with the South African carrier would help us get more passengers,” the official said.
03/11/10 Nirbhay Kumar/Financial Express

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5,000 Tourists Affected By Cancelled Indian Airlines Flights

Kuala Lumpur: About 5,000 tourists from Chennai, India to Malaysia and vice versa, are reported to be affected by the cancellation of Indian Airlines flights since yesterday due to operational problems.
Malaysian Indian Tour and Travel Association (MITA) president K.Thangavelu said passengers who had booked tickets on Indian Airlines would be alternatively put on Air India Express, their budget airlines which goes to Chennai via Trichy.
"We are shocked to hear the last-minute cancellations by them, especially during the peak season such as festivals and the school holidays," he told a news conference, here, Tuesday.
He said the flight cancellations had become a disaster not only for tourists but also for travel agencies as they would have to change the flights.
02/11/10 Bernama

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Kingfisher settles row with engine maker IAE

Mumbai: Kingfisher Airlines, India's second largest private carrier in terms of passenger carriage, has settled technical issues with the US-based engine manufacturer IAE, boosting its capacity in the peak winter season. The airline will fly six out of the 15 grounded aircraft parked at different airports in the country due to technical problems that could have triggred safety bottlenecks . The airline has a fleet of 66 aircraft.
Kingfisher's brass, including the new CEO Sanjay Aggarwal , were in the US negotiating for a deal with IAE. The US safety regulator, Federal Aviation Administrator , had, in February, this year, called for a review of safety of IAE V2500, two-shaft turbofan engines which power the Airbus A320 family, as there were 39 reports of cracks which were developing in the drum of the engines due to a material failure. The FAA is still reviewing these technical issues.
03/11/10 Manisha Singhal/Economic Times

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Air cargo group urges global cooperation

Security regulators around the world must work together to ensure that the movement of air freight is safe and secure, especially after last week's discovery of package bombs on cargo flights headed to Chicago from Yemen, an air cargo group says.
"We are much more secure than in 2001 [when the September 11 terrorist attacks took place], but there is room for improvement," Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association, said in a written statement. The group's members comprise about 230 passenger and cargo airlines.
As IATA is responsible for carrying about 35 percent of the total value of goods traded internationally, "transporting these goods safely, securely and efficiently is critical," Bisignani said.
Yet "belts, shoes and shampoos are not the problem," Bisignani said. "We must shift the screening focus from looking for bad objects to finding terrorists. To do this effectively, we need intelligence and technology at the checkpoint. The enormous amount of data that we collect on passengers can help governments to identify risks."
In an apparent reference to calls by U.S. lawmakers for mandatory screening of all cargo flown by air freight haulers, Bisignani said that "airport screening cannot be our first line of defense." It can complement intelligence and technology that can assess risks and identify threats, he said, adding that the development of screening technology needs to be done faster.
02/11/10 Sara Sorcher/National Journal/Government Executive

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US professor sent back from Delhi airport

Srinagar: A prominent US academic was sent back to America from Delhi airport on Monday, allegedly because his partner is associated with a human rights group in the Kashmir Valley.
According to the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition for Civil Society (JKCCS), immigration officials at the airport initially put an entry stamp on the passport of Prof Richard Shapiro, but cancelled it after they examined the passport of his partner, Angana Chatterji.
Chatterji is co-convener of the International People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Justice, a voluntary organisation investigating alleged human rights abuses in Kashmir.
03/11/10 Indian Express

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Air India wants to shut offices in Pak, but gets no visas

Trying to cut costs by shutting its overseas offices, Air India (AI) is facing a unique problem in Pakistan. Islamabad has refused to grant visas to AI staff who want to go over to wind up operations.
AI has offices in Karachi and Lahore, but no direct flights to Pakistan. “We want to shut down our offices in these two cities as we do not operate from there anymore. Already all the staff have been called back,” AI CMD Arvind Jadhav told The Indian Express.
The airline pays about Rs 32 lakh per annum as rent for the two offices. Earlier, it was decided that Jadhav would visit Pakistan to shut down the offices. But he was denied a visa. He then delegated the task to some senior executives, who too failed to get visas.
02/11/10 Smita Aggarwal/Indian Express

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Austrian Airlines commence flights from Mumbai

Mumbai: As part of its expansion plans in India, Lufthansa Group air-carrier Austrian Airlines will operate five flights every week from the city airport, effective from today.
The European carrier had earlier pulled out of Mumbai due to the meltdown in global economies.
"We expect strong demand for our flights to Mumbai, since we offer a comfortable product for business travellers and tourists," Austrian Airlines' Executive Board Member Andreas Bierwirth told reporters here today.
Austrian Airlines has also increased the frequency for its Delhi-Vienna flight to six from five in the winter schedule.
01/11/10 PTI/Deccan Herald

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GMR pays US$78 million upfront

Male: India’s GMR Infrastructure had paid the US$78 million (about Rf1 billion) upfront to the government, Finance Ministry announced Monday.
State Minister for Finance Ahmed Aslam said the ministry received the bank deposit document on Sunday – the deadline for the payment.
The government earlier said the consortium formed between GMR and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) should settle the payment prior to the scheduled takeover of operations in November.
The government leased the airport to GMR for 25 years on June 29. The Indian company formed a joint venture with Malaysia Airports Holdings and registered GMR Male International Airport Private Limited at Trade Ministry.
The GMR-MAHB consortium proposed to pay US$78 million (almost Rf1 billion) upfront, one percent of the total profit in the first year (until 2014) and 10 percent of the profit from 2015 to 2035. It also agreed to pay 15 percent of fuel trade revenues in the first four years and 27 percent from 2015 to 2035.
01/11/10 haveeru online

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Tatas to deliver 1st chopper cabin next week

Hyderabad: The first helicopter cabin manufactured by Tata Advanced Systems in the aerospace SEZ in Ranga Reddy district will be delivered next week.
Tatas had set up a helicopter manufacturing facility at the aerospace SEZ to manufacture cabins for the Sikorsky-92 helicopters which would be exported to the Sikorsky's assembly unit in the US on November 23 with two more scheduled to be delivered by the year-end.
According to the chief minister's office, Tata group chairman Ratan Tata would be meeting the chief minister K Rosaiah on November 7 to discuss further investments planned by the group in the state.
Meanwhile, automobile giant Mahindra also proposes to set up yet another aerospace project at the aerospace SEZ envisaging an investment of around Rs 300 crore. The functioning and progress of the country's first Aerospace and Precision Engineering Special Economic Zone set up on a 500-acre site at Nadargul and Adibhatla villages in Ranga Reddy district was reviewed by the chief minister on Sunday.
01/11/10 Times of India

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