Uncertainty looms over AirAsia flight to Bangkok from Odisha capital

Bhubaneswar: Uncertainty shrouds over launching of international flight service by low-cost airline AirAsia to Bangkok from here as the government has rejected the proposal.

Although, Culture & Tourism department had approved the proposal of AirAsia for launching flight service to Bangkok from Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA), the Finance department has turned down the proposal.
Sources said Air India’s proposal to launch international flight to Bangkok from Gaya via Bhubaneswar posed as the biggest hindrance to clear proposal made by AirAsia.

AirAsia had asked for subsidy of Rs 1.70 lakh per flight for launching the service to Bangkok. Accepting the proposal the Tourism department had written to the Finance department seeking permission.

As Air India in its proposal did not mention about subsidy from the government for operation of flight to Bangkok, the state government is considering allowing for the flight operation without subsidy.

The future of the proposal by AirAsia now seems obscure after Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi and Finance department made it clear about the government’s plan.
30/11/17 Odisha Sun Times

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Washington based Indian woman slams Jet Airways for misplacing baggage and delaying claim

When 47-year-old, a Washington-based software engineer and teacher, was set to travel to Mumbai for a family wedding in July this year, she was all excited about India, and meeting family and friends. But, on landing in Mumbai by a Jet Airways flight from Dubai, she realised that both her bags were not on the flight, and then began a more than four-month long ordeal to get adequate compensation from the airline.

Based in Sterling, Viriginia, a suburb of Washington DC, Rangwani and her 14-year-old son Anshul travelled by an Air Canada flight from Washington Dulles international airport to Mumbai via Toronto Pearson International Airport on July 11. "However the Washington-Toronto flight was delayed and so we were rerouted from Toronto to Mumbai via Dubai. The Dubai to Mumbai was a Jet Airways flight. When we landed in Mumbai, we realised that our luggage did not come, and they said it was still in Toronto and would come the next day. It took four days and arrived on July 16," said Rangwani speaking to Mumbai Mirror from her home Sterling.
Rangwani and her son were given an initial compensation of Rs 2000. "We had to attend a wedding, and we had nothing with us. We had to purchase everything new as both bags did not arrive with us. After the wedding till August 2 when I left for Washington, I had to virtually call Jet Airways pretty much every day, and spend lots of time explaining the same thing. I was always told they will call back, but never did," she said.
In her complaint, Rangwani had sought a compensation of USD 200 per day per person or USD 800 for four days of delayed baggage (Rs 51600) and wanted the airline to deduct the initial Rs 4000 and pay the remaining amount. Though Rangwani had submitted bills worth Rs 21,209 for new purchases she had to make in absence of her baggage to the airline, the airline only approved a compensation amount of Rs 6000 as per the email exchange with Baggage Service Unit of the airline. Later on August 24, it reviewed the amount to Rs 21209 which has still not reached her account.

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Jet’s deal with Air France-KLM could put Etihad in the shade

Mumbai: Jet Airways and Air France-KLM signed an agreement that will potentially give the Indian carrier unrestricted access to Europe and North America and could, according to experts, reduce the scope of its existing partnership with Etihad Airways.
Jet’s chairman Naresh Goyal didn’t rule out the possibility of a stake sale in future, although he and other top executives clarified that no discussions on a strategic partnership were currently on. Etihad has a 24% stake in Jet that it bought in November 2013.

The “metal neutrality” pact will see the airlines aligning inventory and networks and selling one another’s tickets linking sales and distribution networks and frequent flyer programmes.

Goyal called it a “very good” partnership, adding that both sides had been “flirting for a long time without getting married,” referring to talks that have been going on for more than a year.
Air France-KLM chairman Jean-Marc Janaillac said, “Air France-KLM and Jet Airways are launching the first cooperation agreement of its kind on the India-Europe market— one of the markets at the heart of the group’s strategy for the coming years.”
At a later stage, the airlines will look at synergies on maintenance and joint fuel purchases, Goyal said. Air France-KLM is one of the world’s biggest providers of aircraft and engine maintenance services. “When you are married, you go all the way,” he said, extending the metaphor without giving details.
When asked about the tie-up maturing into a strategic partnership, as had been in the news for months, Goyal said, “You don’t know what happens in the future.” KLM Royal Dutch Airlines CEO Pieter Elbers said the two sides had come a long way and there would be the “right steps at the right time.”
30/11/17 Anirban Chowdhury/Economic Times

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India to start exporting aviation fuel to Myanmar

India’s state-owned oil and gas company, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will start exporting aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to Myanmar in December, state media reported on 30 November.

Also, the IOC is exploring market share to export LPG liquefied petroleum gas. It will open a branch office in Yangon. The IOC plans to export 12,000 to 14,000 tons of ATF to Myanmar.

The IOC has already received a permit to open a branch office in Yangon and it is also exploring export prospects of LPG in the domestic market, the report said.
30/11/17 Mizzima

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Indian Navy Purchase of Sikorsky Seahawks On Again?

After years of procrastination over selecting a new naval multi-role helicopter (MRH), the Indian Ministry of Defence may still make an interim purchase of up to 24 Sikorsky S-70B Seahawkss. This follows repeated appeals by the Indian Navy to hasten the program, given the state of its aging and depleted Sea King fleet and its ambitions to become a "Blue Water Navy." India recently issued a new request for information (RFI) for 123 MRHs to perform anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), electronic intelligence-gathering, and search and rescue (SAR). These helicopters would be procured and produced according to Delhi’s "Make in India" policy.

However, “The Navy wants these [24 S-70Bs] yesterday,” a senior official told AIN. The performance of the Seahawk has been accepted by the service, following trials. But previous and extended commercial negotiations with Sikorsky failed at agreeing on price, with the American company refusing to extend its bid and take account of the depreciation of the Indian currency against the U.S. dollar over the past nine years.

Now, the Indian government is considering procuring 16 S-70Bs plus eight options via the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) procedure.
With elections due in 2019, the Indian government is keen to preserve its "clean" image, and opting for an FMS would help achieve that. As a senior American government official testified to the U.S. Congress in June, “Demonstrating to the public that an acquisition is free of corruption is a significant selling point of the FMS system. Moreover, FMS provides a total-package approach, including sustainment, technical support, training, and software/hardware updates," said Tina Kaidanow, acting assistant secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.
29/11/17 Neelam Mathews/AINonline

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Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways Sets Course for Kochi and Ahmedabad in India!

Jazeera Airways, Kuwait’s leading low cost airline, operating regionally and internationally, is proud to announce its plans for further expansion into India. Following a successful launch in Hyderabad in November, Jazeera Airways will now fly to Ahmedabad and Kochi starting January 17th and 18th respectively. With the increase in operations to India, the award winning carrier is now able to support the travel needs of over 920,000 Indians residing in Kuwait.

Mr. Rohit Ramachandran, CEO of Jazeera Airways said, “This is a major strategic move for us to extend our network into India and provide greater choice and value for the Indian community in Kuwait and broader GCC. We have been delighted with how well our new operations to Hyderabad, Kochi and Ahmedabad have been received both in India and the wider Middle East region. The decision to invest further in India comes from the rising demand of Indian expats visiting their friends and families, as well as the large interest of Kuwaiti travelers in exploring new destinations for tourism and medical visits.”

Located in western India, Gujarat’s major city, Ahmedabad has emerged as an important economic and industrial hub in India. The city was selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed under Government of India's flagship Smart Cities Mission and in July 2017, the Historic City of Ahmedabad or Old Ahmedabad, was declared as India's first UNESCO World Heritage City. 
29/11/17 Albawaba

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Bhutan Airlines to expand operations in India in 2018

Kolkata: Bhutan Airlines today said it will introduce two additional flights on the Paro-Kolkata-Paro sector from March 15 to May 15 and September 15 to November 30, 2018.
Making the announcement, CEO Phala Dorji said during the same period, the airline would operate two direct flights per week from Paro to Bangkok and five flights per week from Paro to Bangkok via Kolkata.
Bhutan Airlines would also add new flights to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad during the same period of peak season next year as per demand, Dorji said.
On September 28 this year, the airline signed a four-year aircraft lease with AerCap for two Airbus 319, Dorji said.
29/11/17 India Today

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Respite for Indian travellers as Bali airport resumes operations

The three-day ordeal of around 8,000-10,000 Indian travellers stranded in Bali ended on Wednesday as the Ngurah Rai Airport said it had resumed operations after smoke and ash spewing from Mount Agung, Bali’s active volcano, led to a nearly three-day airport shutdown.

But the developments are likely to lead to cancellations of future bookings as Indians are likely to settle for other destinations like such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Dubai and Singapore over Bali for their new year celebrations.

The popular resort island has been steadily gaining in popularity, and is usually teeming with tourists from India around new year time. According to industry estimates, about 600-800 Indians arrive in Bali every day and spend roughly 7-8 days there.
MakeMyTrip, an online travel company, said over 1200 people had booked flights to and from Bali and were scheduled to travel during this period when the airport had to be shut down due to volcanic activity.

“We are also providing round-the-clock support and assistance to our consumers in helping re-schedule their travel and accommodation plans during the period, and are working closely with multiple airlines to ensure there are no charges for cancellations and rescheduling of flights. Bali is one of the fastest growing international outbound destinations among Indian travellers in South East Asia,’’ said Mohit Gupta, COO, online, at MakeMyTrip.
30/11/17 Anumeha Chaturvedi/Economic Times

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Air France-KLM Extends India Reach With Jet Air Revenue Pact

Air France-KLM Group and Jet Airways India Ltd. agreed to deepen an existing partnership with offerings on India-Europe routes together, giving the biggest European airline more seamless access to the world’s fastest growing major aviation market.

The latest deal will offer travel options for 44 cities in India and 106 destinations across Europe, Jean-Marc Janaillac, chairman of Air France-KLM said in a statement. In addition, another partnership between the European group and Delta Air Lines Inc. will help connect India to a trans-Atlantic network with hubs in Amsterdam and Paris.

Jet Airways passengers will be able to book a single ticket for a trip to the U.S. and Europe, and fly Delta, Air France-KLM or Virgin Atlantic for different legs of the journey, under the agreement. Flights will be “metal neutral,” meaning revenue will be shared regardless of whose aircraft is deployed.

The enhanced tie-up with Jet Airways, 24 percent owned by Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways PJSC, brings the European carrier closer to a market where passenger traffic is growing at more than 20 percent every year. Air France-KLM has significantly strengthened its links with other major carriers in recent months, with an agreement in July to buy 31 percent of Britain’s Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. while selling 10 percent stakes to SkyTeam alliance partners Delta Air Lines Inc. and China Eastern Airlines Corp.

Etihad will stay invested and the Indian company has no plan to sell more stakes to any other airline, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal told reporters in Mumbai. The latest deal will help the airline boost revenue by $1 billion, he said without elaborating.
Jet Airways and state-owned Air India Ltd. are among carriers whose fortunes have ebbed over the years after Gulf operators like Emirates Airline, Etihad and Qatar Airways Ltd. started offering cheap fares to fly passengers to their hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, before transferring them to other flights. On local routes, no-frills carriers like market leader IndiGo, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., and SpiceJet Ltd. have captured market share with on-time services and cheap fares.
29/11/17 Anurag Kotoky/P R Sanjai/Bloomberg

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Saab’s tie up with Adani to sell Gripen fighters may cause bigger scandal than Rafale

Over the last couple of weeks, the joint venture of Dassault Aviation and Anil Ambani’s Reliance has created quite a storm in India after the Congress party made allegations of a huge scam in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to purchase 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in flyaway condition.

As originally reported by Janta Ka Reporter (Part 1 and Part 2), Anil Ambani’s newly formed Reliance Defence had struck a joint venture with Dassault Aviation that sold Rafale within 10 days of Modi announcing the deal. It looks like Gautam Adani, another close friend of Modi, too is keenly following in the footsteps of Anil Ambani in benefiting from the prime minister’s shopping spree in the defence sector.

A newly created alliance between a Swedish arms manufacturer and Adani Group is aiming for a much bigger pie while India is planning to spend a whopping $250 billion to modernise its armed forces.

Sweden’s defence firm, Saab, tied up with India’s Adani Group as recently as September this year. But considering the past records of these two companies, there is a strong possibility that their aggressive pursuit to sell arms to the Indian armed forces might create another big corruption scandal soon.
Saab, with the help of the collaboration with Adani is aiming to win its bid against Lockheed Martin to sell more than one hundred Gripen fighters to the Indian air force. In October 2016, the Indian Air Force had issued a request for information (RFI) from the major fighter jet manufacturers to send in their offers to sell warplanes worth $25 billion, which is thrice a bigger deal than what India had agreed to spend on purchasing 126 Rafale jets.

After scrutiny, India’s defence ministry narrowed down the competition to Saab’s Gripen E and Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Block 70. To satisfy Indian demand, Saab has reduced its offer price and even offered to build these single engine fighter aircrafts in India. Moreover, to outsmart its competitor Lockheed Martin, Saab has created a joint venture with Adani Group. Saab, after getting Adani on board, is so confident of getting this deal that it brought all its international partners and suppliers to Delhi on 31 October this year for a two-day Gripen Indian Partnership Summit 2017 to connect with selected Indian industries. Besides, eyeing for this major deal, Saab in collaboration with Adani Group has also announced its intention to sell UAVs and helicopters to the Indian military.

Since early 1940s, Saab has been selling military aircrafts, so there is nothing unusual about the bid by the Linköping-based group for the billion dollar arms deal in India. However, Saab has been involved in a number of scandals as it sold fighter jets to other countries. Its sale of 29 Gripens in 1999 to South Africa has been scandalous due to allegation of payment of huge bribes. The sale of 24 of the same fighter jets to the Czech Republic in the last decade has also come under suspicion of corruption. Its deal with Hungary too came under the scanner of potential corruption.

The recent purchase of Gripen fighters by Brazil in the middle of its economic crisis also smacked of ulterior motives other than the official reasons of technology transfer in defence sector. Thus, controversy-prone Saab’s decision to partner with India’s equally controversial Adani Group raises a number of pertinent questions about the methods it may adopt to procure the contracts to sell military hardware to India worth billions of dollars.

Arms deals have been contentious in India because of the Indian law forbidding any payment to middlemen. However, the reality is that it is simply not easy for foreign arms manufacturers to be able to sell something in India without paying bribes to generals, bureaucrats and politicians. It appears that after coming to power, the Narendra Modi government has attempted to accord a somewhat official sanction to these ‘middlemen’ by encouraging its favorite business houses in India to create their own arms manufacturing units in the name of ‘Make in India’.
28/11/17 Ashok Swain/Janta Ka Reporter

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Bali airport remains shut, airlines waive cancellation fee

New Delhi: Airlines operating to Bali have waived cancellation fees for passengers booked on flights after the international airport of the Indonesian tourist hub remained shut for the second day in the wake of plumes of ash coming out from a rumbling volcano.

Scores of frightened people have fled their homes near Mount Agung with Indonesia's Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre upgrading the alert status to the highest level, fearing a major eruption.

Jet Airways is among the major Indian carriers that offers flights to Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport via its codeshare partners.

Jet Airways has Garuda Indonesia and Hong Kong Airlines among its codeshare partners for Bali and is allowing passengers to reschedule their flights apart from waiving cancellation fee.

Singapore Airlines is transporting passengers from Bali to Surabaya via coaches and ferries and flying them to Singapore for their onward connections.

AirAsia too has issued a travel advisory informing passengers that they can reschedule their flights. Passengers are also allowed to retain the value of their fare in a credit account for future travel.

Travel portal Yatra.com said in a statement that tourists who had booked a holiday package and are scheduled to return from Bali to India will be offered complimentary hotel stay.
26/11/17 PTI/Economic Times

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43 bookings for Bangkok flight

Chandigarh: Air India has received 43 bookings for the maiden Bangkok flight from Chandigarh airport, Mohali, scheduled for December 11. Airports Authority of India confirmed the flight in its winter schedule released on Tuesday.
Air India will fly the 162-seater Airbus 320 Neo thrice a week — Monday, Wednesday and Friday, said Air India airport manager R K Negi. He said the non-stop flight will take around five-and-a-half hours to reach Bangkok. "We are fast filling with bookings. In all, 43 seats have already been booked with a return fare of Rs 17,200. The flying time is of five-and-a-half hours; the flight will first arrive from Bangkok at 9.20am and then depart at 1.35pm."
This will be the third international flight from Chandigarh international airport since its inception in 2015. The other two are Indigo flight to Dubai and an Air India Express flight to Sharjah.
29/11/17 Times of India

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India, Greece to deepen cooperation in energy, aviation

New Delhi: India and Greece today agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in a range of key areas including trade, investment and energy and inked a pact for launching the first direct flight service between the two countries.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias held extensive talks covering the entire expanse of bilateral relations during which they resolved to take steps to further expand the ties.
An air services agreement and another pact on cooperation in the field of new and renewable energy were signed after the talks, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
He said the discussions covered all aspects of bilateral relationship and that the two leaders reaffirmed commitment to further expand cooperation in mutually beneficial spheres.
The air services agreement will allow Indian airlines to operate to Athens, Thessaloniki and Heraklion. Similarly, the Greek airlines will also be able to launch flight services to major Indian cities.
27/11/17 PTI/Economic Times

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Oman Air increases baggage allowance to India, Philippines

Muscat: Oman Air is offering an increased baggage allowance on flights from Muscat to India and the Philippines until December 15.

Oman Air at present offers an allowance of two bags per person weighing up to 30kg in total, but guests flying between Muscat and the following Indian cities can now take advantage of an increased allowance of 40kg for two bags: Mumbai, Kochi, Chennai, Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Calicut, Hyderabad and Bangalore, stated a press release.

Guests flying between Muscat and Manila, the capital of the Philippines, can take advantage of an increased allowance of 50kg for two bags. Jamal al Azki, country manager, Oman said, “We are delighted to be able to offer our valued guests an increased luggage allowance on flights from Muscat to Manila and eight cities in India.
27/11/17 Muscat Daily.com

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Indian expats flying from Dubai to Mumbai land without baggage

Dubai: A group of Indian expats, who flew on a Dubai-Mumbai flight on Sunday night, landed in India without their baggage arriving.
The passengers of Air India, some of whom were to catch connecting flights to other destinations, complained that the airline ruined their holidays by offloading their baggage without notification.

According to passengers, the flight AI 984 took off one and a half-hour late after they had boarded the flight.
“We didn’t know what was happening. We could see they were taking out some bags,” said a passenger who did not wish to be named.
He said the pilot, who got down and spoke with some officials, came back and announced there were some fuelling issues.
He said it will take another 20-25 minutes. They did not even offer water to us. When people asked them for water, the hostesses arranged for some bottles. But some people didn’t get even that.”
More trouble was in store when the aircraft landed in Mumbai. Passengers waited for a long time for their baggage, said another passenger.
“We were shocked when we got only one of our bags with gifts. The other bag which had all our clothes and other stuff did not reach Mumbai,” said frustrated passenger Vaneesha Noronha. Because of the delay and non-arrival of her baggage, she said she and her husband missed a connecting flight to Jaipur where they had booked a holiday package.
27/11/17 Sajila Saseendran/Gulf News

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Volcanic activity in Mount Agung: Jet Airways cancells Bali-Singapore flight

With Mount Agung in Bali belching huge plumes of smoke, the Jet Airways on Monday cancelled its flight from Bali's Denpasar Airport (DPS) to Singapore. Flight 9W4622 was cancelled as huge plumes of smoke have been pouring out of the volcano since Tuesday.
The airport in Bali's capital Denpasar, a top holiday destination that attracts millions of foreign tourists every year, has been closed.
According to reports, Malaysia Airlines will be cancelling all flights between Kuala Lumpur and Denpasar-Bali on November 27 after an eruption at Mount Agung. The airline is monitoring the situation closely and will adjust its flight operations into and out of Ngurah Rai International Airport when necessary.
The Australian government put out a travel advisory yesterday instructing travellers to exercise a high degree of caution in Indonesia and follow the instructions of authorities.
Mount Agung last erupted in 1963, killing about 1,600 people. It rumbled back to life in September and authorities raised the alert to the highest level, forcing 140,000 people living nearby to evacuate.
27/11/17 One India

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Indian transit passengers are very crucial for Air Astana: Air Astana CEO

Kazakhstan’s national airline Air Astana is preparing for an IPO in FY19. Peter Foster, CEO, Air Astana, tells Arindam Majumder in an interview that the airline is counting on transit passengers from India to improve its business. Edited excerpts:

Air Astana is planning an IPO. What are the steps you are taking to increase its value proposition?


The intention is to do the IPO in 12 to 15 months. It will be a dual listing in Kazakhstan and London. Some of the promoters will hold onto their shares and new shares will be coming in. The existing shareholders' holding will go below the majority stake.

The main structural challenge that we face is that our country has 18 million people and Kazakhstan is a huge country. So the 18 million people are spread over a huge area not making it a very ideal market for domestic air transport. So it’s clear that we have to be present in big foreign markets which are within four hours distance of Kazakhstan. So, obviously India is a huge market.

What steps are you taking to tap into the Indian market?

We are promoting the two Kazakh cities of Almaty and Astana as stopover destinations through one-dollar stopover programme. The key is a more liberal visa regime. What we have demanded is allow free visa for Indian passengers for 72 hours. We have a lot of new hotels new coming up at Astana. The economy needs to diversify. So, the transit passengers will be crucial for us.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are primarily the main hubs for Indian transit passengers. How does one compete against them?

We don’t want to compete against hubs like Dubai and Abu Dhabi but what we are proposing is new destinations like Moscow, St Petersberg, Ukraine, Georgia. These are the areas where we are very strong. We are not going to compete against Emirates in Dubai but if an Indian passenger is travelling to the regions I mentioned, our proposition would be that Air Astana is a much better idea than Middle East.
26/11/17 Arindam Majumder/Business Standard

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Embraer to name its Indian operator soon

Dubai:   The Brazilian small aircraft manufacturer Embraer expects to make an announcement for a new operator of its aircraft in the Indian market soon.

“(The name of the operator is) still undisclosed but very soon we should be able to announce the new operators of the 50-seater aircraft in India. Some of them (airlines ordering Embraer aircraft) are existing, some of them could be new players,” Cesar Pereira, Vice-President, Asia Pacific, Embraer Commercial Aviation, told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the recently-concluded Dubai air show.

Pointing out that the regional air connectivity scheme of the government is important for the development of regional aviation in the country, Pereira felt that this will create “great opportunity” for Embraer as it makes 70- to 130-seater aircraft which could be used in regional markets to connect to small cities. Earlier this month, IndiGo took delivery of an ATR 72-600 aircraft, the first of the 50 such planes that it plans to induct to participate in the government’s regional air connectivity scheme. The airline expects to induct seven ATR aircraft by March next year to expand its foot print in the UDAN scheme. In October, IndiGo had announced plans to further strengthen its regional operations with over 90 flight connections including routes to and from Tirupati, Rajahmundry, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Madurai and Nagpur.
26/11/17 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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B.C. South Asians buzzing over harassment complaints on flights to India

Indian media outlets, callers to Punjabi-language talk shows, social media commentators and airline passengers are reporting some older men are swearing and behaving boorishly toward flight attendants on the 13-hour flight to Delhi.

The males’ behaviour is described as “lewd,” “brusque,” “horseplay” and “discourteous” by the Punjabi-language news outlet, Fateh Media, which is based in the Punjab region of India, the ancestral home of Canada’s almost 500,000 Sikhs, more than half of whom live in B.C.

Fateh Media’s report uses the Punjabi word that means “inappropriate touching” or “intentionally touching with a sexual overtone” to describe the men’s behaviour towards flight attendants. The word is often used to describe “grabbing” and “groping.”

Some passengers on the Air Canada flight have talked about the males’ rowdy inflight behaviour on the popular radio talk show of Surrey’s Harjinder Thind, who broadcasts at Red FM 93.1.

“It’s the longest flight to India. So some people are drinking too much beer and getting unruly, bothering the hostesses,” Thind said in an interview.
“The flight attendants are saying they dread going on the flights,” Thind said, adding that some Surrey-based Air Canada attendants are declining offers to go public about it on his show, fearing for their jobs.
26/11/17 Douglas Todd/Vancouver Sun

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Foreign national creates ruckus at Delhi airport

New Delhi: A passenger set to travel to Norway was on Sunday denied boarding at the international airport here due to “abnormal behaviour”, according to CISF and police officers.

Panasenko Olena was to take a Finnair flight to Norway through Helsinki. However, she was not allowed to board the aircraft after she created a ruckus in the check-in area of the terminal building around 10 a.m. Ms.Olena was later handed over to the Delhi Police, they said.
She was taken to Safdarjung Hospital for medical test, a Delhi police officer said, adding that the Embassy of Norway was informed.

An Indira Gandhi International Airport spokesperson here confirmed the incident and added that the passenger was administered basic medication to calm her down.

The Delhi Police officer said the passenger has been admitted to the hospital as she was found “mentally disturbed” after the medical examination.

“We have not registered any case as she is mentally disturbed. We are trying to gather more information about her,” the officer said.
27/11/17 PTI/The Hindu

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Gold worth Rs21 lakh seized from 2 Sri Lankan women

Chennai: Customs officials at Chennai airport on Friday night detected another new modus operandi of gold smuggling. Two Sri Lankan citizens tried to bring in gold anklets and chains which were coated with copper and white colour to dodge the officials. The officials seized 692 gm of gold worth Rs 21 lakh. The gold was of 24 karat purity as per the government approved gold valuer.
Hemamalini Muthukumar, 32, was coming from Colombo via Sri Lankan airlines UL 123. She was stopped at the airport by the officials on suspicion that she might be carrying gold or other contraband. On checking, it was found that she was wearing a gold chain coated with copper colour concealed around her neck under her closed-neck dress. Two anklets coated with white colour were also concealed around each ankle, beneath her jeans. After removing the coating, the gold weighed 432 gm worth Rs 12.8 lakh.
Another passenger, Keshitha Jeyakandhan, 21, who arrived in Chennai from Colombo on the same flight, was also intercepted at the exit of arrival hall. She had concealed gold anklets coated with white colour around each ankle beneath her jeans. The gold weighing 260 gm is valued at Rs 7.7 lakh after removing the coating.
Sources said both passengers were frequent flyers to India and they could not bring gold as per the Customs Act. "Such high purity gold is smuggled into India to get a high price in the local market," a source said.
25/11/17 Times of India

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British flyer molested at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Police arrested a Dongri resident for molesting a female British national in the prayer room in the T2 Level 4 departure lounge of the CSI airport on Wednesday. Mohsim Shaikh (23), reportedly a GVK employee, was caught by CISF officials after the victim ran out of the room screaming for help. The terrified flyer told the police that the accused, on the pretext of helping her with a wi-fi connection, repeatedly tried to molest her in the room.
The Briton was in transit, waiting for a connecting flight to Colombo. P 9
"The incident occurred around 6.40am on November 22, when GVK employee Shaikh took the victim to the prayer room located on level 4 T2 departure and molested her. Our team responded immediately and called the police and handed him over for further investigation," a CISF spokesperson told TOI. GVK officials maintained that Mohsim Shaikh is not their employee.
The entire episode lasted almost more than an hour before the UK national was able to board her flight. The CISF official said the incident occurred when the victim landed at Mumbai airport and was in transit before she flew to Colombo. "Shaikh was arrested after the complainant's statement was recorded inside T2 before she flew on. The flyer was initially reluctant to go to the Sahar police to lodge a complaint," said a police officer of the Sahar police station.
25/11/17 Times of India

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India Struggles to Solve its Fighter Jet Procurement Puzzle

New Delhi: In a rude shock to India, which has been preparing to issue a global tender for single-engine fighter jets, America's Lockheed Martin, considered a front-runner for the deal, has announced that it will not guarantee total transfer of technology if it is awarded the $10 billion contract. This has added to the woes of India's defense ministry that is already in the eye of a storm for failing to convince Dassault Aviation of France to transfer the technology for the multirole Rafale fighter aircraft.

"It will never be full transfer of technology. It is not in the national interest or industry's interest. Certain technologies are not transferable to anyone in the world," Keith Webster, senior vice-president of Defense and Aerospace, a US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), said in an interview with The Hindu Business Line on Tuesday.

The American F-16 and Swedish Gripen are the main contenders in the prospective deal of 114 fighter aircrafts, in which India intends to purchase 10 in flyaway condition, and the rest will be manufactured in India at a facility set up by the winning firm.
"Only a handful of aviation players have the main technologies in terms of radar, engines, stealth, EW systems, etc. India is the largest market and it is also an emerging power. No one would want India to become independent on this count," Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retired), a defense analyst told Sputnik.

Swedish SAAB has promised full technology transfer of its Gripen-E fighter. However, Gripen is not India's first choice as SAAB itself imports most of the components from elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the fighter jets being locally developed in India still have a lot to be desired in terms of radar, engine and EW system. The Indian Air Force has thus far inducted five Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) on initial operational clearance. The Indian Air Force has ordered 20 additional aircraft after the final operational clearance.

However, the Indian Air Force is not much satisfied with the progress made in the development of the aircraft by the state-owned manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. This is being viewed as a major reason behind the Indian Air Force's delay in placing the order for 83 of HAL's superior Tejas MK-1 fighter aircraft.

"India must make all efforts for LCA to succeed. Take help of radar, engine and EW systems," Air Marshal Chopra added.
Even if everything goes according to the promise made by HAL, it can deliver 16 Tejas Mark-1A per year and the induction of all 83 will be complete by 2028. However, the number and pace of delivery would not be enough, as the Indian Air Force has set a target to replace all 11 squadrons (18-20 fighter jets in a squadron) of its Russian-made MiG-21 and MiG-27 aircraft by 2024.
"To cater to delays and performance shortfall, India must buy single-engine aircraft and arm-twist at least all of the low-end systems it currently has," Air Marshall Chopra concluded.
But will this change the dwindling strength of the Indian Air Force? "Seems unlikely, as we [have] already [fallen] behind a decade due to indecision," a senior Indian Air Force official told Sputnik.
23/11/17 Sputnik 

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Jaipur-Abu Dhabi flight to be discontinued from March!

Jaipur: The Jaipur to Abu Dhabi flight may be discontinued from March next year. February 28 will be the last operational day for the flight. It will be a major setback for international traveler as it was used as a connecting flight for people traveling to Europe and USA. Reportedly, the airlines operating this flight is planning to provide connecting flights via Delhi or Mumbai after March 1.

The flight started operations in April 2014 with a 7-day service. However, due to the decrease in the number of passengers, the airline decided to operate this flight for 5 days. Presently, the flight operates 4-days a week and this will change to 3-days a week from January 2018.
23/11/17 Pink City Post

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Vivek Dahiya faces racial discrimination in Budapest; says the treatment at the airport made it all the more worse

Looks like the cast of Yeh Hai Mohabbatein’s trip to Budapest wasn’t all good. Vivek Dahiya recently opened up about facing racial discrimination at the airport. When returning from Budapest, Divyanka Tripathi and Vivek had an unpleasant encounter at the airport. The couple were waiting to board but the officials gave a couple of Americans preference over them. Vivek told Bombay Times, “I have been travelling since I was 18 and have studied in the UK for seven years. Over the last 14 years, I’ve never faced such an issue. Budapest is the first city where I faced discrimination. There were a few small incidents in the first few days, but I shrugged them off thinking that they were either coincidences or the locals were not warm. However, I soon realised that they chose to behave in a certain way towards outsiders. The preferential treatment at the airport made it all the more worse.”

He added, “And then, when you return home, you realise that it’s no different here. We are obsessed with fair skin and give preference to Westerners over our own countrymen. Every country should treat tourists and their own citizens equally. Preferential treatment of any kind and on any basis shouldn’t be tolerated.” (ALSO READ: Divyanka Tripathi – Vivek Dahiya dancing to Suit Suit Karda is the coolest thing you’ll see today – watch video)

This is not the first time that our celebs have faced issues at the airport, be it in India or abroad. Even though Divyanka and Vivek’s trip to Budapest was quite fun, this incident at the airport kinda ruined it for them. Check out some of their pictures from Budapest right here.
24/11/17 Bollywoodlife.com

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Int'l airlines owe TIA Rs 2.5 billion for services

Kathmandu: Two dozen international airlines operating in Nepal have yet to pay around Rs 2.5 billion to  Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA) for using various services at Nepal's only international airport.

The airlines have for a long time not paid TIA the service charges that they collect from air passengers and other fees, such as for airport development,  parking, navigation, security and counter-charges.

The international airlines haven't paid the charges even though they  earn around Rs 80 billion a year flying to and from Nepal. Nepal's air travel market has nearly reached the Rs 100 billion mark. In this, the share of the national flag carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation is hardly 10 percent.

 The responsibility for this state of affairs has been attributed to TIA's General Manager Devananda Upadhyay.

The amounts due have not been recovered as Upadhyay didn't enforce the regulations, such as the Airport Service Charge Regulations-2067 BS and Financial Administration Regulations-2057.

TIA is yet to recover over Rs 2.473 billion as of July 15, 2017. Documents obtained by Republica show that Malaysian private airline Air Asia alone owes Rs 308.2 million to  TIA. But Nepal Airlines Corporation is the carrier that has the highest amount of arrears to TIA, at Rs 83.6.

"After becoming chief of TIA, Upadhyay hasn't corresponded with the airlines and other companies for payment of the dues," a highly-placed source told Republica. "The due amount was negligible at the time he became general manager. He and officials working at the finance division and revenue section are acting in collusion."

As the general manager and "his team" did not follow up for recovering the due amounts, the Civil Aviation Authority Nepal has formed a high-level probe committee to investigate the matter. The committee, which is headed by CAAN Deputy Director General Birendra Prasad Shrestha, has already started its work.

 TIA, likewise, is yet to receive Rs 185.9 million from Indian private airlines Jet Airways and Rs 227.4 million from Indigo Airlines, Rs 114.1 million from Fly Dubai of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Rs 156.6 from Malaysian government airline Malaysia Airlines, Rs 92.7 million from Air Arabia of UAE, Rs 60.3 million from Thai Airways, Rs 35.4 million from Malaysian private airline Malindo Air and Rs 67 million from Indian government airline Air India.
23/11/17 Susheel Bhattarai/myRepublica

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Sri Lanka PM meets PM Modi today, to hold talks on Mattala airport, bilateral ties

New Delhi: With an eye on China, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, days ahead of the joint venture between China Merchants Port Holding Company and Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) starts operations of Hambantota Harbour on December 8.
Wickremesinghe, who arrived in Delhi on Wednesday, was received by Indian envoy to Sri Lanka Taranjit Sandhu. He will also meet President Ram Nath Kovind, besides attending a conference on cyber-security. He leaves on Friday. The meeting assumes significance since India has expressed interest in investing in Mattala airport in Hambantota district. Once finalised, it will be a strategic investment for New Delhi to enter a project which has been Chinese turf on Lankan soil.
Described as the “world’s emptiest airport” by Forbes, the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport in Mattala was built by the Chinese during the previous President’s regime. The present government, led by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe, has found it difficult to run the airport. In August this year, India had proposed to “operate, manage, maintain and develop” the airport through a joint venture, with India holding 70 per cent of the equity for 40 years. India is supposed to invest $205 million, with Sri Lanka contributing $88 million.
The Indian offer had come within weeks of a Sri Lanka-China agreement on development of Hambantota port, in which the state-run China Merchants Port Holdings will have a 70-per cent stake in a joint venture for a period of 99 years. The Hambantota port and airport projects are part of China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative, and Delhi has been worried about Beijing’s rising influence in Sri Lanka.
It is learnt that the joint venture between the Sri Lankan Airport and Aviation Authority and an Indian firm to run the Mattala airport would come into operation by March next year. Sources said this issue and other bilateral projects will be discussed in the meeting between Modi and Wickremesinghe.
23/11/17 Shubhajit Roy/Indian Express

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Jet Airways plans to scrap first class in its Boeing 777 planes

New Delhi: Jet Airways plans to do away with first-class seats in its Boeing 777 planes that are operated for long-haul flights as it works on cost-cutting measures, a senior airline official said.

The carrier, earlier this week, told investors about its plans for strategic growth where the key focus would be on cost minimisation.

According to the official, Jet Airways is looking at doing away with first class seats in B777 planes in order to increase the number of seats in them as part of larger cost reduction efforts.

Currently, the full-service carrier -- in which Gulf carrier Etihad has a 24 per cent stake -- has 10 B777 aircraft. These planes have 8 first, 30 business and 308 economy class seats.

In a presentation to investors on November 20, the airline said it would increase the number of seats in B777 planes, to around 400 seats from 2019 onwards, from 346 seats.
23/11/17 PTI/Economic Times

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Tourism School Partners with International Airline

Auckland: A new partnership between New Zealand’s largest travel and tourism school and one of China’s fastest growing airlines is creating global opportunities for aspiring flight attendants.

Last week, Tianjin Airlines staff set up shop at the New Zealand School of Tourism (NZST) Auckland Airport campus, interviewing 42 of the provider’s students from various parts of the country for potential roles as international flight attendants. Those who make the final cut will be flown to Beijing for a three-month induction programme, before starting their new jobs as cabin crew on the airline’s long-haul flights.

An HNA Group subsidiary, Tianjin Airlines launched in 2009, and expanded into the long-haul sector (including Auckland) last year. This is only the second time the airline has recruited outside of China, and the partnership marks its first-ever recruitment drive in Australasia. According to Head of International Recruitment for NZST, Tom Parker, the unique initiative will bring benefits for both Tianjin Airlines and NZST graduates.

Mr Parker said that Chinese airlines are keen to partner with NZST because we have strong number of graduates that are Work Ready, World Ready.

“Tianjin Airlines is undergoing aggressive expansion. They know that in order to become the next Emirates or other global airline, they need more multinational crew. That’s where we come in. They can interview New Zealand, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Indian students all in one place. Better still, our students all speak fluent English and have completed the relevant qualifications. We are a one stop shop and take the hard work out of the recruitment process for them,” he said.

At the same time, the partnership offers some fantastic opportunities for NZST students who have their sights set on flying the skies.
“Many students would not have dreamed of working in China, so NZST is expanding their vision and creating opportunities that are exciting. At the same time, they are trying to make the process as simple as possible and so having the airline on site is a big step forward in that. Working in China and learning the language will give a huge career advantage, giving successful graduates the chance to start flying internationally straight away,” Mr Parker said.
23/11/17 Indian News Link

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Air India, AirAsia to launch flights to Bangkok from Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: After launching a daily flight from the Bhubaneswar international airport to Kuala Lumpur, AirAsia now plans to start services to Bangkok from the city airport.

"Thai AirAsia is slated to start flights from Bhubaneswar in January or February next year. However, it is not decided how many times it will fly in a week", said Ashok Chandra Panda, Odisha's tourism minister.


The minister said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) is likely to be signed between Thai AirAsia and the Odisha tourism department to start services.

Panda said, Air India has also proposed to start international flights from Bhubaneswar. It has proposed to fly from Bhubaneswar to Bangkok via Gaya (Bihar).

Thai AirAsia is a joint venture of AirAsia and Thailand's Asia Aviation.

In April this year, Air Asia had started its operations from Bhubaneswar with four weekly direct flights from Kuala Lumpur. It now runs daily flights connecting Bhubaneswar with Kuala Lumpur.

Sources said that Thai AirAsia is willing to launch flight operation to Bangkok from Bhubaneswar on condition of receiving Rs 1.70 lakh as subsidy per flight service.

International carriers who opt to operate flights to and from the city airport would enjoy full waiver from value added tax (VAT) on aviation turbine fuel (ATF).
22/11/17 Nirmalya Behera/Business Standard

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Assam CM Sonowal urges Bangladesh Aviation minister for Dhaka-Guwahati flights

Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal urged Bangladesh Civil Aviation Minister Rashed Khan Menon for steps to introduce direct flight from Dhaka to Guwahati.

This would boost connectivity in the region and improve trade and commerce, Sonowal told Menon on board while returning from Manipur after attending the North East Development Summit, an official release said here.
Improved air connectivity between Dhaka and Guwahati would be of mutual benefit to both Bangladesh and Assam, he said.

The chief minister also requested Menon to accelerate trade and commerce with Assam through international trade centres located on the Assam-Bangladesh border at Golakganj in Dhubri, Mankachar in South Salmara and Sutarkandi in Karimganj districts.
22/11/17 North East Today

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CDB Aviation delivers new A320neo aircraft to India's GoAir

CDB Aviation Lease Finance DAC (“CDB Aviation”), a wholly owned Irish subsidiary of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited (“CDB Leasing”), has announced the delivery of a new Airbus A320neo aircraft to India-based, low-cost carrier Go Airlines (India) Ltd. (“GoAir”), the company said.

The aircraft is the first of a total of 14 A320neos to be delivered to GoAir as part of a Purchase and Leaseback transaction, which involves a binding agreement for five aircraft and a non-binding Letter of Intent for an additional nine aircraft that are subject to CDB Aviation internal approvals, signed between the airline and CDB Aviation. The program is expected to run through the end of 2019, with the initial five aircraft to be delivered by the end of 2017. The aircraft will join the carrier´s all-A320 fleet and will be operated on its domestic network that connects prominent business metros and leisure destinations across the Indian subcontinent.
22/11/17 Gulli Arnason/financialnews.co.uk

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Sri Lankan Airlines Bullish On India; Provides Seamless Connectivity to Australia and Maldives

Turning its focus on the region and its huge potential, Sri Lankan Airlines  is very bullish on the Indian market. Not only Sri Lanka has become a favourite destination for Indians, Colombo is also becoming a big hub to connect Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai with Asian nations with efficient and effective strives and network by Sri Lankan airlines.

Member of the OneWorld alliance, Sri Lankan airlines is giving a big push to the new wave of tourism into Sri Lanka and has decided to go all out to woo the Indian consumers. It has launched the Delhi-Sydney flight via Colombo and is also connecting cities like Melbourne and Perth in Australia with Delhi  and Mumbai.

It has lined up expansion plans to  top the huge potential of the Indian market especially the cities in Northern India. Till now, Sri Lankan had focussed mainly on South India but now wants to turn its attention to cities in North India.

Sri Lankan Airlines North India region Manager, Chinthaka Weerasinghe is very bullish about charting a new course with the Indian customer and with his needs in mind. Currently operating from 14 destinations in India with 125 flights per week, the airline is not resting on its laurels and has lined up massive expansion plans to connect Indians to destinations like Male and Gan Island in Maldives, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Bangkok and Indonesia and China. ``We are seeking to bring destinations in Asian region closer to India and link them with our vast network. Colombo will be our hub  which will provide fast and efficient connectivity to the customers,'' he remarked.
22/11/17 Sujay Mehdudia/The India Saga

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Jet Airways launches daily nonstop from Bangalore to Amsterdam

Jet Airways organised a press conference to announce its daily nonstop service from Bangalore to Amsterdam launching on the
29 October 2017.This flight will be Jet Airways’ third daily service between India and Amsterdam and will complement its existing direct daily operations to Amsterdam from Mumbai and Delhi.

The new service will be operated in codeshare with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France and Delta Air Lines, with each airline placing their respective codes on the service.

• Jet Airways 9W 236 will depart Bengaluru at 02h25 (LT) and arrive in Amsterdam 08h35 (LT).
• Jet Airways 9W 235 will depart from Amsterdam at 10h50 (LT) and will arrive in Bengaluru at 00h40 (LT).

On the occasion of the event, H.E. Alphonsus H.M. Stoelinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, said –“ Holland is a hub
for India and this connectivity will connect multiple destinations in India and Europe. The Dutch traders felt at home in India four hundred years ago. Already 400 years ago, Netherlands was Asia’s hub in Europe and is India’s hub in Europe. Today again, India and Netherlands are very important economic partners for each other. The number of visas we issue to Indian citizens is increasing at 25% per year."

“A lot of Indian companies consider Netherlands to be an ideal location for setting up their head office in Europe like Tata Steel Factory. Today again, Netherlands is the hub for Europe and India. Netherlands as a destination is a hub for India and also a hub for travellers. We will be opening a consulate general in Bangalore which will be the second consulate opened in India after Mumbai. One week before Jet Airways launches the Bangalore to Amsterdam flight, we will organise a Holland meets Bangalore event a weeklong event,” he added.
22/11/17 Irene Susan Eapen/Voyeger's World

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Delhi-Auckland is “Skyscanner Unserved Route of the Week” with 420,000 searches; Air India’s next Southwest Pacific adventure??

With around 420,000 searches in the last 12 months, a potential city pair from Delhi to Auckland has been identified as this week’s “Skyscanner-anna.aero Unserved Route of Week” – a powerful analysis based on aspirational data captured from the Skyscanner.net flight comparison site used by +60 million unique visitors per month. “In FY 2017 more than 240,000 passengers travelled between India and New Zealand,” comments Jitendra Singh, VP & Head Airline Marketing and Route Development, Delhi Airport. “Even after having a strong demand, it is unfortunate that the route is still not connected with a non-stop service and therefore remains as one of the top unserved destinations from Delhi Airport.”

Skyscanner demand on this week’s unserved route shows a preference towards the Auckland end of the city pair, with a 63/37 split, so on this basis we looked at potential carriers at the New Zealand origin first.  “47% of total passengers travelling to Auckland from India were originating in Delhi,” adds Singh.

According to OAG schedules for the week commencing 20 November, the largest carrier at Auckland is Air New Zealand (57% share of weekly seats). Despite offering a 41-destination non-stop network from the airport, presently the carrier does not operate any routes into the South Asia region. However it does serve Singapore in Southeast Asia (daily), as well as Hong Kong, Shanghai Pudong, Tokyo Narita (all daily), Osaka Kansai and Tokyo Haneda (both three times weekly) in Northeast Asia. Asia has been a focus for the airline’s recent network growth, with Singapore (started in January 2015), Ho Chi Minh City (seasonal flights only; June 2016), Kansai (November 2016) and Haneda (July 2017) all commencing in the last three years. While the Star Alliance carrier also had plans to start flights to Manila in December last year, these never came to fruition. Reflecting on this information, Air New Zealand clearly has a strategy to develop its presence across Asia, and now having access to this compelling Skyscanner data, a route from Auckland to Delhi would seemingly fit into this existing network philosophy.
22/11/17 anna.aero

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Chinese man arrested for smuggling gold at Delhi airport

New Delhi: A Chinese man has been arrested by the customs for allegedly trying to smuggle into the country gold worth about Rs 35 lakh at Delhi's international airport, according to an official statement today.

The 48-year-old accused was intercepted after his arrival from Hong Kong yesterday.

"A detailed personal and baggage search of the passenger resulted in the recovery of gold articles in the form of beads, belt buckle and pendant, total weighing 1.187 kg," the statement said.
22/11/17 PTI/New Indian Express

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‘Air Canada has great confidence in Indian market’

New Delhi: In the backdrop of the annual national convention of the Indo-Canadian Business Chamber (ICBC) held here earlier this week, The Sunday Guardian caught up with Margaret Skinner, Air Canada’s Director Sales, who spoke candidly about Air Canada’s vision, expansion plans and her confidence in the Indian aviation market. Excerpts:

Q. What is the vision for Air Canada in respect to India?

A. We are expanding quite rapidly at the moment globally and as a company, our goal is to be a global champion. In India, we have invested very heavily with the induction of the state-of-the-art Dreamliner aircraft. We are not only investing in the aircraft, but also in the product on board. We are the only four star North American Airlines voted by SkyTrax and our goal is to become a five-star service.

Q. The Indian aviation market is seeing an upward growth like never before. Do you have any plans to tap into this market?

A. We are seeing competition everywhere around the world, and we are spending billions of dollars in new aircraft. We have great confidence in our products and networks. Globally, we are expanding rapidly and 90% of our expansion is in the international market. Both the direct flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Toronto and Vancouver have been successful for us. We would expand further once we feel that these routes are well established. We would also like all our services to be daily.

Q. How confident do you feel about the Indian aviation market?

A. I think we were very naive about the Indian market and the opportunities here, but we are very happy with the investments that we have made here. We have got great confidence in the Indian market. The economy is growing and expanding rapidly with a growth of 6% and this gives us confidence about the Indian market. What is interesting is that we can invest in various segments in India, ranging from corporation to students’ travel to leisure and we get a really good mix of traffic from this market. We expect this to only grow in the coming days. We also work very closely with the trading sector in this market. Our team in India is working very hard and so far, the results have been great. If this continues, we would like to invest further into this market.

Q. In recent years, India and Canada have been engaging in trade as well as business partnerships both in the small scale and large scale industries. Have these led to a growth in air traffic to Canada and how do you plan to benefit out of this?

A. There has been over 20% growth in air traffic to Canada in the last five years and this time it is because of all factors, like business, education as well as leisure. We are also seeing a movement of business traffic increasing rapidly in the last five years.

There is a film co-production treaty that was signed about two years back between India and Canada and that has opened up opportunities for Indian filmmakers to go to Canada to make films. Canada is the partner country for the forthcoming international film festival in Goa and we are likely to have 60-70 top Canadian producers coming to Mumbai through our Mumbai-Toronto non-stop flight. We have Indian filmmakers who are already in talks with us to use our services to make films there in Canada. And we believe with such activities, it would also open up Canada towards the leisure market and increase tourist inflow into the country.

The CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) between India and Canada that is under currently under discussion would further reinforce the kind of engagement that is already there and it would be a game changer for trade between India and Canada.
18/11/17 Dibyendu Mondal/Sunday GuardianLive

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Tourists lose Rs 15 lakh as airline fails to provide alternative Brussels flight

Mumbai: In the list of things that could go wrong on a holiday, a flight cancellation should be up there as you could end up buying last-minute tickets not just for the onward journey, but also for the return leg.
A group of 17 passengers from Mumbai lost Rs 14 lakh and three others from Pune lost Rs 1.30 lakh towards air tickets, hotel bookings and other expenses after Brussels Airlines cancelled a flight and failed to put them on an alternative flight within 48 hours.
A Brussels Airlines spokesperson said they had taken note of the complaint and will start an in-depth investigation.
On October 21, around 1am, Brussels Airlines cancelled flight SN602 as the aircraft developed a technical problem. "Brussels Airlines told us they don't have any alternative for next 48 hours and later too, they couldn't guarantee one for all the 17 people," said Pradeep Shanklesha Mutha, one of the flyers from the group. They have taken the grievance up with minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha. "Cancelling our pre-paid holiday would have cost us Rs 15 lakh," he said.
The group brought fresh tickets, arrived at their destination 15 hours late. The next day their agent informed them they should cancel the Zurich-Mumbai return tickets too and go for the entire ticket refund as with partial refund one can't be sure about the quantum of money the airline would return.
Here is where the difference between passengers who were provided accommodation by Brussels and those who weren't come into play. Those put on other carriers would have got their same return flights reissued by Brussels airline at no cost. But if you make your own arrangements, then the airline refunds part fare—Mumbai-Brussels-Zurich in this case. Since airfares aren't split down the middle, there was no knowing how much of the Rs 8.31 lakh they spent on the return ticket would be refunded.
19/11/17 Manju V/Times of India

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India's badminton stars stuck at Hong Kong airport immigration for over eight hours

In an embarrassing and unacceptable turn of events, it appears that some of India's top badminton stars have been unnecessarily kept waiting and are seemingly stuck at the Hong Kong International Airport as of yesterday.

The news first became public after ace Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap tweeted out against the travesty via his official Twitter account. The badminton star highlighted the plight of the players who are in Hong Kong this week to train before the Hong Kong Open begins on 21st November.
A source close to the players told Sportskeeda, "The players have been waiting at the airport for a long time now but are expected to be allowed to pass by the authorities."

In case you didn't know...
The Hong Kong Open 2017 is one of the many landmark badminton tournaments organised by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and with India's shuttlers currently making up much of the top brass in both men's and women's categories, the incident is made even more embarrassing for all the authorities involved.
The heart of the matter
Luckily for the Indian contingent, Kashyap's tweet immediately caught fire on social media and prompted a response from the likes of the Consulate General of India in Hong Kong who requested for the contact details of the contingent in order to sort the issue out at the earliest.

Kashyap replied to the Consulate's tweet nearly eight hours after his first tweet, stating that he has sent his details to the authority and which means that the shuttlers are still there at the airport waiting for clearance.
19/11/17 Sarthak Sharma/Sportskeeda

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Rahul keeps Rafale pot boiling

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi and the Congress are not letting the Rafale controversy dip under the political radar.

If Rahul kept the pressure up on the government by asking defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman specific questions, the Congress took a swipe at alleged " punjpati dost (capitalist friends)" of the government for threatening legal action.

The Congress vice-president claimed that Sitharaman was being prevented by her "boss" from revealing the truth about the Rafale fighter deal, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi a second time in three days on the subject.

On Thursday, the Congress vice-president had accused Modi of recasting the deal to help a particular businessman. On Friday, Sitharaman had dismissed the charges as "shameful" without answering specific questions.

Rahul, keen to keep the controversy boiling in the run-up to the Gujarat polls, tweeted on Saturday: "Dear RM (Raksha Mantri, that is, defence minister), what is shameful is your boss silencing you."

He added: "Please tell us: 1. Final price of each Rafale jet? 2. Did PM take CCS (cabinet committee on security) permission before announcing purchase in Paris? 3. Why PM bypassed experienced HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) & gave the deal to AA rated businessman with no defence experience?"

Sitharaman, asked about the price of the French aircraft at Friday's news conference, had merely said: "The price we have obtained is far less (than that negotiated by the UPA)."

Pressed, she had said: "We will give you the figures that you want."

Soon afterwards, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had suggested that Sitharaman was "hiding the purchase price".
He had asked whether it was true that the UPA had negotiated a $80.95 million (Rs 526.1 crore) price per aircraft while the Modi government had agreed to a price of $241.66 million (Rs 1,570.8 crore).
19/11/17 Sanjay K. Jha/Telegraph

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GMR Hyderabad Airport wooing Lufthansa, other global carriers

Hyderabad: GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) is in parleys with European and other international carriers to woo them to connect to the ‘ Pearl City’.

The airport, which sees about 20 international carriers operating to about 20 destinations along with four domestic carriers that connect to overseas locations, is keen to attract some more international airlines.

SGK Kishore, Chief Executive Officer, GHIAL, said: “Currently only one European carrier, British Airways, operates direct flights to Hyderabad. Lufthansa and KLM are among two other European airliners who used to operate.

“We are in talks with them to connect to Hyderabad so that they can be part of the growing market.” Indian civil aviation is amongst the fastest growing markets and the third largest in the world and offers immense scope for connectivity, he said, adding: “As we take to expansion of our airport to handle 25 million passengers per annum (mppa), more airliners are expected to connect to Hyderabad.”

The Hyderabad airport handled 15.24 mppa in 2016-2017 and is expected to cross 18 mppa this fiscal. The domestic passenger segment has been growing at over 20 per cent.
17/11/17 Business Line

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Punjab fined Rs 5 lakh for wrongly deboarding NRI from London flight

Chandigarh: The Punjab government will have to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to an NRI for wrongly identifying him as an accused in the Rs 1,000-crore irrigation scam and forcing him to disembark a flight to the UK.
Ludhiana resident Gurdev Singh's only crime was that one of the accused in the scam has the same name - Gurdev Singh Syan. When the case reached the Punjab and Haryana high court, it directed the chief secretary to tender an unconditional apology to the NRI, along with the demand draft of Rs 5 lakh and the air fare from Delhi to the UK. The court also directed the government to recover the amount from the vigilance bureau officials responsible for such a goof-up and to take action against them for "damaging the image of Punjab".
"The record clearly shows the cavalier manner in which the government servants have performed their work; namely lack of sincerity, casual attitude and having no regard for the image of the state of Punjab and also for the country," the judge observed.
The only interest such government servants have is to pocket huge salary every month and go on making demands for higher and higher salary and allowances", observed Justice A B Chaudhari, in his detailed order. Justice Chaudhari passed these orders while disposing of an application filed by Punjab government through Ashish Kapoor, AIG vigilance bureau, seeking an apology about the goof-up.
It was on November 2 that the Punjab advocate general (AG), Atul Nanda requested Justice Chaudhari at this residence to urgently give an order preventing Gurdev Singh from leaving the country. Immigration officials had detained him at the Delhi international airport on the basis of a lookout notice just before he was to board a Delhi-London flight, assuming that he was the scam accused.
18/11/17 Ajay Sura/Times of India

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Air Astana Plans To Add Direct Mumbai-Kazakhstan Flights

Kazakhstan's flag carrier Air Astana plans to add Mumbai as its second destination in India by 2019, the airline's President and CEO Peter Foster said on Friday. The airline operates 10 flights between Kazakhstan and India every week, including a daily service between Almaty and New Delhi and three frequencies between Astana and New Delhi.

"Our first priority is to get our Delhi to Astana flight up to daily. Thereafter, we would like to add Mumbai by 2019," Foster said at a press briefing here. He said however that the lack of available slots at airports was a problem. "Airports are increasingly being privatised and slot allocation process has to be seen to be transparent and fair," he said. "The problem is, and this is throughout the world, that because of grand-fathered rights or slots held at major airports by national carriers, new slots are extremely hard to come by," Foster added.

Air Astana is celebrating 13 years of connecting India to Kazakhstan. It commenced operations in India in 2004 with flights between Almaty and New Delhi. Direct service from Astana to New Delhi was launched on July 2, 2017. Both services are operated using Airbus A320 and Embraer 190 aircraft. The total number of passengers carried between Kazakhstan and India during 2017 reached 43,459, representing an increase of 43 percent compared with 2016. The number of transit
passengers travelling from New Delhi via Almaty to other international destinations grew by 33 percent year-over-year in 2016, according to a statement by Air Astana.
17/11/17 PTI/Mid Day

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Mehbooba Seeks flights’ operation to ASEAN region from Sgr airport

Jammu: To give fillip to the tourism industry in the State, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti Friday urged the Centre to include Srinagar Airport among the airports in the country from where flights to ASEAN countries are to be operated.
In a letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati, the Chief Minister said the operation of flights to and from ASEAN region to Srinagar airport would give the desired push to the tourism industry in the State, which it has been craving for. “The operation of flights from and to cities like Kaula-Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Singapore and other cities in the region would have a positive impact on the local tourism industry and bolster the State’s economy”, she said in her letter to the Union Minister.
It may be recalled here that several deputations from the Tourism industry had met the Chief Minister in last few months and requested for connectivity with ASEAN countries to tap the tourism market in the region.
In another communication to Union Agriculture Minister, Radha Mohan Singh, Mehbooba Mufti has sought continuation of Central assistance to the local poultry industry, extension of loan recovery period and waiving of interest in respect of unit holders to sustain their business which suffered heavily due to floods of 2014 besides the high cost of feed imported from neighbouring States.
18/11/17 Brighter Kashmir

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Indian plane catches fire at Dhaka airport, no casualty

A nose wheel of an Indian SpiceJet flight caught fire at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka today.

All the 74 passengers and four pilots and crew were evacuated safely from the Kolkata-bound flight, Wahidur Rahman, deputy director (air traffic) at the airport, told The Daily Star.

The accident took place when the aircraft of India-based airline was heading towards runway from taxiway for taking off at 10:40am.

As the fire caught at the aircraft’s nose wheel, the pilot aborted its take off, Wahidur said, adding that fire fighters immediately rushed to the spot and doused the fire.

After visiting the affected aircraft, it seemed to them that bearing of the wheel might break up causing fire at the wheel, Wahidur also said.

The passengers, pilots and crews were staying at the airport till last reported.
17/11/17 Daily Star

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Cabinet approves MoU between India and Poland for the promotion of Civil Aviation Cooperation

Delhi: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Poland for the Promotion of Civil Aviation Cooperation. The MoU will be signed on behalf of the two countries after its approval by the two Governments. The MoU would be for a term of five years.

The objective of the MoU is to recognize the mutual benefit of Cooperation in the field of Civil Aviation having particular significance in establishing and improving Regional Air Connectivity in India. Apart from this both sides will recognize the mutual benefits of environmental testing or approvals, flight simulators monitoring and approvals, aircraft maintenance facilities approvals, maintenance personnel approvals and aircrew members approvals.

The main areas of this Memorandum of Understanding to promote ad facilitate mutual cooperation are as under:

a. Support in the civil aviation market by reviewing any legal and procedural issues which may adversely affect cooperation between India and Poland.

b. Exchange of information and expertise between the Ministries and respective Civil Aviation Authorities related to aviation regulations, regional air operations, airworthiness requirements and safety standards to enhance safety and security of air transport; and / or

c. Collaboration on or joint development, organization and/or conduct of training programmes on aviation safely, on topics such as safety oversight, airworthiness, flight operations, licensing, legislation and enforcement; and / or

d. Aviation associated consultations, joint organization and/or conduct of conferences and professional seminars, workshops, talks and other such activities on aviation safety with the participation of representatives from the Parties related to the field of civil aviation.

17/11/17 Business Standard

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Indigo beats IndiGo in aircraft deal

Dubai: One Indigo moved out while another etched its name in the record books as the multi-billion dollar market for aircraft came to life on the penultimate day of the Dubai Air Show on Wednesday.

India's budget carrier IndiGo, recently in the news for wrong reasons when its ground staff grappled with a hapless passenger on the tarmac, on Wednesday got wrestled out of the prestige fight in aviation deals by America's Indigo Partners.

IndiGo, which had flaunted the biggest purchase order from Airbus with a deal to buy 250 A320neos in August 2015, had to cede its pride of place to Indigo Partners, which had signed for 430 planes from Airbus for $49.5 billion, in the European company's biggest deal ever. IndiGo and Indigo Partners are separate firms with separate management. The deal includes 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos.

Meanwhile, Boeing on Wednesday reached an agreement with low-cost carrier FlyDubai to sell 225 Boeing 737 MAX10s for $27 billion.

In Indigo Partners, the airlines to use the aircraft will include Frontier Airlines, JetSMART of Chile, Volaris of Mexico and Wizz Air of Hungary. The A320neos list for $108.4 million apiece and A321neos at $127 million. Airlines and manufacturers often negotiate lower prices for big deals such as these.

Indigo Partners is a Phoenix-based private equity firm. It owns Denver-based Frontier Airlines and owns part of Mexico's Volaris. It's managed by William Franke, a pioneer of the cheap tickets and high fees airline business that has spread overseas and is growing in the US.
17/11/17 Telegraph

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Jazeera Airways launches India operations; says seat capacity constraint for expansion

Kuwaiti low-cost carrier Jazeera Airways today launched its operations in India with a daily flight between Kuwait and Hyderabad.

The airline said that seat capacity between India and the Gulf country needs to be increased in view of the current demand.

Rohit Ramachandran, CEO of Jazeera said the airline will connect Mumbai, Kochi and Ahmedabad with Kuwait by mid-January next year.

"We would like to fly to lot more points in India and (with) lot more frequency into India. We are unable to do so because the restrictions are put on us on the number of flights that we can operate to India," Ramachandran told reporters here.
He said that the current seat-entitlements between India and Kuwait stands at a modest 12,000 seats only in each direction.

Ramachandran said the airlines is requesting the two governments to engage in negotiations to enhance the number of seats being currently flown.
17/11/17 PTI/moneycontrol

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TN music composer accuses Sydney Airport officials of racial profiling

Chennai: Tamil film music director Santhosh Narayanan, who scored music for the Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Kabali’, accused the Sydney Airport authorities today of racial profiling and alleged that a “rude” officer insulted him.
The music composer claimed that he was “randomly picked up” by the authorities at the Sydney Airport.
“I was randomly picked up for the eighth time in a row at the Sydney airport for a chemical substance test and a rude officer insulted my intelligence,” the composer tweeted.
“Racial profiling needs to stop. @SydneyAirport”, he added.
In response to his tweet, the Sydney Airport said, “Hi Santhosh, thanks for reaching out to us, our aim is to provide all passengers with a positive experience, @SydneyAirport.” “Screening standards are set by the government. Screening officers are required to select people on random and continuous basis for screening with the explosive trace detection method,” it said in a series of tweets.
The method is that as soon as the last person is cleared, the screening officer selects the next person going through security, it said.
“Under this arrangement, persons passing through the screening point have an equal probability of being selected.
We hope this explains the method to screening.Sydney Airport,” it said.
17/11/17 India.com

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Canadian man held for entering IGI using fake ticket

New Delhi: A Canadian national was today apprehended at the Delhi airport for allegedly using a fake travel ticket to see his daughters off, official sources said.

J S Malhi was apprehended at 1:30 AM when the CISF personnel, deployed for airport security, found him roaming suspiciously inside the Terminal-3 (T3) building of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, they said.

Malhi told the Central Industrial Security Force personnel that he had entered the terminal to see his two daughters off, who were travelling to Canada, they said, adding he told them that he used a cancelled ticket to enter.
17/11/17 PTI/Tribune

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Chennai-Doha IndiGo flight suffers bird hit after take off, passengers accommodated on different plane

New Delhi : A Doha-bound IndiGo flight suffered a bird hit just after it took off from Chennai airport on Thursday at 2:15 AM. The Chennai-Doha IndiGo flight was carrying 134 passengers and seven crew members.

Soon after the plane was hit by a bird the plane returned to Chennai.  It could have caused a major disaster but the pilot was successful in safe landing the flight. Meanwhile, the IndiGo's engineers were assessing the extent of the damage the passengers and cabin crew was shifted to another flight to Doha by 4:30 AM.

Last month, a Delhi-Raipur Air India flight made an emergency landing in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow after a technical issue. However, there was no casualty reported and the passengers & crew members were all safe.
16/11/17 News Nation

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Air India Celebrates Two-year Anniversary of SFO-Delhi Flight, Honors Top Agents

Fremont: On Nov. 4, during its “Agent Appreciation” event, Air India hosted over 100 travel agents and guests for an evening of cocktails and dinner, which was held at Sakoon restaurant here. The event also doubled up as a celebration of the two-year anniversary of the launch of Air India’s non-stop flights between San Francisco and New Delhi.

“We will complete two years of this service on Dec. 2, 2017,” Neelaj Sharma, district sales manager at Air India, told India-West. “We have been doing very well. The local response has been tremendous. And Air India would like to thank everyone for that.”

Air India, which started this service in 2015 with thrice-weekly flights on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday using three Boeing 777-200 LR aircrafts, increased the frequency to six days a week in 2016 because of the great response and tremendous community support, said Sharma, adding that the airline offers a 3-cabin configuration, first class, business class and economy class.

And travel agents played a significant role in the national carrier’s success, so the evening also saw the ‘Top Producing’ agents being recognized for their service. 
The names of the travel agencies and their representatives who were present to accept the honor were: Christine Kao from Maazda Travel; Mylene Tan from Travix; David Chien from GTT International Travel; and Rupesh Velji from SkyBird Travel.
16/11/17 Reena Rathore/India West

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Air passenger’s body to be repatriated during weekend

Abu Dhabi: The body of a young Indian, who died in an Abu Dhabi hospital while flying home to India from Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, is expected to be repatriated during this weekend. Mohammad Saleem, 35, a native of Malappuram district in South Indian state of Kerala was pronounced dead at Mafraq Hospital.
“We are waiting for the police clearance and death certificate as their investigations into the unnatural death are progressing. Our officials are in touch with the authorities and we will send the body to the family as soon as the procedures are completed,” Ranjan Datta, manager of Air India, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, told Gulf News on Thursday.

He said the airline has designated an official for this purpose will bear the costs of the repatriation.
The Indian Embassy said it is in touch with Air India and will complete its procedures as soon as the required documents are submitted.
As Gulf News reported on Thursday, the plane made an emergency landing in the UAE capital after Saleem complained of discomfort. Air India Express flight IX-322 from Riyadh to Calicut landed at Abu Dhabi Airport at 3.51pm on Wednesday and he was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The initial diagnosis suggested cardiac arrest as the cause of death. The flight resumed its journey at 5.48pm.
16/11/17 Binsal Abdul Kader/Gulf News

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Brussels Airlines eyes Mumbai market

Brussels Airlines continues to invest in India by launching its sixth new flight to Mumbai and organising Brussels dances with Mumbai event in India. Brussels Airlines, which became a part of the Lufthansa Group in December 2016, had reopened the direct flight route between Brussels Airport and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on March 30, 2017. This route was shut down after Jet Airways ended its partnership with the airlines last year. After seven successful months of the launch of 5 weekly direct flights to Mumbai, the Belgium national carrier has recently introduced an extra flight owing to the rise in the number of passengers from India.
“Our new service received a warm welcome here in the Indian market and we are very happy with the results. Adding this sixth weekly flight confirms our investment in the Indian market. We are therefore very happy to participate in the Belgian Royal state visit here in Mumbai. With this spectacular event at the iconic gate of India, we are proud to bring the best of Belgium to India and to emphasize on the importance of the economic bonds between our two countries,” said Bernard Gustin, CEO of Brussels Airlines
To increase the seating capacity by 5-10 pc, Brussels Airlines is planning to replace seven of its fleet of 10 Airbus A330s on its long-haul routes in 2018. Currently, Brussels Airlines is the only carrier which connects the Belgium capital of Brussels with India.
15/11/17 MiG

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NCB seizes 8 kg ganja, arrests two persons from NSCBI airport

Kolkata: The Narcotics Control Bureau today seized 8 kg ganja worth Rs 1 lakh and arrested two persons for possessing the contraband at NSCBI airport today, NCB officials said.
The two Port Blair-bound passengers were carrying the contraband in a baggage.
16/11/17 India.com

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Afghan man held for entering IGI using fake ticket

New Delhi: An Afghan man was apprehended at the Delhi airport for allegedly using a fake travel ticket to see his female friend off, official sources said today.
A Razique was apprehended yesterday when the CISF personnel, deployed for airport security, found him roaming suspiciously inside the Terminal-3 (T3) building of the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, they said.
Razique told the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel that he had entered the terminal to see his female friend off, who was travelling to Kabul, they said, adding he told them that he used a cancelled ticket to enter.
The man was subsequently handed over to the police as the cancelled ticket was a fake entry document, they said.
16/11/17 PTI/India.com

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Sharjah-bound AI flight grounded

Tiruchi: A Sharjah-bound Air India Express flight on Tuesday was grounded at the international airport here for several hours due to a technical snag.

The flight, which arrived in Tiruchi from Sharjah around 2.30 a.m., was scheduled to depart an hour later.

However, the aircraft was grounded due to a technical snag, prompting the airline authorities to arrange accommodation for the passengers at a hotel here.

Airport sources said a few passengers discontinued their journey.

A ferry flight of the airline landed here in the evening from Mumbai to take the remaining passengers to Sharjah.
15/11/17 The Hindu

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Congress Raises Questions Over Rafale Jet Deal, BJP Hits Back

New Delhi: Raising questions over the Rafale fighter jet deal, the Congress has accused the government of having compromised national interest and security while promoting "crony capitalism" and causing a loss to the public exchequer.

The BJP rubbished the allegation, claiming it was intended to "divert attention" as the party bigwigs faced the prospect of being questioned in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam.

The Congress' communications department head Randeep Surjewala alleged the government neglected the interests of public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as Dassault Aviation, the french manufacturer of Rafale aircraft refused to transfer technology to it and instead entered into an agreement with Reliance Defence.

He also alleged that the aircraft was being purchased at much higher rates than what was decided after the completion of the tender process under the previous UPA government.

The BJP hit right back, with its spokesman GVL Narasimha Rao claiming that the Congress party was engaging in a "stunt" by raising the Rafale issue as it was scared at the prospect of its top leadership, including the Gandhis, being questioned in the VVIP chopper scam.

He said after the arrest of middleman Carlos Gerosa in Italy last month and his likely extradition to India soon, "the Congress has made baseless allegations over Rafale deal to divert public attention and to cry political vendetta".

"None of these stunts will work and the Congress must be ready to answer who took bribes in the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal as the money trail is going to become known after the extradition of Carlos Gerosa," he told news agency PTI.
15/11/17 NDTV

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AirAsia urges creation of Asean Aviation office

AirAsia Berhad CEO Anthony Francis Fernandes is urging the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to create a single Asean Aviation Authority to facilitate the integration and efficient management of all their respective air carriers.

Fernandes is encouraging Asean to create a common market just like Europe “as it is difficult for the airline business to deal with 10 presidents and prime ministers.”

He added there must be effort to integrate Asean so that there will be one aviation standard.

“Put down nationalism and vested interests, if we do not get together against big giants China and India, it will give us much better chance to compete against the world,” Fernandes said during a news conference at Villamor Air Base to unveil an “I Love Asean” aircraft livery.

The Airbus plane was colorfully decorated with designs inspired by textiles, architecture, art and nature from all 10 Asean nations.
14/11/17  Recto Mercene/Business Mirror

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‘You name the city, we’ll fly there’

Dubai: With at least two more Indian carriers on the verge of starting international operations, Dubai-based low-cost airline flydubai feels this is the best time for the Indian government to have a relook at its various bilateral air service agreements (ASAs), including with Dubai.

In an informal chat with Indian media persons, Sudhir Sreedharan, flydubai’s Senior Vice-President, Commercial Operations - Indian Subcontinent, GCC and Africa, expressed hope that India will eventually yield and exchange more ASAs. Vistara and GoAir are likely to become eligible for international flights soon, he observed.

An airline can fly on an international route only if the country where it is registered has an ASA with the destination country. Normally such agreements specify the number of flights a week, the number of cities that can be covered and how many airlines from either country can operate on these routes.

India and Dubai have not exchanged fresh ASAs for several years, which means airlines from the two countries can only fly the number of flights allowed some time back.
14/11/17 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line

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Passenger on Saudi-India flight dies in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: A passenger flying home to India from Saudi Arabia died in an Abu Dhabi hospital on Wednesday. The plane made an emergency landing in the UAE capital after he complained of discomfort.
Air India Express flight IX-322 from Riyadh to Calicut landed at Abu Dhabi airport at 3.51pm after the passenger, Mohammad Saleem, 35, complained of discomfort, Ranjan Datta, manager of Air India, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, told Gulf News.

Saleem, a native of Malappuram in Kerala, died in an Abu Dhabi hospital.
The medical team at the airport responded quickly to the emergency and the patient was rushed to Mafraq Hospital where he was pronounced dead, the official said.
“Doctors at the hospital said initial diagnosis suggested heart attack as the cause of death; however, we have to wait for the death certificate to confirm it,” Datta said. “We are sad that the young man’s life could not be saved despite the best efforts by the airline staff, the medical team at the airport and doctors at the hospital.”
As part of the protocol in such situations, the airline offloaded the passenger’s luggage and informed his brother in Saudi Arabia, the official  said. The flight resumed its journey at 5.48pm. “Our station manager in Calicut is in touch with the deceased’s family and we are doing everything to support them. The Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi was also informed,” Datta said.
15/11/17 Gulf News

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Another airport shocker: Lufthansa locked me up for 4 hours in Munich, says visually-impaired flier

Disability and gender right activist, Nidhi Goyal had a harrowing time in Munich airport last Thursday. Nidhi, who is also a stand-up comedian was not allowed to leave the disability lounge for over four hours, and wasn't even offered food and drinks despite repeatedly pleading for it.

Nidhi who was travelling from Mexico City to Mumbai had a stopover at Munich airport. She was flying by Lufthansa Airlines. Nidhi who is visually challenged had a six and half hour long stopover in the German city. When she was escorted to the disability lounge, Nidhi was assured of help in procuring food after some time. However, in reality Nidhi claims that she was rudely rebuffed by the lady attendant of the lounge. Not only did she refuse to assist Nidhi to grab food from the cafe nearby, the comedian was even not allowed to get out of the lounge.

After Nidhi raised a hue and cry, a senior member of the Lufthansa staff came and said that she didn't book any additional services, hence wouldn't be getting them. However, according to Nidhi, her ticket clearly mentioned that she needed assistance. Nidhi despite having valid visa was allegedly denied the right of leaving the airport to meet a friend who had come to visit. She wasn't even given her boarding pass. Being hypoglycaemic, she needed food urgently but was refused.

The harrowing experience of being confided in the lounge room without food continued till it was the time for boarding her connecting flight. It was nearly four-and-half hours of struggling without food and drinks for the Mumbai-based comedian.
14/11/17 Arghya Roy Chowdhury/DNA

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Gold smugglers find holes in flight from Dubai to Pune

Pune: Customs and SpiceJet authorities are concerned over how gold smugglers are targeting a flight from Dubai to Pune, from where it takes off on the domestic route.
Eight gold biscuits were recovered on November 11 from the life jacket under a seat of SpiceJet's Dubai-Pune flight (SG-52) after it landed here. The value of the recovered biscuits was about Rs 29 lakh. Customs and SpiceJet officials fear that the smugglers take advantage of the flight operating on the domestic route from Pune.
"It generally flies to Bengaluru from Pune. Other international flights reaching Pune operate on international routes only. The smugglers, it seems, had carefully chosen the flight to bring in gold or other banned substance into the country," a customs officer said.
"We suspect that a a member of the gang brings in gold from Dubai. The person then hides the gold somewhere in the aircraft and messages his or her accomplice about its exact spot. The accomplice then boards the flight to a domestic location, mostly Bengaluru. The person gets into the flight, locates and collects the gold," the officer said, adding that gold hauls from the flight were not happening for a year.
A senior SpiceJet officer said, " In Dubai, one can buy any amount of gold and bring it to India. But our system is made in such a way that it is difficult to penetrate. The selection of seats is also done carefully."
15/11/17 Joy Sengupta/Times of India

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Thai Smile says hello Mumbai

Thai Smile, the regional airline and subsidiary of Thai Airways, expanded its Indian connectivity by introducing direct flights from Bangkok to Mumbai.
Thai Smile which has been operating in India since the last quarter of 2016 already has direct flights from Bangkok to Jaipur, Lucknow, Gaya and Varanasi. The recent addition of Bangkok-Mumbai has been in sync with Mumbai airport’s crowd pulling capacity. Mumbai is an important and old Indian seaport, which also serves as a popular tourist attraction apart from being the film capital of India.
The new route will promote and aid travellers who are travelling for different purposes, be it leisure, corporate or MICE travellers while promoting Bangkok as a multifaceted destination. GVK Mumbai International Airport Private Limited (MIAL), the company that operates the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), saw the arrival of the maiden flight of Thai Smile in October. The airline will operate 5 flights in a week on the Mumbai-Bangkok route- Bangkok – Mumbai (BKK-BOM) on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 22.15-01.35 (+1), WE335 Bangkok – Mumbai (BKK-BOM) on Friday and Sunday at 23.55-03.10 and WE336 Mumbai – Bangkok (BOM-BKK) on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 02.40-08.55 and WE336 Mumbai – Bangkok (BOM-BKK) on Monday and Saturday at 04.40-10.55.
14/11/17 Shalini Dasgupta/Media India Group

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