AI shifting Dubai passengers to parallel flights

Dubai: With agitation by Air India pilots entering its fourth day today, the airline management here is trying to shift passengers to parallel flights, a senior official said.
Abhay Pathak, Air India's regional manager, said so far this morning, only one flight to India – IC 968 Sharjah-Trivandrum-Trichy-Chennai – has been cancelled.
"As part of the contingency plan, we are shifting passengers to Air India Express flights that operate parallel," he said. That means loads of flights from Sharjah to Hyderabad and Dubai to Hyderabad have been combined to keep the operations running.
"We are in touch with passengers all the time and are doing our level best to keep them informed of the measures we are taking," he said adding the focus is on keeping parallel arrangements running so that passenger inconvenience is minimised.
29/09/09 PTI/Business Standard

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Kerala migrants fear job losses

Scores of Gulf-bond passengers were stranded at the three international airports in Kerala as Air India yesterday suspended more than a dozen services from here, including the domestic flights, Gulf Times’ correspondent Ashraf Padanna writes from Thiruvananthapuram.
Passengers complained of hostile behaviour by the Air India authorities after they were promised to make alternative arrangements with other airlines so that they could join duty on time. “I had to report for duty (on Wednesday). I knew of the cancellation of my flight only after I reached the airport,” said Nissar, a Sharjah-bound passenger. “Both the striking staff and the Air India authorities appear to be insensitive to our concerns”.
The vacationing workers have to return to the countries of their employment before their re-entry visas expire. Passengers who came from remote areas are camping in the airport with the hope that the Air India would make alternative arrangements for their travel. The cancelled or indefinitely delayed flights include those scheduled for Sharjah, Dammam, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait City. Most of the passengers reached the airports were not aware of the strike.
29/09/09 Gulf Times, UAE

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Kingfisher to increase intl services

Bangalore: Kingfisher Airlines, which had rapidly expanded its international network till a few years ago, is now looking at increasing frequency of service to these destinations instead of adding more places. Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the company’s 14th annual general meeting (AGM), Vijay Mallya, chairman and CEO of the company, said that the recently-launched flights from Mumbai to Singapore and Hong Kong have been received well by the market.
“We are operating to Dubai, Hong Kong, Thailand, London and Singapore and intend to increase frequencies. We are looking at new routes only from next year, but have to be cautious. In the domestic market, KF Airlines intends to launch services to Ludhiana and Pantnagar, which till date had no proper air connectivity,” he said.
He said that the airline was focussed on revenues and not on other variables, such as market share or seat (load) factor.
It was not in the habit of discounting its fares that could eventually question the economic fundamentals of the business. Mr Mallya said that the airlines intended to complete its fund-raising plans at the earliest.
30/09/09 Economic Times

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Airport gears up to handle Haj pilgrims

Mangalore: Officials of Bajpe airport of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) here are bracing to handle the first batch of Haj pilgrims who will fly to Mecca from this port city next month. Hitherto, Muslims wanting to undertake their Haj pilgrimage had to fly out from Bangalore, an eventuality which did not permit them from donning the `Ihram' in their homes, and which every devout undertaking the Haj aspires for.
V N Chandran, airport director, Bajpe Airport, told The Times of India that the airport will handle the Haj pilgrims in two phases __ one starting from October 17, and the other on November 20. In the first phase lasting up to November 20, the airport will deal with Muslims leaving the city shores for Haj, he said, adding that the second phase ending on January 1, 2010, will see the airport handle the devouts returning after performing Haj.
The airport authorities have already chalked out the strategy to handle the Haj pilgrims both during their departure and arrival. Noting that Air India Express (AIE), the low cost carrier of Indian, the national carrier has been firmed up as the airlines that will ferry the passengers to and fro, Chandran said AIE is in touch with its headquarters awaiting the final clearance. "The Haj flight schedules are being finalized," Chandran added.
29/09/09 Jaideep Shenoy/Times of India

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Indian pilot murdered in Sri Lanka

The mutilated body of a 50-year-old Indian pilot attached to SriLankan Airlines was found brutally murdered and hanging from the staircase of his house in Negombo last morning.
Police Spokesman Senior DIG Nimal Mediwake said a neighbour had seen the body through a window and called the police who had broken open the door and entered the house
Police had found bloodstains and a knife on the floor. But the body had been hanging from the staircase.
Initial investigations indicated that the victim had been stabbed and then hanged.
The victim Raman Kumar Roy reportedly stayed in the house alone, when in Lanka. His family was living in Canada.
He had reported for work on September 23 and applied for several days leave.
30/09/09 Kurulu Kariyakarawana/DAily Mirror, Sri Lanka

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Passenger held for misbehaving with air hostess on flight

Hyderabad: An air passenger was arrested by the Cyberabad police in the early hours of Tuesday for allegedly misbehaving with an air hostess in the Hyderabad-bound Emirates flight.
The passenger identified as Biyad Khalfan (35), a native of Abu Dhabi, allegedly harassed the air hostess after he boarded the EK-524 flight at Dubai on Monday night. Though she requested him not to misbehave with her, he continued to behave badly with her, police said.
Unable to bear the misbehaviour, the air hostess alerted the flight captain who informed the matter to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) accompanied by the ground-handling staff stood guard when the flight landed around 3 a.m. on Tuesday. They took him into custody and handed over to the Shamshabad police.
29/09/09 The Hindu

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1984 IA plane hijacker seeks nod to practice law in Canada

A convicted terrorist is asking to practice law in Greater Toronto. Parminder Singh Saini, 46, blames youth and naïveté for his violent past and says he is rehabilitated.
“I had no legitimate right to do that,” he recently told the Law Society of Upper Canada of a 1984 airline hijacking. “It’s not legal.”
He deserves a second chance, he and his advocates say.
“He served his time and was subsequently pardoned,” says York University political science professor Sandra Whitworth, who taught him in 2001.
“The evidence of his character in the last 25 years,” his lawyer Frank Addario told the law society, “points toward a complete rehabilitation on his part.”
But critics remain skeptical.
On July 5, 1984, when he was 21, he and four accomplices in the militant All India Sikh Students Federation boarded an Air India flight to Delhi from the northern city of Srinagar.
Twenty minutes after takeoff, he and another man stood up. They pushed aside a female attendant, walked to the front of the plane and Saini - in full view of passengers - raised a handgun to the head of a male attendant and fired.
“(The bullet) did not hit him,” the trial judge later wrote in a 184-page judgment, “but there is little doubt that the object of Parminder Singh (Saini).....was to intimidate and terrorize the crew members and the passengers.”
At the cockpit door, Saini fired two or three more shots - risking the plane’s destruction, the court judgment said. One bullet pierced the door, striking the flight engineer in the back, not seriously. Other hijackers beat and stabbed two other crew members with kirpan daggers.
The door opened and Saini seized control of the plane.
“I was a disciple of (Sikh militant) Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in the army action against the Golden Temple,” Saini told the court to justify his actions.
One month earlier, an Indian army raid against Sikh separatists amassing weapons in the temple had led to its desecration and the deaths of hundreds of people. Saini said he hijacked the plane in protest.
At gunpoint, he ordered the pilot to land in Lahore, Pakistan, and for the next 20 hours kept everybody hostage as he tried to negotiate a list of demands involving money and a large number of prisoners.
“They said that they were going to blow up the aircraft and we should say our last prayer,” a female attendant testified.
In the end, the hijackers surrendered. The judge sentenced Saini to hang. Later, authorities commuted the sentence to life in prison and after 10 years released him on condition he leave the country.
Aside from hijacking a plane and shooting at several of his 270-plus hostages - wounding one in the back - Saini lied his way into Canada, has never gained landed-immigrant status, faces deportation and by ministerial order remains a national security threat.
While fighting deportation to India, he earned a BA from York University and a law degree at the University of Windsor, finishing in 2006.
On Jan. 21, 1995, he presented himself to Canadian customs as Balbir Singh carrying a fake Afghan passport.
He articled at Manji Singh Mangat’s Brampton law firm and Lorne Waldman’s Toronto immigration law firm, and keeps an office at Singh and Associates, his brother’s Mississauga immigration consultancy.
28/09/09 John Goddard/The Star.com, Canada

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AirAsia To Fly To Three New Routes In Southern India

Sepang: AirAsia, Asia's leading low cost airline, will fly to Kochi, Trivandrum and Kolkata come December, in a move to expand its network in Southern India.
AsiaAsia Group's Regional Head of Commercial Kathleen Tan said AirAsia was flying now to Tiruchirappalli and would spread its wings to other destinations in Southern India this year.
"For the fourth quarter and next year, AirAsia will focus on building our network in India where there is huge demand," she told Bernama in an interview on Monday in conjunction with AirAsia's 48-hour sales.
Elaborating on the Indian sector, Tan said AirAsia was looking at tapping destinations like Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and AirAsia's long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X, would look further at Mumbai and Delhi.
She said the Tiruchirappalli sector received overwhelming response from the population in Southern India who visited Kuala Lumpur and used it as a gateway to enter Southeast Asia.
Tan said the low cost carrier had opened up the flying experience as people not just travel for holidays but also for shopping or medical treatment.
She said AirAsia's low cost model also boosted domestic tourism as the airline's huge network enabled more Malaysians to take short domestic holidays to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Miri and Tawau.
28/09/09 Samantha Tan Chiew Ting/Bernama

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Haj flights to take off from Mangalore airport

Mangalore: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is gearing up to make arrangements to operate special flights for Haj pilgrims from Mangalore airport for the first time this year.
Air India Express flights will be operated between Mangalore and Jeddah International Airport in Saudi Arabia.
V.N. Chandran, director, Mangalore airport, told The Hindu that the departure of flights to Jeddah had been tentatively fixed from October 17 to November 20. The arrivals would be between November 20 and January 1, 2010.
Officials of the AAI, office-bearers of the State Haj Committee and other authorities concerned had held three meetings in this regard. One more meeting would be held shortly, he said.
Mr. Chandran said that the AAI would make all arrangements for the arrival and departure of the special flights without affecting normal operations. He said that immigration clearance would be conducted at the transit camp for pilgrims here and customs and security clearances would be conducted at the airport. The director said that according to the list provided by the State Haj Committee, 700 pilgrims would depart from here.
29/09/09 Mangalorean.com

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Centre against FDI in local helicopter service cos

New Delhi: The government has decided not to allow foreign airlines to invest in local helicopter service providers, which need only an extra permission to fly airplanes in India — an area where foreign airlines are not welcomed.
This is a tightening of the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy that allows unrestricted foreign investment in helicopter services without prior approval from the government.
India has many large helicopter service providers including Pawan Hans Helicopters, Global Vectra and Jagson Airlines. The move follows a clarification the civil aviation ministry recently made to the finance ministry and the industrial policy and promotion department, that helicopter service providers having non-schedule operator permit are not prevented from importing fixed-wing aircraft or airplanes.
They only have to take permission from the government before importing, said a government official, who asked not to be named. (Unlike scheduled operators, non-scheduled operators do not publish a time table or issue tickets to passengers.)
Hence, such helicopter operators should not be considered as merely providers of helicopter service, where full foreign investment is allowed. Their non-schedule operator permit entails scope for diversification into fixed wing service.
28/09/09 Gireesh Chandra Prasad/Economic Times

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'Mobile-phone use on planes should come about in 2 years'

Mumbai: Intelsat, the world's largest commercial satellite communications services provider, is investing in a second satellite in India. David Ball, its vice-president (Asia-Pacific), who was in India recently to attend the first meeting of the board of the council of governors of the cable and satellite broadcasters association of Asia (CASBAA), spoke to on industry-related issues in an exclusive chat. Excerpts:
Are you doing anything that will make mobile communication available on planes?
Yes, we are working with a number of players on that. There was an initiative earlier on mobile connectivity on the flight, but because of terrorist activity and the sharp decline in the aviation industry, that product did not take off. The new technology is expected to come about in the next two to three years. There have been trials already for say, Blackberry access on planes. And you will see more and more of that.
Are you in talks with any Indian airline for mobile communication technology?
Not presently.
And internationally?
Yes, we are in talks with some of the major international airline companies. But I can't name them.
What will be the cost of the mobile connectivity service on plane?
We have not determined that yet. Our service will cost less than the existing narrowband service, and will offer high capability.
28/09/09 Nivedita Mookerji/Daily News & Analysis

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Balco probe: 'Stay' order for 89 Chinese

New Delhi: The Centre has decided to restrain 89 Chinese nationals from leaving the country after the Balco incident, which left 41 workers dead.
The Chinese workers, who have been restrained from leaving India, are employed at the Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (Balco) thermal power plant at Korba in Chhattisgarh where an under-construction chimney collapsed, leading to these casualties on Wednesday.
Immigration authorities across the countries were alerted on Thursday as a number of Chinese employees had fled Korba fearing the ire of the locals in the wake of the rising toll. Officials at airports were asked not to allow these 89 Chinese engineers/workers to leave the country as their presence was needed during the probe into the incident.
Chhattisgarh police chief Vishwa Ranjan told TOI from Raipur that the immigration authorities were only asked to stop these Chinese engineers/workers from leaving India as they may be needed during the "technical inquiry" into the incident.
In the wake of the alert, four Chinese engineers -- on the basis of their passport details -- were stopped at IGIA airport here on Friday night and asked to report to the state police in Chhattisgarh. Eight other Chinese workers, including three women, were also stopped at Raipur and asked to give their statement to the Korba police about the incident.
28/09/09 Times of India

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China object to hunt for 89 workers

It is a case that could turn into a diplomatic flashpoint between India and China. China has expressed grave disappointment over country-wide look-out circulars (LOC) at all airports and ports of exit against 89 Chinese engineers and workmen employed at the Bharat Aluminum Company Limited (BALCO) thermal power plant.
The workers are wanted in connection with a chimney collapse on September 23 left more than 45 dead at the plant.
The government has given the passport details of these Chinese personnel to immigration authorities and asked them to ensure that they do not leave the country till probe is completed. A LOC was forcefully issues after these Chinese workers fled Korba after the disaster.
Amit Kumar, SP, Raipur District said, “We had detained eight Chinese staff including three women from the airport following a communication from the Korba police to the airport officials that they could be required in connection with the investigations. After questioning they were released."
27/09/09 TimesNow.tv

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Kingfisher asked to return parts leased from Lufthansa

New Delhi: The Delhi High court has directed Kingfisher Airlines to return all components leased out to it by Lufthansa Technik India following a petition by the latter that the carrier was using them even after it breached an obligation to make timely payments.
A single member bench of Justice S N Dhingra directed Kingfisher Airlines to make an inventory of all components leased out to it by Lufthansa Technik while receiving technical support for its fleet.
"An inventory of the home based components (those used in maintenance, overhaul and repair) leased out by Lufthansa Technik to Kingfisher Airlines under the agreement in question be prepared," Justice Dhingra said while passing an interim order. In its petition Lufthansa Technik said Kingfisher terminated the agreement on August 18.
According to the company, Kingfisher has not paid dues of Rs 17.7 crore for the months of July, August and September this year despite enjoying technical support.
28/09/09 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Cheapest flight tickets to Bangkok from Kolkata

The comparative low price flight tickets you can find the best deals and choose your airline ticket and discount flight Kolkata to Bangkok, Thailand.
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Thailand has a score of airports connected providing domestic flights throughout the country. Departing from Bangkok, the Thai capital at the mouth of the Chao Praya in the Gulf of Siam, you can go to Chiang Mai in the north, Phuket, Pattaya or the islands of Samui in the south. During the flight, you will have time to watch this country as a large water lily whose heart green and mountainous north fits between Burma, Laos and Cambodia and the stem extends south from sandy beaches, islands and coral reefs of the Indian Ocean near Kolkata. Old Siam never colonized, Thailand, the scenery is guaranteed.
Visitors may import officially in Thailand a carton of cigarettes and a liter of alcohol. In addition to the landing page of a customs form is returned to the aircraft. Tourists are rarely checked but the officials do not joke with hard or soft drugs, either on arrival or departure - and the Thai prisons deserve their reputation.
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If you are looking for special flight deals from Calcutta to Bangkok then Ezee Flight has access to a multitude of specially negotiated airfares from Kolkata (Calcutta) to Bangkok.
27/09/09 PRESS RELEASE/Ezee Travel Solutions

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Flying over Iran? First battle the fee

Fastidious passengers who obsessively compare inflight services –– does Air France offer more leg room? Is the smoked salmon more succulent on Lufthansa? –– should perhaps learn a little more about the terms of passage. Simply put, the overflying fee is the whopping charge levied by a sovereign nation for allowing foreign aircraft to use its airspace. It's like a toll tax in the sky, ostensibly to cover the cost of providing navigational aid to aircraft, but that's just a handy excuse to make airlines pay.
Each country has its own unique way of deciding how much to charge. While some levy a fixed fee, others resort to more complex calculations. If a strip of land is sandwiched between two strife-torn countries, an airline has to pay more to use this ‘safe' corridor. Iran, for one, squeezed between Iraq and Afghanistan, charges a bomb — in 2006, it had an average of 350 over-flights a day, which earned it a neat $650,000 to $700,000 daily. The average cost per flight over Iran works out to Rs 92,590.
If it isn't geopolitics, it's the strategic location of a country that gives it leverage. Chile charges planes on the basis of their entry and exit points – since most planes enter its airspace from the north, all northern entry and exit routes are charged almost double of those flying in from and out to the east. Iceland has raised direction-sensitivity to a fine art, with different rates for the latitudes and longitudes that an aircraft flies past. China charges in US dollars: in 2002, the fee was $1 per km. The US levies a toll of about $33.72 per 190 km. India, Indonesia and 30 nations in Europe that are jointly under Eurocontrol have their own formula based on the weight of aircraft and distance travelled.
India-Europe flights have three route options. The first is a northern route that takes you over Afghanistan and the CIS countries, the second is over Pakistan and Iran, the third over Dubai and Turkey. For an India-US flight across the Atlantic, there are six potential routes, one of which is suggested every day by the US authorities, depending on the weather. "This route is provided to pilots a day in advance and gives the best fuel savings,'' said a senior commander.
National carrier Air India will have a new flight-path system in place next year whose wisdom, it hopes, will save it $15 million annually.
26/09/09 Manju V/Times of India

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Doctors of hope on the wing

Jaipur: From afar, it appears like any other passenger plane on the runway, waiting for travellers to take off. A closer look reveals that this DC-10 jet is unique - it houses the only airborne operating theatre for eye treatment in the world.
Its purpose is to eliminate avoidable blindness in developing countries where 90 per cent of the world’s 45 million blind people live.
ORBIS, an NGO which works for saving sight worldwide, is using this plane as a tool to create awareness about eye donations and skills exchange on eye diseases in developing countries. The plane’s current fortnight-long stop is Jaipur, where it will operate around 150 blind children inside the plane as well as train over a 100 doctors and double the number of paramedical staff from different hospitals in Rajasthan.
The flying hospital is the brainchild of one man - Dr David Paton - an eminent eye surgeon in USA. In the 1970s, while touring developing world, he was shocked by the state of eye care services and decided to embark on an airplane-bound mission that could bring hope and light into numerous lives in these countries.
The refurbished aircraft has all facilities to run a miniature hospital. It is equipped with a state-of-the-art examination and laser treatment room, operation theatre, recovery room, nursing and bio-medical engineering training areas, audio/visual studio and 48-seat classroom.
The first hospital with wings was launched in 1982, its maiden voyage being to Panama. Since then, the flying eye hospital has visited 87 countries and saved the sight of tens of millions of people. Jaipur is its 17th visit to India. Next year, it plans a revisit to the country. It flew to India for the first time in 1982.
27/09/09 Ajith Athrady/Deccan Herald

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DHL Commemorates 40 Years of Facilitating Global Trade

Citing the company’s pioneering spirit, strong customer focus and critical role in facilitating global trade, Frank Appel, CEO Deutsche Post DHL recounts the secret of DHL’s success as the world’s leading express and logistics provider marks its 40th anniversary today.
“In 1969, three men set out to do the impossible and conquered the moon. A few months later, Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn founded DHL and made the world a little smaller,” Appel said. “DHL pioneered the international express industry, making it possible for documents to reach recipients overnight instead of a few days.”
The express company quickly grew to encompass global forwarding and supply chain management, through the strategic integration of leading forwarder Danzas Air & Ocean in 2002 and supply chain/logistics expert Exel in 2005. DHL was thus able to offer a comprehensive suite of services through its unparalleled global network that spans over 220 countries and territories. Today, DHL is the leading industry provider in its various segments: No 1 in Air and Ocean Freight, No 1 in International Express, No 1 in Contract Logistics and No 2 in European Road Freight.
By initially offering a revolutionary service – international door-to-door delivery of time-sensitive documentation, DHL enabled companies and organizations around the world to build their business and widen their impact, invariably stimulating global trade and making the world smaller by the day.
DHL also continuously reinvents the logistics business through the introduction of innovative processes which have become industry benchmarks, including the use of Radio Frequency ID for inventory management and a technically-advanced tracking system that monitors and, if needed, redirect shipments in real time anywhere around the world.
DHL also inaugurated a first-of-a-kind Innovation Center in 2007 to develop marketable, highly-innovative logistics solutions that are flexible and ecologically-sound. It also established the Global Customer Solutions which provides highly-customized solutions to key customers to meet all their logistics needs globally.
The company was the first to offer customers a greener option of sending their shipments around the world through DHL’s Green Services which aim to offset the carbon emissions of the company’s various delivery vehicles. In 2008, DHL became the first express logistics company to make a firm public commitment to improve its carbon efficiency by 30 percent by 2020.
26/09/09 Auto-Mobi.in

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Can "son of Concorde" succeed?

Six years after grounding the supersonic jet, British Airways is bringing back the call-sign "Speedbird One" for its flagship jet from London City to New York. While passengers on what was dubbed "The Rocket" could expect to be halfway across the Atlantic within two hours of leaving Heathrow, passengers on "son of Concorde" will only be taking off from Shannon in Ireland, where the Airbus is obliged to refuel on the westbound leg. Yet BA believes the new link will attract an exclusive, rich clientele to a scruffy corner of London E16.
Anyone at London City airport last Tuesday morning would have seen a plane endlessly circling, touching the runway and heading skyward once more. A strange-looking plane, too – the biggest to use City airport, yet the smallest in the British Airways Airbus fleet. It is an A318, a foreshortened version of the narrow-bodied jets flown by BA and easyJet. But unlike those planes, this is a small aircraft with big ambitions: to fly 32 high-achieving individuals 3,500 miles from the doorstep of the City of London's nearest airport to New York JFK.
Business-class-only aviation is nothing new. Since 2002, Lufthansa has operated narrow-bodied Boeing 737s and Airbus A319s on a range of routes with strong demand from business travellers but little appetite from economy passengers. Today, though, the German airline offers only a pair of esoteric little links to India: Frankfurt to Pune, and Munich to Mumbai. Long-term success with all-business-class transatlantic routes has proved as elusive for Lufthansa as it has for other airlines. Last month British Airways closed its OpenSkies operation from Amsterdam to New York, leaving only a Paris Orly-JFK link. From London the attrition rate is even higher: in the past two years, three airlines have gone bust trying to make money flying business travellers to New York: Eos, MaxJet and Silverjet all lost millions bravely trying to prove the concept. So what makes BA's link from London City any different?
"It's an airport on the doorstep to our most important corporate clients," says Michael Johnson of British Airways. The airline knows many regular transatlantic flyers, particularly Gold Card holders, work in the eastern half of London, a long slog from Heathrow. "Also, because we have OnAir connectivity [effectively turning the aircraft into a mobile phone cell handling data] it means that our business travellers can work and stay connected to the office," says Johnson.
26/09/09 The Independent, UK

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Daily flights to Delhi launched by Finnair

Finnair is launching daily flights to Delhi from Helsinki today (September 25th). The route, which began in October 2006, has been expanded due its popularity among both business and leisure travellers.
Flights to the Indian capital from Helsinki last just six-and-a-half hours thanks to its location on the great circle route.
It is the shortest flight time between India and anywhere in the European Union.
The route, which is the only direct link between northern Europe and Delhi, offers Scandinavian-bound passengers onward connections to Baltic Sea destinations in addition to London and Paris.
Passengers travelling to the Indian capital can benefit from Delhi's status as a major hub, with flights operating to most major cities in the country.
25/09/09 Skyscanner

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Air India scouts for chief operating officer

Pittsburgh: Beleaguered flag carrier Air India has begun a global hunt for a chief operating officer to streamline operations and help it come out of the financial mess that has led to accumulated losses of over $4 billion.
“Preference will be given to those who are in the aviation industry or in the past had turned around the performance of a large organisation with manpower strength of over 1,000,” said the carrier’s advertisement in newspapers like the Financial Times.
The chief operating officer will be based out of the carrier’s headquarters in Mumbai and report directly to the chairman and managing director. Air India did not indicate the pay package it was willing to offer but said it will be based on qualifications and experience.
“Canvassing in any form is prohibited,” said the airline, adding the contract will be for three years to begin with, which may be extended by another two based on performance.
25/09/09 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Can’t cancel order now: Boeing to AI

New Delhi: The loss-making Air India’s efforts to cancel the deliveries of six Boeing aircraft has run into rough weather as the aircraft company Boeing is showing reluctance to cancel the order.
Instead the aircraft company, which is negotiating the cancellation, has suggested that Air India take the delivery of these aircraft for the time being and said that later it will assist in leasing the same to other airlines. “Air India is in the process of negotiating the deal with Boeing for the cancellation of these six aircraft. While Air India is keen on cancelling the order, Boeing has put forward a proposal whereby it has insisted that the aircraft delivery be taken and they could be later given on a dry lease to other airlines,” a top government official, on the condition of anonymity, told The Indian Express.
These six aircraft are part of the acquisition of 111 aircraft, payments for which have added to the airline’s financial woes. In its board meeting held in July, the airline had decided to cancel the deliveries of the six aircraft.
25/09/09 Smita Aggarwal/ExpressIndia

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FAA decides not to downgrade India

New Delhi: India was saved a huge international embarrassment on Wednesday when the US Federal Aviation Administration decided against downgrading the country’s aviation safety standards from the current top billing to sub-Sahara Africa level.
The aviation ministry let the agency responsible for ensuring safe flying, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), weaken over years despite the International Civil Aviation Organisation pointing out major deficiencies in 2006 and air traffic here growing by leaps and bounds. Finally, earlier this year, the FAA came for an audit and gave five months before downgrading it, something that would have meant no new flights by Indian airlines to America and strict checks for their planes on US soil.
In this short timeframe, aviation secretary M M Nambiar and DGCA’s new chief Nasim Zaidi mounted a Herculean effort to strengthen the regulatory mechanism by getting almost 600 technical posts sanctioned for effective implementation of much needed rules for safe flying that were also put in place.
Now as a result, Indian carriers will be able to able to expand service in US through more flights and new access points.
24/09/09 Times of India

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Audit paves way for more flights to US

The US Federal Aviation Authority, or FAA, has allowed India to retain its safety credentials, bringing relief to the industry and lifting the threat against travel agreements that had been awaiting the audit to take effect.
“It has been decided to keep India category 1. The FAA audit is now complete,” said civil aviation secretary M. Madhavan Nambiar, announcing the decision after both sides signed the agreement. “We are now on a level playing field.”
Indian carriers such as the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India and Jet Airways (India) Ltd will now be able to start new services to the US and also expand pending commercial agreements with US carriers. The audit concluded on Wednesday.
A four-member FAA team was in India this week to complete a final audit of its Indian counterpart, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on safety oversight after the International Civil Aviation Organization, or Icao, found India lacking in around 70 areas, including shortage of flight safety inspectors and other technical personnel.
Since the review began earlier this year, there have been no new direct India-US flights. Nor have any new code-share agreements been approved between carriers of the two nations.
24/09/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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DGCA in compliance with FAA’s safety audit recommendations

India has been found to be fully compliant with the international safety standards by an audit done by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States of America.
Before permitting a foreign airline to operate in the USA, FAA of US, backed by the US legislation conducts an audit of the concerned country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)/ DGCA to ensure its capability for providing safety certification and continuing oversight on its international carriers. The audit is conducted under an ‘International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme’ (IASA) and focuses on the country's ability to adhere to standards and recommended practices of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for aircraft operations and maintenance.
Under the IASA programme, FAA in the year 1997 had conducted an audit of DGCA India and had awarded Category 1 status to India. This year, in March 2009, FAA, based on the report of an audit conducted by ICAO in October 2006, conducted a reassessment of DGCA. While the FAA’s IASA team found India to be compliant in areas of aviation legislation, operating regulations, civil aviation structure and safety oversight functions, and licensing and certification obligations, it raised concerns in the areas of adequate technical guidance for DGCA inspectors, hiring and retaining technical personnel in DGCA, establishment of an on-going surveillance programme of air operators and the resolution of identified safety issues.
DGCA was required to rectify the concerns in the identified areas in a short time frame of about five months. Repercussions of non-action could have resulted in India being downgraded to Category 2 status from the Category 1, which has been held by India since 1997. Under Category 2, no expansion/ changes to the services of Indian air carriers would have been permitted by USA and the existing operations would have been subjected to ‘heightened FAA surveillance’. Such a downgrade would not only have resulted to an economic impact to the nation but would also have been a setback to India’s image worldwide in ICAO, EU, USA and in the international aviation community.
The FAA IASA team revisited DGCA on 23rd September 2009, to confirm and validate the action taken on the concerns since the audit in March 2009. The visit was also made to ascertain the information which were provided to FAA by DGCA from time to time in the previous few months on the progress made to make good the deficiencies. During the discussions, the FAA team confirmed the action taken by DGCA to make good the identified concerns of the earlier March 2009 audit.
• The team confirmed DGCA meeting the international standards in the area of aviation law and regulations and confirmed that the powers of Director General were well laid down in the various parts of the Aircraft Act, 1934 and Aircraft Rules, 1937 and the regulations were available to all users. In the area of CAA Structure and safety oversight functions, the team acknowledged that lack of financial resources is not a constraint for DGCA and that there has been an eight-fold increase in the annual budget for DGCA this year. In 2009-10, DGCA has 40 crores under Plan and Rs 22 crores under non-plan. FAA was informed by DGCA that a feasibility study for establishment of Civil Aviation Authority has been commissioned and will commence in October 2009. The FAA team was shown the technical guidance, which was prepared in areas of operations, airworthiness and enforcement for the guidance and use of safety inspectors of DGCA for day-to-day functioning including the training provided to the inspectors on their use.
• The availability of an increased number of flight operations inspectors on board with DGCA which now includes 14 full time Government Flight Operations Inspectors (FOI) and 18 FOIs on secondment from industry was shown to the FAA team as against the previous of only four FOIs in March 2009. It was emphasized to the team that current increased salary levels based on the 6th Pay Commission has increased the attractiveness of Government positions and retention has improved.
Government has approved and revised about 560 technical positions and 150 non-technical positions in addition to existing 160 technical and 177 non-technical positions. Aggressive action plan for recruitment is under way. 72 technical officers are being hired in September – October on short term contract. Higher level of financial delegation given to the DGCA by Government of India. DGCA has inturn delegated financial powers to regional offices. DGCA now has 13 directortes as against exiting 9. Four new directorates have been added. A DGCA wide internal and external training programme has been developed. Further, a big project of IT led solutions in DGCA is in advanced stage of action.
• DGCA India fulfils all international standards regarding Licensing and Certification Obligations.

• The DGCA-wide surveillance program was shared with the team and it was emphasized that all airlines including foreign airlines are included in the surveillance programme which is under aggressive implementation. The programme of surveillance includes Indian registered as well as aircraft taken by Indian operators on wet lease. The current programme for 2009 includes 4,327 surveillance activities, of which 2545 have been conducted till August 2009. The system for addressing deficiencies arising out of the surveillance was discussed. The team was informed of setting up of Surveillance and Enforcement Division (SMED) and the Board for Aviation Safety (BFAS) in headquarters for monthly monitoring of identified Level I deficiencies and progress of other deficiencies. 87 enforcement actions have been taken against personnel and operators. In addition to the surveillance programme, DGCA has put in a System of Quality Check of foreign flying training facilities used by Indian students for obtaining pilot licenses. DGCA officers have recently conducted an inspection of foreign flying institute in Philippines in consultation with their civil aviation authority. A system of recently introduced financial surveillance of airlines was also discussed based on the current economic slowdown and consequent pressures on the airlines.

• The revised Schedule VI of the Aircraft Rules 1937on Penalties was shared with the team where substantial increase in financial penalty for non-adherence to regulations has been addressed. DGCA Enforcement Policy and Procedures Manual was provided to the team which was issued on 20 May, 2009 and effective from 15 June 2009. The Manual establishes and publicizes internal deadlines for taking action, appeal actions, and monitoring compliance with enforcement decisions throughout the regions, and implements an effective internal staff process to ensure timely action. The DGCA Officers at headquarters and in the regions have been trained on the manual. Stakeholders are aware that they are subject to enforcement, and the program constitutes an effective deterrent.
FAA team was suitably impressed with the amount of work accomplished by DGCA India. FAA stated that complete action and correction of concerns raised by FAA was done in the available time space which is considered rare in the history of IASA. FAA also acknowledged the commitment and support of Ministry of Civil Aviation and Government of India.
India was found fully compliant with FAA observations and ICAO Annexes 1, 6 and 8. DGCA stated that India fully meets the eligibility criteria to retain current Category I status under FAA IASA.
24/09/09 Press Information Bureau

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HC moved to seize Paramount aircraft

Chennai: ECC Leasing Company Limited in Dublin-2, Ireland, has moved the Madras High Court to appoint an advocate-commissioner to seize, wherever found, its two aircraft leased out to Paramount Airways in Guindy.
According to the applicant, it had given in lease two Embraer 170 LR aircraft as per the agreement entered into with Paramount Airways on May 5, 2005, for five years. The Paramount was to pay a monthly rental of US $ 1,85,000. ECC issued a notice of termination on July 31, 2009, to Paramount, as the latter defaulted in paying the rentals. Paramount made a part payment of US $ 11,09,780 on August 5, 2009, and till date US $ 12,58,085 remained due.
When the matter came up before Justice N Paul Vasanthkumar last week, R Krishnamoorthy, senior counsel for Paramount, sought time to file the counter. He also stated that two months arrears would be paid to ECC on or before September 30.
Recording the submission, the judge adjourned the matter till October 1, with a direction to ECC to receive the said amount without prejudice to the rights of both the parties.
24/09/09 ExpressBuzz

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Jet seeks nod to approach overseas investors for funds

New Delhi: Jet Airways, which recently suffered the worst pilot strike, has sought the government’s permission to sell shares to overseas investors to avoid loan defaults and violation of debt covenants, as they may not be able to raise entire funds through equity route from domestic investors.
“The company cannot afford to have a financial crisis impacting its operations, which may have negative cascading effect in terms of sustenance of 13,000 employees, besides defaulting on payment obligations and violating the covenants prescribed by the various lenders,” the company said in a letter to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).
A Jet Airways spokesman was not available for comment. Jet, like most of its rivals, such as Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet, is suffering from high debt and spiralling costs. Although distressed investors, such as Wilbur Ross, have bought stakes in budget carriers, most investors shun airline stocks due to high operational costs and poor profitability outlook.
After many months of planning to raise funds, Jet, in August, passed an enabling resolution to raise $400 million through QIP, GDR, FCCB, follow-on public offer, rights issue or fully-convertible debentures.
24/09/09 Arun Kumar/Economic Times

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More competition on Gulf-India route as flight frequency rises

Competition in the price-sensitive Gulf-India sector is likely to intensify with budget carriers such as Air India Express increasing the number of flights, analysts say.
According to reports in the Indian media, from October 25, Air India Express – the low-cost subsidiary of national carrier Air India (AI) – will take over international routes now operated by the company's domestic division known formerly as Indian Airlines. "We operate 196 weekly flights to the Gulf and South east Asia. Now, we will take over 71 Air India flights to Sharjah, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Colombo," P P Singh, Chief Operating Officer, AI Express, told an Indian newspaper.
He said: "Six Air India Airbus A320 aircraft, which have both economy and business class seat configuration, will be converted to all-economy with 168 seats for these routes. Air India crew will still operate the Airbus A-320s, though the flights will be marketed as Air India Express flights. We will soon begin bookings.
"The change is part of our route rationalisation drive. There was hardly any demand for business class on Sharjah and Dubai flights from Kerala, and it was felt that this could be better serviced by Air India Express."
Air India had also announced that it would introduce no-frills service on select domestic routes. The airline is currently saddled with a debt of about Rs160 billion (Dh12.2bn) on an equity base of about Rs1.45bn.
24/09/09 Nina Varghese/Emirates Business 24-7

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Nacil not to restructure deal with Airbus, will stick to original plan

Bangalore/Mumbai: State-owned carrier National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, or Nacil, which operates flag carrier Air India, has dumped its plan to restructure a deal to buy Airbus A320 planes from European plane maker Airbus SAS, and will stick to its original plan of inducting 15 planes by the end of 2010.
“Air India had asked us for a plan for restructuring. We presented (the proposal). But they decided on the initial plan,” Kiran Rao, executive vice-president for sales and marketing at Airbus, said in an interview on Wednesday.
An Air India spokesperson confirmed that his carrier was not cancelling or delaying the delivery of any Airbus planes.
State-run Air India is expecting a bailout from the government to the tune of Rs15,000 crore and has committed to overhaul its operations and restructure debt of Rs15,241 crore. Its accumulated loss through fiscal year 2009 was at least Rs7,200 crore.
As part of the effort to turn around the company and cut costs, Air India had held talks with aircraft manufacturers to lower their prices.
“The idea was to defer the deliveries of the planes. One of the suggestions was to cancel some of its orders. The talks are progressing to have optimized fleet, which will also reduce the financial burden. But nothing has been finalized yet,” said a person familiar with the airline’s turnaround plan.
In 2005, Air India had placed an order for 111 aircraft, 43 from Airbus and 68 from rival Boeing Co. As part of the turnaround plan, Air India had proposed to launch a low-fare carrier with an all-economy-class configuration.
23/09/09 K. Raghu and P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Air India, Star Alliance held talks on integrating network

New Delhi: The top management of Air India and the Star Alliance held discussions here on Tuesday as the national carrier presented its progress report on integrating its domestic and international network, including the work on evolving a common flight code.
Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav held talks with a six-member Star Alliance delegation here and briefed them about the work being done on integrating the two erstwhile carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines, their fleet and network strength and of integrating their IT systems, official sources said.
One of the biggest obstacles for Air India in becoming a part of Star Alliance is the absence of same flight-code, which is IC for Indian Airlines and AI for Air India.
A common IT system, on which a US company was working, is likely to be finalized soon, the sources said, adding, eventual integration would take another six months.
Efforts were being made to align the processes and systems of the two erstwhile airlines and bring them on par with the Star Alliance standards, the sources said.
22/09/09 PTI/Livemint

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Key US review of aviation safety oversight in India begins

New Delhi: The US aviation regulator will begin on Tuesday a final audit of its Indian counterpart, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on safety oversight that will be key to the future international expansion plans of Indian airlines.
The two-day audit is the culmination of a review begun by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) earlier this year after the International Civil Aviation Organization, or Icao, found India lacking in around 70 areas, including shortage of flight safety inspectors and other technical personnel.
Since the review began, no new direct flights to the US from India have taken off. No new code share agreements have been approved between Indian carriers such as Jet Airways (India) Ltd and National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India, and US airlines such as United Airlines and US Airways, according to officials at the DGCA and the civil aviation ministry.
Both Jet Airways and Air India connect cities in the US and have sought expansion of code-share agreements with US carriers that will depend on the audit. The outcome is also crucial for airlines such as SpiceJet Ltd and Paramount Airways Pvt. Ltd that are preparing to fly international routes starting next year.
Code sharing refers to a ticket marketing practice among airlines that allows carriers to share the two characters in codes used in airline reservation systems. This helps customers purchase a single ticket on a journey that has two flights such as a New Delhi-London leg and a London-New York one on two different airlines.
If the FAA downgrades its safety standards rating for India to so-called category II after completing the review, no new services by Indian carriers can be started to the US. Once placed in category II, no new code-share agreements can also be allowed. Climbing back to category I, the highest class of safety, could take months or years.
22/09/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Acsa says Mumbai remains profitable

Johannesburg: Airports Company of South Africa's (Acsa’s) 10% stake in India’s busiest airport, Mumbai International Airport, continued to provide a healthy return in the year to March despite a sharp slowdown in the country’s air travel market.
In its latest annual report Acsa values its stake in the airport at R459m, a sharp increase on its R30m initial investment.
Haroon Jeena, Acsa’s group commercial executive, said yesterday while the stake was valued at R500m last year, the drop in value was largely due to a change in the way Acsa accounted for the investment, which was now regarded as an associate.
In 2006, a consortium led by Acsa, with a 10% stake, was awarded a 30-year contract by the Indian government to manage and operate the airport. The consortium included Bidvest with a 27% interest and Indian company GVK with 37%. A 26% stake was retained by the Airports Authority of India.
As part of the contract the consortium was tasked with upgrading the airport to meet a projected capacity of 40-million passengers. The airport manages about 23-million passengers. The consortium has committed to spending 2,23bn over seven years to upgrade the airport, of which 646,3m has been spent in the first three years. A further 1,59bn is to be spent over the next four years. Upgrades include increasing parking from 3600 bays to 12000, a terminal and apron extension, an international cargo terminal as well as runway and taxiway improvements.
21/09/09 Julius Baumann/Business Day, South Africa

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Key US review of airport safety standards in India begins today

New Delhi: The US aviation regulator will begin on Tuesday a final audit of its Indian counterpart, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), on safety oversight that will be key to the future international expansion plans of Indian airlines.
The two-day audit is the culmination of a review begun by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) earlier this year after the International Civil Aviation Organization, or Icao, found India lacking in around 70 areas, including shortage of flight safety inspectors and other technical personnel.
Since the review began, no new direct flights to the US from India have taken off. No new code share agreements have been approved between Indian carriers such as Jet Airways (India) Ltd and National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India, and US airlines such as United Airlines and US Airways, according to officials at the DGCA and the civil aviation ministry.
Both Jet Airways and Air India connect cities in the US and have sought expansion of code-share agreements with US carriers that will depend on the audit. The outcome is also crucial for airlines such as SpiceJet Ltd and Paramount Airways Pvt. Ltd that are preparing to fly international routes starting next year.
Code sharing refers to a ticket marketing practice among airlines that allows carriers to share the two characters in codes used in airline reservation systems. This helps customers purchase a single ticket on a journey that has two flights such as a New Delhi-London leg and a London-New York one on two different airlines.
21/09/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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GE's new plane engine 'tailored' in Bangalore

Bangalore: If Bansidhar Phansalkar and his team of 500 aviation engineers have their way, the shape of commercial flying could be quite different in the not-too-distant future, with jet engines sitting on the tail instead of the wings and sporting old-fashioned fan blades.
The physics of aeroplane engines has remained more or less the same since the first jet engine was built in the US in 1942 by General Electric. But Phansalkar and his team at GE Aviation's India engineering operations here are out to change that with their unducted engines, which promise to be 30-35% more fuel efficient and cheaper to manufacture and operate.
"We can be ready in the next five to six years," Phansalkar said on the sidelines of the GE TechFest, the $170 billion-plus engineering giant's annual show-and-tell R&D event at the GE John F Welch Technology Centre (JFWTC), here last week.
"There is a lot of activity going on here on the unducted or the open rotor engine in which AirBus has shown interest," the senior aviation technologist told DNA. Rolls-Royce and NASA were also involved in the project, he added.
The open rotor engine places the blades of the jet engine outside the casing, mixing the efficiency of turbo-propeller engines with the power of jet engines.
GE had tried this out in the 1980s but could not push the technology for various reasons. Now, with oil prices once again at their highs, interest in it has increased.
Thanks to work done by Phansalkar and his team, which is involved in very high-end analytics, the unducted fan engine is close to commercial realty.
21/09/09 C Chitti Pantulu/Daily News & Analysis

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Portals shower discounts on foreign travel

New Delhi: Leading travel portals are selling attractive packages at an affordable price for trips abroad.
Along with weekend packages, there are special fares for students.
Most operators, in association with select airlines, are offering great deals on airfare and extra incentives till September for destinations such as the UK, Europe, the US and Canada.
A student can fly to London, Rome or Milan for just Rs 9,450 and to Dallas via New York and Helsinki for as little as Rs 19,000.
In a tie-up with international airlines, Yatra.com, is giving extra baggage allowances from 23kg to 40kg for students, depending on the flight and destination.
Jet Airways’ “eduJetter benefits” is offering excess baggage between 40kg and 69kg for students travelling to the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, the UK and Singapore.
Jet has tied up with Matrix Cellular, a Delhi-based telecom solution provider, to offer free talk-time of up to Rs 3,500 and a rental waiver for the first month with a connection. It is also offering many other incentives such as shopping vouchers.
“While some airlines are offering custom-made packages, others operating on a system fare are offering extra baggage allowance, considering the first-timers who carry extra baggage,” Bhawna Agarwal, head of air business, Yatra.com, said.
According to a study conducted by research agency AC Nielson, travel portals such as Yatra, MakeMyTrip and Travelguru are the biggest players in the business with others such as cleartrip.com and travelocity.com following in their trail.
20/09/09 Garima Singh Neogy/The Telegraph

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Air France opposes fuel surcharge plan

Mumbai: Air France has opposed a proposal by India’s civil aviation regulator to abolish a fuel surcharge on tickets and include it in the base fare.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is trying to persuade airlines to shift the surcharge into the base fare, a move the carriers are resisting.
However, only Air France has voiced its concern officially so far. “We fail to understand why airlines are required to show its customers a breakdown as laid down in rule 135. Rule 135 covers airlines but does not cover service providers in the travel-related industry. Rule 135 is deemed to be bias(ed) as it is not only the airlines that publish travel-related products,” Air France wrote in a 28 August letter to the DGCA.
Airlines do not pay any part of the fuel surcharge to the government. Travel agents argue that there is no rationale for a separate fuel surcharge.
20/09/09 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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ISI talent scout held at city airport

Calcutta: A woman suspected to be a recruiter for Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) was arrested this afternoon at Calcutta airport after being identified by immigration officials on the basis of a lookout notice.
The 37-year-old suspect has been identified as Jyoti Rana, alias Mehrunnisa, alias Nisha Sharma.
Rana came to the city from Bangkok on an Air India Express flight and was spotted while she was undergoing immigration clearance.
Immigration officials immediately detained her against the lookout notice for passport forgery and human trafficking cases lodged in Delhi.
She was later arrested and taken to the airport police station for interrogation.
“Jyoti Rana is a Pakistani agent, based in Delhi, who recruits youths from various parts of India, including Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir,” an intelligence official told The Telegraph.
“These youths are taken in groups to Malaysia where they are given preliminary training in terrorism. They are then shifted to Pakistan,” the official added.
20/09/09 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

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Woman nabbed with 3 passports

Kolkata: A woman, suspected to be a human trafficker, was arrested at Kolkata airport after she arrived from Bangkok on Sunday night.
Police found three passports, Pakistani phone numbers and anti-India documents' in her possession.
The suspect had used an Indian passport, under the name Jyoti Rana', for the Air India Express flight from Malaysia via Bangkok that touched down in Kolkata at 9 pm on Sunday. She claims to hail from Uttamnagar, in the outskirts of Delhi. The three passports confiscated from her were in the names of Jyoti Rana, Mehrunnesa and Nisha Sharma.
According to sources, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had alerted airports about her three days ago. The IB had tracked her in Bangkok and found that she would be returning to Delhi via Kolkata.
Police said that the lookout notice against her was issued after a complaint at Uttam Nagar police station about her involvement with forgery of passports.
She insists to be an NGO worker from Delhi, but police don't buy her story. The "suave and soft-spoken woman" was proving to be a tough nut to crack, said sources.
Police are also examining if the 37-year-old had any links with terrorist outfits, an official said.
21/09/09 Times of India

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Three senior citizens held for smuggling foreign currencies worth Rs36 lakh

Mumbai: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Customs on Friday arrested thee persons, including a NRI couple, for allegedly attempting to smuggle foreign currencies worth Rs36 lakh to Singapore.
Lalchand Vaswani, 78, and his wife Pushpa, 71, holding Singapore passports and Choith Harcha-ndani, 49, an Indian passport holder, were arrested under theCustoms Act 1962 and Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) 1999. An AIU officer informed that they recovered US Dollars 30,600, Singapore Dollars 61,760 and Euro 2,500 from the couple.However, the trio were released on a bail of Rs1.5 lakh each by the Esplanade court, defence lawyer Ravi Hirani said and added that his clients were falsely implicated in the case.
AIU officials intercepted three passengers at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport while they were on their way to board the Singapore Airlines flight.
20/09/09 Dayanand Kamath/Daliy News & Analysis

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Man held for smuggling drug worth Rs 1cr at IGI airport

New Delhi: Customs officials at the IGI Airport seized 4.7 kgs of ketamine an effect anaesthetic and recreational drug worth a crore (in the international market) from one Muthalif Anees Mohammad on Tuesday. The accused has been sent to judicial custody by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala House Courts, on Saturday.
"Muthalif was arrested when he was about to board a flight to Bangkok. The drug was concealed between the two layers of milk cookers. The drug was brought to Delhi from Tamilnadu,'' said MK Gupta, commissioner of customs (import and general).
This is not the first incident when customs department has arrested people for smuggling ketamine out of the country. "In August, Charles Rosario Jeffry and Joseph Dominic Allan were arrested in Chennai while they were trying to smuggle ketamine 47.3 kgs worth Rs 16.55 lakh (approximate value in the international market is Rs 10 crore),'' said Gupta.
In the last five months, customs officials at IGI Airport have seized 195.48 kg of ketamine worth Rs 40 crore (in the international market) and have arrested nine persons. "In all these cases, the accused procured ketamine from Chennai or nearby areas. The drug was then brought to Delhi via domestic airlines and was then smuggled out of India,'' said Gupta. .
20/09/09 Times of India

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Dense fog disrupts flight operations

Kozhikode: Several flights from Gulf countries had delayed landing today as fog disrupted air traffic at the International airport near here.
The Air India Express and Air Arabia flight from Sharjah were diverted to Kochi along with the Qatar Airways flight on the Doha-Bahrain-Kozhikode route.
An Indian Airlines flight from Sharjah and an Air India Express flight on the Abu Dhabi-Dubai-Kozhikode route were diverted to Thiruvananthapuram while the Oman Airways flight from Muscut was diverted to Bangalore, they said.
18/09/09 Press Trust of India

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Flyers to pay more for second check-in bag

New Delhi: Flying is all set to get more expensive with the concept of pay for check-in baggage arriving in India this week. One of US' biggest carriers, American Airlines, has from Monday discontinued the earlier practice of allowing economy passengers to check in two bags of up to 23 kg each for no charge. The airline, which flies between Delhi and Chicago, will now charge $50 for the second bag and $150 for the third one, said the airline's call centre.
Aviation industry insiders say the concept had been prevalent in US and Europe for a while and it was only a matter of time before cash-strapped airlines here too start levying it. "It is a new trend that has come to India. So far only American has told us of this change. Very soon, other airlines, including domestic low cost carriers, could start levying it here too. Nothing will come for free to flyers," said Rajendra Rai, president of the Travel Agents Association of India.
American's website said: "Customers purchasing economy class tickets on or after September 14 (for travel between) India (some other countries) and US .... may check one bag for no charge and the second bag for $50." The airline's call centre said the first bag allowed to be cheked in for free should weigh up to 23 kg. Foreign carriers, especially US airlines, had earlier this year started levying charge for both internal and international flights.
18/09/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Jet blinked after investor threat

Mumbai: It could have played like the Mario Puzo bestseller The Godfather, with Don Vito Corleone calling up the 'five families' of New York to end the war between them, after the death of his son Sonny.
The war was between the pilots of National Aviators Guild (NAG) and the management of Jet Airways (India) Ltd had entered the fifth day when the calls began to come.
The voices on the other side were very persuasive, calling the airline management to strike a truce. These foreign investors threatened to pull out of a "multi-hundred crore" investment proposal through a Singapore-based company.
To boot, the US Exim Bank also threatened to cancel the 85% guarantee for the airline's Boeings, said a source who was present at meetings between the pilots and the management.
"The Jet bosses got a call from Singapore-based investors who said if the airline did not dissolve the union and end the strike soon, they would back out of their investment plans," thesource said.
But a senior Jet Airways official said --- on the condition of anonymity --- denied the airline's top brass got such calls from investors or the US Exim.
"Saroj Datta (Jet Airways executive director) eventually discussed this situation with the National Aviators' Guild, explaining the predicament of the airline when seeking to dissolve the guild and forming a joint committee with the management and the pilots, after investors started asking questions about the state of affairs," the source said.
18/09/09 Ramiya Bhas/Daily News & Analysis

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Govt okays amendment to Air Agreement with Saudi Arabia

New Delhi: The government has approved an amendment to the Air Service Agreement between India and Saudi Arabia with a view to enhance bilateral economic relations and promote tourism.
"The modernised ASA has the potential to spur greater trade investment, tourism and cultural exchange between the two countries besides bringing it in tune with the developments in the international civil aviation scenario," Information & Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.
The two countries, during their bilateral air services consultations in January 2008, had agreed to modernise the ASA signed in 1973.
"In the modernised ASA, articles on cooperative marketing arrangements and Aviation Safety have been introduced. Also, now each side can designate one or more of their carrier to operate agreed services between the two countries," Soni said.
17/09/09 Press Trust of India/Business Standard

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Airbus projects £1.9trn demand for planes

Some 25,000 commercial aircraft with a total value of $3.1 trillion (£1.9 trillion) will be delivered over the next two decades as emerging economies, the need for more ecologically-efficient planes and growing low-cost carriers boost demand, Airbus said yesterday.
Although revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) – the airline industry's key income measure – is set to drop by 2 per cent this year, it is expected to rise by 4.6 per cent in 2010 and double over the next 15 years, according to Airbus estimates. The result will be $2.9 trillion-worth of spending on new passenger aircraft as carriers upgrade aging fleets and buy bigger planes. The strongest demand will come from Asia-Pacific, boosted by massive growth in China and India.
18/09/09 Sarah Arnott/The Independent, UK

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FAA to Propose New Fatigue Rules

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to propose changes to two of the most hotly contested issues involving cockpit fatigue, as part of a broader effort to revamp decades-old limits on how long commercial pilots can stay behind the controls.
The proposed changes would affect ultralong-range routes flown by jumbo jets as well as short hops flown by the smallest turboprop aircraft.
Airline pilots have long argued that current regulations governing crew scheduling on these two types of routes -- which operate at the opposite ends of commercial aviation -- fail to adequately address safety hazards. But the FAA hasn't followed through with changes, partly as a result of opposition from airlines concerned about costly rules.
Now, the agency is gearing up for an overhaul of regulations governing flight hours and length of workdays for all U.S. airline pilots. The FAA wants to replace the current one-size-fits-all rules on pilot workdays with a new regime that takes into consideration the latest scientific research on sleep.
Under these new parameters, pilots' schedules would vary depending on the time of day, the number of takeoffs and the internal body clocks of crew members.
The FAA is likely to end what are, in effect, longstanding exemptions permitting pilots of small turboprop aircraft at Skywest Airlines and a handful of other regional carriers to fly as much as 20% more hours per month than the rest of the industry, according to representatives of regional carriers and pilots. Such a change, affecting planes carrying between 19 and 30 passengers, could force some carriers to hire additional pilots.
For nonstop routes between 16 and 20 hours, the FAA is leaning toward proposing additional restrictions, possibly including enhanced rest periods for pilots, according to people familiar with the matter. Current FAA regulations were written decades before the advent of such flights connecting U.S. gateways with India or other far-flung destinations.
Airlines have successfully challenged earlier FAA proposals to extend pilot rest before, during and after flying ultralong routes. Airlines are concerned that it could be expensive to comply with new requirements because it could require that additional pilots be assigned to these routes.
16/09/09 Andy Pasztor/The Wall Street Journal

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Kingfisher starts Mumbai-Hong Kong flights

Kingfisher Airlines flagged off services between Hong Kong and Mumbai with its inaugural flight taking off from Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok Airport on Wednesday.
Addressing media persons who had gathered to witness the flag off A K Ravi Nedungadi, director, Kingfisher Airlines Limited said, "A growing number of travellers from India to Hong Kong and the South East Asia are demanding more choice, greater luxury and better value for money when choosing flights for business and leisure trips to India.
"There is tremendous potential for this route which Kingfisher Airlines is committed to develop with its new aircraft and superior service."
Earlier in the day, the maiden flight of Kingfisher Airlines was welcomed by Howard Eng, executive director, Airport Operations, Hong Kong International Airport. Starting today, Kingfisher will also launche flights between Mumbai and Singapore.
16/09/09 Rediff.com

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Woman not guilty of flight abuse

A woman who was said to have allowed herself to be fondled by a passenger on a flight to Heathrow Airport has been cleared of being drunk on an aircraft.
Clare Irby, a descendant of the Guinness brewing dynasty, was flying from Bangalore, India, on March 26 when the alleged incidents occurred.
She was accused of being abusive after having up to 10 glasses of wine.
However Ms Irby, 30, of Fulham, west London, told Isleworth Crown Court she was suffering from sleep deprivation.
After the verdict, Ms Irby waved and smiled outside court.
During the trial, Ms Irby told the court she felt sorry for passengers who had sat next to her.
She said: "I personally feel sorry for people who sit by me because I know I'm louder than the average person, because I have a child who I care for and have to make sure he behaves as well as he can."
I was exhausted beyond belief - I was really, really tired. Ms Irby told the court said she was surprised when the captain on the Kingfisher Airlines flight banned her from being served more alcohol and accepted she asked for more wine after the decision had been made.
She also accepted being "rather too curt with the air hostess" and added she was not as polite as usual.
Ms Irby, the daughter of banker Paul Aschan, rejected allegations she had flirted with a fellow passenger or had revealed her underwear while trying to get changed.
16/09/09 BBC News, UK

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GE plans to source parts from India for F-16 engine

Chennai/Bangalore: General Electric (GE), which is in contention as the engine supplier for the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contract of the IAF with three of its engines, is keen on sourcing components from Indian industry.
GE said, it will manufacture, assemble and test the engine, if any of its partner wins the contract, at the Hindusthan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The global engine manufacturing behemoth said it will get many of its engine components manufactured by local firms. GE’s F110-GE-132 turbofan engine powers the F-16 IN, which Lockheed Martin is seeking to sell to India.
“The firm will tailor the engine for Indian configurations,” said Philip G Woniger, program manager, F110-GE-132, GE Aviation. Customisations for the engines that will power the F-16 IN will include durability core.
17/09/09 Business Standard

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'Sounds like I didn't act like a lady' says the Guinness girl

A socialite who romped with a fellow passenger on a flight from India bragged she had been taking opium, a court has heard. Clare Irby, a descendant of the Guinness family, is said to have allowed a man she had just met to fondle her breasts while his girlfriend slept nearby.
She had shared at least three bottles of wine with Daniel Melia, who kissed and caressed her while her two-year-old son was left unattended and crying, the court heard.
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A fellow passenger told the court that Irby had told Melia she was feeling more relaxed than usual because she had been taking lots of opium.
Irby, 30, was arrested for drunkenness and lewd behaviour when the aircraft landed in Britain.
She told police she couldn't remember behaving in the way she was accused of but said it sounded as if 'I didn't behave like a young lady'.
At one point in the 11-hour Kingfisher Airlines flight from Bangalore to Heathrow, Irby is said to have stripped down to a black G-string.
She also allegedly told staff to 'wipe this s*** off my hand' after her son soiled his nappy, generated 'two bin bags full' of rubbish and called a stewardess 'a bitch'.
Irby said she had had very little sleep before the flight as she had got up early to catch the plane after a three-month stay in the beach resort of Goa.
She denied being drunk, saying she had had only three or four glasses of wine on the plane.
Irby also denied romping with Melia declaring: 'Nobody touched my bloody breasts, this was something I'd remember as a woman, I assure you.'
Irby told the court she had never stripped off. Instead she had changed into trousers by pulling them up under her skirt.
She also denied saying she felt relaxed because she had taken opium. The court heard that Kingfisher Airlines is run by the Indian beer company. The airline has been serving drinks on board since September last year, when it began international flights.
16/09/09 Colin Fernandez/Mail Online, UK

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Woman falls asleep, misses flight

Kolkata: A Thai national who dozed off after collecting her boarding pass led to a frenzied manhunt at Kolkata airport on Tuesday morning.
Bangkok resident Wathanya Phromthong collected her Air India Express boarding pass at 6.30 am. She, and 12 others were asked to wait for the immigration-check call for the 9.30 am flight. Around 8.30 am, officers noticed that all passengers except one had reported for immigration check. "We looked for her in the check-in area and security hold. Her name was announced at least 25 times," said an AI official. Phromthong had strayed into the central lounge and drifted to sleep.
Phromthong was not taken on board. She may have to buy another ticket to fly back home.
16/09/09 Times of India

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Air India signs pact with Singapore Airlines

Air India and Singapore Airlines have signed a bilateral agreement that would enable passengers of either carrier to earn and redeem miles on flights operated by the other.
Under the new agreement, effective from Tuesday, frequent flyers on Singapore Airlines and Air India be able to earn and redeem miles on flights operated by either carrier.
The agreement comes in the wake of efforts by the national carrier to fulfil the conditions of joining the Star Alliance, of which SIA is a founder member. Air India has already been invited to join the global alliance, which was formed in 1997 and has a membership of 26.
The agreement means that members of SIA's KrisFlyer programme would be able to earn KrisFlyer miles when they fly with Air India, or choose to redeem their miles for flights with the Indian carrier, an SIA statement said.
Likewise, members of Air India's Flying Returns programme would enjoy greater choice by having the option of using their miles on the Singaporean carrier or earning miles when they fly on it, it said.
14/09/09 PTI/Rediff

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Thai focus on airports

Calcutta: Thai companies engaged in infrastructure development are eyeing airport modernisation projects in India.
“There is a huge business potential here for the Thai companies engaged in infrastructure development. The Indian government has lined up ambitious spend in infrastructure over the next few years which includes the modernisation of airports,” Krit Kraichitti, Thai ambassador to India, said at a programme organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (eastern region) here today.
Italian Thai Development, one of Thailand’s biggest builders, has already bagged the modernisation work of the Calcutta airport. The company is also constructing an NHAI-funded 31-km stretch on the Assam-Bengal border.
Automobile, information technology, pharmaceuticals, textiles and tourism are the other sectors where Thai companies can play a crucial role, according to Kraichitti.
By 2010, trade between India and Thailand is estimated to reach Rs 50,000 crore from Rs 30,000 crore now.
13/09/09 The Telegraph

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Drunken socialite 'stripped to her knickers' and abused Kingfisher Airlines staff

Miss Clare Irby, 30, a descendant of the Guinness family, had her breasts fondled by a male passenger with whom she had become friendly during the flight from Bangalore to Heathrow, (In March this year) it was alleged.
Her young son, aged about two or three, ran around the Kingfisher Airlines plane without a nappy on and at one stage Irby tossed a soiled nappy onto a row of seats behind her, Isleworth Crown Court heard.
Bill McGivern, prosecuting, said a member of the public, Polly O'Callaghan, would tell the court she noticed Miss Irby had become “very friendly” with another passenger.
The pair shared three bottles of wine, and they were both loud, he added. Miss Irby repeatedly pushed the button to call members of staff, and at one stage called one of them a “bitch”, it was alleged.
The flight crew banned her from drinking further amounts because of her behaviour, the jury heard.
Mr McGivern added: “That behaviour included such matters as at one stage she changed from her skirt to trousers but simply took her skirt off and revealed her underwear in full view of other passengers.
”At another point she complained about diamonds having been stolen and asked to be given a bottle of wine in lieu of that.
”At one stage she was seen to throw a dirty nappy on to the seat behind her.
”She became friendly with another male passenger and one of the witnesses saw that passenger fondling her breasts.”
He said Miss Irby was “generally disruptive and difficult” and added: “At one stage she gave one of the crew the finger because she didn't like what was being said to her.”
Irby was arrested when the flight landed. A police officer believed that she was still drunk when he attended, the jury heard.
Saloni Khanna, director of the crew on the flight number IT 001, said she had dealt with Miss Irby on a number of occasions during the 11 hour flight.
At one point, she saw Irby sprawled across four seats and she added: “Her skirt had risen up to the waist and her underpants were visible.
”The child had dirtied his diapers and she wasn't aware. I told the crew to take care of the child. “
Miss Irby, of Fulham, south west London, denies being drunk on a plane.
14/09/09 Richard Savill/Telegraph.co.uk, UK

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Qantas, Air Asia top on-time performance

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has for the first time ever given out the on time performance (OTP) figures of foreign airlines.
DGCA chief Nasim Zaidi started the practice of studying foreign airline OTP figures and making them public. “Seventy foreign carriers operate to India. At the time of compilation of this report, on time performance data of 38 carriers was received. Other carriers have been told to furnish the on time performance data in the first week of every month,” said an aviation ministry statement. The overall on time performance of these 38 carriers this August was 74.9% for departures and 66.6% for arrivals.
The government also gave out the names of best and worst on time performance airlines so that passengers can choose the more punctual ones. The airlines with best timing performance on arrival and departure side were — Qantas, Air Asia Berhad, Swiss Air, Air Maldives, Air France and Al Nippon. The “worst” on time performance in both departure and arrival had three common names — Air Yemen, Iran Air and Turkish.
“Foreign airlines are also going to be closely monitored by us on on time performance and safety fronts. We will begin random checking of aircraft of foreign carriers,” said the official.
15/09/09 Times of India

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Asian airports, shipping cos brace for M&A frenzy

Hong Kong: Asia’s airports and container shippers will be the focus of IPOs and M&A deals in the region’s industrial sector in the near term as governments look to reduce deficits and shippers consolidate, a top Citigroup banker said on Monday.
Global merger and acquisition volumes in the industrial sector have plummeted more than 40% so far in 2009 to roughly $138 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Despite the gloomy numbers, Asia is strong compared with Western markets, and strategically sound deals would move ahead, Michael Borch, Citi's head of industrials, global investment banking, Asia Pacific, told Reuters.
“It is fairly well documented, what Korea is looking to do with Incheon Airport,” Borch said, in an interview.
“The most likely outcome will be an IPO, but of a minority stake in the airport. The reason being that with infrastructure funds, there are only a few that are happy to buy into assets without control. The only way you can monetise an asset without control is by way of an IPO.”
Other regional governments have already tapped the markets for their airports. Beijing Capital International Airport Co, for example, is listed in Hong Kong. “Infrastructure asset sales can contribute to deficit reduction,” Borch said.
Airports Authority of India plans an IPO next near, according to media reports. Hong Kong government previously had plans to privatise its Airport Authority through an IPO, but the plan has been shelved, with no clear signs of revival.
15/09/09 Reuters/Economic Times

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ORBIS flying eye hospital to leave Stansted Airport for India this week

The world's only Flying Eye Hospital left London Stansted Airport after hundreds turned out to see how international sight-saving charity ORBIS, carries out its training in developing countries.
The aircraft is operated as part of the charity's global work, preventing avoidable blindness in the poorest communities of the world and leaves for its next mission in India next week.
The Flying Eye Hospital is a DC-10 aircraft converted into a state-of-the art training facility. ORBIS's medical volunteers - consultant ophthalmologists, anesthetists, and nurses - donate their time to transfer skills across continents.
The next flight that gives sight will be to India (leaving Stansted Airport Thursday September 17) where, ORBIS volunteers and local doctors will restore the sight of children like Richard. Richard is three years old and lives in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
He had a severe squint which affected his mobility and everyday life. The procedure to restore Richard's sight was not available when his mother heard that the ORBIS Flying Eye Hospital was landing she hoped this would be the moment that changed Richard's life forever.
14/09/09 Herald 24, UK

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Passenger dies at Sanganer airport

Jaipur: A passenger who alighted from the Oman Airlines at the Sanganer Airport early this morning died due to suspected respiratory problems, the airport official said.
Ayub Mohammed Khokar, aged about 40 years, who had boarded the private airline in Muscat, collapsed after complaining of respiratory problem, the airport sources said. Khokar, an Indian national, was rushed to the medical room where he succumbed to his chronic respiratory illness, they said.
14/09/09 Press Trust of India

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Wipro Gets 3-Year Contract From Japan's All Nippon Airways

Mumbai: Indian information technology company Wipro Ltd. said Monday it has received a three-year contract from Japan's All Nippon Airways Co.
Wipro will help the airline manage material, strengthen its regulatory compliance to reduce costs and improve the quality of aircraft parts maintenance operations, Wipro said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
14/09/09 Satish Sarangarajan/Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal, US

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UAE aircraft takes off for return journey after refuelling

Kolkata: The cargo plane of UAE's Air Force, which was detained in the city last week touched down at the NSC Bose international airport here yesterday afternoon for refuelling left for Abu Dhabi at 10.55 am, airport sources said.
The China-bound plane was detained at Kolkata airport here for over four days since September 6 as the documentation submitted prior to its arrival for a scheduled transit halt had not disclosed that it was carrying arms and ammunition.
13/09/09 Press Trust of India

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7 kg ketamine seized from flier at airport

Kolkata: Customs officers seized 7 kg ketamine hydrochloride, worth Rs 70 lakh in the international market, from a Bangkok-bound Air India Express passenger at Kolkata airport on Sunday .
The carrier, in his 20s, posed as a jewellery supplier going to Bangkok on business. "We found ketamine powder concealed in the jewellery boxes. The youth hails from Orissa and the consignment was going to Kuala Lumpur via Bangkok. We suspect the kingpins are from Chennai," said a Customs officer.
In the past two years, several passengers have been arrested at Kolkata airport for smuggling ketamine to Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
14/09/09 Times of India

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Finnair aims at positioning Helsinki as a European hub

Mumbai: Finnair has reinstated its commitment to the Indian market by recently announcing that it is restarting its operations to Mumbai from October 18, 2009. The airline has also laid out plans to further strengthen its position in this market. The airline’s strategy is to become a major carrier between Europe and Asia while positioning Helsinki as a European hub.
Talking to TravelBiz Monitor, Kari Stolbow, Director - Indian Subcontinent, Finnair said, “India is a challenging market. When we pulled out our operations from the Mumbai route, we were sure to return as there is lot of potential in this market. We will be starting the services on Mumbai route with three flights a week and will consider increasing the frequencies depending on the load factor.” He mentioned that like any expanding carrier in India, the airline will also be evaluating key routes and South India is prominent on their radar. However, no timeline was given for the same.
Stolbow informed that the airline is focused on targeting business and leisure travellers from India. The new flights from Mumbai have been scheduled for the morning slot, which will benefit the business travellers. Finnair is in the process of acquiring a new fleet of A330 aircraft.
14/09/09 Charmaine Fernz/TravelBizMonitor

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GE bets on India, keen on acquisitions across sectors

New Delhi: General Electric (GE) is in talks to acquire Indian firms in sectors such as healthcare, energy, transportation equipment and infrastructure, as the $183-billion conglomerate looks to expand beyond the US and Europe, its key markets that are affected by the global economic downturn.
GE is going ahead with investment plans in its existing businesses, such as healthcare, water, energy, aviation, rail and financial services. The firm is looking at partnering firms across sectors to leverage their knowledge and technology-sharing know-how.
The company, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, also plans to ramp up its headcount across divisions in India over the next few years. The company, which employs around 3,23,000 people globally, has around 12,000 people on its rolls in India.
14/09/09 Pramugdha Mamgain/Economic Times

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China: Plane detention an espionage attempt

Beijing has taken strong exception to the detention of a China-bound United Arab Emirates Air Force aircraft at Kolkata airport earlier this week. It cal-led the incident an attempt by Indian officials "to spy on Chinese military secrets".
"It (the detention of the aircraft) violated diplomatic rights because the cargo on board belonged to China," said Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party-owned English newspaper. The report, quoting Dai Xu, whom the daily identified as a military expert, added that the arms were being taken back to China from Abu Dhabi after a weapon expo.
The C-130 Hercules among the biggest transport aircraft in the world was on its way to Xiangyang, China, from UAEAF's Western Air Command base in Abu Dhabi and detained at Kolkata airport on September 6. After trying to fob off Indian officials and investigators, one of the pilots of the aircraft admitted that the plane was carrying a consignment of weapons.
The plane was seized by Customs authorities as the documentation submitted prior to its arrival did not disclose the cargo. The technical halt for refuelling and giving the crew rest was originally scheduled for 13 hours, but stretched to 88 hours. The aircraft finally took off for Xiangyang at 9.24 am on Thursday. The matter could have been resolved earlier had conventional weapons been on board. But the presence of three boxes, marked "combat missiles" led to the logjam. Sleuths suspected that deadly US-made Harpoon missiles were being channelized to China from UAE and Egypt.
13/09/09 Manas Paul/Times of India

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The weapons in UAE plane were for Abu Dhabidefense exhibition: China

Speculations have been running wild since Sunday when a United Arab Emirates (UAE) Air Force plane was detained in Kolkata, India, for carrying undeclared weapons bound for China.
An official from the Chinese Ministry of National Defense told the Global Times Thursday that there is nothing wrong with China transporting its weapons via a UAE military aircraft for a defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE.
The Times of India, the largest newspaper in the country, reported Monday that customs officials found three boxes containing undeclared arms, ammunition and explosives in a China-bound UAE Air Force's C-130 Hercules aircraft when it made a stopover at the Kolkata airport for refueling.
The nine crew members were detained and questioned, and the aircraft was held at the airport. After nearly 72 hours, the plane was released Wednesday evening and left for China at 9:30 am Thursday, the newspaper reported.
The discovery has fueled suspicions of wrongdoing by China, as the UAE buys most of its weapons from the US and EU, which impose strict controls on arms transfers to China, The Times newspaper in London reported Thursday.
Dai Xu, a noted scholar on Chinese defense, dismissed the speculation from the Western media, saying "The US has stipulated stiff rules regarding military-technology transfers."
He noted that "China has advanced missile technology by itself, and there is no need to covet missiles from France. Even if we are interested in their missiles, NATO forbids the sale to us."
11/09/09 Global Times/People's Daily Online, China

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