Govt approves Horizontal Aviation Agreement with EU

New Delhi: Government today said it has approved an agreement with the European Union to bring all 26 bilateral air services agreements with member nations in conformity with legal requirement.
"The new arrangement will bring all the existing bilateral air services agreements between EU member states and India in line with the European Commission law at one go, thereby obviating any threat of legal challenge," Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here today.
The Union Cabinet gave an ex-post facto approval last night to the Horizontal Aviation Agreement, signed in Marseilles on September 28 during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visit to France at the India-EU Summit, he said.
The landmark pact on civil aviation would work like an 'open skies' agreement, encouraging more airlines to offer services between the continents.
Nearly 5.7 million passengers travelled between India and the EU in 2007, with India ranking 11th in terms of passenger traffic between the EU and non-EU countries. Over the past three years, passenger traffic on this sector has grown by 75 per cent.
31/10/08 Press Trust of India

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NRI offloaded for strange behaviour onboard

Mumbai: An NRI passenger was offloaded from a Newark-bound Air India flight after he was found behaving suspiciously just minutes after the
aircraft started taxiing on Thursday morning at Mumbai airport. The passenger was handed over to the airport police.
According to an airline source, the passenger identified as Mark Sharma, was initially booked to fly on Wednesday. "He reached the airport, checked-in his bag and collected the boarding pass. But prior to boarding, he had a change of heart and asked for a ticket cancellation. His boarding pass was cancelled, his check-in bags removed and he left the airport,'' the source said.
The passenger came back on Thursday and this time, he did board the Mumbai-Paris-Newark Air India flight 191. But problems began just after the aircraft started taxiing around 8.05 am.
"In a span of 10-15 minutes, he changed his seat 3-4 times. Then he got up and went to the washroom with his hand baggage,'' said the source. As the aircraft was preparing for take-off, there was hardly any passenger movement in the cabin and Sharma's behaviour alerted his co-passengers who informed the cabin crew about it. "... the commander decided to taxi the aircraft back to the parking bay and the passenger was offloaded,'' said the source.
An Air India spokesperson confirmed Thursday's incident, adding that the passenger was handed over to the airport police. "The aircraft was back in the parking bay at 8.30 am,'' said the official, adding that after the passenger was offloaded, his check-in baggage was traced and removed from the aircraft. The flight took off three hours behind schedule. Senior police inspector, Dilip Patil of Sahar police station said the matter was being probed.
30/10/08 Times of India

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Undies in plane loo spark scare

Mumbai: An AI plane was delayed for over three hours on Thursday after an allegedly intoxicated passenger decided to get rid off his briefs in the plane loo.
Air India’s flight 191, scheduled for takeoff at 7.45 am, took off only at 11.05 am after Mark Mahendra Sharma (31), a non-resident Indian from the US, sparked panic by visiting the loo several times during takeoff, though airline rules disallow it. Passengers and the crew got suspicious about his erratic behavior.
According to an AI official, all the 156 passengers were seated with their seat belts on and the aircraft had started taxiing toward the runaway. “That’s when Sharma got up and went to the toilet,” said the AI official. When the seat belt sign is on, no passenger or crew can visit the toilet. “However, Sharma frequented the toilet many times, making passengers and the crew suspicious,” he added.
During one of his visits, Sharma removed his underwear and left it in the toilet. “In a statement by the air-hostess, she told us that she asked him to take it away,” said a Sahar police station official. Sharma obliged, but minutes later he returned and stuffed the underwear into the commode. “While doing this, one of his two mobiles fell in too,” said the police official.
When the airhostess checked inside the toilet again, she saw the mobile and panicked.
“The captain thought it would be risky to continue the flight and requested air traffic control to abort take-off,” he added.
Sharma was offloaded and handed over to the Sahar police.
31/10/08 Navita Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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Air India, American Express in tie-up

Mumbai: National air-carrier, Air India, has tied-up with American Express (AmEx), under which an AmEx card-holder in the country would be entitl
ed to some free tickets as well as a specific discount, if he travels by Air India.
Under the special offer, if a passengers books a return ticket to any AI online point in the USA, he would be entitled to two complimentary domestic tickets on Air India and Indian (erstwhile Indian Airlines) flights in the same class, the official said.
A 50 per cent discount on the second ticket to the same destination and in the same class/fare could also be availed in place of two domestic tickets.
Similarly, a passengers would get one complimentary domestic ticket or a 50 per cent discount on the second ticket if he buys a return ticket to any AI online point in UK/Europe/Japan/China/HongKong/Africa, the official said.
A passenger booking with Air India two return tickets to any of its online points in the Gulf/Singapore/Bangkok/Kuala Lumpur/Male will also be offered two complimentary tickets in the same class on select domestic sectors (distance of less than 300 miles one-way).
One complimentary ticket in the same class on any domestic sector operated by Air India could also be availed in place of two complimentary tickets on select domestic sectors, he said.
30/10/08 PTI/Economic Times

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Tiger Airways considering Hyderabad

Singapore: The low cost carrier of Singapore, Tiger Airways that currently operates out of two destination in India ie Bangalore and Chennai would soon be considering a third destination. Currently the airline operates one daily flight with an Airbus A320 from both destinations. Says a source from the airline, We have been low profile in the market primarily because we have few services and do not want to increase the demand without capacity. In addition to the two destinations, we would also be considering Hyderabad as the third South Destination in India."
The airline more than promoting outbound traffic from India very aggressively promotes inbound traffic to Indians in Singapore, a better alternative to Singapore Airlines and Air India, thereby offering value for money airfares. The only hurdles to the carriers growth is the endless rules and regulations within the Indian Aviation industry.
30/10/08 Charmaine Fernz/TravelBizMonitor

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Malaysia Airlines adds a tenth flight to Delhi

New Delhi: Malaysia Airlines Thursday announced it will start yet another flight on the Delhi-Kuala Lumpur route as New Delhi was a “very important business gateway’ for the flagship carrier.With the addition of the new flight, Malaysia Airlines will now operate 10 weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur from the Indian capital, and its seat capacity from Delhi has increased to 2,900 per week.
The airline will now operate 32 weekly flights from its five gateways in India - New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Commenting on the company’s expansion, Malaysia Airlines marketing manager-South Asia Devinder Bindra said New Delhi was strategically a “very important business gateway” for the carrier.
30/10/08 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Jet connects Bengaluru with New York and Toronto

Jet Airways today connected Bengaluru with New York (Newark and JFK) and Toronto, via its European hub in Brussels with four weekly flights- on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays respectively, till December 14, 2008.
In keeping with the higher holiday season passenger traffic, Jet Airways will increase its frequency on the sector, operating daily flights between Bengaluru and Brussels effective December 15, 2008 to January 15, 2009; and will revert to flying four times a week on the same sector, effective January 16, 2009 onwards.
The launch of Jet Airways’ inaugural service on the Bengaluru-Brussels sector was marked by a multi-faith prayer session at the new Bengaluru International Airport, followed by the ceremonial lighting of the inaugural lamp by Mr. Albert Brunner, CEO, BIAL and Mr. Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways.
Flight 9W 132 departed the new Bengaluru International Airport at 0135 hrs, arriving at Brussels International Airport at 0755 hrs. On the return leg, Jet Airways flight 9W 131 will depart Brussels at 1010 hrs and arrive at Bengaluru at 0005 hrs the following morning.
With the launch of these services, arriving passengers from Bengaluru can now conveniently connect to Jet Airways’ transatlantic services to North America and Europe in a seamless manner, on board its state-of-the-art Airbus 330-200 aircraft offering an unmatched international Premiere and Economy Class experience.
Jet Airways’ passengers can currently connect to six additional destinations in the United States and seven destinations across Europe through its code share partnerships with American Airlines and Brussels Airlines respectively.
This enhanced connectivity on Jet Airways includes Washington Reagan, Dallas, Boston, Cleveland, Baltimore and Raleigh-Durham in the United States, via New York (JFK) and to Birmingham, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin Tegel, Manchester, Paris De Gaulle and Lyon in Europe, via Brussels.
Commenting on this new route development, Mr. Sudheer Raghavan said, “Jet Airways is proud to commence its signature wide body operations from Bengaluru to North America and Europe via its Brussels hub. Bengaluru will now be the fourth major Indian gateway for Jet Airways’ services to North America via Brussels, in addition to Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai”.
Bengaluru is also the ninth Indian city to be connected to Jet Airways’ international network.
The Brussels hub operation is ideally suited to offer Jet Airways’ customers flexibility with flight timings, to connect India with North America and Europe.
Passengers from Bengaluru will experience Jet Airways’ dual-class, state-of-the-art Airbus 330-200 aircraft featuring its acclaimed herringbone-configured Première, which makes every seat an aisle seat .Besides converting to 180 degree flat beds with lumbar support and massage systems, Première seats also offer the busy business traveller oversized tables, laptop power, telephony, SMS, Email and live text news.
The spacious new Economy class, passengers will enjoy seats more spacious than the norm and ergonomically designed to reduce stress and strain for perhaps the most comfortable ride in its class.
31/10/08 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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Maiden AI Haj flight takes off from Calicut

Kozhikode: Air India’s maiden Haj flight carrying 419 devotees today took off from Calicut International Airport at Karippur, near here, for the holy city of Medina today.
The Boeing 747 flight with 171 male and 248 female pilgrims on board from Kerala and Mahe, part of Union Territory of Puducherry, was flagged off by Kerala Haj and Local Self Governance Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty.
The public sector carrier would fly about 7,208 devotees under the government quota, selected through draw of lots, in 18 sorties to the holy destination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during this season, State Haj Committee Sources said.
30/10/08 UNI/Sakaal Times

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Engine oil leak forces Jet flight to divert to Budapest

A Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER, registration VT-JEB performing flight 9W-229 from Brussels (Belgium) to New Delhi (India) with 232 passengers and 14 crew, diverted to Budapest (Hungary) after the crew noticed dropping oil pressure in the right hand engine. The landing at about 13:30 local (12:30Z) was safe.
Engineers found an oil leak as cause of the oil pressure drop.
Jet Airways confirmed, that there had been an oil leak in the right hand engine prompting the crew to divert as a precaution, the crew however did not shut the engine down other than original reports from Budapest had claimed. A replacement Airbus A330-200 departed Budapest on Oct 30th at 13:44 local.
29/10/08 Simon Hradecky/The Aviation Herald, Austria

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Colombo Airport attack: Flights get diverted to Chennai after

A Cathay Pacific Airways Boeing 777-300, registration B-HNG performing flight CX-703 (dep Oct 28th) from Bangkok (Thailand) to Colombo (Sri Lanka), as well as a Thai Airways International Airbus A300-600, flight TG-307 (dep Oct 28th) from Bangkok to Colombo, had to divert to Chennai (India) due to the closure of Colombo Airport following an attack by Tamil rebels.
A light aircraft had bombed a power station in the vicinity of the airport causing a one hour's blackout to Colombo and the airport.
After the end of the attack and resumption of normal airport operations the two diverted flights were called into Colombo and reached their destination with a delay of 3.5 hours each.
29/10/08 Simon Hradecky/The Aviation Herald, Austria

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Immigration at Chennai, Bangalore for AI’s Mumbai-NY flight

Chennai: Passengers from Chennai and Bangalore travelling via Mumbai to New York with Air India can now get their immigration clearance done at the Chennai or Bangalore airport itself.
Until recently, they had to do it at Mumbai.
Air India has introduced this facility from October 26. Also, from that date, the flights from Chennai and Bangalore will land at the Sahara airport in Mumbai.
Hence, passengers need not take the through-the-city route from Santa Cruz to Sahara.
The Mumbai-New York non-stop flight is one of the premium segments for the airline, with loads exceeding over 65 per cent.
It takes 16 hours to reach New York and as such is one of the shortest flights to the US.
Fares begin from Rs 21,000 plus taxes.
Air India uses a Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft with eight first class, 35 executive class and 195 economy class seats.
30/10/08 Business Line/Sify

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SIA cuts flights to Indian destinations

New Delhi: Singapore Airlines (SIA) today announced withdrawal of its services to Amritsar from February 4 and reduction in its frequencies to Chennai and Bangalore from now on as part of its cost cutting measures.
The service to Amritsar would be withdrawn from February 4 and customers booked on flights to and from Amritsar would be accommodated on SIA flights to and from Delhi, an airline spokesperson said here.
Frequencies to Bangalore and Chennai would also be reduced during the Winter schedule, that came into effect three days ago. Three of the 10 flights to Bangalore each week and four of the 11 flights to Chennai would be withdrawn.
Both the cities would, however, continue to be served by daily flights, the spokesperson said.
The SIA spokesperson said the flight reductions were part of the "adjustments" being carried out by the airline throughout its global network and added that flights to several other cities like Seoul, Penang, Ho Chi Minh and Osaka would be affected.
29/10/08 Trading Markets, USA

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First batch of Haj pilgrims leaves for Madina

Hyderabad: The first batch of Haj pilgrims from India this year left for the holy city of Madina in Saudi Arabia early Thursday. The batch comprising of 299 pilgrims left at 5.30 a.m. by a Saudi Airlines flight from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad.
The Andhra Pradesh Minister for Minorities Welfare Mohammed Ali Shabbir and other top officials saw off the pilgrims at the Haj terminal, which was earlier inaugurated by the minister.
This is the first time that Haj pilgrims are flying from the new international airport, which commenced commercial operations in March this year.
About 7,000 Haj pilgrims from the state will fly to Madina through 23 flights till Nov 16.
There was confusion among pilgrims before departure, as 47 pilgrims of the first batch had not received their passports, which were sent to Mumbai for endorsement. The authorities assured them that they would be sent through subsequent flights. An equal number of passengers, who were scheduled to fly later, were accommodated in the first flight.
30/10/08 IANS/Thaindian.com

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Austrian Airlines to Cancel Flights to Mumbai

Austrian Airlines has confirmed that it is to cease operating flights to the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) from 1 March 2009 onwards.
The airline said that as a result of drastic overcapacity between European airports and the city in southwestern India, the weakening Indian economy and the consequences of the crisis in financial markets, it is no longer possible for it to operate this route profitably in the medium term.
The measure means that one more of the airline’s total of six Boeing 767 aircraft will no longer be deployed on long-haul routes. The question of how to use the aircraft freed up by the decision remains open at present.
This necessary capacity reduction on the Mumbai route can be compensated with minor medium-haul network adjustments, without any need for further reductions in staff numbers. Services from London City Airport, Luxembourg and Riga, as well as the long-haul destination of Chicago, have already been cancelled this year.
29/10/08 ASIATravelTips.com, Thailand

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Does the elephant need a superjumbo?

Mumbai: Since Airbus A380 entered service, the aviation environment has changed dramatically for the worse. Operational costs, led by fuel prices, have multiplied. World aviation is now seeing some of its toughest times yet. To make matters worse, a financial gloom has descended over the world. In India, as yet Kingfisher Airlines’ order for five of these birds remains on schedule — even though the airline has pushed back deliveries of the long-haul A340 aircraft.
Praful Patel, the union civil aviation minister, welcomed the aircraft in Hyderabad and interestingly enough, wished that Air India too will buy some.
John J Leahy, chief operating officer-customers, Airbus, was not one to miss the chance and made a sales pitch to Air India following Patel’s comment. “We think the A380 is the ideal aircraft for a market like India with a huge population,” he said.
But is it? Aviation industry experts say that for the A380 to find more takers here, the market would have to develop a strong hub, on the lines of Dubai or Singapore, where traffic from various parts would come in and get distributed. The challenge, they say, is in making sure that the 500+ seats (in a conservative two/three class configuration — in all-economy, this aircraft can fly up to 852 passengers!) can be filled
Mark Martin, an aviation analyst with consultancy firm KPMG, told DNA Money, “The success of an aircraft like the A380 would depend on the economics and the economy. In India, it is not so much the airport adaptability issues which were talked about earlier as much as the viability in being able to fill a decent number of seats, which is what should dictate the decision for airlines.”
Boeing believes that the future would be more about connecting more destinations, or in aviation parlance, point-to-point.
Airbus, on the other hand, believes in the hub and spoke model, where all traffic will flow through large hubs. Analysts say the potential depends on the way the market develops.
29/10/08 Nirmal John/Daily News & Analysis

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Boingo Expands Its Network in India

Los Angeles: Boingo Wireless, the global market leader in Wi-Fi, announces the addition of Tata Communications hotspots to the Boingo Roaming Network, giving Boingo members access to over 500 new hotspots under the Tata Indicom brand. With the addition of the Tata Communications network, Boingo members will be able to enjoy high speed Wi-Fi connections in restaurants, cafes, coffee shops and airports while traveling through India.
With the new locations from Tata Communications, Boingo's aggregated network in India now includes such popular destinations as Barista Coffee, Pizza Corner and Coffee World, Nokia Priority Centers and Nirula's, as well as numerous hotels in India. Boingo users can also get access at airports around India, including Chennai International Airport, Cochin International Airport, Goa International Airport, Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Pune International Airport, and Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport.
Boingo gives business travelers the best choice of Wi-Fi hotspots by combining more than 100,000 locations from more than 150 leading Wi-Fi operators into one worldwide network spanning 90 countries. Boingo subscribers can connect to any of these locations with a single Boingo account using GoBoingo, Boingo's free Wi-Fi client software, which combines more than 660 network names into one "Boingo Wireless" network and stores the user name and password to simplify identifying and connecting to commercial Wi-Fi networks.
Tata Communications and Boingo Wireless are both members of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), the forum of the world's leading wireless broadband operators.
28/10/08 MarketWatch

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No-frills AirAsia to fly to India from Dec. 1

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's budget carrier AirAsia will fly to the southern Indian city of Tiruchirapally from Dec. 1, its first destination in India that marks a toehold into a market that has long been out of its reach, its chief said Monday.
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said tickets will go on sale at midnight Wednesday with the first flight taking off from Kuala Lumpur's low-cost terminal at 7.40 a.m. on Dec. 1.
"It is fantastic.We finally got there. It is the final frontier for us. This was the last flag we had to plant," Fernandes told The Associated Press.
He said AirAsia will fly daily to Tiruchirapally, also known as Trichy, and there is a possibility of adding a second flight because of the "tremendous" response to the plan.
When AirAsia started in December 2001, it focused on flying within Malaysia. Soon it expanded operations to Southeast Asia and China, becoming the region's biggest and most successful no-frills budget carrier.
Adding India completed the network, Fernandes said.
According to industry watchers, the Indian government was pressured by full-fare airlines such as Malaysia Airlines, Indian and Jet Airways to keep out AirAsia.
None of the three airlines fly directly from Kuala Lumpur to Tiruchirapally, but they will be hit when AirAsia starts flying to other Indian cities.
Fernandes said plans are afoot to fly within the next 1 1/2 years to 10 more Indian destinations including Chennai, Madurai and Cochin, which are all in southern India and only about three hours away from Kuala Lumpur.
27/10/08 Vijay Joshi/BusinessWeek

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Air Arabia starts daily service to Hyderabad

Sharjah: Sharjah-based budget carrier Air Arabia started daily service to its latest destination Hyderabad making it the carrier's 44th destination globally and 12th destination in India.
The launch of this new destination coincides with the carrier's fifth anniversary celebrations. The airline, which now operates a fleet of 16 Airbus A320 aircraft, is the largest destination network in India of any Middle East-based carrier.
Air Arabia will fly to Hyderabad daily, departing Sharjah at 12.20 am and arriving at Hyderabad at 5.30 am. Return flights will depart from Hyderabad at 6.15 am and arrive in Sharjah at 8.40 am.
"In this our anniversary month, we are proud to launch service to Hyderabad. By introducing daily, efficient and cost-effective travel for those visiting this historic city, Air Arabia continues to demonstrate its unrivaled commitment to India, especially on behalf of the considerable Indian expatriate population in the UAE and wider Gulf region," said AK Nizar, Head of Commercial Department, Air Arabia.
28/10/08 Press Trust of India

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Jet Airways flies nearly million through Brussels

From the time of the launch of its European hub at Brussels Airport in August 2007 till the end of September 2008, India’s biggest private airliner Jet Airways flew 700,000 passengers from and to Brussels Airport.
On an annual basis and with its full program, Jet Airways will bring one million passengers to and from Brussels. It is estimated this has generated 1,000 direct jobs in Belgian aviation and 2,000 indirect jobs. Wilfried Van Assche, CEO of Brussels Airport, told a press conference that, “The decision last year to connect several cities in India with the US via a hub in Brussels shows vision.” “Already after one year passenger results show the irrefutable success of this choice.
The number of travelers between Belgium and India, be it direct or indirect, has doubled since the arrival of Jet Airways,’’ he noted. The airline operates three direct flights to the US and Canada daily via Brussels from Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. It will add another direct flight to Brussels from Bangalore during its winter schedule later this month. A year ago, Jet Airways, Brussels Airport and Belgium’s national carrier Brussels Airlines created a European hub between India and North America. One can now fly to India from any major city in Europe via Brussels. For Brussels Airlines, this means 6000 extra passengers per month. This figure is increasing by another 1,500 passengers per month. This means that every day, 200 Jet Airways passengers take a connecting flight with Brussels Airlines.
27/10/08 New Europe, Belgium

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Biz jet makers look to build a BRIC mkt

New Delhi: The times may be tough, but not tough enough to stop big spenders. With America’s boardroom brand equity taking a knocking, its reputation in the corporate jet market has also seen a free fall. Result: major aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing, Airbus, Bell, Bombardier, Hawker Beechcraft , Cessna, Dassault, Embraer Gulfstream and Lockheed are looking at the BRIC Block (Brazil, Russia, India, China), Middle East and South East Asia.
The focus, in the business jet, has turned away from trans-Atlantic to Russia, East Europe and India. There are around 80 business jets in India currently. With pending deliveries and new orders, the number is expected to swell to over 300 by 2010. Major purchasers include the Tata Group, Reliance, ADAG, GVK, GMR, Hinduja Group, Jindal and the Ruias.
Most of the orders comprise 6-9 seater business jets in the price band of $10-30 million.
Until recently America boasted around 70% of the total sales in the business jets market. But things have changed dramatically in the past four years. Now, most of the corporate jet makers are taking a keen interest in China and India which have shown the highest potential in terms of the number of billionaires and deep-pocket corporates.
According to Merrill Lynch and Cap Gemini the population of high networth individual (HNI) with financial assets of over a $1 million grew 23% in India and 20.3% in China. The global business jet market is estimated to generate around $300 billion worth of sales in the next decade.
Take Canadian aerospace major, Bombardier, which is looking to sell 12,900 aircraft in the next 20 years. The company will be selling less than half of these in America and around 12 % in the Asia Pacific region.
Historically, markets other than America account for a minority share of the total business jets orders. However the international orders out of US have increased dramatically and now over 55% of business jet orders are from Europe, which is the most important market, followed by Asia. French luxury business jet maker, Dassault Aviation has already bagged a large order from the India. It is also working with Tata Group, GMR and Air Works to set up service centres for its growing fleet.
"....India is one of the major markets and we will be delivering 12-13 of our luxury jets in 2009, including the Falcon 900 Lx capable of flying Mumbai-London non-stop,” Dassault Aviation vice-president (sales & marketing) Alian Aubry said. The market is also changing for the big boys of the aviation mart. Airbus, one of the largest players in the global aviation industry, is also rethinking its US focus.
27/10/08 Chanchal Pal Chauhan/Economic Times

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Lufthansa aircraft takes a wrong turn; Mishap averted

Kolkata: A blinding downpour and perhaps an erroneous marking of the taxi-bay at Kolkata airport nearly triggered a mishap in the wee hours of Sunday. A Lufthansa flight, bound for Frankfurt with 230 passengers on board, took a wrong turn while taxing for takeoff and was stopped in the nick of time.
It was around 1.07 am that flight LH 751 pushed back from parking bay 43 and started taxing towards the primary runway, taking taxiway C. But on reaching taxibay B, the pilot suddenly took a left turn towards the secondary runway instead of heading straight to the take-off point on the primary runway.
The nose wheel of the runway had already entered the wrong taxiway and the rear wheels were just about to roll in when an alert air traffic controller noticed it from the tower. He raised an alarm and the pilot was stopped short of a no-go zone.
The plane would have run into double trouble: the secondary runway was being repaired and taxiway B is too narrow (used only by ATR aircraft) to handle the 84-ft wheelbase of the Airbus A340-300.
As air traffic control alerted the ground support of both the Airports Authority of India and Lufthansa, there was a scramble to rush to the spot with a ‘follow-me’ van, which guides the pilot to make way through the runway area.
For the next 40 minutes, it was a tough yet delicate task for the officials to guide the 250-tonne aircraft to the right track and the flight finally took off at 1.40 am — 35 minutes behind schedule.
27/10/08 Arpit Basu/Times of India

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U.S., India, EU Discuss Relaxing Rules on Airline Ownership

The U.S., India, the European Union and a dozen other countries are exploring ways to liberalize the aviation industry after a weekend summit meeting in Istanbul organized by the International Air Transport Association.
Senior aviation officials from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mauritius, Morocco, Panama, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey and Vietnam were among those assessing regulations on airline competition and ownership with a view toward easing restrictions, said Jeff Shane, an aviation lawyer and former undersecretary for the U.S. Transportation Department, who chaired the meeting. He spoke in a teleconference.
International air traffic is governed by about 3,500 bilateral air treaties that dictate where carriers can fly and how many times a day, how many airlines may fly from a given country, and who must own the airline, Shane said. While many treaties have been updated since the framework was set up after World War II, restrictions on aviation are still tighter than those governing other global industries, Shane said.
By allowing capital to flow more freely within the industry, the airline business would be stronger and better able to cope with difficult periods such as the current one, Shane said. By allowing more competition, consumers would also be better served, he said. Today, for the most part, international carriers may not carry passengers across international lines unless the plane leaves from and ends up in the country in which that carrier is based.
25/10/08 Andrea Rothman/Bloomberg

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AI introduces flight to NYC

Kolkata: Air India (AI) introduces its new flight from Kolkata to New York via Delhi from today. Immigration and customs check will be done at NSC Bose airport. The passengers will board a flight, AI-101 (which was previously operated as IC-402) and go to Delhi where they will have to board a different aircraft, which will fly directly to New York. The flight from Kolkata will leave at 8 p.m. everyday. The airline discontinues its Kolkata-London flight for an indefinite period from today. AI also introduced it's flight between Kolkata and Hyderabad from today. The flight will be operated five days a week excepting on Mondays and Fridays.
26/10/08 The Statesman

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Hawker Beechcraft fighting downturn via India market

Hyderabad: Leading global producer of corporate jets, Hawker Beechcraft of the US, is fighting the global economic downturn by diversifying into India, Brazil and Russia.
"During the last downturn in the 1980s we had all our eggs in one basket, the US, but this time India, Brazil, Russia and a few other countries are helping us to fight the downturn much better," the company's vice president of international sales Sean McGeough told IANS.
Outside the US, India is the company's second largest market after Brazil, McGeough said. "We are selling about 10-12 aircraft a year in India while we sell about 30 in Brazil," he said. "Today 64 percent of business aircraft in India are our products."
"We expect the Indian market to grow on a steady basis as more and more Indian companies are looking at using aircraft as a business tool," the company's vice president of new business development, Ted Farid, told media.
Recently, the company signed a 10-aircraft deal with Indian property developer and investment company, ISIS Group. Hawker Beechcraft fighting downturn via India market
26/10/08 IANS/Economic Times

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Jet set to take 2 foreign pilots despite surplus

Mumbai: Jet Airways may not have funds to pay oil bills and airport charges, but it sure seems to have easy money when it comes to foreign pilots. Despite a surplus of Indian Boeing 737 commanders, the airline will be adding two more expatriate pilots to its crew this week. Read On >>

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Emirates to increase cargo capacity from India

New Delhi: Dubai-based international air carrier Emirates is planning to take its cargo capacity from India to 2,647 tonnes by February 2009 following the airline's increased number of flights.
"Cargo movement will gain momentum with increased capacity to support the export of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, garments, chemicals, meat, fruits, vegetables etc., to the Middle East, Africa, Europe and America," Emirates Vice-President (India and Nepal) Orhan Abbas told media.
The current cargo capacity of Emirates from Mumbai is 572 tonnes which will be increased to 641 tonnes. While cargo capacity from Delhi will be increased to 389 tonnes from the present 306 tonnes every week.
This comes following the airline's decision to introduce seven additional flights per week each to Mumbai and Delhi. The airline at present operates 28 flights from Mumabi and 18 flights from Delhi every week.
The cargo capacity of Emirates from Bangalore will be increased to 302 tonnes from the present 249 tonnes every week in the wake of introduction of five additional flights in its present 15 weekly flights.
26/10/08 PTI/Economic Times

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Flights grope in dark with archaic systems

Chennai: On Thursday night, an Etihad Airways’ cargo aircraft got into an uncomfortable sniffing distance of a Paramount Airways flight at Chennai airport.
Senior professionals at the airport say the ground movement of aircraft is handled using archaic methods. Air traffic controllers (ATC) still continue to depend on the information relayed by pilots, apron staff on aircraft movement along the taxiway using radio telephony and walkie-talkies.
Radio telephony becomes unreliable at times because signals become weak at holding points at both ends of the runway — making it impossible to monitor the aircraft taxiing for take-off and those coming to the apron after landing, says an airport staff.
There is no way an air traffic controller or apron staff can monitor vehicles that move about the apron ferrying passengers to aircraft.
The ATC tower is located equidistant from the two ends of the runway. Still it is difficult for the controllers to visually monitor aircraft at the Pallavaram end of the runway.Hence, controllers who handle ground movement of aircraft, use binoculars to monitor aircraft that is heading along the taxiway to the Pallavaram end of the runway. As this does not work well when visibility is poor, the personnel in the fire control tower — located close to the Guindy end of the runway — watch over the movement of planes ready for take-off. Similarly, the apron control office, which is located near the taxiway that runs parallel to the main runway opposite the Kamaraj domestic terminal, monitors the movement of aircraft along the taxiway and radios the information to the air traffic control.
Even these rudimentary systems fail the pilots when heavy rain blankets visibility — as it happened on Thursday night.
26/10/08 V Ayyappan/Times of India

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No plans to revive flights to Pakistan: Air India

New Delhi: With passenger load factors on the decline, Air India has no immediate plans to revive flights to Pakistan after having closed down its services to Lahore almost eight months ago.
"This is not the right time to launch any new flights," a senior Air India official said when asked if there were any plans to relaunch its operations to Pakistani cities.
Air links between India and Pakistan were restored in January 2004, two years after tension grew between the two neighbours. The flights were withdrawn by both countries in the first week of December 2002 after the terror attack on Parliament House.
Both the countries had then decided not to allow the use of their airspace for civil aviation, leading to Indian and Pakistani flights taking long detours for their flights to the West and the East respectively.
Days ahead of Islamabad SAARC Summit, the erstwhile Indian Airlines started its New Delhi-Lahore service on January 4, 2004.
The Air India flights to Lahore were stopped in March due to commercial reasons, primarily on account of very low load factors. Pakistan International Airlines is still operating flights from Karachi.
25/10/08 PTI/Economic Times

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Expat pilots: Are they needed?

New Delhi: With cash-strapped Indian airlines running to the government for a bailout, many young pilots in these companies are wondering why expensive expat fliers, whose salary has gone up substantially due to the rupee falling against the dollar, are being retained by the firms in deep financial trouble. Read On >>

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Passenger traffic drops worldwide for the first time since 2003

Passenger traffic on airlines worldwide shrunk last month, the first such decline in five years and another sign of the rapidly slowing economy.
Overall traffic dropped nearly 3 percent in September compared with a year earlier, according to the International Air Transport Association, an industry trade group. It was the first time traffic declined since the SARS outbreak in 2003, which resulted in greatly reduced travel to Asia.
"The deterioration in traffic is alarmingly fast-paced and widespread," said Giovanni Bisignani, chief executive of the Geneva-based group.
The largest drop came in Africa, where traffic fell nearly 8 percent. Traffic in North America declined by about 1 percent, according to the group.
The only region to see growth in September was Latin America, where traffic increased about 2 percent. But even that was well below the 12 percent growth in Latin American traffic in August.
Bisignani said the global airline industry could lose more than $5.2 billion this year, driven by high fuel prices during the first half of the year and the current slowdown in traffic.
"Even the good news that the oil price has fallen to half its July peak is not enough to offset the impact of the drop in demand," he said.
25/10/08 Trebor Banstetter/Fort Worth Star Telegram, USA

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AI terminates Ahmedabad-London flight

Ahmedabad : As the airlines industry grapples with the turmoil in the aviation sector, Air India has announced the termination of its Ahmedabad-London direct flight AI 113 from Thursday.
Air India Deputy General Manager Prasad Rao told Newsline on Friday that the flight is being withdrawn for operational reasons. “With a flight which can accommodate about 225 people, we need to have it full or at least filled to the optimum level for its feasibility,” Rao said, adding that while there are a few frequent fliers from Ahmedabad to London, the flight was not meeting its optimum load level.
25/10/08 Indian Express

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Air India Daily flight from Bangalore to Dubai

Bangalore: National carrier Air India will be introducing daily flights with convenient timings between Bangalore and Dubai and introduce an early morning flight from Bangalore to Mumbai in its winter schedule from October 26.
A release from the Air India office here today said that Air India would now be connecting Bangalore with Dubai daily, five days a week via Goa and two days via Pune. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, the new Air India flight IC 593 would leave Bangalore at 1210 hrs to reach Goa at 1305 hrs and leave Goa at 1345hrs to reach Dubai at 1510 hrs, the release said.
The return flight-IC 594- would leave Dubai on the same days at 1615 hrs to reach Bangalore at 2210 hrs Goa, the release added.
On Wednesdays and Fridays another new Air India flight-IC 689 would leave Bangalore at 11.45 hrs reach Pune at 1300 hrs and leave Pune at 1345hrs to reach Dubai at 1515 hrs (local time). The return flight-IC690 would leave Dubai at 16.15 hrs (local time) on the same days to reach Bangalore at 2225 hrs via Pune.
24/10/08 Mangalorean.com

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Jet Airways' apology to the Royal

Jet Airways apologises to the 'Crown Princess' of Sweden, after the Princess was left waiting and 'booed' by passengers onboard the plane. Jet Airways has issued a formal apology to the 'Crown Princess' of Sweden, Princess Victoria - for apparently treating her with disrespect prior to her departure from New Delhi.
According to Swedish officials - the heir to the prestigious Swedish throne - was not greeted by Jet officials upon arrival at the airport, which is a protocol breach. Added to this, was when the airline officials did finally arrive at the airport, Princess Victoria was kept waiting at length until all the paperwork and other formalities were completed.
After the formal obligations were taken care of, the Princess was taken to the wrong terminal and when she finally did board the flight - Jet Airways made the announcement, that the delay was due to a VVIP official, and the 'Crown Princess' of Sweden was then 'booed' by fellow passengers on the aircraft.
Following the incident, under pressure from an angry Swedish Embassy, Jet Airways has issued an immediate apology with effect for ill-treatment meted out to the Royalty. Jet Spokeswoman Ragini Chopra has rendered a public apology, which categorically states, "The princess was taken to the wrong terminal by the government protocol personnel. The princess was carrying at least ten bags with her, which had delayed the flight. We on our part, have apologised to the princess."
24/10/08 Times Now.tv

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Collision of two flights averted at Chennai airport

Chennai: A collision of two aircraft was averted at the airport in Chennai, after alert air traffic control officials stopped a cargo flight preparing to take off without clearance.
According to airport officials, a Bangalore bound Paramount Airways flight with 49 persons on board was taking off when the Dubai bound Etihaad cargo flight from an adjacent bay started moving towards the same runway last night.
Airport Apron Duty Manager S Yuganantam spotted the cargo flight moving towards the runway and immediately asked the pilot to stop it.
The Etihaad flight has been detained and officials are questioning its pilot, said airport officials.
24/10/08 Expressindia.com

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Qatar Airways to launch flights to NY from 9 Indian cities

Hyderabad: Qatar Airways will launch flights to New York this month, offering one-stop service to passengers from nine destinations in India, a senior airline official announced yesterday.
The daily Doha-New York non-stop flight will be launched on October 26, the airline's regional manager in India Naveen Chawla said here.
"Operating via Doha, the new flights to New York JFK Airport will offer passengers one of the quickest and most convenient journeys to America's financial capital," he said.
The daily flights to New York will replace the existing six-flights-a-week to Newark Liberty International Airport via Geneva. The airlines will operate Boeing 777-300 on the new route featuring 335 seats in a two-class configuration of 42 seats in business and 293 in economy.
The airline also plans to launch flights to Houston, Texas from March 30, 2009. "This will connect America's energy capital Houston with Doha, which is the energy capital of the Middle East," he said.
24/10/08 IANS/Zawya, United Arab Emirates

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An aircraft that runs on car fuel

Shillong: An airplane that runs on car fuel, has a flying range of 1400 km and a cruising speed of 245 kmph? Unbelievable? Built by a company in the Czech Republic named UL-JIH, the 450-kg two-seater aircraft consumes 15 litre of car fuel for every hour of flight, the company's MD Josef Tornado Pecl told PTI here.
Pecl was among a 14-member Czech business delegation led by the country's Ambassador Hynek Kmonicek who is in the Northeast for a face-to-face interaction with policy-makers and entrepreneurs of the region to explore mutually beneficial tie-ups.
The aircraft of the OK-LUF series can fly at a height of 5000 metres and has an integrated safety system with parachutes and a rescue system.
"You can sit in ergonomic seats in the most spacious cockpit in its class, while the steering lever is built on modern joystick design," he said.
"You can travel for business or fun. The luxury can be compared to a limousine," he said, adding the aircraft provides an entirely new dimension to travelling while providing flexibility, safety and independence.
And, that it not all. The aircraft can climb up at a speed of eight metres per second before reaching a cruising speed of 245 kmph.
The aircraft is about about 7 mt in length, with a cockpit width and height of 1.14 mt and 1.85 mt. The fuel tank holds 96 litre.
22/10/08 Press Trust of India

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Payment default to BAE may land MDLR Airlines in trouble

New Delhi: Delhi-based MDLR Airlines could be in trouble. British Aerospace Systems (BAE), the lessor for MDLR’s entire three-aircraft fleet, has sent the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) a notice for de-registration of these machines over non-payment of the lease amount.
BEA Systems India spokesperson Guy Douglas told ET: “We have served a default notice on MDLR Airlines due to non-payment of aircraft lease amount for many months. We are forced to take such a drastic step as the airline has not made any payment on the three aircraft leased by us.”
MDLR COO Koustav M Dhar admitted that they had defaulted on the monthly lease payments to the British company.
MDLR has been facing problem over the non-functioning of its fleet and is currently not operating its entire three-aircraft fleet. Following irregular operations and frequent flight cancellations, many employees, including COO UK Bose, has quit the company.DGCA has been briefed over the matter and is awaiting a formal notice on the issue.
23/10/08 Chanchal Pal Chauhan/Economic Times

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MDLR Airlines COO quits, grounds two aircrafts: Sources

MDLR Airlines COO UK Bose has quit, following the resignation of former CEO, AK Goyal, reports CNCB-TV18, quoting sources. Meanwhile, Koustav M Dhar has taken over as MDLR’s new CEO.
MDLR Airlines has grounded two of its three aircrafts on account of no payments, sources said. "The two grounded aircrafts may get de-registered. The matter is still lying with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA."
When contacted, MDLR said it will start operations of the second aircraft in the winter schedule, which begins on October 26.
21/10/08 Moneycontrol.com

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Condé Nast readers vote Jet as one of the top three airlines

At a ceremony at New York’s Public Library recently, Condé Nast Traveler one of the world’s leading high end travel magazine, announced that
Jet Airways has been selected as one of the top three airlines in the world in its 2008 Readers Choice Awards survey.
Jet Airways, India’s leading international airline, launched North American service last summer from Mumbai/Delhi to New York’s JFK and Newark airports – adding Toronto Pearson International and San Francisco International airports within the past year.
Upon hearing of the Condé Nast Traveler selection, Naresh Goyal – Chairman and Founder of Jet Airways – expressed his delight, saying: “When we started transatlantic service, one of my goals was to be recognized as one of the world’s top airlines within 5 years. Within 18 months, readers of Condé Nast Traveler – one of the world’s most prestigious magazines -- have reached that conclusion. It is extremely gratifying that our dedication to quality and excellence has been recognized so quickly in the North American market. We will continue to devote all our energies to exceeding expectations and ensuring the best travel experience for all passengers.”
22/10/08 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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Egypt Air to add weekly flight from Mumbai

Mumbai: When the times are not so good for aviation industry globally and specially for India, Egypt Air has planned to increase its India operati
ons with the addition of a new flight from Mumbai from October 28.
With this, Egypt Air will operate four weekly services between India and Egypt, a press release issued here stated today.
The airline's India & Sri Lanka's Regional Manager Ahmed Wasfy said that "the introduction of this new service is a sign of our confidence in the tremendous potential of India as an emerging source market.
The enhanced service MS 969 will operate every Wednesday between Mumbai and Cairo while the return flight from Cairo will operate every Tuesday.
The airline will be operating Airbus 330 on this sector with a seat capacity of 268 out of which business class will constitute 24 seats and economy class 244 seats, the release said.
Egypt Air will now fly every Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from Mumbai offering an overall total seat capacity of 1,072, which will include a total of 96 business seats and 976 economy seats per week.
22/10/08 PTI/Economic Times

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Suspected LTTE man with fake passport held at Thiruvananthapuram airport

Thiruvananthapuram: suspected LTTE member was arrested at the airport here while trying to board a flight to London this morning allegedly on a fake passport.
Police identified the arrested as Shanmugarajan, who was trying to fly to the UK by an Emirates flight on a British passport in which his name was shown as Gunaseelan.
He was detained after the Emigration officials found his passport to be fake.
On being questioned, it was learnt that he had come here from Chennai and was planning to board the flight to London, Immigration officials said.
Shanmugarajan has been confirmed as a Sri Lankan national. Other details such as when and how he came to India were yet to be ascertained, police sources said.
22/10/08 PTI/Times of India

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Journalist seeks Rs3 mn damages from Delta Airlines

Thiruvananthapuram: A Kerala journalist has demanded a compensation of Rs 3 million from Delta Airlines over extra payment he was charged for baggage at a New York airport.
In his petition to the District Consumer Protection Redressal Forum here, P Sreekumar, bureau chief of Malayalam newspaper Janmabhoomi, demanded the compensation for the mental torture and agony he said he suffered from this episode during a trip he took to the US last June with his wife and a colleague.
When they arrived at the New York airport on June 21 with tickets for Houston, they were told they could take only one checked-in baggage each and asked to pay $210 for the other three pieces they had brought from India.
Sreekumar told IANS that they had every right to carry the luggage without any payment because their ticket clearly stated they could each take two pieces of checked-in baggage.
"We were harassed at the airport by officials of the airline and they were adamant that if we wished to proceed with the luggage, we have to pay the charges," said Sreekumar. "We had no extra money with us. But luckily we had with us a credit card and used that."
"We have sought a compensation of Rs1 million each, plus the US $210 which they charged," he said.
22/10/08 IANS/Sify

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GoAir, Air France in $40 m deal

Mumbai: The Wadia Group promoted GoAir has signed a letter of intent with Air France Industries and KLM Engineering & Maintenance, part of Air France- KLM Group.
The deal, worth $40 million, would see the Franco-Dutch organisation handle the maintenance of GoAir’s fleet over the next six years. The airline is pegging its fleet at 20 aircraft for the period.
This was disclosed by Edgardo Badiali, chief executive officer of GoAir.
The airliner earlier had a similar arrangement with Singapore Airlines Engineering Company, which ran its course, following which the airline decided on Air France-KLM.
Meanwhile, the airline is looking at inducting 8 aircraft by June next year. The new planes would replace most of the current fleet. The airline will also start increasing utilisation of its existing fleet.
22/10/08 Nirmal John/ DNA MONEY/Sify

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Russia to deliver 25 airliners to India

Moscow: A Russian company has agreed to deliver 25 civilian airliners to India in a deal worth over 700 million dollars, the Interfax news agency
reported on Tuesday, citing a company executive.
"We signed a contract for 25 aircraft, of which five aircraft should be (delivered) before 2012," Pavel Melnikov, managing director of the Russian Aircraft aviation holding company, was quoted as saying.
Interfax identified the planes as Il-114-100 airliners and said industry experts had estimated the size of the deal to be worth more than 700 million dollars (520 million euros).
21/10/08 Economic Times

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Vistajets to focus on global charter mart

Mumbai: Switzerland-based Vistajets, a business aviation company, will launch services in India in three months. It would focus on the international charter market out of the country.
Ira Trivedi, business development manager, Vistajets, said, “We recently took over Skyjet International, which was one of the largest charter operators in Europe. That makes us the fastest-growing business aviation company by the orders placed. We are now trying to come into Asia, especially into India, China and South East Asia, and would officially be launching in the next three months.”
According to her, the market for business aviation has been growing at 50% for each of the past three years in the country, which makes India a “market with very high potential”.
“With all that is happening in the economy, people are still keen on our partnership programme as they don’t have to buy an entire aircraft, but yet have an aircraft at their disposal whenever they want,” Trivedi said.
Vistajets has three types of services which it would be launching in India — Jet Membership, Partnership and Ownership.
22/10/08 Nirmal John/Daily News & Analysis

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Training, procedures probed over Moorabbin Airport mid-air crash

Investigators are focusing on airport procedures and student pilot training as they probe a fatal mid-air crash in August. Read On >>

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Raytheon eyes $1-bn Indian civilian business by 2018

Hyderabad: Global defence and aviation major, the $21.3-billion Raytheon of the US, sees a $1 billion business potential in the Indian civilian sector alone over the next 5-10 years.The company is currently leading the race to bag a $196-million contract to supply technology for India’s first satellite-based global aviation navigation system, called Gagan.
“India offers tremendous business potential for us,” said Raytheon’s director of business development and strategic planning Fred A. Treyz III, who was part of his company’s delegation to the civil aviation show here last week.
“Although we are looking at about $100-200 million of business in the next two to three years, this figure can easily go up to $1 billion in the next 5-10 years,” Treyz told IANS.
“Besides satellite based navigation systems, we can offer various kinds of airport security and traffic control infrastructure, open road tolling systems and homeland security solutions.”
Currently, Raytheon is leading a team of companies that has bid for the final implementation phase of the Global Positioning Satellite-Aided Geosynchronous Augmented Navigation system, or Gagan, after having successfully deployed the technology demonstration system over the past several years.
Recently, India’s Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs granted approval to the state-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to implement Gagan.
21/10/08 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Air France woos Indian traveller, plans flights to Pune, Kolkata

Paris: Air France has got its sights on India. The French carrier, which has had an Indian connection for more than sixty years, is now focused on becoming the India’s “preferred European airline”.
And it is going all out to do so, introducing vegetarian food to menus in Hindi and Tamil to Indian films as part of the in-flight entertainment.
It is not that the Indian traveller has suddenly discovered Europe or France, but Air France is seeking to cash in on the transAtlantic passenger. Why don’t take transit at Charles de Gaulle, instead of Heathrow or Frankfurt, for a flight to the US? ”CDG has the best schedules for connection flights to all parts of the world, particularly US, Africa and Latin America,” explain Air France officials.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Nearly 80% of Indian customers are transit passengers at Charles de Gaulle airport. According to Jean-Louis Pinson, senior vice-president, international and The Netherlands division, 97% of them succeed in catching the connection flight, of course, without any baggage disruption.
For Air France, India is a “strategic destination”, with big potential for traffic. Since 2005, the airline has been ramping up its presence in India. Air France launched its Bangalore service in 2005 and Chennai service in 2006. Along with its Delhi and Mumbai service, Air France offers 24 weekly flights to India. All this has helped the airline treble its passenger traffic in the last five years.
20/10/08 Economic Times

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SITA’s APIS solutions to be customised for Indian market

Mumbai: Carriers operating in the Indian skies failed to comply with an order placed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to implement Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS) by August 1, 2008. This was the second deadline the airlines missed, while the first deadline was July this year. But according to a recent press statement issued by SITA, major international airlines were using its community APIS solutions which now have to be customised for the Indian market. By the end of the year almost all of the airlines serving some 75 per cent of all India-bound passengers will deliver APIS information using this system, said the statement.
Speaking with TravelBiz Monitor, Bruno Frentzel, Vice President – Applications Services, SITA said, “Our APIS solution is already being used by 50 international carriers, but now we have to customise the solution for the Indian sector. The charges for using the APIS solution will depend on the volume of clients for a particular airline. We are positive about the future growth in terms of signing more deals with international carriers flying to India as the rule is now mandatory; airlines have to follow it for security reasons in the country.”
The APIS system is already operational at Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kochi airports. Plans are in the pipeline to introduce the system at Kolkata, Amritsar, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Goa and Trivandrum airports by the end of this year. “We are aiming to introduce the system at all the airports from where the direct international flights take off,” added Frentzel.
18/20/08 Anita Jain/TravelBizMonitor

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Indian Airlines fined Rs 2.97 lakh for negligence

New Delhi: Indian Airlines (now Air India) has landed in trouble with the State Consumer Commission asking it to pay nearly Rs 2.97 lakh to a private company, which suffered losses due to its negligence in delivering its goods to a buyer in Malaysia.
"The airlines is guilty of deficiency in service in not delivering the consignment to May Bank (Malaysia) instead delivered to the notified parties (buyer) and therefore the company could not receive the proceeds of the consignments," Commission President Justice, J D Kapoor, said, awarding a compensation of Rs 2.72 lakh and a litigation cost of Rs 25,000.
The Commission's order came on a plea filed by the company Space Overseas Private Ltd, which alleged that the goods were delivered to the buyer bypassing the proper route through May Bank and without getting the bank documents, known as letter of credit.
The documents were supposed to be handed over to the complainant by the airlines so that it could use it to collect the proceeds of its consignment from a bank in India.
"The carrier had to deposit the goods with the May Bank and takeover the original documents and handover it to the consignor (company) so that the company goes to collect the money from India," the Commission said.
18/10/08 PTI/Sify

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Cabin crew in great demand among Middle East airlines

Mumbai: The largescale retrenchment of Jet Airways employees might have scared those looking for a career as cabin crew. But the manner in which international airlines continue to hire crew from India is something that might give them hope. Read On >>

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Malaysian carrier to launch low-fare flights to India

Hyderabad: Airfares on the India-Malaysia route are likely to decline in the next few months, with no-frill Malaysian carrier Air Asia planning a major foray into the Indian market at fares ranging between Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000.
“We are planning to start daily services to Trichy by the first week of December, depending on grant of all necessary clearances,'' Air Asia chief, Mr Toni Fernandes told PTI here.
He said the airline and its fully-owned subsidiary, Air Asia X, were looking at launching services to several cities, mostly in South India, soon after starting its first flight to Trichy which had “a potential capacity of double daily flight operations' '.
“The fares could range from $100 to $150,'' Mr Fernandes, who founded the no-frill carrier, said.
Air Asia plans to fly to 12 cities, including Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, he said, adding that the airline had already studied the potential of these Indian cities.Regarding Hyderabad, he said both Air Asia and Air Asia X could operate to this metro which had a large potential.
17/10/08 Business Line

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Lufthansa offers to help AI become member of Star Alliance

New Delhi: German flag carrier Lufthansa today said it will act as a mentor to Indian state carrier Air India to become a member of Star Alliance, a global grouping of top airlines.
"Lufthansa is the mentor for Air India and we will work together to get the latter on board the Star Alliance," the German airlines' South Asia director Werner Heesen said here.
However, Heesen said his company had no plans at present for financial investments in India.
"Financial investments are not on the strategic map of Lufthansa for India," he said when asked about the airlines' plans for South Asia in the wake of the current aviation industry crisis.
He said Lufthansa currently operated 55 flights from seven Indian cities to three destinations in Germany--Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich.
All Lufthansa flights have nearly 60 per cent bookings from travellers of Indian origin, he said.
17/10/08 Press Trust of India

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Airbus sees more demand from India

Hyderabad: Notwithstanding cancellation of three A340 aircraft by Kingfisher and turbulence in the aviation industry globally, Airbus has said that the company’s latest forecast, which is due in the next two months, would peg the demand for aircraft at a higher level. Read On >>

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Bombardier likely to come up with MRO facility in India

Hyderabad: Upbeat over growing demand for regional jets, Canada-based Bombardier said that it was considering options for establishing maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities in India. Read On >>

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IATO to sign MoU with US tour operators association

Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar: Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), the apex body of tour operators in the country, expects to sign a MoU (memorandum of understanding) with the Tour Operators Association of USA by the end of this year.
According to the proposed agreement, both the associations will strengthen cooperation so as to promote the development of international tourism and specifically develop tourism traffic from and to their respective countries.
Both the associations will also exchange tourism promotion materials and other tourism information, including policies related to tourism development and investment opportunities in tourism in each other’s country.
“We are in advanced stage of negotiations with the Tour Operators Association of USA and the MoU is expected to be inked by the end of this year”, Vijay Thakur, the president of IATO told Business Standard.
Under the agreement, the tour associations of both the countries would also agree to cooperate in the development of human resources and encourage participation of the respective members in the seminars and conventions organised in India and US.
IATO is constantly increasing its international networking with professional bodies in the tourism and travel sectors with a view to boost international tourist arrivals in India.
At present, IATO has collaborations with the Associations of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies (ASITA) and the Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO).
17/10/08 Jayajit Dash/Business Standard

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Airbus to trim output, Boeing to keep flying

Hyderabad: The downturn in the aviation sector does not seem to have hurt Seattle-headquartered aircraft manufacturer Boeing, even as its rival France-based Airbus plans to halt production for the time being. Read On >>

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Russian firm to set up helicopter maintenance JV in India

Hyderabad: The Helicopters of Russia holding will set up a joint venture in India to service Russian-made civil helicopters, a company official said Thursday.India's Vectra Group will be the partner in the JV with about 50% ownership. Read On >>

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Piaggio Aero and Taj Air sign agreement

Hyderabad: "Taj Air and Piaggio Aero Industries SpA announced today at the 'Indian Aviation 2008', the International Conference and Exhibition of Civil Aviation taking place in Hyderabad, the agreement to become Taj Air the exclusive distributor of the P-180 Avanti II for India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives and Mauritius. Read On >>

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Boeing, Airbus bullish on India

Hyderabad: Boeing and Airbus, leading global aircraft makers, are bullish on the Indian aviation market for the next 20 years in spite of the current worldwide economic slowdown. Read On >>

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KF cancels 3 Airbus orders

Hyderabad: Though there was much excitement of the Airbus A380's maiden landing - albeit as a test flight - at the Begumpet airport on Thursday, the turbulence in the Indian aviation industry became evident as Kingfisher Airlines cancelled its order for three Airbus A340 airplanes. Read On >>

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Indo-US bilateral trade may top $50 b in 2008

Hyderabad: The United States Commercial Service on Wednesday stated that the total bilateral trade between India and the US is likely to exceed $50 billion by the end of 2008 against $41.6 billion last year. Read On >>

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Boeing subsidiary to open office in city

Hyderabad: Jeppesen, a wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary specialising in aeronautical charting, is to open an office in Hyderabad by early 2009. While it has operations in Singapore and Beijing, the Hyderabad office would be the first and the only one in India. Read On >>

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International civil aviation university to come up in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: Concordia University of Canada has decided to set up an aviation-focussed university in India’s first aerospace special economic zone, coming up in Andhra Pradesh.Officials hope that the university would start offering programmes next year while the campus would come up in 2010. Read On >>

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Bird Group expands presence in flight training market

Hyderabad: At a time when the civil aviation market in India faces a severe downturn, the diversified Bird Group has expanded its presence in the flight training market by inking a deal with leading simulator manufacturer Alsim to offer its products in this country and the SAARC region. Read On >>

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APIIC plans centre for aerospace study

Hyderabad: Even as the aviation industry is going through turbulent times with many carriers cutting down on their capacities and are even laying off their employees the way Jet Airways has done, some ironically see a potential in human resources. Read On >>

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Cessna’s Mesa Center Nearly Ready for Business

Cessna Aircraft’s new service center in Mesa, Ariz., will open in January, replacing the company’s facility in Long Beach, Calif. Cessna made the move to expand its Western U.S. capability because space to expand at Long Beach simply wasn’t available.
So far, more than 65 percent of the Long Beach workforce has accepted an offer to move to Mesa, according to Cessna. In building the new service center, Cessna was able to employ Six Sigma techniques in the facility’s design and workflow set-up, which should help technicians work more efficiently and “perform Citation aircraft maintenance with increased velocity,” said Stan Younger, vice president of service facilities.
Randy Soutiere will be general manager of the Mesa base. Cessna also announced expansion of its Greensboro, N.C. service center, the selection of Taneja Aerospace & Aviation in India and Kinch Aviation in the UK as new factory-authorized Citation service facilities and corporate approval to build a new factory-owned service center in Spain.
15/10/08 Matt Thurber/Aviation International News, USA

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Punj Lloyd scraps JV with Swissport

New Delhi: Engineering and Construction firm Punj Lloyd has called off its joint venture with global cargo and ground handler Swissport International. The two companies have amicably decided not to pursue the ground handling opportunities in India and have mutually agreed to terminate the joint venture, the company said.
The JV was formed over two years ago to pursue business opportunities in cargo and ground handling opportunities in India. “The foreign partner’s aspirations were different from ours. It was hesitant in making capital investment and found the concept of bidding for ground handling jobs in India quite alien,” says Punj Lloyd director Luv Chhabra.
Punj Lloyd, which holds 49% stake in the JV, said it had no issues with capital investment and was quite accustomed to Indian business practices. Mr Chhabra says the company is yet to take a final call on whether it would still pursue interest in the ground handling business or look for another partner.
The joint venture company had bid for ground handling job at Hyderabad airport.
16/10/08 Economic Times

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NACIL and EADS venture to set up MRO in India

Hyderabad: The National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) today signed a joint venture agreement to set up an aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) centre at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. Read On >>

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Airbus A380 participates in `India Aviation Airshow`

Mumbai: The world’s most modern and sophisticated aircraft, the Airbus A380, has landed in India’s Hyderabad Begumpet airport to take part in the India Aviation 2008 air show. It is the first time the A380 has landed in Hyderabad and the second time an A380 has visited India. Read On >>

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US keen to introduce Indian aviation to its SMEs

Hyderabad: Even as American aviation biggies consolidate their presence in the Indian market, the US government is keen on introducing this mart to its small and medium enterprises (SMEs), a top official said. Read On >>

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US to have permanent aviation official in India

Hyderabad: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the US, will have a permanent representative in India, it said here Wednesday. Read On >>

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Joint venture to market Russian Il-114 airliner in India

Hyderabad: The Russian Aircraft holding and the Indian Hindavia company will soon set up a joint venture to market and sell Il-114-100 airliners in India, the head of the Russian company said on Wednesday. Read On >>

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Bell sells 100th coptor in India

Hyderabad: Bell Helicopters, a leading producer of commercial and military helicopters, unveiled its new 429 model at India Aviation 2008. Read On >>

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Embraer presents product portfolio

Hyderabad: "Embraer participates in 'India Aviation 2008' October 15 to 18, at Hyderabad’s airport, on Sadar Patel highway, in India. Read On >>

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Textron Inc sees great potential in helicopter market

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc company, sees India as a strategic market. The company sees great potential for the helicopter market in India across various sectors, says Richard Millman, president and chief executive officer of the company. Read On >>

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SITA's network to be used in 50 airlines flying into India

Hyderabad: Aviation IT specialist SITA today claimed that over 50 airlines flying into India will use its communications network for provision of advance passenger information. Read On >>

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Engine Alliance strengthens its roots in India

Hyderabad: Engine Alliance a 50/50 joint venture of Pratt & Whitney and General Electric Aviation works for GP7200 engine powering the A380 establishing its strong roots in India. Infotech Enterprises’ Engineering Services team also works to create high quality designs and reduce the weight of parts for GP7200. Read On >>

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Boeing upset as KF, Jet tie up

Hyderabad: The operational alliance between Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways has the global aircraft manufacturer Boeing a tad worried despite
the fact that there has not been any cancellations or deferrals of orders from any of the Indian carriers so far.
"..But with the Kingfisher-Jet Airways alliance, we are not sure what will happen," Dinesh Keskar, senior vice-president, sales of commercial airplanes at the Boeing Company said.
The worry obviously stems from the fact that Kingfisher and Jet, which together command nearly 60 per cent share of the Indian market, are planning to share resources.
Kingfisher has already downsized its order to the Airbus. Jet, which has ordered for 10 Boeing 787 dreamliners, has not so far indicated any change in its plans.
Air India, however, wants its aircraft earlier than originally planned, he said. It has asked for 27 Boeing 787 dreamliners.
Despite the current state of the airline industry, Keskar is bullish about the Indian market. He said, in the next 20 years Indian carriers are expected to buy a total of 1001 aircraft worth $105bn.
15/10/08 Padmaja Shastri/Times of India

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Sri Lankan Airlines Aircraft Lands on Chennai Runway Lights

A Colombo-Chennai Sri Lankan airlines aircraft missed the centre line of the runway, damaging 13 runway lights on Monday morning. Four wheels on the left side of the aircraft which were carrying 180 passengers were damaged.
However the pilot corrected the course and made a safe landing and also brought the flight to the apron.
According to Indian officials heavy rains could have affected visibility, leading to the aircraft landing away from the centre line, Sri Lankan airlines official say that the incident was caused by tyre burst.
15/10/08 Chandana S. Jayakody/Sinhalaya News Agency, Sri Lanka

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2 youths prevented from boarding flight for Jeddah

Hyderabad: Two youngsters on their way to Jeddah were prevented from boarding their international flight on Sunday night after the immigration authorities at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) raised objections over their visas which were in Arabic language.
While the students contended that they had valid visas, the authorities could not understand the Arabic language and did not permit them to board the plane.As a result the students could not leave and they had missed their examinations in Jeddah, their relatives alleged.
According to their relatives, the students came to the city a few weeks ago along with their parents to attend the last rites of their grandfather in Jahanuma locality of the old city.
As holidays were declared to the educational institutions in Jeddah in connection with Ramzan festival, the children postponed their plans of returning home and stayed back at their relatives’ house. On Sunday night, the students accompanied by their relatives came to Shamshabad airport to board an Air India flight to Jeddah. After they were issued the boarding passes, an immigration officer stopped them on the pretext of checking their travel documents. Then the officer started arguing with them contending that the visas expired a month ago and hence they were not permitted to travel.
They tried to convince him that the visas were valid for one more year, but the officer refused to listen and reportedly tore off the boarding passes.
14/10/08 Siasat Daily

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Soaring to new heights in aviation

Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed monumental events that will be recorded in history as a significant achievement in the US-India relatio
nship. The civil nuclear agreement is a milestone for our countries and will dramatically change how we work together.
What is perhaps even more compelling is how the nuclear agreement is just one fine example of our strategic partnership. Since 2002, the US-India relationship has grown to encapsulate collaboration on a variety of issues ranging from regional cooperation, defence trade and joint exercises, health, agriculture, and commercial activity. Our relationship is characterised by immense dynamism and energy that continue to propel it further to achieve greater things.
Our economic and commercial ties, driven by our deep people-to-people ties, are becoming a key element of this partnership. Americans and Indians together have promoted a wide range of business activity from IT to high technology, from manufacturing to civil aviation, from durable goods to agriculture. Over the past few years, the US has become India’s largest trading partner. In particular, I want to highlight India’s growing aviation markets which are one of the most important destinations for US exports of aviation equipment and services, growing from $2 billion in 2006 to nearly $6 billion in 2007.
Further demonstrating our commitment to India, our governments and industry will come together at India Aviation 2008 in Hyderabad from October 15-18. The US is the official partner country for India’s first premier exhibition for civil and commercial aviation products and services. We will be represented by senior aviation policymakers and more than 200 industry leaders.
At the US Pavilion, we will put together an impressive display of American aircraft, technology, aviation products, and technical expertise to showcase the world’s most advanced aircraft and aircraft parts, aviation safety and security equipment, and communications and navigational systems.
One of the hallmarks of our aviation partnership with India is the Open Skies Agreement of 2005 which opened the door for direct flights by our carriers. From the US, you can now fly to India in about 17 hours or less on an American, Continental, or Delta Airlines flight.
14/10/08 David C Mulford/Economic Times

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Kingfisher puts on hold new international flights

Mumbai: Barely a month after it launched its first international flight, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd has decided to stop expanding global operations, including a Mumbai-London flight that was to start later this month.The airline has also sold to Nigeria’s Arik Air three of the five Airbus A340 planes it bought for overseas flying.
“All international operations are under the scanner with the current global slowdown, and now we are re-evaluating further route launches,” chairman Vijay Mallya said over the phone.
“We have to respect the current global economic meltdown and, therefore, we are reviewing all our earlier projections.”
Kingfisher, which launched daily Bangalore-London flights on 3 September, has secured approvals to fly to the US, the UK, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives, Pakistan and Hong Kong. Indian carriers are trimming international operations also as part of their route rationalization.
Kingfisher’s bigger rival, Jet Airways (India) Ltd, the second largest carrier in the country, announced on Friday it was temporarily withdrawing from its Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco route because of poor passenger response.
Kingfisher had already said it would scale down flights to the US even before launching the route.
12/10/08 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Gun parts ground Thai national

A Thai national was arrested at the Calcutta airport early on Sunday for carrying an unlicensed gun.
Tanasupt Thummasaroch, 38, who claimed to be an electrical engineer working for merchant navy, was carrying the unassembled parts of the 4.5-mm bore pistol in his luggage.
“He said the gun was an air pistol used in the sports arena but could not produce any documents. Besides, the authorities were in the dark about the weapon,” said an officer at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport police station.
Thummasaroch, who had arrived at Calcutta port on Saturday, reached the airport around midnight to catch a Thai Airways flight back home.
He deposited a red bag at the X-ray counter. The Air India official manning the counter — the national carrier looks after ground handling in the international terminal — found “some metal pieces” in the bag.
After assembling the pieces, the official realised they were parts of a 4.5-mm pistol. “Thummasaroch claimed he had bought the gun in France for euro 2 but could not produce any papers,” the police officer said.
The flier was detained and a second search of the bag revealed four small cylinders containing composed carbon dioxide gas. Thummasaroch allegedly failed to explain why he was carrying the gas. The airline then contacted CISF officers, who handed over the Thai national to the police.
13/10/08 The Telegraph

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British Airways Jet Diverts to Berlin After Electrical Fault

A British Airways Plc plane bound for New Delhi was diverted to Berlin after the pilot was warned of smoke in the cabin following the short circuiting of a seatback monitor.
None of the 222 passengers on the Boeing 777 were injured Eberhardt Elie, a spokesman for Berlin's Schoenefeld airport said today.
The plane was returning to London's Heathrow airport, the origin of the flight, for a crew change, he said.
The flight is now scheduled to arrive in New Delhi tomorrow at 8:13 a.m., according to British Airways' Web site.
12/10/08 Chris Reiter/Bloomberg

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Indian chopper market will double: Eurocopter

Hyderabad: Eurocopter, the global leader in chopper manufacturing, sees the Indian market doubling in the next few years. Read On >>

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Bombardier showcases its CRJ900 NextGen airliner

The CRJ900 NextGen regional jet is en route to Hyderabad as part of Bombardier Aerospace’s show of strength at India Aviation 2008.A global success story, the 90-seat CRJ900 NextGen aircraft is one of Bombardier’s largest and most advanced regional jets in production. Read On >>

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Eurocopter to set up training institute in India

New Delhi: Sensing an opportunity in the shortage of qualified pilots to fly helicopters, European helicopter maker Eurocopter plans to set up a pilot training facility in India. Read On >>

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Training Crue Graphics provides training aids solutions and training development services

Training Crue Graphics Inc, a global provider of aviation training products and services and Foladco International LLC's Dubai Pilot Shop, the first pilot retail shop in the UAE, have launched an initiative to provide training aid solutions for aviation training organizations, FBO's and other aviation businesses in the UAE and the Middle East Region. Read On >>

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China, India's air traffic continue to decline

New Delhi: Air traffic on both domestic and international sectors in the "aviation powerhouses" of India and China have continued to decline even during the ongoing festive season, though the traffic outlook for the future has improved irrespective of growing costs.
According to latest data, the percentage year-on-year domestic traffic growth rate in India continued to fall since November last year and stood at about minus 15 per cent this July compared with plus ten in the same month last year.
International traffic growth rate in the country, however, remained on the positive side, hovering between 20 and 10 per cent, as per figures of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
The price-sensitive travellers, who had just started embracing air travel as a viable alternative to ground travel, were "effectively priced out", CAPA said in a latest report, adding that India and China have witnessed "deep downturns this year" primarily due to state-controlled fuel prices, which have upped travel cost.
12/10/08 PTI/The Hindu

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Flight snag irks passengers

Tiruchy: An Indian Airlines flight from Sharjah developed a snag on Saturday at the Tiruchy airport but the passengers, who were proceeding to Thiruvananthapuram, refused to be off-loaded.
IA operates a service between Sharjah-Thiruvananthapuram- Tiruchy-Chennai. The flight arrived in Tiruchy in the early hours of Saturday.
Prior to take off at Sharjah airport, the aircraft developed a technical failure as a result of which the departure was delayed.
Since the authorities were particular about sticking to the time schedule in Chennai, the flight skipped Thiruvananthapuram and instead landed in Tiruchy. The plane arrived at Tiruchy around 3.10 am, an hour in advance. The airport authorities informed the passengers that the flight would touch Chennai first and then proceed to Thiruvananthapuram based on which about 45 passengers bound for the Kerala capital were seated inside the aircraft.
Later, the take-off to Chennai was announced. But by then, a further snag was detected following which all the passengers were asked to alight. Chennai-bound passengers were willing to abide by the instructions but the Thiruvananthapuram- bound passengers refused to comply with the request.
Subsequently, engineers from Chennai were rushed to set right the snag. Finally, the aircraft left by 11.30 am for Thiruvananthapuram.
12/10/08 Express Buzz

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Jet to stop Mumbai-Shanghai-San Fransisco flight

New Delhi: Hit by the global economic downturn and its impact on the aviation sector, premier carrier Jet Airways on Friday announced stoppage of its Mumbai-Shanghai-San Fransisco service from mid-January.
The service would be discontinued from January 13 next year and the passenger traffic between India and San Fransisco would be served through the airline's London gateway in cooperation with partner carrier, United Airlines of the US, an airline spokesperson said.
Jet's move came in the wake of similar steps being taken by almost all the major carriers worldwide including Air India. Its CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer had a few weeks ago said there has been some capacity reduction in sectors, which were not making money.
The economics of the Shanghai-San Fransisco service, which had already been curtailed during the past several weeks, was to have been reviewed and a decision taken.
The spokesperson said it would continue to provide convenient connections between Mumbai and several US destinations through London in both directions through its codeshare partnership with United Airlines.
10/10/08 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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Kingfisher Drop International Routes

New Delhi: Kingfisher Airlines is likely to stop its international operations following the deepening financial crisis that has hit the Indian airline industry.
Expat pilots and crew at Kingfisher that have been waiting since March for international operations to take place, are expected to be laid-off following this decision.
The fate of senior officials employed worldwide is also hanging in the balance, and AviationWeek has learned that the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has threatened to stop all operations of Kingfisher Airlines for not meeting the route dispersal guidelines of the government that obligates it to fly a certain amount of seats in under-served markets. Kingfisher has asked for a day's reprieve.
AviationWeek also was told on Friday that Chairman Vijay Mallya, who owns the Formula One Force India team, was rushing back from Japan to meet the government officials on Saturday.
Kingfisher, which took a more than $200 million loan from ICICI Bank toward operational expenses, has come under pressure with the current crisis leaving it with no option but to defer plans to raise funds from equity markets.
The carrier started its daily flights with an A330 from Bangalore to London Heathrow last month with dire load factors--an average of 35 passengers per flight. It was scheduled to start its Mumbai-London dailies Oct 26. The flights, yet to be loaded on the airline's Web site, are not expected to take place for the moment. The slots in London were said to have come from Air France/KLM.
With excess capacity, the airline recently deferred orders for 29 A-320s and cut domestic capacity like the rest of its competitors by around 22%.
With more than 300 employees being laid off, there is more trouble brewing for the carrier whose chairman came under criticism recently for negotiating a shirt sponsorship deal for 20 million pounds with the U.K.s Queens Park Rangers to advertise his Kingfisher beer on the team shirts.
10/10/08 Neelam Mathews/Aviation Week

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India’s airlines face fare drop, profit delay on foreign routes

Mumbai: An increase in the number of flights to and from India by global airlines is resulting in a drastic drop in international air ticket prices, which, in turn, will potentially delay break-even for the overseas operations of domestic carriers, say airline executives and sector experts.
Airline operators such as Germany’s Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Singapore Airlines Ltd, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd and British Airways Plc. are increasing flights to and from India as also reducing fares in an attempt to capture share in a rapidly growing market.
India has more than tripled its seat allocation on international routes over the past five years by liberalizing air services agreements with other countries. But with only three local airlines flying abroad, much of this new capacity has remained unused.
In addition to state-owned National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, or Nacil, that runs the Air India-branded airline, domestic market leader Jet Airways India Ltd has been operating flights internationally since 2004 and has been joined last month by Kingfisher Airlines Ltd.
Operations on international routes typically take at least 18 months to become profitable.
“Between 2003 and 2007, around 800,000 seats for international travel were allotted as a result of bilateral air service agreements, which is at least a 200% increase,” said Kapil Kaul, chief executive (Indian subcontinent and Middle East) at Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an international aviation consulting firm. Indian carriers, he estimated, have used just 30% of their allotted capacity (of 400,000 seats), while their overseas peers are using about 70% of the seats earmarked for them.
“International airlines are dumping capacity on Indian routes,” insisted Naresh Goyal, founder and chairman of Jet Airways, the country’s largest airline by passengers carried, on the sidelines of the company’s shareholder meeting late September. “They are increasing their frequencies on almost all routes, which will affect the profitability of Indian carriers.”
10/10/08 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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