Gulf Airlines' Passage to India

Gulf carriers have a challenge: How to get their hands on Indian air passengers without risking money on Indian airlines. Saddled with vicious competition that's seen fares drop as low as 2 cents per flight, according to Bloomberg's Anurag Kotoky, a web of state-based jet fuel taxes that can add more than 40 percent to the cost of kerosene, and chronic congestion in major cities, India's aviation industry is notoriously unprofitable. At the same time, the nation's 28-million-strong diaspora is an attractive prize for any airline with ambitions to connect the world. That's particularly the case for the Middle East: The six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council account for about 64 percent of the world's 11 million non-resident Indians, the overseas citizens who are most likely to make journeys back to the mother country.
The three state-owned carriers vying for dominance in the Gulf have taken different approaches to solving this conundrum.Etihad Airways, whose promiscuous network of alliances includes equity stakes in Alitalia, Air Berlin and Virgin Australia, has moved closest to the subcontinent with a 24 percent equity stake in the country's second-biggest privately owned airline, Jet Airways.
30/11/15 David Fickling/Bloomberg

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Few Gulf airlines eyeing stake in SpiceJet, says Ajay Sinha

No-frills airline SpiceJet has said that certain airlines from the Gulf have shown interest in picking up stake in the company. While the airline did not mention which Gulf aviation companies were keen on buying into SpiceJet, the company's chairman Ajay Singh said that they were not looking to dilute stake at this time.

Two leading Gulf airlines, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways both have bought stakes in multiple airlines to expand their operations, routes and fleet.

The airline is in talks with Boeing and Airbus to buy more than 150 planes, Singh said on Sunday, predicting he would decide which manufacturer to place the order with by the end of March 2016.

Such an investment would cap a remarkable turnaround for India's second-biggest budget airline by market share, which came close to collapse late last year after running out of cash.

Singh subsequently bought back into the airline, acquiring a controlling stake. SpiceJet has reported profits in the past three quarters, having made losses in the five preceding quarters.
30/11/15 dna

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Air India's Hyderabad-Delhi-San Francisco flight from December 2

The return flight from San Francisco will depart at 10.30 am and will reach Delhi the next day (Thursday, Saturday and Monday) at 4.15 pm.

'The West Coast has assumed a new meaning for India in terms of what India can share from the West Coast, but also what the West Coast can get from India, ' Indian Consul General at the San Francisco Consulate Venkatesan Ashok told PTI.

The Press Trust of India reported that Air India is now "considering starting a direct flight to Washington as well as serving new cities in the U.S. soon after it launches its services to San Francisco".

He was speaking here yesterday at a function organised by Air India prior to the launch of its direct flight to San Francisco from December 2. Passengers will have huge benefits travelling to San Francisco as they will undergo immigration and customs checks at their boarding points itself and can have comfortable journey further, the statement added. The flight will leave at 1740 hrs for Hyderabad and will arrive in at 1955 hrs.
29/11/15 Press Chronicle

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Safety and security standards of Indian aviation get thumbs up from United Nations body

India's aviation safety and security security has got a thumps up from the UN oversight body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

In a recently done security audit by the ICAO, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, (BCAS) fully met the target of implementation of security norms thus steering clear from the threat of a possible downgrading of India's safety ranking.

ICAO carries out periodic audits of member countries and assesses their implementation of norms of security and safety measures in handling all areas of civil aviation security and safety including full ground handling at the airports, aerodromes, including the track record of companies involved, airlines and flight schedules and paths managed by the air traffic control (ATC) etc.

The audit done by ICAO in October this year certified that effective implementation of aviation security in India stands at respectable score of 99.23% while India's compliance of ICAO security requirements stands at 99.59%.

The ICAO team conducted audit of Indian civil aviation security and security at Delhi airport in October across nine audit areas including legislative and regulatory architecture, performance of security personnel, security training, catering services and ground handling etc.
29/11/15 Daily News & Analysis

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SpiceJet Says It's Received Interest From Gulf Airlines

Indian budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd., which has surged more than 280 percent this year, said it’s received interest from Gulf airlines looking to acquire a stake.
“Some of the Gulf airlines have expressed an interest in SpiceJet as we have come back into the market, but this is not the right time to be diluting the equity,” Chairman Ajay Singh said in Dubai Sunday, without naming the companies. “There is some dialogue which is ongoing and we continue to explore other types of relationships we could have,” he said, adding now isn’t the right time to sell a stake as the shares remain undervalued.
Gulf carriers including Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways PJSC and Qatar Airways Ltd. have acquired stakes in airlines to quickly expand their networks. Etihad has stakes in eight companies, while Qatar Airways Ltd. said earlier this month that it was interested in boosting its 10 percent holding in British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group SA and taking up to 49 percent of Indian budget carrier IndiGo.
29/11/15 Matthew Martin/Bloomberg.com

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After San Francisco, Air India plans direct flight to Washington

NEW DELHI: Air India is considering starting a direct flight to Washington as well as serving new cities in the US soon after it launches its services to San Francisco next month.

The national carrier already operates non-stop flights to three US cities -- New York, Newark and Chicago.

"I have been informed by Air India that it is considering a direct flight to Washington," Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has said.

He was speaking here yesterday at a function organised by Air India prior to the launch of its direct flight to San Francisco from December 2.

According to a senior official at Air India, apart from direct services to Washington, the carrier would be looking at the feasibility of connecting more number of cities in the US from various places in India.

The official said the launch flight, both to and from San Francisco in California, has already been sold out and the demand was "tremendous".

Air India used to serve Washington via New York, but the service was discontinued a few years ago. The carrier also had flights to Los Angeles in California, which was discontinued before the merger of Indian Airlines with Air India in 2011.
28/11/15 PTI/The Economic Times

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More Emirates flights into India to boost economy but hurt local airlines

Mumbai: Expanding flying rights for UAE airlines into India could help to boost the subcontinent’s economy, but the move would come at the expense of the ailing state carrier Air India, analysts say.

A report by India’s National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), released on Thursday, highlighted that Emirates has an economic impact of $848.6 million on India’s economy, and that with a greater allocation of seats the airline would generate further jobs, tourists and foreign exchange earnings.

This comes as Arabian Gulf airlines face pressure in Europe and the United States as their competitors in those markets try to get governments to restrict their market access.

“It is only right that the Indian government facilitate Emirates’ growth in the country, which would not only boost direct employment but also expand the GDP contribution for the country as well,” said Saj Ahmad, the chief analyst at StrategicAero Research.

“In fact, it should apply to all UAE airlines. Carriers like flydubai have been hampered in their growth in India because the government is reluctant to offer up additional capacity, when its own Indian-based airlines fail to fill the void.”

He said that “Emirates and other GCC airlines won’t face the same regulatory pressure as seen in the US and Europe” because those are “mature” markets compared to India’s “highly immature aviation market”.
28/11/15 Rebecca Bundhun/The National

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Air India to launch tri-weekly Hyderabad-San Francisco flight via New Delhi

Air India on Friday said it will start a new tri-weekly Hyderabad-San Francisco flight via New Delhi from next week.
The flight will travel non-stop from New Delhi to San Francisco and passengers headed to the US city will undergo all customs and immigration formalities at Hyderabad airport itself for their onward journey, the national carrier said in a statement.
Flight AI-127 (a B777-300ER Boeing aircraft) from Hyderabad to New Delhi will depart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 2105 hours and arrive in the national capital at 2315 hours.
Flight AI-173 to San Francisco will leave New Delhi on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 0235 hours and will be operated with B777-200LR aircraft. It will arrive in San Francisco at 0600 hours (local time) the same day.
The return flight will depart at 1030 hours and arrive at New Delhi the next day (Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays).
It will leave at 1740 hours for Hyderabad, where it will land at 1955 hours, the statement said.
28/11/15 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Indonesia eyes better India connect

Pune: Indonesia will revive direct air connectivity with key Indian cities by the beginning of next year as part of its effort to increase tourism, trade and people-to-people contact between the two nations, said Indonesia's consul general Saut Siringoringo on Thursday.

"To start with, Indonesia's national-carrier Garuda plans to operate direct flights between Jakarta and Delhi, Bali and Mumbai," Siringoringo said, adding that the governments of the two countries agreed long time back on the revival of direct flights.

On a three-day visit to Pune for promoting trade and tourism, Siringoringo spoke exclusively to the TOI on various issues, including the vast potential for bilateral trade and greater exchange in the fields of health, education and tourism. He was accompanied by Indonesian consul (economics) Hariyan ta Soetarto, vice consul (economics) Siti Fatimah and consul Pratiwi Amperawati.
27/11/15 Vishwas Kothari/Times of India

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Indian-American offloaded from international flight at Islamabad airport over 'bomb hoax'

An Indian-American man travelling to Washington via Doha was offloaded from a Qatar Airways flight at Islamabad airport on Friday after he claimed there was a bomb on the aircraft.

Ajit Vijay Joshi was offloaded at the Benazir International Airport around 3:00am in the morning after Qatar Airways refused to board him on its plane, claiming the said person raised a bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax, sources said.
Joshi was kept under detention by the airport security and was only released after the flight landed safely in Doha.

Last week, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) held a passenger at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport for trying to smuggle heroin. A news release said ANF officials, during routine patrolling, apprehended Khalid Mehmood, a resident of Gujrat. Mehmood confessed to having ingested heroin capsules. The suspected smuggler was intending to board a flight for Italy.
27/11/15 Mudassar Raja/The Express Tribune

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Emirates Airlines flies 60,000 seats from India, wants more

New Delhi: After having exhausted additional allocation of 6,000 seats per week last year, Gulf carrier Emirates is vying for more as it tried to make a case for it by coming out with a study on the economic impact of its Indian operations along with National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). The joint study works on two scenarios; one of an increase of 4,500 seats per week and the second of an addition of 13,849 seats per week by phasing out its Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 classics and replacing them with B777-300ER.

The report showed that the economic gains accruing in the first case would be $47.5 million addition to Emirates's current contribution of $848.6 million to the GDP, taking it up to $896.1 million and creation 4,831 jobs. Emirates, today, employs 86,255 Indians for the 185 flights it operates to and from India every week. This would go up to 91,086 jobs. In the event of its seats going up by 13,849 per week, its contribution to GDP would jump by $139.2 million to $987.8 million from the current $848.6 million and offer employment to 14,150 more Indians. Besides impacting the national income and employment, more bilateral rights to Emirates would also positively impact government's foreign exchange earnings, which could climb from $1.7 billion per year at present to $1.8 billion per year for the first scenario, and to $2 billion per year for the second. Inbound tourists are projected to rise from 6.73 lakh per year to 7.11 lakh per years in case 4,500 seats are added and to 7.84 lakh per year with 13,849 more seats.
27/11/15 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Emirates aims 85 mn passenger traffic from India by 2020

With India set to grow in the aviation market, Gulf carrier Emirates is eyeing a greater pie in the international passenger traffic from here by flying 85 million travellers in and out of the country by 2020. According to a report released by the India Brand Equity Foundation earlier this year, India is expected to become the third-largest aviation market in the world by 2020 from the ninth-largest currently. "In the next five years, we are looking for 67 percent growth in the number of passengers flying to and from India. We are looking for a greater chunk in the segment we operate in," Emirates Airline vice president (India and Nepal), Essa Sulaiman Ahmad said. "We are looking for more investments in building our products to achieve the goal (of ferrying 85 million passengers)," he added. Ahmad was speaking on the sidelines of a report launch on Emirates' contribution to the Indian economy. In the previous fiscal, the airline had flown a total of 5.3 million passengers on its India network. Currently, Emirates Airline operates 183 weekly flights to nine Indian cities with its hubs at Mumbai and Delhi. Besides, Emirates also provides connections to 140 destinations across the globe though its Dubai gateway.
27/11/15 PTI/Moneycontrol.com

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Emirates says can support 14,000 more jobs in India

Dubai-based Emirate airline’s operations have contributed over $848 million (Dh3.11 billion) annually to India’s GDP, supporting over 86,000 Indian jobs and generating almost $1.7 billion in foreign exchange earnings, the airline said in a press statement on Thursday.

The study was conducted by the airline in cooperation with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) in New Delhi.

With India’s aim to become the third-largest aviation market by 2020 and the largest by 2030, the study emphasises the important contribution that Emirates makes to India’s economy and aviation sector. The report also forecasts the increased contribution that Emirates would be able to make if capacity entitlements were expanded.

Adnan Kazim, Divisional Senior Vice President – Strategic Planning, Revenue Optimisation and Aeropolitical Affairs, Emirates Airline, said: “Emirates has been committed to India since we started operations in 1985. In the past 30 years, we have progressively grown our services to India by increasing capacity and opening new routes. Today we operate 183 weekly flights to nine points across India, offering our customers in India seamless connections to more than 140 destinations, and also facilitating inbound visitors from across our global network into India.
n February 2014, the aeronautical authorities of India and the UAE negotiated the first expansion of seat entitlements since 2008. As a result, Dubai-based carriers were awarded an additional 11,000 seats per week.
27/11/15 Emirates 24|7

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AI Delhi-SFO non-stop flight tickets sold out for two months, despite higher fares

New Delhi: Air India may have at long last struck gold with its Delhi-San Francisco (SFO) nonstop connection that starts from next Wednesday. The airline says that this flight is nearly sold out on both the India-US and US-India routes for December and January -- despite the fact that its fare for the nonstop on this route is higher than the fare of popular foreign airlines flying one-stop on this route through their hubs in Gulf or Europe.

AI has been struggling for years to make its longhaul flights profitable and this is possibly the first time that a new launch has been sold out for next two months. "The yields have been much higher on this flight (which in common man language means fare are high). Our fares were a little more than competing foreign airlines. Still the response has been tremendous, proving that travellers want direct point-to-point connectivity instead of getting off planes at some intermediary hubs and then going through the hassle of security checks and boarding again," said a senior AI official.

For instance, a return ticket on this sector in last week of December was costing between Rs 83,000 and Rs 91,000 on some leading Southeast Asian, Gulf and European carriers. AI return fare for the nonstop was Rs 94,000. AI new chairman Ashwani Lohani is personally overseeing the revenue department of the airline and is trying to maximize earnings while trying to ensure that travellers get a premium feel.
27/11/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Upgraded AN-32s delivered to India

A batch of five AN-32RE transport aircraft upgraded under a major Indian-Ukraine programme have been handed over to the Indian Ministry of Defence.

This is the eight batch of AN-32s to be upgraded to the AN-32RE model under the project, with a total of 40 aircraft now having undergone overhaul, modernisation and a service life extension of 15 years.

The prime contractor for the work was SpetsTechnoExport, the special exporter of state concern Ukroboronprom. The AN-32 original manufacturer, Antonov, was involved in the work as a sub-contractor.

A further 65 AN-32s will now be overhauled and re-equipped into the AN-32RE model at BRD-1 plant of Indian Air Force in Kanpur with participation of Ukrainian enterprises.
26/11/15 Shephard News

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Passengers removed from plane at BWI after woman reports 'dynamite' text

Four passengers were removed from a Chicago-bound flight at Baltimore's international airport last week after a fellow passenger said she saw one of them receive a text with the word "dynamite" and the code for an airport in India, according to a police report.

No such message was found by officers on the passenger's phone, First Sgt. Jonathan Green, spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, said Wednesday.

The incident report, obtained by The Associated Press through a Maryland Public Information Act request, details the events of Nov. 17, when Spirit Airlines Flight 969 to Chicago was taxiing to the runway at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

A female passenger said she became alarmed when a male passenger made several phone calls in a language other than English and when she saw him receive a text message that read "BLR Dynamite," according to the report. BLR is the airport code for Bengaluru International Airport in Bangalore, India.

The female passenger notified the crew. She said the passenger on the phone was traveling with two other passengers, and talking with a fourth, according to the report.

The flight crew decided to return to the gate. All passengers were ordered off the plane, and the four passengers the woman pointed out, three men and a woman, were detained for investigation, the report said.

The four passengers were later released without charges.
25/11/15 Kasey Jones/AP/The Baltimore Sun

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Air India to launch New Delhi-San Francisco direct flight from December 2

The San Francisco International Airport has announced a trivia contest on social media to mark the beginning of the first-ever non-stop flight from New Delhi to the popular tech city by Air India from December 2.
The contest, titled #NonstopAirIndia, invites participants to answer five trivia questions about Air India and their new service at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
“This new service is significant- the first nonstop flight from the West Coast of the US to India, saving hours off the journey time,” Charles Schuler, Director of Communications SFO said.
“We are excited to host this contest to welcome Air India to SFO,” he said.
With this contest, participants have a chance to win round-trip economy tickets on Air India to New Delhi, an SFO media release said yesterday. A number of officials from the US and India, including Venkatesan Ashok, Consul General of India, will attend a formal ribbon cutting ceremony on December 2 to mark the beginning of the services.
26/11/15 PTI/Indian Express

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Airline costs shooter shot at glory

New Delhi: Indian para shooter Rajeev Malik missed his chance at winning the competition in the IPC Shooting World Cup in Fort Benning, USA as his rifles and ammunition were misplaced by the airline. Even after a complaint filed with both the airline and Delhi Police, his weapons remain missing 21 days later.

Senior police officers said that they are gathering information from the airline.

Malik had left IGI Airport on November 4 to attend the championship scheduled two days later. He had booked two .22 rifles and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, each packed in separate boxes, but when he reached Atlanta airport the authorities failed to deliver it.

"At Atlanta, I scanned through my baggage but could not find my guns. I then approached the airport authorities who told me that they did not receive the rifles. They assured me that a search was being conducted and my rifles would be delivered at my hotel before the championship," said Rajeev Malik.

"After my complaint I was assured of full cooperation, but no information has been provided to me till date," he added.
26/11/15 Anvit Srivastava/Times of India

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Rafale deal to be signed on eve of Hollande’s India visit

New Delhi: India and France are set to sign the deal for 36 Rafale fighter aircraft on the eve of French President François Hollande’s visit to India for the Republic Day celebrations. The draft contract, which envisages supply of the first fighter within 36 months of signing the deal, has been finalised.
The supply of full complement of 36 fighters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) will be completed within seven years of signing the deal.
The induction of the 36 fighters will add to the IAF squadron strength which is now down to 34. At least 44 fighter squadrons are needed to be comfortable against China and Pakistan.
The proposal for buying 36 Rafale fighters from France in a government-to-government deal was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Paris in April.
26/11/15 Sushant Singh/Indian Express

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Mittal, who revolutionised chopper service, dies at 79

Kathmandu: Industrialist Banwari Lal Mittal, best known for pioneering commercial helicopter services in Nepal, passed away at his residence in Gyaneshwor on Wednesday. He was 79.
Mittal had returned to Kathmandu on Monday following treatment at Medant Hospital, Gurgaon in India. He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.
A leading figure in the Nepali chamber movement, Mittal’s business career started with his family-owned construction and textile businesses. However, it was the aviation sector in which he made a name for himself.
In the 1990s, Mittal ventured out of the family business and entered the aviation sector, establishing Air Ananya with a fully-owned fleet of five MI-17 helicopters when the government launched a liberal aviation policy.
Transporting cargo and essential items like food and medicines to remote areas that lack road transportation, the carrier quickly established itself in the domestic aviation market.
In the late 1990s, Mittal changed the company’s name to Shree Airlines and started helicopter pilgrimage tours in Manasarovar, Mount Kailash and Muktinath.
The aviation industry remembers Mittal for his contribution to commercialising helicopter services in the country.
People who knew Mittal closely remember him as a man of high moral integrity. “The calm, passionate and professional businessman took the helicopter industry in Nepal to a new high,” said Tri Ratna Manandhar, former director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. “He had a vision for growth, and his managerial and visionary leadership helped his company gain exposure internationally and nationally.”
26/11/15 Sangam Prasain/Kathmandu Post

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Sky is the limit for women, says British aviator Tracey Taylor

New Delhi: For contemporary women who want to achieve their dreams irrespective of their chosen vocation, the sky is the limit, according to British Aviator Tracey Curtis Taylor.

The female aviator from Britain was here as part of achieving a unique feat — completing a 13,000 mile journey from the United Kingdom to Australia over 23 countries in three months.

Flying the Boeing Stearman, an open-cockpit biplane, Taylor says she wants to not just replicate the inspiring story of legend Amy Jonson, who pioneered the first solo flight by a woman from Britain to Australia, but also engage with young women in the field of aviation and promote the achievements of women in all spheres of the world.

“The main ethos of my flight is to celebrate not only women’s achievements in aviation past, present and future, but also women’s roles in engineering and beyond. The sky holds no limit for women,” Taylor told PTI.

Emulating Amy Johnson’s aerial odyssey in a restored open-cockpit 1942 Boeing Stearman, christened ‘Spirit of Artemis’, Taylor is calling herself a ‘bird in a bi-plane’.

Johnson became the first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia in 1930 and prepared the way for air travel as we know it today.
26/11/15 Tribune

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Singapore signs 3 MOUs with India in civil aviation and urban sector projects

Three Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) fostering closer partnerships between Singapore and India were signed today (Nov 24) in the presence of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and India Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The MOUs cover co-operation in civil aviation, capacity building as well as consulting and advisory services in urban sector projects, International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) said in a statement.


Mr Modi, who is on a state visit to Singapore, addressed about 500 business delegates at the India-Singapore economic convention earlier, together with Minister for Trade & Industry (Industry) S. Iswaran.

14 C-suite executives from Singapore companies with major commitments in India also had the opportunity to interact with PM Modi at the closed-door IE Singapore "Global Conversations" session after the convention at Marina Bay Sands.

During the India-Singapore economic convention, three sectors with greatest potential to offer business opportunities and partnerships in India were highlighted: Consumerism, Manufacturing and Urban Solutions.
24/11/15 AsiaOne

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Nod for new NZ-India air services deal welcomed

The Indian Government has approved the signing of a revised Air Services Agreement between India and New Zealand, according to a Government media release last week.

India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the signing on November 18 in the Indian capital New Delhi.

India Trade Alliance, the New Zealand and India based organisation that facilitates business, trade and investment between the two nations, has hailed the new development as one that will have a positive impact on relations between the two countries.
“It is a new milestone in the civil aviation relations between New Zealand and India that will undoubtedly lead to increased trade and investment, not to mention tourism and cultural exchanges,” said India Trade Alliance Chairman Giriraj Gupta in Auckland.
25/11/15 Scoop

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Govt explores tying up with Changi airport to manage airports in India

Mumbai: India is seeking Singapore's expertise in planning and operations of airports. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the government is exploring collaboration with Singapore's Changi airport to operate two airports in India.

He did not name the airports. However separately the Airport Authority of India signed a memorandum of understanding with Singapore Co-operation Enterprise to co-operate in planning and development of Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports. The MOU covers aspects including design, planning, traffic and commercial development, service quality and operations and management.

The scope of MOU can be extended to include more airports. The MOU was signed today as a part of Prime Minister's two day visit to Singapore.
In August, government has scrapped the privatisation of four major airports - those at Chennai, Kolkata, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. While the airports at Chennai and Kolkata will continue to remain under the complete control of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), fresh bids for the Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports will be invited from private players. These bids, however, would only be for operation and maintenance contracts, government officials had then said.
24/11/15 Business Standard

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Agencies pave way for delivery of Airbus A-320 new engine options

New Delhi: Paving the way for delivery of the fuel-efficient Airbus A-320 new engine option or NEOs to Indian and other global carriers, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Tuesday gave the aircraft joint Type Certification.

Indian carriers IndiGo and GoAir have ordered this aircraft. While IndiGo could get six Airbus A-320 NEOs in December, GoAir will start getting them next year.

"This double seal of approval represents a great achievement for Airbus. It recognizes the hard work performed by all the teams at Airbus and Pratt & Whitney. It demonstrates the A320neo is meeting all requirements," said Fabrice Bregier, Airbus President and CEO. "The A320neo is now cleared for its first delivery and ready to offer many airlines its winning combination of unbeatable economics and outstanding cabin comfort."
24/11/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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British woman aviator lands near Delhi

New Delhi: British aviator Tracey Curtis-Taylor is flying 13,000 miles across 23 countries in three continents in an open cockpit vintage biplane retracing a historic flight and has enroute landed on the outskirts of Delhi on Tuesday.

At Hindon Air Force station outside the national capital, Ms. Taylor interacted with the vintage flight crew of the Indian Air Force (IAF) as well with IAF women pilots.

Ms. Taylor said the real purpose of her flight was to celebrate what Amy Johnson achieved in 1930 — the first woman to complete the epic journey when she flew solo from London to Sydney in just 19 days at the age of 26.

Flying a vintage Boeing Stearman biplane “Spirit of Artemis,” she began her journey from Farnborough airport in the U.K. on October 1 and is expected to take 14 weeks to finish. On the aim of the flight she said, “It’s a tribute flight not aimed at breaking a record. I am celebrating aviation and promoting females into aviation.”
25/11/15 The Hindu

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AirAsia offers: Tickets priced at Rs 990 in airline’s ‘Big Sale’; international flights at Rs 3,699

AirAsia and AirAsia X offers in the form of ‘Big Sale’ are back with a bang, with all-inclusive ticket prices starting from Rs 990 to Pune, Goa, Kochi, Guwahati, Vizag and many more domestic destinations connected by AirAsia India and Rs 3,699 to international destinations like Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur from India connected by the group airline. The AirAsia ‘Big Sale’ tickets are available for booking from, 23 November until 29 November 2015.
AirAsia X is also recommencing its direct flights to Kuala Lumpur from New Delhi and return with 4 weekly flights starting 3rd February, 2016 – all-in-fares start from Rs 7,990.
The travel period for the ‘Big Sale’ will be from 1 May 2016 until 5 February 2017, with priority redemption 24 hours ahead from 0001hrs – 2359hrs (GMT+8) on 22 November for AirAsia BIG members, AirAsiaGo users, BIG Prepaid MasterCard and AirAsia Citibank card members.
24/11/15 Financial Express

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AirAsia X to resume Delhi flights

AirAsia X will relaunch flights to Delhi in February 2016, four years after it suspended the service.

The Malaysian low-cost carrier has confirmed that it will start operating four weekly direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and India’s capital on 3 February.

Flights will depart KLIA every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 1900, arriving in Delhi at 2200. The return services will then leave the Indian capital at 2315, arriving back in KL at 0730 the next morning. The flight time is approximately five and a half hours.
23/11/15 Mark Elliot/Travel Daily India

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India's Jet Airways to axe Brussels scissors hub in 1Q2016

Jet Airways (9W, Mumbai Int'l) will close its Brussels National scissors hub in late March of next year citing its unprofitability Belgium's Standaard newspaper has said. The report says the airline has already informed its thirty-three Brussels based staff (twenty-five Belgians and eight Indians) of the decision.

Established in 2007, Jet Airways uses Brussels to connect Delhi Int'l and Mumbai Int'l with Newark and Toronto Pearson. Sectors to Brussels from Bangalore Int'l and Chennai alongside those to New York JFK were terminated in 2012.
23/11/15 ch-aviation

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Indian Sukhoi Su-30MKI And Russian Su-35 nearly on par: Indian Aviation Expert

China’s recent agreement with Russia to acquire 24 Sukhoi Su-35 aircraft is of interest to New Delhi as it would face off against India’s Sukhoi Su-30 MKI fighter in any contingency planning by the air forces of the two countries.

The Su-30 was a top-line fighter aircraft when it was procured by India and will be beginning the season of upgrades soon. The brand new Su-35 may be a notch higher. Even though after its upgrade, the Su-30 MKI would have the specs of the next version of the Su-35, possibly a Su-36, aviation experts believe.

The similarities between the present Su-30 MKI and the Su-35 are they carry 12 hard-points, besides 8,000 kgs of external ordnance, pulling a maximum of 9G. They have the same air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons package; have thrust vectoring engines and can house external jammers of all varieties and all kinds of pods.
23/11/15 Pinaki Bhattacharya/Defenseworld.net

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San Francisco passengers on Air India to clear immigration, customs checks at Bengaluru

Bengaluru: Air India seems to have pulled off a coup of sorts like Etihad Airways did with the US immigration and customs officials. Etihad will now have a direct competition in Air India with the latter too introducing flight services from Bengaluru to San Francisco with the American officials offering immigration and custom clearance checks at the Bengaluru airport itself.

Air India is touting that their passengers will have huge benefits travelling to San Francisco as they will undergo immigration and customs at their boarding points itself and can have comfortable journey further. Air India will commence its services from Bengaluru to San Francisco via New Delhi on December 2.
It is to be seen how Bengalurueans will respond to the Air India's new offering as there is a Delhi stopover in between, and the flight from Delhi to San Francisco will be one of the longest. There is a huge traffic between Bengaluru and San Francisco as both cities are bonded by information technology, and have common offices. An estimated 1.5 million people working in the IT & BPO sectors in Bengaluru.
22/11/15 K R Balasubramanyam/Economic Times

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Air India to launch Bengaluru-San Francisco flight with custom checks in city

Bengaluru: Air India seems to have pulled off a coup of sorts akin to what Etihad Airways did with the US immigration and customs authorities.

Etihad will now have a direct competition in Air India with the latter too introducing flight services from Bengaluru to San Franci sco with the American officials offering immigration and custom clearance checks at the Bengaluru airport itself. Air India will commence its services from Bengaluru to San Francisco via New Delhi on December 2.

It is to be seen how Bengalureans will respond to the Air India's new offering as there is a Delhi stopover in between and the flight from Delhi to San Francisco will be one of the longest. There is a huge traffic between Bengaluru and San Francisco as they are bonded by information technology and have common offices. An estimated 1.5 million people are working in the IT & BPO sectors in Bengaluru.
In fact, Etihad Airways, UAE's national carrier, which connects Bengaluru with San Franciso via Abu Dhabi was the first to pull off such a coup with the US authorities by opening immigration and customs counters at the Abu Dhabi airport. The travel from Abu Dhabi and San Francisco on the Etihad flight feels like domestic journey as there are no formalities to complete on arrival at San Francisco.
23/11/15 Economic Times

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Dazzling show on a breezy evening

Visakhapatnam: The stage erected on the beach-side lawns at The Park with the roar of the waves in the background and the chilly winter breeze presented the perfect setting for the 3rd anniversary celebrations of Silk Air here on Saturday evening.

Silk Air, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, was the first international airline to provide a direct flight from Visakhapatnam to Singapore, three years ago.

South African models Amy and Chelsea, of British origin, kicked off the celebrations with a fashion dance. Models enthralled the guests with their modern and traditional dances. Their ‘Samba’ and French dance with peacock wings were the highlights of their performance.

DTS Anand of Visakhapatnam held a sway over the audience by providing the digital music, for the breathless song of Shankar Mahadevan ‘Maha prana deepam… Sivam… Bhaje Manjunadham…,’ with his vocal chords. He also provided the music with his vocal chords as a co-artiste sang a few more songs on stage. DTS Anand can produce the sounds of 32 instruments with his vocal chords.
23/11/15 B. Madhu Gopal/The Hindu

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British aviatrix on global expedition lands in Jaipur

Jaipur: Flying across 23 countries in a plane with an open cockpit, British aviatrix Tracey Curtis-Taylor has said her expedition is aimed at encouraging women in the aviation industry which faces global shortage of female engineers.
Taylor, who is flying in her open cockpit vintage biplane 'Spirit of Artemis' from Great Britain to Australia across 23 countries, said the expedition has been challenging and involved high risk yet she enjoyed and getting phenomenal support from the international community.
"Real purpose of my flight is to celebrate what Amy Johnson, first female pilot to fly alone from Britain to Australia, achieved in 1930 and that not as a pilot but as an engineer," Taylor told an audience last night at the Rambagh Palace Hotel where she was felicitated by General Insurance Corporation of India for the feat said.
Aviatrix said, "India is at the heart of this expedition.
I am going to stay here few days and will be visiting Indian Air Force base along with few other places before flying to Bangladesh, then Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia to reach Australia".
"It's a tribute flight not aimed at breaking a record.
I am celebrating aviation and promoting female into aviation," the self-styled 'Bird in a Biplane", who began her estimated 14-week journey from the UK s Farnborough airport on October 1, said.
22/11/15 PTI/The Statesman

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Lucknow-Singapore flight from Dec 3

Lucknow: State capital will join the club of select few cities to have direct air connectivity to South East Asia on December 3 when Singapore-based Tiger Airways will begin direct flight operations between Lucknow and Singapore.

The airlines will operate three flights per week between Lucknow and Singapore—on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The flight will arrive from Singapore at 8pm and fly back at 9pm. Sources said the budget carrier will have executive as well as business class seats.

Lucknow Airport director Suresh Chandra Hota said the authorities have planned a grand welcome for the aircraft, an 180-seat Airbus 320 from Singapore on the day. Sources said when the aircraft touches down at Amausi airport, it would be given a 'water salute'—water fired at a great height from two sides at the landing aircraft. "It's been a practice we have been following for quite some time now," said Hota.

Internationally, state capital so far has direct air connectivity only to Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Oman.
23/11/15 Times of India

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AI foots hotel bill of staffer held in Saudi for smuggling

New Delhi: With gold smuggling to India on the rise in past few months, there have been several instances of airline crew being involved in this illegal activity. But the detention of an Air India flight purser in Saudi Arabia earlier this year is proving to be the most complicated case of its kind for both the airline and the staffer's family.

The staffer has been staying at a luxury five star hotel of the Oberoi Group in Jeddah for the past six months. This situation arose as he was not arrested and imprisoned! First the airline paid the hotel bill for some months and later the employee's family started doing that, said an official.

This unprecedented situation arose when an AI cabin crew member went to Jeddah airport on June 3, 2015, to operate AI 964 to Mumbai. Saudi customs found him carrying about 732 grams of gold (worth over Rs 19 lakh at current prices in Delhi). Suspecting smuggling, the employee was detained and his passport confiscated.

".....till date he has been allowed to stay at Trident Hotel at AI cost. The approval for his stay in Trident was given (by a senior official) on June 8, 2015," says an October 7 note by AI's chief vigilance officer (CVO) Shobha Ohatker (VIGHQ/1746) to the airline's new chairman Ashwani Lohani.
"Till date .... the subject (has not) been placed under suspension. It is also not understood how such a huge amount (of over five months' stay in Trident Hotel) will ever be recovered from the crew," the October 7 note, reviewed by TOI, says.
On getting this note, Lohani directed the immediate suspension of the cabin crew member. He ordered that AI will no longer foot the bill for the staffer's stay in the five star hotel and that whatever has been paid should be recovered to the maximum extent possible from the employee.
20/11/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Jet-lagged: pitch for Europe flight

Calcutta: Calcutta's bid for direct air connectivity with Europe has been effectively grounded with Jet Airways saying it can't take any risk in a low-yield market despite a personal request from Mamata Banerjee.

Jet Airways' refusal to fly non-stop to Europe comes in the wake of Qatar, Emirates and Etihad deciding to increase seats or add flights to the Gulf, from where all three offer onward connectivity to Europe and the US.

Officials of Jet Airways recently conveyed to the airport authorities that it wasn't viable at this moment to start a direct flight to Brussels, the airline's hub in Europe, sources said.

A compromise had been suggested in the form of a hopping flight from either Delhi or Hyderabad that would bring domestic passengers to Calcutta and carry Europe-bound travellers to Brussels. The airport authorities turned down the proposal.

"Jet told us that the proposal was meant to cut potential losses since it didn't expect enough Europe-bound passengers from Calcutta alone. We had to reject the idea because civil aviation policies don't allow this model," a senior airport official said.

Jet sources said the Calcutta market was not conducive to a direct Europe flight yet.

Travel and aviation industry experts said the expansion of operations by airlines based in the Gulf countries was a factor in other carriers not showing interest in the proposal to fly direct to Europe from Calcutta.

Qatar Airways is bringing the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to town in December in anticipation of higher passenger traffic on the Calcutta-Doha route. The airline currently operates an Airbus 320 in this sector with 12 business class and 132 economy seats. From next month, there will be a 76 per cent increase in capacity with 22 business class and 232 economy seats.

Based on market surveys, the airline hopes to fill about 60 per cent of the additional seats with Europe-bound passengers and most of the rest with travellers heading to the US.

Emirates, which connects Calcutta to Dubai with two flights daily, will also change its aircraft configuration next month. It is adding a first-class segment to its evening flight with 12 seats. Emirates' morning flight already has first-class seats.
20/11/15 Sanjay Mandal/Telegraph

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Drukair Flight Makes Emergency Landing in Kolkata

Kolkata: A Drukair flight made an emergency landing in the NSC Bose International Airport here today due to some technical reason, airport officials said.

Drukair is owned by the Royal Government of Bhutan.

The B3-724 flight from Doha in Qatar to Paro in Bhutan of the Drukair made an emergency landing here at around 4.47 PM.
19/11/15 PTI/New Indian Express

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Signing of revised Air Services Agreement between India and New Zealand approved

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of revised Air Services Agreement between India and New Zealand.

The Air Services Agreement signifies an important landmark in the civil aviation relations between India and New Zealand and has the potential to spur greater trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchanges between the two countries.
18/11/15 IBNS/Sify

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Honeywell Aerospace to deliver 9,200 business jets by 2025

More than 9,200 new business jets are expected to be delivered in the next ten years at a cost of USD 270 billion, an annual global business aviation outlook report said. The deliveries, worth about USD 270 billion are a 3 to 5 per cent reduction over the value noted in the 2014 forecast, Honeywell Aerospace Asia-Pacific's Shanghai headquarters said. According to the report, slow growth means that only about 700 new business jets are expected to be delivered in 2015. Brazil, Russia, India and China retain a very strong near-term demand profile with 48 per cent of new purchases scheduled for the next two years, state-run Xinhua news agency reported today. Brazil recorded the strongest new aircraft purchase plans, while China and Russia are expected to show slight improvements compared with 2014. "While emerging markets like Brazil continue to be a bright spot for business aviation over the medium term, we have seen weaker demand across other key growth markets.
18/11/15 moneycontrol.com

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Female pilot on round-the-world solo trip stops for Gujarati thali

Ahmedabad: Tracey Curtis-Taylor, a Canadian adventurer who is on a round the world trip, made a pitstop in Ahmedabad tempted by the Gujarati cuisine. Tracey landed at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on Wednesday. She flew in from Karachi in her vintage open cockpit aircraft, and is almost halfway through her roundtrip. Talking to Mirror, she said that her trip is part of the celebration of 75th anniversary of aviation pioneer Amy Johnson's solo air trip. Amy Johnson was the first female pilot to fly from Britain to Australia solo.

Seventy- five years later, Tracey is trying to emulate Johnson's flight, following almost the same flight path except avoiding a few sensitive spots in the Middle East. The 53-year-old said, "My trip is a bid for women empowerment and to encourage women to join the aviation field." Tracey plans to cover 13,000 miles in her 70-year-old open cockpit aircraft and has completed almost half her trip. She said, "I am almost half the way around the world. So, I plan to relax in Ahmedabad for couple of days and enjoy the food here which is quite famous in our part of the world. I will also like to spread create awareness on women empowerment."
19/11/15 Ahmedabad Mirror

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Gulf Air to fly daily to Hyderabad from December 2

Dubai: Bahrain's national carrier Gulf Air will operate daily flights to Hyderabad from December 2 to meet high passenger demand.

Catering to over 5 million Indian nationals residing in the Gulf region, Gulf Air will increase its service from five times weekly to daily flights between Bahrain's international airport in Muharraq and Hyderabad.

"Gulf Air's increased Hyderabad service will mean a greater connection to one of our national carrier's newest and most successful routes. With daily flights between Bahrain and Hyderabad we are offering enhanced schedule flexibility for our travelers," Gulf Air's Acting Chief Commercial Officer, Ahmed Janahi said in a statement.
19/11/15 PTI/Economic Times

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Man who molested flight stewardess gets 9 months’ jail

Singapore: Once the seat belt sign was turned off, he asked for four glasses of whiskey. After downing them, he drunkenly harassed the SilkAir flight’s crew, badgering them for more drinks even after the crew refused him.
Things got uglier when Kizhakkumkkara Thomas Ajeesh molested a flight stewardess by touching her breasts. Today (Nov 18), Indian national Kizhakkumkkara was sentenced to nine months’ jail for using criminal force to outrage the flight stewardess’ modesty, and becoming so intoxicated it jeopardised order on the aircraft.
Kizhakkumkkara, 31, was onboard the flight from Trivandrum, India, to Singapore on Sept 9. After he had turned tipsy from the four glasses of whiskey served to him, the supervising cabin attendant told her crew members not to serve him any more liquor.

But Kizhakkumkkara persisted, repeatedly heading back to the back galley to do so. At about 4am, when the aircraft was passing through the Indonesian airspace, the seat belt sign was turned on. Observing that Kizhakkumkkara did not comply, a flight stewardess — who cannot be named due to a gag order — asked him to buckle up, but Kizhakkumkkara refused and continued to ask for alcoholic drinks. Only after repeated requests from the cabin crew did Kizhakkumkkara fasten his seat belt.

When the victim returned to the back galley, Kizhakkumkkara stretched and brushed his right hand from her right breast to her left breast in a single motion. The victim screamed and told him to stop touching her.
18/11/15 Kelly Ng/Today Online

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Sharjah-bound Air India Express flight slides off Calicut runway

A Sharjah-bound Air India Express flight slid off the runway at Calicut’s Karipur International Airport on Monday.

The incident took place just before the flight took off from the airport at 11 am. All 178 passengers and crew on board are reportedly safe.

The aircraft skidded off the runway, which is under renovation, before the pilot successfully stopped the plane.

However, many passengers onboard the flight learnt of the actual reason of the delay only after they landed in Sharjah.

“We were informed that there was a technical issue,” said Ashraf Valiyaprampathu, a supermarket staff in Sharjah.

Mohammed Sadiq, another passenger, who also claimed he did not know what exactly had happened, said: “We realized the seriousness only after landing in Sharjah. In fact, the crew had announced it was ready for take-off and the plane was going fast. We were surprised why the flight stopped all of a sudden with a bang.”
18/11/15 VM Sathish/Emirates 24|7

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Air India's Ahmedabad-Newark flight delayed by 7 hours

Ahmedabad: Around 300 Newark and Mumbai-bound passengers created ruckus at international terminal of Ahmedabad airport after Air India's AI-191 Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Newark flight was grounded few minutes before scheduled departure.

According to passengers, when they were about to board the flight, Air India officials informed them that due to technical reasons the Newark flight has been grounded.

The flight which was scheduled to depart at 9.15pm is now expected to take-off at 4.15am on Wednesday.

It is to be noted that AI-144 Newark-Mumbai-Ahmedabad had arrived at its scheduled time at 8.30pm. However, the same aircraft which was to operate on return flight was grounded in less than an hour.
18/11/15 Piyush Mishra/Times of India

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2 More Indian airports that will now accept Pakistani Airlines

Een as Shiv Sena has threatened Pakistani athletes of dire consequences if they come to India, Indian government has opened new gates for Pakistani sportspersons to come and play for 12th South Asian Games, to be held in Guwahati and Shillong.

For the games to be held in February next year, Pakistani sportspersons would be able to enter India through Kolkata and Guwahati airports. At present, Pakistanis can either enter India by foot from Wagah-Attari border or use the air route to enter Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. However, all these are at considerable distances from Guwahati and Shillong, which is why arrangements have been done to welcome Pakistanis athletes from Kolkata and Guwahati airports.

12th South Asian Games would be the first major sporting event after India hosted the 19th Commonwealth Games in 2010 which would see a good number of Pakistani athletes in India. "Since Guwahati and Kolkata airports are near to the venue of South Asian Games, they have been added to the designated check posts for Pakistani Passport holders and non-validated pass (NVP) holders during the period of South Asian Games," says an order issued by the Home Ministry.
18/11/15 Business Insider

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Oman Air increases frequencies to key Indian sectors

Muscat: Oman Air is set to increase frequencies on four of its key destinations to India. The number of flights from Muscat to Goa will increase from six per week to one a day.

And in a major move for the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, daily flights from Muscat to Bangalore and Kochi and will increase from daily to double-daily and will operate 11 flights weekly to Lucknow and 10 to Jaipur.

The additional flights will offer a total of 5,131 more seats to the four named destinations, and will be operated using Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 aircraft. Once the uplift in frequencies has been introduced, Oman Air will operate a total of 126 frequencies per week between Muscat and its destinations in India.

Oman Air flies to 19 destinations in the Indian subcontinent that include the core lands of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, out of which 11 destinations in India.
17/11/15 Times of Oman

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BP may have to wait longer for a license to market jet fuel in India

New Delhi: British oil and gas firm BP's hunt for a licence to market jet fuel in India is likely to get longer after a second scrutiny by a government agency found the company had not made sufficient investment in the country's hydrocarbon sector essential to be eligible for a permit. This may prompt the oil ministry to reorder the exercise, people familiar with the matter said.

The oil ministry may again ask its technical arm, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), for a third time this year, to assess whether BP has invested enough in India to be eligible for a licence to market jet fuel, or aviation turbine fuel, in the country.

A divergence in views between BP and the government over the value of the company's investment in India has stretched the London-based firm's licence hunt to about three years. 18/11/15 Sanjeev Choudhury/Economic Times

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S African with Cocaine in Gut Held at Airport

Chennai/Villupuram: A South African national who had swallowed 990 grams of cocaine in capsules that she had later planned on retrieving was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), at the Chennai Airport.

Sources said Molefe Keditlwaetse Lizzie, from Sau Paulo had swallowed cocaine capsules worth `5 crore in Brazil and flew to Chennai via Abu Dhabi on a tourist visa.

The woman was believed to have been paid US $15,000 for acting as courier.

“Swallowing capsules containing cocaine which will be collected 48 hours later from the excreta is very risky as the courier might get killed due to drug overuse if the capsule breaks inside the stomach,” the official added.

The NCB suspected that though the courier was arrested in Chennai, the cocaine might have been for distribution across other metro cities in the country.

According to the NCB Zonal Director, Prem Anand Sinha, Lizzie was in India to deliver the cocaine and planned to leave the country afterwards.
18/11/15 New Indian Express

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Cathay Pacific launches mobile app for Indian customers

NEW DELHI: Hong Kong-based carrier Cathay Pacific today launched a mobile app for its Indian customers to help them make bookings, check-in at the airports and track loyalty programme benefits.

Mobile users can now book their travel on Cathay Pacific directly from their devices (smart phones and tablets) through the app, the airline said in a release.

In India for 65 years now, Cathay Pacific operates passenger flight services to Hong Kong from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Besides, it also operates scheduled freighter services from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

"The mobile app enhancement is a welcome step for our Indian travellers, who are keen on keeping abreast with the latest technological advancements and innovations," Rajesh Menon, the airline's Regional Sales and Marketing Manager for South Asia, said.
16/11/15 PTI/The Economic Times

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Oman Air to raise service frequency to Indian cities

Muscat: The Sultanate’s national carrier, Oman Air, will increase the frequency of its flights to some Indian destinations following enhanced bilateral seat entitlements, a senior official of the airlines said on Sunday.

According to the revised agreement between India and Oman, carriers from both countries can fly 5,131 additional seats per week between the two countries, taking the total capacity entitlement to 21,149 seats per week.

The move will enable Oman Air to launch additional flights to India. On the other hand, Indian carriers such as Air India, Air India Express, Jet Airways, Indigo and Spice Jet can also utilise these rights from different Indian airports to the Muscat International Airport, Salalah Airport and Sohar Airport.

Speaking to the Times of Oman, the official of Oman Air also, however, said additional seats does not mean additional destinations.

“Obtaining rights for additional new destinations in India is a completely different set of processes, involving negotiations between the two governments (and their civil aviation authorities),” he said.
15/11/15 Times Of Oman'

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India-South Korea: MoU signed for increasing Air services

Government of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with South Korea on November 13, 2015 over Air services between two countries after negotiations were held in New Delhi on October 14 to 15, 2015 to enhance bilateral air service cooperation  between the two countries. The major issues that were formalized as per the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries are as follows :
a)Capacity Entitlement: The capacity entitlement for both the countries have been increased from existing 6 services per week to 19 services per week.
b)Points of Call: -Two additional points of call that are Chennai and Bengaluru have been granted for South Korean aircrafts.
c)Additional Beyond Points: -Apart from Tokyo and Los Angeles, two additional beyond points of call viz. Seattle and Vancouver, have been granted for Indian carriers. This means that the Indian aircrafts can mount air services to these destinations via Korea so that the operations could become more economical.
d)Intermediate Point: -Ho-Chi-Minh city (Vietnam) is now available as an intermediate point to the carriers of both countries in addition to Bangkok, Macau or Hong Kong. This gives an opportunity to the Indian carriers to provide additional options to the people travelling to Vietnam.
e)Domestic code share points: – To increase seamless connectivity for the benefit of  passengers, both sides agreed to allow domestic code-share to any four points in their respective countries
16/11/15 Peter Nathanael/PrepSure

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Air India, Jet Airways say flights to Paris continue as scheduled

Mumbai: Jet Airways and Air India said their flights to Paris will operate as per schedule as the city's main airport remained open even as France declared a national state of emergency and tightened security across its borders in the wake of massive terror attacks in the capital.

Both carriers operate one daily flight on their own from Mumbai and Delhi respectively.

Jet Airways also has codeshares with Air France and Etihad for ferrying passengers to the city. A spokesperson clarified the airline could only comment on its own operations.
Late Friday, Paris was shaken by a spate of explosions and gunfire at the Bataclan concert hall, Stade de France stadium and some restaurants in the city. The death toll, according to latest media updates was more than 150 while more than 200 people were seriously injured.
14/11/15 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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British Airways is no stranger to losing luggage

Mumbai: British Airways (BA) was recently taken to task on social media after it asked legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar his full name, after the sportsman complained that his baggage had gone missing. However, the airline is no stranger to losing baggage, according to the experts in the aviation sector. On several occasions the airline has also received negative reviews and feedback from its passengers.
Last year, when sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan was traveling with BA, his instrument went missing.
His wife and him were traveling first class on British Airways flight (BA-143) on their return journey from London.
“But when we arrived at Delhi airport on June 28, I could not find my priceless sarod. We waited there for four to five hours while the airline people tried to trace the instrument. But they were not successful, and said it would most likely come by the next flight,” Mr Khan had told the media.  Earlier, in 1997, BA had allegedly misplaced the musician’s instrument.
In another notable incident, when Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan traveled to Toronto with his family in 2008 for his Unforgettable tour, he also complained that he his baggage had been misplaced.
15/11/15 Ashita Dadheech/Asian Age

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Air India flight between Ahmedabad-London launched by UPA, not NDA govt: Congress leader

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statements in London on Saturday, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee(GPCC) general secretary Nishit Vyas said that a direct flight between Ahmedabad and Heathrow airport in London was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2004 but it was closed down almost after five years due to revenue losses as enough passengers were not available for the flight.
In a statement, Vyas contested the claims of Modi that a direct Ahmedabad-London and London-Ahmedabad flight was launched by NDA government in 2003 when Atal Bhari Vajpayee was prime minister.
Vyas challenged Modi to produce evidence with regard to his claims. The Congress leader said that the fact was that a direct air service was launched by Air India at the insistence of Sonia Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel and the then Union Minister Dinsha Patel after Congress-led UPA government came to power in 2004. But it was closed down in 2009 due to huge revenue losses. He said that when the then Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel came to inaugurate the terminal-2 of the Ahmedabad International Airport in 2010, a delegation consisting of state politicians including current state Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki, Shankersinh Vaghela, Siddharth Patel as also Narendra Modi as chief minister had met the minister and submitted a memorandum to him to  restore Ahmedabad-London direct flight. Vyas said that Praful Patel clearly told the delegation that a direct flight was not viable because of lack of enough revenue generation. But Modi remained silent and did not even think of restoring the flight during the last 18 months  since he became he became PM in May 2014. He woke up only  after Indians in London reminded him.
14/11/15 Indian Express

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Grant permission to Turkish Airlines to fly from Amritsar

Amritsar: Amritsar Vikas Manch has sought to grant permission to Turkish Airlines to fly from Sri Guru Ram Dass ji international airport.
In an email to prime minister Narinder Modi and minister for civil aviation Ashok Gajapathi Raju, AVM patron Dr. Charanjit Singh Gumtala stated that at present this airline has daily flight from Delhi and Mumbai to Istanbul. In 2013, when India granted additional flying rights to Etihad Airline, Turkish Airlines sought a five-fold increase in its current flying rights of about 4000 seats a week to over 20000 and permission to fly from six more Indian cities which includes Amritsar.
14/11/15 Punjab News Express

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How A Standard Twitter Response Has Makings Of A PR Disaster For British Airways In India

Earlier today, India’s legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar blasted British Airways’ customer service on Twitter saying, “Angry Disappointed and Frustrated – Family member’s waitlisted ticket not confirmed despite seats being available” and then following it up with another tweet, “And luggage being tagged by British Airways to wrong destination and don’t care attitude”. He hash-tagged the tweet “#NeveronBA”.

If the normally-composed Tendulkar’s angry rant on Twitter was not enough of a PR fiasco for British Airways – Tendulkar has 8.41 million followers on Twitter and, within hours, both his tweets were retweeted and liked thousands of times – the airline tweeted back what appeared to be a standard template response, “We’re sorry to hear this Sachin, could you please DM us your baggage ref, full name and address so we can look into this for you?” Then Twitter hell broke loose for British Airways.

The airline’s response quickly started trending on Twitter and hundreds of livid fans of the world’s most famous cricketer tore the airline’s reputation to shreds on social media. Taking a cue from the cricketer’s uncharacteristic scathing criticism of the airline – Tendulkar is renowned for never losing his cool on or off the cricket ground – angry Tendulkar fans trolled British Airways and dissed everything from the airline’s food, baggage handling and staff behavior.
Responding to Tendulkar’s tweet, one sarcastic fan called Ani tweeted, “Well done @British_Airways you have managed to piss off god”. Another Lily d’Penha tweeted, “Always advised Sachin to fly Lufthansa but he never listens…” Another tweeter Sehban put things in perspective, “Sachin 8.1M followers, British Airways 772K followers. Not cool at all”. Ravi Shankar Mishra said, “I don’t know about the rest of the world, but it definitely is Friday the 13th at British Airways”

A Twitter user Dennis Does Cricket tweeted, “British Airways just killed their brand in India with one extremely funny tweet.” Within hours it appeared that British Airways’ Twitter account had been flooded with a barrage of tweets and displayed a “rate limit exceeded” message.
13/11/15 Saritha Rai/Forbes

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Sachin Tendulkar is asked for his name by British Airways - internet reacts with disbelief

Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar was known for his unflappable temperament at the crease, but on Friday he finally snapped.
Dismayed at British Airways making a mistake with a family member's ticket and his baggage being mishandled en route to the US, Tendulkar took to Twitter to vent his frustration.

BA, wishing to assauge an upset customer, responded and apologised to Sachin, asking for him to 'DM' them his details.


Now, asking the 'God of Cricket', as he is known in India, to share his name and details did not go down well on Twitter, and users were quick to vent their disbelief.

Inevitably there were then comparisons between BA and Maria Sharapova, who admitted last year to not having heard of Tendulkar.
13/11/15 Telegraph.co.uk

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More flights to Ethiopia, Kenya to boost India-Africa air link

New Delhi: In a push to the Modi government's initiative to boost ties with Africa, the civil aviation ministry has agreed to increase air connectivity with Kenya and Ethiopia, while conceding Oman's long-pending demand for an increase in bilateral entitlements for air services.

These measures were agreed upon at International Civil Aviation Negotiations 2015 held last month, the ministry announced on Thursday. "During these negotiations memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with Finland,Kazakhstan, Kenya, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Oman and Ethiopia," it said in a press release.

India has allowed Oman an additional 5,131 seats, taking the total capacity entitlements from 16,018 seats per week to 21,149 seats per week for both sides. This is the first time that the Modi government has agreed for an increase in bilateral entitlements for air services, which had been shrouded in corruption allegations during the term of the Manmohan Singh government.
13/11/15 Economic Times

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Paris attack to affect Christmas, New Year travel from India

New Delhi: Friday’s terror attacks in Paris that killed over 140 people will likely push down outbound travel from India to France and Europe in the upcoming Christmas and New Year travel season. Paris is one of the must-visit destinations for tourists visiting Europe.

“This is worse than what happened in Mumbai in November 2008 and it sends out a signal that nobody is safe anywhere,” said Ajay Prakash, past president, Travel Agents' Federation of India (Tafi). “Tourism is a fragile industry. People skip travelling to a place when they are safety issues and the confidence is shaken. Paris is very popular with Indians during the Christmas and New Year period.”

The Christmas-New Year season, while popular with Indian tourists visiting Europe, is not the peak season for travellers from India. The peak travel period is summer, from April till July, part of which also coincides with summer vacation for school-going kids in India.
14/11/15 Ajay Modi/Business Standard

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India-Korea sign MoU to enhance bilateral 'air service cooperation'

New Delhi: India on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Korea after negotiations to enhance bilateral air service cooperation between the two countries.

One of the major issues in the MoU is that the capacity entitlement for both the countries has been increased from existing 6 services per week to 19 services per week.

Two additional points of call in Chennai and Bengaluru have been granted for Korea carriers.

Apart from Tokyo and Los Angeles, two additional beyond points of call viz. Seattle and Vancouver, have been granted for Indian carriers. This means that the Indian carriers can mount air services to these destinations via Korea so that the operations could become more economical.
13/11/15 ANI/Business Standard

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Empire Aviation Group adds Legacy 650 to managed fleet

Dubai-based Empire Aviation Group (EAG) has acquired a new Embraer Legacy 650 executive jet on behalf of an existing owner.
EAG will manage the Legacy 650 from its base in Dubai and the aircraft will be the first Legacy 650 offered to the charter market.
The Legacy 650 enables Empire Aviation Group to fly up to 14 passengers, nonstop, connecting Dubai to major business destinations, including London (UK), Singapore, and Johannesburg (South Africa) in three distinct cabin zones, as well as the largest in-flight accessible baggage compartment. The Legacy 650 extended-range aircraft is one of the largest executive jets permitted to operate in restricted airports, such as London City (LCY).
12/11/15 Terry Spruce/CorporateJetInvestor

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India enhances air services agreement with Oman

India has enhanced the bilateral seat entitlement with Oman, allowing additional flights between the two countries. The move will enable Oman Air to launch extra flights to India and offer better onward connections.

The revision took place at International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) negotiations in Turkey last month. The Indian government held discussions with Qatar at the event but did not negotiate for additional seats with the Gulf state.

According to the revised agreement between India and Oman, carriers from both countries can fly 5,131 additional seats per week between the two countries taking the total capacity entitlement to 21,149 seats per week.

“A MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) was signed with Oman whereby, additional 5,131 seats were granted taking the total capacity entitlements from 16,018 seats per week to 21,149 seats per week for both sides,” said a press statement issued by the Union civil aviation ministry here on Thursday.

At present, only Oman Air flies 15 daily flights to 11 destinations in India. It has double daily frequencies to Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai and plans to increase flights to Bengaluru, Kochi and Kozhikode. Indian carriers too could benefit with the expansion of traffic rights and IndiGo is planning to launch a flight between Kochi-Muscat. At present Air India, Air India Express, IndiGo, Jet Airways and SpiceJet fly to Muscat.
The decision to increase traffic rights will help Oman Air’s demand to expand its operations to India. The airline recently introduced service between Muscat and Goa and does fly passengers from India to Europe and also to Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. For Oman Air, around 26 per cent of its business comes from the Indian sub-continent.
13/11/15 Business Standard

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Pilots' strike affects Lufthansa flights to and from India

CHENNAI: German airliner Lufthansa has cancelled all its flights to and from India after a pilots' union went on a strike in Germany.

In India, Lufthansa operates services from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru.

The cancelled services include four flights between Frankfurt and Chennai.

The Chennai-Frankfurt flight scheduled for departure at 1.50am on Thursday and Friday were cancelled. Two more flights from Frankfurt to Chennai have also been cancelled.

An information posted on the airline website shows that there will not be alternative flights.

In a statement, Airports Authority of India (AAI) said that passengers should contact Lufthansa's office at Chennai airport at +91 44 22569393, fax +91 44 22560174, E-mail: maastteam@dlh.de.

The airport issued the statement after it started to receive calls from passengers to know about the flight status.
12/11/15 V Ayyappan/The Times Of India

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Lufthansa cancels 4 flights from Frankfurt to Chennai

Chennai: Lufthansa German Airlines has cancelled four flights from Frankfurt to Chennai vice versa so far due to the airline's cabin crew strike.

Deepak Shastri, Airport Director, Chennai Airport, said it has been reported that Independent Flight Attendant's Organization (UFO) of Cabin Crew has announced strike from November 6, 2015 till November 13, 2015 on all flights from/to Frankfurt, Munich and Dusseldorf.

Due to this, Lufthansa German Airlines has cancelled 4 flights from Frankfurt to Chennai vice-versa so far.

All the passengers were booked through other Lufthansa group flights like Lufthansa CityLine, Germanwings, Eurowings, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, SWISS and Brussels Airlines which are not affected by this strike.
12/11/15 Business Standard

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Dubai Airshow: Bigger, brasher and louder

The Dubai Airshow was bigger, brasher and - with more fighter jet displays - louder than the previous event in 2013.
But there were question marks over whether the show would produce the headlines of previous years, and so it proved.
Three themes emerged from this extravaganza in the desert.
Airlines are pausing for breath in the pace at which they are placing aircraft orders, defence cheque books are being opened again after years of budget cuts, and the Dubai show underlines a shift in the centre of gravity for the aerospace and defence industry.
Two years ago, the Dubai show generated announcements for civil aircraft orders worth $206bn (£135bn).
Fast-growing Emirates Airline, Eithad and Qatar Airways were the biggest customers, but there were also orders from the Gulf burgeoning budget airline carriers.
Orders backlog
This time, Asian airlines provided some of the bigger news of the week.
On Monday, India's Jet Airways said it would buy 75 Boeing 737MAX aircraft worth $8bn, though this was really confirmation of a previous announcement.
The biggest single all-new order was from Vietnamese low cost carrier Vietjet, which is buying 30 Airbus A321s in a deal worth $3.6bn at list prices.
Airlines typically get discounts for bulk-buys and negotiations seem to have gone down to the wire, with Airbus delaying a formal announcement several times.
Did Vietjet get better terms because the show had been quiet? The deal was a "win-win" for both sides said Vietjet chief executive Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao.
There were other orders, but nothing to compare, say, with Boeing's haul of $101bn worth of deals unveiled two years ago.
"I think everyone's more than adequately ordered," says Richard Aboulafia, vice president at US-based aerospace consultancy Teal Group. "The Gulf carriers are still expanding, but the existing orders will do the job."
12/11/15  Russell Hotten/BBC.com

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Jet Airways to deploy Airbus A330 on Delhi-Singapore route

New Delhi: Jet Airways today said it would deploy a bigger aircraft, a wide-body Airbus A330, on Delhi-Singapore route, offering 50 per cent more seat capacity on the route, from 25th of this month.

At present, the sectors is being serviced by single-aisle Boeing 737.

The A330 offers passengers a customised two-cabin seating configuration of 18 seats in premiere (business) and 236 in economy class, Jet Airways said in a release.
The operation of a wide-body aircraft will enable passengers on this high demand sector to experience enhanced cabin comfort on board while offering convenient connections for those travelling from India to Australia and the ASEAN region over Singapore on code share and interline partner airlines, it said.
The operation of a wide-body aircraft will enable passengers on this high demand sector to experience enhanced cabin comfort on board while offering convenient connections for those travelling from India to Australia and the ASEAN region over Singapore on code share and interline partner airlines, it said.
12/11/15 PTI/Economic Times

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Indo-Oman link gets 5131 more airline seats in bilateral agreement

New Delhi: The civil aviation ministry today announced an increase in weekly seat entitlements with Oman allowing an increase in connectivity between India and Oman.

"A MoU was signed with Oman whereby, additional 5131 seats were granted taking the total capacity entitlements from 16,018 seats per week to 21,149 seats per week for both sides," said a release from the civil aviation ministry.

The release added that the civil aviation ministry also agreed to increase capacity entitlements (in terms of number of weekly flights) with Kenya and Ethiopia. The Indian government also allowed carriers from Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark to have liberal code shares with pour carriers.
12/11/15 Mihir Mishra/Economic Times

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U.S.-India Aviation Summit lays down roadmap for future cooperation

The U.S.-India Aviation Summit that concluded last week following 2 days of high-level meetings between public and private sector leaders from both nations which discussed ways to strengthen the bilateral aviation partnership.  The Summit was co-hosted by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) with the support of the U.S.-India Aviation Cooperation Program (ACP).

“The dedication of India’s government to the expansion of their aviation sector has fostered continued growth and created opportunities for U.S. businesses to provide their technology and expertise,” said Leocadia I. Zak, Director, USTDA. “USTDA is pleased to support our Indian partners’ goals and to have convened U.S. and Indian stakeholders from this critical sector,” Zak added.

“The government is making all efforts to promote the growth of the Indian aviation sector in a significant manner,” said Ashok Gajapathi Raju, Minister for Civil Aviation, Government of India. “Systems and processes which affect this sector will be simplified and made more transparent with greater use of technology without compromising on safety and security,” Raju added.
12/11/15 Travel Biz Monitor

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Turkish Airlines to add six new gateways in India

To diversify and strengthen its presence in the India market, Turkish Airlines, is looking at adding minimum six new gateways in India which includes Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Amritsar. Moreover, the airline which is presently operating a daily flight into Delhi and Mumbai, is planning to increase this to double daily. For both expansions, the company is in talks with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Government of India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. Elaborating more on this expansion, Mehmet Akay, general manager, western and southern India, Turkish Airlines, stated, “According to the bilateral agreement between India and Turkey there can be up to two gateways and 14 flights and we are currently utilising the same. This limitation is not allowing us to showcase our real potential in India and hence we have approached the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Government of India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India and things are moving in a positive direction. We are just awaiting permission.” He is positive that prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Turkey in November will help strengthen the bilateral ties between both the countries.
10/11/15 Rituparna Chatterjee/Express Travel World

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Open sky: seats unlimited, landing rights reciprocal

India is set to offer unlimited seats to designated airlines of foreign countries as part of its proposed ‘open sky’ policy but landing rights will be negotiated to suit its convenience. It will adopt variants of open skies with different countries, depending on what they bring to the table.

Open sky refers to bilateral air service agreements with countries for operating unlimited seats by designated airlines of the two countries.

Clarifying on the proposed policy to liberalise flying on foreign routes, aviation secretary RN Choubey said that the proposed open skies with foreign countries would be negotiated in a calibrated manner giving local carriers preparatory period before they compete with international rivals.

The draft aviation policy released on October 30 had proposed landing points on a reciprocal basis but it has now emerged that access points to airlines of foreign countries would be subject to separate negotiations. Seeking to liberalise the rules governing bilateral traffic rights with foreign countries, the policy proposed to follow open skies in a graded manner.
10/11/15 Nirbhay Kumar/mydigitalfc

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China’s Shandong Airlines flies to India

Shandong Airlines will launch its first ever flights to India this week.

Commencing on 11 November, the airline will fly direct between Delhi and Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province.

The new service will run four times a week (Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays), with the Monday and Friday flights continuing onwards between Kunming and Jinan – the capital of Shandong province and Shandong Airlines’ home base.
10/11/15 Mark Elliott/Travel Daily Media

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MRO facility in Dubai: Hiring for 2,000 jobs in 2 months

The fast-growing aviation sector in the UAE will generate employment opportunities for over 2,000 people for both expatriates and UAE nationals.

The new jobs will come up at the Dh370 million maintenance, repairing and overhauling (MRO) facility to be built at Dubai South, near Al Maktoum International Airport, said Anshul Bhargava, Chairman and Managing Director of Haveus Aerotech (HA).

A tripartite alliance comprising the India-based Haveus Aerotech, Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) and AIitalia Maintenance Systems have signed an agreement with Dubai South to set up MRO facility with the capacity to service 100 engines a year.

Slated to be operational in mid-2017, the 9,000 square metre facility within the Aviation District will cater to CFM56-7B/5B engines along with APU and power gas turbine engines.

The joint-venture company will start recruitment in the next 2-3 months time through the launch of a job portal and will also advertise for a wide range of positions, Bhargava told this website in a telephonic interview.
10/11/15 Waheed Abbas/Emirates 24|7

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Tata, Boeing to jointly manufacture aircraft parts in India

American aviation company Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems on Monday announced a joint venture to manufacture airframe parts for the AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, which were recently ordered by India. The joint venture will also collaborate on development and selling of integrated systems in India, reported the Press Trust of India.

Chris Chadwick, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said, "This partnership will capitalise on India's industrial capability, innovation and talent to contribute to Boeing's long-term competitiveness and position us for future growth in the global marketplace.” Boeing India President Pratyush Kumar said that the company has doubled its sourcing from India over the last 12 months.
09/11/15 Scroll

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Lufthansa cancels three flights out of India

German airlines Lufthansa on Monday cancelled three scheduled flights from India owing to a strike by its staff that has effected its international operations.

The airline cancelled flights between New Delhi-Munich, Mumbai-Munich and New Delhi-Frankfurt on Monday.

“At the moment, there is still no visibility about the strike situation tomorrow,” the airline said in a statement.

Lufthansa operates 47 frequencies a week to and from five Indian metros under the Indo-German air bilateral agreement. The five metros are New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Pune.
09/11/15 Economy Lead

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AI’s San Francisco non-stop flight to have gastronomical delight on board

Mumbai: To bring in a new excitement and variety for guests on Air India’s longest flight, the airline has engaged the services of celebrated Chef Rajan Loomba, chief executive chef at The Ashok, to design meals for this flight, both from Delhi and from San Francisco. A presentation of the new menu was made at the Ambassador Sky Chef flight kitchen for Ashwani Lohani, chairman-cum-managing director, Air India and senior officials. Chef Loomba took them through the details of the newly designed menu options, which will showcase the best of Indian cuisine.
The emphasis is on wholesome, light and delicious food to suit all palates. The menu includes vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian and Continental options. First and Business class passengers will have, besides an exclusive array of food, a wide choice of the best wines and liquor to pair with the food, an official release here today said. The inaugural flight will provide amenity kits with an Indian touch. The pouch and the products will be from Khadi. Thereafter, the kits will be extended to all other international flights of Air India.
09/11/15 Central Chronicle

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Qatar Airways keen on 49% stake in India’s low-cost carrier Indigo

Dubai: Qatar Airways said it’s keen to take a stake in Indian discount carrier Indigo once shares start trading following an initial public offering (IPO), after plans for a direct investment were frustrated by local regulations.

The second-biggest Gulf carrier could seek a maximum 49 per cent of Indigo — valued at $2 billion based on the IPO price — to boost its exposure to one of the world’s fastest-growing travel markets, chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker said on Sunday in an interview at the Dubai Air Show.

The sale of a 10 per cent Indigo stake in October’s IPO raised about Rs30 billion ($456 million), valuing the airline at $4.2 billion and making it the third-largest low-cost carrier in Asia, with a value five times that of Jet Airways and nine times that of SpiceJet, the other two listed Indian airlines.

“I couldn’t take a stake in Indigo because the Indian authorities have restrictions on airlines taking part in IPOs of an airline,” Al Baker said. “The process to do it would have taken a long time and they were in a hurry. If we can go up to the 49 per cent that’s allowed, we’d like to go as much as that.”
08/11/15 Bloomberg News/Times of Oman

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Air Arabia refueling in India as Nepal fuel shortage carries on

Dubai: Air Arabia flights from Kathmandu in Nepal to Sharjah are stopping in India to refuel because of an ongoing fuel shortage in the Himalayan country, an airline spokesperson told Gulf News on Friday.

Air Arabia is the latest Gulf airline to confirm it has introduced temporary contingency measures on flights from Nepal, with the country facing fuel shortages since August.

“For Kathmandu, due to fuel shortage in the country, the flight on the way back stops in Lucknow to refuel,” the spokesperson said by email.

Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and flydubai have also made changes to operations on flights from Nepal.

Etihad is flying a larger aircraft on the route that can carry fuel from Abu Dhabi for the return leg.
06/11/15 Alexander Cornwell/Gulf News

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Jet Airways says Brussels flights unviable, begins employee dialogue on future of European hub

Mumbai: Jet Airways has said it is reviewing its operations in Brussels, now “unviable due to significant changes in the competitive scenario” in Europe. Brussels is capital of Belgium, a country in western Europe.
The airline has initiated a consultative process with its 25 Belgian employees, as required under local laws, to determine the future of its operations there.
Jet is likely to make Amsterdam (Netherlands’ capital) its gateway for flights to the US and Canada, replacing Brussels.  It has slots at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport and is in talks with Air France-KLM and Delta Airlines for commercial partnerships and code-sharing on European and North American routes. Code-sharing is an agreement between two or more airlines to carry each other’s passengers and use their own set of letters and numbers for flights provided by another airline.
“No decision on the Brussels operations has been taken,” a spokesperson said.
Sources said Schiphol offered better connections and network opportunities.
07/11/15 Business Standard

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Foreign airlines fighting for share of Indian flyer pie

New Delhi:  The Indian globetrotter is being wooed like never before by foreign airlines. Since Indian carriers have a meagre one-third share in the pie of international traffic to and from India, airlines from abroad are putting their best foot forward here. While domestic air travel is growing at the fastest place globally in India, even international traffic is growing in double digits here -- a rarity in today's allowing world economy.

As a result, foregoing airlines are deploying their latest planes to India. Air Canada and British Airways, for instance, put their first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on Delhi routes. Air Canada used this plane to restart its Delhi-Toronto nonstop after eight years from Tuesday. Its previous nonstop on this route was actually a one stop with a fueling halt in Zurich.

Last week, British Airways had also deployed its first B 787-9 on Delhi route to lure passengers. Etihad on Tuesday said it will fly the Airbus A-380 on Mumbai-Abu Dhabi route from. Already airlines like Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Emirates use the aircraft on India route.
07/11/15 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Air Arabia confirms interest in FlyEasy

Mumbai: Air Arabia is evaluating an investment opportunity in Bengaluru-based upcoming regional airline FlyEasy, say sources.

The latter airline is expected to begin operations with two or three Embraer E-190 jets and is awaiting a permit from the civil aviation regulator.

Air Arabia is Sharjah-based and operates 112  weekly flights to 13 destinations in India. It runs airlines in Egypt and Morocco. Earlier this year, it acquired 49 per cent in Petra Airlines of Jordan.

Sources say Air Arabia has been exploring investment opportunities in new Indian airlines. Growth in domestic traffic and ability to feed passengers to a network are seen as triggers for investment. About 70 per cent of Air Arabia  passengers from India fly to Sharjah and the rest travel onwards to other Gulf states and Russia.
07/11/15 Business Standard

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Aéropostale to send its Drones for advertising ahead of launch in India

MUMBAI: American apparel maker Aeropostale plans to use drones for advertising before launching its maiden store in India, the first company to do so in the country. The New York headquartered brand, popularly called Aero, will use three drones to circle Select CityWalk mall in Delhi on Friday evening when it holds a music festival a day ahead of the opening of the store, executives said.
"The brand promotion will be the first of its kind in India. The aim is to attract youngsters through such novel marketing campaigns, supported by musical shows during the brand launch," said J Suresh, managing director of Arvind Lifestyle Brands, which has the licence to handle the brand in India. Aero has been activating flash mobs targeted at youth in Delhi colleges, said Suresh.
06/11/15 Sagar Malviya/The Economic Times

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Etihad Airways to introduce A380 flights to Mumbai

Etihad Airways has confirmed that it will launch Airbus A380 flights between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai from May 1, 2016. India’s commercial capital will join the carrier’s other A380 destinations of Sydney, London, New York and, from June 2016, Melbourne.

James Hogan, president and chief executive officer, Etihad Airways said, “The Etihad Airways A380 has set a new benchmark for luxury and innovation and we are delighted to announce that this world-class service will soon be available to guests flying to and from Mumbai. Furthermore, the A380 out of Mumbai will connect seamlessly at our Abu Dhabi hub to the A380 service to New York, offering our New York-bound guests the comfort, convenience and superior inflight service of A380 flights all the way.”

The Abu Dhabi-based airline’s 496-seat A380 features the only three-room suite in commercial aviation – The Residence by Etihad – as well as nine first apartments, 70 business Studios, and 415 economy smart seats. The aircraft will operate daily on flight EY204 from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, and EY203 from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi, both of which carry the 9W code of Jet Airways, Etihad Airways’ strategic partner. The flights connect seamlessly with Etihad Airways’ A380-operated services to New York, allowing guests to experience the double-decker aircraft throughout their journey.
05/11/15 Express Travel World

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Increase two-way air connectivity between India and US: Raju

Observing that more Indian aircraft are flying into the US than theirs into India, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju today called for increased two-way connectivity between the countries.“I’m happy that flights have increased from India to America and probably I think there are more Indian aircraft flying into America than American aircraft flying into India,” Raju said. The USTDA is co-hosting this biennial event with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, which will bring together public and private sector officials to advance the aviation partnership between India and the US. So we need to address that.”Pointing at Kochin Airport going completely solar as a success story, Raju said if all the stakeholders work together, the result will be reduction in carbon footprint. “… so we like it to be two-way traffic, so that more Indians can go to United States and more citizens of United States can come to India, and this will impact our economy in a lot of way,” he said. Raju was speaking at the inauguration of the fifth US-India Aviation Summit here that was attended by US Ambassador to India Richard Verma, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and US Trade & Development Agency (USTDA) Director Leocadia I Zak, among others.
06/11/15 NYOOOZ

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