Maldivian Open to Investing in Indian Private Carrier

Mumbai: Maldivian, the national carrier of Maldives, which recently announced its expansion plans with flights to Mumbai and Chennai from November, has said that it is not averse to investing in some of the Indian private carrier if there is an opportunity.
"If given an opportunity, we will definitely do so (investing in some private carriers)," Maldivian managing director Abdul Harris said here.
He said that the policy change allowing up to 49 per cent foreign direct investment by the foreign carriers in the domestic airlines is a "great initiative" by the government and will provide a level-playing field.
Nevertheless, Maldivian, the airline division of Island Aviation Services Ltd, already has collaborations with Indian companies in the segment for providing different services to the carrier.
30/09/12 Outlook India

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Cancellation of Air India Express flight to Kochi draws ire

Muscat: Hundred-and-eighteen passengers who were supposed to fly from Muscat to Kochi, the commercial capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala, in an Air India Express flight, were accommodated in hotels in Ruwi as their flight developed a "technical glitch-.
"The aircraft has developed a technical glitch before its flight. Engineers are doing their best to resolve the problem. As soon as the problem is resolved, the passengers will be flown to their destination,- Amresh Chaudhary, country manager of Air India in Muscat, told Times of Oman.
Meanwhile, the passengers who were stranded due to the flight cancellation were seen visibly agitated at the airport
"The flight was to take off at 11.50am and all the passengers had checked in. There was no information initially. We were waiting for the bus to transports us to the aircraft. By 12pm, some officials came and said that the flight could only leave the next day,- Reji Sahul, one of the stranded Air Indian Express passengers, said.
30/09/12 Times of Oman

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MidEast airlines best for passenger, cargo growth

Airlines from the Middle East posted the strongest growth in both passenger and cargo operations in August, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Saturday.
The region's carriers continued to expand rapidly - particularly on long-haul segments - although the 16.7 percent growth was likely boosted by the impact of Ramadan, IATA said in a statement.
Capacity on Middle East airlines expanded by 13.3 percent in August which took load factors to 78.4 percent.
Middle East carriers also saw an 11.3 percent increase in cargo demand against a 10.4 percent increase in capacity which was the strongest performance globally.
Worldwide, demand for air passenger travel expanded by 5.1 percent in August compared to the same month in 2011.
29/09/12 Andy Sambidge/Arabian Business.com

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Trafficking: 14 Lankans deported

Fourteen Sri Lankan nationals held here in connection with the human trafficking case boarded the flight to Colombo from the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on Saturday morning, as part of the deportation under the Foreigners Act.
Another Sri Lankan, included among those to be deported, could not board the flight owing to an issue over the passport. The Kollam District Collector had issued orders to deport 15 Sri Lankan nationals of Tamil origin.
All 15 were acquitted from the case as victims by the Kollam First Class Magistrate Court II on August 18.
Fourteen of them were lodged in Gandhi Bhavan, Pathanapuram, while a woman identified as Muthumala was staying in a private lodge.
She was out on bail after the court acquitted her and was not under the protection of the district administration. Sakthikulangara SI Rupesh Raj said that one of the Sri Lankans, identified as Kanakaselvam, could not travel back as he had not retrieved his passport, which was surrendered in the court.
30/09/12 New Indian Express/IBN Live

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CII signs MoU with ADS to help SMEs leverage opportunities in various sectors

To promote and explore opportunities for cooperation among the SMEs in the Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space, CII signed an MoU with ADS, in Cardiff,  Wales, UK.
 CII SME delegation led by Deep Kapuria, chairman, CII National MSME Council and Chairman, Hitech Gears Ltd  is participating at the India UK SME Business Meet (27 - 28 September 2012), in Cardiff, organised jointly by the Indian High Commission  (in London, UK)  and the  Welsh Government.
 Speaking at the occasion, Deep Kapuria, Chairman, CII National MSME Council and Chairman, Hitech Gears said that - ''Both ADS & CII will work together in establishing programmes in Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space, which will encourage greater sharing of expertise and experience between SMEs and developing linkages with relevant agencies tasked with supporting SMEs''.The MoU will enable us to upscale the Indian SMEs to the high global standards in the  four (4) sectors, and CII will work closely with both the Ministry of MSME and the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), (the two key stakeholders in the Indian SME space) in this direction, he added.
28/09/12 myiris.com

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120 passengers of Muscat-Kochi flight stranded

Muscat: About 120 passengers, including a pregnant woman and infants, were stranded at the Muscat International Airport on Saturday after an Air India Express aircraft developed a technical snag.
“We have had a technical glitch in the Airbus A320 aircraft and we are trying to rectify the problem so that the passengers could be flown Muscat-Kochi by tonight,” Amresh Choudhary, Air India Country Manager Oman, told Gulf News.
He explained that a mechanical part is being sent from India. Permission from the Oman Aviation Services is also required for the flight to depart, he said.
“The flight was to take off at 11.50am and all the passengers were checked in,” Raji Sahul, a stranded Air Indian Express passenger, told Gulf News.
29/09/12  Sunil K. Vaidya/Gulf News

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Protest march against Air India fare hike

“The present state government and the ministers in it are more interested in lining their pockets than finding solutions to people’s problems,” Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan has said.
He was inaugurating the CPM protest meet against the recent cancellation of Air India flights to gulf sectors and hiking its fares.
“There are lakhs of expatriate Malayalees working in the gulf, and they bring in foreign currency worth crores of rupees. But the state government, more than solving their problems, is set to exploit them,” he added.
The protest march, taken out to the Air India office at the airport, was stopped at the airport gates by the police.
29/09/12 New Indian Express/IBN Live

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Protest held to reclaim airport from GMR

 A protest was held last at the Artificial Beach area calling to reclaim the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) from GMR, India.
The protest held in the name "The Maldivians' airport to Maldivians" initiated by some political parties within the coalition government, was not participated by large numbers of people. Out of the pro-government parties, only leaders of Adhaalath Party (AP) had been seen during last night's protest, where President of AP Sheikh Imran Abdulla took part in the gathering.
All speakers during the gathering had basically called on to regain the airport from GMR and annul the agreement made with the Indian company.
28/09/12 Muizzu Ibrahim/Haveeru Online

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First Batch of Hajj Pilgrims Leaves from Mangalore Airport

Mangalore: The first Hajj flight carrying 220 pilgrims took off from Mangalore Airport at 11.30 am at Thursday September 28. There would be five trips till October 2 with a total of 1,035 pilgrims flying the Mecca, the sacred place of Muslims from Mangalore Airport
 S K Bellubbi, minister for Hajj and Wakf waved the flag to mark the formal departure of the pilgrims in the presence of Fazal Koyamma Tangal, assistant Qazi of Ullal. Twaka Ahmed Musliyar, Qazi of DK district led the prayers.Minister S K Bellubbi said that in all there are 6,800 Hajj pilgrims going from Karnataka. "Pilgrims would also be flying from Bangalore, Goa and Hyderbad," he added
28/09/12 Daijiworld.com

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Rs 20 lakh worth foreign brand cigarettes seized at IGI

New Delhi: Cigarettes worth nearly Rs 20 lakh have been seized by customs officials from five Afghan nationals at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here.
The Customs officers on Thursday had intercepted five Afghan passengers Mohammad Nazir, Shukib, Zergai, Toryaji and Najibullah - coming from Kabul and recovered 984 packets (1,96,800 sticks) of 'Mond' brand cigarettes valued Rs 19.68 lakh which were being smuggled into India. "The goods have been seized under provisions of Customs Act, 1962," an official said.
28/09/12 PTI/Zee News

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Kingfisher Airlines in stake sale talks: Mallya

Bangalore: Vijay Mallya, chairman of the beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines (KFA), on Wednesday said he was in talks with foreign carriers for a possible stake sale, amid protests by some shareholders and edginess among bankers over steps to recover their dues.
Lenders are keeping close tabs on progress of FDI talks after the government allowed foreign airlines to buy up to 49% in Indian carriers. A section of lenders is pushing for a quicker decision on the issue, especially because they are losing money every quarter by setting aside funds for potential losses. The bank chief said that the airline had told them several months ago that it was in talks with a foreign carrier but there is little to show by way of movement on the issue.
"Suffice it to say that we are having conversations (with foreign carriers). As for how close we are (to concluding a deal), the policy on FDI in aviation was announced only ten days ago. You can go so fast and not faster," Mallya told reporters a day before a meeting with bankers.
27/09/12 Times of India

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AirAsia ready for India if all is well: CEO

Kuala Lumpur: Frills-free airline, AirAsia, will not hesitate to establish itself in India if the "aviation environment" and tax structure are "conducive and friendly" for low-cost airline operations.
Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said though the Indian government has allowed 49 per cent foreign direct investments in the country's civil aviation sector, the cost of operating an airline there was still higher than many developed nations.
"This is the power of AirAsia. Everyone wants us but the right infrastructure and environment must be there for us to go there (India).
"The airport tax is already very high and I even heard that they are going to further increase the tax, forcing many airlines to quit from certain destinations.
"If everything is right, then we will be stupid not to enter the Indian market, which boasts more than a billion population," he told reporters after opening AirAsia's Badminton Academy here Wednesday.
27/09/12 Daily Express

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Maldivian airline to connect Chennai, Mumbai from November

Chennai: With growing passenger traffic between the Maldives and India, Maldivian, the national airlines of the Maldives will fly to Mumbai and between Chennai and Dhaka from November and connect New Delhi and Kolkata later, said a top official.
"We will be connecting Chennai-Dhaka and Mumbai from November onwards. We will look at flying between New Delhi and Kolkata later. We have landing rights in the four metros," Abdul Haris, managing director at Island Aviation Services Ltd told reporters here Wednesday.
 The $50 million-worth Island Aviation owns the Maldivian airline. Haris said the airline will soon add an aircraft to its fold to connect the new destinations. Already, Maldivian connects Male and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala.
27/09/12 IANS/The Pioneer

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Cochin airport’s MRO facility gets European certification

Kochi: The aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) unit of Cochin international airport Cochin International Aviation Services Limited ( CIASL), has obtained the certification of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the line maintenance of aircrafts.
CIASL, a subsidiary of the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), has already got approval from other agencies like the Civil Aviation Authorities of the UAE, Qatar, Singapore and Sri Lanka apart from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
With the EASA clearance, CIASL will have permission to carry out the maintenance work of aircrafts of most of the airlines across the globe, a spokesman for CIAL said here on Tuesday.
26/09/12 T Ramavarman/Times of India

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Kingfisher in talks with foreign airlines: Mallya

Bangalore: Following the government's move to allow FDI in the civil aviation sector, Chairman of debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya today said the carrier was in talks with foreign airlines.
"Yes, we are in talks" he said on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the UB Group, promoted by him.
However, he did not provide details citing "privacy and confidentiality" reasons.
When asked how beneficial the new FDI policy will be for Kingfisher, Mallya said it was too early to comment.
Mallya also informed that his airline will be making a presentation to the SBI-led consortium of banks that have lend to Kingfisher.
"We have regular meetings with the KFA banking consortium. I can confirm that there is meeting tomorrow. We will make a presentation to them as requested," he said.
Banks together have an exposure of nearly Rs 7,000 crore in the airline and the loans have all become non-performing assets since January.
26/07/12 PTI/Business Standard

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FDI in aviation: IndiGo says no plan to take foreign partner on-board

Mumbai: Contrary to its peers, who are upbeat about 49% foreign direct investment in Indian carriers, budget airline IndiGo on Tuesday said it has no plans to take on-board an overseas partner to expand its business.
"We are not looking at any investment.. so it does not matter to us. We are certainly not looking at investment by foreign airlines at this point of time," IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh told reporters at the sidelines of an All-India Management Association summit here.
The Gurgaon-based carrier, run by InterGlobe Enterprises, is the market leader with 27.6% market share as of August, unseating the long-time market leader Jet Airways Group - which also runs a budget service, Jet Konnect - that enjoyed a combined pie of 25.2% during the same period.
Ruling out any downward revision in fares following the two full service carriers - Air India and Jet Airways - announcing special promotional rates during the upcoming festival season to woo passengers, Ghosh said his no-frills airline's fares are always low.
25/09/12 PTI/Daily News & Analysis

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FDI in aviation: Should foreign investors jet in?

It is exactly ten days since prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh made the bold announcement permitting 49% foreign direct investment (FDI) in aviation apart from FDI entry into multi-brand retail. Plus a host of other far reaching decisions that would revive the investors’ confidence everywhere.
 For several months now, Air India has been in the news for a variety of wrong reasons, not exactly pleasant to repeat here. The biggest financial boost from the government has not been able to revive it to its former glory though the Dreamliner has landed for it in India.
 Kingfisher in the south, spearheaded by Dr Vijay Mallya has been in doldrums as well, heavily overburdened and under financial strain. It may be recalled that Capt Gopinath’s
Air Deccan, really the people's airline, was gobbled up by Kingfisher, couple of years ago.
25/09/12 moneylife.com

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CIASL gets global recognition

Scaling one more step in the field of aviation the Cochin International Aviation Services Limited, the subsidiary of the Cochin International Airport Limited, has bagged the approval from one of world’s highly reputed authorities in aviation safety technology, the European Aviation Safety Agency.
It was announced in the press release published by airport director A C K Nair on Tuesday.  This will add more sheen to CIASL, which has already won recognitions from major airline repair and safety agencies of worldwide reputation.
Directorate General of the Civil Aviation, General Civil Aviation Authority, UAE, SriLankan Civil Aviation Authority, Singapore Civil Aviation Authority and Qatar Civil Aviation Authority are the major agencies who had bestowed their faith in the repair services of the CIASL. It is a great recognition for CIAL and its subsidiary CIASL, because, according to the press release, with the approval of the European Aviation Safety Agency, CIASL is getting the licence to repair the aircraft of almost all major airlines of the world.
26/09/12 New Indian Express/IBN Live

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Air India Dreamliner's in-flight entertainment system a 'game changer'

California: Air India's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner have got a game changing in-flight entertainment (IFE) system from French technology firm Thales.
Thales has provided its state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment system i-8000 to Air India's fleet of 787s.
The system has a host of interactive capabilities through an easy navigation user interface, including full audio and video on-demand (AVOD), games, shopping catalogues and a new interactive ASXi moving map application.
"In-flight entertainment systems can have a direct and lasting impact on customer perception of the service excellence of an airline," Alan Pellegrini, chief executive, Thales In-flight entertainment business said.
26/09/12 Business Today

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Kingfisher Airlines' lessors pay Airports Authority of India directly to fly planes out of India

New Delhi: Foreign aircraft leasing companies wishing to repossess their planes from near bankrupt Kingfisher are paying Airports Authority of India (AAI) about a crore for flying each plane out of India. Kingfisher owes about Rs 290 crore to the state-run AAI and the latter told the airline it would not allow any lessor to repossess aircraft from it — due to non-payment of lease rentals — to leave India unless the dues are cleared.
"About two months back, Kingfisher paid us about Rs 1 crore or 2 crore so that a lessor could take their aircraft back. Later the airline could not even pay that much to allow lessors to take planes out of India. Now lessors are coming to us and paying money to do that. So far, three aircraft have been repossessed by lessors by paying us Rs 1 crore per plane. Kingfisher has not paid them and they are paying us so that the planes can be leased out to some other airline abroad," said a senior AAI official.
25/09/12 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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