- Airlines ferrying ballot boxes told to be punctual
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has directed all airlines bringing ballot boxes of the presidential elections from state capitals to New Delhi Friday to stick to their flight schedules. All the officers on duty will be returning by Executive Class and their seats have been blocked so that they are able to keep the ballot boxes in the adjacent seat in keeping with Election Commission directives. The boxes will be treated as hand luggage - they will be sealed but screened through X-ray before being carried into the aircraft. This shall be done without damaging the seal. The airlines have been asked to ensure that the seating provided to the officers is such that the boxes can be brought in as cabin baggage without difficulty. The Airports Authority of India, the Delhi International Airport Ltd., Indian Airlines, DGCA and Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) have nominated one officer each for coordinating with the Election Commission in order to ferry the ballot boxes to the national capital.
Fri, 20 Jul 2007 03:55:00 +0000
- Canadian firm bags Delhi Metro order
Bombardier Transportation, a global major based in Canada, has bagged a contract worth $590 million for supplying 340 coaches for the second phase of Delhi Metro operations. The company will start delivering the world-class coaches to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) from the last quarter of 2008 with completion in 2010 "to provide effective public transport during the Commonwealth Games". "Some of the greatest cities in the world, such as New York, Paris, London, Berlin, and Shanghai have chosen Bombardier metros to provide modern mobility for their citizens while reducing traffic congestion and helping their cities breathe," André Navarri, president of Bombardier Transportation, said in statement. "We are very excited to be able to add the city of New Delhi as a new metro customer," said Navarri.
"We've been an employer in India for over 35 years and we hope that this project will set the standard for other mass transit projects that we intend to pursue in New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kochi and Chandigarh and throughout India." Delhi Metro currently has 62 trains ferrying over 525,000 commuters every day over its Phase I network of 65 km. Under the second phase, DMRC will add 118 km to its network in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida. The company said the modern Bombardier high-capacity vehicles will transport an impressive 4 million passengers every day, reducing their journey time and ease the road traffic congestion in the capital city. Said Rajeev Jyoti, managing director of Bombardier Transportation India: "We are very proud to be one of the first private companies to have been chosen to build rail vehicles in India.
"Bombardier manufacturing and engineering sites in India, supported by our sites in Germany and Sweden, will deliver the new vehicles to Delhi Metro on time and with quality, meriting the trust that the public authorities in India have placed in us," Jyoti added. The coaches will have stainless steel car bodies and the reliable propulsion system and control system featuring IP technology. To ensure successful localization, some coaches to be delivered initially will be manufactured by Bombardier sites in Germany and Sweden. Thereafter, Bombardier in India will undertake production. Key elements of the complete design will be undertaken at Bombardier's Indian engineering centre in Hyderabad in cooperation with Bombardier's site in Sweden.
Fri, 20 Jul 2007 03:53:00 +0000
- India drives passenger traffic for Finnair
Finnair has reported a 19.3 percent jump in scheduled traffic during the first six months of this year, thanks to an impressive growth of 30.5 percent in Asia, where it has added Mumbai as its latest destination. In June alone, the airline reported a 26.5 percent increase in scheduled traffic during which it added two Airbus A340 aircraft to its fleet, one of them to Mumbai. "The growth was derived from Asian traffic, which grew in June by 35.4 percent, as well as from European traffic, where demand exceeded last year's figure by 27.9 percent," the carrier said in a statement. Finnair, which was earlier flying charters to Goa, started its scheduled flights from Delhi Oct 31 last year and has been flying daily from Helsinki to the Indian capital since May 19. Mumbai was added to its schedule June 27 with five flights a week.
According to Taina Törnström, the Finnair director for the Indian subcontinent, the carrier was in talks to add more destinations for onward connections in India and to also make them convenient. "Finnair is strengthening its partnerships with Indian air carriers to make these connections as smooth as possible," Törnström said in a statement. The airline official said the flights to Mumbai were part of Finnair's "Asian strategy" and in response to a strong demand from the Asian market. This, she said, had enhanced the number of weekly flights to India from seven to 12. "Mumbai is India's biggest business city and centre of business and logistics. India's most affluent population live in the area, so there is big potential for tourist traffic to Europe," Törnström said.
Fri, 20 Jul 2007 03:41:00 +0000
- Agra readies for a tourist boom
Uttar Pradesh's efforts to promote tourism in Agra have gained momentum after the inclusion of the Taj Mahal, India's greatest tourist draw, in the new list of Seven Wonders of the World. Everyone from the district authorities, the municipal corporation and tourism bodies is trying to cash in on the euphoria. Le Passage to India, a travel agency, has announced plans to distribute specially designed badges with Taj inscribed on them to 10,000 foreign tourists next month. Rakesh Chauhan, president of the Hotels and Restaurants Association, said: "The coming tourist season beginning September should see a big spurt in tourist arrivals. The interest in Agra and its monuments has definitely increased and we are determined to cash in on the publicity." In early August, the executive committee members of the Domestic Tour Operators of India will be meeting in Agra to discuss plans to promote tourism in Agra.
Sunil Gupta, a member of the executive committee, said: "The tourism industry is naturally upbeat about the Taj Mahal's inclusion in the Seven Wonders of the World list and expects a large number of tourists to come to Agra." Large-scale renovation work of the Taj by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is under way. ASI officials said a clay pack treatment to remove stains from the marble surface of the Taj would start after the monsoon rains end. The state government has, meanwhile, given the green signal to several plans for Agra's makeover. The Taj Express Way has been given top priority. District Magistrate Mukesh Meshram said he was trying to speed up the land acquisition process for the project because the government is keen to have it completed much in advance of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Divisional Commissioner S.R. Meena said he was busy giving final touches to the Taj National Park project. As part of the project, a 300-acre national park will be made across the river Yamuna in collaboration with the US National Park Service. Meena added that an open-air theatre at Mehtab Bagh behind the Taj Mahal is his top priority at the moment. Raviv Tiwari, a tourism industry leader, said the present turnover from Taj centric tourism was around Rs.20 billion annually. "We now want it hiked to Rs.100 billion." Another boost to tourism will be the Mega City Tour Project, which will be launched this year in September by American travel agencies. They will take US tourists on a trip to the Delhi-Jaipur-Agra golden triangle.
Fri, 20 Jul 2007 03:39:00 +0000
- Plan to set up 25 low-cost airports in India
After low-cost airlines, it is the turn of no-frill and low-cost airports. In a bid to encourage regional airlines and provide air links to small cities and towns, nearly 25 greenfield or unutilised airport projects have been identified by various states, which will be up for bidding by the private sector. Planned in tier-II or tier-III cities, the airports would be in addition to the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s (MoCA’s) ambitious modernisation programme for 35 non-metro airports. A no-frill airport is built at a minimum cost and allows operation of small jets as well as slightly bigger aircraft like Boeing's B737 or Airbus' A320. The investment in such an airport could range from Rs 40 crore to Rs 100 crore.
The places identified for the purpose include Hassan, Shimoga, Gulbarga, Bidar, Mysore (all in Karnataka), Shirdi, Jalgaon, Solapur, Akola (all in Maharashtra), Kannur (Kerala), Madurai, Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu), Rupsi (Assam), Ajmer, Mount Abu, Kailashar (Rajasthan), Behala, Cooch Behar, Malda (West Bengal), Jharsuguda (Orissa), Muzaffurpur (Bihar), Kamalpur (Tripura) and Passighat (Arunachal Pradesh). Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) Managing Director R C Sinha told Business Standard: “We are planning to set up no-frill and low-cost airports at Shirdi, Jalgaon and Solapur. Though we are yet to finalise modalities, the estimated cost of each is Rs 40 crore excluding land cost.” MADC is a special purpose vehicle set up by Maharashtra to execute the multi-modal hub project at Nagpur, which includes an airport and a special economic zone (SEZ).
A budget airline executive said, “A low-cost airport can be constructed at a cost of Rs 100 crore, including land cost. Such an airport can increase its revenue through retail outlets, entertainment sources and hospitality projects.” Low-cost airports are already catching the fancy of high profile airport developers and corporates, as well as budget carriers. Earlier, budget carrier Air Deccan had evinced interest in participating in four low-cost airport projects in Karnataka. Big players such as Changi Airport of Singapore, Tata group, GMR Group and GVK Group are also keen on such projects. A government official said the airports could act as operational bases of regional airlines. “The identification of regional hubs could be made on the basis of origin-destination surveys, traffic demand and the requirements of airlines,” he added.
Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:28:00 +0000
- Tragedy averted as runway damage detected in time
A bird watcher on the runway was the unlikely hero as a flight with 130 passengers had a narrow escape on Wednesday. A Delhi-Calcutta Jet Airways flight was preparing to land just after noon when the ground staff member posted to shoo away birds noticed that a portion of the primary runway had peeled off. The bird watcher immediately sounded the alarm. The primary runway was promptly shut down and flight 9W-922 was told not to touch down. “A chunk of around 16 square feet on the primary runway had peeled off. The Delhi-Calcutta Jet flight was preparing to land when this was noticed. Anything could have happened if the wheels would have hit that uneven patch, a tragedy was averted,” said an airport official. Flight 9W-922 remained airborne as the secondary runway was also congested. “We informed the pilot about the congestion on the other runway. The plane was kept in the air for around 10 minutes before the secondary runway was cleared and the flight landed safely,” said an airport official.
The airport authorities have launched an investigation to ascertain why the runway surface had peeled off. An airport official said that the runway might have been “softened” by the rains and the wheels of an aircraft could have caused the damage. Another flight of a private airline had landed shortly before the damage on the primary runway was detected. “We are trying to find out whether the wheels of that flight had caused the surface to peel off,” said an official. After the bird watcher spotted the runway scar and the Jet Airways flight was diverted to the secondary runway, the primary runway remained shut for close to three hours, said an airport official. No scheduled take-off or touchdown was disrupted due to the shutdown as it was not during peak hours. “So, the only casualty was the Jet flight’s scheduled time of arrival, as it had to circle the Calcutta skies for some 10 minutes, it is difficult to tell what could have happened if the damage had not been detected in the nick of time. The flight could have been in major trouble,” said an airport official.
Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:26:00 +0000
- Airlines hope to see profit with fare hike
With consolidation taking place in the aviation industry, airline companies have hiked their fares by Rs 200 to Rs 300 across all the sectors in an attempt to bring the industry back into black. This is in addition to the Rs 50 increase in the fuel surcharge by all the carriers this month following a 2.8% increase in the aviation turbine fuel prices in July. The trend has really picked up after Vijay Mallya-led UB Group picked up 26% stake in Air Deccan for Rs 550 crore in March end. "We have increased our fares by Rs 200 on all our flights but that has not affected our load factors at all. Despite the increase in fares we registered over 77% load factor last month. Passengers have accepted the fare hike," a senior executive with a private airline said. "But this is a trend being followed by all the airlines. This had to happen. A price correction was long overdue," he added.
The last three months have witnessed three mergers and acquisitions in the aviation industry with Air India-Indian Airlines, Jet Airways-Air Sahara, Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan coming together. Free tickets and fares as low as 99 paise and high jet fuel prices resulted in a Rs 2,200 crore combined losses for the industry in 2006-07. Public sector airlines (Indian Airlines and Air India) have also registered losses to the tune Rs 800 crore. According to a foreign brokerage report, domestic seat capacity has increased by almost 40% in 2005-06, much faster than 28% increase in passenger traffic in 2006. Since 2003, seven airlines, including four low-fare carriers, have started operations. The consolidation in the sector will not only prevent rationalisation of yields, it would help in better utilisation of their resources in cutting down the costs. The Kingfisher-Air Deccan combine will help them bring operating costs down, lower expenses on spares, ground handling facilities, engineering, staff and crew – turn a saving of up to $73 million in the first year itself.
Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:08:00 +0000
- New navigation system to help reduce flight time
By 2010, a flight from Delhi to Chennai could take just two hours, a full 45 minutes less than the current duration. And a Mumbai-Delhi flight could be only an hour. This anticipated saving in time and money (in terms of fuel costs and airport charges for carriers) will be possible with the launch of GAGAN, or the satellite-aided geo-augmented navigation project being jointly implemented by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). A Rs 644-crore project to implant navigation software in existing satellites, GAGAN, which is currently undergoing feasibility tests, will do away with the need for aircraft to be navigated through ground navigation stations, which now send position signals to the aircraft. When the project is implemented, the signals will come from the satellite to reference stations across the country, get corrected by them and uplinked to the satellite, which will then transfer the accurate signals to the aircraft.
Apart from accuracy in position, the aircraft will be able to plot its way through much shorter routes. In the current system, routes are determined by the location of the ground stations or aids, which are usually 150 km apart. So a Delhi-Chennai flight currently takes a zig-zag route over Farukhabad-Secundrabad-Banaras-Bhopal-Nagpur-Hyderabad-Chennai. In time, the 80 air control towers across the country will be replaced with eight reference stations at Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Port Blair, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Jammu and Thiruvananthapuram, with a master control centre in Bangalore. Later, eight more stations and two more control centres might be set up in Bangalore and Delhi. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel hopes to introduce GAGAN in a limited way next year and the full system by 2010. Importantly, shorter flying time will maximise the use of air-space, allowing more flights to take off and land at airports. The current specified gap between two airborne aircraft is 80 nautical miles in length and 10 nautical miles on both sides in width as a safety measure to account for a margin of error in air traffic control information.
For instance, an aircraft receiving signals that it is near Jamshedpur may actually be 50 miles behind or ahead. With GAGAN, positional accuracy improves to 95 per cent, allowing the gap to be reduced and making room for more aircraft. “Due to the decrease in width, one airspace lane may be divided into two or even three. Also, in regions with heavy traffic, we may divide the space into several speed lanes for different aircraft with different speed capabilities,” said an AAI official. Shorter flying time will also reduce fuel costs. The average fuel burnout for a flight per hour is 3.3 kl. Saving around one hour of flying time will shave off more than Rs 1,20,000 per flight considering jet fuel in India is priced at Rs 37,800 per kl. Airport charges will also fall. “Due to all these changes, the route navigation facility costs for airports will fall. Consequently, the route navigation facility charges for airlines will also come down significantly,” AAI officials said.
These are major gains, given that India has the second-highest airport charges in Asia. The charges are also several-fold higher than American and European airports. The system will also mean major savings for AAI. Operating and maintaining these ground stations costs it Rs 40 lakh a year. With GAGAN, around 60 air traffic control centres will be phased out, which translates into a saving of Rs 24 crore annually. But airlines have reservations about installing GAGAN-compatible equipment. “Most new aircraft are equipped with the retro-fitted global navigation satellite system (GNSS) avionics, which is necessary to receive the accurate GAGAN signals. But aircraft that are more than 10 years old do not come equipped with the system,” said an airline official. For aircraft like the old Airbus A-320, retro fitting the system will cost around Rs 15 crore. This will particularly impact the government-owned Indian Airlines. “Many airlines will not be able to shift to the new system so easily, which is why the transition will be in phases and take two or three years to be fully operational,” said an AAI official.
Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:04:00 +0000
- Helicopter passenger services set to start in India
Indian helicopters are all set to start services at par with regular fixed-wing airlines, with the Centre giving its nod to chopper operators. Chopper operators say this would facilitate quick transportation, especially for corporate sector, which would not like to depend entirely on scheduled air carriers. "Basically, we want to create a facility which can be used by all the helicopter operators. People will just come in their cars, they will go in the helicopters, finish their work and come back. People would be free to travel through helicopter and there would be no restricted regulation," R. K. Tyagi, Chairman and Managing Director of state-run Pawan Hans Helicopters, said. Tyagi further said that the service would also boost tourism, as most of the foreign tourists avoid combining major tourist spots for want of time.
The charters would be helpful for rescue and relief operations in case of disasters, said K. Gohain, Director General of Civil Aviation. "If there's an accident on highways, we need to have certain strategic locations to pick up the wounded, this is one area. Second area is disaster such as earth quake, where helicopter can do rescue and provide relief material," Gohain added. Earlier, regular passenger services were being run under the aegis of state governments. Currently, state-run Pawan Hans Helicopters and some private airlines operate limited services in high terrain areas like Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in northeastern region. Many feel that India has tremendous potential for helicopters in areas such as emergency medical services, news coverage, fire-fighting and law enforcement. But its growth has been restricted due to high cost of operation, enforcement of fixed wing traffic rules and high cost of maintenance support.
Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:00:00 +0000
- UB Group raises Rs 550 crores for Air Deccan stake
Beer to airline behemoth UB Group has raised Rs 550 crore as debt financing from IDFC, HDFC and IL&FS for its stake buy in Air Deccan, sources said. These institutions could pour in more debt as group company UB Holdings is set to make an open offer for 20% stake more in Deccan Aviation, the parent of low-cost airline, shortly. On May 31, UB Holdings bought 26% stake in Deccan Aviation for Rs 550 crore and announced plans for mandatory open offer. At the time of acquisition, UB indicated that it could rope in financial investors for de-leveraging the acquisition partially, as it had received several expressions of interest from private equity funds. But with debt financing clinched, UB is not likely to be in a tearing hurry to divest stake for de-leveraging. Sources said that UB has tied up debt financing from IDFCand HDFC for over Rs 400 crore. “The debt financing has been arranged for funding most of the 26% purchase,” a top UB official said, without divulging the name of the institutions.
“We have a confidentiality clause and cannot divulge the identity of the institution for the time being,” he added. IL&FS is believed to have pumped in the remaining Rs 150 crore. When contacted, IDFC CEO & MD Rajiv B Lall said: “We can neither confirm nor deny this.” It maybe recalled that UB paid an initial sum of Rs 150 crore for 9.677 million shares taking its shareholding to 26% post which the open offer would be made. UB is waiting for Sebi clearance for the open offer at Rs 155 per share. Meanwhile, Air Deccan counter has seen heavy turnover even though the stock price has remained in the price band of Rs 130-145.“We plan to keep the entire shareholding intact now, including whatever we mop up through the open offer,” the UB official added. Observers will be watching the response to the UB offer with some believing that the company may not get the entire 20% shares. “Some of the large shareholders (under the public category) who are looking at exiting may not do so in the open offer on account of the capital gains tax, but sell it in the market,” sources close to the development said.
Thu, 19 Jul 2007 10:57:00 +0000
- Hertz India ties-up with Kingfisher Airlines
Hertz India, has tied up with Kingfisher Airlines’ Frequent Flyer Programme – King Club as its preferred car rental partner. As per the alliance, Hertz Car Rental as well as Hertz Holiday cars will be made available to King Club members at all sectors operated by Kingfisher Airlines. Guests of both Hertz and Kingfisher Airlines will be able to benefit from this alliance through value-added services and regular offers jointly taken out by both the companies. Announcing the tie up Mr Rajiv K Vij, CEO Hertz India said “this tie also showcases our resolve to make car rentals an exclusive experience for our customers in India.
With this initiative the customer of our partner airline will also get preferred rentals. We at Hertz believe in elevating the experience of the customers”. Commenting on the alliance, Mr. Vikram Malhotra, Deputy General Manager – Marketing, Kingfisher Airlines said, “Kingfisher Airlines has always been at the forefront of bringing delight to its esteemed guests and enhance their overall travel experience with us. In continuation of this philosophy, we are proud to associate with a quality service provider like Hertz to provide value-added car rental facilities to members of our rewarding FFP – King Club. The two companies will also work together closely to create co-branded offers that will benefit both our guests.”
Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:24:00 +0000
- Air India seeks to enter Star Alliance
The new state airline Air India informed of its interest on Tuesday of becoming part of international "Star Alliance," the largest airline group in the world, to expand its share of global action. Air India was a result of the fusion of the two major Indian airlines and has scheduled its first direct flight to the US since the merger for August 1st. In September it will start negotiations to enter Star Alliance, which includes such as Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa and United Airlines. The press note added that the directors of the companies forming the alliance will meet on December 13 to make a decision on Air India's proposal.
Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:22:00 +0000
- Emirates flight makes emergency landing at Chennai
A Manila bound Dubai-Manila Emirates flight (EK 777) with 446 passengers and crew made an emergency landing at Anna International airport, Chennai, today, as one of its passengers suffered severe chest pain. Airport sources said, as the flight was approaching Chennai, the passenger Paraso Mathew (43), hailing from Philipines complained to the crew members that he was suffering from severe chest pain. The matter was informed to the pilots, who in turn contacted the Air Trafic control (ATC) for their permission for emergency landing. The ATC, after clearance from the headquarters of the Airport Authority Of India (AAI), after making all emergency arrangements, allowed the pilot to made an emergency landing. The flight landed around 1710 hrs. Soon after the flight landed, the airport medical team rushed to the passenger and gave first aid. As his condition was critical, the immigration authorities issued a temporary visa to the patient. Later, he was admitted to a private hospital at Guindy. After a brief halt, the flight left for its destination with the rest of the passengers and the crew at 1810 hrs, the sources added.
Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:20:00 +0000
- IndiGo adds new flights between Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi
IndiGo, the low-fare domestic airline that is redefining airline quality standards in India, will add new services between Mumbai and Bangalore & Mumbai and Delhi from 27th July, 2007. IndiGo will serve these routes using its eleventh brand-new Airbus A320, which will be delivered to the airline on 24th July 2007. IndiGo is offering these in addition to its existing services between the above routes. Speaking on the new services from Mumbai, Bruce Ashby, President and CEO of IndiGo said, “At IndiGo, we are steadily building our route network. After taking delivery of our eleventh aircraft, we now connect 15 Indian cities offering 78 daily flights. Since its launch in August 2006, IndiGo has carried over 1.75 million passengers and this number is increasing every day.
As we continue to add aircraft, we will continue to enhance our connectivity in the cities we already serve.” To offer superior service to its customers, IndiGo now also offers a wide array of food and beverages including freshly made sandwiches, packed juices, aerated drinks, nuts, and cookies. These food and beverages can be bought on each flight. With its eleventh aircraft, the airline will operate 78 daily flights flying to 15 destinations, including Kochi, Agartala, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune and Vadodara. IndiGo will take delivery of four additional brand-new A320 aircraft this year, taking the fleet size to 15 by the end of 2007. It plans to serve approximately 30 Indian cities by 2010, with a fleet of approximately 40 A320s.
Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:18:00 +0000
- Andhra Pradesh Tourism promo aboard Air India
The name Andhra Pradesh will be displayed on the fuselage of at least some of the 62 new state-of-the-art, Boeing 777-200 aircraft being acquired by Air India. The first of the aircraft will fly in to New Delhi from Boeing headquarters at Seattle, USA, on July 28. These and other initiatives to promote AP Tourism will be possible, following a Memorandum of Understanding between AP and the airline on joint promotional activities in the new additions to Air India’s fleet soon. Eight of the 62 new aircraft to be inducted into Air India’s fleet will be the long-haul flights that can fly 14 hours non-stop.
A press release said each aircraft would be given a special name, after various States of India and major cities, starting with AP. Also, provision would be provided for placing printed promo material in each seat pocket on board, showcasing tourist places and their arts, crafts, cuisine, history and heritage. A 2.33 minute film highlighting the State will be screened on every flight and the State has the option of changing the film thrice a year, apart from audio programmes with details of tourist importance that can be changed six times a year. Also, five photographs showing major tourist attractions will be displayed.
Wed, 18 Jul 2007 10:16:00 +0000
